Been a while since I last wrote. I think. It's been three days for you guys. Anyway, things are getting crazy in One Piece! Don't want to spoiler it for you guys, but let's just say that I hope the anime don't mess up this part of the manga.

Well, time to get back to the story! Let's get crazy!

Chapter 1: The Break In

"Get moving, scums!" a jailor exclaimed as he pushed the inmates back in their cells. "Time for your break! After that, it's back to work to the Crimson Hell!"

Danny was one of those inmates forced back to their cells, his body covered in scratches courtesy of the Crimson Hell. He suddenly heard some yelling on the side. He turned and saw the Blugori, blue, gorilla-like creatures wearing skull masks and holding axes. They were restraining an old man who looked like a clown, with a big red nose and blue hair tied to a ponytail.

"Let me go, you jag offs! Or I'll flashily make you pay!" the clown exclaimed as the Blugori held him down, pieces of him at least as the clown somehow managed to split himself into many pieces. "No! Let go! I was so close!"

"It's a good thing we found him before he could escape," one of the guards said. "Didn't know that guy had a Devil Fruit power."

"Well, not like it'll help him," another said as they led the struggling clown. "Now that we know he's a Devil Fruit User, put him through the usual procedure."

"Noooooo!" the clown cried as the Blugori carried him away.

"Dumbass," Danny muttered as he entered the cell. It was just another usual day in Hell. After forced to wake up by the guards and eating a meager meal of stale bread and cold soup, they were forced to endure the Crimson Hell, the punishment for Level 1 prisoners. For who knows how long, they were forced to work in the prickling trees and grass, chased by poisonous spiders and guards with spears, their ears filled with the sounds of pained prisoners. And after that, it was back to their cells to sleep on the cold, hard floor. And the cycle repeats itself over and over.

But for Danny, this was merely another day in his new life, accepting pain, suffering, loss. He tried to fight it, but he lost. And now he accepted it after staining his hands in red. He was lucky he was getting the Level 1 punishment. The lowest he ever got to was Level 3, the Starving Hell. From what he gathered, there were five levels, each one nastier than the last.

He leaned on the wall, sitting on his usual spot, waiting for the guards to pass their meals, which they usually have to fight over. But in this cell, he was in charge, so he got dibs first.

Survival of the fittest after all.

In here, there was no friends or allies. Everyone was the enemy. He learned than when some jerk framed him, causing him to be send to the Starving Hell. He got back at the guy by pushing him in front of the Guardian Beast of Level 2.

Since then, he just kept to himself, retaliating when necessary. Because of all the retaliation he did which resulted in the victims severely injured and forced to move to the lower levels. That made the inmates fear him, basically making him the boss of Level 1.

He has three square meals a day, a floor to sleep on, stone roof over his head, and exercise to keep him in shape. But lately, he was getting bored. It's been a year since he was placed in Impel Down and it was beginning to lose its charm.

Sure, he could try and escape, but then he'd be on the run with no one to trust and no goal. He'd just be sailing in the vast, sea full of danger. And he was still hurt, feeling his core damaged.

That, and he can't really sail to save his own life.

He sighed as he leaned on the wall, closing his eyes, waiting for their break to end.

Everything was on fire as he tried to stay in place. He tried to fight it, but the force of the pull was too strong for him. He glared at the pale, stone-like face, who was smirking at him, despite disappearing.

"Farewell, Danny Phantom…"

He screamed as he tried to fight the force as the being disappeared. He felt himself hurled through space for what felt like forever, before he finally stopped, only to find himself in a dark place, where an ugly, fat man wearing a protective suit and glass helmet sneered at him, holding a branding iron of a clawed symbol.

His eyes opened with a start as his right shoulder throbbed in pain. He sighed as he rubbed his eyes. He then noticed the inmates gathered in front of the cell. Curious, he stood up and walked towards them.

"What's going on?" he said, causing the inmates to look at him.

"Danny, check it out," one of the inmates said as he pointed out the cell. "There's this weirdo out here saying he broke in!"

"Broke in?" Danny said, raising an eyebrow. He looked out of the cell and saw a kid nearly his age with messy black hair, black eyes, and a scar under his left eye, wearing a light blue vest, red shorts, sandals, an ornament armband on his left arm and a straw hat on his head. "Who are you?"

"I'm Monkey D. Luffy," the guy replied. "I'm looking for my brother."

"Your brother?" Danny repeated.

"Yeah, I heard he was in this place. His name is Ace."

"Ace…oh, the guy with the freckles?"

"You know him?"

"He was dragged through here. If I have to take a guess, he'd be at the lowest floor, Level 5."

"Level 5 huh…" Luffy said as he looked at Danny before running off. "Thanks!"

"Hang on," Danny called, causing Luffy to stop and turn to him. "Did you really break in here to save your brother?"

"Yeah," Luffy said with a nod.

"Why?" Danny said with a raised eyebrow. "This is the world's man-made creation of Hell. If you get caught, the most merciful thing they can do is kill you. Why risk that?"

Luffy stared hard at Danny, the inmates gulping as they moved away from the bars. The air was tense as the two young men stared at each other.

"Because, he's my brother," Luffy said in an unwavering voice, his expression determined.

Danny looked at him quietly before his shoulders shook. The inmates wondered what was wrong before they heard him chuckle. Soon, that chuckle turned into full blown laughter, shocking them since they've never even seen him smile before.

"You're a funny one, you know that," Danny said once he calmed down. "If you want, I can help you out."

"Really!?" Luffy exclaimed, eyes wide.

"I can only lead you to Level 3, the rest you have to figure out," Danny said with a shrug. "And just when I was getting bored of this hell hole."

"Alright! Let's go!" Luffy exclaimed before he stopped. "But wait, how are you getting out of here?"

"No need to worry about the small details," Danny said as he lifted his hands, which were no longer shackled.

"Wait…huh!?"

"How'd you get your shackles off!?"

"Since when can you do that!?"

The inmates were shocked as Danny rubbed his wrists, feeling a bit of his strength coming back. He then cracked his joints, getting the feeling back in his body.

"Alright, let's get going," Danny said as he was out of the cell, surprising them even more.

"Wow, how'd you do that?" Luffy asked, impressed.

"You wanna ask questions or you wanna go to Level 5?" Danny said.

"Wait! What about us!?" the inmates exclaimed, wanting to get out.

"Yeah, let us out, Danny!"

"C'mon! Help us out!"

"Hm…" Danny thought about it as he rubbed his chin. "We could use the distraction…but it might get us caught too…I'll let you guys out when it's time to bust out of this place."

"Bust out?"

"You mean…!"

"Tell the others to get ready," Danny said with a smirk, his eyes glowing blue, raising his hand. "We're breaking out of Impel Down."

In his hand was white mist as ice formed. Soon, the ice became keys used to unlock the cells and cuffs. The inmates all cheered and went to get ready, planning to pass the message to the other cells, unlocking their cuffs. Danny then gestured at Luffy to follow him, the two running through the stoned halls.

"By the way, what's your name?" Luffy asked as they ran through multiple cells, making sure to avoid the Visual Responder Snail.

"Name's Danny," Danny said as they made it closer to the Crimson Forest. "Stop!"

He stopped, grabbing Luffy by the back of his vest, just in time to see some guards and Blugori dragging prisoners into the Crimson Forest.

"Hey, what's the hold up!?" Luffy exclaimed as Danny peeked from the corner.

"You don't want them to figure out you're here, right?" Danny said as he closed his eyes, feeling his energy. "Hm…I got enough juice to get us to Level 2…might be enough."

"Huh? What are you talking about?"

"Shut up and follow me," Danny said as he grabbed Luffy's shoulder. "Oh, and you might feel a tingle."

"Wha-?"

"Invisibility!"

Suddenly, the two of them became invisible. Luffy was surprised as he saw his entire body disappear.

"Woah! What did you do!?"

"Quiet! I can turn us invisible, not silent! Just hop on my back and we'll get to Level 2."

"Right," Luffy said with a nod before hoping on Danny's back. He suddenly felt the two of them floating off the ground, causing his eyes to sparkle. "Woah! You can fly!?"

"Among other things," Danny said as he flew towards the Crimson Forest, invisible to the people and beasts. "I have a power that could get us to Level 5 faster, but I'm still injured and weak from the Seastone cuffs. Hell, I'm barely keeping the two of us invisible."

Luffy was too busy enjoying flying instead of listening to Danny. They finally made it to the Crimson Forest.

"Hey, what is that place?" Luffy asked as they flew above the crimson trees.

"This is the Crimson Forest," Danny explained as he flew through the trees, ignoring the pained cries of the prisoners. "The trees and grass here are made of spikes. The prisoners are forced to work through the forest, their blood staining the metal with crimson, hence the name. If that wasn't bad enough, you have to run away from poisonous spiders and the guards."

"That's horrible!"

"What'd you expect?" Danny asked. "This is Impel Down after all, and the lower the level, the harsher the punishment. This is Hell for people like us."

Luffy just stared at the place in shock before Danny stopped right above a big hole. It was so deep that they couldn't see the bottom.

"This is a shortcut for the prisoners," Danny explained. "The entrance to Level 2."

"All right!" Luffy exclaimed before he jumped off Danny's back, losing his invisibility, and falling down the hole.

"Hey!" Danny exclaimed, shocked that the guy would jump in the deep hole without a second thought. He quickly flew after the strange guy in the hole. As he flew deeper, he felt his power weakening. When he finally reached Level 2, he lost his invisibility and landed on roughly on his knees, grabbing his chest. "Damn, still hurt. Now, where is that lunatic?"

Suddenly, a hand grabbed him by the back of his shirt, dragging him off his feet.

"Alright, where to next?" Luffy asked as he carried Danny by his shirt.

"Dude, slow down a little!" Danny exclaimed, feeling the shirt chocking him. "If you're too noisy, they'll hear us!"

"Who'd hear us?" Luffy said, finally stopping and letting Danny go.

"The Guardian Beasts of Level 2," Danny said, fixing his shirt. "This is the Wild Beast Hell, where every beast that shouldn't exist dwell. In here, they have an all you can eat buffet."

"Really? Where is it? I'm starving," Luffy said, rubbing his stomach.

"We're the buffet, you idiot!" Danny exclaimed. "Let's go before they spot us. The stairs are over there. Follow me."

"Right," Luffy said, running after Danny. "So, you've been here before?"

"Twice. It's really nice compared to Levels 1 and 3. You just have to avoid the beasts. I pushed a weirdo with a weird hairstyle once to get away from the Basilisk. Don't know whatever happened to him," Danny said, recalling how a man with a hair styled to the number three tried to push him in front of the Basilisk. Too bad it backfired on him, with Danny throwing him in front of the monster's face.

Suddenly, he heard some noises, causing him to stop, with Luffy following him.

"What's wrong?" Luffy asked as Danny looked in front of them.

"One of them is here," Danny said, tensing. Luffy heard it too, tensing as well. From the darkness, one of the beasts came. An intimidating…small, baby hippo.

"A hippo?" Luffy said as he walked towards it. "He doesn't look so scary."

"Idiot! Don't get near it!" Danny exclaimed as he tackled Luffy to the ground, just in time as the hippo's mouth suddenly grew big enough to swallow a man whole.

"Woah! What was that!?" Luffy exclaimed as he and Danny started running, with the hippo following them at an incredibly fast pace.

"That's a Giant-Mouth Hippo!" Danny exclaimed as they kept running for their lives. "Don't let its appearance trick you. It can swallow a man whole and can run faster than a horse! Luckily…"

He grabbed Luffy and pulled him to the left corridor, causing the hippo to slam into the wall.

"…they're not good at making turns," Danny said before they kept running. "But that won't keep it down for long. Let's keep going!"

They continued running, but before they could get far, a figure appeared behind them and swiped at them. They quickly dodged, causing slash marks to appear on the walls. They turned and saw a giant mantis wearing the guard's hat and badge, with sharp blades for arms.

"Woah, a mantis!?" Luffy exclaimed in shock.

"That's a Giant Praying Mantis, and they're good for cutting prisoners," Danny said as he tensed.

"I see, it does seem bigger than a regular praying mantis," Luffy said.

The mantis stared at them with its creepy, beady eyes before it charged, its blade arms disappearing in a blur. Danny and Luffy quickly dodged the attacks, causing slash marks to appear on the stone walls and floors.

"Wow, its pretty good!" Luffy said in an impressed tone.

"Yeah, but it's still just an animal," Danny said as he heard something. "And animals can easily be tricked."

He back himself to a wall and was waving his arms to get the mantis' attention. The mantis turned to Danny, who started making faces at it, making it mad. It charged at Danny, swinging its blade faster. Danny stayed put, waiting. Just as the mantis could hit him, he disappeared just as the wall broke, revealing the hippo.

The two beasts looked shocked to see each other and tried to stop, but the mantis' upper half was eaten, and the hippo's throat was cut in half. The two creatures fell dead on the floor, ready to be devoured by the lurking beasts.

"Woah, you're pretty strong," Luffy commented as they continued their way to the stairs.

"Well, those monsters weren't that strong," Danny commented. "What we should really be careful about is-."

Suddenly, a gust of wind from behind nearly pushed them off their feet. The two of them turned around and their eyes widened in shock as they saw a creature unimaginable. It was a gigantic chicken-like creature with a reptilian head, its tongue sticks out in a deranged manner.

"Holy crap! What the hell is that thing!?" Luffy exclaimed as he and Danny started running for their lives, the creature right behind them.

"That's the Basilisk!" Danny exclaimed as they ran away. "A monster born from a chicken's egg!"

"Are you saying that thing came from a chicken!?" Luffy exclaimed in shock. "There's no way that's true!"

"It is a monster!" Danny exclaimed back. "Monsters like this exist only in Impel Down! They're not guards, their starving beasts waiting to eat us! Our only chance is getting to the stairs! If we're lucky, the Basilisk and Sphinx can kill each other!"

If only he was fully recovered, but he could still feel the slight pain inside his chest as well as the lingering effect of the Seastone Cuffs. If he was at full power, that Basilisk would be fried chicken by now.

"I don't have time for that!" Luffy exclaimed as he stopped and faced the creature, biting his thumb.

"What are you doing!?"

"Third Gear!" Luffy exclaimed as he blew air into his thumb. Suddenly, his fist grew big before it transferred from his body to his other arm. "Now, Gum-Gum Giant Pistol!"

He threw his large fist into the monster, easily punching it away, sending it flying towards a wall, breaking through it. Danny stood there with wide eyes and jaw dropped as he watched the monster fall after one punch.

Once the dust settled, the hole on the wall revealed that it was the guard's security room, where they monitor the inmates of Level 2.

"Wow, nice job," Danny said, turning to face Luffy, only to find him gone. "Hey! Where'd you go!?"

"Down here!" a squeaky voice exclaimed. Blinking, Danny looked down and he saw Luffy, who shrunk to the size of a child.

"…I'm guessing this a side effect of that move?" Danny said as Luffy slowly grew back to normal.

"Yeah, Third Gear makes me part giant, but after use, it shrunk my body," Luffy said as he and Danny walked through the hole.

"Guessing you're a Devil Fruit User then," Danny said as he looked around, seeing the unconscious guards from the surprise Basilisk.

"Yeah, I ate the Gum-Gum Fruit, so now I'm a Rubber Man," Luffy said, stretching his cheeks.

"Well, that's not the weirdest thing I've ever seen," Danny said as he looked at the surveillance room. "Hm…now that you've done this, there's no way we can keep quiet now. We have to keep moving before they can organize."

"Alright, which way then?" Luffy said as Danny noticed some keys on the ground.

"Follow me," Danny said as they ran out the room. There, they found themselves in the cells, the inmates looking at them in confusion.

"Hey, what's going out there!?"

"What the hell happened?"

"Hm? Hey, it's Danny! What are you doing here?"

"Wait a minute, he's out of his cell!"

"Are you breaking out!?"

"That's right, boys," Danny called out as he twirled the keys in his finger. "You ready to get out of this hell hole!?"

"Hell yeah!"

"Then when the time is right, come out of those cells and cause some trouble!" Danny exclaimed as he threw the keys to the cells, as well as making some out of ice.

"By the way, did you eat a Devil Fruit too?" Luffy asked as he saw Danny made keys from ice. "But I already saw someone who ate the Ice-Ice Fruit before. But then you can turn invisible and fly."

"Well, yeah, I ate a Devil Fruit, but becoming invisible and flying is a different thing," Danny said as he stopped, making sure he has enough keys.

"Woah, so you can do those without a Devil Fruit!?" Luffy said, his eyes shining brightly.

"Pretty much," Danny said with a nod. "Okay, let's keep going! Remember boys, wait until the right moment!"

"Yessir!"

The two then ran towards the directions of the stairs as the inmates passed the keys and message. As they ran through Level 2, more beasts kept appearing, though not as dangerous as the Basilisk, still dangerous, nonetheless. Some giant rats, lions with human faces and a giant centipede.

"Out of my way!" Luffy exclaimed as he started throwing a lot of punches. "Gum-Gum Gattling!"

It knocked the monster out of the way, but the centipede suddenly exploded, turning into smaller centipedes.

"Woah! What happened!?" Luffy exclaimed as the smaller centipedes jumped at them.

"C'mon, c'mon!" Danny said as he clenched his fists. They glowed a little, but his chest started hurting, causing him to stop. "Damn it. If that won't work, then I'll use my other power."

Suddenly, his appearance changed, becoming draconic, his body covered in dark-blue scales as horns appeared on his head, white fins on his back, his arms and legs turning into claws, with wings and a tail sprouting from his back. He then charged at the Puzzle Scorpions.

"Frozen Claws!" Danny exclaimed as he slashed at the scorpions, freezing them.

"Cool! You can transform!" Luffy exclaimed excitedly, staring at the humanoid dragon.

"Yeah, I ate the Lizard-Lizard Fruit, Ice Dragon Edition," Danny said as his appearance turned back to normal.

"Oh, so you're a Zoan type," Luffy said as they continued running. "You're like my friend, Chopper. He ate the Human-Human Fruit and became a Human Reindeer."

"Human Reindeer? Huh, still not the weirdest thing I've seen," Danny commented as they ran. Suddenly, more of the human-faced lions were after them.

"Geez! There's more of them!? What are these things!?" Luffy exclaimed as they kept running.

"Those are Manticores," Danny called out as they turned left. "They may look human, but don't let that fool you! Once they catch you, they'll chew you until only your bones are left!"

"Only bones!?" Luffy exclaimed in shock.

"Help me!"

Startled, Luffy look back to see who said that, seeing no one.

"Please stop this!"

"It hurts! End this suffering!"

"Just kill me! Please!"

"Wait…are those things talking!?" Luffy exclaimed in shock.

"Yeah, they're like parrots repeating every word they say, tricking the prisoners by luring them," Danny explained. "They say them, but they don't know what they mean."

"T-backs!"

"Loincloths!"

"Strawberry panties!"

"…They also repeat whatever they heard…" Danny said in a deadpanned tone.

"Beef steak!"

"Where!?" Luffy exclaimed, turning to the Manticores.

"Don't reply, you idiot!" Danny exclaimed, slapping Luffy on the head, not enough to make him lose his balance. "This is getting ridiculous. Ice Wall!"

He turned around and raised his hand, using his dragon ice to create a wall of ice, blocking the Manticores chasing them, stopping them in their tracks.

"That'll hold them for a little while," Danny said as turned back. "Okay, over here! If we're careful, we might be able to avoid the Sphinx."

Meanwhile, as Luffy and Danny ran through the halls of Level 2, the guards were in disarray as they figured out what caused that shaking earlier.

"Level 2! This is Level 3! What is happening!? Please respond!" one of them exclaimed to the Responder Snail, but no reply. "Damn it, still no answer! Found anything yet!?"

"Hold on, I'm looking!" another guard exclaimed as he looked at the security closely. "There! Someone knocked out the Basilisk!"

"Are you serious!?" one of them exclaimed in shock as he walked towards the monitor, and sure enough, there was the Basilisk, unconscious, surrounded by unconscious guards. "What could have done that!?"

"Hey, I found something!" another guard exclaimed, pointing at one of the monitors. "Two people out of their cells!"

They looked and saw that it was Danny and Luffy, running towards the direction of the staircase.

"One of them is that Danny kid, the one Admiral Kizaru sent over years ago," one of the guards said, recognizing Danny. "But who's the other one? I don't recognize that inmate."

"Wait a minute…that's Straw Hat Luffy!"

"The Straw Hat Luffy? What's he doing here?"

"I don't know. Contact Warden Magellan! Tell him Straw Hat Luffy has broken in Impel Down!"

Meanwhile, Danny and Luffy were still running towards the staircase, with the beasts no longer following them.

"Alright, we're close!" Danny said. "If we can sneak pass the Sphinx, then it's a smooth run to Level 3."

"Right!" Luffy said as he turned to look at Danny. Because of that, he didn't see the gray, furry wall in his path. He slammed into it face first, causing him to stumble back. "What the hell?"

"Oh shit," Danny said as he and Luffy looked up at the giant creature.

It was a gray, large, powerful-looking creature with a dark humanoid face and a winged, leonine body, with a scar above its right eye. It suddenly opened its eyes, spotting the two of them.

"Whelp, so much for that plan," Danny said with a deadpanned expression as the Sphinx slowly stood up.

"This guy is huge!" Luffy exclaimed. "Is he a lion or a grampa!?"

"…Noodles…"

"What!? Noodles!?" the two exclaimed as the Sphinx raised its paw.

"Egg noodles" it exclaimed as it slammed its paw to the ground, shaking the floor. Luckily, Danny and Luffy managed to get away before getting crushed.

"Chinese noodles!" Sphinx exclaimed as he jumped towards them, slamming both his paws to the ground, barely getting them. It then chased after them. "Vegetable noodles!"

"Why does it keep saying noodles!?"

"I don't know! I guessed the prisoners got tired talking about underwear and switched to noodles!"

"Ramen noodles!"

The two just ran away as the Sphinx chased after them, chanting every kind of noodle it knows. Every strike it paws did shook the ground, scaring some of the prisoners.

"Oh man, sounds like the Sphinx is mad!"

"Why the hell is it mad!?"

"I feel sorry for the bastard who pissed the Sphinx off."

Danny and Luffy kept dodging the Sphinx, who kept smashing on the floor, still shouting noodles.

"Canton noodles!" it exclaimed as it swiped at Luffy.

"Aw man, all this talk about noodles is making me hungry…" Luffy complained as he held his loud stomach. "It's been hours since I last ate…"

"Fried noodles!" the Sphinx exclaimed, paws raised, aimed at Luffy, who was too busy thinking about food. The Sphinx stopped at its tracks, wondering why the intruder wasn't moving. "Fried noodles…Friend noodles!"

Annoyed at being ignored, it swung its paws to crush Luffy, who was pushed away by Danny.

"Dude! You can't really eat if you get killed!" Danny exclaimed as the two looked at the Sphinx.

"Damn it! This thing's starting to annoy me!" Luffy exclaimed angrily as he jumped up into the air, using the body of the Sphinx to jump higher. "Gum-Gum Bazooka!"

Both arms stretched above him, Luffy threw both palms on to the Sphinx's head, causing it to stumble a little, making it angrier.

"Keep pissing it off, Luffy!" Danny exclaimed as mist surrounded his body. "I got an idea!"

"Okay!" Luffy exclaimed before he started hitting the Sphinx, pissing it off.

"Chicken noodle soup!" the Sphinx exclaimed in anger.

"Now he's adding soup!?" Luffy exclaimed in shock.

"Alright!" Danny exclaimed as he slammed his hands on the ground. "Land of Ice!"

The entire floor was soon covered in ice. The Sphinx was still rampaging, unaware that the ground was frozen. Soon, it started slipping, sliding towards the wall. Luffy jumped off its head as it slammed headfirst on the wall, cracking it. It fell on the ground, unconscious with a lump on its head.

"Wow...can't believe that work," Danny said as Luffy poked the Sphinx. "Nothing's stopping us from going to the stairs now."

The crack on the walls suddenly traveled to the floor, which has been damaged by the Sphinx and weakened by the ice. Soon, it couldn't support the weight of the unconscious Sphinx and started crumbling underneath their feet.

"And I just jinxed us," Danny said before they fell into the hole, screaming.

Their destination, Level 3, the Starving Hell.

Alright, gonna end the chapter here! Hope you enjoyed the mystery on how Danny ended up in Impel Down and how he teamed up with Luffy. Don't worry on why he can't use his powers, it'll be explained. Whelp, next chapter, onward to Level 3! Who will they meet, who will they fight?

See you later!