Chapter 17 (A/N: Hey guys! Sorry to be the bringer of bad news, but this chapter isn't even close to as long as the last one…sorry. -.-; So…my reviewers seemed to really like the last chapter, and for that, you all get MASSIVE HUGS. Only thing that kind of depresses me is that when I look at the story stats, it says it got, like, 100 views and I only have 10 reviews…*looks out at non-reviewers* I SEE YOU! Write me even one word and I will be overjoyed. Please. You can even write it in another language! (Google translate is my best friend anyway. XD)

Guest (who's actually roo17): Lol, thank you! You seem quite…adamant in your support and I really appreciate it. :D I'm not sure if G-5 existed back then (I still haven't quite figured out what G-5's purpose is, so…) Ace is a badass. Like, yes.

Yes, not exactly fun, but better than stabbing your own brother or having him hauled off with you. I know! I had a cuteness spaz when I wrote that scene. Well…somewhat. It's hard to have a cuteness spaz when Ace is getting kidnapped…but whatever. Yeah…marines suck. A lot. Seriously. Shanks really should hurry up before something really bad happens…

Not intentionally, but yes. I'm not sure he even remembers it. Depends on how drunk he was. Probably really drunk in order for him to accidentally sell out Ace.

YES! All they want to do is help and they can't…I still feel worse for Ace though.

Hope this is out soon enough for you!

Guest (no name): Thank you! Sabo finally makes his appearance! Poor little Ace…I'm so mean to him…:C You'll have to see. All will be revealed. Don't worry about it! Spelling is hard…grammar is harder.

Guest (CJ): Hahahahahahhahahahaha I LOVE ME SOME CLIFFHANGERS! Thank you! I've actually had this idea in my head for, like, almost a year and I only recently started writing it. Poor little Ace…the marines all SUCK. Haaaaaaaaaaaate. I love suspense! It helps keep you guys interested!

Hope it's out soon enough for you!

That's all the anonymous reviews. I'd love to see more of them, if you all can spare the time to write them! More reviews in general would make me really happy!

Oh, and just in case you were wondering why there was no author's comments at the bottom of the last chapter, the end was just too perfect. I didn't want to ruin by having something after it. XD

And now for the stuff you guys ACTUALLY care about, the chapter!)

It had been almost painful for Marco to watch as Ace was whipped. Marco winced as each blow fell, still pressing against the glass regardless of the fact that he would never get through. He hated this marine, wanted nothing more than to tear him apart. When I get back to the real world, I am tracking this bastard down. He will pay for this. Thus far, because Ace hadn't seen the marine's face, Marco and the others didn't know who he was. At the same time he hated this marine's guts and wanted to help his friend, he truly was rooting for Ace. He was impressed by Ace's pain tolerance. Even when that damn marine had poured seawater on the open wounds on Ace's back he still hadn't cried out. Marco knew grown men who weren't that strong. Marco turned to his companions.

"I don't know about you guys, but when we get out of here-Thatch?" Thatch was staring at his right hand. He looked up suddenly at Marco. His face was dead serious.

"We have to get out of here. Now." Marco stared at him in confusion.

"Thatch, what are you talking about? We can't just leave. Ace needs us and Serpent said we can't pull out until the end of a memory. I know it's hard to see Ace like this but-"

"That's not what I'm talking about. We need to go back now." Thatch took a deep breath and shut his eyes for a moment. Marco blinked, then started forward.

"No, wait! Thatch don't-!" Thatch let loose a blast of haki. Marco fell to his knees, clutching his head. Distantly he heard Serpent's voice.

"You son of a bitch!" Marco's vision was completely white for a moment, and there was a kind of white noise in his ears, blocking out any sound. He couldn't think, he couldn't see. He couldn't remember how to breathe either. He forced himself to take some gasping breaths and his vision flashed with different images. Some were of Ace's memories; some were of the infirmary of the Moby Dick. He heard a sound to his right and looked over, trying to see what was going on.

Thatch forced himself to stand unsteadily. His mind was in much the same state as Marco's, but he had to do this. He stumbled to his feet, taking some unsteady steps forward. He slammed into a wall, his balance completely thrown off and unable to see where he was going.

"Selma!" His vision was beginning to clear a little, and he staggered over to the door leading to Selma's office.

Throwing it wide, he looked in at the surprised doctor. She was staring up at him with widened eyes, still seated at her desk. Thatch leaned heavily against the doorframe, trying hard not to fall over. His right hand was clenched into a fist.

"Ace!" Thatch, who was closer, tried to grab Ace's shoulder. "Ace, what's wrong?" Ace tore his shoulder out of Thatch's grasp harshly and continued running. He made it to the door and threw himself through it, still moving as fast as he could. Thatch approached Marco, his face and voice dead serious.

"Marco. I don't know what got him so scared, but we have to find him soon." Marco looked at Thatch. By way of explanation, Thatch stuck out the hand that had grabbed Ace's shoulder. Marco looked down at it and his eyes widened.

"Is it his?" Thatch gave a grim nod.

Thatch's hand was covered in blood.

Thatch, after seeing the Black Widow and the dinner party had chalked the blood on his hand up to be nothing more than another illusion, and when Ace had been found with no blood on his shirt it had only further proven this assumption. Thatch grit his teeth and mentally kicked himself. What a damn fool I was.

"Selma. I need you to give Ace a physical examination now." Selma looked at him like he was crazy.

"Taichou, are you alright? You seem kind of-"

"Get it done, Selma. I don't want to have to make it an order. I think Ace is seriously injured, and it's possible he's still bleeding. Heavily." Selma blinked. Thatch almost never pulled rank on anyone for any reason. None of the commanders did. It just wasn't necessary in their crew. Thatch must be taking this really seriously to even suggest ordering her to do anything. But what could have made him so concerned?

"Yes, taichou. Right away." Selma stood, going into business mode. She walked past Thatch and into the main infirmary. Her face was calm almost to the point of being emotionless. Marco was leaning against a wall rubbing his head. He looked up when Selma entered the room. She exchanged no greetings or pleasantries with him or Whitebeard, heading straight for Ace. She stood near his bedside for a moment and just looked him up and down. Reaching into a nearby cabinet she pulled out a stethoscope and a sphygmomanometer. She stopped for a moment and turned to look at the room's other occupants. When she spoke, her voice was somewhat distant. It wasn't cold but it had a deep air of professionalism.

"I'm going to have to ask you three to leave the room." She looked them all in the eye as she said it. When Selma went into doctor-mode she got very strict on the rules. The three of them getting booted wasn't anything personal, it was just…protocol. Marco, Thatch, and Whitebeard understood this, but it didn't mean they completely agreed. All the same, Selma herded the three of them out of the room and shut the door behind them. Thatch turned away from the infirmary door to see a very pissed-looking cat.

"What the hell did you think you were doing? Do you realize the damage you could have caused? You dumbass! You could have completely fried Marco or Whitebeard's brain! Hell, you could have fried Ace's brain! Or your own! Not that you really have one, based on the sparkling intelligence you've displayed recently!" Serpent's tail was lashing. She was snarling at him, her lips curled back to reveal her sharp feline teeth. Thatch sighed.

"Listen, Serpent, it was-"

"No, you listen. I sent you in there to help Ace. If all you're going to do is fuck everything up, I'm not going to let you go back in. If you screw this up, Ace is worse than dead. You pulling stunts like just now isn't exactly convincing me that your presence in the team is useful. From now on, if you so much as twitch the wrong way, I'm pulling you out of the expedition. Permanently. Am I understood?" Thatch stared at Serpent in shock. Marco was also staring down at the cat in something akin to surprise. A tense, silent moment passed. Thatch swallowed and looked Serpent in the eye. He nodded seriously.

"I understand." Serpent's glare lightened somewhat.

"Good. We were lucky this time. Your idiocy didn't cause any long-term damage. But I'm watching you. If you give me so much as the slightest suspicion that you're going to try something like you did just now, game over. You're out."

Selma shut the door behind the trio and turned around to face the room. She walked back over to Ace and picked up the shpygmomanometer. She reached down and gently lifted Ace's arm. She glanced at Ace's face to make sure he hadn't stirred or woken. He hadn't. Selma blinked. Is that…? She reached over and gently brushed some of Ace's bangs back from his forehead. She blinked, taking a deep breath.

"Holy shit." On the right side of Ace's face, right up against his hairline, was a dark, purple-yellow bruise that continued up under his hair. Accompanying the bruise was a three-inch-long gash that ran into his hair. It was stitched shut neatly, and wasn't bleeding. Selma's brows furrowed. She gently turned Ace's head from side to side, checking for any more bruises or cuts on his face or scalp. An injury like that usually has a concussion to go with it. I hope Ace isn't in a coma… There were no further injuries to his head, and Selma leaned back. How did Ace get an injury like that? Blunt force trauma and a neat laceration like that… Selma snorted quietly. He'd have to be thrown out a window. But Ace wasn't thrown out a window. He's a 10-year-old kid for Christ's sake. Maybe he fell down the stairs while carrying a glass object or something sharp. Selma nodded to herself and dismissed the wound as an accident.

She ran her eyes over Ace once more, checking for any other bruises or abrasions. There were none. Alright. Let's get a pulse. Selma leaned over again, reaching towards Ace's neck. She gently folded down Ace's collar, not really paying attention to the boy. On a clipboard nearby she was scribbling notes about the bruise she had found on his head. The cut was closed and not bleeding, but she'd have to keep an eye on it and ensure it didn't get infected. She hummed quietly to herself, finishing her notes. She looked back to Ace and froze. No way…That's not…Who would…How…?

Stretched across Ace's throat was a dark, hand-shaped bruise.

Selma had unconsciously raised a hand to her mouth. Her eyes were wide as she stared at the purple mark on Ace's neck. She glanced back up at the bruise on his head. Based on the fading, he had gotten the two at about the same time. Who would strangle a child? Selma stared at the bruise on Ace's neck, horrified. She blinked, noticing something else. She pulled the neckline of Ace's shirt down and her eyes widened further. Feeling trepidation building inside of her, Selma reached over into a nearby cabinet and drew out a scalpel. She used it to cut Ace's shirt, and as the loose fabric fell away inch by inch Selma's shock grew.

The entirety of Ace's torso and arms was covered in clean white bandages.

Selma stared in shock for several moments. The bandaging was…beyond extensive. Selma, in her career, had seen maybe 12 people who needed that much help. Not only had the long-sleeved shirt concealed nearly all of the bandaging, it also hid the fact that Ace was thin. Really, really thin. A thought occurred to Selma and she drew away from Ace's torso.

Reaching down, Selma rolled up the bottom of Ace's pants. Not only was his torso bandaged, the injuries apparently continued on his legs. Selma ran a hand over the tight bandaging on his calves. Whoever had been working on Ace had used a different kind of bandage on his legs. This was stiffer, thicker fabric and it had been applied in several layers. Why would they do that? Did they run out of supplies…? Selma shook her head. No time for that now. If Ace is as seriously bandaged as all this, there have to be injuries behind it. Selma squared her shoulders and reached again for her scalpel. Wielding the small knife expertly, she began gently cutting away the bandaging on Ace's torso, taking her time so as not to cut the boy. Glancing at all the bandaging she would have to go through, Selma paused for a moment. This…this is going to take a while.

Marco paced. Selma had been in there a long time. After Serpent had finished chewing Thatch out, the three of them had fallen to waiting in silence for their doctor to finish working on Ace. Why is this taking so long? She was just giving him a physical exam, right? Marco paced some more, trepidation growing inside of him. Thatch was leaning against a nearby wall, head bowed, equally deep in thought. His face, too, reflected deep concern. Every now and then he would raise his right hand and stare at it with furrowed brows. Marco paced some more, unable to relax enough to stop. He ran a hand through his hair and took a deep breath.

Marco stared at the floorboards as he paced. The grain of the wood had a near hypnotic effect, and as he walked the small lines in the wood ran together and appeared like tiny dark rivers flowing through the boards. Marco wasn't paying attention to the interesting illusion just now though. Why the hell is this taking so long? The longer Marco had to wait, the more his concern grew. This wouldn't be taking so long if something wasn't wrong. Marco walked back and forth a few more times. He bit his lip, forcing himself to stop. He ran a hand through his hair, then looked at the door. It didn't move, and there wasn't any sound from inside. Marco looked down at his hands, then ran one of them through his hair. Damn all waiting forever. Marco began pacing again, clenching and unclenching his hands.

Marco stopped pacing again. His pacing had become more frenzied as time passed, and by now he was near certain there was a depression in the floor where he had been walking. He ran a hand over his face and looked at the door for a moment. He looked away and walked back and forth one more time. He looked back to the door and then raised a hand, as if to run it over his face again. He caught himself doing it and scowled at the offending limb. He glared at the door.

"Oh fuck this." Marco finally just gave up and began storming towards the door. The other two stared at him in surprise as he marched over to the door. When he was about halfway there, the door opened. Marco stopped in his tracks. Selma came walking out slowly. She shut the door behind her and turned to face them. Marco's frustration completely evaporated upon seeing the look on her face. Selma, being the doctor for a crew of pirates, had seen many grisly things in her time. She had seen limbs blown off by cannon fire, she'd seen patients half-disemboweled, she'd seen burns, cuts, bullet wounds, breaks, torn flesh and muscle. Twice she'd had to amputate something off one of her nakama with no anesthesia whatsoever.

Never once had Marco seen her like this.

She was pale. Very pale. One of her hands was raised to her mouth. Wide, shell-shocked eyes stared out of the almost white face. There were tears in her eyes, but they didn't fall. She looked between the three of them, eyes full of sadness and horror, searching for answers. Her voice was unsteady with shock.

"What happened to him?" Marco blinked and swallowed.

"What's wrong with him?" Selma looked at him She paused for a moment, searching for words.

"…Everything. Everything you can possibly imagine." Marco blinked in confusion.

"What does that mean?" Selma ran a hand through her hair.

"It means I fucking get why Ace has PTSD now." She looked between the three again with something akin to pity. "Based on the injuries, and I've only seen the front of him so far, mind you, Ace has been…" Selma swallowed, closing her eyes and looking a little sick. She took a deep, steadying breath.

"Ace was severely tortured for over a month."

(A/N: This chapter sucked. Damn it. DAMN IT. I'm really sorry…I know this chapter sucks epicly, but I needed to upload it so there wasn't time for fixing it. Basically, I'm taking a two-week animation class at DU starting tomorrow and I'm not sure if I'll have time to write. I didn't want to leave you guys hanging, so I thought I should get something out there but…I'm not sure if this is even worth posting. Anyways, no promises on when the next chapter will be out, but it will assuredly be better than this chapter. That I do promise. I'm not sure if I'm even allowed to ask for reviews after how much this chapter sucks… ~Mountain97

…Damn it. Not only was this chapter really short, it sucks ass too. Damn it.