Hey there folks! Back with another chapter!

The further I get with this story the longer it takes to write, but I hope its worth it! Things are getting exciting, but unfortunately not for much longer, its almost the end!

Thanks for all comments and favourites!

NeoGene: Hehe, torturing you is fun! Hope you didn't get too annoyed with the wait.

Santoryuu: Ohh the glorious Darkness + Angst combo! It makes me so squee!

Jenelric: I know the end is sad! But there are only a few more chapters left. Actually, this one was gona be even longer but it took so long that I you get another chapter at least!

PrimeFan: Da da daaaa! Evil suspense! I don't care about the level of detail in the review, just that its there! I couldn't tell you if there will be a twist, after all I don't know what you're expecting. Instead I shall leave all your suspense, cause Im evil like that.

Blu: Not that I want to argue with you (cause I do love you so), but I think what I wrote is just as acceptable. But I do get what you mean, thanks for pointing it out. I really need to start looking into getting a beta. Kid was really hard to write! We don't know anything about him! Grr

Lena: Turmoil and drama. Two of my favourite things.

Crystal: Will they get there in time?! Who knows?

Yusukes: Zoro and Luffy aren't properly fighting, Zoro's just confused. I doubt Luffy even properly noticed it. They are best friends, but what is more important?

Shaolin: things get more interesting! I'm the same about Luffy! Thats why I tried to keep it as one sided as possible, cause I do secretly love Zoro's one sided infacuation with his captain. He loves him so, but would never tell!

Swami: lol nice description! Enjoy a lot more blooding and angsting!

Yume: Feral? Was he? He is very animalistic. I'll have to check it, just to make sure cause now I'm worried he's written wrong.

BlackRosePirates: Shanks is a pirate remember, I;m sure he's quite evil deep inside. Well, everyone is aren't they?

Because I was Bored: I pretty much hate most things I write, I think it's just because I imagine them in my head first of all, and they never come out in words how they are in there! I was debating Sanji figuring it all out, but it is aways Robin isn't it? Yea I wasn't nice to Killer, but hes all evil so he deserves it! Mwa ha ha! And Zoro is violent in all things, especially when hes confused. Emotions get in the way of his cutting, you kno? And what will Luffy do? Arg so confusing!

I apologise for what is about to happen. But enjoy!


Chapter 12 – The Big Hit

Robin turned at the sound of the crash and roar that was Kid's angry entry into her bookshop. Mentally she prayed for the well being of her literature as she heard her family unsheathe their weapons.

"Is everyone here?"

Sanji sounded tense as he asked, and Luffy shook his head as he answered.

"Ussop was going to tell the pirates to hide, and Chopper's still getting his things, I think. Zoro left, he said he had to go do something."

"What?"

"I dunno, he just muttered that he'd be back soon and left."

Nami muttered to Franky

"He's been acting weird ever since he took out Killer"

"You noticed too?"

The pair frowned at concern over the swordsman; clearly all were worried over his unusual behaviour.

Robin suddenly remembered her earlier conversations and gasped. She span to look at her boss and was about to reveal what she had learnt at Makino's when the stomping down the stairs to the easy stopped her.

The cook frowned as he warned his nakama.

"Here they come."

The door blast open; the noise echoed around the silence that fell in the room. The only way to describe the opposing Don was livid; his eyes bore into Luffy's with single minded violence, yet his voice was almost empty.

"Mugiwara, I will kill you."

Silence hung for a few moments as the families sized each other up. With a cry of anger, the Kid family ran towards the Mugiwaras with every intent to destroy.

--

As a bolt of lightning lit up the sky, Lucky Roo realised he was not a happy man. He shuffled nearer to the building to shelter himself from the rain that lashed down. They'd been back in the Big City only a few days, and here he was, already stuck on night watch.

He was never any good at Rock Paper Scissors.

Lucky shuddered as the rain soaked his coat, belatedly thinking it may have been a good idea to bring a few more of the family, so they could do watch and he could be inside having a nice beer. He sighed and muttered to himself.

"Jeez Shanks, why do you always have to be right?"

Shanks had said to keep the group small, any large numbers of Redhairs would simply draw attention to themselves. As always he was right; that's why only four of them came, and they took turns on watch.

And of all the cursed luck, he was the one to go and lose when it was raining.

"Not like I even need to be out here, the place is dead."

Lucky spoke to himself, glancing around the abandoned buildings that surrounded him. They were hiding out in their old haunt in the Project, on the borders near the old Industrial areas. Most of the area was rundown now, particularly this side. With no business in the factories, they were left to rot, and it had infected the perimeter of the rough neighbourhood the Redhair family used to rule.

It was going to the dogs. Lucky snorted, remembering times when the street was full of people, almost happy despite the rowdy reputation the Projects held. To see it so abandoned was almost a shame.

A streetlight flickered in the distance, drawing the guard's attention down the street. He though he saw a shadow, but the area was just as empty and silent as ever.

From the depths of a nearby side alley, the enemy watched, waiting for a time to strike.

Roronoa Zoro knew this was his one chance. Tonight he would get his retribution.

The shadows of the alley concealed him nicely, watching Lucky Roo glance around. Slowly easing a sword from its sheath, he prepared himself to strike.

Lucky Roo was a fast man, one of the quickest gangsters around. Rumours said he could kill you and you'd be dead before you realised you'd even been hit. Every opponent knew to be wary of his speed despite his size.

Yet speed is useless if you are not given the opportunity to use it.

Another flash of lightning drew Lucky's attention to the sky. Through the darkness it was possible to see churning clouds that lit with electricity.

That one second lapse of attention, that was all Zoro needed.

He launched himself from the alley as soon as Lucky began looking up. The thunder booming across the sky silenced the sound of his swords slashing the man's large gut.

Lucky fell to the floor with a wet thud, not even having the time to cry out.

Satisfied the man was dead; Zoro began to look for the entrance into the old building.

One down, one step closer.

--

The fight in the easy was frantic; members of the Kid family were battling with a ferocity only born in anguished men.

Nami and Robin were back to back, using every means possible to fight the men that leered at them. Being women, they were thought an easy target.

Big mistake.

Two freaky, Zombie-like men jumped towards the pair, brandishing clubs to beat them with. One swing of Nami's staff hit one of the men square in the temple, and the other fell quickly after as Robin got him in the gut with a knife. She still managed to talk so casually.

"Are you okay Nami san?"

"Yea…I'm okay…How about everyone else?"

Nami spun around searching for her nakama. It was a difficult feat finding them, after all the Mugiwara's were only six people at the moment, and Kid must have brought at least fifty men. It was easy to see Sanji, spinning around and knocking out a large group of opponents. A huge crash led her to Franky; his massive fists pummelling many of Kid's men, but doing the most damage to their beloved easy.

A streak of black zooming around alerted her to be Brooke. With a deadly weapon and his speed, she could see the trail of enemies he left in his wake.

Finally, in the rear of the room, she could see Luffy and Kid, dodging and delivering heavy blows. But they were all safe. For now.

"Where the hell are the others?!" Nami growled as she hit another advancing enemy. Straightening up, she only just caught Robin's warning.

"Nami san, look out!"

She only had enough time to turn and see the huge dreadlocked man and his huge fist heading for her skull. With a scream, the redhead closed her eyes and prepared for the blow.

It never came.

Fist inches away from her face, the man choked. Nami opened her eyes and they widened in surprise as the enemy fell back and landed on the floor like a felled tree. There was a bullet hole in his neck.

Spinning to the staircase that led to the bookstore, Nami joined Robin in silent relief.

Ussop was posing, despite his knees knocking with panic, with a smoking gun in his hands. Chopper was at his heels, equally terrified but looking resolved to fight. The long nose pointed towards the fight and roared.

"All prepare, for the great Captaiiiiin Ussopp!"

He paled when nobody paid attention to him.

"About time! Can't you see we're in trouble here, where have you been idiot?!"

Nami looked about ready to beat Ussop senseless, and took it out on two men trying to attack Robin.

Ussop and Chopper jumped into the fight. Ussop alternated between using his gun for long rage opponents, but kept his hammer for anyone that got too close.

For such a little guy, Chopper had a good punch on him. With his smarts, he was easily taking out other guy's weak spots. Working together, they quickly took out a fair few of Kid's men.

The battle bought the two pairs closer, and Nami shouted over to the newcomers.

"Oi, where's Zoro?" Chopper answered.

"He's not here?"

"No, he left not long after you guys. I figured he'd be coming back with you too."

"I haven't seen him since this morning. Do you think he's okay?" The doctor began worrying about his friend, almost distracting him from the fight. Nami growled in frustration.

"What the hell is he up to?"

--

The sharp crack of a door breaking alerted the three men inside. Shanks lowered the bottle from his lips to glance at his companions.

"Isn't Lucky outside?"

"Should be. But then what was that?"

Shanks' second in command, Ben Beckman, glanced from his boss to the direction of the door. They sat upstairs in the abandoned house, preparing for the many business meetings that were scheduled for the short trip. The family were only in the Big City for a few days, but had a lot to do.

It was Ben's job to make sure they did it, instead of just playing around with Luffy like Shanks wanted.

Standing from his chair, the Redhair sniper Yassop muttered as he strode past.

"I'll take care of it."

Yassop walked out the door, closing it silently to creep down the staircase.

Apparently the sniper wasn't silent enough, as he was forced to drop to the floor to avoid the two swords aiming for his gut.

Zoro didn't hesitate, slicing downwards after he missed the initial strike. But Yassop had already rolled sideways out of range of his attacks.

He snarled, internally berating himself for taking this long.

'Need to be faster, don't have time for this!'

The swordsman wheeled on Yassop, watching as the long nosed man whipped out a pistol.

'Wait…Long nose…Gun…'

Zoro prayed that his curly haired friend wouldn't be too upset.

He launched himself forward at the same time Yassop fired at him and he sliced his sword in the path of the bullet, making it veer off course. It embedded into floorboards as the swordsman prepared to strike.

His eyes widened as he looked back at Yassop, and noticed his other hand withdraw from behind, gripping another pistol.

The sniper suppressed a grin at the surprised look on Zoro's face. He fired without another thought, and watched the green haired kid stumble backwards at the force of the bullet lodging in his chest.

Zoro bit back a grunt, clenching his teeth in pain. Damn bullets, they stung like a bitch. Regaining his balance, the grip on his swords tightened as he crossed them over his chest.

Yassop paused at Zoro's stance, and a small part inside him knew he there was no way he could avoid this.

He fell backwards once the swords sliced him, clutching his chest and staring up at the back of the swordsman above him. The sniper heaved a breath…So painful…and watched Zoro look down at him.

He didn't think the man would still be alive; Zoro was impressed at his bravery. Sheathing his swords almost felt a pang of pity. Almost.

"He's brave as well. You look a lot like him, you know."

The sorrow hit Yassop's tired body like a tidal wave, and he only had enough breath to utter a single, distraught word before he departed from this world.

"Ussop."

--

The blows were heavy between the two Dons; words rendered useless as fighting said all they needed to. A fist to the stomach sent Luffy doubling over, while Kid was reeling from an uppercut to the jaw. While heaving for breath they glared at each other.

The battle raged around them, but both could tell that the numbers of Kid's men were dwindling. Sanji was surrounded by at least fifteen unconscious bodies, and Brooke and Franky together had taken down another twelve. Nami and Chopper had paired up and had defeated ten more, and Robin and Ussop were both firing any other enemies getting too close to their nakama.

Luffy was relieved that his nakama were safe. Kid however, only became more angered.

"You plan to kill all my men, Mugiawa? Was Killer not enough for you?"

"Sorry, but I had to."

"Where is that bastard who killed him? The rat said they saw Roronoa run my nakama through."

"…He's busy."

Kid growled.

"I'll just make do with you then."

A jagged knife was gripped in Kid's hand as if it came out of nowhere, and Luffy barely managed to sidestep its path. Spinning out of the way he jumped and kicked upwards into Kids gut, spinning midair to kick his shoulder on the descent. Kid took the hits with little more than a grunt, his knife slashing across the Mugiwara's arm. He recoiled and gripped the wound, waiting for Kid to face him again.

But Kid was too eager, desperation and despair was making his attacks sloppy. He had dropped the knife, preferring to attempt to beat the dark haired boy senseless. He could hear the cries of his family, and see that only a handful remained standing.

He must get revenge.

Striking forth towards the strawhat wearing don, Kid hadn't noticed his opponent already launched his attack. Luffy's fist was in a direct trajectory to his temple. It hit true, and Kid saw stars before he felt another fist strike his jaw. He stumbled, and was barely conscious enough to feel another hit to the other jaw, nose and one more to the jaw before he fell to the floor.

Luffy was heaving, blood dripping from his fists. But the unconscious body on the floor made any fatigue melt away.

For his nakama were safe, and that was all that mattered.

--

He didn't even have time to think about how much the bullet stung before Zoro was almost knocked unconscious by a very heavy and blunt object.

Ben Beckman looked in no way amused, his eyes flickering between the cold body of his nakama on the floor to the tense body of the swordsman in front of him.

"Roronoa Zoro. What did you do to Yassop?"

Zoro didn't answer, only tied his black bandana over his head and withdrew his swords. This was not a man to take lightly.

Ben held his rifle like a club, and swung it fiercely at Zoro's head. He dodged it just in time, parrying with one sword and attacking with the other. Beckman avoided it, his fist leaving the gun and knocking Zoro in the jaw. It only grazed the jaw, Zoro moved fast enough to avoid the brunt of the blow. But as he rolled backwards his head was spinning at the hit. This guy was strong.

There were no words, only a fierce determination to win. Ben was like a rock, strong and unwavering with his attacks. His blows were strong enough to break Zoro's defences, and the swordsman had bruises over his torso. He could feel a broken rib where the corner of the rifle handle had connected.

But the swordsman was just as formidable, and Ben's own torso was littered with cuts.

The fight was short, but intense, and before he knew it, Zoro ducked a bit too low to avoid a hit. He slipped, and was on the floor with Ben's gun heading towards his skull.

He rolled to the side, and launched one sword up before Ben had a chance to parry. It sunk into a deep arc into the grey haired man's chest, and Zoro stumbled to his feet as Beckman fell from his. He crashed into the floor next to the hole his gun made where it was meant to hit Zoro's head.

No time to recover, Zoro cleaned his swords and looked towards the staircase. There was only one left, his promise almost fulfilled.

--

Any remaining conscious members of the Kid family quickly departed as their Don fell to the ground. The Mugiawa's turned towards their own boss, and were surprised to see relief on his face rather than upset.

"Luffy?"

Chopper began questioningly, and the Don snapped his head to face them.

"You're all okay? Good!" Luffy grinned, patting his straw hat on his head.

"Is he?"

Sanji had made his way to his Don's side, and was bending over the body of Kid when he answered the little doctor.

"He's still alive, just."

Nobody answered the question that was never asked, but everyone thought about whom it was who had to kill the unconscious Don.

Looking around the room again, Luffy noticed that one of his family had never showed for the fight.

"I wonder where Zoro is."

Robin couldn't hide her shock then, the simple remark jerking her memory back from the fight.

"Zoro!"

All heads turned to Robin, whose wide eyes seemed so unnatural for the normally so solemn woman.

"Luffy, you have to stop Zoro-san."

"Wha? What are you talking about Robin?"

"Did you find something out about Zoro, Robin chwan?"

"The moved towards the bar, away from the carnage, and Robin began her story in earnest.

"When I was taking our stocks to Makino's bar earlier, she mentioned that Zoro had been there a few weeks back. She said he was looking for information on the area he grew up in."

"Why would he want to know that?" Brooke frowned as he struggled to understand.

"I've heard enough stories at the bar to learn of many famous tales, Musician-san. When Makino told me he mentioned the Dojo incident, it all made sense."

"Dojo?" Franky looked just as confused as Brooke, as did Ussop and Chopper.

"Years ago a Dojo in the projects stood against the Mafia controlling the area, they disapproved of the activities entirely and vowed to stop them. The family took drastic measures to wear them down, intimidation, threats; the Dojo was falling under the pressure."

"What happened?" Chopper seemed fearful as he asked.

"The owner still wouldn't give up, and the Mafia took extreme measures. They killed the owner, and his young daughter. The attack was enough to bring the whole city under their submission."

Sanji lit a cigarette and sighed.

"You think that was where Zoro learnt swordsmanship?"

"There would have been nowhere else to learn it, Cook-san."

"Well that makes sense, but what does this have to do with the weird way he's been acting?" Nami was perplexed, chewing her lip in concentration as she tried to piece the puzzle.

"The family that did this in the Dojo, the biggest family in the Projects at the time. Once of the biggest families in the country. One that's in the city right now…"

Luffy's voice was barely a whisper, full of fear for what the word held.

"Shanks."

Finally, everything clicked, and every one of the Strawhat family in the easy were filled with one singular dread.

Luffy bolted to the staircase without another word, just knowing he had to get down there, and fast, before something happened.

They watched him leave and looked at each other, all silently agreeing that they needed to be there for their Don for whatever was going to go down. Sanji and Franky followed after Luffy, to get him down to the Projects quickly. It was the Franky Family's haunt, if anyone could find them it would be the blue haired man. The others began preparing for what may come, and before Nami ran out the door she turned to Robin.

"Could you clean up the mess Robin? Then meet us there?"

Robin nodded and moved towards the beaten Don as the family left. She heard muffled tears telling her that Chopper remained, and could do nothing but hope that it wouldn't end in tears for all of them.

-.-.-


And now you all start to hate me, for it is the beginning of the end, and all takes a bad turn. I am quite fond of this chapter though, for once it turned out like I hoped! The balance of the two fights, I worried it wouldn't break up properly but it all went great! Whats gonna happen? Will the Mugiwaras get there in time?!

Next chapter - The Revenge

Thanks for Reading! - Pamplemoose