Zoro woke a few hours later, his throat dry, and his chest on fire. Slowly he opened one eye, looking for Ace. He saw Chopper fiddling with some medicine, and that they were alone.
"Chopper," he whispered. His friend turned around, eyes wide.
"Zo -" he started, but was silenced by a stern look.
"Chopper, I need you to listen to me. Ace did this. I know that it's hard to believe, but check my wrists. He grabbed me from behind, and let the scorpion stab me." Chopper stared him in disbelief.
"But . . . but, why?" he muttered, looking at the burns on Zoro's wrists.
"I don't know, but I'm going to find out. Now Chopper, I need you to pretend that I haven't woken up yet, and you're not sure if I can be saved. If Ace knows that I told you what happened, I'd be putting you in danger. I'm going to pretend that I'm still sick. If you can get the others in here alone without Ace becoming suspicious I can warn them. Can you handle that?" Chopper nodded in excitement and fear.
"Sure, but Zoro . . ." he hesitated. "Are you sure you're going to be alright?" Zoro laughed lightly at his concern.
"I'm fine. Just be careful of Ace. I don't know what he's up to."
More characters in the next chapter!