Warning for mentions of torture and child abuse
*The beginning turned out a little darker than I intended so if anyone is sensitive to childhood neglect and thoughts that border on life threatening please skip the first italicized section.
Feel free to message me if you would like to read a version of this chapter without any of those darker topics and I will be happy to make one.
XXX
What does it feel like to be totally alone?
It feels cold.
How do you know what being wanted feels like when being unwanted was all you had ever been? In life there are those that have had love and loss and the hurt comes from knowing what that absence feels like. But sometimes there is only a hole where you know feelings are supposed to go but there are no feelings to be had.
How do you learn that your broken? That you've been broken this entire time. Is it not realizing that something about you is wrong that makes you broken or is it only when you realize you're missing a piece that you seal your own fate?
Can you fix yourself?
Are you even worth fixing?
Are there people in this world who would miss you?
And if there aren't then does that mean your worth nothing.
Is the worth of your entire soul summed up by the people who care for you. Or is it the other way around. Do the people who you care for give you value.
Who decides who should live and who should die?
And how could they be so cruel.
Ace saw a still baby once. It had died during the night from a sickness it's immune system couldn't overcome. In the grey terminal illness often ran rampant.
He only saw it for a second. It was wrapped up so tightly in its blanket. But it was tiny enough for the sight to haunt his memories. What was worse was the screaming of its mother. How she didn't let go of that tiny bundle for the life of her.
He tried not to listen, but she was being so loud, it was impossible to tune her out. People were trying to comfort her, but she was inconsolable. And when he passed her, he caught the grieving mothers' eye. Ace still had no idea why. Maybe it was because he was so young at the time, almost a baby himself. She might of seen what could have been for her own son.
Whatever it was she stared at him through the crowd and he couldn't help but look back at her as he passed. And she had asked him, "Why My baby! Why did it have to be my baby! What did he ever do to deserve this. What have I done!" She looked like she wanted to say more but she collapsed into a fit of tears and couldn't continue, and Ace pressed on. He tried his best to forget the incident, but it stayed cemented in his mind for years to come.
He had no answer for her. Or rather he had no satisfying answer. The simple one being that life was cruel. It would chew you up and spit you out without a moment's hesitation. That was just how it was, especially around here.
But on a deeper level he had to agree with her. Why had her baby died? She had loved it. So much so that she drove herself mad over a weakling. It may have been weak, but it had also been loved.
And Ace had started to wonder why he was still alive. He wasn't like that baby. He was strong, he knew that despite being very young. But if he were to die no one would notice. Not like that mother had. In fact, they might celebrate. Throw a huge party where everyone would get a little too drunk.
When you were unwanted it hardly needed to be said. You just knew. And oblivious as he was to other humans Ace wasn't so in the dark to mistake his living situation as anything else. They called him a demon behind his back, and sometimes they said it to his face. And when he would beat up grown men, they would scream it, while running away like scared cowards.
'That's no child, it's a monster,'
At that point it hardly came as a surprise to him, it was expected by now. It really shouldn't hurt. But it did every time.
That baby may have been weak, but it wasn't a monster. It wasn't unwanted and it didn't bring suffering wherever it went. Not like he did. And the more he thought about it the angrier it made him.
Was this it? Was this really everything there was. Ace was one of the lucky ones. He was still breathing; he had survived and all for this? Because if that was true. If his life was meant to be years upon years of this- then it wasn't worth it.
That mother must have been wrong. Wherever her baby was it was better off there. At least it wouldn't suffer.
But then he thought about the mom, so ready to give her everything to a baby that wasn't here. A baby that had received more love in the few days that it had been alive then Ace had gotten in his entire life and suddenly he was angry again.
He didn't know who or why he was angry he just was. And every time he took his anger out it made him feel worse and worse.
The bandits were done with him. They had 'given up' on him for months ago. He overheard most of what they said about him. That was how he knew that if he were to disappear like the baby had there would be no one crying, only celebrations. And that made him angry.
And that was right about the time that Ace met him.
Kids were scared of Ace. It was no wonder. After all any kids that watched him take on a full-grown man with a knife would turn tail and run if they so much as caught sight of him. Not even the nastiest of the bullies dared picking a fight with him anymore. But it was for the best. Ace wouldn't know how to react to other children. His social skills were non-existent and as far as he was concerned if he had made it this far without any friends then he was fine without them.
If you spent so long being alone, if it's all you've ever been then you don't believe there is any other way to be.
Until suddenly you're not.
It started the same way everything started for Ace. He was beating some men up, two of them. both of whom had picked a fight with him when they caught him wandering the outskirts of grey terminal after dark. Something that most sane people shied away from. After the men had realized he was not as easy a target as they thought they had turned tail and fled.
Before they had turned their anger onto Ace, they had been targeting another boy. Ace had seen them chasing him but he had chosen to ignore it. What did he care who they hassled? He had only gotten involved when they forced his hand. And once they were gone the other boy came up to him happily.
"That was awesome!" He told Ace a dumb grin plastered over his face. His lip was split and sluggishly bleeding, and he was covered in dirt from the bottom of his shoes to the top of his blonde head.
Ace looked him over once before turning away. "Whatever." He hardly cared what this kid thought. But to his surprise the other followed him.
"I've never seen a kid take down adults like that!"
Ace turned to him, annoyed already by his attitude. "If you don't fuck off, I'm going to beat you next."
The blonde boy stopped for a second mid-step as his smile faltered. And then it was back again.
"Are you threatening me?"
"Who else would I be talking do dumbass?" He snapped. "I mean it stop following me or else."
"Or else?" He repeated confused. And in a split-second Ace turned around, stalked back to the blonde boy and rammed his fist strait into his face.
He went down easily, Ace was strong after all.
"Stay out of my way," Ace told him turning away satisfied that any second the boy would scurry away.
"Hey," There was a tug on his collar and the next thing he knew the boy's fist hit him firmly in the jaw.
Ace took a step back from the impact, feeling the familiar sting of pain although it wasn't nearly enough to make him lose focus. Instead he set his eyes, now furious on the blond boy.
There was no contest in who could hit harder. The boy's nose was bleeding, dripping blood down his chin and the front of his shirt. For all Ace knew he could have broken it. He hoped he had.
"You're going to regret that," He spat at him and the blond boy once again surprised him by smiling.
"Are you going to make me?"
They ended up beating each other purple. Ace did far more damage to the other but at the end of it he came away with his fair share of bruises. For someone whose punches were so weak he could take a surprising amount of punishment.
"You really are strong," The boy told him from his spot on the ground. Both of them were trying to catch their breaths.
"You should get stronger before you start mouthing off like that." Ace told him annoyed. "
"I think you broke my hand," He wiggled it before wincing. "Nope it's just sprained.
"Well you shouldn't have followed me."
"I was going to ask for my knife back."
"Huh?"
He gestured to the knife tucked into Ace's shorts. He had taken if from the men he beat up and meant to toss it but he had forgotten.
"They took it from me earlier," The boy explained. "It's my only weapon and it gets pretty rough here at night." He laughed a bit unsurely. "I'm new to these parts so it helps me get by when people like that come after me."
"Did I ask for your life story."
"You think my life story is 'hi I'm new'?"
"Shut up." He snapped.
The kid sat up turning to look at Ace, still smiling a bit like he wanted to laugh but was trying to hold it back. He reached out his hand towards the other. "I'm sorry I hit you, it seemed like the thing to do at the time. And to be fair you hit me first. Can I have my knife back I sort of need it… please." He added for good measure.
Ace rolled his eyes as he grabbed the blade. It was rusted and dull, hardly worth the trouble to steal it. He really ought to give it back and be rid of the trouble.
And then, without fully realizing what he was doing he tucked the knife back into his pants and stood up.
"You want it so bad then come and take it from me." He told the blond as he began to walk away.
The boy stood up as well, but he didn't chase after like Ace had half expected him too.
"What's your name?" He called back.
"What do you care?" It wasn't like they were ever going to meet again.
"I'm Sabo!" The kid yelled back at him as he continued onwards.
"Learn how to throw a fucking punch Sabo!" Ace called over his shoulder.
XXX
Somebody was talking near him. Their voice soothing in it's familiarity. It was Sabo he realized sluggishly, and his nerves calmed themselves. If he was here everything was alright. Ace was okay. The horrible tug at the back of his mind ordering him to wake up and deal with the world could wait a bit longer. As he fell back asleep, he listened to the voices around him, arguing with hushed tones.
"-I told you this isn't a revolutionary set up!"
What were they talking about?
"Yea well if your motivations are really friendship then answer me this, how old is the kid?"
"What?"
"Ace's brother? How old is he."
"I," The voice faltered a little bit. "I… don't know."
"Then how about Ace? How old is he? Don't know? Then what about his birthday, when's that?"
When Sabo failed to answer the questions continued. "Favorite food, Least favorite? Do you know anything about him!"
Ace staved off sleep for a little bit longer as the feeling of wrongness grew. Why wasn't Sabo saying anything, he knew this stuff.
"Kid I warned you not to lie to me anymore."
Ace sat up with a groan, the dream still playing fresh in his head. Why was he thinking of stuff like that right now? His sleepy grey eyes fell onto his brother, who in turn was staring at him with concern. And Ace saw the scar on his face, and everything came rushing back to him.
Of course Sabo couldn't answer those questions, Ace and Luffy were still strangers to him. The concern was because of Ace's reaction when they had found him. And Ace had reacted like that because he had just betrayed his crew and turned his back on the only father he had ever known and now he had to explain all of that to Sabo. It was like a cascade of awful.
He felt the familiar lightheadedness that usually accompanied his stress induced sleeping spells but he gripped the fabric beneath him sinking his fingers into it like an anchor. Everything he had done brought him here. This was a result of his actions and right now was the time to deal with them so he could not faint.
"Ace?" Sabo asked watching the other carefully. "Are you all right."
He nodded, turning his gaze over Sabo's shoulder to Marco. The man was watching everything the two of them did. Now came the hard part, convincing Marco Whitebeards right hand, to go along with them. He hadn't expected to deal with this so soon. Together with the doctor they were working on keeping the man sedated so he couldn't interferer. The plan was to keep him out of the way until, at the very least, Ace got back. But it seems like that didn't go exactly as planned. Although he was incredibly grateful Sabo managed to keep the man from killing him or both of them and storming out. Trust Sabo to be the logical one in situations like this. The fact that Marco was still here meant he had to be at least willing to listen.
Ace chewed on his lip, feeling the wave of dizziness threaten to overtake him again at the stress of it all. Never in a million years did he think things would turn out this way. After all the Whitebeards meant a lot to him. So for the moment be put aside everything, the plan, strategy, all thoughts of them getting their way to apologize to his friend.
Ace shakily stood from the old couch he had been laying on. The floor moved uncertainly below him, but he steadied himself, realizing for the first time that a thick layer of bandages had been wrapped around his torso. Sabo moved besides him, as if to catch him if he pitched forward but Ace held his ground.
Picking up strait where he left off in his fight with Marco Ace squared his shoulders and addressed him with all the assurance that he was sure was still inside him somewhere.
"I'm sorry for everything that's happened." He told his old friend. "I never wanted to hurt you guys."
When Marco didn't say anything, he forced himself to continue, knowing it was best to say everything while he still had the chance. Usually Ace would never broach this kind of emotion sharing but right now the embarrassment seemed pretty far off from how awful he had felt ever since this whole thing started.
"I know I wasn't with you guys for very long, but I honestly thought I would sail with you forever." But life was kind of funny like that. Ace should have been used to getting blindsided by now. But he kept getting hit time after time like the idiot he was. Maybe he really was cursed.
Marco regarded him for a long moment before he spoke. "Why are you saying this now."
Ace shrugged. He figured he owed them at least this much after everything…. And if he died then ghosts tell no tales. "I just wanted you to know, I guess. No matter what happens in the future."
He gestured behind him where his brother was giving him a 'what the hell are you doing' look that Ace ignored.
"I'll tell you everything," He told him wearily. "And you can decide what to do. But whatever happens none of this is Sabo's fault." There was a noise of protest but he ignored Sabo.
"This was my plan; I am responsible for everything not him. If you need someone to blame, then blame me…please."
Realizing he was being blown off Sabo rolled his eyes making a small noise of frustration. "Yea right that was your plan."
"Shut up!" Ace growled.
"It was both our ideas," Sabo told Marco. "So if you want revenge then you just have to go after both of us."
"Good god Sabo shut up please." Ace turned back to the man in front of him. Marco had watched the whole interaction carefully and finally he nodded.
"Fine."
"Fine?" Ace repeated stupidly.
"Tell me- everything."
Ace nodded. "Sabo can you…." Run into the hills in case this goes south. But he didn't say that part.
The blond looked between both of them before grabbing Aces arm. "I can give you guys some space, but I need to tell you something first."
"Can it wait?"
Sabo shifted uncomfortably looking back at Marco. It could wait, and it could also be told in private but either way there was no easy way for Ace to hear this regardless of how he said it. Sabo justified withholding for as long as he did because he was already worried that Ace's hot headedness would get him killed but now, he wanted Ace to hear it before he made any big decisions.
"It's about Luffy."
"Is he okay?" The response was immediate even when both of them knew how stupid it was. Of course, he wasn't okay. He hadn't been okay since this started. But Sabo understood him.
"He's more valuable to them alive," He offered weakly. Feeling weird to be talking about him like this. Like he was another mission factor for Sabo's work.
"I wish I had better news." He said quietly. "Do you want me to wait…" He gestured to Marco but Ace shook his head. "No, it's fine just tell me."
"Do you know about the organization Cipher Pol?"
"There with the government, right? Aren't they spies?"
"Sort of," Sabo said. He had really hoped he wouldn't have to be the one to explain them to Ace but it seems like fate had other plans.
"More like they do the governments dirty work. They are a mostly covert group that prefer to keep a low profile and stay out of public eye. But that means they are in charge of doing the really bad stuff the government would prefer not to be attached too."
"What does this have to do with Luffy?"
"There are different sections of Cipher Pol but by far the worst is known as CP-0." Sabo turned to look at Marco who was leaning against the wall silently listening. "You know of them." He nodded stoically.
"They bring death and suffering wherever they go." He said and Sabo agreed.
"Compassion and empathy are seen as weaknesses to them. They have no code other then to obey every command from the world government. They handle things like assassinations, information collection and interrogations. CP-0 in particular is infamous for their inhuman tactics when it comes to torturing people." He paused for a moment when Ace fell silent. "I'm only telling you this so you understand how bad these people are."
"And-?" Ace pressed quietly when Sabo faltered.
"And I found out a few days ago that Teach allied himself with the government. It seems that he wants to trade Luffy for status."
"Sabo," Ace said quietly, half-ordering and half-begging his brother to just come out and say it.
"One of CP-0 is leading an 'inquisition' against Luffy… they tortured him. At least once so far that we know of. But they will do it again and again for as long as he lasts."
"T-that's stupid," Ace said his voice sounding hollow. "He doesn't know anything."
"Yea I know," Sabo said quietly. "That's not the point."
"What's the point?"
"To make him suffer."
The silence stretched around them and Sabo wished he insisted more on telling Ace this in private. Now on top of everything Ace would have to explain all of this to Marco including why the government was so obsessed with Luffy, which was probably the last thing Ace needed right now.
He glanced to Marco thankful that he was keeping all the questions he must have about the situation to himself for the time being.
"Do you want to sit down?" He asked Ace gently gripping his shoulder when he saw the other sway on his feet. "Your still hurt and your really pale." If Marco wasn't standing right there Sabo would have added that it was okay if Ace couldn't keep it together. That for just this moment he could afford to lose control a little bit. But he was, so Sabo just squeezed the others shoulder reassuringly.
"I haven't heard about anything involving them interrogating the Whitebeard so I think they probably spared your friend." He told Marco quietly. "I can't be certain, but I think he is still all right."
The man smiled ever so slightly, a very bittersweet smile but the relief was evident all the same. Marco had really missed that idiot since he had been gone. Although this was hardly the verdict on if he was all right or not. And Thatch had been with that bastard long enough for Marco to guess that like Luffy the man was probably not all right. But he wasn't dead- and that meant everything.
Thinking of his missing ship brother Marco turned to Sabo. "This plan of yours, tell me."
Sabo nodded silently looking over at Ace, who still looked very pale. "Ace?" He said again and Ace shook his head as if trying to clear away the bad thoughts.
"I'm fine," He repeated as he looked up at the two of them. "Really," he added when Sabo hesitated.
"Just tell him Sab," Ace said quietly as he moved to lean against the table as he fought off a wave of dizziness. Ace didn't know if it was his injuries or narcolepsy that was trying to topple him but either way he refused to submit, not right now. Or at least until his eyes fell on the familiar straw hat sitting innocently on the table.
Ace heard Marco and Sabo talking behind him.
"Here's your scalpel, can you give it back to the doctor?"
"You can probably keep it if you want," Sabo said.
"That's okay, the blades dull."
Ace should have been glad the two seemed to be getting along, at least enough to be in the same room. But his mind was a thousand miles away and he couldn't tear his eyes away from the straw hat.
And then exhaustion hit him like a tidal wave smashing into his already tired body and his legs buckled underneath his weight. It happened so fast that he was asleep before he even hit the floor.
XXX
"Your knife sucks!"
The blond boy looked up as the stolen knife was tossed to his feet.
"Your back?" He said in surprise as the other boy strode into his base like he belonged there.
"You live here?" He asked looking around the small space. It wasn't much by any means, just a bunch of pieces of driftwood clumsily lashed together, a lean-to, but a crappy one. The cracks were mostly filled with mud, but the chilly night air found a way in and tonight was freezing both inside and outside of his tiny home.
"Just for now," Sabo told him still a bit perplexed about his sudden appearance. "I'll move on in a week or so." Hopefully to a warmer spot. He was too exposed to the elements out here. He put down the flint stone heading back to retrieve his knife from where it was thrown.
"What are you doing here?" He asked as he slipped it back in his boot regarding the other somewhat wearily. It was late, very late and the weather outside was rotten tonight. The wind was howling like a pack of wolves and the rain was pouring down on them. And Sabo's crappy home was hardly waterproof. He had put out buckets for the worst of the drips, but it would take the entire grey terminals supply of them to catch all of the leaks so mostly he just made do with what he had. He couldn't imagine what the other kid would possibly be doing wondering outside right now.
"Giving the knife back," He gestured to it abstractly.
"In the middle of the night?"
The boy just shrugged. "I was wondering around; I saw the light and I figured I might as well. It was useless to me. The blade is super dull. You can't even cut wood the way it is now."
Sabo frowned running his finger over the metal. He wasn't wrong. Hopefully soon he could get a better one. But for the last week he had made do without one at all and all things considering it wasn't at the top of his priorities right now. Not when he nearly froze to death every night.
Taking his silence as a cue the kid shrugged again, uncaring what the other thought. "See you around," He said as he headed back for the door.
"Wait!" Sabo called without quite knowing what he was doing. The boy hesitated a moment looking mildly irritated as he turned around.
"What?"
"What are you doing wandering around during this storm! Are you trying to get hypothermia?"
"Hypo...what?"
"You're going to get sick."
"I don't get sick," He shot back.
"You're going to freeze to death," Sabo tried again. "Why don't you go home?"
Now the other definitely looked annoyed as he scowled at him. "What's it to you?"
"Are you homeless?" He pried ignoring the rising sense of danger at angering the kid.
"No!" He snapped. "I have a place to live. I just don't feel like going back there now. Got a problem with that?"
"No." Sabo told him honestly.
"Good! Then mind your own business." He said turning away again.
"You don't have to go," Sabo told him. "You can stay…if you want?"
The anger was back but much stronger now as he turned on his heels glaring daggers at Sabo. "Don't you DARE feel sorry for me!" He yelled across the tiny hut. "You're the one living in a shack so take that concern and Shove It!"
Apparently, Sabo had said the wrong thing and pushed him a bit too far. He put up his hands in placation. Unlike the other night he really didn't feel like getting into it right now. Not when he felt half frozen himself.
"I'm not!" He told him quickly. "I'm the same way."
"What?"
"I'm not really homeless either. I just don't want to go back right now." Or ever again. "I would rather freeze or starve out here then go back. So if you want you can stay or you can go to where ever it is you are from. I don't really care." Sabo told him as he turned away retrieving the flint stone once more.
He heard the boy rustle behind him and he expected to hear the door slam but it didn't. Before he was interrupted, he had been trying to get a fire going but the fire pit had been thoroughly rained on before he found the leak and everything from the wood to the flint stone was soaked.
"Here." The flint was grabbed away and suddenly the boy was kneeling right next to him. Sabo watched as he carefully adjusted the logs leaning them against each other like a tent while he gathered the scrap material in the center. He rubbed the flint against his boot twice before scrapping over it with the scrap metal. To Sabo's shock he got it to ignite on the very first try as sparks rained onto the fire pit. What was even more surprising was how he managed to start the fire despite the wetness of the logs in under a minute. Feeding it gently with the larger logs piled high besides the pit. When he stepped back from the blazing flame he realized Sabo was staring at him.
"What?" He asked rubbing his blackened hands on his pants.
"How did you do that?"
"Practice," He said. "How do you not know how to do that?"
"I'm not from around here," Sabo reminded him. "I didn't exactly grow up doing this stuff. It's all kind of new to me."
"So you're an idiot then?"
"Maybe," He said as he crouched in front of the fire. "But I am a quick learner. I can usually pick up on things if I've seen them once."
There was a soft shuffle as the other sat down next to him, holding out his rain-soaked hands to the fire.
In the light of the flames Sabo could see the bruises on his arms and face, as well as the bandages. He looked pretty beat up.
"Did the people you live with do that?" He asked after a long moment of silence.
"I will throw you into this fire!" He snapped his bad temper flaring up once more. It seems personal questions and concern were a sore spot.
Sabo frowned, trying to think of a way to calm the other without further agitating him. He patted his own cheek, turning slightly so Ace could see the fading bruise.
"They ones I used to live with did this," He told him evenly. "It's not that I'm scared of getting hurt again or anything. I just don't like that I have to live with people like that." He shrugged, "If someone is going to hit me then I want to be able to hit back, even if it means I'll just get hurt more."
Silence stretched between them and Sabo wondered if his words made any sense to the other. It was an odd thing to try and convey. But it seems like at least some of it must have gotten through to him.
"They're too scared of me," He told Sabo quietly.
"huh?"
"The group that I live with. They're not going to hit me. Not for real. Their scared of me."
"Oh," Sabo said when he didn't know what else to say. The silence stretched on between them and it was tense enough to be uncomfortable.
"It wasn't my intention to offend you," Sabo said after a long moment, falling back on the practiced apology he had been forced to use every damn day.
The kid turned to look at him. "You talk weird sometimes. Is there something wrong with your head?"
"Your kind of mean," Sabo told him.
"Sorry to hurt your feelings!" He snapped back. "You told me to stay! Not the other way around. Kick me out and I'll go gladly!"
"No-," Sabo interrupted fighting the urge to sigh. This boy was like a tinderbox ready to blow at any second. "I'm not saying that. I kind of like it actually."
"What?" He asked caught off guard.
"Where I used to live, everyone there was so weird. They never said what they really meant. And when they did talk it was to gossip behind peoples backs." He sighed, it was enough to drive him insane listening to them day in and out. "Your mean but I think deep down most people are. At least when you talk you mean what you say." It was kind of refreshing compared to the people of high town.
The other boy was staring at him now, at least he didn't look angry. Rather just confused. Finally, he turned away. "Whatever weirdo. At least I don't talk like a rich old guy."
"I do not!"
"I'm irrevocably responsible," He said trying to mimic Sabo's voice but taking it a few octaves higher. "Please pardon my adhesive behavior."
"You don't even know what you're saying," Sabo defended, laughing despite himself. "I take back what I said you're not mean you're just an idiot."
He half expected the insult to set the boy off but it didn't. Instead he smiled at him. And in that moment he looked like a completely different person then he had been up until now. "Takes one to know one Sabo."
That caught him by surprise as Sabo hadn't expected him to remember his name.
"Well then-umm…."
"Ace," He told him.
"Well then Ace, right back at you."
…
When he woke up the next day the rain had stopped. Ace had left sometime in the night; the blanket Sabo had lent him was in a heap besides him and laying on top of it was a new flint stone and a sharpened knife.
Sabo figured they wouldn't cross paths again.
-Was he ever wrong.
XXX
Far away at the navy headquarters Sengoku sat in front of his desk skimming through the papers provided to him. There were pages and pages of painstakingly transcribed dialogue that amounted to nothing. Well nothing more than dialogue that got progressively crueler to read.
"Anything useful," A gruff voice asked from the doorway and the man sighed as he set the pages down.
"Would you like to read for yourself?"
Garp frowned as he entered the office. He glanced over at the spread pages but did little more than skim the first line before turning away.
"No." He said firmly. "Did you get anything you could use."
"Not even remotely," Sengoku said.
"And did you get a response from Dragon?"
"No revolutionary forces have increased their hold. But as of yet there has been no correspondence."
"So have you made your decisions yet… Fleet Admirable."
Sengoku was silent a long moment before he answered. "There is no decision to reach the word of the government is law."
"Uh-huh," Garp replied unimpressed. "And-."
"And I know this kid's history. You have to promise me that I won't come to regret this. He can not be allowed to turn out like his father or brother."
"How am I supposed to know what's going to happen in the future." Garp said dismissively doing nothing to ease the others worry.
"There will be no war over this understood. Your actions will not result in prolonged fighting otherwise you will have to face the consequences."
"I don't think my life is really going to make up for a huge war."
"You're not making this easy!" Sengoku snapped.
"Your minds already made up so what does it matter?"
"My minds not made up on anything!" The man told him irritably. "As a Vice-Admirable and highly accomplished Marine you have access to certain resources. That is the law. It's what you choose to do with them that could be considered treason."
"If it was really that easy you would have given it to me weeks ago." Garp snapped back. "Make up your mind already! Or I will use those resources of mine to find him myself." Which both men knew could become highly scandalous if word got out. Much more so then the shady business that was happening right now. Knowing his back was against a wall Sengoku sighed heavily. Leave it to the Vice-Admirable to put him in a situation where treason was the best way to save face.
"Consider every single favor I owe you, past and future payed." He told his old friend as he handed him a folded-up note.
"I mean it! Don't make me regret this."
XXX
So I know I said I couldn't update for a while and then I realized I had a school break haha so update I did (but mostly I hibernated for a week). So hopefully you guys liked it. I realized we never really got a Sabo Ace backstory so I figured I should make my own. I know you guys might be going 'do we really need this right now?' And yes! It will be important for later! There is a part two to their backstory but that comes a little bit later with Sabo.
The chapter you guys have been asking for (saving Luffy) is supposed to be five chapters away according to my skeleton outline! But this is me and I tend to overelaborate so I might say more like seven-ish to be safe.
If anyone is praying for the story to end there it does not!
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OtakuLife121: : Supongo que feliz podría haber sido una exageración, ¡pero las cosas están mejorando lentamente!
Lamento lastimarte. Pero si eso ayuda, ¡se salvará pronto! ¡Están trabajando para lograrlo! Y se encargarán de Luffy (yo también lo amo). Haré todo lo posible para hacer justicia a todos los traumas jaja, que suena muy raro en voz alta. Y con suerte la reunión lo hará todo mejor.
No he pensado mucho en las dos reuniones hmm, mejor me meto en eso jaja. ¡Pero el plan hasta ahora es que todos los Whitebeards lentamente estén amando a Luffy como aman a Ace!
¡Gracias! Para la revisión! ¡Realmente me alegra que te haya gustado hasta ahora! ¡Siempre me encanta escuchar lo que la gente piensa sobre la historia!
-Saludos desde Canadá
Mel72000: As always of course!
JustCallMeCookie: I am really glad you liked it! I wanted to write this one forever! And I'm always happy to clear up worries haha. Yes, I think Ace and Sabo have had happier times, especially Ace, he is struggling poor buddy.
Thank you for the understanding, school can be rough :.( But that being said I love to write this story and it helps me deal with some of the stress so I like to think they balance each other out! I really hope you guys will all like the resolution, it's going to be a pretty big confrontation. And Thank you so much for your review! I always love hearing that after all this time people still enjoy and are still reading the story, otherwise I begin to fret I messed something up haha. So thank you for your kind words! I will do my best to keep the story going strong despite dumb school. Good luck to both of us!
Onar27: Don't worry Sabo's memories will come back sooner then you think! Ace's flashback in this chapter was suppose to be some background to what's going to happen in a few chapters! Don't worry I will not kill Luffy!...(more than twice).
I think Marco is still an undecided agent. He doesn't quite know how long he has been out for or how much he missed. But he does want Thatch back and he understands that Ace is having the roughest time out of all of them. I will to go into all of that stuff with Whitebeard next chapter, but Ace and Sabo were trying to find a way to have everyone survive while still kind of following Teaches orders.
No worries! I always love to hear what people think about the chapter! I am really happy to have anybody at all let alone so many people enjoying my stories! So any and all thoughts are welcome. And I will do my best to update soon again!
Thank you for the review!
Balrock: You knew it!
Aw, that's so nice to hear. I am really glad you like this story. Way back in chapter 6 wow, that was like years ago. I'm glad you still like it! Thank you for reading and sticking with my lil'ol story! I hope you will enjoy the rest of it as well!
Mudkip246: Marco is alive and pissed! Hopefully I will actually get around to the Whitebeards next chapter. I meant to talk about them this whole time, but they keep getting pushed back in order to deal with all the drama haha. But they have a really important role and I will get around to writing about them in depth! Especially throughout the rescue and after wards. I always love hearing that people liked the chapter so thank you! I will do my best to update again soon! Thank you for the review!
SoulMore: !
Kitsune Foxfire: Marco's back, you called it! I couldn't kill him.
I am really glad you liked it. And thank you!
RIAEVANS: Aw that is so sweet. I am really glad you liked it. I love Sabo and Marco as well. But I think I love almost all the characters so I'm biased haha.
Azufyra: Yes he is! I couldn't kill the bird.
Kalmaegi: Yea it kind of is haha. I think both of them listen to Sabo because he is 'smart' so he is an important gage of how much they messed up or how in trouble they are. Or something like that? But everyone's having a bit of a hard time.
Sabo is a bad influence on Luffy when they were little, Ace too. Luffy seems to get his devious side from other people in the show. This plot certainly would have been solved much sooner if Luffy had stayed around instead of heading off to save Thatch. (And yes! Ace didn't really ease Sabo into the situation before going after him.)
Fluffypuppies: Yes he is! Don't worry I think Sabo was mostly expecting it at that point since they realized they couldn't keep Marco asleep forever. He is good at defusing tense situations. I think Sabo knows enough about how he got the scar and nearly died to understand that he was burned by fire but like he told Marco fire is just an element and it's how it's used that he is weary of.
Ace is going to be okay! Just eventually. I think he might have it the worst out of everyone. But things are going to get better for him soon! Marco will be more fine with them when Ace gets around to actually explaining the situation haha.
And that is so nice! Thank you. I am really glad you like it so far. That's always super nice to hear! I worry sometimes that I am way too investing in this story Lols. It always makes me happy to know other people are reading and enjoying my stress relief hobby! So thank you very much! I will do my best to update soon again.
yukino76: I think Marco watching Sabo and Ace interact made him trust Sabo a little bit more even if he doesn't completely know what's going on yet. But they will get him on board soon enough!
the-lurkingAnon-reader: HE DOES!
I'm glad your happy at least! And of course. Thank you for reading.
Pause143: Yes of course! I couldn't kill him he's the best! Thank you for reading!
Dragonalw: Yes! As you see they get a little bit closer to saving Luffy. At least someone who cares about him finally knows where he is!
And that is so nice! I am really glad you like it. I will do my best to get the saving Luffy stuff out quickly!
xXxWolvesInTheNightxXx: Sorry to delay it a bit, Marco and Ace were meant to level in this chapter but then my dumb brain was like 'wait or we could go down this rabbit hole' so part two of them talking is next chapter! But I think right now their relationship is a bit of a mess for many reasons but a lot of things still have to happen between now and the end of the story and things will shift in that time.
WhiteyWolf26: That's a good question haha. It made me stop and think about it a little more. I think that even though right now thigns are really strained a lot of stuff is going to happen between now and the end of the story when Luffy splits off from Ace to go be the pirate king or whatever. And most of that stuff is going to involve Ace and his ex-crew being forced to rely on each other. I would like to say that 'yes all of my ideas are sheerly brilliant' but they're not. So you might have to settle for marginally sophisticated on a good day haha.
I think your right, a lot of stuff did happen between them. And Ace has to deal with all of the guilt of what happened. The Whitebeards were his escape, and all of this shattered that for him. And like you said Ace isn't going to want to be apart from either of his brothers when they get Luffy back. So he has to do what he thinks will be best for them, especially Luffy, even if that means putting his personal feelings aside.
Anyways I really like your ideas! You have given this a lot of thought! But I will try to do it justice, or at least partial justice. A lot of things will happen between Ace and his old crew so hopefully it will make sense more down the road. But I can say that just like in the Water seven arc you need permission from your captain before you leave the crew. And what ever Ace decides to do he will do it with only Luffy's best interests at heart!
Thanks for sharing! I really liked reading your review it made me think! I'm glad you liked the story and I hope you like the next part as well!
Resnelia: I'm glad! It means I must be doing something right haha! Thank you for the review! I promise more Marco.
MR97: ¡Me alegra que te guste! Prometo entrar en Ace un poco más tarde, ¡pero eventualmente todo estará bien para él! Incluso si no se siente así en este momento. ¡Todos los problemas se resolverán, pero no de inmediato! Todavía hay un camino por recorrer. Gracias por el comentario!
iyulia juuzou:
Terima kasih! Saya sangat senang Anda menyukainya. Semoga Anda akan menyukai sisanya juga.
Vanimelde Melindel: Yes! They will get some good old revenge for Teach and his lackies. I did update within two months! And the next one should come quickly as well! Thanks for the review : )