This ended up with over half the total word count and all of the emotions, so sorry about that.

I said in a response to a comment on another fic that the worst thing I did to Sanji during Febuwhump was either when I made him immortal so he could watch all his friends die or when I hurt his hands. That is no longer accurate. This is easily the worst thing I put Sanji through.

And with this, I've completely finished the Febuwhump prompts, even though it's now May. \o/ Thank you for all your favs, comments, and support, both throughout February and with this fic when it ran over.

Reiju punched in a complicated looking code into a keypad attached to a heavy iron door. After she was done, a laser popped out and scanned her eye, and when it confirmed her identity, the door swung inward to reveal the pristine state-of-the-art Germa lab.

"Everyone's busy with Mommy's pro-see-jure today," she said as she stared gloomily at the empty laboratory, "So we should have it all to us."

"Super," Franky grinned and gave her a thumbs up, "I'll be out of your hair in a jiffy." And he got to work.

His main focus turned to fixing the time machine, but he couldn't help but notice Reiju as he worked, lingering nearby, clearly curious about what he was up to but not wanting to get too close. So he brought her into the project, asked her to hand him basic tools and explained what he was doing. She looked young, couldn't be any older than three or four, but she hung on his every word.

"So," he said after a while, "You're getting some little brothers soon, I hear."

"Yeah," she said with a sigh, "That's what they say."

"That's super," he shot her a grin, which she returned, "You looking forward to being a big sister?"

"I guess," she said as she flopped down onto the workbench next to him, "I dunno."

"You nervous? That's understandable. Being a big sis is of responsibility."

"Not really," she fiddled with her fingers. Franky let her collect her thoughts for a moment in silence, then she said, "Do you, think I'm bad?"

"What? No," he raised the visor on his helmet so she could see his eyes, "Absolutely not. I know bad people, and you're nothing like them."

"Hm," she glanced away, "Then, it's not bad if my brothers are like me?"

"Of course not," he insisted, "If they're even a little bit like you, that can only be a good thing."

"Then," she was staring at her hands, her face impassive, not letting any emotion show through, but her voice was incredibly sad, "Why doesn't Mommy want them to be like me?"

Franky froze and stared at her, "What do you mean?"

Reiju pursed her lips as if she was considering something, then reached under the lab table and pulled out a thick file labeled 'Human Modification Project X' and handed it to him.

Franky took the file and quickly flipped through it. His expertise was in engineering and a lot of the science involved in the project was biochemistry, but he could easily follow the gist of it.

And what he read horrified him.

From the looks of it, Judge was manipulating his children's bloodline elements to create a so-called perfect soldier. Test Subject 0 had responded well to the changes, so now for Subjects 1 through 4, they were going to try making the more powerful and drastic changes in utero. According to the hypothesis, this method should make the subjects more compliant, reducing the undesirable traits emotional outbursts and individualism that Subject 0 has.

He thought of Sanji, his friend and crewmate, being used as a test subject. He glanced down at Reiju and realized that her own father was using this little girl as part of some deranged experiment.

A white hot anger seethed inside him, but he kept it at bay for Reiju's sake.

"Mommy has been getting pro-see-jures," she explained, "To make my little brothers like me. I had lots of pro-see-jures to make me perfect," she clenched her hands into tiny fists, "That's what Father says. He says I'm his perfect soldier, and he wants my brothers to be even better. But, Mommy doesn't want that. She's gonna make something to stop the pro-see-jures, but the nurses said it would kill her if she took it."

She glanced up at him, face still a perfectly impassive mask, but her eyes were huge pools of sadness, "Am I so bad that that's better than them being like me?"

"Oh, sweetie," he said as gently as he could while internally he wanted to murder her father. Based on their previous encounter and Sanji's reaction to him, he couldn't be a good guy, but to think he would treat own his daughter and his unborn children as science experiments. That was beyond cruel.

"You're not bad or wrong," he stated, because that was the important part. "Like I said, if your brothers are anything like you, that's a good thing." He paused, unsure of how to go about explaining the inherit immorality of prenatal bloodline element manipulation to a three year old, "Your mom doesn't want your brothers to not be like you. She wants them to be themselves. What your dad is trying to do is mess that all up. Erase who they really are and make them what he wants them to be."

"So, I am wrong," she clenched her fists, "Because I am what Father made me to be."

"No," he insisted, "Before you're your dad's perfect soldier, you're Reiju. You're you, through and through. These procedures are meant to strip that away from your brothers. That's what's bad, not you. Never you."

"I, think I get it," she smiled up at him.

"Good," he smiled back, "You're a good kid, Reiju."

The box glowed and began pulsing, which he was pretty sure meant it was ready for another jump through time, which he hoped would take them back to their own time and not even further into the past.

Still, now he was thinking about Sanji and his mother, about the sacrifice she was going to make to make sure Sanji had a personality and became the Sanji he knew.

"So," he turned to Reiju, "You said something about stopping the procedure?"

"Yeah," she frowned and glanced down at the counter top, "She said she could make something to make sure the pro-see-jure didn't work, but the nurses said if she did take it it'll hurt too much her and she'll die."

Tears formed in her eyes as she glanced back up at him, "I love Mommy. I don't want her to die."

Franky bit his lip and looked away.

If Sanji knew what his mother was planning, and he had no reason to assume he didn't, Franky knew exactly what Sanji would do: he would do everything in his power to stop her, even if it meant that he ended up as Judge's perfect cruel soldier.

Franky couldn't let that happen. Sanji was his friend. He was a little rough around the edges, had a mean temper and a short fuse, but he was also one of the kindest guys he knew, a hell of a chef, and just cared about everyone so damn much. He didn't want him to be any other way.

He liked Sanji as he was, as the cook of the Straw Hat Pirates, and that could only happen if his mom took a drug that would probably kill her.

Which meant Reiju would grow up without a mom.

He looked down at the little girl, near tears but doing her best to hold them back. She didn't deserve this. Sanji didn't deserve this. Hell, the other three brothers don't deserve this either.

But, if he let Reiju keep her mom, he would lose Sanji. And that wasn't a sacrifice he was willing to make.

It wasn't a fair or easy choice, none of this was, but it was a choice that their mom had already made. All Franky could really do at this point was back her up on it.

He lowered his visor, then knelt down and pat Reiju comfortingly on the head.

"Your mom loves you very much," he said, "And I'm sure whatever she does do will be with you and your brothers' best interests in mind. You gotta help her out too and be the best big sister you can be, okay?"

She nodded and sniffled, rubbing at her eyes as she said, "Okay."

The door to the lab shook and beeped. Someone was trying to enter.

Franky glanced around the lab, looking for another exit or something to help him escape, and his eyes landed on a half-finished motorcycle. Perfect.

"Looks like we're out of time," he tucked the time machine into the fridge in his stomach for safe keeping and fiddled with the bike until he got it up and running. "Real quick, where's your mom's rooms?"

"Are you gonna help her?" Reiju asked.

"I'm gonna try," he said, giving her his most reassuring smile.

Reiju told him, just as the last of the locks were unlocked and the door started swinging opening.

"Thanks, Reiju," he said, mounting the bike and giving her a thumbs up, "You're a super kid, don't ever forget that."

"Thank you, Frank-o Bot," she said with a genuine smile, "For everything."

She ducked behind a lab bench just as the door swung open, revealing Judge and his army of scientists.

Judge's eyes went wide as he spotted Franky on the motorcycle, and he sputtered out, "Who the hell are-?"

Franky didn't let him finish, just gunned the motorcycle forward at full throttle, hitting Judge straight on and tossing him and the scientists aside as he screeched past them and towards the Queen's rooms.

It wasn't the punch to the face he deserved, but it sure felt damn good.

Sanji paced frantically around his mother's room, cursing at himself. He should have done more to stop them, fought them tooth and nail with everything he had to keep them from taking her away. He hadn't wanted to risk putting her in danger by going all out, but now she was down in the labs being experimented on and he realized how stupid that was.

The experiment will be finished tonight. And she'll...

He took the vial she'd given him out of his pocket and rolled it in his hand. This must have been it, the drug his sister mentioned that stopped the modifications from working on him and eventually killed his mom. All he had to do was get rid of it, and then his mom will live.

He ground his teeth as he stared at the shitty thing. It would be so easy to just make it disappear.

But, his mom had asked him to hold on to it for her. She had trusted him to keep it safe.

"Shit," he growled out as she shoved it back in his pocket. He tried to run a hand through his hair but was stopped by the helmet, making him snarl in frustration.

The door creaked open, and a maid wheeled his mom into the room. She looked beyond tired, despondent and depressed, but her face brightened and she smiled weakly when she saw him.

"Zeff," she sighed in relief, "Thank goodness you're still here."

The maid helped her into bed and left without another word.

Sanji stood at the foot of the bed, hands clenched into fists at his side, not daring to get any closer to her, "How are you feeling?"

She closed her eyes and shook her head.

A spike of rage shot through him, and he clenched his fists tighter.

"Do you still have the vial?" She asked him weakly.

Sanji froze, ice and dread spreading quickly through him, "Yes."

"Bring it to me, please."

Spurred on by the desperation in her voice, his feet moved automatically to her side. Their eyes locked, and he reached into his pocket, pulling out the vial with shaking hands.

She reached out to take it, but he pulled it away at the last second.

She looked up at him, the betrayal so clear in her eyes that he couldn't help but flinch, "Zeff..."

"Do you know what this will do to you?" He asked, his voice breaking, "It'll kill you."

Her gaze hardened and she nodded solemnly, "Yes. But it will save my sons."

"What if it doesn't? What if you end up dead and they're still...?" He waved his hand as he trailed off.

"That's a chance I have to take."

"With your life?"

"Yes," her gaze was steady and sure as she took his hand in both of hers, "Do you have children, Zeff? A family? Someone you would do or sacrifice anything to protect?"

He swallowed thickly and thought of his crew, of the home they'd all made on the Sunny, of the real Zeff and the Baratie, "Yes."

"Then you understand why I have to do this," she turned his hand over, and he let the vial fall into her grasp.

She stared at the vial, and Sanji ran a hand down his face. She was going to drink it. She was going to drink it and get sick and die and he was just standing there letting it happen.

"It doesn't work," he blurted out, making his mother pause and look at him.

"What?"

"It doesn't work," he repeated, "Don't ask me how I know, because it's a long story, but it doesn't work. They're all born modified just like Judge wants." He nodded at the vial, "You get sick and slowly deteriorate. You'll be dead in six years, and they'll be his perfect heartless soldiers."

Her hand shook and her eyes began to fill with tears as she lowered the vial, "So, there's nothing I can do for them?"

The sight broke his heart, but this was for the best. She needed to live, "I'm sorry."

She wrapped an arm tight around her stomach as her tears started to fall.

Suddenly something crashed through the window. Sanji leapt between the threat and his mother, ready for a fight.

Franky stood up and shook the broken glass off of him, "Wow, that got some super lift."

Sanji's eyebrow twitched behind the visor, "Franky, what in the shitty hell are you doing here?"

"Oh good, you're here," he took of his stupid Germa helmet and opened the fridge in his stomach, digging around until he pulled out the shitty box that started this, "I fixed the time machine. We can go back now."

"Time machine?" They both turned to look at his mom, who was eyeing the shitty box, "Is that Vegapunk's..." She trailed off as her gaze slid up to Franky's face, "Wait, who are you? What are you doing here?"

"Oh, sorry, super rude of me to just barge in here like that and not introduce myself," Franky smiled at her as he shut the fridge, "My name's Franky, the super shipwright of the Straw Hat pirates, who you've never heard of because they don't exist yet. I sail with your son."

Her eyes went wide and she clutched at her stomach, "My son? You know my son?"

"Yup, Sanji, he's-"

Sanji kicked him hard in his vulnerable side, launching him across the room, "Shut the hell up you shitty cyborg!"

Franky rolled over onto his back and frowned at him, "No need to get all worked up, Sanji. I'm just trying to be nice to your mom."

The blood drained from his face, and he quickly turned back to his mom.

She was staring at him with wide eyes, covering her mouth with her hand, "Sanji..."

"N-no," he shook his head, and held out his hands imploringly, "I'm not...this shitty cyborg is just-"

Franky had snuck up behind him when he was distracted and pulled off his Germa helmet, revealing the same blond hair and blue eyes his mother had and the distinctive swirl of his eyebrow that matched Reiju's.

"You can't lie to your mom, dude," Franky said as he tossed the helmet away.

Sanji stared at his mom, unable to look away as the recognition dawned on her. Her hands drifted down to her stomach as she stared at him in awe.

"Sanji," she repeated as a smile slowly spread across her face, "You're my little Sanji."

Sanji tried to back away, but Franky was still right behind him and gave him a push forward towards her. He stumbled, catching himself on the side of the bed to regain his balance, and his mom placed her hands on top of his.

"You get so big," she said, blinking tears out of her eyes as she reached up and cupped his face. She traced her fingers across his cheeks and over the hair on his chin, one hand sliding up to push back his bangs so she could see his entire face, and he couldn't help but lean into her touch, "You grow up so well."

"I..." he hesitated, then lifted his hand to cover hers, giving it a squeeze as he smiled at her, "Yeah. Hi, Mom."

He heard Franky sniffling behind him, but he'd deal with him later. Right now he just wanted to enjoy this.

"You're here," she said, and her smile fell a little, "And a pirate?"

"I, uh," he cringed a little and answered, "Yes? Really I'm a chef, a chef on a ship-"

"A pirate ship," Franky unhelpfully added, "Full of pirates."

"But, really it's not like that. We don't, pillage and plunder people or raze towns or shit like that. We mostly just, sail around and do what we want, I guess."

"But, you're not a soldier?" Her smile grew, "And you cook, for other people?"

"I," he nodded, "Yeah."

"He's a super cook," Franky said, "Makes us the best food out of anything! We're super lucky to have him."

He narrowed his eyes at him, not quite sure what he was up to.

"So," his mom's hands left him, and she picked up the vial from the bedspread where she'd dropped it, "It does work, doesn't it?"

"No," he said, shaking his head, "It doesn't."

"But, you're fine," she insisted, "You're your own person, not his soldier. You're carving out your own path."

"I'm the only one it affected," he said, eyes darting away from her, "The others are," he winced and looked back at her, "A rousing success."

Her smile slipped off her face as she clutched at her stomach.

"It's not worth it," he grabbed the hand that clutched the vial and held it in both of his, "You're gonna die, and Judge will still get his heartless soldiers. It's not worth it. I'm not-"

She slapped her free hand over his mouth, staring at him with a fierce determination.

"You're a sweet boy," she said as she ran her thumb across his cheek, "You cook food for your friends and you sail around the world. You have people you care about and who care about you. You came back in time to try and save your mother." She cradled his face in her hand, "You're absolutely worth it."

She leaned forward and kissed his forehead gently.

"No," he could feel the tears in his eyes as he looked up at her, "Don't, please-"

"I love you very much, Sanji," she said as she took his face in both of her hands, and he could feel the cold glass of the shitty vial pressing up against his cheek, "I'm so proud of the person you've become. I'm so happy you're living your own life."

Before he could do or say anything, she shoved him backward into Franky's chest. Franky quickly wrapped one of his thick arms around him, trapping him in place as he fiddled with the time machine in his other hand.

"Please, continue to take care of my son," she said to him, the vial still clutched in her hand.

"Yes, Ma'am," Franky replied as he pressed the button on the top of the box.

They were engulfed in a blinding light, and the last thing Sanji saw was his mother unsealing the vial and putting it to her lips.

Sanji hit the floor of Franky's workshop hard, collapsing to his knees as the light faded. He scratched his hands across the wooden planks as he reeled in his inadequacy.

He had failed to save his mom. What kind of useless, pathetic son was he?

"Sanji-bro," Franky said from somewhere behind him, "Are you-?"

Sanji struck him with a kick to his stomach hard enough to send him flying across the room. He hit the wall hard and winced in pain as he slid to the floor.

"Why?" He seethed at him as he stood up, "Why didn't you stop her?"

"It was her choice."

He growled, snatching him up by his shirt to slam in into the wall, "Don't fucking give me that! We could have saved her instead of just letting her die again."

"If we'd saved your mom, we would've lost you," Franky popped his smaller hands out and wrapped them around his wrists. And Sanji hated him for that, for caring about hurting his hands when he was ready to put his foot through his metal skull.

"Your mom and I both wanted the same thing," Franky continued, "You to be safe and happy and yourself. And unfortunately that was the only way that was gonna happen."

Sanji tightened his grip on his shirt and squeezed his eyes shut. He couldn't stop the trembling that overtook his entire body.

"I'm sorry," Franky said as he rubbed comforting circles into his wrists, "I really am, but your mom loved you enough to save you, and I care about you too much to stop her."

A broken, violent sob wracked through him. He let go of Franky, burying his face in his hands as he sunk to his knees and wept openly.

Franky knelt down next to him and pulled him into a hug. Sanji buried his face into his shirt and clung to him desperately as he cried, loud and messy. His tears and snot ran freely down his face and were staining Franky's shirt, but he just held him tighter.

When he was all cried out, Sanji was left shaking and miserable in Franky's arms. As he pulled away, Franky held out a cigarette for him, which he took gratefully. He pat down his pockets, looking for a lighter, but Franky produced a small flame from his finger and offered it to him. He lit the cigarette and took a much needed puff, letting the nicotine fill him and calm his frayed nerves. With a sigh, he flopped back into Franky's chest and exhaled a stream of smoke towards the ceiling.

"If it makes you feel better," Franky said as he rubbed comforting circles into his shoulders, "I don't think there was any way for you to save her without creating a time paradox."

His brows furrowed as he glanced up at him, "A what?"

"Time paradox. Like, you wanted to save your mom because you have emotions and care about her. You have that capacity to love because she took the drug that killed her. If you had stopped her from taking it, you would've been born an emotionless drone, which means you wouldn't have cared enough to go back in time and stop her from taking it, which means she would have taken it. Get it?"

"Kinda? I mean, I guess," He sucked down more smoke and mulled it over, "Are you saying, this was inevitable from the start?" That was a depressing thought.

"Kinda, yeah," he nudged the once-again broken time machine with his foot, "Messing with time travel has a lot of pitfalls. Maybe this one should stay on the scrap heap."

Sanji sighed and closed his eyes as he sank further into Franky's chest, "Yeah."

If his mom hadn't taken the drug, if had been born Judge's perfect emotionless soldier, he would have spent the rest of his life on Germa. He never would have set out to sea, never became a chef or tried to find All Blue, never had joined this crew or found these people that cared about him so damn much.

His mother's sacrifice, his mother's love, had given him all that.

The guilt was still there, would probably always still be there, but now he could accept that love for what it was. Thank her for it by living his life to the fullest.

"Thank you," he said to Franky, "And, uh, sorry for kicking you."

"Don't worry about it, dude," he laughed as he pat him hard on the back, "You wouldn't be you if you didn't."

Sanji relaxed. Right now, that was exactly who he wanted to be.