Chapter 28: The Azala Corps Commanders

Disclaimer: Don't own One Piece.

As the group of five pirates made their way through the woods, Niri kept looking at Axe's back as he led them on. She had known him for a long time, and she had never seen him like that before at all.

Devon walked past her and joined Axe at his side, "You sure you know where you're going, boss?" he asked. His captain nodded, "Yeah, Nikka told me the directions on how to get to the mansion...," he said quietly.

"Why'd you want only the four of us to go with? Chizuru and Austin are good in a fight!"

"Exactly...Nikka's probably still being hunted by Azala and his Corps...she'll be safe with them,".

Devon couldn't beat that logic, so he remained silent and fell back into the back of the group next to Kirsty. Axe kept his eyes forward on the road ahead, thoughts running through his head.

He's working for her...she knew I'd come...

"Yo...,"

Axe stopped and looked ahead. Past the brush and trees, stood a proud looking building. It was covered with beautiful stones and markings. Pillars lined the outside and ponds could be seen in the moonlight. Devon shook his head, "This guy doesn't spare any expense huh?" he whispered. Axe shook his head, "I've seen bigger and more elaborate...this guy's low rent...," he retorted.

Niri checked her pistol and made sure the barrel was fully loaded, then checked the sights before holstering it. She looked at Axe, "So what's the plan, Captain?" she whispered. Axe cracked his knuckles and made his way through the treeline towards the mansion, leaving his nakama to catch up with him.

"Sir! Lord Azala! The pirates have entered the mansion grounds! We are currently scrambling the Corps defenses!".

Azala turned to the man who had reported and smirked, "No no no...these are our guests. Let them in and have the staff welcome them. Get my commanders and have them meet the guests in their rooms...," he ordered, waving his hand.

The soldier looked at his Lord, confused, but knew it was better to question so he left the room. Azala let out a sigh and looked behind him to a shadowy area, "I hope this Axe is as strong as you say he is...I don't want to havea waste of time," he said in a warning tone.

A light chuckle came from the shadows, "Oh don't worry. He's strong alright. I can't help but wonder if he's gotten any stronger...,".

Azala huffed and sat down in a large, red plush chair, "I hope his crew is as strong as him as well. My commanders haven't had much fun lately and I fear they're on the brink of madness,".

"Oh yes. Exile, Doku, Gosler, and Katt, the fiercest group of the Rabite Pirate crew...,"

Azala chuckled, "That's a name I haven't heard in a while...,"

The crew had entered the building without any problems. Devon and Niri kept their hands on their weapons, Kirsty and Dusty kept looking behind them, and Axe kept staring straight ahead. A maid walked in their path, "Welcome to Lord Azala's mansion. How may I serve you, sir?" she greeted kindly. Axe glared at her, "Where's Azala?" he demanded.

The maid shrank back a bit and pointed down the hall, "Down that way sir...he's expecting you," she replied.

Expecting? How the hell could he be expecting us? No one knows we here except... Axe's eyes went wide and he broke into a run. "OY! AXE YOU BAKA, WAIT UP!" Niri yelled as the rest of them started running after him.

The group ran down the hall until coming to a large room with five intersecting hallways. At the end of each hallway was a large door. Dusty's ears twitched and she put her hands behind her head, "Five doors...five of us. Can anyone but me just sense the word trap?" she asked looking at her nakama.

Niri jabbed Axe in the chest with her thumb, "Oy...what's going on with you? I know there's something up with you and I think we have a right to know!" she snapped. Axe slapped his friends hand away, "Don't touch me, Niri," he growled.

"WELCOME, PIRATES!" a booming voice echoed through the room. Dusty and Kirsty jumped and latched onto one another out of reflex while Devon whipped out Water Moon.

"My name is Azala, and I am the Lord of Phlan. I thought it would be fun if each of you got to meet a special friend while your stay here. Now, if each of you would be so kind as to go down one of the halls and through the door, we can speed this visit up!"

Axe slowly looked around the ceiling for the source, "We're here to kill you, Azala...not to have fun!" he yelled.

"...I see. Well if you're not willing to participate in this fun time of mine, I guess I'll have no choice but to order my men that are currently heading towards your ship to open fire and spare no one...,"

Shit... Axe glanced at Devon who was seething. He knew that Devon loved his little brother more than anything and that if anything had happened to him...he'd go ballistic. He let out a sigh and turned to his nakama, "Each of you, go down the door closest to you. After all this, we'll meet up back here and then we'll see what we can do from there,".

Dusty jumped over Niri and waved her paws around, "Whoa whoa whoa, hold on. You're just gonna listen to the scary voice?" she said in a panicky tone, "Did I mention this has the word trap written all over it?".

She yelped when Devon grabbed her arm, "You heard what he said...he's got the ship targeted and Austin is on the ship!" he snarled. Dusty glared and scratched him, "I heard that, Demon!" she snapped, pointing to her ears, "I'm just saying...,"

"ENOUGH! BOTH OF YOU!"

The group of four jumped after Axe barked at them. They looked at him and he turned away from them and started to make his way to the middle door, "I gave you all an order and I expect you all to follow it!".

Azala looked over his shoulder at the sound of laughter in the shadows. "What's so funny?" he asked the woman in the dark. She waved him off, "Oh...he's just over the time since I've last seen him. It's really quite funny!".

The large man shook his head, and reached for a Den Den Mushi on his desk. He picked up the reciever and pushed the button on the side, "Attention, Commanders of the Azala Corps! We have guests tonight and they will be treated as special guests. Is that understood?".

"Yes Master...," a deep throaty voice replied through the snail.

"Of course, Lord Azala," another voice replied, this one more creepy and raspy.

"Hehehehehe...fun time!" an excited woman shouted.

"Let them come...," a young man added.

Devon looked around the large room he had entered. Dozens of spears and swords lined the walls and the middle of the room looked like something or someone was just killed. Blood stained the middle of the room and as he advanced, Devon could hear it squish and slosh under his feet.

Definitely fresh kill... he thought as he looked around. "Ok, I know someone's here, so c'mon out!" he yelled.

"So forceful...," a raspy voice greeted from the darkness, "I can feel your anger, boy. I can feel the souls of the ones you've killed swirling around your aura. You, young one, are on your way...,".

Devon unsheathed his normal blade and twirled his weapons, "Only a coward hides in the dark! So either come out or just let me pass to Azala!" he ordered.

Heavy footfalls behind him made Devon turn around. He let a gasp slip out as his eyes widened. A short ways away from him, a large figure in black samurai armor stood silently. The figure had two swords at it's side and and it wore a gold facemask. Devon peered and he could swear he could see purple flame swirling behind it.

"So...who're you?" the blonde swordsman asked as he backed away for good measure. The samurai chuckled darkly, "My name...is Doku!".

Niri stared hard at the man in front of her. He was a man of average height, with dark hair and a look in his eyes. The look of both a trained killer, and a marksman. She slid her pistol out of her holster and whirled the barrel for effect and drama.

The man snickered, "So...a woman comes to fight the mighty Gosler? A rare treat...and such a pretty one at that!" he added. Niri smirked as she glanced around the room. Ammo boxes and numerous firearms littered the sides of the room, "I may be a girl, boyo...but I'm as deadly as I am pretty!".

Gosler reached behind him and pulled out a pair of odd looking pistols. The things that made them look so odd, was the curved blades on the handles. Niri frowned, "Close combat pistols? Man, you must really suck at aiming from a distance!"

BANG!

A bullet whizzed past just under her ear, releasing some of her hair. She remained calm while Gosler blew the smoking barrel, "You were saying, girl?".

"Wow...you're a big boy ain't ya?" Kirsty asked the man in front of her. Her "host" was a huge man, almost twice the size of her, with dozens of black tatoos and other markings covering his arms, chest and face. From the large, bulging muscles, black pants and heavy combat boots...he looked quite intimidating.

The man chortled loudly and cracked his neck. Kirsty cringed as a sickening crunch was heard as he did so. He cracked his knuckles, leaned from side to side and looked straight at her, "What's your style?" he asked.

Kirsty pulled out her sai and flipped them around to get a good feel of them, "I have a variety I use...," she replied quietly. The man nodded, "I see...well let's see if it can stand up against mine!".

She looked at him for a few minutes, "It's kinda rude to start a fight without introducing yourself," she scolded lightly. The tatooed man raised an eyebrow, "Fine then. My name is Exile!".

Dusty sniffed around the room she was in. Poles were erected in at least a dozen areas and a fire was lit in the middle of the room.

"Geez...who stays in here, a stripper?" she asked, nearly gagging on the smell of the fire's smoke.

"CLOSE BUT NO CIGAR!"

Before she could react, Dusty felt a pain in her back right before sliding across the floor. She rolled over and looked back to see a girl, a little older than she was, twirling a large staff in the air. The girl had a striped tail coming out from behind her, claws extending from her fingers, and pointed ears on her head.

The girl walked a little closer to Dusty, "Well well well...I'm lucky! A girl who's eaten a Zoan-type of Cursed Fruit. What kind did you eat?" she asked, tilting her head to the side. Dusty flipped over onto her feet and pulled her scythes from her belt, "I ate the Kit Kit fruit...you?" she shot back.

"Hehe...I ate the Neko Neko no Mi: Model Tiger fruit!" the girl replied with a toothy grin. Large fangs appeared and Dusty glowered, "Cat Cat, Model Tiger? Well that's a new one for me...," she murmured.

The girl giggled and began to twirl her polestaff again, "Well glad you like it. Cuz when I'm done with you, the only thing that'll be new for you are the gates of Heaven! I am Katt the PoleFighter, and I show no mercy!".

Kilnorc: Wow...interesting twist. If anyone was confused about Axe's problem or what the motive here is exactly...just wait a bit longer. It'll come soon enough. Well that's it for this one, ja ne!