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Phantom of the Past

Chapter 16

Notes:

Hey everyone! There's some important 'D' history in this chapter ;) I hope that all of you are taking care of yourselves and your loved ones in this crazy time. ENJOY!

Chapter Text

Luffy gaped at Torao, certain he'd heard wrong. Siblings? That was impossible! Though his time with his parents had been cut short, he was positive he didn't have any brothers or sisters wandering around the wastes.

"R-Really!?" Ace exclaimed, face glowing with excitement. Torao nodded while the blonde vampire, Marco, frowned.

"I don't see how that's possible, yoi. Ace was turned sixteen years ago, and this boy can't be older than that."

"Yes…a fact that made my investigation more difficult." Torao admitted, moving his gaze back to Luffy, "However, there is an explanation. Though their DNA indicates they are related, they are not full siblings. I hypothesize they are half-brothers…in other words, they share one parent."

Luffy swallowed and looked at Ace. The vampire appeared ecstatic, grinning happily. Was it possible that either his mom or dad had had a kid before marrying each other? If so, they'd never mentioned it to him. The only thing that came to mind was the mystery person his mom would sometimes bring up, saying they were family and that they'd someday come back to them.

Could that person have been Ace, before he was turned?

Something else this revelation brought to light was the fact that the freckled vampire, his half-brother apparently, was also a 'D'. Luffy's eyes flicked over to Marco, Ace's sire. If he'd turned him, then surely, he knew about his heritage, having tasted his blood. Though his own blood was different than most D's, it still tasted awful.

Ace's was probably similar if not fully poisonous. How had the vampire succeeded in changing him?

"Can you believe it, Lu!" Ace cheered, grabbing his left hand and shaking it, "We're brothers! I have a little brother!" Luffy bit his lip to keep from crying out as the vampire shook his weak body back and forth. All of the movement was making him feel a bit nauseas.

"Careful, Ace-ya." Torao chided, removing his hand from Luffy's, "Don't forget he's injured."

"R-Right…sorry." He said with a sheepish grin, showing off his pointed incisors. Luffy looked down at his one remaining hand, trying to process all the new information. He'd lived sixteen years of his life without knowing he had an older brother, one who was turned fairly young, in his twenties from the looks of him…sixteen years ago.

Had he even been born when Ace became a vampire?

It was all so confusing…and made his head hurt from thinking too much.

"Luffy-ya." Torao said, bringing him out of his thoughts, "Please tell us the names of your parents." He stilled, suddenly nervous under the stares of three vampires. Though Torao definitely knew he was a 'D', what about the others? Ace had never brought it up and seemed confused about a lot of things in his past.

"First names only." Marco added, voice firm and nonnegotiable. Flinching under his intense stare, Luffy nodded.

"D-Dragon…and Rogue."


Though the name 'Dragon' wasn't familiar at all, 'Rogue' sparked something in Ace. It made his heart swell with longing. Suddenly, his head began to pound, and he gripped it with a cry of pain. Was he going to have another vision!?

When he opened his eyes, he was somewhere else. The sand all around him gave it away as the wastes, though the terrain didn't appear anywhere around the citadel. As a scout, he could recognize landmarks anywhere within a certain radius of the Moby Dick, his home.

A short distance away was a dwelling built using the remains of a fallen building. It wasn't much, but he knew it. Had this been his home before Marco had found him?

Before he could take a step forward, the door opened, and a human woman exited carrying a basket of some kind. She was very beautiful with pink-colored hair and freckles on her cheeks. Ace recognized her from some of his other visions, though he'd never seen her so clearly before.

"Ace, dear, come help me with the laundry!" She called, making him flinch. Surely, she couldn't mean-

A small boy came rushing out behind her, a rusty old pipe in his hands. Ace was shocked to see himself as a child, lean and tanned…though quite short. He was glad he grew out of that. Young-Ace cleared his throat and turned around to face the woman.

"I can't, Mom, I have training today with Dad. He says I'm gonna be strong, but I gotta practice!" The woman, who he'd now identified as his mother, frowned down at young-Ace and bopped him on the head, sending him down onto his rear.

"Nonsense! What kind of warrior leaves without finishing their chores?" She took away his pipe and replaced it with a pile of clothing, "You can spar later."

Ace snickered as his young-self gave in with a huff, wisely doing as their mother ordered. Recalling the name Luffy said, he whispered it to himself, testing how it felt on his tongue.

"Rogue." His mother's name. Though, now that he made the connection, he recalled what the boy said about his parents. They were both dead, killed by vampires. Ace frowned slightly as he watched his mother smile and laugh together with her son, someday to be taken away by his kind.

It made him feel guilty, like it was somehow his fault.

He watched them interact for a while, wishing he could remember this actually happening, until someone else entered the scene. Unlike his mother, the male's face was blurry and his body unrecognizable. Was this his father?

When the man appeared, young-Ace rushed up and mimed punches to him, receiving a hair ruffle in return. Before the scene could go any further, everything faded away and he shot up off the floor of Luffy's new room with a gasp. Marco steadied him while Law grabbed his chin and looked into his eyes.

"W-What…how long was I out?"

"About ten minutes." Law informed him, releasing his face, "We were starting to worry." Ace worked to catch his breath while looking past the doctor to Luffy who was still sitting up in bed. The kid looked concerned, but also sickly with his own breathes coming out as soft wheezes.

Now that he knew what their connection truly was, he could see the resemblance between them: dark hair, tan skin. Though neither of them looked all that much like Rogue…their mother.

'I guess I got the freckles.' Ace thought in amusement, imaging how strange Lu would look with them all over his face. It just didn't fit him.

"What did you see, yoi?" Marco asked, voice low and serious. He stood up, dusted himself off, and approached Luffy's bed with a soft smile.

"I saw Mom…she was kind, wasn't she Lu?" The boy's bottom lip trembled with emotion so strong he couldn't speak. Luffy managed to nod, barely holding the tears back. The poor thing obviously missed his parents dearly.

"Y-You don't remember her?"

"Not really…just bits and pieces." Ace admitted, reaching up to put a hand on the boy's head, "But from what I just saw, I know she was a good person. I'm so sorry for your loss." As much as he wanted to grieve with him, he found he simply couldn't bring forth enough emotion, not when he couldn't remember the connection clearly.

It was frustrating, being unable to feel sorrow upon learning your mother was dead and had been gone for a long time.

"Ace, I think it's time we let your brother get some rest, yoi." Marco put in, placing a hand on his shoulder and gently separating them. Luffy sniffled and wiped his eyes with his good arm, looking up at him with caution. It would take time for them to properly bond, Ace knew that. After everything he'd done to him: kidnapping him, holding him against his will, ultimately treating him like a prized pet.

He knew in his heart that he couldn't do that anymore, not with his baby brother. Luffy was only human, but he was family. Possibly the only blood relative he had left.

"Yeah…" Ace affirmed, flashing one last grin before making his way to the door. To his surprise, Marco and Law stayed put by Luffy's bed, not going with him.

"We'll leave in a few minutes." Marco said, waving him out, "We need to have a talk with Luffy…in private, yoi." Recognizing his sire was leaving no room for negotiation, Ace bowed respectfully and closed the door behind him.


Luffy shifted nervously as the blonde vampire settled himself on his bed, arms crossed. Though he didn't think Marco was a pureblood like Sabo, he exerted the same pressure. It made him want to lower his gaze or hide under the blankets.

"I am going to ask you a series of questions, boy." Marco said calmly but with scarlet eyes, demanding immediate obedience. Luffy suddenly found himself unable to look away, nervous sweat forming along his spine. "I expect the truth, and nothing less, yoi. What you tell me, and Law, here today will determine how you are treated in the future. Understand?"

"Y-Yes, Sir." He found himself whimpering, folding under the elder vampire's gaze.

"What is your full name?"

"Monkey D. L-Luffy."

"And your parents, yoi?"

"Monkey D. Dragon and Portgas D. Rogue." Luffy replied quietly, hand fisting into the blanket across his lap. It felt so wrong to reveal those secret names to vampires after being warned over and over by his father not to.

Torao made some notes on his clipboard while Marco closed his eyes in thought.

"Then, in keeping with tradition, you took your father's name and inherited his abilities, yoi."

"I-I guess…" Luffy stuttered, unsure what he was getting at. Honestly, he had no idea what his abilities were because they hadn't developed yet, and his father had never used his power in front of him. All he had was his foul tasting blood that was a panacea to vampires, an ability that had made his father very concerned. He hadn't wanted to pass it down to Luffy as it would turn him into a target, or so he said. Sometimes Luffy thought the man hadn't wanted a child at all.

They'd lived in hiding and kept him hidden away from everything for as long as possible.

Until that vampire found them.

Torao placed the clipboard down so he could pull a rolled-up piece of parchment out of his bag. Luffy hoped they didn't want him to read something. When the vampire unrolled it for him to see, his breath hitched.

It was an ancestral tree; one his family had kept up on the wall of their dingy home. One that detailed the tribal bloodlines of the 'D' clan. Considering Torao was also a 'D', it made sense they'd have one, but it was still weird to see it in the hands of vampires. His father, Dragon, had always kept theirs in pristine condition, saying it was a relic of the old times.

Almost immediately, Luffy's eyes went to the Monkey family line, far to the right of the "purer" bloodlines which formed the trunk of the great tree.

"I remember the Monkeys." Marco informed him, "Before the Fall, they were one of the tribes who worked to maintain the fragile peace between humans and vampires, in the shadows of course. If memory serves, after some cross-tribe breeding began to mess with your family's blood, it became…as the other bloodlines put it, tainted."

Luffy knew the story well, re-told by his father often. In their clan, only certain tribes could have children with another or risk dulling their poisonous blood. Naturally, marrying a normal human was absolutely forbidden. As the only defense between humanity and the vampires, they couldn't risk weakness. But something happened along his ancestral line where Monkeys scorned the law and began to have children outside of the approved lines.

The result was the loss of their poisonous blood, transformed by the mixing of genes.

Though their family was scorned and ridiculed by the rest of the 'D' clan, the vampires welcomed the change initially in hopes that it would help foster relationships between the two races. Unfortunately, with every generation that passed, it became difficult to predict what the blood of Monkey tribe children would look like.

According to his father, the vampires began to capture Monkey soldiers in the field and shut them away, using their mutated blood to heal their own men as the violence escalated.

Due to the uncertainty of it all, their family was isolated, called "cursed" despite their unaffected strength as warriors, and eventually hunted down along with the others when the vampires came into power.

"How interesting to have the blood of a Portgas in you as well…" Torao put in, tapping his finger on the Monkey's line before dragging it inward to land on the Portgas line. Luffy knew it was strange and in their clan, normally forbidden. His mother was a part of one of the few tribes approved to mate with D's of the Gol tribe, the most powerful and pure line in the entire clan.

As such, they had the foulest blood, made to match and enhance that of the Gol's.

"Their union created your unique blood." Torao continued, taking a moment to adjust the IV bag next to the bed, "Poison from you mother that was dulled by the exquisite blood of your father."

Luffy said nothing, knowing he didn't need to affirm their suspicions. Saving Doma had already revealed the secret of his blood. He had no doubt in his mind that they would soon start taking it away in bags to heal and invigorate their soldiers.

"You are quite the rare find, yoi." Marco said slowly, eyeing him with renewed interest as the other vampire stored the paper back into his bag, "A 'D' at the end of the purity spectrum, and yet much more valuable than the others. It's a shame your father's gone."

He grimaced at the comment, knowing the vampire was bemoaning the loss of someone with blood that had probably tasted divine to their kind and could heal any wound.

"How do you know so much about us?"

"I lived during their time, yoi." Marco explained, standing up to walk to the window, "Though I don't look it, I was born before the Fall and witnessed the quiet fight between your clan and the vampires. I distinctly remember the day humanity found out about both of our existences and panicked."

He turned back around and motioned with his head to Torao.

"Law was a part of the D's forces at the time and fought hard against us, even after the land was devastated." Luffy blinked in surprise. That meant both of the vampires in front of him were ancient, several centuries old. "That is, until we captured him, and Pops took him in, yoi."

"You were all quite persistent." Torao put in with a nostalgic smirk, "I resisted Master Whitebeard with everything in my being, but had he not turned and sealed me, I imagine I wouldn't be standing here today."

Luffy watched with big eyes as the two vampires reminisced together. Torao seemed grateful that he'd been taken and probably forced to become a vampire. And to be sealed…he'd heard of it. Powerful vampires could seal away a D's abilities and turn them into essentially a normal human as a way to keep them in their citadels.

"B-But weren't you sad?" Luffy asked, leaning forward, "To be taken away from your family…and friends." The doctor's eyes softened, and he approached him to put a hand on his head, like Ace had done earlier.

"Tell me, Luffy-ya, has your stay here with us been as dreadful as you imagined?" He bit his lip in thought, thinking about the past weeks, now over a month since he'd been kidnapped. Though he didn't like being seen as inferior and penned in, he found that he didn't dislike life in the citadel. The air was cool and there wasn't a risk of developing an infection or dying of heat stroke.

And, when he'd been taken away by the other vampires, the Whitebeards had come for him. In that moment when his arm was seared off, he'd lost hope, but they rescued him. Torao looked at him with understanding eyes, like he knew where his thoughts had gone.

"I found that life here was much better than the life I left behind. Let us take care of you and show you that we're not all monsters." Luffy sniffed and fixed them with a hard stare.

"I don't want to be a pet…or a slave."

"In this world, I'm afraid you don't have much of a choice, yoi." Marco said, returning to his position next to Torao, "After humans nearly made themselves go extinct, we had no choice but to gather the survivors and keep them from dying out completely. Unfortunately, under the laws of the Council, we cannot-"

"I WANT TO BE FREE!" Luffy exclaimed, voice breaking, "I-I'm grateful you saved me, but I don't w-wanna be trapped-"

He suddenly coughed violently, instinctively bringing up his stump before remembering he didn't have a hand there anymore. The thought brought yet another bout of nausea. In seconds, Torao was there with a pan for him to dry heave into, nothing in his stomach to throw back up. The vampire rubbed his back until he was done and gave him a towel to clean himself off with.

"I think that's enough for today, yoi." Marco told him as the doctor disposed of the pan, "You are free to fight us as much as you wish but know it will simply make things more difficult. Be grateful we are willing to allocate citadel resources to your recovery."

Luffy could tell the vampire was getting frustrated with him, so he numbly inclined his head, not wanting to incur more displeasure. He just felt so confused. He'd lost his arm and found out a vampire was his brother all within such a short time. Maybe some sleep would help clear his head.

Before the two left him on his own, Torao pulled something out of his pocket and approached him with it.

"Since your tag has been…removed, we need to replace it with something else." Luffy immediately recoiled at the thought, eyeing the thing in the vampire's hand with suspicion and disgust. "I know how you must feel, but we cannot allow you to go without our mark. It's either this or I put another tag in your left arm."

Seeing he didn't have much choice, Luffy reluctantly relaxed and allowed Torao to pull the blankets back and expose his feet. The vampire swiftly attached thin bands with the mark of the citadel around both his ankles, locking them into place with a key off his chain. With a push of a button, they molded themselves to Luffy's skin.

There was a light, metal chain holding the two bands together, successfully shackling his feet to one another.

"These are what we use when injecting a tag isn't feasible for whatever reason." Torao explained while holding up some sort of remote for Luffy to see, "They serve every purpose your old tag did with a few extra features…" The boy gasped when something was pressed on the vampire's remote that caused the two bands to snap together, the chain drawing them in and keeping his ankles locked in place no matter how hard he pulled at them.

Luffy swallowed hard as his feet were released, immediately thinking how these new manacles would make escaping more difficult (when Zoro and the others finally came for him). Though the length of the chain allowed him to walk without much difficulty, running would be much harder.

"After your last little escapade, we have upped security throughout the citadel, yoi. You won't escape again." Marco said, gaining his attention. The vampire made to leave but turned around as if he forgot something. "One last thing…you will tell Ace nothing of what we spoke about today. He isn't aware of his heritage and I intend to keep it that way for as long as I can."

"I-I won't tell." He whispered, shakily pulling the blankets back up to cover himself. The ankle shackles weren't necessarily uncomfortable, but they let him know that he was once again owned. Marco nodded, approving of his answer, and the two finally left, locking the door to his room (or cell, as that was what it truly was) behind them.


"Don't you think you were a little hard on him?"

"It was necessary, yoi." Marco replied as they locked the door, making sure it was secure. The two guards he'd summoned saluted and stood at attention with electric prods in their arms, just in case (nothing lethal, but enough to keep the youth, or any other humans who tried to reach him, under control). He intended to have two guards he trusted watching the boy at all times until things calmed down completely. "He needs to understand that this is his life now."

The little human had known more about his clan than he'd expected and seemed to be aware of his value. Marco had suspected Luffy had some Monkey genes in him because they were the only ones with that type of blood, but to think he and Ace were half-brothers…it complicated things.

"Are you concerned about Eustass-ya?" Law asked, keeping pace with him easily. Marco frowned.

"After Ace's little show, you mean? If I was in his position, I would certainly look into it. This is a very uncertain time and we must all be vigilant. Should they uncover Ace and Luffy's heritage…they might also find you, yoi."

Marco wasn't under the illusion that Ace would keep quiet about the human boy being his little brother. He imagined half the citadel knew by now. If they already suspected his fledgling was a 'D', then Luffy would be next. He'd worked so hard to keep Ace and Law hidden away from the prying eyes of the Council, but with the pureblood's arrival and Luffy's entire situation, he was starting to become genuinely concerned.

He'd rather not fight a war over them if he could help it. The only consolation he currently had was the fact that he didn't consider Luffy a threat. The little 'D' wouldn't develop abilities for another few years and was of a less dangerous bloodline than he'd originally expected.

Yes, Marco was significantly more worried about Ace than he was about the child that was secure in the prison tower.

"Quietly spread the word for everyone to be watchful, yoi." Marco whispered, not stopping, "I don't know what the purebloods will do, but we must protect Ace, from them and himself. He's family."

"…and if his memories continue to return?"

"Then I'll handle him, yoi." Marco hissed, turning right as Law turned left. Frankly, it would be easier to simply get rid of Luffy to stop the memories from coming back, but he couldn't do that…not when he meant so much to his fledgling. Besides, the young boy was incredibly valuable, it would be imbecilic to throw away such a prize.

They would need to be alert and wary for the next few months. He couldn't predict what was going to happen.

Monkey D. Luffy.

Trafalgar D. Water Law.

Gol D. Ace.

Their citadel was currently full of contraband and one in particular could prove to be their undoing if not handled properly. Ace was strong, and much more powerful than he knew. If he was to re-awaken, he had the ability to kill every single person within their walls.


Ace practically skipped through the citadel, telling anyone and everyone who would listen about his newly found, adorable baby brother. To most, this fact can as a surprise, but they cheered with him anyway. Though Lu was human, he was his brother and would be protected within their walls.

After grabbing a snack from the Blood Depository, Ace found himself examining the citadel walls and noting the doubled guard. It was to be expected after so many humans escaped at once. He imagined there would not be another successful break-out, let alone a human incursion though it was smart to prepare for one. Luffy's former pen-mates could try to free him. Not that Ace was terribly worried about them actually succeeding. It was far more likely they'd get caught in the process.

As he wandered, the freckled vampire considered ways to become closer with his brother. All of his tactics from before only seemed to scare Luffy and were based on exerting dominance over the human. Surely there was another way…one that would build trust between them.

'Maybe I should ask someone for advice?' Ace thought, turning towards the main building. Who of his family would be best…?

Against his better judgment, he found himself standing in front of Thatch's door. The goofy commander was one of his closest friends and sworn older brother. Surely, he would have some sort of advice on how to bond with Luffy…right? Sighing, Ace knocked loudly, knowing the other vampire slept like a corpse and could be incredibly difficult to wake if he was napping.

Surprisingly, Thatch was awake and opened the door within seconds.

"Acey! This is a surprise." He exclaimed, leaning on the door frame with a cheerful smirk, "What brings you to my door?"

"Well, actually…I-I…I need some advice." Thatch's smirk fell and he observed Ace with a thoughtful expression.

"Oh yeah? Come right in then, make yourself at home." The older vampire's room was messy as always with the walls covered in either pictures of women or food. Thatch led him over to his couch and threw off some cooking utensils to make room for him while he sat across from him on a simple, wooden chair. "So, what can I do for ya?"

Ace quickly explained his predicament. From the first day he'd met Lu, he'd tried to bond with him and had failed quite spectacularly. No matter what he did, Luffy didn't lose his fear of him. He figured it was mostly his fault and wanted to rectify it all but wasn't sure how. Thatch listened quietly to his explanation, leaning forward on his hands when Ace finished.

"I can tell ya right now what your problem is."

"Y-You can?" He replied, honestly surprised. Thatch nodded.

"You're treating him like a human when you should be treating him as your brother." Ace frowned, allowing the statement to sink in. He thought he had been treating him like that…sort of. Thatch sighed. "Listen, I'm gonna tell it to you straight: the way you've been interacting with him, is…in a word or two…creepy as hell."

"W-What!? I am NOT creepy!" Ace exclaimed, offended by the notion. The other vampire raised an eyebrow.

"So, keeping him chained up in your closet was just normal brotherly bonding." He had nothing to say to that. "Look, believe it or not, this is normal. When Haruta first joined us, he was human. After he was turned, it took forever to adjust to him being one of us and not food. You've gotta start seeing him like you see me, Vista, Izo, and the others."

While Ace ruminated on what Thatch said, the other vampire stood and walked over to his desk where a rolled up poster hung. Brought out of his thoughts by the sound of him pulling down the poster and maneuvering it so it wouldn't roll back up, Ace stared blankly with his mouth slightly open, reading the words on the poster.

'How to not be a creepy stalker 101: by Professor Thatch (the expert)'

The word 'stalker' had been crossed out recently and replaced with 'older brother' in what was definitely Thatch's handwriting. The bastard had obviously been preparing to have this very talk with him.

"Lucky for you, I've had time to prepare." He picked up a book with the same title and his face plastered on the cover, "I also have literature in case you're interested. This ones a signed copy."