-SABO-

When he was young, Sabo would dream of monsters.

Maybe he still did, one could never be too sure.

Not the kind of monsters in myths, or legends. The real ones. The ones that walked the Earth, with faces of human flesh, yet hiding the stain beneath. A different kind of demon than he was. At night, when the mind tends to drift, his would wander to the stories he had always grown up hearing; further exaggerated by the type of people that lived in his vicinity, who by any right were beasts themselves.

But it wasn't nightmares that would haunt him. Sabo could never quite understand it, the sole fascination he had with something he would likely never see, let alone meet. He would later come to think of it as a way of coping, a way of quantifying the similarities between himself and something more powerful and terrifying than he could ever be.

Perhaps that is why seeing one in real life filled him with such an odd combination of emotions. Interest. Curiosity. Fear. How strange in retrospect. Those large yellow eyes so horrifying, yet Sabo couldn't find it within himself to care, even with the red dripping from its maw. No, not it. He knew this demon, this animal. He cursed himself for not noticing the signs sooner, so blind.

Luffy.

A friend?

An ally?

Did he even recognize Sabo in that state?

The last he saw of the other boy was in the dark cramped cellar, seconds after the marine had slapped Makino. What was left of the little kid's confliction had entirely vanished from his features, as something else seemed to take over. Primal. Hungry. And this was all in a matter of seconds. Sabo wasn't sure what truly happened in the next few moments because the minute that door exploded outward his self-preservation instincts kicked in, and he dropped to the floor as fast as he could, hands reaching up to protect his head. In the frenzy he had forgotten about his injury and the fall onto the now jagged floorboards sent all of his lingering pain into overdrive.

The world lost its focus.

A brief black out.

Sabo didn't know how long. Only the agony that came with waking up once again. It took him a little while to remember exactly where he was, and why he was there. Shit! Ace, Luffy, are they okay? Am I okay? Looking around the now ruined area, Sabo could find neither of them, which was either a really good or a really bad sign. The ringing in his ears had not left, so only the faintest of yelling could be heard. Slowly, and experimentally he hefted himself gingerly to a rough standing position. Though splotches of red had begun to bleed through his once pristine bandages, he didn't need to be a genius to figure out that the liquid speckled across his blue jacket wasn't his. The question remained: if it wasn't Sabo's, then who in the hell was its'?

Ignoring the dull throbbing in his skull he staggered in the semi-dark, hands outstretched, searching for the now damaged ladder. But the boy stopped short at the sight of a straw hat, laying amongst the debris. For year to come Sabo still won't be able to describe what compelled him to take the old hat along with him. Now, with a great amount of effort he was able to lift his body through what remained of the storage door, its shards spread in an almost halo around him. The intensity of the morning light hit him hard, prompting a hiss from his tightly clenched teeth. God damn, how long have I been out? It can't have been more than a few minutes, right?

Right?!

Hand reaching out for leverage, it was met with a strange lumpy mass covered in what felt like wet fabric. Sabo's heart stopped in his chest, eyes slowly clearing to finally rest on what his reach had found; the sight turning his blood ice cold. A man lay sprawled across the exposed wooden panels, blood pooling around him; claw marks raking neatly down the front of what must have been a Marine uniform. His eyes were wide in what could only be described as pure and utter terror, mouth open in an unspoken scream.

Oh god….

Something inside of the blonde's stomach lurched.

Don't think about it. Don't think about it…

Gingerly stepping over the remains, trying not to wonder about what could cause such damage, he was immediately met with an even more disturbing picture: the woman who had helped them just moments before, lying in a heap against the counter. Moving as fast as his aching legs could take him, Sabo only hoped that Makino didn't meet the same fate as the man from before. Trembling fingers fumbling for the limp woman's wrist, he searched desperately for a pulse; a technique he had read from one of his many books. Looks like I needed those after all, huh.

Relief flooded his veins as a faint, but steady beat could be registered. Just unconscious. She must have banged her head after the officer hit her. Carefully grabbing the woman's slim frame to move her to a more comfortable position, he tried to ignore the glowing purple welt blooming across the left side of her face. As much as he wanted to be there in person when she woke up, he didn't have the time; Sabo needed to find Ace and Luffy, quick. Those two were his top priority. Throwing one last furtive glance over his shoulder at the green haired woman, he whispered a soft prayer and a low, "I'm so sorry". The blue eyed boy was by no means a religious person, it was simply too illogical to him, but if there ever was a good time for some mighty divine intervention, right then would have been great.

All of this is my fault, if I hadn't dragged anyone into my own shit show of a life none of this would have happened. Makino wouldn't have gotten hurt, and the others wouldn't be in danger.

He internally cursed.

Stepping through the battered remains of the bar's front room, avoiding the broken legs of tables and chairs, he slowly regained some of his senses. The once low yelling turned loud as the fuzz in his ears began to filter out, leaving only the hollow echo in his chest cavity. Several other bodies were strewn around the room, whether they were dead or alive, Sabo couldn't tell. Just then he remembered the pipe slung across his back, which he promptly brandished in front of himself as he walked out the wrecked establishment; the chilly breeze whipping at his coat tails.

Nothing could have prepared him for this.

Whatever 'this' was.

Plumes of dust filled the town square, barely obscuring the dark stains marring the ground; in the distance the six Navy ships could be seen, maybe an hour off shore. They must have sent a search party delegation ahead of the main group. There might still be a chance that word hadn't gotten back to the fleet. All around, faces could be picked out through shadowed window panes, riveted on the scene in front of them, but obviously too scared to go outside into the thick of it. There, right in the central stretch of road was an image that was both the most horrifying, and morbidly hilarious picture Sabo had ever laid eyes upon.

A group of petrified looking marines, rifles shaking in their hands, stood opposite to Ace and a massive tiger. The freckled boy looked torn between shouting insults at the soldiers, and talking in soothing tones at the beast; which both seemingly hadn't noticed the blonde's presence yet. The piece of metal white-knuckled in the other kid's hand was held ramrod straight in front of him, with his left arm curled almost protectively over the satchel with their supplies. This must have been difficult for him, considering the trail of blood leaking down from his shoulder; probably from a lucky shot. His hair was sprinkled with wood fragments, and the clothes even more out of sorts than usual.

Then for the briefest of moments the world seemed to pause.

Wind shifting its course.

A minute twitch of the tiger's dripping jaw.

Suddenly great yellow eyes fixated right on Sabo's form, another low growl passing from the creature's barred teeth; almost as if seeing another threat. The boy's heart stuttered; breath halting in his chest. Shaking his head, Sabo gathered what little courage he could muster, and met that steely gaze.

The world stilled.

Silence followed, and with it came the faintest flicker of something in those orbs.

Recognition.

Then, without warning, life resumed. Its' eyes narrowed by the slightest of degrees; once again reclaiming their hostile light. This is it. He couldn't even react as the beast suddenly lunged; fangs glinting and claws extended. No time to breathe, no time to move, and no time to think.

Only time to wait, wait for the end.

-LUFFY-

Left…Threat…

Right…Threat…

All dangers to dark haired little human; he is our brother. The other, the light haired little human, he is new. A threat? No, he is a friend; carrying the scent of blood, his own. This boy must be protected. From who? The bigger humans in blue and white reek of fear and hatred. They will hurt us. We must not let that happen.

Protect the brother and the friend.

Our eye contact with little blond is broken now, there is another large human coming up behind him. He is likely hoping to attack our friend's back. We will not let that happen. Our heart begins to race, the sound echoing in our ears. Everything comes into focus, and all of our muscles tense in unison; we are ready. The wind brushes past, rustling our fur; excitement, apprehension, and hunger fill us at once. Hunger for safety. Hunger to protect. Hunger for blood. Though, it is unclear what desire comes from the both of us; it does not matter.

We are one.

Nothing can hold us back as we tear into this threat; charging past the small human we must save.

This is what we want.

This is our purpose.

-ACE-

For a terrifying second, just the briefest stretch of time, Ace thinks Luffy is actually going to kill Sabo; that his other form is too lost in bloodlust to stop themselves. It is one of the worst feelings he has ever had the displeasure of experiencing. All of their planning to save the boy would have been for nothing, and the guilt, oh the guilt, would have ruined his baby brother. Just like last time, but this go around, I'll have to explain why the person we were trying so hard to help was dead. It was almost a blessing that he was the only person around who remembered.

You couldn't stop it then either.

Why would you be able to stop it now?

After Lu had shifted, everything blurred, and Ace simply couldn't remember all of it. The screams of officers, the terrible splintering noise of broken wood, and the low growl that had no business coming from that idiot's mouth all filled his ears. Now, as he watches that giant feline version of his brother leap past the blond boy, ripping into the Marine sneaking up behind him, it's almost as if all of the air has left his lungs; words catching in his throat before they can be spoken.

Not even a disturbance in the cool morning breeze.

Just the warm spray of blood dusting across his front.

He would never admit it, but right then, Ace was scared shitless. He hated that this was a situation he couldn't fix by beating something up; he liked being the strong one, in control. And right now, the freckled kid was most certainly not in control. Guns on all sides, and a raging tiger of a sibling to boot.

We're so screwed.

As Lu dealt with said marine, he chanced a glance over at Sabo, whose frame was stock still; most likely thinking that death was upon him. Bright new stains of pink marred the once clean bandages wrapped around the boy's torso, reminding Ace once again of the burning pain pooling through his shoulder; which, in the heat of the moment, the boy seemed to forget about. Once he had gotten out of the bar, a stray bullet had clipped that meaty part of his arm. It hurts like a bitch, but don't worry about it now, just focus on getting out of this situation. Quick.

The naval officers still seemed too shocked and wary to approach, though their yelling had once again resumed when their comrades body hit the dirt. Good, this buys me a second to think, that's all I need. Just one minute to plan. Thank all possible gods for these fools' incompetence.

Contrary to popular belief, the curly haired kid actually had a good amount of intelligence rolling around in his thick skull; only, he hid it well enough that it was always underestimated. It came quite in handy when people expected you to be as dumb as a brick; growing up with bandits kind of gives you that vibe. Since his first plan seemed to fail so spectacularly, his ten year old self needed to now account for all possible contingencies. Calm down and think, there's nothing you can't handle, Ace thought to himself; repeating that mantra enough times that he almost believed it.

Gradually, a course of action formed.

That same lightbulb from earlier appeared over his head.

Bingo.

While they were focusing on the massive tiger, my brother, he carefully slipped the pipe under his injured arm and as subtly as possible rifled through the leather bag with his other hand. After an eternity of searching, his fingers finally found the object they were looking for. Just in time too, because those marines still left standing were beginning to take aim again; caution leaving their forms.

Digits fumbled for the right movements. I only have one shot, I better get this right.

Please… Please… Please work…

One man is now staring down the barrel of his rifle. Ready to fire.

Wring… Wring… Wring… Click…

Oh thank god. All movement stopped as a loud irritated voice filled the town square, crackling with static. "Hello, Garp here, whoever this is, leave a message or call that bastard Sengoku; tell him I'm busy right now," and to be honest, Ace had never been more relieved to hear that crappy old gramp's voice; barely even registering the harsh edge to the man's words. The sound of a Navy Vice-Admiral, especially that of such an esteemed war hero, was bound to turn heads; which was what Ace was betting on. All of the commotion stopped at the presence of this new voice, prompting all of the present Marines to look around in confusion.

Holy shit, it worked.

"Hello…Hello?" Garp echoed, answered by nothing but silence. This was a turn of events the soldiers had clearly not anticipated. Taking this opportunity and running with it, the freckled boy began to inch over to where Sabo and Luffy were positioned around the dead officer. Sifting once again through the satchel, he began to set up the next phase of his ramshackle plan.

This distraction is only going to last so long.

Being within a good two meters of the blond, he finally met those scared blue eyes; almost trying to telegraph his plan to the other boy. That azure gaze flicked down to what now rested in Ace's palm. The keys to their success. He could see the kid put together to pieces of the puzzle, gaze widening a fraction; the slightest nod was made in his direction, a confirmation. It seems only now the Marines noticed his shift in position. Said boy was almost shoulder to shoulder with Sabo at this point; the hot breaths leaving his brother's maw ruffled his wavy hair. Just. About. Now…

With a hardened heart, Ace hung up the call; transponder going silent once more. Thanks again Gramps. See you around, ya geezer. Finally catching on, the naval officers turned their angry looks toward him; most certainly not liking being made a fool of by a child. "You ready Sabo?" He whispered, and received another nod of affirmation. Here goes nothing, I was really hoping to save this stuff for later… Oh well.

I can't believe I'm really gonna do this…

Raising his voice, to be heard over the already present yelling, Ace jumped off the deep end and screamed, "What are you, some sort of weak cowards, who can't take down a couple of kids?" And that was the straw that broke the camel's back. They came surging forward, a new righteous fury lighting their eyes. Perfect.

Tossing his pipe to the side, ignoring the flaring ache in his injured shoulder, the boy uncapped the large bottle of sake that was tightly fisted in his hand. Without waiting a single second longer, he threw the contents of the glass in a large arching motion onto the ground between them and the advancing Marines. All of it. With shaking hands, he fumbled with the thing he had packed in the bag on a whim. Who knew this shit would really come in handy?

Just a little longer… until they're close enough…

Just… A… Little… Longer…

Now!

Striking two matches at once, Ace flung them down at the now alcohol covered dirt; mixing in with the rough pieces of bark sprinkled around. It all happened so fast that no one, not even the dark haired boy himself could react. It was like an eruption of flame and smoke, cutting a clear line across the marred ground; igniting through the liquid and wood concoction. Thank all hell that I kept the spray contained, or else all of the wooden buildings would be burning down as well. Shielding his eyes from the initial flare of light and heat, he grabbed onto Sabo's coat sleeve, preparing to sprint in the other direction. He tried his best to block out the pained yells of agony coming from those few that got caught up in the first wave of flames. Now is not the time to feel sorry for them, a strong message he thought.

Now, for the hard part.

Swiveling over to tiger-Luffy, he reached a quavering hand out; hoping that somewhere deep down, his brother was in there. He had to be. Feral yellow eyes greeted him, just as the random barrage of bullets began. The whiz of those dangerous bits of metal meant nothing to him, in that moment; they need to get the hell out of dodge. Right. Now.

He was so distracted with the feeling of his hand on his Lu's matted fur that Ace didn't even register Sabo's shouts of warning. Or the feeling of being pushed to the side as the hulking feline figure moved to stand right where he just stood. All he noticed now was the pained roar that shook him to his core. That once clean fur coat was now stained crimson. And for who knows how long, he screamed; watching as the mighty form shifted back to the familiar small body of his little Lu, falling limply to the ground. Blood poured from a wound somewhere in the boy's raven hair. Luffy was shot. Oh god… He just took a bullet for me.

By the light of the ever blazing fire, he couldn't for the life of him, make out whether or not his brother was… whether he was… whether he was dead or not. The unwanted sting of bile began to rise up, just as he caught a glimpse of the man responsible through the flickering of the inferno. It was only the cold hands of exhaustion and pain that kept the kid from rushing over there and murdering that bastard with his bare hands.

Was it worth it?

After that, he couldn't recall anything but flashes.

Sabo, terrified yet controlled, tugging him along; speaking shaky, but calming reassurances. The almost dead weight of his brother, splayed across his shoulders. The fading off of the Marine's cries as they travelled farther and farther from the town center. Or the steady rock of the tiny sail boat the blond commandeered, as they navigated it around the other side of the island; to avoid the attention of the ever present fleet. But to hell with all of that. To him, the only thing that mattered was the prone form of his Lu, propped against the side of the ship. Ace simply stared, unmoved in his shocked state.

Luffy has to be okay, he just has to be…

Please, no…

What have I done?

What have I done?

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, only this story and the plot.

A/N: Hello! I'm back with another chapter, and I sincerely hope you liked it. Thanks to all who reviewed, followed, or favorited. I don't really know why I write these long ass author's notes, probably their just mostly to either vent, or explain off any random questions that might be brought up after reading this; so thanks again to any of you who stuck through the whole thing. I'm trying to keep my ideas for this consistent with my overall endgame (which I have a good idea about even though we aren't even close to their yet), but if any of you have any problems, or suggestions about the in between parts, I'll try my best to live up to expectations. I really love Sabo's perspective to write from. See you next time around the bend! (p.s. if anyone wants to chat or talk, I'm always down for a good conversation…) Review :).

-Echo