Jailhouse Party

"Let's rock!" shouted Ridley as he put his guitar onto his back. If the warden wanted to throw a party then Ridley would meet him halfway. With his guitar back on his back he definitely felt up for a quick music session he would just have to find someone to dance with. He continued to scour through the valuables in hopes of finding something worth taking and possibly selling, they were still broke…he paused for a second as he moved forward and checked on the weapons. He picked them up and looked it over, they looked like Zesiro's blades. He guessed these were worth keeping. He quickly swung them around his waist in Zesiro's sheath…the belt was a little big, but it was adjustable so he decided to keep it on anyways. Suddenly a loud sound boomed through the floor and caught Ridley's attention. It sounded like…wailing? Well, this was a prison. Ridley stepped out into the open floor and immediately found the force of it as it felt like the ground was swinging beneath his feet. He hoped everything was alright with everybody else. He looked over to Sage, who had stayed behind at this guard station while both Aaron and Mikoto carried out larger missions. "Well, guess it's now or never. Let's dance!"

Sage smirked nervously at her partner. Was it really just going to be the two of them for the time being? Even with Zesiro's swords at his waist, Ridley didn't inspire any confidence from her. But still her only other option was to wait around for Mikoto or Aaron to show back up. "O-okay," her voice wavered for just a second, "but as soon as I find another dance partner, I'm trading up!" Still this was it…this was what she wanted since they had left the URA, a chance to prove herself as a valuable crew member. If she was stuck with Ridley it just meant that it was her time to shine.

"I'd trade you for a wooden chair," replied Ridley, pulling his bottom eyelid down and sticking out his tongue. He picked up one of the spare keys they had left waiting around in the prison guard's quarters and hastily stuffed it into his pocket. "I'm just glad I got out of there before they started giving out prison haircuts!" Sage shook her head, wanting to blame him for leaving both her and Mikoto on the floor below, but in the end she supposed she didn't have any room to say anything. In all reality it was five of the crew that left, so that would make her and Mikoto the deserters, wouldn't it? Ridley nudged her to get her act together, "we can't let Mikoto have all the fun, can we?"

The two of them shot off and immediately found their way to one of the prison cells. Ridley took out his key and went to one of the cells and started unlocking it. He quickly swung through them all unlocking several notable faces. Spider Murphy, Little Joe, and even the Purple Pirates! By the time they were done, Ridley had unlocked over 47 cells and they had a combined bounty of over 500 million! Ridley felt fairly confidence in this act and nodded to Sage, who had her own troubles. Apparently not many men in prison got to see many females so several of them were swooning over her and calling the 'cutest jailbird they ever saw' to which Sage responded with several pressure balls. Ridley just laughed and said, "sorry, fellows, she's my delightful company." The prisoners griped briefly, but realizing that these people possibly just saved them from some of the most excruciating torture ever they all raced out and began roaring, eager to get back out into the world.

This was a prison riot! The prison guards soon landed on this floor, apparently they had also been startled by the rather shocking drop in the prison and had raced up to see what was going on and since they prison guard's quarters were right next to the stairs they were surprised to immediately find themselves face-to-face with the entire group of escaped convicts…who seemed rather pleased to finally meet the men who locked them up face-to-face. They charged forward and a brawl begun. A few of the pirates were obviously out of their elements without any weapons and hung back, but a few more of the pirates reveled in it. They charged forward and brought their fists forward and bashed in the heads of the incoming waves of prison guards. The guards fought back furiously. They had the weapons that were made in this prison on their side, sharp swords, well-balanced swords, and throwing lances were on their side. The fight while powerful and attracting didn't particularly attract either Sage or Ridley and they both shrunk out of the mess and headed off to find the rest of their crew, leaving the wild prisoners to make do with the well-trained prison guards. From the looks of it they might be in luck, the prisoners were slowly starting to out-power the guards. It was obvious that without Taisho's commands and advanced tactics they were lost in battle.

"Now this is my kind of a party!" shouted Ridley as he skirted past another group of pirates who rushed into the battlefield. Ridley smirked, but his eyes quickly widened and he ducked beneath an incoming stray spear and immediately with a Cheshire cat-like smile slinked away into the rest of the prison and away from the fight. Once out of the mess, his smile still hadn't disappeared it was things like this that Ridley enjoyed, pure and utter chaos really seemed to make him happy. "So," he said, looking over and finding Sage, "what do we do now?" Their options were either look for their remaining locked-up nakama, go find Mikoto, or shout and hope Mikoto hears them and comes running. Obviously for the both of these two the last option was out this was their time. They weren't going to be considered the weakest two crew members anymore before they always had some kind of excuse, especially Ridley. They lacked the combat orientated Devil Fruits of Enma and Mikoto, no magnificent vessel powers like Hiro-Shu, no genetic superiority from Fishman traits like Zesiro, and no robotic arms and legs like Maria. But if Rosa managed to fight on equal grounds with them, then should would they! And here is where they start!

"Let's go find the rest of the crew!" smiled Sage, actually thankful for once that she had Ridley on her side. He was somebody who thrived in these conditions, who was used to the most completely screwed scenario and would be able to live through it, no matter what. Not only that, but since they were kindred spirits in a way, a thought that still disgusted Sage, but nonetheless offered a slight glimmer of hope for them both, it made her feel a little less overwhelmed in such a situation. Especially after seeing the fact that they had hundreds of allies in a prison! They were pirates after all!

They took off in one distinct path, both of them shouting for the rest of their crew members and offering up an ear to see if they were getting any responses. The floor seemed to be more built to channel noise outwards rather than just around, it hurt their strategy, but in the end it was something they probably should've expected so it didn't bother them as much.

"Ah cha cha! We're under attack by pirates, that was a good joke! Ah cha cha!" laughed a voice as he came up and was slowly catching up to the duo as they ran away from the mess. They paused and turned around. The guy was definitely a prison guard as the man in his hand and being dragged around was a prisoner, one of the ones they just let out. "Ah cha cha! It is almost as good as that one I heard about last week…how did it go again? How many prison guards does it take to quell a prison riot? Just one, me! Ah cha cha!"

"Eh, not the worst joke I've heard," mentioned Ridley, but Sage looked completely unimpressed. The man before them wore a dark blue silk suit with thin light-blue stripes running all the way down it. In his right hand was a small yellow cork hat. He quickly flipped it around and set it on his neatly kept black hair. His hat had a small red ribbon running around it at the base. "What happened to all the prisoners we let loose back there?" asked Ridley, supposing a simple question like that was worth his time.

"Those weaklings?" he said, a creepy smile similar to the ones he wore when he told a bad joke began to cross his lips. "I took them all out. They were like a bad joke, weak, pathetic, and…" suddenly he jumped up and his feet were revealed, they were encased in some kind of skates. A rush of wind appeared behind him and propelled him forward. The man was forced over and was immediately in front of them. He swung around, shifting his entire weight all around and sent a kick spiraling up and into Ridley's chin, sending him flying into the air, "and without a strong punchline."

"Pressure Ball!" shouted Sage as she created another condensed ball of pressure and let it fly, but she was just too slow. The man had already vanished, his skates giving him a near superhuman speed. He dashed to the side of the man and quickly brought his hand forward and pressed it against Sage's head.

"That attack was laughable," he said as he pressed something firm into Sage's forehead. She couldn't see what it was, but she already knew whatever it was it wasn't good news. "This is a real attack! Impact!" Sage's feet were ripped off of the floor and she was sent flying through the air and backwards, spiraling into one of the stone walls. Her entire body was then forced off of the stone wall as she slowly slumped forward and onto the ground. "Ah cha cha…the joke of how many Marines does it take to defeat an army of prisoners is answered by '1, me'. But the joke of how many pirates does it take to defeat me is answered by ' impossible. No pirate has ever defeated me before.'"

(-With Aaron-)

"Hello, there little miss, now may I be so kind as to inquire your name?" asked Aaron as he swooned over the latest damsel he had found. While she may have been lacking in certain areas like arms and legs, he didn't discriminate towards people like that. Any silver-haired beauty like herself was definitely deserving of the same treatment as any full-bodied girl.

"My name?" questioned Maria, a little taken back by the man's rashness in asking for her name, they had just met and definitely not under the most suitable conditions. She was in jail and he was the man trying to break her out. "My name?" she repeated as if still trying to ascertain as if this man was actually serious. He nodded his head and seemed genuinely and completely serious that in this dark and dreary setting he was still in it for the girls. "My name is…none of your business!" she shouted as she somehow managed to use just her upper body to spin herself around and turn her face away from the jail cell.

"Oh, come on, for heaven's sake! No one is looking! They won't know you got my help, come on! Now's your chance to make a break!" Aaron dangled the keys in front of her for a moment and quickly undid the jail cell. "Come on! It is like a party out here with all of these prisoners out and running around! What do you say?" Aaron swung the door open and held it open for Maria to walk out of…or, er, worm her way out of.

"Nah, I'm going to stay her for a little while longer, you know, get my kicks," she reclined back as much as she could despite not having her limbs. It was obvious that she wasn't in the mood for his help. "I'm just going to wait for my crew if you don't mind." This seemed to have caught Aaron's attention as not only did he wear a look of surprise, but he quickly reached into his back pocket and took out a small book with a heart on the cover and a broken open lock on one side.

"Oh, you're one of Sage's crewmembers, right?" he said as he quickly began to flip through the pages of the book. "Ah…um, Maria, is it?" He stopped when he came to a certain page and spent a few seconds flipping through it even more. Maria just paused as he looked through the pages. What was this guy reading…and why did it look so familiar to her. "I should've guessed that you were one of her friends. Good-looking birds tend to flock together or something like that."

"That's Sage's diary, isn't it, you brat!?" shouted Maria as she turned around managed to do a single jump for the cell door and at Aaron, but without her arms and legs she couldn't do much to him. He was at a much better negotiating point than she was. "Give it back!" Aaron snapped it close and stuffed it into one of his pockets.

"I'm sorry, but I need it," he said simply as he looked her in the eyes. "I'm a friend of Sage and I decided to take special care of her crewmates…only problem is she didn't tell me what they looked like…and she should've if they are all as gorgeous as you!" The cyborg didn't seem very impressed by Aaron's attempts to make her swoon. "Fine, I'm just trying to cause some trouble and have some fun, and so far your crew, namely your coyote and your beautiful Sage definitely seem like the kind of people that will make such thing easy." He was right about Mikoto, trouble seemed to follow him and while the fun part was debatable she couldn't exactly say she was with Mikoto because he was a boring person.

However, there was still one question Maria had to ask and it hurt her to the bone to ask such a thing, but…she supposed at this exact moment she didn't really have much of an option. Mikoto had already declared his intent to attack the prison a few moments ago and now she met this guy and he was letting her out. She supposed she was supposed to work for her crew. If it meant she had suck in her pride once or twice in order to better serve them…she would handle it. "Could you, er…help me out of here?"

(-With Mikoto-)

"If you had just gotten me my swords I probably could be out already!" moaned Zesiro as he looked over his captain as he was fumbling with the keys. Despite being so quick on his feet he didn't seem particularly talented with keys. The rest of the prisoners had gathered around behind Mikoto and keeping an eye out for prison guards. They weren't an incredibly large amount of pirates around, apparently not all of them had passed Mikoto's 'test'. "Speaking of which have any idea where they could be?"

"Maybe you dropped them?" said Mikoto, offering up the same lame excuse he gave Ridley. Zesiro just shrugged and ignored him, there were more important issues to be worrying about than Mikoto's lame excuse, namely where were his swords. "Ah, screw it Monsuta mind breaking my friend out?"

"Sure thing!" boomed Monsuta as he brought his massive arms forward and wrapped his massive fingers around the jail bars. Suddenly with a massive grunt he managed to pry the jail bars apart. While he was in his own tiny cell he could never manage such an act, but outside with full range of his arms it was child's play. Zesiro stepped out and looked up at his fellow Fishman brother. It was a rather shocking thing to see, Zesiro had always thought of himself as a big guy, bigger than most humans and probably above average for a Fishman even, but…this guy's pinky finger made him look small.

"I'm kind of upset how easy this has been," Mikoto laughed, "I was expecting a lot more trouble from the prison, but from the looks of it we've basically just walked in, caused trouble, and got off with a slap on the wrist!" Zesiro felt a little annoyed by the captain's comment after all when they really got in trouble he was sleeping down below, but he had to admit something did seem fairly odd. They so well prepared for them the first time with an excellently executed ambush and now this. It's like they weren't even trying to come up with another powerful strategy. Then again Zesiro supposed that's what made it so worrisome. If they weren't acting right now were they just holding back for the big reveal?

"I wonder if the grub joint is on this floor," questioned Mikoto as he put his hands on his belly as if signifying his hunger. Monsuta laughed and agreed that he was alos hungry, the rest of the pirates and Zesiro didn't seem all too interested in the prospect of a meal right now either. Their main concern was escape and it appeared that Mikoto's and Monsuta's weren't quite the same as theirs. Apparently food and riddles come above all else.

Ridley and Sage...

Working Together!?

Credit to anyone who got the joke hidden in this chapter. Um...I got no other jokes for now.