Remnants of God Part Three: Iron Heart

Disclaimer: Don't own One Piece.

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DJ pressed himself against a large tree, panting heavily as beads of sweat rolled down his face. Ever since that man, Ohm, and his dog, Holy, had met them, they were both trying to kill him and Dusty for some reason! Dusty was taking refuge inside the hollow trunk of a tree, hiding from Holy, while DJ was running around, avoiding Ohm's strange sword.

That sword of his was able to grow to amazing lengths and have surprising flexibility. DJ winced and held the wound in his side that Ohm's sword gave him. The speedy swordsman looked around the tree's bark, looking for Ohm and his deadly sword.

"I don't get it...," DJ pulled back behind the tree, "Swords can't grow and they sure as hell can't be used like a whip! What the hell is that sword of his made out of?!"

"This is an Iron Cloud sword...," Ohm's voice made DJ nearly jump out of his skin, "...made with a Milky Dial in the hilt,"

DJ looked up to see Ohm sitting on a tree branch above him, "...shit!"

Ohm pushed his horned sunglasses upward as he watched Holy growl and bat one of his giant paws at the tree where Dusty was hiding. The Priest tapped his shoulder with his sword, "Iron Cloud is a mineral that is strong as steel, but very light, like a feather. The Milky Dial in the hilt allows the blade to stretch and become flexible enough to use as a whip, or in any other way I wish it to be used,"

DJ turned his attention from Ohm to the giant dog that had Dusty cornered in her tree. He looked at Ohm quickly, then started to run to the dog, "Hang on, Dusty-chan!"

"Eisen Whip!"

The swordsman looked over his shoulder, then dove to the side when he saw Ohm's sword's tip come right at him. DJ hit and rolled along the ground as Ohm's blade dove into the soil a few feet away, "Shit, that almost got me...," he winced and held his bloody side, "This ain't helping me much,"

Ohm retracted his sword, stuck his fingers in his mouth and blew a sharp whistle, "Holy! Come!"

The huge dog barked and stomped over to Ohm's tree, allowing the Priest to jump onto his head. Dusty poked her head out of the hollow tree and looked around, "Is it safe to come out?"

"About as safe as it can be," Ohm looked at her and patted Holy on the head, "It's time, Holy, enough playing around. Let's deal with these Blue Sea dwellers!"

The giant dog barked and rose onto his hind legs. To add to DJ's and Dusty's surprise, the dog's feet shuffled back and forth as the huge canine punched at the air with his paws.

Dusty blinked, "This huge dog can fight on his hind legs like people!? What the hell, man??"

Ohm pushed his glasses up again, "I'm a Sky Breeder. Here, in the sky, I train all sorts of animals. Holy," he patted the dog on the head again, "...is a very loyal creature. I have trained him hard. Not only does he know discipline, but he is a Prize Fighter," he looked at the two pirates, "You have no hope of winning,"

"Man, if we had 1,000,000 beli for every time we heard that...," DJ shook his head.

Dusty nodded, "We'd be richer than most Kings,"

"Enough talk!" Ohm jumped of Holy's head and flew at DJ, "Eisen Whip!" he swung his sword and the blade stretched out towards DJ.

"Shit, here we go again!" DJ ran to the side, barely dodging the blade.

Dusty ran back to the tree she was hiding in and dove into the trunk just as Holy threw a furry punch at her. She skidded across the dirt and looked back at the hole in the trunk and shook her tail at the dog, "Can't touch this, ya dumb mutt!"

Holy's reply was knocking a huge hole in the tree with both paws. Dusty's hair stood on end as the tree fell over with a loud creak, exposing the kitsune's position to the giant dog.

"Oh...shit...," Dusty waved meekly at Holy, "Uh...nice doggy?

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He thinks because he has unusual speed, he can beat me? Ohm watched as DJ darted from tree to tree, Poor fool, he has no idea what he's doing. Why does he spend his final moments in this world like this? So wasteful... he thought, sitting on a tree branch as DJ ran up the tree, sabre at the ready, Fool...

"Sharp Note!"

Ohm leaned back as DJ's saber flew past him. With a hmph, Ohm grabbed the tree branch and swung around, nailing DJ in the head hard. The musician's head snapped back as Ohm's boot made contact, throwing him off balance. However, before he could fall to the ground, Ohm caught him by slipping his Cloud sword through the sleeves of DJ's red shirt. DJ's head pounded as blood slowly slipped down the side of his face. He looked down to see that he was hovering high above the ground, his black clad legs dangling like two dark worms on a hook.

Why the hell did he catch me?! DJ lifted his head to see Ohm looking down at him, If he wants me dead, he would've let me fall instead of catching me!

"I'd do something if I were you, boy," the Priest said quietly, "At least put up a fight,"

DJ grit his teeth, He predicts my movements...guess that makes him a Mantra user like Austin. Well, guess that means I gotta do something to throw him off or else he's gonna nail me with that sword again...! he reached down and felt the familiar damp area of his bloody wound, This is gonna up again...what the hell can I do?!

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"Okay, nice doggy, nice doggy!"

Dusty jumped over an incoming paw swipe from Holy and climbed to a tree branch which met the giant dog at his chest. The kitsune gulped and held up her hands, "Is there any possible way we can end this with you not biting my head off?" she asked, a weak smile on her face.

Holy barked and lunged forward, jaws wide.

"Shit, guess not!" Dusty hugged the body of the tree as most of the branch she was standing on broke off and found itself in the mouth of Ohm's giant dog. She looked back to see Holy spitting the wood out of his mouth. Dusty looked around the area, "I cannot keep doing this! Either he's gonna squish me with a paw or really bite my head off!" she looked back at Holy, I can't find a good spot to hurt him! With him moving around like that, he could anything to knock me off and kill me then!

Holy finished spitting out the tree bark and looked at her, a pissed off look in his eyes.

Dusty sighed and set herself on the remaining branch bit as she took out her scythes, "Man, this has got to be the stupidest idea I've ever had...and that is saying something,"

The large dog walked closer and closer to her, baring his teeth.

"BANZAI!" Dusty jumped off the branch...and right into Holy's mouth.

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"DUSTY-CHAN!" DJ screamed, horrified that his nakama had just been eaten by the giant dog, "YOU SONOFABITCH, SPIT HER OUT! BAD DOG! VERY, VERY BAD DOG!"

"She willingly gave herself to my dog, so she got what was coming to her!"

DJ suddenly found himself being lifted upward. He looked over to see Ohm pushing his glasses up again with his spare hand. Ohm turned and met his gaze, "Your time of death has come, Blue Sea Dweller. If you didn't care so much for the girl, you would've lasted longer,"

"Man, up yours!"

Ohm swung his blade, flinging DJ off his Iron Cloud sword and towards the ground. DJ hit the soil hard and skipped along the ground, his blood splattering across the area as his wound became worse and worse.

"Eisen Whip!"

Despite his wounds, DJ quickly rolled to the side, dodging another attack from Ohm's Iron Cloud sword. He gripped his sabre tightly with one hand as his other hand held his wound, trying to keep both blood and guts from spilling out.

This guy's too much! I can barely move with the pain and even if I could, he'd just use Mantra to counter me! I had an easier time with that Marine Captain because I could fool him with my speed, but this guy's Mantra! It's..it's... DJ looked up at Ohm, who was retracting his blade, Is this really where it ends? Funny...I knew Heaven was in the sky, but this... DJ grinned and lowered his head ...not the welcoming committee I was expecting.

"Eisen Whip!" Ohm lashed out at DJ again, "Farewell, Blue Sea dweller!"

I'm coming, Dusty-chan... DJ closed his eyes, I'm sorry Sirena...I failed you!

"Alfheim, Hikari Nami!"

The sound of metal being struck by something made DJ lift his head to see Ohm's sword being pulled back as a couple of familiar figures came into the scene. Devon held out both Geri and Freki, stepping in between DJ and Ohm while Kirsty ran up to him.

"Shit, he's hurt bad," Kirsty knelt down beside him, "DJ, can you move?"

"Not...really...,"

"Where's Dusty?"

DJ coughed blood and pointed weakly at Holy, who was sitting nearby, "In...that thing's...stomach,"

Kirsty's eyes bulged out of her head as she stared at the dog, "You have got to be kidding me,"

"She just...leapt into it," DJ gasped in pain, "I wanted to help her, but I couldn't...,"

"It's okay, don't worry, I'll get her, but we gotta get you to a safe place," Kirsty looked him over, "Can you handle more pain?"

"I'll handle what I can, just get Dusty-chan outta that beast's stomach!"

Kirsty nodded and looked back at Devon, who was walking towards Ohm, swords at the ready, "Be careful, Devon,"

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While Kirsty and Austin moved DJ to a safe area, Devon cracked his neck and spun his blades around, "So, you're a Priest of Eneru's, huh? Hate to break it to ya, but he got his ass kicked awhile back by a kid,"

Ohm pushed his glasses upward, "I'm aware of that, boy,"

"Oh, are you now?" Devon nodded, "Alright, then why are you still fighting like this against people?"

Ohm smirked, "We have our reasons. One of mine is to become stronger," he pulled off his muscle shirt to reveal fresh scars on his chest, "A man with three swords did this to me. Somehow, he broke through my blade and gave me these markings. I won't let that happen again,"

"We'll see, won't we?" Devon crossed his blades together, "Tanketetsu!"

The Priest easily dodged the attack and jumped off the branch he was on, "Too easy,"

Devon growled, "Mantra, huh?"

Ohm raised an eyebrow, "How do-?" he then noticed Devon's wings on his back, "Ah, I see. You're one of the Sky People. Which are you, Shandian or Skypeian?"

"Shandian," Devon slid into another stance, "Just so ya know, you screwed with the wrong people, Priest. I admit, that dumbass musician's getting better, but he can use some refinement. But until then, looks like I'll have to save his ass again,"

Ohm stared hard at him,He's going to run at me with both swords and try to stab me with enough power to make me unable to fight. But, there's something strange about this kid... he frowned, I can hear two voices instead of one within his body. I've never sensed anything like this before, not even in God Eneru! Who is this kid?!

"Shinigami-giri!"

The Priest held out his sword, "Eisen Back!"

Ohm's sword turned from a simple blade into a large, thick, perfect square. Devon's blades made contact with the newly formed wall, stopping instantly. The blonde swordsman growled and continued to press against the wall, despite the fact that that wall had stopped him just moments before.

"Fool, you cannot break through this!" Ohm's voice chuckled from the other end, "This is like a steel wall!"

"Steel, huh?" Devon grinned as one of his swords began to glow red, steam rising off the metal, "I think I can handle it. What about you?"

Seconds later, a squelching sound was heard and the heated sword passed through the wall like a hot knife through butter. Devon heard Ohm gasp in both surprise and pain, followed by the smell of singed meat. He quickly withdrew his weapons and watched as Ohm's sword returned to normal before the Priest fell to the ground, a smoking hole in his chest.

"Looks like Roronoa Zolo ain't the only one that kicked your ass, pal," Devon kicked Ohm hard in the gut, sending the man into a nearby tree. He looked down at the singed blade and picked it up, looking it over.

"You know, this isn't that bad of a blade," he mused, looking at the weapon, "It's a bit damaged, but I think I can find someone to fix it," he glanced at Ohm's unmoving body, "Thanks for the prize, man," he sheathed his weapons and placed the Iron Cloud sword behind his neck, "Might use it, or I might not...either way, I think I deserve it,"

A loud growling sound made Devon looked behind him to see Holy standing over him, paws raised. Devon pointed the sword at him, "Wanna piece of me, mutt?"

Holy opened his mouth and lunged at him, but before he even got close to Devon, the beast of a dog stopped suddenly. His paws went straight to his stomach, which seemed to have lumps rippling all around the fur. Devon frowned, "What the hell?"

Howling, Holy backed away, holding his stomach as more and more lumps appeared. As Devon wondered what was wrong with this dog, the beast doubled over and vomitted. Disgusted, Devon watched as a certain fox girl slid out of the dog's mouth and onto the ground, looking both pissed and sickened. She climbed to her feet, dripping from head to toe in bile, and swung a roundhouse kick right into Holy's cheek.

"BAD DOG! NO EATIE THE CUTIE!" she screamed as the dog fell onto the ground, unmoving with a smoldering lump on his face.

Devon stared at her, surprised, "When the hell did you get so strong?"

"I have my moments," Dusty huffed as she looked herself over, "God, this is disgusting!"

"Could be worse...," Devon shrugged, "Could've come out the other end,"

"Shut...the hell...up!"

As they went to check on their friends, a pair of figures watched from high above, having watched the entire battle, gone unnoticed by either party. The figures looked at Devon and his friends, then at each other, then vanished without a trace.

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Kilnorc: Okay, okay... -claps- I'm aware that this chapter was a bit off with the fights, but even though I've seen the fight between Zolo and Ohm, I wasn't sure if I could top it with DJ, so I thought I'd give him some help. I'm not favoring Devon, and I'm not intentionally making DJ a weaker fighter than him, I'm really not. Though, this way, it does give him a lot more room for development in his training, right? Anyhoo, I'm sure you guys got questions about recent stuff, but not to worry, all will be explained in due time!

On the next chapter of Homeland...

DJ: I can't believe I got my ass saved by you, Demon!

Devon: Shut up, be glad I helped at all...

Dusty: Wow...who would've thought that there was a wolf pack up here?

Gan Fall: Nola...! She's survived Eneru and Burn Bazookas! What could've done this to her?!

Campfire Warning

Aisa: WIPER!!!