(A/N Hello everyone! I'm not going to be including some of the canon characters that were at Dressrosa (ex. Kin'emon) because I'm actually only at the Punk Hazard arc. So in this fanfic it'll only be the Straw Hats P. and Sabo. I apologize if some info is wrong ahead of time, this story is set after Jesus Burgess attacked Luffy at Dressrosa. This will be a fanfic on what if Sabo didn't make it in time to save him. Here's the rest of the summary I couldn't fit,

FULL SUMMARY:

What would happen if Sabo hadn't made it in time to stop Burgess' attack at Luffy at Dressrosa? Wanting to collect a bounty, the Blackbeard Pirates hand Luffy over to the marines who then transport the pirate to Impel Down. Deciding that Luffy's too much of a danger to be kept alive he's then sentenced to death. Now Sabo and the Straw Hat Pirates race to save the captain before the execution can take place. Will Sabo lose another brother and the Straw Hats their captain? Or will they succeed, braving all the obstacles that are bound to get in their way.

End.

After the timeskip does anyone know if Robin still addresses the crew like this; Senchou-san for Luffy, Sniper-san for Usopp, Navigator-san for Nami, and so on. Or does she use their first names?

Things to know:

I found a theory on how Burgess could steal Devil Fruit powers. (For when he went after Luffy at Dressrosa he seemed pretty confident that he could take the Gomu Gomu no mi). The creator of the theory noticed that Burgess went after both Luffy and Sabo with a knife, so the knife in this fanfic will have the ability to take Devil Fruit powers away and reproduce the fruit close by. (Kind of like what Blackbeard can do).

And that's it! On to the story! Hope you enjoy it ^~^!

On a stolen ship there lay a crew. It wasn't that big, maybe consisted of ten or more people, but they were a powerful bunch. If we look in the holding units of this ship we'll find a man. At a glance he looks dead but with a second look you'll notice his twitching muscles and his raspy breathing. This man is the infamous pirate known as Monkey D. Luffy.

He is currently being transported to a Marine ship who will deliver him to Impel Down. There, he will await his execution. You may wonder how this kind of situation happened. Let's go back a bit…

2 DAYS AGO

"Men! I'm counting on you! These are all the guys who didn't want to help you out before…" The announcer of the colosseum who went by the name of Gatz stood beside our hero. The man was looking at all the competitors who had joined forces against Doflamingo.

"It's every man for himself in that colosseum…" A rather burly looking man said apologetically. More people commented on that subject until a loud rumbling cut everyone off. The people turned to see the mountain face that Luffy had punched Doflamingo into. It was stirring up some dust, rubble soon fell from it and moments later the small figure of the enemy could be seen standing in the large hole that had been created from the impact.

"It's time!" Gatz shouted as he pulled Luffy onto his back. The pirate was too tired to even look at what trouble was on it's way. "Some of you come with me to help protect Lucy, rest of you fight like your life depends on it!" A battle cry erupted from the surrounding group. As Gatz and little less than half of the group began to run away Doflamingo started to use his Devil Fruit power to repair his insides, all the while keeping a watchful eye on his opponent.

Gatz, Luffy, and the competitors were running down the destroyed streets of Dressrosa, hoping to buy at least ten minutes so Luffy's Haki could be replenished. From where he was being carried on Gatz's back Luffy noticed a strong Haki approaching. He called out in a weak voice, "Watch out…"

In confusion Gatz glanced over his shoulder, only to realize it was already too late. The building they were passing suddenly exploded, sending brick flying. A low laughter echoed in the air and a dark shadow passed overhead. Gatz's eyes widened and everyone took a step back, "B-B-Burgess!" Gatz exclaimed, "What are you doing here?!"

"Hiihaha! Go to hell, Straw Hat!"

The large man was coming at the group from the building, armed with a knife in a hand and his fist in the other. Without thinking Gatz ducked, slamming against the earth. Moments after he did the street shook as Burgess' fist collided with it. Even if the man missed his target he managed to take out most of the competitors. Slowly Gatz looked up. The announcer scanned the dusty scene with wide eyes. He could just make out the outlines of the limp bodies lying on the street. Fear blossomed in him as he heard the footsteps of Burgess approaching. Behind him Gatz felt Lucy shift. Knowing that if Burgess attacked him it'd be over he looked at the man with angry eyes. Why did this guy have to show up? Especially now, they were in a bind as it was with Lucy out of commission until he got his Haki back. He knew that he was too weak to stand up against someone like Burgess, but he needed to buy Lucy ten minutes.

Gatz stood and picked up a sword from a fallen competitor. He'd never used one of these before, it couldn't be that hard could it? The announcer turned around and said to Lucy who was struggling to sit up, "Lucy, get out of here. I'll try to buy you some time."

Luffy met eyes with the man and mumbled, "Catz…"

Gatz who had begun to walk towards Burgess flipped around in annoyance shouting, "It's Gatz!"

"No one really gives a damn old man!" Gatz froze, recognizing the voice. Before he even had a chance to raise his sword Burgess had swung his fist out. The fist connected with the man's side and sent him flying sideways crashing into a building. After a few seconds he didn't show any signs of getting up. "Hiihahaha…" Burgess chuckled and walked forward towards Luffy who hadn't moved a muscle since Gatz's attempt to protect him.

"Bastard…" Luffy growled, gritting his teeth and meeting Burgess' eyes.

Burgess cocked his head to the side and scoffed. "I would like to ruff you up a bit, but afraid orders are orders. I think I'll have my chance later though…Now," The pirate raised his knife above his head and held it there for a few moments, almost tauntingly. "Would you like to lose that Devil Fruit of yours?"

Luffy jerked his head up in confusion, "What do you-"

"Hiihahaha!" Without giving a reply, Burgess swung the knife down and pierced Luffy's skin. Being in an already weakened state this felt ten times worse than a normal stab wound. The knife was stuck in his stomach, that bastard Burgess twisted until he pulled it out. Blood spurted from his mouth and from where he was on his knees he wobbled, then fell backwards. This wasn't a normal stab wound...it was something more. Luffy felt himself shaking violently, he felt cold and shivers hit him in waves. His fingers clawed at the earth and he attempted to grab onto Burgess' leg, but his hand was kicked away. "Now where is it…" Burgess muttered as he looked around the area.

"Where's...what?" Luffy asked weakly.

Burgess suddenly bent down and picked something up, he couldn't see what for his vision was blurry. Heavy footsteps approached and a dark shadow towered over him, "Why your Devil Fruit of course, you're just a regular human now, Straw Hat."

There was a flash of black as something shot forward. He remembered pain when it connected with his head. Then, complete darkness.

Sabo raced through the streets of Dressrosa. He felt Luffy's Haki fading, something was wrong. He knew that Luffy was fighting Doflamingo but even so his Haki shouldn't fade this fast...unless he used a great amount of it all at once. The Revolutionary paused for a millisecond on a street corner, trying to locate Luffy once again. Once he had a rough guess on where he was, he was off.

Luffy should be just up here...Sabo turned a corner and found himself on a destroyed street, well every street was a mess this one just more than others. Sensing something was wrong he slowed his pace, cautiously approaching the scene. Sounds of battle could be heard in the distance, he felt that was where Doflamingo was, and maybe Luffy. But this street was where he last sensed Luffy's Haki so he should be here. Sabo spotted numerous bodies lying on the street, none showed any signs of moving. He assumed they were either unconscious or dead.

"Is there someone there?" Sabo froze as he heard a raspy voice. His eyes flittered over to a man. He looked strangely familiar but sadly since he was covered in blood he couldn't place his face.

"Yes, I'm here." He answered and hastily walked over. Hopefully whoever this guy was he could tell him what happened, and if Luffy was here. Sabo carefully laid a hand on the man's arm and asked, "Can you tell me what happened?"

The man grunted and suddenly gripped his hand, looking at him through half-closed eyes the man said, "You have to find him! He's the only one who can save this country!"

Sabo's mouth drifted open and he asked, "Luffy? Er, Lucy? Do you mean Lucy? Where is he?"

The man closed his eyes and let loose a rattling sigh, "That bastard took him, we were no match…"

His eyes widened and he had to resist to squeeze the man's hand in surprise, he'd rather not break his fingers. "...Who took him? Doflamingo?"

The man weakly shook his head, "No...it was Jesus Burgess."

Sabo's head lowered, his eyes hidden by the shadow of his bangs. "Jesus...Burgess, you say…" His voice came out as a low growl. He very well knew that the pirate was part of the crew who took down Ace two years ago, the Blackbeard Pirates. And they seem to like to go after Devil Fruit users...Luffy's in trouble. Sabo suddenly stood his head flipping up to the sky. The birdcage was still there, which means no one can get out, not even Burgess. As long as Doflamingo is alive, he can't leave Dressrosa. "Thank you, but I'm afraid I have to leave now. If you stay put I'm sure someone will find you." He said with a tip of his hat.

As he turned to go search for Luffy the man's voice stopped him, "Y-You're the 3 star criminal, the Chief of Staff...in the Revolutionary Army...aren't you?"

Sabo paused, he glanced over his shoulder a grin on his face, "Yup, that's me! You shouldn't talk though, try not to fall asleep, it looks like you have a head injury." The man nodded stiffly before quieting himself.

He shifted the pipe strapped to his back before he began to head down head down the streets. At the moment he felt angry, guilty. He had promised that he would look out for Luffy after Ace died and he couldn't even do that! With an irritated sigh he thought, Now's not the time to be beating myself up. All I can do is hope that no idiot is stupid enough to challenge Doflamingo while I'm looking for Luffy.

And with that, he was off.

As we know things don't always work out the way we hope...While Zoro was fighting the birdcage from closing in on the city with Fujitora, Sanji had made his way to the main battle. Since Doflamingo was weakened from Luffy's earlier attacks Sanji was able to defeat him. The birdcage disappeared as Doflamingo was beaten. At the same time the Revolutionary Sabo was looking for his missing brother, sadly he wasn't able to make it and Burgess escaped once the birdcage was down.

"Luffy!" The navigator's voice rang out through the air. "Geez where could he be? We have to get going the marines are coming!"

Zoro stood by the railing, a hand on his swords and his working eye scanning the land. He heard that the shitty cook had been the one to defeat Doflamingo. Wasn't Luffy the one fighting him? He couldn't have been defeated that easily...something was wrong.

"LUFFYYY!" Usopp shouted hands cupped to his mouth, "WE HAVE MEATTT!" After a few seconds the sniper grunted in triumph placing his hands on his hips saying in a quieter tone, "Any minute now he'll come running. Luffy can't resist the call of meat." The Straw Hats glanced at each other knowing it was true.

And so they waited, and waited, but their captain didn't come.

"Um-" Usopp began swallowing hard. "Do you think he's just sleeping somewhere?"

Zoro straightened his back and said in a low tone, "Let's hope."

"Ah!" Chopper suddenly shouted from where he sat on the upper deck. "Someone's coming! But...it's not Luffy,"

The crew snapped to alert, preparing to deal with another enemy. Currently one of their main fighters was unconscious, the effects of pushing his body to the limit during his fight with Doflamingo. Franky abandoned his place at the rudder and bolted down to a better position beside Zoro on the main deck. The cyborg held an arm, ready to use Weapons Left. Nami who was at the rudder also walked to the upper deck railing and held the Clima-Tact in front of her. The other crew members drifted down to the main deck and waited until they could get a better view of the man approaching.

"Oi! Who are you?!" Zoro called out in a defensive tone. He hadn't noticed this guy during time fighting. He didn't think he was apart of the Donquixote Family.

The man bore a long black jacket, a blue shirt with a frilled cravat. He had short blonde hair which was smushed down by a top hat with a pair of goggles strapped over the band. No one recognized him, and if possible this set everyone even more on edge. This could potentially be a new enemy. The crew didn't know of his power, or who he was, or what he wanted.

The stranger brought a hand to his hat and tilted it up so it revealed his face. The stranger looked over each of the Straw Hat's before answering in a grim tone, "My name is Sabo, this may come off as sudden but, I have some bad news."

The Straw Hat's froze, could it concern their missing captain? "What kind of news?" Robin asked in a interested tone. She herself knew the true identity of the man before them, but she would keep quiet about it. There wasn't any need to tell anyone yet from what she could see.

The one known as Sabo looked over at Robin and smiled almost unnoticeably at her before speaking, "Your captain, Luffy, he's been captured. By the Blackbeard Pirates."

Everyone stood still, their expressions changing slowly into shock as their minds processed it. Nami called out in a shaky voice, "Y-You're lying! Luffy wouldn't get captured!"

"Yeah!" Usopp agreed, "What the hell would those pirates even be doing here?!"

Zoro put a foot on the railing and looked down at the man, he was trying hard to keep his cool. "You, Sabo. We don't appreciate lying on this crew. So either tell the truth or get the hell out of here, that's not a nice thing to joke about."

Sabo's brows furrowed and he took a step towards the ship, "I'm not lying! Burgess was the one who did it! He was here to participate in the colosseum fight for the Mera Mera no mi! He didn't get it, afterwards he decided to go after the Gomu Gomu no mi, Luffy's Devil Fruit. The Blackbeard Pirates like to hunt down Devil Fruit users, I'm afraid if we don't get to Luffy fast something terrible might happen."

"Wait we? Who said we invited you onto our ship? And who says we even believe you?" Franky questioned.

Sabo raised his head to meet eyes with the cyborg, "Well you better start believing. You guys are his crew right? It'd look bad on your part if he ended up dead because you refused to see the facts."

Chopper swallowed hard, he sensed that this man meant business. He's scary…

Franky stared at Sabo for a few seconds before shifting his feet and placing his hands on his hips, "Uh, bro," Franky spoke addressing Zoro, "I think we should believe him." Everyone save for Zoro gaped at Franky. The man had managed to intimidate Franky?!

Zoro glanced at Franky from the corner of his eyes. With Luffy gone he'd have to step up for he was the first-mate. That meant he'd be making a lot of the major decisions. With a sigh the swordsman nodded, "I agree. Come on aboard. You have any idea where this Burgess is?"

With one jump, Sabo had pushed off of the concrete dock and landed swiftly on the Sunny's railing. "I'm afraid I don't. I was pretty close to catching him, that is until the birdcage went down." The crew looked at the Sunny's deck. Yes defeating Doflamingo had been necessary, but in doing so they let the person who kidnapped their captain escape.

"Where are we heading?" Nami called down from the rudder.

The Straw Hat's looked towards either Sabo or Zoro for orders. Zoro folded his arms and shifted his footing, seemingly uncomfortable under the expectant gaze of his crewmates. Sabo however pulled something from his coat.

"Is that a transponder snail?" Robin asked in curiosity.

Sabo smiled and nodded at the woman, "I just have to make a call, if you'll excuse me."

As Sabo went to stand beside the figurehead of the ship Brook commented, "Yohoho...he's a well-mannered man."

Even at the distance he was, the Straw Hat's could still hear Sabo's call.

"Dragon? This is Sabo, I'm at Dressrosa. I have some bad news. No no no, me and Koala are fine...it concerns Luffy." There was a long pause. "Doflamingo was defeated but he didn't cause this. It was Jesus Burgess, a member of the Blackbeard Pirates. He kidnapped Luffy, I'm afraid if we don't locate him quickly something bad will happen." Another long pause as the person on the other end spoke. "Yes, Burgess shouldn't have gotten that far. Could you let me know if you hear anything? Ah, great. Thanks. I'll be back as soon as I can. Should I bring Koala along or…" The man on the other end spoke a few words before Sabo spoke again, "Alright, I'll let her know. And thanks!" Sabo hung up the transponder snail and turned back around.

Nami's mouth had drifted open and she asked slowly, "Was that the Dragon, the Revolutionary, you were talking to?"

Sabo nodded, "Yes, I'm apart of the Revolutionary Army myself."

"EHHHHH?!" The Straw Hat's mouths dropped open in surprise. This meant that this guy works under Luffy's father!

Zoro scoffed and stepped forward, "I knew I recognized you from somewhere. You're the Chief of Staff of the Revolutionary Army aren't you? You work as the second-in-command, directly under Dragon."

Sabo laid a hand on his hat and gave the man a small nod, "Yeah, although I can't see how you would've found out about me…my wanted poster isn't that famous."

Zoro smirked, "I haven't seen your wanted poster, only heard rumors of you."

Sabo laughed, "Hope it's only the good stuff." Zoro raised an eyebrow at this but didn't say anything else. "Now," Sabo faced the Straw Hats with a serious expression, "We have some of the Revolutionaries looking for any news on Luffy, but we still should look ourselves."

"Oh we got these supeeer mini ships down below! Hey sis!" Franky called up to Nami. The navigator leaned over the railing to see who was calling her name. "Can you get the waver ready to go? And someone can get the Mini Merry and Shark Submerge too?"

"I'll use the Mini Merry!" Usopp volunteered.

"I'll take the Shark Submerge." Zoro said.

Robin chuckled, "You'll probably get lost if you go by yourself, Franky-san, would you go with him?" Zoro growled while Franky struck a pose and agreed. "I'll go with Usopp-san on the Mini Merry."

Chopp stepped forward and glanced towards the sick bay saying, "If it's not too much trouble I'd like to stay behind and keep an eye on Sanji."

"Yohoho I can run on the water so I'll make my own trip, just tell me where to go and I'll be off!" Brook said. Sabo looked over his shoulder to where the skeleton was standing. As if he just noticed Brook was there he had a reaction like many people do. The blonde jumped back his eyes bugged out, his mouth drifting open at the sight.

"Is that a skeleton!?"

Everyone laughed at this. Brook merely did a little bow and said, "Yes I am! It's a pleasure to meet you!"

Sabo looked a bit taken aback by this, after all it was a skeleton talking. With a sigh the Revolutionary mumbled, "Luffy sure has an interesting crew…"

"We should get going." Zoro said as he rested a hand on his sword's hilt, "If you find Luffy come back to the ship. If this guy beat Luffy I don't think we'll be able to face him on our own." Everyone nodded once, they bore a determined look. They were getting their captain back. "Sabo what are you doing?" Zoro asked before he headed below deck.

Sabo looked towards the swordsman a hand resting on his hat as a sudden gust of wind blew, "Is it alright if I come with you and the other guy?"

Zoro nodded and motioned with his head to follow. He was led below deck at to a series of metal doors all label with numbers one through six. Some of the doors had been opened to reveal an empty pool of water, from what he could see some led to the outside.

The one who Sabo thought was Franky walked over to the door labeled three and pulled a lever. A low rumbling filled the room as the door went up. He watched with interested eyes as a fin was revealed. "This is Channel 3, it holds the supeeer Shark Submerge!" Franky said with a thumbs up. He gave the man a small nod. Hopefully we find you before it's too late, Luffy. Sabo thought as he climbed into the Shark Submerge. Once everyone was in they closed the hatch on top and Zoro and Franky climbed to the front to man the mini submarine.

A thump echoed in the submarine as they exited the ship and entered the ocean. Franky kept the submarine close to the ocean's surface so it'd be easier to look for ships. Sabo gripped his pipe and warmed his hand using his newly aten Mera Mera no mi power. As the warmth spread throughout his arm he thought, Ace, if you're watching, don't worry. I'll get Luffy back and make sure Burgess pays.

The Straw Hats and new companion Sabo were unsuccessful in their search for their captain. When they arrived back at the ship some of them started thinking that Sabo was just tricking them and they'd left Luffy back at Dressrosa. But later on we'll see something that changes everyone's minds and only increases the urgency of the situation.

PRESENT TIME

"Captain we're here!"

"Zehahaha...finally! I was so bored I was just about to give that Straw Hat another beating!" The captain of this crew stood and eyed the marine ship in the distance.

"They won't fire at us will they?" Burgess asked.

Van Augur scoffed lightly, "Not while we have that troublemaking Straw Hat on our ship at least. But it won't be a problem."

"Zehaha...I'll be back." Blackbeard said as he turned to head downstairs to where the Straw Hat was imprisoned. When he arrived he let out one loud laugh at the sight of the man. It was too pathetic.

The man who could go head to head with Doflamingo was reduced to a bloody, limp, wheezing figure. Blackbeard chuckled seeing that the Straw Hat had no more strength to fight back, he couldn't even use his Haki he was that weak. "Oi Straw Hat, the marine ship has arrived. You'll soon be on your way to Impel Down! You hear that! Or did you go deaf?!"

Luffy stiffened, he heard that bastard he just chose to ignore him. Impel Down...now that brought back some bad memories, but some good ones too. He reunited with Bon Clay...he wondered if his friend was still alive in that hellhole.

"Zehahahaha! I bet they're gonna give you a public execution just like you brother Ace had! It's been what, two years?" Luffy growled quietly hearing this guy speak his brother's name. "Ah I don't really care." Blackbeard leaned close so that his face was inches from the cell bars. "Prepare yourself the best you can Straw Hat, I don't think you can get out of this one alive. Zehahaha!"