Previously, on 'Days of Ruin'...

"Surviving against zombies, crocodiles, a fucking tiger, only to almost get killed by a venomous snake..."

"What are you complaining about? I just gave you the perfect opportunity to hit on Ace by pretending to be comforting him."

"Stop trying to change the topic, Luffy! You almost died pretty stupidly back there."

"Who cares? I survived, didn't I?"

"Yeah, because it happened right when we ran into Usopp and his girlfriend Kaya who happens to be a doctor, and there was some antivenom available nearby. How incredibly lucky! Almost as if was planned..."

And now, on to chapter 10!

Author's notes can be found at the bottom.

The sun was already high in the sky when a regular unidentified noise roused Luffy from his sleep. His first reaction was to ignore it and try to drift back into dreamland. However, a short while later, the sound was immediately followed by a snap, then by a familiar voice.

"Gaaah, fuck!"

The frustrated curse definitively woke him up. After slowly opening his eyes and letting them get used to the blinding sunlight falling over him, he found Wiper, sitting at a table next to the bed he was lying on, a knife in one hand, a piece of wood in the other. He appeared to be doing his best in order to cut the latter using his blade but considering the various debris near him, all previous attempts had failed miserably.

Trying to sit up in his bed proved harder than expected for the teen. He had never been an early bird but more out of natural laziness than because of a real lack of energy. Right now, even though he felt like he was in tip-top shape, all the muscles of his body felt far number than usual, as if he had been sleeping nonstop for several days in a row. As a consequence, forcing himself to move required a pretty intense effort which caused him to give a painful moan which instantly caught the Shandia's attention.

"Hey, how do you feel?" he inquired as he walked up to the younger boy, genuine concern over his face.

"Great! Been a while since I slept so well!"

Though he had gotten to know Luffy better while traveling with him over the last ten days, his light-hearted tone along with the wide grin he cracked still left Wiper dumbfounded, so much that it took him a few seconds to recover from the shock. He then rolled his eyes and gave a deep frustrated, albeit a bit amused, sigh.

"I can't believe you're actually joking about it. You nearly died out there."

"Sorry for not always being sullen, grumpy or pessimistic. Man, you're lucky to be alive and well, you should be happy. I don't remember ever seeing you smile or laugh since we met, not even once. So damn sad!"

"If you prefer, next time you're about to die, I'll come play and have fun right next to you."

"Then I can die happy knowing I'll be the one guy on earth who successfully made you laugh."

One could wonder what was most incredible in what occurred next; that the scarred raven's grin actually managed to grow wider than he already was or that a more discreet smile crept on the other's tattooed face, concealed behind the facepalm he was making all the while shaking his head.

"Where are the others?"

"Sleeping. They went to bed like three hours ago. They wouldn't do it until they were sure that the venom had been neutralized, so they stayed up all night long."

"Unlike you, huh?"

"Hey, someone had to be up and ready to stay by your side after them in case you woke up! Anyway, seriously, how do you feel? No pain, no problem to move, nothing?"

"Don't worry, I'm fine. Just need some time to wake up completely," Luffy reassured him. His dark eyes then scanned across the room, hoping to find a clock. "I'm starving though! How long did I sleep exactly ?"

"About a whole day."

"Really?"

The loudest rumble ever heard by the Shandia suddenly echoed in the infirmary. The teen simply sat there with his trademark grin plastered on his face, scratching the back of his head more out of reflex than out of embarrassment.

"Man, feels more like I didn't eat for a week!"

"You're worse than a stomach on legs, you're a freakin' herd of stomachs all by yourself," the older man said, earning a chuckle from the younger boy. "I'm gonna tell Kaya you're awake, I'll fetch something for you on the way."

He then started walking towards the exit with the hungry boy's benediction but stopped dead in its tracks near the door, then turned around after a moment's hesitation.

"By the way… Thanks."

Luffy gazed at him with confusion written all over his face. Wiper showing gratefulness to someone was quite a wonder in itself, so for him to actually thank the raven made the latter wonder if he wasn't dreaming or hallucinating. However, it was definitely real, plus they were alone so unless the brunette had suddenly begun speaking to invisible friends, it could only be addressing him.

"You know, for the tiger," the Shandia clarified. "I'd never have avoided without your help."

"Oh, that? Don't sweat it, it's nothing."

Now was Wiper's turn to stare at the Luffy with incredulous eyes. What stunned him most wasn't the reply in itself but the casual way he said it, like it was no big deal. Was the kid truly that carefree or did he fail to understand how serious the topic was?

"Don't sweat it, it's nothing… Sure! Do you even realize that you saved my life out there?"

"I guess it means we're even now."

"…You're really weird, you know that?"

The scarred teen decided to take the remark as a compliment and simply chuckled once more.

Wiper finally left, and a few minutes later, an energetic Kaya came in, soon followed by a half-asleep Usopp. The Shandia had deemed it wiser to wait until the doctor had examined Luffy before waking Ace and Zoro up.

While she checked on her patient and asked him various questions on how he felt, her long-nosed boyfriend watched the scene from a distance; not like he had anything better to do anyway. His attention was eventually attracted by the table near the duo, more specifically by the items scattered across the table. Intrigued, he got closer to it and began studying the various flints, feathers and pieces of wood. When the brunette came back, his arms loaded with all sorts of food, he turned towards him, his now bright eyes filled with curiosity.

"You're trying to make some arrows, right?"

"That's the idea but it just keeps breaking. Only one didn't break and of course, I just had to slip and cut the shaft in half…"

"Do you mind if I give it a try? I think I can do it but I could use one of yours as a reference. Oh, and may I borrow your bow too?"

Wiper shrugged his agreement. After a dozen failed attempts, he was starting to get fed up anyway.

Meanwhile, Kaya had finished her examination and she was more than happy to announce that Luffy appeared to be have fully recovered and showed no sign of troublesome after-effect. He could use some more rest for today but as soon as tomorrow, he'd be up and kicking again, ready to hit the road.

Three minutes later, an overjoyed Ace stormed into the room to hug his beloved brother. Zoro entered the infirmary not long after him, having walked the way at his own pace.

Everyone observed the two siblings with bright smiles adorning their faces, relieved and happy that this seemingly-endless night of fear and anxiety was finally over.

. . . . . . .

Hours later, the group of survivors was gathered around the campfire for dinner. Now that Luffy was back on his feet, you could feel the air was no longer filled with tension like the previous day.

Even so, the relaxed atmosphere had suddenly become far more serious due to Kaya initiating the one boring but obligatory topic, namely their future plan of action.

"So your objective is to reach Jaya and try to settle there, right?" she resumed without addressing anyone specific.

"Exactly," Ace confirmed. "Unless you have a better plan to offer."

"To be honest, we never thought about it. We weren't exactly optimistic about getting out of the park alive by ourselves."

"And now? No idea coming to mind?"

"Why don't we stay here?" Luffy suggested between two bites of meat. "The place is nice, we're protected by a sturdy fence and there are no zombies in the area."

"Impossible," Wiper retorted. "The wildlife isn't adapted for long-term hunting; too many predators, not enough game. Plus there are very few wild fruits around here, nearly no fish in the stream and no seeds to grow anything. Sooner or later, we'd run out of food and we'd be forced to leave."

Kaya took advantage of this short intervention to ponder on the question, briefly checking on her boyfriend to ask for his opinion only to notice that he was lost in his own little world of tinkering.

"I'd have to think this through a bit more but I can't think of a better destination right now," she eventually admitted, switching her eyes back to the other boys. "However, I'd like us to make a short detour if possible."

"I take it you're coming with us then?" Zoro deduced in a neutral tone.

"Well, if you're okay with it of course. This is your call, we won't insist if you refuse but I believe sticking together is the best option for all of us."

"You saved Luffy's life, do you really expect us to turn you down after that?" Ace reassured her.

A quick glance at his three partners confirmed what he already knew: they all agreed with him. They would greatly benefit from having a doctor and a sniper join the team for the rest of their journey. Letting such an opportunity pass up would be nothing but pure foolishness.

The older raven then prompted the blonde to resume where the greenhead had interrupted her.

"I'd like to make a quick stop in Procyon City."

"One of the largest cities in the country, no less…" Wiper commented in a suddenly wary tone. "The area must be crawling with thousands of undead. Care to tell us why you're so interested in going there?"

"I want to retrieve medical supplies from the local hospital center. Without adequate tools and medicines, there's only so much I can do. Problem is, the infirmary here is mostly equipped to face emergency situations or park-specific conditions such as poisoning from wild animals. If we go there, I'm sure to find everything I need to treat most injuries as well as all classic diseases. And with a bit of luck, I might be able to run some additional tests on Luffy; some more advanced ones that would allow me to check whether there really is no after-effect which could turn out to be harmful in the long term."

"Supposing the whole building is still standing and hasn't been ransacked already, how do you intend to make the devices work with no electricity?"

"This is why I mentioned luck. Two stand-by generators have been installed in order to take over and prevent blackouts should the electrical grid go down for a long period. Hopefully, one of these is still functional, or at least intact enough for Usopp to try and fix it."

"Sounds like you know the place pretty well," Ace noted with a mix of curiosity and surprise in his voice.

"I went there with Professor Chopper about a year ago to try a new treatment and he took the opportunity to give me the full tour."

"It won't be of much help if we can't reach it though," the Shandia pointed out, switching the topic back to their own journey. "Between the hordes of zombies roaming in the streets and those lurking inside the centre, we're in for a tough ride."

"Good news is it's located in Theme, a smaller town in the suburbs, so we won't need to enter Procyon City itself. If we plan our route carefully to avoid residential areas as much as possible, we should be able to avoid some bad encounters."

"Don't fool yourself, we may avoid some but not all of them. The real question is, if we end up surrounded by a freaking horde and don't have any choice left but to fight, will you be able to defend yourself or not?"

"I…"

You could hear the hesitation in her voice. Due to her frail physical condition, she obviously couldn't take part in brutal activities such as fighting. The risk of her hurting herself because of a too intense effort was higher than her being injured by an enemy.

"Yes, she will!"

Usopp's quite confident tone caught everyone off guard, even Kaya. The long-nosed boy was currently examining the object he had been working on for more than an hour for any fault that needed correcting.

As soon as he was done with his inspection, he went near his girlfriend and proceeded to fixing it on the weird device attached to the leather wristband on her right forearm all the while mumbling random comments and observations meant for himself. Once it was finished, he had her to stand up and stretch her arm out. Then, he pressed a button to activate the mechanism, causing the deployment in a split second of the upper part he had just added, revealing the shape of a mini-crossbow.

After loading it with a handmade bolt, he instructed her to aim a tree standing forty feet away and then to fire using a small trigger. The missile whizzed through the air towards its target and embedded itself deep in the trunk with a low thump, pieces of bark torn away due to the impact. Seeing this result, the metis gave a loud shout of triumph.

"YES! It works!" he exclaimed before noticing the either confused or inquisitive looks on the four other boys' faces. "I spent the last two weeks on it but I could never get a decent shot; there was always something wrong, either with the trajectory, the range, the power… now it's all good!"

"Sounds nice but will it really be of any use?" a perplexed Zoro asked.

"Depends to who. As you know, Kaya's body is very weak and frail. Hand-to-hand fighting is impossible; the effort would tire her out in no time. Firearms are no better; the recoil is too brutal, two or three shots would be enough to break the bones in her hand. That's why I had to design a custom weapon for her, one that wouldn't be as dangerous to her as to her enemies."

"Wait, you made this all by yourself?"

"I told you I was a pro. By the way, thanks for the bow!" he added to Wiper's attention with a grateful tone. "Studying it allowed me to find what the problem was. Oh, and I got an arrow for you too. I'd like you to give it a shot, see if it flies correctly or not. I also thought of a few experiments I'd like to try in the future.

"What sort of experiments?"

"Poison arrows for example. It probably won't do any good against zombies but it could prove very useful against beasts such as the tiger from yesterday. No need to deliver a risky deathblow anymore, even the slightest wound would be fatal. I bet Kaya could find me so a quick and powerful product at the hospital. Even a basic anesthetic would work; kinda hard to fight when you're sleeping. Anyway, this is only one idea, I got a lot more. There are so many avenues worth exploring to improve our equipment!"

While the four travelers were listening to him and realizing that his girlfriend's praises regarding his skill as a mechanic weren't exaggerated, the blonde was taking her time getting used to her brand new mini-crossbow. After a few more shots, she turned back towards the boys presently watching her silently as they waited for her to finish.

"To answer your question," she resumed, her eyes set on the Shandia. "I can defend myself a bit but I'm no fighter like you. I won't last long if zombies manage to reach me. However, if someone can protect me, I should be able to provide some cover fire."

"Same goes for me," Usopp added. "I'm no good at fighting up close, so it would be best if you handled that part. However, give me a nice rifle and I can blast their brain from a thousand feet away no problem, even farther with a better weapon.

"No doubt you can, however the bang will definitely attract all the undead in the area. Think you equip it with some kind of silencer?"

"Yes and no. My father taught me a few tricks to make some basic noise dampeners. Problem is, shooting destroys them so they work only once. And unfortunately, real ones are very complex devices. I don't have the knowledge nor the tools to make one. I can give it a try, maybe experiment a few things or see if I can find a better alternative but don't expect too much of it. It would be much easier to build another crossbow for myself…

"Why not make one for each of us then?" Zoro suggested. "That way we could take down some enemies before switching to hand-to-hand weapons. It could also prove useful against dangerous enemies such as tigers. Or against bastards like the ones who attacked us in the woods."

"Huh, sure… Any volunteer willing to help me cut and assemble them at night instead of resting? That plus the dozens of bolts? Let me warn you, it's lengthy and boring. Plus, this is some high precision work; even the slightest flaw can ruin it completely by causing the bolts not to fly straight ahead.

The team members watched each others for a few seconds in what looked like a least-motivated-face contest.

"I'll take that as a no…"

"Right, let's forget it," the pyro said to drop the subject. "We'll do with what we already have; should be enough so long as we remain prudent anyway. About that, let's agree on a single rule: no firing when we're in town except in cases of force majeure."

"So are you okay with it then? We're off to Procyon City?" Kaya asked. Ace confirmed with a nod before asking if anyone was against it. In the end, no one raised an objection, not even Wiper despite the obvious skepticism plastered on his face.

Departure was quickly scheduled for the next morning as the group no longer had any reason to stay here any longer now that Luffy had fully recovered. Then they switched to lighter topics.

All six of them spent the evening around the campfire in a relaxed, good-natured atmosphere mostly thanks to Luffy and Usopp's craziness. These two had met for real barely three hours ago, yet somehow they were already thick as thieves. Most of them soon got tired though; no wonder considering they had almost not slept the previous night. Eventually, only Wiper and Luffy remained.

Even when they were the only ones left, they kept chatting about life; about their present situation, about what good or bad surprises future might have in store for them, and more importantly about their past from before the Event. Well, to be more accurate, between the raven who was a rather silent type and the brunette who just loved to monopolize the conversation, it was more of a monolog than a real discussion. Still, the incredible part was that the Shandia actually listened to him without ever complaining; even more surprising, he replied and didn't mind talking about himself, something he seldom did even with his closest friends.

Due to his grumpy attitude as well as his characteristic bluntness which could easily get on people's nerves, only a handful of very open-minded individuals had ever shown enough patience and willpower to break his antisocial barriers and earn his friendship. Even rarer were those who had intrigued him to the point of rousing his interest and draw him out of his shell on his own will.

Right now however, he was forced to admit that as thoughtless, exhausting and exasperating as he was, this boy was no less fascinating. His peculiar personality had this paradoxical ability to captivate and annoy you all at the same time. He couldn't explain why, despite the continual calls for caution from his mind who warned him that the teen was nothing but a magnet for trouble, his curiosity always got the better of him and drew him towards the boy.

Though they weren't really tired, both knew they had better not stay up too late. So long as they were in the wild lands, they could be attacked by a tiger or another fearsome beast. Should a new battle occur, they had better be in tip-top shape to prevent a similarly sad conclusion. This is why, after a quick walk around the complex to check the surrounding fence, they returned to the main plaza and entered the hotel where their comrades were already sleeping. Only once the building's entrance had been properly barricaded did they join the others in the arms of Morpheus.

Just this once, the place was safe enough to spare them the burden of ensuring guard duty. All of them could enjoy a quiet, restful night; a luxury that would probably not happen again anytime soon.

As expected, no incident disturbed their sleep.

. . . . . . .

The team left by mid-morning the next day, as soon as they were done with their preparations.

The main reason why they were leaving in such a hurry was their wish to be out of the park as soon as possible. If they maintained a good speed, they could reach the northeastern exit in less than two days which would spare them a second night in the wilderness with all the predators prowling through the area. That is why they barely took time to have breakfast, bathe in the stream and pack their stuff before heading out.

The one and only delay they allowed themselves once everyone was ready to go were the few minutes requested by Kaya and Usopp so they could meditate on their late friends' graves, offering one last prayer to the memory of Ninjin, Tamanegi, Piiman, Chopper, Merry and even Klahadore whose true motivations would forever remain shrouded in mystery. Whether his so-called project to assassinate the wealthy heiress was real or not, they would never know, so they preferred to blame it on the craziness that had overcome him and remember him solely as the professional and irreproachable, albeit a bit stuck-up, butler who had conscientiously taken care of his mistress for many years.

Then, their journey to Procyon City could finally begin. They set off, leaving behind them the ruined complex. Back in the past, people remembered it as a cute little corner of paradise; now it was nothing but a silent graveyard which only brought back memories of death and danger to the six survivors.

Their trip through the wild plains and grasslands of the natural reserve went rather smoothly. Only two incidents occurred, both on the edge of a wood bordering the path they were following.

The first contact was with gorillas; a dozen of them, standing around ten meters away from the trail. These apes had been suspiciously watching the group as it got closer to them although they didn't appear to be particularly hostile either. Wiper and Kaya agreed that they weren't looking for a fight, they were just being protective of the younger specimens among their pack. Their guess first seemed to be correct as most animals didn't move an inch. They were just keeping a wary eye on this potential threat, waiting to see whether it would attack or leave peacefully. However, an aggressive pair of silverbacks suddenly rushed at the unwelcome travelers, clearly intending to pound them to a bloody pulp. This led to two distinct battles.

On one side, while Luffy was dodging an endless storm of fists, Zoro slipped behind his opponent to slash its legs, successfully inflicting deep gashes that would either slow it down or force it to use its arms, thus preventing it from hitting and moving at the same time; a considerable advantage for the duo who could now easily use a joint hit-and-run tactic until the numerous wounds would finish the beast off.

Meanwhile, Wiper and Ace were having a tougher time dealing with their own enemy. They were doing their best to hurt it but they couldn't land a single hit. At least, both of them were unscathed as well. Eventually, the primate charged for the umpteenth time. The pyro quickly avoided it by leaping to the side only to realize that not far behind him stood their two new companions. Luckily, Usopp had been aiming at it since the beginning, ready to shoot should the situation go wrong. As soon as he understood that the beast wasn't going to stop and was now targeting them, he didn't hesitate to open fire. The bullet flew straight into the beast's eye, killing it on the spot.

They couldn't rejoice just yet though. Indeed, their congeners' death had done nothing to appease the remaining gorillas whose shouts were getting more and more menacing. Therefore, the team took off at top speed before the desire to avenge their fallen brothers grew stronger than their carefulness. This saved them from another perilous pointless battle with half a dozen brawny apes.

The second one happened during the night. Good thing Wiper always kept his hatchet on himself otherwise defending himself against the nine-feet-tall bear that caught him by surprise while he was taking a leak not far from the camp would have been much harder. He also owed his survival to the reflexes, knowledge and experience acquired during his time as a forest warden, not to mention his Shandian origins.

He knew there was one and only one safe option for attacking such a foe head on. He first had to wait and dodge until it would stand on its hind feet. As soon as it fell back down to the ground, then was the opportunity to strike as it was the only time when it was unable to launch a decent counter-attack. Even so, it was still very risky; he wouldn't have time to retreat, so if he didn't kill it right away, he would regret it dearly. Luckily, a single powerful swing to the top of its head was enough to slay it.

Needless to say Luffy and Usopp who were chatting before switching turn for guard duty weren't expecting him to return to camp with blood splattered on his face and torso. They quickly got over the initial shock and listened to his account of the encounter which caused the scarred teen to burst out laughing whereas the metis nearly passed out as he imagined himself in this terrifying situation, alone against such a beast. In the dark and with no real weapon no less!

Likewise, the others were stunned to find a dead bear near the fire when they woke up the next morning. Still, everyone was pleased to have a bite of it for breakfast, which was precisely the reason why the scarred raven had insisted that he and the tattooed brunette to fetch the body and drag it back to the camp.

Though the team did run into several animals during the second day, none decided to hinder their progress, thus allowing them to achieve its objective by crossing the north-eastern entrance of the park right before the sun disappeared on the horizon. They could then set out towards Procyon City which was located approximately fifty miles north of their position. Save for a few small packs of zombies, the rest of their trip proceeded without any serious mishap, so much that they could easily cover the whole distance in three days.

They reached a modest town two miles away from the urban community in the middle of afternoon. They could have kept going, however the sky was quickly darkening. In less than an hour, it would be pitch-black outside and darkness was probably the biggest disadvantage they could suffer against zombies. Therefore, since they didn't have any deadline to meet, they deemed it safer to stop here for the night and enter Procyon City the next morning. Doing so would give them a whole day to complete their mission: forcing their way to Theme's hospital, do their stuff and get the hell out. A perilous escapade with Death ready to ambush them around every corner.

Barricaded on the last floor of a tower block, the six survivors enjoyed the evening as much as they could, doing their best not to think about all the dangers that the necropolis had in store for them.

Hopefully, they'd manage to make it out in one piece…

Author's Notes:

There, the stage is set. As you've certainly guessed already, we're headed for action-oriented chapters.

Just so you know, Procyon is a term used in biology to designate the genus comprising the various species commonly known as raccoons. Thus, the name Procyon City is a small reference to Raccoon City, one of the most famous emblems of the Resident Evil series.
As for the second town Theme, it's also a quick reference to an old famous game called Theme Hospital.
Yeah, I'm a damn gamer, how did you guess? :p

The title for this chapter is a reference to a soundtrack from the great RPG "Chrono Cross".

Thank you for reading, even more for reviewing. Don't hesitate to point any mistake, inconsistency or anything. Useful criticism is always welcome, especially for a beginner like me.