Through Fire and Flames

Disclaimer: Don't own One Piece.

Kilnorc: I've changed preview and the original title to this -points to title- See, much better!

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-West Blue, Five Years Ago...-

"So, if you don't mind me asking...how were you able to survive out there?"

Axe looked up at Rayo Verrani, who had just bought his freedom from the arena master and grinned. He held up his arms, flexing a few muscles, "Devil Fruit! I ate the Kachi Kachi no Mi when I was a kid!"

Rayo looked at him thoughtfully as he chewed on a piece of chocolate pocky, "I see...how'd you get here, anyway?"

"You won't believe it...," Axe shook his head, sighing, "I left my home island a while back to look for One Piece and-,"

"One Piece?" Rayo repeated, "You're a pirate?"

Axe made a face, "I wouldn't say that. I'm more of a treasure hunter. I respect pirates...real pirates, not the ones that go around slaughtering people for the hell of it-,"

"Like a lot of them on the seas now,"

"...but those who seek adventure and freedom!" Axe finished, a grin crossing his face, "I want to be the World's Greatest Treasure Hunter!"

Rayo looked at him, impressed, "Huh...that's a first. Usually, the people I come across are wanting to take the title from the late Pirate King,"

"Screw the title of Pirate King," Axe picked his ear, "I just wanna find the legendary treasures of the world! If I can do that, and find the elusive One Piece, then I'll have fulfilled my dream!"

"Hmm...interesting ambition," Rayo chewed another piece of the pocky stick, "Where you from?"

"This sea,"

"You're from the West Blue?"

Axe nodded, "Yep! Proud of it! Know why?"

"Why?"

"Because! The West Blue is full of history! I mean, Ohara Island being blown apart and the great 'Red-Hair Shanks' being from the West Blue...it's awesome!"

Rayo stared at him, "It's awesome...that an island got blasted by the Government?" he asked slowly.

Axe shook his head, "No, I don't mean that. I don't know the details about why they did that, even though I think people are still talking about it nowadays, but it's history, man! History and legends go hand in hand, and in both things, there is always some kind of treasure, treasure that I wanna find!"

Again, Rayo stared at him.

"What?"

"You...are a strange, little man. How old are you?"

"Uhm...," Axe looked up in thought, as if it took him a bit to remember, "Fourteen!"

Rayo's jaw dropped, "You're only fourteen years old?!"

"Yeah, I know, I look older, don't I?"

"No, but I'm surprised that a kid so young is going after One Piece!"

Axe shrugged, "Gotta go, ya gotta go,"

-Present-

Rayo, you taught me many things before the start of my first journey. If it wasn't for you, I probably would've died a lot along the way...then I wouldn't have met both old and new nakama. You gave me that axe as a gift before you left...I'll make sure to fix it as soon as I kick this asshole's butt!

"Kachi Kachi no Mi: Model...Diamond?!" Tyr repeated, staring down at the newly transformed treasure hunter, "What the hell...?"

Axe nodded and cracked his knuckles, "Like my big brother Rayo, I have the strongest Devil Fruit of it's kind!" he looked up at Tyr, "He has the Neko Neko no Mi: Model Lion, the strongest of the Neko Neko no Mi family! Well...according to him, it is,"

"Why is that?"

Axe shrugged, "A lion is usually called the King of Beasts. In my case, diamonds are the hardest rocks known to mankind, and now...," he held up his fists, "...I have their power!"

Tyr scowled, "You think...that because you look like a living gemstone, you think you can win this fight?!"

"I don't think...I know!,"

-----

Shit...shit!

Holding his side, Devon looked up at his former masters, whose blades were dripping with his blood. He knew what they were capable of from his days in the dojo, but this time...it was different! Even with Thrymr's help, he wasn't able to win.

Hugin swiped his sword through the air, the blood flying off while Munin wiped his weapon on a cloth from his pocket.

"Devon, you've been away from us for awhile...we thought you would've improved on your journeys,"

"But, if you cannot defeat us in battle...then you have no hope of defending this land,"

Devon glared at them, "SHUT THE HELL UP!" he screamed before dashing at them again.

Hugin and Munin exchanged glances briefly, then disappeared suddenly as Devon swiped at them both.

"You were the best pupil on the island, Devon...,"

"Indeed, the best. How could you have fallen so low?"

The twin masters appeared a few feet behind him. They sheathed their blades as Devon fell to the ground, blood pouring out of new wounds.

"He always was so hot headed...,"

"So impulsive,"

They turned to their former pupil and looked him over.

"We should report back to Lady Frigga...,"

"Yes, but we need to do something first,"

"Yeah...you need...," Devon tried to push off to the ground, blood leaking out, "...you need...to suffer...,"

Again, the twins glanced at each other.

"Doesn't learn, does he?"

"No, he doesn't,"

-----

"DIE ALREADY!"

"Kami-e," Axe's body suddenly became limp and easily dodged the giant sword, which made the ground split apart on contact.

Tyr growled, "You're a nuisance! A damnable nuisance!"

"So I've been told," Axe grinned as the sword was pulled out of the ground, "So many times...,"

"Try and dodge this one!" Tyr trusted the sword at him again, faster than last time. The blade made contact with Axe's torso and sent him flying a short distance before skidding along the dirt, creating two long trails in the dirt. The giant stared as Axe regained his footing, looking completely unharmed by the move.

Axe grinned wider, "I'm sorry, was that supposed to hurt?"

Tyr stared at him, "IMPOSSIBLE! That should've skewered you...cut you in two...SOMETHING!"

"You don't listen, do you?" Axe started to advance on him, "When I'm like this, my body is pure diamond! In this form, not only am I stronger...," he kicked a nearby tree, snapping it in half easily, "...but I'm also invulnerable,"

"We'll see about that!" Tyr roared, swinging his sword down onto the pirate, "I CAN CUT THROUGH ANYTHING!"

"No...you can't," Axe raised his arm and stopped the massive sword easily, "...and with your skill, you never will!"

Tyr growled and tried to pull his sword back, but was unable to, "What the hell?!"

Axe grinned, "I told you that I was stronger in this form...," he raised his other hand, "Let's see if this will get that through that thick head of yours!" he made a fist and plowed his spare hand into the giant sword, breaking it into two pieces.

Tyr's face immediately turned to one of silent shock, his jaw hanging open and his eyes wide as giant plates.

The captain threw the blade fragment into the Sky Shark infested moat nearby, "Get the message, now?"

"Y-Y-You...you...," Tyr's face turned dark red and went from shock to sheer anger, "YOU BASTARD! YOU BROKE IT!"

"Just returning the favor!" Axe snapped using Soru, disappearing from sight.

Tyr looked around, "That trick is getting very old, boy! Come out and fight like a man!"

"Just what do you know about fighting like a man?"

A loud sickening crack echoed around him and the giant let out a yell as a great pain ripped through his right leg. He went down, holding his leg, which now had a huge leg bone sticking through the flesh.

"You bastard!" Tyr grabbed his leg and tried to push it back in, but failed, "What did you do?!"

"Isn't it obvious? I broke your leg...broke it like a twig,"

"It's not possible...you're not strong enough to do something like that!" Tyr looked around, still trying to find the pirate, "You're a coward, attacking from behind!"

"Some call it being a coward, others call it taking advantage of an opportunity,"

The sound of tree bark breaking was heard and Tyr looked down to see Axe walking into view, holding a very large piece of wood over his shoulder. The giant couldn't help but grin, "You think...you think using a little stick like that...will help you?"

"I dunno...let's find out, hm?" Axe took the lumber with both hands and swung upward as hard as he could. The lumber broke on contact, but the power behind it made Tyr's head snap to the side, chunks of wood stuck in the side of his face.

"Hey, waddya know, it did!" Axe tossed the remains of the lumber away to the side as Tyr looked back at him, "You just got logged, pal!"

Tyr glared at him and raised his hook, "My turn!"

Axe glanced at the hook and sighed, "Here we go again...," he murmured as the attachment came down onto him. He waited patiently and sure enough, the hook made contact with his head. Seconds later, the top half of the hook snapped off and found itself lodged in a nearby tree.

"You done yet?"

"I'M FAR FROM DONE, WHELP!"

What happened next, looked like a strange combination of acrobatic dancing and some kind of foot stomping/demolition exercises. Tyr, furious at the change in this fight, started to rip out trees by the roots and throw them around, trying to hit Axe. Most of them missed, but those that did hit him, however, he just plowed through them with a punch or a kick.

While he confused his enemy with another disappearing act, Axe took refuge behind one of the trees that Tyr hadn't managed to rip out yet. He panted heavily, feeling weaker by the moment.

"This isn't good," he wheezed quietly, "This is my first time in this form, and already, it's taken a lot out of me...," he held his sides, feeling a burning sensation, "Running out of time...I can feel it! I don't know what'll happen to me when time runs out...but I gotta end this...NOW!"

-----

Kirsty ran through the forest of Upper Yard, desperate to find not only her friends, but Austin and Aisa. She told DJ what she had discovered, and she prayed that he got there safely to tell the others.

She flipped over a large log and kept running, Devon...Austin, Aisa, where are you guys?! she looked around frantically, Devon has to know...he has to know the truth!

-----

"I SAID COME OUT HERE, YOU BASTARD!"

Axe walked into view, a little short of Tyr's height. He gave a shrill whistle, "YO! Dumbass, over here!"

The giant spun around and glared down at Axe, "You...are pissing me off, boy!"

"You keep saying that," Axe shrugged casually, ignoring the pain in his body, "I'm getting bored, big guy, let's end this, eh?"

Tyr grinned wickedly, "My thoughts exactly!" he screamed, throwing another fast punch at the treasure hunter.

Sucker... Axe jumped high, dodging the fist entirely, landed on Tyr's arm and started running up his arm, "Here I come!"

"What the-?!"

"Geppou!" Axe jumped higher into the air, and as soon as he was close enough, he threw his leg outward, "GO DOWN!"

The roundhouse connected with the side of Tyr's face, making a loud cracking sound as the giant's head snapped to the side. He stumbled backward, pain once again shooting through his broken leg, which somehow hadn't slowed him down in the least. His vision clearing, Tyr looked around, trying to find the small diamond man, but was unable to find him again.

"Where are you?!"

"Right here!"

Tyr looked up to see Axe high above him, jumping on thin air with his Geppou.

"Get down here!"

"With pleasure!" Axe shouted back, kicking the air, soaring right for his giant enemy. As he descended, Axe stretched his legs outward, "DIAMOND MISSLE!"

Like a bullet, Axe closed the space between him and Tyr's head. Before Tyr knew it, Axe's feet collided with his forehead. Once again, a sickening crack, much louder than the previous ones, was heard. Axe grit his teeth as he put as much force in to his kick as possible, driving his lower body further and further into Tyr's skull.

Tyr's eyes rolled into the back of his head, blood running down his forehead as Axe penetrated his large skull. He stumbled backward a few times before falling onto his back, clearing another large group of trees as he fell. A large quake, one that seemed to make the entire island shake, was created as the now dead giant hit the ground.

Grunting, Axe managed to pull himself out of the hole, his entire lower body soaked with Tyr's blood. Slowly, he slid down to the ground and landed on his feet, which seemed to weigh a ton, even to him. He fell to his knees and doubled over, the pain inside his body growing more and more unbearable.

"That was...," Axe panted as his body reverted from it's diamond shell to it's normal, fleshy form, "...that was...for Rayo and...his gift,"

Exhausted, but victorious, Axe fell onto his side as his vision went black, a large smile plastered on his face.

-----

"Uh...no...way...,"

Hugin and Munin watched as Devon hit the ground, his entire body smoking. The area around them, while not badly damaged like Axe's and Tyr's battlefield, was still pretty messed up. Small craters, burnt trees, and debris littered the place.

As Munin bent down and collceted their prizes, Hugin walked over and knelt down at Devon's side, looking at the now unconscious swordsman.

"He had to know our power sooner or later, brother," Munin pointed out as he collected Geri, Freki, and the Water Moon, "Shame that it had to be like this...,"

"Yes, but it's the way things are meant to be," Hugin checked Devon's pulse, "He's still alive, as expected. Do you have them?"

"I do, brother," Munin strapped the three swords to his belt, "Geri and Freki are sights for sore eyes, aren't they?"

"Indeed. I thought they were lost for sure, but the Champion found them...,"

"And, he's found the legendary Water Moon," Munin added, "He's done well for himself,"

"Yes, he has...but he still has his true test ahead of him," Hugin rose to full height, "Come, brother, we must head back, or Lady Frigga will begin to suspect something. Don't forget the head,"

Munin sighed as he plucked Heimdall's severed head from it's resting place, then followed his brother away from the battlefield, and the fallen warrior of Odin, his remaining blade, Kitetsu, laying by his head.

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Kilnorc: Aw man, this was hard...-rubs back of head- I had this whole scene in my head and I tried to write it out, but I don't think it came out so hot. I hope it was enjoyable though, I did my best. In any case, it seems that there's something going on here with the twins, huh? What powers do they possess, given Devon's injuries? Stay tuned! Also, I'm glad to have finally revealed where Axe and Niri are from, since they grew up together.

On the next chapter of Homeland...

Frigga: So, Tyr is dead, too? Who the hell are these people?!

Kirsty: Devon, let me heal you, you're in no condition to move!

Devon: This is my fight...you guys got roped into this, but not anymore!

Wiper: This is all your fault! If it weren't for you, we'd be living our lives instead of fighting for them! GET OFF OUR ISLAND!

The Lonely Warrior's Burden

Devon: Everyone, when I find the kids...leave this island! Get the hell out of here before any more deaths happen!