Iron Fist Alexander in One piece

'What feeds your will to fight, Alexander?'

He could remember his father's question, as he looked at him under the shade on Rukusaina. There was a certain meaning behind his father's inquiry even though he had already grown deaf with the constant 'I will be a great warrior' reminder.

Alexander reflected on his past. He was born as a living jar, a creature made for the sole purpose of carrying bloody corpses to the base of the minor Erdtree.

In the grand scheme of things, he was nothing but a wretched being, a living tool to be ordered. But that tool found a purpose.

When the bodies of warriors found home inside of him, they left their dreams and wills, to fight another day, a remnant of regret and lamentations of what could have been.

And yet, these broken fragments came to life once again as they burned their will to fight, like a furnace that fueled the birth of Alexander, a birth that came from the will of many. 

Even a sliver from General Radahn the Starscourge settled within him, ever burning in rage at the stars.

'I want to be a champion, the greatest of them all.'

His father smiled at his response and patted his head, then looked wistfully at the sea, remembrance in his eyes.

'It's a lofty dream, son... but... once you venture outside, you'll find that it's a hard thing to do, to fight for only yourself. Along the way, you'll encounter many people... Don't forget your dream, and don't sacrifice those beside you when you discover that you're not solely fighting for yourself.'

'Some are born to lead and some are born to follow. It's the way of nature, but you, my son, are born for greatness.'

Alexander's calm eyes stared at the monster. He was born from the will of many; from their dreams, he sought to be a warrior. That was a past life. The dream was still there, but it found an additional purpose in the company behind his back, in the misty eyes looking at his back with worry, and in the greying of his father's hair.

The world was harsh and cruel, filled with monsters, and if he had to become another one for the sake of those behind his back, he'd gladly become one for another purpose that had been added to his life.

'O DEPARTED WARRIORS, LEND ME THY STRENGTH.'

A golden-black light coated his being, his eyes locked ferociously on the beast as he launched himself forward, narrowly passing through the bone-chilling mandibles and colliding with his shoulder against the Malformed Star's skull. 

BOOM! 

The air exploded in waves from the epicenter of their collision, further flattening the already destroyed island by hundreds of meters.

The creature was pushed back, the hole from which it partially exited crumbled as its full body was revealed.

Strangely enough, the Malformed Star didn't say another word. It pushed, locked on Alexander, and the giant boulders that had been floating began their descent.

Alexander's face turned solemn. He extended his hand from which a white smoke formed into a black chain. In a moment, the descending boulders were not far.

He coated his chain with both Armament Haki and Haoshoku Haki and swung in a wide arc. Rakyl, in his weapon form, knew what to do as it extended its body for tens of meters and hardened the chain further with its scales. 

The air screamed as the chain tore through it and the boulders, hacking them in half. 

BOOM!

An explosion followed as the debris fell to the ground, lifting up dust and covering the surrounding area. 

"Where are you hiding?" 

Alexander narrowed his eyes. His senses pinpointed where the beast was hiding behind the curtain of dust, but then his eyes widened. An image flashed through his head of a barbed tail swinging at full force towards him. 

Without hesitation, he stomped the ground, launching himself like a bullet backwards in an attempt to evade the few seconds he saw in the future.

However, he didn't expect the beast to suddenly disappear from his senses, as a glowing giant orb of cosmic light flashed behind him, and from it materialized the Malformed Star.

"AGH!" Alexander screamed in pain as its long tail smashed him to the ground, creating a big deep hole. Even while feeling battered, he quickly got up but was met with another tail sweep that launched him far away. 

BOOM!

Alexander slammed into a big rock and came to a halt. Blood seeped out of his body as the barbs on the tail managed to break through his Armament Haki.

He slowly got up on his feet. The fight had just started, and he had already sustained injuries, but he had never expected anything less from another specimen like the one that wiped out the eternal city, alone. 

"Come here, Rakyl." He picked up the chain that was moving toward him and stepped forward, instantly traversing tens of meters. Before his eyes, the Malformed Star's mandibles glowed purple in anticipation of the bite that would follow. 

However, Alexander smiled when he saw this. He twirled his chain as he ran and swung it extremely fast at the monster. Rakyl extended further and slipped through the mandibles, immediately wrapping around them.

Alexander felt the tug on the chain and pulled hard, launching himself even faster than before. 

The Malformed Star, on the other hand, couldn't react. They were moving at a fast pace, their attack within fractions of seconds, and it could only watch as the chain tugged hard on its mandibles, locking it in place. At that moment, a golden meteor streaked through them, a golden fist reared, striking for the center of its head.

BOOM! 

The world lit up gold for a moment, and then a big explosion that rocked the island spread as the giant body of the Voidborn was sent flying. Dust and debris went flying as the marines had to hide and hold tightly on the platforms lest they get smashed into a pulp. 

"How can it be?!" 

Axe covered his eyes. He was hundreds of meters from their clash, and yet he felt the tremors beneath him and debris flying over their heads. 

"So he's this strong..." Andretta turned into her hybrid form as she jumped, smashing any rubble that flew their way while her eyes constantly locked on Alexander and the beast's titanic clash.

"He was always far above your league..." Alarin commented. The ongoing battle further heightened his opinion regarding his new captain's strength. He looked at Hancock and couldn't help but notice the worry in her eyes. 

'You must emerge victorious, Alexander... even against this abomination.' 

Alexander released a long breath. He had noticed that nothing but advanced Armament Haki and Haoshoku Haki worked on the monster. Moments later, the dust settled, and the Malformed Star was revealed. It stared eerily at Alexander for a second and then vanished in a flash of cosmic light. 

Alexander raised an eyebrow and turned around, searching with his mind and his Haki for its trace. An instant later, he hurriedly turned around to see the beast raising its head, summoning a purple cosmic orb. Alexander felt a bad premonition as he sprinted forward to the right of the monster. And then his eyes widened as he slammed the ground hard, launching himself further to the right, barely dodging the beam that passed a few centimetres from his head. 

BOOM!

An explosion followed by a long whistling sound as the air tore and the ground melted into lava for hundreds of meters, destroying everything in its path until the sea was visible.

Alexander sucked in a deep breath. He wondered how badly wounded he'd have been if that beam had struck his body. 

Not wanting to be outdone, he dashed toward the beast, who in turn noticed his approach and swung its left arm, spraying glowing purple dust. However, Alexander ignored it and stepped inside.

BOOM! 

The stardust exploded, but Alexander stepped out a second later and struck with a coated fist the arm descending on top of his head. 

"ALEXANDER!"

He heard his wife shout, but he couldn't be distracted as he dodged a barbed end of the tail that was after his life.

Earth shattered following the mighty strike. He stepped on the ground hard and struck the air, sending a golden air shockwave that travelled fast and struck the beast's head.

BOOM! 

The beast's front body rose into the air following the impact that managed to crack a bit of its skull. 

Not wasting the rare vulnerability of the monster, Alexander jumped high, appearing far above the Malformed Star. He kicked the air and descended, two arms raised high with veins bulging out as he repositioned his body.

Sabine watched how it all happened. The land had been flattened over and over from their clash and began sinking. 

Eyes wide open, not missing a moment as a golden meteor that was Alexander descended on the head of the abomination and collided.

"AH!" She screamed. A shockwave passed right by her. She felt something pierce her chest and looked down where clouds were reforming the part of her chest that was missing.

"Retreat!" She heard Hancock shout and didn't hesitate for a moment to widen the distance alongside Axe and Andretta. But Hancock and Alarin didn't move an inch.

"Get up. I know that you're not this weak." They faintly heard Alexander speaking an unfamiliar language, and then the cicadas' screeching came back.

"Usurper..." 

The Malformed Star raised its cracked skull from the big crater it was embedded in. A large chunk of bone had fallen off, revealing an eerie dark blue eye.

A purple light gathered around the beast and then vanished. Alexander remembered the past encounter and looked around, wary of any sneak attack.

He found nothing, and his suspicion grew. Just as he was about to look at his group to see if they were fine, a shadow was cast, covering the sky above him.

Alexander looked up at the starry sky-like dust that suddenly appeared, and just as he looked at it, an image flashed through his mind.

His eyes constricted, and he immediately jumped high, barely evading the dive of several identical Malformed Stars. He felt that he was far from their reach, and before he could even land on the ground, just as the copies began to dissipate, two large mandibles appeared out of nowhere and clamped shut around Alexander.

"AHH!" He shouted in pain as he felt an enormous force trying to cut him in half. 

"Usurper." 

The monster spoke again with a hint of eagerness as it clamped even harder.

Alexander gritted his teeth. The beast had once again torn through his Haki coating, and two large wounds tore where the beast caught him.

Blood seeping out of his wounds, Alexander lifted his hand and shouted.

"RAKYL!" 

A cloud of smoke rapidly approached and consolidated into a long chain held in his palm.

"Die!" He shouted and swung the chain against its skull.

Clang! 

But it did nothing as his awkward position wasn't suitable to generate enough power to hurt the beast.

"AGH!" He felt the power behind the mandibles increase in retaliation to his attacks.

Alexander searched for a solution, and then his eyes fell on the eye inside the skull.

Eyes red in pain, he sent Rakyl inside the gap. It transformed into a giant black snake mid-air and bit the eye once inside the skull.

"AGHH!"

The Malformed Star let out a loud screech in pain as it retreated and released Alexander.

He fell to the ground, gasping for breath, and a large pool of blood began forming under his legs.

"ALEXANDER!" he heard Alarin and his wife shout as they rushed to him.

"GET BACK!" He shouted in warning. The monster wasn't dead yet; they couldn't possibly endure the power behind its assault, much less its unpredictability in the way it sneaked behind his back.

Hancock and Alarin stopped in their place. They saw the warning in his eyes, the determination and the worry before he turned his back to them.

Rakyl, in miniature snake form, quickly slithered to Alexander's side, and when it saw his wounds, it lifted its body and licked them.

"Ha ha, good snake!" The snake's actions gave him a laugh amidst this life-and-death situation. He tore his shredded shirt, but he couldn't help but feel a bit helpless. The beast was so strong that he started doubting his chances of coming out alive.

He put a hand on the two large wounds and grimaced in pain.

'Rake, whatever you did to me, it isn't helping against this monster.'

However, a second later, he started feeling strange, as if he was feeling lighter. He looked around; rocks started floating, and there was a strange buzzing sound.

A moment later, a purple wave spread from the Malformed Star. Alexander had a bad premonition about this. 

He turned around and dashed, trying to escape the enclosure of the purple wave, but as soon as he ran for ten meters, he began floating fast. Alexander felt it, so he kicked the air, launching himself forward.

However, it did nothing as the gravitational pull increased to a terrifying degree and he instantly was high up in the sky.

Alexander felt danger, and just as he was about to kick the air once more, the force of gravity reversed. His eyes constricted as he felt a huge pull from the ground. He couldn't react.

Hancock and Alarin were shouting. Axe, Sabine, and Andretta had horrified looks on their faces, and the few remaining Marines protected the Den Den Mushi that they had in their hands as they watched Alexander fall like a star.

BOOM!

The earth tore, and the air exploded as a shockwave launched beyond the boundaries of the island, but the beast wasn't done as the sky was covered in purple once more.

'I think I might die,' Alexander thought as he rocked the island with his impact. He felt an enormous amount of pain, but pain at this moment was appreciated as it meant he wasn't dead yet.

A few seconds passed in silence at what happened, but then...

A laboured breath came from beneath the rock bed as a bloody arm burst out, followed by the rest of the body.

"This isn't enough to kill me," Alexander said weakly, gasping for breath.

"ALEXANDER!"

"CAPTAIN!" 

He heard shouts calling his name, but he was too tired to pay attention when the enemy was still standing. Alexander lifted his head. He saw the wicked unchangeable green on the beast's skull, and above it, several purple portals were open and the hellish sight of several meteors falling on his head. 

He felt like laughing. He couldn't react as they were already too close, and his battered body felt too heavy to move. 

BOOM! 

It seemed as if the world had lost colour at the moment of impact. Crazed screams and flames of explosion rose to the sky as Alexander's body sank to the depths from the first hit, but he felt no pain. Then the second meteor fell, and with it, his right arm exploded as he tried to protect himself.

The barrage didn't stop. The third meteorite fell, claiming his left arm. Alexander looked in a daze as he felt life escape from him. A huge mushroom cloud covered what was happening, but the meteorites continued to fall, and by the end of it, all that was left was a single torso and head protected by a membrane of gold.

Hancock stood in shock, her shouting halted, as she sensed Alexander's presence disappear. She felt her heart crumble apart, tears fell from her eyes, her legs struggled to support her as a wave of anguish took hold of her. 

"Husband..." She murmured. Her life flashed past her eyes: her enslavement, her rescue, Alexander's radiant smile, and the day when she stood with Alexander under the cheers of Kuja, putting rings on each other's fingers.

"You..." A low guttural voice came from her throat. She looked, her face scrunched in grief, at the monster that took the light of her life. The ground shook from the intensity of her Haki, and then she ran like a crazed beast toward the Malformed Star. Behind her, several footsteps followed, and a green eerie flame rose, engulfing Alarin as he pursued in silence.

Alexander lay on the ground, body destroyed. He knew that he should be dead by now, but something was keeping him alive, the golden energy that emerged in the last seconds to preserve the last breath he had.

He was beyond saving. He knew it. And with this realization came a feeling of regret. His dazed eyes shook as he realized that he, for the second time, failed to bring his dream to life, much less protect his comrades, who were now left alone to fend against the beast. He wished they'd fled for their lives.

BOOM! 

He heard the sound of impact from above where he was buried. His frail heart beating shook as the worst thing he didn't wish for was happening. 

'RUN!' He shouted, but no sound came out from his throat.

'RUN!' He repeated it once more.

'RUN! RUN! RUUN!!'  

"R..RU..RUN!"  He finally managed to speak, but it was at that moment that his eyes started losing all the light in them.

A second later, his world fell into darkness. A giant silhouette silently appeared in the void, followed by the whispers of thousands of beings.

‘FROM DESTRUCTION COMES REBIRTH’ 

A golden light pushed the darkness back, and then Alexander's eyes snapped open, they shone completely in inhumane gold.