Deep

by CharlieNozaki

As a marine biologist with the Bio-Aquatic Rescue and Testing Institute of East Blue (B.A.R.A.T.I.E.), Sanji has encountered his fair share of underwater life. But none quite like the ball of algae that flops on-deck one fateful day… [Modern AU. Merpeople. ZoSan].

14. Sinking

"They're blowing up the building?" Sanji called down to Robin in disbelief, rushing footsteps echoing and clanging on the metal catwalk as he and Zoro approached the landing of the stairs, the woman having jogged across the room below to meet them.

"Yes," Robin answered smoothly, looking up at them calmly as if he'd simply asked about the weather.

"How?!" Sanji shot back, grabbing the railing of the stairs and swinging himself around it to start down without much thought.

"That I don't know," she replied, her fingers examining her handgun for ammunition. "But I'm sure Franky has a plan."

Sanji huffed, halfway down the stairs.

"And the Navy's-?"

But then, a jolt of surprise as he realized Zoro was keeping pace with him, distracting him from his question. "Holy shit, you're good at stairs now!" he shot back to the merman, who met Sanji's eye for a smug eyebrow quirk, lips twitching up into a smirk.

"-The Navy's here too?" Sanji finally finished, focusing himself, but barely, considering how annoyingly handsome Zoro's smirk was. Time spent fearing he'd never see it again had clearly left his priorities skewed for the moment...

"Yes, but that should come as no surprise to you," Robin replied, her tone light, but her implications strong, her gaze one of a mother on the verge of a scolding.

Not that Sanji much noticed, unfortunately, still far too preoccupied with Zoro's stair progress.

"Seriously, what the fuck, did you have practice or something?" he asked the merman, Zoro grinning wider and nodding proudly, leaving Sanji to wonder what the hell had happened during the time they were separated. If Zoro was this quick of a learner, then it was almost-

Until he stumbled on the last step, Sanji just barely catching him with a frantic flail of his arms, the two nearly toppling together onto the ground, only saved by the firm planting of Sanji's feet.

"You dumbass!" he gritted out, getting Zoro's compact weight balanced again with some effort.

Robin merely blinked at the two with a sigh and an exasperated shake of her head.

Sensing her judgment, the blond let out a guilty sigh of his own, shoving Zoro back distractedly as he turned to her, finally returning to the matter at hand.

"I'm sorry, Dr. Nico," he said, calming himself to convey his sincerity. "But Ace - Commander Portgas - is my best friend. And he's an idiot, obviously, yes - but I would trust him with any of our lives."

She didn't protest, however, contrary to Sanji's expectations, the woman merely smiling coyly before she gestured the two along back towards the exit.

"It's alright," she said, her skin illuminated like ice as she weaved in-between the many cylindrical tanks stretching towards the ceiling like crystalline stalagmites. "His comrades are having quite the field day taking out most of Sakazuki's forces, so ultimately, it proved to be rather helpful. We alerted the West Blue Navy to send reinforcements as well."

"Huh," Sanji replied, following Robin with a tight grip on the mosshead's hand. Suddenly, his own spilling of the history to Ace seemed less of an offense. "So how did you know Zoro and I were here?"

"We were approached by a member of the M.A.R.I.N.E.S. G-5 branch. One with far different morals than Sakazuki," Robin explained, moving past darkened lab benches and rows of blinking screensavers. "As I told Zoro, he informed us of the escaped merfolk. We were already en route when we received a radio call from your sister about your situation."

"My sister…." Sanji breathed in reply, unable to help the smile that spread at his lips. It was still a very new, and somewhat foreign, thing, to have a sister to rely on, but it left a warm feeling in his heart nonetheless.

Until his eyes fell on a lumpy form on the ground ahead of them, just visible through the doorway to the adjacent room, sucking all warm feelings from him in one strong gust.

A limp hand. The glisten of fresh blood splattering the floor like modern art.

Instantly, he recoiled, stumbling back into Zoro's chest in his shock.

"Oh jeez, you really - uhhh…" he stammered, fumbling to squeeze Zoro's hand even tighter, utterly horrified, but unable to look away from the grisly glimpse, some fucked-up morbid fascination taking hold of him.

His voice trailed off, breaths huffing a little harder, but his attention diverted when Zoro stepped up in front of him, proudly lifting his sword in a stupidly swashbuckling pose.

What the hell was he trying to do? Show off?

"Me too. See?" Zoro boasted, giving the blade a few stylish waves to demonstrate his technique.

Yes, show off indeed.

"Uh huhhh…." Sanji answered slowly, staring at the merman like he'd lost his mind.

Sanji ignored him when Zoro began using the blond's throat as teasing target practice.

"And how exactly are we covering all this up….?" Sanji asked Robin instead, the woman already toeing aside one of the bodies in the doorway with little care. "I'm really not - Mosshead, would you stop-" A bat to the blade an inch from his throat and a kick to Zoro's shin that nearly sent the merman to the ground. "Really not looking to become a wanted criminal here."

"I believe the first step will be destroying the evidence," Robin replied, shooting a playful look back over her shoulder that was simultaneously reassuring and terrifying.

The blond certainly wasn't sure how to feel about that, but he did know one thing. That he wanted to get the hell out of there as soon as possible, and the only way to do that was to look literal death in the face and cross through that doorway.

So he steeled himself for a moment with a controlled exhale, then quickly moved to follow Robin…

….only to have the merman block his path suddenly, this time with a hand to his shoulder and a serious look on his face, all arrogance and annoyance gone as he met Sanji's eye.

The blond was about to shoulder him aside, but Zoro's tone was so soft when he murmured, "Wait," that Sanji took notice, slowing himself down to focus on Zoro's expression in the dim lighting.

To his surprise, the merman lifted a hand then, pressed it carefully over Sanji's eyes and gently ordered, "Close," keeping his hand there for a long moment.

It took the blond a second, but he realized, with a fluttering in his chest, what Zoro was trying to do.

It was sweet, almost painfully so, but for all the madness of their current situation, he figured he could deal with a bit of blood. He'd seen worse out on the job, tending to injured sea life, and besides, he'd treated that idiot merman's massive wound. He could handle it, surely.

"The dead bodies won't scar me, Zoro," he assured, despite how insane he knew that very statement to be. He removed Zoro's hand from his face, but not without a squeeze and a quick kiss to his fingertips. "It's okay-"

But Zoro shook his head, stepped closer persistently until the entire doorway beyond was blocked from Sanji's view.

"No," Zoro said, and let out a pained sigh. "That room…. I think….it's…place where..."

This time, the fluttering of butterflies in Sanji's stomach gave way to bats, their claws scratching and stinging a path to his heart because Sanji understood fully, even as Zoro trailed off and fumbled for words.

He stared at Zoro for several nervous heartbeats, read his troubled expression, and he knew.

He knew what that room was. What it had once held.

Yet, he didn't take his eyes from Zoro's face.

Sanji leaned in then, to kiss the merman slowly, something that must have surprised Zoro, judging by the muffled noise that escaped him. But he fell into it easily, the blond drawing out the moment to convey his appreciation before pulling back.

"Thank you," he breathed over Zoro's lips eventually, caressing his jaw. He met Zoro's gaze, conviction blazing. "But I need to see."

He closed his eyes, bumped his forehead to the merman's one more time, then released him, ready to face what lay beyond that threshold.

---

Under any other circumstances, in any other place, the room might have been as inconspicuous as any other lab, though it was certainly grander than any they had at B.A.R.A.T.I.E.

It was almost a false comfort, dead bodies aside, which Sanji quickly moved past to enter into that familiar space, with equipment he worked with every day, that impressive tank looming high above, which should have been a dream to have at their center, perfect for rehabilitating larger species.

But that was no rehabilitation tank, and the equipment he walked past grew more sinister and telling the farther he went into the room, until it began to feel like a death march through poorly disguised torture devices, medieval masquerading as modern.

Robin and Zoro stayed back, but Sanji could sense their eyes on him as he moved slowly, forcing himself to look, to see what his brothers had lived with. The examination tables like trays in a morgue, the vials, needles, and scalpels that had stabbed and extracted without consent, microscopes that had studied things they shouldn't.

Any one of them could have caused Ichiji's distrust, Niji's anger, Yonji's fear….

Any one of them could have taken their mother….

This could have been Sanji's fate, should have been, had it not been for those who'd tried so desperately to save him from it.

His dad….back at B.A.R.A.T.I.E….who hadn't told him anything about his world if only to keep him from this. The glass prison that his feet carried him to somewhat unconsciously, the blond falling heavily to his knees before the tank, his forehead and a trembling hand knocking against the wall separating him from the water.

His eyes roamed the space inside, fixating on the dulled colors of the plants, nowhere near as vibrant as they were in the wild, the vacant expressions of the fish who drifted by, almost in slow motion….

….the countless hatch marks that littered the face of the massive rock within.

Sanji lost his breath on a horrified shudder, unable to stop the tears that welled when he closed his eyes quickly against the sights before him, shoulders shaking with the stifled sob of grief he allowed to swallow him.

He vaguely registered the quick slap of feet approaching him on the concrete floor, though Robin's voice stopped them with a quiet murmur.

He knelt there, alone, the burden on his shoulders growing heavier and heavier with every hitch of his breath, the pressure of the entire ocean bearing down on him, it felt like, until it threatened to burst the bubble of ignorance he'd grown up in.

All the sorrow, all the confusion, but most of all, the guilt he'd felt over the truth-

It pressed until it couldn't press anymore, and he shuddered with the force of it, the release cathartic as the ocean came crashing down around him, sucked him under and whipped him in its currents violently.

It drowned him, suffocated him, his lungs screaming and his limbs scrambling for a surface he couldn't reach.

...

But then, little by little, they slowed, those waves. They lulled rather than lashed, and though he remained underwater, surrounded by the memories and lost possibilities, he realized he could breathe, and the ocean's embrace was soothing and gentle, rocking him to and fro slowly.

This would have been his home, this tank before him, had things been different.

But it wasn't, and not because of any luck.

It was because of the will of those that had loved him.

He'd been born human, not by any mistake, but because his mother had wanted it. His whole life, not knowing about the merworld, everything he'd told himself he should feel guilty for….had been beyond his control all along.

His mother had shaped his life for him. She'd given him the tools, the resources, the endowment of both worlds.

And that was exactly why it now fell to him. Him, an ordinary human, who'd sunk so deep. Not to make up for the evils of others, but to ensure that his parents' hopes and dreams came to pass, for all the merpeople, but for their family, first and foremost.

When Sanji's eyes opened, they were still wet, but he welcomed it.

"I'm late, Mom," he murmured quietly, sliding his hand down the surface of the tank as he sat back and lifted his head to stare inside again, trying hard to imagine her reflection in his own. "But you did it. It took a while - too long - but all of us are safe now. And I'll never be able to repay you…."

A sigh and he let his eyes close once more, just for a moment as he made his silent peace with all that had been lost.

And when they opened again, they were steeled and determined. His fist knocked resolutely against the glass.

"But I can damn sure try," he finished, and pushed to his feet again, turning and marching across the room towards the exit, leaving the lab and all its evils behind him.

"Let's go," he called over his shoulder to Zoro and Robin, his hand already reaching out to grab the handle when he approached the door.

The second he turned it, giving a yank back, he was met with resistance, the door not even budging an inch.

"What the-" he growled, trying again with the same results. The door was locked.

He let out a huff, shot a helpless look back at the other two.

And then, startling them all, the shrill, piercing blare of an alarm screamed through the air, echoing throughout the cavernous room.

---

Ace gave a low whistle, staring up at the massive water tank that dwarfed even Franky's staggering height now that they'd moved the boat closer, Sunny bobbing directly beside it in the water.

Franky had hopped off the boat's deck onto the tank's platform, examining the giant metal contraption at all angles, running hands along the pipes, giving experimental knocks to different parts, as if his touch alone would unveil all the machine's secrets.

"What is he doing," Kuina had muttered, unamused as she watched the scene impatiently from her tank, but Ace had merely shushed her, watching with fascination, for lack of understanding.

"Shhh, I think he's a machine whisperer," he'd assured the mermaid. "Let him do his thing."

And do his thing he had, for another minute before Franky eventually turned back to face them with a self-assured grin, huge fists planting themselves confidently on his waist.

"Welp, I know what we gotta do now," Franky announced, an excited wiggle of eyebrows visible over the frame of his sunglasses.

"Great! Lay it on us!" Ace replied with equal enthusiasm, leaning eagerly onto the railing of the boat. Finally, something to do that would help Sanji.

"This sucker works pretty simple," Franky explained, stepping closer to the tank and setting a hand on its metal face.

"We got cold water comin' into this baby," he continued, patting the upper portion of the tank, then sliding it down towards the lower half. "Which is gettin' heated by gas underneath before it gets circulated back through the water pipes, hot as my girlfriend in a bikini! That's what's important."

"Your girlfriend?" Ace snickered, enjoying the expressive explanation.

"Nah, nah, the gas, I mean," Franky replied with a wink.

"So what, we set it on fire?" Ace asked, narrowing eyes at the tank, which certainly looked indestructible, let alone fireproof. Besides, even if they could manage that… "How's that gonna reach the building?"

"A flame would speed things along, sure," Franky agreed. "But unless you're here on a suicide mission, might be best to play it safer. Don't wanna get blown to bits."

He moved then, walking the several paces to the other side of the tank where he indicated another series of pipes leading from the lower end of the tank to a large boxy shape fixed to the wall of the rock, cut with horizontal slats.

"See all these exhaust vents?" Franky asked. "That's what's stoppin' the gas an' pressure from buildin' up inside. We block those off, the gas has got nowhere to go, including the juice in those pipes leadin' back to the building. Pressure's gonna keep on mounting in the tank an' along the pipes, until - bam!"

A flailing of arms to simulate an explosion that continued for a good ten seconds, complete with sound effects, aftershocks, an unnecessary robot dance, and a final dramatic pose, wrists pressed together over his head.

"An' with the size of this sucker, we're talkin' an explosion that could send your ship flying," he added proudly.

A processing silence came over the three for a moment before Kuina finally muttered, "You really sure that'll work?", doubt clear in her voice.

"Nope!" Franky replied with certainty.

"Well, sounds great to me!" Ace chirped, pushing himself up on the railing with a shrug. "I mean, what else do we got?"

"Exactly!" Franky agreed, shooting the other man a thumbs-up before digging in the pocket of his shirt for his phone. "Lemme make sure Robin's…" He trailed off as soon as he laid eyes on the screen, though his expression lit up a second later, following a few tappings of his thumb.

"Oh, hey, bro!" Franky called to Ace. "Good news!"

Immediately, the freckled man perked up, hope like a heated punch to his stomach.

"They found him?!" Ace asked.

"Yup!" Franky shot back, causing Ace to wilt instantly with the relief, a heavy exhale leaving him.

He ran a hand down his face, a broad grin coming to his lips, but an unexpected burning behind his eyes and in his throat. Fuck, he hadn't realized how much worry and tension had crept up within him until that moment, when it threatened to overflow.

The moment was broken, however, when the soft sound of a new notification pinged from Franky's phone, and he heard a noise of dismay leave the taller man.

Just as soon as Ace's fears had drained, they bubbled up anew, snapping his attention back to Franky, who muttered the same, "Oh, hey, bro….", this time wrought with guilt.

His eyes lifted to meet Ace's with a grimace.

"Now we got some bad news…" he said, and he didn't wait for Ace's inevitable reaction, merely typed out Robin's number and brought the phone to his ear.

---

"Shit!" Sanji cursed, the blond jumping back from the door of the lab, which was now bathed in a hellish red light to accompany the blaring alarms.

"I'm sorry!" he hissed, grabbing hold of Zoro's arm the instant he and Robin rushed across the room to him. "I didn't think it would set off a shitty - ah, excuse my language, Dr. Nico." He turned to face Zoro instead, an excuse to yell, "I didn't think it would set off a shitty alarm, dammit!"

"I've just texted Franky," Robin said, ignoring (and uncaring of) his profanities, her calculating gaze already flitting about the room for an alternative escape route. "I've told him our plans might be-"

The buzzing of Robin's phone was almost lost in the cacophony of the alarms still echoing through the lab, but the vibration in her wetsuit pocket had her quickly unzipping the pouch on the side of her leg and pulling out her phone, secure in its waterproof case. Sure enough, the goofy photo of her significant other, posing with his Hummer, accompanied his incoming call.

Immediately, she accepted, tapping the speaker button for Zoro and Sanji's benefit.

"Franky!"

"Robin!" The blue-haired man's loud voice came through. "Are you alright? You're locked in?"

"We're all in one piece, yes," she assured, raising her voice to be heard over the commotion. "But as I'm sure you can hear, attempting to exit this lab triggered an alarm. I believe there may have been another layer of security required that I missed-"

"No, it's my fault!" Sanji cut in, waving a hand frantically to stop her. "I wasn't thinking and-"

"Oh, hey!" Franky interrupted, his tone brightening. "Sanji-bro? You okay there, man? All fins intact?" But before Sanji could answer, a scuffling sound on Franky's end, followed by a grunt, the shipwright stuttering out, "Whoa, what're you-?"

And then, another man's voice became audible, this one far more frantic.

"Gimme the phone - gimme the damn-!"

"There, it's on speaker, dude, chill-"

"Sanji!"

"Wh - Ace!" stammered the blond, dragging Zoro forward by the arm when he hurried closer to the phone Robin held out in her palm.

"Sanji, are you okay?!" Ace practically shouted, worry mixed with relief in his voice….which quickly morphed into anger, all in the span of seconds. "If they fucking touched you, I swear to fu-!"

"Ace, I'm fine!" Sanji assured, though his nails bit into Zoro's arm unconsciously. The merman slapped at his hand to stop him, but the blond stayed firmly clamped there, his lips pulling back into an annoyed snarl of his own.

"But I'm gonna chop you up like chum and throw you to the sharks-!" Sanji spat into the phone, interrupted when Zoro retaliated against Sanji's sharp nails with a hard pinch to his cheek. Of course, the almost squabble with the carnivorous shark-man had Sanji rethinking his description of Ace's demise.

"I take that back!" he amended, pushing the algae-head away, because the thought of this particular shark feasting on any piece of Ace was disturbing. "But I'm still gonna kill you!I told you all this stuff was secret!"

"Like hell I was gonna let my best friend turn himself over to a bunch of murderers!" Ace justified, though Sanji was quick to retort.

"I was capable of doing that without your help, thank you!" Sanji paused though, wondering just what the hell that implied about his own rash thinking. He shook his head. Didn't matter. "My point is-!"

"Would you please continue this argument when we are not in potentially mortal peril?" Robin rightfully cut in, their very real dilemma still straining their ears and blazing their retinas.

"Mortal peril?!" Ace yelped on the phone, followed by Franky assuring, "That's just Robin, bro. She says morbid stuff all the time."

"Alright, everyone, focus!"

A female voice cut in on Franky's end, and though neither Robin nor Sanji recognized it right away, it was enough to have Zoro blurt out a surprised, "Kuina!", his preoccupation with irking Sanji forgotten for the moment.

There was a long pause on the other end, but when she spoke again, the mermaid's voice sounded softer, utterly relieved.

"Yeah," she muttered in response, but quickly continued with the business at hand. "Are you guys in the main lab? With the big tank?"

"Yes," Robin replied, eyeing said tank's imposing form as they spoke. "We'll search for another way out. Perhaps the computers will have-"

"Don't bother," Kuina's voice interrupted. "Bottom of the tank, there's a tunnel that leads directly to where we're at. It's tight, but you can swim through."

"Oh, shit, that's right!" Ace exclaimed in revelation. "You hear that, Sanj?!" As if the blond wasn't standing right there. "You've got your mer-power bracelet, right?"

"Mer-power bracelet-" Sanji muttered, pinching the bridge of his nose before screeching, "Yes, I have it!"

Still, that didn't solve one major problem they had. He and Zoro could swim through without issue... "But, Dr. Nico-"

"How long is that tunnel?!" Franky cut Sanji off with the very concern that had struck him, Franky's question clearly directed at Kuina.

"Two minutes…" she replied, now sounding a bit troubled herself. "If they go fast."

Franky huffed out a breath before his voice spoke loud and clear into the receiver again.

"Two minutes…" he said. "Babe, you've done that before, you can do it."

Robin closed her eyes and let out a breath as well, but nodded, determination coming to her own voice.

"Yes. Yes, I can," she answered with certainty. "I will. Zoro can tow me."

Not that Zoro was paying attention anymore. Instead, the merman, losing track of the fast-paced conversation, had wandered away from the phone to the tank across the room, pressing his forehead against the glass in search of whatever Kuina had said was at the bottom. Unfortunately, his searching left him unable to find much of anything that could help them. Just the same fake rocks and ugly plants that still sent uncomfortable chills down his spine when he thought back to what had once accompanied them...

Meanwhile, Sanji sighed, watching Robin with concern for a moment as she continued conversing with Franky before he turned to follow Zoro, coming up beside him and gluing his forehead to the glass as well.

"See the tunnel anywhere?" he asked, to which Zoro turned his head to furrow his brow at him with confusion.

"Tunnel?" he replied, and Sanji resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the merman's lack of understanding.

Instead, he merely continued his own search, shifting along the curve of the tank for a better view behind some rocks.

"Stay with us, mosshead. Tunnel," he muttered distractedly. "A hole that goes-"

Suddenly, a sharp gasp as he located the exact hole they were looking for. Tucked behind that massive boulder was a gaping circle in the bottom of the tank into which many of the pipes snaked and disappeared into a dark void.

"There!" he exclaimed, quickly gesturing Zoro over until the merman shuffled to his side once more. "See it?" And when Zoro didn't immediately react, merely squinted like an idiot, he grabbed him by the chin and forced him to look where he'd indicated.

"Zoro-bro, I trust you!" Franky's voice from the phone grew louder as Robin approached the two again. "But you'd better fuckin' book it through there!"

"What?" Zoro replied, glancing back at the device in Robin's hand, the woman stealing a look inside the tank as well before hastily ushering Sanji and Zoro towards the stairs that wove up the side of the tank.

"Let's go," she muttered, Sanji taking Zoro's hand and tugging him on ahead with haste. "Franky, I love you," she said as she followed. "And you already know what song I'd like played at my funeral."

"Same one as our future wedding, right?" Franky replied.

She smirked as they reached the stairs. "Yes…"

A raucous laugh from Franky, followed by a cheer.

"Alright, bros, precious cargo, ya hear that? That's my fiancée!"

"Be careful!" Ace's voice cut in. "We'll wait till you're out to explode the place!"

"Obviously!" Sanji shot over his shoulder, busy helping Zoro get his footing on the steps, though it seemed the merman had a far easier time balancing himself now compared to their first stairs endeavor.

Robin and Franky said their goodbyes, the woman slipping her phone back into her pocket, and then the ascent began, curving around the towering tank in a dizzying spiral that left the merman's breaths thoroughly uneven by the time they reached the top a minute later, though even Sanji could admit to fatigue after such an absurd number of steps.

The final landing of the stairs held them high above the room on a wide catwalk that circled the tank and led to equipment closets positioned around the walls, finally jutting out over the water in one location that was prime for entering, the teal glow of the tank seeming to emanate purple when the alarm lights blinked red around them.

Immediately, Zoro hurried across the catwalk towards the tank, eager for the comfort of his gills when lungs were proving to be a damn pain in the ass the longer he exerted himself as a human.

Sanji stopped him though, with a hand to his arm, just as Zoro had lowered himself down to slide legs into the water, his sword clattering onto the grated metal platform and his hand already reaching for the bracelet on his wrist.

"Maybe one of us should scout it first," the blond said, knowing if they ran into any complications underwater with Robin in tow, they would be in trouble. "Just to make sure it's-"

But he couldn't finish his thought before, far below on the lab floor, the sound of a door slamming open echoed through the huge room, followed by men's voices and the stomping of multiple footsteps.

"Search both rooms!" shouted one voice, and those footsteps began to scatter in reply.

Sanji's eyes met Zoro's in panic.

---

"Coby, get back in here! What the hell are you doing?"

Helmeppo's voice sounded behind him, his friend's lanky form poking out of the hatch to their vessel's lower cabin below-deck.

But Coby couldn't move from his place at the boat's railing, the grip of his hands threatening to warp the metal as he stared out at the docks, to the far end of which Captain Smoker and Tashigi had run to join the fray with Sakazuki's grunts.

"We can't just cower here while they're running into danger!" he growled, even if the logical part of his brain told him otherwise.

He heard a frustrated noise leave Helmeppo before reluctant footsteps led the other young man to his side, where he glared out at the scene through his sunglasses.

Tashigi was visible following Smoker up a set of stairs to the main pier, a M.A.R.I.N.E.S. grunt chasing up after her. But the woman managed to turn and kick him back down, her shrill voice shouting, "That's for the snide comments about my bra size after the staff meeting, Fullbody!" before she hurried after Smoker and disappeared from sight once they reached the pier.

"I think they're perfectly capable," Helmeppo deadpanned as the falling grunt in the distance tumbled to a groaning heap at the foot of the stairs. Helmeppo grabbed Coby's arm and gave an insistent tug. "Now come on!"

Coby gritted teeth, protesting, "This isn't right!"

This only elicited another growl from Helmeppo, who grabbed him by the shoulders and forcibly turned him from the rail to look his shorter companion in the eye.

"Can you fight?" Helmeppo hissed.

"No…" Coby mumbled, looking away guiltily. "But-!"

"But nothing!" Helmeppo snapped, giving Coby's shoulders a scolding shake that nearly knocked his younger friend's glasses off his head. "We're better off keeping out of the way! Besides, it was the captain's orders!"

"Since when do you follow orders without complaining…" Coby muttered sulkily, sliding his glasses back up into his hair.

"Since this damn internship turned into an all-out war!"

Suddenly, a loud, panicked scream from the docks, startling the two, Helmeppo's grip on Coby tightening as he jumped closer to him in surprise.

It was the man Tashigi had dispatched, on all fours, crawling frantically away from the edge of the dock as if to escape something unseen.

And that something unseen manifested a moment later on the opposite side, in the form of rose-colored hair rising from the water, followed by a woman's torso.

The man jolted with another shriek, scrambled to back away from her, but she was quick, her lacy-cut shirt visible as she grabbed hold of his head roughly and dragged her panicking prey into the water. She disappeared beneath the surface, the flick of a pink tailfin the last bit of movement before the water stilled, leaving ripples as the only evidence.

"Did you see that?!" Coby and Helmeppo yelped at the same time, equally frantic gazes meeting for a moment of frenzied shock, just before the loud whir of an approaching engine drew their attention away again, this time to the open sea beyond.

A smaller boat had just come into view around the pier, speeding fast towards the lower level docks.

It wasn't a M.A.R.I.N.E.S. vessel; they could tell that much as it lacked the familiar flag and logo visible on the side.

No, instead it was-

"Shit!" Helmeppo cursed, and unexpectedly, Coby found his head shoved down by the blond, who practically tackled him down to the deck.

"Hey, what're you-?!"

"Shhh! Shut up!" Helmeppo whispered, lips pulling into a grimace as he silently but frantically pointed to the docks right beside their own boat, where a familiar figure now stalked past on a militant march towards the end of the docks where that oncoming vessel now headed.

It was Sakazuki, his expression hidden from view under his cap, but the long gun he had propped on his shoulder as plain as day. He moved calmly, and yet the air seemed to ripple with tense heat, the boards beneath his feet creaking ominously with each step, deafening, even over the roar of the engine cutting through the water.

The boat hadn't even docked properly. In fact, it had barely begun to slow down before a man on the deck climbed onto the rail and jumped clear off, landing on the deck of an already moored vessel.

He staggered to his feet with some difficulty, but persisted onward, leaning weight heavily on one leg as he made his way off that boat and finally onto the docks. His striped shirt and impressive blond mustache were visible, even from a distance.

"Sakazuki!" the man called out, rage clear in his voice, the two now moving straight towards each other in a determined plod.

There was a thunderous hatred on the blond man's face when he demanded, "Where the hell is my son?!"

---

"Dammit!" Sanji hissed, struggling to keep his voice down but still audible in the noisy room.

Thankfully, they hadn't been noticed yet, high up as they were, the M.A.R.I.N.E.S. grunts still preoccupied with their search below on the lab floor, but it was only a matter of time before they moved upwards.

"Zoro, you and Dr. Nico go in front of me," he directed, giving a shove to the merman's shoulder. "And remember, as fast as you can!"

Zoro nodded, finally removing his bracelet and clipping it swiftly to his necklace as he slid into the water, Sanji keeping a firm hold on his arm until he'd safely transformed.

Robin was next, the woman crouching low as she made her way to the water's edge where she abandoned her firearms and slipped in quietly as well, securing herself against Zoro's back with circled arms around his shoulders.

Then, Sanji, who followed her into the tank and snapped his own bracelet onto his wrist, his treading legs smoothly becoming one until it was his tail keeping him afloat instead with its slow lateral swish.

"I'll carry your sword," Sanji told Zoro, stopping the merman from picking up the cumbersome weapon too. The less weight Zoro had to deal with, the better for Robin.

The merman's dark eyes lingered on the blade for a moment, but he ultimately nodded again and turned his head over his shoulder towards Robin, who had closed her eyes, preparing herself with slow, deep breaths.

"Ready?" he asked her in his language, and after a few more breaths, she nodded, tightening her grasp on him.

"I trust you," she replied steadily.

Sanji didn't like this. He didn't like this one bit, not knowing what lay in that tunnel. He believed Kuina, also trusted Zoro to swim his fastest, but this was risky as fuck, and he had no idea how long Dr. Nico could really last.

But they were left with no choice when a peek beneath the water's surface alerted him to the blurry shape of a man beginning the spiraling ascent up the steps far below. There was no way around it. They'd be spotted as it was, just diving down to the tunnel's entrance.

So he poked his head back up, touched Robin's shoulder and assured her, "We've got you," to which she nodded resolutely.

"I'll count us down," Sanji murmured, making sure he met Zoro's determined eye one last time before he said, "Three…..two…...one….."

Robin took a deep, deep breath.

And Zoro dove beneath the surface, Sanji following quickly behind, as they coasted straight down the face of the artificial cliff, the colors of coral whizzing past them, the tank's floor approaching fast until they found themselves over the concrete hole positioned amongst the sand and seagrass.

They'd barely reached it, however, before a muffled voice sounded from outside, followed by another, low, garbled shouts starting up anew, sending nerves instantly clenching in Sanji's gut.

Zoro stuck to the plan, disappearing right into the tunnel below, its width thankfully fitting both him and Robin in addition to the pipes lining the sides.

Sanji afforded himself one glance to the commotion outside, where he saw two men scurrying across the lab, a third and fourth crouched over the fallen bodies still slumped on the floor, and a fifth on the stairs nearby, making eye contact with him directly before frantically yelling something to the others with an insistent punch to the glass.

Yes, they'd definitely been discovered.

He had to keep moving.

So, against all his human instinct, he too slid down that tunnel headfirst, instantly claustrophobic in the small space, which quickly darkened to near pitch black when it curved at a right angle and straightened out horizontally some ten feet down.

He caught a glimpse of Robin's feet and Zoro's tail, whacking the tunnel wall clumsily with a dull thud as the mosshead maneuvered himself around that corner.

Sanji could breathe, but there was something terrifying and sinister about following suit, the space far smaller than the cylinder Sakazuki had kept him in, but he forced himself to push on, tucking Zoro's sword against his chest and bending himself into that corner.

He'd barely poked his head into the dark expanse ahead when a sudden whirring clang sounded behind him, startling him with a jolt to his heart.

Sanji looked back with horror just in time to see a metal grate sliding over the opening to the tunnel, the water above a checkerboard of cyan that effectively blocked his escape.

Panic taking hold, Sanji forced himself into the darkness, which was only lit in infrequent intervals by sparse yellow lights, giving the tunnel an ominous, eerie glow, Zoro's form ahead of him casting lanky shadows as he darted through.

"Zoro!" he called, his own voice sounding odd and distorted in the space. "Zoro, they closed off this end!"

"Fast!" Zoro replied, the merman not looking back or slowing down, and though it was hardly a logical sentence, Sanji got the message and pumped his tail again, using his free hand to push off the bottom and give himself some momentum.

CLUNK

A rush of bubbles as the very tip of his caudal fin was nearly clipped by another grate suddenly sliding shut, this one closer to him, sheer surprise alone saving his fin from being fully chopped in half when he yanked it out of the way.

And Sanji realized exactly what was happening.

"Shit-" he uttered in panic. "Shit! Zoro! Go!"

He darted forward into that dark abyss, just as the screech of another grate started up behind him.

CLUNK

It missed him by inches, and for the first time, he cursed his long tail, its length nothing but a hindrance in the tight space.

CLUNK

Faster, he pushed himself, gills taking in great rushes of water now, those ghostly lights flashing by him like watchful eyes glaring in the night, unseen bodies ready to reach out and grab him.

CLUNK

So fast did he swim that he nearly collided with Zoro ahead of him, who he shoved forward with all his might, Robin still clinging to Zoro's shoulders tightly.

CLUNK

Sanji ducked under low-hanging pipes, unsure which way was up or down now as he-

CLUNK

"AAAHH!"

A sharp cry of pain escaped him when metal scraped his tail fin, the blond just barely pulling himself through in time.

"Sanji-!"

"Don'tstop! I'm fine!" he called back the second it looked like Zoro might slow.

There was no time. No time.

CLUNK

A pinpoint of blue light was visible ahead, growing bigger with each passing second.

CLUNK CLUNK

"Shit-!"

Another narrowly missed cut on his tail, only for a hand to instinctively catch the grate that now slid its way shut ahead of him. He held it back, arms trembling as he leveraged the sword against it to push with all his might in order to shove it away, despite its persistent metallic screech that stubbornly pushed back.

He wouldn't let it close. He wouldn't let it trap him.

A growl of exertion, muscles straining, and he finally pushed an opening just large enough to squeeze through, which he managed just before it snapped shut again behind him, as merciless as a meat cleaver.

The light ahead was eclipsed by Zoro's form, the merman's tail pumping furiously as he sped through that light and took a hard turn upwards.

Sanji was nearly there too, diving through another closing grate.

CLUNK

Just a little farther.

CLUNK

A sting as his back grazed metal.

CLUNK

The blue light grew impossibly large, the tunnel's walls a mere vignette upon his vision now.

Open water lay just ahead.

A final desperate pump of his tail, and he burst through the mouth of the tunnel.

CLUNK!

He didn't look back as the final grate closed behind him, simply darted immediately for the surface, where the dark shadow of a boat floated above, and he collided roughly with Zoro when he surged into the air, the merman's arms immediately grabbing him with a concerned growl of his name.

Robin was splashing over to a platform in the rock wall that stretched above them, her breaths coming in heavy pants, but a smile on her face regardless as none other than Franky crouched down at the platform's edge and reached for her eagerly.

It took Sanji a longer minute to gather his wits, his wide gaze shifting to fix on the grate blocking the tunnel just below the water's surface as he worked to calm himself, slow the gulps of water he took through his gills.

He felt Zoro's thumbs brushing against his skin.

Until, slowly but surely a broad grin spread to his face as well, and he turned to fling himself joyfully at Zoro, the relief and lingering adrenaline coursing through him in a wave that sent him crashing into the merman with a laugh.

The force sent both of them sinking below the surface for a moment before Zoro regained himself and managed to squeeze him back, arms tightening around the blond.

Sanji punched Zoro's shoulder gleefully, exclaimed, "Fuck, mosshead!" for no apparent reason, then dove in to kiss him, smiling into it when Zoro reciprocated.

"Sanji!"

It was Ace's voice, muffled above the water, that drew him off Zoro's lips with a stroke to the merman's cheek, that smile still on the blond's face as he pumped his way back to the surface, where he popped his head up to see the freckled man leaning over the railing of the boat floating closeby, Ace's expression relaxing visibly as soon as they locked eyes.

"Ace, you asshole!" Sanji cried, unable to keep from laughing, any true anger he could have had at his friend long replaced by his relief.

"I'm the asshole?! I came here to rescue you, dammit!" Ace screeched, though he was grinning like a fool right back. "Now lemme see the tail already!"

The man hung further off the railing, practically diving into the water himself as he craned his neck to catch a glimpse.

Sanji couldn't help the flurry of excitement that bubbled in his chest, particularly when Zoro surfaced beside him, rolled his eyes, and shot him an indifferent shrug of approval.

Not that he needed the mosshead's acceptance over Ace's inclusion in all this, but he had to admit, it felt damn good.

So Sanji floated onto his back, bringing his tail up to the surface for a flick and a showy little swish.

"Well? What do you think?" Sanji asked after a minute, giving a twirl in the clear water that showed off the impressive length of his elegant caudal fin.

Ace's eyes were wide, gawking down at the sight, his body practically folded in half over the railing now.

He didn't answer right away, couldn't by the looks of it. But his initial shock and amazement gradually settled into fond pride, the freckled man eventually meeting Sanji's gaze with a soft one of his own as he finally straightened against the railing.

"I think it's the most you I've ever seen you, Sanj," he replied.

Sanji's smile was bright in response.

---

The sun's heat beat down thickly upon the docks, revealing towering shadows that stretched long between the two men, the shade of ships' masts falling heavily across the wooden planks beneath their feet.

It had been a day just like this when the two had first met as hopeful interns.

But that was a lifetime ago.

"Zeff Red," Sakazuki's voice rumbled, the threat of a dormant eruption laced beneath. "How kind of you to pay us a visit. It's been nearly fifteen years."

"Answer me, Sakazuki!" Zeff growled in reply, intolerant of the man's false formalities. "Where is my son!"

The pair came to a halt several paces from each other, the tense air between them drawn as taut as an arrow on a bow, nocked and ready to shoot without warning.

After all, Zeff could see the gun Sakazuki had thrown over his shoulder, the man standing rigid and militant as a one-man firing squad. And Zeff was the target.

"The boy made the decision to surrender himself-" Sakazuki began, but Zeff was quick to stop him.

"Cut the crap! He would never-!"

"To protect his people, he would," Sakazuki interrupted smoothly, a sneer on his face and a certainty in his gruff voice that had Zeff's blood immediately sizzling with resentment. "He's just like his mother in that regard," the man continued, and his teeth bore in distaste. "Though he seems to have retained a rather nasty attitude from you."

"Let him go!" Zeff commanded, despising the thought of the man forming any idea about his son. He'd kept the eggplant away so Sakazuki never could learn anything about him. The bastard had no right to speak one word about Sanji, as far as Zeff was concerned.

Still, Sakazuki wasn't put out, and in fact, he seemed to grow tired of Zeff's arguments, his sneer deepening, dragging those well-worn creases into his brow, the anger bubbling back up behind his narrowed eyes.

"You cannot make such demands of me," Sakazuki gritted out. "Not when the Navy is currently at my doorstep."

The Navy…

Zeff had seen the ships when he and Patty drove in, and the sight had struck both surprise and fear in his heart.

He wasn't an idiot. Zeff had known all along what Whitebeard was capable of, that he would be, perhaps, the strongest ally of all. But the agreement with Sakazuki all those years ago had rendered the Navy admiral useless.

And yet, the armor Zeff had built to surround his son had begun to crumble anyway.

First, the green-haired merman had appeared, exposing Sanji to their existence. Then, the bracelet, and now, the Navy? All of it had been beyond his control.

"As if I would risk his safety that readily!" Zeff snarled, his shaking fists clenching at his sides, his old weathered legs now itching for a fight. "Whoever informed Whitebeard, it wasn't me! I've kept my word for twenty-four years."

"The boy knew every detail-!" Sakazuki countered.

"He learned it at O.H.A.R.A.-"

"He knew his brothers were alive! And the mergirl!" Sakazuki growled, his voice rising with the fury beneath his words, Zeff's stomach simultaneously dropping because...

"Not even O.H.A.R.A. was aware of that!" Sakazuki continued. "In fact, if I recall, you were the one who assured O.H.A.R.A. of their 'deaths'! Or have you forgotten about sending the O.H.A.R.A. rescue mission away?"

Sakazuki's lips turned up, simmering back into a semblance of cordiality, though, in reality, his tone ran more fiery than warm when he spoke again.

"Have you forgotten you covered for me, old friend?" the man asked, tilting his chin up and regarding Zeff with the smug familiarity they'd shared for many years as young adults, when the close quarters of a research ship and a love of the ocean had bonded them.

Hours of exploring, diving, proving they were capable. Sleepless nights on the sea, waiting, sometimes days, for their elusive study subjects to appear, only to share that moment of elation and excitement when they'd finally catch the first glimpse of the dorsal fin they'd been seeking at sunrise.

Years had passed and the bow of the ship had served as an altar, Zeff finding it far more difficult to deliver a wedding speech for his younger friend than any academic one he'd ever given.

And Zeff had witnessed that same passion for the sea burn bright in the eyes of his friend's son, only to see that love snuffed out cruelly one fateful day at the beach, never to be reignited in Sakazuki again.

His wife and son drowned right along with his love of the sea….

"Our friendship ended the moment you turned on the merfolk," Zeff muttered quietly, regretfully, his eyes closing for a moment as he let out a pained sigh. But it was a determined sigh, and when he refocused on Sakazuki, his voice was clear and certain.

"B.A.R.A.T.I.E. is no longer your ally," he declared. "From this day forth, we will not heed any orders from you."

The tilt of Sakazuki's lips slowly slipped, his expression hardening back into something unrecognizable to Zeff.

The man that stood before him was no longer the same colleague he'd respected. Things could never be the same as they once were, least of all when Sakazuki finally replied.

"Then I will take him from you," the man said simply. "I will take your precious son."

---

Sanji kept a firm hold on Zoro's waist as the merman snapped on his bracelet, helping him to brace hands on the boat's small ladder leading down from the deck while he transformed.

Then, as soon as legs took shape, he coaxed Zoro to climb up, the merman clumsily maneuvering feet onto the rungs. Thankfully, monstrous upper body strength and assistance from Ace allowed him to get himself onboard, the merman immediately turning back to hold a hand down for Sanji as soon as he was able.

The blond followed, taking off his own bracelet and waiting for the creeping warmth of his returning legs to finish before he grabbed Zoro's hand and allowed the merman to help him up the ladder too, dropping Zoro's sword onto the deck with a clatter.

As soon as feet landed, Ace yanked him close in a suffocating hug, uncaring of Sanji's dampness.

"You scared the shit out of me…." Ace huffed against his shoulder, the blond tightening arms around Ace's in return.

This was what Sanji hadn't wanted, to involve his friends, burden them, make them worry...

But Ace seemed to be content when he added, "But you're awesome, so it's okay."

"Damn straight," Sanji mumbled teasingly in reply, taking comfort in the man's presence, warm and secure, unlike the tank he'd been held in earlier, when his lowest moment had told him he wouldn't have this again. He cuddled closer into Ace's embrace.

"Are you really gonna kill me?" Ace asked after a minute, and to prove his relief, Sanji shook his head quickly, smirking.

"I'm just glad you're here," he admitted into the crook of his friend's neck, and Ace nodded in agreement, turning his head for a kiss to Sanji's cheek.

Meanwhile, a voice from behind them called, "Zoro!", the merman brushing fingers affectionately over Sanji's back before he left the blond to Ace and tore away, picking up the sword from the deck and crossing to Kuina in the transport tank nestled beside the boat's cabin.

He found the mermaid a bit bruised, with a bandaged arm, but her gaze fierce and a little frantic as he neared, sinking down to one knee clumsily before her.

Neither said anything more for a long moment, Zoro eventually sighing and jutting his hand out to deliver their sword, which she took slowly, concerned eyes still focused on him, and he noticed the way they lingered on his legs.

There was judgment there, in her stare, but he couldn't predict her reaction, nor could he formulate an excuse or explanation. He should be thanking her, but he found he could only wait anxiously for whatever her reaction would be.

She spoke first, eventually looking away to study the rusted blade for a distraction, muttering, "I thought for a second I was too late…"

Her embarrassment was clear, but so was Zoro's, his hand automatically coming to rub at the back of his neck for lack of anything better to do with it.

"Not late," he mumbled unhelpfully, staring at the deck intently. He sighed though, after a moment, slowly shifting eyes back to her. "Stupid...for coming," he added. "But...thanks."

Her gaze lifted to his again too, until she eventually gave a small eye roll and shook her head, fighting back a smile.

"Yeah, well, so were you," she replied, and shrugged. "But you're welcome."

Zoro had to snort.

Fuck, they were terrible at this. But the smirk on Kuina's face suggested her true relief over the situation, just as he felt.

They'd really done it, hadn't they, against all odds. They'd dashed those horrible memories, proved they shouldn't continue to haunt, not when they were so much stronger. Not when they'd beaten death to get here.

"Yo, Zoro!"

Ace's voice behind him suddenly, bursting the moment, and the merman glanced back over his shoulder to see the freckled man looking at him, a thumb jabbed at Sanji who still stood opposite him.

"I can give you some pointers on what this guy likes!" Ace said, wiggling eyebrows suggestively, leading Zoro to blink at him in confusion as he tried to decipher his message.

But Sanji soon interrupted that by grabbing the side of Ace's head and shoving him hard towards the ocean.

"Ignore him!" Sanji shouted to Zoro before teeth gritted and he proceeded to spit something expletive-filled at Ace's snickering face.

Zoro stared for a moment longer, quirking a brow, before rolling his eyes and turning back to Kuina, who, he was surprised to find, now pinched at the bridge of her nose as if pained.

She composed herself after a minute though, straightening and telling herself, "That didn't happen."

Then her attention was on Zoro again, and the merman saw her gaze drift once more to his legs, her brow furrowed and a slight frown returning to her lips.

He glanced down at himself a little self-consciously.

He didn't care what he looked like or what others thought of him, but this was different. Even if he was fine with humans now, he'd taken the form of Kuina's captors. That was, still, all she knew. To her, it had to look fucking traitorous.

Zoro let out a breath, knowing even that act alone looked wrong, no doubt, and he brought an almost guilty gaze to Kuina's.

"Do you hate it?" he mumbled in his own language, hoping she'd pick up on what he was talking about.

It took another minute, her eyes scrutinizing and her tail giving a seemingly agitated flick. He wondered if she was angry, or if she hadn't understood his question.

Uncertainty had just begun to creep over him when she surprised him yet again, her frown slowly twitching upward and a softness returning to her eyes when she looked at him again.

"Not as much as I should," she answered with a shake of her head.

He smirked, just as a light footfall behind him saw Robin coming up the ladder of the boat, Franky having helped her as a stepping block. She landed on the deck, catching herself gracefully on Sanji's shoulder, her amused smile turning to Kuina.

"I'm afraid we haven't the time for proper introductions at the moment, but-" she said smoothly as she approached, touching a hand gently to the mermaid's, before continuing, "Robin Nico. I must thank you for saving Zoro's life."

A mere teasing glance at Zoro though and she was moving again, bypassing the two merfolk and disappearing around the corner to enter the boat's cabin.

Shortly after, she re-emerged carrying a large tool box, a tarp folded on top, which she hauled over to the railing and dropped down to Franky, who caught the items easily as if they weighed nothing.

"Alright, I'm gonna close off these vents!" he called up to the deck, already hurrying over to drop the tools at the foot of the enormous tank. "Get ready to floor it at the helm, Robin!"

"Yes!" Robin replied and quickly disappeared into the cabin again, the boat's engine starting up a minute later, while Franky set to work rummaging in the box for a roll of strong duct tape.

He unfurled the tarp then and began securing it over the vents, sealing the openings that were so vital.

A final strip of tape, which he tore off the roll with teeth, and he quickly closed off the final opening of the tarp, immediately dropping the tools and making for the boat, leaving them right where they lay. The effects wouldn't be immediate, but he still had to hurry.

So he jumped across to the boat, his tall form able to grab the ladder easily and haul himself onboard, Ace and Sanji hovering nearby to help.

"Go!" Ace shouted to Robin once Franky was safely onboard, and the vessel gave an instant lurch, the majority of its passengers having to catch themselves on the nearest stationary object to maintain their balance (though Zoro managed an unfortunate faceplant into the floor).

But they were on their way, the boat speeding from the cove, back into the sunlight, which beamed warm on their backs, the air whipping with the refreshing spray of the sea once more.

"Can't predict what it'll do. Might take a bit of time, but at least you're out of there, bro," Franky said, clapping a hand onto Sanji's shoulder. He frowned though, bringing that same hand to his chin in thought before glancing back at the shrinking cove behind them.

"They don't got any animals inside, do they…?" he muttered to himself.

Instantly, Sanji's heart dropped at the thought, his jaw dropping to yelp, "Little late to ask that, don't you think?!"

But Kuina cut in from across the deck with a shake of her head.

"I would've told you if there were," she assured. "They kept the seals there for show, but we set them free when we escaped."

"Good," Sanji replied pointedly as Franky snickered sheepishly, holding palms up in surrender, the man sidling off to join Robin in the control room.

A sigh, and Sanji's eyes fell to the mermaid, who sat a little awkwardly in the silence that followed. Their gazes met for a moment when she looked up at him, though she immediately averted hers as if she hadn't meant for him to notice.

His lips tilted up and he crossed over to Kuina, crouching down beside Zoro, his focus falling to the mermaid's injured arm on the lip of the tank.

"Are you okay?" he asked her, murmuring, "May I?" before grazing fingers gingerly over the makeshift splint job when she nodded, still not looking at him.

"I'm fine," she replied, and he had to assume she was, at least for now, so he shifted to squeeze her hand tightly, willing her gaze to his.

When their eyes finally met, there was vulnerability on her features, a small amount of fear, or worry at the very least, and the blond wasn't sure why. But he was certain of one thing. His gratitude. For her safety, yes, but for her strength, above all.

"Thank you," he murmured to her, still holding her hand. "For saving this idiot." He elbowed Zoro in the sternum. "For taking care of my brothers all these years. For telling us how to get out of there." A quiet chuckle. "For everything. If I hadn't been reckless, none of this would have happened. None of you would have had to come." His lips turned up apologetically. "I should have listened to my brothers' warnings. I just didn't want to believe Sakazuki was that far gone."

Would his words mean anything, when he'd indirectly forced her back to her former prison? He hadn't known she'd follow, but if he hadn't tried this, no one would have jumped into danger after him...

He waited patiently for her response, which came a minute later. She squeezed his hand back before slowly extracting it from his grasp. Her wary expression had softened.

"I think...they only resented you because they were scared," she said quietly, and Sanji knew she spoke of his brothers, his heart giving a flutter in return.

"They were scared you'd be like Sakazuki." She lifted eyes to his again, a bit of relief behind her tiny smirk, certainly acceptance, and added, "But you're not, are you."

He shook his head, grinning slowly as happiness came over him in a warm rush.

"Nah," he replied, shrugging. "I don't smoke."

And to his delight, this drew a genuine laugh from the mermaid, her features relaxing completely with a pretty smile.

Satisfied with himself, Sanji glanced at Zoro to find the merman already looking at him, his brown human eyes gazing at him fondly in a way that made Sanji's heart speed up pleasantly, a flush coming to his cheeks.

Zoro said nothing, so Sanji merely smirked back and reached out to brush his thumb at the corner of Zoro's lips tenderly.

"You're staring~" he teased, not that he minded in the slightest, and slid that hand back through the merman's algae hair for an affectionate stroke before he got to his feet.

He moved over to the rail, getting a look at the building coming back into view as they rounded the island once more, the tall pier and its network of shorter docks….and the Navy ships he spotted moored at the end.

"Shit…" Sanji breathed, because the sound of shouts and commotion still rang out from the decks.

"Did Marco come?" he asked Ace when his friend leaned a hip against the railing at his side.

Ace merely nodded, crossing arms over his chest, his expression serious, but Sanji knew him well enough to read the concern masked beneath.

"You sure they're okay over there?" he asked, noticing a scuffle taking place on one of the lower docks, another on a staircase leading up to the pier.

"Don't worry about them," Ace answered automatically, though Sanji instantly shot him a look in response. Capable as Marco was, of course he'd fucking worry when one of his friends was still in potential danger.

"Let's just get you far away from here," Ace replied in the face of Sanji's silent scolding, leaving Sanji with no choice but to sigh and go back to watching the pier in the distance.

Yes, the Navy was surely capable, but Sakazuki was still out there, and the man would stop at nothing to get what he wanted. That much was obvious now. Meanwhile, what the man wanted was currently sailing away from him. Surely, this wasn't the end of their troubles.

Sanji remembered the man's threat from earlier. If Sanji ran, Sakazuki would have every reason to turn right back to East Blue…..to the colony….to B.A.R.A.T.I.E., which was….

"Hold on…" he muttered out loud, squinting when he noticed something curious, a familiar logo emblazoned upon the hull of an equally familiar boat docked amongst the others in the distance.

The vessels all looked similar, like a flock of white seagulls floating upon the water, but Sanji knew that boat in particular, knew it because he spent nearly every working day of his life aboard it. Hell, he'd know it with his eyes closed.

"What?"

Zoro's voice beside him suddenly, the merman having approached as well, looking puzzled, and Sanji realized he'd leaned out over the rail farther in an attempt to see better.

But dammit, he couldn't take his eyes from the docks because he knew that boat, and he knew the large form of Patty on the deck, and he knew, better than anyone, that blond man with the stocky build, at a standoff out on the docks with none other than Sakazuki himself.

"No," Sanji breathed, horror creeping up in his throat, his knuckles white as they clamped down on the railing. "No, that's my dad! Shit!"

And he didn't even take a moment to think, merely clambered his way up on top of the railing, snapped on that bracelet still in his grasp, and dove overboard to the surprised shouts and futile attempts to stop him.

"Sanji!"

He heard Zoro's panicked voice in particular, but he had to ignore it, tail forming as he cut through the water, giving him a burst of speed.

He darted as fast as his fins would take him, uncaring if this was a trap, uncaring if this was ruining all their escape efforts and sending them right back to square one.

He would not leave his dad alone. Never again.

---

Sanji's hands slammed down on the back platform of B.A.R.A.T.I.E.'s vessel as soon as he surfaced, just as they did after every diving trip. He took off his bracelet and pushed himself up with practiced ease as he transformed, breaths coming heavily after such a sprint through the water.

He'd just managed to get both knees up on the platform before a second pair of hands slapped onto the surface, followed by a green head cresting out of the water beside him.

"Zoro…" the blond huffed.

Of course.

Of course he'd follow, despite how much Sanji knew this couldn't continue. Zoro couldn't continue to put himself in harm's way for him. Not after he'd nearly lost his life doing so already.

He'd decided to accept the merman's help, wanted to...

But, in that moment, something inside Sanji told him he couldn't. Not this time. This would never end unless he put a stop to it himself.

He closed his eyes for a brief moment, coming to terms with his decision, then scooted back as Zoro made to push himself out of the water.

Sanji offered him a hand, and the merman quickly took it.

But instead of hauling him up, Sanji removed Zoro's bracelet from the merman's grasp, pressed a kiss to the inside of Zoro's wrist, his smile both affectionate and apologetic.

And then he let go of him, scrambling to his feet and moving out of reach with both bracelets in hand, leaving Zoro to slip back into the water, still a merman, unable to follow.

Shocked silence behind him as Sanji ran across the boat's deck, the blond refusing to look back, even when he heard the inevitable shout of his name and the frustrated growl that followed when he didn't answer.

He kept running, rushing past Patty emerging from the control room, who noticed him with a surprised exclamation a moment too late before Sanji climbed over the portside rail and jumped the short distance to the dock, bare feet immediately continuing his sprint as soon as he landed.

He continued past the rows of moored boats, watching him, silent as soldiers, just like the group of stoic crewmen that had surrounded him and Zoro on Sakazuki's ship.

Only now, there was no one to stop him from reaching his dad's side, throwing himself in between the old man and Sakazuki, who stood several paces away.

"Dad, get behind me!" he hissed, just as Zeff grunted out a shocked, "Sanji!" as he stumbled back.

He saw the flicker of brief surprise on Sakazuki's features, but it was just that, a flicker. A flicker that soon sparked a burning rage the likes of which he hadn't yet seen on the man's face.

It was pure adrenaline that fueled Sanji's words though, his voice low when he growled out a menacing, "Stay the fuck away from my father."

Sanji's heart thumped hard, noticing the gun in Sakazuki's grip, just as the man's glare darted to the bracelets in his own.

Tension grew thick between them, and despite the fact that they were alone on this end of the dock, Sanji still heard it.

He heard the voices of his family in his mind, of all who had suffered from Sakazuki's misguided actions. And that was enough to tell him he wasn't a fool for standing there unarmed. It was enough to keep him from fear.

"Apparently my previous ultimatums weren't severe enough for you," Sakazuki spit out, fixing Sanji with that hateful glare.

And when he continued, his voice lacked control, his tone becoming unhinged where he stood, seething, the building behind him like a massive smokestack, funneling his rage to the sky.

"What'll it be, Mr. Red?" he goaded. A disdainful jerk of his chin towards Sanji's father. "Remember, this man lied to you. This man broke the pact that kept you safe. Are you really so eager to defend that? To return to that? Surely you cannot think so little of yourself now that you know the truth. You know what you are worth."

"I do," Sanji answered immediately, glaring right back at the man, his own anger rising quickly, his heart a powerful beat in his chest. "I'm the son of Zeff Red! And I'm worth more to him than I will ever be worth to you!"

His blood was boiling now, a coursing heat that seemed ready to steam the water still clinging to his skin.

How could this man not see? How could he be so desperate to tear down everything pure, everything that mattered far more than foolish experiments? Was he that lonely? That miserable?

"I was the one who told the Navy! Not him!" Sanji continued when Sakazuki didn't retort, and oddly, Sanji felt a satisfied smirk come to his lips when he saw the first flash of uncertainty ripple across Sakazuki's features.

"He's kept his word all along," the blond said, his tone still fierce, but lowering now, into something softer, as he acknowledged what he'd known all along, but hadn't been ready to accept when he feared he'd lose the new world he'd been shown.

He let his gaze shift back over his shoulder, for just a moment, to look at his father, who stood a few paces back, rare emotion on his normally unreadable face, the man's teeth clenched and his hands curled in trembling fists.

Neither said a word, but he wanted his dad to see that he wasn't afraid anymore. He wasn't afraid of losing what he had, because he wouldn't allow it to be lost. Not anymore.

The ocean had always been his, even more so now that he'd found his true history, his true place. It was his, and it always would be. That bond could not be broken.

Even if it would never be his home.

Even if he wouldn't go back to it again…

He knew what he had to do. Just as his father had.

"You did it to protect me," Sanji murmured to his dad, lips curving up as he noticed Zoro in the water, the merman trying frantically to swim closer amidst the rows of boats.

He managed to meet Zoro's eye for a moment too, the merman going rigid as he sensed the shift in the blond's demeanor.

Sanji's time as a merman…. He'd had it.

Brief as it had been, it was more than Sanji ever could have imagined in his wildest dreams, and it was Zoro who had shown him everything. Zoro had given him everything, from the moment he'd pulled the shark-man onboard the very boat that now floated behind him.

And with those memories and connections forever in his heart, Sanji was content with himself.

He could live content, as a mere human, if it meant the merpeople would no longer be threatened.

He let out a peaceful sigh and turned back to Sakazuki with conviction blazing.

"Now it's my turn to do the protecting," Sanji finished.

Then he lifted his hands, the two bracelets still in his grasp. Those amazing, incredible bracelets which had gifted him with so much, but were also the root behind so many of Sakazuki's horrible motives.

It was his sacrifice now.

And so, with all of his might, Sanji snapped both bracelets in half, crushing the metal in his hands and mangling it beyond repair.

His stare stayed on Sakazuki's the whole time, watching the man's eyes widen impossibly, his jaw dropping and stammering for words that couldn't break through the unspoken rage and, surprisingly, anguish, that shook his entire body.

He heard the clenched noise of shock Zoro emitted, the sharp intake of breath from his old man.

But the blond stood his ground calmly, twisting those bracelets past recognition until, finally, he turned and threw the useless material far into the ocean, where they landed in the gently rolling waves with an inconsequential plunk and sank beneath the surface.

"San-!"

Zoro's frantic warning was cut off by the swift hiss of a pressurized shot of air, and Sanji stumbled back with a grunt when a small cylindrical dart stabbed into his chest, the disturbing feeling of something foreign creeping into his bloodstream immediately apparent before he managed to rip the needle from his skin a second too late.

Blood trickled from the small wound, the blond flinging the dart from his hand as if burned, his furious gaze lifting to Sakazuki. The man stood with his gun still aimed, a mere moment before he dropped it. And he charged at Sanji with a furious roar, that gun clattering to the dock as bare fists raised to attack.

On pure reflex alone, Sanji twisted himself, lifting a leg to land a swift kick to the man's chest, the resistance a bit harder than the bags of sand he'd pummel at the gym, but the hard smack just as satisfying.

His father blurted his name again, and he registered Zeff rushing forward in the moment Sakazuki staggered, but Sanji urged, "Stay back, geezer!" with another warning swing of his foot that just grazed Sakazuki's jaw when he rushed forward again.

He'd never done this before. For all his boasting to Zoro about his kickboxing abilities, he'd never used them on another person. Not with the real intent to harm. And without the animalistic instincts of his mer-self, it felt entirely unnatural to attack. But it was the feral, manic look in Sakazuki's eyes that justified his defense, the fact that he didn't want this man going anywhere near Zoro or his dad.

So he lashed out again, barely dodging Sakazuki's flying fist, gripping the man's shirt instead as leverage to whirl his leg around for a direct hit to his side which sent him stumbling.

Sanji ignored the odd way his vision swam for a moment, quelled the strange shudder that shook his lungs briefly with a forcefully deep huff. It was from the force of his kick, surely.

But a mere moment later, Sakazuki caught a ferocious grip on his hair, enough to have Sanji cry out when the man wrenched his head to the side, clamping his other hand down onto Sanji's ankle when the blond almost lost his balance.

And then, with a harsh growl, Sakazuki threw him bodily to the dock with disturbingly practiced ease, the air whooshing out of Sanji's lungs when his right side hit the wood hard.

He heard the inevitable pounding of his father's footsteps towards him, though he willed him not to approach, struggling to push himself up and shake off the gray spots that dotted his vision.

Sakazuki chuckled above him, long and low, perhaps the most evil sound Sanji had ever heard as his broad form loomed over him.

He had to get up. Fuck. He couldn't let him-

A great splash erupted from the water as a long figure, tail electrically blue against the sky, arched through the air in a full-on leap, Sanji barely sucking in a startled gasp before the figure tackled Sakazuki to the ground with a snarl. The momentum of the leap sent both of them sliding clear across the dock, where the merman crashed back into the water on the other side, managing to drag the man with him where they disappeared into the dark water beneath the pier.

A moment of silence until a loud thrashing broke the surface again, Sakazuki's flailing limbs struggling to grab onto something before cobalt hair and a familiarly sadistic grin flashed behind him and pulled him under again, this time for good.

Soon after, the water began to glisten a sickly red.

Sanji let out a shuddering breath, both in horror and absolute disbelief of what had just occurred, the blond quickly averting eyes to Zoro, who'd appeared on the other side of the dock, clinging there with an equally incredulous look.

Sanji felt his father rush to his side, a worried hand on his shoulder, so the blond finally sat up with some effort, his limbs growing uncomfortably sluggish.

Another splash in the water had him flinch, a second green head popping up between the boats, this one with a grin that rode the border between feral and elated.

"Yonji!" the blond stammered, a breathless laugh escaping him despite everything. "You guys came! I told you not to."

"Like hell we'd listen to you," Yonji shot back, his grin still just as wide, almost proud. He hitched a thumb over his shoulder. "Whaddaya say, want a piece of this guy? We can save you an arm or-"

But he trailed off when his eyes drifted to the dock, Sakazuki's abandoned gun still lying there, forgotten. A noise of shock, and his eyes shot back to Sanji, the blond busy brushing uncomfortably at the bleeding puncture in his chest, assuring Zeff, under his breath, that it didn't hurt.

"Hey!" Yonji shouted, raising his voice suddenly. "Don't tell me you got shot with that!"

Sanji glanced up at him, then at the discarded weapon briefly.

"What is it? Do you know? A tranquilizer?" Sanji muttered.

Yonji growled low, glaring at the gun with disdain.

"Sakazuki called it 'seastone,'" the merman replied, and he squeezed eyes shut briefly, as if combating something in his head. But he soon opened them again, fixing his attention back on Sanji.

"Keep moving!" Yonji ordered. "Don't let it lock you up or-!"

"How much trouble am I in…?" Sanji huffed, and when their eyes met, the blond could sense his brother's pain just as clearly as he had when they'd met.

Except this time, there was something different about the fear in Yonji's eyes. It was no longer fear for his own safety…..but for Sanji's.

"For merpeople, it knocks us out," Yonji murmured seriously. "If you're human… "

"Worse…?" Sanji replied, the air around them quiet and tense.

Yonji gritted his teeth, his gaze falling to the blood slowly trickling down from Sanji's wound.

"Let's just say, if you make it out of this, bro? I'll consider thinkin' you're as strong as us..."

And despite the weight of that statement… Despite the confused insistence in Zoro's movements as he shifted ever closer… Despite his father's concerned grip tightening on his arm…

Sanji let out a humorless chuckle.

"Well, shit…" he breathed.

It was the last thing he said before a thunderous clap tore through the atmosphere as something beneath the ground suddenly erupted near the building in a cloud of dirt that burst high into the air above the island, as if a volcano had lurked beneath all along.

A shockwave of powerful wind sent Sanji collapsing forward onto his hands, which he found were barely able to hold his own weight now, his arms giving a warning tremor that threatened to have him crash head-on into the dock.

Immediately, he felt his dad's weight on him, pushing him down and hovering over him as the sprinkling of dust and small bits of debris rained down on them, pattering on the dock like hail.

Still, he found the strength to yell, "Get out of here!" to Yonji, the merman ducking briefly, peering up at the sky in shock, but ultimately staying right where he was.

"But-!" Yonji protested.

"Go!" Sanji insisted, knowing this was not likely the end of it, if Franky's plan was really working. "Get to safety! I'll be fine! I'll transform!"

He couldn't. Not anymore. But Yonji didn't know that.

His brother had said he wouldn't listen to Sanji's orders, but dammit, if there was ever a time to-

Yonji made a frustrated noise low in his throat, glared at Sanji for a long moment... But he tore away reluctantly, arching backwards to disappear into the water again.

"Sanji!"

Zoro's voice then, and Sanji immediately looked over to see Zoro desperately reaching for him, his teeth pulled in a grimace, but otherwise unheeding of the danger in the dusty air.

And Sanji could see it in his eyes. Zoro knew he'd lied.

"You too, Zoro," Sanji hissed, pleading with reluctant sorrow now. "Go."

"No!" Zoro shot back adamantly, pushing himself up further to finally clamp a hand down on Sanji's arm.

"You idiot-" Sanji gritted out.

But suddenly, his body twitched hard, breath leaving him in one fell swoop that caught him off guard, the blond unable to control his muscles for a long moment before he managed to suck in a breath, somewhat dazed.

"Are you alright?" Zeff asked, noticing the spasm and shifting his weight off the blond to get a better look at him.

The blond registered, in his peripheral, Zoro pulling himself even closer. He'd soon crawl out of the water entirely at that rate.

"It's nothing," Sanji breathed automatically with a dull shake of his head, his eyes focusing intently on the grainwork of the wood beneath him. "Nothing, I-" His chest shuddered beyond his control, forcing a cough which only seemed to steal the air from his lungs far too easily. "Okay - maybe something-" he amended, squeezing eyes shut against the tell-tale burning that had begun to grip his heart and lungs. "Shit - I can't - can't-"

"What is it, son?"

His father's voice beside him, his calloused hand on Sanji's back, rubbing instinctual circles that did nothing to bring the air back, made it no easier to control the way his muscles had begun to twitch and protest, hardly responding.

"Son, talk to me," his dad urged in his usual stern tone. Or at least, so it would sound to the untrained ear. But Sanji knew him, and he knew the subtleties of his voice, knew when he was amused, knew when he was livid.

And he knew when his father was truly, immensely worried.

How? How could his dad tell there was an invisible fire burning through Sanji's chest, searing and freezing his lungs all at once, to the point where they barely expanded, barely allowed any air in despite Sanji's best attempts to gasp?

It was as if he'd left his own body, unable to move it, his muscles stubborn cadets disobeying his brain's desperate commands.

It was just like when he'd been forced to transform by Sakazuki's grunts, that same panic, only now he should have been fine, but no relief came.

Nothing. No movement, no air, just burning, and-

"Sanji," Zeff's voice insisted, his other hand suddenly slamming hard into Sanji's chest. "Breathe!"

A tiny inhale made it to his lungs, a dash of water on the flames that now blazed up his face, threatened to burst the veins in his neck, expel his eyes from their sockets with the building pressure. A drop of water quickly consumed in the inferno once more.

"I-I-" he stuttered out, and it was less a word than it was a choked sound, merely reflexive, as his dad's hand pressed and rubbed at his chest more frantically, trying to coax anything more substantial than the minuscule gulps he could hardly take now.

"Alright. Alright, son," his father eventually said, sounding miles away. "Stand up. Let's get to the boat, son, come on. Come on, you're alright."

He couldn't do it. He couldn't make himself stand, his father half hoisting, half dragging him up with some degree of effort…

Just before the fire consuming him manifested in real life before his very eyes, the building at the end of the pier exploding in an enormous blinding blast that seared his eyes and sent a second wave of powerful heat and force whipping through the air.

It knocked him right back to the dock with a painful crack of his head against the wood. Only this time, he couldn't move, could only lie there, immobile, like a fish out of water as debris rained down in all directions, hunks of metal and flaming material a storm of meteors that sent great splashes erupting from the ocean, the pier shattering easily in places.

The dock beneath him gave an unsteady lurch, its supports creaking where they connected to the damaged pier above.

It didn't matter. He was fading, and the world was falling apart around him. But the only thing his brain would focus on in those last moments of awareness was Zoro, crawling fully out of the water amidst the chaos to reach his side, a hand landing on his face in a desperate caress.

"I won't leave you," the merman assured fiercely, using his own language, and yet Sanji understood, remembered that phrase as the one Zoro had taught him just earlier.

His lips turned up ever so faintly just as the cracking thunder of a third explosion split the air, a heated gust of wind forcing itself into Sanji's aching lungs for a moment.

Zoro's arms came around his head, shielding him as Sanji let his eyes finally slip shut.

A flash of fiery light behind his closed eyelids.

The sound of cracking wood.

His father's distraught voice calling his name from somewhere.

And then the ocean's embrace joined Zoro's around him, the water warm as it welcomed him into its depths, as he hadn't thought it would again.

He surrendered to it.

---

Zoro's arms tightened around Sanji as the dock collapsed with an ear-splitting splintering of wood, a huge chunk of a far-flung metal walkway sinking into the frothing sea through the chasm it had just ripped with its landing.

It had missed them by mere feet, and Zoro was powerless to stop their descent into the ocean, the merman pulling Sanji against his chest and twisting to protect him from harm as they tumbled with the dock's destruction. Zoro's shoulders scraped painfully against wood and metal, despite Dr. Red's frantic attempts to pull them back before they inevitably submerged, the old man's panicked shouts from the surface still audible, if muffled, as he and Sanji sank.

He'd closed his eyes, but he forced himself to open them, thankful he did as hunks of heavy wreckage continued to follow them down, threatening to crush them to the seafloor below.

Quickly, Zoro dodged, tugging the blond out of the way from a jagged railing with a grimace before darting for the surface once more. Sanji was human now. He couldn't stay under long, even if he knew from experience that the blond could last minutes.

The water, aglow with flames burning above, was clear, and Zoro was fast, able to avoid sinking shrapnel as it came his way, pointed beams like projectiles, wood as sharp as glass.

He swam up towards those hovering shapes of the boats above, silhouetted like storm clouds over a sunset, until finally, he broke the surface, immediately pulling Sanji's back closer against his chest, arm secure around his waist.

"Fuck..." he muttered, taking in the scope of the carnage that floated around them in the water, the docks and ships that had caught flame, the building on the shore a mangled, scorched mess of its former structure.

A quick swish of his tail to avoid burning debris that bobbed too close and he gritted teeth, knowing they had to get to safety. There was no time to be captivated by the damage.

So he refocused on Sanji in his grasp, squeezing the blond's waist.

"You okay?" he asked, expecting a lethargic response, given Sanji's injuries, but a response nonetheless.

He wasn't expecting to find Sanji's head slumped so limply, hair a dripping curtain over his features.

Furrowing his brow with concern, the merman hoisted him up higher. He pressed his hand to Sanji's forehead, tilting the blond's head back out of the water, but Sanji didn't react, his head merely lolling onto Zoro's shoulder, affording the merman a view of his pale features, his slack lips and gently closed eyes.

His fingers brushed wet hair off Sanji's face and he jostled him, hoping to elicit a reaction.

"Sanji…." he murmured, followed by a more teasing, "Question," knowing that even annoyance in return would be something.

Yet, nothing….

And that was when he realized in the silence that followed, the utter silence that mimicked so well the silence in the hallway inside, when he and Robin had stood over their fallen victims, whose choked gasps had fallen off into that same nothing after his sword had carved a path for death….

Zoro cursed himself for not thinking to notice immediately.

Humans were supposed to breathe above water. He should have felt Sanji's exhales against his skin, the movement of his chest when he pressed his hand there urgently.

But there was no movement.

He was no longer submerged, but he wasn't breathing. At all.

A tremor shot through Zoro's body like a jolt from a stingray, his heart stuttering, then knocking hard and fast in sheer, cold panic.

"No…." he stammered, shaking his head, then "No….!" again as he clamped a hand onto the blond's jaw.

The humans' language left his brain entirely in his terror.

"No, Sanji! You're not-! Breathe, you idiot!" A violent shake to his limp form. "You got on me for forgetting - what the hell! Sanji!"

But there was still no response, and a fearful growl escaped him, the merman immediately whipping his head around for something, anything, anyone that might help. He had no idea what to do, but it couldn't be too late. It couldn't. This was Sanji, not some weakling from the M.A.R.I.N.E.S.

He found nothing right away, the water empty around him and those still struggling on the crumbling pier far too occupied with their own peril to notice his.

Until, that is, he heard the familiar whir of an engine starting up, and he noticed a boat peeling away from the ruined dock, its hull crashing through debris with little care as it turned hard in the water, now heading straight towards him.

B.A.R.A.T.I.E.'s symbol shone like a beacon of hope on the boat's side.

It slowed upon reaching him, coasting up to his side in the water, one crewman at the helm, and Zoro noticed Dr. Red on-deck, looking a little bruised and battered, but otherwise intact, the old man running to the stern of the boat where a flat platform jutted out from the main deck, close to the water.

Dr. Red knelt on the platform, leaning out towards him as the boat finally came to a stop.

"Get him up here," the old man grunted, gesturing insistently for Zoro to swim over, which he did with haste, towing Sanji to the boat and assisting the transfer until Dr. Red had a firm grip under Sanji's armpits, able to lift and drag the blond aboard with some effort.

And then Sanji was laid out on his back atop the platform, soaking, white, and horribly still.

Frantic, Zoro shoved his torso up on the platform too, as much as he could, clamping himself onto Sanji's arm for stability as the boat bobbed and dipped with the roll of every wave. It exposed his gills now and again, but Zoro couldn't care, not when the blond didn't even twitch as Dr. Red jabbed fingers to his neck roughly, the man feeling there for a heartbeat, as humans did, for a few seconds.

Zoro's gaze didn't leave Sanji's face, fixated, forcing all of his will onto the blond, as if Sanji would feel it and open his eyes, breathe, move, do something, for fuck's sake!

Dr. Red's hand eventually tore away, a growl that was at once frustrated and fearful rumbling low in the old man's throat as he moved instead to press an ear to Sanji's unmoving chest, staying there for a long moment before he pushed himself back up quickly.

"No, you don't, son," the man hissed out, fierce and trembling, and then, to Zoro's initial confusion, the man's hands were wrenching Sanji's head back, tilting his chin, and pinching his nose.

He leaned in to seal lips over the blond's, forcing a breath into his lungs, Zoro realized, when the action caused Sanji's chest to rise, finally.

A second breath, and then Dr. Red sat up again to clasp hands at Sanji's chest, pushing down sharply, not once, but repeatedly, the man beginning to count quietly under his breath.

It didn't do anything, at least not noticeably, the blond lying there, just as unresponsive as before, but there had to be hope now. There fucking had to be.

Humans could save each other, Zoro knew. He'd learned about their doctors and shit. He knew they were good with this stuff. Hell, they'd saved him multiple times.

Sanji would wake up. He just had to wait, even as the minutes began to wear on.

He just had to watch Sanji for any flicker of movement, hold his hand tightly, stroke his hair in the moments Dr. Red switched to compressions, murmur, in his native tongue, whatever stupid, unhelpful words fell from his lips, even if Sanji wouldn't understand them.

But languages aside, he couldn't hope to form proper sentences, not when there was no reaction. Not when he could feel Dr. Red's unbridled terror and exhaustion beginning to crack his stoic composure, see his attempts grow more desperate as time wore on, the man's shaking fingers lingering on Sanji's pallid cheeks for longer each time he pulled away, almost pleadingly so.

It became glaringly obvious, the longer Sanji didn't awaken, that Zoro could do nothing.

His words weren't reaching him; his touches weren't stirring him. He couldn't offer his own air or anything of the sort because it was impossible. He didn't even have fucking lungs, and he never would again with the bracelets destroyed and his most important connection to the human world slipping away before his very eyes.

Sanji was freezing. His skin didn't even feel like his anymore. He wasn't waking up, and there was nothing in Zoro's power - after everything - to change that.

Sakazuki had not only stolen another one, but the one, and despite all of Zoro's belief in the blond's strength, the fear and the burgeoning grief, with which he was so familiar, were becoming more than he could bear.

Movement in his peripheral hardly tore his eyes from Sanji, the hum of a second engine loud as another boat pulled up alongside them quickly, Zoro having to tighten his hold on Sanji's arm to keep himself afloat when the platform bobbed high with the created wave.

The sound of harsh breathing and scrambling limbs, and it was Ace who leapt the distance between the boats' rails, jumping from Sunny's deck onto theirs and rushing toward them.

He roughly grabbed the shoulders of Dr. Red's hulking crewman, a bearded man resembling Franky in stature, who Zoro only just noticed was standing nearby with a look of utter despair on his face.

"Radio the base! They can send a rescue chopper!" Ace practically shouted, shoving the shocked man towards the control room, despite his larger size.

But the man merely stood there, teeth clenched and gaze helplessly torn between the control room and Dr. Red's rescue efforts.

Finally, he spoke, his voice hushed and trembling.

"He has no vitals, man…" he gritted out with immense pain. "I don't think they'll make it in ti-"

"Do it! Now!" Ace insisted, with a strength and ferocity not even Zoro felt in that moment as Ace threw the man across the deck, forcing him to move, if somewhat in a daze.

Then Ace's boots were pounding closer until he fell to his knees beside Dr. Red, still hard at work on his compressions.

"How long was he under?" Ace demanded, bracing a hand on the platform and leaning over Sanji's wet form, his eyes frantically roving.

"That's not it," Dr. Red huffed, curving down for another round of breaths. "Sakazuki hit him with something. Some paralytic agent."

Ace let out a shaky breath, noticing the small bleeding wound on Sanji's chest.

His fingers reached out to take Sanji's wrist, feeling there for a pulse, waiting...

And for all of his training to avoid panic in an emergency, it began to crumble in that moment as his features twisted in distress, his chest heaving harshly, and his eyes glossing with tears threatening to spill forth.

He looked exactly how Zoro felt, and the merman had to actively push back his own impending breakdown, particularly when Ace released Sanji's wrist to instead press a hand against his waist, the freckled man leaning closer to growl, "You promised me, Sanji - you promised me!"

Promised what, Zoro didn't know, but a moment later, the despair in Ace's eyes seemed to change, his jaw dropping from its clenched grimace to an oval of realization as he breathed, "Marco…", almost to himself before his hand gripped onto Dr. Red's shoulder.

"We've got a medic here! He can help!" Ace exclaimed.

Dr. Red didn't stop his compressions, sweat shining on his brow, and his expression almost glazed as he glared straight down at his pumping hands, all focus concentrated there.

Still, the old man managed to grit out, "Get us to him," to which Ace immediately nodded, already slipping arms under Sanji's legs.

"Let's get him on deck," Ace huffed, and as soon as Dr. Red finished his set of compressions, the old man lifted the blond's upper half, hoisting his weight into his arms.

Only then, when the two men began to stand, Sanji's limp hand slipping suddenly from his grasp as they lifted him, did Zoro fully process what was happening.

They were taking Sanji. Somewhere he couldn't follow.

It didn't matter if it was to help him. He couldn't be certain of Sanji's state if he wasn't right there beside him.

And so, the merman panicked, panicked as he hadn't since the day Kuina disappeared, panicked even more than when the M.A.R.I.N.E.S. had dragged Sanji away from him.

He panicked as if every ounce of human logic and control were drained from him, replaced only with the mind of a vulnerable animal who didn't know whether the light of day would come again.

"Wait-!"

The word tumbled from his lips before he could stop it, his hand scrambling for Sanji's, unable to reach as the men stepped off the platform and carried the blond away despite his plea.

"WAIT!" Zoro called, and without thinking, he pushed himself onto the platform fully, struggling to grab hold of something when his arms, even as strong as they were, refused to work as they should, trembling in his terror.

He had to follow. If he could do nothing else, he had to stay with him. He'd told him he would. He had to feel him. He had to say all the things he hadn't realized he desperately wanted to say, despite not knowing how in any language.

Dr. Red had reached the deck, lowered Sanji there and started up his attempts again, Ace hurrying to the control room as soon as he was situated.

Zoro forced his body to move further, uncaring for his burning gills, his tail which automatically thrashed for water, threatening to send him right back into the sea.

He had to do this.

A rumbling beneath the boat as the engine started up again, followed by the churning of water and vibration which now coursed through Zoro's torso.

He couldn't let Sanji go.

He had to say goodbye...

Just as the boat began to lurch forward, hands came around his tail from behind, gave a hard yank. It was unexpected enough that Zoro was powerless to stop that grasp from tugging him backwards, off the platform and into the water with a great splash as soon as the rapidly-spinning propellers drove the boat away.

A tornado of bubbles as he thrashed anew, struggling to right himself in the confusion, but those hands turned to arms, coiling tightly around his stomach and physically holding him back.

His head breached the surface, and there was that boat, with Sanji on it, zooming away at top speed, leaving a trail of foam as white as his panicked vision.

"Let him go, Zoro! Let them take him!"

Vaguely, he registered Reiju's voice in his ear, strained as she struggled to keep ahold of him.

But he was beyond hearing, beyond comprehension or even awareness of her safety, his fist flying blindly in her direction, which his clouded mind had deemed a 'threat' and not one of his most trusted companions.

She narrowly avoided his fist, then his elbow, her arms tugging downward in an attempt to pull him underwater instead.

Her hand bypassed his gnashing teeth, delicate fingers pressing gently but firmly to his forehead where she pulled his head back against her shoulder to restrain him.

Her voice was thick, full of emotion, but distant in Zoro's ears when she insisted, "We can't help him! We have to let him go!"

He didn't care - couldn't - not when they were taking Sanji away - not when he knew - just knew - he'd never see him again, never touch him again if he couldn't follow, his mind sinking down to that darkest of trenches, enveloped by it, crushed by it, enough that his heart felt ready to burst with the stress.

That coiling catharsis exploded forth in a surge of manic energy that allowed him to rip free of Reiju's grasp with a feral growl, his tail instantly giving a powerful pump after that frothy trail of the disappearing boat-

-only to have yet another form collide with his front this time, Reiju's arms seizing that moment to secure him from behind again until there were two holding him back with all their might.

It was Kuina, the second form, a snarl on her face that was pained, full of remorse as she pushed him back with her good arm, blocking him from swimming forward.

"I'm sorry, Zoro-" she lamented, her voice breaking as her injured arm lifted and her hand found his cheek, thumb brushing there at water that was salty as the ocean, but hot, trailing down from his burning eyes as it never had before.

"I'm sorry-" she murmured again, and he was stilling, but not calming, his body giving a hard shudder, wracked by tremors as that boat finally disappeared around the pier, completely out of sight, even its water trail beginning to vanish.

"I'm sorry…."

Kuina's final apology came just as a clenched sob shook Zoro's chest, her arm instantly slipping around his shoulders tightly, the other lifting to Reiju's when he felt the queen begin to tremble against his back.

They held him tight, the two mermaids, amongst the wreckage that littered the water, some of it still burning, orange flames flickering over blue, bright and strong.

Sanji's fire had burned just as powerfully, even under the sea. Especially under the sea.

Where he belonged, but could never return to now.

As tears scorched their own path down Zoro's cheeks, he didn't want to believe it.

He didn't want to believe he'd just witnessed Sanji's fire go out.