Hello again, everyone! Hope you all had a good New Years. I'm back on track with the writing! Going to try and get a chapter out at least every other day this week. They're short enough that is a realistic goal. I think? Really really appreciate all your comments and reviews! They're still flooding in, it's overwhelming sometimes! Thank you, thank you!

On to questions: No, the Deadies I have described are not actual OP characters, it's just general description. Yes, my theory is that if zombies rot at all, they will eventually rot into nothing. Yes, what's going on with Sanji involves the scarf, but not in the way most of you have guessed.

Thank you to xxShinxx and smoking caramels for pointing out typos. I'll get to those someday. Also, haha, Sayichi I'm sorry this hits close to home! I didn't know I had any readers in Oregon! That's great! I hope my description of the town isn't completely off!

Enjoy! This chapter is a little longer than the others. Also, no apologies for the content. If you're writing these particular characters and not having at least a little fun, you're probably doing something wrong.

Chapter 7

The motorcycle revved again, the sound echoing through the streets, bouncing off the high brick walls and tumbling down towards the town square.

Zoro took another glance over the side of the building. The Deadies were still massing, pushing against each other trying to get up and into windows. There was a steady flow, no opening to drop down into without risking being overtaken immediately. Not to mention possibly breaking a leg. It was a good thirty-five feet to the street.

"Okay, well," Zoro said, "I thought I saw awnings above the windows at the front. You wanna try jumping from those? Making a break for it?"

Sanji moved with him to check the front of the building. The awnings were about halfway down, so they could easily land on them and springboard off to the ground. Unfortunately, the Deadies had swarmed into a big enough group that it was unlikely either one of them would clear it.

"Shit."

There was really nothing they could do, short of jumping anyway and taking out as many as they could, or possibly waiting it out. Looking at Sanji, the swordsman met his friend's gaze and knew that was exactly what the cook was thinking as well. Hell, there were worse ways to go, right?

But then something changed. Sanji blinked, frowning thoughtfully into the space beside Zoro. His head tilted, his ears listening for something Zoro had been too preoccupied to hear moments before.

Singing.

Someone was singing. Loudly.

"I'm Henry The Eighth, I am!
Henry The Eighth I am, I am!"

The singing, along with the hum of the motorcycle engine, was coming closer.

"I got married to the widow next door
She's been married seven times before
And every one was an Henry HENRY!"

Zoro was caught somewhere in uncertain territory between angry and slightly amused. What the hell was going on?

"What is that?"

Sanji just smiled and pointed down the road.

Coming towards them, riding Sanji's bike, was a large figure in what Zoro thought might have been a blue leather jacket. He had on a pair of triangle sunglasses and a Santa hat that blinked red and green. He road slowly, singing loud and merrily as he neared the mass of Deadies.

"She wouldn't have a Willie or a Sam-no Sam!
I'm her eighth old man, I'm Henry
Henry The Eighth I aaaam!

Second verse, same as the first!
I'm Henry The Eighth, I am!
Henry The Eighth I am, I am…"

Bloodied fingers stopped scraping the brick and sunken eyes turned from the pharmacy building. Several Deadies started to break away, shambling after the noise and flashing lights. There were a few that stayed, still trying to climb to the roof, possibly because they were so decayed they no longer held the capacity to hear the noise, but the majority of the swarm pushed from the wall and followed Sanji and Zoro's rescuer down the street.

"Sanji!" a voice called from the ally, "Sanji! Over here!"

The cook sprinted toward the edge and motioned Zoro to follow. When the swordsman leaned over, he was met with bright eyes and a wide smile beneath a mop of black hair.

"Hi, Sanji's friend!" the young man said, "I'm Luffy!"

Zoro nodded cautiously, "Zoro."

A tall figure next to Luffy looked around and motioned with a jerk of his head. "Hurry up!"

Luffy's companion was well hidden underneath a black jacket and hood, but when he glanced up Zoro noticed metal gleaming from the man's nose.

"Jump down here!" Luffy exclaimed, "I can catch you!"

Sanji might have snickered as he climbed over the side and hung off the ledge. He slid down and into the pierced man's arms, toppling them both to the ground.

"Oof! Ow, Sanji you're heavy!"

"Come on, Zoro!" Luffy called.

Zoro readied himself, but stopped when several shambling figures rounded the corner. Luffy's cries must have alerted the Deadies still clinging to the front of the building.

"Behind you," Zoro said.

Luffy glanced down the alley, noting the four figures headed towards him, and nonchalantly closed the distance. His fist went through the first, splattering what was left of brain and skull onto the street. The next two he kicked the legs out from under them and crushed their heads underneath his foot. The fourth met the brick of the building with his face.

It was efficient, even if it was messy. Zoro was impressed; he had never seen anyone kill Deadies with their bare hands before.

"Come on down!" Luffy called.

Without another hesitation, Zoro climbed over the side and jumped onto the shoulders of the young man beneath him. Surprisingly, Luffy held his weight just fine and stayed steady so the swordsman could drop to the ground. How that was possible, Zoro was not sure. He easily had a hundred pounds on his smiling rescuer.

"All right, let's get the fuck out of here!" the pierced man whispered, before he turned and made his way towards the back of the pharmacy. Sanji followed him, and so Zoro followed Sanji. Several sprawled and partially decapitated Deadies lay strewn about as they rounded the corner, but nothing moved except another tall figure in a dark jacket.

He seemed to have been waiting for them, his blond hair stood in spikes, and a large scar in the shape of an X decorated his chin.

"Hey, Sanji," he grinned.

Saluting, Sanji grinned at the blond man as he fell into step with the cook. They were apparently being led toward the water tower at the edge of town, and so Zoro gripped his sword and watched their flank as they sprinted across the street. A small swarm of Deadies was making their way towards them from the east side. The west side was barricaded.

Pushing through an overgrowth of hedges, Zoro spotted another three bikes. Not classic style like Sanji's, but more modern, probably modified versions of Hondas or Kawasaki. They seemed like they were in good shape, just dusty from the roads.

"Sanji, you ride with Bartolomeo!" Luffy instructed, "Zoro, you can ride with me!"

Sanji climbed up behind Bartolomeo and the pierced man kicked into gear. Zoro threw a leg over the machine behind Luffy and held on as the kid revved the engine and pulled out into the street. They turned east, heading straight towards the wall of clicking, creeping death.

"Luffy," Zoro growled, "what the hell are you doing? There's like fifty of them!"

"Hey, man," Luffy called over his shoulder, "you got a sword! Cut 'em down!" His hair whipped against his forehead as he spoke, his teeth flashed from between his smile. He was apparently enjoying this.

It was stupid, and it was reckless, but Zoro couldn't deny that on some level, he was enjoying this a little as well. As they neared the swarm, Zoro repositioned himself, readied his katana low and behind him, and braced for impact. Out the corner of his eye, he saw Sanji doing the same thing, readying his knife to strike as they blew through.

Three shots rang out and three Deadies fell to the ground, giving their group strategically placed openings to weave through. Zoro glanced to his left, surprised to see the man with the X scar holding a pistol. Guns, or more specifically—ammo, were a rarity and were usually more dangerous than helpful. However, in a situation like this they were invaluable.

Cold, thick, blood sprayed across Zoro's chin as his blade sliced through rotted flesh. He came around and swung again, this time high enough to reach a second Deadie's throat. A trachea collapsed and a spinal cord gave like a cheap bamboo post.

Luffy maneuvered the bike through the swarm, bending and weaving, effectively avoiding grasping hands and broken, clicking teeth. Unfortunately, as they closed in on the edge of the group, the Deadies started to cluster, packing in, making it difficult to keep their speed. A large one, mostly intact, came at them with arms flailing, jaw missing, and tongue hanging down into a bloody mess of torn flesh. It reached over the pressing form of two other Deadies, stumped fingers reached for Luffy's head.

Zoro cut it down. Two decayed hands flew, one was lost in the swarm, the other rolled below and was trampled by the back tire of Luffy's bike.

"We made it!" Bartolomeo shouted. "Luffy are you okay!?"

"I'm awesome!" Luffy exclaimed, "Zoro's a badass! Drake?"

"I'm good."

Zoro looked over at Sanji. The cook was a mess of dark blood, it was splattered across his face and in his hair. Something had gotten ahold of his jacket; Zoro could see that one of the outside pockets had been ripped off. He was wearing a smile however, and when he looked up to meet Zoro's eyes, that smile widened.

Sanji had enjoyed that too.

They slowed to a crawl to move safely through the street. There were less abandoned cars and felled telephone posts as they neared the town's limits, but there was more of the smaller debris. Crates and garbage cans dotted the concrete, as did tires, piles of stone or brick, and broken fences.

"Oh, shit."

Drake's voice could barely be heard over the roar of their engines, but the awe in his tone was obvious. Their group stopped and Zoro looked to where Drake was indicating.

Another wall of Deadies was headed for them, being led by the eccentric with the Santa hat. He was still singing, riding slowly enough that the swarm could follow him. When the man spotted them, he waved.

"Hi Franky!" Luffy shouted.

"Come on Luffy!" Bartolomeo growled, "Let's do this! They're waiting!"

"All right! Let's go!" Luffy revved his engine and took off down the street. The others followed and the fourth man, whom Zoro surmised was Franky, pulled out and joined them.

When they passed the town's limits, a man with long blond hair and a black mask covering most of his face was waiting for them. He pulled out, joining their group, and raised a flare gun over his head. Zoro watched behind them as the man aimed high, and the flare shot out of the barrel and into the sky.

For a few short moments, Zoro watched as the town was illuminated in bright, artificial light. It was nostalgic, seeing the buildings and streets clearly in the middle of the night. It was something Zoro had not seen in a long time. Something he never really considered he would miss.

A roar sounded from ahead of them, and when the swordsman turned back, he was momentarily stunned.

A truck had pulled out, apparently from behind the nearby gas station. It sat high on tractor tires, and by the sound of it, boasted an engine that was not made for so small a vehicle. All manner of rails and spikes had been added as either a flamboyant protection, or possibly just an intimidation factor. Either way, it was a sight to see.

Luffy slid to a halt, and Bartolomeo and Drake followed suit. The truck met them on the road, turning slightly at an angle to the town. Zoro took a quick note of something like a smiley face with a stitched mouth painted on the driver's side door before out of the bed, a hulking figure with blazing red hair and a fur-collard coat rose up.

The man pulled a large metal tube from beside him and placed it on the railing. From what Zoro could see, there was some kind of makeshift lever and trigger system set up. The redhead pulled it, and the distinctive sound of a weapon being cocked rang out over the rumble of motorcycles engines.

"Oh shit," Zoro breathed.

He felt a hand on his arm, and then he was being pulled off the bike. It took Zoro a moment to realize it was only Sanji, and that they were moving towards the truck. The swordsman wasn't entirely sure that was where he wanted to be at the moment, but he found he trusted Sanji enough that he just let himself be pulled along.

A beautiful woman, also with flaming red hair, opened the truck's bed and smiled down them.

"Hey, Sanji," she said.

Sanji hoisted himself up and kissed the woman on the cheek. She chuckled and pushed him away.

"Gross, you're covered in blood."

Smiling, Sanji turned and gave Zoro a hand up. When they were situated in back, the tall redhead with the fur-lined jacket lined up his rocket launcher monstrosity. His teeth were white against red lips as his face pulled up in a maniacal grin.

"You ready, Kidd?" Luffy exclaimed.

The man with the launcher nodded. "Killer with you?" his voice was smoother than his looks.

"He's here!" Luffy reached out and clapped the masked man on the back.

Zoro looked from Kidd to the town. Deadies had swarmed together and were pouring out between what looked like a supply warehouse and an unnamed factory. If what he thought was about to happen, was indeed about to happen, then this group was insane.

"This isn't going to work," Zoro grumbled.

The woman patted him on the back, "Just watch. We know what we're doing."

Kidd situated the launcher on his shoulder, took a careful aim, and fired. There was a pop and a loud bang! and the shell was off. It took maybe six seconds to reach its target, and when it did, all hell broke loose.

The initial explosion wasn't much. A few Deadies were knocked to the ground, some body parts went flying, but then the fire of the explosion seemed to intensify. It spread, gaining ground, licking at the concrete and tearing through the entire mass of walking corpses. The Deadies continued to pursue their prey, oblivious to the flames that were consuming them, but eventually, they all fell to the ground, their bodies charring black and burning down to nothing more than bones.

Luffy let out a whoop, and the others of the gang cheered. Zoro stood confused for a moment before he realized what had happened.

"Gasoline," he said simply.

The woman nodded her head. "We doused a good section of the ground over there. It doesn't burn for long, but anything caught in the blast is pretty much barbeque."

Zoro nodded as well, "Efficient."

"All right men!" Luffy called as he climbed back onto his bike, "Let's get moving! I'm hungry!"

Sanji sat, making himself comfortable next to Kidd, and so Zoro followed suit. The swordsman had no idea where they were headed or how long it would take to get there, but he was content to just sit next to the cook and go with the flow. Of course, this defeated the purpose of just the two of them alone on a bike, but it was also very unlikely any other gangs were going to attack them. Not with this crazy redheaded motherfucker and his tank of a truck. And bazooka.

Zoro turned to Sanji. The cook was wiping at his face with the sleeve of his coat. There was still red in his hair, but he had gotten most of it off his cheeks and chin.

"So," Zoro said as he folded his arms over his chest, "didn't know you were friends with The Road Warrior."

Sanji just flashed a toothy grin in his direction and, to Zoro's delight, rested against the swordsman's shoulder and promptly fell asleep.

TBC