(Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece or any related characters.)

Zoro, Robin, and Chopper

Zoro is used to moving weight around.

He trains for it, after all. He uses heavy weights to practice constantly in his free time— when he's not sleeping of course. So, feeling the burning of his muscles isn't exactly a new thing for him. In a situation like this, though, the burning sensation only serves to aggravate his already thin patience.

Zoro grunts, "Would you hurry up?"

Robin ignores him, squirming in his grasp to get her arms in front of her more properly. She had managed to summon up some arms before, but the amount of concentration it took when her arms were pressed harshly into Zoro's chest was making it practically impossible for her to create even more to help them onto the roof.

Chopper is on Zoro's other side, sniffling into his green hair while he waits for something to happen. His fur is soaked, the water is making him feel weak and queasy, and his nose is preventing him from smelling anything besides snot, tears and sea water. So, accepting all of those things in his own way, he simply clings to Zoro.

Robin resituates herself swiftly, looking up at their intended target above and crossing her arms in their typical way. Multiple arms spawn out of the wall and grab hold of Zoro by his armpits and hefting him upward along with the other two. Their feet sway in the empty air beneath them as the arms pass Zoro to each other up the length of the wall.

As soon as Zoro gets the opportunity, he catches the ledge of the building with his own hand— making sure Chopper has a strong enough hold on him. Together with Robin's help, they manage to climb up onto the roof without much difficulty.

The three of them collapse as soon as their feet touch the ground, sitting in a circle on the vacant roof. Their clothes cling to them, Robin's hair surrounding her head in soaked ringlets and clumps. She runs a hand through the mess, trying to smooth it down as best as she can.

Chopper cries out, wrapping his arms tightly around Zoro's bicep, "Waaaaaah, that was so sc-scary!"

Zoro grimaces, looking from Chopper's quivering form to Robin's tired eyes. He realizes very suddenly that he's been put in charge of getting them out of this situation safely— which is no doubt very much more difficult given their particular weaknesses to water. He was put in charge the moment Luffy called out his name before the wave hit. He'd been put in charge before, but this situation is unlike any they'd been faced with before.

Zoro sighs, pushing himself up to stand, "C'mon, we need to—"

The unnatural lightness to Zoro's side stops him before he even realizes what's wrong. When he turns to look at the offending place at his side, Zoro sees emptiness where three swords would usually lie. He feels the air escape him, knowing for certain that they were swept up in the wave as well.

Robin seems to realize that something has struck the swordsman emotionally, and it doesn't take her very long to realize what. The way he slowly rests his hand on his side is the only explanation she needs.

She slowly stands herself, grabbing Chopper as she does and holding him close to her soaked self. She gently places a tender hand on the swordsman's shoulder, lightly squeezing it in kind encouragement and support. She knows how important the blades are to Zoro, and she knows that his remorse is probably more than she'll ever understand for something so materialistic.

Like losing a limb, she muses, glancing at the swordsman's scarred face, or an eye.

Zoro turns to look at her in bewilderment, and she only smiles sadly, "Lead the way."

He had been distracted. He hadn't noticed that they were missing because he was so focused on keeping them safe— something that, even without Robin's show of gentle understanding, he knows he would do even if he had known he had left his swords behind to be thrown through the waters.

"Do you—" he clears his throat, shrugging Robin's hand away, " Do you have an idea how to get out of here?"

Robin blinks in surprise at the swordsman's request for her opinion. She sets her chin atop Chopper's head, gazing out at the surrounding cityscape— all flooded. Many of them having people residing on them already. Probably other survivors— people who made it out of the water as some point just as they had.

"We must reunite with the others, yes?"

Zoro nods, following her gaze, "Yeah."

"Then, perhaps we have two options, then," she points to the area behind them— buildings lining the edge of the city where the mountains begin sloping upward, "We find safe land where others will no doubt be herding together with the same idea, or," she motions to the dozens of others lining the rooftops around them, "We go with a group: safety in numbers."

"Or, they'll just slow us down."

"At the moment, swordsman-san," Robin begins to reprimand gently, "We are no doubt the slowest ones here."

When Zoro looks to her in surprise, Robin grimaces almost apologetically and looks away, "Whatever you decide…"

Zoro considers her words, looking at the strangers in the distance. They wield large sticks— nets, he realizes. They catch drifting belongings. Zoro doesn't know exactly what they're looking for exactly when they go to catch the items in the water, but, judging from the people coughing on their knees beside them, they aren't just catching things.

"'Safety in numbers', eh?"

Chopper sniffs once, looking to Zoro with tear-filled eyes, "They might be able to help us find our nakama."

Robin smiles, gazing at the strangers, "Take it from someone like me, swordsman-san. Help is not a shameful thing to require."

Zoro grimaces once again, moving to the edge of the building hesitantly. He gazes down at the space between the building they're on and the neighboring one. The distance can be made if they jump, but Robin's abilities could also help. That's the least of his worries, though, "Fine, but if it goes South, I'm blaming you, woman."

Robin chuckles, "Alright."

With Robin's devil fruit ability, they manage to cross the threshold between the two buildings without trouble.

"Might I ask why you are so hesitant, swordsman-san?" Robin asks quietly as she forms another bridge of limbs.

Zoro steadily steps up onto it, snaking his way across, "During disasters people tend to get desperate to get to safety."

Robin watches Chopper scurry across and then begins following them, "I suppose that's true. And you're worried they might try something with us in order to get themselves away from this situation?"

"I don't really know," Zoro mumbles, walking to the other side of the new building as Robin dismisses her previously created bridge. The strangers seem to have taken notice of them now, and are pointing at them— speaking to each other. It makes Zoro glare at them suspiciously, "But, don't trust them until we find the others. You got that, Chopper?"

The reindeer gapes, "Why are you asking me?"

Zoro huffs, leaving Chopper staring after him in a flustered heap of matted fur and irritation. Zoro will take an annoyed Chopper over a crying and frightened one any day.

"They see us," Robin says, and Zoro merely nods.

"Hey, there!" and older man shouts across the gap between their buildings. Zoro doesn't respond, waiting for Robin to create another bridge so they can get a closer look. When she does, he eases himself over the steep fissure and watches the group of people begin whispering among themselves at the sight of Robin's ability.

Typically, Zoro would be more comfortable with approaching strangers. Approaching someone who's not imposing or threatening is nothing compared to approaching someone who is, but this case is different for Zoro. He doesn't trust really anyone ever. There's always a shred of doubt when there's an ally. His nakama are the only ones whom he'd trust with anything and everything, but at the moment Zoro's on edge.

He had no weapons and their surrounded by water. That's a missing tool for him and a potentially deadly outcome for the others should these strangers prove to be a threat. Right now, he feels he can't be too careful.

"Hey," the same made hollers once Zoro gets to the next building's edge and glares over. The stranger doesn't seem to notice the suspicion, however, and continues on as confidently as he had prior, "Do you need help."

"Where are you headed?" Zoro responds, noting how Chopper and Robin had surrounded him on both sides.

The man leans heavily on the building's edge, gazing at the water separating him from Zoro, Robin, and Chopper, "There's a triage set up on the far side of the island— right on the other side of the mountain. We're going to be heading there once we're done scouting for more survivors," The man motions to himself and his companions who continue going about collecting items from the waters, "You're welcome to—"

"We'll be coming with you."

Zoro's straightforward reply surprises the man, but nothing becomes of his brash distrust. The stranger simply smiles and nods once, resuming his work.

"Alright then."

Nami

"Then you can help me by explaining!"

Nami's voice is shrill, eyes wide and voice revealing the anguish she's trying to hide. Her bare toes curl in on themselves, and Nami can't help but gaze around at the surrounding strangers with a suspicion shining in her eyes. Something isn't right here. Something is off and she wants to know what.

"Okay," Tammi tries to sooth, her hands hovering in the space between them as if to consol Nami, "I will, just listen."

Nami settles back, wrapping her arms around her knees like a small child.

Tammi sighs, squinting her eyes and looking around her as if measuring out how best to reveal what she plans to say, "I've been working here for about five years and this is the first time anything like this had never happened, okay? This entire resort was built as a way to make a constant stream of money for higher officials. They didn't think a natural disaster like this would happen."

"But it did," Nami says, "So?"

"So, they had known about it for a while before the wave actually hit, actually."

Nami pales, feeling her fingers tighten into the skin of her legs and her toes curl further in on themselves, "For how long before?"

Tammi squirms, "For a few hours before you showed up here."

Nami gapes, feeling the anger rise up in her chest. Her cheeks became as red as her hair and she found herself snapping at Tammi, "Why didn't you say anything when we got here? No, 'hey, there's going to be a wave that's going to ruin your whole day— you should probably leave'? Nothing?"

"I ordered not to!" Tammi defends, falling to her knees in front of Nami, "Everyone was told not to. Every staff member in every building across the resort was informed about it but they were told that they'd be arrested if they said anything, do you understand?"

Nami didn't, actually. She quirked an eyebrow at Tammi, mind trying to connect what she was saying, "Arrest? Why would you get arrested? By who?"

Tammi sighs, looking to the crowd now staring at her with wide eyes and gaping mouths, "Think about it. This resort rakes in millions upon millions of bellies per day. All that money is collected by the resort's owner which is then collected by the World Government and Marines as a price for protection. Get it? Why would either of them want to lose profit?"

"To prevent thousands of people from being killed!"

Tammi snorts and Nami immediately understands her mistake.

Nami glares at the space between her and Tammi, "But, that's not how the World Government thinks."

"Apparently not."

Nami and Tammi, as well as the group around them, remain silent for several minutes. Nami had experienced the World Government and the Marines' way of taking care of an island's hardships personally. If it benefited them in any way then they didn't care what happened to the people on the island.

"So, no one wanted to risk getting arrested to save thousands of people?" Nami's voice is cold when she asks, remembering how her nakama had excitedly run out the hotel room door to go to the pool area. They had no idea— they were so excited and so was she to just relax for once. And yet…

Tammi has the sense to look guilty, "Enies Lobby is hardly the place for common folk like us. That's where we were told we'd be sent. We wouldn't make it a day in there!"

Nami blinks, pushing the hair out of her face. Enies Lobby? They really threatened to send simple resort workers to the most heavily guarded prison in the world for mentioning an impending natural disaster? Nami shivers, and suddenly she understand their hesitancy to speak up.

She gazes around at the others around her and sees the conflicting emotions in their hearts just by looking at their faces. Anger and understanding— two emotions that, when going head-to-head, really piss Nami off.

She sniffs as she moves to stand. Tammi watches her in nervous apprehension, knowing that she isn't exactly an innocent advocate of this situation. She's even more surprised when Nami reaches a hand down to help Tammi to stand, which she accepts with little more than an uncertain squint of the eyes.

"What's the plan, then?"

Tammi regards Nami quickly, shying away a moment later, "I'm not too sure, actually. We were going around helping survivors, but I haven't been able to find anyone else in a while. You were the first in hours we found alive and you didn't even come from the water."

"We were surprised to see you jump out of that window, so we came running this way as soon as we spotted you," One of the men who had helped Nami over to the building she currently resides on says from behind her.

"The building…" Nami mutters quietly.

As if on cue, the entire structure of the building quacks on its foundations, some windows popping like bubbles, sending a rain of glass shards falling down to the waters surrounding it.

Nami can almost hear the screams of the people from within the building.

"That thing…" Tammi murmurs, "Worst idea to make the building almost entirely out of glass. They were just trying to be uselessly impressive and now look at it."

"It'll be coming down any moment now, " someone else from the crowd, an older woman, says fearfully, "All those poor people…"

Nami stares at the shimmering windows and considers the crashing waves surrounding the entire block them and the building sat on. She had seen all the people inside before she jumped from the window. She saw how they all were headed to the same floor. There's no way they could have made it out from the lower floors— they were all mostly underwater by now. Eventually the flooding would disperse, but that would be a while and by them it might be too late.

Nami turns on her heel and looks to tami with a determined glimmer in her eyes, "I think I have a plan on what to do next."

Sanji and Brook

"Rope?"

Sanji looks up from where he prods his swelling hand, giving Brook a quick nod as if asking him what the problem was. The boat had plenty of supplies stashed inside it in a small sealed container. Sanji had discovered it only moments after dragging Brook on board it. In his desperation to get some sort of response from the living skeleton, he had ripped off one of the seat's surfaces and found a box filled with useful supplies.

One of which happened to be rope.

"Are to completely insane?" Brook mumbles almost to himself as he measures up the length of rope, "Oh, what if something happens, Sanji-san? I can't help you!"

"I don't expect you to," Sanji says simply, taking hold of some of the bandages in the container and then putting them back immediately as he realizes the uselessness of using them now. When he gets wet they'll become practically useless anyways.

"Plus, you hurt your hand," Brook tries again to dissuade the cook from his plan, "You may find yourself in trouble down their and there will be no way for me to assist! Please, reconsider."

"No," Sanji rejects quickly, ignoring how dejected Brook appears afterwards, "This is the spot that we all must've been swept up to. See?" Sanji points his good hand down the block towards the ocean, "Over there is the hotel. We'll be going there next to try and find Nami-san, though I'm confident that she's managed to find a way out— I am."

No matter what Sanji says, Brook can tell that he's worried beyond measure. About everything. But, as always, the cook manages to seem as calm as ever.

They had floated around for hours in their attempt to find where they had been when the wave hit. The hotel, which shone like a beacon as soon as they turned onto the long street, was a relief to them both in more ways than either could realize. It meant Nami was potentially still safe inside. She was probably still waiting for some type of rescue, and, in Sanji's eyes, the rescue would be from him.

All in due time, of course.

"But, before that," Sanji says, looking away from the hotel in the distance reluctantly, "I want to scout out this area, okay? Robin-chan and the others may be around here, and we don't know what condition they're in if they are— or even if they aren't."

Brook says nothing and so Sanji tries to finish his point before Brook can try and find a fault in his plan, "Basically, we need to be on the lookout for the others, and if we see something that's our plan, okay you damn skeleton?"

Brook nods slowly— hesitantly, "Alright."

"Good,"

The cook takes a deep breath and looks out to the surrounding waters, "Robin-chan!" Sanji calls out, "Shitty captain!"

No response except for the echoing of his own voice down the flooded street.

He inhales again, "Stupid Marimo!"

Brook takes care to do the same, "Usopp-san! Franky-san!"

Still no response for either of them.

Sanji turns away from the waters with a disdainful look on his face, continuing to prod his hand.

He doesn't know much about how the hand is supposed to look and feel when it's broken. He's had plenty of broken bones— one of the great things about growing up with the Old Geezer who has a tendency to kick when agitated. Only a few times did something actually break. And even then it was minor, but he still curses the fact that the old man managed to that many times.

And even before that, when he lived with his damn family at a younger age, he accrued plenty of broken bones.

Basically, he knew the feeling and the treatment, and yet he had always taken care to not allow his hands to suffer the same fate his body did quite often. Now, Sanji thinks, his lucky streak might have simmered out.

"Damnit…"

Brook shifts uncomfortably at the cook's distress, "Sanji-san, please stop fussing over it. Allow doctor-san to take a look once we reunite."

Sanji feels his agitation grow ever so slightly but allows for himself to rein it in, "You're right. You're right," he forces his other hand to leave his damaged one alone, clutching the rim of the boat in a white-knuckled grip as he gazes out to the waters, "Better find them soon, then...where do you think they might have escaped the water too?"

Brook hums to himself, looking to the surrounding buildings, "I see no broken windows that they may have went through to find shelter, nor do I see any other boats around here that they may have found."

Sanji grimaces at the possibilities dwindling, "Maybe Luffy managed to catch onto a building's ledge on this street and got to a roof?"

"Luffy-san can't really use his abilities that well when in water…"

Sanji growls, "But, he's Luffy. He's defied logic before, hasn't he? And Robin-chan—"

"Robin-san is the same when it comes to her abilities, Sanji-san, though that hardly means that they didn't find other ways to escape the water. Perhaps there are other structures they could have climbed to safety on down a different interconnecting street?"

Sanji sighs irritably, mussing his hair with his good hand, "Yeah, yeah...probably. Let's head for the hotel and then look somewhere else, huh?"

Before Brook can answer, the musician sees something poking out from the water that catches his attention. He stares as if trying to figure out why the form looks family. Brook's silence catches Sanji's attention and the cook turns to follow Brook's gaze immediately.

His eyes widen exponentially at the sight.

"Is that—"

There, sticking out from a mess of moss and debris, just as pristine looking as it usually looked, was Zoro's sword, Kitetsu. Sanji and Brook sat staring at it for too long— fear worming its way into their stomachs.

"He— He wouldn't have just—" Sanji's voice continues to fail him, "He doesn't lose those, damnit…"

The sword floated by them, and the fact that it was getting further and further away managed to snap Sanji out of his shock-induced trance.

"Damnit!" he repeats frantically, lunging for the rope in Brook's hand, "He doesn't lose those! That shitty swordsman doesn't let those stupid sticks out of his sight and—"

Sanji manages to get the rope tied around his waist amidst the chaos ensuing inside his head and the thumping of his heart inside his chest. Even with a messed up hand he manages to tie a knot in the rope and the next thing he knows he's lunging out of the boat into the frigid water outside of it.

The water's current is still strong, and as soon as Sanji's enveloped in it he's pulled harshly in the other direction of the boat. He surfaces, spluttering and hysterically seeks out the blade he had had in his sight moments ago.

Brook is saying something from the boat. His hand feels like it's on fire. His heart is rattling against his ribcage.

Somehow, a stupid stick has managed to freak Sanji out more than the wave itself. It the water could take Zoro out, then…

Robin was with him, and Sanji realizes that the two people Zoro had been put in charge of protecting by Luffy would have sunk like rocks if Zoro had been taken out. The very thought, the very image of a lifeless Robin and Chopper— of an unconscious Zoro— floating through debris filled water without any help coming for them makes Sanji forget about the pain in his hand.

He kicks violently through the water, sending splashing up at Brook who holds tightly onto the other end of the rope. The boat is pulled by Sanji's kicks towards the blade floating elegantly through the water— careless that it's without its owner.

Sanji pushes himself onto the clump of debris and grabs hold of the blade, tugging it towards himself. He shoves his injured hand into the moss surrounding it, searching for a limp hand or a pale face— two things he never wants to imagine seeing again. Nothing— and so Sanji dives.

The marimo is probably thick in the skull enough to sink like a rock should he be in trouble, and Sanji already knows what Chopper's and Robin's fate would end up being should they have been left without help in the frigid waters.

The water hurts his eyes, but the cook swims as far down as he can before the rope snaps taut around his waist— and only then does he scan the bottom of the flooded street. He half wants to find someone, and half doesn't. His mind, though always hopeful and trusting of his nakama, can only think of the terrible images of their bodies discarded by the current.

He's seen the way raging water can tear a life apart. How it can just discard someone to a terrible fate. How him and Zeff had been forced to stay on that small island for so long. How he had almost drowned. How such a strong individual in his life had been forced to sever a limb from his body because of it.

Sanji sees nothing, and his lungs burn for air so he allows himself to swim to the surface in a wild haze.

Brook says something when he breaks the surface, Kitetsu still clutched to his chest desperately.

Sanji shudders, eyes scanning the surrounding area in a new frightened way. He doesn't know what to do— doesn't see any other sign of them being there except for the foreboding sword in his grasp, and so he does the one thing he's sure he has the motivation to do plenty.

He screams their names.

"Robin-chan! Chopper!" his voice comes out shrill and terrified, "Zoro!"

Heeeeeeey~

Let it be know that things being late isn't just an update thing on here. I'm literally late for everything in my life. It truly is a problem.

Anywho, this was more of a fun chapter to write than the last one, honestly. A lot of angst— whoot, whoot. And, though I thought Zoro, Robin, and Chopper's narrative would be the most fun to write, it was actually Sanji and Brook's little freak out at the end that was the most fun! In a...sadistic sort of way, I guess.

Anywho, it be late, I wanted to chug this out tonight since I know I'll be busy the rest of the week, and I hope I manage to be on time this weekend for update!

Hope you enjoyed!

Farewell!