Chapter 6

New Friends

Harry had lost sight of Porchemy by the time he made it back to Grey Terminal. Once again he found himself running around piles and piles of trash. This time keeping an eye and ear out for Luffy. He had started asking people around if they had seen him but they were of no help. "Trust us kid. If your brother was taken in by Porchemy then there is no saving him now," one of them told him. "Yea man you're better off saving yourself," another said before they all walked away.

Harry would not deteriorate though. He kept searching high and low for any kind of clue. After a few hours, he paused to catch his breath against a small pile of trash when he heard voices on the other end. "Ace and Sabo huh? Oh, I get it you must be from the city. Leave those two be." Harry peeked around from behind the trash pile to see two of Porchemy's men, the ones that Ace beat up, talking to a group.

The group wouldn't say much as they were more interested in taking their wallets, forcing them to run. Harry made to follow them when he saw something out of the corner of his eye. It was Sabo. Hiding behind a building and talking to himself before realizing something. Sabo then ran back into the forest when he spotted Harry watching him. Sabo came up to him and asked "No luck finding Luffy?"

Harry shook his head. "Would you know where Porchamy's group is?" he asked. Sabo took in a deep breath and said "Yea, but we're going to need Ace's help." Harry opened his mouth about to protest but Sabo quickly cut him off. "I know you practically hate him, especially after what he put you and Luffy through. But if we are going to have a chance against Porchemy we're going to need all the help we can get."

Harry scoffed but agreed never the less and Sabo led him back to the woods where they found Ace on top of a tree. "Hey we're back," Sabo called out to him. Ace turned and was surprised to find Harry with him. "Why are you here? Shouldn't you have found Luffy by now?" Ace asked Harry. Harry simply shook his head and shouted "No I haven't. That's the thing."

Ace simply stared at the two in confusion so Sabo clarified "All this time and he still hasn't ratted us out." Ace's face quickly morphed from confusion to horror. "I said he wouldn't. Once Luffy makes his mind up on something he'll see it through to the end," Harry explained. "You know what this means right? They're torturing him right now." Sabo continued. Harry glared at Ace as he finished "And I can assure you he still won't talk."

Ace's face looked downright terrified before he steeled in into determination. Climbing down the tree he joined the other two and said "Okay then. Let's go save Luffy." Sabo and Harry both smiled at him and the three rushed back towards Grey Terminal. Along the way, Ace grabbed a long pipe from the trash and handed it to Harry. He took it looking confused. "Look since you can't fully control your magic yet you're going to need something to protect yourself without accidentally hurting us or blowing something else up," Ace explained. Harry nodded and the three continued on towards a rather big hut.

"That's the place," Sabo said. "You guys ready." Ace and Harry nodded. Thier pipes at the ready. All at once the three smashed their pipes against the wall, shattering it to pieces. Ace quickly went and downed the guy in front of them before he and Harry stood between Luffy and Porchemy. Harry heard the two injured ones recognizing Ace but he didn't pay much attention as he focused on Luffy who was crying in relief that they showed up.

Ace quickly jumped up to strike Porchemy but was quickly caught in the pirate's large grip. "Hey thanks for showing up and saving us some trouble," Porchemy said. "Your friend's pretty tough. He won't squeal. But I'm sure you'll talk." Harry got into a fighting stance with his pipe. "Ace hang on," he called out. But Ace just shouted "No stay with your brother." Then he called out to Sabo.

Sabo came from behind Porchemy and slammed his pipe across the larger man's head, prompting him to drop Ace. He then swiped his pipe at three other goons, knocking a knife out of one of their hands. He quickly tossed it to Harry who used it to cut Luffy free. "Quick make a run for it!" Sabo shouted as he and Harry headed back to the hole they made with Luffy in tow. Only Ace didn't follow.

"You two go on ahead," Ace told them. The other two boys turned and stared at Ace in confusion and in Sabo's case annoyance. "I never run away from a fight. Ever!" Ace declared. "Is that so brat?" Porchemy threateningly asked. Sabo hung his head in defeat before turning to Harry and said "You two run on ahead and take cover. We'll catch up." Harry nodded in agreement and took Luffy out of the shack, running behind some trash piles before they found one to hide in.

He couldn't see much. Couldn't hear much either beyond the occasional yell. Harry tried not to focus on the fight as he set Luffy down and begun treating his wounds using the potions Luna gave him. Once the last cut was cleaned Sabo and Ace ran up to them. Sabo saying "Porchamey's down we've got to go." Harry nodded and stood up taking Luffy's hand. "Can you stand?" he asked. Luffy nodded as Harry pulled him up and the four raced back into the woods.

Luffy couldn't stop crying after things had settled down and Harry finished healing his wounds. Harry simply rubbed his back to help calm his brother down as he watched Ace repair his pipe, which had been damaged in the fight. Sabo was leaning against a fallen log next to him. "Ace that was reckless. I don't care what your deal is. The next time we face opponents that strong we run," Sabo lectured. Ace just ignored him as he examined his now repaired pipe. "This suck," he complained. "I like my old one better.

"So what are we going to do now?" Harry asked over Luffy's sobs. "You said their captain was named Bluejam right? He's bound to hear about what's happened. And he's most likely pissed off right now." All the while Luffy continued to cry. "That was so scary! I thought I was going to die!" Ace lost his temper at that.

"WILL YOU STOP CRYING? YOUR BROTHER HEALED YOUR WOUNDS SO QUIT ACTING LIKE A BABY! AREN'T YOU GOING TO BE A PIRATE?" At that Luffy quickly calmed down and gave the two a small bow mumbling "Thank you." The two were surprised at how quick Luffy calmed down as well as confused as to why he was thanking them. Luffy then continued, the tears starting back up. "For saving me."

Ace started to lose his temper again. "WHAT IS IT WITH YOU AND CRYING?" Sabo quickly stood in front of Ace asking him to calm down. "Yea," Harry agreed. "He's just relieved to be alive." Ace relaxed, but he still looked pissed. "Alright, what's the deal? Why didn't you tell them where our treasure was?" he asked Luffy. Luffy, whose eyes were still hidden behind his hat, said: "Because if I told them, then we couldn't be friends."

"So what. That's better than dying right?" Ace asked. Luffy didn't say anything so Ace went on "I've been putting you and Harry through hell for months. Why are you two so insistent on being my friend?" Harry gave a short laugh and said "Believe me Ace I took the hint the moment we met. But like I said before once Luffy is determined about something he'll see it through no matter what."

Luffy nodded and added "And besides, Harry and I can't just rely on each other. Your all we have. There's no one else." Ace and Sabo looked at the two confused but didn't say anything before Luffy went on. "We can't go back to Windmill Villiage. And we hate mountain bandits. Luna's nice but she would rather spend her time doing chores instead of playing with us. If Harry and I didn't chase after you we'd be all alone. And that hurts more than anything."

Ace still wasn't fully convinced. "Hold up, what about your parents?" he asked. Harry shrugged and responded "For all, we know Gramps is our only living relative. And the few times he is around he puts us through his crazy training." Ace looked thoughtful for a moment. "So it would be bad if I wasn't here?" he asked. Luffy nodded but Harry made no response. "And it's not so bad if I was here?" Ace asked. Again Luffy nodded and this time Harry gave Ace a smile and said "Well I still don't outright like you. But after tonight I definitely trust you."

Ace lowered his head and asked in a low voice "You want me to live?" The twins were shocked by that question. "Of course I do!" Luffy answered. "Yea I said I didn't outright like you. That doesn't mean I want you dead," Harry clarified. Why would he ask something like that? He wondered. Ace then took a deep breath and turned around so he couldn't see them. "Alright. But I still hate weak crybabies like you Luffy."

Luffy's tears immediately dried up after that as he jumped down and yelled "No way! I'm not weak. I'm super strong." Ace turned back to face Luffy and asked "How are you strong? All you've been doing is crying!"

"Have you ever been punched by a spiked glove?" Luffy asked right back. "I'm only seven. I won't be crying when I'm ten like you." At this point, Harry lost what was left of his patience and shouted "ENOUGH! CAN WE STOP THE YELLING FOR TWO MINUTES!" Ace and Luff looked at Harry surprised before Sabo came up and said "He's right that's enough arguing for now. Besides we've got a slight problem on our hands."

"What do you mean?" Harry asked. Sabo explained to them about how he lives close to the pirate cove where Bluejam and his men reside. They realized that after today if Sabo lets his guard down too much at night then he's pretty much screwed. So the other three decided to let Sabo stay with them at Dadan's place.

Mind you Dadan wasn't too happy to wake up and find another little boy sleeping on the floor with the twins and Ace like nobody's business. But a few somewhat complements from Sabo along with the cutest smile he could muster had her caving, so she allowed him to stay and told the twins to get started on their chores.

Of course, they refused and went to go hunting with Ace and Sabo. As they left the hut Sabo remembered something and turned back to Dadan's direction. "Hey we managed to piss of Bluejam yesterday so he might be poking around here looking for us," he told them. With that, the four ran off again to find something to eat. As Ace and Sabo talked about what a "nice old hag" Dadan is Harry couldn't help but share a smile with Luffy. Happy that he and his younger twin were able to find some new friends.

Bagh! I keep telling myself to post at least once a month but so far that doesn't seem to be working out. I'll still keep working on this though no matter how long it takes. Until next time please live a comment, follow this story if you haven't yet and enjoy your summer break. (Unless you work a job that gets busier over the holidays in which case I don't blame you.)