Sanji awoke with a jerk into pitch black darkness. For one endless seeming second he was certain that he was dead. He could hear nothing, see nothing, and he was so very cold. He felt weightless and untethered. Unnamed regrets unfolded in his chest at the thought, and the emotional turmoil seem to call forth the physical. Pain came fast on those bitter heels, filling him with heat and starbursts of light in his head.

He tried to sit up but failed. Something was wrong with his legs, and his hands seemed…lost. Fear gripped him, bringing him even closer to the surface. Sanji shook his head to push off the remaining muddling fog and gradually realized that he couldn't move much because there was something heavy wrapped around his right leg, and his wrists were somewhere above his head, tied and anchored. Feeling sick, he twisted until he was on his side and lay there until the nausea subsided.

Light suddenly peeled back the shadows, and he saw Zoro standing in the doorway. The glow from the lantern in his hands illuminated the stacks of spare rope and rigging, Usopp's tool chest, and one of the ship's cannons. He was in the storage room, then.

Zoro stood there for a time, just watching. As Sanji's eyes adjusted, he saw that his right leg had been tethered to the cannon by one of the rigging chains. There was only enough give in the iron chain for him to bring his knee partway up. His hands were bound with several of the long leather strips Usopp used for repair work about the ship and secured to one of the iron bolts that linked the cannon to the wall. He tugged, but the position was awkward, and his muscles felt like jelly.

"Awake already? You two really are tough. I like that."

Zoro set the lantern on a wall hook and strolled over. He crouched down, and Sanji tried to kick him with his left leg. The swordsman caught it easily.

"Or not that tough... Maybe you shouldn't have gone easy on him, then."

Sanji tore his leg from Zoro's grip and mule kicked him square in the face. The green head snapped back, but it was clear that his full strength wasn't there. The swordsman looked back down at him with a bloody grin.

"That's more like it."

Something swung by Zoro's ear, catching Sanji's eye. He frowned as he took in the small, white object dangling where the swordsman's gold earrings usually were. It was rough and knobbly and wrapped in the thin wire Chopper used for surgery. The end of the wire had been threaded, messily, through Zoro's ear. The hole was crusted with blood.

"Who are you? What have you done with Zoro?" Sanji growled, eyes flicking back to the white object, brain working overtime.

"Done with him? I told you, he's right here." The swordsman tapped his head.

"What?"

Zoro's smile grew wider. It was unnerving seeing that face stretch into such an expression. Sanji instinctively tried to put some distance between them, but the chain on his leg didn't let him get very far.

"He was here, then I… Well, it took a bit of work with him, but now I'm here and he's here." He tapped his head again.

Sanji's frown deepened, eyes searching the swordsman's face for…he didn't know what. Clarity, sanity, some sign that his crewmate was still there. The shimmering, burning eyes of the other man betrayed no hint of the real Zoro, though.

Zoro leaned in, one hand firmly holding Sanji's free leg down as he drew close. When he was just a hand's span away, he whispered, "He can see you, you know. He can hear you. He can feel you." The hand pinning the leg squeezed so hard that it made Sanji wince.

"Then he better get the hell over here and kick your ass out!"

Something flickered in the eyes, black cutting through the shimmering depths.

"Zoro!" Sanji yelled. "You piece of shit! Stop fucking around and get out here!"

The smile on the tanned face slipped slightly. The green brows began to knot.

"Zo—"

Zoro's left hand shot out, wrapping around Sanji's throat. It began to squeeze. Sanji thrashed under him, back arching as he fought for breath, but the hand only gripped him tighter. Blackness bled into his vision.

"Stop or I'll kill him…" Zoro hissed.

Sweat beaded on the swordsman's forehead as he stared, eyes fixed on Sanji's face. He pushed down, adding yet more pressure to the hand. Sanji kicked weakly at him, but his mind was already drifting.

The hand suddenly let go, and Zoro sat back, breathing hard. Anger and something not unlike surprise played across his face.

"You…" Then Zoro threw back his head and began to laugh. "Oh, yes, I'm keeping you. You only get to watch for this next part, though. Try that again, and I'll gut him." He reached behind his back and pulled out the short blade from before.

Sanji gasped and shuddered as he sucked in air through his bruised throat. Zoro watched him cough and shake as though it were the most entertaining thing in the world. The eyes were pools of heat once more.

"B…bastard…" he rasped.

"And you…" Zoro said. "You talk too much." He sat back on his heels and twirled the knife. "Always talking, always dancing around and acting like a fool…"

"That you…or the mosshead?" His skull was pounding, and it hurt to speak, but if he could delay the thing, then the others could get there. Sanji tried scooting back more into a half-sitting position.

"Hmmm… It's hard to say now! His dislikes…and his likes are rather strong."

"What are you?"

"Nothing special. Just a passing soul."

"What do you mean by that?"

The knife stopped spinning, and Zoro tapped it against a tanned cheek. "Trying to get me talking to waste time?"

Sanji kept his face carefully blank.

Zoro laughed at the neutral expression, the sound strange and unnatural coming from him. "He knows your ways, so I know your ways. Of course you are. You're one of the 'smart' ones. The 'trouble' ones. But didn't I say…" He leaned forward and backhanded Sanji hard, knocking him back to the floor. "…you talk too much?"

While he lay there, head buzzing and mouth filled with the taste of blood, Zoro grabbed him by the legs and pulled him closer. The swordsman knelt on him, knees pinning his thighs to the ground. Sanji could feel the heat of him radiating through the loose, cargo-style pants he wore.

"Now…"

The blade flashed and Sanji bit back a yell as a line of fire was drawn from hipbone to collar. The satiny material of his vest and shirt parted, and buttons flew with the ferocity of the slash. Zoro pulled the two sides open and took a long look as blood welled from the shallow cut.

"What the fuck do you want, you psychopath?!"

Sanji looked into the face of his crewmate and a chill shot through him, cutting through the aches and pains of the last hour. Zoro—the thing in Zoro—was staring down with a mix of malice, hunger, and madness. The muscled shoulders shook with some inner emotion, the eyes inhuman in the intensity of the urges bursting behind them. The thing put a hand on his now bared chest and smeared the blood around. Sanji gritted his teeth in disgust and tried not to let the fear show on his face. Something told him it would only make it worse.

Zoro looked up at the cork-oak frame crisscrossing the storage room's ceiling, seemingly lost in some inner contemplation. "What do I want…"

With as much minimal movement as possible, Sanji fingered the ties around his wrists, looking for loose points. They were distressingly tight, though, and his hands felt numb.

"You have no idea what it was like. In there…for so long…"

Zoro's eyes refocused. He ran the fingers of the knife hand through the green hair—a distressingly Zoro-like gesture. "I got a look at one of those 'newspapers' that killable redhead has. Do you know how many years it's been? How many years I spent in that cursed thing? No… You wouldn't have any idea what it was like. So, what do I want, you ask?" He raised his bloody palm for Sanji to see. "I want this." It gleamed wetly in the lamplight. "And I want this," he said, running the bloody hand over Zoro's face. The red stripes crossed one eye, flowed over his lips and chin and down the sculpted lines of the tanned throat. He clenched the hand into a fist and stared at it for a long time, seeming to marvel at Zoro's strength. Then the disconcerting manic grin disappeared, and he leaned down, body resting just above Sanji's, propped up by one his arms. His free hand reached between them, and Sanji stiffened as he felt the searching touch trail up his thigh. The hand lingered on his hip, thumb tracing the top of his pants. Sanji bit his lip and turned his head away.

"And I want this," Zoro said, breath warm on his neck.

Sanji felt the delicate brush of teeth against his skin. They worked their way up his throat, pausing to taste here and there, tongue tickling the curve behind his ear. The salty tang of Zoro's sweat, gun metal, and blood filled the air. When the hand moved between his legs, Sanji planted his left foot on the ground and bucked, trying to throw the other man off. Zoro brought his fist up and swung hard, punching him in the side. Something cracked, and he couldn't quite catch the scream behind his teeth.

"Keep squirming and I'll cut your hands off."

Sanji froze.

"That's right," Zoro murmured in his ear. "I know what they mean to you. He's been trying to keep it from me, but I remember. You told me yourself. What was it you said? 'Don't damage the goods'?"

The hand returned to his inner thigh, strong fingers kneading the hard muscle beneath the cloth.

"Fucking…pervert…" Sanji gasped.

Zoro laughed. "Me or him? Us? He's wanted this too, you know."

"Not a…chance…"

"Oh, you're wrong there. It might have been me in the kitchen the other night, but whose idea do you think it was first?"

Sanji's mouth opened, but he shut it again.

"That's right. Who do you think was imagining bending you over that sink—"

"Shut up!"

"—pulling your pants down—"

"I said, shut up!"

"—and fucking you senseless?"

The hand moved up, fingers sliding over the hard planes of his stomach. It lingered on his chest and a finger traced the sharp line of his collar bone.

"Everything about you screams 'fuck me'. I can see why he wants you. I can see why he wants this."

"Bull! I don't give a shit what you say. He'd never do this." Sanji looked him in the eyes, looked for Zoro in those eyes. "It's not you, all right?" he said to the swordsman, the real one. "I know it's not you, and Luffy's on his way. We'll—"

Zoro sat up, straddling Sanji's hips. His expression was amused. "You think that just because you didn't let me have my fun with the little fish before that they're coming? What do you think I was doing while you were sleeping?" He held up the knife. "While I was getting this—I do so love knives—I raised the anchor. We're at sea. No one is coming."

Sanji's mouth went dry. Hope died on his tongue, and he knew then that there would be no way out of this. He was going to die, or worse, and the thing was going to make Zoro do it. Something shuttered in him.

His despair only seemed to excite the other man. Zoro leaned back down and ran his hands roughly over the bruised and bloodied body, making Sanji wince when one brushed against his ribs. Zoro's mouth was hot on his skin, laughing softly when he'd flinch, and leaving teeth marks in more than one spot. His breathing became jagged and raw as the other man worked his way south. The plundering hands reached under the waistband of his pants and boxers but grew annoyed at the restriction of the belt. Zoro shifted and lay half on him, lips working at his throat and ear while one hand began to undo the studded leather strap. Sanji shuddered as the other man pulled it free and tossed it across the room. A thumb calloused by years of sword practice flicked open the top button.

"Don't do this to him," Sanji pleaded behind gritted teeth.

Zoro stopped.

"Don't do this…to him?" His laughter was a sharp bark. "See? This is why he likes you. This is why he hates you."

Zoro tugged the pants down around Sanji's thighs and climbed back on top. He brought his face close as he plunged his hand under the soft material of the boxers. The strange, white earring tickled Sanji's nose. Panic seized him as Zoro took him in hand, thumb rubbing teasingly along his length.

"All the time in the world," the thing promised him.

With a furious snarl, Sanji seized the strange earring in his teeth and jerked his head hard to the right. The object tore free, splattering his face with blood.

Zoro shot up with a roar, one hand clapped to his bleeding ear. "You piece of—"

A fist hammered into Sanji's face. The force of it whipped his head back around, and the earring flew from his mouth and across the room.

"I'm going to cut your fingers off one by one, you shitty coo—"

Zoro froze midsentence. His jaw worked, but it took a moment before another sound came out. Dazed, Sanji looked up at him. Black eyes met his.

"You don't get to call him that," Zoro growled.

Sanji groaned. "Fuck…it's about time, you stupid…"

With what looked like great effort, Zoro reached down and picked up the knife. His arm vibrated, the muscles rock hard as he slowly brought it to his own throat.

Sanji jolted upright as much as he could with Zoro sitting on him. "What are you doing?! Don't you fucking dare! Fight it off! We can fix this!"

Zoro looked at him, sweat beginning to trickle down his temple with the effort. Misery and shame washed over the swordsman's face. "I c-can't s-st—"

The black eyes started to flicker.

Zoro's teeth set into a grim line, and he pressed the knife closer, every muscle in his neck standing out. Blood began to bead around the tip as it made contact with his flesh.

Sanji struggled to extricate himself from the iron-like thighs pinning him to the floor, desperation lending him energy he didn't have. "You stupid asshole! Stop! Fight it! Luffy WILL come. Cut me loose, and I'll tie you up, knock you out, whatever! Just—"

The knife stopped.

"Now cut me loose! I'll—"

Shimmering eyes bored into his.

Sanji twisted away as the knife came down. Instead of taking it full in the chest, it scored him deeply along the ribs on his right side. He yelled and pulled in everything he had for one last kick when a clattering sound followed by a high-pitched cry threw the room into chaos.

Chopper, in reindeer form, barreled into the storage room. With a shout, he rammed into Zoro with his antlers, lifting the other man into the air. Zoro slammed against the far wall and fell among piles of coiled rope.

"Sanji! Are you okay?!" Chopper glanced at him through his swollen eye and pawed at the ground.

"Quick, cut me loose!" he shouted. "Hurry!"

Chopper looked anxiously from him to the downed form of the swordsman that was beginning to twitch.

"Hurry!"

The reindeer nosed around for something sharp to cut his bonds with but finding nothing, set to work on the ropes with his teeth.

Zoro sat up groggily.

Leather began to snap under the reindeer's powerful jaws.

Ignoring them, Zoro bent down and began searching amongst the ropes for something.

Another tie fell off, and Sanji was able to pull the rest apart with Chopper's help. He had to stop and just breathe for a moment, hand pressed to his side where blood was dyeing the tattered remains of his blue shirt and vest black. Chopper tried to have a look, but Sanji waved him off, pointing for him to keep watch on the swordsman.

The reindeer came around to stand between him and Zoro while Sanji undid the chain from his leg. Sanji could feel the little doctor tremble when Zoro looked up, but the swordsman only returned to his search. Even when his hand came up with the knife, he bent back down, hunting around the coils of twisted hemp.

"Sanji…" Chopper said uneasily.

The last wrapping of chain fell off, and Sanji surreptitiously hitched his pants back up while Chopper's attention was focused on the other man.

Zoro suddenly cried out in triumph and leapt to his feet. Held high in his hand was the small white bone Sanji had torn from his ear.

"No!" Sanji swayed to his feet, shoes slipping on the bloody floor.

Chopper ducked under his arm to keep him from falling back to the ground.

"Forget about me! Don't let him go! We need to get that thing away from him!"

The reindeer squared his shoulders and charged, but Zoro sidestepped Chopper's antlers and pulled the shelving full of Usopp's projects down on his head. Tools, metal, and half-drilled cannon balls crashed onto the doctor. Already dazed from whatever had happened earlier, Chopper reeled out from under the debris and fell to the floor.

Zoro smiled at the crumpled form, then turned to Sanji.

Sanji met that fevered gaze and held it. Wordlessly, he reached into what remained of his new vest and fished his pack of smokes from the dangling pocket. Zoro merely watched, but a small smile played at his lips as Sanji lit a cigarette and took a deep drag.

The dried blood on his back cracked and stung as he moved. His head throbbed, and every part of him hurt to the bone. He thought there might be more of him on the floor than in his body, but it didn't matter. Sanji took a deep breath and straightened, willing away the pain and fatigue for one last stand. He dropped the cigarette onto the floor and crushed it out with the heel of his shoe.

"Let him go," he said.

Zoro looked him up and down. "And he thinks you don't have a sense of humor."

"Let. Him. Go."

"Not on your life."

There was a loud thump from above. They both looked up. Zoro fingered the knife consideringly, and flashed Sanji a smile that was full of vicious promise. He dashed for the door and was out before Sanji could blink.

"Stop!"

Sanji tore after him, side screaming with every step. He powered up the stairs in time to see the back of the other man disappear through the deck door. Sanji burst out into the night, and a hot wave of pain rocked him. His vision blurred, and he sagged against the frame.

"Sanji!"

His eyes weren't working right, but he'd know the voice of their navigator anywhere.

"Nami!" he gasped. "Is Luffy…?"

He shook his head and the world stopped swimming. He looked up again, and Nami came into focus. Beside her were Robin and a battered-looking, but determined, Usopp. A slight form in red in front of them all took shape last. The straw hat was tilted back on his forehead, and the wind stirred his black hair. Luffy was there.

And in front of him was Zoro.

Sanji closed his eyes, relief coursing through him in a tidal wave of emotion. It was going to be fine. It was going to be over. Luffy was there, and he could…just…

Nami took a step forward, her face pale and shocked as she beheld him. "Sanji, are you…?"

Luffy put a hand out, keeping her from getting any closer to Zoro. His face was unreadable as he looked from his cook to his first mate.

Sanji tried to straighten. "Luffy!" he shouted. "It's not him! There's something in him, but Zoro's there too. Get the bone! Get it away from him! Don't…" Things began to fade again. "Don't…let him…"

"Sanji!"

"…kill himself…!"

He held Luffy's eye and saw him nod before he crashed to the deck and knew no more.

To be continued...