He had heard someone calling his name. He was positive he hadn't imagined it, but he was alone. There wasn't even anyone in sight. He looked around quickly before leaping onto the gigantic stadium light. This was the last one he had left to destroy. One light to go and he could meet up with the others at the gate.

"Luffy!"

Luffy hesitated, his sweaty hand slipping from the metal railing. He tried to right himself. He grabbed the lip of the light, his fingers brushing through the wiring. He snagged the cords and caught himself. He dangled fourteen stories in the air, the wet fingers on one hand clutching for safety.

Climbing was second nature to Luffy. He easily could have pulled himself up and to safety. But, as it turned out, his fingers brushed against an exposed wire. Electricity thrashed violently through his body, his hand tightening around the wires. His weight ripped the wires from the light and suddenly he was crashing to the ground.

Luffy didn't scream or cry out when he was shocked or even while he was falling. He crashed to the ground and finally made a noise; a small, weak little grunt. Blood bubbled past his lips and dribbled down his chin.

"Damn," Luffy choked out, blood pooling in his mouth.

He went to roll over but couldn't. He tried to push up but couldn't. No matter what he tried to do his body wouldn't respond. He tried to move his head, tried to spit out the blood that was drowning him. Luffy growled, "Damn it…"

There was deafening screech of metal as the light above him finally fell to the ground. The light shattered upon impact, spraying shards of glass and plastic everywhere. Bits of debris stabbed into Luffy, but it didn't hurt, he couldn't feel it at all.

Luffy was moments from drowning in his own blood when someone approached. It was a man with a gun. He was covered in rashes and his yellow eyes were nearly blinded by thick pus. He grunted loudly when he came upon Luffy.

"It's your fault," the man said, his voice distorted by his swollen tongue.

Luffy choked out, blood spraying from his mouth like a macabre fountain, "Maybe…"

The man nodded, pressing his gun against Luffy's side. The man cried out, covering his face with his hands, "Take some responsibility, will ya?"

"Yea-h," Luffy murmured weakly. "'Kay…"

The man used the butt of his rifle to turn Luffy over. He rolled him onto his stomach, leaving him in the unnatural position he'd landed in. The blood poured from Luffy's mouth and he gasped for air.

"You'd better," the man breathed jaggedly, "Do something about all this…"

Luffy couldn't speak. He couldn't even turn his head to look at the man. But he knew what the man was doing when he pressed the barrel of the rifle under his chin. And he knew that when he pulled the trigger that he'd blown his own brains out. The man was thrown to the ground, his rifle clacking against the cement. And the last thing Luffy knew was that the man's blood was mixing with his own, swirling between them like watered down acrylic.

Usopp found him shortly after, by chance, as the soldier was enforcing the evacuation. Usopp almost missed him, almost couldn't recognize the small, motionless body face down on the wet ground.

"Emergency! Emergency!" Usopp shouted, running toward the truck with Luffy in his arms.

"What's going on?" Nami asked, looking from Usopp's face to Luffy in his arms.

"He's not waking up," Usopp declared, running even faster as zombies streaked past him.

"What happened?" Zoro demanded, leaping from the back of the truck.

"I don't know," Usopp admitted, refusing to let go of Luffy. He carried him to the truck, hoisting him above his head and into the truck bed. "We need a doctor."

"You didn't see what happened?" Sanji questioned, placing a clammy hand on Luffy's tan cheek.

"No, I nearly stepped on him and then I slipped in his blood. I saw it was him and I picked him up," Usopp explained, climbing into the truck.

"What's wrong?" Franky asked, turning to look at them. "What's the plan?"

"We need a doctor," Chopper wheezed, holding his wounded arm.

"We can't do that," Robin refused.

"Two of us have been shot and Luffy's unconscious," Zoro refuted. "We need a damn doctor."

"And where exactly are we supposed to find one?" Franky questioned, his leg bouncing noisily against the keys.

"We don't have a choice," Zoro realized, shaking his head. "We need to ask the Revolutionary Army for help."

"Hell nah," Franky shot down.

Sanji groaned loudly, placing a hand against his sweaty forehead, "Where are the coordinates?"

"Fuck!" Zoro growled.

"Luffy had them," Usopp remembered, checking Luffy's pockets.

"What's that?" Sanji breathed out, reaching into Usopp's outstretched hand. He realized what it was the moment the capsule touched his skin. He made a face, letting out an angry hiss, "Oh, these things…"

"What are they?" Clay asked.

Zoro shook his head, "Don't worry about it."

"Here, I got it," Usopp announced, pulling the worn piece of paper from Luffy's pocket. He turned it over in his hand, looking at the paper in confusion, "I can't read it…"

"Here, give it to me," Sanji demanded. He grabbed it wordlessly, turning it over and over in his hands. "Damn it. It's soaking wet…"

"Probably sweaty," Zoro reasoned, one hand pressed to Luffy's chest.

Clay shook his head, taking the note from Sanji, "It's blood."

"Can you read it?" Sanji pressed.

"How the hell do you read coordinates? I thought there was only two numbers!" Clay panicked.

Nami had climbed through the small window and snatched the paper up, "29 degrees north, I can read that much. Ninety—Ninety-six degrees west…"

"What the hell are the other numbers?!" Clay demanded in frustration.

"More specific directions," Nami explained. "There's no guessing, they gave exactly where they are… It's written degrees, minutes, seconds." Nami shrugged, "Or rather, where they're watching for Luffy to show up…"

"And where the hell is 29 north something, 96 west something?" Zoro questioned.

Nami smiled tightly, "I don't know off the top of my head…"

"So where are we going?" Franky called out.

Zoro muttered under his breath, checking Luffy's pulse. He shook his head and moved closer to Luffy, nearly pulling the younger man into his lap.

"Anyone have a charged cellphone?" Nami inquired. "Or GPS?"

"What did you say?" Sanji asked, looking to Zoro. "Zoro?"

Zoro looked up, his eyes meeting Sanji's, "I was wondering why he wasn't resetting, but then I figured it out…"

Sanji gestured for Zoro to continue, "What's going on?"

"He's not dead," Zoro explained, looking back at Luffy. "So he can't reset."

"But he won't wake up," Usopp panicked, rubbing his face roughly. "Why?"

"What are ya'll on about?" Clay asked, full of concern. "What's this about resetting?" Clay scooted forward, "It looks like a spinal injury, and we shouldn't move him again until we can get a board under him."

"What do we do?" Sanji questioned. "Even if we know, what can we do?"

"So what? He's just unconscious or something?" Nami asked, getting closer.

"I'm no expert," Usopp breathed out, "but it looks like he's just slowly dying."

"We need to get him to a hospital," Clay insisted, smacking the truck window. "Handsome right here and the kid too."

"Yeah," Chopper agreed, "I'm fine but Sanji isn't looking so good."

"I'm fine," Sanji sighed, shaking his head. "Luffy's the priority here."

"Shouldn't he be healing or something?" Nami questioned.

"He might be," Sanji conceded. "We can't really tell at this point."

"Where am I going?!" Franky shouted, shifting gears.

"Northwest," Nami shouted back, "We'll go from there…"

"He's miserable," Chopper whined, placing his small hand on Luffy's.

"He's asleep," Sanji argued.

Chopper shook his head emphatically, "No… no… He's in pain…"

"Shut up," Zoro snapped.

"Zoro…" Nami gasped.

Zoro shook his head, "What?! He's not fucking moving! He's not making a damn noise! How the hell can anyone know what he's feeling?!"

"Let's all calm down and be rational for a minute," Clay mediated.

"I may not be like Luffy, but I'm a helluva lot closer than you bastards," Chopper spat. "You guys need to trust me…" Chopper looked from Sanji to Zoro quickly. Two thick, brown horns began to sprout from Chopper's hair. "I know what I'm doing."

"What the fuck is that?!" Clay shouted, pointing in shock.

"You know what you're doing?" Zoro shook his head in confusion. "And what exactly are you-" Everyone in the back of the truck screamed as Chopper gored Luffy through the chest. As his antlers pierced through Luffy the slender man let out a miserable gurgle.

Chopper pulled away, leaving Luffy twitching on the floor of the truck bed. Chopper wiped his antlers with peculiar brown fingers, his cheeks filling with color, "I'm sorry, but it's…"

"You fuckin' piece of shit," Zoro snapped, reaching over Luffy to grab the small child. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"Zoro!" Nami shouted, covering her ears, "Calm down!"

"Oh my God!" Clay screamed, twisting in his spot, "What the hell is that? Are those horns? What the fuck?! What the fucking fuck?!"

"Zoro, wait a minute," Sanji breathed out, "He's just a kid… kinda…"

"I'm not gonna hurt him," Zoro growled through clenched teeth, shaking Chopper angrily, "I'm just gonna strangle him a bit…"

"Zoro…"

Luffy repeated himself, louder, "Zoro…"

Zoro released his hold on Chopper and looked down, staring into Luffy's wide, brown eyes. Zoro swallowed his nerves, "Yeah?"

Luffy snickered weakly, "You're crushing me."

Zoro stammered awkwardly, sitting up and back. He watched Luffy move, watched Luffy sit up; blood dripping down his chest. Zoro nearly whispered, "Sorry. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine… except…" Luffy rubbed his neck, rolling it from side to side until it cracked. He turned to Zoro and smiled, "You're heavy."

"Sorry, damn it," Zoro shook his head, covering his face with his hands. "What the hell was wrong with you?"

"Yeah, are you alright?" Usopp asked, looking Luffy up and down. "You friggin' scared me."

"I'm okay," Luffy insisted, looking around at the others. "I'm feeling better already." Luffy knocked his fist against Chopper's in a friendly way, "You're bleeding. We should stop that." And then Luffy focused on Sanji, his eyes wide and unblinking, "And you need something fast."

"I'm fine," Sanji murmured.

Luffy shook his head, "No." He slapped the window of the truck, "We need medical supplies. Fast."

"Yes, hello, Clay Bon here," Clay exclaimed loudly, "And I just wanna know what the fuck kinda hallucinations I'm having, 'cause this is a fucking wild ride…"

"Not now, Clay," Nami groaned, "There's enough going on."

"Enough going on? But, like, yeah, duh! That's why I'm so fucking confused!"

"Is Luffy alright?" Robin asked, peering out the back window, "What's going on?"

"I'm fine. I'm good." Luffy replied. "We need to do something for Sanji."

Sanji patted his jacket for his cigarettes. With a frown his hand dropped to his pants pockets, still searching. He came up empty handed and groaned loudly, dropping his head back against the side of the truck, "Chopper first."

"It doesn't matter who the hell is first," Zoro barked. "We don't have the supplies we need."

"Franky," Robin sighed in resignation, "Go to the hospital."

Franky nodded, "Yeah, sure, okay. Hospital."

"What are we gonna do about Chopper?" Usopp wondered. He turned to Chopper and looked him up and down, "Will you look human to a doctor?"

"That's rude," Chopper complained. "I'll be fine."

"I didn't mean anything, it's just you have… a different body…"

"Okay, Pinocchio…"

"Everyone stop fighting," Robin instructed firmly, "We're on our way to the hospital right now."

"Yes, ma'am," Usopp sighed.

"And Chopper, don't call names," Robin chastised softly.

Chopper shuffled his foot, frowning deeply, "Sorry."

When they arrived at the hospital they realized quickly that it had either been evacuated and abandoned or hit hard by the infection. Franky pulled through the ambulance lane, zipping between deserted ambulances. He parked right by the automatic sliding doors, turning off the ignition. He turned around in his seat, a strange look on his face, "Alright, well, are we really doing this?"

"Are there even any doctors in there?" Nami wondered.

Luffy jumped from the truck bed, landing nimbly on the concrete below. He walked up to the doors, turning to look at the others as the doors opened, "Well, it's open…"

"Yeah, that's a really bad sign," Zoro decided, pulling his machetes from his bag.

"Well, we won't know until we look," Luffy insisted, waving his arm, "I'm going in. If you wanna come, come."

"I'm sure they're loaded with supplies," Nami realized, jumping to the ground.

Usopp followed after her, shaking his head reluctantly, "Yeah, but there might be looters or zombies or racist sonnuvabitches with guns…"

"So negative," Luffy snickered, "You're still kicking it, aren't ya?"

Usopp looked like he might explode, "We have an amputee, three people have been shot…! I can't… I just can't with you people…"

"But you're fine," Luffy pressed, smiling.

"Don't jinx me," Usopp snapped. "Over here temptin' fate…"

"Come on," Nami urged, pushing Usopp into the hospital. "I need your gun."

"Are you coming?" Sanji asked Clay.

Clay nodded, "There's gotta be some vending machines in there. Peanut M&Ms might be worth the risk."

"Franky?"

Franky groaned, "I'm coming, brother."

Franky walked around the truck to open Robin's door. He stood silently, letting her use his shoulder to slide gracefully to the ground. She smiled up at him before pinching his earlobe softly between her long fingers, "Thank you, Franky.''

They walked into the dark, empty hospital, almost immediately coming to a locked door. Zoro tapped the doors with his machete, "You need a badge."

Luffy began to say, "Give me a min-"

"Don't worry," Clay declared, throwing his arms out theatrically. "It is my time to shine!"

"Do you have a badge?" Usopp asked, watching Clay with interest.

Clay laughed, covering his mouth with his hand, "Of course not, don't be silly!" Clay twirled in place before kicking the doors with his long, strong leg. The doors shook violently, the locking mechanism disengaging. The doors popped apart, one swinging forward slowly.

"Voila!" Clay announced, spinning around to face the others. "Marvel at my athletic grace!"

"Neat," Luffy said, clapping his hands softly.

"Very nice," Chopper murmured in agreement.

Zoro shook his head and pushed ahead of the others, "Let me go first."

"Why you?" Sanji demanded, following after him.

"Because you're bleeding out, Franky has one arm, and Usopp's a coward," Zoro snapped.

Usopp nodded, "Yes, I am. Thank you for acknowledging that. While we're on the topic, I'd like to be volunteered less often…"

"You take the rear," Zoro instructed, his eyes meeting Usopp's. "Try not to use your bangbang, it'll attract too much attention."

"Damn it," Usopp groaned, lowering his rifle. "For the record, I think this is a bad idea."

"Noted," Franky sighed.

"Where should we look first?" Luffy wondered, walking behind Zoro.

"Closets, cupboards?" Nami suggested. "It'll go faster if we fan out…"

"Fan out?! Fan out! As in separate?!" Usopp demanded loudly.

"It would go faster," Zoro realized, turning around.

"Sanji, Robin, Chopper, Nami, and Franky, you guys go and get those two patched up," Luffy instructed. "Stay around the emergency room, we'll come back to you." Luffy licked his lips before continuing. "Zoro, Usopp, Clay and I will look around the hospital. See if anyone's here. Maybe look for a more secure place to stay for a while…"

"Why can't I go with the others?" Usopp wondered, shaking his head. "Keep an eye on the wounded?"

"They won't be going far. They don't need you," Luffy replied with a disbelieving snicker. "We need all the able bodies to lock this place down. They're not in fighting condition and none of them should be exploring the hospital…"

"You should get checked over too," Sanji interjected.

Luffy nodded, "I will once we make sure the hospital is secure… I can wait…"

"Be careful," Nami said, smiling softly.

Usopp sighed heavily, "Yeah, ya'll too."

"Hello, Clay here," Clay announced, his voice a pleasant chime. "I don't have a weapon. I don't exactly feel comfortable spelunking through the hospital emptyhanded…"

Zoro nodded, "Got ya covered." He pulled a knife from his bag and handed it to Clay.

Clay took the knife, closing his eyes, "Ah… thanks…"

"I'm leaving my supplies with you," Luffy explained, handing his pack to Franky. "I'll find something along the way to collect more supplies."

"Sounds good, brother," Franky agreed.

"You should try to check in so we aren't worried," Nami suggested. "I don't know… but try somehow…"

Usopp nodded, "I'll look for an intercom or something."

"Let's go." Luffy said simply, walking forward.

"Fix that idiot up," Zoro instructed, hitching his thumb toward Sanji. "He looks fucking terrible…"

"Thanks, asshole, love you too," Sanji grunted, clicking his tongue. Zoro shuddered in response and Sanji laughed, "You're a terrible person. You'll miss me when I'm gone."

Zoro shrugged and turned, starting off down the dark hallway after Clay and Luffy, "Maybe."

"Oh, sweet, Jesus," Usopp prayed. "I realize that I've done a lot of asking recently, but, well, everything's tryin' to kill me… Oh, good Lord, don't let me get my face eaten off by some zombie lurking around the corner…"

"Get walkin'," Zoro called over his shoulder, "Or you'll get left behind."

Usopp ran down the hall, catching up with Zoro, "Wait up… Don't you dare leave me alone in here. I swear to God I'm going to have a panic attack…"

"I don't understand how you're such a coward."

Usopp ran his hands over his head, "Well, uh, first of all, I'm a sniper. I'm not a ninja or a bionic super chef. I ain't a dang military weapon either. I'm a sniper. A sniper. I belong up high. Way up high where I can hide and be stealthy and not be turning corners in the dark…" Usopp waved his hands around. "I'm not supposed to be doing none of this…"

Zoro laughed, "I don't think this was a part of anyone's five year plan, Usopp."

"Hey," Luffy called over his shoulder, his finger pressed to his lips, "What's that sound?"