"Is this the exit?" Melissa asked.

The huge stairway, leading to a massive set of doors that had been slammed open, at the end of the trail of foot prints originating from a large group of escaped prisoners…

"Yeah, I think it is." I said sarcastically.

The four of us stood on the stairways, and instantly felt a wave of warmth emitting from the stairwell.

"At last…" Hukufu bellowed. "The feeling in my body is returning."

The icicles were dripping from his large golden beard, and the rest of his body was starting to regain some color to it.

We drifted to the warmth of the hallway, where a sudden blare of alarms went off.

"Hurry, up the stairs!" I shouted.

We ran up the stairs in strides, really to leave the Frozen Hell well behind us.

That wasn't so bad. The next ones should be a piece of cake.

It was pretty warm inside the stairwell, both Melissa and I cut the ropes off our blankets. She left hers on the stairwell, but my got stuck around my neck so I just kept it on for lack of care.

It flapped behind me like a cape. Made me feel pretty special…

…despite being a tattered old blue blanket and that capes were for more…impressive individuals.

"HAHA! Looks good on you Little Lamb!" Hukufu shouted with joy.

Though I wasn't sure if he was being sarcastic.

But soon, it started getting hot in the stairwell, and then…really hot.

We slowed down, seeing as how we had been running for several minutes and still hadn't reached the top.

It was scorching by the next few turns of stairs. I unzipped part of my jumpsuit to let some of the heat escape.

Melissa stopped flying at this point.

"It's soooo hoooooot." She tiredly complained.

"The next level is blazing hot." Mathew said, sweating like the rest of us but didn't act affected by it. "We must hurry forward and onto the next level."

"HAHA! Fear not friends!" Hukufu cheered, completely unaffected by this heat. "As long as there is battle, there is enough glory for us all!"

"Will you just shut up?" Melissa complained, and rolled part of her shirt up.

I'll admit, I was…curious to see if…she was going to…remove anything, but we had more pressing matters then whether I'd get to see boobs or not.

Still…it echoed in the back of my mind.

-SSSSSSS-

The floor burned my feet as I walked.

I had leather shoes on, and it still burned my feet!

Melissa shrieked and leaped into the air in pain.

Her wings kept her off the ground.

Mathew continued walking, yet had a lighter step than before.

I kept jumping from the pain it caused, afraid my shoes would melt.

"HAHA! Fear not Little Lamb!"

Hukufu grabbed me with one arm and put me on his back.

"Lead forward! Onwards, to battle!"

And he took off in a run, with Mathew sprinting and Melissa flying.

When we reached the next level, I almost had a heart attack.

Not only was the air blistering hot, but the sight of it all was…horrible!

Large black cauldrons pouring lava and fire into cages, a huge lake of boiling fire, all of it made of metal, screaming and dying prisoners echoing throughout…it was gruesome.

"Level 4, Blazing Hell." Mathew said.

"It's too hot in here." Melissa complained casually.

I looked forward and found a small pathway of metal leading past the giant cauldrons and cage cells, to the opposite side where the other set of doors were.

And there was evidence that the previous mob of convicts had already blown through here, with fallen guards strewed along the pathway.

"Oh…so this shouldn't be so bad…"

-BOOM-

An explosion detonated on the pathway in front of us.

The path had been blown to smithereens.

"FREEZE!"

A lone row of cannons were mounted along the left side of the wall, with dozens of different guards holding rifles at us.

They looked like an army of demons, with crimson red outfits and horns on their heads.

"Resistance is futile! Give up and you will not be harmed!" They announced.

I measured the distance of the open path. It was broken too far for me to jump, but with the size and speed of Hukufu…

"Melissa, get ready to lift Mathew." I whispered.

"What are you planning?" She asked.

"HEY!" I screamed at them. "WHAT YOU'RE SAYING IS A LOAD OF CRAP! I'm gonna die either way. So if I'm gonna die, I'll die fighting! HUKUFU!"

As if he read my mind, he chuckled in delight as he took off with a running start. Melissa scooped up Mathew underneath his arms.

-BOOM-

Hukufu kicked off the ground and made a beautiful leap over the fallen pathway.

I accidently looked down however at the sight of the boiling lake of crimson.

That didn't make me feel so good.

-THUD-

He landed with a thud and took off running down the path.

"Let us fight them!" Hukufu persisted.

"Not yet. First we need to even the playing field." I told him.

Melissa dropped Mathew, who then whipped out his rifle and started firing at the demon guards.

-BANG- -BANG- -BANG-

Three shots, three kills.

The guards fell off the railing and into the boiling lake bellow.

I scanned the platform the guards were standing on, and the cannons mounted on the walls.

I need to reach one of those cannons.

"HUKUFU! You want to battle? Take the path to the left! It'll lead you straight to them!"

I slid off his back as he took off running.

"FOR THE GLORY OF THE HUNT!"

"Melissa! I need you carry me to one of those cannons!" I shouted, taking a few steps to balance my decent.

She swooped down to me and scooped me up from underneath my arm pits.

"I didn't think you would be so compliant." I mentioned casually.

"I may be a bit of a diva," she said, "but I'm not an idiot."

I looked down at Mathew, who was changing the clips in his gun.

"Mathew! Provide support for Hukufu!"

-BANG- -BANG-

The gun shots at the soldiers were a good enough answer for me.

-KABOOM-

Two cannon shells whizzed past us, but Melissa was pretty quick when it came to flying.

And all the hot air escaping from the boiling lake bellow was increasing her rate of assent.

She whirled around the two projectiles, which I observed were originally fire to cut off what remaining pathway that led to the stairwell leading to Level 5.

"Here's your stop!" She shouted.

With a powerful flap of her wings, she gathered her strength to send me flying with one powerful toss. My cape flapped in the hot wind.

I pulled out my club, my eyes trailed on the guard piloting the mortar.

"DIE!" He shouted.

I landed on the railing besides the mortar.

The mortar's barrel spun a bit to try and knock me off, but I leaped onto the barrel and ran straight towards him.

-BAM-

I swung it like a bat right into his face.

He collided with the floor, unconscious.

I slipped into the seat.

It looked very complicated, with buttons and levers and dials. But I found the two sticks that controlled the aiming and after a few moments of fiddling I was able to fire an accidental shot into one of the giant cauldrons.

-KABOOM-

The cannonball caused a crater to form in the cauldron's wall, but didn't break it.

I trailed onto the deck filled with guards.

Hukufu had begun his…transformation.

I looked in the magnifying window of the mortar to see him.

His body was covered in golden fur, ears grew out from the top of his head, and his face seemed to resemble…

A dog? No, not a dog, more like…a bear.

I'd never seen a bear before, but I knew what it looked like from pictures.

His hands now resembled five fingered paws, with a sharp set of claws on each hand.

And the wolf pelt he wore still managed to stay a top his head.

The platform was full of guards, but I was concerned that if I fired at them, Hukufu might get harmed in some way.

But seeing as how he was wiping out dozens of guards with each swing…

I trailed the mortar towards the end side of the platform and aimed as far way from him as possible.

Before I could attempt to fire, I could hear banging from behind me.

There was a door that led to the small cavern that the mortar was placed on.

Idea time.

I turned the gun 180 degrees, and aimed it right at the door.

"FIRE!"

-KABOOM-

…That wasn't my brightest plan.

While it did obliterate the wall which had several guards trying to break into here, but the shockwave from it disrupted me, and even caused the mortar to disconnect from the platform.

"OhohohohoSHTI!"

I leaped out of the chair to prevent myself from falling backwards.

The mortar creaked as it disconnected from the floor and tumbled off the side of the wall.

I looked at the obliterated wall, fallen guards buried under a pile of rubble.

Then I looked back down as the mortar went –PLOP- and melted in the boiling lake bellow.

"Ok…not doing that again." I told myself.

I ran through the hole in the wall, deciding to help myself to a new weapon.

One of the fallen guards had some sort of pitchfork, but the ends had been broken off from the explosion.

I slung the rifle over my shoulder, adjusted the strap, and lifted the pitchfork high.

Lightweight, hard steel, damage to center spike minimal, an improvised spear.

I looked down the hallway; three doors like the one that previously existed here were on the same wall.

They all opened up, and nine demon guards walked through all holding pitchforks and whips.

"SEIZE HIM!" One of them shouted.

Oh crap.

I took a big breath before lowering my new spear and charged screaming like a maniac.

"HAYAYAYAYAYAYAAAAAA!"

I ran through the first guard, but the next one deflected my spear and tried to stab me, while guards 3 and 4 were using there long whips to immobilize my arms.

I was able to release myself from the whips, but I was afraid I was going to be overwhelmed.

But then, I had another moment.

I looked at the scene, my mind processed it with almost instantaneous speed, and I could see the path each guard was about to follow.

One guard was going to stab at my legs, another try and whip me around my neck, the third…I could see reaching for his belt like he had a pistol.

And my body reacted just as fast.

I stepped on the first guard's pitchfork and kicked him in the nose, then swiped the broken pitchfork I held across the second guards face, slashing his face open. Then I lifted the spear high and tossed it like a javelin at the guard who just now pulled out a high caliber pistol.

-BOOM- -BAM- SHINK-

All three guards fell, but there were still five more to deal with.

Before they could reach me, I dived towards that third guard, swiping up his pistol.

Then with my other hand, I pulled out the automatic pistol and aimed both at the guards.

-BANG- -BANG- -BANG-

-TATATATAT-

The first two hit the next guard in the chest, while the rapid fire shots hit another in the shoulder.

I couldn't believe what I was doing. My body was flowing like water.

I pistol whipped the wounded guard on the back of the head, and I stared down the other two.

They looked nervous to step forward.

Before I could do anything else, something swooped from behind me and tackled one of them to the wall.

"YEAH!" Melissa shouted.

Her wings pinned the first guard to the wall while her tail shot out and wrapped around the other guard's neck.

I looked at her unimpressed. "You know I had it under control."

She picked the second guard up and threw him across the room, while she slashed the first one with her claws. "So? I'm not allowed to have any fun?'

She dropped the guard from the wall and retracted all her…features. "So, what's next?"

"Well, how are the other two doing?" I asked.

She walked through the door, her finger gesturing to follow me.

I looked out over the balcony. Hukufu and Mathew had…obliterated the entire deck of guards.

"HUAAAAHAHAHA!" Hukufu roared in triumph.

I looked down in confusion.

This is almost too easy; all these guards are super weak.

I should know: if I could easily beat them, they couldn't have been such a challenge.

-BOOM-

A loud sound reverberated through the area.

Then, the sound of foot steps.

A lot of footsteps.

I couldn't comprehend the sight I was witnessing.

An army of…God knows what was marching down the steps.

Giant blue monsters, wielding giant axes and shoulder mounted cannons and other weapons I couldn't describe.

All being leg by this massive creature that was about Hukufu's size.

It was a giant gray monster, but I couldn't make out what it was from my position.

Then, this incredibly small figure stepped out from behind the giant creature.

I hopped up on the mortar, and looked through the magnifying window.

A little yellow creature with large horns, in a yellow suit holding a small pitchfork.

"Attention escapes!" He called out calmly, his voice sounding like a high pitch child. "This is as far as you go. We have neutralized the previous group ahead of you, so you have no chance of escape now."

I then turned the focus on the giant creature behind him.

It was, for lack of a better word, a bull man.

I know those things don't even exist, but it had the face of a cow, and towered over the little man with a steel club over its shoulder.

"I, Saldeath Jr., am commander of the Blue Gorillas you see before you. You have no chance of escape. Please, give up now before I am tasked to destroy you."

The bull man took a step forward, but Saldeath Jr. waved his pitchfork at him.

I put my hands on the trigger of the mortar, and aimed at the giant monster.

I guess there's really no going back now.

-KABOOM-

The cannonball plummeted right into the monster's face.

Everything was engulfed in smoke.

When it died down, my heart seemed to skip a beat to see that the monster…was completely unaffected by that blast.

Only difference now, it that its eyes were aimed right at me.

Oh…kay…that didn't go well…

"You idiot!" Melissa shouted. "We're really done for now! That's Minotaurus! One of the four Demon Guards of Level 4!"

"Demon Guards?" I asked.

"They are said to have once been human torturers of the prison. They were monsters when they were human, but when they all ate Zoan type devil fruits, they turned into beasts that could go on indefinitely."

Devil fruit users? That could be a problem.

"Take no prisoners!" Saldeath shouted, then put his pitchfork to his lips.

-FEEEEEEET-

It was a whistle. He blew a loud sharp note, and the giant blue monsters readied their weapons.

In an act of quick thinking, I fired two shots at the path in front of them, hoping to stall them for a little while.

"Melissa, take these keys!" I shouted, tossing her the set. "Unlock as many cage doors as you can!"

She paused for a quick second, then nodded.

She leaped off the balcony and sprout her wings. Then made a nose dive to the cages.

I had to distract them for a little while longer.

I began firing like crazy at all the blue monsters. Some of them fired back at me.

-SHINK-

I almost shit my pants when a giant double sided axe got stuck in the blast shield of the mortar.

But I kept firing, until the mortar stopped.

I inspected it as quickly as I could, and saw that the constant shelling of ammo caused the internal mechanics to overheat.

I didn't have time to wait, so I leaped off the seat…

-BONK-

…and proceeded to trip on something before I could take two steps.

I kicked it in frustration, to see it was one of the shells the mortar fired.

The casing to the cannon's ammo supply had been broken by that axe, and shells had spilled out over the ground.

I inspected the shell: lightweight, gunpowder, brass casing, was about the size as those flares in my sling.

Then…I got another idea.

I peeled the red casing off the flare carefully, inspecting the contents.

I also pried apart one of the shells, and inspected just the same.

With these components, gun powder, primers, extended fuse, replacing the aluminum casing with the casing of the flare…

It was kind of complicated, but basically I attached the flare inside the shell, so when the flare is lit on fire and the fuel inside reaches a certain point, it should detonate the shell.

Kind of like a hand bomb.

I wrapped it all up in a hunk of my cape that was all dry and nasty from the heat inside this place, and…tada!

I did the same with the other two flares, and squeezed them inside my rope sling.

I went back to the hallway, and pulled the broken pitch fork.

After two hard kicks, I broke off the remainder of the two spikes.

A perfect throwing spear.

I did the same with two other pitchforks, doing it as quickly and efficiently as possible.

-BOOM-

Something…was right behind me.

A giant, blue monster, was towering above me.

It had a painted skull for a face, strange blocky hands, which were holding a giant axe.

I leaped sideways as it brought the axe down.

I threw one javelin at it, piercing its left shoulder.

Not even flinching, it waved its arm and hit me in the ribs.

I slammed into the wall in pain, gasping for air.

It hurts…no, focus! Stay awake!

I concentrated, using my observing skills to assess the situation.

The path of the axe was all pre-determined: from the height he held it from his stance to my assumptions of his strength and the weight of the axe.

There! He's going to swing it there!

Sure enough, the axe followed the path I saw, and I reacted.

I jumped off the wall, ending up landing on the axe as it smashed into the metal wall.

HOLY SHIT! I can't believe that actually worked!

Before he could have a chance to rip that axe out of the wall, I threw another javelin it his head.

However, the blow from before ruined my posture, causing the javelin to instead hit the upper part of his arm.

-OOOOOO-

It made a low rumble in pain and tried to grab me with it's free hand.

I instead, ripped one of the improvised bombs from before from my sash and threw it at his hand.

I leaped away as he grabbed it.

I turned away as a loud explosion detonated from behind me.

-KABOOM-

I covered my ears and ducked.

When the smoke cleared, I turned to see the vanquished foe.

He didn't look like he was going to get up anytime soon.

I guess I'm pretty good at this "combat" thing.

-BOOM- -BOOM-

Oh please let that be Melissa…

Ten minutes prior…shift in perspective.

Crazy.

I think after all this time, in this tiny little cage with all these big, filthy people I've actually lost what little bit of my sanity I had left.

Crazy.

I wonder what all this yelling and shouting the horned men are talking about.

Words like escape and prisoner and defense keep popping up in their dialogue.

I wonder if it's nice to be a horned man. Maybe I'll become one someday…probably not.

What was I thinking about?

My name? I can't remember.

It's really hot in this place. I think I just realized that. I mean I have been in here for several days but, it hasn't really occurred to me.

These clothes are too small. I need bigger ones to hide my weapons…

My name? Almost had it, forgot again.

Why am I here again? Haven't the foggiest. Where did that phase from? Maybe my thoughts are like fog, all gray and confusing.

Something about hitting someone, oh I can't remember. It's really hot in here you know.

It wasn't my fault, and why did he have a bubble on his head?

My name? Hisako Fuji of course, why wouldn't I know that?

-BANG-

There's a large group of people running past me.

Where are they going? Are they in a race? No, there in a prison…

They're pushing the horned people over the rails.

They're wearing outfits like mine.

These clothes are too small. I need bigger ones to hide my weapons…

…there they go.

-KABOOM-

Explosions. Some of them fall over the rails.

Maybe they'll meet the horned men when they die, and have an awkward conversation about what just happened.

All the men ran off…

It's quiet again.

All the prisoners in these cages are too hot to move.

Not as in they are attractive, but I rather enjoy the female body.

Especially the boobs. I haven't seen boobs in a long time.

…Several minutes pass…

Everything's quiet…

-KABOOM-

Scratch that.

"Resistance is futile! Give up and you will not be harmed!" A guard shouts.

I moved my head slightly to get a better look, no dice.

Must be more of those other prisoners. You come to accept these things when they become a common occurrence.

How many times has this happened?

…Once…

Close enough.

"WHAT YOU'RE SAYING IS A LOAD OF CRAP!"

Who was that?

-KABOOM-

Never mind. He's probably already dead.