Chapter 20
Just a thing - it's June in the fic.
The walls shook violently and dust fell from the ceiling as Shanks ran down the corridor. Another violent shudder made him stumble and collide with the wall. He grimaced but continued, ignoring the sounds of the ceiling cracking above him, threatening to come crashing down on top of him.
He pushed the door to the agents' common room open, cursing as he saw the smoke curling in the air and flames flickering from the corridor beyond that lead to the bedrooms. "Out!" Shanks hollered, "Everybody out!"
Heading down the corridor at a run, he kicked down every door he came across. Heading into the rooms, he checked for survivors. Bodies were scattered here and there, some bloodied and injured, others beyond repair. Upon reaching the room in which the bomb had been launched, he stared into the room at the obvious carnage, ignoring the sounds of shelling and explosions that made the entire building shudder.
Bodies were strewn over the room like litter. Fire that licked the walls illuminated the blood that had painted everything in sight. No lives would be saved here, in the room where the life had been ripped from his subordinates, his colleagues, his friends.
Shanks withdrew from the room and glared down the corridor, his Haki leaking out a little so that he had to breathe rhythmically by force to control himself.
"Everybody out and head towards the stables! We are under attack!" He yelled, "I repeat, we are under attack!"
The thunder of hooves drew closer and closer. Screams of the dying filled the air, which reeked of blood, vomit, and death. Cracks of lightning ripped through the air, wetting the green hair on his head as he strode through the lashes of rain that soaked him through to the bones beneath his well-muscled skin.
'Thank you for providing me with yet another advantage.'
Gravel crunched under boot, and the fountain lay ahead of him. Only twenty three paces further. He was so close that he could see the water of the fountain slowly run red with blood. Thick blood that trickled down the stone fountain and stained it, blood clots slowly travelling down the stone before joining the blood at the bottom of the fountain with a plop.
'I was looking forward to you praying for an angel or some such to come and save you.'
Reaching the edge of the fountain he raised a leg and stepped over the stone lip of the fountain, watching the blood as it swallowed his leg and covered it from view up to his thigh. Pulling his other leg into the fountain so that he was stood in the blood, he felt himself being pulled backwards towards the fountain, underneath the crimson curtain that drenched his whole body.
'There is nothing more deceptive than an obvious fact.'
His strong back was slammed against the centre stone pillar of the fountain, and he squirmed uselessly as chains appeared from thin air and bound him to the stone, trapping him there as the blood around him began to boil. The red liquid rose in temperature until it began to burn the flesh from his bones, causing him to scream until it became an inhuman noise of pain.
'I just created the trap.'
At the moment he thought he could take it no longer, the chains splintered and broke, a sudden suction dragged him down underneath the fountain. He continued to scream, even as the blood entered his mouth and burned him from the inside. He was drowning in the blood of others, his own blood. Finally his scream took shape in the form of one word. "DEMON-"
A touch awoke Zoro, and he sat up with the roar of 'Demon' continued. The hand that had touched to wake him, Robin's hand, withdrew quickly. Zoro panted heavily and took in his surroundings. Sat upright in his bed with Robin laying alongside him to his right, currently studying him emotionlessly as she lightly traced the muscles on his stomach and used her devil fruit ability to wipe his brow of sweat with another devil-made hand.
"Another nightmare?" Robin asked quietly, leaning her cheek into his hand as he reached forward and gently rested the palm of his hand on her cheek, stroking her soft skin.
Zoro shook his head, his green hair shaking slightly with the movement. "The same one. Always the same one." He responded dully.
"With the fountain?" She questioned, turning her head and kissing the palm of his hand. His only response was to nod. "You said once that you heard Dragon's voice...you know he's no threat, don't you? MI5 are more than capable of-"
"MI5 is capable of a lot of things, but standing against Dragon's army is no longer possible. He has just over ten thousand men and women behind him." Zoro sighed, swinging his legs over the edge of the bed to meet the cold wooden surface of the floor. The ship's wooden floorboards creaked a little under his weight, and it did so again on the other side of the bed as Robin also got out of bed and followed him from the bedroom to the kitchen on the upper deck.
Standing a little way behind him, she let him raid the fridge. He uncorked a white, freezing cold bottle of sake and gulped down three large swigs. Setting it down on the counter, he leant his elbows on the counter and rubbed his face with his hands tiredly. Robin stepped forward and lovingly hugged him from behind, not saying a word but listening to his heartbeat and occasionally kissing his back and rubbing his stomach, feeling the ripple of the muscles beneath the night shirt.
Zoro slowly relaxed into her touch and straightened up, turning around and gathering her in his arms. He kissed her forehead, making her close her eyes and slowly move her head to rest in the crook of his neck. Wordlessly, Zoro stroked her long, soft raven hair.
They stayed like this for a few minutes, until Robin had fallen asleep silently on his shoulder. Carefully, he picked her up and took her up to the library, where Franky had installed a bed to allow for when Robin fell asleep in there amongst the huge piles of books. Tucking her in, Zoro kissed her cheek and returned to the grassy deck of the Thousand Sunny.
It was quiet in the cavern. All around the ship in what little space there was, Nami had gotten Luffy to remove the metal shelving structures, and had instead created a garden of mikans around the entirety of the ship. Yet even as Zoro appreciated the quietness, he could see a figure emerging down the ladder and through the mikan orchards towards the ship. Jumping from the railing to the cavern floor, he landed and rolled, coming up gracefully on his feet. Running a hand through his moss green-hair he noticed that it was Rayleigh running towards him, a slight sheen of sweat adorning the elder man's brow as he drew forward, stopping in front of the Mugiwara leader and panting for breath.
Zoro clapped Rayleigh on the shoulder and began to tow him in the direction of the ship. "Rayleigh, what are you doing here at this hour? It's three in the morning, surely you-"
"Zoro, MI5 headquarters have been attacked. I have a summons for you from your father, Agent Dracule Mihawk. " Rayleigh told him bluntly, shaking like a leaf in the Autumn wind.
Zoro froze at the news. "Attacked...?" He muttered disbelievingly. He frowned as he noticed Rayleigh shaking, and he gently placed a hand on Rayleigh's back. Feeling a wet and sticky substance, he drew his hand back and stared at the red that had been painted onto his hand. Darting behind the seasoned Agent, he pulled up the white shirt of the suit to reveal the giant gash straight up the middle of Rayleigh's spine, showing a small bit of white bone between the cloven muscles.
Zoro stared in shock. "Chopper!" He roared at the top of his lungs, making Rayleigh wince.
"I'm fine. Some of the others are much worse than I am. Other agents are...well. We shall not talk of death here." Rayleigh insisted, his eyes full of sorrow.
The clatter of hooves and running feet heralded the arrival of Chopper, Ace and Ussop as they hurried over. Sniffing Rayleigh carefully, Chopper's nostrils flared worriedly. "He shouldn't be moving! Ussop, go and grab the portable stretcher! We'll have to operate here." Chopper instructed the sniper, who nodded and sprinted away.
Rayleigh immediately began to protest. "Operate? There's no time for that! You must-"
"We will go nowhere until you are cleared from imminent danger." Zoro stated, not paying attention as Ussop came hurrying back with the stretcher and a whole bag's worth of medicinary supplies.
Ace and Ussop helped Rayleigh to lay on his front on the stretcher, which was set low and firm above the ground. Rayleigh groaned in pain, and Zoro sat crosslegged beside him. He turned to Ace briefly, his voice deep and serious. "Bring me my katanas." He ordered. Nodding, Ace sprinted back onto the Thousand Sunny.
"Rayleigh...who is dead?" Zoro asked warily, thinking of those he had come to respect in MI5 and fearing a little for their safety. "What happened?"
"Dragon sent in a small army of bomber men. Bombs and grenades had been put inside of their bodies, and they just ran at us. They were the living bombs. Logia types with the ability of flight, oh god...we never realised there was so many! They dropped more bombs on us from above. More than half the base is destroyed. We've been trying to train some new recruits, but many of them died during the first round of bombing. But many who've been here for years...Sengoku being one." Rayleigh explained, his hanging face holding his glassy eyes. He slowly looked up into Zoro's face, as though nervous about what he had to say next.
"Zoro... I'm sorry for your loss, I truly am. They were incredible Agents, and even greater men..."
Zoro's face remained stone-like, betraying how on edge he felt, his gut twisting with a sinking feeling. "Rayleigh...who else?" He questioned quietly, his voice oddly calm.
Rayleigh had the decency to look directly into Zoro's eyes as he spoke. "Yassop and Coby."
Zoro said nothing for a long while. Beside him, Ace bowed his head and removed his hat with a heavy sigh, whereas Chopper slowly dissolved into silent tears as he worked on treating Rayleigh's back, trying in vain to sew the strong muscles back together.
Slowly, his blood boiling with silent rage, Zoro raised his head. Standing straight, he turned and strode away, his stance deadly and purposeful as he stood on the grassy deck of the Thousand Sunny. A deep breath filled every inch of his lungs.
"Everyone on deck this instant! Get the fuck up here NOW!" Zoro roared, too caught up in his fury to hear the yells of surprise and panic as his gang fell out of bed and raced up the wooden stairs to the deck, fanning out around Zoro in a semi-circle as he continued to shout. "MI5 has been attacked, and according to Rayleigh's report, many are dead! Our friends are gone! Coby and Yassop are dead because of Dragon. I WILL NOT STAND FOR THIS."
Ussop's face had drained of colour and he sank to his knees with grief, trying to hold in chest racking sobs.
"If it is a war Dragon wants, then we shall bring him a war!" Zoro thundered, pumping a fist in the air in his rage.
"Avenge our brothers!" Sabo cried in anger, lifting his metal pipe high in the air as Ace silently handed Zoro his Katana's at long last.
"MAKE HIM PAAAAAAAAAY!" Ussop screamed, tears of anguish streaming down his face.
The others joined in their screams of fury just as Chopper finished fixing up what he could of Rayleigh's back. Rayleigh stood with a wince and watched Zoro with a mixture of pride and worry. He smiled to himself. I wonder if this is how Hawk-Eyes feels when he looks at his son...Zoro is a fine young man, Hawk-Eyes should be proud.
"Everyone ready yourselves for battle. Rendez-vous at the stables. We are out of here in ten." Zoro ordered, his face a mask of stone as he ran a hand through his moss-green hair and turning away to shouts of acknowledgement. Rayleigh followed Zoro to the stables, situated in the giant warehouse above the cavern.
"You're a natural born leader, Zoro. You know that?" Rayleigh told the young man with a smile, leaning on the edge of the stable door that Zoro had swung open. The silver-haired Agent left his gaze on Zoro, watching as the youth stroked the long, black muzzle of his stallion, Balthazar.
Zoro glanced over his shoulder and grinned back at the older man as a way of thanking him for the compliment. "I'm just doing what I've always done." He said with a good-natured shrug, picking up the large black leather saddle and heaving it up onto Balthazar's back, who whinnied and pawed the ground with his hoof, shaking his mane expectantly as he sensed the urgency and of the dangerous ride ahead.
"And what is that?" Rayleigh questioned, backing away into a different stall to swing into the saddle of his own horse as he heard the Mugiwara gang streaming into the stable with shouts, bridling their own horses and saddling up.
"Making 'em proud." Zoro replied, smirking confidently as he vaulted into the saddle and strapped his katana's to his waist.
Digging his heels into Baltahzar's stomach, he let the stallion rear up on its powerful hindquarters and punch at the air before hitting the floor with a loud crack and parade itself into the middle of the warehouse, the Mugiwara's following his lead. Zoro unsheathed Wado Ichimonji and held the white hilted sword aloft.
"We ride and aid our comrades! If we meet any resistance from Dragon or the Revolution Army and their allies, we leave none alive! Are we clear?" Zoro shouted.
"Aa!" They hollered back, Chopper blowing air angrily through the nostrils of his cute button nose.
"MUGIWARAAAAA!" Zoro roared, turning Balthazar towards the open exit of the warehouse and galloping into the streets of London, his gang and Rayleigh echoing his cry and following hot on his trail.
Zoro felt his blood boiling in rage. Two of his dearest friends were dead. As he rode, the wind whistled in his ears so loudly that it sounded like the scream of a dying woman. It blocked out everything around him so that he could only focus on the angry thoughts that swirled around in his mind, like a coal black sea in turmoil. He turned his head a fraction as Rayleigh rode up alongside him, signalling for Zoro to look ahead.
As Zoro raised his eyes ahead of him, his face darkened with fury. A giant plume of black smoke had spilled across the sky and he could see small figures diving through the air again and again, before they disappeared into thin air. The marimo could just about see the great flickering flames shooting up into the sky like tongues and taste the air in huge bright bursts of orange.
Spurring Balthazar on with a slight dig of his heels and a few growled words that were whipped away in the wind, Zoro withdrew two of his katanas and twirled them expertly in his hands. Behind him, he heard the familiar sounds of weaponry being prepared. Rounding a corner, the MI5 base finally came into full view, and the sight of it took the Mugiwara gang's breath away.
The once tall and majestic building seemed to be crying out in agony as flames licked at it on every floor. The charred black burns that covered the outer walls marring its former glory. Smoke billowed out from every opening of the building, both windows and doors. In the courtyard, screams of the dying could be heard over the harsh shouting of their killers.
"Where's Mihawk?" Zoro shouted over the din to Rayleigh as they neared the gates, battle ready.
"He was seen taking a strong force of Agents who were still relatively unharmed after Dragon. Makino was herding the wounded and transporting them to the new base of operations." Rayleigh replied, his voice weak and barely carrying over the wind.
"So we're the clear-up team, huh?" Zoro muttered, flexing his wrists and readying his katana's as they rode through the gates.
Time seemed to slow down as their horses leaped over a wall of dead bodies, and Zoro raised his voice to a challenging roar. "MUGIWARA'S, GIVE 'EM HELL!"
With an answering roar, Zoro's gang threw themselves into the fray of battle with a will. The noise of battle surrounded Zoro as he was set upon by at least thirty men and women, all of whom bore the mark of the Revolutionary Army - the dragon's claw - on their bodies.
Zoro gave them no mercy, his katanas dealt death with every swing as they flashed down. Blood rained through the air as steel bit flesh, hacking through bone as though it were no stronger than carrots, severing heads and limbs from bodies with sickening crunches. Every strike brought new choruses of screams and gurgles, some of which were due to dying bodies of the enemy being trampled under Balthazar's hooves.
Over in the far corner of the courtyard, men and women alike were stood frozen in fear of the skeleton who walked calmly among them. The skeleton held his katana in one skeletal hand, the sheath in the other. One of the men dared to laugh, and opened his mouth to start to speak. Yet as Brook reached the end of his little walk, he slowly slid his katana back into its sheath with a metal hiss.
"Yohohoho..." Brook laughed quietly, listening as the bodies slumped to the ground with heavy thumps of flesh.
"Let's bring out some Frrrrranky Fireworks!" Franky shouted proudly as he raced by the skeleton. He stopped dead and grinned, his cyborg shoulders lifting to reveal two large cannons. With a large, ominous clanking, two large shells filled the cannons. Franky pressed the tips of his thumbs and forefingers together with a hum of satisfaction as the shells shot out of the cannons, the boom nearly defeaning those nearby. All around Franky, people seemed to scramble to get away from him in every direction, their movements seemingly sluggish compared to the speed of the shells that flew through the lingering members of the Revolutionary Army. Chaos ensued as a colossal roar of splintering concrete rent the air, along with the wet slapping sound of ripped flesh hitting the ground. The cloud of dust and dirt slowly settled around the complete carnage, revealing the devastation that had been left in the cannon shells' wake, the scene seeming like that of ahorror movie.
Firefist Ace gave a shaky whistle of appreciation to Franky as he ran up to him, the boy's muscles burning slightly from the fight and not just his Devil Fruit abilities. As though in response to the attack, screams of furious abuse were hurled at the two Mugiwara members from the skies.
Franky raised an eyebrow and began to ready his shoulder cannons once more, this time aiming for the airborne members of the revolution army that swirled above them.
Ace looked up and grinned. He flicked his head to the side to look at Frankly. "Here, I've got this one." He stated cockily.
Raising his arms either side of him to shoulder height, he splayed his hands wide. With an almighty yell, he unleashed his ability power. A gigantic column of flame erupted from his chest, spiralling upwards in a great plume that brought death and destruction to all those caught in the blast, who didn't even have time to scream before the fire engulfed them.
Ace lowered his arms and looked over at Franky. "I think I win there bro." He laughed.
Franky snorted and turned away. "Tch, that still only counts as one, fire-bro." He muttered as he jogged away to eliminate the rest of the members of the Revolutionary Army alongside Sabo and Robin who were battling fiercely, passing Nami on his way as she sprinted across the courtyard.
Her long orange hair whipped around like snakes in the wind as she ran, her climatact held so tightly in her hand that her knuckles turned white. Her eyes took in every detail of the battle as she darted through the masses of writhing, sweaty and bloodied bodies. Her mouth was closed, not wanting any stray spurts of blood to fly into it, thus forcing her to breathe heavily through her nose.
As Nami reached the entrance to the former MI5 base, she screamed and jumped back as fire flared up from a massive beam that fell to the floor from the ceiling, blocking her path with flames. Turning, she called out to the elder D. brother. "Ace! I need some help over here! I need to get through!" She shouted, waving her climatact in the air to grab his attention.
Catching a brief glance at her as he roundhouse kicked someone in the face, Ace nodded and pointed his open palm in the direction of the flames blocking her path, his spinning seeming to be in slow motion. Suddenly his hand snapped closed into a fist, his foot connecting with his attacker's face simultaneously, launching them backwards with their neck broken at an awkward angle. In front of Nami, the flames disappeared, as though having been snuffed out by an otherworldly force.
Ace landed on the ground in a safe crouch, his head swiftly being brought up to allow his eyes to observe the events of the battlefield, his black hair whipping about in the fierce wind of the movement. He caught a glimpse of his brother, Luffy, who was yelling with fury as he brought down his opponents with a flurry of his seemingly elasticated fists.
"Oi! Luffy!" He barked, jerking his head in the direction of Nami's lithe body slipping amongst the debris of the building and disappearing. "Follow her and make sure she's safe! Do as she tells you to do!" He ordered.
"You aren't the captain!" Luffy bellowed back, his eyes alight and indignant, wearing a pout that only made his brother huff in exasperation.
"No, I'm your brother. So get to it before I kick your arse, brat!" Ace retorted, standing so that he stood tall at his full height.
Luffy groaned and pouted some more but nodded, stretching his arms to the building and shooting off after his orange haired nakama, who had already encountered some of the enemy. Her eyes were fueled with rage as she realised what they were doing inside the building.
"You filth!" She screeched, aiming her climatact at the three who stood in front of her in the burning corridor, all members of the Revolutionary Army, "You dare to stay here and search for survivors to kill? I'll kill you all myself! And if I don't, I can think of at least another ten who will!"
The three members laughed and slowly started to approach her, weapons of dangerous looking metal in hand. "Yeah right, sure thing girlie." They snorted, snickering amongst one another. "When we go back tonight, we will be covered in glory!"
"When you go back tonight…?" Nami whispered, her face shadowed, "You won't go back tonight. You will be dead, you murderers." At that moment, the three RA members noticed the black storm cloud up above their heads in the corridor, crackling with electric pulses that fizzed and cracked sharply. Their screams were shrill as blue, white hot lightning struck them and scorched their skin, their insides frying as their hearts were shocked unto death. They collapsed where they stood, not a word said as they lay either dead or dying.
One of them, the one who'd spoken, coughed weakly, blood trickling out of the corner of his mouth. Nami's face hardened into a mask of stone, rage clouding her usually gentle features. She stepped forwards, her orange heels clicking against the floor in an eerie moment of deathly quiet. With deliberate slowness, she lifted her climatact up so that it was above shoulder height.
"M-Mercy…" The RA member managed to painfully gasp out, his eyes flickering with fear as more of his dark red life blood came gurgling out of his mouth.
Nami's eyes finally met his, holding nothing but contempt in them for him. "There is no mercy for the wicked." She spat, bringing down the butt of her climatact down with such force upon his throat that it speared through his throat and immediately ended his life with a small spraying fountain of crimson.
"Nami…" Luffy's voice echoed from behind her, pulling her out of her angry state and leaving her in a daze as she turned to face the younger D. brother, "Woah, are you ok?" He questioned, his face scrunched up in genuine concern for her.
Nami's face slowly cleared and she took hesitant steps away from the body at her feet, not looking at it for fear of feeling the regret of her actions. "Y-Yeah...M'fine Luffy. Thanks," She stated shortly, trying to get herself back into her normal thought processes as she hastily tried wipe the end of her bloodied climatact on a nearby, already bloodsoaked rug, "did Ace send you or something? Huh?" She demanded.
Luffy blinked at her for a few moments before breaking out into his normal shit-eating grin. "Yeah! He did, just in case you needed backup." He confirmed.
"I've already told him, I can handle my own god-damn battles! Damn it!" She yelled, striding off down the corridor in irritation, her eyes roving the scenes of chaos and bending down occasionally to check the pulses of those laid out on the floor. Luffy laughed uproariously at her reaction, keeping on the lookout for any more lingering RA members.
"Luffy!" Nami cried, upon pushing open what looked to be a still whole, fully operational wooden door. At once Luffy appeared in front of her, his movements so fast that Nami did not see him actually move. Before her, four guns were trained on her vital organs, which were now shielded by Luffy. The guns trembled in the hands of the three men and single woman who held them. Their severe wounds were poorly bandaged over their clothes, similar to at least twenty others who were huddled behind them, their backs pressed up against the back wall of the devastated bedroom, the bed overturned to protect them.
Suddenly, Nami's eyes widened as she registered the agent suits that they were all wearing, and also what shape they were in. She shoved Luffy out of the way as she yelled at him. "Wait, Luffy! No! Don't attack them! They're agents, they're one of us!"
The hands holding the guns did relinquish their aims on her, even as Luffy warily stepped aside to let her move forward a step. "Nami?" A voice croaked up from the back of the room, "Luffy? Is that you guys?"
Luffy's face turned from a serious demeanour that of a more joyous one, his eyes suddenly overflowing with tears of unbridled happiness. "Coby? You're alive? Rayleigh said you were dead!"
Coby shook his head, staggering to his feet. "No, I'm fine. Yassop took the killing blow that was meant for me, rest his soul. We have his body back here, he died to protect us. I wish Usopp could have been here though...Yassop's his last words were for him." The pink-haired teen frowned at the four agents who barred the Mugiwara members' way, "Hey, you guys, you can let them pass. I know them, they were former agents. We can trust them."
The trained agents breathed sighs of relief and returned their weapons back to the holsters in their trousers. "Thank god," one of them muttered, "I didn't think we were going to back it this time."
"Coby, is there anyone here who can't move?" Nami asked, her face full of worry.
"A few, but between us I think we could carry them…" Coby replied, coughing and carefully wiping the blood that was coughed up onto the back of his hand.
Nami's eyes widened at him. "Are you ok, yourself?"
"Yeah, m'fine." Coby nodded, smiling at her.
"Liar!" A dark-haired agent called out, "He was shot with a poisoned dart earlier, the more he moves the more the poison is working its way around his system! I've been trying to tell him not to move, but he insisted on trying to patch up everybody else first. He needs treatment, and fast!"
"Coby!" Luffy shouted, fear and panic filling his face as he gripping his friend's shoulders and shook him roughly. "Don't die! Don't move, ok? Just keep still, we'll get you to a doctor!"
"Baka!" Nami yelled, hitting Luffy upside the head so as to force him to stop shaking the young agent. "You're making it worse!"
"I'm sorrryyy~" Luffy wailed, much to Coby's amusement.
"Just help me get him out of here, ok? And don't let him move!" Nami snapped, turning away to bark orders at the others as to the plan of how they were going to get out.
"Wow...she's a commander at heart, huh?" Coby said to Luffy in an undertone, making Luffy snicker uncontrollably as he effortlessly lifted Coby over his shoulder.
Outside, Zoro and Thatch were clearing the bodies from the courtyard by throwing them onto a giant pyre that Ace had built and lit with his abilities. As Nami, Luffy and Coby emerged with the other agents, Zoro turned to face them, calling the Mugiwara gang to him as he did so and ignoring the hushed whispers of his name that passed between the other agents.
"Is that all of them?" He questioned, receiving a grim nod from Nami. Zoro sighed mentally. Only twenty survivors...Dragon had done as he'd promised, he'd hit them hard. But for now, they could only cut their losses and retreat. As much as Zoro wanted to go and find Dragon to make him pay for what he'd done, he knew that there were more at stake. Now was not the time to attack, they needed time to recuperate and formulate a strategy. Not that he was any good at that himself, he was the brawn, not the brains.
"The one time I need my parents for something serious, and it's because they do the thinking better than I do. Tch...talk about fucking annoying." Zoro muttered, his voice almost a hiss under his breath. He raised it to address the others. "We have wounded now here with us, so if there's any of you who give up your horse for those more wounded and are able to run yourself, do so, and act as our rear guard. I will be doing that myself. Ace, Franky, Luffy, you guys too. You have abilities that mean you can catch up to those on horses if need be. Three to a horse, it's the most these sturdy beasts can carry, so treat them with respect. Are we clear?" He ordered, his head turning so that he could observe all those stood in front of him, who nodded back at him with grunts and murmurs of affirmation.
"Coby and I will lead, we are the only ones besides Rayleigh who know how to get to the secondary base, and Rayleigh is in bad shape." Nami called out, her orange hair swiftly being tied up into a bun on her head.
"Ok, but on separate horses, in case you get split up." Zoro instructed, running a sweaty hand through his moss green hair, only turning away from his younger nakama when she nodded to show her understanding. "Good, all of you, saddle up and move out. I will meet you there. And it better be no less than the number we are now." He warned, his Haki leaking out a little to enforce the point.
"Hai!" Came the answering yell, followed by the scramble of bodies moving as one to mount and disperse into the streets of London.
Rayleigh sat at the front of Bathazar's saddle, and as Zoro reached out to pat Bathazar's neck, the veteran's hand clapped down on Zoro's shoulder and made the youth look up at him. "Zoro, we need you. Come back to the base once you've found him. You know where he'll be. Take this map, and both of you come and find us. This war is far from over…" He advised him.
"I know." Zoro acknowledged, giving Rayleigh a small, cocky smile and slapping Balthazar's hindquarters. He stared after them as he subconsciously unsheathed his katanas. "It's only just beginning." He murmured, turning his attention back to the crumbling building of the former MI5 base and striding towards the broken entrance.
Hey, sorry it has been a while! But all of my exams are over, just waiting for the results now. Will hopefully be posting updates a little more regularly now, and trust me, it's going to get good.
Kaitaru, XxxXxxX