Remnants of God Part One: Return

Disclaimer: Don't own One Piece.

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During breakfast the next morning, Pingu found himself staring at Niri, who was gushing over the Sky Fox that she was currently holding in her arms.

He better not be moving in on my turf! Pingu's eye twitched, I helped him out just like the others!

"This little fox is so cute!" Niri squealed, hugging the Sky Fox closely, "From now on, your name is Sora!"

Great, she named him... Pingu walked off, irritated as Dusty plopped down next to her nakama.

"Hey, if that thing is cute," Dusty pointed at Sora, "Then I must be gorgeous!"

"Get over yourself, kit," Niri muttered, stroking Sora's fur, "Yeah, she's got a big head, don't she?"

Dusty's eye twitched and she reached out for Sora, "Why you little...,"

Ka-click!

Niri pressed her pistol against Dusty's forehead, "Back off...,"

While Niri threatened Dusty with a slug to the skull, the others were preparing for today's raid. Chizuru had a map rolled out on a slab of stone while the White Berets, Shandians and her nakama stood around it. Using the best knowledge they had, they marked the areas that were cleared out recently, giving them an idea of where to go today.

"Based off the numbers we have accumulated," Chizuru jotted down notes on a piece of paper, "The number of Enforcers killed in the Survival Game from Eneru's reign in addition to those we eliminated yesterday leaves us...," she looked up, "Originally fifty Enforcers minus all those leave us...,"

Axe looked at her notes, "At least thirty Enforcers left,"

"Thirty?" Herman crossed his arms, "I thought we'd have a lot less than that,"

"They must be using the trees and avoiding us," McKinley thought aloud, "It would take us forever to find them all if they're sticking to the trees,"

Devon cleared his throat, "Well, my group can get them easier because my brother has Mantra, so we're set there,"

"But only one child with Mantra isn't enough to speed things along," Gan Fall reasoned, "The only other one who has Mantra is Aisa and we can't ask her to join in this,"

"Oi, why not!"

Everyone turned to see Aisa standing behind them, an annoyed look on her face and an inactive Burn Blade in her hand. She waved the stick, "I'm a Shandian Warrior, too! This is my home and I'll fight just like everyone else to make it safe for us all!" she turned to her cousin, who held a rifle in her arms, "Laki, let me fight with you guys!"

"Aisa, it's risky enough for a child who can hold his own to wager his life in business like this, but to add two children to it-," she stopped when Devon turned and walked over to the young Shandian.

Devon bent down to her level and looked her right in the eyes, "Say you do come with us. What will you do?"

"Fight!"

"If we say duck or run...,"

"I'll do it!" Aisa swore, "I wanna do my part! Besides, it's not fair that you let Austin go! Take away the Dials and he's just like me, a kid with Mantra!"

Axe grinned, "She's got spunk...I say we let her join,"

Laki shot him a dirty look.

"I agree," Devon rose to his feet and turned to the others, a smirk on his face, "Shedid survive Eneru's reign and she does have Mantra,"

Everyone turned to Laki, who looked at Aisa, then Devon and Austin, then sighed in defeat.

"I'm going to regret this,"

-----

"Thanks for letting me come with you guys,"

Niri eyed Azu as she steered the boat down another Milky Road deep inside Upper Yard, "No backseat groping or you're going overboard...got it, baka?"

"Aw, you're no fun...," Azu pretended to pout but looked away, "I'm just glad to be here with you guys. With Axe and Chizuru, I was bored outta my skull. All we ever really found yesterday was some ruins, that big ass python and a huge salt crystal,"

Herman swiveled his stalks to him, "Salt crystal? Why didn't you tell me about it, I could've looked at it!"

Azu shrugged and leaned back, "Aw, don't worry about it. It's back in the city, I'll show you when we get back,"

"I hope so," Herman folded his arms, looking annoyed, "Chance to see Sky seasonings and you don't tell me about it," he smacked Azu upside the head, "Baka,"

Azu rubbed his head, "Why is everyone calling me baka? What did I do?" he whined, "Honestly, I just come for a good time-,"

Niri's shotgun was quickly aimed at him.

"Be careful about your next choice of words...,"

The shipwright gulped and sunk to the floor of the boat, "...a good time with good friends," he finished quietly.

Niri stuffed the firearm into it's holster, "Good choice,"

Azu sighed in relief, "Hate it when she does that...,"

The small boat traveled a bit farther down the Milky Road as the trio of pirates and the pair of animals sat anxiously, eyes scanning the surrounding area, ever alert for a group of Enforcers that should come their way. Unfortunately, an eternity seemed to pass by them as they turned numerous corners on the Milky Road, and nothing had shown up to fight them.

Azu's foot was tapping the floor impatiently, "Okay, where the hell are these guys?! First, I don't get much action with Chizuru and Axe, now I ain't gettin' nothing from you guys!" he placed his hands behind his head, "Maybe I should've just stayed back at the city,"

Niri's eye twitched, "Maybe you should have, Azu, maybe you should have...,"

Herman sweatdropped. By the tone in her voice, Niri was reaching her limit of Azu Tolerance. He would've advised him to back off and keep quiet, but the drunken boxer had to learn sooner or later on his own.

A loud sputtering sound filled the air around him and soon, the boat came to a complete stop. Niri frowned and pressed the pedals repeatedly, "SHIT! This thing pulled a Waver on me and broke down...," she rubbed her temple and turned to Azu, "You get any thing from those plans Pagaya showed ya branded into your brain?"

Azu scratched his head, "I think so...lemme take a look," he climbed to his feet and walked to the back of the boat, looking the engine over, "This could take a while,"

"Take your time," Niri started digging into her ammo bag while Sora and Pingu napped quietly nearby, "I think I got some flares in here. Maybe passing Skypeians or White Berets will come and help us,"

"Ho, ho-hoo! Help you?"

"No one can help you! Ho, ho-hoo!"

"Ho, that's right, ho-hoo!"

Azu looked over his shoulder while Herman and Niri shot to their feet to see three fat men in white blocking their path. Two of the three men were completely identical, right down to their fat bodies and horns coming out of their heads. The third one, however, was different. Besides the hat and long red hair he had, the third fat man's head was covered in lumps, had some teeth missing, and a broken pair of sunglasses.

"Who the hell are these three?"

The three began bouncing from side to side.

"Ho, ho-hoo!" they said in unison, "We had fallen, but we are back to give punishment to those who step on holy ground! Prepare to be punished, trespassers!"

-----

"The islands in the south are warm
Paina-puru-puru
Their heads get really hot
And they're all idiots!"

Chizuru shook her head smiling as she listened to her captain sing as the both of them walked around Upper Yard once again. He looked odd, nearly full grown wearing black shorts and matching vest, singing a song in a carefree tone. Then again, in this day and age, nothing really seemed truly odd to her.

"Second verse!" Axe cried, "Sing with me, Chizzy!"

"No, that's-,"

"The islands in the north are cold
Hyakkoi-koikoi
Their heads shiver all around
And they're all idiots!"

"Where'd you learn that song, captain?"

Axe shrugged, "I have no clue. It just popped into my head when we came into this area and I had to sing it," he turned to Chizuru, "You learn any good songs, Chiz?"

The navigator shrugged as her daggers clinked against each other with each step she took, "Some, but they are lost on me right now. I usually didn't spend my time memorizing songs, I studied my maps and did what I could with my knives," she came to a stop and became very quiet.

"Waddup?"

Chizuru lifted her head to the sky just as the sound of wings flapping was heard. Axe looked up to see both Gan Fall and Pierre hovering above them. The two of them watched Gan Fall slid off Pierre and landed in front of them. With the God of Skypeia off his ride, they saw Aisa riding Pierre, just like when they first met.

"Old man, what's up?"

Gan Fall hefted his lance, "I was scouting the area with Aisa and she said her Mantra was hearing voices that she had heard during Eneru's reign,"

"What voices?" Chizuru asked, "Enforcers?"

The God shook his head, "No, a bit worse, I'm afraid. Seems that some of Eneru's Priests have not only survived, but they are lurking around Upper Yard. They may or may not know about Eneru's defeat, but the most important thing right now is to deal with them!"

"Are these Priests strong?" Axe asked slowly, a grin beginning to cross his face.

Gan Fall nodded, "For six years, no one was able to beat them until both Shandians and Straw Hats invaded Upper Yard. Wiper took out one while Luffy's group took out the other three,"

The grin got bigger, "How many are there?"

"At least two of them,"

"Yosh! Finally a good scrap!" Axe cracked his knuckles loudly, "Bring 'em on!"

Gan Fall glanced at Chizuru, who could only smile and shrug.

"What can I say? He loves to fight...oh, and meat...lots of meat,"

-----

"Do it,"

"I don't know about this...,"

"C'mon, DJ-kun, do it! Do it, do it, do it!"

"Dusty-chan, I normally would but this is-,"

"Do it or I'm not talking to you for a week!"

DJ sighed and looked down. For some odd reason, out of boredom, the two pirates decided to try out some of the terrain to see if they could have any fun. A short discussion and a quick dash up a tall tree later, DJ now stood at the end of a thick tree branch, a vine held tightly in his hand.

"C'mon, DJ!" Dusty shouted from below, "Prove to me that you're brave! Do it or I'll tell Devon you're a wuss!"

That got to the musician. DJ took a deep breath and pushed off the tree branch.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

"DJ, watch out for that-!"

SPLAT!!!

Dusty winced as DJ's body collided with the side of another tree, making a decent imprint as bits of wood fell to the ground.

"That's gotta hurt...," Dusty cupped her hands over her mouth, "DJ-kun, are you alright?!" she yelled, "Gimme a sign you're still alive!"

DJ slowly pushed his upper body away from the bark and looked down at her, "Do...not...tell...ANYONE...about this...," he shouted before falling backward.

For the second time since they were here, DJ hit the ground hard enough to make a decent crater. Dusty ran over to him and began to poke him with a stick,"DJ-kun, you still alive?"

"I'm good...," DJ sat up, holding his back, "What am I, a physical abuse puppet for karma? What did I do to deserve this?!"

"Maybe it was a sin you performed in life...,"

Dusty and DJ turned to see a strange sight. A dog, much, much larger than either of them had seen stood across from them in the nearest treeline. Sitting on top of the dog's head was a man wearing both a pair of horned sunglasses, and a pair of baggy pants. The man had tattoos covering his body and a large, pale sword over his shoulder.

"Hey, could you give us a hand?" Dusty called out to him with a wave, "My friend hurt himself with a dumbass stunt-,"

"You told me to do it, though!"

"-and I'm not sure if he's okay to travel. Can we get a ride on your dog?"

The man pushed his sunglasses upward, "We'll free him...,"

"Oh, that's alright," Dusty waved him off, "I can get him outta the hole, I just need a ride-,"

"We'll free the both of you," the man jumped off his dog's head and tapped the sword on his shoulder a few times, "We'll free you of all the troubles in life!"

Both Dusty and DJ glanced at each other, then at the pair ahead of them.

"Say what now?"

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Kilnorc: Well, that chapter is done -cracks neck- I wanted to do the Island Song that Luffy sang (one of my fave songs) and I had to do a Tarzan vine swinging thing at least once. I know this was a bit blah, but the next few chapters will be good. Sure, only about two Priests to fight, but trust me...fun don't end with those two! MWAHAHAHA! To the preview!

On the next chapter of Homeland...

Niri: These three fatasses...are brothers?

Satori: Ho, ho-hoo! I was beaten once, but not again!

Herman: Guys, watch out, he's got Mantra and all three of them have Dials!

Kotori Hotori: Which one is which, which one is which?

Remnants of God Part Two: Triple Threat

Satori: Kill them, brothers! Ho, ho-hoo! IMPACT!