Chapter 11: A little over two hours prior to the end of Chapter 10

Luffy and Nami didn't very briefly sort of drift to sleep on guard duty because they were lazy or anything. Nami had been unable to sleep, plagued with worry about the shooter and the outpost's safety. Usually her mom could handle things like this. She knew what to do when trouble reared its ugly head. She could come up with a plan.

Now it was Nami's turn and she was coming up with jack shit. So she laid awake, tossing and turning, knowing that the 4:00-8:00 patrol shift was drawing ever nearer. And because she was so damn restless, she was keeping her boyfriend awake too.

It was for this reason that, when their shift was over, not too long after Sanji and Baby had left, that they looked at Coby and Perona like a dying man in a desert looks at a pitcher of ice water. Perona took one look at them and scoffed. "Wow, you two look like shit."

Luffy squinted at her, which was his attempt at a glare. Nami matched his expression and whispered "Thank you for that."

"I'm sure what Perona means is you two look exhausted and must be relieved to see us," Coby said from behind her.

Perona nodded in agreement. "Yeah. Like I said, you two look like shit."

Luffy made some attempt at lunging at Perona, but it was really more like he sort of fell forward at her with his arms half-raised. Nami managed to hold him back. "No, Luffy. It's not worth it. Not this time."

"Uuuuuggghhh… Fiiiiiiiine… Can we just go to bed for real this time?" Luffy said, wobbling back and forth. The two of them shuffled off, not unlike actual zombies, leaving the pink duo to their work.

They started their first walk around the walls, Perona in the lead and Coby hanging back so he could listen closer to the walls. It felt oddly nostalgic considering his previous duty at the apartment complex. "Y'know…" he said in Persona's general direction. "You could stand to be a little nicer. We're all on edge here and that kind of talk isn't helping."

Perona whirled around, looking offended. Her dress and braids twirled with her. "What?! Excuse me, I was being nice! It's called expressing concern? I know those two are usually like, the cutest couple, so I was informing them that I noticed how terrible they looked! I was worried about their well-being!"

Coby raised his eyebrow. "But you said they looked like shit…"

"Because they did! I call it like I see it, that's how I roll! And I can tell you aren't looking too hot either. What's up?"

Perona, Coby noted, had a very odd way of showing concern. But she wasn't entirely wrong, he was having some problems as a result of the shooting. He wasn't sure if she was the right person to tell them to, but maybe her brutal honesty was just what he needed.

"It's Vivi-" he started to say, before Perona grabbed him by the shoulders and leaned in close.

"YOU TWO ARE GETTING A DIVORCE!" she shrieked. Her eyes were wide, well, wider than usual, and he couldn't tell if her expression was denoting concern or if it was more akin to excitement about the prospect of marital strife.

He leaned away from her as much as he could. "Wh-what?! No! What?!"

She let out a sigh of relief. "Oh thank God, that would be awful…" Well, that answered that. "So, what is it?"

As they started their patrol once again, Coby shoved his hands in his pockets. "It's all of this, what else would it be? I mean, she was there when Zoro got shot, so she's… pretty freaked out. You know, Vivi and I have… eh… Well, I'll admit, we've both been pretty sheltered since Zombie Day. We used to live in an apartment building with walls like this. The guy who ran it was a jerk, but it was rock solid. And then living in Funkytown, we were still kept well far away from trouble. But now we come here and… We can't even make it two weeks without people getting injured and attacked… We don't think we're really cut out for this."

Perona was skipping ahead of him, running her fingers along the wall. "So basically, you're a big wimpy wimp and you two wanna just run and abandon your friends because it's a little scary around here!"

Brutal honesty.

"Well, I mean when you put it like that, it sounds terrible…" Coby muttered weakly.

"Welcome to the real world!" she shouted, ignoring him. She had her arms outstretched, a grand gesture to the shithole of a planet they lived on. "You got lucky being all pampered and tucked in, but now you're out and you want back in your safe little crib! You think I want to be here? Heck no! I'd way rather be in my castle with my handsome servants at my beck and call! I want to be a princess! But instead I'm here, because that's reality."

Coby stared at the back of her head. "Wait… Hold on, are you… actually royalty..?"

Perona huffed, stomping her foot. "No! But I deserve to be! That's the point!" she turned around and stomped up to him, poking him in the chest. "None of us get to be spoiled anymore! It's called being an adult? Hello? Nothing ever works out for adults!"

"Well… Technically, Vivi and I are still teenager-"

"Shut up shut up shut up! Don't remind me! Ugh, I hate that I'm not the youngest here… BUT THERE, SEE? That's exactly what I mean! I don't even get that!"

Coby looked from her, to the ground, and then back to her. "You know, you're… not really selling me on this…"

"Well, see, the upside is…" she actually had to think. Encouraging people was harder than she thought, it was more or less unfamiliar to her. "We're all… suffering together! So when things are shitty, you have someone to complain to! What, would you rather suffer alone? I mean, if you run back home, you'll be safe, but you'll be bored without anyone cool and super cute like me to hang out with." She glared at him, making sure he really took in what she was saying. "Look, see, if you bail on us, then you can kiss our friendship goodbye. And you really don't want to lose me as a friend."

"I'll… I'll tell Vivi you said that. But thanks, that… sort of kinda helps." He didn't really know what Perona meant about the friendship thing. This was the first real one on one conversation they'd ever had. But he figured someone as… aggressive as Perona probably treasured positive interaction because they had so little of it. So he was willing to meet her halfway. "You know, the two of us should hang out more."

She didn't immediately respond to that and was actually quiet. Before either of them could fill the silence, a car horn blared from the gate. Confused, because everyone was well familiar with the Frankystein's La Cucaracha horn, they jogged back to the entrance and scrambled up to the balcony. They peeked over the wall and then immediately ducked back down out of sight.

The car parked in front of the gate was not familiar to either of them. It was an old Cadillac from the 60's or 70's. Neither of them were car people, so they didn't know for sure, but that was what felt right.

"Who is that?!" Coby whispered.

"I have no idea! He's not one of ours!" Perona whispered back.

"Well, what do we do?! Do we let him in?!"

They both jumped when the horn blared again and they risked another peek. Peering over the edge, just enough to see the driver and passenger getting impatient. They honked the horn again and finally the passenger stepped out.

The pink duo dropped back down out sight, which means they didn't get a look at whoever it was. But they sure as hell heard him. "Well God dang, you two!" He had a thick southern accent and a voice like gravel. "Now come on, we're out here honkin' and shoutin' and attractin' all manner of ghoul out here! You leave us out here any longer and the biters are gonna find us! Now I know someone's up there, I saw your little heads pokin' up! You gonna show us some hospitality or what?"

"What do we do here?!" Coby whispered.

Perona thought for a moment and then yelled out, "Tell us who you are first!"

"Well now see that there's a start!" the man called back. "My name, young lady, is Don Krieg! And with me is my darling assistant Monet! Monet, say hi to the children up there."

A woman's voice, likely the driver, called up with a bored "Hellooooo…"

"Aw she's a real peach," Krieg said with a level of pride. "Now I have come here today to deal with some… Rather serious business, you see. It seems that one of my men may have gotten into an… Altercation with one of your men, and, well, as a result we have something of a situation on our hands."

Coby tensed up, breaking out into a cold sweat. Perona looked confused. "What did he just say?"

"One of his guys shot Zoro!" Coby whisper-shouted.

"Oh! OH!" and Perona quickly popped up with her pistol drawn, hastily aiming it right at Krieg. "YOU SON OF A BITCH!"

Krieg, a man clad in a pinstripe suit, each finger adorned with gold rings, held up his hands in surrender. "Ah now I say, young missy, there is no need for hostilities! Now, I have come here to make amends, you see! Ain't no reason to go pointin' firearms! Now you put down that there pistol and perhaps we can settle this matter like civilized individuals."

Perona kept the gun on him, but glanced down at Coby. "What the hell is he saying?!"

"I think he wants to talk to someone in charge."

"Well why didn't he say that?!"

"I don't know!"

Krieg, growing impatient, called back up to them. "Now, I'll go ahead and make this a little smoother. See, I know some of the people you have up in there. I know you've got a blonde fella, a black haired fella, a blue haired fella, and a redhead young lady. See, one of my men had a… chance encounter with them in a little town nearby and, well, that's how we learned y'all was out here. If you could go and fetch one of them, well, that'd be lovely."

Perona just stared blankly, and Coby recognized the pattern. "He wants to talk to Franky, or Luffy, or Nami."

"How come you can understand him but I can't? His accent is ridiculous!" She waited for him to do something and then nudged him with her foot. "Well!? Go get 'em!"

Coby sputtered out a protest, but he eventually scurried down the ladder. Perona watched him go and then yelled back to Krieg, "Alright, we're getting them!"

"Now that's more like it! I don't suppose you would be willing to let us wait within the confines of your walls? Feelin' mighty exposed out here!"

"No, you just stay put!"

Krieg smiled, but it felt forced. "With all due respect, little missy, you are really testin' the limits of my patience…"

Coby, meanwhile, had explained the situation to Franky. He was standing in the doorway of his house, wearing a bathrobe and listening intently. He scratched his chins when Coby finished. "Well… That's super convenient. I guess we better see what he wants."

"But what if they're here to attack us or something?!"

"You said there's two of 'em, right? Pretty sure all of us can take out two guys. Go wake up Luffy and Nami, I'll go let the guy in." Franky saw no reason to change out of his bathrobe as he ambled toward the gate. Leaving Coby with the unfortunate task of disturbing the slumber of two of his friends.

There was no response when he knocked on the door, so he hesitantly tried the handle. To his surprise, the door opened and he tiptoed in. The two of them were sprawled on the couch in a tangled mess of limbs and he immediately regretted whispering "H-hey, guys?"

"Coby, the outpost better be on fire. It better be engulfed in flame and we have moments to live, because that is the only reason I can think of that you would even risk waking us up," Nami said without moving from her spot.

"Well, it's not on fire, but uh… The boss of the guy who shot Zoro is here and he wants to talk to you."

Luffy and Nami both lifted their heads and then looked at each other. "... Dammit, that's a pretty good reason…" Luffy groaned.

By the time they dragged themselves outside again, the Cadillac was in the center of the cul-de-sac and Krieg was standing next to it, arms crossed and smiling. Making a big show of looking around and taking it all in. "Well, I do say! This is a beautiful slice of heaven y'all have carved out for yourselves!" he said. He was also delighted at all the suspicious glares he was getting from the others.

Bonney, Robin, and Vivi had all come out, drawn by the commotion, and were glaring from their respective front porches. Even Vivi looked pissed, but her shaking hands meant she was also pretty nervous as well. Perona still had her pistol on him from the balcony, and Franky had a revolver aimed at him too, standing in front of the gate opener. Coby quickly made himself scarce, choosing to run back to his guard duties, mostly so he wouldn't have to deal with any of this directly.

Luffy took one look at the guy, smug shit-eating grin and all, and no one bothered to stop him when he marched forward, pulled his fist back, and decked the guy square in the chin. Krieg's head jerked back and he staggered backwards. Everyone braced themselves for him to retaliate, but instead he grabbed his chin with one hand, grinned, and started laughing again. "Well, I can't rightly say I didn't have that comin' on account of what I'm here to talk with y'all about! But let's get one thing straight. That is the only time I will let you hit me, boy. You understand me?"

Luffy glared at him. "I've never understood anything ever in my life!" and started to pull back for another punch, specifically to prove Krieg wrong, when Nami ordered him to stop.

She walked to them to join the conversation and pulled Luffy behind her. "I'm Nami. That's Luffy. I'd apologize for his actions, but I don't really feel that bad. So you're the guy that shot our guy?"

Krieg adjusted his suitcoat. "No, but he works underneath me. I'm Don Krieg, by the way, and well, I actually came here to apologize on his behalf."

Luffy tilted his head like a puppy. "Wait, if you aren't the guy, then why isn't he here?"

Krieg sighed. "Well, son, he is being dealt with and is therefore indisposed at the moment, if you catch my drift. You see, it was never our intention to cause any harm to this fine community you have built for yourselves."

"No, no," Nami said flatly. "You just decided to harmlessly spy on us instead."

"Just some simple reconnaissance, my dear little lady! We had to determine whether or not you were the kind of folk we would want to associate with! And, well, considering it was your man who shot at mine first, I must say I feel that my man was in the right to defend himself. But I still feel bad for that green fella. Tell me, is he alive?"

"Yeah, he's gonna be fine," Nami said with just a hint of a groan.

Krieg put a hand to his chest and let out a sigh of relief. "Oh now that is a weight off my shoulders. You see, I had feared the worst." He looked around at the glares surrounding him and gestured to all of them. "Oh come now! Come now, no need for such angry looks now! No harm, no foul, as they say, am I right? Now you, big fella! With the hair! Come here a moment, I want to ask you something!" He was looking straight at Franky.

Franky kept the gun in his hand, but he at least lowered it as he stomped his way over to the car. "What's up?"

Krieg slung his arm over Franky's shoulders. "Now you, my good man, seem to be a fella who knows his way around an automobile. Now I reckon a man with your… eccentricities is the one behind that devil of a jeep my associate saw the other day?"

"The Frankystein… Yeah. What about it?"

"Well, I was hoping to see it! Y'see, I'm something of an aficionado myself, ah, what do you make of this sweet baby right here, my good man?" Krieg said, gesturing to his Cadillac.

Franky looked it up and down. "What, the… girl inside?"

Monet smiled from the driver's seat. She had the kind of lackadaisical voice that only came from someone who was most likely a recreational drug user. "Oh don't mind me~", she said in a tone that was half baked and half sultry, "I'm just the driver. I don't really care about what's going on here~"

"No, no, the car, the car! What do you think of this car?" Krieg insisted, still grinning that fake grin.

Franky shrugged, eyebrows raised. "A 1967 Eldorado. Nice car. You a collector or something?"

"Yes! Well, I was, before all this nasty calamity put an end to my collectin' days. Afraid this is the only one I could bring with me when I had to go on the road…" Krieg said forlornly.

Franky shook his head. "Damn shame."

Krieg nodded, and his mood suddenly brightened. "See! See, this is good, the two of us, buildin' a rapport like this! Finding common ground, seein' more similarities than differences, right? What happened yesterday was tragic, but it is imperative that we move past it. Now, see, I can see all y'all glarin' a storm at me," he gestured to everyone doing exactly that. "But I do not see that as hostility towards me! Instead, I see it as a community that cares so deeply about one of their own! And you, boy, you came out here fists a-flyin', aimed at the target you think what caused your friend's misfortune!" He was looking directly at Luffy now. "I have such a deep respect for that much camaraderie."

"Come-radery?" Luffy repeated slowly, trying to sound out all the syllables.

"Camaraderie! Lookin' out for your fellow man! Treatin' him like you would yourself, you know!"

Luffy still looked a little confused, but he got the gist of what Krig was saying. He nodded. "Are you sure that's a real word? Seems like a lot of effort when you could just say something like friendship…"

Krieg looked to Nami. "Not a very bright fella, is he?"

She shrugged.

"Well, listen, before I get outta y'all's hair, I just wanted to ask if I could see that green fella and formally apologize to him directly. Is he available to speak to?"

Nami shook her head. "No, he's still recovering." She paused and then added "Not from the gunshot, that just grazed him. He's nursing a concussion from when he fell."

Krieg nodded solemnly. "I understand. Well!" he gave another look around, putting his hands on his hips to adjust his belt. "I can see that this impromptu meeting has been something of a disturbance in y'all's morning, so I will get outta y'all's hair. I just wanted to make sure there ain't no more hard feelin's and we won't be shootin' at each other next time we meet! If us livin' folk start makin' enemies of each other, well, that just makes the biters' jobs easier, and ain't none of us want that. Pleasure to meet everyone!"

He shook Franky's hand, and then Nami's and Luffy's. It was a vice grip in a massive, calloused hand. He shook it vigorously, with the kind of practiced enthusiasm that indicated a successful deal.

A used car salesman, Nami found herself thinking. He was probably a used car salesman or a politician, or a televangelist. Something that involved a lot of sleaze.

Luffy shook the pain out of his hand when Krieg released his grip and climbed back into the passenger seat of the Eldorado. Perona opened the gate to let them out and was glad to shut it behind them.

Immediately everyone let out the breaths they were holding and unclenched whatever it was they were clenching.

"God, fuuuuuuuuck that guy!" Bonney was heard saying as she stumbled back inside, waving dismissively.

Luffy had his hand on his chin, stroking it in thought. Nami tried to tug him back toward their house, but he wouldn't budge. He was staring at the gate like he could see through it, watch the Eldorado drive away from them. "Y'know what I think?"

"What do you think?" she asked in that way that meant she wasn't really listening, but still wanted to humor him.

"I think that guy was up to something. I think he was just checking us out." He said that with all the confidence in the world, like he had made some grand realization. It was, of course, pretty obvious Krieg didn't actually come to apologize out of the goodness of his heart and concern for the well-being of his fellow man. Halfway through the conversation, Nami, Franky, Robin, and everyone else were already making plans to take up more active guard duty posts and maybe request some more weapons when the delivery runs came.

Still, far be it for Nami to want to make Luffy feel like an idiot. So she just nodded at him, raised her eyebrows. "You don't say. Y'know what? I think you might be onto something there. Now can we please get a little sleep before Baby and Sanji get back?"

It was around that time that the gate opened up again and the Frankystein pulled in from the outside.