A/N: Hey Everyone! Sorry for the long wait! I had hoped to have the chapter done before I started grad school but i still had two scenes left to write when my internship started and then things got away from me Dx It's finally here, though!

Special Thanks again to evaienna for being my editor!

I'll stop talking now and just let ya'll get to the chapter so (it's another long one),

Without further ado...

Chapter 23

"A sign of good will," Teach chimed through the elevator speakers, the doors sliding shut behind the group, "I've unbanned your One Piece account. There's still much that needs to be done and you might need to go virtual for some of it. But, if you don't, well, I don't know for certain what's going to be done with the game when everything finally comes to light, but if there's chance that the game will be sticking around, and it's ever something you want to come back to, then your stuff's available."

"Thanks," Sabo glanced up at the camera tucked into the corner of the ceiling. He leaned back against the back elevator wall. Kid, Robin, and Dragon were all scattered before him in the large lift. He wasn't sure if he ever would (play the game again that is), or if he'd ever even put the headset back on again at this point. He was still processing everything that had just happened on the other side of those doors and the mere thought of doing it again was cringe-worthy at best right now. He took a deep breath, and let it shutter back out again.

"Be ready," Dragon warned, "there will probably be people waiting for us when we reach the first floor. Sabo, you stay back. You've done enough already."

Sabo nodded, arms crossing in front of his chest.

Teach's voice chimed in again, "Don't worry about it, I've got you covered. There's two guys refusing to budge by the doors but I've taken care of the rest. You can get out by taking the back door." The elevator chimed as it reached the first floor but the doors remained firmly closed. Something about that phrasing unsettled Sabo. "Take a right down the elevator hallway, turn left at the end and the exit will be on the right."

"What do you mean by 'taken care of?'" Sabo asked, knitting his eyebrows. His eyes flickered to Robin before shifting to the camera.

"Don't worry about it," Teach countered vaguely. "They won't be coming after you."

"Teach," Sabo's voice grew firm as he straightened. God, he really hoped this wasn't turning into what he felt like it might be.

"They'll be free to go when you're cleared, don't worry. I don't have a problem with the chumps," Teach replied. "I've got a lockdown on the entire building, though. Phones, alarms, computers, doors. Nothing gets past my notice. They're taken care of. Simple as that."

"So you'll open the doors when we're clear, right?" Sabo asked, getting increasingly concerned. How the hell were they going to keep this under wraps? Now the whole building was involved.

"Of course," Teach answered. "You ready?"

Guess it was a problem to sort out for later. Sabo nodded the go ahead and the elevator doors slid open.

The two guards didn't up much of a significant fight. And, true to Teach's word, no one else appeared to stop them on their way out. The four of them piled into the van and they all hit the road. Just like that, the most dangerous part was over. Koala had, indeed, found Apoo, or maybe it happened the other way around. Regardless, Apoo was in the van when they got there and they had potentially all the information that they needed. Now all they had to do was sort it out and find an outlet for it. Spark some sort of legal action. Sabo relaxed into the left-center seat and let most of the adrenaline rush out of him with a breath of air.

The ride back to Franky's was silent but tense. While most of the team had seemed relieved and relaxed, Dragon remained like a storm cloud brewing behind the steering wheel. Something was still bothering him and it was making everyone else in the car tense and anxious. Sabo quickly learned that Apoo hummed when he was on edge. Granted, something was still bothering Sabo as well. He assumed that Dragon's mood was some residual anger towards Celestial or something, but… maybe there was something he was missing? Maybe Dragon was just always brooding? Maybe it was because none of this was resolved yet? Sabo understood that they were far from being out of the woods. What they did was a risk, not to mention maybe a little bit illegal, so one slip up and they might lose everything that they'd struggled to obtain. Aside from that… Sabo had almost died. A solid hour sitting in the car so far and he was finally starting to process that a little bit. He'd almost died and Luffy was almost left out there on his own despite his promise to come back. That whole situation was way too close for comfort.

Sabo watched the trees as they scrolled past and reminded himself that he was here, sitting in a van, and alive. He was going home. He was relatively safe now, all things considered. And yet, despite telling himself these things, he still felt like maybe something else was on the horizon. That it wasn't all over yet… that the worst was maybe yet to come. He was still keyed up and he wasn't sure if his tenseness was a bleed-over from Dragon's mood or if his instincts really were onto something.

They crawled out of the van once it was parked and headed back to Franky's. The front door opened for them as soon as they approached and they were all shooed quickly inside.

The door slammed shut behind them.

Sabo flinched and turned just in time to see Dragon leave the door and reach out a hand to grab Robin by the collar of her blazer.

"Hey!" Franky snapped and Kid tried to interfere, but Dragon held up one hand to hold them off while the other jostled her.

"You," Dragon growled, "You've fucked this entire operation and you know it, don't you? You're probably laughing to yourself right now, aren't you? Why didn't you fucking mention you were FBI?"

Everyone froze. How did Dragon find that out? Why was it important?

Robin remained perfectly calm and collected; her eyes level with Dragon's. She only looked away to casually glance at Dragon's hand on her blazer before returning to his. An unspoken 'unhand me' in her gaze.

Sabo's eyes flickered between the two of them and then around the room, "Um... is something wrong?"

Dragon's gaze remained locked with Robin's as he explained, "Any information obtained the way we obtained it while assisted or prompted by a federal agent is unusable in the court of law, isn't that right, agent? We would have been fine if it weren't for you."

Wait, what? The idea honestly had never even occurred to Sabo. Robin had said upfront from the beginning, that she was an FBI agent. It had made Sabo trust her. Was Robin working against them the entire time? Was Celestial really going to go that fucking far to keep this a secret? Robin never did explain that she was FBI to anyone but Sabo and Kid that he was aware of now that he thought about it.

"Let me explain myself," Robin countered.

"You don't need to explain yourself," Dragon growled. "I understand perfectly well about you government types. Celestial is so deep in your pockets that I'm not even surprised," He gave one final shove and released Robin, turning to run his hands aggressively through his shaggy hair and cursing.

"I know that," Robin insisted, hands balling into fists, "The FBI is taking bribes, that's correct, but so are the judges, the police, and whatever jury that would end up on this case. The whole entire system is playing Celestial's side from the bottom to the top and you know that better than anyone else." Robin took a deep breath and visibly relaxed back into her calculated demeanor, "My involvement in this matter means nothing. No one would have heard about it whether I prompted the investigation or not. They would have swept it under the rug just like everything else. I'm working on my own here, honest, and if I weren't I would have done this the proper, legal way and not gone to him," Robin pointed to Sabo. "He was my only chance and my best lead to find out anything substantial about this case. I couldn't trust anyone in the agency to help me any more than you would trust them. The court will dismiss this case regardless of how we got this information and you know that, Dragon, and because the courts will not assist us, we have to take this to the press and find someone with enough daring to publish it. If the public learns about this then there is absolutely no way that the government will be able to sweep it under the rug. The people's court is our best option to get anything further accomplished here. It might not work, but it's our best option." Robin drew in a steady breath as she finished, hands loosening from their fists.

Dragon's jaw ticked, but he seemed to be simmering down, shifting his weight onto one foot as he turned his back to them. He looked down and tapped his left foot once before saying, "Even if the people know, you know as good as I do that it won't be enough. Like you said, it might not work. Celestial needs shut down, not publicly shamed and the people responsible for all of this need to pay for the shit that they've done to me, to my brother, to my family, and to all the people that have been affected by this experiment. I can't let them just get away with this scotch free." Dragon half turned to look back at all of them, still huddled in the foyer of Franky's home. Sabo wondered what he meant by family. "What have we got that we can use but wasn't pulled from the basement for when or if we manage to get this to court?"

"The folder of potential subjects?" Sabo offered. "I know I got it on the mission, but it's different right? Finding it just in his office versus hacking into the database?"

Robin looked thoughtful, her arms crossing, "It's information that would have been found regardless of whether or not a warrant was obtained. It was just sitting in his desk right?"

"Yeah," Sabo confirmed.

"It could work," Robin allowed tentatively. "I'd have to look into it more, but…"

"It's not enough," Dragon finished. "It's a clue but it's not damning," Dragon huffed, "It's just not specific enough about what they're planning to do with the subjects. What else have we got?"

"Jason Liebrecht's stuff. The Boston Globe still has it all somewhere, right?" Koala offered glancing over to Sabo.

"It might help," Sabo confirmed. "It was enough for them to kill him over it before he could get it out. Maybe what he found along with everything that I've got from before today will paint some kind of picture?"

"He didn't have enough to publish anything yet, though," Robin countered. "He might not have anything solid either. Like you, he might have just had more of the same. Enough to be solidly sure but, again, nothing damning."

"Won't hurt to find out, though," Sabo shrugged. "The Globe doesn't know where the information is, exactly, so it would take some digging to find the specific drive that Jason's stuff is on if it still exists, but…"

"There's still a chance that he did have enough but couldn't publish it yet, though, right?" Koala pointed out. "Or even that our stuff and his stuff put together will be exactly what we need to put together a whole picture?"

Dragon crossed his arms and frowned, "We'll figure something out. For now, however," Dragon pointed at Sabo, "You need to give me everything you have and then lay low somewhere. We've got to scatter and move quickly before they send anyone after us and get us before we can get anywhere from here. Robin and I can handle the legal stuff, see how we can frame this information and figure out who we can take it to. You've got a good eye, though, so we'll keep you in the loop." Dragon shifted his finger to Koala and asked, "You have connections, right?"

Koala nodded, "And if I don't know one, I know how to make it."

"Good. We'll need your help with this as well, but you don't need to stay with us. I know you're only on spring break right now and the more we scatter the better so get somewhere safer than here. They might not know you're involved but better safe than sorry."

"Of course," Koala agreed.

"Is there anywhere I shouldn't go?" Sabo cut in to ask.

"Don't go home. They'll know to look for you there," Dragon replied.

"What about Luffy? Do I take him with me? They know where to find him. They'll probably target him, too, to get to me. They've done it before. I already lost Ace to this mess. I won't lose Luffy, too."

Dragon's gaze turned something that almost qualified as soft, "Do what you want and go where you want but don't tell us where that is. The less everyone knows about where the others go the better. Take him with you or don't that's your call," Dragon dismissed. Sabo scowled then winced at the ache in his jaw and the pull on his bruised face. He'd almost completely forgotten about his injuries in the moment.

Dragon shifted to sweep his finger over Franky, Kid, and Apoo who were watching this all happen owlishly from the kitchen, Kid holding a bottle of cold cola to his bruised temple. "You three need to lay low as well and start working on the AI problem. See if your little project actually works or not and you're able to successfully isolate the AI. Kid, you'll be in the most danger out of the three of you because they know your face, so you'll need to be extra careful. I'd say you need to run, but you're needed with them."

"I'm not worried," Kid shrugged casually, "I'd love to see them fucking try and touch me." he flexed his metal hand before putting two fingers to his palm like Spider-Man and triggering a knife that extended out of his wrist. He looked absolutely delighted to see it in operation and made a mock stabbing motion into the open air.

"Oh, super, you actually did it!" Franky exclaimed, reaching out for Kid's metal arm to get a better look while Kid began to enthusiastically explain the mechanisms, retracting and extending the blade a few times to show off. Apoo rolled his eyes, turning away to lean against the counter.

Dragon's attention zeroed back in on Sabo, pulling Sabo's own attention away from the two mechanics' animated conversation, "Grab all your shit, you're leaving as soon as possible. You won't be flying so you'll need to figure out a different way to get wherever it is you're going. Don't take any trains either. They have set loading and unloading points so it's too easy for them to intercept you."

"Got it. I'll be fine. I've done it before so I can do it again," Sabo shrugged.

Dragon raised a curious eyebrow at that but didn't ask any pressing questions, so Sabo didn't offer any explanations. If he could make it to Dallas, Texas without a car or a plan when he was eleven, he could do it when he was twenty. Speaking of, what was the date today? He pulled his phone from his pocket and woke it up. March fifteenth. That means his birthday was in five days. He was turning twenty-one. Had it really only been ten years? He felt like he'd been with Ace and Luffy for a lifetime and at the same time, it felt like it had passed in the blink of his eyes.

"Phone," Dragon held his hand out.

Sabo looked between Dragon's hand and his phone and then back again before frowning.

"Can't take any risks. They might track it," Dragon reminded him.

Sabo sighed heavily and dropped it into Dragon's palm. He'd only just gotten it back, too. "Let me know what the names on the files are as soon as you can. I took pictures and I want to figure out if there's anyone familiar to me."

"We'll do what we can," Dragon agreed, pocketing Sabo's phone.

Sabo rolled his lips together and let his eyes wander to the others. Kid and Koala were the only two that knew about his sojourn when he was eleven and the rest seemed variations of concerned or confused by his admonition as Dragon had been. Sabo imagined that being older might make the journey much easier now than it had been when he was a homeless child, though, and he was confident he could figure it out. "Do I get a car?" Sabo asked.

"Not far. Any of ours will be traceable back to us. You can take the van for now, but not all the way. They're probably be looking for it," Dragon allowed. "You'll have to ditch it as soon as possible."

"Of course," Sabo nodded, the beginnings of a plan formulating in his head. Hopefully, he could do this and not get caught at least before he somehow got word to Luffy.

Sabo knew that taking the buses would be a risk, but it was one of the most effective ways to get out of Boston before any news could get out about the break-in. He'd decided quickly that he wasn't going to go straight to Dallas on public transit. That would be foolish. Just like trains and planes, the routes had specific stops that they always stopped at, which meant that he had to go somewhere unexpected and change things up a little.

He'd gotten off the bus at a plaza on the turnpike somewhere in Pennsylvania and hadn't gotten back on when the bus was set to leave. Instead, Sabo'd stretched his legs after almost fifteen hours of walking, waiting, sitting on buses, or waiting on busses. He then went to the bathroom, used some of the money he had stashed to buy a meal, and then set out to obtain more change so that he had enough to use at one of the old payphones. He needed to call Luffy as soon as possible and then he needed to find a ride that would get him to Pittsburg where he could find another bus or something that could take him somewhere not Texas. He was hoping a talk with Luffy might help him figure out some more options once he was in Pittsburg, considering his brother's ever-expanding, online network of friends. Fifteen hours had given Sabo a lot of time to think about this and he was really holding out on the idea that someone from the Whitebeard pirates would be able to pick him up in, like, Indianapolis or something once he'd found another piece of transportation to get him there either directly from Pittsburg or around through Chicago.

Since he didn't have quite enough change yet, Sabo drifted into the shop to peruse for snacks or drinks that he could buy to obtain some more change. His eyes caught on the silent TV in the corner and was relieved to find that it was just on some channel playing re-runs of old early 2000's sitcoms and relaxed, but still wondered if there was anything about him on the news yet or if Celestial was keeping everything on the down low. He got himself a beanie, a few bags of chips, and a couple of bottles of soda, all of which were stuffed into his book bag once he was out of the store. He re-shouldered the nondescript book bag and wandered around the open dining hall, counting the quarters in his hand that he'd broken a few ones for until he arrived at the payphones situated along the wall, his back to the floor crowded with people sitting at tables or standing in line for food. The smell of delicious pretzels was strongly tempting Sabo right now, but he had already eaten and there was no way he was standing in the long line for it. He hadn't decided yet if the fact that it was the lunch rush was somewhat in his favor or not.

After counting the correct change, he deposited it into the payphone. The payphone had an option to pay using a card, but there was no way that Sabo was going to be using any of his cards anywhere for the foreseeable future. He dialed Luffy's number, knowing it off the top of his head like always, and waited for him to pick up, glancing at the time and hoping that Luffy would answer. Accounting for the different time zones, it was probably around noon in Dallas and he was probably at school considering it was Friday. Sabo was hoping he had his phone on him at lunch.

The phone rang twice before a curious and tentatively excited voice answered "Hello?"

Sabo smiled, "Hey, Luff, how's school been?" he was so ready to be home again.

"Sabo! Hi! Are you okay? I haven't heard from you in forever! Jimbei said that you were in the news today and that I should come back straight from school instead of hanging out, so that's where I'm headed right now. He probably meant after school was over, but I decided to leave during lunch instead. I'm doing okay, though! All things considered. What happened? Why are you on the news?" Luffy babbled.

Sabo sighed and rolled his lips together before answering as Luffy took a breath, "About that… I need you to listen to me, okay? You can't stay at Jimbei's anymore. They know that house and they know to look for you there. I'm afraid that might try and go after you."

"Sabo? What happened?" Luffy's voice slowed, a sure sign that he was concerned.

"I don't know what the news is saying, I haven't been able to catch it yet. It might be some approximation of what happened or it could be total bullshit. I'll explain everything to you later, though, okay? But I need you to get in contact with Pops or something. See if they can help you find a place to stay and then keep your phone on you. I'll be calling you again as soon as I can okay? When is your spring break?"

"Uh… next week I think? Not this coming one after the weekend but the one after that. What am I going to do about school? Do I keep going?"

"You can keep going there if you want to. Find someone to give you a ride or something, but just… be careful about it. It might be dangerous. I trust that you can take care of yourself on that front, though, so, just… I'll see you soon, okay?"

"Got it."

"Are you sure?"

"… When you say Pops you mean Pineapple's gang and all them, right?" Luffy hesitantly asked for clarification.

"Heh, yeah, I mean them," Sabo smiled.

"Okay! Then I do got it. You stay safe, too, okay, Sabo? I miss you."

"I miss you, too, Luff."

They didn't talk for very long after that, mostly just to say their goodbyes before Sabo's ran out of minutes on the pay phone. He hung up the receiver and glanced around the food court to take in what was on the television screens plastered around the walls. Most of it was travel and weather channels, a few were more local news. None showing whatever news program Jimbei had seen. Sabo fished his beanie out of his bag and pulled it over his hair before wandering back outside into the chilly spring air. Now to find a ride to pay.

If there was one thing that Sabo was grateful for these past seven months, it was the brushing off of his bullshitting skills that had been in near constant use since he left Dallas.

It had taken a couple of tries, but he'd eventually been able to find a semi-truck driver headed west carefree enough to take him with him. Or… maybe it wasn't carefreeness; there had been something akin to compassion in the old man's eyes. He had long hair that had probably gone silver decades ago and a matching bushy goatee. He introduced himself as Ray and explained that he'd been trucking for decades and never minded extra company on the road.

The old man seemed content enough on the drive to chatter away regardless of whether or not Sabo was engaged in the conversation, which, thankfully, made the situation less dull and awkward than it might have been otherwise. He had a lot of interesting stories to tell and had been a lot of places in his life. Sabo was sure to leave out any personal details whenever he engaged. Ray seemed keen, however, and Sabo wasn't convinced that Ray had been convinced by Sabo's story about missing the bus and needing a ride to Pittsburg because he couldn't just wait for another bus to come around because who knew when that might be. While it was technically true, it was definitely a white lie. The fact that Ray didn't seem to buy it but agreed to take him anyway simultaneously terrified Sabo and made him grateful. Then again, Sabo had mentioned he would pay him. But Ray's eyes had lingered on Sabo's jaw before he'd agreed to take him, and a glance at his reflection on the glass was more than enough to remind Sabo of the darkening bruise.

"So. Where are you really headed, kid? Because I'm pretty sure it ain't Pittsburg," Ray prompted, some two hours into the drive.

Whelp, he was doomed, Sabo concluded.

Sure to keep his expression level but mildly confused, Sabo turned his head slightly as if he were only distractedly turning towards Ray. He fought the desire to turn his head fully to get the truck driver completely out of his blind side but didn't. "I really am headed to Pittsburg, like I said. I've got a friend there who can pick me up and take me the rest of the way home." Sabo insisted, glancing down as he picked at one of the sleeves of his sweater. He looked back out the window again.

"Vic. Was it Vic?" Ray asked, pausing. Sabo grunted in affirmation and Ray continued, "Vic, as we discussed, I can't veer from my schedule."

"I thought we agreed that you could drop me off at a truck stop on the south side of town and my ride could pick me up there?" Sabo reminded him. "Pittsburg really is where I'm going."

"Yeah, you say that but are you sure you don't need to go further, kid? That you're not just saying that because you know you can catch another bus there? My route goes all the way out to St. Louis and I don't need to go 'round the back way through Chicago to get there. Now, I'm gonna be honest here, kid, I don't buy your little story," Sabo frowned but didn't interrupt as Ray continued, "but I've also made it a point to be trained to spot when something fishy is goin' on and I'm a little bit worried, to be honest. Now, I don't mind drivin' you further if you need to go further or not if you don't. I just don't think you actually have a friend in Pittsburg."

Sabo shifted in his seat to fully turn towards Ray and take in the man's full expression. He narrowed his eyes, "You sure you don't just want more of my money?"

"I wouldn't complain about that, kid," Ray laughed, "But, no, not really," His expression sobered, pausing for a moment. A corner of his mouth quirked up, "Do you need a phone? You haven't called your so-called friend to let them know you were on the way yet or where they can pick you up instead of the bus stop so I don't think that they exist and that you haven't been totally honest with me. Now, I'm not going to ask who you are or who or what you're running from and why. I don't need to know specifics when… y'know," Ray gestured vaguely to his cheek and Sabo reached up to unconsciously touch his sore jaw. So it did have something to do with why Ray agreed. The old man continued, "I'm not gonna ask why you haven't gone to the cops with whatever it is either, but I am gonna ask if you at least got a good hit in," He smiled, "Saw your knuckles when you introduced yourself."

So, Sabo's assessment had been correct. Ray really had been too keen to be fooled. He kinda had the wrong idea, but it worked in his favor. But, then again… was Ray really that far off the mark, though? That he was running from either an abuser or a kidnapper or something? He frowned and glanced down at the raw, bruised knuckles poking out of his jacket sleeves. It… didn't feel like it. The situation wasn't all that bad, right? Other people have it worse. What he went through was practically nothing. He thumbed the scab on his right knuckles before raising his hand to inspect the healing wound better. "Yeah… I did." He admitted, lips twitching up into a small smile at the memory of punching Outlook in the face. "I aimed too low, though. Caught my fist on teeth. Rookie mistake," he glanced back over at Ray, pulling one corner of his smile up even higher.

"Ouch! Good for you, though," Ray grinned, "I bet it felt good."

"It did," Sabo admitted, looking back out the window once more.

"So," Ray began again, pulling Sabo's gaze back to him once more, "Do you need a phone to use? Anywhere I can take you that might be somewhat safe for you? I drive through Columbus and Indianapolis on my way to St. Louis if that helps you. I can drop you off anywhere along the way."

Sabo shrugged, "Honestly, anywhere is better than where I was." He gave it some thought, watching the hills and valleys passing them by, "Indianapolis might be a better bet than Pittsburg if you don't mind. It's a good central ground to find a good contact in and I… home is Texas." He admitted, surprised at himself for revealing a small bit about himself to this stranger.

"You sure about Indianapolis? St. Louis is closer to Texas than central Indiana."

"No, I can't go back home yet and I think Indianapolis is a better bet for finding contact right now. If you're willing, though, yeah. Indy is good enough for now. I'll get it figured out."

"Of course I'm willing, kid, and don't worry about the money. Just buy me a meal when we stop for dinner if you're determined about it. You need that money more than I do, so it's better if you hang onto it yourself. I'm getting paid to drive that way anyway and it's more than you've got in your wallet."

Sabo relaxed into the passenger chair leaning his head against the window for a moment before sucking in a breath and asking, "…is that phone still on offer?"

"It's right here," Ray confirmed, leaning forward in his seat to slide the smartphone out of the cradle that was attached to the air vent of the wavy center console. He thumbed the phone to unlock it then handed it over to Sabo to use.

Sabo weighed the phone in his hand as he contemplated whom to call, occasionally tapping the screen to make sure that it remained active and unlocked. He only had so many numbers memorized. He could call Luffy again, but that was risky. They were guaranteed to be screening Luffy's phone by now to look for him in case he called again. Jimbei was probably his better bet. He'd memorized his number just in case but hadn't used it and wasn't sure if he remembered it correctly. Jimbei did have a lot of contacts he could probably use as well, which could help him out. He punched in what he believed to be Jimbei's number and hesitantly held the device up to his ear. It rang a few times before going straight to voicemail, which he expected considering the unknown number. At the beep, Sabo awkwardly spat out "Hey Jimbei, It's uh… it's me… Vic. It's been awhile… I'm borrowing a phone? So, uh… call me back at this number? Whatever it is? Kay, bye," and hung up. Sabo let his head fall back against the headrest with a loud groan, mumbling, "God I hate leaving voicemails," which got a hearty laugh out of Ray, who ribbed him about how awful the message was.

Sabo really hoped that Jimbei understood who he was despite the use of the name he'd given Ray. He didn't have to wait long to find out, though. The old man was still laughing when the phone began to ring. Sabo double-checked the number that flashed up on the screen with his memory before answering, "Hey, Jimbei. Just calling to let you know I'm safe now," he smirked and added, "you can call off all the searches, I'm on my way home."

"Sabo, I'm really glad to hear it but you're on the news. I don't know what you did, but right now all they're saying is that you've gone missing and that it's suspected that you were kidnapped by Dragon. They're searching for you and have basically made it national news. Try not to get recognized. The story just broke so people will be looking.," Jimbei explained hastily under his breath, "I know that's not the story and I am going to want the whole thing out of you as soon as you get back, but try to stay hidden in the meantime."

"Thanks for letting me know… can I ask you for your help though? I know you don't owe me anything and I barely know you but… I caught a ride to Indiana. I was wondering if you knew anyone that might be able to pick me up around Indianapolis in around…" Sabo glanced over at Ray.

"Five or six hours," Ray supplied, catching the context.

Sabo parroted back to estimate for Jimbei to hear.

"Indianapolis? I'll need to call you back. Let me ask around."

"Before you go… I really can't thank you enough for everything you've one since this whole mess started. You didn't have to do any of it. Just. Call back at this number when you know, okay? Thank you. Again."

"It is nothing. Your brother has been good company even if his recklessness does stress me out at times and his stomach threatens to empty my wallet. He's sensible, though. I can't fault him for much of the trouble he's caused, he just doesn't often think things through all the way to their consequences."

"Oh, no," Sabo smiled, "what's me brother done while I've been gone?" he asked in a fake, horrified voice. It would have been anything really, and Sabo wouldn't care since it was probably justified in some way. Whatever it was, though, Sabo was sure he wouldn't be surprised. Luffy had been going to a new school; of course he was guaranteed to have shaken up something.

"Come home and I'll explain it to you in person. It's far too many things to discuss over the phone right now and I have some phone calls to make." Jimbei replied with warmth.

"Thanks again. It means a lot," Sabo replied. "I'll see you all again soon." He pulled the phone away from his ear to hang up, catching only the beginning of Jimbei's farewell before he pressed the end call button.

"You have a brother?" Ray asked after a couple of silent beats.

"Yeah. Had two, actually," Sabo responded, leaning to the right and propping himself up with an elbow on the armrest and his chin in his palm, careful not to put any pressure on his bruises. He stared out the window and watched as the landscape rolled past.

"Had?" Ray picked up.

"Mm." Sabo hummed as confirmation, not offering up any explanations.

"Sorry for your loss," Ray offered.

"Thanks," Sabo replied softly. The response had been expected and Sabo still disliked such empty condolences, but Ray sounded somewhat genuine about it despite having only known him for a couple of hours.

It was hard, Sabo discovered, knowing he was making his way back to Dallas and that Ace wouldn't be there to meet him. It had been half a year since the fire and yet… it didn't feel like it. It felt both longer and not that long ago simultaneously. He hadn't been in Dallas for most of that time since the fire. Sabo wondered if it would hurt worse again once he returned. Not that it didn't still hurt, but Sabo imagined it might have been easier being in a place where there wasn't a fond memory on every corner. Sabo was somewhat grateful in that regard that Jimbei had lived in another part of town and really hoped that wherever they were going after that would be even further removed.

"If you need sleep you can lay on the couch behind us and get some shut-eye. It's much more comfortable than the chair," Ray offered into the lengthening silence.

"Thanks for the offer, but I think I'll stay up here. Don't think I'll be able to sleep," Sabo admitted. He was exhausted though; something he hadn't realized until Ray had brought it up.

"You been on the move for long?" Ray asked.

"Yeah." Nearly eighteen or nineteen hours already, Sabo realized. And he had another five or six hours before they reached Indy around — Sabo glanced the phone in his hand — eleven at night. Sabo knew that it had to be probably something like fifteen more hours on the road just to get him from Indy to Dallas, too. Maybe even longer depending on the route. He was exhausted but he needed to be awake for whenever Jimbei finally called back.

God, thinking back to when he was a kid who was just trying to make his way somewhere that wasn't 'home.' Eleven years old and trying to convince people not to call the cops - to call his family - to just let him buy a bus ticket - a train ticket - give him a ride - let him eat - let him sleep - let him shower. He hadn't had a plan but he'd figured out some tricks and learned where to look for a free meal. He had no idea how or where he would settle, though. If he'd inevitably end up in the foster system or what. If his father would drag him back home kicking and screaming. If he'd even go back willingly. He hadn't really been sure if he didn't actually want his parents to take him back or if he even actually wanted them to be searching for him. It had been pure spite and determination not to prove them right that had kept him moving and he never knew if that fire would just… die out at some point and he'd find himself heading back home again willingly and regretting he'd ever left in the first place. The ever circling questions in his mind, the voice in his head (that sounded suspiciously like his father) criticizing every action while the pool of money he'd stolen from his parents dwindled and he headed further and further south. It was a miracle, really, that things had worked out the way that they had. That he'd run into Ace and Luffy just as things had started looking hopeless and ultimately made a home with them in an old two-story suburban, cut-and-paste house with blank spaces on the walls where pictures frames had once hung. A home that was no longer standing.

Sabo had never once seen the photos that used to hang on the walls and stopped thinking about them once they'd started putting up posters and photos of their own to cover up the slight discoloration in the paint. He'd once asked Ace about them back when neither of them spoke enough of the other's languages to hold much of an understandable conversation about the matter. Ace had only sneered at one of the spaces, waved a hand dismissively, and then spat out some choice curse words in Portuguese that Sabo didn't need to understand to get that they were once family photos. Ace had always been so angry back then — especially about their family.

Maybe he did need to sleep, Sabo considered as he felt the pinpricks in his eyes that always foreshadowed tears. He yawned and then rubbed his eyes with the sleeve-covered heels of his hands to dry them. Settling his weight against the door, Sabo mused that at least this time around he was twenty so no one had batted an eye when he'd purchased anything on his own. He also had friends to turn to, people he could trust to help him, a direction to travel in that was more concrete than 'away.'

The ring of the phone startled Sabo awake from a nap he didn't realize he'd been taking. He blearily failed his hands around for the phone, accidentally knocking it onto the floor. He cursed, pulled at the seat belt, and nearly hit his head on the dash as he bent forward to pick it up before it could slide too far away from him. Ray just outright laughed at him, "Should have taken up my offer of the couch, kid."

"Shut up," Sabo grumbled, squinting at the phone and adjusting his glasses. The phone stopped ringing before he could decipher if he recognized the number or not. A glance at the time as it returned to the home screen revealed he'd been asleep for roughly forty-five minutes, though. The phone lit back up as the number called a second time. It was Jimbei. Sabo thumbed the screen to answer, glad that it didn't require a passcode for answering calls, and held it up to his ear with a tired, "Hello? Have you found anyone?"

"Yeah. You said Indianapolis, correct?" Jimbei clarified.

Sabo grunted in affirmation.

"We have found someone amongst the Whitebeards that has a couch you can sleep on and a friend of Luffy's that can pick you up from there. That is, of course, if you're okay with spending a week in Indiana. He can't take the time off till Monday and he intends to stay for, at least, a few days. We also have an alternative where they can chain you across the distance, but that might be difficult to successfully coordinate considering people's varying schedules. The fact that it's the weekend does help a little, though," Jimbei explained.

"Thank you so much for helping out with this. I'll figure out which option I'm gonna use once I'm situated in Indy because I'm really tired right now and can't really think too hard about it at the moment. I'll let you know as soon as possible." Sabo straightened in his hair and glanced to Ray. "I'll pass the meeting place onto you so that you can pass that onto the person in Indy. Just give us a moment and you can get a pen and paper ready or something in the meantime."

It took some fiddling around on the GPS, but Sabo was able to find the address of the place that Ray was describing along his route. It was a truck stop just south-west of Indy that he favored stopping at whenever he had to make the run out west past Indy. Sabo passed the address along to Jimbei, returned Ray's phone to its cradle after hanging up, and then settled back into his chair. There was still another four hours yet until they reached Indy.

Sabo spent the first few days in Indianapolis occupying the couch of a lanky college student and his flat mate on the west side of town. The flatmates were both part of the Whitebeard Pirates, one was the commander of the twelfth division while the other was just a member in his division. Sabo remembered having met with the twelfth division commander, Haruta was his real name, when doing his article on the Whitebeard Pirates way back. He'd only met with a few of the twelve commanders back then, interviewing them about the other commanders, their abilities if they were willing to share that, and their unique crew dynamic. The fact that Sabo had never figured out that BrazillianRage had been his brother at the time is still something he mentally facepalmed about when he thought about it. He always prided himself on being able to fit all the pieces together so to have overlooked something so simple and obvious like that? Sabo could recall even having remarked to himself that they were awfully similar and he still hadn't connected the dots. He just… never considered that a firefighter with a busy schedule and a preference for shooters over RPGs might have been one of the top players in One Piece, and MMORPG, — and a commander on the crew of the Whitebeard Pirates at that rather than a lower-ranked, casual player like he'd thought.

To occupy his time at the apartment, he spent most of the weekend playing an old role-playing game on the decade-old console hooked up to the TV. He only caught a glimpse of the flat mate a few times when he'd come back from work late at night, but Haruta he saw plenty of. The guy had curled up on the opposite end of the futon and worked on his homework while Sabo played until he'd finished enough work to ditch it and they played something more multiplayer-friendly together.

Around eleven-thirty at night on the third day, there was a knock at the door and it turned out that Luffy's friend was none other than the Surgeon of Death himself, who looked like the only thing keeping him alive was the cup of coffee he was clutching desperately in his tattooed hands. "Get your shit and get in the car," was all Law said before turning and disappearing back down the hallway.

With what little Law supplied him with, Sabo had learned that this was Law's yearly trip out to Indianapolis that he took for reasons he didn't deem vital enough to disclose and which Sabo didn't outright press for. He understood some people's needs for privacy and he and Law were still virtual strangers. All that Law offered on the thirty-minute drive downtown to his hotel was that he was okay with making the trip a month early because it meant he could get away with doing it without the rest of his family breathing down his neck the whole way and pestering him about how he was feeling. There was something to unpack there that Sabo could use to work out some possibilities to Law's reasoning, but he chose not to actively explore them. They split the cost of the two-bed hotel room and spent the next several days there.

While in downtown Indy, Law had spent pretty much the entire time buried in his books when he wasn't napping or out doing… whatever he'd come to Indy to do. Sabo classified what Law did as napping vs. sleeping because the man didn't seem to actually sleep at all. When they'd first settled into the hotel room Sabo had entirely expected Law to just collapse into his bed and pass out for the next twenty-four hours judging by how tired he looked, but the guy had still been awake when Sabo went to sleep and he'd been up already when Sabo had woken up. Sabo could only assume that he'd slept at all in the seven hours between based on the slightly less pronounced eye bags under his eyes and the rumpled sheets of the other hotel bed. He left around noon that day, extracting a re-used grocery bag full of... something and tossing it to Sabo before he left.

Inside the bag was a small inconspicuous box that had been closed with a liberal amount of tape. It took him some struggling, but he managed to pry the box open to find a note sitting on top of a bunch of actual tissues used as tissue paper to protect and obscure whatever was inside. Everything about the presentation was clear to Sabo that this had come from Luffy. He unfolded the note first, reading while his free hand began to pull out tissues from the box. All it read was, "Happy Birthday, NERD!" in Luffy's messy scrawl and an absolutely horrid drawing of... something vaguely dragon-like in the corner that was fighting something vaguely knight like in the other corner. Sabo had already forgotten that it was his birthday. Time had flown by so fast and yet so much had happened. Luffy's birthday was only a month and a half away itself and it was hard to believe. A whole year had almost passed. Sabo turned his attention back to the box and picked up a suspiciously heavy wad of tissues and peeled them apart. It was an enamel pin. A simple, black, pirate ship. He dug into his backpack and extracted his rolled up messenger bag that had been tucked away inside then pinned it to the strap, joining the collection of pins and buttons that the bag had collected from over the years. He ran his fingers fondly over the scattered collection of pins, remembering the years of memories each one represented, his heart crawling up into his throat.

As time went on, Sabo had to be honest. The largest downside to this arrangement and his situation was that he was bored. He didn't have any books. He didn't have any games. He didn't have a phone. All he had was the monotony of whatever televised programming was available on the hotel TV. He couldn't leave the hotel and risk getting recognized - not when the reports were still relatively fresh. He'd let the news drone on the background hoping that maybe a blip about him and the Celestial story would show up again somewhere, but it seemed the media had already moved on. There had been a bit in the ticker scrolling across the bottom about there being no updates on the situation and that was it. Maybe he could risk it... but maybe not right now. Sabo was desperate enough by dinner time, though, that when Law had come back with takeout, Sabo had asked him about his books. Law dug into one of his bags and extracted an entire stack of them, dropping them onto the table by the TV. Most of them were medical texts and research journals and Sabo barely comprehended a word that came out of Law's mouth from that point forward and all Sabo got out of it was that he was studying, and then something about rotations and not being on call. He then promptly went back to studying the open book next to his plate at the table, his food going cold next to him.

Sabo's eyes flickered between Law's plate and his book, feeling the need to maybe remind Law that he should actually eat but not really feeling comfortable enough to do that with someone he barely knew. Then he decided: you know what? He didn't care that he hardly knew Law and that it would probably come off as rude. If Law and Luffy were on good enough terms that Law had invited Luffy over for Christmas then Sabo had a right to act familiar with him. Also- What was up with that? He still couldn't reconcile that piece of information in his mind. It honestly amazed Sabo that Law could tolerate Luffy considering the immense contrast in their personalities. Law had willingly invited Luffy over to Christmas with his family. Like. What? Then again, Law's sister, Nami, was a member of Luffy's crew. Maybe she had something to do with the decision? Meh. "If you don't eat that I'm taking it and shoving it down your throat. All I've seen you ingest is coffee and I have no solid evidence to suggest you've actually eaten anything else today."

Law slowly flipped him off before shoveling one spoonful into his mouth, eyes never leaving his book, and chewing distractedly. Sabo was done with his food before Law had taken more than three bites. But, eh, Sabo knew the feeling. They had a microwave in the room if Law needed it.

At one point, Sabo had tried to engage Law in conversation and he had only reached down into his bag of books, took out even more books, and set them on the table next to him, "If you're bored, read these," and Sabo did. They were the only non-medical related texts that Law had apparently brought with him on his trip. It was Stephen King and the horror/thriller genre wasn't exactly in Sabo's usual tastes, but it was something to do with his time and turned out to be entertaining enough. Honestly, though, sitting in all week was eating at him. There were places downtown that Sabo had always been mildly interested in visiting while he was in Indianapolis, so he was disappointed by his self-imposed rule not to leave the hotel room. The books helped the antsy-ness though… only a little.

Law warmed up to conversation very slowly, but eventually fully indulged Sabo by the third day. Sabo had asked him about his dog and why he hadn't brought him with when he'd gotten back to the hotel room that day. Law had given Sabo a very pointed look as he set down his bag and simply said, "He's a Samoyed." At Sabo's blank look, Law elaborated with, "Sixteen hours in a car... with one of the most energetic dog breeds?" Right. Got it. "I did it once when I moved back to Texas and I'm not doing it again unless it's to move back this way," which somehow evolved into them talking about the surprising scale of geek culture in Indianapolis.

It confirmed to Sabo that Law had once lived there. It started with Law describing his one foray into attending GenCon, the largest tabletop gaming convention in the world and a convention Sabo had always wanted to go to. Law had gotten a free pass to go from a friend of a friend who'd gotten his from one of the professors at the college campus just down the street from the hotel. Sabo gathered that Law must have actually attended that college as well. GenCon, however, had not been a positive experience for the guy, though his friends had thoroughly enjoyed it so it was somewhat worth it.

Beyond that, Sabo had managed to piece together that Law had lived in Indianapolis for some time as a kid, left, and then came back for his undergrad before going elsewhere for his doctorate. It still wasn't enough to tell Sabo why Law might have come to Indy now (and why he apparently did so regularly and usually with his family). He really wanted to know, but it was still clear that Law valued his privacy and wasn't keen on divulging that kind of information to someone he hardly knew. So, Sabo continued to resign himself not to press but wondered if Luffy knew.

They left early Friday morning and by early Sabo meant early. Like 'it's-two-am-and-we-haven't-even-slept-yet' early. They'd agreed to trade off on driving the distance, Law driving for the first third of the fifteen hours, Sabo driving for the second, and then back to Law for the rest of the drive. Sabo had never in his life driven that kind of long distance before and hoped he'd be fine making it in the wee hours of the morning. That didn't even factor in his loss of vision in his left eye. Law was really trusting him to let him drive his car and, honestly, he probably shouldn't.

While they were packing up sometime around one in the morning, Law had called Luffy on his phone then handed it off to Sabo almost immediately before he began packing up all of his books. The phone was even still ringing when Sabo held it up to his ear.

Luffy picked up with a cheery, "Heya, Law! How's things in Indy?"

Sabo chuckled, "I dunno, you'll have to ask him because I haven't been out much."

"Oh! Sabo! Hi! Honestly, I can't wait to see you and for you to have a phone again because this whole calling me from weird numbers or other people's phones thing is exhausting. Every time I get a call 'is this Sabo? Or is this someone trying to sell me something fake or tell me I won the fake lottery?' I never know these days. I have talked to wa-ay too many robot people these past seven months thanks to you," Luffy remarked, a laugh on the edge of his words. "So are you on your way home now? When do I get to see you? Did you get your birthday present? I told Law to give it to you. Did he? Does Law seem like he's doing okay? His family is worried he might not be but I'm pretty sure he's just fine. I mean, I probably wouldn't be totally fine if I were in his shoes but it's been a long time for him so maybe it's different. How are you?"

"Hm..." Sabo faded off, processing Luffy's word vomit. Luffy's comments gave Sabo some hints about what might have brought Law to Indy. Sabo vaguely recalled that the McCullum family probably wasn't Law's blood family and, if that were the case, then there was a good chance that his blood family is what brought him to Indy. Now, McCullum, though... Why did that name seem so familiar? Like he'd seen the name recently and couldn't pinpoint where that was... was it just Law's name he was remembering or was it something else...?

"Um, Sabo?" Luffy's voice cut into Sabo's thoughts.

"Oh. Uh. Sorry. Yeah. How's Law? He's fine, I thin—"

"—I'm fine—" Law sighed, zipping up his book bag with a pointed look at Sabo over the rims of his glasses.

"—nk. He says he's fine. I'm okay too. A little bored because I don't have my phone and I can't wander around and I don't have any games or comics or anything to read, so I've been borrowing books from Law. I don't know when you'll get to see me again, but we're about to head out from here. Oh, and I did get your birthday present! Thank you for it. It's an excellent addition to my collection," Sabo smiled, sitting down on the edge of the bed.

"I'm glad you liked it! I saw it and I remembered all those pins we used to always get you as gifts because they were cheap and I just..." Luffy paused to take a deep breath, "It felt right," Luffy admitted with an exhale.

"Well, thank you, I love it. Have you gotten somewhere safe?"

"Yeah! It's a really big house. I really hope you get to come here, too, because it's actually kinda lonely sometimes being in a big house with so few people in it most of the time and everyone who does live here usually has to leave for work or school or something so it gets lonely during the day. I only just got here several days ago, though, and I'm already getting bo-ored. I've explored everywhere already. Like, there is a lot of things to do when there are people here like on Saturday, but when everyone is gone? It's UGH. Oh! But! There's a dog! He's old, he's really cute, and I call him Steve but his name is Stefan and we play fetch, so at least there's that!" Luffy babbled excitedly.

Sabo picked his backpack up off the floor and dropped it onto the bed to shoulder after he'd toed on his sneakers, "I bet Stefan appreciates that you play with him." The jangle of keys caught Sabo's attention and he glanced up to see Law picking up his bags and gesturing that they should go. "I gotta go, though, so I'll see you soon, okay?" Sabo hung up the phone, catching the tail end of an 'okay' from Luffy as he hit end call and stood.

"Thanks for letting me talk to him," Sabo handed Law back his phone.

"He wouldn't stop texting me and asking about you," Law shrugged, slipping the device into his pocket, "I was hoping you talking to him would make it stop."

Sabo stepped out of the car when they'd stopped at the gas station so that he could stretch his legs. Law leaned against the side of his sedan, checking his phone while he pulled out his wallet to pay at the pump.

"I'm gonna head in to go to the bathroom, want anything?" Sabo asked, checking his pockets for money before ducking back into the car to root through his bag in the back seat.

Law waited until Sabo straightened again, shoving a twenty into his pocket, to answer, "I'm going to attempt to sleep while you drive, but I could use a coffee and a few energy drinks for later," Law requested absently then yawned, "and maybe a granola bar."

"Any preferences for what kind?" Sabo asked while pulling on the beanie he'd bought on the Pennsylvania Turnpike, "and how do you like your coffee?"

"Not chocolate, and preferably black." Law slid his phone back into the pocket of his jeans and glanced over at him, extracting his card from his wallet, "You think you'll be good?"

Sabo shrugged, "I need to pee too much to care right now. 'Sides, things were dying down by the time we left the hotel so..." He let that thought hang in the air unfinished.

"Fair enough," Law allowed, pocketing his wallet and moving over to the pump.

"Be back in a bit," Sabo shut the car door and headed inside. He hit the bathroom first before wandering into the granola part of the snack aisle. There was a small diner in the back of the gas station, a few tables and booths and a couple of TVs mounted on the walls. A quick check of the content confirmed that it was, of course, the subtitled news. He half expected a cliché movie moment where his face would immediately appear on the screen right that moment and all eyes would turn on him, but it never happened. At least, not exactly. What did reveal itself was a bit more surprising to Sabo. Celestial had admitted to a data breach in not only their entertainment sector but throughout the entire company and was facing a drop in stocks after all of their internet servers temporarily shut down, which basically meant that the entire internet temporarily broke considering how integrated Celestial seemed to be into the very foundations of the internet these days. According to the newscaster, little was known about the situation and Celestial was working with the FBI to trace who might have been behind the breach. Suspects ranged from Dragon due to Sabo's supposed 'kidnapping' to a notorious 'hacktivist' group that had made similar attacks in the past, but no one had come forward to claim the attack yet.

Sabo frowned and looked back down at the selection of granola. He didn't think they'd say anything on that front for at least another few months. The details of the story did seem a bit hazy, though. Sabo wasn't sure if it was because they were lying or if there had been another hit in the last week. It was hard to say. What Sabo had taken from their servers was very specific, but the company was suggesting that what had been targeted and, perhaps, stolen in this instance was much more than what Sabo had gotten his hands onto. This was something much more serious.

Footsteps approached on Sabo's blindside. He angled his head to spot Law cradling a cup of coffee in his hands and taking a sip. So much for attempting sleep? "You were taking too long," Law explained, "We've still got ten hours of driving to suffer through, what's the hold-up?"

"Got distracted," Sabo admitted, nodding his head towards the TVs. He picked up a peanut butter and chocolate chip granola bar, examined it, and then put it back down while Law glanced at the TV then grunted in understanding.

"Pretty strange," Law allowed after a moment, picking out a snack bar and swiveling on his feet to head towards the wall of refrigerated drinks, "Waiting five years to admit to something like that seems more Celestial's style."

Sabo hummed in agreement, opting out of a snack bar and, instead, selecting a tin of Pringles from the racks as he passed them on his way to the fountain sodas for some caffeine. He was going to need it for his driving shift.

Luffy hadn't been kidding about the house being huge. It was one of those homesteads with the mile-long driveway and the tall windows, pillars, and too many rooms. One of those houses that reminded Sabo of loneliness, emptiness, pain, and isolation. Hardly ever anything good. He'd grimaced when the GPS on Law's phone announced that that was the house they were headed to.

"I'm impressed," Law mused, flicking on the turn signal and turning into the driveway, "but not surprised, considering what I've heard."

"That Newgate is sitting on old money?" Sabo asked.

"Well, that, and that many of the Whitebeard commanders and other members of the crew actually grew up in that house," Law amended, "Lots of foster kids. You'd need a house that big to fit them all."

"Oh, yeah? When'd you hear that?" Sabo asked, leaning away from the center consul as Law's fluffy white dog, Bepo, thrust himself between them to get a better look out the front window.

"At the hospital when everyone got together. Overheard something to those ends," Law admitted, absently reaching up to scratch underneath Bepo's chin with his free hand before picking up his energy drink and finishing it. Bepo followed the can with his nose the whole way and Law had to push the curious dog's muzzle up and away from the can when he put it down. "Sit back down," Law scolded. Bepo huffed and extracted himself from the space to sit back down in the backseat.

So maybe mansions (because that's basically what it was) meant isolation and suffering to Sabo and he might never be able to get over that, but, perhaps, this place was different. Luffy had said that it felt empty at times, though, so, maybe not.

When they'd arrived in Dallas, they'd stopped to pick Bepo up from one of Law's neighbors, who had offered to watch both his dog and his cat while he was gone. Law dropped off the cat (a black and orange tortoiseshell-tabby named Coffin, Sabo was informed. Fun name.) back at his house. Law made sure Coffin had food and water, spent at least a half an hour on the floor with her, and then brought Bepo along for the rest of the ride. Ever since, Bepo'd been oscillating between sticking his head out the back window on the left, the window on the right, attempting to squeeze between the front seats, getting scolded for trying to climb into the front seat with Sabo, and then chewing contently on a few of the toys Law had thrown back there when they'd left his house.

Movement in the windows of the mansion as they neared caught Bepo's attention and he snarfed impatiently, jumping back to his feet and shoving his face out the cracked window. He barked excitedly and began pacing the back seat as the door opened. A large, grey, Schnauzer bounded out the door and down the steps of the porch before the door had even finished opening. Soon, Luffy was bounding down the steps as well, waving his arms in excitement.

Bepo and, Sabo assumed, Stefan both began barking at each other. Bepo whined and paced the back seat, eager to be let loose to meet this new dog. Sabo pushed the button to roll down his window and stuck out his arm to wave back at Luffy. Part of him wanted to just tell Law to stop the car and let both him and the dog out right there. Another part of him knew that running was generally a bad idea for his lungs and that he and the dog could wait another twenty seconds.

"You better stay over there, dog," Law remarked under his breath, eyes jumping between tracking Stefan and the last bit of driveway before it opened up into a large gravel parking area. "Dogs make me nervous sometimes because you never know if they might run at the tires," he commented.

Sabo snickered, "Yeah, but this dude looks old and wise enough not to, don't you think?"

"Eh," Law hedged with a small smirk, glancing at Sabo out of the corner of his eye while turning the wheel to align his car. He pulled in next to another car in the lot and commented "It's the mustache. It'll fool you."

Sabo chortled, shaking his head as Law put the car into park, "He really does have some intense handlebars," Sabo allowed, tugging on the ends of his sleeves. He opened the door as soon as Law shut off the car and they unlocked.

Luffy was already rounding the back of the car as Sabo climbed out of it. He had little warning before Luffy threw himself at him, wrapping his arms around him like an octopus and sending them both staggering against Law's car. He almost fell back through the open door but managed to hit the back door instead.

"You're heavy," Sabo gasped, arms circling around to both hold Luffy up and hug him back tightly. Luffy refused to put his feet back down, however and kept them firmly locked around Sabo's waist.

Luffy tightened his grip around Sabo's shoulders and waist impossibly more and laughed before mumbling, "I missed you" into Sabo's shoulder.

"I missed you, too, buddy," Sabo returned, leaning more into Law's car to distribute Luffy's weight some, "but I'm gonna need you to at least put your feet down," Sabo wheezed.

"Sorry," Luffy giggled, not sorry, and lowered his feet back to the ground, yet remaining firmly latched. He shifted his head so that his chin was resting on Sabo's right shoulder. "Hi, Law!" he called out, waving.

Sabo turned his head to find that Law had evacuated the area as fast as possible and was already sitting on the front steps of the homestead, waving back at them. The two dogs bounced around each other in the gravel between them.

"I need to get my bag out of the trunk so we can head inside. Are you going to let me?" Sabo asked, going for stern but missing by a mile.

"Nope." Luffy laughed, popping the end of the word, "I haven't seen you in seven months. I have seven months of hugging my brother to make up for."

Sabo patted Luffy on the back with a laugh, "Well as much as I appreciate it, you don't have to do it all at once, Lu."

"Too late, don't think I can stop," Luffy refused, a teasing laugh still on the edge of his voice.

"Well, then, I'll just have to figure it out," Sabo resigned, amused. He let Luffy go and wiggled until he was turned around in Luffy's arms. He shut the passenger side more and then looked to Law, gesturing at the trunk. Law picked up his keys from the porch step beside him and unlocked it with the press of a button. Sabo patted Luffy's forearm, "C'mon. Walk with me. If I were Ace, I'd give you a piggyback ride, but, unfortunately, I'm not strong enough for that so you're just gonna have to make due."

Luffy leaned into Sabo's back, arms tightening around Sabo's shoulders. His nose dug into his spine, "I miss him," Luffy sighed as they shuffled towards the trunk.

"I know, Luff, I miss him, too," Sabo replied quietly, closing his eyes and reaching up with both hands to hold onto Luffy's arms. After a moment's pause, just leaning into each other, he pulled his hands away to lift the lid of the trunk and get his book bag which had been moved back there at one of their stops.

Luffy let out a small sigh, loosening his arms until they were just draped over Sabo's shoulders. His chest and his chin sagged against Sabo's shoulder. He remained in silence, moving with Sabo as he finished retrieving his bag. Luffy pulled away as Sabo straightened and then took the book bag from him, sliding his arms through the straps to carry it backward. He refused Sabo's protests against him carrying it, especially like that, so Sabo inevitably relented and shut the trunk.

They started towards the house, Luffy bouncing his steps with a grin, mood lightening like the flip of a switch, "You gotta tell me everything! The whole thing! Everything that happened! You got into a fight, right? I wanna hear about it. I bet it'll be a super cool and exciting story!"

"It was okay." Sabo half shrugged. He lifted his hands to show Luffy the fading bruises on his knuckles.

Luffy looked at him skeptically.

"Okay, fine, It was awesome," Sabo relented, rolling his eyes. He wondered if he should admit that it still gave him nightmares. Dreams of suffocating in flames only to wake up in another dream, strapped to a gurney with no escape. No one to rescue him this time. Dreams that this reality was the fake reality and the digital one was the real one. Dreams where he couldn't remember who he was anymore or where he'd come from. Dreams where he hadn't recognized Luffy – hadn't recognized Ace – hadn't recognized anyone. Dreams, dreams, and yet more dreams that left him waking up in a heaving panic. Should he tell Luffy that he almost didn't make it? That he'd almost lost another brother? Sabo felt like he might just keep that one to himself.

As Sabo and Luffy approached the front steps, Edward Newgate himself stepped out onto the porch and insisted that Sabo call him Pops if he was going to be living under his roof. Marco and Thatch slipped out behind him to greet them as well, saying that there were several others inside. Law tried to make a quick exit after his polite greetings, but the gravity of Pops' hospitality prevented him from making his escape. Law ended up staying for dinner, and dinner was no small affair.

The house was full of people and the driveway packed with cars within an hour of their arrival. Pretty much everyone came baring something to add on to the pseudo-potluck. At first, Sabo was secretly bashful that they'd do something like this for him to celebrate, he didn't know, his birthday? before he realized that this was just something that the Newgate household did. Every. Week. It was wild! And this wasn't even a big family dinner, apparently. Law had blanched when Luffy laughed and said that the Friday dinners were nothing compared to the monthly Saturday get together, which he'd gotten to experience the previous weekend. Law had asked Sabo to remind him never to set foot near the building on the third Saturday of the month, ever, and to shoot him if he ever considered it because it meant he was probably possessed. Law then retreated to the most isolated corner he could find to play with the dogs away-ish from the crowds.

The monthly get together apparently brought in all the older sons with families, sons whose work or class schedules conflicted with the dinner times during the week, and all the friends and significant other that got invited. Usually, a birthday was celebrated. There were so many people they had to sprawl across the dining room and lounge in the room next door to eat and, basically, party. It was that on a somewhat smaller scale every Friday and an even smaller scale every weekday. The doors were always open to family. It seemed that the Whitebeard's infamous in-game, non-stop parties were as much a reality in-game as they were in real life. It would have been exhausting to Sabo, but he deeply understood why Ace had enjoyed them all so much.

Today, there were kids as young as thirteen and adults as old as forty or so present and Luffy knew and excitedly chattered away with every single one of them like he knew them - and, by now, he probably did. Sabo wouldn't put it past him. There must have ultimately been something like twenty people present and, crazily enough, comfortably seated at the massive dining room table come dinner. It was a surprisingly chill evening, considering the numbers.

Sabo spent most of the evening learning and immediately forgetting most people's names and making idle chatter. He occasionally retreated to hang out with Law and whatever of the now five different dogs was lounging near him whenever it started to feel too much like small talk at Galas and he needed a break.

Law, surprisingly, stayed a lot later than Sabo expected him to considering his aversion to large social gatherings, initial resistance to sticking around in the first place, and the exhausting drive they'd just finished. Sabo honestly figured he'd be gone within five minutes of picking at his dinner, but he was wrong. He stayed for several hours.

At one point, Law and Sabo had moved outside to enjoy some idle chatter with, occasionally, Luffy, who was more preoccupied with tossing Frisbees for Bepo and the other dogs to retrieve, "I will take any chance I can get to let someone else exhaust him," Law shrugged by way of explanation, shoving his hands into the pockets of his sweater jacket. Fair enough.

Around seven-thirty, they migrated back inside with Bepo, who was thoroughly worn out, and Law was ready to book it. The three of them were standing in the foyer, saying their goodbyes when Marco appeared in the doorway to the lounge with a concerned expression.

"Uh, Sabo. You... might want to see this," Marco frowned.

"What's up?" Sabo asked, pulling at his sweater sleeves.

"We dunno yet, but... the news..." Marco gestured with his head back into the lounge "We paused it for you as soon as we realized what it was."

"Oh, shit," Sabo swore, half-jogging to the lounge, his heart rate spiking in his chest. What could it be this time? Was it more of the same? What was so important that they'd called him in to see it?

Marco ducked back into the room to make space for his entrance. A quick scan of the lounge showed that there were only a handful of people left sitting around and one of the TVs was paused on the news, the beginnings of a breaking news headline across the bottom of the screen. Multiple sets of eyes turned to lock onto Sabo as he entered. A touch at his elbow announced Luffy's tactile presence on his blind side while Bepo nudged at his knee. Thatch was standing by the TV, gripping the remote in his hand, a grim expression on his normally cheerful face. Law settled against the wall to Sabo's right as Thatch held up the remote as if asking permission. Sabo swallowed then nodded stiffly. The news report resumed with the press of a button.

"-ews: We've just received reports of a cyber attack against both the Pentagon and the White House, right on the heels of the attack that occurred against Celestial just yesterday. It's unclear what sort of damage has been done so far. New reports coming out of the ongoing investigation have uncovered that Sabo Outlook the Fourth, the son of the CEO of Outlook Labs, a major facet of Celestial, uploaded an intelligent AI virus codenamed Blackbeard after one of the main villains in the popular VRMMORPG, One Piece, onto Celestial's systems and ran. It seems that there is much more to last week's kidnapping story than wh..."

Oh, God. Sabo's shoulders dropped, thoughts drowning out the report as it continued. He raised a hand to cover his mouth, his other crossing protectively over his midsection. Was it real?

"Sabo?" Luffy asked, "What happened out there?"

Sabo shook his head, his hand sliding up to run through his hair, dragging his glasses along with it, "...Oh god… what have I done?"

A/N: Oh boy! Things are taking a turn. We're getting into the final arc of the fic, though, guys! I'm so excited but also really sad because it's the final arc D: I've got a lot of things in store, though, and I hope you guys will enjoy it.

Special thanks to every single one of you that has been sticking this out with me through the long waits between chapters. I was exhausted after I finished my capstone and graduated from my undergrad and basically vegetabled for a couple months and took the first work break I had ever taken in 4 years. oh! Also, I got accepted into Grad school and am now pursuing a dual masters degree as well as working a paid internship at an archive. So, I'm hella busy now, but I'm always trying to work in my writing because I really love this universe. I really wish I could churn out chapters faster than I have been, though.

Every favorite, follow, and review (particularly reviews) means the world to me and really keeps me motivated to keep posting.

I don't have any extra drabbles and one-shots this chapter, but I will for the next chapter. I have several planned that I've been working on intermittently when I have the time (which isn't often. Don't take 12 credit hours in grad school and work 20 hours a week. 0/10 would not recommend). But most of them have ended up longer than I anticipated.

Anywho - Thanks again for reading!

Next Time: Hm... What's Blackbeard really up to?

To be continued...