Four weeks ago.

Zoro glared down at his sake bottle. There were a thousand things running through his mind, all of which revolved around a single man and how infuriating he made him feel. It was already late outside and most of the pubs usual crew had disembarked. His own crew however remained. It was something they did often- meeting up at the bar once or maybe even twice a week just to catch up.

Though, as he shifted his chin glancing at all of them in their excitement, it couldn't be ignored that there was someone missing. Sanji. Just thinking the name again made his chest ache. How could everyone be so naïve. They were so supportive with the cook's lame ass cover up about getting away for a while.

He snorted, furrowing his brow. Scratch that, running away. There was something so unusual and unsettling about the whole thing and Zoro... Well Zoro just couldn't put his finger on it. His gut was yelling at him to try and go after him again but...Then it wondered back to what had happened at the apartment the previous night. The fight that was different from the rest.

Although its memory haunted him, along with the words that had been said, for Sanji, to say such things in the heat of the moment confirmed Zoro's hunch. Sanji was afraid of something and wanted to get away from it. He'd known it since the Baratie. But why wouldn't the stubborn blonde confide in him finally? Hadn't they gotten to a point where they could trust one another with these things?
His face burned with a flush that could easily be explained by the alcohol, or his inner turmoil. Or maybe he had just been the one who thought they had moved past that point. It could make sense, just means everything Sanji said had been true. His shoulders slouched and he leaned over the bar more, instinctively curling himself. That thought hurt more than the actual situation.

Though while deep in his thoughts, the wannabe swordsman did something he knew far better not to do. He dropped his guard, leaving his back wide open for an attack. He learned this as soon as he felt the smack from his dear captain in between his shoulder blades. Zoro jumped with a yelp, nearly knocking over his bottle, then spun around to grab at Luffy's shirt.

"Luffy! The hell you Bastard?"

Luffy only grinned, letting out a nice laugh at Zoro's expense. The others, who had been sitting around at their tables were now watching, chuckling along.

"Zoro! Sanji will be back. I know it. Don't worry."

Zoro narrowed his eyes, dropping Luffy. He cursed some more under his breath and turned away. "The hell if I care." He gritted through his teeth, forcing himself to take another swig of his drink. Fuck the cook; he wasn't in the mood to worry about him. He came here to forget him anyway, the hell was he doing?

Nami laughed a little harder than normal. "Oh? Then why's your face so red Zoro?" She teased, lifting up her own glass of alcohol. "Don't tell me you're already feeling tipsy?"

It was a well-known fact in the group of friends that Zoro and Nami were unusual drinkers. Each could whiff down barrel after barrel of alcohol if need be and not get drunk. This resulted in a fair share of drink offs between the two.

Zoro glared. What the hell? Why were they all ganging up on him now? "You wish." He growled.

Robin laughed lightly to herself. She was sitting on her cyborg husband's lap, mixing her fruity drink with its straw. She watched as the ice cubes danced along. "Looks like puppy love to me."

Another round of laughter from the group had Zoro wanting to rip his hair out. At least Chopper hadn't been making fun of him, though then again it didn't seem like the reindeer knew much of what was going on. He was glancing around asking about what puppies had to do with anything. Ah, such innocence.

Their torturing of Zoro was cut off short though when the door to the bar slammed open. All of them glanced to look, the curiosity of who would decide to enter in such a rude manor taking over. It was a man, one no one had really expected to be the one to kick open the door. He was quite lanky, standing with his shoulder's held high and his chin low. There was a shadow over his face, which matched the complexion of his skin quite well. He reached up, adjusting the location of his hair band, and then dramatically raised his head.

His eyes widen. There they were the group of strawhats that knew Sanji. He swallowed thickly. Though they didn't look too tough, he supposed, but obviously he was out numbered. They actually appeared quite rude, the man thought, as he noticed they went straight back to doing whatever the hell it was they were before he kicked in the door. He narrowed his eyes.

"Hey!" He shouted, hoping to get their attention again. Each member slowly glanced back over. "You have to help me! Sanji's in trouble!"

Everything seemed to stop in that moment. Did they hear that right? Sanji? Their Sanji? How many Sanji's did they know? Well they didn't know that guy so how did they know it was their Sanji. Luffy stared at him with his intimidating eyes.

"Sanji? What's wrong with Sanji?"

The man pressed his lips together, and then stared at the floor. Aw man how was he supposed to explain this to them without getting himself killed? He closed his eyes tightly. Ugh! That didn't matter right now! All that mattered was Sanji being saved!

"Sanji went to go fight my boss! He's going to get himself killed! No one can stop Don Kreig!"

Nami stood up from her seat and rested her hand on the table. She looked the man down and raised an eyebrow.

"Who are you and what the hell are you talking about?" she demanded.

The man shook his head again in frustration. They didn't have time for this dammit! Didn't they want to save their friend?!

"My name is Gin, but you have to hurry! Sanji he.. he could be dead right now and-"

Robin sipped at her drink, slowly rising from off her husband's lap. Franky lifted up his sunglasses a bit to watch her.

"Don Kreig is an international criminal. What would he want with Sanji?"

Ussop swallowed nervously and Chopper's eyes widen as large as they could go.

"EH?"

Gin went to open his mouth again but was interrupted by the sound of a bottle slamming down on the bar. Zoro, his face calmed down, rose to his feet and peered at the stranger in a track suit. Frankly he didn't give a damn who was doing what, his interested had been peeked by the first sentence. Sanji, in trouble? And by an international criminal at that? Well, damn. Who was about to let that opportunity pass. Something finally clicked inside his noggin. So that's why Sanji fled.

"Take me there."
-

Present

Zoro and Chopper cringed, hearing the slurping sound ring in their ears. They couldn't believe their eyes. Like magic, a trail of saliva had splashed its way up Nami's throat, pressing in the skin lightly and traveled up to her cheek. Nami whined in resistance, trying her hardest to move away, but there seemed to be something unseen holding her face still.

"N-Nami?" Chopper squeaked, his ears twitching.

There was a purr roaming around them he couldn't place with his eyes. He glanced around, sniffing at the air. Nami closed her eyes, letting out another cry as she struggled against the men holding her. Zoro narrowed his eyes in distaste, taking this as the perfect moment to get started. He unsheathed his swords before cranking his neck around.

"Oi..." He muttered in his confusion. What kind of sick game was this?

Chopper swallowed nervously and glanced up at Zoro. "Zoro someone's there. I can't see him but I can smell-"

An ignorant laugh cut Chopper off short and both the crewmen glanced back at Nami. Like magic before there very eyes an outline of someone came stunningly clear. Both couldn't help but open their eyes larger in fascination. This man had no only appeared out of nowhere, but had an unusual look about him. His face was half human and half lion, from what they could tell.

Zoro's brows furrowed more. Bet he got bullied when he was younger. No matter, he could do this.

"Who are you and what do you want with Nami?" Chopper demanded. He always felt much braver in the presence of his allies.

The man looked the reindeer over then grinned, his animal fangs shining in the headlights.

"I am the great Absalom and this is our bride." He announced, his tongue slithering out through his teeth again.

Zoro couldn't help but raise his brow slightly. Did he just refer to himself in the plural sense? When did Nami have a boyfriend? To make a snarky remark about wedding bells or not, he gripped the hilt's of his swords. There was a time and a place for everything.

"Heh, normally I'd let you have her." he replied. "But I can't let you."

Absalom rolled his eyes, moving his face away from Nami to glare at Zoro.

"Who said you had a choice?" he growled before his very being began to fade. Shitty bastard was going invisible again.

The two minion's holding Nami in place groaned slightly, turning to drag her away. Nami's eyes widen and she began to plea towards her crewmates one more time.

"Chopper! Zoro!"

Chopper took a deep breath, snarling his nose. "Kung Fu point!" He shouted, jumping up and changing forms. He landed gracefully on his hooves, positioning his arms in a traditional style. By this point Absalom's minions surrounding them where on the move. Chopper jumped up, spinning and landing a kick to the ones closest to him.

Zoro moved forward quickly, thrusting himself toward to the spot he'd last seen the deformed man. It would be an understatement to say that his ability was a bit annoying, but Zoro was well equipped for battle. He could sense the other man, although his one eye deceived him. He halted himself, opting to shift his weight towards the presence in his left. That was him, it was the only unexplained-

Zoro stopped, spinning around quickly to slice through bullets as they soared towards him. Damn. Being able to since all of them at once was a bitch when you were trying to locate a single douchebag. He'd have to finish them off quickly. He unsheathed his final sword, Wado and ritually placed in his jaw.

"Santoryu." He growled, raising Kitetsu and Shuusui upward to cross over Wado. The minions groaned, moving in closer. Zoro's eyes narrowed.

There was something about these opponents he wasn't familiar with, something he couldn't pin. Each seemed to have their own aura of strength around them. They moved awkwardly and heavy, yet held their weapons like experts in their field. Then there was of course... The modifications they seemed to share with the lion faced man who was still missing in action.

Regardless, Zoro didn't have time to play any guessing games. "Tora Gari!"

He swung his blades outward, sending a powerful force towards the approaching enemies. There was a glint in Zoro's eye as he watched the men be thrown back, their flesh ripping and blood splattering from his attack landing. He wasn't done yet though. He spun quickly on his heel,

Behind him the other men had closed in, their own swords and what not held high and at the ready. Zoro almost wanted to scoff at their attempt of attacking him while he wasn't watching.

"Tatsu Maki!" He yelled, the force from his blades causing the wind to shift and cyclone outwards. The foe's eyes widen in their surprise and although they could have attempted to escape, all efforts were futile. They were caught instantly while Zoro shot past them. They were propelled upward, yelling out in their surprise as the wind hit them brutally, slashing at their faces and bodies.

He grinned, standing up right and taking Wado out of his mouth. He decidedly glanced back at his handy work, only to furrow his brow in consideration. These men should have easily been incapacitated. Yet... Some how they were still squirming about, climbing back up and onto their feet like nothing had hit them at all. Which was impossible, the wounds were still completely visible and they weren't healing in anyway. He glanced over across the way and at Chopper.

The reindeer was a flash of bouncing energy, shouting out his 'hee-ya's' proudly and spinning about to headbutt, punch and kick away the enemies surrounding him. As he paused, panting in his exhaustion, he glanced down at his foes. His face changed to an obvious confusion when they were yet again rising.

"Zoro! They wont stay down!" He announced exhaustively.

Zoro didn't have to respond, feeling the reindeer as he watched him. Instead he placed Wado back in between his teeth. So this wouldn't be as easy as he thought. Perhaps, the key to this was finding the invisible man. In this type of world where even reindeers can become human like, it was possible he was a sort of ring leader towards these things. He only wished there were a way to separate them all so that he could pin point him exactly.

He jolted forward again at the crowd of Zombies. Zoro could only keep reminding himself he didn't have time to be messing with these when there were bigger fish to fry. A sword clammered down on Kitetsu and Shuusui as Zoro held them defensively in front of himself. He pushed the other away, his feet sliding back.

What ever these things were they weren't just ordinary fighters. They were powerful, perhaps not as strong as he, but something was definitely very off about them. He just couldn't get past the fact they were able to withstand such wounds they already have and still move to fight him.

He slashed at another ones side, sending him down, then swung to the opposite side, crossing his blades to deliver another outward slash. Swords clashed against swords and he angled Kitetsu just in time to block another swing. It was ridiculous. No matter what damage they seemed to be taking, they were able to continue coming at him.

Suddenly a sharp sensation ran up Zoro's spine. His eyes widen, his teeth clenching down on Wado as he snarled. Fucking Bastard! He had just gotten distracted a moment and that imbecile- ugh! He could feel the claw marks up his back and he maneuvered around, slashing at behind him horizontally. His body tensed as he watched the tip of his blade come in contact with a missile coming from thin air.

His sword sliced it perfectly, as he expected it would, but was unable to send the sliced pieces far enough away in their explosion. He was blown back, his arm and blade raising up over his face as he landed backward. Damn it. What was going on here?

Chopper yanked his head away for a moment, hearing the explosion. He trembled watching Zoro get flung back. Was he alright? His suspicion was too much for the poor deer to handle.

"Zoro!" He yelled, turning to look over at the swordsman. It was his first mistake. One of the zombie minions who still refused to stay defeated reached up, tossing a chain around Choppers neck. This caught Chopper by surprise and he let out a large yelp. Another few minions grabbed onto the chain. It was the worst possible thing, sea stone.

After the dust had cleared from the to close for comfort explosion, Zoro peered out ahead of him. So this guy could go invisible and shoot missiles? Well he wasn't about to give him another shot at it. He rose to his feet again, cracking his neck the side. There was a faint taste of blood in his mouth and his exposed back still stung.

A shadow seemed to cross his face as he watched Chopper go down in the corner of his eye. Great, now he had two people to save. Not to mention the zombies that had once been occupied by the furry little creature were now headed this way, still in able shape. Zoro studied them down one last time. They had to have a weakness. If not, the least he could do..

He blocked an oncoming sword slash, letting metal hit metal with a loud clash. He pushed him off with great force, but did not retreat for the next in line. Instead the swordsman aimed differently than normal and without even moving, or so it appeared to the normal person, limbs of the henchmen began to drop effortlessly. Each of the men just seemed to moan in irritation or stare in confusion.

"Sanzen Sekai," he mouthed breathlessly. Sweat was beginning to bead on his forehead, letting his mind stray enough to curse himself for not bringing his bandana- formal wear or not.

It continued on a while longer, the mindless zombies rising up again and again just to be endlessly sliced at. Even without their limbs, some had resorted to their mouths. It wasn't difficult as much as repetitive- and that invisible bastard. Every once in a while a stray missile would come to par but really he had stayed clear. It made Zoro hiss. Coward. It infuriated him. Who knew what had happened to Nami and Chopper, at this point he had been so distracted by pure number of enemies..

"You'll never defeat them." A laugh from no where in particular scratched at Zoro's insides. He'd kill him, if he could just find him.

Finally, having absolutely enough, he set himself up for what he desired to be his finale move. "Kokujo.." He began, starting to spin with his blades out while his enemies continued to approach. "O Tatsumaki!" Like before, a cyclone of power was sent from his blades, catching the zombies up like they were weightless. It cut through them like butter, slashing every which way.

It should keep them at bay for a long while, considering it usually didn't stop until there was no more to damn to hell. He let out a huff, taking Wado out of his mouth a moment. Seemingly to sense his minions approaching fates, the bastard in charge finally revealed himself. Absalom slowly faded into view, standing feet in front of a slouching Zoro. He was scratched in random places, meaning he hadn't totally been able to dodge Zoro's attacks. Not so much could be said for the trees and cars among the road.

"Never say never." snarked Zoro. Now that Absalom was separated from the mass of spirits being tossed about next to them, he could sense him individually. All he needed to do was keep him separate, should he decide to go incognito once again. At last he could release some of this tension-

"Zoro."

Zoro's body froze at the sound. It was a calm, familiar voice that crawled up his throbbing spine and made his heart leap. Why.. Why did he hear that? Surely... He turned his chin to the side, able to take in the view with his single eye. It was his greatest fears realized. Sanji stood a foot or so behind him, wearing his usual classy suit and an unusually bright undershirt, floral printed this time.

His shoulders were slouched, his hands slid into his pockets cooly. In the corner of his lips was a comfortable cigarette. It was Sanji, standing before him like nothing was wrong. Hell, he was standing! There was a rush of mixed feelings running through Zoro. But mostly, it was confusion. This didn't make sense at all, he couldn't wrap his head around-

Zoro was thrown forward, a missile hitting him into his back while he was distracted. He mentally cursed himself for letting his guard down and leaving his back exposed yet again. Leave it to be anything about Sanji that brought the most vulnerable in him. He was flung towards Sanji, only to be met in the gut with a fierce kick.

That's when he knew. He'd been tricked. That wasn't Sanji. It could look like Sanji, sound like Sanji and attempt to kick like Sanji, but that was no blackleg style Zoro knew. It lacked the very essence of Sanji's skill Zoro knew better than anyone. None the less it did it's job. Zoro spit out some blood, landing back on his back. His swords clattered on the ground. He had promised himself he wouldn't lose again. No he still wouldn't! He ignored his pain and tried to reach out towards his swords, but only glanced over to meet the eyes of the wandering undead minions.

He swallowed, his mouth suddenly dry. This wasn't going to be pretty.

"Pee-u!" Bon moaned, spitting the cigarette out of his mouth.

He dramatically brought the back of his hand to his mouth and licked at it to try and get the taste out of his mouth. This proved very entertaining seeing as his voice and image was that of Sanji. Absalom looked at him curiously, his victory grin never fading.

"We are very impressed. How did you know that would work?" He pondered out loud, looking Bon Clay down. The man had even gotten himself Sanji like clothes to fit the part.

Bon Clay sighed and reached up to his cheek. His appearance changed back to normal and Absalom jumped back in surprise. Even though he knew what Bon Clay looked like, he still never got used to the... outlandish appearance and make up. Bon frowned, cradling his face in his hand. He rose up on his toes.

"Because anyone would stop for their true love!" He swooned. It was overly obvious the okama was a hopeless romantic. They both glanced over at their van. Zoro was propped up against its side, his arms bound by sea stone chains, an apparently not easily broken substance. Not to mention its effects on Devil Fruit users. Just looking at it gave both the lion man and the girly man shivers.

"I almost thought we were goners." Barked Absalom. He was smug and relieved at the same time about getting away with his life, considering what he had already heard about this group. It would seem he didn't care if his attacks were dishonorable and dirty, so long as he was the overall winner.

Bon Clay sighed again. It was hard to tell if out of boredom or perhaps for other reasons. Maybe even, guilt? But even so he lifted his arms above him and did a nice spin on his toes. "So lion-chan~ Shall I call the boss or will you?" He chimed.

Absalom looked at the van again, then at Zoro. "I'll call him and meet you at the warehouse." He licked his lips, turning back to Bon. "Keep that ginger ready for me."

Kaya politely excused herself from the party, finding herself to the back hallway. Since the commotion involving Sanji earlier, things just weren't sitting right with her. She couldn't help but notice that Chopper, a well known doctor in the field, had left without really tending to the panicking Sanji. Being in the health industry herself, it really jumbled her thoughts.

Something about leaving a man who had experience an attack in a room while all that was going on.. She wouldn't be able to live with herself if she didn't check on him! Sanji was a gentleman and was always kind to her on occasions when they met. Maybe instead of him being alone in the room, she could convince him to come back out with the others? Maybe get his mind off of everything else? Surely he knew the others could handle it.

She smiled kindly, opening the door to the room that Ussop had texted her. Her eyebrow rose though and she glanced around. There wasn't anyone here. But she could've sworn this was the room! She stepped in glancing around. That's when Kaya saw the Strawhat settled down on the floor. She walked quietly over and bent down slowly, carefully picking it up. She was well aware of it's significance.

That still didn't answer her question about Sanji though. She stood back up and rushed back to the hallway.

"Sanji?" She asked experimentally, hoping he would just call from another room.

Discouraged from the lack of any response she looked back down at the hat in her hands. She brushed her thumb across the brim, then in the corner of her eye noticed something off about the walkways carpet. From the doorway it seemed to have become turned upward, as if it were flipped up when Sanji left the room. It traveled down towards the back entrance.

Just the thought made Kaya very nervous. Surely, Sanji didn't try to move on his own and leave, right? She hurriedly began pacing down the hall, turning her head to look in each room. She opened the backdoor with more force than needed and peered down the stone steps towards the back drive. At the bottom was an all to familiar sight. A scuffed wheelchair overturned, it's occupant no where to be found.

Kaya dropped the straw hat from her hand, letting it slowly float out of reach. It spun for a moment, then settled down still next to the wheelchair. A small whimper escaped from her mouth as she brought up her hand in shock. She glanced around for any sign of Sanji, but saw nothing. What? What could have happened? Where was Sanji? Did someone come and grab him like they had Nami?

She began backing back into the house. She had to do something and quick! Her hand moved down to her sweater's pocket, only to realize they were empty. Ah! Her phone! It was still in her purse at the party! She had to let them know asap. She kicked off her heels, knowing they would only hinder her since time was of the essence, then fled back to the main room to find her phone and alert the others immediately.

Author's Note: For those of you who don't follow my tumblr for updates, I was out of town this past weekend and the hotel's wifi was not working correctly and wasn't able to get online and update until today when I got home. Q_Q I'm so sorry. ALSO want to say first and foremost I have no doubt in my mind Zoro or Chopper or Nami could kick the hell out of all these guys after time skip lmao. Just for my own story purposes I had to nerf them down and I'm so sorry, I hated doing it but I needed to at the same time...This was an interesting chapter to write, I've never written a fight scene before in my life so I'm really hoping it comes across as okay. Like I mentioned before the All Blue will basically be made up of enemies Sanji has had to face in canon. (Heres a question for you, Which Sanji Villian do you want to see most in the story?) Hope you'll stick around for the next chapter! Reviews welcomed ! Ta ta for now! Also thank you to my friend Tori who beta read this for me even though boyxboy stuff makes his skin crawl XD ! We were able to give my usual beta reader Bethan a break after beta-ing chapters 8 & 9 yesterday! Also did you miss those flashbacks? ;D