Sons of Beasts

The Catalyst For The Future

Last chapter of their childhood. Hang in there until the end everyone. I'll be posting another chapter that explains what is the future for this fic. Enjoy the last chapter.

Sabo had successfully stolen the largest fishing boat he could, and maneuvered the ship out of the harbor quietly, grateful he'd studied up on how to sail as a young kid. He'd been taught to read quite early, since studying was all he did, even as a young child. It was a miracle he remembered everything he'd read.

Ace and Luffy stood at the shore in the very early morning, the sun was just starting to rise. They had waited too long. Hadn't counted on how long it took to pack up and say goodbye to their sanctuary. Luffy continued to have tears down his face, even while Ace held him closely.

When Sabo finally came up to the part of the shore away from the village's eyes, Ace and Luffy quickly boarded, wanting to get away as fast as they could. All the brothers had was a compass. No map. They did have a lot of provisions, having gone hunting the day before, along with collecting all of the produce they could, taking more of the fruit off the trees. The ice boxes kept them fresh for as long as possible.

They had fishing poles they'd made and one they'd stolen from high town. Fishing should be easy food. Sabo steered them away from the shore. They had taken their stash of money, with it in a tight bag tied securely to Ace's waistband of his shorts. Ace didn't watch the island get more distant by the second, as Luffy did. Sabo didn't look either.

They were coming around the corner of the cliff and came across a huge ship. It looked extremely fancy and expensive. It dwarfed their little boat, and was intimidatingly big. They did their best to steer away from it, wondering why it was coming to this island. Luffy looked at it in awe. So big!

"I wonder who it is," Sabo said curiously. Ace shrugged.

"Doesn't matter to us now. We're leaving anyways. Ugh, the guards are at the shore. Got out just on time. They're too far for any weapons to reach us, thankfully," Ace observed. All three brothers looked up at the giant ship, to see a man with a strange get-up looking down at them. He had some sort of bubble over his head.

He glared at them with a disgusted look, and it didn't make the boys happy. How rude. But then, Ace and Sabo shouted for Luffy to get down as they saw a gun pointed at them. They didn't have time to jump overboard before the cannon hit, and the boat exploded into flames and debris.

All three brothers sank into the sea, only Ace being conscious. He opened his eyes and swam deeper, getting a tight grip on Luffy's arm, as well as Sabo's shirt scruff. The current threw Ace around, but he was able to keep hold of his brothers.

He couldn't hold his breath any longer and finally surfaced, out of view from anyone who was looking at their boat, which was now in burning pieces. He yanked his brothers up above the water, and Luffy took in a deep breath.

Sabo, however did not. Ace swam to the shore as best as he could, at the little beach the three had visited multiple times. He dragged both of them onto the sand, and Luffy was able to cough out some water and open his eyes.

Ace gave a relieved sigh of Luffy being okay, but immediately turned his attention to Sabo. He was covered in horrible burns, and wasn't breathing. "Sabo, Sabo!" Ace shouted, shaking him hard. Ace didn't know anything medical that could save him. So he continued to shake him, and slap his face.

Three minutes had passed since they'd surfaced, and no matter how much Ace shook, hit, or yelled at him, he didn't wake. Luffy was sobbing next to him, nuzzling Sabo's limp hand. Ace couldn't hold in his tears. He couldn't, even though he wanted to seem strong for Luffy.