So, Halloween is my month, I am a pumpkin baby and I love spooky stuff. So my roommate wants all of us to be Euphoria cheerleaders. And I support them- but also if I dress up as a cheerleader in my twenties on Purpose! It's gonna be a dead one. If I can't cover myself in fake blood then I'm out. Last year I was Red Riding hood- but like after the wolf got her, so I got really good at stage makeup and made it look like half my face was ripped up. And this year I can't decide between Ruby Lane from Fear Street or Chrissy from Stranger Things- post death. We will see…
XXX
It was early still, the sun in the process of rising. The birds were chirping- urging it on. Those damn bird! That was what had woken her up so early. Plus the raging hangover.
She stumbled through the base, ignoring the sprawled bodies of the other bandits, passed out on their mats and snoring loudly. Well, the birds plus these idiots. Honestly life was hard sometimes when you surrounded with imbeciles.
Dadan needed some coffee, maybe some spiked coffee. A strong strong spike…. Or rather she just wanted a drink. It would do wonders for the headache.
She stumbled into the pantry, intent on doing just that when a loud crash interrupted her peaceful morning.
Dadan dropped the bottle in surprise, her hands going for her axe before she remembered she was still in her nightgown- the axe tucked into bed upstairs.
An ambush- they had been hassling the rival group across the mountain all month and tensions were on the rise. No wonder. Grabbing the top of the now broken bottle she made her way through the main cabin, dismayed to see that none of the others had so much stirred through the commotion. Some bandits they were.
"Listen!" Dadan called out to the still darkened hallway- "I don't know what-," one of the windows had been forced open, that was what the noise was and something had been thrown inside.
A backpack? Scratch that a very beat up backpack but familiar none the less. Her brain put the pieces together a second before Luffy came tumbling through the window. His ankle snagged on the ledge and he landed clumsily upside down on his back.
"Shit!" Dadan swore, working off her mounting adrenaline. "What the hell are you doing!"
Luffy looked up at her, a smile breaking out across his face.
"Hey."
"What the hell are you doing!" Dadan said again as he untangled himself, going over to his pack to stuff the fallen contents back inside- mostly dried meat.
"I wanted to come inside," he told her over his shoulder. "You locked the front door." And apparently, he hadn't taken that as a hint.
She sighed, feeling her anger turn to annoyance. "And where the hell have you been?"
"Doing Stuff," was Luffy's vague response. Knowing him it was probably riding tigers and fighting mountain bears.
"So you've come crawling back again huh."
"Huh? Oh- naw," Luffy laughed as he stood up, heading for the supply closet. She followed him feeling her headache return with a vengeance. He rummaged around for a second, pulling a flint stone from their supply stocks. "My last one broke." He threw a roll of bandages into his bag as well, trying for the meat until Dadan stopped him, grabbing his hand.
"Like Hell! This isn't your personal supplies store brat. We earned these fair and square… by stealing it. If you want them then pull your weight around here."
Luffy's arm stretched around her, snagging a couple of strips of the meat despite her furious outcry. "I'm good," he told her, turning back to the door.
"That Wasn't A Question!" She snapped- once again following him back out. "Do your damn chores if you're going to keep bothering me!"
"I'm not staying," he told her, heading back to the window. "I got to go do something."
"You're paying me back for those! Next time your stumble back here, bring some damn food with you or you're going to work until your fingers bleed."
Not even bothering with the front door like the brutish monkey he was, he tossed his pack back out the window. "Kay," he told her, happy-go-lucky as always. "See ya guys later."
"Luffy…"
He paused, halfway out the window to look back at her. "Hm?"
"Alligator stew tonight- there will be lots."
He smiled again, this time like she had just offered him a chest full of gold.
"Bring something to contribute or don't bother showing up."
Honestly, it was like she was speaking a different language sometimes. Dadan didn't know if he didn't hear her, or he just chose to ignore her but either way the words went in one ear and out the other as she could tell he was already completely distracted with the concept of tonight's dinner.
"Okay! See you guys later!"
But she never did-
It was typical for him. She gave it a week. And then two. And then another and another. Still no Luffy. Even for him his absence was dragging on.
For the first time since he was little, Dadan sent some bandits out to go look for him. It wasn't very hard to find. The trees were leveled, earth upturned and blood- old now- was splattered throughout the area. Worse yet was Luffy's shoes. Half destroyed and bloody. And absolutely no sign of him.
She sent them back out day after day to look for some trace of him- anything. But there was nothing to find. He was just… gone.
Dadan knew that not even a King Bear could have done that level of destruction. But Luffy could have. Luffy and someone… or something that attacked him.
A couple of months ago Makino had received a letter from Garp with only four words: The Marines Got Him
And that was all they knew.
The newspapers talked about pirates, and rising tensions, and outcries of unrest
That was all they knew- for months.
And stupid, brave little Luffy was out there somewhere all alone.
XXX
Both of them sensed the attack a second before it actually came. Turning his attention off of Teach to look over his shoulder, Sabo saw the flash of something, and then Ace wrapped his arms around them and everything happened too fast for his brain to track. He heard his brother's muffled growl of pain, felt the collision reverberate through both of them, and then it was like being caught up in a tidal wave. They were thrown and tumbled, and completely swept away even as the air around them froze.
No- not a tidal wave- an avalanche of ice.
Admiral Kuzan. Sabo had heard about them. He hadn't expected to be targeted so quickly, but then again- this was what they did.
He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to ignore the feeling of the air freezing in his lungs. Focus, Focus. He couldn't think about the pain now, if they wanted to live Sabo needed to focus. See beyond the ice-valance, solidify his skin before it froze over.
When the movement stopped the world was still. Frozen actually. He couldn't see, or hear anything, and aside from Ace's strong grip all Sabo could feel was the cold.
It was freezing, no scratch that, it wasn't so bad. He could hardly feel the cold now… actually he felt kind of warm- hypothermia? The feeling grew until it became rather uncomfortable. Then it cut off all together, and Sabo no longer felt warm or cold. Just kind of wet.
Ace- he understood a second before the ice melted enough for Ace's fire to burst forth and Sabo didn't need Haki to understand his brother's anger.
At least when pirates kidnapped, and betrayed, and blackmailed and tortured they owned up to being the villains. Yet somehow here they were, facing off the World Government who insisted on keeping the hand of justice charade they often hid behind. Even now, the great defenders of justice were doing everything in their power to stop them from rescuing their little brother so they could continue to use him.
It was… annoying.
Sabo had to turn away from the intense blaze of it all as the fires burned the giant wall of ice away. Pressing back against it until the water turned to steam, rising up into the air with a hiss.
If the two of them hadn't held the marine's attention before, they had it now. Both the sudden violence of the attack and the immediate response which had turned into a giant fifteen-foot-tall blaze that practically begged for attention. And immediately identified Ace for who he was.
Standing in a puddle the size of a lake, Sabo looked out over the battlefield.
The fortress was built on a craggy slab of miserable dark stone amidst a field of jagged rocks that jutted from the ocean like a boneyard. The Hold itself was positioned at the top of the sloping incline, with treacherous, and slippery sloped leading to a massive stone courtyard that overlooked the harbor where the ships collected.
They had been near the top when they attached Teach, who stood on the platform- lording over them now. But the admirals attack had sent them all the way back into the ocean. In fact, if not for the the practically frost covered wreckage of a ship that had been unfortunate enough to be in the avalanches path- both of them would have been ice cubes floating towards the bottom of the sea.
Teach was now further out of their reach than ever, a fact Ace seemed to realize as he growled, cursing their luck.
But it wasn't just him. The platform was filled with Marines, not to mention the rocky slopes up there were a mess of pirates and Marines, who had temporarily paused to look over at the commotion.
And, on the other side of the harbor, halfway obscured by how far away it had gotten, was the unmistakable bow of the Moby, where Whitebeard had no doubt seen that.
Sabo turned his attention back to Teach- the only one Ace seemed to care about right now.
"Only way out is through."
Ace turned to look at him, frowning as he nodded. "Let's go!"
XXX
"Stop moving!"
Luffy huffed in annoyance, doing the exact opposite his friend had requested as he started to struggle harder. "Let go!"
"I thought you were going to beat me." Thatch reminded him. "Was I supposed to let you win or something?"
"I am going to win!" Luffy told him, whatever was left of his bandaged and bloody fingernails digging into Thatch's arm, trying to gain some kind of grip to pry the man's arms off.
Thatch watched him for a second. "Do you ever just stop!" Scratch that. He already knew the answer.
It had been really predictable actually. Thatch had taken the kid down in a couple seconds flat. All he had to do was yank his arm back behind his back, kicking out at his ankles to destabilize him and then a little shove forwards had Luffy back on his stomach, pinned there by the gentle but firm hand on his shoulder blades.
Not like it was much of a victory now. For Luffy just fighting gravity was an ongoing battle. He went down easy. It was keeping him there that was the problem. Thatch had tried everything. Talking, reasoning, begging, and then continuously knocking him back down. At one point when Thatch had been a little too rough in the take down the kid had blacked out for an hour or two- and he had thought that was the end of that. But the second Luffy woke up he was back for more, slowly dragging himself back to shaky feet time and time again.
Short of more drastic measure- which Thatch refused to do on the grounds of everything the both of them had just survived- it seemed like there would be no getting through to him. When Luffy finally managed to hit the limit of Thatch's patience all he could think to do was shove Luffy back into the corner with the raggedy blankets and packs, and keep him there, sandwiched between the wall and and Thatch's comparatively strong grip.
Since then, the two of them had been at a standstill for who knows how long. Thatch out of ideas and Luffy still managing to miss the fact he was the clear loser.
"I know you must be tired," Thatch told him after a moment or two of useless attempts. "I'm tired too kid. Can't we just table this for now."
"You can."
He walked right into that one. Thatch sighed again. Feeling exhausted and incredibly restless at the same time. There was no use talking about it anymore. Luffy wasn't going to change his mind, and obviously Thatch wasn't going to let him die. Still, there was something kind of relieving about all of this. Not that this was fun for him. But when he had first met Luffy he was like this. Well- different. Louder, a lot more energetic and fidgety, rather than mostly quiet, reserved and still. But even so he had this spark about him. The spark of determination- and absolute certainty. Luffy was confident in everything he did. He knew it was the right decision, and regardless of the outcome he never wavered.
Luffy had changed, that's for sure. They all had. But ever since they were reunited Thatch had thought that Teach had stolen that too from Luffy. Now he realized he had been wrong. It wasn't gone, just hiding. Luffy had silently been doing his own thing this whole time. From going after Ace, distracting to CP-0 agent, and crawling around in the walls. And right now-
Right now it was beginning to show through.
And he couldn't have picked a worse time.
XXX
Marco saw the attack at the same time as Whitebeard. One moment the base was filled with the noise of fighting, and the next a mountain of ice had erupted, seemingly from nothing. It barreled down from the courtyard towards the sea, taking out everything in its path.
Marco hadn't even realized he moved, a growl ripping from his throat as he stepped forward.
"Wait."
One word from Whitebeard and he froze in his tracks, not daring to tear his eyes away from the avalanche to look at his father.
A moment passed, and then two. The unfortunate pirates who happened to be nearby picked themselves up as best as possible, trying to get away from the decimated area.
"Come on Ace!"
As if answering him, a section of the ice nearest the water began to melt, slowly at first but quickly steam began to rise into the air like mist. The fire followed, erupting in a blaze and burning all the surrounding ice away in an instant.
The two of them stood on the now destroyed hull of one of the boats, amidst waves of fire. He let out a sigh he hadn't realized he had been holding. That was good. Although, Ace had most likely just gotten everyone's attention with that. Which wasn't good as this whole mess started because he already was the World Government's target.
Marco's eyes scanned the upper platform, latching onto the marine. "I'll be back," he launched himself forwards, wings expanding as he caught the air, heading upwards towards where he knew the ice bastard was.
So intent on his target he didn't expect the attack until a split second before when he felt an overwhelming bloodlust. Clutching his wings around himself he did a barrel roll in the sky, freefalling several meters before catching himself on the winds. Just in time to avoid the giant ball of magma hurled his way.
One of the marine Admirals stood below him, the hot one this time. Hatred in his eyes as he met Marco's gaze.
"I don't have time for-," Marco snarled, having to rapidly change course as another came, and then another and another. Shooting towards Marco like comets. He was determined that was for sure.
Forced to deter from his course Marco dived, heading so close to the ground his feathers brushed it as one of the attacks landed a little too close for comfort. He heard the resulting tremor from the force of it.
It was going to be hard to fight him if he couldn't even get close-
It came again, shaking the rocks beneath Marco. And then the ground couldn't seem to stop moving, violently tremoring like the aftershock of an earthquake. For a split second he was worried the Admiral's attacks were stronger than he had anticipated.
Then he caught the glint of his father's spear out of the corner of his eye and understood. The foolish man had angered Oyaji.
The earth split, traveling several meters in the blink of an eye to where the bastard had been standing. Forced to jump back, retreating to safer, more stable ground, Akainu's concentration broke, and Marco smirked, sending a silent prayer of thanks to his father he shot forwards once more.
XXX
Dadan climbed the rickety ladder to the attic, pausing at the top rung to look over the ledge, raising her lantern to reach to darkened corners of the dusty space.
An old ratty futon was sprawled across the floor, a body tangled up in the blanket. He whined at the noise, sitting up sleepily, immediately reaching for his hat as he did so.
Luffy looked up at Dadan, putting the hat on his messy hair, and his pout turned to a smile. It was his usual dumb one. He looked carefree.
"Do you need help?" Makino's sweet voice carried up from downstairs.
Dadan blinked, looking out over the empty room, the mat having been folded up long ago and pushed into the corner. No one had slept here for in long time.
"No," Dadan called down. She strode across the room, going to the barrel of liquor she had stashed up here a while back.
Someone- probably Ace, had sloppily carved the letters ASL into the wall. The S was crossed out. She ran her finger over the L.
Cross it out as well and save Ace the work.
That was a dark thought. She grabbed the bottle, turning away from the room and back to the ladder. She took a big gulp, and then another as Dadan made her way back to where Makino sat, her weaved basket behind her.
She plopped down on the floor, legs folded beneath her as she cracked open the bottle, the first of many. Makino was watching her- the woman's big eyes filled with worry. "How are you-,"
"Fine," she snapped.
"He'll come back," Makino started. "Garp is going to-,"
"He's not going to do shit," Dadan snapped. Not if it means defying his precious job. "Hell, he probably gave Luffy up in the first place."
"You don't mean that," Makino said- with that annoying knowing tone of hers. "Your upset. But he is going to bring Luffy back. I really believe that. You'll see him again."
"Like Sabo?"
She regretted it after she said it, watching Makino's usually bright eyes fill with tears.
Dadan cussed, pulling a dirty handkerchief out of her bra and offering it to Makino. Apologies weren't really her thing, but Makino seemed to understand the gesture as she took it, dabbing her eyes.
"Sorry," the young woman said. "I just…" her eyes flit to the corner where Sabo's hat hung. The only thing they recovered that day. "Poor Luffy. He wasn't meant to be in a cage."
Dadan snorted. "As long as they feed him, he'll be alright for now. I'm more worried about Ace."
"Ace?"
"Hm," Dadan muttered, taking another swig. Makino was a sweet woman, a good friend for sure. But she didn't know her boys as well as Dadan did. Before Luffy, Ace was different, colder, meaner- emptier. He had grown up a lot since he was ten. But, she couldn't imagine what he would do if the same world that killed his parents, and branded him an enemy took his last remaining little brother from him. "If he knows about Luffy then he's going to try to save him- or die trying. And if he doesn't… well then Luffy might die." Either way it seemed someone was going to die.
"Oh," Makino's hand went to her basket as she pulled out the days paper. "This arrived this morning, I wanted to show you."
Dadan snatched it, skimming the header, once and then twice before delving into the article:
Whitebeards to face off against Marines. A Era Defining Battle On the Horizon.
It went on like that.
Marshal D. Teach betrayed the Whitebeards and aligned with the World government. Now his old crew is out for retribution. One source says they formed an unlikely alliance with the Revolutionaries.
…Whitebeard gathering Allies for an all-out attack…
….The revolutionaries on the move…
…Two admirals have been deployed as of yet….
"Ace," she began, and Makino nodded. "I'm afraid your right. I think he knows." She watched Dadan's face as the woman read the paper. "It's good right? If anything can save him, it's Ace. He always looks after his brother- no matter what."
It was the 'no matter what' that concerned Dadan. She put the bottle down heavily, suddenly not thirsty. "I don't know," she said. The difference was that this time Ace's target wasn't a pissed off tiger or some backwater criminals. It was the world. And strong as he might be- he was no match.
"I don't know," she said again. "I just…"
She had just saved some leftovers for Luffy, a hard feat in a place like this. Alligator stew, one of his favorites. And it had been sitting there- in the icebox ever since that night. It was starting to smell, long since past due. But she wouldn't let anyone throw it away. It was Luffy's.
"I just thought he would be back," Dadan said. Luffy was her last one. And without any of those brats, her home was far too quiet.
XXX
Well unfortunately it is my birthday in a couple of minutes. And I am officially too old to be writing fanfic. When I started this story at 17 (the same age as Luffy!), I thought it would be a fun thing to do during collage. Now I am about to outgrow Bonnie! And one and a half years graduated, I am a lil worried it's going to outlive the series! But then again, it's fun so what's it matter!
#long live One Piece!
I'll try to post again soon! We will get through this war to the waay lighter stuff soon enough! Until then, you guys have all been asking about Luffy's giant water lizard friend- and he will be back next time!
XXX
Hiraya1998: Of course! I feel much better. Thank you.
Mel72000: Of course!
qiaraz97: Why thank you. An no, no one should ever challenge Luffy. He is in a league of his own. Luffy's sea king friends will be back next chapter!
xXxWolvesInTheNightxXx: Haha it feels like yesterday I started writing it back in high school.
Guest 1: Sorry! Unfortunately not this time. I love Law. But I don't know if he's Dragons first choice in help at the moment! But I like the idea! Shanks will show up though!
OneValia: Haha,yeah. Close.
Wishfull-star: Unfortunately yes, haha Thatch has no chance. Luffy is too stubborn. Same to you : )
Zahadacem: Yes! The sea kings will be back next chapter!
DemonKittyAngel: More like Thatch was really hoping Luffy would see logic for once haha.
Close! The sea kings will return and help him! (And of course Thatch is always done with Luffy and at the same time defending him.) Unfortunately Luffy won't be that helpful in the fight but he will try his best. And yes! I promise to my best to make the fight exciting!
RimaPichi: Of course! And that is so sweet. Thank you. After lots and lots of practice the ADD really helps me! The dsyelexia not so much haha. But you guys are very nice about my complete lack of grammar and spelling comprehension. And thank you for the kind compliment. (Whump forever!)
Aquarica: Thank you! That was the goal! And yes, Luffy is a stressful kid to look after. Ace knows this well and Thatch is learning. And thank you again! I love the Ace/Sabo friendship! I'm really glad you like it!
Polars: Thank you! I'll try to get the next chapter out quickly as well! And fighting might be a little generous for Luffy but he will definitely do his best with what he has left! But he will see the sky and his lizard friends. Luffy can talk to all of them, all of them just aren't as nice as that first one. Thank you! I hope you like this chapter as well. Take care as well and your english is great!
MeganeD-chan: Ace and Sabo will get their revenge! Eventually at least! Teach will regret messing with Luffy one of these days. I will do my best to finish the war quickly and get to the cuter lighter stuff! And everyone will live who deserves it!
94Insane: Why thank you. Don't worry! Whitebeard is not dying on my watch! He is such a nice old pirate dude. Everyone deserves some happiness after everything they have been through. Poor Luffy indeed! Such a lil idiot. (Poorer Thatch lol).
Shandrabowlby: AWWW, Thank you. Very nice words. I am so glad to hear that as I worry about them, specifically Luffy, being in character.
Haha, have I ever. It's my dream (one of them), to become a real writer. I wrote a book, which I hope has potential. But no luck with publishing it yet. I'm keeping my fingers crossed! I don't know if there is a professional world I can take my fanfic too without getting sued haha. But I'm more than happy just to do it for fun. It's great practice for fiction writing and I don't have to listen to any rules – it's just for me : )
Lofiskyrabbit: Thank you! Luffy is very cute! Such a sweet boy. Even after everything! That's why I wuv him!
Irene Sharda: I appreciate the thought you put into this! Wait until the end of the arc and then if you still think I cut corners you can remind me of this : )
Miqila: It would be the 100% smartest thing for Thatch to do. But unfortunately he has seen too much stuff happen to Luffy to act violently towards him- even if it's a mercy konking. But he totally should.