SeerKing: Thanks. And so am I, I just can't wait to write some of the stuff I have planned for later.
F-ckthesystem125: As I said before, I write when I feel I can put out my best, so when the inspiration strikes, I go at it. That's exactly why my updates can be few and far between, or can be literally only days apart, each with good substance, or so I believe at least. It all depends on what's going on around me, and my current mindset.
Here's the longest one so far, and, in my opinion, the best so far. Please, tell me what you think. Now, please read, enjoy and review.
It had been just over six months, three, maybe four days over to be exact. Nevertheless, Nami and Zoro were deeply concerned, no to be exact they were out of their little minds with worry, not that the latter would admit it to anyone but his Master. They had been promised the return of the one that meant so much to them, the one who had become a permanent part of their lives, the one who had brought their little group together, the one that made it bearable to be around each other, one Monkey D. Luffy. And that promise had yet to be fulfilled.
Bellemere was going to give Garp hell about this, everyone who knew about the situation knew this, he was even coming to the island today, so they knew she'd get her chance, but that didn't ease the worried minds of Nami and Zoro even the slightest bit. They wanted their best friend home, hell they needed him home, however they knew it wasn't as simple as that, just because they wanted and or needed something, doesn't mean it will be given to them. And that was exactly why they were in the forest of Mount Corvo, trying to find Luffy, Ace and Sabo. They had been told by Bellemere that they would be staying in some kind of hut on Mount Corvo, so all they had to do was find it.
Of course, no one knew they were out here, as when they had mentioned their idea of trying to find the three boys themselves, they were either told to be patient, Zoro's master Koshiro, that they were idiots, Kuina, that they needed to stop being so brash and foolhardy, Woop Slap, to please not do anything that's going to get them hurt, Makino, that they had no idea where they were and would just get lost, Nojiko, and finally, to please let her handle this, she'd get them back, Bellemere.
Obviously they hadn't listened, as they were both marching through said forest at that moment in time. Though it was true they honestly didn't know where to go, not that it mattered to them, they were determined to find Luffy, Ace and Sabo, Luffy most of all. As he was their future captain, but he was so much more than that, so much so that the children couldn't hope to put it into words.
On a different note, neither one of them had come with more than the clothes on their backs, except for Zoro's practice swords, his bokken, he had brought them along, but that was it. It didn't matter though, as they didn't need anything else, as while Nami didn't know where to find the three boys they were looking for, she knew they were in a hut in this forest, and she had a great sense of direction, so they'd be fine. Just as long as she made sure Zoro continued to follow her that is, as it wouldn't do anyone any good if he got lost.
There were, of course, dangers in this forest, such as larger than average animals, some ridiculously so, but that's what Zoro was here for. As all of the boys had shown they could handle most of these animals by themselves, except for one in particular they had to watch out for, a gigantic tiger that they had dubbed the Great Tiger or Tiger Lord, depending on which one of the boys you asked about it. It had found them one day, after the boys and Kuina had finished a very heated training match, and had proceeded to try and eat them, luckily they had proved to be too much trouble, as despite how tired out the five fighters of their group were, they had managed to land several blows on said huge beast and push it back, until it decided to abandon it's prey and retreat. So all they had to do was avoid that one animal, and they would be fine.
Ace and Sabo glanced to one and other, the worry evident on their faces, as they watched Luffy sitting just out in front of Dadan's hideout, staring out into the forest, as if he was looking at something besides all those trees, though both boys knew he was staring out into space, as almost nothing could get his attention when he was like this. What was most unnerving was the sad look he had on his face whenever he was like this.
This wasn't the first time they had caught their little brother like this, as it happened two or three times a month, sometimes more. The two boys had tried on several occasions to get him to talk about it, but in response he would only say 'It's nothing', before getting to his feet and wandering back inside, making sure to give them a smile as he did, though one much smaller than they were used to seeing. It more than worried them, as they didn't understand what was causing him to act like this. They would have pushed him on the subject, but after every incident he was back to normal in a few hours, so they let it go. Not today though, they were going to get it out of him, no matter what they had to do to do so.
So they approached him slowly, coming to a stop right beside him, Ace on his left and Sabo on his right, and taking a seat. They both stared out into the forest with him for several long moments, before Sabo finally said, "Please Luffy, tell us what's wrong."
The young straw hat wearing boy didn't respond at first, so both older boys looked at him from the corner of their eyes, where they saw tears were beginning to well up, and soon began to fall. As they did, he finally told them what they wanted to know, "I miss Nami and Zoro. I miss Fusha, the villagers, Woop Slap, Makino and Bellemere too. But I can handle them being gone, Nami and Zoro though...they're special. They're just as important to me as you guys are...and I miss them so much, so much that it hurts."
The young raven haired boy pulled his knees to his chest, before hanging his head, the tears coming faster now, though not fast enough for him to begin sobbing. The two older brothers finally understood what was wrong, and honestly they weren't too surprised by it. Those three had been together since Luffy was five, and overall had spent more time together than either of them had with their little brother, which had guilt building within the gut of the oldest of said siblings. As Sabo had spent almost every day he's known Luffy with the young boy, while Ace had known him for three years and had spent less time with him than the orange haired girl and green haired boy had with only knowing him for two thirds of that time.
The two older boys didn't get any further time to reflect on this, as the straw hat boy raised his head and proceeded to ask, "Can we go back? I need Nami and Zoro around, so can we please go back to Fusha?"
Both boys let warm smiles cross their faces, as they spoke in unison, "Of course we can."
The three brothers were currently trekking through the forest, doing their best to try and make their way to Fusha, though they weren't too sure how to get there. Sabo was guiding them, but he couldn't recall the entire trip they had made with Garp, so they were basically winging it.
Despite the fact that they were leaving their home of the last six months, the three had packed considerably light, as besides the clothes on their backs, Sabo wearing his signature fancy get up, Luffy wearing his signature straw hat, a dark blue sleeveless shirt, black shorts and his sandals, and Ace wearing a dark red sleeveless shirt, black shorts and black sneakers, all they had was a foot long pipe each, and the small handheld telescope Sabo had found for Luffy, which said youngest boy was carrying in his pocket. They had also forgot to mention to the bandits of said home that they were leaving for good, not that any of the three thought of that as something important to do.
Sabo led the way, as he had better navigation skills than Ace and Luffy, the latter of whom had absolutely none, while Ace followed behind, and Luffy took up the rear, so as to make sure he wouldn't get lost as he could see both his brothers this way. They continued to go through the forest this way, taking care of any animals that crossed their path and didn't know better than to attack the trio. Even still, they assumed they were making great time, as they had left around three or four PM, though none of them were a hundred percent sure about that.
Nevertheless, they all had a rather cheery disposition, as everything was great, none of the three were outcasts any longer, they had each other, and Luffy in particular had Zoro and Nami as well, and all three of them had friends in Nojiko and Kuina, though not nearly as much so as each other, and said youngest with the green haired boy and orange haired girl. They were also about to begin living in Fusha, which of course would be a first for the two older boys, as they had lived on their own away from said peaceful village. And on top of everything else, Garp wasn't around to beat them senseless, so yes, today was a great day indeed.
As the three brothers stumbled across the same little clearing that Sabo had first met Luffy in, not to mention three of his friends, they knew they were getting close, so all of them broke out into large smiles. "Almost there, just a bit further."
That's when the sound of bickering caught their attention.
"This is taking too long, only if I had a real sword on me, I could cut these damn trees down and we'd be able to find them so much faster." The first voice growled.
"Well, we'd be making better time if you hadn't gotten lost and forced me to stop and find your stupid ass!" The second voice screeched.
"What!? You're the one who got lost!" The first voice argued.
"Are you kidding me!? You always get lost! Always! You've gotten lost at least once everyday since I've known you!" The second voice pointed out.
"Oh that is such-"
The two who were arguing with each other stopped as soon as they entered the small clearing, their eyes going wide as they saw who was waiting for them in it.
The two took in the appearances of the three, the youngest of them in particular, just as they did to them.
Zoro still wore his blue training GI, and really didn't look much different, besides being an inch or two taller that is.
Nami on the other hand, while actually wearing the dress she had met the two boys in, which she hadn't in awhile, looked different. Her face had lost a little bit of baby fat, she was two or three inches taller, though that only made her as tall as Luffy, who had grown a few inches as well, but was still the shortest of the boys, though barely at this point, and her hair was also a little longer, just enough to put into a small ponytail in fact, though she wasn't wearing one.
The shock of seeing each other wore off in only a few moments, as Luffy called both his friends names as he rushed towards them, dropping his pipe as he did, Nami rushing to him in return, calling his name as well, before they met in the middle and embraced. As they did he talked to the two month younger girl about several things, before grabbing a hold of Zoro with his right arm, having to stretch it a few feet so as to get ahold of him, and pulling him in for a three way hug. He then proceeded to go on and on about his six months away, how much he missed them, how Ace, Sabo and him were brothers now and more, pausing for a moment to retrieve the handheld telescope out of his pocket and show it to them, and tell them about how Sabo found it for him one day when he'd mention wanting one, tears in his eyes as he went on and on about anything and everything.
He then urged them to tell him what had happened with them in the past six months, which they did, telling him how they had been worried about him, Zoro barely able to do so, as a blush had made it's way onto his face at Luffy's reaction to him caring that much, how they had just celebrated Nami's seventh birthday a day or two ago, to which Luffy apologized profusely for missing it, and how they had both been excelling in what they did best, Zoro in his swordsmanship, and Nami in her cartography.
As the three did this, Ace and Sabo watched from a few feet away, big smiles on both of their faces at seeing their little brother so happy.
"You really shouldn't be making so much racket, it just lets every predator in the vicinity privy to your location, though it's too late for such advice."
The smiles on Ace's and Sabo's faces fell at the sound of that voice, both boys turning to face the owner of said voice, and as they took in the appearance of him, their fears of who it was were confirmed.
Said man was a rather tall man with dark skin, long and unkempt brown hair, part of which was rolled tightly into dreads, and half of his molars missing in an alternating pattern. He wore a white shirt, which was opened from the top to almost the bottom, revealing most of his abdomen, though it wasn't a shirt with buttons, which made it strange. As well as black pants that were kept up by suspender straps which he had around his shoulders, and a traditional captain's coat, though it was blue in color.
Both boys then yelled in panic, and in unison, "Bluejam!"
That of course got the other three kids's attention, all of them turning to see Bluejam, and a little over a dozen members of his crew standing just behind him.
He smirked as he said, "I never would have guessed that one of the three infamous troublemakers was a noble."
Sabo paled at those words, "How the hell do you know that!?"
Ace then spoke a few words of his own, "More importantly, what the hell do you want!?" Though the raven haired ten year old already had a sinking feeling that he knew.
The dark skinned man's grin widened at those words, but he ignored them nevertheless, "Get him, but make sure not to hurt him."
Two of the pirates stepped forward to fight the two ten year olds, as both were clutching their pipes tightly and didn't look like they were going to back down. Before they could begin their battle however, their attention was pulled to the other two boys in the area.
Seeing what was about to go down, Luffy glanced at Zoro, the green haired boy nodding upon making eye contact with his future captain to be, before the black haired one of them grabbed his pipe, and the two took off, dashing towards the pirates, letting out battle cries as they did so. The two pirates didn't expect too much from these boys, so they were greatly surprised when with only a single swing each, both rammed a weapon of theirs into two of their crewmen's guts, Luffy his pipe, and Zoro one of his bokken, and brought them to their knees.
They didn't stop there either, as both of them slammed their weapons into the two men's faces, breaking their noses upon impact and knocking them onto their back, onto the ground, unconscious. And with back up, Ace and Sabo grew more brazen than they would have been, as they began to attack the pirates with their two comrades.
The battle between the four boys and the group of pirates lasted for almost a whole minute, before Bluejam broke it up himself, doing so by firing the rifle he was carrying, the bullet hitting the ground right in front of the boys, missing them by just an inch. All of them looked at the bullet hole in the ground, before looking up at Bluejam, all of them wearing angry and anxious expressions, while he just continued to smirk in return, "Alright kids, just stay where you are, and that goes for you too little missy." He glanced to the young orange haired girl as he said that last part.
Ace then proceeded to boldly claim, "We're not scared of that stupid gun!"
The other three agreed with him as well.
Sabo, "Not scared at all!"
Zoro, "Damn right!"
Luffy, "Yeah!"
And yet, the damned grin of his remained as he said, "Hmmm, true enough. However, she on the other hand, doesn't look so sure."
All three boys glanced back at Nami then, to see her with a look of fear and worry on her face, though most of it for them rather than herself, mostly for Luffy, though there was some reserved for herself as well.
Bluejam proceed to chuckle then, "Besides, it's obvious that, despite you not having any fear of this weapon I carry, that you're smart enough not to move against me so long as I have it trained on one of you. Since that's the case, you'd best give up now, because if one of you so much as even twitch, I'll blow the girl away, and then you two will go right along with her on her trip to the afterlife, if there even is one."
All five children couldn't help but wonder as to why he wasn't threatening Sabo as well, but were too consumed with worry, anger and or fear to think about it further.
The four boys gritted their teeth in anger, their eyes also showing how much they hated what they were about to have to do, but nevertheless begrudgingly dropped their weapons, three pipes and two bokken. "Very good, now men, restrain them."
Besides the ten men the four boys had incapacitated, and Bluejam himself, there were only four men left, just enough to restrain the children, besides Sabo of course, so they quickly did so. Two of them locking Zoro and Ace into full nelsons and lifting them off the ground, so as to make it even harder for them to struggle, one holding Nami in an almost hug like position from behind, lifting her up as well so as to make it harder for her to struggle, and the last one knocking Luffy down onto his face, and then pinning him to the ground.
Of course all of them struggled at first, but a simple wave of the rifle Bluejam was holding got the four children to begrudgingly bite their tongues, for the moment at least.
Sabo glanced at each of his friends, before turning back to face Bluejam once more, and as he did his eyes widened, a look of shock replacing the one of anger on his face, as several uniformed soldiers came out of the woods and into the small clearing. Said soldiers were all wearing gas masks and toting rifles, as they escorted someone who was dressed much differently than them to the pirates.
This person was of average height, had skin darker than most in the area, but lighter than Bluejam, making him of the Caucasian persuasion, long black hair and a somewhat thin black mustache. He wears a blue suit with a flower on each lapel, with the one on his left having feathers attached to it. On top of that he wears a white ascot, and a dark blue top hat with feathers, a flower and a chain like band.
"Looks like we came at just the right time." The fancily dressed man said as he looked over the scene dispassionately.
"Father..." Sabo whispered in dismay.
"Master, he doesn't have a single scratch on him." Bluejam informed.
Giving a snort, the man then said, "Yes, but the same can't be said for your men. I mean honestly, a couple of children were able to take down almost a dozen grown men, pirates on top of that? Pathetic." Bluejam failed to comment, or even react to his words.
He then turned to the soldiers in his company and nodded his head, "Prepare my son to be taken back to High Town."
As two of the men grabbed ahold of the young blonde, Luffy and Ace called out in unison, "Sabo!"
That drew the attention of the noble, "I see, it must be because of these two." He said as he looked between Luffy and Ace with disdain, "They led Sabo down a path of evil."
The man then seemed to finally take notice of Zoro and Nami, only now realizing that they were there, "I suppose you two helped them do so."
As the soldiers prepared to take Sabo away, Luffy called out, "You can't take Sabo away, give him back!"
"What do you mean give him back?" Sabo's Father asked in irritation, as his eyes returned to Luffy. "Sabo is my child! It is the responsibility of every child to live according to the will of their parents who gave them life!" He then stuck out his index finger towards the young straw hat boy, "You have some nerve, lying to Sabo and convincing him to run away from home! You're just a measly bunch of beggars, you've no right!"
The fancily dressed man took a moment to calm himself after that, before asking, "Are you attempting to steal my fortune?"
"What was that, you bastard!?" Ace growled angrily.
The pirate holding Ace responded to the outburst by letting him out of the full nelson, and proceeding to drive his face all the way down from where he was into the ground, causing blood to splatter from the impact and hit the noble's cheek.
Said man winced in revulsion. "Hey now, pirate, be careful how you handle these children!" He then pulled out a white cloth from his pocket, before using it to wipe the blood on his face away. "You got some of this inferior filth's blood on my face!"
Luffy and Zoro both audibly growled at that proclamation, their anger ever rising.
"Please stop, they didn't deceive me!" Sabo yelled, his desperation clear in his voice, as he continued to struggle with the soldiers who had ahold of him. "It was my choice, and my choice alone to leave home!"
His Father proceeded to glare at him, "Just be quiet!"
Turning back to look at Bluejam once more, the noble man then asked, "I trust you pirates will be able to take care of the others?"
"Of course, Master." Bluejam assured. "We've already received payment after all. Rest assured, I will personally finish these four off, so that they can never bother your child again."
This once more elicited growls of anger from Luffy and Zoro, as well as Ace, who's face wasn't in the ground anymore, showing his head had been busted open, as blood was running down his forehead.
Sabo finally managed to breakaway from the soldiers, running up to his Father and Bluejam after doing so, "Wait Bluejam, don't!" He cried, before turning to look towards his Father. "Father, it's alright, I understand!"
"What is it that you understand?" The noble questioned, looking skeptical.
The young top hat wearing boy was near tears as the words began to form in his mouth. And as they did, Ace recognized the look on his friend's face, and proceeded to call out to him, his eyes widening in horror as he did so, "No! Don't do it Sabo!"
The blonde ten year old couldn't bare to look back at his brothers as this all happened. "I'll do whatever you ask." His voice was broken as he finally managed to force the words out. "I'll live just as you tell me to, so...don't hurt these four. That's all I ask. Please...they are my precious and irreplaceable brothers...and those other two, they're very important to my youngest brother, so they need to remain unharmed just as much."
Luffy couldn't help but gasp at his brother's words.
"Sabo..." Ace whispered as he fought back his tears.
"In that case, come back home now!" The nobleman ordered. "Stop with this ridiculous pirate game, right now!"
Sabo said nothing, merely nodded his head before turning to leave with the soldiers and the man who had just ordered this of him.
"Sabo, don't go!" Ace screamed desperately.
"Be quiet!" The pirate who held against the ground said, ramming his face into it once more.
The ten year old just raised his head once more, before continuing to scream at his brother. "Sabo, just run! We'll all be fine! We were going to achieve our freedom together weren't we!? You can't just throw yours away!"
"Sabo, please don't go!" Luffy begged, tears welling up and were soon to begin falling.
"Are you just going to let it end like this!?" Ace cried.
However he still received no answer from Sabo. "Sabo!" Ace yelled again.
Sabo began to sob, his tears now falling, but still refused to face or answer his brothers. His Father then took the lead, and they all disappeared into the forest.
"Sabo!" The two remaining brothers cried out in despair.
Zoro's eyes were closed tight, doing his best to kee his tears from falling, and his teeth were gritted extremely hard.
Nami was openly sobbing, tears falling from her eyes, just as they were from Luffy's and Ace's. With all of the reasons she was crying, the biggest one was the pain she felt for Luffy.
"Captain, what do we do with these kids?" The pirate holding Luffy down asked.
"Bring them back to the base."
Luffy, Zoro and Ace were all tied up inside a beat up shack once more, though this time they only had ropes wrapped around them and they weren't tied to anything, and this time Nami was tied up as well. They were up against the wall farthest from the exit of the somewhat rickety wooden construct, which was just a bit bigger then the one Porchemy had used to torture the straw hat boy in. This place, unlike the last one, was not located inside Edge Town, rather it was on the edge of the Gray Terminal, and even lacked a floor, which was why the four children were sitting on the dirt at that moment.
The pirates who had been incapacitated had been dragged here, and were in somewhat of a pile in the corner closest to the exit, though they were all still breathing.
The four who were still conscious, besides Bluejam that is, were spread about the shack, two of them leaning against opposite walls, one polishing his cutlass, and the other sitting with his back to the exit to the shack, looking a little drowsy, and very annoyed. Not to mention the two men who stood outside, who had been waiting for them when they got here.
Finally, Bluejam was leaning back in a large wooden chair, a thoughtful expression on his face, as if he was contemplating something.
"You bastard, untie us!" Luffy cried.
"Why did you bring us here!?" Ace demanded.
"We'll make you regret this!" Zoro proclaimed.
"Those nobles have it made, huh?" Bluejam asked, rather than acknowledging any of the three boys's words. "You kids think so too, right?"
None of the children replied to those words, merely leveling glares at the pirate captain, even Nami who, while still scared, was becoming angrier by the second by this man's words and attitude.
"They look down on all of us, thinking us as nothing more than trash, and treating us as such, while they live their proud, carefree lives. Wouldn't you say he's better off living as a noble, where all he has to do is point a finger, and something's his?" Bluejam asked, not stating who he was speaking of, but it being obvious to everyone in the room who he was talking about.
"What the hell are you talking about!?" Ace yelled.
"Isn't it obvious, he's no idea what he's talking about!" Zoro growled.
"No way, pirates are so much better than stuck up rich people! Sabo says so too!" Luffy added.
"Money can't buy happiness, you moron!" Nami exclaimed.
Bluejam grabbed ahold of the glass bottle on the desk beside his chair, before putting it to his lips and taking a large swig of the liquor from it. He put it back down only a moment later, speaking once again as he did so, sighing before doing so though. "I feel sorry for you kids." He then glanced to the man polishing his sword and said, "Untie them."
The pirate did just as his captain said, stepping over to the children and cutting them free, not bothering to retrieve the rope after it fell to the ground. And as he went back to doing what he had been doing at the other end of the shack, the kids got to their feet, but kept their backs to the wall.
"Why do you think a child of a noble would abandon a place of luxury like High Town for a rat hole like Gray Terminal?" Bluejam asked, though it was obvious he wasn't expecting an answer from the four, as he quickly provided his own. "All nobles are the same, whether they be children or adults. There isn't a single doubt in my mind that that boy thought of us all as fools. I guarantee you that in his heart, he was looking down on you all as well."
"Don't be ridiculous! Sabo isn't that kind of guy!" Ace shouted.
"That's right, we're brothers, he doesn't look down on us!" Luffy yelled.
The pirate captained seemed amused by those words. "Is that so? Then please, forgive me. But I can't allow you guys near that kid again, and that goes for you two as well. And if you're planning on trying to make contact with him despite what I've said, then I've got no choice but to kill you four right here, right now. If he's really your brother, and you really care for him, then it'd be better for not only him, but you two and those two as well, if you just left him alone." Bluejam looked between Luffy and Ace, as well as Zoro and Nami as he said all this.
Ace's eyes widened at that, speechless for a moment.
Luffy was a different story, "But Sabo hates High Town!"
Zoro kept himself quiet, gritting his teeth to do so.
Nami wasn't quite sure what to say.
"Just forget all about it." Bluejam said dismissively. "That's what kindness is. You'll understand that when you've grown up." He paused for a moment then, before continuing, most likely stopping to consider his next words. "We've had our differences in the past, what with the Porchemy incident, how'd you get your hands on a gun, and which one of you actually pulled the trigger anyway?" After several seconds with no answer, he shrugged it off, before continuing. "But what's happened is in the past, so we'll let it be. Or rather, I like strong guys like you. And I guess the same goes for you Missy. So, I've got a suggestion for you. It's not a half bad deal either."
None of the kids responded, eyeing the pirate captain with much suspicion as he began to speak once more. "I'm short on men, mostly because of you kids, so I could use your help with a job. You up for it?" The man asked bluntly.
This took the four by surprise, as they hadn't expected to be untied, let alone offered a job.
"Oh, don't worry, it's a simple job. There's nothing dangerous about it, I assure you." A smirk crossed his face at that point. "I got a map of Gray terminal right here, and all you've got to do is carry some goods to all the spots marked with an x. That's it. So I ask again, are you up for it?"
"We'll never help you, not after what you helped do to Sabo!" Luffy cried.
A defiant look in the other three children's eyes told the pirates that they were in agreement with Luffy on this.
Bluejam chuckled at that, before taking up his rifle, which he had laid on the desk beside him, and aiming it at the four kids, as he spoke once more, "Now see, what we have here, is a failure to communicate. Sometime while I was speaking, you seemed to get the notion that you have a choice in the matter. Allow me to spell it out for you, either you four do this job I need done, or I'll kill you where you stand."
The boys growled at the pirate, while Nami's glare hardened to the level of the boys's.
It was several hours past sunset when the children finally finished the job they were forced into doing, well technically anyway. They were almost finished, they only had three crates left to deliver, and all to the same spot. Before they could look at the map and see where they needed to take it however, Bluejam, who had been watching them like a hawk from a distance, so as to ensure they didn't run for it, came up from behind them and snatched the map from Nami, who had been carrying it. As he did, the kids's attention was immediately on him, and with their eyes on him he gave a large, almost taunting smile, as he said, "Follow me, I'll show you kids to your last delivery, and then you'll be free to go." He didn't wait for them to respond, before turning to lead the way and walking off.
The children were all wary, but followed along nevertheless, as they really had no choice in the matter. Despite the fact that they were all carrying crates, the three boys made sure to keep one eye on the pirate captain at all times, just as Nami kept both eyes on the dark skinned man.
They walked for several long minutes, before reaching the edge of Gray Terminal, though the opposite edge of where the pirate's base was. And right there was a large pirate ship, with a red skull as it's figurehead, all four children, upon seeing it, assumed it was Bluejam's ship. They were proven partially correct as they all boarded, as he said, "This used to be my ship, but it fell into disrepair after awhile of being here. We used to keep it near the shoreline, but it's nothing but useless junk at this point, so we went ahead and dumped it here. I'm actually surprised the Gray Terminal vagrants, as there's never enough building materials to be found to go around, so there are bound to be some, haven't moved in here. Though I suppose it's only a matter of time."
Bluejam then stopped, just as they entered the kitchen area of the ship. "Here." He said while pointing at the dining table, where Ace proceeded to place his crate.
Without warning the pirate captain turned and began walking once more, the four quickly following after him, though not too closely. They continued to the captain's quarters, where Zoro placed his crate down on the bed. From there they went to the crew quarters, which was much bigger than the captain's, as it held around twenty or so beds, and had Luffy place his crate, the final crate, in the middle of the room.
After that was done, the pirate turned to the four children, and let his smile widen as he said, "We're all done, so you're free to go."
The four only hesitated for a moment, as they were expecting some sort of attack or treachery of any kind for that matter, but when none came, they turned and hurriedly made their way for the exit of the crew quarters. Once they got there, the door swung open before they could touch it, and there standing in the doorway were the six of the sixteen men Bluejam had left behind at the shack, they were covered in blood, as were their swords, and they had very malicious, cruel smirks on their faces.
All the children's eyes widened upon the sight of them, and before any of them could speak, Bluejam explained why his crewmen were covered in blood. "Perhaps you're wondering why my men are covered blood, perhaps you're not, either way I'll tell you. See, I don't allow weakness in my crew, so for losing to you, those men we dragged back to the base got the only thing they deserved, death. So honestly, you did my a favor when you killed Porchemy."
Nami had to fight back a scream as she was told this, while the boys had to stifle their gasps. "And as I'm sure you've already guessed, they're here, because we have no intention of letting you go."
At those words, the four children quickly made a break for it, whirling around and dashing away from the six pirates, and intending on passing by Bluejam, and getting to the porthole at the end of the room. However nothing ever goes as planned, and the children were soon tackled to the ground, their fear of the situation making them run rather than fight, they quickly realized, was probably the biggest mistake they had made.
Within only moments, they were all tied up once more. Ace and Luffy sitting against the wall farthest from the exit of the room, the porthole just a few feet above them. Nami sat against the wall to the left of the two brothers, but within about a eight foot distance, and Zoro sat against the wall to the right, with roughly the same amount of distance between him and the brothers. Though the distance between Nami and Zoro was roughly ten feet, rather than eight.
The six pirates now stood behind their captain, sharing his same smirk amongst themselves, as they all stared at Luffy and Ace. "Well, now that you're all tied up again, and it's clear to you that none of you are leaving alive, I suppose I can tell you why we had you running this little errand for us." Bluejam said, his smirk somehow growing wider.
"Those crates you carried, were full of oil and explosives, we're going to use them to burn down the Gray Terminal."
"WHAT!? BURN DOWN THE GRAY TERMINAL!?" All four children shouted in unison.
"Shut the fuck up! We can't have you screaming!" Bluejam scolded. "We can't afford to let anyone else know about this!"
"This is serious! We gotta tell everyone!" Luffy exclaimed, looking between his brother and two best friends as he did so. "He's even worse of a bad guy than I thought he was!"
"I told you not to scream!" Bluejam yelled in irritation, his smirk falling away once more, as he kicked the young boy in the face.
However the effect wasn't the desired one, as his head shot back and slammed against the wall, cracking the wood, before shooting back to it's original position, showing his rubber qualities without actually stretching, as he was completely unharmed and didn't even look the slightest bit perturbed.
Despite that, the pirate captain only sighed, before speaking again. "I'm not the mastermind, I mean after all, what would burning this place down and all the people in it gain me? No, the death of hundreds benefits my employers, not me. However, as they are my employers, and they gave this task to me, it benefits me to carry it out, just as I have used you four to do."
"No..." Luffy whispered, going extremely pale as he did so.
"Are you out of your fucking mind!?" Ace cried in rage and disbelief.
"You damned bastard!" Zoro yelled, his anger also flaring.
"You monster!" Nami screamed, tears in her eyes once again.
Bluejam merely laughed at them, seemingly forgetting about his imposed no screaming rule, as he began to speak once more, "Even punk kids like you four are freaking out? Guess that means you're more mature than I gave you credit for, no matter though. Now then, I want to ask you something before the fire, do you have a treasure hidden anywhere here?"
Ace had already told his brother and friends that he had picked up the case of berris back when the Porchemy incident occurred, just before they left the shack he had put them in, so they knew which treasure the dark skinned man was referring to.
The oldest of the bunch merely growled at the man.
Bluejam's smile returned, as he already knew the answer. "Care to tell me where?"
Ace didn't so much as say a word, only leveled a cold, hard glare at the man, the very same one he had leveled at Luffy the day he met him.
Bluejam merely shrugged, as if he didn't care. "Fine, don't tell me." He then turned back to his men. "Let's go men, we'll leave them to burn with the rest of the garbage."
The Bluejam pirates then proceeded to exit the crew quarters, leaving the four children for dead.
As soon as the pirates footsteps faded, the children began to struggle with their bindings, doing whatever they could to try and break them. Their legs were bound together tightly, just as their arms were bound behind their back, the rope wrapped tightly around their wrists. Despite their spirited attempts, it didn't seem like any of them were getting loose anytime soon.
Luffy groaned and grunted in exertion and annoyance as he continuously tried to break the ropes, however after several attempts, he couldn't help but give a heavy and very annoyed sigh as he said, "These damn things won't come off! What are we gonna do!? We need to get out of here!"
"Way to state the obvious, genius! No shit we need to get outta here, that's exactly why we're trying to find a way to break these ropes!" Ace bit back in response to his little brother's words, it being obvious that the severity of the situation was getting to him as well as he did.
That's when they all heard the sound of a giant explosion going off outside, followed by a bunch of smaller ones, and as they did all their eyes widened, as they realized exactly what was about to happen next. As they did, the sound of the first crate exploding on the ship could be heard, and then the second, and finally, the one placed in the middle of the room exploded into flames as well, causing a large portion of it to catch fire immediately. As this happened, all four children couldn't help but give a cry of surprise.
The fire quickly began to spread, reaching to the exit to the room, as well as the four kids on the other end. As it did, the children began to struggle once more, doing everything they could possibly think of to try and break the ropes that bound them. As they continued to struggle fruitlessly, tears began to fall from Luffy's eyes, as he had somewhat of a panic attack. "We can't get these damn ropes off us! We're trapped! We're going to die! We are going to die!" He continued to cry these words over and over again, and as he did, both Ace and Zoro realized he wasn't doing this out of fear, rather he was panic stricken.
"I'll leave you behind if you don't shut the fuck up!" Ace screamed harshly at his brother.
However, that didn't stop Luffy from continuing to panic. He continued to do so for several more seconds, before Zoro caught his attention. "Luffy!"
The young straw hat boy's eyes went to the green haired boy, and when they made eye contact, he glanced to Nami, which Luffy did as well, and what he saw filled him with guilt. Nami was sobbing, looking like she had given up hope, and looked generally terrified, and what he was doing was only making it worse. Seeing this caused the young raven haired boy's eyes to go almost bone dry, as he forced the look of sheer panic off of his face. "No, we're not. We are not gonna die. We're gonna make it out of this!"
Nami's eyes shot to her best friend at his words, and as they made eye contact, he nodded his head, and she felt hope return. She gave a weak smile, before saying in return, "Right."
"Good, you're over your panic attack, now can we please frickin focus on how we're gonna get outta here!?" Ace shouted.
That's when his eyes caught sight of the porthole above them once more, and as they did, he said, "Never mind, I think I just found it."
"Luffy, stay still." With that said, Ace began to try and roll sideways up and onto his younger brother's shoulders, which would put him upside down. It took several tries, he even fell off and hit his head once, but eventually he managed to pull it off, and once he had, he kicked out with his bound legs, slamming his feet hard into the glass of the porthole, shattering it. Most of it fell outside, and the sudden extra oxygen caused the fire to begin spreading faster, but Ace was able to grab ahold of a shard of it and roll back off, landing on his knees with a grunt.
"Way to go Ace!" Luffy complimented.
"Good, now get your ropes cut!" Zoro barked.
With that their hope began to grow, however their situation was growing more dire by the second, as the flames were now so close, they were licking Zoro's legs, and were just a few inches from being able to do so to Nami. They only had a few moments for fear to begin to take hold of them, as one of the steel bunk beds that were bolted to the wall, fell off and hit the ground right in front of Zoro, hiding the young boy with it's burning state, also making it look like he was a goner.
As this happened, Luffy's eyes widened a great deal, and his face went blank. Only for a moment though, as his face quickly twisted into an expression of fear, panic and desperation, just before he began crying out. "Zoro! Zoro! Zoro! Zoro! Zoro!" With each cry of his best friend's name, his voice grew more and more desperate, as well as horror stricken. "ZORO!"
Little did the straw hat boy know, that Zoro was still okay, though the flames were now much closer, and as he began crying out for him, his own eyes widened to the max. With each cry, Zoro felt his chest tighten, as despite everything he knew about Luffy, how well he knew him, and the fact that he knew he wouldn't cry out to someone in fear for his own well being, he couldn't help the fact that, in this situation, with the adrenaline pumping through him, his brain immediately jumped to the conclusion that that was what he was doing. That he was calling out to him for him to help him, to save him. It filled him with guilt and rage at the fact that he was bound by these damned ropes, and he began to struggle even harder, as he was now desperate as well, desperate to save his best friend.
Tears began to prick at the edges of Luffy's eyes, as he waited desperately for his best friend to call back, so as to give him proof that he was alive, that he was still okay. However things only went from bad to worse, as the very same thing happened near Nami, the bunk bed coming off the wall and landing in front of her, obscuring her from view, and making it look like she was as good as dead as well.
Seeing this happen, tears began to fall from the young raven haired boy's eyes once more, his eyes somehow managed to widen just a little further, and he cried out for her as well. "Nami! Nami! Nami!" Though he did it slightly faster, his breathing becoming erratic as he did, much more than a panic attack threatening to overcome him as this happened. "NAMI!"
Ace finally managed to free himself from his restraints at that point, standing up as he did so, before cutting his brother free as well, doing so for him somewhat quicker than he had for himself. He quickly had to grab ahold of him however, for as soon as he was free, he tried to scramble over to help his best friends, despite the fact that he'd be severely burned if he even came close to where they were. "Wait Luffy! You can't! They're already goners! You'll only get yourself killed!"
Luffy shook his head erratically, tears coming faster now, as he continued to struggle against his brother. "No! No! NO! NO THEY"RE NOT! Nami! Zoro! Answer me! Zoro! Nami! Nami! Zoro! Zoro! Nami! Nami! NAMI!"
Despite his struggling, Ace managed to force him back against the wall, looking back for a moment to see if there really was a way to help those two, but he just didn't see it. So, even if his brother hated himself for it, the ten year old prepared himself to force him through that broken porthole and push him outside. As he lifted him though, Luffy decked him in the face quite hard, almost breaking his nose and almost knocking him off his feet, he still persisted though, just as his little brother did. Nevertheless he now had him up there, so now all he had to do was force him through it.
That's when Luffy heard the sound of coughing, before a cry of, "Luffy! I'm here Luffy!"
"See!? That was Nami! That was her voice! She's okay! We have to save her!"
Ace hadn't heard anything though, only the sound of the fire blazing all around them. So prepared to shove his brother through the porthole, just before he did though Luffy snatched the shard of glass from him, cutting his older brother's hand slightly, before tossing it towards where Zoro had been. "Zoro, take this! Use it to free yourself and Nami!" He cried in desperation.
Finally, the ten year old black haired boy managed to shove his younger brother through the porthole, and out of the ship. After he did this, he looked back once more, doing a quick scan of the area for a moment, trying one last time to see Zoro or Nami, or some kind of proof they were alive, he found none. So he quickly followed after his little brother, pulling himself up to the porthole, and slipping through it, and out of the burning ship.
Luffy was already on his feet by the time Ace hit the ground, doing so with a loud grunt of pain, and his rage was evident, even if his tears were still falling. "How could you!? You just left them there to die!"
Ace got to his feet, before looking his brother in the eye and replying, "As far as I could tell, they were already dead! There was nothing to suggest otherwise! And more importantly, as of right now, what matters most is your li-I mean, our lives!"
Just as Luffy was going to rebuttal, Ace hit him as hard as he absolutely could in the gut, causing him to hunch over, which allowed the older dark haired boy to take him off his feet and throw him over his shoulder. He quickly took off, running to the front of the ship, before booking it as fast as he could away from it.
Soon enough though, Luffy began to struggle once more. And as the boat was almost out of their line of sight, the young straw hat boy refused to allow Ace to take him any further. So he brought his arm forward, before shooting it back, and slamming his elbow into the back of Ace's head, nearly causing him to fall as he did, which allowed him to break free and get his feet on the ground. He then proceeded to deck him in the face once more, actually knocking him to the ground this time.
Not wasting even a moment, the seven year old raced back to the blazing boat, leaving his brother back where he laid. He soon reached it, and throwing caution to the wind, he boarded the giant flaming piece of wood, and barged back into the crew quarters, the flames quickly becoming even more uncontrollable as he did. "Nami! Zoro! Where are you!?"
Not waiting for an answer, he began to make his way further in, wincing continuously as the flames licked his flesh, burning him over and over again. "It's hot! It's hot! So hot!"
However, as he focused on the pain he was feeling, he began to slow, and his vision began to blur. That's when he heard a cry of, "Luffy!? Is that you!? We're here Luffy!" Followed by an accompanying cry of, "Help us, LUFFY!"
They were alive! He knew it! So, he grit his teeth together as hard as he possibly could and forced himself to move faster, rushing through the flames without a care for his own safety, repeating these words to himself as he did, "It's not hot! It's not hot! It's not hot!"
Soon enough he reached the back of the room, and there waiting for him, where Nami had been tied up, was a soot covered Zoro and Nami, the latter of whom was in the middle of having her restraints cut by the former, as the flames licked them, even though they were as far back against the wall as they could be, though they weren't being burnt, at least not nearly as much as their straw hat best friend was. Upon seeing him, they both called out in unison, "Luffy!"
The young straw hat boy's face lit up like a Christmas tree at seeing those two alright, and quickly helped them finish cutting Nami's bindings, and helped them out of the boat and onto solid ground.
Once out in the not so fresh air, as it was filled with smoke, and the area was ablaze, so much so that even the sky appeared to be red, the three collapsed onto the ground, their breathing ragged.
Ace appeared in their line of vision only a moment later, nursing a bruise on his face, but was wearing a soft smile nevertheless, which grew a bit as Luffy said, "Look Ace, they're alive! Nami and Zoro are okay!"
But it quickly disappeared, as a scowl took it's place. "That's great Luffy, but we all need to get out of here, now. Otherwise we're all gonna die."
With that said, the three other children got to their feet, but before the four could begin to move, an all too familiar voice proceeded to call out, "Who said you could get away, you goddamned brats!?"
The four turned to see Bluejam and his six remaining crew members, walking through the flames like some kinds of monsters, or demons. There was something off about the look in their eyes, and they each had a sadistic expression on their face, their maniacal and insane grins only making them even more intimidating.
"Bluejam!" Luffy exclaimed in shock.
"Why are you still here after setting the fire!? You were supposed to have escaped by now!" Ace growled.
"You're the ones who started this mess, shouldn't you have been the first ones to get out!?" Nami asked incredulously
"Were you actually stupid enough to trap yourselves as well!?" Zoro questioned with an edge to his tone.
"Shut up, you little shits!" Bluejam shouted, losing his cool demeanor while doing so, but quickly recovering it as a maniacal grin crossed his face once more. "We're hopeless, you know. We have an unforeseen dilemma." He chuckled then, as if finding what he was about to say funny. "Humans sure are strange creatures, when they hit rock bottom, they just can't stop laughing." He then broke out into a fit of insane laughter.
His crew also quickly began to laugh along with him.
"They're acting really weird." Luffy pointed out.
Ace's face was quickly overcome by a look of shock and fear, as he realized just what kind of danger they were in. "Guys, we have to go, now!"
"Don't let them go!" Bluejam ordered.
Even as the four made a break for it, the six pirates surrounded them, Bluejam taking the seventh place in the little circle they formed around them, making it where they couldn't escape from them. "We worked together, we're friends." The dark skinned pirate said mockingly, "We have to die together."
"No way!" Nami cried.
"Like hell we are! Zoro yelled.
"Never!" Luffy screamed.
"We don't want to die with you!" Ace snapped.
"You're all so cold." Bluejam said as his grin somehow managed to grow wider. "Come to think of it, you still haven't told me where you keep your treasure. I have to save it for you, before the fire gets it. So, tell me where it is!" He demanded.
All four children couldn't help but stare at him in disbelief, as they all asked at the same time, their disbelief evident in their voices, "Your life's in danger, and all you care about is treasure?"
Bluejam laughed even harder then. "It seems you don't care for it anymore, if that's the case, then just tell me where it is already."
All of the children stepped back in slight fear of this man, as Ace said what they were all thinking, "You've gone mad."
"If you're not going to collect it, it would go to waste." The pirate captain said, almost seeming calm as he did. "If nothing is done, it'll be reduced to charcoal, just like my ship. What a shame."
They didn't have much choice at this point, so Ace said, "Alright, I'll tell you where it is."
Despite all the chaos from the fire, it only took Ace a minute or so to draw up a map, a very, very crude one, but a map nevertheless. "We keep our treasure from the last two years in this tree." Ace said as he finished drawing on the piece of paper Bluejam had happened to have with him, along with finishing with the pen he also had.
"I see." Bluejam said as he greedily snatched the makeshift map out of the ten year old's hands. "I'm so glad you're starting to be cooperative, however I'm afraid our little business venture isn't quite over yet, as you're coming with us!"
"What!?" Ace yelled.
"You could be lying, we've got to take you along, so as to make sure we really get our hands on that treasure."
"No way, then it'd be too late to escape! Why don't you go on your own!?" Ace growled.
Bluejam leveled his rifle to Ace's head as he said, "You really don't want to mess with me right now brat! I'm determined to make a comeback, even if it means stealing from a bunch of kids like you! I will have my revenge on those damn nobles for double crossing me and leaving me for dead, even if it's the last thing I do!"
All three boys looked to each other in that moment, before nodding their heads, all of them knowing what they were going to do next."That's got nothing to do with us, now get out of the way!" All three boys cried, Ace driving the pen into Bluejam's left leg as deep as he could, causing him to yelp in pain as it pierced his flesh, immediately clutching at it on instinct with his left hand, as if it would lessen the pain. As he did this, Luffy grabbed ahold of Nami's left hand with his right, and then all four of them forced their way past the now bleeding pirate captain, and made a break for it, Luffy pulling the young orange haired girl along with them.
However, they didn't even make it fifteen feet, before they were forced to stop in their tracks, as a pirate managed to cut them off. They quickly turned to the left, but two pirates were there, just as there were two to the right. So they quickly raced back the way they had come, towards Bluejam, seeing this, and since he had recovered, he barked an order at the man closest to him, and he followed it, tossing his sword to his captain. Seeing this they came to a stop once more, but before they could rush off this time, Bluejam thrust the sword he held forward, shooting it towards Nami, Luffy moving to intercept it without so much as a thought passing through his head. But just before it could come into contact with him, Zoro put himself in front of him, causing the blade to pierce the green haired boy's abdomen, causing him to cry out in severe pain, as blood began to stain his training GI and leak down his small body.
The other three watched as this happened with eyes wide with shock and disbelief, their mouths hanging open as they did. It took a second for what just happened to really sink in, and as it did..."ZORO!" Luffy cried out in anguish.
"Zoro...?" Nami whispered fearfully and uncertainly.
"He just...took a sword to the chest..." Ace said, unbelieving of the current situation before his eyes.
"Zo-Zoro, w-wh-why would y-you...!?" Luffy asked of him, tears running down his face for the umpteenth time that day.
The eight year old boy turned his head just enough so he could see his best friend out of the corner of his left eye, and as his eye connected with his eyes, he managed to mutter a few words, blood beginning to fall out of his mouth as he did, his voice cracking and shaky, "B-be-because...yo-you-you're my be-best...f-fri-friend."
That's when Bluejam pulled back, the blade coming out of the young boy's flesh with a disgusting sound, and he proceeded to collapse on to his front onto the ground, his eyes closing as he did, losing consciousness because of the pain.
Luffy's eyes were probably as wide as could be at this point, and they were focused solely on the limp, unmoving body of his green haired best friend. "No...No..."
The dark skinned pirate captain proceeded to lose himself in a fit of psychotic laughter at that, stopping after a few moments to speak, "That's called recompense! But at this point, you brats are more trouble then you're worth, so I'll just end you all, and put you out of your, and my, misery!" He threw the sword back to the man who had given it to him as he finished saying this.
Ace snarled at the man, but in return was met with a hard strike to the face with the butt of his rifle, before the man aimed that said rifle, and fired.
Luffy was so focused on Zoro's unmoving form, that he didn't know what was happening around him, not until he heard the sound of a gunshot ring out, and the loud cry of Nami that is.
He immediately whirled around to face Nami, who was mid fall, blood staining her dress, a look of distress, horror and pain on her face. "NAMI!" The young boy cried out as she hit the ground, landing on her back, not more than five feet from Zoro.
The young straw hat boy fell to his knees at that point, his eyes somehow managing to widen even further, while they made contact with the orange girl's own. "Luffy..." The young girl whispered his name, reaching out to him with her right hand, tears falling from her face for the uncounted amount of time as well. "...I don't want to die...please...save me..."
"I will! I will save you! I won't let you die, I swear Nami! I promise you, you won't die! I'll save you, I'll save you, I will!" As he declared this over and over, he put pressure on her chest, where the wound was, as Makino and Bellemere had told him that was what was best to do when someone was shot. He did this for a few moments, but knowing help wasn't coming any time soon, he removed one hand, while keeping one hand on the wound, and used the other to prepare to pick her up, but just before he could, her hand touched his face, her eyes fluttered closed, and her arm went slack and fell to the ground.
Luffy froze as this happened, and his chest tightened to a degree that he felt like someone was crushing his heart. "Nami..." The young boy whispered, hoping to rouse her from whatever state she was in. "Nami..." He tried again. "Nami..." But alas, his words weren't having any effect.
As the gun went off, Ace managed to get over the pain he was in, his face now even bloodier than it was before, and looked back to see what happened. And as he saw Nami hit the ground, and Luffy falling to his knees, he was filled with rage, so turned around, his fists clenched tightly and his body nearly shaking, when he spotted a pipe. He picked it up, before giving a fierce battle cry and lunging at Bluejam with it, scoring the first hit by ramming it into his ribs, causing him to spit up a bit of blood, clutch his side in pain, and yelp.
As two of the pirates made to kill the boy attacking their captain, he whirled around to face them, and ducked under their swings. He then took advantage of his position and slammed his pipe into the crotch of one of the men, causing them to collapse onto their knees, screaming as they did, where the dark haired boy proceeded to hit him in the face with the foot long metal pipe, using it like a baseball bat, breaking his nose, busting his head open and possibly cracking his skull. He fell back onto the ground unconscious from the blow.
The ten year old then had to jump to his left to avoid the swing from the second pirate, before swinging his pipe in return, hitting the guard of the blade and knocking it from the man's hand, then following up with slamming it into his gut, forcing him to hunch over in pain, as well as spit up some blood. The raven haired boy then raised his pipe as high as he could, before bringing it down as hard as he possibly could onto the back of the man's head, knocking him to the ground, most definitely cracking his skull, busting the back of his head open, and most likely causing some brain trauma, as well as leaving him unconscious.
Ace then set his sights on the next pirate, however, before he could attack him, Bluejam was behind him and slammed the butt of his rifle as hard as he possibly could into the back of the black haired boy's head. Busting the back of his head open, causing him to stumble forward and fall to his knees. Not giving him the chance to recover, the pirate captain repeated his actions, ramming the butt of his weapon into the back of his head once more, knocking him onto the ground, and leaving him in an unconscious state.
The ten year old's last conscious thought was, "Who will protect Luffy now?"
Luffy felt cold, deathly cold, as he looked between the bloody forms of his two best friends, his mind failing to fully grasp the situation, at least for the moment that is. As his brain continued to wrestle with the sight before him, he was deaf and blind to anyone and anything else, including the sounds of the raging fire around him, the fighting, and the sound of obnoxiously loud maniacal laughter that followed a few moments later. However, that all changed when these words, spoken by Bluejam, reached his ears, "How does it feel boy!? How does it feel to have your world come crashing down around you!? How does it feel to have everything you love be taken away from you!? How does it feel, knowing everyone you ever cared about is dead!? This is what you get, this is what you deserve! This was destined to happen the moment you decided to fuck with me and my operation, boy!"
Luffy's eyes were filled with horror, anguish and despair, just as his facial expression was a combination of these three, as he looked back and forth between the bodies of the two people he cared the most for in the world. "No...No...No..."
With those words Bluejam had spoken, everything finally clicked in the young straw hat boy's mind, and he grasped the situation...Nami and Zoro were dead. With that thought echoing endlessly in his head, he threw his head back and let out a ear splitting cry at the top of his lungs, of anguish, despair and brokenheartedness. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
As this seven year old boy let out his emotional wail, a powerful red aura was blasted across the immediate vicinity, temporarily extinguishing the flames around him, and knocking the five remaining men of Bluejam's crew unconscious, them collapsing onto the ground, foaming at the mouths as they did. This strange power even brought the mighty dark skinned captain to his knees, and as he fought desperately to remain conscious, he looked at the one responsible for this through half lidded eyes, and asked aloud, his disbelief and fear showing through as he did. "Wha-what kind of monster are you!?"
To Be Continued...