Getting shot once was bad, but getting shot twice on the same day was hell of a lot worse. Usopp slid down against the slimy wall, feeling his own blood run down along the right side of his chest from the new wound close to his shoulder. His slingshot was lying on the floor in front of him, one of the prongs broken right off. A useless piece of wood beyond repair. He was really going to miss that slingshot. But what good was a slingshot when you couldn't use it?

Most of the marksman's mind was focused on the blinding new pain in his right shoulder, but he was still able to register that someone stepped between him and the remaining Marines. Someone dressed in a dusty black suit and with a strange red and blue lump on his back.

"Damn it, Usopp! Are you alright?"

Usopp clenched his teeth as his whole body shivered from another flash of pain racing through him.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I can't move my arms at the moment, but other than that, everything is bloody peachy!" he grunted, not regretting his tone immediately. "How about you?" he added in a less sarcastic tone, slowly raising his left hand to his shoulder, clenching his teeth as pain flashed through both his arms.

Sanji spun around, the heel of his right shoe slamming into the side of a Marine soldier's neck. The soldier flew through the air and crashed into the green-haired swordsman, who was fighting with only one sword since he was still carrying the large doctor over his shoulder. The cook was met by enraged insults made by both Zoro and Chopper as they got up from under the unconscious Marine, but Sanji calmly returned some insults of his own and turned his head to glare at Usopp. Usopp returned the glare from where he sat against the wall, pointing out that he hadn't been the one delivering the kick that sent the enemy flying in the wrong direction. Sanji blew out a puff of smoke and nodded towards the unconscious captain on his back.

"It would be easier to fight if I wasn't carrying this feverish sack of rubber on my back. Here, Usopp, hold him for a moment, will you?"

He loosened his grip around the captain's legs and let the black-haired man slip off his back and down onto the floor next to Usopp. Then he turned towards the remaining Marines, tapping the ashes off his cigarette before shoving his hands deep into his pockets.

Usopp winced as the captain slid against the slippery wet stone wall and ended up leaning heavily against the marksman's left arm. Hoping that the captain wouldn't start to drool all over him, Usopp leaned his head against the wall, not even wincing as a stray bullet fired by some Marine dug itself into the wall above his head. Through the increasing clouds in his mind, he listened to the sounds of the battle in the narrow corridor; Zoro's and Sanji's voices as they exchanged insults while fighting; the singing clangs of swords colliding and the muffled grunts of the soldiers at the receiving end of Nami's staff or Sanji's kicks. There wasn't enough energy in his body for him to be afraid of getting shot again – the only thing he bothered to think of was that if someone sent a Marine soldier crashing into him, they would have to face the wrath of Captain Usopp.

That thought amused him, even as his newly wounded shoulder felt like it was on fire. His left side was also strangely warm, but even through the fogs of pain that lowered itself over his brain, he was quick to notice that the warmth was coming from the captain leaning against his aching arm. The sticky, feverish heat radiated from the man with such intensity that Usopp could almost see the air around him dance the way it did during the blazing hot days out in the deserts of Alabasta.

After a few more minutes, the battle was over, and the last Marine sank to the moist floor next to the flickering torch the soldiers had brought with them. Nami hurried over to where Usopp and Luffy were sitting, dropping her metal staff to the floor with a clatter as she moved the captain back against the wall and away from Usopp's arm. The marksman gave her a grateful look and tried his best not to flinch when his right shoulder sent out a searing wave of pain through his arm.

"Usopp, are you alright? You're so pale…"

Usopp tried to shake his head, but as soon as he moved, new blue flashes of pain rushed through his body. Nami carefully moved the marksman's hand away from his shoulder and examined the wound. Then she gestured for Zoro to come closer. The swordsman obeyed and kneeled by the navigator in front of Usopp. Nami reached out for the doctor who was still hanging over Zoro's shoulder and patted him on the shoulder.

"Chopper, do you think you can take care of Usopp's wound?"

"No!" Usopp gasped as he sat up straight, the movement creating large red spots in front of his eyes. There was no time to be examined, not there in the corridor anyway. "I'm fine, just a little bit spaced out. We'll take care of it once we get back to Going Merry."

Nami hesitated for a moment, looking at Usopp with her eyes narrowing slightly, but then she nodded and reached for her staff. Standing up at the same time as Zoro did, she asked Sanji if he would mind carrying Luffy the rest of the way. Sanji wasn't slow to agree to carry the captain, expressing his eternal love for the navigator while he reached out over Usopp to lift the captain onto his back again.

Usopp pushed his back against the wall and waited for Sanji to haul Luffy back up on his back before he pushed himself off the floor. Moving so fast left him dizzy, but he could still follow the others through the rest of the tunnel, his left hand tightly clenched around his right shoulder. Ahead of him, in the fading light from the torch they left behind with the Marines, Zoro and Sanji had taken up their argument over who had taken down the most Marines so far.

"What are you talking about, you shitty swordsman?" Sanji said, sounding offended as he turned around to glare at Zoro, walking backwards in the corridor as he continued: "I took down that officer while you were tending to Chopper."

"One officer is still only one man, you idiot," Zoro said calmly, but with a sharp edge in his voice. "I'm still in the lead."

"Only with three soldiers!"

After what felt like an eternity, they finally reached the stairs up to the next floor. At this time, Usopp was leaning against Nami's right shoulder as they started climbing the stairs, his head feeling lighter and lighter. When they reached the top of the stairs, slightly blinded by the light from the torches hanging along one side of the new corridor, Usopp's mind was instantly cleared as he noticed that the Marines he and Sanji had fought earlier were gone. Sanji noticed it as well, stopped arguing with Zoro and turned around towards the rest of the crew as they walked up the last steps of the stairs, doing his best to disguise how out of breath he really was.

"It seems like we need to get out fast, before they get enough reinforcements to stop us." A shadow flashed across the cook's face as he continued. "I hate to say it, but I don't think I will last any more large battles like the one down there in the corridor."

Usopp looked down at the floor in the torch-lit hall, his eyes widening as he noticed the dark footprints following the cook up to the place where he was standing. How much blood could the man have lost by now, if his feet had been bleeding all the time since they broke out from their cells? And still, he was walking upright, fighting the Marines, carrying Luffy on his back and arguing with Zoro as if nothing was wrong. Usopp couldn't even imagine how much pain the cook must be in, and he felt ashamed that he couldn't handle his own pain that well.

"Does anyone remember which way we walked on our way to the cells?" Sanji continued. Glancing at Zoro, he added: "That question wasn't directed to anyone without a sense of direction."

"Shut up." Zoro muttered tiredly, adjusting the weight of the doctor on his shoulder, causing the man-beast to wince in pain. "Sorry…" the swordsman said quietly, hearing the doctor whimper in return.

Sanji smirked, hoisting the captain further up on his back, seeing stars dance in front of his eyes as the black-haired man's forehead collided with the back of his head. He quickly gathered himself enough to hide the dizziness he experienced and glanced at Zoro with a facial expression he hoped looked smug or possibly even annoying.

"What? Is the great pirate hunter Zoro starting to feel the blood loss creeping up on him?"

"You wish," Zoro muttered, a hint of amusement in his voice as he wrapped his left arm a bit tighter around the doctor's body, for a brief moment forgetting that he was carrying a living being over his shoulder. "I'll take on all the Marines in this damn base if I have to."

"Good, then let's get going." Sanji said, starting to follow the corridor to their left, walking in the opposite direction they had walked earlier on their way down into the dungeons. The others followed him. Zoro was talking calmingly to Chopper, who was still being carried over the swordsman's left shoulder. Nami leaned the metal staff over her shoulder while she was keeping an eye on Usopp, who suddenly had decided that he was strong enough to walk on his own, even though he looked wobbly enough to topple over at any moment where he walked close behind the navigator.

A long time ago, Nami had realized that she was never going to understand the mind of the men around her, so she didn't even bother to wonder what could be fuelling the marksman's spirit all of a sudden. Her mind was instead focused on their current problem – to find the way to the first floor and the entrance hall. There were no windows in the corridor, which could mean that they were either close to the center of the base or that the base simply didn't have any windows.

In any case, getting down to the first floor had to be their number one priority. They could worry about finding the entrance hall once they reached the right floor.

"I think I was in some kind of tower," Zoro said all of a sudden, startling his friends a little by breaking the silence that had fallen over them. "But I'm not sure, there were no windows except two tiny ones up by the ceiling. Anyway, I walked down at least four floors before I even got my swords back. Then I didn't reach any more stairs until I found you…" The swordsman frowned as he tried to think back, but he couldn't remember walking down any more stairs after getting his swords back.

"Great story," Sanji said teasingly, turning around to smirk at Zoro. "Does it have a punch line?"

"No, wait!" Nami said, looking thoughtful as she tapped the end of her staff lightly against her right temple. "We never walked down any stairs when we were taken to the cells, did we?" She looked around at Sanji and Usopp, but didn't wait for them to reply as she continued. "That would mean that we're already on the first floor now, which would make it perfectly logical that the entrance hall is located somewhere on this floor!"

The next thing Sanji did was something that at least Usopp found somewhat disturbing. Instead of swooning and praising Nami's intelligence or anything like that, the blond cook just turned his head and looked at Nami over his right shoulder, smiled and nodded his head.

"Very clever, Nami-san," he said tiredly. "That's really good news, it means no more stairs to climb…"

Finding himself quite unnerved by Sanji's odd behavior, Usopp tightened his grip around his wounded arm a little. The pain that shot out in his arm and up along his neck towards his head helped clearing his thoughts, even if he had to clench his teeth tightly to keep himself from screaming. But he couldn't get rid of the nervous feeling in the pit of his stomach, even as they turned right once they reached the fork in the road and headed further into the Marine base.

- e – e-

After running around in the maze of corridors, the Straw Hat pirates came to a halt behind a corner as the sound of nervous voices echoed from a room nearby. Carefully poking her head around the corner, Nami gasped and withdrew her head again. They were standing at one end of the large entrance hall and in the other end of the room, a large group of Marines armed with guns, swords and other large weapons were blocking the only exit.

Zoro growled and let Chopper slide down from his shoulder, letting Nami and Usopp support the doctor while he tightened the black bandana tied around his head. As he reached for his swords, he looked around at his friends, his eyes narrowing in the shadow of the bandana.

"I'll take care of them. As soon as you see an opening – Run."

He unsheathed Wadou Ichimonji and placed the hilt securely between his teeth before he drew the other two swords, holding one in each hand. Stepping in front of the rest of the crew, he glanced over his shoulder at them, a small part of his mind well aware that it could be the last time he saw them. Then again, he reminded himself, that part of his mind had always been such a pessimist.

"I'll catch up with you by the boats," he said calmly, even though he could feel large drops of sweat already forming under the black band. "Just run and don't look back."

"Good luck, Zoro," Nami said, straightening her back under the weight of the doctor, who was silently looking up at the swordsman under the brim of his hat with a terrified and still admiring look in his eyes.

"Don't get killed," Usopp added, one of his eyes tightly shut as Chopper leaned heavily against his left arm.

"If you die, I'll kill you," Sanji said, smirking towards the swordsman as he got a better grip around the legs of the unconscious captain on his back. He was shifting his bodyweight from one leg to the other which made him look quite nervous or anxious, but it was only to keep the pressure off his aching feet for long enough so that he would be able to run without tripping over himself. Zoro returned the smirk as well as he could with the sword between his teeth.

"Yeah, right back at 'cha…"

Taking a deep breath, Zoro stepped around the corner, making himself visible to the Marines as he crossed his arms across his bleeding chest. The soldiers were startled by his sudden appearance, but they were quick to gather themselves and drew their weapons while calling for him to stop. As Zoro ran towards the Marines with his head lowered to avoid getting hit by one of the bullets fired from Marine pistols, he could hear the others following him out into the entrance hall. It was time for the diversion.

"Demon…" he exclaimed as he reached the group of Marines, diving into the crowd while uncrossing his arms.

"…Cleave!"

The attack was forceful enough to send shockwaves through the crowd, causing the Marines standing close to Zoro to fly or stumble backwards while crying out in pain. Zoro turned around to prepare another attack and caught a glimpse of the others making their way around the stunned Marines towards the large double doors. He hoped that they would make it outside in time before his next attack reached the peak of its power. Around him, the Marines were moving up towards him, their weapons drawn. A very predictable move, and also a perfect opportunity to finish the battle – even though he wasn't sure if the situation he was in would count as a battle; it was more like a kid burning ants with a magnifying glass.

"Dragon…"

He spun the two swords in his hands – one clock-wise and the other counter clock-wise – with amazing speed, letting his body join in the spinning motion as he created a whirlwind that grew stronger for each second. Every muscle in the swordsman's body screamed as he pushed himself to finish the attack. He couldn't see if his friends had made it out of the room yet, but as he could feel the force of his attack gather in a razor-sharp coil, he sincerely hoped that they had escaped.

"…Coil!"

Still spinning, he made a leap into the air, the screams of the Marines ringing in his ears as the coil twisted around itself inside the room, cutting everything and everyone that came in its way. When Zoro landed on the floor and finished the attack with his arms spread out to the sides, he could feel the razor-sharp edges of the coil cut through his own defenses. The attack had backfired once the coil reached the low ceiling and was thrown back out into the four corners of the room.

The screams of the Marines grew stronger as the whole room was taken over by the roaring, uncontrollable whirlwind, and Zoro wasn't sure if his own screams were added to the noise inside the hall or not. He could feel his already open wounds deepen, and new, deeper ones getting added all over his body, but he wasn't feeling any pain. Not yet anyway, he thought to himself, feeling his head getting thrown to the side as a part of the coil slashed him across the left cheek, almost tearing off his ear in the process.

Once the last gust of wind died out, Zoro was the only one in the room still standing. Slowly sheathing his swords one by one, he dropped to his knees on the floor, breathing heavily and cursing as he felt a sting of pain race across his back when he leaned forward. Chopper better be able to stitch that wound up without it leaving too much of a scar, he thought to himself the moment before he fell forward onto the floor, the cuts all over his body starting to get his attention in pulsating flashes of pain. Just a few minutes of rest, that was all he needed before he could follow the others.

How could he have been so careless as to use the Dragon Coil indoors? If he had had control over his legs, he would have kicked himself for being so careless. Would the world's greatest swordsman ever make a mistake like that? Zoro doubted that with his whole being as he started to regain control over his own body through the burning in his muscles.

"Damn Marines…" he muttered, coughing as he inhaled sand and dust piled up on the floor by the wind. Allowing his body to rest, he decided that if any of the Marines as much as tried to stop him from leaving once he had rested, he wouldn't hesitate to draw his swords, not even against a mortally wounded man.

- e – e-

Kicking the last of the two double doors open with his aching feet, Sanji turned around and beckoned the rest of the crew to hurry up. They could all hear the increasing noise and screams coming from inside the base, and felt the strange gusts of wind that threatened to suck them back into the building. Sanji could see Usopp and Nami turn around to look back inside the entrance hall while they were still supporting Chopper between them.

"Hey, come on!" he called out, feeling his arms starting to go numb from carrying Luffy on his back. From the warm, wet and sticky feeling in the back of his neck, Sanji came to the conclusion that the unconscious and feverish captain was drooling and he was glad that he hadn't put on a more expensive shirt before they arrived to Albana. The one he was wearing now was already ready to be thrown out with the trash or burned because of all the bloodstains and cuts that were covering the cloth.

"We have to get to the docks and see if Going Merry is here or not!" Sanji said as he had got the other's attention, pulling his own attention off his destroyed shirt for a moment.

Coming out into the strong afternoon sunlight was a bit of a shock after spending almost two days in the dark prison, but as soon as the cook's eyes had got used to the light, he could get a good look at their surroundings.

They were standing on a rough wooden platform that stuck out from the stone island which formed the foundation of the Marine base. Far below them, the waves of the ocean crashed into the pointy cliffs surrounding the island. To their left, a set of stairs carved out from the stone led down along the edge of the island towards the docks down by the ocean. From his position at the edge of the platform, Sanji could see the ships lying anchored side by side along the shore. And there, a few meters away from the rest of the ships, the very familiar caravel bobbed calmly in the waves. The sails and flag weren't set, but the large wooden sheep's head at the prow was hard to miss, even from a distance.

"There she is…" he said, turning around to move away from the edge of the platform, fully aware of the dark footprints he left behind him as he started walking down the stone stairs.

He could feel Nami, Usopp and Chopper follow him, and slowed down his pace. He didn't want to add any more stress to the situation by running down the stairs, and felt that if he hadn't had the pain throbbing all the way up from the soles of his feet to his knees and across his chest, he would have offered to help his friends carry Chopper. But now, all he could do was to glance back at the struggling pirates and mutter pointless phrases like 'Not much left now' or 'You're doing great' under his breath.

The beat-the-most-Marines competition had completely vanished from Sanji's mind. He couldn't think of anything else than to get back out to sea with the rest of the clan, get one of his own cigarettes and prepare food for an army to get his mind off his sore feet and ribs. Then he would be able to settle the competition with Zoro, but not before that. He realized, however, that since Zoro had stayed behind to fight off the Marines so that the rest of them could escape, it meant that the swordsman would win the competition – or at least increase his lead with fifty-or-so soldiers. Maybe it would be wise to avoid bringing that competition up again.

When the pirates came down the stairs, Sanji stopped in his tracks as he saw the man standing guard by the ships, feeling the others collide with him from behind. He nodded towards the single guard, a large bearded man who was dressed in a long pink coat with a pair of white wings attached to the shoulders on top of his white uniform. Sanji frowned as the uniform-clad man suddenly got up on the tips of his toes, kicking and spinning in a ballet-like manner while counting "Un, deux, oraaa…" to himself. A muscle twitched in the cook's lower eyelid as the dancing man spotted them and spread out his arms in greeting, touching the left side of his face to regain his normal appearance.

"What the crap is he doing here?" Sanji muttered, hearing Usopp mutter something similar behind him as they stared at the man wearing the heavy make-up.


Jade Tatsu – I didn't know that my fic gave that kind of vibes… Well, we'll see what happens, won't we? Thanks for reviewing.

I'm pretty happy with this chapter, even if I wrote most of it post-midnight last night :D Actually, the rough summaries for the two last chapters are done now, I just need to get the time to write them down and upload them… We'll see when I get the time to do that.