XXX
"Luffy!" Thatch yelled running the short distance across the cell to where his friend had been carelessly dropped.
"Shut it pirate!" The marine snarled.
Thatch ignored him as he crashed to his knees in front of Luffy. "What did you do to him!" He cried clumsily hovering his hands over him unsure of where to start.
"I said shut up!"
"Go get the doctor!" Thatch told him urgently.
"Pirate scum doesn't order me around," The marine snapped but Thatch ignored him. He pressed his ear against Luffy's chest to listen to the shaky inhale and exhale of his lungs.
"And medical supplies," Thatch yelled back at him. He ignored the marines angery response as the cell door slammed and locked behind him. Despite what the marine said Thatch had little doubt he wouldn't do as he was told. Not because a pirate ordered it but because he knew better then to let Luffy die. For whatever reason the kid seemed to be their new trump card. And they weren't going to let him go so easily.
"What did they do to you," Thatch asked him as he put his palm on Luffy's cheek, now smudged with blood. "And the marines call us heartless." But the kid didn't so much as stir even as Thatch poked and prodded his new injuries.
"It's okay I've got you," He promised. "I'll take care of you for as long as you need me too. Just do one thing for me."
"-Don't die alright." Because Thatch honestly didn't know what he would do if he lost him.
XXX
All those weeks ago Ace had left in pursuit of the traitor Teach to try and rescue Thatch. Oyaji sent Marco after him to watch the hotheads back and since then the crew had been in a standstill. All of Whitebeards allies were on high alert for the traitor and their stolen comrade. But he was nothing if not tricky and no matter how many stones they kicked over there was no trace of him.
Not until a few weeks back when Oyaji got word somehow that Teach had been in Jaya and for the first time they had a lead. But that had been a while ago and the little town held no more answers for them then the open ocean had. Teach had been there, they confirmed it. But he wasn't anymore. And once again they were in the dark.
That was until yesterday in the harsh light of day when Pops had told them that Teach said he… that Marco was dead. That they had killed him for trying to interfere with his plans. A warning for the rest of them. And now Marco was nowhere to be found. Nobody wanted to believe it. They were the words of a lunatic after all. Marco was one of the strongest they had, counting him out so easily was not wise. But it wasn't like Marco to go this long without checking in and it certainly wasn't like him to worry them. An unshakable gloom had settled over the crew and it had persisted up until they learned Ace was coming back. But now even though he was safe amongst friends again, it seemed something was still deeply wrong with the young man.
Ace was sitting on the deck, as he seemed to be doing a lot lately. He didn't bother to greet the various sisters and brothers who walked past him, despite noticing their pointed stares. They wanted to talk to him, ask him about Marco, make sure he was alright, find out what compelled him to disobey their fathers' orders and why he left in the first place. But it was clear Ace didn't want to talk and they stayed away.
Everyone except Izo, who trailed him like a silent shadow. Never too close as to be obvious but he didn't stray far either. Ace had most likely noticed but he didn't seem to care. He didn't really seem to care about anything anymore. Or maybe he simply cared too much, and everything felt like it was crashing in around him.
Haruta sat down besides Izo, purposely avoiding one of the black crows that sat on the railing. In the span of a single night their ship had been invaded by a flock of them. All of a sudden the birds were everywhere. The more superstitious of the crew had taken this as an ill omen, but most of them hadn't cared. This was hardly the first time a flock had seeked refuge aboard the Moby while at sea but that didn't mean they weren't a nuisance.
"Has he said anything?" Haruta asked his brother as he glanced back to Ace. The young man's back was against the railing. He was petting one of the crows that had perched itself on his knee, the creatures feathers glinting in the sunlight.
"He's said a lot," Izo told him turning back to his sewing. "No thank you, I'm not hungry, I'm fine, Yes please, I'm okay… need I go on."
Haruta frowned, all very un-Ace like things to say.
"What do you think happened?"
Izo just shrugged, "who is to say. He saw something bad happen to Marco? Teach got in his head. He feels bad about not being able to do anything for Thatch. I really don't know."
"Why can't he tell us?"
"Asking for help has never been Ace's strong suit," Izo told him without looking up from his work.
"We're his friends," Haruta reasoned.
"Right," Izo agreed. "Now go remind him of that not me. I'm not the one that needs a pep talk."
Haruta huffed as he stood, stomping over to Ace. The young man looked up as he approached, the crow taking off from his lap. As the dull grey eyes turned to him Haruta felt all his previous confidence disappear as he realized he didn't know what to say.
"Want some… company?" He asked lamely as Ace shrugged. He sat anyways, opposite his ship brother.
"Are you- are you okay?" Haruta asked after an awkward beat of silence between the two. Talking to Ace felt weird now, as if they had become strangers. And he didn't understand. They weren't strangers. They were friends. Talking to Ace was easy. He laughed often and smiled brightly, or he used to.
"Why wouldn't I be?" Ace said turning to watch the crows circle overhead.
"You seem sad," Haruta told him honestly. "What Teach is doing right now, that isn't your fault. You know that right. You couldn't have stopped any of this. We are going to get them back! Oyaji will defeat him."
But his words didn't seem to comfort Ace. Instead they seemed to have the opposite effect. He pulled his knees up to his chest resting his chin on them as he looked out at the open ocean. He looked so lost and Haruta was at a loss of what to say.
"It's going to be okay Ace," He said after a long moment. "You know that right."
Ace just shook his head, eyes still staring at the sea beyond them. "I don't think so… I don't think anything is going to be okay ever again."
XXX
Sabo had just managed to hide himself away in the rafters, nothing but the corner of his blue coat visible from the ground, when the door flew open and Burgess strode in like he owned the place. The cadets Ace had worked so hard recruiting were with him although they remained in the hallway looking bored an uninterested.
"What are you doing here," He growled at the man. This was the second to last person he wanted to be dealing with right now but unfortunately for him Burgess carried a direct line to the first.
"Thought you might be lonely out here all by yourself," The man barked a laugh as he held up the baby den-den. "Boss wants to talk to you, what else idiot?"
Ace narrowed his eyes at the man as he reached out to take the offered den-den.
"What."
"I think we need to have a talk," came the sickeningly satisfied voice at the other end. Teach sounded like a child who had just been gifted a grandiose birthday presen.
"About what?" He asked.
"About the huge secret you've been keeping from me."
And Ace's blood ran cold. He couldn't stop the fearful look he shot up at the rafters although he tried to play it off as an eye roll. There was no way Teach could know about Sabo! Well there were actually many ways he could have found out but Ace wouldn't let that happen. He couldn't lose the one card he had left to play against these brother stealing bastards. He forced himself to calm down with a slow shuttered breath before he spoke again.
"What are you talking about."
"Oh of course," The mans laugh boomed through the tiny snail. "I shouldn't be surprised. After all you seem to have your fair share of secrets. I wouldn't have thought so just looking at ya but your used to lying by now ain't you. Your father, your brother, what else are you keeping hidden from the world Ace?"
"What are you talking about?"
"Why I'm talking about the family Dragon of course," The man laughed again and of everything Ace had been expecting him to say that was nowhere on the list.
"The Dragon?" He repeated stupidly. Whatever it was he was grateful this wasn't about Sabo. But his relief didn't last long as Teach continued on.
"-Or should I say Luffy's Dragon. The two of you have one messed up family lineage that is for sure. I would never of guessed that the idiot apple that is your brother came from the worlds most notorious tree."
And in an instant Ace understood what he was saying and the dread returned two-fold. Teach knew. He had figured out the one secret Ace had wanted to keep hidden above all else.
"I don't know what your talking about," He said coldly. Hoping he sounded more confident then he felt.
"Course you do. Play dumb all you want but I already know. But let me ask you this? What do you think the government would do if I shared this little guess of mine? Hmm. Now tell the truth Ace or so help me the next call I make will be to the marines."
Ace closed his eyes forcing his mind to still for a split second as he made up his mind. "How did you find out?" He said finally.
In an instant the cheerful tone was back in Teaches voice."That's for me to know," He told him smugly. "Now if you don't want-," his voice cut off suddenly and it sounded like there was a bit of a scuffle on the other end.
"Want to say hello to your little brother?" The question came out of nowhere and it took Ace a moment to respond. Luffy was here, Luffy was right there! The closest Ace had been to him in years.
When he was too slow to answer there was a moan of pain from the other end. It was soft but undeniably familiar.
"Luffy?" He breathed hoping his younger brother could hear him. "What did you do to him?"
"He's fine," Teach said with disinterest. "More or less. A little out of it right now. Don't you have something to tell him?"
Ace had no clue what he was suppose to say. But knowing Teach there was a plan, of course the man always had a plan. He looked up confused at Burgess who mouthed a single word to him. Ace got the message loud and clear but he clenched his jaw shut, glaring at the pirate, his eyes promising blood. It wasn't until there was another cry of pain from the den-den, louder this time that Ace gave in.
"Luffy," Ace began reluctantly balling his hands into fists.
"Go on," Prompted Teach.
The words burning his tongue Ace said it anyways. "Can you behave…for him." But no sooner had they left his mouth when he followed them with ones he actually meant.
"Lu listen to me, I'm going to save you. I swear to you no matter what," He promised Ace knew Luffy had heard him when the call cut out shortly after that. But the triumph was short lived. It always seemed to be. When Teach called back later he demanded a favor from Ace. One he couldn't refuse.
XXX
"Hey are you alright?"
Sabo looked up startled by the intrusion. He had been so caught up in his own world he had forgotten the man was here. He nodded anyways turning his head back to the ocean.
"Not to overstep but you are looking worse and worse each day."
"I have a headache," Sabo told him. It was more like a migraine and no matter what he did it seemed to grow worse and worse by the day. It had gotten so bad he was lucky to get an hour or two of sleep a night.
"I offered to take a look at 'cha."
"No, I'm alright." He told the man. He was not the victim here. With everything going on it would be selfish to complain about a headache. Even if it felt like a hammer was pounding his temples every minute of every day.
The man didn't look convinced but by now it was clear that Sabo wasn't going to agree to a check up so he let it go.
"Your bird is back," he said instead pointing up to the sky. Sure enough a pure black crow soared through the air towards them. Sabo held out his hands for the creature as it landed gracefully on his outstretched palms.
"That's one well trained pet," the man remarked in surprise as Sabo stroked it's ruffled feathers absentmindedly.
"It's not my pet he's my friend," He told the man vaguely as he took the message from the birds leg.
"You're a bit odd," The man told him as he watched Sabo read the note and replace it with one of his own, tying it to the creature's leg.
"I've got a lot on my mind right now."
"Yea I can see that. All this sneaking around, are you like a spy or something?"
"Or something," Sabo told him raising the bird back into the sky. It took off in a flurry of feathers. He watched it disappear back into the clouds before turning to face the old man.
"What happened to you not 'giving a damn what I was up to so long as you got your pay?' He was quoting the man's exact words from weeks earlier back to him. Finding someone who both didn't care about the circumstances and was willing to break a few laws but was still skilled at his work had been tricky. The result was a retired and grizzled drunkard with a sharp tongue. But for the most part his skills and lack of empathy had payed off.
The man just shrugged, "What can I say you managed to tickle me curious. And take my word for it that is hard to do. So are you going to tell me what this is all about or not?"
"Not," Sabo told him rubbing his temples.
"And whys that?"
"Because I really need your help."
"Yea I figured that when you said 'I really need your help,' when ya hired me." The man muttered.
"Well if you knew what we were doing, just who exactly we are about to piss off you would be out of here so fast."
"Oi! And that's supposed to comfort me?" He cried in outrage. It did nothing to quell his steadily rising curiosity.
"Trust me you don't want to know what's going on," Sabo told him honestly and the man caved, throwing up his arms in the air as he turned away.
"Fine, fine keep your secrets kid. Don't tell an old man like me. I'm done for the day anyways. I'll be back tomorrow."
Sabo bid him goodbye as the man stomped away, muttering under his breath. When he was sure the man was gone, he turned back to the note in his palm, scrawled in Ace's messy handwriting.
I'm still okay
They don't suspect anythin
Don't come after me
I will do it in three days' time
Stay safe Bo,
Now that he was alone Sabo slumped in relief. Ace was still alive, or at least he had been when he wrote this. And although that knowledge lessoned the worry in his chest a bit it did nothing for the knot in his stomach that weighed him down like a stone. He had talked to Dragon, he knew about the military and what they had planned to do, or what they had already done to Luffy. And he hated it. He hated the feeling of uselessness while he stood here, on this stupid little island while everyone worked around him. But he had promised Ace he would stay, and he intended to keep it.
But he hadn't told Ace- about Luffy. It was hardly the kind of thing you could write in a scrap of a note. What's more he didn't trust Ace to think clearly if he did tell him, so he kept it to himself. And it was an awful secret to keep. But this was one of the few times in his life where Sabo honestly didn't know what to do.
XXX
Ugh winter break was wonderful, but also so bitterly short. School starts back up again Monday. Although to my credit all I did was laze around my house without worrying about studying and homework. You guys must not have cursed me hard enough for the last chapter since I did indeed pass Ochem (how other then godly intervention is a mystery). But I hope school/ work/ life is treating all of you well and that everyone has an amazing year!
When I said three more chapters I really meant two and a half. So if you are bored or done with darkArc as I dubbed it then everything comes to a confrontation next chapter! And everything is leading up to a huge war between the marines and angry pirates and revolutionaries. Sort of like at Marine Ford except Ace Doesn't Die in this one. So hopefully you guys won't mind waiting one (and a half) more chapters and I promise to post it as quickly as I can.
-Happy new year!
XXX
Mel72000: Of course!
Mudkip246: And I can't wait to write it! I'm glad you liked it.
JayMyBoy: Oh nice! Merry Christmas to you too. Thank you for your support! I can't wait to write the rest of them! Happy holidays back at you!
RIAEVANS: Of course! I'm glad you liked it. Karma will work in due time I promise!
OnePieceDoesExist: Yea I got that one before haha. The only thing I can offer is that hopefully when I'm done with the whole story and people can read the ending and everything that comes later it will feel a bit less drawn out. But I totally sympathize with waiting months for chapter updates just for the same old stuff to happen. That being said everything is about to change so hopefully the story will feel like it gets a refresh.
AsylumQueen820: I'm so glad you like it! Thatch is in a bit of a support role. I think the plan for him is more or less the same. Teach likes to lord his power over him, and that includes reminding them of how disposable they are to him even though in actuality he really needs them. But right now Thatch is still being used as bait for the Whitebeard pirates. If you mean are they going to torture Thatch? Then no. They did that to Luffy to try and blackmail Dragon into giving up his empire. I think (open to interpretation) but since the government is pulling the strings on the 'interrogation thing' then they don't really understand the dynamics of the Whitebeard crew so they figured Thatch is just an underling to him. And Teach who understands better isn't about to correct them unless he can get something out of it for himself. So I think they figure that Dragon might be persuaded to save his only son but Whitebeard won't go that far for one of his thousands of crewmates. Or something like that IDK. But that doesn't mean they are going to let Thatch off the hook that easily.
Tinajp: Yea, I know I'm being mean to him. Hopefully badass Dragon will come later. Hopefully Shanks too. I havn't quite worked it out but I want to include him in this. Happy Holidays to you too!
DemonKittyAngel: Thank you! I think he is hard because after all this time he has only really ever said like six things and mostly just stared off in the distance menacingly. So I have no idea what he is really like but I did my best.
I think if you do that the only fic I will be able to write anymore is Seashells haha.
Sabo is up to mystery stuff as always. He will make a come back in just a few chapters. He does not like being sidelined. He does love his friends but I think he still loves Luffy more, even if he doesn't realize it yet.
As always thank you for the review.
Bokmal14: Oh wow! I loped you liked it. I promise, in time, they will be together again. Sooner then you think! Thank you for reviewing! Back at you.
iyulia juuzou: Whose that?
Pirulita005:
Estoy muy contento de que te haya gustado! Para mí, al menos, escribir es como mi nave espacial, y sin ella estoy atrapado en la tierra, así que estoy muy agradecido de poder usarlo para escapar, jaja. Estoy seguro de que tienes una imaginación increíble. Y si te parece necesario escribirlo, es genial, y si no es así, también es genial. Poner las palabras en papel no las hace más válidas, ya que están en su cabeza. ¡Pero gracias por el cumplido! Eso es muy amable de su parte.
-Greetings from the States
Greer123: Same to you! I will do my best! On both accounts of that. As well as the revenge rampage.
WolvesInTheNight: Just a little bit. But they are so close to getting better! Not much longer now.
SoulMore: !
Pause143: Aw, that's so nice to say. I am glad you like it. A dramatic reveal Marineford is just what is going to happen. Sort of. Only no one I love dies this time! I will do my best to work Shanks in. He is more important in this story then I give him credit for, So I will do my best to write him in soon. I am so glad you like it.
yukino76: I am sorry to make you sad. Not much longer now and he will be back with his brothers.
JustCallMeCookie: That is so sweet. I am really glad you are enjoying it. I am sorry about being mean to Luffy and Ace (and the others). It gets better because Sabo is a smarty-pants and because garp loves his grandson. But I can't say anymore. Thank you for the compliment that is so nice! I will do my best to keep updating at regular intervals!
Sophia Mendes-Coruja: Hi! I'm sorry your exams were rough (they always are, aren't they). I wish you a merry Christmas as well. Thank you so much for reading! I am glad you liked them. Hopefully the later ones will not disappoint. I hope the break gives you a much needed rest!
MR97: ¡Estoy emocionado de escribirlo! ¡Haré todo lo posible para publicar los próximos capítulos rápidamente para que no tengas que esperar mucho!