Title: Adventure in the Kingdom of Sand

Rating: M for language, violence, sexual themes

Pairing(s): Zoro x Sanji, Ussop x Nami

Warning: Ahoy Matey! Non-consensual and explicit smut lie ahead in these waters! Don't climb aboard if this ain't the ship you seek!

Summary: Arabasta, the great country of the desert, continues to flourish beautifully in the dry heat. Enter, Sanji. Stolen from his beloved Baratie, forced onto a slaver ship, bought and sold in the infamous human auctions of the Sabaody Archipelago, and headed for sale to the great markets of Arabasta's market port-Nanohana. Enter Zoro, who sees and desires the raw strength, beauty, and power of the enslaved unfortunate and strikes a deal that will bind the two men unimaginably.

Chapter One
Number Nineteen

This is the end, hold your breath and count to ten
Feel the Earth moving and then, hear my heart burst again
For this is the end, I've drowned and dreamt this moment
So overdue I owe them, Swept away, I'm stolen
Skyfall is where we start
A thousand miles and poles apart
Where worlds collide and days are dark
You may have my number, you can take my name
But you'll never have my heart
"Skyfall" - Adele

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The Sexy Foxy, captained by the famed trickster and oft-times buffoon, Foxy, broke the line of the horizon and sailed for the great port of Nanohana, the hub of commerce and traffic of Arabasta. It was an immense battleship that hosted a crew so obscenely large that the ship constantly creaked under the weight of so many men. It moved slowly, ponderously, through the water, but with purpose. The Sexy Foxy was a pirate ship, a well-known fact. But today, its black flags and crossbows were hidden, its masts propelled by large,clean white sails and its current flag bearing the brand of simple merchants. Foxy, was nothing, if not deceptive.

Foxy's pirates often harbored at largely populated islands in the guise of traders or merchants while they stopped to restock and perhaps play a game or two (or several) of Davy Back in order to supplement their already massive crew. They acted the part well, bringing back piles and piles of merchandise from other islands, sometimes even selling off prisoners they had won during the Davy Back games in a clandestine, off-the-books human auction that the bribed officials of Nanohana's ports turned a blind eye to. This was, of course, a rare occurrence, as Foxy loathed parting from even the weakest and lowliest of crew members. With Foxy, quantity was quality.

As the large ship drifted majestically into the harbor, the inhabitants of Nanohana turned in admiration to gaze at the ship's mammoth frame and eccentric design (it had been ostentatiously built in the shape of a fox) before hurrying down into the harbor for a chance to carry off the best picks of the exotic wares that the ship had, no doubt, brought back from the distant and strange islands of the Grand Line. The Sexy Foxy always surprised and pleased the Nanohana men and women. Even if it wasn't to buy, many went just to see the oddity of the whole spectacle.

The Sexy Foxy had been on voyage for over two years now, longer than usual, and so the anticipation of the Nanohana inhabitants was rather keen and all were incredibly excited to see its barnacled decks and large, clean sails, flapping noisily in the brisk wind. The captain who piloted the Sexy Foxy, a man who, in large part, resembled the figurehead of his own ship, was a bloodthirsty mercantilist and businessman, and always seemed to have the best wares and prices for his shoppers. Captain Foxy was a rare figure himself, short and shaped oddly like a pear with stick-thin arms and legs and hair gelled up and split in the middle to resemble the ears of a fox. It was also rumored that he had eaten a Devil's Fruit. But which one and what powers it had afforded him was mystery.

The ship docked and the area around the ship soon bustled with activity as the crew began to wheel out crates and crates of everything imaginable. The air soon filled with the shouts of the crew as they tempted the crowd to come and see their merchandise. One man, atop a large crate, began hawking the Foxy's goods: "Wares! Get your fresh wares here! Medical supplies from the Island of Drum! Spicy dinosaur meat from Little Garden! Dials from the Island of the sky! Plenty of Long kiwis and Long apples from Long Ring Islaaaaaand! Get them here, get them here!"

The voices of sellers and prospective buyers filled the air in a vibrant cacophony of excitement. Through it all, the large trumpet-like voice of the Sexy Foxy's auctioneer blared over the marketplace: "Water Dumplings from the City of Water! Get them here! From the Sexy Foxy! You won't get this kind of quality from anybody else!"

"How much for the flame dial-"

"30 belli! A deal-"

"Mom, mom, can we please, please, please get an impact dial-?"

"Ten pounds of Tyrannosaurus Rex please!"

"Coming right up-"

"What a rip-off-"

"Thank you good sir-"

The chatter of voices around the Sexy Foxy increased to a respectable volume as money changed hands and packages were wrapped and exchanged. All manners of goods were rapidly scooped up by the willing Nanohana people, even if it was just to say that they had purchased something off the Sexy Foxy. After all, how long would it be before it returned again to this corner of the Grand Line? The Grand Line was a dangerous place-who was to say that they would return at all?

As the sun inched its way down, casting a late afternoon glow onto the water and lengthening shadows across the port, the last crates were slowly emptied, the last Dial sold, the last bit of Sea King meat bought, and the crowd began to quiet expectantly, eyeing posters on the ship's side alerting the customers to stay for the "special sale" at the end of the day. Murmurs as to what it could be began to circulate expectantly.

The man on the block who had been shouting the Foxy's deals for the greater part of the morning and afternoon took a deep breath and bellowed out: "Ladies and gentlemen! The moment you've all been waiting for!" He paused, waiting for the crowd to quiet completely. "Ladies and gentlemen...I present to you….prime rate slaves from across the Grand Line!"

A sudden hubbub caused a great craning of necks and a turning of heads as a group of people emerged from the hull. A collective sigh swept the crowd. The Sexy Foxy had been known to sell slaves before, but it had been several years, perhaps more than a decade, that they had done so. The reason of course was that the Captain had a quite a collection of pirates and was loathe to diminish his vast crew by even one. Arabasta's national ban on slave auctions and slavery in general also had something to do with it, although Foxy had a way of convincing the port officials to take a break when he was in town. After all, servitude was quite common in the country, and slavery often went by unnoticed, especially as the people of Arabasta were rather lenient with their slaves and often allowed them to earn their freedoms. Of course, there were always those unfortunates who did not meet so forgiving a fate.

"From the Sabaody no doubt!", an old woman crowed excitedly, tugging eagerly on her older daughter's skirt, "Shana, get one! I need a good house maid-a healthy, young woman will do-" in fact, these slaves were not from the Sabaody Archipelago-that famous island known for its human auctions and strange bubble phenomena. Most were men and women the Foxy pirates had won through various Davy Back games and had either no use or no room for the additions. A few were simply women or children they had kidnapped from villages they had encountered across their travels, taken specifically for the sale.

"Slaves! We've got both men, women, children, fishmen, and skyfolk! Get your slave today! They can be used as a human horse, a laborer, a housekeeper, a cleaner, a babysitter ….. or for your own personal uses!" The portly man bawled out, darting in between the human products as they were taken out from the hold of the ship, straightening a back there, tucking a braid of hair here.

There were only about fifteen of them-6 men and 9 women. They had been chained separately with steel chains looped around their legs and ending tightly clasped on their hands. A few were crying, but most stood with empty, blank looks of horror and surrender as they were poked and prodded; examined and assessed. The crowd swarmed around them, eyes bright with interest. A few sympathetic individuals stopped and gently asked the slaves a few questions-where were they from, who were they, and how had they ended up in chains in Nanohana? A few answered, others did not bother.

A fierce auction ensued, the portly man produced a gavel from somewhere underneath his shirt and banged it loudly against a piece of wood similarly produced. "Attention, attention! The auction starts now!" He swept his arm and pointed at the closest man next to him. ""Item number one! A strong young man of thirty years! Goes by the name of Tanaka! Handsome, strong, young, in fine condition! Can be a great worker! Starting at 106,000 belli!"

"120,000 belli!" cried out a skinny middle-aged woman. She was looking at her would-be purchase with a certain amount of predatory intent.

"160,000 belli!" A tall, handsome man with slicked back oiled hair called out and shot the woman before him a cold look. "He'll make a fine human horse for me."

The slave's eyes rolled in fear as no other bid matched the tall man's. He looked around desperately, but no pair of eyes met his.

"Sold!" screamed the auctioneer and slammed his gavel down, "Item 1 sold for 160,000 Belli! Congratulations! Payment to be made to my partner over here!" Tanaka stumbled off into the waiting arms of the tall man, the leash around his neck jingling mutely, shoulders sagging in a way that seemed to be aware of his waiting fate as human horse.

The auctioneer grinned happily and pointed towards the next slave. "Item Number Two! A beautiful young lady of extraordinary talent and refinement! 300,000 Belli for the starting bid! Do I have any takers?" the portly man cried, gesticulating widely.

"400,000!" screamed out an older man, shaking a fat and adorned purse around. His eagerness left a few onlookers looking slightly disgusted.

"You can do better than that, my good sir!" The auctioneer cried out. "Look at her for God's sake! She's quite the treasure!"

"All right then, 450,000!" The man replied, pulling out another bag of money from under his garments.. "It doesnt' matter!I want her!"

"Sold!" The rap of the gavel and the crowd cheered.

The young lady burst into tears, her shackles clanking noisily as she covered her weeping eyes. An uneasy murmur ran through the crowd, and there was a slight lull as the mass of people glanced guiltily around, suddenly over-aware of their position in a bid for human flesh. "Please no!" She shrieked. "Please no! I have a husband, a family, a sick mother, please d-don't m-make m-me!" Her pleas dissolved into tears and she sobbed hard. She looked at the crowd, at the auctioneer, at the man who had bought her, in her look was desperation. No one met her eye.

"Shut up and come over here slave!" Her owner hissed, distaste stamped across his features as he gazed in chilly contempt at the swollen and puffy features of the girl, who looked very young indeed, and even with the makeup running down her smooth cheeks, very beautiful. He ushered her off into a waiting carriage, her chains clinking as she went, sobs still erupting from her thin chest. The crowd watched her go, mesmerized.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please avert your eyes!" The auctioneer cried out, nervously trying to regain the crowd's good humor. "I apologize deeply for that little scandal! But believe me when I say you'll forgive me when I present this next item-" The auctioneer motioned urgently to some of the guards and made signals to the hold of the ship. They nodded immediately and headed back into the ship, more than a couple could be seen loosening swords in scabbards and uncocking pistols. There was an uneasy and apprehensive shift in the bidders.

One of the crewmen nervously tugged on the hem of the auctioneer's shirt and whispered: "Don't you think we should wait to bring him out? I thought we agreed he'd be last so we could all focus on controlling him!"

"Can't you see I'm losing the rabble!?" The auctioneer snapped, jerking his sleeve away, "That stupid girl had to cry and ruin the mood! We have to distract them with something that'll make them want to keep on buying! Now shut up and go help get him!" He turned to the crowd, all smiles and twinkling eyes.

"I warn you….this is not a sight for sensitive eyes!" The auctioneer began, enthusiastically propagating the excitement in the atmosphere, and dramatizing wildly in an attempt to get the audience to forget the sobbing slave girl, "Captured from East Blue….a most dangerous man…a veritable pillar of manliness….a wonderful must-have!"

His next words were drowned in the sounds of commotion coming from inside the ship. Scuffles, shouts, and muffled blows could be heard. A man screamed-the shriek dampened by the wood. There was the dry crack of a pistol shot. People turned to glance at each other nervously, and sashes were conveniently loosened to allow freer access to hidden weapons.

"Don't worry!" the auctioneer exclaimed, waving his pudgy arms in consolation, "This item is perfectly restrained by over twenty feet of steel chain and guarded by over one hundred soldiers! What's more, he's fitted with an exploding collar! There is absolutely no chance of danger here!"

As the noise increased, the shoppers in the vicinity swallowed audibly and readied their legs to run. Dragging footsteps accompanied the clang of shackles and the grunts of exertion. Whoever was coming, was coming, but not easily.

"Get ready for the sight of your lives!" the auctioneer cried, cleverly elevating his sacred person to a safer viewing spot, "And get your purses and wallets ready for a bidding fest the likes you have never seen before! This is a one-chance-in-a-lifetime opportunity! Ladies and gentlemen, feast your eyes on this demon in the form of a man!" The noise was so loud now-the chains clinking, men screaming, the sound of great effort and even greater resistance as they emerged from the ship-that he had to scream "…..I give you…."

Human shapes emerged from the darkness of the hold and into the light of the day. The auctioneer finished,"Item Number Nineteen!"

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