Chapter Text
Sanji's life had been marked by his bad luck since the day he came into this world. Nothing had ever taken the path most convenient to him, everything he had up to this point had been achieved by being the most stubborn person to grace the earth. Only his fateful encounter with Zeff during that horrid storm that dumped them on the nightmare rock could be considered a change in his luck, a mixed bag, if he does say so himself.
It is really not a surprise, then, to find himself in this situation. They've just left Thriller Bark, an experience that left some of them marked forever, on top of the exhaustion and the injuries they still nurse.
Upon arriving at Sabaody Archipelago, it had seemed like they would have some time to regain their strength before having to venture in to the New World. It looked so idyllic, so colorful and varied, that they couldn't avoid being swept by its charm and lower their guard. That had been the first mistake.
At least those were the thoughts going through Sanji's head the moment he saw Franky and Ussop go down. They were supposed to be safe, here on the Thousand Sunny, waiting for their nakama to come back, but apparently it was not to be; their attackers had a goal to achieve, and they found their prey too weakened to present any kind of opposition, so down they went, in the clutches of slavers hellbent on making money selling them to the highest bidder.
A cyborg and a cook, Ussop got left behind, not interesting or unique enough for them to bother, already discussing prices and profits. It was a difficult conversation to follow, no less because of the splitting headache caused by the hit at the back of his head that had rendered him unconscious and allowed him to be taken.
Franky, Ussop and Sanji had put up a good fight, but they had come prepared, Sanji still didn't understand from where do these guys had gotten their information, but whoever had given them away was going to be dead as soon as he got them.
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Franky was worried, he was unable to move much, his legs not really responding, and his arms tied behind his back, whatever these people had done to his body was going to take him quite a while to fix. He was mostly unharmed given his own nature, but the same could not be said about Sanji, who looked about to pass out, that worried him even more; Franky didn't have much time traveling with the straw hats but still was aware of the strength and resistance they possessed, he knew of their kindness and their close bond, he didn't want to lose that, not again, not after finding this new family.
He tried to make eye contact with Sanji, they had to escape before this people reached their destination, or they would be lost to their friends forever. From what he understood of the conversation of their captors the thing awaiting them was a life of servitude, being bought like cattle by people that had no humanity left in them, to be entertainment for the rich and lose autonomy and freedom. He would not allow it, but he didn't have many options or opportunities, so Franky prayed that Ussop had been able to reach their friends, he didn't allow himself to contemplate another scenario, Ussop had to be fine, his friends would find them, and they would be free again.
Still, Franky was aware that things just could not stay as they were, so he waited until their captors took a break to make his own move. Once they were deposited on the ground, he tried to crawl towards Sanji, the hunters had miscalculated and whoever had leaked information about his body didn't really understand what it was capable of. Franky had been a builder of weapons, the ships he built were designed to be powerful and even when he swore not to make them again, his body had been a completely different issue; so he rebuilt himself with the image of those weapons seared into his own being, powerful enough to protect what was precious to him, to not be defenseless again in the face of the WG.
So he took position over the confused cook, trying to cover the most of his body to try and mitigate the damage, and then after a deep breath he snapped the cuffs that kept his hands prisoners, raised his arm and took aim, the confusion on their captors eyes made him smile right before shooting directly at the middle of were they stood.
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His ears were ringing, and his head was killing him, Sanji was unable to concentrate and separate the screams from the cries and the heavy breathing that covered him. Where was he?, where was everyone else? It was dark, and a heavy weight was pushing him down, where was Franky?, weren't they supposed to be together?, Sanji just couldn't make head or tail until the air started clearing a bit, and he was able to see what lay in front of him. Dead and injured bodies littered the ground, some were groaning in confusion while others were crying and screaming in pain; it looked as if someone had dropped a bomb right in front of them.
His thoughts became more clear then, and Sanji realized that the weight on top of him was that of Franky, he was unconscious so Sanji tried to rouse him by calling for him to no avail, it was apparent he had taken damage from the explosion in a bid to protect him, leaving his own back exposed. Sanji found himself furious, who had given him permission to sacrifice himself?, Sanji hadn't asked to be saved, not at the expense of Franky's safety or life, so in return Sanji would take the opportunity he had been offered and take Franky somewhere safe.
So with difficulty and still feeling the effects of his head injury, Sanji stood, carefully lifted Franky unto his shoulders and ran.