Thank you for the kind reviews!
The scene at the end of this chapter is forever seared into my brain, so I hope I did it emotional justice. :'))
.:Chapter 6 – Lock Up:.
Vinsmoke Judge challenged Sanji to a duel, already irritated with his son's disrespect.
Out in the courtyard of Germa's castle, its soldiers gathered with spirit. Excitement poured out of them for Prince Sanji's return, eager to see him in action. It was like not a single one of them remembered how fragile Sanji used to be.
Which many of the Straw Hats found interestingly odd. Maybe even a little off.
Although still as uninterested in fighting if he didn't have to, Sanji was now a force to be reckoned with on the battlefield.
And he didn't need a raid suit, Nami thought.
As Judge — all suited up — prepared a spear-like weapon for attack, Sanji remained calm. It wasn't until the last second did Sanji easily dodge his father's first strike, exhibiting his signature nonchalance with his hands never leaving his pockets.
"Vinsmoke Judge has a super ass-kicking headed his way!" Franky said, adding an enthusiastic 'yow!'
"Yeah, kick his ass, Sanji," Usopp and Chopper cheered.
Zoro smirked. He couldn't wait for the cook to showcase his strength to that jackass. And sure, maybe Zoro enjoyed opportunities to watch the ero-cook's obscenely long legs in action without being distracted by a sword fight of his own. He would never admit it out loud, but — damn — he loved to watch that man fight. Graceful and powerful at the same time. Capable. Insanely flexible in a way no mortal being had a right to be...
Judge clearly wasn't expecting much from Sanji and — much to the Straw Hats' shameless delight — his arrogance hindered him.
At first.
The king of Germa quickly held his own after that, and after a few spars and a couple irritated exchanges Sanji was scowling again. "Stop saying you're my father — it's getting on my nerves!"
"Like it or not you are my son."
"Then why are you trying to stab me then?!"
Luffy laughed at the same time Usopp muttered, "That's a valid argument."
Chopper nodded seriously at the sniper.
That's when Judge started to bring up the wedding to Big Mom's daughter.
Effectively eliminating any enjoyment Zoro was getting from this duel.
Sanji's mind, however, was still adamant there wasn't going to be a wedding. "I only came here to save my friends' lives," he told him.
Nami frowned, glancing over at Luffy. As if he could sense her guilt, they made eye contact. Her captain smiled reassuringly at her as if reading her thoughts, but she still felt bad for losing faith in their cook, no matter how slight it was.
Judge looked appalled. "You'd abandon your family?!"
Sanji seethed. "YOU BASTARDS WERE NEVER MY FAMILY."
"Mmm, Vinsmoke Judge sure has the audacity," said Brook.
As the dueling Vinsmokes continued, Judge switched tactics. Sanji blocked Judge's blow with his shin, which actually seemed to surprise the man that he was able to stop a blade with his bare skin.
"The feeble son I once knew wields haki now?"
Sanji's only answer was a glare.
This time when Judge backed off he told his soldiers to fetch a sword, which he then threw at Sanji's feet. "Take it."
Zoro scoffed.
Sanji didn't move.
"What's the matter? Surely you haven't forgotten my teachings."
At a blinding speed, Sanji kicked the blade back toward the king. It swept through multiple strands of his long hair before piercing into the wall behind him.
Sanji's foot was still in the air. "I'm not interested. If you knew me at all, you'd realize I never use that crap." Lighting a cigarette, he took a drag and met his biological father's malicious gaze with determination. "Get this through your skull. My hands are for cooking only."
It was clear Judge hadn't realized Sanji was still cooking after all these godforsaken years.
"Someone's offended," hummed Brook.
"Yeah — us. For having to keep looking at this asshole's smug face," Zoro griped, making Luffy cackle again. He loved a grumpy Zoro.
"For cooking, you say? That's absurd."
"Your face is absurd," Chopper cutely grumbled, taking cue from Zoro.
"Are you still making rat food? Serving is not a talent befit for royalty. It's ludicrous."
The angry heat between the two escalated.
"You're out of touch, old man."
"Why resist the merit?" Judge wondered. "Don't you know what's good for you?" When Sanji showed no sign of caring about the king's words, Judge activated the close-combat mode on his raid suit. The scene progressed with lightning speed. Sanji met Judge in an aerial attack, but Judge grabbed his leg and threw him down, yelling. "War is the catalyst for scientific progress!"
Judge hovered above Sanji, and it was clear he wasn't getting out of the way fast enough for the next blow. The rebel-chef was sent flying after an electric kick pierced him in the chest, tumbling across the ground and through walls.
Franky and Usopp winced in sympathy.
"The Germa you were once familiar with," Judge said, speaking as if his victory was imminent, "is now a relic of the past."
Sanji groaned from the ground at the over-powered kick. He was in no rush to get up. No point he felt he had to prove to this guy. He laid on his back, taking a casual drag. A cloud passed above him, and as he watched it, his thoughts echoed through the lab.
Little Sanji…I've got something I want to ask… Do you owe someone respect just because you're related by blood?
At this, the memory began its next transition, swirling backward in time once again and reminding the intrusive viewers that the hardships of Sanji's past weren't over. From this point on, Judge had promised little Sanji his training would be a hundred times harder than his siblings'.
"This is not gonna go well," Usopp groaned. The sniper felt so bad for Sanji it made him physically sick.
All at once, the memories where the little Vinsmokes had been training together instantly intensified. Not for all of them - just Sanji. Little human Sanji, already at an unfair disadvantage, was pushed harder and harder every day. With each passing memory, Judge made it clear to the overseers to stack harsher regimes on the boy to make up for his lack of skill. And as scene by scene played out, it was clear Sanji was being worn down to the very ends of his limits.
"That's too brutal," Franky said, a deep scowl etched above his pointy chin. It was never ending for this poor kid.
Nami moaned. "There's no way he can keep going like this."
"Hey, slowpoke," Yonji yelled in the next shift of memory as the siblings raced together, all save for one yellow-haired boy. "Can't you run any faster?"
Behind them, a struggling Sanji was trying his hardest not to throw up or pass out as his brother yelled about how pathetic he was.
"Imagine growing up with absolutely zero words of encouragement," Robin said sadly. It was tragic. Heartbreaking.
Zoro's fists clenched and unclenched. The real question, he thought as his gaze traced the screened memories down to their source, was how long they were going to make the cook relive this crap.
"Nothing's changed," someone was heard telling the king of Germa.
Judge didn't blink. This didn't surprise him anymore. He was a smart man, and all he needed was confirmation of what he had already realized. "He has no potential?" he asked.
"None."
"Then it seems he is simply…a waste of life."
Nobody liked that. Luffy's and Zoro's eyes darkened considerably.
"What should we do, sir?"
With that question in mind, Sanji's feelings themselves seemed to dominate the screens suddenly. There was no picture. No color. Only emptiness and an ominous sadness radiating from the darkness, followed by an anxious heartbeat.
And then the screen blinked back to life, shaping a black and white photo into existence. It was of little Sanji, with the little number 3 on his shirt and his innocent little smile.
It was draped in memorial ribbon.
The Straw Hats' hearts dropped.
They knew, rationally, that Sanji had to be alive of course. But…
Vinsmoke Judge took to a podium to explain to his people how tragic his third son's accident was. How they lost him too soon. How he'd be missed. All lies, and yet the attending Germa citizens were the only ones crying at his performance. The funeral was obviously staged, and yet no one was the wiser.
Which left the Straw Hats' minds to reel, trying to think of what that vile man actually did with Sanji.
That's when the memory slowly panned to a quivering blue eye of the little boy who was now dead to the outside world. Sanji blinked and stepped back, face coming fully into view, confused and more than a little frightened.
"What's happening? What are they going to do with him?" Nami whimpered, hands tucked into herself with worry.
Nobody had a single idea. All breaths being held in waiting.
As Sanji stared in terror at whoever was herding him backwards, his tender voice rang out in the dark room, trembling.
"Huh? Wait—"
Darkness encompassed him as his eyes were covered. A clink of metal sounded, followed by the fastening of a lock. Suddenly, Sanji was peering out through a slit of solid iron.
"What is this thing?" His voice trembled further. "It's really heavy..."
"What is that thing?" Chopper re-demanded with urgency as he watched, hooves dragging down his furry cheeks.
Little Sanji's full body came into view then as he stumbled, almost losing his balance completely.
Everyone else looked on with wide, horrified eyes.
"It's…an iron helmet—" Robin's hand flew up to cover her mouth as her voice broke. She didn't want to finish anyway. Didn't want to have to explain out loud. It was an atrocity. Vicious and cruel, and placed upon a child?!
No matter how hard Sanji pushed, the mask locked over his head and jaw never even budged. His tiny voice spiked in alarm.
"What are you guys doing to me?!"
Nobody answered the boy. Or gave him so much as any warning. A metal cell closed in around the distressed blonde until he was securely locked behind bars.
"Oh my god," Nami whispered in horror.
Luffy's face lowered until the rim of his straw hat cast a shadow upon his livid scowl.
Zoro's nails broke through skin.
Little Sanji panicked. Ran to the locked gate and gripped the steel poles with tight fists too small to even wrap fully around one. He was being locked away? He didn't understand. He wasn't a bad guy!
The two Germa soldiers who had escorted him to his fate turned to go, and Sanji cried out with a fresh wave of fear.
"Don't leave! You can't lock me up forever! Let me out!"
When the two guards showed no sign of hearing him, and began up the winding stairwell without a word or look back, Sanji's eyes filled with watery terror. "Please come back," he whimpered. "I'm scared. I'll die here!"
A mixture of bitter grief and jarring shock and anguished rage contorted each face around the room in a wave of violent emotions too strong for even the most brilliant minds to articulate.
"I want my dad," Sanji sniffled.
Such naiveté broke several composures around the room further. Surely one day in the future Sanji would be able to look back and realize the abuse, the trauma; however, this Sanji was still bonded and innocent and hopeful and...
"Dad, where are you?!" Sanji banged against the metal rods with the sides of his fists. Fists that were already covered in various degrees of scratches and bruises. "Help! They're trying to kill me!"
At that, one of the soldiers turned back to the prince with a frown. "Sorry," he said. "But your father is the one who decided this."
Sanji froze.
"My...father?… But that makes no sense." Sanji squeezed his eyes closed, continuing his fussing. "No! There has to be a mistake!"
"It is harsh," the soldier seemed to agree. "But this is not a mistake. He intends to make it as if you were never born."
Freezing again, Sanji watched the guards disappear in silence until he was alone. All alone. In the deep dredges of the Germa dungeon.
Sanji's eyes flooded with realization. His entire body started to shake - bones shivering; muscles quaking; head pounding in time with his heart. He threw his fists one last, desperate time against the cell door before sliding helplessly to the icy, stone floor of his new forever-home, wracking with sobs that spilled endlessly from the iron mask that made it difficult for him to even keep his neck supported and his head up.
His voice cracked with heartbreaking despair. "But why…? What did I do wrong, Dad?"
It's not your fault, Sanji, please.
If only you could understand.
Sanji, it's not you.
Oh, Sanji...
You did nothing wrong, cook.
Sanji...
Sanji's blue eyes peered through the iron slits with a profound fear as he whispered, "Let me out…" Then he grew louder, until he was yelling, his cries ricocheting through the abandoned hall.
"I'm sorryyyy! I'm sorry that I was born so weak! Please help me! I can't live here by myself! Dad!..."
The Straw Hats shook.
Sanji clung to the helmet like he wanted to rip it off but knew he couldn't. Nails scratching until they bled. Body deflating and rising in an anxiety induced back-and-forth state. His voice grew more and more hoarse as he cried. Cried for help. For comfort. For warmth. For safety. For another chance.
For anything and anyone.
And the Straw Hats cried with him.