Sanji came downstairs with a hot breakfast he'd made for the trip. He grabbed the backpack, packed and ready at the cellar door, and he clapped his hands together loudly, "It's time to wake up."

Zoro opened one eye and groaned. Usopp was still drooling, his butt up in the air. Nami stretched, her hair wild. Luffy was already awake, his stomach growling loudly, "Good morning, Sanji. Smells delicious… What'd you make?"

"Breakfast burritos," Sanji explained, kicking Zoro and Usopp's legs. "Wake up. Let's go."

"What's that smell?" Zoro asked, scrunching up his face.

"Breakfast," Luffy answered excitedly.

There was a sudden barrage of angry, loud beeps from upstairs.

"No… that other smell…" Zoro grunted, standing up.

"That would be the fire I set," Sanji explained, grabbing ammunition and stuffing it in his pack. "Now let's go."

"What fire?" Zoro asked as he climbed to his feet.

"I set the house on fire," Sanji explained, "I won't be coming back and I don't want some innocent person to accidentally find the traps I set."

"The house is on fire?!" Usopp gasped, waking up instantly.

"Man, Sanji," Luffy murmured, "Seems dramatic."

"You didn't see upstairs," Sanji replied simply, walking up the opposite stairs and outside.

"And we're following him," Zoro instructed, gesturing with his arms. "Hurry up."

"Eat quickly," Sanji instructed, starting his truck. "I don't know how long we have until we're on foot."

They didn't drive for long at all. They pulled off of the main highway and onto a red clay dirt road. They bounced along, the truck squeaking. Finally they pulled up to an old farmhouse. Sanji parked the car and turned it off, "Wait here."

"Where are we?" Nami asked, leaning forward.

Sanji shook his head, "It'll just take a minute. I'll be right back."

About fifteen minutes later Sanji returned with the man from the pirogue and barge. He smiled at them and gestured for them to get out of the truck. "Bonjour, cher," he said in greeting, patting Sanji on the back.

"Zeff's gonna help us." Sanji explained.

"How so?" Usopp asked, his eyes narrowed curiously.

"It won' be fast, but I can get ya back to dat Hi-Rise," Zeff assured them. "You'll have just enough gas to make it 'dere."

"We can't take a car," Nami realized, "It would never make it."

"Ain't no car," Zeff insisted, "Lemme bring 'er 'round."

"It's a straight shot to the border from this property. Just crops and trees," Sanji said, "And yes, some swamp. But if we're careful…"

"But all those zombies were there…" Usopp reminded them, shuddering in recollection.

"Don't worry about that," Sanji insisted, "We just need to worry about keeping out of the water. The rest is taken care of," Sanji nodded to himself, "As long as we don't get stuck in mud or run outta gas, it's smooth sailing…"

"Uh, that does not sound like smooth sailing," Usopp argued. "That sounds hard actually."

"What kinda truck are we talking about?" Zoro asked, "We'd need an all-wheel-drive and we'd still be lucky to… what's that?"

They heard the massive machine long before they saw it. It was loud and slow, but the blades and threshers on the front more than made up for it.

Usopp jumped up and down as Zeff drove it forward, "Holy shit! It's a zombie apocalypse vehicle!"

"That's just a regular combine," Sanji insisted, shouting over the noise.

"Yeah, but when he get in it…" Usopp mused, exchanging grins with Luffy, "Then it's a zombie apocalypse vehicle."

"Will it get us over the border?" Zoro called out.

Sanji shrugged, "If anything can, it's this thing."

"But there's not enough room for everyone in that cab," Nami pointed out.

Sanji smiled handsomely, "Of course you can sit inside the cab, cher. But a couple of us will have to sit on the platform on the outside."

"Shotgun," Usopp called, raising his hand.

Luffy snickered, "I thought you might wanna sit in there."

"Yeah, uh, I do," Usopp insisted.

"Want the good news or the bad news first?" Zoro asked.

"Ughhh. Bad news, I guess," Usopp whined.

"Bad news is if you sit in the cab and we get stuck in the mud it's your fault and we will all be super pissed off at you," Zoro answered.

"And the good news?" Usopp sighed.

Zoro smiled, "This thing is so fucking loud, you can use your bangbang as much as you fucking want to."

Usopp smiled, "Hell yeah! That's what I've been waiting to hear!"

"If zombies come are we gonna hit them with blades to the face?" Luffy asked, examining one of the large threshers.

"Sure," Sanji agreed.

"Gnarly," Luffy breathed.

"Looks like everythin's ready," Zeff called out. "Do me a fava' and call ta' let me know ya still alive sometime, brat."

Sanji nodded, "Sure thing, old man."

"Thanks for letting us ruin your million dollar farm equipment," Luffy called out, climbing onto the platform.

"They're not that expensive, but yeah, thanks," Nami replied.

"It's a New Holland, close enough," Zeff sighed. "Just don't get 'er stuck on my property. It'd be too damn embarrassin'."

At 16 mph top speed, the combine harvester wasn't the fastest option. They jostled around violently until they dropped it to 11 mph. Nami decided that there wasn't much of a difference between speeds and stuck with comfort.

"Swamp! Marsh! Wetland!" Luffy shouted, pointing to the murky ground ahead.

"Alright," Nami breathed, adjusting course.

"Where's that god damn river?" Zoro groaned impatiently. "I don't think we walked that far, did we?"

"We're a little farther south than when you came in," Sanji explained. "We'll just miss the river. We can take this straight to the highway."

"And then we can switch to another vehicle," Nami said, "Get a little more oomph going in the gas pedal."

"Awww," Luffy pouted, "I wanted to take this the whole way."

"That would take us like," Usopp paused to do math, "Twenty hours."

"Longer with how often we'd have to fill up."

"And in case you didn't notice, we're outside. Zombies could reach us. We are in danger here," Sanji pointed out.

"You're immune, don't be a baby," Zoro barked.

Sanji shook his head, "I'm not immune to bleeding to death… And neither are you."

"Alright," Usopp decided, talking through the window, "It's time. Tell us what you know."

Sanji, Zoro, and Luffy had been deep in their explanations when Usopp finally spoke. He folded his arms over his chest and tilted his head to the side, "You expect me to believe this? Prove it."

"What?!" Zoro snapped, "Were you listening?"

"What?!" Sanji barked, "All three of us are saying the same thing…"

"Okay," Luffy agreed, nodding his head, "I'll prove it."

"Wait, Luffy-" Luffy didn't wait. He reached into Sanji's jacket and pulled the gun from the holster. He lifted it against his head and fired.

Nami and Usopp screamed. The combine veered slowly off course as she released the wheel. They screamed in horror, closing their eyes and covering their faces. They had seen something terrible and abrupt and it made them both ill.

Sanji and Zoro closed their eyes. They knew that their memories were tampered with. And they each secretly wondered if it was even possible. Had Luffy really killed himself permanently? And what about the D who didn't reset? A million thoughts whirled in their minds before Luffy sat back up.

"See," Luffy breathed out, wiping the blood that had spilled down his nose. "We're telling the truth."

"Luffy," Zoro shouted, shoving Luffy roughly and almost sending him tumbling off the combine, "Don't ever fucking do that again!"

"What? It was the easiest way…" Luffy insisted, rubbing where Zoro had hit him.

"I'd rather they not believe you for a bit," Sanji said, "We have no idea how many times you can do that."

"A lot." Luffy murmured, "I've done it more than a thousand times already."

Luffy knocked on the glass door. Usopp and Nami kept screaming in fright. Luffy snickered, "Steer the wheel or we're gonna crash."

"That's my point," Sanji sighed, "What if you can only reset 4 thousand times? Let's try to keep the proving yourself to a minimum."

"Okay, got it," Luffy groaned, knocking on the cab door again, "Take your foot off the gas or steer...! Come on, guys. It wasn't that bad…"

"Hey…" Sanji murmured, holding a cigarette between his lips. "Hear that?"

Zoro nodded, "Yep."

"Usopp," Sanji called out, knocking against the glass, "Hear that?"

Usopp cracked open the door, peering in concentration. He nodded slowly, "Yeah. What is it?"

"That's the sound of someone infected with the T serum," Sanji explained.

"Huh?"

"Zombies," Zoro clarified, "That's the sound of zombies."

"Wait… wait…" Luffy gasped, grabbing Zoro and Sanji tightly by the arm. "Am I a zombie?"

Zoro made an unsure face and shrugged. Sanji looked away, trying to look busy. Usopp however didn't shy away from the subject, "You're clearly one of the undead. But I'm not sure you're a zombie." Usopp nodded, deep in thought, "I think zombies are defined by being cannibal humans without proper brain processing… You may not be the sharpest tool in the shed, but your brain functions…"

"Well, he's not a vampire," Nami joined in, "I saw him eat lots of human food. And he has a reflection. He's not Frankenstein's monster…" her and Usopp made a face, "Or maybe he is…"

"I'm not made up of different people," Luffy argued, shaking his head. "Frankenstein was all sewn together parts."

"There's skeletons, no. There's mummies… But you haven't got any bandages…" Usopp speculated.

"In French folklore," Sanji said softly, "He'd be a revenant."

"What's a revenant?" Zoro asked.

"Well, according to legend," Sanji explained. "It's a person who may or may not have been wronged before they died. They come back in corporeal form to terrorize the community. Revenants were often blamed for plagues."

"Wow, I think I kinda remember hearing about them," Usopp realized. "Medieval times…"

"They would blame a recently dead person and would dig them up, cutting off their heads and destroying the heart."

Luffy made a face, "Think that's how you kill us?"

"No," Zoro said flatly. "And we should all be paying attention to what's ahead of us. That sounds like a lot of zombies."

"What about a lich?" Nami asked. "Like from D&D. I had an ex who was fucking addicted to that game…"

"What's a lich?" Usopp asked.

"It's an undead corpse who's intelligent and commands hordes of stupid undead corpses."

"Oooh cool!" Usopp breathed out, "You should try commanding them, Luffy!"

"Here's your chance," Sanji murmured, putting his cigarette out. "Looks like a horde coming right up."

"They're just standing there…" Zoro murmured, watching them with interest. "Why?"

"The noise is attracting them," Sanji realized. "And probably the bright ass light on top."

"But why aren't they walking forward? They're just standing there…"

They realized why a moment later. They sunk immediately, mud bubbling up through the threshers. Nami growled in frustration, "Damn it."

"It's fine, it's okay, honey," Sanji murmured, jumping off the combine. "I'll see what I can do."

Zoro jumped off too, "If we get something beneath it…"

"Yeah," Sanji agreed.

"Honey?" Nami scoffed, shaking her head. "Who's he calling 'honey'?"

Usopp shrugged, "Probably me. I'm very sweet looking."

"Be nice to him," Luffy muttered, examining the buttons inside the cab, "he's got daddy issues."

Usopp rolled his eyes, "Oh, don't we all."

Luffy snickered, "What's this do?"

"No idea," Nami admitted, "Don't press it."

Zoro and Sanji collected as much wood as they could. They arranged it over the muddied ground, creating traction for the combine. Sanji looked from the waiting zombies to the combine, "They sure don't seem to like water, do they?"

"They sure don't," Zoro agreed.

"Alright, Nami, dear, give it a go," Sanji called out. Nami pressed her foot softly to the gas pedal. Sanji smiled up at her in the cab, "A little more, Princess…"

"Like this?" Nami asked, slamming her foot on the pedal. The combine roared and bounced over the wood, spraying mud and sending broken sticks flying in every direction.

"Watch where you're going!" Usopp groaned, pulling his rifle into position. "I'm gonna be sitting on top. Don't drive too crazy…"

Zoro and Sanji were still standing on the other side, completely drenched from head to toe in thick, black mud. Sanji wiped his face, throwing handfuls of mud to the ground. Zoro snorted, rocketing mud from his nostrils. He looked toward Sanji, his teeth shining brightly against his muddied outline, "I don't think she liked you calling her a princess."

"Duly noted," Sanji sighed, flapping his arms in disgust.

There was a single gunshot. Usopp cheered as a zombie collapsed to the ground, "Boom! That's how we do! That's how we do!"

"Do you ever think that the T serum might stabilize and these people will be as sweet as pie in the morning?" Sanji asked.

Zoro shook his head, "These people aren't on T serum. These people's brains have been obliterated by toxic gas or infection."

Sanji nodded, pulling his guns, "That's good." He made a face, "For me, I mean, sucks to be them."

"No! No!" Luffy scolded, leaning out the window of the cab. "Go home! Bad zombies!"

"What the fuck…?"

But Luffy answered his question a moment later when he called to them, "I'm not a lich, they won't listen to me."

"Think we're immune to these guys too?" Sanji asked, removing his mud-covered jacket.

"I don't know. I'm not really looking to find out either," Zoro murmured, jumping over the marshy ground to the other side.

Another shot rang out and Usopp cheered, "That's four, boys. Ya'll just gonna stand there looking pretty or are ya'll gonna kill some zombies?"

Zoro pulled his newly procured machete from his bag. He slashed the first zombie he could reach, kicking the zombie square in the gut. He whipped around hacking the blade through the zombie's throat. There wasn't quite enough force and it was stuck. Zoro groaned, shaking his head. He stepped on the zombie's chest, yanking his machete free.

"Five," Usopp rang out.

"This isn't a race," Zoro muttered, slicing through another zombie's outreached hand.

"Two!" Sanji announced, "Three… Four…"

"What do you think this button does?" Luffy asked curiously, flicking one of the switches before Nami could stop him.

The combine made a terrible noise, the blades and threshers on the front whirring to life. The mechanisms turned and rotated, slicing over the ground and through the air. Nami screamed as Luffy grabbed the wheel, steering them through a crowd of zombies.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Nami shrieked, closing her eyes.

"I wanna win," Luffy breathed, plowing through the horde. Zombies were completely hacked. They were knocked to their knees as their legs were destroyed. And then they were crushed and eviscerated, blood shooting out like empty husks.

"I'll drive," Nami decided, opening her eyes.

Luffy snickered, "Competitive?"

"Hell yeah," Nami admitted.

In less than a minute the horde was gone. Nami shifted the combine into park and opened the door, flesh and sinew sliding grotesquely off the door. She looked around at the ground and nearly hurled, "Oh my God. It's horrible…"

"Luffy Monkey," Sanji snarled, his hair a startling shade of red. He tugged on his red button up shirt, strange speckles of red coating nearly every inch of him. "I'm gonna kick your ass."

Luffy's eyes widened as he looked from Sanji to Zoro to Usopp. Each man was completely drenched with blood, and unfortunately, some flesh and sinew. Luffy laughed, slapping Nami on the back, "Sorry, guys. Nami's crazy."

"Me?" Nami shook her head, burying her face in her hands, "I'm not responsible for this…"

"I'm covered in people…" Usopp cried out. "There is people on my freakin' face!"

"Sor-ry," Luffy drawled, shrugging his narrow shoulders. "If it makes it any better, they went fast."

Usopp shook his head, "It doesn't, but thank you."

"So, can we take this thing all the way back to Houston?" Luffy asked hopefully. "It's super useful."

Sanji and Zoro stripped down to their pants, wiping themselves with their shirts. They climbed back on the combine, shaking their heads. Zoro punched Luffy in the arm as Sanji lit another cigarette. Sani sighed heavily, "Let's get the hell outta here, Nami, darling."

Nami nodded, "Sure."

"It smells like a dirty cat box out here…" Usopp complained, covering his nose with his shirt.

"I think that's the zombie smell," Luffy replied.

Usopp rolled his eyes, "Ya think?! And it's fucking all over my god damn face!"

He turned toward Nami quickly, "Excuse my language, ma'am."

"Oh, Jesus fucking Christ," Nami groaned, "I don't give a single fuck if you curse in front of me." She turned to step back into the cab. She frowned, facing Usopp, "Don't even think you're coming in here smelling like that…"

"Thanks, Luffy," Usopp sighed, "You're the best."

"No problem," Luffy replied, smiling mischievously.

It took two days, and four vehicles, to reach Houston in what should have been less than a four hour drive. By the time they finally pulled up to the zoo they were starving and sore and irritated by the others' breathing. They quickly discovered the entrance was blockaded by shipping containers.

"Think they're still inside?" Nami asked, covering her face from the sun.

"Yep," Luffy murmured, scaling up the side of the ticket booth. He climbed over the little building, walking across the top of the welcome sign, before turning around to face them, "You guys coming?"

"Bring me a ladder," Nami said, hands on her hips, "And sure, I'll come."

"We'll find an easier way in," Zoro suggested, looking around, "Don't run off."

"Okay," Luffy said before dropping to the ground on the other side, "I'll wait here."

"He's not gonna wait there," Usopp insisted.

Zoro nodded, "I know. Let's hurry."

"Through the gift shop maybe?" Sanji suggested.

"We can try," Zoro said, and then he thought of something, "Oh, by the way, be careful. They keep zombies here to feed the animals."

"How charming," Sanji sighed.

Luffy did his best to wait for the others, but he just couldn't. He practically skipped through the empty zoo. He'd reached the small mammals section when he first realized something was wrong. All of the cages were empty; many of their doors left wide open.

"Hello?" Luffy called out unsurely, "Franky? Robin?"

Luffy kept walking, faster and with a sense of urgency. The flamingos were gone. The eagles were gone. The porcupines, deer, and owls were gone. He ran toward the herpetology hall. The lizards, snakes, and alligators were gone. He stood in front of the fountain, his brain shutting down.

Zoro finally found him half an hour later, sitting on the edge of the fountain. Zoro sighed, scratching the back of his head, "Sorry, Luffy."

"I don't understand," Luffy said, skipping a rock against the murky emerald water. "Where'd everybody go?"

"Let's keep looking," Zoro suggested, "It's a big zoo."

"We can check primates," Nami interjected as they caught up to Zoro, "That's where everyone kinda was last time."

"You're back," Robin called out, walking up. "We weren't sure you'd come back."

"Robin," Nami sighed in relief, "You're okay."

"What's going on?" Zoro asked.

Robin smiled, "I have great news actually."

"Where's all the animals?" Luffy pressed impatiently.

"Who's this?" Robin asked, nodding toward Sanji.

"Bonjour, mademoiselle," Sanji breathed, stroking her hand, "Je m'appelle Sanji."

"Hello," Robin murmured, nodding in greeting. She pulled her hand back and smiled at the others, "Our neighbors have come through for us."

"What do you mean?" Luffy asked, watching her with great interest.

"Toronto Zoo and the Calgary Zoo are taking a majority of the animals."

"Whaaaaat?!" Luffy drawled.

"They will be perfectly safe and happy there," Robin assured him, "The government has granted them special status. Nothing's making it through the borders right now, so it's a miracle."

"Chapultepec Zoo is taking our pachyderms," Robin continued, "It's the absolute best resolution we could hope for."

"What about all of ya'll?" Usopp asked.

Robin shrugged in a nonchalant way, "There's too much risk in human evacuation."

"I can't believe you could arrange this," Nami breathed, "This is amazing… I mean… what are the chances? It's been less than a week since we left."

"I didn't arrange it," Robin sighed, tapping her nails against her palms, "And I'm sorry."

"Sorry for what?" Zoro asked.

"They said they'd evacuate the animals if I helped them," Robin admitted. "You understand that I didn't really have a choice…"

"Help who? Help them how?" Zoro barked.

Luffy nodded, "I understand."

"Like hell you do!" Zoro snapped, "What do you mean?"

"They're going to kill us all anyway," Robin murmured, smiling strangely, "So I thought I'd go ahead and warn you."

"Uh, I don't like the sound of this," Usopp groaned, lifting his rifle.

"The D Foundation is here," Robin said simply. "They've been asking about Luffy."

"What'd you tell them?" Sanji questioned.

Robin shrugged, "At first, nothing…" she shook her head, "They already know you're here. You should be running."

"And what about you and the others?" Luffy asked.

"The animals are almost all gone," Robin explained, "After that, it doesn't matter anymore." She smiled, "We're all in agreement."

"How many guys with guns?" Luffy asked.

"30," Robin answered, "But they've already called it in. There'll be more soon."

"Doesn't leave a lot of time," Luffy realized. "What animals are left?"

"Okapi, our gazelles, and two zebras; and a few other small mammals."

"What did you plan on doing with them?"

"We opened all the enclosures this morning," Robin answered, "They'll realize it eventually. It'll give them a chance they wouldn't have otherwise." She smiled again, "I'm trying to do the same for you, run little Monkey."

"I'm so fucking pissed off right now," Luffy snarled. "I'm not the one who's gonna be runnin'."

"Oh, yeah we are," Zoro groaned, pulling Luffy behind him. "We're not dealing with dumb zombies. These people are serious, professional killers!"

"Yeah," Luffy grunted, dragging his feet. "Professional killers picking on zookeepers."

"We can't worry about that right now," Nami sighed. "I'm not bullet proof."

"Would the D Foundation be here if I hadn't come here first?" Luffy asked. He nodded, accepting their silence as the answer, "Okay then. We're doing something."

"Think of something," Zoro groaned, looking to Sanji.

"Why me?!"

"Someone think of something," Zoro corrected, "Doesn't matter who."

"Where's Franky?" Luffy asked, looking around the empty zoo.

Robin shook her head, "He can't help you."

Luffy nodded in understanding, "Can I still help him?"