Work Text:
Freedom has a bitter taste
Chapter 0 : Prologue
The rattling sound of shackles against concrete walls was deafening is the deep silence that surrounded them for what felt like a lifetime now. Surely it should not have been more than two weeks since they had been captured and thrown into that filthy cell. The place was so filled with humidity and moisture, it was starting to make his skin crawled. Sanji exhaled slowly before letting his head rest against the cold surface behind his back.
They should have seen it coming, he thought. Maybe not all of it, if he was honest with himself, but at least some of it. They had known the moment Luffy would become the Pirate King that it was only a matter of time before something like this would happen. He had just hoped it would have taken longer.
But that was the point. Sure, they had not been surprised seeing a dozen marines ships coming their way only a few days after having left the last port they had docked in since leaving Laugh Tale, eager to take down the newly crown Pirate King. Neither were they surprised to notice high ranking commanders among the soldiers facing them. They had not been expecting any less from them.
However, they definitely did not anticipate the other dozen ships that had rallied the others, an unmistakable black flag adorning each of them. The Straw Hat cook could almost hear again as clear as cristal the outraged and anger filled scream of his captain upon seeing the mark of the Black Beard Pirates printed on them. At this point, it took the combined strenght of both Zoro and Franky to stop him from lunging towards the closest ship.
Again, Sanji let out a shaky breath, trying to clear his thoughts and recall what happened afterwards. But his memory of that day consisted mainly of a blurry mix of noises, pain, blood and confusion. He remembered the horrified look on Luffy’s face when Black Beard himself finally showed himself facing the Straw Hat captain on his own ship holding out a white paper in his left hand and what had seemed like a blond strand in his other hand, laughing loudly at the desperate cry that had escaped the young pirate captain. Nor would he forget the shock and disgust on Nami’s face when she understood that this by all means was not a sheer coincidence but rather an unholy alliance between their two sworn ennemies. Coming from those serving directly under the Celestial Dragons, it was quite ironic if he could say so.
« The enemy of my enemy is my friend ». Well that strategy have surely work against them. That and the fact these scums could not fight fair even if their life depended on it. Sanji could have laughed at the irony if their situation was not so dire. Looking across the dark cell, his quirky thought vanished as quickly as it had appeared.
And the horror that he had try to block all day came back to him with the strenght of a solid blow. Seeing his friends chained up and beaten left him as breathless as the moment he woke up that morning. Once again, he closed his eyes to avoid the helpless feeling that was raising and making him sick despite the fact that they had not eat in so long.
Luffy almost chocked when he saw the look of self-loathing on Sanji usually composed features. To think his cook would blame himself for this mess was torture on itself. He had often seen such looks on his nakamas emaciated faces over the last days. Robin’s shame of being captured first, Brook’s pain for being the only one not suffering from starvation, Chopper’s frustration not being able to help and heal their wounds, Franky’s sadness over loosing the Thousand Sunny and not providing a stronger ship, Ussop’s fear of letting his friends down again, Nami’s anger seing the marines treating her family so cruelly, Zoro’s guilt for failing his crew and most of all his captain.
Luffy ‘s despair at seeing his family bound and hurt, awaiting for their impending death.
Long before becoming captain and Pirate King, Monkey D. Luffy had thought freedom had the sweetest taste. He felt it first when he started his journey, tasted it again every time he found one of his nakama, explore a new island and discover the world.
But now, sweetness has given way to bitterness and freedom had turned to ashes in his mouth. For now they had to pay its price.
oOo
This fic takes place several years after the current events of the manga.
Hope you enjoy this prologue. Next chapter is a flashback of how the crew was captured in the first place.
#SPOIL#
I choose not to include Jimbei in the crew since my first idea for this plot dated from before he joined. At least he will be preserved from all the angst planned!