Happy New Year!

Please enjoy the latest chapter of Deadhouse and thanks for sticking with me for over one year as the story progressed. I promise I'll bring you a conclusion soon.

Have a better 2019!

YamatosSenpai

"Where you going?" Luffy murmured, limping along after Doflamingo. The wet grass felt like glass against the soles of his burnt, bloody feet. He held his hands over his torn abdomen, afraid that the contents of his belly might slide out if he moved them. "I'm not finished with you, Mingo…"

"I'll kill you for good this time…" Doflamingo murmured to himself. "You think I don't know how?"

"Minnnngoooooo," Luffy called out, grabbing Doflamingo's shirt with a bloody hand. "You and me. I'm not down yet…" Luffy gasped in pain, his eyes closing, "I'm still your opponent!"

"Law," Doflamingo growled, ignoring Luffy completely.

Through the thick smoke and falling ash, Luffy finally saw the men standing on the lawn, surrounded by the ruins of the mansion. He felt his stomach twist into knots and he thought he might die from the panic. "Zoro… move…" Luffy spat through clenched teeth. Luffy tightened his hold on Doflamingo, hooking his arm around the larger man's. He dug his feet into the earth beneath him, ignoring the agony it caused. "No. No. Stop walking…," Luffy panted.

"Here they come," Franky rumbled in warning.

Zoro's hands dropped to his sides, his fingertips stained with his own blood. He swallowed with effort before speaking, "There are only two of them."

"Yeah, Luffy and Doflamingo," Franky replied matter-of-factly.

"Yeah, where's Sanji?" Zoro barked, his hands curling into fists.

"We'll worry about that when we can," Franky answered. "Donquixote's coming in fast."

"Yeah, well, that's probably my fault," Law murmured, wiping his bloody mouth. "I kinda pissed him off."

"Let's just harpoon the bastard in place and set him on fire," Franky suggested.

"There's no 'us'," Chopper corrected. "The two of you need to back the heck up."

"You can't take him down alone," Zoro said simply.

Law smiled bitterly, "We can't take him down at all. With or without you."

"Luffy was very specific," Chopper added quickly. "He wanted us to make sure you were safe."

"I don't think anyone's safe," Franky pointed out.

"Don't be stupid," Law cut, "He wants Zoro to be alive when this is over."

"At what cost?" Zoro challenged impatiently. "Let me help!"

"Honestly," Law admitted, his yellow eyes meeting Zoro's, "If you were the last living thing on Earth, Luffy would still be relieved."

"Well that doesn't work for me," Zoro snapped.

Franky nodded his head, his cheek twitching, "Me neither. I got plans."

"You're worrying for nothing," Law concluded, "You're all gonna die."

"Hey!" Chopper scolded.

"Where's he going?" Zoro wondered, watching Doflamingo stalk across the lawn, dragging Luffy behind him.

"Looks like he wants to jack that ride," Franky realized, watching an armored truck roll out of one of the garages.

"Who is that?" Chopper wondered. "More bad guys?"

"Nah," Law murmured, "Those are our people."

"Oh, so he wants to jack our ride," Franky snapped. "Like hell."

"Luffy!" Zoro shouted the moment his smoky silhouette dissipated and brought him into view. "Luffy!"

"Stay away, Zoro!" Luffy shot back.

"Come on, Luf, get your ass over here!" Zoro demanded, stomping forward purposefully. "Let's go!"

"I'm not finished yet!" Luffy replied, losing his remaining strength fast.

"It doesn't matter!" Zoro yelled. "Let's just get out of here. Come on! Luffy!" Zoro sped up, briskly closing the distance between them. "Forget this. It doesn't matter. We can leave. We should leave. Before…" Zoro heart skipped a beat when he could finally see the shape Luffy was in, "Before we can't leave anymore."

"Zoro," Chopper wheezed, yanking Zoro behind him roughly. "I told you. Stay out of that." Chopper pushed against Zoro with both hands, "He asked me for one thing and I'm gonna do it."

"If we don't leave now…" Zoro growled in desperation.

"Franky!" Luffy shouted, his leg snapping loudly as it was forced out of the worn down ground. Doflamingo dragged him like he was nothing.

"Uh, yeah?" Franky called over the roar of the burning mansion and falling debris.

Luffy turned his head, making sure he had Franky's full attention before replying, "You owe me one."

"Pro'lly more than one," Franky conceded.

"Make him move."

Franky nodded, licking his lips anxiously, "Yeah. Okay."

And without another word Franky slung his amputated stump of an arm around Zoro's chest. He instantly grabbed hold of his injured arm with his hand, locking Zoro into place against his chest.

"What the fuck are you-"

"Sorry, brother," Franky grunted, rushing backward before Zoro could grapple himself free. His injured left arm ached terribly where he held it in place with his right hand, but he didn't let up. Franky spun around, Zoro's legs lifted momentarily off the ground. "This isn't our fight."

"I have to- I want to-, Let me stay. Put me down, damn it!" Zoro protested, his face turning red from embarrassment and frustration.

"Let's be smart about this," Franky murmured. "Let's protect that truck. We can't count on anybody coming in to save us. We need that truck."

"But-"

"I'll remove the tracking system," Franky began to dictate, "Usopp and Nami can look over the weapons and rations… and we need you to-"

"Let me find Sanji."

"Look, brother, I don't know if that's a-"

"I'm finding Sanji. Let me go."

"Sanji's dead!" Franky shouted, suddenly releasing his hold on Zoro. "Do you see that house?! Ain't nobody alive in there!" Franky groaned, rubbing his face with his hand. "Look, I'm sorry. I'm sorry about Sanji. But there's Luffy and Law and Chopper and even fucking Donquixote… If Sanji were still alive he'd be… he'd be out here already."

"I can't accept that," Zoro refused.

"Tell him! Just tell him," Franky demanded, spinning around to face Law. "He's dead, ain't he?"

Law ignored the question and with a shake of his head barked out, "Keep moving. For Luffy's sake, if nothing else."

"This is stupid," Zoro spat, shrugging away from Franky forcefully. "We should all be jumping on the first vehicle outta here. Why fight a losing battle?" Zoro stalked across the grass, thick white dust billow around him like smoke. "This is bullshit!"

"Yeah, just keep walkin'," Franky murmured to himself, ushering Zoro toward the others from a safe distance behind.

"But I'm not accepting you're right!" Zoro added angrily.

"I thought you were…" Robin breathed out, closing the distance as quickly as possible. She reached out, brushing her long fingers across Franky's cheek. "You… idiot."

"Why am I the idiot?" Franky groaned, planting a quick kiss into her black hair.

"What's going on?" Usopp questioned, "It's not looking so good from here."

"It's what it looks like," Zoro replied curtly. "Get the truck over here. Let's just run his ass over."

"He's a big boy," Nami pointed out, "That won't be good for the truck."

"We can't just stand here finger-fucking ourselves until Doflamingo is ready to kill us," Zoro snapped.

Usopp's eyes widened and he sputtered in shock, "Z-Zor-o! You can't say somethin' like that!" Usopp ran his hands through his mess of curls. "Sweet Jesus."

"Did you have something in mind?" Sabo asked, looking toward Zoro with purpose. "Or do I need to come up with a plan?"

"We don't need help from you people," Franky rumbled.

Sabo smiled, a strange expression on his face, "Ah. I think otherwise."

"We can't kill him," Zoro breathed out, "Not if Luffy can't."

"Well, if we can't kill him let's slow him down," Sabo decided with a nod, "Let's slow him way down."

"What's the plan?" Usopp asked, stepping forward.

"Hit him with a bus?" Franky suggested.

Sabo shook his head, "Nah. Let's keep it simple."

"Just tell me what to do," Zoro said simply.

On the far side of the lawn, not far from one of the destroyed garages, Luffy had finally succeeded in bringing Doflamingo to a halt. Doflamingo was frowning, his hand gripping at his bloody throat. He held his hand tightly over the artery that Luffy had severed, but it was no use. The blood leaked through his fingers like a faucet, staining his skin and clothes red.

"Good job, Luffy!" Chopper shouted encouragingly. "Hold 'im!"

Luffy, however, was no longer holding onto Doflamingo. Instead, he had fallen to his knees. He inhaled shakily, an ominous rattle in his lungs. His skin blanched except for the dark rings of bruising around his eyes and mouth. He fell forward, barely catching himself with his hands. His forehead brushed against the soft grass. He closed his eyes and clutched a wounded, raw hand against his pounding chest. "Did he make it?", it was no more than a whisper.

"There, Luffy!" Chopper yelled, jumping up and down in place. "Right there!"

Luffy exhaled weakly, his fingers closing around a few blades of grass. He sank down onto his chest and stomach and lay motionlessly. Doflamingo's laughter bubbled sickly from his jagged throat. He sank down to his knees, crushing Luffy beneath one of his massive hands for balance. "Stupid little boy."

No sooner had the words left Doflamingo's mouth when suddenly there was a terrible quake. The earth seemed to bubble upward, shooting clods of dirt into the air. The earth roiled like the sea, wracking Doflamingo and Luffy's body every which direction before suddenly swallowing them whole.

The light was the first thing they saw. A blinding yellow ray of light exploded from the ground. The enormous boom followed. The ground beneath them had given way completely and the both of them were dropped unceremoniously two stories down into the flames.

"What just happened?!" Zoro shouted, unconsciously covering his wounded ears.

"An explosion…" Nami screamed, twisting her fingers in her ears with discomfort.

"Where'd he go?! Usopp yelled. "Where's Luffy?!"

"Come on," Marco commanded from the open truck window. "Get in!"

"But Luffy is…" Zoro couldn't finish. He sat down on the ground right where he stood.

"Come on, Zoro," Nami pleaded, her hand brushing over his shoulder affectionately.

"Chopper!" Robin shouted across the distance. "Chopper!"

"Robbie," Franky whispered, "Get in the truck."

"But, we can't just-"

"We're not," Franky agreed. "I told you."

"But-"

"Robbie," Franky murmured, knocking his forehead against hers gently, "I already told you."

"You can't go in there…" Robin refused, shaking her head. "It's too dangerous."

"I'm a man of my word," Franky said, smiling widely as he patted his pockets. "Get in the truck, beautiful. Wait for me there."

Robin smiled despite herself, she wiped at her face quickly, "Who said I'd wait for you?"

Franky laughed, "You won't find another man like me, baby." Franky turned away suddenly, "Now, I gotta go. I'm losing time."

"Franky and I will go," Usopp commanded, "The rest of you wait here. Zoro, I need-" Usopp began to sweat, "Where's Zoro?"

"Motherfucker!" Franky cursed, snagging Usopp by the collar. "Let's go!"

"It's a fiery hole in the ground! What the hell are you gonna do?!" Nami demanded.

"Uh, Nami, I… In case I don't come back, well," Usopp shouted back nervously.

"You better not die, you idiot!" Nami screamed threateningly.

"Come on," Sabo interrupted calmly. "We've still got work to do."

When Luffy came to he was floating on his back. His entire body was soaked, water sloshed over his chest and creeped into his ears. He sat up awkwardly, splashing loudly in the ankle-deep water. He shivered involuntarily as he spied his purpling skin.

"Hello?" Luffy called out, rubbing his sore eyes as if to rid the confusion.

Luffy climbed to his feet. Water was still spouting from the overhead sprinkler system. Every inch of the concrete floor was a pool. The tables and chairs and computers were drenched. Several small fires were still burning, but most had fizzled out some time ago.

"Luffy," a voice murmured.

Luffy turned and with recognition came a vibrant smile, "Sanji. You made it."

"Yeah," Sanji replied, taking off his wet socks and letting them fall into the water. "How'd the explosives work?"

"Great, great," Luffy answered excitedly, splashing through the water to where Sanji sat. "Perfect timing and everything. I had just gotten him to the garage."

"Good," Sanji sighed, rolling a wet cigarette between his fingers. "Too bad the fall was nasty. Sorry about that."

Luffy shrugged, "I've had worse." Luffy looked around the abandoned room unsurely, "Where's Doflamingo?" Sanji slid off the table and into the water. He walked purposefully and Luffy followed. "Did Law and Chopper make it down? How long was my reset?"

"Listen Luffy," Sanji interjected, "It was easy getting down. Getting back up is going to be the problem."

"We'll worry about that when we get there," Luffy decided with a shrug.

"Ya know," Sanji wheezed. "I was always jealous of him."

"Who?" Luffy asked, blinking obliviously.

Sanji smiled, "Zoro."

"Zoro's pretty cool," Luffy agreed.

"You always liked him, right from the start," Sanji reminisced. "And you were definitely his soft spot."

"Parts of it are still coming back," Luffy admitted. "But I think I remember most of it." Luffy realized they were walking down a hall. "Hey, where we going?"

"I've felt terrible all this time," Sanji breathed heavily, "Because Deadhouse… that was… Deadhouse was the first time I felt happy."

Luffy paused a moment, staring at Sanji's broad, muscled back. Luffy's stomach tightened inexplicably. "Hey, when we get upstairs, I'll give you more blood." Sanji kept walking, wading through the shallow water. "You've still got the IV right?"

"Do you remember when w-we," Sanji stumbled slightly, his right hand smacking against the wall for balance. He righted himself slowly, his shoulder still leaning heavily against the metal wall. "How about the time we let you drive? Damn it, now that was a bad idea…"

Luffy snickered, catching up to where Sanji stood, "It was my first time. I've gotten better."

"Well, you couldn't have gotten worse," Sanji teased.

"Hey, Sanji," Luffy spoke up, licking his lips anxiously. "Where's Doflamingo? Where are we going? Are the others this way too?"

"I was pissed at Zoro when I saw him at the Baratie," Sanji admitted, ignoring Luffy again. "I couldn't believe that he'd forgotten everything again. I couldn't believe that he managed to find you… Millions of people in that city and the two of you just…" Sanji trailed off.

"Sanji…"

Sanji turned abruptly, "Tell me I was useful. It's all I could ask for."

"Huh? What?" Luffy blinked in surprise. "Of course you're useful. You're hella useful."

"Good," Sanji sighed, visibly relieved. He lifted a trembling hand and placed it on Luffy's head. "Thank you, Luffy."

"You're not acting-"

"Doflamingo's in here," Sanji suddenly announced, stopping outside of a vaulted door.

"Let me go alone then," Luffy suggested, puffing out his chest. "It's too dangerous for you to-"

"Law's already in there," Sanji interrupted. "Chopper too. They can't hold him for long."

When Luffy burst through the door he was surprised to find Doflamingo in a cage. It seemed surreal that the monster had been subdued. Luffy chuckled in shock, "Holy shit. How long was I out?"

"Too long!" Law snapped irritably. "This is impossible. I can't fight nonstop like this."

Luffy eventually realized that the cage was actually constructed of shredded metal. It had been folded around Doflamingo in a make-shift trap. Chopper held one side together, and Law the other.

"What now?" Zoro asked, splashing toward them with Franky in tow.

"Zoro!" Luffy exclaimed with a mixture of excitement and concern.

"Let's nail him to the floor and get the fuck outta here," Franky suggested.

"He's too dangerous to live and too powerful to die," Chopper murmured.

"I can't do it," Law breathed out. "I'm tired. Everything hurts. I'm fifty resets past my limit. I'm barely holding on…"

"When I get up," Doflamingo warned. "I'm going to rip you apart with my bare hands, dear."

"It's getting hard to hold him in," Chopper squeaked out.

"And it's getting hotter, ain't it?" Doflamingo taunted. "You can't escape the fire for long, even down here."

"Let's bury him under stone…" Franky thought aloud, "If the weight was substantial enough to-"

"We tried crushing him already. Didn't work," Law snapped.

"Okay, then let's cut his head off and keep it from reattaching," Zoro suggested.

"Tried it." Chopper groaned.

"Alright, let's weigh him down, amputate limb from limb, remove the heart and scatter the pieces around the"

"Tried it!" Luffy retorted. "Tried it all."

"Here," Sanji sighed. "Let me try something."

"You should stay the hell back," Zoro reasoned. "You can barely stand up."

"I don't have a lot of time," Sanji insisted, approaching Doflamingo with purpose. "Let me do this."

"Don't touch me, Vinsmoke," Doflamingo growled. "You're nauseating to even look at right now."

"You gonna exsanguinate him or somethin'?" Franky asked, nodding his head in thought. He watched as Sanji pushed the IV catheter into Doflamingo's vein. "Could work, I guess." Sanji placed the other end in his own arm. Blood spurted from Sanji's arm and through the tubing into Doflamingo's. "But you have it backward…"

"Sanji," Zoro murmured, feeling sluggish, "That's the wrong way, idiot. Turn it around."

"It's not the wrong way," Sanji assured them, leaning heavily against the metal trapping Doflamingo. "This is how it's supposed to go."

"But, Sanji," Luffy began, shaking his head in confusion. "You're already low on blood to begin with."

"Luffy!" Chopper groaned. "A little help over here!"

Doflamingo thrashed, attempting to reach the IV despite the restrictive, confined space. "You little piece of shit! You bitch! Take it out! Take it out now!"

"Luffy!"

Luffy snapped to attention. He launched forward, grabbing hold of the slipping metal and crushing it back down into place over the resisting giant. His arms burned from the effort and his stomach felt like it might tear open. "Sanji, what are you doing?"

"He thought he was stronger than you all," Sanji answered. "But he just gave himself a huge weakness."

"I don't get it," Luffy admitted. "But you're losing too much blood, too fast…"

"Amber Lead Disease," Law replied. "Sanji's sharing it."

"But Amber Lead isn't contagious, it's…" Everything suddenly snapped into place in Luffy's mind. He realized what Sanji was doing. By injecting Doflamingo with his infected blood he was also pumping Doflamingo full of diseased, multiplying cells. Sanji was ensuring that Doflamingo would die; a slow, ugly, but also inevitable, death.

"That's enough," Zoro interrupted. "That's gotta be enough, right?"

"He's still moving," Sanji replied. "It's not enough until one of us stops moving."

"Sanji!" Franky rumbled. "Zoro's right. You've already lost too much blood…"

"I'm not leaving," Sanji said. "Don't you guys get it?"

Doflamingo's shouts of anger were interrupted by a fit of bloody retching. He shook his body violently, bending back several of the metal pieces Law was holding. Doflamingo was like a cornered animal, acting wild until finally wrenching the IV from his arm. Blood was flung everywhere as they disconnected from one another.

"I have to let go," Law groaned, his face twisted with effort.

"Go ahead and let go," Luffy replied, patting Chopper on the back. "You too. Let go."

"But he's gonna get-" Chopper's words were drowned out by the sound of snapping metal.

Doflamingo stood, his impressive form towering over the others. He lurched forward and snagged Law in his massive hand. He squeezed tightly, almost instantly breaking Law's neck. He tossed Law down hard, impaling one of the broken shards of metal through Law's stomach.

"You guys, back up! Back up!" Chopper shouted, pushing against Zoro and Franky roughly. "His reach is-" Chopper's warning died in his throat as he was smashed violently into the concrete floor. His skull slammed down with an incredible pop, caving in rather grotesquely.

"Ah," Luffy growled, his fingers twitching at his sides. "You're pissing me off!"

"The feeling is absolutely mutual," Doflamingo returned angrily. He wheeled around and snatched Sanji's arm in his hand. He tightened his grip and yanked Sanji to him. "And you, you utter failure of a Vinsmoke," Doflamingo snarled nastily, "You've reached your expiration date."

"Wait! No!" Luffy cried out, jumping forward in desperation. But Doflamingo was faster. His fingers pierced through Sanji's abdomen, jutting upward between the ribcage. Hot blood leaked down in steamy globs, hitting the watery floor heavy. "Sanji!"

Sanji's face was unreadable, blank. He stood there motionless; his knees bent, his arms hanging at his sides. His blue eyes travelled slowly, finally resting on Doflamingo's hand thrust through his stomach. Sanji shoved his wet cigarette between his lips and inhaled off the unlit stick.

"Does it hurt?" Doflamingo drawled, almost seductively.

Sanji smiled, his cigarette bouncing against his red-stained lips, "Not at all."

Doflamingo wrenched his arm free. Blood and sinew and tissue plopped to the flooded floor. Something pink and moist began to seep up and out of his wound. Doflamingo didn't smile, "Bye, Bye, Baby Vinsmoke."

"You motherfucker!" Luffy bellowed, hitting Doflamingo full force.

Luffy sent Doflamingo tumbling sideways. Doflamingo's legs tripped up over the remnants of the metal cage. He fell awkwardly, too close to the wall, and his head snapped to the side in a horrific display.

Luffy pounced on Doflamingo. He didn't care that Doflamingo's head had spun around. He didn't notice that Doflamingo's body was unable to move. He pounded his fists into Doflamingo's face over and over again until the mandible had given in and collapsed entirely. And then he hit him some more. He slammed his fists into Doflamingo until his knuckles, bloody and raw, couldn't curl into fists any longer.

"Luf," Law murmured. "He's down."

"No," Luffy refused, shaking his head. "We can't trust it."

"Luffy," Franky tried. "You did it."

"I can't stop. I can't let him up!" Luffy cried out, sobbing.

They waited, watching for any sign of life from the brutalized corpse.

"Luffy," Zoro finally spoke up. "Come here." Luffy sat back, his head lifted toward the open sky. Everything hurt. "Luffy…"

Luffy turned to look at where Zoro was crouched on the floor. He had been seriously wounded when the rebar had slashed his chest. The wound was deep and had apparently torn some during the following struggle. Zoro was dirty, covered head to toe in ash and blood and mud. His clothes were torn and soiled. He looked like he'd been through hell. And beside him was Sanji, motionless and silent.

Luffy opened his mouth but for several moments no sound would come out. He tried again, "Sanji… is he?" Zoro's head dropped instantly and Luffy had his answer. Luffy shook his head, a small noise escaping his throat, "Yeah. I guess he is…" Tears streaked down Luffy's dirty cheeks.

"We should get moving," Law said, clearing his throat. "It's a bit of a climb out of here."

Luffy couldn't respond. He stood up and approached Zoro painstakingly, almost too afraid to see Sanji lying there. Finally, he dared a look, and he burst into open sobs. It was too awful to look at. Sanji. Sanji, lying on the ground with his insides on the outside. Sanji, with his beautiful blonde hair dyed red with his own blood. His crystal blue eyes were unseeing forever after. His soft skin was bruised and yellowed and bloodied. His lips were red, and a mysterious drip of scarlet painted his chin. His cigarette had fallen. It floated on the water beside him.

"I don't…" Luffy gasped, hardly able to breathe, "I don't want this to happen."

Zoro kneeled beside Luffy, their knees touching ever-so-slightly. Zoro wiped the blood from Sanji's chin and a small sob escaped involuntarily, "I know."