The gun went off, adding to the chaos that was rapidly building.

Zoro jerked forward, toppling over Robin. His head snapped up, and his gaze met Nami's. She had pulled them out of the way, so fast, he hadn't even seen her move. "Wow, thanks!" His heart was racing, that was too close.

"We don't have time for this!" She barked, scrambling to her feet. She hauled Robin up after her, and Zoro shoved her from behind. They were up and off again, another two shots whizzing by his shoulder. Spandam would be hot on their tail, no question.

Sanji barreled through the door to the stairs, and took the steps two at a time, the women right behind him. Zoro paused for a moment to yank the door closed to slow Spandam down, just a bit.

He leapt up the stairs, pausing at the corner to see the three disappearing around the railing, just as Spandam crashed through the door below. They locked eyes, Spandam's full of fury and excitement. He pulled his gun up, but Zoro ducked around the railing, safely out of the way as another two shots echoed in the stairs. He followed Robin and the others up the next flight, hearing Spandam clamor after them. He grit his teeth, pushing himself faster.

Robin was so happy, she felt like she would burst. Nami ran with her in almost perfect unison, climbing after Sanji. Now that the initial fear and shock had worn off, her excitement was starting to pick up. Not only had she been completely wrong about their betrayal, but they had come back to get her. And they had a good chance of escape. She wasn't on her own this time. She could have laughed, she felt so giddy.

Her heart hammered in her chest as she clamored up what felt like endless flights of stairs. Zoro had said they had to get to the roof, which she remembered being a good five or six floors high. They had to be getting close. So she took a deep breath, and ran even harder.

Zoro could hear Spandam behind him, yelling and cursing. He could hear the others ahead of him, their frantic footsteps echoing in the corridor.

Spandam was like a crazed animal, fueled by his rage. Zoro knew he wouldn't give up easily. It was going to come to a fight, and he wasn't sure what Spandam would pull in his desperation. But, he would deal with that once he got there.

The group paused for a moment as Sanji hauled the door open. Robin squinted as sunlight poured in. The roof! They were so close. But—

"Wait!" She pulled Nami to a stop, and they both turned back toward her, their faces full of questions.

"We have to wait for Zoro!"

Sanji stiffened, and Nami shook her head slightly, "We can't afford to wait, we need to get you out of here!"

She took Robin's hand and pulled, but she wouldn't move.

"We have to wait!" She snapped, sounding more angry than she intended to. But she wouldn't abandon Zoro. His voice replayed in her head, the feeling of his arms around her.

I love you.

He had fully intended to die for her. And that was something she would not forget.

"What are you doing, Go!" Zoro's voice made her turn, and she couldn't help but smile as he hauled himself around the corner, racing up toward them. "Get out, move!"

Nami's pulled her so hard, she almost lost her balance. But she didn't fight it, Zoro was right behind her. So she ran, happily, toward the sun, with her friends beside her, and her lover behind her.

Zoro moved like a machine, barreling through the door, and shoving it closed behind him. His head whipped up as he searched the roof. "Where the hell is Luffy?"

Sanji and Nami were on the edge of the building, watching for the gangster.

"He said he'd be here." Nami snapped without looking. "So he'll be here."

Zoro glanced over at the sound of Robin's laugh. It was a weird, stifled laugh, and she ran her hands through her hair, looking more than a little shocked.

"Luffy came with you guys too? Oh my god." She shook her head, smiling.

Nami turned toward her, "Everyone came for you. After Zoro came to us, we all agreed to help." She laughed a little, "Even Boa, if you can believe it."

Zoro glanced down as Robin looked up at him, their eyes locking for a moment before her face lit up.

"You went to them?"

He nodded. "I had to, I didn't know who else to turn to. They're the only ones crazy enough to break into police headquarters to break you out." He blinked, "And I was desperate."

Robin only smiled.

They all flinched as a gunshot rang through the door, inches from where Zoro had been standing. He jumped away, putting himself between the door and Robin.

Just as he had suspected, Spandam crashed through, his eyes bloodshot and crazed.

"I bet you think you're so clever, don't you? Sneaking in here and stealing her away?" He sniggered, holding Zoro's eye. "Did you think I'd let you just walk out?" He inhaled sharply, rolling his neck. "No, no, I don't think so. I couldn't make it easy for you, could I? Couldn't just sit by while you take my prize."

Zoro stiffened. "She's not some object for you to do as you'd please." Robin said nothing, but he felt her hand on his back.

Spandam huffed, his eyes trailing along the floor. He looked dazed, like he wasn't quite in the present. "No, not an object. Not a prize. Not a human. Not even a rat. She's a demon. A ghost. She's haunted me my whole life, always dangling like some kind of cursed puppet." His lips pulled back in a grimace, and his eyes grew distant, like he was reliving some awful memory. A silence hung in the air like a sheet.

But then his eyes hardened, and shifted into a venomous focus. "She's just a curse, that I need to kill."

And he rushed toward her, snarling like an animal.

Zoro shoved Robin away, swinging directly at Spandam's head. His knuckles stung as his neck snapped to the side, ending his rush. But he wasn't down completely. A surprisingly powerful uppercut threw Zoro off balance, snapping his head back. He stumbled back, but quickly collected himself. The two glared at each other, tense and battle ready. Spandam reached up to touch his split lip, grinning at the blood on his fingers. He smirked, "I've wanted to do this since the day I met you!" He tossed his gun aside, and ran at Zoro.

He met him with equal force this time, and they crashed against each other. Spandam was impressively strong, and took Zoro's punches easily, returning them just as hard. The two exchanged blows, locked together in the fury of the fight.

Until Zoro's punch missed. He tensed as Spandam somehow dodged him completely. He came around hard with a hook that slammed into Zoro's temple, and pain burst through his head as Spandam dug his knuckle in. His vision flashed red and white, the world tipping sideways as he stumbled. He yelled out as his knee snapped inward. His side burned as Spandam hit him again. He heard a sickening crunch before collapsing.

The fight was over almost as fast as it started. Robin watched helplessly as Spandam hit the side of Zoro's head, throwing him off balance. Then wasted no time to kick his knee out from under him. Robin flinched as Zoro cried out in pain. And he gasped when Spandam kicked him again, right in the ribs.

She couldn't take it anymore. She ran at Spandam, while his back was still turned. She had never been one for offensive fighting, but she didn't really care right now.

She saw him turn, just enough toward her. He saw her coming, but that didn't matter. She threw her elbow with so much rage, it knocked him away completely, smashing into his face. He stumbled back a bit, and she planted herself between him and Zoro. Every muscle in her body was electric, adrenaline burning through her.

"You." He glared up at her, blood starting to run from his broken nose. "You bitch." She hadn't even noticed him reaching for his gun, but it was too late.

He swung around, pulling himself up to his full height, bringing the gun up to aim at her head. She froze.

"Robin!" Nami and Sanji started toward them, but stopped short at Spandam's voice.

"You take another step, and she's dead!"

He turned back toward her, and they locked eyes.

"After all this time. Finally. Finally! We can finish this. Put it to rest." He smiled, an awful sight. "I'll be the hailed avenger. For my father, and everyone else that Ohara wronged."

Robin's eyes narrowed, anger starting to creep up her spine. "Aren't you tired?"

Spandam's smile faltered.

"Aren't you tired of this?" She took a slow step forward. "Tired of me? If you want to put it to rest, just walk away."

He opened his mouth, but closed it again.

"No, you love it. Chasing after me. Hunting me down." She took another step. "It's all you've ever known, isn't it?" She smiled. It wasn't friendly. "How is it, knowing that your whole life revolves around me? You're so focused on bringing me down, you can't even live a normal life, can you?"

She reached up slowly, her hand wrapping around the barrel of the gun. "Just put it to rest." Spandam twitched.

He snarled, yanking the gun away, and landing a kick right in her stomach. She stumbled back, gasping as he knocked the wind out of her, and she fell.

"There's only one way this can ever rest!" He brought the gun up right between her eyes. "With you, the last witness to Ohara, dead at my feet." He hissed, reaching for the trigger.

Time slowed, his words echoing as everything else drowned out. The last witness.

The last witness.

She laughed. The last witness. He knew full well she was innocent. They all did. She was innocent. It was like being cleansed suddenly. They had been playing cat and mouse for years, and she had done nothing more than be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Everything she had second guessed vanished in a deep breath. She looked over to Nami and Sanji, taking in the panicked looks on their faces. I'm sorry. She whispered, closing her eyes. If she had to die for a crime she didn't commit, then so be it. The guilt she had felt lifted, and she took one more deep breath.

The gun went off.

Nami screamed.

Zoro cried out.

And Robin only flinched.

She opened an eye.

Zoro stood over her, his face twisted in pain. His hand was covering the gun's barrel, blood dripping from where the bullet had torn through it. "That's ten bullets." He grinned, "You're all out."

Spandam screamed in rage, flinging the gun away, and swinging at Zoro again.

But Sanji and Nami were on him in an instant, beating him back without mercy.

Zoro stumbled, and Robin was quick to steady him. He smiled, then winced, reaching up to cradle his side. With his bloodied hand, he gently touched her side, where he had shot her. "Can we call it even now?"

She smiled, then laughed, cradling his face. "You're going to have to do a lot more to make up for that." She kissed him, which he returned eagerly.

"We should go now." Nami interrupted, sounding more than a little awkward.

Robin nodded, helping Sanji get Zoro to his feet. She glanced over at Spandam's crumpled body, his chest heaving miserably as he lay there. She motioned for Sanji and Nami to take Zoro, and walked over to him slowly.

His face was bloodied and beaten, and he probably had quite a few broken bones. Sanji and Nami weren't too big on going easy. She crouched at his side, watching as his eyes rolled around in his head, and he wheezed, coughing pathetically.

"If you're going to kill me, hurry up and do it." He licked his bloody lip. "Just finish me off, you can live freely then."

She sighed.

"I'm sorry. About your father."

He weakly grabbed at her shoe. She pushed his arm away.

"I can never live free. You can't either. We're both tied to Ohara, whether we like it or not."

She took a deep breath, and stood up.

"I'll live happily now, in my own way."

Nami called out to her, and she turned to see Luffy and Boa.

"As long as I live, I won't stop coming after you. I'll see you dead, or I'll die myself." His voice was raspy, and labored. She stared at him for a moment before nodding.

"I'll wait for you then. Until we die."

He did his best to nod before his eyes rolled back in his head, and his head fell sideways. She left him, running to where the others were waiting. Luffy and Boa leapt over the side of the building, taking off across the rooftops. Nami motioned her to go next, and she took one last look at Spandam before following them.

She felt a new life was starting. She would still have to be running all the time, but that didn't sound too bad. It was all she was good at anyway.

But now, she had several people at her side. She had Nami, Sanji, and the rest of the townpeople. She had Luffy and his gang. And she had Zoro. She smiled to herself, running after the gangsters. She wouldn't trade this for the world.

We're getting close to the end guys omG T-T