Hey everyone! First, I want to thank my beta reader SilenceOfRain7 for doing an awesome job of looking over this chapter for me. And also thank you to everyone who favorites, follows, reviews, and reads this story, I really appreciate you all. ^_^

School starts today for me, so sadly I won't be able to update quite as often... But don't worry, I promise I will not abandon this story. Hopefully each chapter won't take much longer than a month max, but I will try to get them out on time.

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece or any of its characters

Nami sat in the library with Robin, looking over a map of East Blue for the tenth time that day as she sipped a cup of coffee. According to Soutsu, they would be reaching Zoro and Sanji some time that day.

Surprisingly, their prisoner had kept his word and brought them through the Calm Belt without much trouble. Meaning they had only been attacked by about ten sea kings, which Luffy had easily been able to take care of. Soutsu had also helped keep them on track so far on their way to get their nakama.

Despite all this though, Nami did not trust him. But it didn't really matter. They would find Zoro and Sanji today and then be done with him. Despite the frustration of this situation, the navigator was a little excited. No maps showed an island where they were headed, meaning it was undiscovered. Nami looked forward to hopefully being able to map a new place. She couldn't wait to get there.

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Sanji's condition had gotten worse. Zoro looked over at his sickly crewmate with a frown. He'd even given the cook his own robe to try and stop the shaking but it didn't work, still, Zoro liked to think it had some effect. Then, about two days ago, Sanji had started coughing up blood. At first, it was only small amounts, but like the rest of his symptoms, had only gotten worse. His breathing had also become so shallow that Zoro felt he had to check every few minutes to make sure he wasn't dead.

Zoro cursed silently. What was taking Luffy and the others so long? They had now been stuck on this damn rock for sixty-nine day and he was tired of waiting. He briefly wondered if they even were coming but immediately pushed the thought away. He shouldn't doubt his captain like that... but it didn't mean he couldn't be angry about how long it was taking the idiot to get here. Luffy better have a good reason for making him and Sanji wait for so long.

Then he spotted something on the horizon that looked like a tiny black speck, but as it drew closer, he could make out a few more details. At this point Zoro could mistake it for nothing but a ship. His heart skipped a beat, and despite his exhaustion, he managed to stand up. Finally, the crew was here to get them. He waved at the quickly approaching ship, even calling out a few times, but something seemed off... Zoro squinted a bit, dread building in his stomach when the figure became clearer. It wasn't the Sunny; it was marines.

Zoro drew Wado from its hilt, but nearly dropped it seconds later. Even holding the blade up seemed to take every bit of his energy. He definitely wouldn't be able to use his usual santoryu, so instead he gripped Wado in both hands. While not as effective, it would have to do.

As the ship grew closer, Zoro stepped in front of Sanji. The cook definitely couldn't defend himself in his current condition, so Zoro would have to fight for both of them. He would have preferred for Sanji to be somewhere out of the way, but when he could barely lift his sword there was no way he could move the cook somewhere else.

After a while the ship pulled up along the island, thankfully deciding not to use their cannonballs. Then again, they probably didn't recognize who he was yet. He smirked slightly. That was their mistake, and it would give him the advantage for at least a little while. The ship was too low for them to just walk on the island so they had begun to climb up the side. Good, as long as he could keep them off the island he may not even need to fight them. While Zoro was usually never one to run from a battle, not having to get in a fight would definitely make it easier to defend himself and Sanji.

The first marine's hand appeared on the edge of the cliff's edge and Zoro picked his foot up, slamming it down on the man's face, sending him toppling back into the water below. He did likewise to the following marines, and scoffed at how easy this was. That was until one marine didn't fall back down the rock after Zoro kicked him. Instead, he managed to pull himself onto the island and draw his sword.

"Shit..." Zoro muttered. He knew he could only fight for so long. Even the simple act of kicking down the marines had made him feel tired. The man swung his sword at Zoro, but his form was clumsy and he easily stepped out of the weapon's way. Then he lifted Wado and slashed the man across his chest. The marine dropped his sword and fell back, blood spurting from his wound.

Sadly, he wasn't the only enemy though, and the swordsman noticed three more marines making their way onto the island. In a few quick movements, he had cut each of the marines but it had left him panting from the exertion. More of the men pulled them over the side of the cliff and it seemed for every one marine Zoro took down, two more took their place.

While trying to hold back three of the men at the same time, another marine slipped past him going for Sanji. He weakly shoved the marines fighting him away and turned around, slashing the other man in the side. While he had been distracted though, one of the marines he had been holding off earlier had snuck up behind him and before Zoro could block, the man sunk a dagger deep into his side.

Zoro gasped, Wado falling from his hands as he dropped to his knees. One of the marines kicked him in the stomach, sending him onto the ground. He coughed, blood coming out his mouth, and his vision began to fade. The last thing he saw before darkness overtook him was a marine raising his sword above Sanji's unconscious body, and he knew he'd failed.

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A rubber fist shot out and caught the unsuspecting marine in the jaw before he had the chance to bring his sword down on Sanji. Then Luffy came charging at the marines, the rest of the strawhat pirates close behind him. The marines didn't stand a chance and it only took a few minutes to completely destroy them.

"Don't hurt my nakama," Luffy growled lowly. Ussop nervously looked at his captain. Despite his usually happy disposition, Luffy could be downright scary when he was mad. He was glad he was on Luffy's side. The sharpshooter's eyes widened when they landed on Zoro and Sanji. They did not look good... It seemed the rest of the crew agreed by their shocked reactions. He and the rest ran over to the two, watching nervously as Chopper stepped forward and quickly looked them over.

"Franky, I need you to get Sanji," Chopper ordered, turning into his human form and carefully picking up Zoro. Franky did as he was asked, actually quite for once, and they all quickly made their way back to the Thousand Sunny on the other side of the island.

Once they made it back, Chopper left them all to wait outside of the infirmary while he looked over the two. Ussop sat against the wall next to the door, looking down at his feet.

This situation was pretty scary for the sniper. Aside from Luffy, Zoro and Sanji were the strongest people he knew, so to see them so weak... it made Ussop uneasy. Even after a tough battle, where they got many more injuries, they still had never looked this frail before. The sound of footsteps made Ussop look up from his feet to see Soutsu approaching them.

"Now that I got you, here I'll just-" he never finished as Luffy's fist connected with his head, more than likely smashing his skull in and sending him flying off to who knows where. The bastard was lucky that's all that happened to him. He was the cause of this after all. They all continued to wait in silence and after what seemed like forever, Chopper finally came back out of the infirmary in his normal form.

"So... how are they?" Nami tentatively voiced everyone's question.

"They haven't had food since we were separated from them, so they're severely malnourished. I managed to stitch up Zoro's wound and aside from that he only has two broken ribs, so he should be okay..." Chopper answered.

"And Sani-san?" Brook asked when the little doctor didn't continue. Tears began to well up in Chopper's eyes.

"H-he must have got water in his lungs somehow... he has pneumonia a-and hypothermia. That on top of starving, I-I..." Chopper had to take a few moments to compose himself. "He may not make it," the doctor broke down in tears. Everyone was silent, the news like a punch to the gut. Ussop had trouble processing this. How could Sanji, one of the strongest people the sniper even knew, have a chance of dying?

"He'll be fine." Everyone's head turned to look at Luffy. "You're the best doctor ever Chopper, I know you'll take care of them," Luffy grinned, patting Chopper on top of his hat.

"Y-you saying that doesn't make me happy at all! You bastard!" Chopper gave a small smile, wiping the tears from his eyes. Everyone else also seemed reassured by Luffy's statement, but Ussop couldn't help the shred of doubt nagging at his brain. From what Chopper said, neither of them sounded like they were doing too well. But Luffy was usually right, and it was easier to believe in his captain's words than to continue worrying.