Chapter 34: Captain against Lord: Axe vs Azala!

Disclaimer: Don't own One Piece.

The two men stood silently in the room, Azala staring at Axe, who was currently plucking a musketball from his forehead. Axe sighed as he finally pulled away the pistol ammuntion, "Everytime, whether it's gunfire or cannonfire, it stings...,".

"What...the hell are you...,"

Axe straightened his jacket and looked at the false Lord, "Something not of Hell, I can tell ya that much. Although I am cursed in many ways...,"

BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG

The young man growled in annoyance as five more musketballs collided with his head. He shook his head and the ammunition fell to the floor, "Ok, seriously, that's getting annoying,".

Azala lowered the pistol and looked hard at him, "You're not an ordinary human, are you?" he asked quietly. Axe shook his head, "I'm afraid not, pal. You want me to tell you before I kick your ass all over this room or what?"

"Hmph, I'd like to know what makes you so special, but I'd also like to kill you for the trouble you've caused me,"

Axe grinned, "Ok...let's do it then!"

Dusty limped through a small door at the end of the hallway she had been walking through ever since her fight with the polefighter. That fight and her wounds had taken a lot out of her, but she knew she had to find her nakama and make sure they were ok. She looked around the room she had just entered, it was a lot like the first room they were in before they split up. Four more doors lined the wall she had passed through, and a larger door was on the other side of the room.

She blinked and tried to stay on her feet, but it was no use, she was far too weakened. She fell to her knees and was on the brink of passing out when a loud creaking noise made her turn her head to the left.

"Oh my god, Dusty!"

The kitsune blinked until the person that had called her name came into focus. It was Kirsty. She grinned in a silly way and waved, "Hey...doc...," she murmured before falling face first into the floor. The doctor ran to her side and knelt down, "Dusty...Dusty, can you hear me?" she asked loudly. Turning her over, Kirsty noticed the large wound on her neck, "Oh lord...how'd you manage to make it this far with that kind of wound?".

She placed her hands over the bite mark and muttered softly. As she did, a faint white glow shined between Dusty's neck and her hands. "Come on, let this work...don't go on me, Dusty...," Kirsty pleaded as she withdrew her hands. After what seemed like an eternity, Dusty's eyes slowly opened.

"Oh thank goodness! Dusty, how are you feeling?"

"Feeling...kinda...," before she could finish, Dusty fell asleep.

Kirsty sweatdropped, "Well at least you're ok...,"

"Well there you two are...,"

The doctor turned around to see Devon enter the room, his clothes and boots shredded. Kirsty raised an eyebrow at his appearance, "What the hell happened to you?" she asked, putting Dusty's head in her lap for comfort. Devon shrugged and looked at himself, "Just got into a fight with a big ol' samurai is all. What happened with her?" he asked, referring to Dusty.

"I dunno really, but I think she got into a brawl with a wild animal because there was a huge bite mark in her neck and she just about went to the Great Beyond on me. She should be ok now, she just needs some sleep," she explained looking down at the kitsune pirate.

Devon snorted, "Well at least no one is in any major danger right now," he muttered, scratching his chin. Kirsty shook her head, "We don't know about Niri yet, Devon. For all we know, she could be hurt right now,".

Suddenly the room shook, making dust fall from the ceiling. Kirsty leaned over Dusty while Devon tried to steady himself. The two of them looked at each other, wondering the exact same thing.

What the hell was that?

Niri had found the treasure room of Azala and was going nuts. She was sitting in the middle of a pile of gold and jewels and she was stuffing every pocket she had with anything and everything she could grab.

She squealed happily, "This beats the Marine's payroll ANY day! To think there's more where this came from in the Grand Line!". Niri looked around, taking in all the sights of the room. Dozens of mounds of gold and cash covered the floor of the treasury.

"Ok..now how am I gonna haul all this to the ship?" she asked herself. As she pondered this question, the room shook and she fell off the pile of gold and went rolling into the other piles.

"ACK!"

Axe grinned as he and Azala stood, both of their hands pressed against the others. It was like a contest of men to show who had the greater strength. Azala chuckled, "You've got impressive strength, boy. But I'm afraid it's nothing compared to what I have. Ever hear of the Sun Moon Sect?" he asked.

The young captain shook his head, "Can't say that I have. What is it?" he grunted.

"The Sun Moon Sect is a clan of secret assassins. Some of them are trained in the arts of ninjitsu, others in shadow kills, and then there's inner body strength. Inside all of us, there is a hidden power, and it takes either a tremendous amount of training or a small bit of luck to discover and unleash it. I went to the island where the leader of the Sect resided...after some persuasion I managed to take lessons from him and I soon became a powerful man. So powerful, that many people in this world feared me for my strength,"

Axe scoffed, "And yet, I have never heard of you or seen a Wanted poster of you...,". Azala scowled, "Same to you boy. But that doesn't matter...you'll die here before you can earn a Wanted poster of your own!".

"Hehe...little late for that!" Axe replied before headbutting Azala. The large man snarled as blood began to run freely from his nose.

"You'll pay for that runt!" he cursed before flipping over, sending Axe flying over him. Azala expected him to hit the floor hard, or to go into a wall, but Axe didn't. The young captain landed on his feet and the two of them stared each other down.

"When will I pay for that, exactly?" he asked, grinning. Azala glared harder at him as they returned to their normal stances, "What are you...?"

"Just your everyday Cursed-Fruit user. The strength I have, and the reason your bullets couldn't hurt me? I ate the Rock-Rock Fruit...it gave me the strength of a dozen men, and it made my body damn near impervious to anything fired at me,".

"So that means...,"

"Oh yeah...," Axe headbutted him again and while Azala stumbled back, holding his face this time, Axe crouched down and curled his hand into a fist, "Time for you to go bye-bye,". The young captain brought his fist up and connected it with his enemy's chin. Azala shot up like a rocket into the ceiling above them, screaming as he did so.

Cracking his neck, Axe watched as Azala became lodged into the ceiling, his legs swinging from side to side. He snorted and shook his hand, "Damn...I am getting rusty," he muttered as he began to make his way back to his lonely axe that lay forgotten at the wall side.

"Well done, Captain Axe...you're just like she said you were,".

Axe stopped in his tracks and looked around. Someone else was in the room, but was no where to be seen. His eyes scanned the room and he gripped his axe, "Thank you...I guess. Who are you, the one whose voice has no body?" he asked loudly.

A form in a black cloak fell from the ceiling and landed in front of him, "My name isn't important, Captain. What is important is that I tell my captain that you've become active again,". Axe frowned, "You're one of Kairi's crew?" he asked. The form nodded, "Oh yes. I've been a part of her nakama for quite sometime now...,".

"I see. Well what are you doing here? Something tells me that you aren't just here to spy on me...why are you here?"

"To deliver a message and a warning. The message is that my Captain is still searching for the treasure that you refused to go after, and the warning is that if you show your face in the Grand Line, we will kill you and all of your new friends,".

"Treasure I refused to go after...?" Axe's eyes widened, "The Cross!"

The form chuckled lightly, "Correct. The treasure that will make our crew the most powerful and the most feared in the entire world,"

"AXE! ARE YOU IN THERE!"

He turned to see the door he had passed through begin to open up, then he turned to the messenger only to find them gone. Axe closed his eyes and cursed silently as his nakama entered the room.

Kairi...

Kilnorc: I hope this was good. And I'm terribly sorry for the lack of more fighting between Axe and Azala...I think I used most of my battle energy with the last four, LOL! But don't worry, they'll be more in the future, better ones, I swear!