"Super, it's you," Franky grumbled. "Of fuckin' course it'd be you…"

"We're here to help," Sabo announced, searching faces quickly. "Where are the Ds?"

Ace licked his lips, shaking a hand through his shaggy brown hair, "They're coming."

Sabo arched a pale brow, "You're not together?"

Marco shrugged, "There was a complication."

"Must be a hell of a complication for you to show up without your guarantee of survival…" Dragon barked, his dark eyes sharp.

"Well, it's not like ya'll would just fly outta here and leave us to die!" Usopp joked. The Revolutionary Army was silent and Usopp had his resounding answer. They would leave them there to die if Luffy and Law didn't make it back in time. Usopp chuckled nervously, "Alrighty then… I guess I'll just, uh… be quiet."

"It's so calm," Robin murmured, watching the flames engulf the mansion. "It's like there's not a soul left inside."

Zoro cleared his throat, "He'll be here."

"But if he isn't," Dragon interjected. "We have no reason to take you anywhere. You're free to go. No one should be after you if you don't have the Ds with you."

"Free to go, huh?" Nami sighed. "I for one am astounded by your generosity."

"Germa and the D Foundation want you dead," Koala explained. "We are being generous."

"Wait a motherfuckin' second there, little girl…" Franky began to roar. "I believe this whole motherfuckin' thing is because you and your squinty eyed motherfucker of a lead-"

"Shut up!" Zoro barked.

"I don't care who the fuck he is, I-"

"No, someone's coming out…" Zoro breathed, taking an involuntary step forward.

"Who is it?" Robin gasped, clutching at her throat.

"Come on Luffy… come on Luffy… come on Luffy…" Nami chanted under her breath.

"And Chopper. That baby…" Robin added, covering her mouth with worry.

"And Sanji. He was in such sad shape…" Nami added.

"Oh, sweet Jesus. Guide Luffy and the others through the fire of eternal damnation, and, uh, literal fire, and bring them out here to safety… Oh Lord, please grant these assholes the spirit of compassion and let them save us…" Usopp stole a peek at Dragon. "Please…"

"Someone's comin' out," Franky announced.

"Luffy?" Nami asked hopefully.

"Damn it," Zoro groaned, dropping to the ground without warning. "It's not him… It's not…"

Sabo took a step back, his eyes darkening, "It's Donquixote."

"I thought he died in Houston?" Koala began to panic. "His escort vehicle was demolished!"

Dragon shook his head, "We're moving out."

"Wait," Ace pleaded. "Wait…" Ace chased after Dragon in desperation. "Luffy will be here any minute."

"I can't risk the lives of my mortal comrades," Dragon replied simply. "I'm sure he would understand." Dragon paused a moment before adding, "I will take you with us. As a kindness to him."

"Oh thank God," Usopp moaned.

"Fuck that!" Franky spat. "And fuck you too."

"If you want to come with us, we're leaving now," Dragon explained, ignoring Franky's outburst. "I won't wait around for you."

"Ah, damn it," Usopp cursed. "We can't leave Luffy…"

Nami shook her head sadly, "No. We can't."

"Wait," Sabo called out. "Let me take out Donquixote."

Dragon paused, watching Sabo from the corner of his eye, "I don't know if that's possible anymore."

"Luuuuuuffy!" Zoro shouted, jogging across the lawn. "Luffy?!" Zoro was fast, closing a third of the distance in seconds, "Where are you?! Get your ass out here!" Zoro's heart pounded in his chest. He didn't see Doflamingo anymore. Where was he? Where was Luffy? "Luuuuuffy!"

"Zoro, where are you going?!" Usopp called after him. "We need to stay together!"

"I'm going to find Luffy!" Zoro shouted.

"Well this is just a clusterfuck," Ace groaned, wiping his mouth with his hand.

Franky pat his clothes nervously before turning to Robin, "Robbie, I have to-"

Robin nodded before Franky could even finish his thought, "I know. Be careful."

Franky leaned down and kissed Robin quickly, "If I don't come back…"

"You'll come back, Francis."

"I won't come back without them."

Robin nodded, closing her eyes tightly, "I know."

"I'll be back," Franky called over his shoulder, running to catch up with Zoro.

"See you later!" Nami yelled back, her voice cracking.

"Wait, should he be the one going?" Marco questioned, looking around at the others. "He's got one arm."

"He knows how to use it," Robin replied, tossing her long, black hair over her shoulder.

"We need to come up with a plan and fast," Usopp explained, huddling close to the others. "If our getaway vehicle leaves without us, what are we going to do?"

"Run for our lives?" Nami suggested.

"We don't know what kind of shape the others are in," Robin reminded them, "Sanji didn't look like he could run away the last time I saw him."

"True. Damn it." Usopp growled, brushing his hands over his unruly curls. "We could see if there are any of those armored trucks left…"

"Too easy to track," Nami shot down. "We'll get caught 15 miles down the road."

"Keep thinking," Ace encouraged, speaking lowly. "But I'll die before I let them take off without Luffy."

Robin rolled her eyes, "I don't think they'd mind that threat."

"We could take off by foot," Usopp suggested. "And then take shelter at the nearest house. Get an ambulance to take Sanji…"

"The entire country is swarming with walking corpses," Nami pointed out, "They'll take one look at him and finish him off…"

"So what can we do?" Robin wondered aloud.

"Anyone really good with geography?" Marco asked suddenly.

"Uh, it depends, I guess," Nami replied. "I'm pretty decent. Why do you ask?"

"Well, if we have to take off on foot, we could follow the swampland back to the river and-" Marco's words were drowned out by the helicopter blades' mighty whoosh.

"Uh, Ace, um, I think they're leaving us…" Usopp panicked.

Sabo stood beside them, a radio in his hand, "They're coming back."

"Sure they are, buddy," Ace murmured, clicking his tongue in disappointment.

"Why'd you stay?" Marco asked, eyeing the blonde with suspicion.

Sabo smiled tightly, "They're coming back. I stayed to help."

"Help with what?" Usopp asked, "The 'help' already ran inside…"

"We stand a better chance with him here," Robin said stiffly.

"A'ight," Ace sighed, watching the helicopter disappear from view. "You got a plan to help us, rebel boy?"

"Don't die," Sabo instructed with a shrug. "The rest will sort itself out as we go."

"Did you and Luffy spend a lot of time together, because that sounds like a Luffy plan…?" Usopp whispered.

Sabo smiled again, much more easily this time, "Not at all. I don't really even know the dude…"

"Then why go to so much trouble?" Nami wondered, sharing a look with Usopp.

"I know Dragon," Sabo said simply, nodding his golden head.

"We need cover," Marco interrupted. He pointed toward one of the garages several hundred yards away. "I'm going for a look."

"I'm coming too, I can't just stand here," Ace complained in frustration.

"No, you stay here," Marco called back, "We don't know what to expect on any fronts."

"Even more reason not to go alone," Sabo countered, arching a pale brow. "Losing even one of you is too risky."

"Oh, yeah, no, I get it," Marco murmured, "Me dying would be bad for you. I see. Sorry. My bad."

"It's okay," Sabo replied, "Don't be stupid again."

"Is this guy for real?" Usopp mouthed, his eyes wide.

Nami smiled nervously, "I think so."

"I'm still not sure why he stayed behind…" Usopp admitted.

"Because," Sabo explained, "I would do anything to see Doflamingo Donquixote dead."

"Including destroy an entire country of innocent people?" Robin shot back.

Sabo shrugged, "Complicit people."

"Do you agree with everything your Revolutionary Army does?" Robin questioned calmly.

Sabo smiled guiltily, "I stayed behind, didn't I?"

Meanwhile, Zoro had already made it to the front door of the mansion. Blood was pooling on the stoop, handprints smeared over the door and door jamb. The door was ajar, casting a small bit of sunshine into the foyer.

Zoro kicked the door against the wall sharply. It smacked loudly, the handle bouncing against the surface behind it. He peered inside, the scent of blood nearly overpowering. He scanned the entire area of visibility, seeing nothing but blood in the dimly lit entryway. Against his better judgement he shouted, "Luffy!" There was a shuffling at the end of the hall, almost like papers fluttering to the ground. "Luffy?" Zoro listened intently, focusing on the rhythmic slap of something landing against the marble. "Luf? Sanji?"

"Do you see him?" Franky panted, halting suddenly behind Zoro. He leaned against the doorframe, catching his breath, "Do you see that giant guy?" Franky inhaled deeply, "Wha'd'ya see, brother?"

"Shut up!" Zoro snapped, shaking his head. "I don't fucking see anything yet." Zoro waved his hand in gesture, "There's a lot of trash on the floor and a shitload of blood, but I don't see any sign of life…"

"Yeah, me neither," Franky breathed, stepping closer to Zoro. "What's that sound?"

"I don't know, Franky, if you'd shut up for a second, maybe I could actually hear-" There was a loud shriek at the end of the foyer. A zombie staggered into view, his yellow eyes bulging grotesquely. He shrieked again, another two zombies appearing at his side.

Franky nodded, "Ah. I see. That makes sense."

"Eh," Zoro mumbled, "They look like the slow kind."

"There's a slow kind?" Franky mused, "As opposed to like the Luffy kind?"

"Luffy's not a zombie, stupid."

"He's kinda a zombie…"

"No he's not," Zoro insisted, "I'll take the left side, you take the right."

"Super," Franky nodded, pulling a pistol from his waistband, "But, uh, if ya think about it, he kinda is though."

"Shut up, asshole," Zoro growled, slashing through the first zombie expertly with his machete. "Luffy's a dumbass but he's not brainless…"

Franky's laughter rumbled from his throat, "So you're admitting he's a special zombie?"

"What? No!" Zoro snapped, knocking another zombie backward with a kick. "Ya know what? Just stop talking to me. We need to be quiet and listen for the others…"

"Here's some more," Franky announced, nodding toward the end of the foyer. A dozen, maybe more, zombie guards had assembled, in various monstrous states of dismemberment and injury. "Kinda feels like they've come to greet us."

"Which is odd," Zoro realized, "Considering we just saw Doflamingo Donquixote coming from that direction."

"So then where'd he go?" Franky asked, grunting with effort as he one-armed wrestled a zombie.

"Yeah," Zoro said simply, deep in thought.

"This is super difficult," Franky panted, "With one god damned arm."

"Want me to use just one arm?" Zoro teased with a smirk. "For the sake of fairness?"

Franky forced an exaggerated laugh, "Super funny, brother…"

"Luffy!" Zoro called out again.

"Shhhh! Damn it!" Franky hushed harshly, "Don't we have enough problems right now?"

"We can leave the second we find Luffy."

"And Chopper and Sanji and Law…" Franky added.

Zoro smiled, arching his brow pointedly, "Sure."

"This is a waste of time," Franky complained, "We should just make some Molotov cocktails and send them flaming into Hell."

"With what?" Zoro demanded, irritated. "We're in an empty hallway-" Something wet and heavy dripped onto Zoro's head. The fluid streamed down his forehead and nose and fell in droplets into the fabric of his shirt. Zoro wiped his head in disgust, "What the hell is that?" He stared down at the red smeared across his palm and fingers.

"Uh…" Franky murmured, his eyes narrowing into suspicious slits, "That looks like…"

Zoro and Franky gradually looked up. The high vaulted ceiling was broken. Blood was starting to pour over the ragged sides, spilling onto Zoro, Franky, the zombies, and the floor. The break in the ceiling was pitch black, looking more like a terrifying black hole in the sky than anything else.

"L-Luffy?" Zoro said softly, his head tilted upward.

"No one's up there," Franky decided. "Donquixote probably fell from there, stumbled outside and then scampered off… and, uh, bled to death…"

"Scampered off… uh, yeah… scampered off…" Zoro repeated unsurely. "But then, all that blood."

"Ow! Fuck you!" Franky growled, yanking a zombie back by the hair. The zombie tore a chunk of flesh from Franky's shoulder. "Oh, you are a piece of shit, dude…"

"We need to get up there," Zoro realized, decapitating the man Franky had hold of.

"That's 40 feet in the air, Zoro."

"Yeah, don't care."

Franky rolled his shoulders backward before slamming his head against his opponent's. He scoffed openly, "Think there's a ladder?"

"I'm getting up there," Zoro declared, studying the wall and ceiling with intent.

"We could stack all of these bodies in a pile, and then you can climb onto my shoulders…" Franky joked.

"You hold it down here," Zoro breathed out, "I'm gonna go find some rope…"

"What the hell?! No way, I'll go…" Franky argued.

Zoro's next words were drowned out by the sound of crushing metal. The zombies surrounding them shrieked and shrank away, stumbling over themselves to get away. The roar above them was deafening. Zoro kicked Franky violently, slamming the larger man into the far wall. A moment later a tremendous sheet of the ceiling had collapsed.

Zoro didn't have time to move before he was struck sharply in the chest. He staggered backward, his fingers gripping at the torn flesh. A hiss escaped his lips. He stared down at the injury in shock. So much blood was spilling between his feet. It didn't seem possible for that much blood. It was so sudden.

Law was the first to cry out. He rolled over, just to discover that rebar had impaled him through the calf. He cursed unintelligibly, slapping his hand against the debris-strewn floor. He sat up, leaving his left leg pinned into place. He looked around in confusion, blood trickling from his mouth.

"Move," Law warned, blood staining his teeth. "Run."

"Holy hell, brother," Franky panicked. "Let's get you up."

"No," Law fought, choking on the blood that filled his mouth. "Get out."

"Zoro, help me… Oh, fuck… Zoro?" Franky said, his eyes wide. He took one look at Zoro's wound and knew Zoro couldn't possibly be of much help.

"He's coming," Law shouted, spraying red into the air as he spoke. "Get the fuck out of the way."

Zoro suddenly snapped back into focus. He shook his head and bit down on his hand sharply, stifling a cry of pain. He inhaled with great effort, his body beginning to shake from the absolute agony he was in. And then he moved. He grabbed Law, hoisting him off of the rebar and slinging him over a shoulder. He charged at Franky, "Move your ass!"

The ceiling made another terrible sound but this time it was the floor that gave way. Zoro, Franky, and Law shuffled down the foyer, barely ahead of the sinking ground. The three of them jumped from the house, rolling awkwardly down the stone steps and into the landscaped grass. Smoke curled around them as a blast of flames shot out the front doors. Franky covered Zoro's head with his arm as the windows shattered, sending glass flying across the lawn.

"What the actual fuck?!" Franky shouted, shaking nervously.

"No… no…. no…" Zoro moaned in anguish, "Luffy… no…"

The others were shouting at them across the yard. They waved their hands in gesture, hopping up and down excitedly. Franky shrugged, "Can't hear ya!"

"You two… sh-should…" Law croaked weakly, "…run…"

"Can you reset?" Franky asked, examining Law's serious injuries. "Or will it be bad?"

"C-ch-c," Law stammered, plucking glass from Franky's face.

"What?" Franky wondered impatiently.

"I'm going around the side," Zoro decided.

"The hell you are," Franky refused. "The house is burning to the ground. Plus you're hurt…"

"But Luffy is still…"

The earth quaked. Stones rained down from the sky, landing with terrible thuds against the ground. The entire façade of the mansion seemed to slide away from the rest of the house. The mansion broke completely in half, one end falling backward and the other rocking forward.

"Oh shit." Franky breathed, realizing they were about to be crushed to death. There was no time to run. He pat his pants pocket and chewed on his bottom lip. "Sorry, Robin, baby."

A brown streak erupted through one of the broken windows. The flash of color seemed to dance in the air, prancing from one spot to the next to avoid the falling stones. And when the enormous reindeer landed on the ground between Franky and Zoro, both men could only gasp.

"Chopper," Franky wheezed unsurely. He didn't have time to ask why the young boy would run into danger. Surely he could heal himself, but why risk the injury?

But Chopper had no intention of being crushed beneath the intense weight of the crumbling mansion. The reindeer was already at a monstrous size, but his antlers just kept growing. His antlers stretched past the far side of the two huddled men.

"Ch-ch-Chopper," Law finally managed to say, pulling himself to his feet using an antler for balance. "Do… we… got… it?"

Franky and Zoro crawled beneath the enormous creature, their heads covered and their legs tucked in. Stones pelted the beast until finally the entire façade had come down. The creature's knees buckled under the weight, but he kept the debris from crushing the men beneath him. Law worked as quickly as possible, tossing the rubble from Chopper's head, neck and back.

"Are we still alive?" Franky asked, sitting up once the dust began to settle.

Zoro coughed fitfully, "I wouldn't get excited yet."

"Are you both alright?" Chopper asked, shrinking smaller by the second.

"Get out… of th-the way…" Law snapped.

"You're just in danger," Chopper explained, the fur shedding from his lightening skin.

"Take… San-ji…" Law instructed feebly, "And th-then… run a-way…"

"Where is Sanji?" Zoro asked, peering blindly through the dense smoke.

"I'll… go get him," Law whispered.

"You can't," Chopper insisted, "Let me."

"Where is Luffy?" Zoro demanded impatiently.

Chopper and Law exchanged a look before Chopper finally answered, "He's fighting."

"Doflamingo, alone?!" Zoro snapped angrily.

"Nah," Law said simply. "It's my… turn again… in a… minute."

"Your turn?" Franky asked in disbelief.

Chopper licked his lips, rubbing the blood that dripped into his human eye, "Well, uh, he's a lot tougher than we expected."

"He won't… fucking… die…" Law snarled. "We've… had to… get creative…"

Zoro nodded decisively, "I'm going to help. Where are they?"

"You can't," Chopper refused, shaking his head. Bruises and swelling were beginning to appear all over him as his transformation completed. "He's a monster."

"I don't care," Zoro breathed out, "Where is Luffy?"

"You can't go back into that house," Chopper snorted angrily. "It's suicide for you."

"Just tell me!"

"I don't think you'll need to go anywhere, brother," Franky explained, cupping his hand over his eyes.

"Why?" Zoro demanded.

Franky pointed toward the inferno. There was a figure cutting through the smoke, enormous and commanding. And then there was a second; small and slender, slinking after the larger. Franky clicked his tongue, "Cause here they come."