Chapter Text
They didn't understand, they couldn't understand. Why? Why was this happening to them? All they ever wanted was to be free and even that was stripped away from them. It's been five years! Five years since three brothers has had even a taste of the freedom, they used to desperately seek out. By the time they had realized what was happening to them, it was too late...
They had been trapped, stuck inside of this place, this place of the gods, or at least that's what they say they are. However, this place can only be described as hell. The three brothers who once would never back down, never once did they listen to an order given to them. Even their grandfather who tried to make them become marines, despite his efforts by putting them through trainings, they refused and rebelled each time.
Now... They've been reduced to begging. They have had to beg for their lives, for the lives of each other, meanwhile, these gods, false gods laughed.
They laughed... and laughed... they enjoyed causing the misery. They found enjoyment in making people that never had a chance to stand up to status suffer. To these false gods, they were exposable, something that they could easily throw away and replace like garbage. However, they didn't.
Why? Why hadn't they thrown them away yet? Why were they still here!? The brothers don't know the answers to their questions.
Then a false god had slipped. They called them demons. Then it made sense. How could they have known? Who told them of their heritage? How did they know!?
It was a common question they all three asked themselves. Was their blood really different? Did it look different to others? Was it a different color or was it the same dark red as everyone else? Could two of the boys really be different because they hold the initial "D", and their third brother was just caught in the crossfire. They would overhear the conversations of the false gods, apparently those who held the initial of "D" are just hollow shells of what they used to be. However, they used to be the ones that would oppose them. They were the enemy to the gods that thought themselves to be all powerful.
No matter what, the three brothers wouldn't break. They would not let themselves fall into a state of hopelessness. They refused! These false gods would not be the reason they give up. In that very moment, it was decided. They needed to escape; they weren't going to be someone else's property anymore! The brothers weren't going to live in their hell any longer.
"Hang on just a little bit longer Lu, we'll be off this island soon, I promise." Ace told his little brother as he felt three taps against his back. Ace glanced over towards his blonde brother who was running next to him, checking behind them making sure that they weren't being followed. "Sabo." Ace called out and his blonde brother turned to him.
"What is it Ace?" Sabo asked him, panting a bit.
Ace motioning towards a stack of boxes near an abandoned building. "Over there. We can stop for a moment to catch our breath and figure out a way off the island." Ace suggested.
"Good idea, but we can't stay for long." Sabo warned.
Ace nods and runs over to it. They three of them hid between the building and boxes keeping an eye out for any of them men chasing them, ready to bolt if they were spotted. Carefully, Ace placed Luffy on to the ground crouched next to him keeping an eye out with Sabo. "Any idea where we are Sabo?" Ace whispered looking over towards Sabo.
"No, but we have to move soon. They'll find us and take us back where they'll kill us or even worse." Sabo whispered back to him.
Before all three of them thought death was the worst thing that could happen to a person. Now, after spending five years in that hell, their views have changed. There were things in this world that was far worse than death.
"Ace, let me carry Luffy for a while. That way you don't use all your energy." Sabo whispering as he turned to his older brother.
Ace nods a bit turning towards Luffy who had also nodded a bit in agreement. "We need a plan. We can run circles forever. They'll find us eventually." Ace comments. Ace hated running from fights. He wasn't weak and he didn't want to be seen as weak by running away. Now though, his brothers are his priority. Getting them far away from the true monsters as he possibly could.
"The place is an island, right? We are bound to find a dock eventually. If we can get to a dock, then we can steal a ship and get off this damn island." Sabo explained.
"Right, then let's go." Ace said.
Sabo nodded his head before he turned towards Luffy and lifted him up placing him on his back before picking a direction away from the way they came, hoping it would lead them to the docks.
Luckily enough as the three boys ran, they came across a town that was close to a dock. There were boxes and bags piled on nearby a small boat. "Look there's a boat. We can use that one to get out of here." Sabo said pointing towards it.
"Great, we can figure out where we are going later." Ace said as they ran over to the boat.
Before they were able to untie the boat from the dock they were stopped. "Hey! What do you three think you are doing?" a man called out. He was wearing a white, with light brown hair that was in a pompadour hairstyle. Next to him was a shorter man that was wearing a ruffled outfit, white tights, with short brown hair. Both Ace and Sabo froze slightly as Luffy looked startled by their appearance. However, his startled expression didn't last very long.
"There they are! Get them!" one of the guards shouted pointing towards the docks.
"Shit. Come on Sabo. I'll hold these two back if you get the boat untied." Ace said panicked forgetting about the older men there and went back to trying to steal the boat from right in front of them.
However, Luffy fought his way out of Sabo's grip and ran over to the man in a white uniform gripping tightly on their leg, it caught all of them off guard especially the older brothers.
"Thatch! What the hell?!" the other shouted.
"I don't know what's happening either!" the man named Thatch shouted back slightly shocked now looking at the younger boy who was now pointing in the direction the guards had been coming from and hid his face. Soon both Ace and Sabo were next Luffy hiding behind the taller man.
At first, Thatch was panicking. There were three boys now attached to his leg, the smaller of the three didn't speak a word but his intentions were loud and clear. They were asking for help.
"Thatch, we got company!" Haruta exclaimed looking at the guards approaching them.
Thatch placed his hand carefully on the smaller boy's head. In turn the other two glared at him for daring to touch the smaller but he smiled at them. "Don't worry, I got your message. We'll help you." he told them. "You have to let of me though long enough for me and my friend to take care of those guards." Thatch explained.
At first the smaller boy hesitated, and he understood. To them, while they were asking him for help, he was a complete stranger to them. They didn't know if he would betray them or not. But then, the boy let go and Thatch turned towards Haruta. "Let's take the guards out." Thatch said.
Haruta nods pulling out his saber and Thatch pulled out his own sword to handle business.
The guards were either dead or unconscious by the time Thatch and Haruta took care of them. Turning back to the small group of boys Thatch was finally able to grasp their condition. All three of them were malnourished, they were extremely skinny for boys their ages. It was shocking to see that they had the energy to run for as long as they did. Two of the three boys had cuffs on them, given that they don't have the explosive collars on them, it was Thatch's guess that they somehow found the keys or in pure desperation were able to get them off. the cuffs suggested that the two had devil fruit powers.
How dare someone treat three children so coldly. Children weren't something that could be tossed around like a rag doll. They weren't a punching bag for adults to take their anger out on and they definitely weren't something that could be replaced. "Thatch?" Haruta asked him. "What are we going to do with them?" he continued.
Thatch crouched down to the three boys who all stepped back and the taller two stepped in front of the smaller one. "Don't worry, you're safe now. We aren't going to hurt you." Thatch told them.
"How the hell do we know that we can trust you?" the freckled boy shouted.
"You'll just give us back to them! We won't go back to that hellish place! We won't!" the blonde also yelled. The two of them were aggressive and hand every right to be that way. It wasn't until the smaller one rest his head on the shoulders of both boys shaking his head. This did seem to calm them down. Even if it was just a little bit. "Are you sure? Do you really want to take such a high risk?" the blonde boy asked him.
When the smaller of the three nodded his head and looked back up at Thatch, the look in the boy's eyes made Thatch even more determined. He felt driven to help protect them. The look was had pure naive innocence, but it was clearly damaged. It was damaged by someone cruel and heartless. Thatch didn't have the heart to turn a blind eye to them. He was positive once Pops saw them, he would think the same thing.
"We're going to take them back to the ship." Thatch told Haruta.
"What!? Are you nuts!? Why are we doing that?! What about Pops and Marco?!" Haruta asked him.
"Don't worry I'll handle it." Thatch answered him.
Haruta looked at Thatch before turning to the three boys and sighing. "You can't turn away, can you?"
"No, I mean look at them Haruta. They need help, desperately and I want to help them." Thatch told him honestly.
"Alright fine, let's load everything onto the ship and get going before they send a search party." Haruta responded as he put his saber away.
The older ones eyed both of them suspiciously, however they relaxed when the younger one butted his way between the two of them. Thatch carefully nudged the boys over to the boat to help them aboard and afterwards, both himself and Haruta followed. Using the oars Haruta pushed off of the docks now heading back to the Moby Dick.
As they got further and further away from the island, the adrenaline that seemed to keep all three of them awake was wearing down before suddenly all three of them passed out.
"Woah!" Haruta exclaimed slightly shocked.
Thatch grabbed a spare blanket wrapping the three of them up to keep them warm. As he sat down Haruta looked back at him. "So, we are really doing this?" he asked.
"I couldn't turn a blind eye. They needed somebody's help. Most of the people on Sabaody are cowards anyways, having to live on the same island close to the Celestial Dragons, I don't blame them but still. No one else would have helped them. Their children, the gazes looked so hurt but so innocent. Someone hurt these three boys, given by the guards that attacked them, I have an idea on who. I don't want to believe that to be the case but the cuffs and how horrible their condition is. I have no choice but to believe it and it's a cruel reality." Thatch explained.
Haruta sighed and looked at his brother. "You're going to have a hell of a time explaining this one to Pops and Marco." he stated.
"I think Marco will come around. Besides once I explain the situation to Pops, he'll understand. That's how he found most of us. Just orphans with nowhere else to go or no one to turn to." Thatch argued.
"Fine, we'll just have to wait and hear what Pops says before we completely make a decision." Haruta sighed once again.
Thatch nodded his head turning his head back towards the three boys huddled together. Even in their sleep they stayed close together, this made Thatch curious if they'd known each other before they went through the hell they did or if it was a habit they had picked up. Either way he didn't want to leave them on their own. He wanted all three of them to have a home where they could feel safe again.