Chapter 6: Final Part

Three days later, 2 p.m., Paradise, somewhere on the vast ocean

Tired, deep brown eyes looked questioning at him. Watching every move Marco made.

"Tell me if anything hurts you, yoi." Marco said as he carefully scanned every inch of the young boy before him. At the same time, one of his nurses carried the dirty bandages away, which had hidden the alarming number of wounds and discoloured skin from prying eyes. Mentally Marco noted every time the boy – he should probably start to call him Luffy – whined low or flinched but didn't utter a word.

.*.

Marco sat on the railing, gazing at the horizon.

"So, that is the battleship...", Rakuyou said, lowering his spyglass.

A horizon with a lone battleship on which their wayward brother should travel.

"Did you not trust the report of the marines searching for a lone battleship?" asked Haruta hanging over the railing and looking over to the ship sailing in front of them.

"They removed all flags and markings, but you can still see that it is a battleship of the marines.", added Blamenco.

"Okay, guys, that's it.", Rakuyou shouted, turning around. "Let's pick up our wayward brother."

Cries of joy answered him, and the men on deck doubled their effects to catch up to the flagless ship.

.*.

Marco sighed. "Do you know how many broken bones you have, yoi?"

Luffy blinked at him and, puzzled, tilted his head to one side. "Oh? I have broken bones?"

"Yes, you do, yoi."

"That's strange. My bones normally don't break.", Luffy announced. "Think the first time it happened was while I was fighting idiot-Croco back in Alabasta. It was in my right hand. Chopper was freaking out, you know." The boy gazed at his hand.

What? Who is idiot-Croco? And how can that be the first time the boy broke a bone- wait, didn't Ace say something about his brother having the powers of a devil fruit since he was a small child? Marco frowned at the boy. Maybe his devil fruit powers prevented certain types of injuries. "Don't you feel pain while breathing in this area, yoi?" asked Marco, carefully touching the left side of Luffy's ribcage, which was covered by an ugly deep blue.

"Oh, yeah. Hurts a little.", answered the boy after a few seconds of attentive breathing. "But I had worse." The boy smiled a bright sunny smile – just like Ace if he was in the right mood.

"That's because your rips in this area at least are partially fractured.", said Marco. "You must be careful so that they don't break. Do you have any idea when you obtained this injury, yoi?"

The boy kicked with his feet as he sat on the examination table while his face squinched up. "I think- "he started slowly. "- that was as I fought that strange headdress-dude on the way out. He had this really long staff with blades on each end. That was so mean. I evaded getting cut, but he still hit me, which hurt for some strange reason. Afterwards, it always stung a little."

Marco closed his eyes for a moment. That boy – he really didn't know? "Did you get any other injuries in that fight, yoi?"

"Oh yeah!" he answered, pointing out various cuts and bruises, some behind, which Marco suspected were more broken bones. Marco carefully listened as the boy prattled on and on about his wounds and how he got them.

"-And that one I got as I fell on the battleship's deck after Ace called you guys." The boy pointed at a very deep-looking laceration on his forehead.

"You fell and injured yourself, yoi?" asked Marco eying the injury. It didn't look infected, but it would probably be good to clean it, just like all the other cut wounds which littered the boy's body.

The boy laughed sheepishly. "I was trying to stop Ace and Sabo from fighting but was too tired and fell on the deck. And a small piece of a broken sword was sticking out of the wood. Sabo said I must have fallen directly into it."

That will definitely get cleaned out.

"You were tired, yoi?"

The boy nodded. "Yes! Very, very, very, very, very, very tired. But I rescued Ace, so it was fine." The sunny smile was back.

Yeah, and stole their thunder. The boy was just a god-damn rookie as far as Marco knew but still was brave – or more like stupid – enough to go willingly to Impel Down to bust his brother – their brother, their duty – out.

"Are you still so very tired, yoi?" asked Marco.

The boy hesitated.

"I told you to be honest with me because that's the only way for me to help you. You remember, yoi?"

The boy fidgeted with his fingers as he looked down. "Yes.", he mumbled, barely audible.

"Yes, to what, yoi?"

"Me being still tired." The boy looked up at him with tired eyes. "But don't tell Ace or Sabo. They will only worry."

It wasn't like Marco didn't know that Ace was already apprehensive about his little brother.

.*.

Jumping off the railing, Marco clapped a man with a mask on the shoulders — Ace's former vice-captain and doctor. The dark eyes of the man gleamed with determination. Marco nodded at him before throwing one last look at the swaying battleship, which by now was so close that they could see people running around with the naked eye and going off the help his brothers.

Orders echoed around him as they decreased their speed.

The Moby 2 appeared on their side, ready to close in on the battleship from the other side.

Their allies fanned out around them.

And that's how the Moby Dick floated to a stop next to the smaller battleship.

Marco rushed to the side of the Moby Dick, right next to Pops and leaned over the railing while he heard Blenheim call for ropes to tie the battleship to their own. Up in the rig, their snipers – and everybody able to hold a gun with a secure hand – took position under Izous command. Marco's eyes searched the other ship's crowded deck for his little brother's familiar figure.

He saw several familiar figures.

To his surprise, he found Buggy sitting on the stairs leading up to the bow and practical gapping up at them like he couldn't believe to see the Moby Dick. Even though Marco hadn't seen the other man in person in decades – he only occasionally had seen his bounty poster, and even the last one years ago – he instantly recognised the red-nosed, blue-haired former cabin boy. Had Buggy been in prison, too? Strange, why had the marines not made a fuss about catching a former Roger Pirate?

And then he saw the little troublemaker.

Standing on the middle deck.

Ace!

With Jinbe in the back, a blond youth clothed in what looked suspiciously like parts of a uniform and about the same size as Ace on one side and a smaller black-haired teenager, covered in bandages and practically clutching Ace's arm on the other.

Ace was also covered in dirty bandages but smiled up at them.

A wave of relief flooded Marco.

Ace didn't look good, but he was up and smiling.

"Hey!" Ace shouted with a hoarse voice.

There went Marco's relief. That didn't sound good.

"Son!" answered Pops. "You have quite the party with you."

Ace laughed before it turned into coughing, and the two youths immediately turned to Ace and seemed to try to help him.

"Old man Whitebeard, can we get Ace and the other two here into the infirmary on the Moby?" called Jinbe up to them. "We don't know why Ace is coughing, but it worsens. And these two were deeply involved in freeing Ace, but both suffered serious injuries."

"Throw the rope ladder down." Pops's loud voice rumbled over Marco, and only seconds later, a ladder was thrown over the railing by one of his brothers.

Marco watched Jinbe push Ace and the two unknown youths to the ladder. Ace climbed on the railing to reach for the ladder but stopped and turned to Jinbe and the other two. Faintly the voices of Ace, Jinbe and the two youths carried up to them, but they couldn't make out the words. Jinbe huffed annoyed, and crossed his arms. Then the black-haired teenager slowly - carefully - stepped out of the small group and looked up to them - or more specifically, Pops.

"Excuse me, Captain Whitebeard, I- "The teenager looked to Ace for a second, who waved at him to continue. "I am Strawhat Monkey D. Luffy, captain of the Strawhat Pirates. And I- sorry, what, Ace?" Ace jumped off the railing and walked over to the teenager. Then, after putting their heads together for a moment, Ace stepped back. Just as the teenager turned back to them, his legs buckled, and he crashed into the deck. Or would have if Ace and the blond youth hadn't rushed forward to catch him. Even Jinbe took a step in the direction of the trio while Ace and the blond boy crowded around the teenager.

Marco frown.

Something was very wrong with that one.

Marco watched as his little brother gingerly pulled the black-haired teenager to his feet and then waited several seconds before letting go of him as if to ensure he wouldn't fall again. Securely back on his feet, the teenager, once again, looked up to Pops and smiling brightly, he re-started. "I am Strawhat Monkey D. Luffy, captain of the Strawhat Pirates. And I wish to ask permission to board your ship, the Moby Dick."

Ace looked up at them with a hopeful face.

Marco glanced up at the giant figure of his father and saw him frown down at the slip of a boy, who stood on the other ship with wobbling legs and a too-bright smile on his face, seemingly unimpressed with the person he had just asked for permission. After several tense seconds, Pops's deep voice thundered over them. "Aren't you a snot-nosed brat, Strawhat Luffy? Permission to come on board granted."

The black-haired teen called Luffy – suddenly it clicked in Marco's head that was Ace's little brother, whom he always talked about – cried out in joy and turned to Ace, only to lose his footing - again - and got caught by the blond youth. "See Ace! I told you the fuss you made was unnecessary." Luffy's words faintly carried up to them. Whatever Ace's answer was, it reminded a mystery for now, but he grabbed his little brother's arm to pull him up and carefully guided Luffy to the railing.

Once again, Ace anew climbed on the railing only to tie a rope around his waist, which Jinbe handed him, and then around Luffy's waist, before giving the free end to the blond youth, who also tied it around himself. Finally – finally – Ace climbed the rope ladder up.

.*.

"We must examine all your fractures further to decide the best way to treat them. For some, like your collarbone, you may need a small surgery to ensure everything heals just fine, but first, we will take care of all your cut wounds and this laceration." Marco turned to one of the three nurses assisting him. "You have the cleaning solution ready, yoi?"

The boy looked confused at him. "Chopper never performs surgery if one of us has broken a bone."

"What?" one of the nurses exclaimed, stunned. "What kind of doctor is this Chopper!?"

And she wasn't alone. Marco was astonished, too. Of course, many fractures healed just fine on their own, but some needed some intervention to speed up the process or ensure that everything would heal nicely. "How does he treat your fractures, yoi?" asked Marco, unsure whether he wanted to know the answer. He really, really hoped the boy hadn't had a quack for a ship's doctor.

"Oh, he always uses this grainy-looking salve and tightly bandages everything. Sometimes he uses a splint, too. And then you are not allowed to shower for two or three days. And it really stinks after a few hours. But that's it." The boy laughed. "He is always in a bad mood if he must use that salve on one of us because it always clumps together in his fur, and it takes him hours to wash it out."

Fur?

The memory of a bounty poster of an innocent-looking animal with a candy cotton emerged in his mind's eye. The pet with a bounty of 50 berries was the ship's doctor? How does that even work? Does it even know anything about medicine?

As if the boy could sense the doubts of Marco and the nurses, his face darkened. "Chopper will be the best doctor in the whole world! He studied on Drum! And he knows everything about medicine! And- "

"Drum, yoi?" interrupted Marco, surprised. He may have been a pirate for most of his life, but he still spent a lot of time studying medicine so that he really could help his family and not only rely on his devil fruit powers. And while he was missing any official doctor diploma – becoming a pirate in a fearsome crew at a young age prevented any credible doctor from signing off his licence, no matter how knowledgeable he was – Marco, of course, had heard of this stronghold of medical science.

The boy nodded eagerly. "Yes, Chopper was the student of this really, really old hag who lives in a castle on top of a mountain in Drum. She was crazy good but refused to join my crew. But I got Chopper instead and- "

Whatever the boy had to say would remain a mystery as his deep brown eyes suddenly closed, his body collapsed, and he nearly slipped off the examination table. Cursing under his breath, Marco caught the now sleeping boy and carefully laid him on the examination table. "How long until I get this god-damn results for his blood test, yoi?" Marco growled.

.*.

"Hey Marco.", said Ace with a scratchy voice.

"Come! Let's get you to the infirmary, yoi."

"Wait!" Ace injected, reaching for his arm.

With a raised eyebrow, Marco looked at Ace.

"You must look at Luffy! Something is terribly wrong with him." Ace pulled his little brother in front of himself. "I don't know what's wrong with him, but he keeps falling asleep, sometimes even in the middle of a sentence, and if he is awake, his legs give out." Ace looked at him with apprehensive eyes.

"We will look at all three of you, yoi!" said Marco turning to go.

"No, you don't get it!" protested Ace. "You must look at him! That isn't normal! Marco! Please!"

"Somebody also really has to take a look at you!" injected the blond youth. "Your behaviour is just as worrisome as Luffy's."

Ace threw a nasty look at the blond. "Shut up! I know you have some broken rips." He lightly patted the other on the chest, and the blond winced.

"Oh, yeah? What about all these infected cuts you have? And you refused to change your bandages for these, which is fucking insane!" countered the blond poking Ace in the back, making him hiss.

"Sabo is right! Somebody must look at you, too.", chipped the little boy in.

"You shut up! You will be lucky if you are still awake in an hour.", Ace growled before turning back to Marco with – god-damn it – a pleading look. Ace never pleads!

"Mean!" whined the boy while leaning into Ace. Instead of pushing him off, Ace gripped him like he was ensuring he wouldn't fall.

"Okay, I get it. All three of you are sporting a wide range of different injuries. We will take care of it all once we are in the infirmary, yoi." Marco said, hoping to stop the starting quarrel and get all three moving. "Come on, Ace. The faster we are in the infirmary, the fast we can tend to all your injuries."

And never – never – before has Marco seen Ace willingly move in the direction of the infirmary, but now he did it, carefully pushing his brother through the tongs of men crowding around him, who all tried to hug him or clap Ace's shoulder. The blond youth followed them with a tight smile.

Marco blinked and caught the end of Jinbe's conversation with Pops and a person back on the battleship.

"You're sure you will be alright, Ivankov?"

"Oh, ve vill be alright! And if a fev of Captain Vhitebeard's men continue to aim at these naughty boys, my candies and me shouldn't have any trouble. But if Captain Vhitebeard could send some supplies down here, that vould be great." a very unique voice answered. "Just keep an eye on my sugar boy for me, Jinbe."

"I will, don't worry! Old man Whitebeard- "

"Marco!" Ace's voice carried over the deck, and he hurried to catch up to them.

.*.

"-Ace! I am serious! Sit your ass down, or I will do it for you! And that will be uncomfortable for you!" growled Deuce annoyed as Marco slipped through the door into the examination room. After it was clear that Marco would look after the youngest boy, the former Spade Pirate grabbed Ace and dragged him into his doctor's office to tend to Ace personally.

"But I just wanna know if Marco knows what's wrong with Luffy!" whined Ace while the blond youth chuckled in the corner of the room.

"If you would cooperate, we could be a lot faster!" Deuce grabbed another set of clean cloth and immersed it in a little basin. Ace winced as the doctor dabbed over one of the many wounds littering his body.

A nurse handed Marco a clipboard with notes about Ace's condition. Fever – of course, malnutrition – like expected, inflammation marker – through the roof, countless infected wounds and bone fractures – no surprise, traces of torture – it was Impel Down, potential internal injuries – once again: it was Impel Down, rattling sound in the lung – probably the reason why Ace was coughing. All in all, Ace was in just as bad shape as his little brother.

"Marco!" Ace shouted as he noticed Marco standing in the room and shot up from the table. "Marco! Do you know what's wrong with Luahhh!"

Deuce pressed Ace back down, not caring that he applied pressure to his former captain's wounds. "Last warning: Stay put, or I will pull the seastone cuffs out!"

"Your brother is in a similar state to you and needs a lot of rest – like you.", answered Marco calmly. "But unlike you, he was much more cooperative throughout his examination until he fell asleep. Do you know how long these sleeping spells tend to last, yoi?"

"That differs. It can range from minutes to hours.", answered blond boy instead of Ace. "We know that Luffy can fall asleep at the drop of a hat, but not like this. And his narcolepsy is only a mild case, unlike Ace's."

Marco blinked at the blond boy, who didn't care for Ace's glare.

Humming, Marco noted what blond boy told him on a new piece of paper that one of the nurses handed him. "Shouldn't you get checked out, too, yoi?" he asked, glancing at the blonde boy.

"Oh, I am all done.", the youth said, waving a small folder.

"Unfortunately.", grumbled Deuce.

"Hey, I helped pull Ace back as he tried to storm out!" the youth protested.

Marco raised an eyebrow as Deuce mumbled something under his breath. Then, crossing over to the boy, he snatched the folder from his hands. The boy just smiled innocently up at him as Marco studied its content. Some cuts – surprisingly clean and without signs of infection, several fractures – among other things the from Ace already mentioned broken rips, pulled muscles in both arms – what did he do?, like Luffy littered in bruises – he did fight his way out of Impel Down, sprained knuckles – they do look roughed up, a black eye – from Ace?, and a mild concussion. He was surprising – was unscratched the right word? – well, for somebody who fought his way out of Impel Down. Especially compared to Ace and Luffy.

"Marco?" whined Ace.

"Ace, let Deuce do his job, and I might – might – let you go to your brother once your examination is over.", said Marco without looking at him. Instead, he was focusing on the blonde boy. "Who are you, by the way? All I know so far is that you helped free Ace, yoi."

"Oh! Right!" The blond boy stood up. "I am Sabo! I am the middle brother! It's nice to meet you." He slightly bowed to Marco. "And thank you for taking care of my idiot older brother. I know how difficult he can be."

Stunned, Marco looked at the blond boy.

"You what?" asked Deuce, flabbergasted, his hands still pressing a cloth at one of Ace's worse wounds while his patient glared at blond boy.

A bright, innocent smile lit Sabo's face up.

.

Same time, Marineford, Sengoku's office

"Close the door!" Sengoku said without looking up from whatever important paper he was looking at.

Dutiful Garp fulfilled the request of his supervisor.

"Why- "started Garp after he turned back to Sengoku.

"Sit on the couch!" interrupted the fleet admiral. "I will join you in a few minutes."

It was strange, to say at least.

And by that, Garp didn't mean not being in this room or being called to Sengoku.

That has happened often enough. But since Ace's and Luffy's successful breakout, something neither the World Government nor marines had been able to cover up, Garp was essentially forbidden from stepping into the fleet admiral's office after Kong threw him out these three faithful days ago because it practical became the headquarters for the investigation into the events, that took place in Impel Down. Hell, the spoilsport Kong went as far as to drag Garp in on the evening of the busted execution for an interrogation, successfully interrupting his lovely evening with Sengoku and Tsuru.

"Kong's gonna blow up if he hears that I am in here.", commented Garp lightly, sitting on the couch.

"Kong can do whatever the fuck he wants! I have more important things to take care of.", grumbled Sengoku.

Ah, so Sengoku was still pissed about their ruined evening. It was nice to know that Garp wasn't alone in that matter.

The rustling of papers filled the air as Sengoku cleaned up his desk before coming over to Garp with two slim folders in his hands. Sitting down, Sengoku slid the first one over to Garp. "Take a look!" Sengoku said, making himself comfortable in his armchair.

With a side glance, Garp grabbed the folder and opened it. It contained several pieces of paper. The first was an SIS – short for standard information sheet – about a marine soldier. A young man in his early twenties named Flavius Look, with wavy blond hair, blue-green eyes, and a slight beard. He joined the marines five years ago, completed his basic training in one of the many training facilities in the West Blue and was a year later admitted to the training facility in Grapehill, Paradise, for advanced training, where he showed remarkable talent for haki much to his educator's surprise. The boy must have diligently trained, for he got a spot on a ship of a captain under vice-admiral Stainless and thus went into the New World after just two and a half years of service. The boy remained in his unit until a fight against the second division of the Whitebeard Pirates and a few of their allies seven months ago, in which he got injured. The other papers consisted of his graduation certifications, several small decorations he had earned for himself during his service and a recommendation letter from his ship captain to admit marine Look into the officers' training corps. The last paper was his notice of dismissal for "medical reasons".

Now, that was sad. That boy sounded like a good marine and promising officer. Garp frowned at the picture of a young man with bright eyes smiling up at him from the top left corner of the SIS. "And?" asked Garp, slightly confused. "Why are you showing me the records of a marine that got discharged- "Garp looked at the notice of dismissal. "– more than a month ago?"

"You want to see what that marine looks like today?" asked Sengoku instead of answering Garp's question.

Garp's confusion increased as he frowned at Sengoku.

Sengoku took Garp's silence as a yes, grabbed a single page from the folder still in his hands and held it out for Garp to take.

Garp snatched it from Sengoku's hands – he didn't get angry, interesting; instead, he watched Garp like a hawk – and looked at the paper. All it showed was a picture of – according to the description below – Flavius Look shortly before his resignation. It was a sad picture. There were hard lines in the once so excited face, and the left side was marred with a giant burn scar, which enclosed the eye. An eye that was now a dull greyish-white and sightless. The other – still blue-green – eye had lost its spark.

"I don't have to explain that he is now blind in one eye. That burn scare, you see there, goes down his throat, over his upper body and left arm down to his left leg. In addition, the bones in his left shoulder all got shattered to the point none of our doctors can fully reconstruct them, leaving him now with an arm he can barely use.", said Sengoku with a carefully neutral voice. And Garp knew why. Seven months ago, Ace had still been with his division. There was a high chance the young marine soldier got caught in one of Ace's attacks.

"Are you showing me this to make me feel guilty?" asked Garp laying the folder and the picture on the table. Flavius Look was not the only marine injured by Ace – or Luffy, for that matter – in his time since he became a pirate, nor will he be the last.

"No.", answered Sengoku flat. "I am showing you that record because of this!" And slammed the opened second folder on the table in front of Garp.

Surprised, Garp flinched but sneaked a look at the papers before him. "What?" astonished, he reached for the folder.

Sengoku didn't stop him.

The SIS claimed to be of one Flavius Look, same age, same high and a nearly identically curriculum vitae as in the previous records Garp studied. The only difference was in the picture. The man also had wavey blonde hair, but the beard was a bit longer, and he had bright sky-blue eyes with a burn scar around the left one, which went down the hairline to his throat until it vanished under the collar of his uniform. The enclosed documents were the same, minus the recommendation letter and the notice of dismissal. Instead, Garp found a transfer notice for Flavius Look from active service as a marine soldier of the 23. branch of the marines to active service as a guard of Impel Down starting a month ago.

"That's a fake record.", said Sengoku with a grave voice. "The best fake record we have ever found. It went smoothly through all the vetting processes required to transfer service without anybody growing suspicious."

"Nobody noticed?!" Shocked, Garp looked at Sengoku.

He shook his head. "The only reason why it busted was that this man- "Sengoku tapped the edge of the folder still in Garp's hands. "- was identified as the guard that was seen fighting and, in large parts, directing the rioting and fleeing prisoners of Impel Down. It also has been confirmed that he took out a unit of guards searching level five for vice-warden Hannayabal, who was later found in a storage room on level four on the eve of Fire Fist's execution. "

Garp hadn't heard of any of this, which meant everything Sengoku was telling him right now was part of the investigation into the events in Impel Down from three days ago. That could mean serious trouble for Sengoku. He was already in hot water for the busted execution. Just this morning, the headlines on the front page of Garp's morning papers read, "Is the Fleet Admiral fit enough to lead the Marines?".

Useless ink rats!

"We know next to nothing about this man even though he lived with the other members of his unit for a month. Aside from that, he possesses above-average haki skills and something he said before laying vice-warden Hannyabal cold out." Sengoku fixed Garp with a searching look. "He insisted on his 'brothers not being sum' as Hannyaball tried to appeal to the man's sense of duty and morals. And he was constantly seen in the company of your grandsons. So, Garp, is there anything you want to tell me?"

Garp froze.

Stared at the picture on the top left corner of the sheet.

And remembered.

He remembered wavey blond hair and bright sky-blue eyes above a cheeky, toothy grin. Dadan's complains about another rascal and the fearful flinch at the mention of the nobles. The anger at the very first fist of Love Garp gave this grandson of his, and the hesitantly asked question later the first night spent together in the deeps of the jungle on Mt. Colubo. "I am not related to you like Ace and Luffy. Why are you calling me your grandson, too?"

He remembered sad, sad eyes and crying and Luffy refusing to eat a proper meal. Another reason for hating the world as a whole and worry and helplessness because Ace had no idea how to deal with a listless Luffy or his own confusing emotions.

He also remembered going out of his way to take a whole ship of rookie marines into the New World to test them against some rookie pirates fresh in the pirate's graveyard, just so that he would not have to escort a sorry excuse of human thrash to his own home country – Sengoku berated him via transponder snail for the whole duration of their stay in the cursed waters of the New World – and only reaching Goa a month after the entire hassle has been over.

A month too late to keep one of his grandsons from doing something foolish.

A month too late to rescue the life of an innocent boy who dreamed about being free.

A month too late to spare Ace and Luffy the pain of losing their brother.

A month too late for Sabo.

Sabo was dead.

Garp had lost a grandson to the world. And couldn't even do anything against the person responsible for it.

So, it couldn't be… Right?

But without the beard and the scare…

"Garp?", pressed Sengoku.

"There has been a boy.", answered Garp slowly with a gruff voice.

Sengoku sighed in resignation.

"But it's impossible, Sengoku."

"Why?"

"Because he is dead."

Garp looked at Sengoku. "You remember the visit of that human thrash to my home country all these years ago? Don't look so angry! You know I am right when I call them human thrash, and that's me still being nice. So, you remember that, right? They killed him. They shot down the tiny boat he used and killed him." His grip around the folder tightened, crumbling papers and folder alike between his fingers as tears collected in his eyes and his voice grew hoarse. "They simply killed him, and I- I never was allowed to show that- that worthless piece of shit what I think about him killing my grandson, Sengoku!"

But without the beard and the scare… Sabo probably would look like this today.

Sengoku looked at him stony-faced. "You never told-"

"What good would it have done?" asked Garp hoarsely. "He was already dead. And I had Ace and Luffy to worry about." Angrily Garp wiped the tears away. "Them losing their brother thanks to that piece of thrash sure didn't help me convince them to join the marines, let me tell you."

Garp sniffled.

He may not have had much time with Sabo, but he still has been his grandson. And Garp loved all his grandchildren – dead or alive. Heck! If Sabo had been alive, he maybe could have helped Garp convince Ace and Luffy that joining the marines was a good idea. The boy had a bright head on his shoulders, and his stubborn brothers tended to listen to him - somewhat. Sabo would have seen reason at one point! Garp was sure of it.

He glanced at the picture of the unknown man.

Without the beard and the scar… Sabo would look like this today!

"The boy is dead, Sengoku. I talked to enough witnesses, who all confirmed his death, and I personally searched for his body, but it either burned away or the remains got pulled along with a current, so we couldn't even bury him. All I could do was built an empty grave for Ace and Luffy to mourn their dead brother." Garp closed the folder and put it on top of the other. With a serious face, he met Sengoku's eyes. "I don't know this young man or why he was in Impel Down or what connection he has with Ace and Luffy. If I knew anything, I would tell you. All I can do is repeat myself: I have nothing to do with the events in Impel Down, nor do I know anything about them. You know where I have been since Ace was officially handed over to us by Marshal D. Teach. I was mostly here in the headquarter, training my younger recruits, once shortly on the Sabaody Archipelago to deal with a few pirate crews on your orders and once in Impel Down to visit Ace. And all I did there was talk to him briefly about his father and Whitebeard. I provided you with a transcript of our talk."

And for a second, Garp could see how torn Sengoku must feel — torn between the bond of trust built throughout the years of service side by side and his suspicion because Garp had the bad habit of keeping uncomfortable information about his family members to himself until there really was no way around it. Torn, because Sengoku knew – he knew – how much Garp loved his family and – according to Sengoku himself – that would one day be Garp's downfall.

And without the beard and the scare… Sabo would look like the man in that damn picture.

"I can't help you with your investigation.", said Garp, standing up. "Is there anything else you want to know from me? Because if not, I would prefer to return to observe the training of my recruits." A training that got interrupted by one of his precious protégés, who delivered Sengoku's request for Garp to come to his office immediately.

"No, we are finished.", said Sengoku slipping back into the role of fleet admiral, who had everything under control and reached for the folders before standing up. "You may take your leave, vice-admiral."

"Sir!" Garp saluted and turned to leave.

Without the beard and the scar, Sabo would look like the man in that damn picture!

Hopeful, his recruits didn't lazy around the training field and listened to Koby and Helmeppo, who Garp left in charge of the training, even though they both were still very much in need of training themselves. Garp really should step up the training for his two protégés. Maybe he could start with some haki training. It never was too early for that.

That damn unknown man looked like his grandson Sabo!

Wait? Didn't Sengoku say that the unknown man had above-average haki skills? If true, he could be an excellent sparring partner for the two youngsters and maybe even some of his recruits. And if it turns out that he is-

Garp stopped standing at the door and turned back to Sengoku, who was already back at his desk.

"Fleet Admiral, request permission to sail out on a training voyage, Sir!" asked Garp – but only because Sengoku had so much trouble right now, and it was the right way to go about these things. He didn't care about Sengoku's answer and would sail out even without permission.

"Permission denied, vice-admiral Garp.", answered Sengoku confused. "You have to stay until the investigation is finished."

Garp snorted and turned around.

"Garp!" shouted Sengoku behind him. "You will not leave! Garp!"

Garp ignored him. He would give his recruits some excellent training while searching for his wayward grandsons, who surely knew something about that unknown man that managed to create records, which fooled all their vetting processes so that he could use him as a sparring partner for his protégés and in the unlikely case that that man turned out to be Sabo, well, Garp had a fist worth ten years of Love for the boy.

Garp smirked at his clenched fist.

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10 p.m., Paradise, a remote jungle island

The waves glittered in the light of the stars.

Four dozen ships moored in the bay, clustering around the boardwalks erected by his sons in the early hours of the evening to allow everyone easy access to the small beach of the remote little island, which was the agreed-on meeting point between Ace with his party and Whitebeard with his allies.

The wooden boards softly swayed under his feet as Whitebeard made his way back from the beach to the mother ship of his fleet, the Moby Dick, where – at orders of Marco, head doctor of the Whitebeard pirates and damnit, it made his stomach clench because it was never good if Marco pulled ranks like this – Ace had to remain because his injuries were too severe to let him stroll too far from a source of medical help and too close to helplessly drunken brothers, who didn't know how to control their strength with their befogged minds.

Loud screaming and laughter echoed from the beach.

Whitebeard chuckled.

More than one of his poor brats would find himself tomorrow at the receiving end of a reproaching glare from Marco.

With heavy steps, he climbed the improvised stairs up to the main deck of Moby. The party was as much in full swing as on the beach, spilling over the ships surrounding it. And in the middle of the hustle and bustle were Ace and his two younger brothers with Jinbe and somebody calling himself Bon Kuri – the quite quirky man pranced up the boardwalk to the Moby Dick as soon as his sons finished building it and practically begged to be let on board claiming to be friends with Ace and his brothers – acting as their guards, making sure nobody was jolting the three injured brats too much and making Marco breathe a little bit easier.

Blond Sabo, who nobody knew anything about, got more than one surprised look on turning up on deck after his check-up and thanking him for taking care of Ace, the quote "dumb, careless, idiotic older brother, who never knows how to take care of himself" and "worrying his little brothers because he is such a dumb idiot". Whitebeard found it quite amusing how Sabo ranted, mainly because it reminded him of how Ace worried about little Luffy while at the same time being insanely proud of the little snot-nosed brat. This lead to the strange fact that Ace never mentioned his blond brother in all his time since joining the crew. Thatch – thinking about his lost son hurt even months later – and Marco managed to learn of little Luffy even before Ace joined, but he never even breathed the name Sabo. It made Whitebeard wary, and the fact that Sabo seemed connected to the revolutionary army didn't help.

On the other side, there was what Jinbe told him about the blond boy, and the fishman was hard to win over, but both younger brothers seemed to have managed that feat with how he was trailing after them. How he managed to prevent Ace from going after Teach once again on the pier of Impel Down while he – himself – failed to stop his son from going onto his foolish quest of revenge. How he openly declared that he loved his older brother, loved him enough to stop him because he didn't want to lose him, and loved him enough to spend one month in Impel Down posing to be a guard only to act in the right moment and rescue a person dearly loved. Even now, you can see the love of the blond boy for both of his brothers in how he stuck close to them and looked out for them with watchful sky-blue eyes that noticed everybody who got closer to Ace and little Luffy.

It warmed Whitebeard's heart, mainly because he knew better than anybody how much Ace starved for love.

And Sabo wasn't alone in his quest to love Ace.

Little Luffy – battered, bruised, cut, and broken – stuck to Ace just as much as Sabo. With fingers securely knotted into a belt loop of Ace's cargo shorts, he stumbled and wobbled after him on shaking legs, making Marco furious with his stubborn foolishness. The little brat was just like Ace told them he would be and still so different. Even now, covered in bruises and bandages, staggering after his older brother on legs that could give out at any moment, the brat smiled a warm, sincere smile that melted even the heart of the crustiest son of his. The second it looked like the little ray of sunshine was losing his footing, dozens of hands shot out to catch him.

A displeased Marco had informed him about the chaos the three brothers had brought to his tidy infirmary and the stubbornness with which the youngest insisted on accompanying the other two to the party even though his medical situation was the worst out of all three. Whitebeard Pirates care for their own and their own only! For Marco to react as disgruntled as he did, he showed Whitebeard that his calm son has started to care for the little snot-nosed brat like he was one of their own, although this was the first time they met Ace's infamous little brother in person.

Whitebeard chuckled as he watched the three brothers while walking to his seat in the great oval on the main deck. Then, sinking into his chair, he reached for his cup that his thoughtful sons had prepared in advantage.

"Don't overdo it, yoi.", warned Marco from his place on the railing surrounding the oval.

"Brat, you always nag me about taking my medication, but if I do, you warn me not to overdo it."

"That's because your definition of what medicine is differs vastly from my definition, yoi." snapped the brat back, sending a tired glare in his direction.

Whitebeard laughed and emptied his cup in a handful of gulps. Challenging, he looked at his son, but to his disappointment, he only shook his head.

"Don't expect me to have any pity on you if you feel worse in the next few days, yoi." Marco took a swing from his bottle of alcohol, not that he would feel much as his devil fruit powers prevented him from ever thoroughly getting drunk, before focusing again on the three brothers.

"I met Buggy on the beach.", Whitebeard told him as two sons of him refilled his cup.

"Eh, I saw him on the ship as we picked up Ace, his two brothers and Jinbe.", said Marco, his brows knitting for a moment. "I did wonder why he was in a prisoner uniform as I don't remember hearing anything about him getting caught, yoi."

Whitebeard broke out in grand guffaws of laughter that made the ship shake.

"He told me the marines didn't recognise him as a former member of the Roger Pirates. They didn't even realise he had a devil fruit, which is why he got standard handcuffs and managed to get out of his cell.", explained Whitebeard after calming down.

Marco looked at him with disbelief. "They what?!"

Whitebeard laughed.

"If you want to meet him and recall old memories of your cabin boy days, you should go now.", he recommended.

Marco pulled a face. "Why should I recall old memories with Buggy? He is probably as bad as Shanks, yoi!"

Whitebeard grinned amusedly. "He seemed quite different to me. You should have seen his face as I offered to let somebody bring a transponder snail onto the beach so that he could contact his crew." He looked at Marco from the corner of his eyes. "He looked so grateful that he forgot his anger about me announcing to the whole beach that he was a former member of the late pirate king's crew."

Marco blinked, surprised. "You mean nobody knew? But- but I saw more than one old-timer on that god-forsaken battleship." Marco pointed toward the battleship Ace and his companions had stolen.

Chuckling, Whitebeard shook his head. "No, but now most of these escapees treat him as their leader." Amusement danced in Whitebeard's eyes. "I promised Buggy that we would help him get a ship so that he could meet up with his crew if he takes these willing to follow him off my hand. I know most of these men and women are not fond of me, and it would be foolish to order the others to take them on board."

"What about the rest, yoi?" Marco took another drink.

"A surprising number wants to go with Ivankov and join the revolutionary army. I agreed with Ivankov that he could take the battleship. And as a thank you for his help in freeing Ace, we will give the battleship a once-over and provide them with enough provision to reach the next stronghold of the revolutionary. The revolutionaries will stay until we leave ourselves and help keep watching our backs as they know which escapees are probably dangerous to us." Whitebeard took a swing from his cup.

"Why, yoi?" asked Marco, confused.

Whitebeard leaned over the armrest of his seat. "For some reason, Ivankov believes Ace, Sabo, and Luffy are the sons of his boss Dragon.", he whispered conspiratorially.

"What?!" squeaked Marco, surprised.

Another round of amused chuckles left Whitebeard's throat. "I know that, at least in Ace's case, that assumption is wrong, but I as sure as hell will not correct Ivankov as his backing of us gives us a little bit extra power should one of the few escapees that refuse to go with Buggy or Ivankov himself, think about doing something funny." And he glanced toward the beach while remembering the feeling of several pairs of bloodthirsty eyes following his every movement. – The most dangerous of all belonging to that brat Crocodile.

Curiously Marco looked at him, unaware of his father's worries. "Oh really? How do you know that, yoi?"

With a broad smile, Whitebeard leaned back into his seat. "Because Ace is my son alone!"

After a few seconds of stunned silence, Marco broke out into laughter. "You are impossible, Pops."

Smiling, Whitebeard emptied another cup.

A loud shout echoed over the deck as a crowd formed, and a commotion broke out. Suddenly Marco's name was called in a frenzy, and Whitebeard saw several of his sons pushing and shoving their way through the crowd. He frowned while his gaze swapped over his children, trying to figure out what was happening.

Next to him, Marco stood up to go to meet up with his sons.

Reaching out, Whitebeard stopped him. "Wait!"

Confused, Marco looked up at him.

"I think it's Luffy.", explained Whitebeard and closed his hand around Marco to stop him from taking off. "If I am right, let them bring the brat over. No matter how bad his condition is, he will refuse to leave. But I think there is a way to get the brat to rest." With twinkling eyes, he smiled at Marco. "Just leave it to me."

Marco looked unconvinced as Whitebeard let go of him but stayed put.

Seconds later, his sons reached his seat.

"Marco! Marco! You must come!" one shouted.

"Marco! It's Ace's little brother! He can't get up anymore!" screamed the second.

"Marco! Quick! You must help Ace's little brother!" a third yelled.

Marco glanced at Whitebeard while two men pulled on his shirt to drag him away.

"Bring the brat to me!" Whitebeard ordered.

"Eh?" Confused, the three men looked at him.

"Bring the brat over!"

"But- "one of them started but fell silent under his stern gaze.

Letting go of Marco, all three hasty rushed back into the crowd to get the brat.

Whitebeard watched as Marco displeased, crossed his arms and shifted his weight to his left leg, but he remained rooted to his spot. He knew how hard it was for Marco not to rush off to his patient, but he had a hunch that there was only one way to persuade the little Luffy into resting. And for that-

"Marco!" breathless Ace stopped before them, worry clouding his silver-grey eyes.

Draped over Ace's back was a listless little Luffy, eyes barely open and skin as white as the moon high in the sky. In other words, the boy was ready for a good old rest. Behind the duo and just as worried was Sabo with Jinbe and Bon Kuri.

As Marco fussed over little Luffy, Whitebeard examined Ace and Sabo. Both boys were also pale, with tired eyes, but not as pale as the little one. And if the swaying and the way Sabo stepped forward to grip Ace's arm was anything to go by, Ace should also go to bed. The blond brother worryingly watched his two dark-haired brothers.

Marco disapprovingly clicked his tongue.

"Ace!" Whitebeard interrupted before Marco could even utter one word. "Son, you should go to bed."

"What?" Confused, Ace looked up at him.

Marco, also confused, looked at him but stayed silent.

"You know the rules! Everybody injured rests until released by Marco or somebody else in the medical team. The only reason why I let it slide so far has been because your brothers would have constantly bothered you. Now they had their chance to meet you and ease their worry so that you can go and rest!" Whitebeard's gaze bore into Ace's before sliding to the side where little Luffy's head rested on his son's shoulder.

"But Pops- "started Ace to protest.

"Ace!" interrupted Sabo with a pressing undertone. "I think your captain is right! It may be really time for you to go and rest." It seemed the blond boy had picked up on Whitebeard's intention.

"Eh?" Puzzled, Ace looked from Whitebeard to his brother and back.

"Don't be such a stubborn baby!" Sabo suddenly snapped and hit him over the head.

"Hey, what- "abruptly, Ace fell silent, eyes growing wide, and after a few seconds, slowly turned his head to look into the heavy-lidded eyes of his little brother.

Whitebeard harboured the guess that the little Luffy was laughing at Ace but couldn't hear it well over the hubbub of the party.

"What are you laughing about?" confirmed Ace his suspicion. "You do know that if I am going to bed, it is long past the time for you to sleep!" Ace gazed at Marco, who barely nodded his head. It looked like Ace got the message.

"Nu!" mumbled little Luffy shaking his head weakly.

"Eh? Yes!" countered Ace, determined. "All we must do is find a bed for you, but that should be too much of a problem. Pops?" Ace looked up at him.

Whitebeard chuckled, pleased. "Well, I can't tell your brothers what to do- "Marco, Ace and Sabo glared at him while Luffy's tired eyes sparkled happily. "-but I think the best place for your brothers to sleep would be your cabin. There is enough space to roll out two spare bedding, right? Best they accompany you now so that they later know where they must go once they are tired."

Ace's whole face lighted up as Whitebeard proposed that the other two boys could share a cabin with him while Marco continued to glare at him. Whitebeard even knew why. His son wanted his patient in the infirmary with medical professionals frequently checking on them and not in a crew cabin, even if it was a designated commander cabin.

"Might as well take them with me, in that case." Ace smiled at Sabo, who crossed his arms and shook his head. "On our way to my cabin, we can pick up the bedding for you."

Sabo snorted. "Well, then- lead the way."

"Nu- Not!" babbled little Luffy with an unhappy face as Ace carried him away, closely followed by Sabo.

Several of his children, who had watched them, protested as Ace walked toward the door leading inside the Moby Dick and tried to pull him back into the bustle.

"Ace is injured, and the only reason you could party with him so far was that I allowed him to! If you brats don't stop right there, I will teach you a lesson.", growled Whitebeard, making his sons jump. But, drunken or not, they all knew not to mess with him and, with sad faces, let go of Ace.

"I will follow them and make sure they stay put.", said Marco before jumping and using his wings to quickly travel over the deck to the door leading inside.

Whitebeard watched him fly, shaking his head.

He wouldn't be surprised if Luffy was asleep on Ace's back before they even reached his son's cabin, and Ace himself would probably conk out the second he lay his head on a pillow. The only one that may need some assistance to `stay put' would be Sabo, but by how Whitebeard judges the boy, he would prefer to stay at his brothers' side than continue to celebrate.

"Ah! Captain Whitebeard-sama!"

Whitebeard looked down and saw Bon Kuri nervously standing before him, and Whitebeard raised an eyebrow.

"I- I just- I wanted to thank you for allowing me on your ship. It was truly an honour, but now I will take my leave.", the man stuttered.

Whitebeard blinked at the quirky man. "May I ask why you are leaving?"

"Ah- "Bon Kuri's eyes flittered to the door leading into the ship. "I came to see Strawhat-chan and his brothers and to see if they are well. But now they are resting, so there is no reason for me to stay any longer." Nervously the man fiddled with his hands.

Whitebeard suppressed an amused smile and nodded in understanding. "Tell Ivankov he can send you over any time if he needs something." Essentially, he was turning the man into a messenger boy, but he preferred only to have one man from Ivankovs' group running onto his ship. Additionally, the man has proven to be respectful.

The quirky man first gapped at him before breaking into a broad smile and rising onto his tiptoes to swirl in a happy circle. "I will let Iva-sama know, captain Whitebeard-sama!" Then, the man pranced away with one last twirl and a smile.

It looked like Bon Kuri didn't realise what Whitebeard had done.

"Eh? You are leaving?"

"Eh- There is no reason for me to stay any longer, sweetie pie. So, I am going back to the beach."

"Wait! I'm gonna go with you!"

"Yeah! Let's go, Bon Kuri!"

Amused Whitebeard watched as a group of his children dragged a confused Bon Kuri away. He wasn't worried. They all would be alright even if they spent some time with a quirky man like Bon Kuri. Nobody would dare to wear such strange shoes like Bon Kuri or twirl around.

"You are staying, Jinbe?"

Whitebeard turned to the fishman only to see that several of his children had thrown themselves at him.

"I fear I have no other choice but to stay.", the fishman stated, grinning.

"Damn right!" one of his children hanging off the fishman slurred.

Whitebeard laughed.

.

The End

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Authors Note: Yes, this is the end. I am sorry for everybody who wants to know how everything continues (ASL with the Whitebeards, Luffy and his split-up crew, etc.), but the characters aren't telling me the story, and so I can't keep writing. It may sound strange/crazy/whatsoever to some, but for me, writing a story or fanfiction is like listening to what a character is telling me is going on/happening. That's why the last update was an interlude. Personal, I wouldn't have put it in, but Shanks demanded an appearance - and would one of you argue with a yonko? And the supernova used the chance to also squeeze in.

Anyway... maybe there will be some kind of follow-up. But that is a very big maybe and depends on the cooperation of the characters. In addition, I have many other ongoing projects in the background, and with this story finished, I will start to prioritize another story. And then there is my life with its daily struggles and continuing chaos.

Oh, and the scene I so desperately wanted to write was this one in part 4:

"Yeah, eh, well… things happened, and the marines are probably freaking out, and I think I can still see the smoke rising from Impel Down- " Somebody was giggling happily in the background while another person snorted. "And eh… well, I am not really a fan of the idea of sitting on a scaffold, like a well-behaved boy, so-" More laughter in the background. "Could you stop that? Really? That's not funny! I will laugh the day one of you guys gets an execution date set."

Just imagining Ace babbling like a flustered little boy has me giggling like mad.

Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed "Thwarted Plans", and maybe somebody will leave a small review because I am curious about what you think about the story. *feeling awkward*