Mindshattered

Part fourteen of a fanfiction by Velkyn Karma

Surprise! A slightly early update, because I love you guys and also I don't want you to lynch me.

Note: We're all anime fans here, so when I say I am obligated to say this, I'm sure you'll understand. My hit count for this fic is officially over nine thousaaaaaand! (What? Nine thousand?)

Music Box: Haven't done this yet for this fic! But I feel obligated to for these next two chapters. This fic was written with copious amounts of the following song:

www (dot) youtube (dot) com (slash) watch?v=mWpQnM1HieQ

I basically consider it to be The Alchemist's Theme Song and every time I needed to brainstorm and get in his mindset I would listen to this on repeat. You should try it too while reading this chapter. You'll liiiiiike it.

Disclaimer: I do not own, or pretend to own, One Piece or any of its subsequent characters, plots or other ideas. That right belongs solely to Eiichiro Oda. The only thing that belongs to me here is the concept for the story.

"Five little Soldier boys going in for law;
One got in Chancery and then there were four.
Four little Soldier boys going out to sea;
A red herring swallowed one and then there were three.
Three little Soldier boys walking in the zoo;
A big bear hugged one and then there were two.
Two Little Soldier boys sitting in the sun;
One got frizzled up and then there was one.
One little Soldier boy left all alone;
He went out and hanged himself and then there were none."
~And then There Were None, Agatha Christie

Sanji delivered an excellent kick to his captain's midsection that would have sent any other man flying. Unfortunately, Luffy did not fall into the category of 'any other man' terribly often—or indeed at all—and merely absorbed the impact with his rubbery body, stumbling to the side a few paces and little else.

He opened his mouth to whine and wheedle for a snack before dinner—which Sanji was fully prepared to absolutely refuse; the brat could wait half a damn hour to eat!—when they heard the swearing coming from the infirmary.

Sanji and Luffy instantly froze. Zoro had been known to swear often, even now; hell, he and Sanji exchanged coarse conversations on a regular basis every time Sanji brought Zoro a meal of late. But he hadn't been known to furiously yell at Usopp like that, and it was their sniper who was currently on Zoro-watching duty. Was Zoro pulling another unexpected attempt to escape? Sanji and Luffy exchanged confused looks and listened, their argument forgotten.

Moments later they heard a strangled gasp of pain, muffled through the Adam wood walls, and then everything was abruptly silent again. Frowning, Sanji paused only long enough to snap the oven off (the last thing he needed was to burn the ship down) before he and Luffy both darted out the door.

They'd barely gotten through the galley portal before Luffy froze, and Sanji careened into his captain before stumbling backwards and gaining his feet. Surprised, he opened his mouth to ask Luffy what the hell he was stopping in a doorway for, but his voice cracked when he saw the livid expression on his captain's face.

Luffy wasn't just angry. He was furious. The same kind of fury that had been responsible for destroying warships and thoroughly trashing the most dangerous of enemies. Sanji whipped his head around to find the object of that stare, and his own expression melted into a matching one of sheer hatred when he saw what was going on.

There was a man on their ship, one that did not belong there. He was calmly stepping out of the infirmary, and was watching them cooly, without a trace of fear or worry. One hand was hooked around the straps of Usopp's overalls, and their sniper drooped like a ragdoll. The bloody stain on the back of his bandana clearly showed why. The other hand was clamped around Zoro's neck, squeezing so hard it was already leaving bruises, and Zoro too drooped like a dead thing, arms dragging along the floor.

It was ironic, really, Sanji thought in a vague corner of his mind. He had never seen this man before in his life, but recognized him instantly, had already hated him for days. The black overcoat and bowler hat were unmistakable, and the cook suddenly understood what Zoro had meant when he'd compared this man to one of the Pacifistas. He was emotionless, soulless, and that made him strangely frightening.

"You put them down," Luffy said with a snarl, fist already drawing back dangerously. Sanji, too, crouched at the ready, resisted charging forward to put his dress shoes through the man's cold, callous face only because he was holding a pair of hostages, and the way he had that grip on Zoro's neck...

"I cannot," the man answered calmly. "They are prisoners, to rightfully be turned in to the marines for their crimes."

There was movement on the decks now. Brook had noticed that the threat was no longer coming from Sabaody's groves, but was already on the ship with them, and was running forward with cane-sword drawn to provide his support. And Nami-san had heard the commotion too, because she came charging out of her study with her Clima-Tact in hand, shouting loudly, "What's going on, what's happening?"

The Alchemist shifted, and it was all the invitation Luffy needed. With a roar of "Gomu-Gomu no Pistol!" he had fired one rubbery fist in the man's direction, aiming for the bastard's chest.

But the man anticipated it, just as Sanji knew he would. He was familiar with Luffy's attacks, after all, just like he knew everyone else's attacks too. The man leapt atop the short railing just in front of the infirmary and, without pause, launched himself into the air and downwards towards the grassy deck. He rolled to his feet, dropped both of his captives and stood over them, plunging his hands into his inner coat pockets and withdrawing a single vial.

Sanji was already vaulting the railings to follow, and Brook was running forward as well, setting sunlight gleaming off his single sword blade. But the Alchemist threw the vial at their feet with a practiced snap of one wrist, and the delicate glass shattered, sending clouds of purple smoke into the air that burned at the throat and eyes and made breathing extremely difficult.

Sanji staggered forward, and heard Luffy roar "Gomu Gomu no Pistol!" again in the same furious tone as before. He waved some of the noxious purple gas aside at the same time that Luffy's rubber fist shot past him, and half-coughed, half-groaned. It was too easy, and the man was sure to anticipate it.

And sure enough, as the streaking rubber attack shot forward, the Alchemist was ready. He twisted with one sharp, precise movement, and Luffy's fist shot past. But the man wasn't finished yet. With a quick snap, he shot his hand out and grabbed a hold of Luffy's still-stretching arm, digging his fingers in with such crushing force it probably would have left bruises if the attacker had been a regular human.

Luffy swayed instantly, and his eyelids dropped to half mast as his tongue flopped out. He groaned, and it was obviously suddenly taking him everything he had to keep standing. Sanji choked out a swear and tried to dart forward, aim some sort of kick. But he was still doubled over and coughing badly from whatever was in those purple fumes, and could barely move, much less try to defend his captain.

"It has to be seastone," Nami-san said beside him, and Sanji would have jumped in surprise if he wasn't busy trying to breathe. He hadn't heard her approach. A few moments later a strong breeze wafted through the area, and the noxious cloud of purple fumes dispersed under its pressure, cleansing the air and freeing a baffled (but non-breathing) Brook from its confines. Almost immediately Sanji's coughing began to subside, and he stood straight in time to see Nami-san slipping a strange rope with two knots into her belt.

"Th-thank you, Nami-san," he managed to gasp, and glanced over quickly at where Luffy was still swaying, looking for all the world as if he was about to fall asleep. "And you're probably right."

"She is right," the Alchemist confirmed. He jerked Luffy's arm quickly as the rubber-man's abilities were fully negated by the presence of seastone. Unable to snap his arm back to his body, the reverse happened, and Luffy went sailing in the direction of the loathsome man immediately. The Alchemist collared him, then held up one hand, where he had somehow managed to palm a device that looked like a mix between an oversized thumbtack and a syringe.

"A liquidized form, of my own creation," the man explained calmly. "The dosage is small and will not last more than half an hour, but that should be adequate for now." And to the horror of the three remaining battle-ready Straw Hats, the man lifted Luffy's still dazed body and threw him overboard, into the ocean.

"Luffy!" three voices screamed at the same time, and Sanji felt himself suddenly caught in a furious mental struggle. Jump overboard, and rescue their captain? If he did it would leave Nami-san and Brook undefended against this monster, or the bastard could run with his hostages. But if he stayed, Luffy was sure to drown, no questions asked.

"One of you had better do something," the Alchemist said in a reasonable tone, looking first at Nami-san, and then at Sanji. "You are the only two capable of swimming at the present moment. I am certain you do not wish to see your friend drown, and I am not interested in allowing a three hundred million bounty to deteriorate by thirty percent for turning in a corpse."

They froze, and Sanji understood the bastard's strategy suddenly. He was dividing them up, making it even easier for him to take them down one by one. He understood with sudden gravity why Zoro had warned them time and time again to run; this sick bastard was too calculating, too ruthless, for them to take on. Maybe even with the full crew.

Sanji was still debating which course to take, hesitating as he was forced to choose which nakama to save, and his entire body trembled as his mind rushed frantically to find a solution. But then Nami-san took the choice from him. Throwing down her Clima-Tact suddenly, she kicked off her sandals and darted for the rails, shouting over her shoulder, "I'll take care of Luffy, Sanji-kun! Help Brook beat this guy!"

"Yes, Nami-san!" he answered immediately, and as he heard the splash seconds later he felt his resolve returning. Nami-san had saved them all in more ways than one, there. He was going to make her the best, most delicious mikan drink, when this was all over...if they made it, that was.

"And then there were two," the Alchemist said calmly, eyeing both Sanji and Brook with a calculated gaze. "I have just neutralized the most dangerous member of the crew. According to Roronoa, the next most dangerous would be you, Black-Leg Sanji. So you will be my next target."

Sanji saw Brook's confusion for a fraction of a second as Zoro was named. But then the Alchemist had darted forward towards him with sudden speed, and it was all Sanji could do to throw himself aside. The man lashed out with his knife, barely missing Sanji's body and gouging a six-inch trail in the Adam's wood wall behind him. He retracted the blade as easily as if he had sliced through butter, and turned to regard the cook with a curious tilt of his head.

"Roronoa was quite correct," the Alchemist said cooly. "I expected your style to be based off of agility, but you are even faster than I anticipated." Slipping a hand inside his coat, he added, "Fortunately, I came prepared," and withdrew a small vial. It contained little more than a mouthful of a bright green liquid, and as Sanji watched the man tilted his head back and quaffed it in one gulp.

"Essence of the cheetah," the man explained, holding the now empty vial aloft before slipping it back into his coat. "A speed potion, in essence. Short in duration, but powerful in application." And then he lowered his head and charged.

If Sanji had thought he was fast before, his speed was unbelievable now. It was like the soru the marines and CP9 agents favored so highly, or like Luffy's own Gear Second's enhanced speed, but with one major difference: Sanji couldn't keep up with him. He tried to duck, to bring one knee up in some measure of defense, but before his head had so much as dipped or his leg so much as twitched the man was on him. One, two, three, fourfivesix—the blows came consecutively, unhesitatingly, struck Sanji everywhere. Arms, legs, stomach, chest, head, and some of them were more than just punches; Sanji could feel the razor-edged knife blade sliding through his suit jacket and through skin more than once, felt the sharp flashes of pain that meant he was being cut open alongside the duller, more persistent ones that were powerful punches.

He yelled in surprise, gasped in pain, tried to stagger back and recover enough to guard. But the man was viciously persistent, kept striking over and over, always aiming for the same places that he had already injured, building up the pain so that it was becoming too much to bear, too much to take—

"Polka Remise!" came Brook's high-pitched cry, and the next second Sanji was aware of hundreds of flashes as the still-setting sun glittered violently off of Brook's cane blade. The light burned, but Sanji welcomed it, because as the flashes came still faster the rapid-fire attacks on his body abruptly ceased. Sanji staggered backwards once again, planted his foot firmly, and forced himself to come to a full stand to face his opponent. His legs quivered from the exertion and the few wounds he had taken there—the Alchemist had focused most of the knife attacks on his legs, presumably to weaken him—but Sanji wasn't beaten yet, and wouldn't go down that easy.

He raised his head in time to see the Alchemist leaping backwards, away from Brook. The man landed a safe distance from his two opponents, only a few feet from Zoro and Usopp (still unconscious) and fell into a wary crouch. There was a single thin scratch on his chin, shallow but still bleeding, and he cocked his head with a contemplative frown as he regarded Brook.

"Is that the name of the attack?" he asked, after a moment. "Roronoa was familiar with a rapid thrusting technique, but had no name to give it. Polka Remise. I will remember that in the future."

Sanji narrowed his eyes and glared across at the bastard, but took note of the blood droplets. The man had apparently not taken a Steelskin potion this time, which could give Brook something of an advantage. The Alchemist had to know they had a second swordsman now, though, even if his caliber didn't seem to be nearly as high as Zoro's. Why take the risk?

Maybe he can't mix potions, Sanji thought idly. Not that it helped, in the end. The man was still fast enough to kill them all without needing impenetrable skin.

Brook fell into a defensive stance beside Sanji, and glanced over at his current battle partner anxiously (Sanji thought, anyway; it was a bit had to tell with Brook's limited capacity for facial expressions). "Are you alright, Sanji-san?" he asked, and he definitely sounded concerned.

"Fine. This is nothing," Sanji said, and though his wounds did sting pretty badly he meant every word of it. He knew perfectly well what that man was capable of. His current collection of scratches and bruises were barely the tip of the iceberg.

"That sounds quite familiar," the Alchemist commented. "Not only are you still standing, but you appear to still be willing to engage in further combat. I do believe you are just as remarkably enduring as Roronoa was."

"Is," Sanji snarled without even thinking about it. "Zoro's not dead."

"That part of him is," the Alchemist answered quietly, with such a matter-of-fact tone that it didn't even sound like a taunt or an attempt to brag. The man considered it fact, plain and simple.

That infuriated Sanji all the more, to see anyone talking about his nakama like that. With loathing still saturating his voice, he hissed, "Brook. We'll double-team this shitty bastard. He might know our individual skills, but let's see him take us both at the same time."

Brook nodded in grim agreement, and one bony hand tightened firmly on his cane sword. Both of them began to dart forward, already moving in unison—Sanji figured he could launch Brook into the air for that ariel diving move, then attack the man himself to keep him in place long enough for Brook's attack to hit. But before either of them had taken five steps, the Alchemist slid backwards himself, moving with surprising ease even though his eyes never left either of his opponents.

And pressed his booted foot straight down on the still-unconscious Zoro's throat.

Both Sanji and Brook froze instantly, Sanji with a series of colorful swears. The cook could have kicked himself for forgetting how close the Alchemist was to their two knocked-out, endangered nakama. He'd been seeing red, so focused on the man he hadn't paid attention to his surroundings. Now he was going to pay for that mistake—or more likely, his friends were.

The Alchemist stood resolutely, calmly, knowing his threat had been acknowledged. He kept his right foot planted firmly on Zoro's neck, enough to elicit a choking gurgle from the emaciated swordsman even in his unconscious state. Most of the Hunter's weight was balanced on his left foot, but Sanji knew it would be all too easy for the man to shift and crush Zoro's throat in less than a heartbeat. And in his left hand, his knife was still firmly clenched; it dripped Sanji's blood down onto Usopp's unmoving body, staining his overalls a deeper brown.

Shit. Not good. This was not good at all...

"What do we do, Sanji-san?" Brook whispered, and there was no doubting he was nervous now. His bony fingers clacked loudly on the lacquered purple surface of the cane's hook, what served as his sword hilt, as his body trembled. "He'll be able to make the first move...but if we attack..."

"Can't attack," Sanji said grimly. "They'll die. Or worse. Can't risk it." He cursed himself over and over, but kept his feet planted, did not move forward any further. Damn it, he had to think, think...Zoro and Usopp needed him, but if he stayed frozen like this the man was going to escape with both of them...

Try as he might, he simply could not think of a solution. His head spun with frustration, with fury, as he tried to think of some course of action.

"Please drop your sword, Humming Brook," the Alchemist said now, very firmly. "Black Leg Sanji, unfortunately I can't disarm you, but I would think it best if you removed your shoes and—"

He was interrupted suddenly, and Sanji's decision was abruptly stolen from him, just like before. The stalemate was pressing, powerful, but it was shattered by a sharp call from over the side of the ship. "Sanji-kun! Brook! Throw the rope ladder down, hurry! I've got Luffy, but he's heavy, I can't hold him up for too long—"

Nami-san! And she had Luffy, too. Much as Sanji was loath to let her enter the fight with such a dangerous adversary, he had to admit they could use all the backup they could get against this bastard. If Nami-san could just revive Luffy enough to let him get into the battle—

Sanji exchanged quick looks with Brook, and the skeletal swordsman nodded in understanding, reading the message in Sanji's one visible eye as easily as if it had been written. They only had one chance to make this work, and it had to be done fast.

So as Nami-san made another plea for someone to let down the rope ladder, Brook turned abruptly—and bolted for the side of the ship.

The Alchemist was after him instantly, and it made Sanji's heart lighten for a fraction of a second to see the man so determined to keep them separated. Obviously, he considered both Nami-san and Luffy threats, meaning he might actually be afraid of entering combat with the four of them evenly. The man bore down on Brook with stunning speed—though much slower than before, Sanji noted grimly; his Cheetah Essence or whatever the hell it was must be wearing off—but the skeleton ignored him completely, focused on getting to the side of the ship.

And Sanji met them in the middle, launching a roundhouse kick straight at the Alchemist's face.

The man was good, Sanji thought grimly, as he dodged the blow, bending so far over backward it was like he was playing limbo. But Sanji was good too, and nodded in satisfaction as the man's charge after Brook was halted. Spinning quickly, the cook changed his momentum, brought his heel smashing down towards the Alchemist with a resounding call of "Épaule!"

Sanji saw, for the briefest of moments, a flicker in that unforgivable bastard's eyes. Saw his lips moving, almost as though he were reciting something, running through a list. It was a waste of time; Sanji was sure he would connect, even if the man had prior knowledge of this move—

But Sanji had no such luck. The man's eyes glinted in sudden recognition, and then he rolled forward at the last possible second. Sanji's heel connected solidly with the grassy deck hard enough to send dirt clods flying. Had he not been so intent on the battle he would have winced; Franky was sure to lecture his ears off later, when they found him again. But it wasn't important now. Because the Alchemist had already rolled to his feet, had launched himself once again at Brook, and although his enhanced speed had worn off for sure by now he had still recovered too quickly for Sanji to react.

The cook swore loudly and charged after him again, launching another kick at the man's back. The Alchemist leapt into the air, nimbly dodging Sanji's flying foot, and reached once again into his coat pockets. For one horrible moment Sanji thought he might remove another flask with the speed potion in it, but it wasn't a vial of any sort at all that the Alchemist pulled free from the inside of his coat. It was a thin chain with twisted links that seemed almost organic. The chain was mostly silvery in color, but every fourth link was tainted a gray-blue and looked to be of a different material entirely.

Sanji realized the properties of the item suddenly, but too late. He tried to shout a warning to Brook, but by then the Alchemist had landed back on the deck and lashed the chain nimbly, like a whip. It cracked against Brook's skeletal hand, the one holding his sword, and with a sharp yelp the musician dropped the weapon; it clattered once on the Sunny's railings before tumbling over the side.

Sanji heard a shriek of surprise from Nami-san, or maybe it was pain. He didn't know, but he desperately hoped she was alright. Even without being wielded, and even without the same fanatical devotion to his swords that Zoro had, Brook's weapon was still quite sharp and was more than capable of impaling somebody by accident. Furious, he launched another succession of kicks at the Alchemist, but the man ducked beneath them and, with another expert lash, wound the seastone-infused chain around Brook's incredibly thin frame.

By itself, the twisted chain looked weak enough for Sanji to shatter with his heel. Under normal circumstances even Brook would have been able to free himself from it easily. But with every fourth link being made of seastone, there was no question about it: Brook had been caught. The skeletal swordsman gave a soft groan and tottered, collapsing where he stood at the edge of the rail, flopped half over it and half on the deck. The rope ladder still lay rolled at his feet on the grass.

"And then there was one," the Alchemist said cooly, and turned on Sanji once again.

Shit.

Hrm...now the question is, will I let Sanji win a fight this time...what, you all thought Luffy'd be the ass kicker? In a fic where it's been Sanji's voice up until now? No way, no way! :)

Honestly, were I an actual villain in One Piece, this is probably the general strategy I'd use to take on the Straw Hats. Splitting them up, that is. One Piece villains are kinda stupid in that they always seem to think they can bull straight through the Straw Hats with raw power. It will never happen. If they're united (even a single pair of them) they will thoroughly trash you, both because they have good combat teamwork and because they are dangerously loyal to each other. But if you split'em up and start dividing their minds over who to protect, you might maybe possibly have a shot. Maaaaybe.

(Of course, were I an actual villain, I wouldn't even have to bother worrying about Sanji. Lucky me, I was born female. :P )

It occurs to me you may all just lynch me anyway. Well, keep the angry mobs to a minimum in your reviews, please. :)

~VelkynKarma