The Head Jailer

And a Little Black Duck

"Here we go," said Maria as she slid on her metal arms and legs, ready at last to go at full blast. "We can't waste too much time here so let's go!" She was ready to meet the rest of her crew and get rid of this Aaron character. She can't imagine the rest of them were having all that sweet of a time here. "We can't waste a single second just prowling around here. Let's find a way to undo the drop." Maria knew the rest of them were tired and probably broken. They weren't used to be locked up like she was. She had been detained before, this was nothing.

"Right!" shouted Aaron flashing her a thumbs-up sign. Truth be told he didn't have too much of an interest in her crew. Sure they would be nice to find and all that, and if they were anything like Sage and Maria or even Mikoto he was sure they'd get along, but he was first choice was pretty ladies and having fun came second. The rest of her crew…was probably ranked third or even fourth on his list of priorities. "Let's not waste any time!" The duo raced off to find something worth their while be it Maria's crew, a hot girl, or secretly they both wanted a really strong foe to appear.

(-With Enma-)

Enma didn't know if he should be thankful or annoyed that a run-of-the-mill pirate had broken him out. He was thankful because he wanted out, solitary was indeed probably the most annoying thing he had ever put up with, but still the guy who rescued him was so annoying Enma had knocked him out as soon as he had gotten out. There was no honor among thieves and very little among pirates. "I suppose I shouldn't just stand around and wait for something big to happen." He paused as he debated on what was the most important thing, escaping or finding the rest of his crew. He wasn't planning on escaping without them, but surely just running around like this made them all look like fools. If they couldn't escape from the prison then no matter what else they did, nothing would come of it. He had decided that it would probably be best if he found the way as he doubted anyone else would even concern themselves with it. Of course, to be fair the solitary cells were also completely cut off from any and all sounds so he had no knowledge of Rosa's torture. His attention was just on the betterment of the crew…especially considering that they had a time limit imposed on them.

Hiro-Shu knew better to tell the rest of the crew, but of course Enma had known something was wrong with the plan from the get-go. The rest of the crew would've either just have ignored him if he had told them the problem or would've refused the plan when this was the best one they had. The problem was…their ship.

Their ship was still left down in the Blue Seas…or it was left down there. They knew better than to attack the Marines and then leave their ship waiting there like a sitting duck. They needed to move their ship to a safe haven first, but since the entire crew was here who would do such a thing? Hiro-Shu and Maria managed to call in a few favors to get the ship moved to a different island, but it was still questionable on whether or not their 'favors' pulled through. If they weren't…they would have to switch ship, which was something they should've done a long time ago anyways. The favor was simple the people would take the ship and drop it off at a nearby Sky Island…that was it. After that their ship was open game. Enma estimated it would take about a week at the latest. With the improved connections between the Blue Seas and the White White Seas things new pathways connecting them were in the works. One of them should be enough to get their puny ship up here. However, like Enma said if they were too late in getting out of this prison…their ship could've been destroyed. He had to hurry! He may have lost track of time in the small solitary cell, but he estimated three days have passed since they left their ship. They had four left if Enma's guess wasn't faulty…

(-With Mikoto-)

"Still not a single good sword amongst them," said Zesiro as he tossed another blade to the side. He was tired of spending so much of his time inspecting new blades. He just wished he would be able to get back his old blades. "How are the guards coming along, Mikoto?"

"They're pretty weak!" boomed Monsuta in place of Mikoto. The giant Fishman was definitely a plus to their side. Zesiro was surprised the guards really seemed to be falling so easily. He still had an uneasy feeling to it, but he suppose some things were to be expected. Then again was it possible that they were really this easy? The thoughts kept jumping around in Zesiro's mind, but he couldn't care less. However, he was soon to be proved right. A cloaked figure stepped out in front of them, Zesiro and Monsuta instantly recognized it as the Vice Warden. Mikoto stopped in his tracks, apparently feeling the sinister aura leaking out of him. It didn't take Colors of Observation Haki to tell his intentions. "Don't worry about this, I got it covered! Left Iceberg!" Monsut brought all four of his arms there were on the left side of his body back and prepared to fire a simultaneous punch. His four arms shot forward all of their power concentrated behind one point as they came shooting forward.

The Vice Warden disappeared for a split second only to instantly reappear in front of Monsuta's face. He swung around, his cloak fluttering around his body like a pair of wings, right before he brought his leg down and smashed it into the peak of Monsuta's cranium. Monsuta's entire gelatin-like body shook from the impact, ordinarily he would've absorbed it by doing so, but this man's power just proved to be too much. Monsuta's head jerked back and blood spewed out of it as he felt the entire shock of the attack shoot through his body. "Monsuta!" shouted Mikoto as he began to race towards the giant, but he was cut off by Monsuta's own voice.

"GO!" Monsuta gurgled out from beyond his own blood. He sounded almost distant as he gave the command. "I'm just a little out-of-shape from being imprisoned for so long. You understand, right? Keep going! I'll take care of this little guy!" Monsuta straightened his entire body out as he stood tall once more. "In all honesty my right's stronger than my left so go! Right Iceberg!" All four of Monsuta's arms on his right side stretched out aiming for the Vice Warden, but once more he missed. The Vice Warden just proved to be too fast for him. The Vice Warden appeared by Monsuta's face and his leg whipped out, carving out a chunk from Monsuta's right cheek.

"Monsuta!" yelled Mikoto as he pulled back his sleeve and stepped forward. He would be much more fit to fight against a fellow fast fighter, Monsuta's body was just too bulky in order to fire precise pin-point blows against him. However, rather than Monsuta stopping him Zesiro barged in and grabbed Mikoto and took off down the hallway.

"Think!" shouted Zesiro. "That guy is not the strongest person here! He is only the Vice Warden! Get it, vice?" Zesiro barked loudly trying to pound the information into Mikoto's head. "I'll find my blades and get back here in time to stop him, but you need to conserve your strength for the real fight again. The real Warden is coming down here! I can sense him! I can smell his blood-coated shoes even from here! We waste any time, any strength against this Vice Warden and he'll make short work of us for sure! Do you understand?" Mikoto grumbled, but nodded his head. "Good!" shouted Zesiro and he all of a sudden threw Mikoto forward and down the hall. "Me? I'm going to go back and stop him! Find me my blades and come back, okay? I'll hold out until then trust me!" Zesiro turned around and charged back to help Monsuta, surely two against one they stood a chance even if he didn't have his swords.

Mikoto rolled for a few precious seconds before sitting up. He was a bit dazed, but otherwise he was good to go. Go back and fight! Mikoto stepped forward and turned to go down the hall before pausing. He realized something in that one instant, something he had known all along. Something that made him turn around and leave his own comrade behind. He could trust Zesiro. He could trust them to fight their own battles and come back! He would find Zesiro's blades and return to him! With that thought, with the knowledge that his nakama, his friend was back there fighting for his life it was possible that Mikoto ran a lot faster.

(-With Hiro-Shu-)

"You okay," asked the Infinity Pirate's very own iron golem as he looked at his savior, young Rosa. She looked…deflated. Sure she was smiling and even gave Hiro-Shu a reassuring nod, but he could still look past that and at what she was truly feeling. She wasn't okay. Hiro-Shu felt stupid for asking and even stupider when Rosa put on a brave face. She was truly hurting. He looked over at little Lily, the tiger who had saved them back at the URA and her confused look was enough. Hiro-Shu understood that she had no idea where she was or why she was here. She definitely didn't know who he was and from the dejected look on Rosa's face, who she was either. "Let's get going and get out of here." The faster they got out of here, the faster these two got some quality time together and they could actually rebuild their relationship and put this defunct one behind them.

"Right!" Rosa said, this time sounding a little more confident. With Hiro-Shu and Enma out the entire crew was free at last. Creating a prison riot would be easy. The three of them set out, unlike the rest of the groups they paid no heed to the prisoners. None of them particularly wanted to help out prisoners.

"Look out!" shouted Hiro-Shu, sensing something coming. He quickly turned around and wrapped both Lily and Rosa in his massive arms and coated himself in his iron armor. At first Rosa didn't notice anything, but when Hiro-Shu's entire body jerked forward towards them. She knew immediately he had been hit by something big. Hiro-Shu body began to rapidly jut forward as if multiple blows were being landed on his back and Rosa could hear each blow land with an extreme amount of force. Lily couldn't handle it and fell to her knees letting out a cry.

The attacks let up for just a second, however, that didn't mean anything. The man who had launched the ferocious assault on them appeared in front of Hiro-Shu and behind Rosa. Rosa twisted her head around to look at the man who had unleashed such a devastating assault on her ally. He wasn't necessarily tall or even all that big, but he had muscles on top of muscles. And since he wasn't wearing anything even remotely close to a shirt they were all on display for her. "Supreme Kung-Fu Style! Duck Kick!" Kohaku rotated around and brought a massive kick cutting the air upwards and right towards Lily. Hiro-Shu grabbed onto Lily's and Rosa's collars and pulled them out of harm's way, accepting the devastating kick himself straight to his jaw. Hiro-Shu stumbled backwards and his grip on the two of them weakened and he accidentally wound up dropping them to the floor. Rosa gripped her long pipe she had been using as a replacement until she got her sword back. She knew it was now or never! She stumbled to her feet and strode forward for her enemy brandishing the make-shift blade in an instant. Kohaku swerved around just in time to meet with her face-to-face. He lifted both of his arms up into the air and pointed them both downwards, "Tiger's Fang!" Kohaku brought both of his arms down to the Rosa's shoulders forming two powerful thrusts similar to a tiger gnashing its jaws together through its prey. Rosa had no time to think she either had to complete her attack or back off in that instant. In any normal situation Rosa would've backed off, she relied heavily on her speed after all she could easily dodge this attack…however, this was no normal situation.

It was unknown whether or not it was just her trying to prove herself against a strong opponent like Maria would've done or if it was just her resolve from that point forward not to back down. Perhaps it was the painful shock from having Lily forget who she was, but for some reason she didn't back down. She refused to back down as a matter of fact. She planted her foot on the ground in defiance and charged in, thrusting her small pipe sword forward with all of her strength and letting out a primal war-cry that even she herself did not was in her. Kohaku wasn't one to feel fear from his opponents. And even this girl screaming bloody murder right at him didn't faze him one bit. Kohaku's left arm shot down and grabbed a hold of the pipe, holding it in its place, completely blocking it from moving forward. All of Rosa's strength had been behind that one blow, she had intended to skewer him, so him the same pain and torture her sister had been through all of those emotions had been pumped behind this attack…and he blocked it with one hand? Rosa knew she didn't have the same strength as Zesiro or Hiro-Shu, but she never thought of herself as weak…is this the end? Kohaku's right hand hadn't been stopped, he had only used his left hand to block her attack. In other words there was still one deadly attack coming down on top of her! Rosa flinched, closing her eyes as he prepared for the incoming attack. It never came.

Instead Kohaku slapped his hand onto Rosa's shoulder, smiled and laughed. "Hey, miss, I have a question for you." Kohaku lowered himself down just a little bit until he was at eye level with Rosa. He still hadn't let his iron hard grip on either the pipe or her shoulder go. Rosa swalled nervously, she had heard of people who like to ask their victims one last question before they killed them. It was usually something about a moral question or what they thought was on the other side. If they answered wrong it was a certain and painful death. Rosa steeled herself, readying herself for any question. "Do you like ducks?" Rosa's face went blank unsure of how to answer that question. Was it a trick question? Did it have some greater meaning? Was it an invitation to some weird cult?

"Ye-yeah, they are okay, I guess," answered Rosa, her voice quivering a bit, hoping that that was the right answer.

"JUST OKAY!" roared Kohaku stepping back and screaming to the ceiling. It was obvious that Rosa's answer just upset him.

"I mean, they are really, really cool, the best animal there is!" Rosa quickly covered up her answer and hoped that Kohaku would accept such a hasty and poorly designed cover-up.

"Oh, okay! A lot of people seem to make that mistake around me!" laughed Kohaku throwing his head back. "So, what is your favorite thing about them? Huh? I like everything, the beak, the wings, the feet…they are just the best! Unlike stinking eagles."

Rosa just blinked unsure of how to answer this question. Didn't he just try to kill her? What was up with the sudden personality change? "Kohaku!" shouted a voice from another prison guard as he continued to watch the fight with a small magazine in his hand and looking through it, "you are getting side-tracked again. She's a prisoner you are supposed to take her down."

"Right, right, right," said Kohaku waving the man off and shaking his head, obviously used to be told what to do…and ignoring it anyways. He sighed as he looked around, noticing several empty jail cells. "Fine…" he huffed as he turned around and faced Rosa. "I hate to do this to another duck lover, but I'm afraid you are an escaped prisoner so I got do everything in power to hold you here and out of the free world's feathers. Leopard's Pounce!" Kohaku leapt into the air, soaring above Rosa for a brief second before landing directly behind her. Rosa turned around trying to keep up with him, but as soon as she found him, he immediately sprang free from his position and jumped to another place in a circle around her. With each and every single bound he seemed to be going faster and faster. Rosa was having trouble just keeping up with him. Whenever she found him, he was gone in the same instant. He was slowly starting to become a blur. Rosa was starting to worry as she watched him bounce all around her, he was going faster than she could…possibly even faster than Mikoto could! She couldn't keep up with him! She only got a brief glimpse of the palm flying at her before she was knocked back flying through the air. She hit the ground once and bounced off of the ground, gasping in pain. However, soon even that became difficult to do as Kohaku rotated around from there and brought the heel of his foot into her gut and slammed her back into the ground. "A duck would've survived that," Kohaku said slapping his two hands together as a small black duck jumped up and rested on his head, fussing up his dark green ponytail and letting out a brief, but happy quack.

Scarlet Rose Versus Black Duck

Okay, even though Kohaku is crazy he is not my creation. He's the work of Sasaui7.

Why am I late? I was sick yesterday. Like ill...not sick in the head...although I suppose I was like that too...or well. Other then that I really like the upcoming fight. I really think Rosa versus Kohaku is one of my favorite fights this arc (only Zesiro's) may trump it.

Also, I am planning a big arc (like the URA) again soon. So if you have any powerful pirates, marines, or Revolutionaries (oh my) feel free to send 'em in...I'll probably use them.