So another chapter already! This whole story thing just pours out, it's werd, I'm not used to writing anything that isn't to do with science :D I'm so pleased that people have been reading it, and I've even had reviews! Thanks to all of you who've given my story a chance so far, you have no idea how happy it's made me.

PhoenixShadow - thanks! I'll be honest, I don't plan to have relationships in the story, this is the first story I've written since I was school (about 6 or 7 years ago), so I'm not really brave enough to jump straight into relatioships. But who knows? see where the mood takes me :D

I-wanna-go-to-a-place - thank's for your comment! I changed the minor annoyance now :D You won't have to wait much longer for Luffy and co to appear, but I'll leave you guessing as to who they are for now. I love your stories, especially Still There and Precious to Me, they're so lovely.

So here's chapter 2!

Disclaimer: I own neither One Piece nor its Characters, and would never take any of the credit from the Genius that is Eiichiro Oda

Chapter 2 – Escape and Capture

Zoro watched the guards sneer at him as they moved to take off his shackles. He took a calm breath as they drew near, desperately quelling his desire to rip their heads off. He wanted out of this hellhole and this life, and this was his only good chance.

For years now, Zoro had been watching, trying to determine a way of escape, but the guards are too wary of him. Always watching or binding him, it was now or never.

Yosaku and Johnny were settling against the wall of the cart they had just entered. The cart was big enough to fit about 20 people comfortably, so now it jammed with 50 people, it was a bit full. They watched as Zoro was freed, and as soon as he moved and rubbed his sore arm, they broke into action.

With a manly battle cry, Johnny and Yosaku rushed forward, slamming into the opposite wall of the cart. It rocked slightly, and other slaves quickly got the picture. Zoro on the other hand, gave a sadistic smile at the guards in such a manner that would send the bravest of warriors hiding.

"Hey! Sto" The guard yelling a warning could utter no more as his face quickly met with the equally hard face of his workmate. The two fell to the floor at Zoro's feet as he watched the other eight of Crocodiles guard's with an expression that could be described as manic glee.

"So, who's next?" Just as Zoro jumped off the cart, the charging slaves inside were victorious and it fell on its side, the horses reigned to it falling on their sides with neighs of shock and pain. They clambered out the cart and jumped into action - the riot had begun. All the three needed now was to run.

Johnny and Yosaku jumped into action with Zoro, and managed to vanquish two guards between them. By the time they had done that though, Zoro had the other 6 unconscious in the dirt.

"Let's go" Zoro ran off towards the river as planned. Or so he thought.

"Aniki! That's the way to the house! Follow us!" Yosaku quickly redirected his directionally challenged friend and the three made a beeline for the river, ducking behind the frightened slaves in an attempt to avoid the chaos unravelling around them.

The plantation was built on the side of one of Rouge's main rivers, to provide ideal conditions for crops. Kuro kept a front as a main farmer of tobacco, but most of his money came from the drugs he grew in the more private fields. The river was huge, quarter of a mile in length and had a heavy current. Kuro never feared his slaves would escape through it, they knew it was too dangerous to cross. But just to be safe, a wall had been erected about 10 metres behind the river. As our three escaping heroes reached the shores, the noise of the uprising reached the ears of Kuro and Crocodile, who were quietly talking in the house.

"What the…excuse me a moment Crocodile, sir." Kuro strode quickly out of the room and slammed open his front door, to be met with one of his men landing at his feet. The man coughed as he spluttered up to his boss.

"Sir…a riot, started in Crocodile's cart…the Demon took down the guards…" Kuro paled, visions of his money slipping through his fingers.

"Well, were the hell is Roronoa then?!" He yelled at his guard as Crocodile appeared behind him, a mildly amused smirk across his scarred face.

"It appears he's trying to escape, Clahador" Crocodile made no attempt to keep the amusement hidden in his voice as he nodded in the direction of the river. Kuro panicked, and screamed at his guards

"He's trying to escape! Go catch them, quickly!" Two guards heard and started running to the riverside, three more joining them.

Back at the river, Johnny looked at the waters as if they would rise up and swallow him.

"Is, is this gonna be okay, aniki?" He voiced nervously. Zoro's answer was a resounding splash as he jumped into the muddy water.

"Aniki, wait! Gah, c'mon Johnny!" Yosaku and Johnny followed Zoro, and the three slowly struggled against the water. The guards reached the river quickly, and followed the three. The flow was strong, and threatened to wash them away, but Zoro, Johnny and Yosaku ploughed onwards. They were used to difficult conditions after all. One guard wasn't so lucky, and a scream filled the air as he was carried away downstream.

It took them an hour, but the three crossed the treacherous water successfully. Staggering up the bank, Johnny and Yosaku fell to the found, heaving to catch their breath. They were denied the chance, as Zoro stumbled past them.

"Can't stop yet…c'mon" The three ran to the wall, bodies aching from the abuse of the strong water. But they knew they couldn't rest until they were over this wall, into the woods that hid the plantation from view.

It was a high wall, about 5 metres tall, made of rough stone. Zoro gripped it, his calloused, well worked hands digging into the grooves. As he hoisted himself up, his childhood instincts kicked in, and he began scaling the wall easily. Climbing was something done often back in South Blue, so it was easy for him. Johnny and Yosaku had a bit more difficulty, and soon fell behind. As Zoro reached the top, he straddled the top of the wall and reached a hand down to his friends. The guards were out of the water now, racing over to them, spears and clubs drawn.

"Grab my hand, hurry! They're almost here!" Zoro was frantic, stretching down to reach Yosaku, but he felt a twisting feeling inside his stomach as Yosaku smiled at him with soft eyes.

"Run Zoro, we can't let our aniki get hurt anymore" Johnny was near Zoro's leg, and as the guard gripped his foot, he reached up and pushed Zoro off the top of the wall.

"Be free for us, aniki"

Zoro fell to the floor heavily, cracking his skull on a tree root. None of it registered though, all he heard were the shouts of his friends on the other side, being beaten back into submission.

"Johnny...Yosaku..."He sat in shock for a few moments, thinking of his fallen friends. But the sounds of a guard beginning to scramble up the wall shook him to his senses. Zoro stood and ran into the woods, never looking back.

"Well Kuro, looks like you just let my property get away." Crocodile's voice filtered through the angry buzzing in Kuro's ear. "I hope you plan to reimburse me". Kuro growled, the riot was dying down, and he could see the guards beating Zoro's two friends unconscious. But the green haired one was gone, he saw him fall from the wall. His big money deal was dead, just like that. Kuro vowed that he would never enjoy anything green ever again.

"Of course Crocodile, I'll think of something"

"Thank you Kuro, but what about my manpower? You said he was stronger than 10 of your other slaves." Crocodile's voice was quiet and steady, but the threat of his suggestion was clear. Kuro sighed.

"Of course, you can have another 20 slaves, as well as those you bought" Kuro retreated into his house depressed "and we'll warn the locals to keep a lookout for him" Crocodile smiled and followed. This had ended up being an interesting day.

Zoro didn't rest as he ran through the woods, blood tickled down the back of his head and his wet clothes clung to him but he didn't stop. Hours turned into days, and a week after his escape, Zoro found civilization in the form of the City of Louge Town. He walked inside the city limits, stumbling into an alley and promptly collapsed.

The city limits of Rouge Town were not the most desirable places to live. The wealthy locals avoided the area as if the residents had the plague. It was home to those who did the more menial jobs: cleaners, carriage drivers, shopkeepers, all lived here. It was home to many immigrants from Blue, people of all colours and backgrounds mixed. Most were happy here. Though at this moment, one man was very unhappy.

Helmeppo Morgan was the son of the city limit's police captain. He used this position to strike fear in the hearts of residents, while his father policed the area with a steel axe, which he happened to have for a hand. The family were desperate to rise up the ranks of society, and one day dreamt of policing the richer side of town, enjoying the life of cocktails and banquets.

As he did his rounds of the area, Helmeppo pouted at his miserable life. He stopped walking down the street when he saw what looked like, a ball of moss?

The man edged closer to the alley to discover it wasn't moss, it was hair. 'Who has green hair?' he scoffed internally, tentatively poking the head with his overly fashionable shoe. He saw the man's dirty, tattered clothes and when there was no response to his poking, he waved the police patrolling with him over.

"Take a look at this – this guy's out of it" The police men neared, and rolled the body onto its front. The tan skin and green hair combined on the man's dirty face made a thought flash through his head.

"Escaped from Kuro's plantation, apparently he was about to be sent to Crocodile. A demon from the South, with green hair"

They had heard the news of the riot at Kuro's place, and of the runaway slave Roronoa. Helmeppo never thought he would see the man, but here he was, and a chance for climbing up the ladder presented itself. He turned to the policemen, summoning every ounce of self imposed importance he had, and pointed at the unconscious slave.

"Cuff his hands and get him back to the station, before he wakes up." Helmeppo headed back to the station as the men heaved up the heavy, muscle bound body and began dragging it back.

Captain sat in his office diligently working when his son loudly interrupted.

"This is it dad! This is gonna break it for us!"

"What are you talking about, boy?" The captain sounded almost entirely angry.

"The slave, who escaped from Kuro and Crocodile, Roronoa, is it? I just found him, passed out near the edge of town! If we take him back to Crocodile, we'll get a great reward and be famous!" Morgan looked interested.

"Are you sure?"

"Of course, tanned, muscled, weird green hair, it's gotta be him!" Morgan sighed heavily, dragging a hand over his face.

"Did you not even know? All slaves are branded, did you check that?" Helmeppo hesitated, and muttered quietly

"oh…um, I didn't know that" Captain Morgan started at is son, before rising and walking out into the yard to see the two police stood to attention, the slumped body still on the floor.

As Morgan got near, they hoisted the man upright. There was no response as they put Zoro's arms across their shoulders to hold him up; he was clearly still out cold.

Morgan used his hand and lifted the rag Zoro called a shirt. Sure enough just under his hip, a small dark mark adhered the skin. Two rings looped together, like two links in a chain were burned into Zoro's skin. Morgan smiled and dropped the cloth, before addressing the men

"Tie him up in the yard; we'll wait 'til he wakes up". He walked back inside, nodding in recognition to his son.

"When he wakes up, you deal with him. Let's hope you can do this right, you good for nothing son". Helmeppo shook at his father's tone of voice, and watched his chance be dragged out of sight.

Zoro was almost sure that he had collapsed onto the floor. But he was upright now, that's not right, is it? And he could have sworn his arms weren't stretched out like this, and his shoulders didn't hurt that much.

He slowly opened his eyes, glaring at the harsh sun that affronted him. His sharp eyes widened as he realised he was upright, feet dragging against the floor, waist bound around a thick pole. With a turn of his head he saw his arms were tied out either side of him. Had he been found out already? Did Kuro find him? A chuckle from the building infront of him drew his attention from his thoughts.

"So, you're awake then, Roronoa? I've heard a lot about you, a demon Kuro called you. Don't look that dangerous to me, tied up like that." Helmeppo jeered at Zoro, who instantly struggled to try and strangle this highly annoying man.

"Who the fuck are you? how do you know who I am?" Needless to say, Zoro was confused. He'd never so much as left the plantation, except for when he was at home, so how can this man know his name?

"News about you travelled fast. Needless to say Crocodile was surprised you escaped his grasp." Zoro tensed as Helmeppo raised his shirt and pressed on his brand "I'm sure he'll be very pleased when his new, troublesome slave is returned to him. You'd be in for some serious punishment of course, but I could end up with a big thank you check". Zoro growled in the back of his throat.

"Bastard…" He just got out, just to be caught again?! Someone, somewhere, hated him. He flexed his arms, but the ropes were strong. Even if he had got free, there were police surrounding the yard. There was no way out for him now. Zoro berated himself mentally 'after all Johnny and Yosaku did to get you free, go and get yourself caught the first place you end up? Weak idiot!' Zoro hung his head and sighed as Helmeppo walked back inside.

"Rest up now Roronoa, my father just finished talking to Crocodile. He'll make it from Alabasta in 5 days."

Zoro froze at the comment. Crocodile? That was it then; Zoro shifted uncomfortably, and started to think of a way to get out of this, before he was done for.

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Yay!! Another chapter done! I hope you enjoyed it, the story picked up a bit. I originally planned this to happen over 2 chapters, but I wanted the story to quicken a bit. I was sad to write about Johnny and Yosaku's fate, but it had to be done! I had to include Helmeppo - he's just too funny. I thought about getting rid of morgans axe hand, but this AU is still pretty much the same as the Original OP universe in what it contains, so I think morgan could still have and axe for an arm if he wanted.


So I hope you enjoyed it, and if you have any comments please review, I'd love to hear them, and I'll try my best to respond.


Next chapter : Zoro meets an interesting person


Thanks for reading - Pamplemoose