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I followed Wyper through the forest, helping him take down the soldiers of God's army along the way. Getting around was a lot easier on these skates, but climbing became way harder. I kept a look out but didn't see anyone else from the crew the whole time.
"See that," Wyper said, pointing to a large beanstalk in the center of my view. "That's Giant Jack. We need to get to the top."
"Enel will be up there?" I asked.
"Should be."
We hopped on the stalk and skated towards the top.
"Why do you want Enel so bad?" he asked.
"Because he tried to kill me," I told him. "I try not to let people get away with that. My friends wanted to cut and run, but I prefer to stay and get back at him. Thanks for letting me help you. We're not bad people, I hope you understand that. We could care less about your land," I said as we broke through the clouds. "But I suppose getting the gold would be nice."
"Gold?"
"It's a rare mineral from our sea, very expensive. We heard that there was a city of gold up here, so now we're looking for it," I told him.
"Well, that city you're looking for might be where my people came from, and if that's the case, I won't just let you steal from us."
"Well, hopefully, we become great friends and you don't try and kill me," I said with a smile. "Why do you want to get back at Enel so bad?"
"It's my people's destiny," he said. "We've kept them waiting for us for far too long."
We came out into some ruins, and in the center, there was a man sitting with a large dog.
That dog is oversized.
"Ohm!" Wyper called out.
"Wyper, and one of the Blue Sea dwellers," the priest said. "Never thought I'd see you two working together."
"Ever heard the phrase, 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend'?" I told the man.
"God's shrine is just beyond here," the man said, adjusting his glasses with his middle finger. "I won't let you pass!"
"Going to God's Shrine will gain you nothing," I looked up and saw Gan Fall riding on his bird.
"Sky Knight!"
"What are you talking about, Gan Fall?" Wyper yelled.
"I just came from God's Shrine. It's tragic, everything is destroyed, and of course, Enel is nowhere to be seen."
The building nearby was turned into rubble as someone fell from the sky.
"Zoro!" I ran over and pulled my boyfriend out of the rubble. "Are you alright?"
"What the hell, you damn bird!" he yelled to the sky, then he noticed me. "Where the hell have you been?"
"Helping him stop Enel," I told him, gesturing to Wyper. "We can deal with the gold later. I won't let someone who tries to kill me go unpunished."
"Revenge gets you nothing but suffering," Zoro told me.
"I don't think that's true," I said. "As long as you don't let it consume you, it's fine to want revenge."
And then the snake from earlier burst through the clouds and added itself to our skirmish.
HOLY SHIT!
Zoro got up and looked around as I hid behind him. "Looks like a lot of strong people have gathered here."
"That just makes it more fun," I told him.
"If you intend to get in my way, I'll eliminate you," Wyper told Ohm.
"Let's all be nice now," I told the Shandorian.
"Ain't this the guy that attacked our ship? What are you doing so buddy-buddy with him?" Zoro asked.
"I offered to help him get to Enel; he wants to win back his people's land," I told him. "I thought he could use a hand going against God."
"Well, I don't trust him. You should keep your distance," Zoro said.
"You sound like my brother," I responded.
"He's usually right," he said, looking at me.
"Whatever, we can have this argument later," I told him, looking away.
"Where is Enel?" Gan Fall spoke up.
"I welcome you, to the Ordeal of Iron!" Ohm shouted.
We all stared each other down. It was mostly everyone versus Ohm, but I wouldn't put it past Wyper to turn on me.
We've only been friends for a few hours, but I hope I can count on him.
"Everyone sure has a lot to say," Zoro added.
"We only need to deal with the priest and the python. The rest can come down to fighting Enel," I told him.
"Time to die!" Wyper shouted, shooting the priest with his bazooka.
The snake got spooked by the bazooka and flailed around near Zoro and me. We moved out of the way as quickly as we could. The dog came at us next. When Zoro and I went to stop its jaws, it threw a punch at us.
"That thing can throw punches?!" Zoro said, astonished.
"His name is Holy," Ohm explained. "I've trained him to fight like a world-class boxer."
Gan Fall came in and attacked Ohm while Zoro and I split up to avoid the boxing dog. The creature went after Gan Fall. I came across Wyper trying to deal with the giant python.
"Watch yourself," he told me. "There are traps everywhere."
I looked around and saw what looked like barbed wire all over the place. Wyper jumped up and fired his bazooka at the head of the reptile, but the creature was barely fazed.
"My bazooka didn't even scratch it!" he said, astonished.
Well, then my knives will be useless.
The snake threw itself toward me, and I used the skates to avoid the beast. A ton more people came up the beanstalk—multiple members of God's army and three members of Wyper's militia. One more object came up through the clouds. It was Nami and a little girl riding on a Waver.
"Nami!" I shouted.
"Aisa!" Wyper shouted.
That must be the girl's name.
A group of goat people tried to attack them, but Wyper and I held them off.
"Nami, why are you up here?!" I asked.
Wyper pointed his bazooka at Nami. "Aisa, get away from her!"
"No, it's okay! Nami's with me!" I told him, pushing the gun down.
"Ikki! Where are the others?" Nami asked.
Gan Fall flew past and picked up the Waver. The snake reared up and opened its mouth.
"MOVE!" I screamed.
The snake clamped its jaws and ate my friend.
"NAMI!"
During our distraction, Zoro came back around, followed by the dog and the priest. Zoro stopped the priest, and Wyper and I had to dodge the dog.
"Damn mutt," I mumbled.
The sword Zoro was blocking changed shape and cut around his sword. Wyper and I crashed into a building trying to avoid the dog.
"If you assume those two aren't dead yet, that leaves eleven people and two animals left in the upper ruins," Ohm said, counting the remaining competitors.
I hope the others are okay.
The dog ran around the outer edge of the ruins, setting off most of the pressure pads. The traps all triggered and formed a large dome of barbed wire.
"This is the true Trial of Iron: 'The White Barb Death Match'!" Ohm announced.
Zoro told them the cage was unnecessary as we had no intention of running away. Wyper picked up one of God's soldiers and threw him into the wire.
"I see," I said out loud. "It's not trying to keep us in. It's trying to make it harder to survive."
"Try not to get thrown into it," Wyper commented.
"There are eight men, one woman, and two animals remaining," Ohm said, listing who was left.
Why was I counted separately?
"WYPER!"
The man in question turned around and looked at a woman coming towards the cage.
"Raki!" he said.
She tried to tell him something, but he just screamed at her to leave. I looked closer and saw that there was a man behind her.
Who's he?
"Enel!"
The woman shot at the man, but the bullets just went right through him.
It didn't even touch him. It's just like how Steve described the fight with Crocodile.
One of the goat men tried to attack the oblivious Wyper. I ran up and tackled the man, pushing him away from Wyper. A bolt of lightning fell from the sky and charred the woman Enel was behind. She fell to the ground; I wasn't even sure if she was still alive.
"Bow before God!"
I turned around to see the remaining members of God's army behind me.
Son of a… I can't believe I got caught.
"AXE DIAL!"
Wyper's POV
"AHHHH!"
I looked behind me and saw the Blue Sea woman, Ikki, get assaulted by the members of God's Army.
Dammit!
I blew the men away from her as she fell to the ground in a heap. I went over and found her lying on the ground, covered in blood and cuts from the Axe Dial.
"You idiot. Why did you protect me?!"
"Sorry… your goal is much more important than mine," she coughed. "This is what my need for revenge got me. I'm glad you're still standing. I hope you can… free your homeland…"
That swordsman came over and had a pissed-off look on his face. "What did you do to her!"
"Nothing. She did it to herself!" I said.
The man slashed at me. "Bullshit!"
"There are six men and two animals remaining," Ohm announced.
Steve's POV
We wandered around the ruins as Robin read the writing on the walls.
"Where's that Golden Bell Noland was talking about?" I asked her.
Robin ignored me and headed to the center of the town. When we got there, she looked confused. "The belfry is supposed to be at the center of the four altars, but it isn't here."
"Why are there cart rails here?" I wondered out loud. "Isn't this place kind of old for them?"
"Who knows how advanced the people were," she said. "It's possible for them to have had carts."
Someone laughed. "It's magnificent. Even after being blasted into the sky, this place has retained its grandeur. The City of Shandora."
I got into a defensive stance. "And you are?"
"I am God," the man told us.
This must be Enel.
"Unfortunately, you're too late. The gold is long gone. I took it for myself. It suits me."
"Does that mean you took the Golden Bell as well?" Robin asked him.
The man looked confused. "What bell?"
"Oh, well, then it mustn't have made it to the sky," Robin said.
"Wait! It is here. They say you could hear the ringing of a bell when this place was blasted into the sky," he said. "I supposed when the game ends in a few minutes, I'll go and take a look." The man raised his hand to the sky. "It appears a rat has gotten out of his cage."
A bolt of lightning erupted out of his arm and connected with the sky. The clouds above were destroyed, and the ruins began to crumble.
"What did you do?!" Robin yelled over the noise.
"I just invited some of your friends to the party."
A huge stone landed near Robin and me. The stone was moved by someone underneath it.
"Swordsman!" Robin called out.
"Zoro!" I shouted.
I looked over and saw Zoro was lifting the boulder off himself with one hand. I went over to help him and saw what was in his hand.
"Chopper!"
Who the hell did this?
"Where the hell are we?" Zoro asked.
"The City of Gold, but there's no gold here," Robin explained.
"Zoro, do you know where anyone else is?" I asked him.
"Nami got eaten by that snake, and Ikki is in bad shape, but I don't know where she is," he said, pointing up. "Last time I saw her, she was out cold up there. I didn't see her when I fell down here."
Crap!
"She's right there," Robin pointed out.
I looked over and saw Ikki over the shoulder of that man who had threatened us after the Ordeal of Spheres. The sky darkened again as a bolt shocked the snake.
"Nami!" I screamed.
"I'm right here," she responded.
"What the hell!" Zoro and I yelled in unison.
She explained that she and Gan Fall had escaped the snake, but Luffy and some girl named Aisa were still trapped inside.
That idiot.
The man with the bazooka walked past and placed Ikki near Nami.
"What'd you do to my sister?" I said, glaring at the man.
"Sorry, she's hurt because of me," he explained. "She tried to help me reclaim my home and got herself hurt. She said to make sure I got it back."
"I'm Steve; this is Zoro and Robin, and that's Nami," I said, introducing the crew. I'd have to trust Ikki's trust in this guy.
"My name's Wyper."
He's nothing like the guy who attacked us the past few times.
"This is quite problematic," Enel said. "I predicted six people would be left, but there are still seven people here."
Me, Robin, Zoro, Gan Fall, the Guerilla, and himself? He must be counting Nami, too.
"So who will be the last one to fall? Will you fight amongst yourselves, or will I choose?"
"You wanna?" Zoro asked Robin and me.
"No thanks," Robin told him.
"Me too," I said.
"No way," Wyper added.
"I also refuse," Gan Fall said, rounding out our group.
"The one who will fall is you!" We all pointed at Enel.
"Oh, really?" he smiled.