The Death Roots Challenge

Disclaimer: Don't own One Piece.

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Bound, blindfolded and strapped to the large bear's back, Niri felt the cool air of Jaya rush past her as her captors ran along the rooftops of Mock Town. She may have been blindfolded, but she would've known if they had jumped to the street or not. She spent most of her time on the bear's back, trying to undo the tight knots that bound her wrists behind her back.

Damn, these guys sure do know how to tie knots, she thought both impressed and angry, How the hell am I gonna get outta here? I know I can't just ask them to untie me...unless...I'm very lucky and they're very stupid.

She stopped struggling and turned her head to the side so her face wouldn't be buried into the bear's fur, "You know, if you untie me, I won't try to hurt you," she said in an innocent tone.

The woman known as Death sneezed loudly, "Oh man. Sorry about that, but I'm allergic to bullshit,"

Niri growled quietly to herself, Damn! Gotta think of something else now...

She heard the bear growl loudly and she got a surprise when she heard Death talk to the bear.

"Oh, come on Kuma, he wouldn't get angry,"

One of Niri's eyebrows shot upward past her blindfold, "You can talk to animals?!"

"You mean you can't understand him?" Death inquired, sounded curious.

"No...," Niri shook her head, "Why would I be able to understand him?! He's an effin' bear! Why the hell would you ask me if I could understand him?!"

Death muttered something she couldn't hear and for the rest of the trip, Niri didn't hear a word out of her female abductor. After a short time of running, Niri could feel the bear leap off a building, practically fly through the air a short time before landing on something made of wood by the sound of snaps and cracks under it's feet.

I must be at their ship... Niri thought as Death untied her straps and hauled her to her feet.

"Crow!" Death barked, "Take her down to the cells and take off the blindfold!".

"Whatever," a bored, male voice muttered as the sound of footsteps came to Niri. She could feel a hand on her back and a slight push told her that the man called Crow wanted her to move forward, but she didn't move. She grinned to herself, but that grin disappeared when she felt the man who pushed her lift her clean off her feet and sling her over her shoulder.

Immediately, she started flailing her legs and wiggling furiously, "PERVERT! PUT ME DOWN!"

The so called pervert didn't listen, which was a stupid thing to do, because as he made his way through some doors and down some steps, Niri was able to retaliate.

"OW!" Crow shouted as a pain came from behind, "SHE BIT ME!"

Again, Niri grinned to herself, but again, her moment of happiness was taken away she was pulled off Crow's back and practicallty thrown onto a hard floor. As she cursed under her breath, she felt the knot of her blindfold be undone and the cloth was ripped away from her head. The sound of retreating footsteps echoed around the room as her eyes adjusted to the light. After they were back in focus, Niri looked around and found herself inside a small cell in the corner of a dimly lit brig below the ship's deck. Muttering and cursing, Niri rose to her feet and tried to undo her bindings on her wrists, but again she failed.

She kicked the cell bars, "HEY ASSHOLES! YOU COULD'VE AT LEAST UNTIED MY HANDS WHILE YOU WERE IN HERE!" she screamed at the top of her lungs. The Axe-Head sharpshooter sighed and plopped down onto the floor, her eye twitching.

"When I get outta here...," she started to laugh a crazed laugh, "Oh, you guys are gonna suffer...suffer so badly!"

-----

"Hey, Devon, where you guys been?"

The blonde nittoryu user shrugged after hearing DJ's question, "Just been looking around town, trying to get what information I can about this place. I asked around, but no one wanted to say anything to me, even if I threatened to kill 'em or if I mentioned the name of Shidyk D. Shade,".

DJ tilted his head, "That sucks. Hey, Axe has that guys poster in his cabin, why don't you take it with you next time you go out? I'm sure he wouldn't mind if you took it to get some important information,"

Devon clicked his tongue, "Good point...where are the others?"

The musician shrugged, "Niri, Axe, Chizuru, and Azu are still out on the town, but Dusty-chan, Kirsty-san and Herman are back from their trips into town,"

"Hey, Devon, Austin, you're back!"

Both the mute and the Demon turned to see Kirsty walking up to them, holding a book in her hand.

"I found something you could use, Devon," Kirsty held out the book, "It's a book with information on this island. I guess one of the profitable businesses in Jaya is to sell info to tourists who don't know crap,"

Devon cracked a grin and before he could look down at the book, he caught a glimpse of a woman with violet hair standing a short distance behind Kirsty, "Who's that?" he asked quietly.

Kirsty held up her hands, "It's alright, Devon, she's cool," she turned around and waved for the woman to come over, "This is Shan, we met in Mock Town. Turns out, she's a doctor too,"

"So that fact alone makes it alright for her to be on our ship?"

The blonde doctor rolled her eyes and turned to Shan, "Don't worry about him, he's always like this. Takes awhile for him to warm up to someone new," she glanced at Devon, "How can you live being so suspicious?"

"The only reason I'm still alive is because I'm suspicious,"

"Oh, you're impossible," Kirsty waved him off as Dusty, Herman and Pingu came onto the deck from the galley, "Absolutely impossible,"

Devon opened his mouth to retort, but something large fell from the sky and landed on the deck, startling everybody. The crew backed away from what they saw was a man about eight to ten feet in height. He wore a black mask over his face, wore dark camouflage pants, a large green coat and a very large blade that seemed to equal his height.

The First Mate of the Axe-Heads noticed he wasn't wearing shoes and that he had webbed feet. That fact, along with the fact that he had strangely colored skin, told him that it was a merman. He pulled Geri and Freki from their sheaths and pointed them at the masked merman, "Who the hell are you?!"

The masked merman turned his head and seemed to look right at him for a few seconds before grabbing Devon by his arms and pinning him to the deck, "Cool it kid, I'm just the messenger,"

"Messenger of what?" Devon hissed.

DJ stepped forward, sabre in his hands, "Tell us who you are and what you're here for or else we may just have to kill you," he warned.

The masked merman released Devon and stepped back as the swordsman was helped by his little brother and Kirsty, "As I said, I am just the messenger. You may call me Iron Shark, and I am part of the mercenary group known as Death Roots,"

"Aw crap, not this again!" Dusty, DJ, Devon, Herman, and Kirsty moaned at the same time.

The merman looked at all of them, "We have your sniper. Niri,"

Immediately the deck was flooded with all sorts of curses and angry honks. The merman just adjusted his mask and pulled out slips of paper from his coat. He held the slips up, "Each one of you will follow these directions. They will lead you to a different member of Death Root," he turned back to Devon, "I trust you see where this is going...,"

Herman glared at him, both his hands turned to large pincer claws, "Why are you doing this?! You get paid to kidnap our nakama and challenge us?!"

The other merman looked to his kin, "This is a test," he explained in an even tone as he handed out the slips of paper, "...and Jaya is your battlefield,"

After passing out the slips of paper, the masked merman noticed Shan and walked over to her. To their surprise, the violet haired doctor didn't seem at all nervous about this mercenary.

"What are you doing here, Shan?" he asked, startling everyone around.

She knows this guy?! Devon and Kirsty thought at the same time, WHAT THE HELL?!

Shan crossed her arms, "I was making friends," she said coolly.

"You're going to have to do your job soon, so come on," the merman turned and walked to the railing of the ship, Shan following behind him. The doctor stopped as her newly revealed friend jumped off the deck, and turned to the crew, "Sorry about all this guys. I really hope we can still be friends. Bye," she waved farewell and jumped off the boat.

The entire crew stood there, a little dumbfounded at what had just happened. Devon turned to Kirsty, "I bet you're feeling really stupid right now,".

Kirsty just turned away, face red, "Shut up,"

"What do we do now?" Dusty asked, "Niri's been kidnapped, we've been told to go somewhere, and to top it off, Axe and the others still aren't back yet!"

"I don't think that matters," Devon sheathed his weapons and cracked his neck, "Niri was traveling with Axe, so there's a very good chance he already knows and was given orders by this mercenary group. As for Chizuru and Azu, let's just hope they didn't get roped into this," he looked around at the others, then at the slip of paper in his hand, "We have no choice. For Niri's sake, we have to obey these asses if we want her back safe and sound. Gear up, folks...it's time we kick some ass,"

-----

After a short time of preparation, the remaining Axe-Heads left the ship, split up, and went to the places they were supposed to go.

Herman and Dusty's slip told them that they both should go to an empty bar on the other side of Mock Town. The lobsterman was ready and willing to clobber those who kidnapped his friend, while Dusty had snagged at least one Rumble Ball to use in this so called test. She would've brought more, but the memory or rather the story, Herman and the others told her about her going nuts and beast-like with three Balls, made her decide to just take one with her.

When the two of them approached the bar, Dusty put her hands behind her head and turned to her friend, "Hey Herman, what do you think these guys look like?" she asked loudly.

The lobsterman shrugged, "I don't know, kit, but judging from the strength I sensed in that merman when he came aboard our ship, they might be powerful. So, be alert and be careful," he looked around as they stopped at the bar, "Are we at the right place?"

"Think so. Hey, who knows? Maybe we got lucky and they chickened out!" Dusty said excitedly, bouncing a little.

Herman shook his head, "These guys are serious...that much I know. C'mon, maybe their in the bar,"

"Think we can get a free drink before the test?" Dusty asked as she followed Herman to the swinging doors of the bar.

As the two of them approached the bar, a loud roar from inside greeted them and the next thing they knew, the front wall of the bar came crashing down on them. Acting quickly, Herman knocked Dusty to the ground and covered her with his body, shielding her from the debris as the building fell on top of them. When the falling rubble stopped, Herman rose to his feet, a slightly shocked Dusty in his arms.

"You okay, kit?" he asked.

Dusty looked herself over, "Yeah, I think so. You?"

"It'll take more than that to knock this old lobster down,"

"Nice of them to show up, Kuma, don't you agree?" a voice from behind asked loudly, followed by a low growling.

Herman turned and the two Axe-Heads saw a woman in a white mask and a large bear inside the bar's interior. Dusty jumped down from Herman's arms and cracked her neck, "Hey, Herman, looks like we got it easy," she grinned, "Just a woman and her stupid pet bear. Wonder why it's not wearing a fez hat, riding a small tricycle?" she tilted her head to the side, "Also, why the hell is it smoking a cigar?"

The masked woman leaned downward and whispered something in the bear's ear.

Dusty's ears twitched and her eyes went wide, "Holy crap! Herman!" she pointed to the masked woman, "She can speak animal!"

"Well, not technically," the bear rose to his hind legs and both the lobster and kitsune watched as it transformed from a large bear to a very large, well-built young man. He stood at least seven feet tall, wore cargo pants and had brown curly, untamed hair.

He looks familiar...Dusty thought to herself, her jaw dropping as the man stretched his arms and flexed his muscles.

"Ah! It feels good to be back like this!"

Dusty pointed at the man, "That dude's huge! Height and muscle wise!" she looked back and forth from the masked woman to the huge man, then patted Herman on his shell, "Big guy's all yours, Red!"

The woman, Death, pulled a scythe from her side and the man grinned widely, showing sharp teeth behind his cigar.

"Looks like you're mine, merman," the tall man cracked his knuckles and turned to his ally, "Death, it seems you have the fox girl,"

Death giggled behind her mask, "Perfect. I've had the urge to kill a fox lately,"

Herman and Dusty looked at each other, then back at the mercenaries that stood in front of them.

-----

DJ burst into the theater that he was told to go to and looked around. It was mostly empty, save for a couple of dead bodies that littered the floor.

"Mock Town music must be horrible," he cracked.

"Vell, 'ou got here quick," a voice drawled.

DJ peered through the dim light of the theater to see a man with a guitar in his hands sitting a few yards ahead of him. He smirked as he pulled out his sabre, "I'm DJ, musician of the Axe-Head Pirates," he introduced himself as his eyes wandered over the bodies again, "I take it you're part of Death Root?"

The man with the guitar nodded, "Yes, 'ou may call me El Mariachi," he bowed his head a little, "...and I am a musician also,"

Without another word, DJ ran at El Mariachi and brought his sabre down on his head, "This is for Niri!"

With amazing speed, Mariachi brought his guitar up and blocked DJ's guitar, "So, 'ou have a Devil's Fruit," he mused as he spun around, pulling back the neck of his guitar.

To DJ's great surprise, a gunshot rang through the theater and he felt a pain in one of his arms. He backed off, holding his now bleeding arm, "What the hell was that?!" he demanded, trying to bring his arm up, but it turn too badly, "What did you just do?!"

"I shot 'ou," Mariachi explained simply, "That bullet I shot vas made of Seastone,"

That definitely threw DJ off, because with Seastone in him, he was weakened and couldn't use his Devil Fruit. A look of worry crossed his face as Mariachi approached him.

"Aw, crap...,"

-----

"Man, this is not good...," Kirsty scratched her head as she traversed the streets of Mock Town, "We get out of prison, finally make it to Jaya, and now my friend has been abducted by mercenaries. We got bad luck marked for us, it seems,"

She was so deep in thought, she didn't really see where she was going and bumped into something. Catching herself and coming to her senses, Kirsty turned back to see what she had bumped into. It was a man leaning on a staff, and he looked both disoriented and startled.

"Oh my goodness, I am so sorry!" Kirsty apologized quickly as she placed a hand on the man's shoulder, "I didn't see where I was going!"

"It's okay, neither did I," the man chuckled, showing her his sightless eyes, which made her feel even worse, "It's no problem, really. Though, I am happy to meet you,"

"Huh? Why?"

The man chuckled, "Most people who bump into a blind man don't even stop to apologize to them. May I please have your name, Miss? I would love to know the name of the one person who came and apologized for the action?"

Well, at least he's not angry... Kirsty smiled in a friendly smile, "Kirsty. My name is Kirsty Chambers,"

The blind man bowed his head, "Thank you, Miss Chambers, for your kindness. I hope you have a wonderful day,"

"Why, thank you," Kirsty smiled wider, He's so polite...

With the pleasantries said, Kirsty started walking again, but once again, she bumped into the blind man, who didn't seem to have his bearings yet.

"Sorry!"

"It's alright, it's alright,"

After making sure that he was on the right way again, Kirsty started walking to her destination. But, as she walked, she noticed something was different. The belt inside her coat felt much light. Checking herself, she discovered that her golden sai were missing! That's a good thing about solid gold weapons, they weigh so much, you can tell when they've been lifted by a pickpocket.

But who...?

"Miss White Dragon, allow me to introduce myself,"

Kirsty tensed and sensed something coming at her head. She quickly spun around caught her sai, which were flying right at her. She looked around, but she couldn't find the blind man anywhere! Suddenly, he appeared in front of her in a blur. Instinctively, she brought her arms up to protect herself just as the blind man's staff came at her. The force from the strike, even with her blocking the staff, sent her flying into a nearby wall.

"I hope your friends are doing better, because at the rate you're going...you are going to need someone to bury your body,"

-----

Geez, this is unbelievable! Devon shook his head as he walked through another part of Mock Town, I just wanted to find out about myself and that girl Shidyk was helping and the first day we're here, one of us gets kidnapped! What the hell is with this crew's luck!?

'Could be worse...'

How the hell could it be worse?

'Well for one thing, something's coming at us!'

Devon's ears perked as a whistling sound reached him. He felt one of his sword snaps break and he saw an arrow fly past him. Quickly, he spun around and grabbed another arrow that would've lodged itself in his head if he didn't realize it was coming. He looked at the arrow and frowned,This isn't a normal arrow...this kinda looks like...oh shit!

He quickly threw the arrow as far and as high as he could and seconds later, the arrow exploded, engulfing the nearby rooftops with a great flame. Devon scowled, Looks like I'm in the right spot. No way was that meant for someone else...

"Aerial Rave!"

Devon watched as a man suddenly flew through the flames on the rooftop. He saw the attacker carried two swords: one white and one black. He also watched as this man unleashed a barrage of strikes that were surprisingly rhythmical. The blonde nittoryu user quickly blocked as many as he could with one of his swords, but that didn't stop some blows getting through. When the assault stopped, Devon now had two gashes on one arm, one on his chest, one on each of his legs and a small graze on his cheek. He could feel blood slowly ooze down his face as he stared down his attacker.

The man with white and black swords stood a few yards away, arms hanging limp at his sides, his swords grazing the street. Shadows covered most of his face, but Devon could see a sinister grin on his face, as well as two shining eyes...two shining red eyes.

"Devon the Demon...," the man swayed from side to side, "...how good it is to meet a fellow nittoryu user," he slowly raised one sword and pointed it at Devon's face, "I'm Crow of the Death Root,"

Devon growled, "You're dead,"

-----

Somewhere outside of Jaya, on an open field, Austin and Pingu stood side by side, staring down at their supposed enemy. They expected a rough-looking punk, or a wicked woman...but not this! Standing opposite of them, was a young girl in a bright yellow jacket, long blonde hair flowing behind her and what appeared to be kitchen knives in her hands.

"Hi! I'm Sunshine of the Death Roots, and this is Pan!" she pointed to a tiny panda bear that sat on top of her head, "You two must be Austin the silent boy from the Axe-Heads! Are you ready to go?"

Austin glanced at Pingu, who seemed to stare at the panda, who wore an orange hoody, then back at the small girl called Sunshine.

Why do we get the short people? he wondered with a sigh.

-----

Axe watched as the man known as Leader removed his jacket and sandals, placing them in a pile nearby. He cracked his neck and gripped his weapon, "Why did you attack us?" he demanded in a shaking voice, the anger in him building with each passing second.

Leader smiled, "I'll tell you later, when the time is right. Let's begin, shall we?"

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Kilnorc: Man, I'm on a roll with this! First day in Jaya, and not only did Devon fight against a certain Bellamy pirate, but now each of them, save a handful, are fighting against mercs. Prepare yourselves, for this will rule!

On the next chapter of Homeland...

Herman: Kuma Kuma no Mi? Wow...didn't see that coming.

Dusty: Ha! You may have a scythe, but I got two of them, so there!

Death: Amount of weapons doesn't matter, fox...it's what's behind those weapons!

Kuma: You're gonna have to do better if you want to save Niri.

Claw Clashings and Scythe Slashings.

Dusty: WHAT THE HELL?! A BUNNY GIRL?!