.:Chapter 28 - Mutation:.
Sanji was not in control.
Onscreen, a singular hallway in a traditional Wano design swayed as if off balance. It was dark and filled with debris of destruction.
"That's Onigashima," Robin noted, and Zoro grew rigid. He knew this was about to answer every burning question he had about that day.
Sanji was taking a step backwards. There was someone at Sanji's feet, but the memory kept them blurred, as if Sanji himself was afraid of what he would see.
No. His thought rocked the screen further.
It wasn't…couldn't have been him.
He didn't do this…
"Huh?" Luffy tilted his head. "Didn't do what?"
None of the Straw Hats knew what was happening.
This wasn't him…
He wouldn't have…
He'd never…!
Think back, he demanded himself. Think back!
Long, spindly black legs swirled forth, transitioning the memory back through time. Black Maria strutted toward Sanji with all eight legs on display, the sexy blonde exuding all the confidence of someone who knew exactly how gorgeous they were. Well, from the waist up at least.
"A half-spider woman?!" Usopp and Chopper shrieked at the screen. In addition, the sniper's brain idly wondered, So, if an arachnid is half-woman Sanji can be distracted enough not to freak out?
"She's huge," Zoro commented offhandedly.
She had clearly been taken care of because none of the other Straw Hats – save for two – remembered ever seeing her.
"Black Maria," Brook hummed. "A spider-y seductress with a cohort of women perfect for taking advantage of a certain womanizing chef. ~Yoho! I was wondering if this particular battle would be remembered."
"This must be who he was fighting when he called out over the intercom," Nami realized. She knew it was because of a woman. But knowing Sanji's thought process better, she smiled a bit. Instead of letting himself get beaten – as he did at Enies Lobby – Sanji went and asked his friends for help.
Zoro and Luffy had no recollection of that at all, either. Must've been on the roof, Zoro figured.
Robin's expression, however, softened.
Black Maria was intent on making Sanji her pet, and Sanji was intent on letting her; if he couldn't get out of her grasp without hurting any of the ladies that surrounded him. There were worse ways to go, he figured.
Their fight had been one-sided from the start. No matter how many hits he'd taken, no matter how dire the pain got, Sanji never fought back with intent to harm a single hair on those ladies' heads. He'd even dropped his armament haki if they used their hands as their weapons. He wouldn't hurt them. Couldn't. Even on accident. He was constantly aware and in control of his strength to make sure of it.
Zoro shook his head. Still didn't make any sort of sense to him. But, once again, his cook never did anything half-assed. The dumbass really did take every precaution to uphold his beliefs. Zoro couldn't be too annoyed with him for that.
Wrapped up in the Tobiroppo member's webs, Sanji struggled against survival and principles. What he had to do versus who he wanted to be.
He'd been in this situation many times before, but not many he couldn't get out of.
It was his fault he was in this mess to begin with, he knew that. But he wondered… Did he accept this was the end of the line for him? Did he give up his dream and let down his captain because he couldn't get out of the situation without harming the enemy, an enemy he refused to harm?
Or…did he admit he could have his flaws, because he had friends who could balance him out?
Everyone's eyes widened a fraction, before grins overtook their features.
"There it is," Franky said. "I knew Sanji-bro had a good reason for calling on Robin here, but now it's more than good – it's super!"
If his time on Whole Cake had taught him anything, it was that there were far too few people in this world you could lay your whole trust into. And by some miracle he had found those people. He had his friends, and he needed to trust them. Trust them to be there for him, too. And if they broke… He would just have to pick up the pieces with them afterward. They were a team. Nakama!
Right, Luffy?
The captain grinned widely. "That's right, Sanji."
Franky and Chopper cried tears of unabashed joy together. They were so proud of their cook, dammit!
Black Maria and her lovely fiends wanted Sanji to lure Robin to them for their own devious reasons. Had been attempting to coax it out of him this whole time.
But Sanji knew Robin could handle them – easy.
With blood dripping in streams down his battered face, and tied at the arms, legs, and torso by Black Maria's sticky webs as her brass-knuckled fist came flying towards his face once again, Sanji made his decision.
He pushed his head back, sucking in as much painful air as his lungs could take. Then, he shouted for all he was worth. For Robin.
"HELP ME ROBIN!" His blonde hair curled around him. "HELP ME PLEAAAASSSEEE!"
His plea shivered through the memory until the archeologist of the Straw Hats was suddenly there, calm and confident and dazzling.
"As super an entrance as ever," Franky said, making Robin chuckle fondly.
She wasn't alone, either.
The webs strangling Sanji turned to ice. A skeletal swordsman rushed past, and they shattered.
"I beg your pardon. Just passing through with the gold gales of the underworld. ~Yohohoho."
"Always with the dramatics," Nami smiled as Brook burst into another 'yoho'.
Now freed, Sanji landed with a heavy thump. Even sure Robin could handle this all on her own, he was relieved nonetheless that two of his friends had come. "Thanks, Brook," he told the musician as Robin distracted Black Maria. "You saved my life."
Brook sheathed his sword and hummed. "Any time, any place."
"And I mean that with all my heart, Sanji," Brook said. "Except, I don't really have a heart, do I? ~Yohoho!"
"Hate to say it, but I'd be better off helping Kinemon and the others on the roof." Sanji shuffled off, regaining feeling back in his legs. "For some reason, I feel like I just can't win this one."
Brook and Robin smiled fondly at the blonde's back as he hobbled away. "You're right about that," they said in unison.
The Straw Hats chuckled, Luffy the loudest. "Ah, Sanji," the captain laughed.
His friends came and took over, no questions asked, Sanji thought. No judgements passed, either. He had made the right decision, right? They wouldn't be angry at him later, would they?
Robin sighed, but her smile was still there, still warm.
Black Maria screeched behind him as he began to run. "Why are you protecting that idiot when he sold you out?! You really think he's worth your life?!"
"One hundred percent," Robin replied easily.
Robin only smiled politely at the woman. "How sad – you don't have friends. If you did, you would surely understand. It's a fine thing, trusting someone."
"And for the majority of my life, very few people have ever trusted me, let alone so completely," Robin tacked on quietly.
"You were one of the first people he called on for help, Robin," Chopper told her happily.
"Yes." Robin's smile brightened, cerulean eyes curving at the corners. "It truly meant a lot to me."
Onscreen, Robin called to her retreating friend.
"Sanji!"
The addressed looked over his shoulder, a clear look of worry on his face that he'd done something wrong. Robin gazed over her own shoulder and met his expression with a warm one. "Thanks for counting on me! I mean it." She winked. "That made me happy!"
For a split second, Sanji struggled to process why she would thank him for that. He had plead his feeble heart out to an audience of hundreds. He was the laughingstock of the entirety of Skull Dome, surely. But then…
I made Robin-chan happy?!
His eyes burst into hearts. She said 'happy'. And winked! He must've made her happier than ever! He did that! Black Leg Sanji making Robin happyyyy!
Disoriented in his fluttering, he missed his exit and slid along Brook's freshly-laid ice until he crashed into a wall.
"That's our Sanji," Brook sang as Robin laughed with the others.
"Whatta moron," Zoro chuckled. His moron.
The wall itself morphed into another. Sanji was in the main Performance Hall now. Images of King and Queen flashed across the screen, the Beast Pirates' All-Stars.
"These guys…," Franky murmured, all humor vanishing.
Chopper shivered. "They were the worst. I wouldn't have made it if not for Sanji."
The Straw Hats weren't the only ones to recognize them, however.
"Ah, Queen the Plague," Hollowell tittered. "~Teeshishi. Quite the character, that one was."
"A nuisance," Ashvin corrected offhandedly, making Hollowell laugh again.
The Straw Hats eavesdropped with curiosity.
"Despite his eccentricity, he did beat me to claiming some of Judge's research. Credit where credit is due, and all that," Hollowell said. "We shall see how good that'll do him here, hm? Up against a true experiment of Judge's. ~Teeshishishishi."
Invading Onigashima proved just how advantageous a suit made for stealth could be for Sanji. He hadn't used it much, but it had proven useful in times of emergency. Like now.
King the Wildfire – the armored Lunarian – had little Momonosuke hung in his grasp by his neck. The lead performer went to strike, a testament to disobedience, only to collide with an invisible force instead. Spindly trails of fire coiled around the two.
"Oh, yeah," Luffy remembered, eyes glimmering. "Sanji sure knows how to make a cool entrance!"
Usopp nodded seriously. "Putting my teachings to good use, I see."
Soba Mask flickered into view, and the memory spun rapidly as, not minutes later, King pulled an obliterating blow that buried the masked blonde in a pile of rubble. Luckily, Sanji had handed Momo off to Shinobu beforehand or the kid would've been seriously injured like he surely was. That hit was brutal. Sanji could feel it all at impact.
There was bustling and rescue around him until he was back in the light of the room.
"Are you alright, Sangoro?" someone asked.
Sanji responded with an automatic 'yeah' before he really knew the answer. His raid suit was back in its canister, and he was standing and walking just fine.
And Zoro stared, because that damn red-wine suit was back and fully on display…
A tingling began in Sanji's arms, a strange shivering sensation snaking around his elbows. Over his shoulders. Down his torso.
Wait. He rubbed at his chest, prodding gently. Maybe I'm not alright.
After a moment, nothing else happened. No irritation, no burns, no aches, no throbs... Had he imagined it? He seemed completely fine all of a sudden, but – hell – he should've felt way shittier after that hit. And what the hell was that sensation afterward?
Robin quirked an eyebrow. Zoro stared, unblinking, the thoughts of what he did to Sanji in that suit after Wano vanishing from his mind in an instant. Others tilted their heads in confusion. So, what – he got lucky? That was a good thing, wasn't it?
There was too much happening across the battlefield again before Sanji could mull it over. Too many distractive pieces to this conflict raging in chaos. No matter where he turned someone was in trouble.
With another flourish of color, Sanji was catapulting through the air, heel colliding with the top of Queen's ancient zoan head after he tried to attack Otama, Nami, and Usopp.
Nami clapped her hands together gratefully. "A well appreciated save, Sanji!"
"Even if I – the Great Captain Usopp – had a counterattack waiting to strike!"
Queen was the last Beast Pirate Sanji wanted to face. The crazy bastard knew his family. As if sensing Sanji's trepidation, the air filled with the dinosaur's growling rage as he swung on the Straw Hat cook.
"So," the cyborg-dino hissed. "You're the one responsible for that, Judge's little reject!"
"Huh. He did have a loud mouth, didn't he?" Zoro recalled, eye narrowed. His jabs at the cook were making more sense to him in retrospect.
Sanji glared at the man. He knew way more than Sanji first gave him credit for, which meant one thing; of course this science-obsessed freak had worked with Judge.
"That's ancient history, Judge's boy," Queen laughed when Sanji asked about it.
"Man, everywhere we go there's someone whose worked with his crazy cruel pops," Franky said. The guy's bad luck really had no limits.
The zoan had an array of cybernetic transformations – limb extensions, with swords and pincers and blades.
Each bout of memory transforming just as quickly.
Queen was suddenly no longer his enemy; King had joined him. Both superpowers were ruthless in their chase of him, and Sanji realized very quickly that he needed backup. He couldn't handle two lead performers at once. Not on his own. For now though, he'd hold on. For his friends. For Chopper, and for Mosshead who was napping on the job.
Zoro scoffed. "It was a little nap."
"You were actually sleeping?!" Usopp and Nami screeched at him.
The swordsman's veins throbbed in his head. "I was recovering from Kaido and Big Mom! The cook was holding them off just fine." He waved it off. "He knew I'd be back on my feet soon to save his ass."
They didn't get Curly the way he did. Here the idiot cook was, his thoughts unfiltered and longing for Zoro for backup; yet when Zoro did show up there was nothing but whining. It was their repertoire every time. This was the perfect material to rub in the cook's face, but Zoro smirked, knowing that – at least this time – he wouldn't let Curlybrows know he'd heard anything about his thoughts here. They were rivals, but they were also a team. And after all that's happened that last thing Zoro wanted to do was deter Sanji from asking for help if he truly needed it.
When it came to Queen and King in that moment, though, Zoro slept to recover at peace knowing that idiot of his was more than capable to bid him some time.
Queen's verbal jabs were as relentless as his physical ones. "Why can't you just accept you and I are two-of-a-kind, Vinsmoke?"
"Stop calling me Vinsmoke! I got nothing to do with that old man!"
Sanji's right calf turned to molten lava. Queen deflected easily and glared right back at the other blonde, unimpressed.
"Blood will tell…Vinsmoke."
"First the bounty poster, and now this guy," Nami muttered. "Do you think Sanji will ever get away from his messed up family?"
Everyone frowned, because now he had Hollowell Mind Tech torturing him on top of it all, too.
King sent a strike toward the argumentative cook. "You're only delaying the inevitable."
Sanji dodged, having it hit Queen instead. These two were really starting to piss him off.
"You won't be cooking anything soon," King continued. "Once I'm done with your legs, your hands are next."
"People really don't want Sanji to cook," Luffy said, shaking is head in confusion. "I bet if they tried his food they'd change their minds."
"Right," Nami sighed with a roll of her eyes. "Because that's the problem they have with him."
"That's the downside to wearing your heart on your sleeve," Brook supposed. "Your weaknesses are just as out in the open."
The battle raged on in a series of twists and turns and knockouts. A strike from King sent Sanji tumbling along the ground, and the scene jumped into another.
With a flash of clanging metal, Zoro soared into the fray, Sanji kicking up speed right behind him. The two – orange and green and maneuvering around each other like a practiced dance – shot like beams of light toward the enemy. King and Queen were thrown back with synchronized precision by blade and heel, and Zoro and Sanji landed gracefully together on the other side of the destructive carnage.
"Now that's an entrance," Franky applauded.
"Talk about a Power Couple," Robin said appreciatively. Then she gave a knowing smirk. "Two wings – soaring."
Luffy cackled happily, understanding exactly what Robin meant.
Zoro watched the screen intently. He'd never seen himself fight before. The sheer power emanating from him and the cook side-by-side left him dumbstruck. It was a sight he wished he had more of, if only to see the raw force of his partner as it complemented his own, and vice versa.
The angle shifted. A new trajectory of memory.
Sanji puffed at his cigarette.
Zoro cracked his neck.
The wings of the future pirate king faced off against their equally intimidating opponents, and after a moment of powerful silence, both Straw Hats' expressions gleamed with determination. Their legs took off, pushing them into the air as Queen shot at them.
As easily avoidable as the beam blades were, something shifted in Sanji's shoulder and he flinched, grunting as he lost stability and was almost hit. It was as if something had injected itself within his arm, but there was no pain, just…movement.
Sanji landed, braced on one knee, left hand gripping at his right shoulder as he gritted his teeth around his cigarette. His muscles seared in discomfort. The tingling was eerily similar to earlier…
"What's wrong with him?" Usopp asked. This was the second time something weird was going on, and even he didn't seem to know what.
Chopper's eyes widened slightly. "This must relate to what I saw later during the battle. Something freaky was going on with Sanji's body!"
The doctor's words only confused everyone further. Robin hummed, brows furrowing in concern. Zoro's guarded gaze added to her suspicions.
Zoro landed beside Sanji, glancing at him under the shadow of his bandana. "Hey, what's up with you?"
"I don't know how to describe it," Sanji grunted. "But ever since I took off that stupid raid suit my body has felt off."
Zoro kept his eyes on their two enemies as he tried to make sense of what Sanji had said.
"It's not every day Sanji admits something is wrong with him. Especially to Zoro," Brook mused. It must've taken the swordsman off guard.
"His raid suit?" Nami tried to think back to the times they'd seen him use it and how that possibly correlated with whatever strange feelings Sanji had now.
"You telling me you're sick or somethin'?" Zoro started. "You better not drag me down…"
Sanji stood abruptly in retaliation. "Says the guy who was sleeping on the job not five minutes ago!"
The cook had taken that bait exactly how Zoro had wanted him to.
"Besides, I didn't say I felt sick, alright?" Sanji rolled his shoulder multiple times to loosen it up. "Just feels kinda weird."
His brows scrunched. Zoro noticed.
"Oh, weird like your eyebrows?"
Said eyebrows twitched. "I said my body, you jackass!"
This was the dynamic from the duo that the bemused Straw Hats were used to more than their rare moments of public displays of affection.
Luffy laughed heartily at his friends' antics. Why were they always the funniest in the middle of a fight? His crew was hilarious!
Although King was standing in front of Zoro, as the Lunarian observantly listened to the conversation at hand he suddenly launched himself at a disoriented-Sanji. Not two feet from the blonde, King's blade clashed against Zoro's blades.
"Yeah, that wasn't happening," Zoro uttered casually.
Onscreen, Zoro was just as casual. "That's one you owe me," he goaded the cook.
Queen swung in now, a flaming ponytail aimed at the preoccupied swordsman. Sanji kicked it away speedily, shooting back at Zoro, "I don't owe you shit."
The swordsman smirked in genuine amusement.
"I've got a question, Judge's boy," Queen sang, making Sanji's jaw clench. The number of idiots he had to deal with on a daily basis astounded the chef sometimes.
"I already told you not to call me that," Sanji responded.
Queen was undeterred. "I heard all of Judge's kids were cyborgs. What part of you is artificial? Vinsmoke Judge is as crazy as they come – bet he got real creative with you… So, is that burning leg of yours a machine?"
Every word out of this asshole's mouth made Sanji sick.
"Hate to break it to ya, pal, but unlike my siblings I'm one-hundred percent human!"
"Humans can't light themselves on fire, you moron! And I know damn well you're not a Lunarian."
"Well, I would've known if there was any kind of cyborg in my vicinity," Franky said, matter-of-fact.
What if they became cyborgs later? Zoro unconsciously wondered. He instantly grew frustrated with himself. People couldn't just turn cyborg out of the blue.
As if reading the swordsman's thoughts, Robin mused, "I doubt whatever technology is embedded in Judge's children resembles a cybernetic piece of machinery visible to the eye."
"But, some part of Sanji could be cyborg?!" Chopper wailed.
Usopp turned on him. "Sanji's not like his siblings, remember? He wouldn't have any of that crap."
Chopper only seemed to fiddle with his hooves, as if plagued by re-emerging memories of his own. Zoro didn't like that look on the kid. Made his stomach drop. Even the others seemed curious about Chopper's behavior added on top of Sanji's ever-growing strangeness.
Something was wrong.
At Queen's mention of Lunarians, King glanced over, inquisitive. Zoro watched the movement with a sharp eye. He quickly took back the armored beast's attention as Sanji and Queen also went head-to-head. It was a full out brawl within seconds. Flashes of fiery displays against clanging steel. As the memory flurried through countless attacks, sparks and flames gnashing at every twist and turn, Queen suddenly clipped the dead center of Sanji's chest with his metal claw while he swung another pair down against his back. The cook sent up a cloud of dust as he was knocked headfirst into the ground.
Dammit. He hit me straight on that time. Sanji grumbled, pushing up onto his knees. Something in his body loosened as he moved, and he cursed. It feels like I might've broken a couple ribs… Sanji pressed at the tender flesh under his breastbone, and...
Huh? Ribs are fine! He stood straight, perfect, hands on his waist as if daring his ribcage to protest.
Okay, so what had moved? Something was definitely off-kilter, so… Was it his back? He stretched.
-crack-
Nope, nothing.
Maybe his neck?
-crack-
Sanji didn't understand. His body seemed fine.
"Eh? How is he 'fine' after that hit?" Usopp questioned, the pitch in his voice growing higher with the tension in the air.
Queen wasted no time getting back to action. His attacks were relentless, but always toying. Just on the edge of deadly without actually crossing the line. It was like he was trying to pull something out of Sanji, but Sanji couldn't figure out what it was.
As Queen managed another direct hit to the center of Sanji's chest, he sang enthusiastically. "You gotta show me the good stuff!"
The hell was he talking about?
"I want to see Germa 66's combat suit – NOW!"
The Straw Hats grimaced, some in annoyance, some in confusion. One in heavily disguised concern.
"Why is he suddenly demanding that?" Nami wondered.
"It seems he wants to see more of Judge's technology in action," Robin said.
"~Teeshishishi. For the sake of science, challenge is necessary." Hollowell was thoroughly amused by the turn of events in this pathetic Vinsmoke's past.
Sanji gripped his head, vision blurry as he focused on what Queen was asking, as well as the destruction around him. Destruction that hadn't affected him at all? Sanji flexed his gloved fingers in awe before glaring back up at Queen when the dino-freak spoke again.
"Why you holdin' out on me? Do I gotta ask nice? You brought out your suit when you were fighting King – why is he special?! It made you turn invisible, right?" Queen howled. "That's Judge's handiwork if I've ever seen it! He made it just for you, so show daddy some love and break it out."
"You really know how to push my buttons," Sanji growled. As he stood, a wave of something unfamiliar washed over him. He wobbled back. Grabbed at his head again. Near his eyes. He blinked several times until his vision cleared.
I'm feeling weird again.
And did the world look a little clearer all of a sudden?
"It seems as if every time he's hit, whatever gets injured fixes itself," Robin said suddenly, mind reeling.
"Huh?" Luffy and Usopp squinted their eyes to see what she was seeing.
"For instance, just now when he landed he was having trouble seeing. After he felt that odd feeling of his, not only was his sight fixed, but he mentioned that everything looked clearer, as if whatever damage had ever been done to his eyes was perfected in the process."
"What does that mean, exactly?" Nami asked worriedly.
"I'm…not sure yet."
"Wear the suit, you tease! Come on, Vinsmoke!"
Sanji could barely take so much crap all at once. "How thick is your head, you stupid lizard?! You don't know my family situation! I don't even think of them as family! I am not wearing that shit! Got it?!"
"What if I say pretty please with a big beam on top?!" Queen mocked, his lasers going off like a toddler throwing a tantrum.
No matter how much the singing science-expert antagonized Sanji, the Straw Hat refused to relent. His legs clashed with Queen's bladed arms again and again, and yet neither could get a detrimental hit on the other.
Queen approached Sanji with a devious laugh, watching as the sweat dripped from his face in streams. The Beast Pirate seemed to have an endless amount of power-ups, and Sanji was getting sick of them.
As if on cue, the dinosaur planted his feet and stretched as far as he could from tail to nose. Then, his long neck shot from his body. Queen's head slithered around Sanji like a snake.
Usopp, Nami, Zoro, Brook, and Franky balked. "Haah?!"
"I never knew dinosaurs could do that – that's so cool!" Luffy exclaimed.
"No one's ever escaped from my brachio-coilus technique," Queen boasted with Sanji firmly in his hold. "Your squishy human body is no match for the raw power coursing through my veins! Not even a master of conqueror's haki could escape this! The pressure will shatter your bones, crush your internal organs, and compress your body into a human meatball!
"But since you're Judge's boy I'll cut you a sweet deal… Show me Germa's power suit and I'll let you go. Beats getting squeezed to paste, right?"
"Go to hell—arggh!" Blood roared in Sanji's ears as his lungs squeezed like they were getting trampled.
Usopp winced. "That looks bad, even for Sanji."
Queen was getting as tired of Sanji's resistance as Sanji was of the man's own persistence. Luckily for Sanji, Queen disrupted his own hold on him by the power of his own voice-activated rockets and both went flying in opposite directions.
"Wow, that was super embarrassing for Dino-bro," Franky said over Luffy's cackling.
Sanji laid face down in the rubble as Queen re-oriented himself.
"My constriction technique did its job, anyway," Queen said. "The fight's over. You're already dead – I just came to bury you."
"I thought for sure he had so many broken bones," Chopper said. "Crushed organs as well. I was going to use the mink medicine we used for Zoro on him, but…"
Without a word, Sanji stood. He was met with horrified gasps as he wobbled for balance.
"Sanji!" Chopper wailed in the distance with his distinctive and strange old man voice. "What in tarnation is going on with youw body?!"
"Not old man Chopper," Luffy laughed.
"You're so tiny," Usopp snickered.
Chopper only pouted. He couldn't help the side effects! Like Luffy was one to talk!
"Huh?" Sanji tried to comprehend the reactions around him. "What do you mean?"
Everyone was staring now.
The Straw Hats tensed with anticipation as the scene panned out.
Sanji's left leg was bent in three places. His torso was strained unnaturally to the left, ribcage sticking far out to the right. Sanji panted as he watched them all with confusion – neck also bent oddly to the left – wondering why he couldn't seem to stand up straight.
"Whaaa?!" Luffy's eyes bulged. Zoro's widened. Brook's jaw dropped.
"What the hell is wrong with him?!" Usopp stammered.
"How— How is he standing?!" Nami added, hands over her mouth.
Robin's eyes were dark and serious. "This was what I was talking about…"
"You'we cwooked," old-man Chopper exclaimed. "Awe you okay?!"
Sanji hobbled forward a few steps. "I guess so. I mean, it hurts, but it seems like I can walk at least."
"His body will surely fix itself now," Robin surmised. "It's like it has a mind of its own."
"Hold on," Luffy interrupted, excited. "So, whenever Sanji starts falling apart his body puts itself back together?"
"Like a zombie?!" Brook shrieked.
Chopper flailed. "That's what I said!"
"More like…" Robin hesitated. She didn't want to be wrong. But she kind of also hoped she was.
"Like a cyborg," Franky finished for her, eyes just as dark. "Or a superhuman experiment. Sound familiar?"
Zoro, sitting cross-legged, gripped his knees to anchor himself to his surroundings. To reality. No need to let any of this get to him. He was breathing and in control…
"What are you saying?" Nami demanded, horrified. "You think Sanji is…" She swallowed hard, focus going back to the screen.
Sanji gripped his chin and the back of his neck and yanked, straightening it with a sickening crunch. He looked down. "What the hell? My body's all weird."
"Ya think?!" Usopp couldn't handle what he was seeing.
Sanji smacked the abnormal joints back into place. "Guess that works."
"That's all you have to say?!" Usopp was losing it. "You were bent in a million different directions!"
"But what happened to me," Sanji said, quiet and contemplative. "It's really freaking me out."
Sanji was perfectly back to normal, not a bone out of place.
"I've known Sanji since I was but a wee boy," he heard Chopper saying. "But I've nevew seen him do anything like that! What awe you, Sanji?!"
Was Chopper…accusing him of something?
"Gah!" Chopper's little arms flailed in despair. "Oh no! I didn't mean it like that, Sanji, I promise!"
Sanji flexed his hands. His wounds were healed, just like the last time he got badly hit…
Wait. This power…
A firecracker of memories intertwined with Onigashima: Little Sanji's fist breaking against Ichiji's nose. Little Sanji's katana snapping like a twig against Niji's forehead. Yonji's cruel kick to an innocent animal only Little Sanji seemed kind enough to care about. All laughing. All as indestructible as they were repairable.
That couldn't be right, though. His siblings were different than him. His genetic mutation never…never activated…
Sanji's pupils withered with horrific clarity. Did—Did something trigger it?
"Trigger it?" Nami whispered, thoughts racing a mile a minute. "Like—Like it was lying dormant this whole time?" Was that possible?
"SANJI! Stay focused!" Chopper was yelling. "Look behind you!"
Sanji heard the call, but he couldn't move. Couldn't process…
"I'll finish you this time!" Queen hollered, blade drawn.
Anxiety froze the room. People were yelling. Queen's blade swung. It struck directly against Sanji's neck.
The Straw Hats stiffened instinctually.
And the blade snapped in half, the steel tip clattering yards away from its intended prey.
"Ow. The hell?" Sanji said, like nothing more than a needle had pricked him.
His cheek, however, was contorted inward where the sword had hit, the side of his face concaved. Sanji ran his fingers down the side of his face, first in confusion, then understanding. Because he had just let his guard completely down like a moron. Queen had just tried to decapitate him and should've…should've succeeded. Yet, Sanji was otherwise fine, and he knew – knew – this was all wrong. Knew what this was.
Knew this wasn't what he wanted.
The crew watched, wide-eyed and speechless.
"Children, of all the things I've built, you are the greatest!"
Vinsmoke Judge's voice swung in Sanji's mind like a pendulum. Each swing a sharp reminder of who he was supposed to be to that jackass, and how he never wanted to be it.
"You're an incredible team of scientifically modified superhumans… Unlike normal humans, you are unbound by emotion."
Sanji's breaths staggered unevenly. He balled his fists, panicked. There was no way… There was no way he'd become someone like them.
Even furious about his damaged weapon, Queen smirked. "You did that yourself without armament haki?! …Looks like I get to see some Germa tech after all!"
The words prompted another prickle of terror as the cook's heart stumbled in rhythm. He pinched at his concave cheek, stretching it back out. Pulled at his jaw. Brows creased and eyes withered, he knew it was all happening again. Each pull elicited an agonizing crack, but all that was truly splintering was Sanji's heart.
No… Please…
"It can't be," Usopp said, just as pleading as their cook was. "I mean, he's fine in the present…" He gulped. "Isn't he?"
Everyone's eyes darted to their captive crewmate and back up. None of them knew how deep this went, or if it was actually happening. It was all speculation… And Sanji had never led anyone to believe something could be wrong with him… Right?
Every muscle in Zoro's body shook. Should he have told someone of…? No. No, the cook had confided in him for a reason. It wasn't his to talk about. Besides, it couldn't have gone very far or Sanji would've given him more information afterward. But even to his own ears he knew he was trying to convince himself of that fact as everyone's stresses bled into his own – including the cook's. Twirly's panic was palpable through that damn screen.
"Never seen someone with a body like yours before," Queen sang. "But I do remember Judge going on about it. 'I'll give humans exoskeletons,' he'd said. 'And accelerated healing.'"
Wide-eyed, Sanji felt the back of his head, fingertips running down the length of his neck. Exoskeleton, his fingers whispered at him, accusing.
"'I'll give them incredible strength, and a heart of ice that won't be swayed by petty emotions.'"
It was like Sanji's whole world was collapsing in on itself. His jaw opened even as no words could express the fear that bubbled just beyond his throat. Did he deny it? Did he call for help again? What good would any of that do?!
His subconscious reminded him of Germa's soldier depot, where they grew humans like potted plants.
What's more is our men are as obedient as they are strong, Yonji had said while Sanji hyperventilated.
Sanji was as panic-stricken now as he was that day in the laboratory. He wouldn't say things like them without any remorse. He wouldn't act the way they would. I'm not…
"I'm not…like that…" He looked up, brows curled in complete and utter anguish.
It was a face of Little Sanji's, and his crews' hearts reached out for him. Zoro's thumped with the urge to shield that face from all harm and smooth its brows until all lines of distress dissipated.
"I'm…a human – not a cold-blooded creature like them…" Sanji took a desperate step forward, fists at his sides, eyes stinging. He knew who he was and who he wasn't and… "I'm not a monster!"
"Come on," Queen laughed at him. "You don't gotta cry!"
"There goes another loser mocking his feelings," Nami said, making Luffy glare.
"He has every reason to cry if he wants to," Chopper sniffed indignantly. He had witnessed this firsthand that day and yet…there had to be some kind of mistake. It was too heartbreaking seeing this through Sanji's eyes.
"Welcome to the Monster Club, Vinsmoke!" Queen's claws started to spin. His beams ignited. "You're gonna fit right in!"
"Shit!" A laser barely missed Sanji, singing his pants. His mind whirled in turmoil faster than his legs ran. "Dammit! Just…give me a sec here! I gotta figure out what's going on with my body! I need a little time to think, okay?!"
As he ducked and dodged, he obviously wasn't betting on it. This was the middle of goddamn battlefield. But he knew a panic attack when he felt one, and – fuck – he needed to bid himself some time. A couple minutes. One minute even! He needed to figure out how to deal with all this.
"Sure isn't a hell of a good time for this to be happening," Franky muttered. It was crisis after crisis after crisis. They all should've come to expect it by now, but this…this was unprecedented. Franky tried to remember if he'd detected in changes in Sanji after leaving Wano.
Was this happening because I transformed into Soba Mask? Sanji wondered. Really?! I use the suit a couple of times and I'm losing my humanity already?!
Chopper wailed. "Sanji can't lose his humanity!"
Sanji could tell by the murmurs around him that everyone must've thought he was crazy. Hell, he probably was. Running away. Talking to himself. A laughingstock once again. What else was new? When were people not laughing at his pain?
And how could he blame them? He had finally accepted that being a 'disappointment' to the Vinsmokes meant he was exactly where he was supposed to be, and now the universe had snatched it away from him?! He could almost laugh, failing at being a failure… What a fucking joke!
"Sanji…" Brook, Robin, and Chopper just wanted to embrace their anxious friend.
Dammit, Curly, don't think like that.
"He's regressing," Nami stated sadly.
"Can we blame him?" Franky said.
"He's not a joke," Luffy said, full of confidence. This was just something Sanji had to push through. Had to be!
Bullets collided against his back. Lost in his mind's chaos, they should've lodged right into his flesh, but instead they bounced off as if he was made of iron.
Queen was delighted. "Uahaha! His exoskeleton's tough!"
Sanji cursed, continuing to run as he was chased and fired at. It felt like he was being attacked in body and spirit. And Queen just wouldn't shut the hell up, pestering him like an annoying fanboy with zero self-awareness.
"Show me more of your Germa tech! Be a pal – put on your suit!"
"Shut up about Germa," Sanji yelled back, but even as he spoke, he couldn't help the reality of what he was facing sink in. Deep in his bones, the change was still happening. He could feel it. Spasms of reconstruction.
Usopp did not like the sound of that. Nobody did.
I don't… I don't wanna be like the rest of my family, dammit!
Everything he went through as a child, everything he learned about himself on Whole Cake, every fault he fought so hard to remedy and every flaw he worked so hard to accept… It was all in jeopardy. Every path he stepped forward on to follow his dreams. Every push he gave himself to strengthen his bonds – especially the reinforced establishment of a special one…
A breathy moan filled the room. Scarred brown hands gripped at muscular pale thighs. Bodies bit with truces and harsh caresses. Raw passion combined with comforting whispers creating an ambrosial blend of satisfaction and inexorable safety Sanji'd never felt before.
"Oh my." Brook shielded Chopper's and Luffy's eyes (much to Luffy's irritation and confusion).
Nami and Usopp flailed.
"Oh god!"
"Make it stop!"
Franky averted his gaze to the ceiling. He did not need to see that.
Zoro ignored the pulsing red heating his face. "Don't like it, don't look," he shot at the ridiculous idiots freaking out around him. His steely eye landed on the specialists. Those are the assholes who didn't deserve to see such a delicious stretch of skin on those bare legs.
Robin disguised her laugh as a cough. They had needed this tiny reprieve from their worries, even if it was at their swordsman's expense.
Dammit! So much had changed for the better for Sanji recently – some things having taken years, some things shifting as quickly as a few days of desperate reconciliation. Coming to terms with so much of himself in such a short amount of time had been overwhelming. Trusting his friends without reserve and steeling the confidence it took to act on his heart's desires felt next to impossible most of the time. Everything he'd gained, he still hung on cautiously to, waiting for it to fall apart. And now, it was.
Now, everything Sanji had fought for was suddenly thrown into a blender without a lid, leaving him to scramble on his hands and knees to clean up the pieces of the life he'd created for himself.
He didn't want to change. Not ever – but especially not now.
I'm happy the way I am, his thoughts cried. This is bullshit!
The Straw Hats were back to depressed. It really wasn't fair.
"It…clearly doesn't get that bad, though," Usopp tried to reason.
"We don't know that," Nami said, killing any hope instantly. She wasn't one to cater false optimism; she was a realist. "We've seen how powerful their mutations are. If Sanji really is feeling it being activated, who's to say how far it'll progress?"
"But…" Chopper also looked at their present-day cook. "He's still Sanji."
From what they all could tell, that was true enough. But could they be certain something hadn't permanently altered in him?
Ahead of him, something soft and frail called out. It was nothing but a jumble of noise to Sanji as he ran through the pluming dust of Onigashima, however; lost in the darkness of his mind as Queen's words about Judge played on repeat.
"I remember Judge talking about this. He wanted to create the perfect soldier."
Sanji shook, his thoughts growling. Shut up…
"With incredible strength and a heart of ice. Powerful and merciless."
Shut up!
"Don't pretend you're not excited to show off that Germa blood in your veins!"
Sanji couldn't catch his breath. His fingers tangled into his hair as he tugged. Harder and harder. Burning.
I'm not like them, dammit!
His hands slid down his tingling face, familiar and completely different all at the same time.
"Hm?" Luffy's head popped up curiously. Something was off about Sanji's face…
He pictured his brothers…his father… A rage of fury flashed over him as all he could see was Judge's smug face smiling down at him, knowing and triumphant. Sanji couldn't take it anymore. There was no way… There was no proof! He wasn't… He couldn't…
He wasn't a monster!
"I'm…I'M HUMAAAANN!" he screamed, his body boiling with every ounce of anger, centering at the arch of his foot, until the image of Judge in his head shattered with a fierce blow.
A shrill scream erupted.
Sanji blinked, eyes still withered, trying to make sense of his new surroundings. Someone was in front of him… Falling. Flying back as if they'd just been struck. Their cherry-pink hair fluttered in their cry, flower pins sailing free of the strands. Sanji balked, realizing that the person in the orange checkered kimono was a woman. She landed harshly; her head punctured. She pushed herself up into a sitting position and felt her wound. Her hands came away bloody as her lips quivered and eyes watered in pain.
Such a beautiful girl…in trouble…
"But there's nobody else around…?" Chopper said, brows scrunched like the others.
What…had hit her?
"Uh, are you okay, Miss?" Sanji asked, trying to shake himself out of this weird feeling he had inside him if it meant helping a lady in need. He stepped forward hurriedly but halted almost as fast when the woman screamed at him.
"Stay back!" she whimpered, shimmying away as if terrified. "Don't come any closer!" Her brown eyes watched Sanji closely, arm out as if protecting herself from…from him.
Sanji's horrified realization filled the screen.
It seeped straight into the stunned stillness of his crewmates.
Had Sanji…?
Luffy's finger snapped up, noticing the odd sight he was seeing for the second time.
"His eyebrows are wrong."
Sure enough, staring back at them wasn't a Sanji they knew at all. The curl of his eyebrows had changed direction, matching those of every other successfully altered Vinsmoke.
-screaming into the void-
That's how this chapter makes me feel. Meanwhile the infamous oath is next...