Chapter 35

Zoro

The house shook as Zoro walked into it, a sign that the Navy was getting ever closer. Briefly, Zoro wondered if they would destroy the island with the lab on it, or if they would simply chase the other Straw Hats away and leave himself, Luffy, and the cook plugged into this world forever. It wouldn't be so bad, that. Luffy would have his brothers, the cook could be a real-life prince with a loving family, and he'd have Kuina and the boys…the other Straw Hats would have relatively safe and happy lives in the other world, even if they couldn't in this one…

Stop it!

Now that he knew about the manipulation of his mind and emotions, Zoro recognized the intrusive thoughts as they came. And with the knowledge came regret. How could he ever be okay in a world where Usopp was left the way Zoro had seen him? Why would he accept a world where Vivi, Robin, Brook, and Franky were dead? And that smoke-powered Marine that was always chasing them and Tashigi too? A world where Nami was left in misery and Chopper…jeez, had he really been ready to live in a world where Chopper had lost everything? He was protective of their little reindeer doctor and Zoro had been proud of how strong and brave Chopper had become throughout their journey. A Chopper who didn't want to become a doctor who could heal anything? Who had lost his faith in people? How could Zoro have ever been okay with that?

And then he walked into the kitchen and saw Kuina, her eyes frightened as she held the boys, who clung to her in terror. Zoro's heart dropped to his stomach. Oh yeah, that was why.

"Zoro?" Kuina said hesitantly. "What's going on?"

"Daddy?" Yaki looked up, then raced to Zoro. The swordsman placed Wado Ichimonji to the side, crouched down, and grabbed the boy in a tight hug. Soon, Tori raced over, following in his older brother's footsteps, as usual. Zoro held them both. "Daddy, what's going on? The ground keeps shaking! I'm scared!"

"Scawed!" Tori agreed.

Zoro looked into the eyes of his frightened sons and forced a smile on his face. "Hey, hey. It's alright!" He let the boys go and ruffled their hair. "It's just an earthquake. They happen sometimes."

The boys continued to give him frightened, tear-filled stares. But they both rubbed their eyes and sniffled, trying to put on brave faces in front of their calm father. Another rumble had them both back in Zoro's arms. Zoro forced out a short laugh. Normally, Zoro wasn't one for lies and just told the blunt truth. But…these were kids. Young. Scared. His. There was no way he'd ever be able to make them understand what was about to happen. Better to try to assure them.

"They can be pretty scary, huh? But it'll be okay. In the end, everything will be okay," Zoro told them, a smile still on his face, even as he felt his heart continue to sink. He glanced over at Kuina, who looked like it was taking all her willpower to keep up a brave front. "But I think your mom's pretty scared. So you boys both be brave for her, okay?"

Smiling a little, both boys nodded their agreement, wiping the tears from their eyes as Zoro stood and walked over to his wife. His wife. It still felt odd to hear the phrase in his mind. And soon he wouldn't have one anymore, not unless…

Stop it!

Forcing the thought from his mind, Zoro focused on what he had to do. Whether this Kuina existed in his world or not, whether she was really his wife or not, one thing Luffy said rang clear in his mind: to Zoro at least, she had been real. Whatever relationship they had had in the short time Zoro had been there, it had all been real to him. He owed her a goodbye, at least. And as much comfort and understanding as he could give her.

Smiling warmly, Zoro reached out to Kuina, who managed a weak smile before she moved into his embrace.

"Zoro, what's going on?"

"It'll all be over soon, I promise," he whispered gently as he stroked her hair. "I love you, Kuina. Keep the boys close."

She tensed at that. Zoro kept stroking her hair, still holding her, before she finally got out a quiet, "You're leaving us then." It wasn't a question.

"Yes." There was no sense in lying to Kuina. Real or not, this woman deserved the truth.

"You're going back to your world. And then…that means…this world…we'll be…"

Now it was Zoro's turn to freeze. She'd overheard again, damn it. He should have known. He was still, for a short moment, before he confirmed, "Yes."

Her arms tightened around him. Zoro heard her sob once, a quiet sound, quickly stifled, before she stood up straight and tall. Her eyes were still a little moist with tears, but beyond that, there was no fear or sadness about her.

"Keep the boys close," Zoro repeated, giving her hand a squeeze as the ground shook again. As he turned and walked out, he heard Kuina call Yaki and Tori to her.

Luffy and the cook were waiting in the practice yard when Zoro came out. The cook was standing with his hands in his pockets, a fresh cigarette already in his mouth, while Luffy was rocking back and forth on his heels, like it was taking all the rubber man's willpower to stay in one spot and not go running about. As soon as Zoro stepped off the porch, Luffy grinned and came rushing over.

"You ready?" the Straw Hat-clad boy asked, that million-watt smile on his face. Somehow, even when Luffy was annoying him, Zoro always found that expression comforting, endearing even.

"Yes, Captain," the swordsman replied.

"Alright!" Luffy declared, grabbing Zoro's hand and rushing over to the cook.

"Huh?" the blond grunted as Luffy grabbed his hand too. "Luffy what are you-?"

"Now, you two hold hands too!"

Swordsman and cook glared at each other before turning their heads and declaring in unison, "NO!"

"Aww!"

"Let's get this over with," Zoro sighed.

"Just make sure you keep up with Luffy and me, Mosshead. Don't want you getting lost, cuz your Observation Haki's not up to snuff."

"You wanna see Haki, I'll show you-!" Zoro started, his right arm already darkening, before Luffy cut him off.

"Save it for the lab, you two!" Luffy declared sharply, unusually serious. Then he smiled again and lifted both hands (and by extension, Zoro's and the cook's) into the air. "Let's go!"

Taking a deep breath to calm and center themselves, all three closed their eyes, focusing their Observation Haki. The quiet sounds of the yard—the wind rustling through the trees, chatter from the village down the hill—began to fade away to nothing. For a moment all Zoro could sense was nothing, like he was floating in a void with no light, no sound. Panic nearly gripped the swordsman. Had he failed, his mind trapped in this blank void forever? Then he felt Luffy's hand squeeze his and heard his captain's familiar laugh. With a small smile, Zoro's heart calmed and he continued concentrating, following his captain's presence through the void.

Kuina

Standing at the door, her boys on either side of her, Kuina watched as her husband and his two friends stood in the yard and then slowly became more and more transparent, until they faded from view entirely. Fortunately, the boys still clutched her tightly, their faces buried in her robe, so they hadn't seen a thing. Stroking the boys' hair, she looked out over the empty practice yard.

"Goodbye, my love," she said, too quietly for the boys to hear. Above, she watched as the clear blue sky began to crack, splintering off into blackness, until only a circle of blue remained above the village. Fortunately, the boys didn't notice that either.

"Yaki. Tori," Kuina said, kneeling down to pull the boys into a hug. "Let's go inside now."

Sniffling, the boys nodded, each of them holding one of their mother's hands. Smiling gently, Kuina led them inside, to wait for the end to come.

Zoro

As usual, Zoro could sense the blurred, faded presences of Luffy and Curly Brow, but this time there were other presences there as well. Another rumble and he could feel Usopp's fear spike. Somewhere above the swordsman was Franky, his usual confident self. There was Law, near Luffy, with Usopp nearby as well. Robin was further away, along with Brook, but Zoro could still sense their presences. Nami was walking over to him. And there, right next to him, practically on top of the swordsman…

"Chopp—er?" He groaned as the reindeer leaned over him and removed something that had been covering his eyes, causing the swordsman to squint against the bright light of the lab.

"Easy, Zoro," Chopper said gently, as he removed something from Zoro's forehead and some sort of earmuffs from Zoro's ears. The swordsman could see a blood stain on one of the muffs, the one that would have covered his earrings. That ear felt sore. Gingerly, Zoro opened his eye a little wider and then tried to open the other…and remembered that it wasn't there.

"Shit!"

"Zoro? Are you okay?" Chopper was leaning over him, eyes wide with concern. "Are you hurt?"

"No, I just…" he paused, realizing that he was hearing a clicking sound. Glancing down, he saw Nami at his wrist, working to pick the lock of the Seastone cuff there.

"Almost—there! Got it!" the red-head declared cheerfully, opening the shackle before moving around the table to Zoro's other wrist. The swordsman watched her for a moment, trying to take a glance around the room as he did. Law and Usopp were over by Luffy's table, removing the same strange gear from Luffy's head that had been on his own and getting the strap off across his chest. Across the room, Robin was doing the same for the cook, much to the blond idiot's joy, while Brook stood nearby. Of course, none of the Devil Fruit users could touch the Seastone, while Usopp banged against Luffy's bonds with a hammer, to no avail. It would appear they were going to have a long wait for Nami. Time for Vegapunk and his assistant to get away. Zoro growled as Chopper suddenly filled his view again.

"Zoro, how are you feeling? Hurt? Disoriented? Any pain?" the little reindeer asked, clearly in doctor mode. Zoro lifted his free arm and rubbed his face.

"No, Chopper. I'm fine," he replied, trying to keep his voice calm. The little doctor was merely worried; no need for Zoro to take out his anger on him. Soon, he'd be free, then he'd take his swords, and…

"Chopper," the swordsman said slowly and roughly as he glanced around. His voice must have sounded harsh, from the sudden fearful look on Chopper's face. "Where are my swords?"

Nervously, Chopper pointed towards the doorway to Zoro's right. Suddenly, Zoro felt his bonds pop free.

"Got it!" Franky's voice called from above. Zoro could just see the cyborg at the edge of his vision. The shipwright was using one of his miniature hands to place some small black square device in his shirt pocket, while the larger hand gave the rest of the room a thumbs up.

"Geez, Franky! Could you have taken any longer?!" Usopp protested.

"Told you! I had to finish that thing Curly Cook asked me to do."

"And why couldn't you have found the shackle controls and unlocked them first?!" Nami screeched, her eyes angry and teeth sharp.

"It was time sensitive," Franky protested.

"SO IS THIS!" Nami and Usopp screamed at the same time.

Zoro didn't have time for this. Springing off the table, much to Chopper's worried protests, he took off in the direction the reindeer had pointed. Tying his bandana around his head as he ran, Zoro found his three swords relatively intact down the hallway. He quickly grabbed them, placing Wado Ichimonji in his mouth with Kitetsu and Enma in either hand. In a flash, he was back in the lab, Luffy and the cook just sliding off their tables.

"Where's that shitty scientist?" Zoro demanded. Wordlessly, Chopper pointed down the other hallway. The swordsman took off, his heart filled with fury and his mind with revenge.

"Zoro! Stop! You'll get lost again!" Nami cried out.

"Let him go!" Luffy demanded, "Zoro, Sanji, and I have something to do. The rest of you get out of here and escape to Sunny!"

Briefly, Zoro heard the others protesting before he heard Law shout, "Room! Shambles!" The protests disappeared.

Reaching out with his Observation Haki, he could sense Luffy and the cook behind him. From the sounds of destruction, Zoro could guess they were already at work demolishing the lab. Ahead of him, he could just sense the scientist- for once not so confident- the old man sprinting down the hallways of the facility. The old man was ahead, very far ahead. Whether Zoro could catch him or not, he didn't know, but he was sure as hell going to try.

And if he happened to destroy this whole freakin' island while he was at it, well, he was happy to oblige.

Author's Notes: Just a few more chapters to go!

-Me while writing this chapter a few months ago: Dry eyes, all business, let's get this story finished!

-Me while proofreading this chapter and adding the notes: Bawling, "I'm a monster! Why did I write this?!"

-This plot was somewhat inspired by the Superman story (and Justice League Unlimited episode) "For The Man Who Has Everything" and the Agents of Shield season 4 plotline dealing with the "Framework." In the Superman story, Supes has an alternate reality projected in his mind. In that alternate reality, he lives on Krypton (which is whole and safe), is married and has a son. In the JLU episode, the scene where Superman tells his son that he doesn't think he's real and says goodbye to him is just so sad. Pretty much the inspiration for Zoro's plotline. The idea of Ambience itself and the "what-if" scenarios though is much more inspired by AoS's "Framework/Agents of Hydra" plotline.