AN: I'm glad that this story has gotten so much feedback. I really do appreciate it.
"WAAAAAAAAAAH! I JUST GOT THROUGH BREAKING OUT OF PRISON, AND YET HERE I AM, FOLLOWING SOME IDIOT BOY AND HIS WEIRD FRIEND TO ANOTHER HELL~!"
Luffy, Big Chill, and an unwilling Buggy all went down, down, down towards the second level of Impel Down: the so-called "Beast Hell".
The two pirates all landed with a resounding crash while Big Chill was able to use his wings to slow down his descent.
"Ow…!" Buggy seethed, his disembodied head afloat in the air. Taking a look around, he saw the same brick walls and corridors that had been seen in the Crimson Hell, but all around, he could hear the growls and roars of different beasts. "This place gives me the creeps." He grumbled before he smirked and turned to his headless body, which the treasure marker that was once on Luffy's arm. "But still, at least I finally have this! With this, I can finally find Captain John's loot! And now, to find my way out of this-"
A rubbery hand grabbed Buggy by his ponytail and pulled him close to Luffy, who was running alongside Ben who had turned back to normal, and forcing Buggy's body to follow them.
"Okay, Buggy!" said Luffy. "Where do we go from here?"
"N-now, hold on!" Buggy cried in protest.
Luffy, Ben, and Buggy ran this way and that, up and down, all around, but they couldn't seem to find a way to the next level.
Instead, they just kept running into a dead end.
"Damn," Luffy cursed.
"Well, now what?" Ben questioned, "I know next to nothing about this place. I don't know my way around here."
Luffy looked around, taking in the beastly sounds of animalistic growling and roaring.
"So this is Level 2, huh?" Luffy asked.
Buggy's head went right back onto his body. He panted, trying to catch his breath."Yes, it is," the clown pirate answered. "This place is worse than the Crimson Hell! They call it the 'Beast Hell'! Damn you, Straw Hat! You and that shapeshifter friend of yours had me running around like a flashy idiot! This forsaken place has all the beasts of Hell running rampant around here!"
"Beasts of Hell?" Luffy repeated.
"Damn it all," cursed Buggy in thought. "Well, until I get my chance to ditch these two, I guess I can use them for a while."
"Uh, hey, Buggy," Luffy said.
"What?" asked Buggy, irritably.
"Is that one of them?" Luffy asked as he pointed behind him. "Those beasts of Hell, that is?"
Buggy gasped and turned. "Crap!" he cursed. "They found us, already!"
"Grr…!" A low growl sounded off in the darkness of the corridor. It grew louder and louder as its owner drew near.
Ben stepped forward, unafraid, prepared to face one of these so-called 'Beasts of Hell', while Luffy and Buggy stood behind them, the latter appearing more nervous.
However, as the creatures stepped out of the shadows, the trio soon saw, to their confusion that it was a cute, little hippo.
"It's a hippo," said Luffy.
"Uh…yeah, it is," Buggy agreed.
"Are you kidding me?" said Ben.
"It's smaller than a regular hippo," said Luffy. "Is this one of those 'beasts of Hell'?"
Buggy chuckled and said, "Well, isn't this a little bluff? I honestly that the beasts of Hell would be more-"
CHOMP! It appeared that Buggy spoke too soon, for the little hippo's mouth suddenly grew huge and ate his torso, leaving only his head and legs!
"DAH!" Buggy cried. "RUN, STRAW HAT!"
Luffy and Ben soon went running after Buggy as the hippo charged them, right through a wall. It soon turned around and ran after them, and at an incredible speed, to boot!
"Wow!" Luffy said. "That little hippo sure is fast!"
"Yeah," agreed Ben, "I gotta admit, I'm a bit impressed."
"Don't go admiring it!" barked Buggy. "Quick! Turn left!"
The three did just that, and the hippo went crashing through another wall as they did.
"Ha-ha-ha!" Buggy laughed. "Dumb, flashy hippo! Since he can't turn, all he can do is just crash into walls!"
"Why do I have a feeling that that's not the case?" Ben thought.
The hippo broke through the wall before them and came lunging toward the trio, who were forced to turn tail and run from it again as it bit out a huge chunk of the floor and resumed the chase.
"So, you're just fine with getting your body eaten like that?" questioned Luffy.
"Oh, you'll see!" Buggy said with a grin. "After all, I am a Chop-Chop man!"
Inside the hippo's mouth, it was revealed that Buggy's hands seemed to be searching for something. That something happened to be the hippo's…uvula.
Buggy's hands grabbed the hippo's uvula, causing it to gag and trip. As it was rolling forward, Luffy, Ben, and Buggy jumped out of its way before CRASH! It went crashing into another wall, this time going into unconsciousness and freeing Buggy's body, which reassembled.
"How'd you do that?" Luffy asked.
"Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!" Buggy cackled. "Even if my body ends up getting chopped into bits, I can move them any way I please! Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! That'll teach ya, you dumb flashy hippo!"
Little did our heroes know, that they were being watched, for up on the wall, a Surveillance Transponder Snail had seen the whole event that had transpired.
In the monitoring room, the staff were watching Buggy through one of the surveillance screens. They could see Buggy, but they couldn't make out the two figures that were with him.
However, they did seem to recognize them.
"Those two with Buggy," said one of the staff. "Who are they?"
A moment later, the trio continued running through the corridors of Level 2.
Isn't there any other way I can just get out of here and ditch these fools? Buggy thought. Suddenly, Buggy heard the sound of buzzing, and it sounded like it was coming from up above. The clown pirate stopped to look up, but saw nothing.
"What's wrong, Buggy?" Luffy asked as he and Ben braked to a stop.
"I thought I heard something," Buggy said, "then again…maybe not."
"Maybe it was a bat," Luffy said as he looked around. Then without warning, something suddenly chopped Buggy up into parts.
"DAAAAAAAAAHH!" Buggy cried. "CHOP-CHOP QUICK ESCAPE!"
Buggy and his chopped-up body flew away and reassembled behind Luffy and Ben, who turned and saw that his attacker was a giant praying mantis the size of a full-grown man, dressed like one of the staff with scythes for hands!
"A Monster Mantis!" exclaimed Buggy.
"You're right," Luffy said. "It's way too big to be a regular mantis! I remember seeing one like this before!"
The Monster Mantis struck again, unable to cut Luffy or Ben, who had transformed into Crashhopper using his long and muscular legs to jump out of its way in the nick of time, but was able to chop up Buggy once more.
"Wow!" said Luffy. "This bug cuts almost as good as Zoro!"
"Compared to the aliens I've sent to the Null Void over the years, this is a cakewalk," Ben thought, not as impressed.
"HOW CAN YOU BE SO IMPRESSED?" Buggy questioned. "If I keep getting myself cut up like this, I'll be in big trouble!"
The trio landed behind the Monster Mantis. "You sure are a hell of a fighter!" Luffy complimented. "You should meet my friend Zoro, some time!"
"Honestly," Buggy sighed in disbelief, "how can you be so relaxed?"
The Monster Mantis began to swing its scythes, all around, the resulting slashes able to cut up the brick walls. Luffy, Crashhopper, and Buggy then clapped their hands, but then,The mantis' blades were thrown into the floor…and they appeared to be stuck.
"Uh," Luffy muttered as he watched the Monster Mantis struggle to free his blades. "Looks like it's stuck."
"Yeah," Buggy agreed.
"Gee, what was your first clue?" Ben said sarcastically.
"Well, now what?" Luffy asked.
"Hmm," Buggy thought. "Maybe we should just leave it there."
"Okay," said Luffy.
"Sounds good to me," Ben agreed.
With that, the trio walked by the Monster Mantis, which still tried to free its scythes from the floor.
"Are you sure these are supposed to beasts of Hell?" questioned Luffy in doubt. "They're not THAT big a deal, if you ask me."
"So far, this entire place has been nothing but a joke," said Ben.
"Level 1 was a lot more terrifying than this place!" Buggy added. "Then again, if you think about, beasts of Hell can only be found in-"
"BRUCKAAAAAAAAAWW!" A huge roaring sound was heard, and it was so huge, that it created a wind that was strong to blow the Monster Mantis away!
As the wind died down, Luffy, Ben, and Buggy soon stood.
"What the hell was that?" Luffy asked.
Buggy looked up, but then he gasped and froze in place.
"What's the matter?" Luffy asked before he and Ben looked up to see what Buggy was seeing, and what they saw was a humungous bird-like creature. It looked like a giant rooster…with a reptilian face, rows of sharp teeth, and a forked tongue like a serpent.
"BRUCKAAAAAAAAWW~!" The beast roared, again.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Luffy and Buggy screamed. "A MONSTER~!"
"THAT THING IS HUGE~!" Ben exclaimed.
Up on the wall, the trio didn't notice that they were being watched by another Surveillance Transponder Snail.
Up in the monitoring room, the staff were getting a second look at the pirates on screen.
"Huh!" one gasped. "That boy! He's…!"
"RUUUUUUUUUUUUUUN!"
Ben, Luffy, and Buggy ran as fast as their legs could carry them, trying to get away from the huge, snake-like chicken beast.
"Damn it all!" Buggy cursed. "The rumors were true, all along! We're gonna get ourselves eaten alive, this time! That's why I was trying to get out of his hellhole without you, because I didn't want to be dragged down here to Level 2 with you two!"
"Huh?" Luffy asked. "What'd you say, Buggy? What the hell is that thing?"
"It's the most rare kind of hybrid monster!" Buggy answered. "A snake born from the egg of a chicken- the Basilisk!"
Indeed it was. The Basilisk, a mutant beast born from the crossbreeding of a snake with a chicken. It guards the corridors of Level 2, but it is only the second-feared beast in this whole prison. On Level 2, there was an even more fierce creature.
"Basilisk?" Ben repeated in thought. "And I thought aliens were bad enough!"
"So, wait!" Luffy said. "That thing's mom is a chicken?"
"Yes!" Buggy answered. "But that chick is a MONSTER!"
"This is one messed-up world I got sent to!" thought Ben as he turned into Spidermonkey.
The Basilisk continued to give chase, pushing itself through the corridors and biting at the trio. While Luffy and Spidermonkey dodged every chomp, Buggy just split himself apart to keep from getting eaten. As they turned a corner, Luffy skid to a stop and turned to face the beastly bird.
"That's it!" Luffy said. "I don't have time to deal with this chicken-snake thing!"
"Are you out of your mind?" Buggy questioned. "You'll get your ass kicked!" He then turned and grinned to himself. "But then again, I could use this as a chance to escape!"
"You're kidding, right?" Ben said.
"Well, so long, Straw Hat!" Buggy said. "You and your friend can take it from here!"
With that, Buggy soon turned to leave Luffy and Spidermonkey to face the Basilisk alone.
But then…
"Gear…THIRD!"
"ULTIMATE SPIDERMONKEY!"
Buggy turned upon hearing that cry, and saw Luffy with an enlarged fist and Spidermonkey having transformed into a gorilla with four spider legs on its back.
"WHAT THE…?"
In a guard room in Level 2, one of the staff had been contacted via Mini Transponder Snail.
"Jailers on Level 2! We've identified the boy that is with Buggy the Clown! It's 'Straw Hat' Luffy! Also, there's some other unknown man with them with the ability to transform into different monsters!"
"What?"
"You mean…THAT 'Straw Hat' Luffy?"
"And a pirate with a Zoan ability we haven't seen before too?"
"In Impel Down? But why?"
"It doesn't matter why! Capture those pirates at all costs! Dead or alive!"
"Right! Let's go, men!"
With that, the staff prepared to head out and capture, Luffy, Ben, and Buggy, when all of a sudden…
"Gum-Gum…GIANT PISTOL!"
KRASH! The Basilisk now covered in a web cocoon came crashing through the guard room, knocking out most, if not all the guards in the room.
Meanwhile, with Hancock, Salome, Momonga, Hannyabal, and Domino, they were still in the elevator, escorting the Warlord to the warden, Magellan. As their decent began to slow down, Hancock began to notice that the temperature was rising.
"It's getting quite hot," said Hancock.
"Yes," said Domino. "As Vice Admiral Hannyabal had said before, the Warden's office is on Level 4, the Inferno Hell. As its name implies, everything there except his office is like real inferno." The elevator soon stopped. "We've arrived," said Domino. With that, the group exited from the elevator.
"So where's the Warden?" Momonga asked.
"Warden Magellan has terrible issues with his digestive system," Domino explained, "So most of the time, he stays in a restroom for 10 hours, daily. Not just that, but he needs 8 hours of sleep, and then he has mealtimes and breaks, therefore he only works four hours a day."
"Is it enough for a warden such as him?" Hancock questioned.
"He can be productive when need-be," Domino said.
FLOOSH!
"Oh!" Domino said. "Sorry to keep you waiting. Here he comes now. One more thing, though. I forgot to tell you that Warden Magellan has eaten a Devil Fruit: the Venom-Venom. Everything about him makes him poisonous."
"Poisonous?" Hancock repeated.
"Yes," Domino answered. "Please, be careful when you're around him."
Hancock turned and saw some of the staff present her, Salome, Domino, and Momonga some gas masks.
The door to the restroom suddenly opened, and a large, shadowy figure came staggering out.
"Good work, chief!"
"Well done, sir!"
"Ah…once again, it was another tough battle."
The man that came out of the restroom was incredibly large in stature, about three times the height of a normal human being. He had a face that resembled a mandrill, with sharp teeth and a thick beard. His fingers closely resembled those of the Blugori. Upon his back were bat-like wings, like Hannyabal's, and horn-like head ornaments. He wore a black suit with a red shirt underneath. The suit featured more buttons than those of the staff. Draped over his right shoulder was a piece of rope, and upon his crown was a standard cap of the Impel Down workers. He is the warden of Impel Down, Magellan.
"Oh," said Magellan. "We have guests. Welcome to Impel Down. I am Warden Magellan." He suddenly flinched, shielding his eyes. "Ah! It's so bright! Why is that? I want to be sealed away in a dark room, and, if possible, I'd like my heart to be sealed, too!"
"Stop being ridiculous!" said Hannyabal. "Warden Magellan, Marine Vice-Admiral Momonga and Warlord Boa Hancock are here to see you!"
"We're in a bit of a hurry, Warden Magellan," said Momonga.
"My apologies," Magellan said. "You see, I've got me a pretty bad case of the runs. The poison soup I had for breakfast this morning seems to be disagreeing with me-"
"Well, what'd you expect?" Hannyabal questioned. "It's poison!"
"I'm a poison man, after all," said Magellan. "Therefore, I love poisons! You know what they say: 'Fight poison with poison'!"
"It's just an expression!" Hannyabal corrected. "You shouldn't take it literally! No wonder you have diarrhea!"
"You have a rather venomous tongue on you, Hannyabal," Magellan said.
"Oh, hurry up and retire so that I can become Warden, already," said Hannyabal. "Whoop! Slip of the tongue! Sorry! What I meant to say was. 'Take these two to 'Fire Fist' Ace and-"
"That was a terrible mistake you made, Hannyabal!" Magellan exclaimed. "I can't believe I have such a heartless colleague such as you!" He heaved a sigh, but as he did, he unwittingly let out a purple mist from his mouth.
"Gas masks," said Domino.
Hancock, Salome, Domino, and Momonga put on their gas masks to filter out the poisonous mist, but Hannyabal was most unfortunate to accidentally breathe it in, "GAH!" Hannyabal gasped. "Be careful when you breathe! Your breath is poisonous!"
Magellan just let out a hissing laugh.
"Oh, of course!" Hannyabal said. "It's always funny to you!"
"Serves you right," Magellan started, "stupid Vice Warden."
"Even his WORDS are venomous!" Hannyabal exclaimed, angrily.
He wasn't the only one who was angry as Magellan was soon kicked down to the floor and was pinned by Hancock, who gave him her "Extreme-Looking-Down" Pose.
"How DARE you expose me to your toxins?" she barked. "Just WHO do you think you are?"
"Oh!" Magellan gasped. "What a lovely woman! I'm in love!"
"Oh, he's SO lucky…" Hannyabal grumbled as he sit at a golden desk and in a chair that was too big for him.
"Vice Warden," Domino said. "That's the Warden's seat."
"It'll be mine in time," Hannyabal remarked.
"Can we please hurry this along?" questioned an irritable Momonga.
"BELLIP-BELLIP-BELLIP!" The Transponder Snail (which was also wearing a little mask) began to ring, and Hannyabal picked it up, "This is the Warden's office," he said.
"What do you think you're doing answering my calls?" Magellan questioned before he breathed out poisonous gas, again.
"DAH!" Hannyabal gasped. "Not again! Damn it all!" He fell forward on the desk. "I wanted…to be…the warden…!"
"Give Vice Warden an antidote!" Domino ordered one of the staff.
"Yes, ma'am!"
"What's that?" Magellan asked to the person on the other line. "Two people just broke into Impel Down?"
"That's impossible!" Domino exclaimed as she administered the antidote into Hannyabal. "No one has ever been fool enough to break INTO the prison in all its history!"
"This is a grave error!" Hannyabal declared. "And it's your fault, Warden!"
"Oh, no!" Hancock thought. "Were they discovered?"
"Transfer their images to me, right away!" Magellan demanded.
"Oh, Warden," said Hancock in a cute, feminine voice, putting on the most innocent face. "Could you please take us to see the prisoner, now?"
"Of course~!" Magellan replied with hearts in his eyes. "I'll take you down there, right away!"
"W-wait, Warden!" Hannyabal called. "Don't you realize how serious the situation that we're in is?"
In the monitoring room, there was an alarm going off, and the staff was in uproar.
"What's going on? We've lost contact with Warden Magellan!"
"Hurry and report this to the guard room of each floor and to Marine HQ! I don't what they're doing or what they're up to, but one of the two men that Buggy the Clown is with on Level 2 is definitely the pirate, 'Straw Hat' Luffy!"
"What's going on in the guard room on Level 2? We can't reach them!"
"WHAT? What the hell's going on?"
In the guard room on Level 2...or rather, what's left of it, unconscious guards lay scattered around the floor, as well as the defeated Basilisk.
Buggy stared in disbelief at what he had just witnessed, while a shrunken Luffy and an evolved Arachnichimp smiled triumphantly.
"I did it!" said Luffy.
"What the hell just happened?" Buggy questioned. "Your fist grew huge…and why did you shrink? Also, how did your friend turn from a four armed monkey into some spider-gorilla?"
"It's just one of my Ultimate Forms," Ben explained as he turned back to normal.
"That's my Gear Third technique," Luffy answered. "I actually manage to beat this snake-chicken thing!"
He then grew back to his regular size, "Oh! I'm back to normal!" Luffy said. "Okay, Buggy, now take us to Level 3!"
"Saviors have been sent to us from Heaven!"
"They defeated the Basilisk!"
The trio turned to face the prisoners that were locked in their cells.
"You did it!"
"You guys were incredible!"
"And you completely devastated the guard room!"
"I don't know who you guys are, but thank you so much!"
"Now, hurry! Get the keys to our cells and shackles!"
"There! On the floor!"
Buggy and Luffy turned to see a key ring with six keys.
"We don't have time for this!" Ben said. "We're in a hurry!"
Inside one of the cells, Mr. 3 spotted Luffy through the bars.
Ha! he gasped in thought. It's him! It's 'Straw Hat' Luffy! But what is he doing here? If he's outside…then he must be trying to escape! He smiled. Yes! This is my chance! Maybe I can get him to help me get out of here! I have not been forsaken, yet!
Buggy, using his Chop-Chop Fruit powers, unlocked the cells, releasing the prisoners.
"Yes! We're free!"
"Freedom, at last!"
"WHOOPEE!"
"Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!" Buggy cackled. "You lot had better be grateful!"
"Yes, we are!"
"Thank you so much, Captain Buggy!"
"We'll never forget this, Captain Buggy!"
"You saved us, Captain Buggy!"
"That's right!" Buggy exclaimed. "Remember the name of your savior! Now go, and unlock the other cells! Free your fellow comrades! Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!"
"I fell down here by accident," Buggy thought, "but if I let these prisoners out and have them cause a huge riot, then maybe I'll be able to slip out in all the confusion!"
Buggy's plan seemed to short-lived unfortunately, for Luffy grabbed and dragged him along and ran alongside Ben.
"You're wasting our time!" Luffy said. "Now hurry up and take me us to Ace! Is there another hole around that leads to downstairs?"
"Let me go!" Buggy barked. "How the hell should I know the way to Level 3? This whole place is like a flashy maze!"
"GRAAAAAARRR!" A loud, powerful roar sounded off, so loud that it frightened the prisoners into running back into their cells.
"But you said you'd take us down to Level 4!" Luffy argued, ignoring the roar.
"I lied!" Buggy retorted. "I only wanted the treasure marker on your arm, so I lied to you to get it!"
"You lied?" Luffy growled.
"Well Luffy, what'd you expect?" Ben said, "He was your enemy long before I met you, right?"
"Anyway, what does it matter to you?" Buggy asked. "All these loose prisoners are about to riot and…" he noticed that the prisoners had ran back into their cells. "Huh? Hey! What's going on here? This was supposed to be your chance to escape and cause a big ruckus, right?"
"We suddenly got a cold splash of reality!" said one of the prisoners. "We changed our minds! There's no way we can leave this place as long as THOSE guys, as well as the boss of this floor is still lurking about!"
"Yeah! We're a lot safer in here!"
"Yeah!"
"That's right!"
Buggy sweat-dropped nervously before turning to Luffy, "Uh, change of plans, Straw Hat and your name was Ben right?" he said. "I'll go ahead and take you both to Level 3!"
"YOU SAID THAT YOU DIDN'T KNOW, BIG NOSE!" Luffy barked.
"WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE CALLING 'BIG NOSE'?" spat Buggy.
"Oh, brother…" Ben said as he rubbed his temple.
"Perhaps I could be of some assistance!"
The three turned to see Mr. 3 approached them.
"Huh?" Luffy muttered.
"Who're you?" Buggy questioned.
Mr. 3 put his hands together and then separated them to form a bridge of wax between them.
"Long time, no see," he began, "eh, 'Straw Hat' Luffy? Ironic as it may seem, I'm free now, thanks to you, and I am a man who repays his debts!"
"Uh…who are you again?" Luffy asked.
"Ahem!" Mr. 3 cleared his throat and pointed to his hairstyle.
"Oh, wait!" said Luffy. "You're that waxy guy from the island of giants! You're Three!"
"It's MR. 3!" Mr. 3 corrected.
However, while the trio were talking, Ben thought he heard something up on the rafters. Looking up, he gasped when he saw a large group of shadowy figures appear.
"Aw, man…" he thought.
Meanwhile, on the same level where Ace is being held prisoner, that same hulking figure from earlier had just entered Ace's cell. However, it appeared that Ace was going to have some company.
Another mysterious figure had been chained to the wall of his cell, and that strange creature that was armed with a mace had put him there.
"I'm not…" said a grisly voice. "I'M NOT GOING ANYWHERE!"
The hulking beast then threw its mace down on the figure's head before it left the cell.
"Ah…I can't move. I can't even lift a finger."
"Looks like they've given you another good beating," Ace said, "eh, boss?"
"Don't be silly, Ace," said the figure. "These wounds are nothing! It's my heart that really hurts, because I'm not able to do what's right!"
It was revealed that Ace's company was a Fishman. A whale shark Fishman, to be more precise, with a face that was similar to that of a Japanese demon, like the Oni. His yellow eyebrows and sideburns are distinctly shaped like those found on such creatures, in addition to his bulb-like and an angular lower lip that pointed upwards. He has a lightning-bolt shaped scar that went from his left sideburn to over his left eye. He also possessed two tusk-like, conical lower fangs that protruded from his lower lip, another common feature of the Oni. The rest of his teeth were pretty much the same, albeit smaller. He also has a sever under bite, which makes room for his large fangs.
He had dual-toned, black hair with two gold stripes, coming from the roots over his forehead and trailing down the back, a topknot, and a beard.
Under his pale red coat, he wore a coral-colored traditional Japanese robe known as a jinbei with a black-and-white square pattern on it, and around his waist was a purple sash.
This is "Sea Knight" Jimbei, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, (or rather, an ex-Warlord), a whale shark Fishman, his former bounty being 250 million Berries.
"Jimbei," Ace muttered.
"I can't die," said Jimbei. "At least not yet, Ace! I don't care if I used to be one of the Seven Warlords! That title means nothing to me!" He hung his head. "But I'd gladly give up all I had, even my life…to stop this war!"
In a monitoring room, the guards were trying to find the escaped prisoner, Buggy, as well as Ben and Luffy. Three of them were too busy playing a game of poker to care.
"To be honest," said one of them sitting at the table as he held his cards in his hands, "when I was assigned to this floor, I thought I was a dead man for sure, but it's surprisingly pretty peaceful here."
"It wouldn't be another way," said the other guard. "I mean, what kind of floor did you think it would be?"
The guard facing one of the screens turned to them and said, "This floor contains the world's worst villains with bounties of over 100 million Berries, or other infamous criminals, which is why security is so tight here. That's why here, in Impel Down, they call it Eternal Hell, because it's the worst floor for prisoners to be held on." He then smirked. "But still, the only chance they'll ever have for them to leave this place and feel the sunlight again is on the day of their execution."
"Death might be the easier than spending another second in this God-forsaken place," said the thick-lipped guard as he picked up another card.
"Yeah, you might be right there, pal."
They all laughed.
Just then, another guard entered.
"Hey," he said. "The Warden and Vice-Warden are on their way here with 'Pirate Empress' Boa Hancock."
"Boa Hancock?" repeated one of the guards. "Why would the Pirate Empress wanna see 'Fire Fist' Ace?"
"Yeah, he's the most dangerous prisoner in Impel Down," said the thick-lipped guard. "Well, maybe the entire world, now!" He picked up another card. "I sure as hell don't want any trouble" He gasped when he realized the card he picked up was the Joker.
"Speaking of dangerous men," said the guard facing the screen, "I heard there's another prisoner who was a Warlord, like Hancock, who went against Marine HQ, and he's a pretty dangerous man, himself. What's his name, again?"
"I'm pretty sure it was 'Jombay', or something."
"No, no, it's 'Jimbei'!"
"Oh, yeah! 'Sea Knight' Jimbei!"
Drops of blood fell from Jimbei's face as he sat against the wall beside Ace.
"To the World Government," he started, "I am a pirate who hates pirates…but you, Ace…you and your people were different."
"A pirate hater?" Ace questioned. "You?"
"It seems strange that I met you, Ace," said Jimbei. "I had paid Whitebeard visits on his ship too many times to count, but because of my position, I had to be discreet, and do everything underwater. I really liked you people."
"Heh," Ace chuckled, half-heartedly. "Last I remember, you almost killed me, once.
"And you almost killed me, Ace," Jimbei said. "All I wanted to do was help Whitebeard. The only reason that Fishman Island is at peace, right now, is because of that man. All pirates that sail the Grand Line must eventually pass Fishman Island. When the Great Pirate Era began, the island became like a war-zone! It had been overwhelmed with hordes of human pirates and the Marine forces that had been pursuing them! A great many of us Fishmen and Merfolk had been captured and sold off. Everyone was in great turmoil! But then…he, Whitebeard, came!"
Flashback
"This island," the mighty Whitebeard roared, "IS MY TURF, NOW!"
Flashback end
"I will never forget that fateful day," Jimbei said. "With those words, he ended the chaos on Fishman Island, forever! Now THAT, Ace, is power! Of course, you know that he protects many islands, as well. He may be a pirate captain, but it's wrong to try and take him out! The World Government must know what will happen if Whitebeard dies!"
He banged the back of his head against the wall behind him. "I wanted to stop this war, even if it killed me!" he exclaimed. "I also wanted to try and save you, Ace…"
"Just stop it, Jimbei," Ace said. "You're only making me feel worse."
"I have yet to give up hope, boy," Jimbei said. "I've always believed in things like…miracles and luck."
Ace just sat in silence.
"Heh-heh-heh-heh," a mysterious voice chuckled, evilly. "Looks like something interesting is happening in this this prison. Ha-ha-ha…! This could be big chance to finally take Whitebeard's head! How thrilling."
"Damn you," Jimbei growled.
"You wanna kill Pops?" Ace questioned.
"Oh, not just me, boy…"
All around, the cries of the other insane prisoners could be heard.
"MYAHAHAHA!"
"Kill the old fool!"
"Great! The old man's finally gonna kick the bucket!"
"Good riddance!"
"Lemme outta here! I'll kill him, myself!"
"I don't have any problem with that!"
"BWAHAHAHAHA!"
"The reign of Whitebeard ends with me!"
"SILENCE, YOU COWARDS!" Jimbei barked out.
"Remember this, Jimbei," said the mysterious figure. "And you, too, Fire Fist. There are plenty of second-rate pirates in this world who hate that they have no chance of defeating the likes of Whitebeard and Gold Roger. Why…they're everywhere. HAHAHAHAHAHA!"
"You are one sick, twisted son of a bitch," Ace seethed.
"Maybe I am."
Back in the monitoring room, the staff saw just why the jailers on Level 2 had not yet responded.
They saw the destroyed room with the defeated Basilisk inside.
"The Basilisk demolished the place!"
"No wonder they didn't respond."
"So those three defeated the Basilisk? Where are they now? Just what the hell is happening on Level 2?"
Somewhere on Level 2, four familiar figures were seen running away, and they had been spotted by the Surveillance Transponder Snail.
"There they are!" said one of the guards in monitoring room.
"It's them!" said another.
"But wait…there's four of them, now!"
"What?"
Back on Level 2, it is revealed that XLR8, Luffy, Buggy, and Mr. 3 were being chased by a pack of lion-like creatures with human faces, a giant centipede, the Monster Mantis, and the little hippo from before.
"It seems the beasts of Level 2 are after us!" exclaimed Mr. 3.
"Tell us something we don't know pal!" said XLR8.
"We can't keep running from these freaks forever!" Luffy said.
"He's right!" Buggy said. "For once. The moment we stop running, we'll be on the menu! And while we're running our asses off, the jailers from other floors of this place are preparing to catch us, too!"
"I'm getting tired, already!" stated Mr. 3.
Luffy then braked to a halt to face the beasts as XLR8 switched to Echo Echo who duplicated into 3 copies.
"Dammit," he cursed. "I don't have time for this! Gum-Gum…"
"Chop-Chop…" Buggy started as he held up his axe.
"Candle…" Mr. 3 started.
"Wall of…" The Echo Echos started.
"PISTOL!'
"CANNON!"
"LOCK!"
"SOUND!"
POW! Luffy's fist hit the giant centipede, which exploded and split into sections…and kept running!
SLASH! Buggy's axe blew away three lion creatures.
KRINK! Mr. 3's wax hardened on the forelegs of four other lions.
SKREEEEE! The Echo Echos' combined sonic screams attack hit the hippo and the Monster Mantis.
"That giant centipede just exploded!" Luffy exclaimed as he continued to run.
"That centipede was just a bunch of Puzzle Scorpions joined together!" Mr. 3 explained. "there is extremely poisonous!"
Just then, more lion beasts showed up.
"AH!" Mr. 3 screamed. "MORE OF THEM!"
The quartet ran this way and that way, here and there, almost everywhere, until finally, they seemed to have lost their pursuers.
The beasts had to stop to try and find which their prey had gone. The sound of footsteps was heard, gaining the beasts' attention. It sounded like it was coming from their right, so they ran down the hallway to the right.
However, Luffy, Echo Echo, Buggy, and Mr. 3 soon came out of hiding behind them.
"I can't believe that worked," said Luffy.
"Well, what did I tell you?" Buggy said. "They're brainless animals! All I had to get them off our tail was to fool them with my footsteps trick!"
Further down the hall, it was revealed that Buggy's severed feet were making the footsteps to fool the monsters into believing that they had gone down through there.
"HAHAHAHAHA!" Buggy laughed. "The fools!" Suddenly, Buggy soon found his feet thrown back at him, right into his nose.
"Ouch!" he said.
"Uh…guys?" Echo Echo said in a high-pitched and tinny voice.
"What?" asked Buggy and Mr. 3.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAHH!"
The quartet was running away, once again, from the beasts, which were more enraged than before.
"Dammit all!" Buggy cursed. "Hey, by the way! I heard that the boss of Level 2 is some kind of lion! Are those things chasing us the ones?"
"No, but you're close!" answered Mr. 3 answered. "Those are man-eating lions with the faces of men! They're called Manticores! Let them catch you, and they'll eat you until only your bones are left!"
"Are you serious?" Buggy cried.
"The key!"
"Gimme the key!"
"Huh?" muttered Buggy.
"Were those things talking just now?" Ben questioned.
"Just ignore them!" Mr. 3 exclaimed. "They have human vocal cords, so they can imitate our speech!"
"Help me!" cried one Manticore.
"The agony!" cried another.
"They're in pain?" Ben thought. "Wait, what the heck am I saying? Of course they're not!"
"They're just saying words they've heard the prisoners say!" said Mr. 3. "They didn't even know what they mean!"
"That's real creepy!" said Luffy.
"Tell me about it!" said Ben.
"Loincloth! Loincloth!" chanted another Manticore.
"Strawberry panties!" exclaimed another.
"They've basically learned a lot of nonsense!" Buggy shouted.
"Beef steak!" said another Manticore.
"Beef steak?" Luffy repeated, mouth watering. "Where?"
"DON'T LISTEN TO THEM!" Buggy snapped, smacking him over the head. "JUST RUN!"
"Smoothies!" said another Manticore.
"Where?" said Ben. "Wait a minute…oh, great! Now Luffy's got me doing it!"
"Hey, you!" Luffy said to Mr. 3. "Didn't you say that you'd help us?"
"Oh, yes!" Mr. 3 replied. "Of course! Let's combine our forces and escape together!"
"Actually," Luffy began, "we really need to get down to Level 3!"
"What?" Mr. 3 questioned. "You mean you're not trying to escape? I thought you were heading to Level 1!"
"Wrong!" Buggy said as he ran backwards to face Mr. 3. "Straw Hat and Ben broke in here so that they could help Straw Hat's brother, Ace, escape!"
"Ace, you say?" Mr. 3 repeated. "As in 'Fire Fist' Ace? I didn't know he was Straw Hat's brother! He and that shapeshifter are here to free him?"
"Yeah, we are!" Luffy answered. "And we don't have time, either!"
"If Ace is here," Mr. 3 thought, "then he's more than likely being held up in Level 5! Those two fools want to go there?"
"NO!" Mr. 3 shouted. "I DON'T WANT TO GO~! YOU'RE CRAZY!"
He prepared to go up a flight of stares, but Luffy grabbed him before he could get away.
"Hang on!" Luffy cried. "At least tell how to get to the stairs that go down!"
"The stairs that go down?" Mr. 3 thought. "Yes! Of course! That staircase goes from Level 1 to Level 3! I can use Straw Hat and his friend as bait to lure the monster guarding the stairs away so that I can get out!"
He then turned to Luffy and said, "Come, Straw Hat! I'll help you!"
"NOW YOU WANNA HELP HIM?" Buggy questioned.
"Dude, first you're trying running away, and now you wanna help?" Ben questioned. "Make up your mind already!"
With that, the four ran down a flight of stairs.
"Hurry, Straw Hat!" Mr. 3 said. "Follow me! This way- OOF!"
He suddenly bumped into…something.
Luffy, Ben, and Buggy looked up and saw a humungous creature. It was a dark grey…with a long tail that had a brush of lighter gray hair on it, and surrounding its forelegs and shoulders were light-pinkish feathers, and around its man-like face was a long, light gray mane.
"What the heck?" Ben questioned.
"Well…" Buggy whimpered. "Would you look at that?"
"A lion?" Luffy repeated. "No, wait. An old man?"
Mr. 3 was too frightened to even speak or think. However, he quickly found his voice.
"It's him…" Mr. 3 gasped. "The guardian of the stairs and the boss of this entire Level, the Sphinx!"
At that moment, the Sphinx turned to look at the quartet, just when the Manticores and Puzzle Scorpions arrived. However, the moment they saw the Sphinx look down at them, they immediately became fearful, and fled.
"Omelet rice!"
"Steak!"
"Peanut butter!"
"Strawberry panties!"
"Underwear!"
The Sphinx then closed his eyes, and the four before him stood in anticipation, wondering what he was about to do next.
After what felt like an hour of silence…the Sphinx spoke.
"Somen…" he said.
"Somen?" Ben, Luffy, Buggy, and Mr. 3 repeated.
"GRAAAAR!" The Sphinx roared as he raised his paw.
"Ramen!" he exclaimed as he slammed his paw down at the quartet, forcing them to turn and run.
"Tanmen!" The Sphinx slammed his paw at Luffy and Ben, who got out of his way just in time.
"The only words he's ever heard are words for noodles!" Buggy and Mr. 3 cried.
"Barbecue pork noodles!" The Sphinx slammed his paws down at the Mr. 3 and Buggy.
"Spicy Szechuan noodles!" He then threw his paws at Luffy and Ben, again, but they dodged his strike, once more. Transforming into Kickin Hawk, he jumped and slashed at the Sphinx's nose with his scythe-like blades, knocking it back.
"Macaroni!"
"What?" Kickin Hawk said in disbelief. "Oh, come on! Macaroni isn't even a real noodle! It's a pasta- WHOA!"
The Sphinx slammed his paw at Kickin Hawk, who with his enhanced reflexes jumped in the nick of time. Shifting to Diamondhead, he shot up a crystal pillar that hit the Sphinx right in its' abdomen.
"BEN, LOOK OUT!"
"Al dente!"
Diamondhead looked up and saw that the Sphinx was about to throw his paw down on him, but just as it looked like the Petrosapien was crushed by the massive beast's appendage, the Sphinx suddenly recoiled in pain as he lifted his paw to show a still intact Diamondhead with numerous spikes jutting out his body.
"Wow! So cool Ben!" exclaimed Luffy.
"KEEP MOVING, STRAW HAT!" Buggy shouted.
Luffy looked up, only to jump away when the Sphinx threw his paw at him and Diamondhead again.
"Amen!" he shouted.
"It's praying?" Buggy questioned as the Sphinx threw his paw at the quartet, once again.
"This is bad!" Luffy cried. "Real, real bad!"
Down below, in a prison cell, the prisoners could hear the noises of the Sphinx's thrashing.
"You hear that?"
"Yeah! The Sphinx is going nuts, up there!"
"I knew it! We're doomed! Whatever made us think we could ever leave this place?"
"Ground pork noodles! Hot-pot noodles! Canton noodles!"
Luffy's stomach started to roar. "All this talk about noodles is making my stomach grumble," he said. "I really wanna eat some of Sanji's cooking, now. I haven't had it in a while!"
"You choose NOW to think about your stomach?" questioned Diamondhead. "Look around! We're in trouble here!"
"Wonton noodles!" the Sphinx roared. Luffy's stomach growled, again. Apparently, it was loud enough to drown out the Sphinx's voice. "WONTON NOODLES!" the Sphinx roared, once more.
It was at that moment that Luffy finally snapped to attention and jumped away to avoid another strike from the Sphinx's huge paws. "Damn, he's strong!" said Luffy.
"You got that right," said Diamondhead as he shot more crystal shards at the beast. The Petrosapien then turned to see Buggy and Mr. 3, huddled up in a corner.
"What are those bozos up to now?" the shapeshifter asked in thought.
"You know," Buggy whispered, "I don't really want to go down to the lower levels."
"I'm behind you all the way!" Mr. 3 whispered as the two pirates put their hands together in a handshake.
"All right, then," said Buggy. "It's a deal! We'll form an alliance and break outta this hellhole!"
"Partnership is grand," Mr. 3 said.
"Time for Operation: 'Straw Hat and Freak are Dinner'!" Buggy said.
"Excellent," Mr. 3 said.
"You've GOT to be kidding," Diamondhead thought in disbelief. "I knew they were up to something and what kind of name is that?"
"Hey!" Luffy called as he turned to Buggy and Mr. 3. "What are you two doing over there in the corner?"
"Uh-oh!" Buggy and Mr. 3 thought.
"Miso ramen!" The Sphinx threw his paw down at Luffy and Diamondhead, who jumped away at the last second. Luffy then leaped up, over the Sphinx's head.
"Gum-Gum…BAZOOKA!" Luffy's palms hit the Sphinx, right on top of his crown.
"GRRAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!" The Sphinx roared.
"ALL YOU DID WAS PISS HIM OFF, MORE!" Buggy and Mr. 3 cried.
"For crying out loud, Luffy!" said Diamondhead.
"I'M OUTTA HERE!" Buggy shouted as he flew off to the safety of a nearby wall.
"Wait, traitor!" Mr. 3 called. "How dare you leave me here alone?"
The Sphinx then spotted the former Baroque Works agent below.
"GRRAAAAAAAAAR!" He roared.
"No! WAIT!" Mr. 3 cried. The Sphinx slammed his paw down on Mr. 3...who crumbled?
"Ha-ha-ha! You fell for it, you simple-minded beast!"
The Sphinx turned and saw the real Mr. 3 standing behind him.
"Boiled noodles," he said.
"That was a wax doll I created with my Wax-Wax powers!" Mr. 3 declared. "It's not as effective without Ms. Golden Week's painting, but it's more than enough to fool a dumb animal like you!"
Mr. 3 made more wax dolls of himself. Granted, they didn't have the same coloring, but it was enough to fool the Sphinx.
"Over here!" called one.
"No, here!" called another.
"Here I am!" called one more.
The Sphinx kept smashing wax dolls, but there were so many, he didn't know which one was the real Mr. 3.
"Wow! That looks like fun!" Luffy commented. "It's like Whack-A-Mole!" He laughed and started pointing at random dolls for the Sphinx to hit. "Get that one!"
SMASH!
"Now that one!"
SMASH!
"Now that one over there!"
SMASH!
Diamondhead couldn't help but deadpan at this as time was of the essence right now.
"He's enjoying himself more than I thought," Mr. 3 said as he hid behind a nearby support beam. "Now's my chance!"
With that, he turned and ran while Luffy and the Sphinx continued their little game.
Down below, the prisoners could hear the sound of the Sphinx's paws slamming the floor.
"What's with all this shaking?"
"The Sphinx is going crazy!"
Back up above, the room suddenly started to shake, too.
"Huh?" Luffy muttered.
"I don't think I like the sound of that," said Diamondhead worryingly.
At the gate that was supposed to lead to the stairs, Mr. 3 and Buggy had made it.
"We did it, Mr. 3!" Buggy cheered. "Our plan worked!"
"You traitor!" Mr. 3 snapped. "That wasn't our plan! But even so, we're free!"
"There's the gate, right there!" said Buggy.
"Now, I just need to make a key out of wax," Mr. 3 started, "and we're-"
The whole floor suddenly collapsed beneath their feet.
"Hey! This is Level 3 there's a loud noise coming from up above! Level 2 won't respond!"
It was revealed that because of the Sphinx slamming the floor so much, he caused it to crumble apart and for himself to fall through it, taking Luffy, Diamondhead, Buggy, and Mr. 3 with him!
"WAAAAAH!" Luffy screamed. "YOU DUMB LION! YOU BROKE THE FLOOR!"
"NOT GOOD!" cried Mr. 3.
"WE'RE GOING TO LEVEL 3~!" Buggy yelled.
On Level 2, some of the guards had surrounded the hole that the Sphinx, as well as Luffy, Diamondhead, Buggy, and Mr. 3 had fallen through.
"Monitoring room, come in," said one of the guards, speaking into a Mini Transponder Snail. "We're at the site on Level 2! Can you bring up the image?"
"What happened here?" asked another guard. "This hole is so huge, the Sphinx could've fallen through it!"
"What are Straw Hat and his ally trying to do?" questioned a third guard.
Unbeknownst to the guards, a large group of shadowy figures were skulking towards them.
In the monitoring room, the staff were watching the screens and gasped.
The shadows that were creeping up behind the guards were the escaped inmates!
"We got trouble!"
"The prisoners of Level 2 have escaped!"
"But how'd they get the keys?"
"Is this more of Straw Hat's work? Those guards down there are in danger!"
One of the guards turned and gasped to see the horde of prisoners, their wrists and ankles free of their shackles.
"We owe you our respect and gratitude, O great Captain Buggy," said one.
"Our savior!" declared another.
"This is L-Level 2," said one of the guards, "requesting immediate backup! THE PRISONERS ARE RIOTING!"
That was all he could manage to say before the inmates jumped at them, planning to carry out their revenge on the hapless guards.
In the monitoring room, the other guards were prepared to go out to Level 2.
"Get the Blugori Level 2, as well!" ordered one.
"Hey!" one of the staff called. "I just found out why Straw Hat came here in the first place!"
"You did? How?"
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku at Marine HQ says that there's no doubt about it!" He looked to Luffy's wanted poster. "The intruder, Monkey D. Luffy, and the condemned prisoner, Portgas D. Ace…are brothers!"
"So that means that Straw Hat and his shapeshifting ally are trying to rescue Fire Fist before his execution! That has to be it!"
"So that must explain why they're going down from one Hell to another! We were too preoccupied with Whitebeard's impending attacks! If Straw Hat and his friend succeed, we could have a major disaster on our hands!"
"Hurry up and inform Warden Magellan of this! And someone, get those prisoners on Level 2 under control!"
At Marine HQ…
"BWAHAHAHAHAHA~!"
"And just WHAT is so funny, Garp?"
Monkey D. Garp was laughing his head off while eating rice crackers, once again, while Fleet Admiral Sengoku was scolding him.
"At such a critical time like this in the world's seas…!" Sengoku said. "What a crisis! First, Enies Lobby, then the attack on the Celestial Dragons, and now THIS! IT'S UNPRECEDENTED!" He sighed, trying to regain his composure. "Even if we take into account the escape of 'Golden Lion' Shiki, the flying pirates, that was still just 20 years ago! Out of hundreds of thousands of prisoners, no one else has ever been able to break in or out throughout its history! The Great Prison, Impel Down, has been impregnable for all these years!" He then turned and pointed an accusing finger at Garp, who was still laughing. "And one of the two first beings who would be foolish enough to actually break INTO it and ruin its reputation IS YOUR DAMNED GRANDSON, GARP!"
"I'm so proud of Luffy!" Garp said as he laughed.
"Bartholomew Kuma said that he had eradicated the Straw Hat Pirates at Sabaody," Sengoku growled. "That liar…!"
"Well, I'd never believe a Warlord's words to begin with," Garp said. "But I wonder how Straw Hat and his new friend who supposedly has the ability to transform into different monsters we've never seen before managed to get through the blockade surrounding the prison?"
Sengoku clutched at Garp's coat and pulled him up to his face, but Garp was still guffawing.
"If it weren't for your title as the 'Hero of the Marines', Garp," the Fleet Admiral began, "I'd make you pay for the sins of your entire family!"
"BWAHAHAHAHA!" Garp laughed. "Are you kidding? This old geezer's life isn't worth NEARLY enough to pay for a disaster like this! BWAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHA~!"
Down in Level 3, the unconscious Sphinx was lying on a sandy, desert-like floor with Luffy, Diamondhead, Buggy, and Mr. 3 jumping around because it was so hot.
Well, Luffy, Buggy, and Mr. 3 were.
"Ah, man," said Luffy. "It's so freaking hot. Why's it so quiet?"
"I can't believe it," said Buggy, sweating like a pig. "Level 3, of all places…how the devil did we end up down here?" He then turned to Luffy, furiously. "DAMN YOU, STRAW HAT! YOU'RE THE WHOLE REASON I'M IN THIS MESS!"
"The lion got knocked out," said Luffy, not paying attention.
"My Wax-Wax powers are useless in this heat," said Mr. 3 as he tried to make a little wax doll in his hand, only for it to melt.
Just then, something fell from above and became stuck in the floor. It looked like a dead bird, its body baked by intense heat.
"Ooh!" Luffy chirped. "A barbecue birdie!"
"Okay," said Diamondhead as he grabbed Luffy's shoulder, "I'm NOT watching you eat that."
"A hummingbird from the upper floors must've wandered in here gotten itself baked by the heat," Mr. 3 explained.
"It's like an oven in here!" Luffy and Buggy barked.
"Look around, inside the cells," said Mr. 3.
Luffy, Diamondhead, and Buggy looked around and saw the inmates inside, only…they all looked so emaciated and dehydrated.
"What in the world…?" said Diamondhead. "What's wrong with these guys?"
"Those men are now shells of their former selves," said Mr. 3. "All the inmates on this level…had bounties of at least 50 million Berries on their heads. Here, they torture the prisoners by restricting food and water, and to make matters worse, the heat is coming from the Inferno Hell, which is below us. All of them are close to death. This is Level 3, the Starvation Hell! We'd best get a move on…or else we'd end up like these wretches."
Buggy swallowed the lump in his throat.
Diamondhead however, felt his disgust towards the people who ran this prison grow. No matter what sort of crime these prisoners did, no one deserved this kind of treatment.
"You're right," said Buggy. "I don't wanna end up like these guys!"
"Right then," Luffy said, munching on the roasted hummingbird. "Let's get moving…to Level 4."
"HELL NO!" Buggy and Mr. 3 snapped.
"Why not?" Luffy asked. "I thought you guys you wanted to save Ace, too!"
"We said no such thing!" Mr. 3 remarked.
"You keep confusing what really happened with what you WANT to happen!" Buggy added.
"Come on Luffy," said Diamondhead as he kept walking, "It's no use arguing with them."
Unknown to the quartet, a guard happened to be eying from around the corner.
"They're in range," he spoke into a Transponder Snail. "Pull the net!"
"Roger that."
"Fine then," said Luffy. "Ben and I will go by ourselves."
Suddenly, out of the corner of Diamondhead's eye, he spotted what looked like ropes being pulled.
"EVERYONE! LOOK OUT!" Diamondhead shouted in warning, but it was too late.
Luffy, Diamondhead, Buggy, Mr. 3, and the Sphinx were pulled up in a huge net!
"AAAAAHH!" Luffy yelped.
"WHAT THE HELL'S GOING ON?" Buggy questioned.
"WE'VE WALKED RIGHT INTO A TRAP!" Mr. 3 cried.
Luffy tried to bite through the ropes, but couldn't.
"Dammit!" Luffy cursed. "These ropes feel like they're made of iron!" He suddenly started going limp. "Ugh…I feel weak…"
"I knew it!" Buggy said. "This net is made of sea prism stone!"
"They'll torture us twice as hard for trying to escape!" Mr. 3 exclaimed. "That's it! The end of the line! We're done for!"
"Sea prism stone?" thought Diamondhead as he prepared to cut through the ropes.
Down below, the guards and jailers soon gathered, as well as the Blugori.
"We've successfully capture Straw Hat, the shapeshifter, and the other two."
"WHAT?" Buggy roared. "DO YOU NOT KNOW WHO I AM?"
"Give it a rest, Buggy," said Mr. 3. "It's over."
"LEMME OUTTA HERE!" Luffy barked.
"Put the sea prism stone cuffs on them!"
"Roger that."
Diamondhead was able to easily break free and fell to the ground much to the shock of everyone present. One of his arms shifted into a blade as the Petrosapien faced the guards and jailers, ready to take them down.
"Ben!" Luffy called as he kept biting the ropes. "Hang on! I'll be right there with you!"
"Don't bother."
At that sound of that voice, a newcomer entered center stage.
It was a little man with the appearance of that of a little devil or an imp in a white suit with a yellow shirt and black tie underneath. He also had a pair of yellow gloves. He wears a white sun hat with two horns coming out of it with a the Blugori insignia. Also, like Magellan and Hannyabal, he had wings protruding from his back.
He also didn't seem to have any ears.
"Who are you?" Luffy asked.
"I am Saldeath," said the impish-man.
"You don't look like one," said Luffy.
"NO, YOU FOOL!" Saldeath shouted. "YOU JUST CALLED ME A MONKEY!"
"So you are a monkey," said Luffy.
"HEY!" Saldeath shouted before he regained his composure. "Just give up, now. Resistance is futile. You and your cohorts are trapped in an inescapable undersea prison. You never had a chance to begin with, but you should be glad that I captured you, because the floor beneath this one is being patrolled by the four roaming Jailer Beasts."
"Jailer Beasts?" Diamondhead thought.
"He's right," said Buggy. "I definitely don't wanna run into them, or the Warden!"
Suddenly, the Sphinx's eyes opened.
"Chilled noodles," he said.
"Not again!"Diamondhead exclaimed.
"Captain!" shouted one of the jailers. "The Sphinx woke up!"
"GRAAAARR!" The Sphinx as he thrashed about in the end.
"Fried noodles!" he shouted.
"Oh, no!" said one jailer. "At this rate, the net will break!"
"We can't let those four escape!" said Saldeath. "Especially 'Straw Hat'!"
But it was too late as the Sphinx ripped the net open.
"GRAAAAAAAAAAWWRR!" He roared.
"Spaghetti soup!"
"All right!" Luffy exclaimed as he, Buggy, and Mr. 3 fell from the net. "We're out!"
The Sphinx also fell to the ground. Luffy landed on his feet, next to Diamondhead.
"You okay, Luffy?" Diamondhead asked.
Luffy gave his ally a grin and a thumbs up.
"Get them!"
Luffy turned to the Blugori, who charged at him and Diamondhead.
Blizzard attempted to attack, but he was still weak from the heat. Knowing this, Luffy had to step in.
"Gum-Gum…GATLING!"
Luffy unleashed a series of rapid-fire punches upon the Blugori and the jailers while Diamondhead conjured up several large cluster of crystals from the ground and threw them at the jailers, taking out a great number of them with ease.
At that moment, they noticed that Buggy and Mr. 3 were missing.
"Hey," he said. "Where'd they go?"
"C'mon, Mr. 3! Hurry up!"
"This heat…I can't…!"
Luffy looked up and saw the two in questions, walking upon the rafters.
"Hey!" he called. "What are you guys doing way up there?"
Buggy and Mr. 3 smirked and made taunting faces at Luffy and Diamondhead.
"So long, Straw Hat!" Buggy called. "Give your brother my regards! If he's still alive, then tell him that we should have a drink real soon!"
"Lead them away for us!" Mr. 3 called down. "Sucker…"
"Jerks," Diamondhead thought. "If I wasn't so busy with these bozos, I'd go Rath and really give them something to laugh about."
Luffy, on the other hand, had a different view at it.
"But…we just met up, again," he said. Then he smiled and waved up to them. "Okay, guys!" he called. "Thanks a lot for getting me this far, anyway!"
"AGH!" the two villains gagged at Luffy's positive attitude.
"How can he be so optimistic?" Buggy questioned.
"It hurts!" Mr. 3 gasped. "Oh, it hurts so much inside!"
Diamondhead couldn't help but smirk a bit.
"Don't let you guard down, even for a minute!" Saldeath said. "His bounty is over 300,000,000 Berries!"
Luffy kicked another Blugori away, not just trying to protect his friend, but also because he just wanted to get to Ace, and fast.
"Dammit!" Luffy cursed. "I don't have time to fight with you guys!"
"GRAAAAAARR!" The Sphinx roared, once again.
"Oh, crap!" Luffy cursed, again. "I forgot about him!"
The Sphinx slammed his paw down at the duo, but Luffy and Diamondhead were able to get out of the way, with the former hopping on the heads of two other jailers.
Just as another Blugori was about to attack, Luffy grabbed one by the arm.
"OUTTA OUR WAY!" he shouted. Luffy threw the Blugori at the jailers and other Blugori as he jumped through the prison.
"Stairs! Stairs!" he said. "Where are the stairs?"
"After them!" said a jailer. "Don't let them get away!"
"You guys have been talking a lot of hot air." Diamondhead quipped as in a flash of green light he was replaced by Terraspin who stood to his full height. "I think it's time to fan you off."
With that, Terraspin jumped into the air and extended his flippers angling them like fan blades, his legs then joined together to form a third blade, giving him the appearance of a large Y behind an O. the flippers then started spinning like a fan, while the shell remained stationary, and a powerful blast of wind shot out of the holes in Terraspin's shell. The force of the wind grew more intense by the second until the jailers and Blugori were met with a full gale-force of wind.
Loose bits of debris and other items scattered in the fight, were swept up by the powerful wind, some launched themselves at the Blugori, who where trying to fight the wind. But their attempts were in vain as the Terraspin increased his power to the point were all the jailers were knocked off their feet.
Terraspin eventually stopped his attack and returned to his normal form. His attention was then caught by the sound of Luffy running off in another direction. Terraspin, retracted his head into his shell and formed into his fan form again. However this time, he angled himself to the ground and spun his flippers in a similar fashion to a helicopter. The alien hero then took to the air to where his ally was currently heading.
"Hah…hah…it's so hot."
Buggy and Mr. 3 were still on the rafters, resting due to the heat of the Level.
"Okay," said Buggy. "I think we should be safe here, for now. Lucky for us, they went after Straw Hat and Ben."
"Yes," agreed Mr. 3, "but the stairs leading up are blocked and just being here is torturous!"
As the two rested they suddenly heard what sounded like…singing.
"Un, deux, GRAGH~!"
"Un, deux, UGH~!"
"Who the hell is singing?" Buggy questioned.
"Un, deux, GRAGH~!"
"Un, deux, BLEGH~!"
Mr. 3 gasped, as if realization had struck.
"That voice…" he whispered. "It can't be!"
"This world is made for men and women,
But when you're me, you're both a man and a woman~!
That's why I'm the strongest!"
(Strongest!)
(Strongest!)
(Strongest!)
"OH, COME MY WAY~!"
"Oh, the strongest!"
(Strongest!)
(Strongest!)
(Strongest!)
Mmm~
"Oh, COME MY WAY~!"
The one who was singing was revealed to be…Bon Clay, otherwise known as the former Baroque Agent, Mr. 2.
He was still alive, after all!
Behind him, there were other prisoners who were frail and weak from hunger and exhaustion while Bon seemed to still have energy to burn. The inmates soon collapsed.
"You did quite well!" said Bon as he did a pirouette. "I'll just keep spinning, spinning, and spinning! Like the bewildering we live in! Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! Hey! C'mon, you lot! Get up!"
At that moment, Mr. 3 and Buggy appeared at the cell.
"C'mon!" said Bon. "This stifling heat is nothing! Why, I can be more stifling than this!" As he spun, he noticed Mr. 3 and Buggy. "Oh! Well if it isn't Mr. 3! Ha-ha-ha-ha!"
"It's you…" Mr. 3 muttered.
Bon continued to hum, but then he did a double-take and got the shock of his life.
"WHAT?!" he cried. "MR. 3?! W-what are you doing here? Does this mean that you were captured, too? Wait a minute, what am I saying? I'M the one who got captured! Oh, just look at me! I was so taken back, that I had to do a double-take! It's my latest Oh-Come-My-Way Karate Move: Looking Back on that Autumn Night's Dream!"
"Suddenly, I've changed my mind about setting him free," said Mr. 3 as he slumped against the cell bars.
"Just what is this strange creature?" Buggy asked.
AN: That's all for now. This was the longest chapter so far, so I hoped you enjoyed it. I'm still requesting fanart for my stories if anyone's interested, also feel free to check out my other Ben 10 story which is a crossover with Devilman since that hasn't got many views compared to my other stories. Alright then, I'll see you next chapter.