This. Chapter. Took. Me. So. Long! Anyways, I hope I didn't completely mess up the fighting scenes. I'm not too good at this. Whatever, decide for yourself if you like it and now ENJOY! :D
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"Don't order me around!" Law was glaring at the girl, but after some moments he noticed the presence of Ace and Jinbei. His attention turned to the two men behind Melody and he added in a curious, yet threatening tone "Besides why are Mr. Fire Fist and Mr. Shichibukai with you?" He didn't see any reason why a girl without memory would save two strangers. Two absolutely dangerous strangers.
Losing the last bit of her already thin patience, the girl exasperatedly yelled at the pirate captain "Are you mentally retarded or something? Now's not the time to throw a fit. I will explain the situation once we're inside the elevator. I wanna get out of here A.L.I.V.E. if possible. Come now…. please!"
The group started to make their way to their only exit. Prisoners all around them where screaming and begging them to free them as well, but the three escapees and the girl hardly took note of it. They were too occupied with looking out for the surely soon-to-come enemies.
Finally they reached the door of the elevator and stormed in. After they had caught their breath, all eyes in the room fell upon Melody, silently demanding an explanation from her. Meeting all their stares she sighed, like the hundredth time that day and began to give them a brief overview of the situation. "So to sum it up: I'm here to get you all out."
"How are you planning to do this? Are you even aware that we don't have a ship?"
"That will be the part where I need Mr. Jinbei's help. I know that you don't want to expose your friends to danger, but it's the only way I see to get out of here. You have to call your whale sharks, so they can bring us to the isle outside the Calm Belt, where our crew is waiting." Jinbei looked quite taken aback. How could this woman know about the whale sharks?
Law frowned at the girl "Who says that I'll permit those two on my submarine?"
"As I see it the only way to get out now is to work together, so bear with it." It was the first time in a while since Ace had spoken up. Law was glaring at the famous pirate to Melody's left.
The temperatures around them were getting cooler again, indicating that they had already passed level 3.
Jinbei spoke up to lift the dark mood. "If it is the only way to save our lives, I shall call them."
Melody was about to give her thanks to the ex-Shichibukai, when a jolt went through the room and the motions of the elevator stopped. She was sure that they hadn't reached level 1 yet, let alone the top level. For moments nothing happened. The silence was unnerving. One moment later however, they would learn that this was what people called the calm before the storm. Something began to violently hammer against the elevator door, making large dents into the metal. The people inside prepared themselves for the battle that was to come. It was clear as the blue sky that whatever being was on the other side of the door, it would not be kindly inviting them to have some tea, and whatever it was, it would be hard to defeat.
Suddenly two sharp claws came crushing through the metal, revealing a giant not-so-friendly looking koala-bear. If she hadn't known that the beast was going to kill her, she would have loved to hug it. As soon as the monster laid its eyes on them it tried to slice them with its dangerous claws. The group jumped through the holes that had been created by the Minokoala and had to evade its attacks during the whole time. Although the men were still pretty beaten and in a bad shape, they were surely no enemy to be taken lightly. Law had instantly unsheathed his nodaichi, while Ace - who had been freed of the sea-stone hand-cuffs before – set his fists ablaze, a toothy grin adorning his face. He had missed a good fight. Melody had decided to pass this time and let the boys do the work, yet she was still vigilant about every move that was made.
"HEY! I found the escapees! Call the rest of the Demon Guards and Sadi-chan over here!" A male voice shouted from the other end of the corridor and the sound of many boots was fastly approaching them.
Sighing the girl walked in the direction of the noise. She felt as if her motivation had been on a date with lethargy and quite enjoyed the company. Pulling out a few more flasks she mumbled. "Well, might as well do something useful. Aside from that, I don't want to deal with more Demon Guards."
Jinbei joined her and had an interested look in his eyes as he saw the small bottles in her hands, obviously not understanding how the girl was going to use them in a fight. Though the young woman didn't avert her eyes from the shadow figures, which were drawing closer, she noticed his curiosity and calmly stated "You'll see. Relax and watch the show." Stepping forward she took one of the smaller bottles and raised her hand a bit. When the first soldiers came into sight, she threw the flask at them, causing a deafening blast. Screams were splitting the air, indicating that she had indeed hit her targets. The fishman's eyes widened in disbelieve. How could such an innocent looking girl be so ruthless?
"I remind you, Mr. Jinbei, that it's either to kill or to be killed. On the battlefield there's rarely place for sympathy." Her tone was ice-cold and her expression stoic, but he knew that she was right. Taking action himself he punched every guard that dared to come at him. "Mr. Jinbei move aside!" Just as the former Shichibukai had taken some steps back, a fluid landed on their enemies. The men, who had been drenched started to cry and clutched at their eyes. The smell of burned flesh filled the air around them.
Meanwhile the two other pirates where having a hard time dealing with the Minokoala, mostly because they preferred not to work together and hold a glaring contest. Somehow Law felt a strong dislike of Whitebeard's second-division commander and not only because he had ordered him around. This much he could tell. In the short moment where the Surgeon of Death, had been preoccupied with his thoughts, the other man had successfully landed a powerful blow, sending the beast through the wall behind it. It didn't look like the Minokoala would be able to stand up for a while, so they decided to give Melody and Jinbei a hand. When they walked closer to the scene however, they noticed quite amazed, that no soldier was left on his feet. They were either knocked out or pitifully wailing with pain. Law looked quite disgusted as the stench of the chemically burned skin filled his nostrils. It was a really unpleasant smell.
"What did you do?" His voice didn't betray his curiousness.
"You should be able to tell Mr. Doctor, but for the slow ones I brought a bit of nitroglycerin and caustic soda with me. You can easily find a few useful chemicals on the sub and if you know the effects, you can easily make weapons out of it. These are just the basics of chemistry."
The Heart-Pirates' captain was rather impressed. Sure that were the basics, but how many people knew even about this much? This girl was really interesting. Not that he could be aware that chemistry was part of the class-schedule in another dimension.
The group started running down the corridor they had been forced to enter before. Riding the elevator was out of question, now that it had been destroyed, but where was the way out? Wherever it was, they had to speed up. Turning the next corner the girl, who had been leading the men, ran into something sturdy, hitting her nose and falling back into Law's arms. Not even caring about her position in the moment she looked up. Her hand was still holding her sore olfactory organ, when her eyes widened in shock. Three big figures had planted themselves in front of the pirates. Their appearance was mixture of pathetic harmlessness and deadly weaponry. The beasts jet-black beady eyes were fixed on their targets.
"My, my! So you were the ones causing uproar down here. Will you let me mmmmmmhmmm~ hear your screams?"
Melody couldn't help, but snort at the ridiculously dressed – if this could even be considered clothing – woman, who was walking up from behind. Sadi-chan's whip, which was coming Melody's way, instantly made her stop though and the black-haired girl readied herself for the coming impact, unable to dodge anymore. One moment before the torture instrument could hit her head and harm her, the two strong tattooed arms that where still wrapped around the girl, yanked her to the side, just in time to avoid an injury.
"Don't be so carless Miss." Finally the man let go off her, leaving behind a slightly frustrated feeling inside the small woman as the close contact ended. The frustration was there, because he again had to save her again, right? She would have dwelled on the thought if Ace's yelling hadn't reached her ears. The Second-Division Commander, along with Jinbei, was already fighting the odd creatures, releasing fire attacks and hard blows. Shortly after, the lanky captain joined them, a sly smirk on his face, creating a blue circling area above his left hand.
Melody, who had started to run towards the fighting group, was abruptly stopped by a object that had wrapped itself around her left wrist.
"You're not mhmmmm~ going anywhere."
"Oh this makes things easier for me too, you know. I don't like to fight animals, even if they are monsters." A cold smile filled Melody's features. The smaller girl tightly grabbed the rope. She pulled with all the force she could bring up and managed to make her startled opponent stumble. Taking advantage of the moment of shock Melody pulled out the small pistol she had taken from the soldier at the beginning. Rapidly she aimed at the Impel Down guard and shot. Sadi-chan was barely able to escape the bullet.
Tch, she's fast. This won't be a walk in the park, but I can't and don't want to waste all my bullets on her. There might be more enemies to face ahead of us, if this keeps up. The boys have got their hands full as well. Doesn't matter I should be able to deal with one person.
The whip around her wrist loosened, but came back as fast as it had parted. A cry of pain escaped Melody's lips, when the object connected to her ribs. She stumbled a few steps back, gritting her teeth and gripping the damaged area. One rib was probably broken, but she wasn't sure. How hard could this damned lash be? Rage flashed in her emerald eyes that seemed to shine in a darker shade of green than usual. Her orbs looked similar to the ones of a panther that was observing its prey and ready to sink its deadly claws into the fresh flesh. It was no good idea to piss this woman off.
"Aaaaah mhmmmmmm~ that's it. Scream for me!"
"That's it we've played for long enough now. It's your turn to scream for me, Miss Sadist." The sweet smile returned to the raven-haired girl's face, though it also bore a hint of malice. In the blink of an eye she had thrown a bottle at the older woman, who was taken aback by the sudden action. Predicting in which direction Sadi-chan would dodge, Melody raised the hand, she held her gun with. The girl took a deep breath and narrowed her eyes slightly. Concentrate. Aim. Shoot. A shot pierced the air, followed by a loud shriek. Nope, definitely not the best idea of the honey-blond woman to enrage the younger one.
"See? Told you so, but rejoice! I didn't aim at your vital points. Well in spite of that, I think that I'll make sure, you won't follow us." Again the girl took her weapon and sent a second bullet through her enemy's leg, causing her victim to scream in agony again.
It was then that Melody realized that no other sound was made in the room. Slowly she turned around. The three Demon Guards were piled up on the floor. Their bodies either burned, cut or beaten. Jinbei, Ace and Law were staring at her. Traces of different emotions were evident on their faces. The looks she was getting made her feel kind of uneasy. "What? Did you expect a cat-fight?"
Ignoring her sarcastic comment and annoyed face, Law replied with an amused undertone. "Your combat style surely has changed, since the last time I've seen you fight."
He was right, but he didn't know of the precious piece of her past she had regained. He didn't know about the training with her mother. He didn't know he had taken an assassin with him that had knowledge of things that didn't even exist in this world. He did know shit about her. Even less than before, she thought. Rolling her eyes, she decided to leave it at that and again took up the race against time, to find the exit.
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After running around for some time, without a clue where they were heading, Lady Luck seemed to finally be on their side again. They had found the stairs leading to level 1. Immediately they started to sprint upwards. The escapees could almost smell the freedom and their spirits were raised considerably. They didn't stop for a second and continued their already long run. Ace and Jinbei seemed to be more exhausted, than the other two. Probably because of the beatings they must have went through.
Every corridor they passed looked, like the other ones. The criminals in the cells were begging them to free them, but with no avail. Shit, we have to hurry. I don't know how much more fighting the others can take. Why can't there be a stupid floor plan?
The needed ten more minutes to find the next staircase, which led to the top level of the prison. The level the men would have never dreamed to see again until the days of their executions. On their way there, they had to take on a few weaker guards.
The group could almost touch the giant wooden door, which hindered them from reaching the blue sea outside, when an enraged voice yelled "Hydra!"
Alarmed they turned around to see the three heads of Magellan's poison monster coming their way. Everyone jumped to the side out of instinct. The warden looked more than furious. It was kinda understandable though. The girl, who was currently sitting wide-eyed on the stone floor, had dared to sully his reputation. How the fuck can he be standing? He should still be sleeping peacefully for a few hours. Maybe his poison neutralized the soporific? The warden had been too careless and was about to eradicate the flaw. If this wouldn't have been enough the remaining two guards of the jail stepped in front of the warden.
"Guys do not get touched by Magellan's poison! It's deadly and we don't have the antidote." This was the last thing Melody was able to yell, before a rain of attacks came down on them. How the hell were they supposed to get out of this alive?
The horde of blue gorillas, along with their commander Saldeath, was lunging at Ace from behind. Fortunately the former captain of the Sunny-Pirates could jump in front of them just in time to block their attack. Some meters to the left Law was dodging Magellan's venom and trying to catch him in the circles created by his devil fruit powers. Ace had cast aside his indifferences with the tall captain of the Heart-pirates and aided him in his battle. The only persons left were the two women and some soldiers of Impel Down. The fight was in full swing, but they only stood there and watched their opponent, trying to weigh the other one up. There's no use if I keep, standing around. She doesn't seem as stupid as the other ones, so this might be a little harder. Well, let the games begin!
Melody searched through her pockets, not losing the eye contact. She noticed that she had hardly any bombs and acid left. HHHDomino used this moment to make her move. The blond pulled out a pistol similar to the one Melody had stolen and fired at her. If Melody had jumped to the side one millisecond later, she would have ended with a perforated head instead of a graze shot.
At the same time Ace and Law had their own problems fighting or rather running from Magellan. He hardly let the escapees enough time to start a counterattack. Though they were both fighting the same enemy, their teamwork lacked everything teamwork could lack. Ace shot a fist of flames in the warden's direction, making the monstrous man focus on him. Using the opening Law created a Room and swung his nodachi at Magellan's leg. Just when the young captain thought that he had cut through the huge foot, he noticed that the sword had only created a small slash wound. Grey eyes widened in surprise and Law jumped back as fast as possible, before the same foot could kick him into the next wall. While he blocked a fist coming his way too, he casted a glance in Ace's direction. The other male's attacks seemed to have a bigger effect. Probably it was because Ace was a logia and maybe it showed that he hadn't gained the title of Whitebeard's Second-Division Commander for nothing. What no one had thought was that the fire had a fatal consequence to it. The poison armor on Magellan's body started to vaporize and the deadly gas floated in the air. Jinbei was the only one, who had defeated nearly everyone he had fought against. Saldeath was the only one left standing and this just because he was leaning his weight against his trident. Releasing a final blow, the small imp-like man collapsed in front of his beaten troops. 2:0 for the pirates. The fishman was about to run to the main fight, when a small explosion made him look to place where Melody was taking on a group of soldiers and the female chief guard. His ally was moving though the crowd slaughtering everyone who dared to step in front of the katana, she must have taken from one of her enemies. It almost looked as if she was gracefully dancing her way through the men. Nevertheless she also had her fair share of bruises and cuts and seemed and made a quite exhausted impression. "Mr. Jinbei could you help me out here for a moment? I need to talk to you for a bit." A fist was shot in her direction and cut off the same instant. The girl had not even spared a glance at the former Shichibukai, but he ran over anyway. The two stood back to back, repulsing the oncoming men all the while.
With a voice as calm as the ocean waves in the four blues the girl spoke only for Jinbei to hear "I know that you want to help Ace, but in our current state we will lose if you do so. I guess that Law and Ace still haven't noticed, but poisonous gases are building up and if this keeps going, we'll all die of intoxication in this closed room." At those words the pirate realized that the mysterious girl was right. He was about to speak when Melody continued, while stabbing a man and leaning to the side to evade a bullet from the chief guard. "I need you to break down the door and call your whale sharks. You know that the only escape route it to cross the Calm Belt. Besides, the others are far too busy with their own fight." With a last flashing grin she faced him for a moment, "I'm counting on you.", and ran off lunging at Domino.
The fishman started to punch his way through the crowd of attackers right away. Amidst the ongoing battles no one saw him concentrating all his power in his fist and sending a mighty blow to the door. A loud crash was heard and for a moment all parties turned to look at the daylight that broke through the dust. Magellan who had been too busy with the captain and the Whitebeard commander stared in shock at the opening in the door. He tried to make his way to Jinbei instantly, but was held back by a sword that had finally pierced his skin and a flaming punch directed at his face.
In the meantime the number of normal soldiers had been reduced to about five people and the vice guard. Melody was already panting heavily, her body not being used to so much physical strain. Another bullet was sent her way and brushed her cheek. The gases were finally showing its effects and the girl started to feel slightly dizzy. Mixed with her lack of sleep it made a deadly combination. She knew that her body was pushed to its limit, but she still had some minutes left, before she was going to collapse. With one more burst of energy she run towards Domino, the katana tightly gripped in her hands. The blonde in front of her thought that Melody had gone completely nuts, because of the poison in the air and lifted her gun. She never got to shoot however as Melody pulled out her own pistol as fast as she could and fired her last bullet. The chief guard of Impel Down had horror painted over her face as she looked down to her stomach. Scarlet liquid was dripping out of the hole the ammunition had created and the woman fell to her knees. 3:0 for the pirates. Only opponent left: final boss.
The sound of a cracking wall made the young assassin jump. Searching for the source of the noise, she found a lanky form slumped against the wall on the other side of the room. Law had been thrown back while trying to ram his sword into Magellan's right eye. Rushing over to the captain, the girl pulled him up and supported his body. Hopefully the warden had just dealt him a concussion, but he seemed to be unconscious at the moment. Melody was hurriedly dragging Law to the door, knowing that it was their only chance to escape. Ace was still firing countless attacks at Magellan, but they got weaker by the minute.
"The whale sharks are here. Let's get out of here!" Jinbei, who had been standing at the opening in the door, motioned for them to come. Melody had only left behind the half way to the exit. The body she was carrying was slowing her down substantially. The warden realized what they planned and got out of control. He resorted to his ultimate attack: the venom demon. Steadily the most dangerous poison started to form a devilish creature. Comprehending the gravity of the situation the girl cried out to Ace "Ace get to the door! RIGHT NOW!" The man that had been fighting until then, shot her a quick glance. In the meantime she had almost made it to the door. Covering his body in flames, so that Magellan wouldn't be able to touch him, he ran to the girl wanting to help her. She looked up to the young man and ordered "Take him for a second and bring him to Jinbei!"
"What are you up to?" the Fire Fist questioned, somehow concerned about the strange girl's well-being.
"Giving us a chance to escape. Go!"
The outraged warden had started to close the gap between the group of escapees and himself. Taking the last and biggest bottle with chemicals she had left, she deviously smirked at the man.
"Sorry but today is not you day." With that she threw the flask in his direction. Flames and a bright flash illuminated the room and a splitting scream erupted in the middle of the burning fire.
Not losing a second the girl dashed off to the pirates waiting outside. Jinbei gave the animals the signal to swim away as fast as they could, the moment Melody had jumped on the whale shark that carried Law on is back. Mission impossible: complete. Final level: cleared.
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Please tell me what you think about the outcome. Is it too much or too 'unrealistic'? There may be more spelling mistakes today. I'm really REALLY ABSOLUTELY tired and even found about 10 mistakes myself, before I posted this chap, but there may be more I didn't see. Sorry for this.