Irkalla Island

By: Ellipsis the Great

DISCLAIMER: One Piece and everything affiliated with it belongs to Eiichiro Oda Shonen Jump, etc. All I own is the plot…

Summary: The Straw Hats are forced to leave their chef behind on an island after breaking an ancient artifact…when they return, they find that their chef may not be their chef, anymore…future ZoSan.

Rated: M.

Warnings: Angst, mentions of torture and non-con, slash (in the distant future). More warnings later if needed.

Chapter One: Cruel and Unusual Punishment

Five Months Earlier

Sanji wasn't sure what exactly it was that Luffy had broken, but it quickly became clear that the islanders considered it beyond priceless.

They had been rounded up and herded to the prison, and kept there until Queen Aroha saw fit to try them the next day. It had been decided that they would be sent on a quest to retrieve another, similar artifact to the one that had been broken. And she had insisted that someone be left behind as collateral.

Almost everyone had volunteered, but the queen had zeroed in on Sanji and insisted that he be the one left behind. Her logic was that Sanji, as the crew's chef, was vital and not easy to replace (not that Luffy would have replaced any of them), and thus they would be more likely to come back for him than, say, Zoro—who had no clear position on the ship besides 'meat shield.'

Sanji had puzzled over it a little, at first. After all, a shipwright was just as important to a ship as a cook, so why not take Franky? Or Chopper, the doctor? But, then, there were other people on the ship capable of cooking (even if their food was pretty shitty or wildly overpriced), so perhaps he was the best choice, in the end.

It wasn't until after the Sunny had hesitantly disappeared on the horizon that he discovered her true motive for keeping him.

The queen had many…well, she called them 'toys' or 'pets.' Men (and a few women) whom she had 'collected' to…take care of her at her leisure. And he had, at first—he hadn't really thought of sex as a punishment, back then. Especially not when it was sex with such a beautiful woman.

Then things got weird. She started cutting him, and tying him up and…and any other number of things that had long since been on his list of sexual kinks NOT to try (and a few to which he would have preferred to stay oblivious).

Eventually, though, his harsh living conditions (both in and out of the bedroom) had taken their toll, and she had thrown him down into the prison with other toys she could no longer use (almost all of her toys were 'criminals,' although their crimes ranged from his breaking a sacred artifact to someone who had stolen a loaf of bread. Sanji wondered if she fabricated crimes just to get new pets).

And that was where he had stayed until…until…

(PAGEBREAK-SCHWAAAAAAAAN!)

Present Day

He screamed—or tried to scream, at least—as a red-hot iron was pressed against the bloody stump on his left arm, cauterizing the wound.

"Check 'is other wounds, too. 'Er Majesty don't want 'im gettin' sick." A cackling, sarcastic voice beside him said.

"Should let the poor bastard die. Innit obvious those 'friends' of his ain't coming back?" Asked a gruff voice near his head as someone forced open his right eye and shined a light into it.

"You don't think 'e should suffer for what they did?"

"I think he's suffered enough already. Just go on with it and let him die."

"No." Sanji managed to groan. "No, no, no."

"What? What's that? Is 'e talkin'?" The first voice asked.

"They'll come back for me. They'll…they'll come back." He rasped out. "They need me…"

"They don't have no use for you anymore, do they?" The second voice asked, a hint of sympathy coloring it. "Her Majesty's seen to that."

"Watch yer mouth or she'll cut yer tongue out, next!" The first voice warned. "'Sides, all we can do's follow orders. Fix 'im up, send 'im back to the dungeons. It'll be up to 'is friends what 'appens to 'im if they come back for 'im, and it'll up to 'Er Majesty if they don't. None of our business."

The second voice grunted, and returned to cleaning the myriad of wounds Sanji had received at various times and from various sources.

"Never wanted this to happen. Never did. She went too far…"

"For God's sake, man, watch yer mouth!"

(PAGEBREAK-SCHWAAAAAAAAN!)

Two Weeks Later

Sanji…did not want to leave.

Well, he did. But he didn't want to face his crew. They would leave him behind, anyhow, once they saw how useless he was.

How could he face the wonderful Miss Nami, or the lovely Miss Robin? He was dirty…ragged-looking…his hair was a bird's nest, his body in shambles…he wouldn't be able to make them treats anymore…wouldn't be able to make them anything, anymore…

What about everyone else? God, how would he ever be able to look Luffy or Zoro in the eye again? They wouldn't stand for someone so weak to be a member of their crew!

And when Chopper treated him, what would he think? How dirty, how filthy, how disgusting, after everything that woman and her guards had put him through!

And now…now not only was he weak and disgusting…now he was useless to them! He couldn't fight, couldn't cook…couldn't do anything but be a deadweight.

He made his guards drag him again. No way he was going to willingly meet them. He wanted to see them again, but…how could he? It was simple:

He couldn't.

He kept his head down as they entered the throne room behind the Queen's throne.

"Ah, here he is." Queen Aroha said in that maliciously honeyed voice of hers, although she didn't look back. "Come here, Sanji."

He didn't do anything except tuck his arms behind his back, not that it did him any good—the guards just shoved him forward, forcing him to fall on his knees next to the Queen's throne. Though he kept his head bowed, he heard his (former?) crewmates gasp at the sight of him, and could see them try to step forward from beneath the fringe of his shaggy hair. They were stopped by the sound of bowstrings being pulled taut.

He cringed as the Queen reached over and pet his head like a favorite dog.

"Poor Sanji has trouble walking." She said, voice dripping with false sweetness. "We've had to cuff his ankles lately—for about half a month, now, actually."

"What are you talking about?" Nami demanded, her voice as tense as the guards' bows.

"Would you like to tell them, Sanji?" The Queen asked, and sneered when he wouldn't answer, her fingers curling cruelly into his hair and forcing his head up. "Tell them, Sanji. Go on, I'm sure they would love to hear!"

He forced back a sob, squeezing his eyes shut and pursing his lips tightly shut.

"You seem to be under the impression that that was a request, my dear—rest assured: it wasn't." She said, as if she was grinding her teeth together as she spoke. "You don't even have to say it. Just show them." When he still refused to move, she shook him. "I said show them, Sanji!"

He shook his head, and felt a few tears make their way down his face.

"Stop talking to him like that!" Luffy said. "Sanji, talk to us! Tell us what's wrong! Did she hurt you? We'll kick her ass if she hurt you; just say the word!"

But the noisy, energetic captain was ignored by all but the guards, who made sure all of their bows were trained on him.

"Fine then." She said, lip curling up into a harsh sneer. Then, quite suddenly, her syrupy visage had returned as she looked to her other side (although she didn't release his hair). "Father Pio?"

"Yes, Milady?" The portly priest asked, although it was clear from his malevolently gleeful expression that he knew what she wanted.

"The box, please." She said.

"Gladly, Milady." Father Pio bowed grandly, then snapped at a page standing nearby who was holding a small wooden box. The page brought it to him and then scurried away as he opened it and presented it to Queen Aroha.

Still not releasing Sanji's head, Queen Aroha reached into the box, lifting a rotting severed hand up by its thumb.

"You wouldn't believe how difficult it is to handcuff someone who doesn't have any hands." She cackled, waving it in front of Sanji's face. "Isn't that right, Sanji?"

"You cut off his hands?" Luffy's voice was chillingly soft. "You cut off Sanji's hands?"

"You were gone for a very long time, you know, little Straw Hat." She said. "We were starting to worry that you had just abandoned poor Sanji here, so…" She shrugged, "Well, someone had to be punished for your crimes. I wanted to just hang him and get it over with, but Father Pio convinced me that this was far more…suitable a punishment."

"You left him here to go chasing after your dreams." Father Pio said with a sinister grin. "So we took his dream away in exchange."

"You're lying! You're lying! You didn't…you couldn't…" Chopper cried.

"I could, dear, and I did." Queen Aroha smiled and finally released Sanji's hair. "You might as well show them, Sanji. Show them the fate they left you to suffer through all…by…yourself."

Shoulders sagging, he finally took his arms out from behind his back and held them up. The sleeves of his shirt and jacket had been lost at some point, leaving his arms bare, and although they had cleaned up most of his cuts they hadn't washed away the blood, which had gotten everywhere and dried, dirt clinging tightly to it. And at the top sat the messily cauterized stumps where his hands used to be, the wrist of his left hand still showing a bit (the axe-man, it seemed, had poor aim) and moving back and forth weakly.

"They took my hands." He heard his worn, scratchy voice croak out, followed by a short sob. "They…they cut off…my hands…"

"No…Sanji, no…" Usopp shook his head, not wanting to believe what he was seeing. "It's a lie, isn't it? There's no way…"

"I knew you'd come back…" Sanji said, tears running freely down his cheeks, now. "I knew you'd come back for me, but…there's no point, now…no point…"

"Of course there's a point!" Luffy said. "You're nakama!"

"I'm not your nakama, anymore!" He snapped, covering his eyes with his forearms. "I can't cook, and I can't fight…I'm useless, Luffy! And you can't—"

"If that's true, then we're useless, too!" Zoro interrupted furiously. "If we can't protect our nakama, we're even more useless than you are!"

He let out a loud, choked sound, still hiding his eyes with his arms. "Just go. I'm sorry I made you waste so much…so much time…but just…just go and…and fulfill your dreams…"

"I can't fulfill my dreams without my chef!" Luffy crossed his arms over his chest in that stubborn fashion they were all used to seeing. Then he dropped to the floor, sitting cross-legged. "If Sanji isn't leaving, then neither am I!"

Before the others could echo his sentiment, the queen began laughing again.

"You're all so very sweet." She said. "It's really quite…sickening. Don't you think, Father Pio?"

"Quite, Milady." The portly father said, leering at them.

"But if they want to stay…well, I don't suppose I can do much to stop them." She continued, and then leaned close to Sanji, whispering into his ear, "What do you think, Sanji? That swordsman, for example, looks like quite the catch, wouldn't you say? Perhaps I'll make him my next pet."

"Don't." His voice was so soft that even she, sitting right next to him, could hardly make out what he had said.

"Excuse me?" She asked.

"Don't you dare touch him!" He snarled, somehow whipping his legs around to wrap the chain around her neck with a sudden burst of strength that no one could have guessed he still had in him. "If you touch him I'll kill you, you bitch!"

She gagged, obviously trying to say something, and all of the guards aimed their bows at Sanji.

"Don't!" Father Pio cried. "You'll hit Her Majesty!"

"Do whatever you want to me, but if you touch any of them I'll fucking kill you!" Sanji shrieked, seeing red.

"Sanji, stop it!" Chopper exclaimed, tears soaking into his fur. "Stop!"

As if someone had flipped a switch, Sanji shuddered and went limp, dropping into a dead faint.

And after that, darkness was all he knew for a very long time.

TBC...