Ch. 4- The Crimson Hell
One Piece © Oda
Blizzard © Me
When we last left Monkey D. Luffy and "White Wolf" Blizzard, they had successfully infiltrated Impel Down, the world's maximum prison, to help Portgas D. Ace escape from execution. They get a tip from one of the prisoners that he may be being held up in Level 5. Along the way, they run into an unlikely ally…
Luffy's first nemesis: Buggy the Clown.
Now, the trio were busy fighting off the Blugori Jailers.
Two of the Blugori charged Luffy, who quickly jumped out of their way. As he stood behind them, he outstretched his leg.
"Gum-Gum…WHIP!"
BAP! Luffy made a sweeping kick with his leg and slammed the Blugori into the wall.
Blizzard charged at one Blugori, who charged back at him. The wolf-dog ran at full speed, his nose pointed down and his crown pointed forward.
CRACKER!
BONG! Blizzard laid a devastating head-butt to the Blugori's skull.
One Blugori charged Buggy with axe wielded.
"DAH!" Buggy screamed. "No, no, please! Don't kill me!"
WOHO! The Blugori grunted as it raised its axe, prepared to swing.
"Heh," Buggy smirked. "Just kidding. Chop-Chop QUICK ESCAPE!"
SLASH! POP! Buggy's head came flying off of his body and into the air.
Then, WHAP! He grabbed the Blugori by its chest and WHOOOOM! He lifted the beast into the air, first by splitting his torso from his waist and then his hands from his arms.
"Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!" Buggy cackled. "Now fall and flashily spilt your skull open! AERIAL TAILSPIN BIG TOP!"
FWISH-FWISH-FWISH-FWISH! KRASH! Buggy sent the Blugori spinning down, headfirst into the floor.
"Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!" Buggy laughed as he body became whole again. "Well? How's that, sea gorilla?"
WOHO…! The Blugori stood right back up.
SNURK! Buggy snorted in shock.
"It didn't stop him?"
WHAM! WHAM! WHAM! The Blugori gave chase after the Chop-Chop man, throwing punches at his splitting body.
"No, wait!" Buggy cried. "Stop that! Leave me alone, you sea ape!"
"Gum-Gum BULLET!"
POW! Luffy laid a strong punch to the Blugori's gut.
A pause came, until the large beast fell to the floor, defeated.
"Well," said Buggy, "it looks like you've gotten stronger since the last time we met, Straw Hat."
"These guys are tough bastards," Luffy commented. "What the heck are they?"
"They're called Blue Gorillas," Buggy answered. "They're the ocean's martial artists, but down here, we call them 'Blugori'! Don't drop your guard just yet! After all, there are still four of them left." He turned to see Blizzard standing on the bodies of the four remaining Blugori. "YOU AND THAT MUTT ALREADY BEAT THEM?"
"Well, Blizzard and I don't have time to fight them all!" Luffy said.
Blizzard yawned in boredom. These guys were way too easy for a wolf-dog of his strength. As he absentmindedly scratched at his ear, he suddenly caught a glimpse of Buggy's big, red, shiny nose, and instantly, he saw an image of his favorite red ball that he and Luffy would play fetch with.
BALL! he cried in his head before he jumped down from the Blugori and lunged at Buggy, who yelped in surprise, but his yells of surprise soon turned into yells of pain when Blizzard began to bite down on his nose and try to yank it off.
"DAAAAAAH!" Buggy screamed. "GET THIS DAMN, FLASHY MUTT OFF ME!"
"Blizzard, no!" Luffy cried as he attempted to pry his dog off of the clown pirate's face. "C'mon, buddy, let go! I know it looks funny, but we don't have time for this! Let go of him! C'mon!"
The prisoners, on the other hand, were amazed at Luffy and Blizzard's display of strength against the Blugori.
"Whoa…" said one. "That kid and his dog kicked some real Blugori ass!"
"Hey, kid! Who are you?" questioned another.
"Get us outta here, please!" cried one more. "Get the key!"
XXX
Meanwhile, somewhere in another corridor, the guards had just received new information from another member of the staff via Mini Transponder Snail.
"I thought there was only one escapee on the loose."
"So did I," said the guard.
"I'm not entirely positive, but we thought we saw two more. They were in front of the Community Cell No. 10 on Level 1...and they've defeated five of the Blugori!"
"What? That's impossible! There's not a prisoner on Level 1 that could be a match for the Blugori!"
XXX
Back with Luffy, Blizzard, and Buggy, Luffy had managed to pry his dog from Buggy's face. Afterward, he had just gotten through explaining the situation to the clown pirate.
"WHAT~?" Buggy cried. "YOU'RE HERE TO SAVE ACE?" He then lowered his voice to a whisper, putting a finger to his lips. "Quiet! They'll hear us!"
"You're the one who's yelling," Luffy remarked.
Yeah, Blizzard thought.
"C'mon, guy!" said one of the prisoners. "Get the key for us! Be a pal!"
"SHADDUP!" Buggy barked as he kicked at the cell bars.
"So you know Ace?" asked Luffy.
"Yeah, I do," Buggy replied as he strapped one of the Blugori's axes to his back. "And, unlike you, your brother is more polite than you are! We ended up being drinking buddies a couple of months ago. Too bad he got captured. The Marines must be crazy to arrest one of Whitebeard's men!"
"Well, Blizzard and I have to get to Level 5," Luffy said. "We heard that Ace might be down there. Where is he?"
"How the hell should I do know?" Buggy questioned. "You and that damn mutt can go wherever you please! I could care less! I mean, what do you think we are? Pals or something? I'm not stupid to go down there! It's suicide, I'm telling you!" He then turned to leave. "Well, thanks for getting me out of that jam, at least. I'm out of here, Straw Hat!"
"You'll never make it," said Luffy. "This whole place is surrounded by a dozen battleships. You really think you can get out of there alive?"
Snort! Buggy snorted, again.
They must be expecting Whitebeard to attack this place, he thought. Maybe I picked a bad time for an escape. Perhaps I'll kill some time and…wait a minute. He looked back at Luffy. Is that…?
"Looks like I'll have to ask somebody else," Luffy said to himself.
"Get the key…!" one of the prisoners muttered.
"No…" Buggy said as he turned away. "It couldn't be!" He then did a double-take. Could it?
"Well, see ya later, Buggy," said Luffy. "Blizzard and I are off to Level 5! Good luck with your escape!"
Buggy may've been looking to Luffy, but his eyes were really set on his glass arm band on his left bicep.
It…it is! the clown thought.
"WAIT, STRAW HAT!" Buggy cried as he tackled Luffy to the railing.
"WHAT IS IT NOW?" Luffy snapped.
"There they are!"
KABANG-BANG! Gunshots were fired.
The trio had been spotted.
"GAH!" yelped Buggy. "They've found us!"
"Uh, yeah!" Luffy said. "BECAUSE YOU KEEP SHOUTING!"
You were just shouting, too! thought Blizzard. Oh, who cares? RUN FOR IT!
With that, the three made a for a quick exit as the guards gave chase.
"Straw Hat!" Buggy exclaimed. "That arm band! I want it! Give it to me!"
"No way!" Luffy said. "Nami gave this to me as a gift!"
"I'll tell you how to get Ace~!" Buggy declared as his torso flew up into the air.
"You will?" Luffy asked, hopefully.
I don't trust this guy, Blizzard thought.
"Of course!" Buggy agreed. "But only if you give me that arm band!"
"Sure! It's a deal!" Luffy said.
"Excellent!" Buggy exclaimed. "But first, we have to flashily get these guards off our tail! Hold my feet!"
"Your feet?" Luffy repeated.
SHUMP! Buggy's feet threw themselves into Luffy's arms.
To further explain Buggy's powers, he can detach any part of his body and move them at will, but the range of his abilities is limited. His body part may be able to fly, but his feet cannot.
"Now, follow me!" Buggy ordered as he flew off with Luffy and Blizzard following behind. "I'll take you and the mutt to the entrance to Level 2!"
"Level 2?" Luffy repeated as he and Blizzard jumped over a pit in the floor. "But Blizzard and I are trying to get down to Level 5!"
"You can't get just get there directly from here!" Buggy remarked. "Listen and listen good, Straw Hat! The uppermost underwater level of Impel Down is Level 1, where we are now. Level 2 is below us and Level 3 is below that and so on. The farther down you go, the more dangerous the prisoners! They sent me down to Level 4 to be tortured, but I don't know anything about the levels below that one, but Level 5 prisoners are the most wanted prisoners in the world with bounties of over hundreds of millions! It's a terrible place! And some prisoners are sent to a level that's even lower than that! There're monsters there, so dangerous that they've been erased from history! It's only a rumor, but that level may be where Ace is being held! Anyway, I can get you to Level 4! After that, you and the mutt are on your own!"
"Okay, thanks!" Luffy said.
Buggy smirked.
He never would've thought that he would find the marker that would lead him to the fabled treasure island of Captain John in a place like this. He and his crew had been searching different islands in the Grand Line, but to no avail. Buggy's luck finally ran out when he accidentally stepped into a Marine base by mistake and was instantly arrested.
This must be a blessing in disguise! he thought to himself.
"You sure got helpful all of a sudden, Buggy," said Luffy.
Buggy cackled and said, "Of course! You promised to give the treasure marker that would show me where Captain John's loot is!" He snorted and covered his mouth.
I really have to keep my big mouth shut! he thought.
I knew there was a catch! Blizzard thought, growling.
"I guess they kept you on Level 1 since you're such a wimp, huh?" Luffy joked.
"SHUT IT!" barked Buggy.
So he didn't notice, after all! he thought. I forget that he has the attention span of a rodent!
"So this arm band is a treasure map, huh?" Luffy asked. "I didn't know that!"
Heh-heh! Blizzard chuckled in thought. If Nami ever found out, she'd lose it!
WHAP! Buggy grabbed at the axe strapped to his back.
"So, you heard me, after all!" he said. "Well, it looks like I'll have to take it by force!"
Grr~! Blizzard growled at Buggy, prepared to lunge at his face again if he tried something, but then…
"Here you go!"
Luffy just held out the arm band to Buggy.
"What?" Buggy questioned. "You…you're going to give it to me, even though you know what it is now?"
"Yeah!" Luffy answered. "We made a deal and all! Blizzard and I just care about getting Ace outta here!"
Blizzard looked back and saw two Blugori jumped up and chase after them.
Oh, damn! he cursed in his head.
"B-but…" Buggy stammered, "if you give me the band now, I might leave you and the mutt to fend for yourselves!"
"Well, yeah," Luffy began, "but you said you'd take me to Ace!"
Can't you see he's not really making any promises? Blizzard thought in disbelief. Seriously, are you that gullible?
Buggy suddenly turned, a waterfall of tears falling from his eyes.
Don't look at me, that way! he thought. I'm a good-for-nothing bastard! People like you shouldn't trust the likes of me!
He took the arm band from Luffy's grasp.
At long last…it's mine! The treasure marker of Captain John that I've been searching for! Thank you…Straw Hat!
He then dropped his tearful visage and grinned.
Now to ditch these two fools!
Before the clown pirate could do just that, KRASH! He crashed backwards into a wall because he wasn't looking he was going.
Serves you right! Blizzard thought.
"Hey!" said Luffy. "Is that some kind of a shortcut? Lemme try!"
"NO! WAIT!" Buggy protested.
SMASH! Luffy smashed Buggy right through the wall with Blizzard following right behind them, and they ended up right into a room full of guards.
"Who are they?"
"It's him! The escaped prisoner, Buggy the Clown!"
"But who's the boy and the wolf?"
The guards! Buggy thought. Then that means…!
"STRAW HAT! STOP!" cried Buggy. "DON'T GO ANY FURTHER~!"
"What? Why?" Luffy asked.
KRASH! He soon got his answer when he pushed Buggy through another wall, and on the other side, they found a huge crimson forest.
"Monitoring room! There ARE three of them! They just…"
"What is this place?" Luffy asked as he, Blizzard, and Buggy fell.
A forest in a prison? thought Blizzard, questioningly.
"Why are the trees all red?" Luffy asked. "And why are there are people down there?"
"They're all prisoners!" answered Buggy. "And this is no ordinary forest! The leaves on the trees are all like knives! And that's Spike Needle Grass below them! The jailers released poisonous spiders down there! The victims get cut up so bad, the whole place is stained red with their blood! WELCOME TO THE LEVEL 1 OF IMPEL DOWN: THE CRIMSON HELL!"
Luffy and Blizzard both swallowed the lumps in their throats. They felt their stomachs turning with nausea and distress at the gruesome sight that laid before their eyes as their ears burned from the cries of agony from the prisoners.
They could see now why this place was called a true Living Hell.
"I sure hope is gonna be okay," Luffy mumbled.
I'm sure he's fine, Blizzard thought, but right now- and I really hate to say it- we've got other things to worry about! OURSELVES! …ugh…I sound like Usopp!
"Right, then!" Buggy said. "It looks like we've got no choice but to go straight down!"
"Are you outta your mind?" Luffy said. "We'll be cut to shreds!"
"You forget that I can't be cut!" Buggy retorted. "Now you and that mutt shut up and hang on! Throw my feet to the ground!"
"What?"
"Just do it!"
"Okay."
WOOSH! Luffy threw Buggy's feet down at the needle grass, and instead of them getting cut, they just got split up.
SHF-SHF-SHF-SHF-SHF! Buggy's feet began to run along the grass. Buggy soon came through the forest with Luffy and Blizzard on his back.
"As long as my feet are on the ground," Buggy began, "this is easy!"
"Now what?" Luffy questioned.
"You need to find the stairway that leads to the floor below this one! You don't even need a key to open the gates! Oh! I just remembered! There's a way out! An easy exit for the prisoners to get out of the Crimson Hell!"
"An exit?" Luffy repeated.
Never thought there'd be an exit from Hell, thought Blizzard.
Buggy soon brought Luffy and Blizzard to a hole in the middle of the spikes.
"Here we are!" he exclaimed. "But none of these fools would even think to use it because it leads to Level 2, and Level 2 is an even more terrible Hell than this one!"
Luffy and Blizzard looked down into the darkness of the hole.
"It's like there's no bottom!" Luffy said.
Just like your stomach, Blizzard thought, jokingly. Oh-ho, Blizzard, where do you come up with them?
"People want to escape from Hell!" Buggy said. "There's no one fool enough to jump into it on purpose!"
"This is perfect!" Luffy exclaimed. "Blizzard and I just have to jump right in, am I right?"
"Well, yeah," Buggy replied, "but at the bottom is…"
"Here we go!" Luffy said. "C'mon, Blizzard!"
RUFF! Blizzard barked in agreement.
WHUP! The two Straw Hats jumped down into the hole.
"H-hey! Wait!" Buggy called after them.
Luffy and Blizzard were now too far down to hear.
"It sure is deep," Luffy said as he and Blizzard were diving. "I wonder what's at the bottom."
If there is a bottom, Blizzard thought.
"That impulsive idiot," said Buggy. "Isn't he afraid of anything!" He chuckled evilly as he held up the arm band. "Still, at least now, I can run away and be rid of that bastard! Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! I ditched him! And the treasure marker of Captain John is finally mine! I'm not dumb enough to take you and that mutt all the way down, Straw Hat! You two can go ahead and go down to Level 3 or 4 and run to your deaths like lemmings! HAHAHAHAHA!"
SHWUK! From behind Buggy, and axe appeared and sliced his head off (not killing him, of course). Looking back, he saw that it was one of the Blugori.
"DAMN BLUGORI!" Buggy cursed. "YOU CAN'T CUT ME, YOU FOOL! I'M A CHOP-CHOP MAN!"
However, Buggy didn't realize that his body was slipping into the hole…straight to Level 2.
"Uh-oh…" mumbled Buggy.
XXX
Up in the monitoring room, one of the staff was speaking into a Mini Transponder Snail.
"All three have fallen into Level 2."
"Please confirm!"
XXX
GRAAAAARR!
RAARGH!
GRAAAAAAAHHH!
This was Level 2 of Impel Down: the Beast Hell.
The halls were filled with the angry roars of countless creatures, and the air smell foul with their breath.
"What's up with the monsters?"
"They're acting angrier than usual!"
"Is it time for them to eat or something?"
"Who cares?"
Inside one of the cells, a prisoner sat on a bench, awaiting his fate. However, he was no ordinary prisoner.
He was former Baroque Works agent: Mr. 3.
"I'm too weak to even be scared," said Mr. 3. "It doesn't matter what's gotten these mindless beasts riled up. We'll all end up in their stomachs, anyway!"
TO BE CONTINUED…
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