Sabo stepped off the boat wearily, eyes on the storm raging sky above him. He could feel Dragon's power crackle over Baltigo and it set his nerves on edge. He had never seen Dragon use his devil fruit like this before, not with a chance of hurting the people in his charge.
He eyed the bay and what he could see around him, spotting no other ships or reasons as to why Dragon was unleashing his power. But it explains so much as to why he was pulled from his undercover operation early.
"Sabo! Sabo thank the skies come quick!" Koala shouted as she rushed towards him, face pale and hair a mess.
Sabo quickened his pace, not many things unsettled Koala and to see her so just added another wave of anxiety to bubble up. "What's happened!?"
"No one knows! Dragon-san received a private call and then suddenly he was screaming, the storm had been raging for two days now, and no one can get into his office. Hack has been trying to get in but with Ivankov still in Impel Down… you were our last chance." Koala explained and all it did was cause Sabo to pick up his pace, feet slipping around corners, shoulder clipping a sharp edge.
But he didn't stop, not once, not when pain bloomed or when he cut his palm as he scrambled to right himself. Dragon's office was around the next bend, he could hear Hack now, could hear the rampage beyond the wooden door.
"Hack move!" He ordered, haki covering his right hand as he raised it and slashed down with Dragon Claw. The door cracked with a bang, debris adding to the mess inside. Sabo panted heavily as he stepped in, eyes flickering for any sign of his boss, who was currently sat hunched in his chair eyes glued to his desk, the only thing that remained unshattered.
He could hear Hack follow him, Koala standing guard down the hall to make sure no one else entered while Sabo stepped closer. There was something heavy forming in his gut, something that niggled in a spot that he mainly recognised as the empty space of his memories.
"Dragon-san?" Sabo called softly, hands raised and armament ready. "What's happened?"
Dragon's eyes flickered up and Sabo couldn't help but flinch, the usual stoic man was in pieces, eyes red but no tears to stain his face. Blood trickled down a cut on his left cheek, shallow and probably caused by debris from either the bookcases, the table, or… His breath hitched as his eyes trailed down to see the report before Dragon.
Goa kingdom raised to the ground by Buster Call, son of Dragon the Revolutionary, carrier of the Hito Hito No Mi: Model Nika, Monkey D. Luffy confirmed dead.
Sabo felt his heart slam into his chest, eyes blurring as his breathing began to quicken. Bile churned and bubbled in his throat as he continued to read the name repeatedly. Monkey D. Luffy. Pain bloomed behind his eyes, head swimming with laughter and warbled words.
"Sabo! Sabo! Can you teach me to read!"
"Sabo is the best brother!"
"…share some sake… wherever we go… ventures we have… we'll always be brothers…"
"Sabo, we can't leave Luffy alone, he needs us."
"Sabo! HEY, SABO, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"
Two boys ran frantically through the dark, their brother's name tearing from their lips in a panic. They shouldn't have teased him so, they should have realised they had taken it too far and… and they should have followed instantly instead of waiting for Luffy to calm down… now it's dark and they don't know where he is.
They skidded to a stop at the edge of the ravine, hearts hammering in their chest. Ace scanned each way while bile rose in Sabo's throat as he skittered to the edge and looked down praying to the gods he never believed in that Luffy wasn't at the bottom.
Wide dark eyes stare up at him from the dried ravine he fell in, hair flickering like dying embers from the fire of their torch. A sniffle was heard and in an instant Sabo was at the bottom of the empty ravine, hands pulling the small form of his brother close while Ace cursed behind him.
"Luffy, are you hurt?" He asked frantically, hands roaming over the rubbery limbs as he landed next to Sabo and Luffy.
Luffy's lip wobbles as he nods, hands coming up to show deep scrapes from trying to stop his fall.
"Oh, that's okay, it's just a graze little brother, Sabo will fix you right up okay?" Sabo whispered as he quickly cleaned the cuts and ripped his cravat free to use as a makeshift bandage. "Then Ace will find you some crocodile to cheer you up, once he smothers you in his own brand of worrying, okay?"
"Okay." Luffy sniffles as he curls up in Sabo's arms once he's bandaged. Blue eyes lifted to lock onto worried silver, arms ready to catch their precious little brother.
We can't leave Luffy alone… he needs us… needs us… the words from long ago echoed back.
"Thank you for finding me and saving me… again. I'm sorry I ran away." Luffy sniffled once he was bundled up in his brothers' arms, dripping wet still.
Ace and Sabo share another look. "That's what big brothers are for. You don't need to be sorry Lu, we should be sorry for being mean. Come on, let's get you home and dry and I'll find us a crocodile for dinner 'kay?"
"Okay, love you."
Sabo snapped back with a gasp, memory upon memory, every interaction, declaration of brotherhood and love, every denden call with Shanks as they told him what Luffy had been up to.
A scream follows the gasp as reality slammed back in, knees hitting the ground as his legs give out, tears pooling and spilling as he hunches forward, hands clenching the report and his hair both with all his might. The sting was sharp but it didn't matter… nothing mattered right now because… because…
His baby brother was dead… where was ACE!? WHERE WAS ACE!? LUFFY WAS DEAD!
Oh seas… his little brother was gone, and Sabo wasn't there. The last he saw of Luffy was him reaching out, crying, and screaming his name while he was stolen away from his bastard of a sperm donor and surrounded by fire. That image was the last he would ever see personally, would never be able to… never be able to hug his brother again to tell him he was alive.
He could hear his name being screamed but he ignored it all, letting the agony consume him and the blackness take over.
X
Sabo stared blankly out into the ocean; the moon high in the sky. He could sense Dragon in the hold, where he has been since they left Baltigo. Hack and Koala have been floating around making sure that Sabo ate and slept but it was a fruitless effort.
He had no desire to eat, everything tasted like ash on his tongue since the day he woke up in the infirmary with the entirety of his memories and Luffy's name spilling from his lips in a broken sob. Sleep was another issue; his nightmares had grown worse since the incident.
He dreamt of his brothers burning in the fires of Grey Terminal but mostly it was of Luffy burning crying out and alone… because Ace was a Whitebeard Pirate and had kept his promise of setting out to sail at 17…
Bile always churned in his stomach and burned his throat as he realised that if the Buster Call didn't happen Luffy would have continued to be alone… he had been alone since Ace sailed and… he died alone and probably scared out of his mind…
In his nightmares he could hear Ace screaming, raging, and blaming Sabo as well as himself for not being there, for not stopping this… but mainly Sabo dreamt of Luffy as he was when he was a kid, beaten and bloody, staring up at him with dark blame filled eyes.
Realistically, Sabo knew that Luffy wouldn't blame him… but Sabo blamed himself.
The entire trip to dawn was a blur to Sabo, everything after the moment they stepped onto the charred earth of his home island was a blank spot filled with memories until the sounds of arguing breached the melancholy spiral of his mind twisting said memories up.
Anger flickered in Sabo as he watched Dragon and Shitty Gramps argue, his heartbreaking along with it when Shanks arrived and that brought a fresh wave of guilt. He still didn't utter a word, not one, not even when Dragon glanced his way when Sabo followed a path only he could see up to the cliff than follow the straight line Garp set.
Seeing Ace again for the first time in years hurt. Because the man before him was not someone he recognised. Gone was the boy who was defiant, angry, and strong… in place was now a broken shell of a man with hollow eyes that he hadn't seen since before Luffy, since the day that Ace asked Sabo if he deserved to live, and they became friends.
The anger was the same, the sharp jabs and snarls of firelit eyes. Sabo could tell that though his brother was weakened by seastone and grief, his Will was strong, and he could feel the fire bubble like a raging storm under his skin.
Sabo endured the wrath his brother placed upon him, deserving it for not being there for either of his brothers. His heart shattered as tears silently spilled over as he listened to Ace cry, Ace never cried, and his words echoed in his head.
He died still believing you were dead and now he will never know.
…now when it is too late… too late…
"I forgot." Sabo choked out, turning his head to face Ace who was being held within the First Commander of the Whitebeard Pirate's embrace. "I forgot you both… how… an injury is no excuse; I should have remembered… I should have… You and Luf were my most beloved treasures and I forgot…now… now Luffy…"
Shanks felt his heart break more for the two brothers, his own heart aching further as he fought back the thoughts himself. He recalled the day that Anchor and Firecracker called him to say Sabo was dead, he recalled every call after for days in a row of Ace desperately begging Shanks to help him get Luffy to eat.
His Anchor loved wholly, freely, and unconditionally… more so he loved fiercely to the point he would never let you go once you were his and the loss of Sabo was his first-ever loss.
"He wouldn't want you to do this." He rasped out, voice choked and rough from screams and thirst. "He wouldn't want us to do any of this, this arguing… this blame."
"Shanks."
He waved off his second and stared blankly at all of them. "We can sit in despair and play the would have, could have, should haves… we can play the what if game till the sky burns and the ocean dries up, but it'll change nothing… nothing at all… because Anchor is gone."
"The Brat is right." Garp started, earning bugged-out eyes and shock. "Luffy wouldn't want us to be sad, he'd be angry at us. He would want us to celebrate his life like he did after…"
No words could be said when Garp's eyes flickered over Sabo, drawing realisation from Ace who chuckled wetly and rubbed away his tears. "You're right. He smacked me the year after you know, told me that we can't be sad because it would be a dishonour – though he misspoke it – to Sabo for finding his freedom. We celebrated every year after that with memories that made us happy."
"That kid was such an idiot." Garp chuckled as he sat on the ground, eyes glazed and far away. He looked as haggard as he did when he arrived on The Redforce but dirtier, more exhausted. "But he could see your true self, could cut through any walls you make to hide emotion."
Sabo removed his pipe, hands clenched tightly around it, fingers finding the familiar groves his usage created over the years. His eyes took in every scratch and ding, every repair that he had made, never knowing why he always kept hold of this till now. It was subconsciously a reminder of what was, a memento of his childhood that his brain – even with memory loss – couldn't let go.
"You know this was Luffy's last gift to me." Sabo started, twisting the pipe to show the damaged section of his pipe he had mended after he woke up and healed in the Revolutionary's base. His name was carved crudely, childlike. "It was the only reason why I know my name. Anyone in the Revs can tell you how protective I am of this, how many bones I have broken because someone tried to take it… I never knew till now."
Ace choked on a small laugh as he removed himself from Marco's embrace, taking the pipe and turning it, finger pointed to the small scratches that were covered by a weld. "Mine and Luffy's initials were here, I helped him make it for you after yours broke fending off that bear. How did you even keep hold of it?"
"When I snuck out, I found where it was tossed, I grabbed it and hid it with my things," Sabo replied before taking the pipe back and with his Haki and his strength, slammed it into the ground.
Shanks grinned as he watched the blonde step back, tears silently dripping down his face, fingers falling limp off the cold metal. Ace stepped forward with shaking hands, slipping off the tattered red and white bracelet he had always carried with him, the brothers not really needing to explain, only exchanging a small smile.
That bracelet had withstood time, fires, the New World, and it will continue to withstand the barren earth here. A memento made with love, one of the first gifts Ace had ever received made by small hands guided by a green-haired woman they called family.
Garp was next, taking off a locket that he had always carried and opened it to reveal a picture of all four of them when they were young, fingers gently closing the case once again hiding away the image as he whispered his own goodbyes. Benn startled many as he stepped forward next, pulling out a familiar dagger, a huff of laughter escaping those from the Redforce that had joined them.
"That kid stole my knife without me knowing and used it to show his idiotic way of bravery. Haven't used it since... couldn't for the life of me lose it or use it after that." He explained, thumb rubbing under his own eye when the brothers frowned at him in confusion, both snorting in laughter as they began to understand.
Dragon didn't move, couldn't, not when he didn't have anything to add to the memorial that his brothers started and didn't that just burn. He watched as everyone but the Whitebeard Pirates stepped up and placed something even if it was a token of a memory of that day, of his son… yet… Dragon had nothing.
His eyes flickered to Red-Haired Shanks, his anger from earlier dying as he finally takes in the man's appearance. He looked shattered in a way that was worse than before, worse than what Dragon could recall seeing after Gol D. Rogers death, this looked like a man who had lost his sole purpose of living… like a father who had to bury his son…
Sharp inhales knocked him from his thoughts as he saw Red-Hair lift a ragged straw hat from below his cloak, burned and scorched, stained red with the blood of Luffy, and place it directly on top of it all. Hand clutching tight to the crown, tears pooling in his eyes.
None but the Red-Haired Pirates could understand the gesture, the thoughts that were running through their captain's head. It was a broken memory, a pain-filled gesture of what once was.
"I hope you found freedom, Anchor," Shanks whispered soft and low; voice carried off in the wind. "My son, goodbye."