So... stuff happened.. I am back. New Chapter! I forgot to upload this on here too... I'm sorry for leaving you all.. the 9th Chapter is done too and will be up by Sunday. I'm continuing this story! And now, have fun!
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Sabo was questioning life. He was sure the citizens had told the Whitebeards about the attack on their ally. Maybe even managed to identify Ace as the thief they already were after... and yet the Pirates still hadn't sent Marco out to search for them. And if they did, the infamous blue burning bird and right hand of Edward Newgate must be blind and obviously disorientated.
It wasn't like Sabo was waiting for Marco to come and kill him or Ace.. But if he was being honest with himself, he had expected it to happen and it made him even more nervous that it hadn't. He had spent the last hours continuously watching the sky, being on the lookout for anything unusual, like a big, blue, burning and furious bird for example. Why wasn't the first mate chasing after Ace?
With a sign, Sabo decided that instead of thinking too hard about it now, it would be better if he just watched Luffy play on deck, enjoying the calm before the storm and his probably last moments together with his little brother... instead of maybe even developing a migraine over this. Watching Lu was easy on the eyes and made both of them happy, Luffy because he loved the attention and Sabo because.. Well, it was Luffy after all.. So with that, Sabo forced himself to relax at least the tiniest bit. He would need all his strength sooner or later anyways.
Instead of watching Luffy or helping Sabo, Ace was hiding inside the ship.
That was, because maybe, and just maybe, the citizens hadn't identified Sabo yet and the brothers could hopefully cross paths with the Whitebeards safely. The chances for that were low.. Barely existent even.. But one should never stop hoping for the best to happen.. Right? Sabo at least hoped so.
Still not wanting to actually need to fight the Whitebeards and die trying, the twins had allowed their ship to leave their course. In an attempt to avoid the approaching Moby Dick, they were now sailing in a BIG curve. It would take them at least a week longer to get to the next island, but that was a rather small problem compared to who was after them. They had thought about even changing the path, just to get out of reach, but they knew that Garp's ship was fast on the open sea and they hadn't had an enternal Pose for an island on a different path either. At least not for one that was close by. So they needed to stick as close to the other islands as they could. Still avoiding meeting the Whitebeads by doing so, but also getting away from Garp before that old Cracker-Monster could catch up to them and steal Luffy for that stupid testing Garp wanted to put him under so the doctors could "cure" him.
They would not let that happen! If they did, they would fail the very purpose that had made them leave all those years ago in the first place.
Sabo shuddered, thinking about all those times they had bearly managed to outrun Garp, and managing that only because there was a very important thing going on on another Base that the old man had gotten ordered to leave to as soon as possible. Really, now thinking about it, they really owed those Marines for their stupidity and that Garp had to go and fix their mistakes. Otherwise, he and Ace would have lost Luffy to him so many times already...
It was frustrating that they had to resort to such primitive ways as playing dress-up to hide, but they at least needed to try! When the twins would die, Luffy would be more than sad. So they had to at least try!
This being said, they had put Luffy in his favorite dress. Luffy didn't care what his clothes were classified as. He wore whatever he wanted, and he loved the yellow dress that had a huge sunflower printed over his chest! Lu happily hummed, running around on deck without a care in the world, climbing around and burning off any excess energy while Sabo watched him, smiling at how Lu's straw head bobbed around and most of the time could only hold on to its owner thanks to the string Sabo had once sewn on. Again, not that Luffy would care. His hat was with him and placed on top of his head every so often. That was what mattered. Also, him being with them and having fun seemed to calm Sabo and Ace down. So Luffy made sure to have extra fun!
Sabo smiled fondly, shielding his eyes against the sun. He wasn't wearing his tophat but had tied his blond locks in what felt like hundreds of very tiny braids, Luffy had been overjoyed to help him when he started doing them. He also had changed into some old clothes that Ace had found in his closet. Sabo would love to wear his own clothes instead, but that was risky since had fought in his standard attire and couldn't risk being identified by his looks just now. That was the whole reason he put his scars on display and wasn't wearing his hat. He usually hid his scars and covered them up by the shadow of his hat, his current looks should be distracting enough. Because the best disguise sometimes was not wearing one.
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It has been 4 days.
4 days since they fled that island and they were starting to grow restless. And there was nothing. Absolutely nothing. ... Except that Ace was currently sitting in the crowsnest, hidden away in his coat. His eyes staring straight ahead, directly at the ship that was on their course. The ship that they couldn't avoid. The white whale grinned at him in greetings, almost making Ace feel like the approaching ship remembered him. They still were pretty far away, but if Sabo would change the course they would notice it. Cursing, Ace put down the binoculars and jumped back down, alerting Sabo while doing so.
"They're coming. I can see the Moby. I don't think they have noticed us just yet. I'm inside." They hugged each other for a moment, very aware that this could be the last time.
It was disappointing, they had prayed to whatever God could be out there that they had altered their course just enough. The Moby was big, they knew she had to avoid the reef that Sabo had learned to navigate them through. But they had hoped she would not take the exact same path they had settled on. Come on! What were the chances for that?! Going through the reef again wasn't an option after all, since the Moby had other, smaller ships too that would make everything even more dangerous if they would sail into a trap. Stupid allies.
It was all a mess.
The twins had hoped they would be able to pass them at night, if they couldn't avoid them. But no, the sun was just starting to rise, so considering that their little ship had to slow down so they wouldn't look all that suspicious but instead harmless and scared at how to react to seeing the Whitebeards approach and like they just wanted to pass them without any troubles, and that the Moby seemed to sail as fast as possible, they would cross paths when the sun reached its highest point. Just great.
Ace ventured inside and started to make breakfast, a light one so he and Sabo could still fight if needed, and kept an eye on Luffy, who seemed to sleep rather peacefully, not being disturbed by bad dreams for once.
Half an hour later, Lu's cries made Ace take back that statement, as he rushed over and tried to shake his little brother awake, who was crying and thrashing around, fighting whatever demons were after him this time. "Lu, hey, wake-up. It's okay. It's just a dream. Can you hear me? Hey, Lu. Open your eyes. It's okay. Everything is going to be fine. We're with you." Luffy wasn't waking up. He seemed to be stuck again. Ace sighed and settled down next to him, carefully pulling him up in his lap and hugging him close, looking up, then the door opened and Sabo joined them.
"He's stuck?" Ace just nodded. It was normal that Luffy got stuck in his dreams, his stupid ability trapping him there until he had seen everything. They had already tried various things to wake him up and even taught him some ways to wake himself up or let it become a lucid dream. But nothing ever worked. Not even meat. "Why is he stuck. He should be fine. We got the chest. We avoided the... Oh my God. What if he's dreaming about later. About out deaths? That would be a pretty bad thing.." Sabo mumbled, voicing exactly what Ace was worrying about. "He'll tell us when he wakes up." They both nodded at that, while Ace carefully wrapped Luffy up in another blanket before putting him down again and pressing a kiss to his forehead. "Breakfast is almost ready too. Help yourself, but leave something for Lu. I'll make some hot chocolate for later... he'll need it." and with that, Ace stood again and followed Sabo back to the kitchen, letting the later one eat, while he did the dishes and prepared Luffy's comfort drink, hot chocolate with a tablespoon of honey.
"... By now, they probably took notice of us. I'll tell you when they close in on us, so we both can focus on our thoughts.. Maybe it'll help when they can feel that we're terrified" Ace snorted at that. "wouldn't have to fake that one. Ouch!" Ace whined a bit as Sabo pulled back his spoon, which he had used to hit Ace with. "not funny." Sabo grumbled in a disapproving tone before continuing, "it's just... Unlucky.. That Luffy's stuck. His carefree attitude would have been a huge help. Now that he won't run around on deck and play.. I had thought about staging a situation with him, so I could send him inside after they have seen him. They wouldn't have hurt us then or at least rescue Luffy before sinking our ship. Hopefully. But now.. Ace, I hate this!" Sabo's form slumped a bit and he threw his spoon away in frustration. "How are we supposed to save him!"
Ace dodged the spoon that unintentionally flew his way with a small yelp, before he quickly made his way around the table and hugged his twin, his brother, his best friend, his Sabo close. "I don't know. I'm sorry, I messed it up. This is all my fault. Sabo.. Let me go to them. Maybe.. Maybe they'll let you go then." he carefully grabbed Sabo's cheek and looked at him, hope and despair bleeding from his eyes. "Cuff me and throw me over there, tell them I went against your, the captains, rules by stealing from them and that me attacking their allies was the last straw, so that you'll now have to hand me over to them. Tell them I already sold the chest before you got a hold of me and learned about what I did. Please." Ace still hugged him and stared at his face, carefully observing the others reaction. Lowering his gaze in defeat when he saw the anger bubbling up in Sabo's eyes, noticing how the blonde's usual deep blue eyes turned into an almost icey light blue shade instead, indicating just how furious his suggestion, his plea made him. "Shut it! I will do no such thing you idiot!" and with that, Sabo escapes his arms and all but threw himself at his idiot of a brother, tackling him to the ground and almost crushing him in the following hug. Maybe, if he just hugged him tight enough, he could finally squeeze those self-destructive thoughts out of Ace.
"We'll fight if we need to. But right now, we still have a chance. You hear me? They don't know us! We will fool them. We can do this." Sabo now kneeled on top of Ace and pinned him to the floor, staring him down and leaning closer. "You'll stay inside and watch Luffy, if he wakes, you tell him what do to. Tell him to come and hug me. He'll need one anyway. Maybe make him bring me a coffee too. Once they have seen him, I'll send him back inside. All you gotta do is stay inside and try to keep you own presence as small and hidden as possible. You can do that, can you? And then, we'll be past them. We will escape and buy Luffy sweets on the next island. We'll outrun Garp again and I can finally get those stupid braids out." Sabo didn't wait for a response as he got up and left the kitchen, once again going outside to steer the ship and made an appearance out on deck, so the pirates wouldn't become suspicious.. of what, he didn't know. But they had to be careful and avoid even the smallest mistake, otherwise Luffy would lose them in less than a couple of hours.
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After Ace had picked himself back up from the floor, he had silently eaten something and sat himself next to Luffy's bed, stroking the little troublemaker's hair and humming a soft tune, hoping it would calm and maybe even wake him. As a bonus, it distracted himself from the thought of needing to fight.
To no avail of course. Luffy wasn't waking up soon. Sometimes he was stuck for minutes, on others, he didn't wake up for hours. The longest they had witnessed was 9 hours, or so Sabo had told him, back when they had been captured by.. Ace's thoughts were interrupted by a short whistle. Sabo. They were closing in.
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Sabo stared up towards the Moby, feeling the stares. This was it. Those next few minutes would be the one that would decide everything. Would decide about his and his brothers fate. And he would make it work. Would save them. It was hard to decide where to look. Stare at the pirates would be wise, that way he would be able to react if they decided to attack. Looking ahead and trying to ignore them would be suspicious, no one in their right mind would just ignore the Whitebeard pirates when they would cross paths with them. But looking at them and still steering the ship, countering the waves and the tide they created was hard. And at whom should he look. The captain? The commanders he knew about? Or should he avoid them even more, just because they were the stronger members of the crew?
In the end, Sabo allowed his body to cower, the pressure of their stares pushing him down and putting him even more on edge. It was not like he had to act like he was intimidated. Because fuck he was. They were scaring the shit out of him. He kept glancing at them, looking at every other pirate for a second before looking back ahead, focusing on his mission.
Or that was what he tried, until someone raised their voice and addressed him. "Oi, kiddo!" It made him tense up even more, standing even straighter and forcing his hands to not grip the wood beneath them too hard. They would know something was up if he looked as tense as he felt.
He turned his head a bit and looked up, looking at the one that had spoken. "Y-Yes?" shiiit. He was shuddering. That was.. Was that good? Was it convincing? Because it was not intended to happen.. But was it too much? How did one react when the third division commander of the Whitebeard pirates suddenly talked to you? Sabo turned a bit more, noticing how the Whitebeards had closed their sails, slowing down and slowly approaching him and his tiny ship. He had known they wanted to talk to him for over an hour now. That was, when they had slowed down the first time. He had thought of telling Ace, so he could come running out the second the pirates were slow enough, so they could all but zoom past them, powered by Ace's flames.. But they would hunt them down then. And their fishman commander would be with them in a matter of minutes at best. So that was a no.
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Thatch leaned over the railing and studied the small ship next to them. It matched the description they had gotten. The village had told them that the teen had escaped towards their direction... But they hadn't said a word about a blonde kid being with him. And it wasn't their thief, the pale, scarred skin and blonde hair proving that. On the other hand, Squards Crew had told a conflicting story... Those inside the bar had some trouble remembering things. Some villagers said there had been another person, clothed in blue, wielding a... Pipe? But being unable to describe him properly.. Clothes could be changed, and the ship was a match.. Maybe that kid was another hostage?
"Are you alone?" he asked. Thatch knew the kid wasn't. He felt at least another presence inside the ship. And it would be pretty stupid and dangerous to go and sail the grandline all by oneself anyways. He observed the kid. He looked... tense. But who wouldn't be, if you were stared down by strong pirated, while trying to just cross paths with them. Thatch smiled a pleased smile when the kid shook his head. "And who's with you?" he pressed. "my.. brother. He's inside.." the kid made a motion towards the door that no doubt leaded inside his little ship. Thatch, once again, smiled while nodding a bit. This was going well so far. "Can you go get him? No worries, we just have some questions."
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Sabo gulped. That was... Bad. He sent a silent prayer to the sky before he carefully shook his head a bit, still looking at the pirate that was calmly walking with the ship as it still sailed along the Moby. The Moby was huge! "I'm truly sorry but I have to deny that. He's currently sleeping, or more like out cold. There's no chance of waking him up now..." he swallowed thickly, wearily eyeing the pirates on one side. But on the other side, the thing that made him even more nervous, he had a feeling that Ace was standing directly behind the door, probably ready to save him and start fighting if something went south. He fought a smile at that. He just hoped the other pirates couldn't feel Ace's presence. Ace was good at hiding his presence. It was just that Sabo knew the other well enough to be sure Ace would do something like that.
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A murmur went through the crew as the kid denied Thatch's request, surprisingly polite at that.. Thatch himself looked at the kid, taking in how uneasy he seemed to be. Then his attention was drawn away from him and instead onto Marco, who walked up to the railing next to him. They had decided to let Thatch talk, because he was one of a handful of people that wouldn't scare the shit out of people when he approached them. If Marco interfered in any way, it was important and because Thatch was missing something.
Marco, who had a frown on his face, was staring past the kid and obviously focusing on something. Before Thatch or really anyone could say something, he spoke. "It's him. I can feel his presence. He's hiding inside that ship. Another person is there too." Marco definitely would remember that presence. Especially if it was so close again, even if he had to admit that the teen was doing a good job at hiding it.
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"Shit." was all, what Sabo could say, before the door behind him slammed open and Ace appeared next to him, handing him his pipe, his stance was firm and ready for the upcoming fight. This was it then. Fuck him.