Chapter Text
Luffy was lying against Ace. He was troubled. His brother wasn’t doing well. Luffy didn’t know what to think about what had just happened.
He remembered sitting in his cell, waiting for time to pass. He heard Ace sigh, but it didn’t make him react. He felt like sighing too. What did make him react, though, was when he heard Ace shouting his name. Luffy quickly turned his head and saw his brother clutching the bars, looking at him with a frightened expression.
"What’s going on?" Luffy asked anxiously.
His brother didn’t answer. He was pale. He was shaking. It was like he was terrified. Ace tried to rip the bars off, but the effort was useless. Luffy also stood up and approached Ace’s cell.
"Are you okay, Ace?"
"STOP IT! Please…"
Luffy’s eyes widened as Ace started to cry. Who was his brother talking to? Luffy would’ve liked to think Ace was just having a nightmare, but he was sure Ace hadn’t fallen asleep. But what else could it be?
"Ace, calm down. You’re having a nightmare, right?"
"Take me instead!" Ace replied.
Luffy didn’t know what to do to help his brother. Ace’s sobs hurt his heart, just like his cries of frustration. He started hitting the bars of his cell until his hands were covered in blood.
"No, Ace, stop! You’re hurting yourself and it’s useless!"
But his brother wasn’t listening. He kept slamming his fists—and then his head—against the metal bars. Blood dripped from his forehead. Luffy shouted at him to stop, but Ace wasn’t listening. He was trapped in his grief, unaware of Luffy’s presence.
Suddenly, Ace’s sobbing stopped. Luffy saw horror in his brother’s eyes.
"Luffy?" Ace murmured.
"Yes, Ace, it’s me," Luffy replied, uneasy about the tone in Ace’s voice.
"Luffy?" Ace repeated, voice trembling with worry.
"Ace… can you see me?"
His brother didn’t answer. He was staring at Luffy’s feet. He was shaking with fear. He wasn’t moving. His breathing was becoming heavier, like he was panicking. He looked deathly pale. The pain in his eyes made Luffy even more determined to help him.
"I’m here, Ace. It’s okay," Luffy tried to reassure him.
Luffy had never seen anyone have a nightmare like this. He’d seen Ace wake up from bad dreams and take a while to return to reality. But he’d never seen him hit his head. It had never lasted this long. And Ace had never looked so terrible. Luffy was worried for his brother. He looked like he was about to throw up.
Finally, Ace moved. He let go of the bars he had clutched so tightly his hands had turned white. He punched the wall, the ground, and to Luffy’s horror, he punched himself in the stomach. His brother wouldn’t stop, as if possessed by rage.
"STOP, ACE! STOP!" Luffy shouted desperately.
Ace froze. Luffy hoped his brother had regained awareness. Ace turned his head toward Luffy and collapsed to his knees. The tears that had stopped started flowing again. He was paler than death. He was trembling so much. Ace covered his ears with his hands and closed his eyes. He couldn’t breathe properly. He looked destroyed.
Luffy couldn’t bear seeing his brother like that anymore. Ace’s suffering sparked rage in him. He grabbed the bars of his cell and tore them off violently using his Haki. He did the same to Ace’s cell. His brother didn’t deserve this! Luffy had to do something!
Ace backed into the corner of the cell as if Luffy were going to attack him. That hurt Luffy, just like the sound of his endless sobs and his suffocating breath. Luffy approached Ace and held him in an embrace to comfort him. Ace returned it, to Luffy’s relief.
"I’m so sorry, Luffy," he sobbed on his shoulder. " I’m really sorry. I hate myself so much. I’ll join you soon. We’ll be together again—you, me, and Sabo!"
Luffy didn’t understand why Ace was apologizing or why he was talking about joining him and Sabo. He didn’t know if Ace was still in that nightmare-like state, but he guessed he was, since the panic hadn’t left his face.
"Ace, don’t apologize. It’s going to be okay. I’ll get you out of here," Luffy promised.
This place was getting worse for Ace. Things were escalating day by day. They had to get out fast. Luffy felt Ace relax as he collapsed against him. That was better. Ace needed rest. Luffy hoped his brother would be better when he woke up. He laid Ace down on the floor and lay next to him.
Luffy looked at his brother’s face, twisted in emotional pain. His sweat-soaked hair stuck to his forehead. His skin was pale, highlighting his freckles. His eyebrows were furrowed, and his mouth was twisted in a grimace. He didn’t seem to be sleeping peacefully.
Luffy stopped looking at his brother. He wanted to think of a plan. But that wasn’t something he was used to—he didn’t know how. Still, he didn’t want to charge blindly onto the ship’s deck with his unconscious brother in his arms. He couldn’t bear to see his big brother suffer over and over again. He had to get him off this ship—no matter what. But how? Ace might be unconscious for a long time, and Mho and Sonchardri could show up at any moment, especially after all the noise they made. Plus, Luffy couldn’t even use his rubber powers because of the Sea Prism Stone bullet lodged in his stomach. He only had his Haki left. But could he take them all down? He didn’t know how resistant they were to Haki.
Still, Luffy decided he had to act. Ace couldn’t stay here any longer. Luffy had to try something. He was lifting his brother when Ace opened his eyes.
"Luffy…"
Luffy met his brother’s gaze, seeing recognition in it. Now that he was closer, Luffy noticed Ace’s eyes were bloodshot.
"You’re alive…" Ace murmured.
He closed his eyes to hold back his tears.
"Of course I’m alive! Good thing you woke up, I’m getting you out of here!"
Ace’s breathing trembled a bit, and he took a deep breath to calm down.
"Are you okay, Luffy?" he asked.
"Shouldn’t I be asking you that? Nothing happened to me."
"Good," Ace replied with a smile.
His eyes remained closed, trying to hide his tears from Luffy.
"Can you stand up, Ace?"
Ace shook his head. He was completely exhausted and couldn’t move.
"That’s okay. I’ll help you."
Luffy lifted Ace. His brother’s legs were trembling so much that without Luffy holding him up, he would’ve collapsed.
"I’ll carry you," Luffy informed him.
Ace still hadn’t opened his eyes, fighting off the death-filled memories invading his mind. He couldn’t even hear Luffy speaking as he fell into panic again. It was a shout from Luffy that brought him back. Ace opened his eyes, trembling with worry.
He looked on in horror to see a tranquilizer dart stuck in Luffy’s shoulder. He spotted Sonchardri and Mho, who had apparently fired it, standing in front of the cell with its bars ripped off.
Luffy, who had been supporting him, went limp and collapsed to the ground, bringing Ace down with him since he had no support left.
"What the hell is this mess?" Sonchardri grumbled.
"Doesn’t matter. The kid’s neutralized," Mho replied. "Let the others handle him. We’re taking Ace."
The two men grabbed the young man from the floor and dragged him away from his unconscious brother.
"No… Luffy…" he murmured weakly.
Ace feared he wouldn’t see Luffy alive again. He tried to fight off his captors, but he had no strength left. The idea of what might happen to his little brother made Ace shake in terror.
"Don’t worry," said Mho, mistaking Ace’s fear as being about the exam room. "You’re not getting injected. Teurpas wants to introduce you to some friends."
Ace barely registered the man’s words. He felt sick. He wanted to be near Luffy. He wanted to protect him. He had been so relieved to see his brother alive when he’d woken up. Luffy wasn’t a blood-soaked corpse. The only blood on Ace came from a small cut on his own head. There were no heads of Sabo or Marco on the floor. None of it had been real. But it had felt so real.
Ace’s thoughts were cut off when he was lifted. He was placed in a wooden crate. Someone closed the lid, plunging Ace into darkness. He panicked slightly. He felt like he was locked in a coffin. Were they really going to bury him alive?
Ace felt himself being moved. He took a deep, shaky breath and calmed himself. He had to stop being scared. Nobody would be scared of a dark box unless they were a coward. Ace wasn’t a coward. But his trembling hands said otherwise.
Ace hated being so weak. What had happened earlier wasn’t real, but it could easily come true one day. Ace was incapable of protecting Luffy. And what if what he saw had been a vision? It was possible. Maybe it was like the nightmares he had about Marco or the Straw Hats being attacked. Maybe he was cursed and all his nightmares had either already happened or would happen eventually. Ace trembled at the thought. He couldn’t relive Luffy’s death a second time. He wouldn’t survive it. He’d rather die. Another cowardly thought.
Ace figured Luffy had probably experienced the same emotional pain at Marineford.
Who says he cares about you as much as you think?
Ace quickly pushed the thought away, but doubt still lingered. He wouldn’t be surprised if Luffy stopped caring about him. After all, the voices in his nightmare were right.
Ace was a monster.
***
When Robin arrived in the village, she passed several men and women who looked like scientists heading toward the small hill. Two of them were carrying a large box, but she didn’t bother paying attention to it. She quickly rushed to gather the Straw Hats. It took her far too long to find them all, but they couldn’t afford to split up. Robin noticed the sun would set in less than an hour. The conference hadn’t started yet. They might still have time.
"I might have an idea where Ace could be."
Shouts of joy followed her statement. The Straw Hats hadn’t bothered to go into the bar like last time. They stayed outside, guessing that whatever Robin had to say, they wouldn’t have time for a drink. They weren’t wrong.
"How? Where is he?" Chopper asked excitedly.
"A man told me he heard someone talking about Ace like he knew where he was. That man is going to a scientific conference on top of the hill, which starts in less than an hour. Since Ace spent two years with scientists, I thought he might be there—or we might at least find people who could tell us something."
"Good deduction," Zoro noted.
"And if we find Ace, we’ll easily find Luffy!" Nami added excitedly.
They were all praying that their captain was okay. They hadn’t forgotten the blood found on the Mini Going Merry.
"Well, what are we waiting for? Let’s go to this conference!" Brook exclaimed.
The Straw Hats followed the living skeleton toward the small hill where a manor stood. They were placing all their hopes on this lead.
***
Luffy opened his eyes. He was no longer in his cell nor in Ace’s. He was in a different one. But the difference this time was that he wasn’t free to move around as he pleased inside. Short chains hanging from the wall bound his wrists, preventing him from moving. His hands were completely covered in metal. Luffy tried to spot his brother before attempting anything.
"Ace?"
His brother didn’t answer. Instead, a woman appeared in front of him. Her brown hair, tied in two pigtails, brushed her shoulders. She looked about Ace’s age. Luffy remembered seeing her the day he and his brother were attacked. But he couldn’t recall who she was or remember her name, even if Ace must have told him.
"I’m Riema Riecu," she introduced herself.
Ah, Luffy did know her. She was the one who had treated him.
"Your brother isn’t here. You were moved to a new cell, and we tied you up so you couldn’t break any more cages."
Luffy smiled. She greatly underestimated him if she thought a couple of chains could hold him.
"I can break free whenever I want."
"I don’t doubt that," Riema replied calmly. "But if I were you, I’d be careful. I believe you’ve already been warned about what would happen to your brother if you rebelled. And that’s exactly what you did. I suggest you don’t do it again."
Luffy’s eyes widened.
"You hurt Ace because I broke the bars of our cells?"
Luffy hadn’t thought before acting, but it was to help Ace—not to make him suffer even more in the end.
"No. I think my colleagues will be tolerant this time."
"Where is Ace, then?"
"He’s attending a conference with the others."
Luffy frowned, not expecting that answer.
"What’s he doing at a conference?"
Ace wasn’t in any condition to be going out and listening to people talk. And why would they bring him there?
"Doesn’t matter. I don’t have much time. The others will get suspicious if I stay here too long. I want to help you and your brother."
"Why?" Luffy asked suspiciously.
There was something about the woman that bothered him. He couldn’t tell what. Maybe it was her monotone tone of voice in every sentence? Her way of speaking was unsettling. Luffy didn’t trust her. But if his mistrust was only based on how she talked, maybe he was wrong. If this woman was his ticket out of here, Luffy had to take the chance.
"I didn’t sign up for this when I joined Teurpas’ team. Of course I want to help science progress, and yes, we need test subjects. But making them suffer like this, when they’re human beings—that I can’t accept. And I admire you, Monkey D. Luffy. You’re so young and so strong! It didn’t take you long to become a Yonko. I don’t want you to rot in this cell just to be used as leverage against Ace."
Luffy was starting to be convinced. Her reasons were valid.
"I’m not leaving without Ace," he warned her.
"I know. We’ll wait for him to return. In the meantime, I’ll organize our escape. Don’t tell anyone," the scientist ordered.
"Our escape?" Luffy repeated.
"Yes. I can’t stay here—especially if they find out I freed you and your brother."
"What will you do afterward?"
"I’ll go back to the lab where Ace was held. I need to collect some personal belongings, and I’ll take the opportunity to get revenge on those people who call themselves scientists."
Maybe, in the end, if this Riema Riecu didn’t like the people who had kidnapped Ace, Luffy could actually get along with her.