Title: Loyalties

Author: AstroKender Pairings: nothing clean cut. You can pretty much see what you want to see.
Warnings: Blood and violence. Excessive Luffy/Zoro goodness Spoilers: Not really.
Notes: Ack! Sorry this one took so long. Real life can be a bitch. But I've got a nice long chapter for you all, thanks in part to maedhros's wonderfully encouraging feedback and a new chapter of Hide and Seek popping out. To Winner-sama: I think your fic is one of the best OP ones out there!!! Feedback: or use the comment bar at the bottom of the screen.
Archived: Ask and ye will probably receive.
Disclaimers: I don't own One Piece or it's affiliates. This fic is written for entertainment purposes only and is not meant for sale. Don't sue.

Chapter 5

It had been about an hour since the sun had set behind the anchored caravel of the Straw Hat Crew. The waters painted red only a little while ago now sloshed about the hull of the Going Merry like the darkest of inks. The tide itself had risen, sending the coastline meters away from where it lay that afternoon. If anyone were to leave the ship at this point, it would have to be by rowboat, unless they fancied a moonlight swim.

Standing quietly on the deck, Vivi let the cool sea air whisper gently over her face as she stared up into the night. The moon's brightness blocked out many of the stars, but a few of the brighter ones persevered and glittered like shards of ice in the navy blue sky. Troubled eyes the same color as that sky turned downward and scoured the ocean's horizon, as the princess wondered bleakly if the stars looked as cold and distant hanging over Alabasta.

Perhaps sensing her morose thoughts, Carue gently nudged Vivi's leg from where he lay beside her. "Quaa?" Vivi patted the spot-billed duck's head affectionately.

"It's all right, Carue." The young girl smiled. "I'm just a little homesick. But we'll reach Alabasta soon. And then we'll stop the rebellion." Leaning on the ship's rail, she peered down into the dark water below. "We've met some really good people, Carue." She whispered fondly. "People who really want to help us with our mission, even though it has nothing to do with them. When I'm with them, our mission doesn't seem so impossible."

"Qua qua quack." Carue said, matter-of-factly.

"He said nothing is impossible when your friends are beside you."

Vivi turned to see Chopper padding hesitantly across the deck, his small hooves barely making a sound. The reindeer looked around nervously before coming to stand at the princess's side opposite of Carue. "I thought we were supposed to stay inside the ship?" he whispered as he tugged gently on her shirt. His eyes darted about as if they would be caught at any second.

"I couldn't stay in that stuffy cabin for one more second." Vivi muttered with a frown. "I felt so useless sitting down there, sulking."

Chopper gazed up at the blue-haired girl as he fidgeted from hoof to hoof. "But Zoro said--"

"If things are as dangerous as Mr. Bushido said, then we should be out there helping everyone!" Vivi shouted as she gestured towards the island behind her. The princess had worked herself into a fit of helplessness as she imagined one horror after another befalling her comrades.

As if her shout had summoned them, a giant flock of birds flew overhead, heading away from Black Feather. Vivi and the others stared up in fascination tinged with not a little bit of fear as the dark creatures circled about before finally coming to roost on every available surface of the Going Merry.

"There are dozens of them!" Vivi called out, trying to be heard over the clamor of squawks and cries. She ducked swiftly as one of the more agitated birds darted over her head. Feeling frazzled and overwhelmed, Vivi crouched down on the deck and did her best to protect her head. "Why are they here?" she cried.

Chopper poked his head out from under the safety of Carue's wing. "They're frightened!" Vivi crawled over to the other two, pausing now and then to hold in a nervous shriek as a black shadow swooped down at her.

"What scared them?" she asked when she finally reached her companions. The blue-haired girl leaned against Carue as she fought to get her breath back.

Chopper shook his head frantically. "I don't know! They're all yelling at once."

Grunting like only a duck could, Carue pulled away from his friends and took a couple steps forward. Heaving in a giant breath, the yellow duck released it all in one resounding…

"QUACK!"

Amazingly, the birds quieted down and ceased their frenzied flapping. Looking about in wonder, Vivi cautiously rose to her feet, keeping a careful eye on the birds milling about them as Chopper tentatively stepped out from behind her. Picking out the closest bird, the doctor leaned over and whispered something to it. Chopper cocking one of his ears outward and listened intently to the muted whistles and clicks that made up the bird's reply.

"Well?" Vivi asked, as the reindeer stepped away.

Chopper shook his head. "The bird spoke with a strange accent. I couldn't understand all of it. "He said something about two people and stretching and fighting and something else I couldn't make out."

"Stretching?" Vivi echoed. Her eyes widened. "That could be Luffy!"

A few feet away, Carue was having his own conversation with one of the darkly feathered birds. After a few minutes of an unintelligible combination of quacked and chirps, the spot-billed duck reared his head back abruptly.

"Quack! Quack!" He shouted as her ran over to them. Chopper sucked in a horrified squeak. Vivi stared at him, the question clear on her face.

"That was the word I couldn't understand! This is terrible!" Chopper tugged his top hat down firmly over his head as he ran about, wildly. Frustrated, Vivi discarded her royal etiquette and grabbed the reindeer by an antler to stop him, before bending down and shaking him angrily.

"What's horrible? Tell me! What was the other word?" Vivi stopped shaking her comrade as she noticed frightened tears budding in the corners of the reindeer's eyes.

Chopper sniffled slightly before tugging the princess to her feet. "Guns. It was guns, Vivi." Pulling her along, the doctor pushed her to the aft of the ship. "Get the rowboat ready. Carue, you try and talk one of the birds into showing us where they came from. I have to grab my bag!" Noticing that he was running in place, the reindeer tried desperately to jerk away from Vivi's grasp.

"What's going on, Tony?" The princess pleaded.

Freeing himself, Chopper ran for the hold, where his precious medical bag was stored. "The others are in trouble!" he called back over his shoulder. "We have to help!"

Vivi stared at him in shock for a moment, but Chopper was relieved to see that she soon ran off to do what she was told. Bursting into his makeshift medical room, Chopper knocked over beakers and vials in the haste to find his equipment. All the while the small reindeer did his best to ignore the lump of dread forming in his stomach.

In his rush to act he hadn't told Vivi everything. He hadn't told her that they might be too late.

OOVVVVVOO

"Don't die on me, Zoro! I haven't kicked your ass yet!"

Seeing that he would get no reply from the, hopefully not, dead weight on top of him, Luffy's lips thinned into a resolved frown. Wrapping his arms around his blood-soaked comrade, he rolled them over until it was Luffy himself atop Zoro. The Straw hat captain laid his head on Zoro's chest and was rewarded with the reassuring reverberation of a heartbeat. Satisfied that his friend was alive for the moment, the dark-haired boy pulled back into a sitting position on the swordsman.

Luffy vague noted that the greasy-haired guy was yelling at his companions, but he couldn't draw his eyes away from the figure lying beneath him. Staring down at his first mate's pale face, Luffy felt nothing but a sort of numb confusion. First Zoro attacks him and then he saves him. His other friends were lying in an abandoned heap not far from the men with rifles, supposedly because Zoro killed them. It just didn't add up.

Try as he might, now that the battle-lust and anger had faded away, Luffy just couldn't believe that Zoro would really betray them. I mean, they were friends, right? Partners from the very beginning. They…they were supposed to reach the end of the Grand Line together. Zoro, the greatest swordsman in the world, and himself, the newly crowned Pirate King. Their adventure wasn't supposed to end like this. He looked over to the bodies of the rest of his crew, his fingers digging into his first mate's shirt reflexively.

"Stupid Nami." He whispered. "Stupid Usopp. Stupid Sanji. Stupid, stupid, stupid Zoro." Luffy was surprised to find a steady stream of tears flowing down his cheeks. He hadn't cried since Shanks lost his arm. "Stupid everyone. Don't you go and die on me. Our adventure's not…it's not over yet."

My loyalties will always lie with my captain…

"You stupid imbeciles!" Luffy heard the enraged shout behind him. "You were only supposed to shoot the Straw Hat! I should kill every one of you!"

"It's not our fault!" A quavering voice protested. "He jumped into our line of fire. Besides, the sword guy must have a bounty on him too, right?"

"Fool!" Uragi snarled. "Roronoa's skills were far more valuable than any reward we could get from him!"

Luffy's eyes gained a feral glint as he rose to his feet. He turned towards the bounty hunter, his shoulders shaking. "You…you know nothing about how much Zoro was-- IS worth! What they all are worth! They're priceless to me!" he stepped gently over the swordsman's still form as he stalked closer to the object of his fury. "More than my ship, more than my ambition, even more than my hat," Luffy gestured to the ragged straw thing sitting morosely in the mud. "THEY'RE MY TREASURES!" he screamed.

Unfazed, Uragi gestured at the rubber-boy's friends with a broad sweep of his hand that caused his oversized coat to billow out like a sail. "We'll, I'm afraid dead, your treasures are only worth a couple thousand beli. Though I do regret the loss of a potential partner." Crossing his arms, the skinny man brooded as he stared at where Zoro lie.

Luffy cracked his knuckle loudly as a murderous look transformed his face into something unlike the normally happy-go-lucky pirate. "Zoro is my partner."

"Oh?" Uragi let out a snort of amusement. "Just moments ago you were ready to kill him."

Luffy stared out from under his low drawn brows and his arm pulled back. "And now I'm ready to kill you."

Winding his arm like a windmill, the rubber-boy let his fist fly towards his enemy with dead-on accuracy and a hoarse shout.

"Gomu Gomu no Pistol!"

Uragi made no move to dodge as the fist hurtled towards him. Indeed, he didn't even flinch at the punch's impact. Uragi seemed to dissolve and Luffy's fist just punched through him. Frustrated, the Straw-Hat captain yanked his arm back only to send his right leg flying towards the bounty hunter in a lashing sideswipe. "Gomu Gomu no Whip"

But this attack had no effect either as Uragi's flesh merely flowed over Luffy's outstretched leg like water. Uragi solidified as the dark-haired boy's leg returned to its normal length. Panting, Luffy glared at him.

"What are you?"

Uragi's lip's turned up in an oily smile as he lifted his arms. "As you can see, my stupid little Straw Hat, I too have eaten the Devil's Fruit. With the powers of my Doku Doku ability, I am practically invincible."

"Whatever." Luffy pulled both arms back for another strike. "I'm gonna beat you up, Grease-man. Gomu Gomu no Bazooka!"

Uragi splashed out of existence as the powerful shove collided with him. Dematerializing, the dark haired man heaved an impatient sigh. "I grow weary of dealing with you. In fact, I never intended to have to battle you in the first place. That's why I have these guys." He gestured to his men who had only now crawled out of the swamp. "I believe you can attest to the viciousness of their bullets." Uragi smiled as Luffy reflexively grabbed his bandaged arm.

Turning towards his men, he barked out his orders. "You know what to do. If you screw up this time you're all food for the alligators!" he threatened.

Sweating, the bounty hunter's lackeys fumbled to raise their rifles into position. Impatient, Uragi shook his fist. "Hurry up and fire before he attacks! Shoot you idi—AHH!"

Uragi stumbled backwards as what felt like a round pebble smacked into his face and exploded into a fiery inferno. Quickly liquefying, the bounty hunter flowed over the ground to reform a few meters away. He gingerly touched his burned face as he scanned about for the source of the attack when all of the sudden one of his men screamed in pain.

Growing increasingly angry, Uragi turned to see a man fall to the ground after a fierce blow from a metal pole. A redheaded girl whirled the pole around to crash into another man's family jewels before giving him a solid whap in the head that sent him joining his friend in the depths of unconsciousness.

"Great work Nami!" A long nosed boy poked his head out from behind a rock not far from Uragi. "Keep at it! Go Killer!"

Nami ducked the butt of a rifle and rolled back, bringing her pole back up before her. "I could use some help, O Brave Warrior!" she snarled out.

"R-right! Burning Star!" The dark skinned boy brought a slingshot into view and fired a round pellet that exploded when it hit the gunman preparing to fire at the girl.

"Oiy! D-don't just stand there, Luffy!" Usopp cried as the remaining henchman rushed towards him. "Help me!"

Nami snapped her pole out and tripped two of the men. "Snap out of it, Stupid!" Her pole dipped down and caught the brim of Luffy's hat and she flung it towards him.

"Guys…" Luffy stared at the two in disbelief. His wide eyes saw the straw hat flying upwards and he instinctively stretched his arm out to pluck it from the air. Placing the hat reverently over his head, the rubber-boy made no move to disguise his spreading grin. "Okay!" he yelled as he slammed his fist into his palm.

Nami grinned in reply as their captain quickly took care of the gunman attacking Usopp. She tripped the remaining two once again before kicking their rifles away. "Usopp! How's Sanji?"

"Still out!" Usopp called back after glancing at the blonde who was lying with the sharpshooter behind the safety of the rock. The cook seemed to be breathing easily, so Usopp wasn't too worried.

"Great!" Nami cried as she slowly backed away from the two men who were now armed with pistols in addition to being very, very angry. "How can he sleep at a time like this?"

"Because I had to hit him harder than the rest." A low voice rumbled from behind her. Nami watched as a streak of silver knocked a pistol across the marsh. The now unarmed man fell back, cursing, as he held his bleeding hand.

The navigator looked back in shock to see Zoro kneeling in the mud, using his remaining sword as a crutch to keep himself upright. The last of the henchmen was soon blasted away from them and suddenly Luffy was at their side.

"Zoro--" Luffy croaked out, unable to say more past the lump in his throat.

Zoro squinted up at his captain with one eye and a crooked grin. "You didn't think I'd die that easy, did you?" Groaning, the swordsman lost his grip on his sword and fell forward but Nami quickly moved in to catch him.

"I've got him!" she yelled at Luffy as she painstakingly lowered the swordsman to the ground. "You go beat up that last guy!" she commanded when Luffy continued to stare at them.

Luffy felt like he was moving through molasses as he nodded mutely. He didn't know how, but his friends were alive again. Luffy stared at the large patch dried blood on Nami's stomach. Maybe they were ghosts.

"Go on." Zoro grunted from below him. "I should have had more faith in you guys from the beginning." The swordsman closed his eyes tiredly as sweat beaded across his rapidly graying face. Nami lightly placed a hand on his chest before glaring up at Luffy.

"You need to beat this guy so we can get Zoro back to the ship and to Tony! Hurry up! Do you want him to bleed to death, moron? Usopp!" Nami called out. "Help me drag Zoro out of the way!"

As if waking from a dream, Luffy snapped out of his daze and fire lit his eyes once more. "I'll finish it in five minutes." The rubber-boy announced. He knelt next to Zoro. "Can you make it that long?"

Zoro's eyes opened a sliver and he snorted before coughing painfully. "Are you trying to insult me?" he rasped.

"Right." Luffy grinned at he jumped back to his feet. Even if they were ghosts, it was nice to have them back. Whirling on his feet, the Straw-Hat captain turned to face a slack-jawed Uragi.

"Impossible! How—" The bounty hunter was practically foaming at the mouth. Luffy shrugged lightly and cracked his neck.

"Who cares. They're here and it seems like you," Luffy pointed to the man's charred face. "Aren't invincible after all."

Uragi fell back a step before rallying himself. He opened his mouth to talk but any words he had to say were cut off by a burning in his mouth much greater than the one that had engulfed his face. Choking and spitting, the dark-haired man fell to the ground.

"Haha! How do you like my Tabasco Star!" Usopp shouted from behind the protection of Nami's back.

The navigator elbowed him away before smirking evilly at the suffering man. "It seem as though turning to goo takes some concentration. It must be hard to do when you don't know where the attacks are coming from."

"You filthy pirates!" Uragi coughed out before his body oozed into a black puddle. The puddle shimmered and shook and suddenly shot towards the two teenagers. "I'll kill you in an instant!" A disembodied voice cried out.

Usopp and Nami both fell back with a shriek at the black liquid enveloped them. But after a moment of probing, the ooze slid back. Uragi reformed about ten meters away, a fearful scowl darkening his features.

"No wounds…" He muttered. "You're not injured in any way…. Not even a papercut!" The bounty hunter screamed shrilly.

"Well I do have this nasty bump on my head thanks to Zoro." Usopp muttered as he rubbed his head tentatively.

"My powers won't affect you unless you have some sort of wound. I saw Zoro strike you both down. I saw the blood. How—" Uragi was thrown backwards by a fist slamming into his jaw. Uragi rolled and skidded backwards and only just prevented himself from falling into sliding into the dark swamp behind him.

"You've got four more minutes to start paying attention." Luffy strode towards him with a lopsided grin. "Or else I'm gonna beatcha up."

Uragi's eyes narrowed as he struggled to his feet in the slippery mud. The bounty hunter slowly pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and dabbed at his now bloodied lip. Uragi smiled and the fingernails of his free hand clicked together ominously.

"You, Straw Hat. You are injured." Uragi extended his arm outward as some sort of dark substance dripped from his hand. "If you want something done right, I suppose you have to do it yourself. Say 'Goodbye' Monkey D. Luffy."

"Look, the light up ahead! There they are!" A voice cried out from the darkness. Uragi's eyes widened as two forms shot out of the tree line. A giant man-shaped creature and a…a girl riding a duck?

"Luffy! Duck!" The blue-haired girl called out.

Luffy was about to reply that, yes; he did see a duck when one of Vivi's peacock blades flashed a centimeter from his nose. Yelping, the Rubber-boy dived to the soggy ground as a second blade threatened to take his nose completely off.

Uragi cried out as the blades made contact, one grazing his cheek while the other imbedded itself into his outstretched arm. He tried to back away but the swamp prevented him from going any farther. Cursing, the bounty hunter looked around wildly for any sort of help.

"Horn Point!" Suddenly the man shaped creature transformed into a deer with at least a twelve-point rack sitting monstrously atop his head. Lowering its head, the beast charged him.

This is exactly what wasn't meant to happen, Uragi thought furiously as he dissolved into a puddle. His now muted hearing caught the surprised cry of the charging monster as it crashed into the swamp. Frantic quacking followed after it and by the second splash, Uragi determined the duck had gone in to rescue it.

That left two enemies behind him, and at least four in front. The odds were too risky for a direct confrontation. Uragi began to slither across the ground as he muttered a mental curse. He would have to fall back for now, until he had the upper hand once again.

"Where did he go?" Vivi questioned from beside Luffy, as Carue fished the now tiny Chopper from the depths of the mire. Growling, Luffy started yelling nasty taunts in every direction and jumping into every visible puddle as he tried to get Uragi to resurface. But the bounty hunter was nowhere to be seen.

"We won!" Usopp fell back onto his butt in relief.

"Hey!" Nami snapped. "Keep up the pressure on your end!" She gestured to where Usopp had let go of the sodden remains of what used to be Nami's shirt, but was now a makeshift patch on one of Zoro's numerous wounds. Nami herself was busy applying pressure on the other half of the cloth as she tried vainly to stem the flow of blood from the swordsman's right shoulder. Snapping to his senses, Usopp quickly resumed holding the rag over Zoro's left side.

Zoro gave a pained groan and Nami shook her head. "How do you get into this kind of shape?" she asked when the swordsman sent a bleary gaze her way. "I think I should let you bleed to death for ruining my favorite shirt. It cost eight hundred beli you know." The redhead forced herself to laugh as she met Usopp's worried gaze. "Not to mention you deserve a few good knocks on the head for the ones you gave us." She managed to choke out in a nearly normal voice.

"Mr. Bushido!" Vivi gasped out as she saw Zoro lying on the ground. Nami's body was blocking her view of the full extent of the damage to the green-haired pirate, so Vivi stepped in for a closer look.

"I think you should go help Sanji, Vivi." Usopp suddenly called out. "He's unconscious behind that rock over there."

"He's right, Vivi." Nami added. "You better make sure he's not seriously hurt." The redhead's voice caught a bit at the end of that sentence.

Nodding slowly, Vivi backed away, unable to shake the idea that they were shielding something from her. As she turned away she saw that Luffy had quit screaming into the darkness and was now walking slowly towards the others, as if he didn't really want to go to them.

A few relieved quacks off to her left told her that Carue had succeeded in pulling Chopper from the swamp. Shaking off the irrational fear welling inside her, the princess kneeled next to Sanji and attempted to shake him awake.

In this time Chopper had rushed past Luffy and over to where the others continued to fight to keep Zoro conscious. Reaching their side, he sucked in an in drawn breath. It was worse than he feared. The doctor's small hooves gently prodded Zoro's body, raising an eyelid here and feeling for fever there.

"How many times was he shot?" The reindeer fought to keep the whimper from his voice.

Usopp shook his head. "We were unconscious at the time. I--I see three holes from the f-front but I think he may have been shot from behind so I don't know so tell me Chopper he'sgonnabeallrightright?" Usopp asked in a rush before taking a deep breath. "I mean, he's not the type of person to die from three measly gunshot wounds, right?" Chopper could tell the sharpshooter was fighting down his panic.

"Five." Luffy's voice floated down from behind them, eerily calm. "He was shot five times."

Nami gasped as the body below her began to shake. Chopper jumped to his feet in horror. "He's convulsing!"

"I can't…believe…you had time…to count…." Zoro tried desperately to breathe as his laughter caused a fresh wave of blood to bubble up his throat.

Almost falling over in relief, Chopper shook his head. "His injuries are too serious to operate on here. I need to get him back to the ship. I still have a couple of minutes left until the Rumble Ball's effects wear off. That will be the fastest way." Chopper closed his eyes and returned to his man form, only with the leg muscles much more pronounced than normal. "Leg point…." He whispered.

Usopp nodded and helped wrestle the cumbersome swordsman onto the reindeer's back.

"Hey Reindeer!" Chopper glance down at the hand on his arm. He followed the line of pink skin to the hand's owner. Luffy's eyes stared back at him, steadily.

"Take care of my swordsman."

Chopper's eyes watered as he nodded frantically. Luffy let go his hold and the doctor immediately shot off into the night with his charge.

"Carue!" Usopp called out suddenly. "Can you follow him?"

Running up, Carue nodded and Usopp jumped onto his back. Surprised, Nami half-rose to her feet. "Wait! What can you hope to do?" she reasoned.

Usopp grabbed the duck's reins as he glanced back briefly. "Whatever I can." And with a flick of the wrist, they both disappeared into the darkness.

ooVVVoo

Gomu Gomu no Whip -I debated awhile on this, and decided to keep the essence of Luffy's fighting moves in English. To save both myself, and you the reader, from search the end of the chapter for the translation.

Twelve point rack- A hunter's term form how many prongs are on each horn. Twelve points it pretty large.