After Effects

The day after Teach's betrayal, we were dead in the sea doing repairs. We also lost our supply of food and weaponry. Whitebeard even organized a hunting party of non-devil fruit users to go out and hunt sea kings. To help, I sent Gibby with them.

Marco and I tended to the injured jobs requiring us to stay up well into the night. After two days in a coma, Thatch finally woke up very confused, "What happened? Where am I?" I rushed over to his side and smiled, "Glad to see yours finally with us. Can you tell me my name?"

Thatch smiled, "How can I forget your ugly mug, so tell me, doc, how long have I been out and who was the son of a bitch who attacked me." I placed my hand on Thatch's chest, "Slow your horses, you've been in a coma for two days. I had, so you're going to feel some weakness for a while." to regenerate your heart completely

Growling, Thatch tried to sit up, but my hand stopped him, "Tell me, Soren, who attacked us?" I sighed, "It was Teach. He set off a bomb and then tried to assassinate you. He was able to get away, but I was able to take his foot." I could see the pain in Thatch's eyes when I told him that, "Why would he do that?"

"My guess is he wanted the Yami Yami no Mi, it is a very powerful fruit, and I hate to think what a man like Teach could do with such a power." Thatch let out a tired sigh, "How is the old man taking it."

I looked above us, "Not well, he's stopping anyone from going after Teach. It's hard for a father to know his son betrayed him." Thatch agreed, "What do you think will happen if they cross paths."

"Whitebeard will kill him." I answered almost immediately, "Teach has done something unforgivable. His greed and hubris led him to do this. Even when he was my subordinate, I kept I close eye on him. Though I wish I taken action before it was too late."

"Don't blame yourself, Soren, don't give that bastard the satisfaction." I nodded, "Thanks. Now get some rest, doctor orders."

I left Thatch and dealt with my other thirty patients, some needed body part replacement, and usually, that would be easy for me. But the explosion had destroyed most of the lab where I kept my medical, including my supplements.

That thought formed a pit of dread in my stomach. I quickly fished, checking on my current subject before running towards my room. The pit turned into a canyon as I looked at the destroyed remains of my garden. Nothing had survived.

I turned and punched a hole in the blackened wall. I had put hours into my garden meticulously cultivating generations of plants. Yes, I had harvested seeds, but they would take years to reach the same stature as the originals.

My desire to kill Thatch exploded, and I had to rein in my bloodlust physically. Not even Sanguinem tested me as I was a lit fuse. Sighing, I forced down those emotions remembering I wasn't the only victim.

I went back to tending to my subordinates, each of them thanking me as I tired myself regenerating limbs and digits. Though the relief on my crewmate's faces when their limbs started to regrow was payment enough.

I understood their fear, the sudden realization that someone had stripped your way of life from you. Not every pirate was on the same level as Shanks. They were victims of lady luck.

By the end of the day, Marco and I were at our limits. Using our devil fruit powers all day had drained us physically and mentally. Luckily the hunting party had come back fruitful with several sea kings for us to devour.

The meal was uncomfortably quiet, everyone's minds heavy. No one tried to fix it. Everyone wanted this time to be with their thoughts to get their shit together. Most fell asleep on the deck right there, and for the first time, Marco and I were able to join them.

In the morning, it was back to the intensive caring of others. While most were in stable condition and protesting about being abled-bodied, Marco and I forced them to stay in bed. We even had to restrain a few with straps.

"You need to take a break, Soren. You're running yourself thin." I smiled at Bane, "Don't worry about me. I can regenerate if anything breaks. Other people, however, don't have that luxury."

Sighing, Bane placed a plate of food in front of me, "Thatch wanted me to give this to you. He made it himself." I tore my eyes from the plate, "He's out of bed. I told him what I would do if he got out of bed."

"Hold on, Soren, he's not doing anything but cooking." I scoffed, "Have you seen how that man cooks. He acts like he's at war." Bane chuckled, "He's going easy, believe me, his sue chefs won't even let him on the line."

Sitting back down, I picked up my fork and started to eat, "He's not off the hook. As soon as he's back to full health, we're going to talk about doctor's orders." Bane held up his hands in surrender, "That's between you and him. I'm just here to make sure you don't work yourself into the ground."

"You a good friend Bane." I eeked out with a mouth full of food. It took us a week to get the ship sail-worthy. We used bed parts and spare clothes as patch materials for the hull and sails. The ship wouldn't survive one cannonball, so we changed course for Water 7 to visit the famous shipwrights.

I was excited to see the city. In my opinion, it was one of the most beautiful places Oda had ever created. But there was a danger that came with the city, "I wonder if the CP will try and kill me?"