Part four of a five-part series, exploring what would have happened if Zoro joined Baroque Works when he was asked to ages ago. Because I like AU speculation like woah.

Title: Baroque Works Saga: Swapping Sides
Theme: #23: Replacement
Claim: Zoro
(Words:) 4,154
Rating: PG-13 for violence and language
Warnings: AU-ness. Some events are mildly different.
Disclaimer(s): I do not own, or pretend to own, One Piece or any of its subsequent characters, plots or other ideas. That right belongs solely to Eiichiro Oda. I do not own the prompts either—those are assigned by 30_OnePiece.

The sun was just starting to rise by the time Zoro reached Alubarna. He was awakened from his not-exactly-comfortable slumber when the F-wani jerked to an abrupt halt at the massive steps of one of the capital city's main gates. The scents of blood and sounds of screaming and clashing weapons delved rather abruptly into his consciousness.

So the rebellion Crocodile had been planning had already begun. That one kid's army of two million was already in the streets, and from the sounds of it, they were wreaking havoc. It was too bad, Zoro thought briefly, as he climbed with a slight wince out of the F-wani's strapped-on seat. Most of those people probably didn't even know what they were fighting for. As a warrior himself, he wasn't particularly fond of that notion.

Worse, the rebellion in the streets was going to make it more difficult for him to find Luffy. He'd finally decided on the way he was going to handle things: he owed Luffy his life, and since he was partly responsible for the injuries Luffy had that would no doubt hamper his ability to fight Crocodile, he figured it was only right that he loan his strength to that particular battle. If he could find Luffy, he'd help him bring down Crocodile (how he wasn't sure; he'd never exactly figured out how to cut a Logia user, but he'd manage). Or at the very least, while Luffy was fighting the head of Baroque Works, he could keep other officers or agents from involving themselves. Nico was sure to cause a problem one way or another, and there would likely be plenty of other idiots that would try to interfere with the fight.

He felt a little better after his nap—his side still throbbed from the cracked ribs every time he breathed or moved too quickly, but he could ignore it—so he waved the F-wani off and began clambering up the steps into the city. Luffy had definitely gained some ground on him since he'd left Zoro laying out in the desert for several hours, but Zoro thought he'd made up at least part of that with the speed of the gator-car-whatever-it-was, and figured he'd still be in time.

Unfortunately he'd forgotten to take into account how damned confusing Alubarna was. He'd never liked traveling in the city much. It seemed like every time he visited the shops had changed locations and new buildings had been erected where old ones had been. He wandered for a good half hour, probably more, trying to find his way towards the palace (he had a pretty good guess that Crocodile might be heading there), but after all his running he didn't think he'd made any progress. He'd seen marines, palace soldiers, and rebel army members going at it like crazy, and once or twice he'd been forced to take a few down that were in his way and tried to stop him (he didn't kill them—he wasn't exactly looking for a fight with them right now).

Once he even came across Bon Kurei in the streets, going almost literally toe to toe in a kickboxing match with a tall blond man wearing a suit. Suit-guy was handling himself pretty well against a top-rank officer, which was impressive in and of itself, and he looked vaguely familiar. If Zoro had to guess he'd say this was the final elusive member of the Straw Hat crew that nobody had seemed able to get a photo of, and likely the 'Mr. Prince' that had been irritating Crocodile so much. Well, at least Straw Hat did have capable crew members—he supposed Luffy didn't have to worry about this one. Neither combatants noticed him, and he passed them both by, searching still harder for the pirate captain.

He was beginning to get seriously fed up with Luffy's elusiveness. The bastard had probably gotten himself lost—he sure as hell made it difficult to pay back one's debt. Zoro was seriously beginning to consider climbing the enormous clock tower he could see in the distance ahead to try and get a glimpse of the kid, when he heard a panicked screaming to his right.

The voice sounded vaguely familiar, and Zoro could have sworn he'd heard it fairly recently. It took him a second to identify the orange-haired witch's scream—Nami, Luffy had called her, back on Folgasse Island—and almost without thinking he turned to follow the sound. If he could get her to stop freaking out long enough to answer him, maybe she could tell him where the hell Luffy'd gotten to.

He burst out through one alleyway into a much wider street, and was surprised to find the girl, Nami, charging in his direction several street lengths down. She was panting heavily, probably from running for a while, and her head was turned to look over her shoulder behind her so that she hadn't even spotted him yet. Staring farther down the street behind her, Zoro spotted what was causing her to run so fast: Mr. 1 and Miss Doublefinger were both following her calmly, clearly intent on their orders to eliminate every Straw Hat Pirate.

Well, Zoro thought, That's probably not good. Those two were the top agents (besides himself) for a reason: they were very, very good at what they did, and a large part of what they did was killing. Either one of them was strong enough to take out most opponents in a one-on-one match; while Zoro knew he was one of the few exceptions, he somehow doubted this girl was as strong as he was. And not even Zoro was sure he could take them both on simultaneously, even on a good day—which this definitely wasn't.

A small part of him considered leaving. None of the three had noticed him, and his mind still nagged at him that he had to find Luffy, repay his debt so he could get this entire mess over with. But thinking of the pirate captain reminded him of that intense stare from their second fight, the one that promised absolute pain if his crew came to harm, the one that clearly said his crew were more than just underlings to him. Zoro knew, somehow, unquestionably, inexplicably, that if he left this girl to die—and she would die, she wouldn't be able to outrun that pair forever—that Luffy would be livid beyond recognition, would make good on that promise to never forgive him. And he also knew that protecting any one single member of that all-important crew would be just as though he'd stepped in and saved the captain's life.

He didn't know how he knew it all. He'd barely been in Luffy's presence for more than a half hour collectively, and both times they'd been in the process of trying to kill each other. But somehow he knew, and that was why he didn't hesitate to draw his swords and charge down the street towards the girl—and her pursuers.

Nami turned around at the sound of his running footsteps, and her eyes widened at what looked like—Zoro belatedly realized—a third agent coming to slaughter her from the opposing side. She screamed, and behind her Mr.1 leapt, determination on his face. Again a bit late, Zoro realized his charge had probably sparked a response from Mr. 1—ever since Zoro had beaten him in a match to earn his current rank, there had been something of a rivalry between them, and while they hadn't fought again since they had competed in other ways. Mr. 1 was probably trying to claim the kill on Nami before he did.

What he didn't realize was that Zoro's target wasn't Nami at all—he'd replaced it with something completely different.

Nami was still screaming, and tried to swing out at Zoro frantically with something that looked sort of like a metal bo staff. Zoro didn't have time for that—he parried it neatly with one sword blade, ducked around her quickly, and raised all three of his katana just in time to block Daz Bones' slashing razor-blade attack before it hit its Straw Hat target.

Farther down the street Miss Doublefinger gasped, and even Mr. 1 looked surprised. "What the hell are you doing?" the agent growled. "Our orders are to execute all the Straw Hats!"

"Yeah, well," Zoro said, gritting his teeth around Kuina's sword hilt as he held Mr. 1's still-outstretched arm at bay with all three blades. "Change of plans. I've decided I'm not gonna do that."

Mr. 1's eyes narrowed. "Crocodile will not be pleased. You'll regret this."

"I've never regretted a damn thing in my life," Zoro shot back, "And I'm not starting now." He shoved with all three katana, and Daz backpedaled, off balance. He stood in place, glared furiously as Zoro barred the path, and waited for Miss Doublefinger to catch up with her strange, twisting gait.

Zoro took the opportunity to glance briefly over his shoulder at the girl he had taken it upon himself to rescue. Nami had backed up farther down the street and still had her weapon ready—smart girl, witch or no. She looked unsure of what exactly was going on, and regarded him warily when he glanced at her. "You okay?" he asked shortly.

"I...uh...yeah, I'm fine," she answered, looking a little bewildered. She was panting heavily from the run, but as far as Zoro could tell she wasn't actually injured yet, which was a good sign. If she was lucky she'd survive this yet.

"You'd better get out of here," he told her flatly, turning his attention back to his co-workers. Miss Doublefinger had caught up now, and was standing next to Mr. 1 with a look of anger. This was probably not going to turn out well.

"Right," Nami answered, and promptly turned on her heel to bolt. Zoro snorted under his breath. Clearly not all of Luffy's crew members were as devoted to fighting as their captain—the girl obviously had no problem with letting him step in to fight her battles in her place.

Her movement sparked a response from Miss Doublefinger, who promptly darted after the Straw Hat. Zoro swore and moved to intercept, but Mr. 1 appeared out of nowhere, blocking his attempt with several powerful razor-blade slashes, and Zoro was forced to defend himself or risk losing his head. Miss Doublefinger slipped past him down the street after Nami, and the two vanished around the corner a few moments later.

Shit. So that rescue attempt hadn't gone entirely according to plan. Zoro sure as hell hoped the witch had a least a little combat ability at her disposal, or she was going to die despite his intervention. At least he'd managed to give her better odds, though. If Mr. 1 had also been in pursuit of the pirate, she would have died for sure. Now, with Zoro blocking the way and taking at least one of the battles off her hands, she'd only have one agent to deal with.

Zoro grit his teeth, met Daz Bones' eyes glare for glare. He'd have to finish this up as quick as possible if he could. If he could take Mr. 1 down fast enough, he'd still be able to follow the other two, and give Nami a little support against Miss Doublefinger as well. Unfortunately, speed wasn't really an option against this opponent...things might get rough.

Beating Daz wasn't exactly an impossibility: he'd done it before, and had developed his Shishi Sonson technique specifically to combat this guy months ago. The art of cutting steel was at his disposal, and Zoro would make full use of it. But just because he had the secret to beating Mr. 1's Devil Fruit didn't make the man any less dangerous. Daz Bones was still a capable martial artist in his own right, and even without his Devil Fruit powers to enhance him he could still unleash massive amounts of damage. He'd been known to kill lesser men without utilizing his powers at all. Worse still, Zoro wasn't exactly in top fighting form at the moment. Although his nap on the way to the capital had revitalized him a little, his left arm was still sluggishly responsive, and his ribs were a major hindrance, making even breathing difficult. His opponent was rested, ready, and completely uninjured. This would definitely make the fight interesting to say the least...

Mr. 1 glared at him cooly. The man was probably thinking along the same lines. "It's too bad you've decided to turn traitor," the man said flatly. "I'll just have to kill you, too. And believe me when I say I'm looking forward to it."

Zoro definitely believed him.

Daz lunged, lashing out with a number of bladed fingers and steel-enhanced kicks, and Zoro worked his swords rapidly to block them all. He had to be patient, wait for the opportune moment. He knew how to listen for the rhythm of the world now, of stones and plants and people and metal and dozens of other things. After his discovery in his last match against the same man, he'd trained hard to make sure he could fall into that meditative state faster, without requiring a state of near death to trigger it. But Daz was familiar with the technique too now, having fallen to it once, and he'd be wary of it, on the lookout with a defensive counter likely laying in wait. It was tempting to try and end the fight fast, but if he did Zoro knew he'd be causing more harm than good. He had to wait for his opponent to grow lax enough that he could strike quickly and finish it without a risk of being countered.

So he resorted to other tricks instead. He wouldn't be able to actually damage Daz at all without utilizing his Lion's Song strike with Wadou Ichimonji, but he could do other things to wear the man down, confuse him, make him angry. He dodged and blocked each of Daz' blade-enhanced martial arts strikes with apparent ease, using every scrap of self-control to keep from showing his pain and discomfort when those dodges and blocks strained his injured arm to the fullest, sent stabbing pain through his side. He played taunting games in their blade-by-blade exchanges, reaching out to tap the man with his katana tips on the head, at his side, on his chest, constantly leading him on, allowing the man to believe he'd come up with other steel-cutting techniques, making his opponent overly paranoid. He tossed the agent around when the fruit user charged, enraged, using his own considerable power to smash him into the air with Oni Giri or Tatsu Maki and beat him back down into the earth with Tiger Hunt.

It cost him to make such moves—more than he'd bargained on, when he started. Ten minutes into the fight and he was covered in at least a score of minor gashes where his blocks hadn't quite worked, and his left shoulder was gashed deeply from when Mr. 1's furious assault had overpowered his already weakened arm and broken his katana's defense. Daz Bones was no fool, either, and had made Zoro's obviously wounded arm and side specific targets, trying hard to beat his opponent down even further by taking advantage of his injuries. Once, towards the end, Zoro had even been hurled into the wall of the nearest building; he'd felt his side snap-crack further then, and burning agony had washed up his side, sent sparks across his swimming vision, made him spit blood. He was getting weaker, faster—this had to end soon.

The cost was high, but his tactics worked. The longer he drew out the fight, taunted his opponent, the more into it Daz seemed to get. His wariness was receding in favor of his usual cold-hearted, ruthless tactics. The time to strike was coming soon—and if Zoro's onset of dizziness and growing burning pain in his torso was any indication, it had to be now.

So he made it now. As Mr. 1 charged forward with nearly inhuman speed, spinning razor-blade arms at the ready, Zoro sank with the skill only long hours of training could produce into the meditative half-trance that let him hear the world. Buried so deeply in that awareness, the agony of his injuries became even more blinding; he could hear the very rhythm of his own body, could tell it felt disjointed, its lilt becoming off-beat, broken. But beyond that he could hear pulse of Daz Bones' steel body as well, and with practiced speed he'd sheathed his three swords, pulled Wadou Ichimonji from his sword-belt, spun it behind his shoulder, and slashed forward with determined finality. "Shishi Sonson!"

Mr. 1 swore, and tried to twist himself aside at the last moment, but it was too late for him. Blood spurted, and the man crashed to the ground with a groan. Zoro staggered as he finished re-sheathing Kuina's sword, and stumbled down the street after Miss Doublefinger and the fleeing Straw Hat pirate, ignoring the violently intense throbbing in his side that made even breathing a nightmare. He had to see if the girl was alive, at least, or if he'd wasted all this effort for nothing.

He had a feeling he didn't quite make it, and that he might possibly have blacked out for a moment or two, because the next sensation he was aware of was something hard poking him in the side of his head. With a groan he opened his eyes. He appeared to be on his side on a street somewhere (thankfully not on his broken ribs) with half his face pressed into the dirt. At this angle it was sort of difficult to see what exactly was poking him, and moving his head even slightly made the world spin too much, but after a moment he managed to make sense of the shape clouding his peripheral vision. It was the witch, Nami, carefully poking him from afar with that long metal staff of hers.

"Oh," he managed to slur. "It's you."

"You're alive," Nami said, with a sigh that sounded like a mix of relief and wariness. "I wasn't sure. You look really beat up. Did you finish off Mr. 1?"

"Yes," Zoro said thickly, once he'd managed to make sense of what she was saying—his head felt quite cloudy, and it made it a bit difficult to interpret things properly. "He's out for a while. Where'd Doublefinger go?"

"I beat her," Nami said, looking a little surprised even as she said it. "Barely, but I did it."

Zoro accepted that with a rough nod, which hurt a lot more than it should. He believed her, mostly because the girl would already be dead otherwise. Miss Doublefinger wasn't exactly known for letting her enemies get away, either. Groaning, he pushed himself up into a sit, coughing up a little more blood as he did so. His insides felt like they were being stabbed with hundreds of little burning knives. Whatever. Not important.

"Geez, you look terrible," Nami said, wincing when he spat a little blood on the dirt. "I thought you worked with these guys?"

He started to shrug, then thought better of it. "I do. I'm a Baroque Works officer too." He paused, considered, and said, "Well, former officer anyway. I have a feeling they'll probably kick me out after this." Oh well. It'd been nice while it lasted, but he'd never actually intended to stay forever, anyway.

He dragged himself over to one wall to sit against it for a bit, regain his bearings. Nami started to help him, but he waved her away with one arm, insisting on doing it himself. She shrugged and limped after him a bit, staying close enough to have a conversation without shouting. Now that Zoro got a better look at her, he could tell she'd taken a bit of a beating, too; she was covered in gashes, and it looked like her foot had been pierced clean though, probably a result of Doublefinger's spike fruit. That made her victory all the more impressive. It seemed Luffy's crew could really hold its own when push came to shove.

"Um," Nami said slowly, once Zoro had gotten himself settled somewhat comfortably against the wall. "Thanks. For saving me back there."

He barely kept himself from shrugging again.

"Why'd you do it?" she asked, clearly puzzled. "I mean, you're Mr. Bushido here. And I've heard all the rumors from back in the East Blue. All the stories I ever heard about Roronoa Zoro never made you sound like a nice guy." She gave him a shrewd, still-wary look, and said, "You didn't have to do that at all."

"I did, actually," he said tiredly, but that was all. He didn't have to explain himself to her. He'd never cared what people thought about him. He just lived up to his own personal code, even if nobody else understood it. Besides, he had a feeling she probably wouldn't take lightly to being told she was actually a stand-in for her captain so he could pay his debts back.

"But why did—" she began, and then shook her head in exasperation. "Oh, never mind. I don't have time to play twenty questions with you. I've got to get to the palace and it's going to take forever on this injured leg."

He raised an eyebrow at her and said flatly, "You look fine enough to me."

"Are you blind, you jerk?" she growled at him. "There is a hole through my foot. That is not okay! I can't walk at all!"

He rolled his eyes at her and said dryly, "Uh-huh. How'd you get here then?"

She did not look happy about his logic, and her fist clenched like she wanted to hit him. He was thankful that she didn't, although he didn't let on to it; he didn't think he could take much more of a beating than he already had. "Don't let me stop you," he said, and waved his not-quite-as-injured arm absently, as if to shoo her off. "Go do whatever."

She glared at him, but it softened after a moment. "Fine. Are you going to be okay?"

"I'll be fine," he told her confidently. "I've had worse."

"Okay," she said, looking a little doubtful, but after a moment she turned down the street and began limping away, using her metal staff as a walking stick.

"Oh," he said suddenly, before she could get too far away. "One thing, though." She paused, turned to look over at him in confusion, and he said, "Tell your captain now we're even. He'll know what I mean."

She raised an eyebrow at him, but shrugged, and continued limping on her way. After a few minutes she was gone. Zoro leaned back against the wall for a bit, gathering his strength. He was really bad off, and he knew it, but he figured if he had a chance to rest for a bit he could get himself moving. Alubarna was probably a bad place to for him be now. Regardless of who won, he was sure any number of parties would be perfectly willing to take advantage of his weaker state to kill or arrest him for his part in the whole rebellion mess.

After maybe twenty minutes he was able to force himself to stagger to his feet, and by keeping his hand against the walls he managed to stay relatively upright. That was a good start. He kept pushing forward, not even sure exactly where it was he was trying to head to; mostly he was focused on just keeping himself moving. Unfortunately, his body seemed to have other ideas, and after only a few streets his knees buckled beneath him and he crashed to the ground. His luck was used up. This time he managed to land on his injured side, and he couldn't resist letting out a scream of pain as he hit. He could feel the world receding rapidly away from him, and once again his vision was going dark. He sighed as unconsciousness dragged him under once again, probably to his death in one way or another. Well, at least this time he could go out relatively sure that he'd done the right thing, and paid off his debts before he left this world.

For some reason that was a comforting thought, and he drifted off into a soothing not-quite-sleep.

One more left to conclude everything :)

~VelkynKarma