The third floor was even more decadent than the second from what Bianca had seen. Imported furniture lined every open space. A great chandelier hung from the ceiling made of many crystal fragments delicately placed to dazzle the eye. Even the carpet she walked on seemed far more expensive than any she had seen before.

"Only the rich would spend their beri on something so dumb." She whispered.

She had looked around the first two hallways, but found no sign of any large doors. Oddly enough, she had not encountered another person either. It made Bianca quite wary, but she didn't want to go into full suspicion just yet. She could risk using her abilities to try and make her search easier, but that could also go wrong. She had to rely on her own instincts for the moment.

When she turned down the third hallway she had begun to grow tired of the search for the mysterious door. Light filtered in on her right through a few windows, and upon looking outside she could see that the sun had gone down quite a bit since she had clambered inside the manor. She needed to pick up the pace.

As quietly, but also as quickly as she could, Bianca took off down the hall in search of the door. She had to apply the brakes quickly though when she almost ran past it.

Just as Alice had said, the door was massive. It was a gilded door covered in gold leaf, and only one room could possibly lay beyond. Bianca took a moment to think about what she should do. No doubt the room would have people inside, but the people would probably be nobles of some kind. Violence would be the obvious answer, but she wasn't as crazy as some other pirates on the seas these days. Intimidation worked too, though.

With the start of a plan formed in her mind Bianca kicked open the door with all of her strength. The hinges separated from the wood and the door came crashing to the floor on the other side.

Sitting in the office on the other side were two men in suits, and a third in a white shirt and pants marking him as a marine, but without the iconic jacket he was clearly not someone high up. The man behind the desk had the same facial features that a lot of nobles shared. Large lips, puffed up cheeks, and an annoying look in his eyes that never seemed to go away. Thanks to his dress, however, Bianca could tell he was not

The marine was the first to react, immediately pulling a pistol and aiming it towards the door. Bianca leered at the man, but he did not fire. The noble and his company stood up and turned their gaze to her as well.

The man behind the desk pointed incredulously at Bianca.

"What is that commoner doing here? Kill her, lieutenant!" He screamed.

Bianca's hands shot up.

"Wait!" She cried.

The marine hesitated, and the bullet remained unfired. Bianca let out a sigh of relief. Despite her strength she wasn't bulletproof.

"Before we all do something we might regret I want to know…" She said.

The three men seemed to stop at her casual statement. They leaned in slightly as if they were trying to hear every syllable of her question.

"…where do you keep the keys for those bomb collars?" She finished.

The nobleman guffawed at the question. How dare this commoner enter his home and question his treatment of the lesser folk.

"Lieutenant, shoot her now or I will have your head too!" He screamed.

"Well, diplomacy was worth a shot." Bianca said.

Before the execution order was carried out, however, Bianca sprung into action. With speed akin to a bullet she rushed the marine, and in one kick sent him flying into the bookshelf behind the desk. The nobleman shrieked in surprise, and his business partner quickly fled the room. Bianca didn't have the time to grab him, but she knew now she was really on the clock.

With the marine unconscious Bianca turned to the nobleman. She took four confident steps towards him and held out her hand. A look of absolute, but contained, rage was on her face. In those moments she had let loose her hatred for these fools who dared to keep slaves. She hated them with all her being, and would gladly kill them if she was of lesser constitution.

"Keys." She said, her tone incredibly grave.

The nobleman, clearly fearing for his life, scrambled around in the drawers until his hands emerged with the keys. He placed them into her hands, and no sooner did Bianca grant him a quick knockout with an uppercut. The man sprawled out onto the floor as blood leaked from his nose. The sight made her quite happy, but she would have to revel in it later.

She took off in a mad dash out the room back towards the second floor. With her escapee on the loose she now had to worry about time even more. No doubt he would alert the marines as soon as possible, and she wasn't totally sure she would have the energy to fight so many.

As soon as Bianca reached the second floor she found Alice almost right where she left her. The girl was cowering in the corner, but perked up as soon as she saw Bianca.

"You came back!" She cried, no longer caring about sound.

Bianca nodded and produced the keys. The girl was almost ecstatic, but she waited until she was unlocked from her collar to wrap herself around her savior. Bianca gave her a pat on the head, but set her down quickly.

"No time for celebration yet, Alice. Did you see a man run by?" Bianca asked.

"Yeah, he looked really scared, but mad too. What happened?" Alice said.

"No time for explanations." Bianca started. She passed along half the keys to Alice. "Take these and go free anyone on the four floors. I'll go to the basement and help anyone I find. Tell everyone to meet in the main room, and make sure no one goes outside. Understood?"

Alice nodded before taking off.

Bianca made for the basement as quickly as she could. Finding it took longer than she would have liked, but in passing Alice had managed to point it out to her as she was helping other slaves. The smells that came from the darkened pit quickly told Bianca what she was in for, but she had seen worse and would get through it well.

In the stone basement were rows of chains and cages each more worn than the last. Clearly whoever the man was that was now lying unconscious three floors above he was a cruel master. Some of the cages had bones inside which indicated a painful truth that Bianca tried to put out of her mind.

"Hello!" She called. "Is anyone down here?"

It was silent, but Bianca knew there were people too afraid to speak down here.

"Please," She said. "My name is Otto Bianca. I'm working with the little girl from upstairs, Alice. We're freeing everyone. If you're down here please let me help you."

Still silence. Bianca was ready to simply start rushing around until she tripped on some poor soul when a faint voice rang through the darkness.

"We're here." It said.

Bianca rushed towards the voice, and there she found them. Three poor women around the same age as herself huddled behind an older fellow much the same as her own grandfather. The seemed half starved, and many bruises and closed wounds marked their exposed skin. Resisting the urge to curse and shout in rage Bianca quickly set to unlocking all of their collars, and passing along instructions on where to go.

Before the quartet left, the old man grabbed her arm. He had been the brave soul to call out to her, and he wished to share some last piece of information.

"Under the stairs you came down is another cell, but it's hidden. I think there's someone else in it." He said.

Bianca nodded before signaling him to go. She made her way back to the stairs and began to poke and prod the wood paneling that held them up. She gave a knock.

"Is anyone there?"

No answer came, but if anything Bianca had learned that silence was a better indication of life around here than an answer. She reeled back for a moment before punching right through the wood. Her fist immediately collided with, what felt like, glass. Fortunately, it did not shatter, but it left Bianca confused. She began to tear apart the rest of the wall until she exposed to what little light there was a sight that she doubted anyone in the North Blue had seen aside from these sickening slave owners.

The glass was not a mirror or window, but a large fishbowl for lack of a better term. And in the faint light Bianca could make out a figure submerged in water. They seemed to be quite like Bianca, but something quickly pointed out the differences between them. Along the neck of the figure were sets of gills, and its hands and feet were webbed. This was no human, but a fishman. Or rather, fishwoman.