Author's Note: Hey everyone! Here's a new story that came to me recently that I think will be pretty fun ;) I've been wanting to write a "Smoker adopts ASL" story for a while and then this happened...so, yay! I'm planning for the chapters to be pretty long, so updates may be a little slow. I hope ya'll enjoy!
GENERAL WARNINGS:
- Aliens
- Sci-Fi themes
- ASL being adorable
- Smoker being Smoker
- Politics
- Discrimination against humans
- Violence/Gore/Death
- History of abuse
- FLUFF
The day the Earth fell, Luffy and his brothers were right in the middle of lunch.
Dadan, their caregiver (and owner of the orphanage) was a strict woman but had a heart of gold. Luffy knew this because once a month, she'd treat all her charges to burgers and fries from the local shop that she'd normally complain about not being able to afford.
Anyone who scraped to give them nice food was a good person in his book.
Luffy moved his legs back and forth happily as he chewed on a fry, eyes scrunching closed in contentment. On his left was Ace, one of his self-proclaimed big brothers. Ace even looked a little like him with his dark hair, though they weren't actually related. Sabo, who was on his right, had blonde hair and was definitely the smartest brother.
Ace and Sabo had been living at the orphanage for a few years before Luffy arrived and were close friends. Apparently, they'd been living on the street before being found by police officers and placed with Dadan. Sabo didn't talk much about his time "before", but Ace told him the scar on his face was from his parents.
Luffy didn't really understand, but he decided they must bad if they hurt Sabo.
His raven-haired and freckled brother didn't have parents, which was just like him. Ace came across as mean, but he was actually really nice, at least to him and Sabo…most of the time. When Luffy first arrived, they hadn't paid much attention to him, but he'd tried really hard and eventually they became friends!
Now, after stealing some of Dadan's alcohol, they'd become sworn brothers and a family, no matter what other people said.
"Ace, Sabo, Luffy." Dadan said, drawing Luffy out of his thoughts, "There's a couple coming by today who may be interested in you three so get yourselves clean and for the love of everything that's pure in this world…don't do anything to them!" Luffy giggled to himself at the thought of the last family who'd tried to adopt them…or at least him. He'd refused to go without his brothers and, after they'd tried to take him away by force, Ace and Sabo ran them out of the building.
"We will do our very best to remain somewhat civil." Sabo replied politely. The blonde had a 'silver tongue' as Ace liked to put it. Luffy thought he sounded super smart for a ten year old. "Though I cannot guarantee their safety should they try to separate us." Dadan sighed.
"Yeah, whatever, just don't do anything that could come back to me. I've got enough on my plate as it is."
Out of all ten kids that lived with Dadan, Luffy and his brothers ate the most, and always finished first. They wasted no time in throwing their dishes on the sink and trotting back to their shared room on the second floor.
Inside, there was one window and two bunk beds, one of which was currently empty. Sabo's side was neat and had all sorts of smart stuff like charts of space or the stars. He also had a stack of books he'd borrowed from the library on topics like NASA, space travel, and telescopes.
Sabo loved space.
Ace and Luffy's side had things related to the ocean. Luffy loved pirates and pretty much anything that lived on or in the water. Ace, on the other hand, didn't claim to like anything, but he never complained when Luffy put up one of his whale drawings, so he figured his brother liked it just as much as he did.
Luffy plopped down on the mattress and adjusted his straw hat when it fell into his eyes. To most, it was an odd accessory, but it was special to him. One of his first friends, a man named Shanks had given it to him before leaving him at the orphanage.
He'd secretly wanted the man to adopt him, but Shanks was a free-spirit, a traveler and Luffy feared bringing him along would slow him down. Even so, he was eternally grateful to the man for finding him when his grandpa had forgotten him in the closet.
Sabo tried to explain why he couldn't go back to his grandpa, but it never made sense to him. Was it that strange to be locked in a closet and denied food when you were bad? Grandpa said it would make him stronger. Maybe it was because he was seven and not ten. Maybe he'd understand when he was ten years old, like his brothers.
"Hey guys, check this out." Sabo exclaimed quietly, turning a book (a new one he noticed) around for them to see. Luffy and Ace leaned in, the latter snorting when he saw what was on the page.
"Tch, you and your aliens. I'm telling you, there's no such thing!"
"Eh, there's not?" Luffy asked, head tilting in confusion, "But Sabo's smart and he says they're real."
"Are you calling me stupid!?" Ace screeched, catching him in a headlock. Luffy yelped and squirmed as Sabo laughed.
"Now, now…I know there's not much evidence, but you can't deny that it's cool to think about. Life on other planets, somewhere out there." Ace released Luffy and they went back to looking at the page. Even though he wasn't super good at reading yet, he eyed the picture with big eyes. The creature depicted on the top half of the page was like a lizard person and the one on the bottom had lots of tentacles.
"Are they nice?"
"Well…I don't know Lu." Sabo admitted, closing the book, "If aliens are out there, hopefully they're nice. Just imagine how much they could contribute to society!"
"Yeah or eat our brains." Ace put in with a smirk, making Luffy gasp and pull his hat lower.
"I don't wanna get eaten!"
"Ace, quit it, you're scaring him!"
After arguing and wrestling for a few minutes, they all collapsed onto Luffy's bed, the lower bunk, laughing as they fell backwards. Luffy wasted no time cuddling up to Ace since he was always warm with a soft smile.
Brothers sure were a nice thing to have.
"Oi, Luffy, your hat's jabbing me in the ribs."
"Just let him be, Ace." Sabo chuckled, gently moving his hat down to his back, "It's cute." Luffy grinned wider as the dark haired kid finally gave in and hugged him back. They stayed like that for a while, simply enjoying the rare silence.
That is, until their room started shaking.
Ace jolted upright as the building shook, things falling off the walls and breaking. Downstairs, he could hear the other children screaming and Dadan yelling something.
"W-What's going on?" Luffy asked, clinging to him something fierce.
"I think it's an earthquake!" Sabo replied, sitting up and meeting Ace's gaze. He nodded to him and they both threw themselves over Luffy, covering him with their own bodies and the comforter as they waited it out.
Thankfully, it didn't last long and subsided a few seconds after it began.
Underneath him, Luffy's shoulders were shaking, indicating he was crying. Ace clicked his tongue and pulled the small boy up and into his arms, which was kind of hard when he was already latched onto his chest like a limpet.
Beside him, Sabo jumped out of bed and rushed to the window.
"Woah…lots of trees got knocked over…" He relayed, "We should go downstairs and see if everyone else is okay." Ace nodded in agreement and hefted Luffy higher so he could walk. The kid barely weighed anything, so it wasn't that hard.
Downstairs, there was lots of broken glass and plates on the floor, but the others appeared to be uninjured.
"Oi, you three, you all right?" Dogra, one of Dadan's helpers asked.
"Yeah, we're fine." Ace replied, "Lu's just scared."
"What happened?" Sabo asked, "We don't usually get earthquakes around here…" Dogra shrugged.
"Not sure. Dadan's trying to get the news on so we can see if they're covering it."
The three brothers along with the rest of the children followed Dogra into the living room area where Dadan was grumbling and messing with the TV remote. The screen was on but didn't show anything other than static.
The orange-haired woman cursed and the kicked the thing, not that it helped. Before Sabo could suggest his assistance (as Ace knew he would), the static cleared.
But what showed up was NOT the news.
"Ace…who's that?" Luffy whispered, now standing on his feet but still glued to his side. Ace swallowed hard.
"I'm…I don't know, Lu."
The person who appeared on the screen was seated on a throne-like chair and was covered from head to tow in a white cloak, which obscured their face. What really made Ace nervous was their hands, the only part of the person that was visible. The fingers were abnormally long and a stony gray color.
Next to him, Sabo gasped as a robot (there really was no other word for it), appeared next to the cloaked one. It floated in the air and had a red, glowing spot where its head was supposed to be. The larger one hissed something, and the robot began to speak in a monotonous and, well, robotic voice.
"HUMANS."
Ace held Luffy closer as the one with the fingers spoke, sending shivers down his spine. Was the robot…translating?
"YOU HAVE BEEN FOUND GUILTY OF CRIMES AGAINST THE CELESTIAL ALLIANCE. BY DECREE OF THE GREAT ONES, YOUR STATUS AS SENTIENT BEINGS HAS BEEN REVOKED, EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY."
"What's that mean…" Ace softly asked Sabo, who had gone pale.
"I-I don't know."
"WE ARE HERE TO EXACT YOUR SENTENCE…" It stopped for a moment, "DEATH."
Ace's breath hitched in his throat. Death? What the hell did they mean by that!? Surely this was a prank of some kind!
"RESISTANCE IS FUTILE. SUBMISSION IS PREFERRED." The robot drawled on, translating for the other figure, "WE-" Dadan turned the TV off, startling everyone.
"Ha, that's some joke!" She grumbled, "No doubt a hacker or something got himself plugged into the cable network." Ace breathed a sigh of relief, but Luffy was trembling.
"Hey, Lu, it's okay…" Sabo whispered, kneeling down in front of him. Though he was still pale himself, he gently prompted the small boy to look up at him, tears in his eyes. "You hear that? Dadan says there's nothing to worry about…that was just a prank."
"R-Really?"
"Yeah, so don't be scared-"
The house shook again, this time more severely than before. Everyone fell to the floor and covered their heads as the lights went out, some breaking into pieces. Luffy cried out in fear when all the windows shattered. Glancing up, Ace noticed Sabo was crawling towards the door as best he could, so he followed, pulling Luffy along with him.
By the time he reached the door and exited, the shaking had subsided a little, but it wasn't gone. Sabo was standing up, face towards the heavens.
"Oi, Sabo, what's-"
He stopped short when he saw his brother's face. It was full of terror. Ace gripped Luffy tightly, turned to see what Sabo was looking at, and his jaw dropped.
The sky was on fire.
Clouds churned and appeared almost red. The ground shook even more as something (many somethings) came down through the atmosphere. To Ace, they could be nothing else but ships, oval in shape with thrusters on the bottom and sides controlling their descent.
Oh God.
They were being invaded.
Sabo found it difficult to move at the sight of alien ships slowly making their way down towards them. Entertaining the idea of life beyond Earth had always been just for fun since there was no scientific evidence to support the many theories he had found. But now, faced with such an imminent threat, all those days reading into a seemingly 'ridiculous' topic could pay off.
Glancing beside him to his brothers, he grit his teeth. Though Ace was technically the oldest (by a few months), in this situation, he felt some responsibility for their safety. In his mind, he quickly catalogued their strengths, weaknesses, and where they could go to hopefully not die.
He and Ace were pretty good in a fight, but…
Lu was a different story.
Currently, the small boy had tears streaming down his face and was physically trembling. Though he hated to say it, Luffy was their main weakness. It wasn't the kid's fault; he was only seven.
When he'd read stories people had written about aliens, many times they were portrayed as benevolent or at least kind enough to let the children live. After that cloaked alien's speech though, the chances of them being spared simply for their age probably wasn't something to bank on.
Thankfully, Sabo had a good hiding place in mind. Somewhere they needed to get to, and fast.
"Ace, I know somewhere we can go!" He yelled over the wind, "We should go get our things and-"
"There's no time!" His brother interrupted, pointing up at the ships. Their descent had slowed to the point where they were hovering in the air and something opened at the ends, appearing suspiciously similar to a cannon. When it began to charge up with green light, they started running.
Yelling for Dadan and the others to run, Sabo and Ace took off down the street, shoes and sandals hitting the pavement. They desperately dragged Luffy behind them, and Sabo glanced back at what was definitely a weapon and prayed it took a while to charge or malfunctioned or-
With a deafening screech, beams of energy shot from the ships (all of them at once). The three boys threw themselves to the ground as one soared over them and caused a massive explosion where it landed.
Ears ringing, Sabo shakily pushed himself up. There was smoke everywhere. Ace was saying something and Luffy was sobbing. The little boy had a cut on his forehead that bled into his eye.
"-do we go! Sabo, where do we go!?" He shook his head and refocused.
"The library! It has a basement!"
They took off running towards town, terrified the ships would fire again. Sabo was certain now that these aliens were anything but friendly and probably wouldn't be taking prisoners either.
Smoker watched with a scowl as their ships completely decimated the ground below. Their ships' high energy beams plowed through the native's structures like paper. Glancing down further, he could just barely make out little specs running in terror as their home was destroyed all around them.
Though he knew many despicable things had been done by these creatures, these 'humans' or whatever they called themselves, it seemed excessive.
"Enjoying the show, Captain?" Smoker didn't have to turn around to know who it was, Nezumi, the Rat. He'd always hated him, all arrogance and no actual strength.
"This isn't for your entertainment, it's for justice."
"Doesn't mean it isn't entertaining." The Rat laughed, whiskers twitching with his face, "Besides, with the official decree, these primitives are no more than animals. No one will care if we kill a few."
Smoker frowned, knowing the man was right, but still disliking the idea. The Celestials, or the Great Ones, as they were commonly called, were so powerful that they could declare an entire race to be lower than traditional citizens. It happened quite a lot actually, the humans were not the first.
No doubt after the initial invasion and "punishment" had been completed, hunters would come and capture any survivors to gift to the Great Ones, nobles, and anyone else who was interested in an exotic new pet.
Because they weren't considered equal to everyone else anymore.
These people who lived on the appropriately nicknamed "Dark Planet" had done many atrocities to visiting beings from across the universe. The planet was so far out that most didn't bother with the trip, but those who did, merchants, traders, hunters, and the like, did not return.
In fact, the Alliance had no idea what was going on except for rather unsavory rumors until one escaped the human's clutches and told his tale.
It was truly horrible and gruesome what they did, and there was a part of Smoker that reveled in the destruction. That the humans deserved everything that was coming. And yet, as he watched towers fall and craters form, he couldn't help but wonder why the planet was not more…developed.
For people who could hold powerful warriors hostage, their defenses were quite lacking.
"Sirs!" A grunt who's name escaped Smoker greeted with a salute, "The Admiral requests the presence of all ranked officers for a debriefing." Nezumi smirked at him before heading down the hallway. Smoker snarled at him but followed his lead a few seconds later.
As he made his way towards the command deck of the ship, he received a few glances. Smaller soldiers gave him birth, and some turned their noses up. Smoker knew how he looked, broad, muscled, white hair. He was a mutt, mixed race. His mother had been Lyca, a race of large and rather furry creatures who lived in the mountains of Nu Moue and he had no idea what his father was.
The result of their coupling had given birth to him, Chase Smoker, now Captain Smoker of a small Celestial sanctioned ship (though he was currently away from his crew on his damned mission). He admittedly didn't look much like a Lyca but did have white fur on the sides of his face, arms, and down his spine.
Thankfully, while he had inherited his bulk and thick, tanned skin from his mother, he'd been spared the snout and tail. His ears were pointed…but not covered in ridiculous fuzz.
When they arrived at their destination, the room was already filled with officers, big and small. One of the Alliance's "selling points" was how diverse its army was. Standing with his back to them currently as he watched the destruction out the front of the ship, was Admiral Akainu. The man was larger than Smoker and had harsh skin that sometimes released sweat so hot it could burn even his skin.
Akainu was a pureblood from some planet no doubt covered in lava. Smoker hadn't cared to look much into it, all he knew was that the man was heartless, serious, and sometimes very cruel, even to his own men.
Part of the reason he resented being put on this particular ship.
"Men, this is a crusade." Akainu bellowed, not bothering to turn around, "These humans have insulted the justice of the Alliance and we are here to carry out their punishment." His statement received a few cheers.
"Do not forget their status…no more than canids now." Smoker raised an eyebrow at the comparison. Canids were six legged drooling creatures that were common pets in populated areas of the alliance. Hardly similar to the bipedal humans, or at least in nothing but declared status. "Once the initial attack has finished, we will land and disembark on the surface. The atmosphere may not be compatible for some of you, so make sure you wear full armor and take a tank with you." Akainu raised his fist.
"Show these primitives the power of the Alliance!"
While everyone responded to the Admiral's speech, Smoker remained neutral with his arms crossed. He knew the man who escaped the Dark Planet, he was a friend. So of course, he wanted vengeance for the wrongs done against him. But even so, he disapproved of massacres and subsequent enslavement.
Especially of a species that appeared so weak, at least from his initial observation. Hardly militarized at all.
He followed the crowd out of the command deck and to the deployment board where their specific orders were displayed. Smoker waited patiently while those in front of him read theirs and took a cigar out of his pocket. He wasn't allowed to smoke on the ship, but maybe he could once he was down on the surface…oh wait, he'd have his helmet on, damn.
Finally, there was room for him to step forward and read his assignment. Unsurprisingly, he was alone with his own transport vehicle. Just how he preferred it. Most of the other soldiers on the ship either didn't know him or were frightened of him. Next to his name, was a simple order:
PUNISH TO YOUR DISCRETION.
Easy to understand, difficult to discipline later should he not comply due to its obscurity.
Perfect.
By the time they reached town, it was total chaos. People running screaming, trying to find shelter where they could. Ace tried to catch his breath, but only succeeded in inhaling another mouthful of dust.
With all the destruction, the air was becoming thick and foul. He glanced down at his baby brother when he started to cough, dried blood sticky to the side of his face from the cut that had finally stopped bleeding.
His straw hat was around his neck and, much like him and Sabo, he was completely covered in dirt, dust, and grime. Ace hoped Dadan and the other children had found shelter.
"This way!" Sabo called over the noise of sirens and screams, motioning for them to follow. Before moving, he knelt down so Luffy could climb onto his back. The poor kid was terrified, and he didn't want them to get separated.
With his bundle secured, Ace took off after his brother towards the library. At the sight of bodies under remains of buildings and bleeding people stumbling along the street, he ordered Luffy not to look.
"But w-why-"
"Just don't, Lu." He replied firmly, pleased when his little brother buried his face in his neck. Luffy didn't need to see this. Above them, the ships were firing at random now, most of the beams thankfully overshooting the town by a few miles.
At least for now.
After what felt like forever, they arrived at the library which was thankfully still standing. Sabo immediately led them around back and started to move rocks and sheets of metal away from something.
"Uh…'Bo?" Ace hissed; eyes glued to the sky. The ships were adjusting their trajectory. "Why aren't we going in the front?"
"Because this is my secret way in." He replied, revealing a well-hidden hole in the wall, "It leads directly to the basement. I don't know if you noticed, but the main entrance didn't look like it was going to hold out much longer." Just as he said that, a loud crash sounded from the front of the library. Damn, Sabo was good.
Wasting no more time, the three boys rushed inside and swiftly covered the small entrance with metal sheets and whatever else they had on hand. There were stairs that led downwards inside that they rushed down until it leveled out into a small room.
There were stacks of books and some blankets that indicated Sabo spent a lot of time here.
Just as Ace sat Luffy down, a whine came from up above. It sounded like a train passing them by. Eyes widening, Ace and Sabo curled around Luffy as the room shook violently and their only light, a small bulb, shattered into pieces.
When the noise finally stopped, the brothers slowly unwound themselves. Luffy's muffled whimpering and their heavy breathing broke the silence. That attack probably hit the town…it was a good thing they'd made it underground in time.
"You two okay?" Ace asked, shaking Sabo and brushing hair out of Luffy's face. The small boy nodded while biting his lip tightly. Sabo coughed before responding.
"Y-Yeah, I'm good."
"Ace…S-Sabo…" Luffy hiccupped, curling a cold hand around Ace's heart. The boy sounded so scared. "Are the bad aliens gone?"
"I don't know, Lu." Ace replied, meeting his blonde brother's gaze, "One of us should go check." Maybe after blowing them up with their crazy weapons, the aliens left? They argued briefly about who should go but eventually they decided on Ace with a short game of rock-paper-scissors.
Sabo cuddled Luffy close, settling down to wait while Ace made his way back to the surface. Thankfully their door hadn't collapsed. Moving the barriers, he crawled out slowly and took a look around. At first, nothing appeared all that different, until he turned to face the library.
His eyes widened.
With the exception of the very back of the building, it was gone, completely destroyed. He hadn't noticed in the stairwell, but there was nothing left of the once proud library. Now only bricks and pieces of wall remained.
Ace walked around the destruction, cataloging the burning books and pages fluttering in the air. Sabo would be sad to have lost one of his favorite places, but at least they were alive. Had they tried the front door…
Beyond the library, the town was just as bad. From the looks of it, the beam had struck a path straight through Main Street. There were a few people stumbling around, some screaming for help while others tried to pull their loved ones out from under fallen debris.
But, other than the sound of creaking buildings and crackling flames, there was no whoosh of lasers or other weapons from the sky. Suspicious, Ace looked up. The ships were no longer hovering and were coming down, all the way down.
They were going to land.
One ship that was closest to them (and probably responsible for their small town's destruction) set down in a field not far from the south side of Foosha. Ace watched closely as what remained of their police force scrambled to set up a perimeter while fire fighters escorted people away. Deciding he wanted a closer look, Ace jogged up and hid behind a wall that used to be part of a grocery store.
The few remaining officers leveled their guns at the ship even as a ramp lowered itself to the ground, facing the town. The ship itself was massive, probably holding a lot of freaky alien people. Ace found himself wondering if they were the lizard or tentacle kind…or if they looked like that one from the movie E.T.
He flinched when a sound came from the now open ship, the sound of boots hitting the metal. Ace's hands started to shake against his will as a group…no, an army of armored aliens marched out of the ship. They all wore white and grey armor that covered them from head to toe. He couldn't tell what they looked like because the head part was opaque, but it looked like they could see just fine.
Strangely enough, they weren't all the same size. Some were tall and skinny, others were short and squat, but their uniforms were all the same.
Ace fell behind the wall when they started shooting.
Heart racing, he sprinted back towards the library, only glancing back once. The aliens were firing red lasers from their guns that tore through human flesh like butter, and they were shooting at anything that moved. He saw vehicles of some sort come out of the ship just as he turned the corner and rushed around the remains of the library towards the small entrance hole.
The second he was inside, he blocked up the door as securely as possible and took the steps two at a time until he was back with his brothers, both of whom jumped at his sudden arrival.
"Is that…are they shooting!?" Sabo asked, eyes flicking upward. The sounds of the alien's weapons and assault coming through the walls.
"Yeah, they're on the ground now." Ace explained, arms opening for Luffy as he threw himself into his arms, "It's bad, Sabo. Real bad." They cuddled up in a corner, trying to comfort each other as dust and rocks fell from the attack happening above. Every scream or whizz of a gun made Luffy tremble harder.
"A-Are…are we g-gonna die?" He finally asked, voice barely a whisper and hoarse from all the dust he'd inhaled. Ace's bottom lip trembled, unsure what to say. He wanted to comfort his baby brother and tell him it'd be okay, that they'd be okay and go back to Dadan's, but…
"Don't worry." Sabo said in his place, "No matter what, we'll stick together. We'll protect you, Lu." Ace sent his brother a grateful look.
"That's right, we're your big brothers, and we won't let anything happen you." Luffy sniffled and big, brown eyes met his own.
"…but what if an alien comes?"
"Then we'll beat the crap out of it!" Ace put in, brandishing a fist in faux bravado.
He had to fake it, for Luffy.
Smoker didn't bother leaving the ship until the majority of the ground invasion was over, at least for this particular sector. He didn't want to deal with trigger happy rookies who enjoyed mowing down their enemies with no sense of remorse or conscious.
With his helmet under his arm, Smoker exited the interior of the ship into the docking bay, where his bike was waiting. The vehicle was quite large with compartments on both sides available for storage and heavy-duty wheels for difficult terrain. It was one of his prize possessions. He also brought a few weapons, just in case: first, a standard issue assault gun, second, his jutte.
The long pole-like weapon had apparently belonged to his father who he had never had the pleasure of meeting. He didn't keep it for sentimental reasons, he just enjoyed using it. Unlike the bulky weapons many of his colleagues used, the jutte was light and allowed him great versatility when fighting.
Smoker opened one of the storage compartments, noting it was mostly empty. Oh well, it wasn't like he really needed to bring anything other than some snacks and water. In the other box, he had a few blankets and an army issue survival kit that included medical supplies.
Securing his helmet over his head, Smoker swung a leg over the bike and turned it on. He wished he didn't have to wear the insulated suit, but it was required regardless of whether or not he could breath in the atmosphere. The Dark Planet had an interesting mix of elements that weren't poisonous to breathe in, but he did run the risk of becoming lightheaded due to the thinness of the air.
Riding out of the ship and down the ramp, Smoker examined his surroundings. This area of the planet had lots of fields and not many settlements. Adjusting his in-helmet screen, he magnified his sight. The town closest to the ship looked to have been already hit by their forces, and hard. Beyond that was a much larger city that appeared to be in the throes of combat.
It was likely the soldiers had rushed through the smaller village to reach the large one, more humans to "punish".
He could see some interesting ships in the sky, ones that didn't belong to them. Perhaps the humans were finally trying to fight back?
Returning his screen to normal, Smoker revved his bike and set out towards the village closest to him. Though it was mostly destroyed, he wanted to take his time and maybe learn something more about the Dark Planet's inhabitants.
The first thing he noticed upon entering the settlement's border was how many bodies there were. Curious to see one up close, Smoker stopped and dismounted his bike. After kneeling down next to one, he flipped it over so he could see its face. The human was definitely dead and appeared male to his eyes. Interestingly, it wore a blue uniform, much like many of the others around them.
A member of the military perhaps?
The human's skin was squishy to the touch, though he couldn't feel it through his suit. No wonder they died so easily; they had no natural protection!
Before he stood up, Smoker closed the soldier's eyes. Though they were enemies, he'd died trying to protect his people and deserved at least some honor in death.
Moving back to his bike, he kept his eyes open for any movement. Though he couldn't see anything with his naked eye, it was possible some survivors were around. If there was one thing he'd learned during his time in the military, it was that living things were stubborn, especially when they were threatened with extinction.
Seating himself on his vehicle, Smoker activated its scan by tapping a few buttons on the screen that was strategically placed between the two handlebars. If there were humans around, he would know.
Continuing through the wrecked settlement, he examined what was left of the architecture. For a primitive species, they built some impressive structures. Smoker's attention moved back to the screen on his bike when it beeped. There were only about one-hundred blips, not many for the size of the village.
Some of them were Celestial soldiers as indicated by the red color of the dots that resonated with the devices in their suites. The green dots had to be humans, and a group of them was coming towards him. Casually stopping and stepping off his bike, he acted as if he was examining the remains of a building, allowing them to approach.
He didn't know if these were hostile and he didn't want to kill unnecessarily.
Smoker dug through the rubble and pulled out the burnt remains of what had to be a book. Though the pages were black, there was writing on it. He flipped through it, looking for some indication of what it said. Unfortunately, the human's strange language (or many languages?) was beyond his comprehension.
Still, for them to have written history meant they had progressed as a civilization beyond many others in the universe.
He put the book down when something bounced off his back armor. Standing up and turning around, he was met by a group of humans, some of which were armed with what appeared to be guns. Two who wore blue were at the front, shaking as they yelled something at him and to their group.
The humans behind them were a mix of ages and didn't wear blue, which led Smoker to believe they were non-combatants. One of them was a large female with bright hair that almost looked like a female Lyca. She escorted a group of children and frail looking males down the street after a stiff glare at him.
Smoker ignored the weak group and focused on the humans in blue. After the non-combatants left, four more soldiers appeared. He wasn't terribly worried having already seen their weapons could not penetrate his armor. But he also didn't want to kill them if he could help it-
His thought was interrupted when they all opened fire. With a sigh, Smoker removed his jutte from his back, armor absorbing the shock of whatever was in those guns easily. It didn't take long to incapacitate the humans; all it took was some swift hits to their heads or neck and they fell.
He knelt next to them to check if they were still alive once he'd taken them all down. Two were still breathing, but the others…it appeared he hadn't checked his strength enough. They were dead.
'Damn.' Smoker thought, standing up. Humans were so…fragile. And these were the males!
A soft sound made him turn around, bloody jutte still in his hand. His eyes widened slightly at the sight of a child. It was about the size of the ones that had just passed, and it had obviously been trying to sneak past him while his back was turned.
Had it…seen him kill these soldiers?
Upon closer inspection, this one was male and had strange spots on his face. Before he could make a move, it yelled something behind him in that nonsensical language of theirs, prompting another human boy to emerge, this human holding a tiny one in his arms.
They took one last look at him and started running down the street, doing their best to avoid burning rubble and holes. Smoker huffed and sat down on his bike to clean off his jutte.
Luffy peeked over Sabo's shoulder to watch the big alien as his brothers ran as fast as they could. Once everything quieted down again, they'd left their safe spot to try and find help. Amazingly, Ace had spotted Dadan and the others, only to watch the policemen get struck down by the armored alien.
Now they were running for their lives, praying they could catch up to Dadan.
"Is it coming!?" Ace yelled, not looking back.
"No, I don't think…wait…it's getting on the bike!" Sabo replied, briefly glancing back at the big alien. Luffy swallowed bile rising in his throat. Would it hit them with its stick like it did the nice policemen? He didn't want to die!
"DADAN!" Ace screeched, "Where are you!?" His voice was drowned out by the sound of airplanes up above and the vehicle starting up behind them. Luffy held onto Sabo tighter as the alien began to ride closer to them. There was no way they could outrun it.
Sabo (and Luffy) followed Ace as he took a sharp left down an alley way with lots of debris. His freckled brother crawled through a small space blocked by fallen beams and accepted Luffy from Sabo so he could follow him. The hole was so small, maybe the alien wouldn't keep coming after them?
When Sabo had trouble getting through the space, Ace put Luffy down to help him. By the time they were all through, the alien had stopped his bike at the entrance of the alley and was watching them closely.
It was hard to tell what it was thinking when they couldn't see its face, just a cloudy helmet.
"Don't stop!" Sabo told him, grabbing his hand to continue running, "This might slow it down, but probably won't be enough to-"
They ran straight into Ace's back, sending Luffy flying down onto his bottom.
"Oi, Ace! What-" Sabo stopped short at the sight of the rubble in front of them, newly fallen and directly in their path. Luffy got up with a whine of pain and watched his big brothers try to find a way through the blocked path, to no avail.
They were trapped.
Smoker wasn't sure what to do.
He'd followed the human younglings mostly because they were running down the only accessible street in the village (due to the rubble) and they'd somehow ended up crawling into an area they couldn't get out of, without going past him at least.
It was clear that in their fear they'd done it accidently, and now the two bigger ones were exchanging heated words while the small one started trembling. Smoker glanced at his screen to see if the large female was still around. Perhaps he could guide them back this way so they could take them into their group?
Unfortunately, there were no more large groups on his radar, indicating they'd probably gotten in a ground vehicle and escaped the area already. With a huff he stepped off his bike and leaned against it, making the three children flinch away with big eyes.
Humans were such flighty things.
He supposed he could just leave them. Once he was gone, they'd probably just climb back through the debris and-
Smoker was drawn out of his thoughts by his communicator beeping inside his helmet. With a tap to the side of his visor, a voice came through directly into his ear.
"Attention, this is a direct message from the Supreme Commander." Smoker raised an eyebrow. Sengoku? The man was overseeing the invasion off-planet, not far from the planet's moon. "Sectors 33, 48, 109, and 111-157 have been cleared for debridement. All personnel need to evacuate to their ships immediately until further notice. I repeat-"
That…wasn't good. Debridement was another name for burning everything in the area to the ground using a weapon the Great Ones were particularly fond of. Clicking his bike screen, he checked what sector the settlement was in.
'157…crap. Just on the edge of it…' It would be simple to get on his bike and ride back to the ship. After all, he and the other soldiers were used to dealing with the whims of the Celestials. They probably wanted to carve something into the planet as a symbol of their dominion or something. However, that would also mean leaving these three humans at the mercy of fire and a heat so intense they would die very painful deaths.
What to do…
"Chase, you read me?" It was a familiar voice, one he recognized right away.
"Aokiji, what do you want?" He replied, trying not to make any sudden movements that would scare the humans even more, "If you're calling to accept my transfer request for this mission it's a little late." Kuzan laughed.
"Nah, you're stuck with Sakazuki for the time being. Did you hear the report? I noticed you're in one of the red areas."
"Yeah, I just got it. I'm on my way back to the ship now. How long do I have?"
"Not long, I recommend you hurry."
The communicator turned off, bringing a curse from his lips. If he didn't hurry up, he would be fried along with the humans, and Akainu probably wouldn't bother to wait for him. If only he'd been put on Aokiji's ship instead…he would've waited for him.
With another look at the small humans, Smoker made his decision. He couldn't just leave them to die, regardless of their race or current status. Hopefully he could return them to their planet after the invasion was over. Akainu would probably mock him for his bleeding heart, but only if he found out.
He could feel three sets of eyes on him as he reached into one of his bike's storage compartments and pulled out the survival kit. The other side was pretty much empty, so he could put them in there…hopefully. They were probably going to fight him, so he would need to put them out somehow.
Smoker didn't want to use force or risk killing them. These were younglings, not adults.
'I'm really not cut out for dealing with children.' He mused as he took out some rope and put it to the side. For once, he wished his bumbling second in command Tashigi was here. She was better equipped to handle situations that required delicacy.
With his jutte on his back, Smoker removed his sanctioned gun from its holster, hitting a switch that changed it from deadly to stun. Honestly, he wasn't sure how the human's frail bodies would react to it, but it was currently his best option. At the sight of the weapon, the humans started to panic and squeal in those high pitched voices of theirs.
The two larger ones tugged the little human behind them and picked up pieces of metal. Smoker sighed as they brandished their make-shift weapons. Of course, with his back against the wall, he would do the same thing.
With one hand holding the gun, he used his free hand to push debris out of his way so he could reach the fearful humans. The closer he got, the more the older two growled. Did humans bite? He hoped not.
The second he stepped into their space, the two metal rods hit him on the head and chest. Naturally, they bounced right off, sending the two bigger humans skidding along the ground. Smoker observed their movements for a bit, somewhat impressed with their teamwork and how they immediately rebounded for another attack.
However, he didn't have much time.
On their next assault, he grabbed the dark colored one's weapon and wrenched it out of his hands, deciding he would be first. It hadn't taken long to deduce that this one was the most violent of the three. With a slight push of the trigger, a pulse exited the gun's barrel and hit the kid straight on.
He collapsed to the ground, limp within seconds.
The youngest cried out and the one with lighter coloring took a step back, but only momentarily. He flung himself at Smoker again, this time with more force. The old soldier decided this one was the strategist, never coming at him the same way twice, trying to figure out a weakness. But, with a flick of his wrist and pull of the trigger, the second boy went down, unconscious and hopefully not dead.
The only one left, the tiny one with the hat, rushed forward when the second human fell and attempted to rouse them with little shakes and calls. Smoker watched with pity in his eyes as the little dark-haired child tried to pull his kin away from him.
Holstering his gun (because he had no idea what that would do to a human so small), Smoker knelt down in front of the little one and reached for him, which made him screech and scramble away as fast as his weak legs could take him.
Though they were all filthy, this one had quite a bit of blood on his face from a head wound. It was a deep red color, just like his. How curious. Also interesting was the old scar under his left eye. Smoker couldn't help but wonder how that had happened.
When he finally grabbed hold of the boy, he beat his little fists against his armored hands and flailed around like a wriggling amphibian. Smoker held him at arm's length when it started curling its dull teeth around one of his fingers. Apparently, humans do bite.
Though it didn't hurt, it did make him feel somewhat uncomfortable. So, as quickly as possible he carried the squirming human back to his bike and coiled rope around his torso and ankles. The human definitely didn't like that and fought him as much as he could, but compared to Smoker, he was like a babe throwing a tantrum. The difference in strength was incomparable.
He tested the ropes, not wanting them to be too tight before gently placing the snapping human into the right side compartment. He'd put a blanket in the bottom to give them some cushion and there were already small holes in the sides that would allow them air.
The child's hat was squished against his back and he pushed against the ropes as best he could. When he finally discovered he was going nowhere, his lip quivered, and he gave Smoker possibly the most dejected, tear-filled look he'd ever received.
It was like an arrow to the heart.
But he was a man, a soldier of the Celestial Alliance! He would not be swayed by a human child. Shaking off the surfacing feelings and emotions, Smoker jogged over to retrieve the other two who were thankfully NOT dead.
Tying them both up like the youngest, he stepped back to admire his work. They fit snuggly in the box, the older two leaned up against the sides and breathing slowly. Before he put the lid back on, he knelt down and looked the small one in the eye.
"This is for your own good, brat." He said, despite knowing the human had no idea what he was saying, "It's either me, or fire." The little one sniffled and continued to cry, which just made Smoker feel worse.
So, instead of facing the strange feelings that wouldn't stop bubbling up inside him, he closed the lid over his three unwilling passengers. They probably wouldn't ever understand what he was doing or why, but at least they'd be alive.