I'm thinking along these lines:
Sora is able to sabotage Judge's attempts to weaponize her boys, but all of them (except Sanji) are still born with minor enhancements- though not in the way Judge wants:
Sanji is deemed a failure from the start: too weak, afraid and emotional to be good for much, and quickly Judge targets him for abuse- routinely beating him and sending him to the lab, seeking any way to make use of him. When it's apparent that he wont get the results he wants, the king masks him and throws him in the dungeons, pretending he no longer exits before moving to the next "subject"
Yonji proves to be more durable/heals faster, so Vinsmoke endeavors to see if he can provoke regenerative re-growth. What starts as experimental cuts escalates into full on removal of his left arm, and for a while- Yonji's body is able to keep up- slowly regrowing again and again. Then- one day, the last of Judges poison is filtered form his system, and his ability to regenerate stops. Disbelieving, judge has his scientists continue their testing, resulting in the removal of Yonjis other arm. Once its proven that his regenerative abilities have ceased, Jude looses interest in him, and he is sent to join Sanji in the dungeons, with one barely functioning prothetic as his only recompense.
Niji's senses are insanely sharp- specifically his sense of sight, hearing and smell. Recognizing this, Judge tries to amplify them further: wanting to push the limit of human ability. Unfortunately, he pushes too hard, and by "removing the caps" from Niji's already enhanced senses, he forces his son into a constant state of abject overstimulation. Abruptly the world becomes too loud, too bright, too sharp, too painful, too rough, too everything. Music is the only thing that helps ground him (along with dark glasses and headphones), but Judge wont have it and immediately sees Niji as another failure, sending him to join his other brothers in the cage.
Ichiji is the closest thing to a success in terms of Judges modifications (even despite his sanji-like empathy and unwillingness to fight): Still, He's strong, fast, agile and has impressive endurance... More-so, he's the only one out of the quadruplets to actually have some proven super-human ability (thanks to Germas medical interventions). Ichiji is able to conduct small amounts of electricity and can shock specific targets. Seeing this as a breakthrough, Judge tries to hone that but once again, overreaches. As a result, Ichiji's abilities are boosted to something he can not control, and he himself is in terrible pain anytime he tries to harness them, resulting in burns and a near-constant tingling under the skin. Unable to find a solution (and unwilling to put up with the boys pleading to stop), Judge once again sends his son into the dungeon.
Reiju meanwhile, is unable to defy her fathers orders but is unwilling to let her brothers suffer under his hand. After Soras death, everything goes from bad to worse, and upon finding all four of her sibling imprisoned, she takes it upon herself to orchestrate their escape. Similar to the OG story, once Germa crosses into the East Blue, Reiju frees her brothers and has them take refuge on the Orbit, promising that one day, when she's free from their fathers orders, she'll come and find them (Cue: future tragic princess rescue, feat. Zeff's boys and the Strawhats).
Terrified but trusting their sister (wanting judge to remain oblivious to their escape), the four hide in a lifeboat: deciding to stowaway incase news of their flight got out.
Sanji and Ichiji regularly sneak out of their hiding place to steal food and supplies from the Orbit, until one day (while they are looting food from the pantry stores) the ship is boarded by the infamous Red-Leg Zeff and his Cook pirates.
The rock then happens, and it is only thanks to the boy's stolen stores (hidden away in their lifeboat) that they have even the slightest chance at survival. Ultimately, during their time on the rock (and near starvation and death), Zeff graduates to unwitting parent and new father- adopting each of the broken boys with all the staunch grit of a weathered lion.
Determined to see them survive and be free from whatever horrors they'd run from, the old man decides then and there to retire from piracy and focus on "getting his feet back under 'im"- resulting in the Baratie and his four starting staff:
Ichiji begins as the host, eventually running the front of house and manning the books as he gets older. As a hobby, he picks up writing and painting, finding happiness and success in his role at the restaurant while gaining a following for his artistic endeavors (oft posted as culture submissions in the News Coo).
Niji flourishes with his music, taking up composing, violin, piano, guitar and singing. He regularly plays for the Baratie, and quickly amasses a dedicated fanbase- drawing more buzz for the restaurant while making his mark as an exceptional musical talent. Later on- Niji will demand that Sanji introduce him to Brook (him being a huge fan of Soul King), and the two wind up collaborating on some of the best lounge music ever heard on the open seas.
Sanji obviously takes up the role of sous, and when Luffy and the other straw hats come to spirit him away (demanding he be their chef), the decision to go is as painful as it is supported. His brothers know of his dream to find the All-Blue: more, they know Zeffs yearning to see it discovered, and out of love for the old man and their brother, they urge him go out to sea.
Lastly, Yonji is just thrilled to have a safe home with his brothers. He takes on all sorts of roles around the ship, happy to help with whatever is needed (wait-staff, dish-boy, poissonnier, baker etc.). He becomes sort of a "jack of all trades" in the kitchen, though eventually, he is trained and allowed to man the back bar on his own. He's excellent at this: chatty, friendly, knowledgeable on all manner of drink, wine and liquor on the blues, mysterious with his two machine arms, charming, and always ready to laugh. Outside of his role on the restaurant, he is a self taught machinist and designed his own new limbs as well as Zeffs prosthetic, Nijis hearing aids (to reduce sound), and a dampener for Ichiji (calming the buzz in his hands).
All in all, they live wonderful lives until Germa finally comes looking for them. Judge has kept Reiju as his perfect princess and heir, but (just like the OG story) is unwilling to give away his most valuable child in barter with Big Mom- thus: hunting down his forgotten sons, hoping to find one "useful enough" to offer to the pirate empress.
While he successfully steals 1, 2, and 4, Judge underestimates what both Zeff and Sanji and willing to do to see their family freed. What results is Straw-hat induced chaos, the fall of a king, the ruin of a country, the wrath of an emperor, and (most importantly) Red-Leg receiving his long-overdue daughter.
lol, anyway, maybe one day i will write this whole thing out (after i finish my other fic)- but for now you get the idea.
discoholicmusic
pixelskylines
areudirty
2087
stormborns
theartofmadeline
izzy806
