At the bottom of Impel Down, the guards were watching the most dangerous criminals in the world. However, there wasn't much for them to do, so some of them were playing a card game.

"When I was assigned to this level, I was a little apprehensive, but it's a lot more laid-back than you think."

"Yeah, we got this place under control."

"No big deal; what do you think it was going to be like?"

"Well, the lowest floor is home to some of the most dangerous guys here. Most of them have bounties of at least 100 million Gil. The rest are infamous in their own right, with bounties or not. I was pretty nervous when I was told that I was assigned to the bottom floor and even more nervous when they told me it was called the Eternal Hell. But it's only really bad for the prisoners; in other words, I wouldn't worry about it too much. Once they're here, they'll never see the light of day. Well, not until the execution, at least."

"Too bad because if you ask me, death would be a heck of a lot easier than spending the rest of your life in this hell hole."

"You've got a point there."

They all laughed, and then another guard entered the room.

"Pardon the intrusion, but the warden and vice warden are on their way here with Atali Boa," he said.

"We already got the heads up. Kinda makes you wonder what she wants with Fire Fist Ace, though." He then looked at his fellow guards. "Do you have a theory?"

"That's a good question. Man, it sure sounds scary, though. The Pirate Princess and one of the most dangerous men in the world. I don't like it one bit."

He then grabbed a card from the deck and was horrified to discover that he had drawn the Joker.

"Speaking of dangerous men, that other guy who's a Warlord. He's got me on edge, the one that rebelled against Navy headquarters, too."

Jinbe, a Fishman resembling a whale shark, was sitting in his cell trying to free himself when a large creature wielding a bludgeon entered.

"Strike me," he challenged.

The creature pulled him down and raised his bludgeon.

"I have no regrets!" Jinba yelled.

The creature struck him as hard as he could and left, closing the cell door behind.

"That violent oaf," Jinba grumbled.

Jinbe shared a cell with Ace, who had watched the entire thing.

"Yeah, Captain, I'm sorry, then the brakes," said Ace.

"My body is fine; my heart, however, craves justice," said Jinba. "My heart wants war."

"Jinbe…"

"I can't die, not here and not like this. To hell with my title as a Warlord; I don't even want it any more if it means I would stop this fight. I would happily lay down my life."

Elsewhere, the guards were trying to figure out what had happened to the jailers on Level II and soon got their answer when they saw the buses just lying there on the floor unconscious.

"No wonder we lost communication with Level II. Those prisoners knocked the basilisk right into the comm room."

"No wonder we lost communication with Level II. Those prisoners knocked a basilisk right into the common room."

"Those three were able to beat a basilisk? Where the hell are they, anyway? And what is going on down there?"

Hiccup and the others ran through the corridors and were instantly caught by the surveillance transponder snails.

"Hold on, there they are! I've got them!"

"You do? Really?"

"Yes, sir. But now there seems to be four of them."

"There's what?!"

Hiccup and the others were being chased by some of the beasts, some of which they had encountered earlier and others brand-new. Among them were a giant centipede and a whole pack of lions with humanlike faces.

"Nice job; I think every wild beast on this floor is chasing us now!" Mr 3 yelled.

"You didn't have to follow us," Astrid pointed out.

"Guys, we can't keep running like this forever!" said Hiccup.

"Yeah, and the longer we run, the more people are going to send after us because this ain't exactly subtle, you know," said Buggy. "Still, somehow, that sounds better than getting eaten by these things."

"I'm too exhausted; I can't keep this up," Mr 3 panted as he lagged behind.

"We don't have time for this," said Hiccup as he transformed his hybrid form.

Then, every single one of them turned to face the beasts.

"Plasma Blast!"

"Valkyrie Storm!

"Chop-Chop Cannon!"

"Candle Lock!"

They then launched their attacks on the beasts, knocking quite a lot of them down onto the ground. However, when Hiccup's Plasma Blast struck the centipede, it separated into several small, but still quite large, scorpions.

"That centipede just exploded into a bunch of scorpions!" Hiccup yelled as he reverted back to human.

"It wasn't the centipede. It was a bunch of poison puzzle scorpions stacked on top of one another," Mr 3 explained as they kept running.

"And now there's even more things chasing us!" Buggy cried.

The beasts kept chasing after them, but they suddenly stopped and were lost. They entered into some sort of hub with multiple openings, but then they heard footsteps and began to follow the source of the noise.

However, Hiccup and the others were still in the chamber. Hiccup immediately transformed his dragon form and lifted everyone up into the air out of sight. Once they were gone, he lowered everyone back down to the ground.

"That's why I'm the best," Buggy smiled. "While those dumb animals are following my footsteps, we're free to make our break."

"Yeah, but don't your feet have to return to you at some point?" Hiccup asked.

No sooner had he said that than Buggy's feet returned him, along with all the beasts that had been chasing after them. This, of course, forced them to run away once again.

"We're back where we started," said Astrid.

"Damn these things," Buggy cursed. He then looked at Mr 3. "By the way, I heard the boss of the beasts on Level II looks like some sort of lion. Are all these things bosses?"

"Of course, they're not bosses!" Mr 3 snapped. "These are clearly Manticores; can't you see the human faces? If they catch us now, to until only bones remain."

"That's harsh!" Buggy yelled.

"The key," said a voice behind them. "Give me the key."

"Ignore them," said Mr 3 as Buggy turned his head. "Since they have human faces, they can imitate different people that have been heard around the prison."

"Help me!"

"Please, it's too painful!"

"They're just repeating some of the things the prisoners say," Mr 3 explained. "They have no idea what it means."

"It sure is creepy," said Hiccup.

"No kidding," said Astrid.

They kept running, and Manticores kept talking, sometimes saying the strangest things.

Hiccup then turned to Mr 3. "Hey, you said you were going to help us get through this place, right?"

"Of course I did, and I meant it," he said. "We should join forces and break out of this prison together. What you say?"

"I told you I don't want to break out; I want to know how to get down to Level III."

Mr 3 stared at him. "I'm afraid you don't understand the situation. I assure you it only gets worse the deeper you go."

"Here's the scoop: Dragon and the girl broke into the prison to rescue his brother, Ace," Buggy explained.

"Are you seriously telling me that Fire Fist Ace is Dragon's brother?" Mr 3 stared. "I never knew."

"Very few people do," said Astrid.

Mr 3 stared at her and Hiccup. "So you really broke in here to Impel Down to rescue him?"

"And we're running out of time," said Hiccup.

'If someone like Fire Fist Ace is being held here, he would be all the way down at Level V,' Mr 3 stared. 'They want to go there?!'

He then shook his head. "No way, count me out. It's madness. I wouldn't dare."

He then began making his way up some stairs, but Astrid grabbed him.

"Hold on," she said. "Look, we get that you don't want to join us, and that's fine, but how do we get there?"

"You use the stairs!" he snapped, and then his eyes lit up. 'Wait a second, the stairs are all connected from Level I to Level III. I could use the two of them as bait for the beasts guarding the stairs and then make my escape. Yes, that's good. Why it's ingenious even.'

He then turned around and looked at them. "No, I'll stay. Let's go together."

Buggy mouth fell wide open.

Mr 3 then led them to the stairs.

"You can count on me, Dragon," Mr 3 assured him. "It's this way."

Suddenly, he ran into something, and they stopped in their tracks. They were face-to-face with what appeared to be a giant manticore, but it was 10 times bigger, and its fur resembled feathers. It was also fast asleep.

"Oh crap," Buggy whimpered. "You ran into something big."

"It's the Guardian of the Stairs!" Mr 3 yelled. "The Hell beast known as the sphinx!"

"And you just woke it up," said Astrid.

The beasts that had been following them then quickly came to a sudden stop when they saw the sphinx. They were terrified when its eyes fell upon them and quickly ran in the opposite direction.

He then turned his eyes towards Hiccup and the others and swiped at them with his giant paw, but they quickly jumped out of the way and began running in different directions. They continue chasing them around, swiping his massive claws at them.

"This thing is tough!" Hiccup yelled.

"No wonder they had this thing guard the stairs!" said Astrid.

All throughout the prison, the prisoners could hear the sphinx attacking and could even feel the vibrations.

"That's got to be…"

"The sphinx is going crazy about something."

"I knew it! I just know it! We're going to be stuck in this place forever!"

Hiccup and Astrid were busy dodging the sphinx's attacks.

"We really need to come up with something," said Hiccup.

"I'm open to any ideas at this point," said Astrid.

Buggy and Mr. 3 huddled together and began to talk.

"Listen, to be honest, I have no interest in going down to the lower levels of this place," said Buggy honestly.

"I'm right there with you on that one," said Mr 3.

The two of them then shook hands.

"Good. What do you say we form an alliance and break out of this dump?"

"I'm so pleased to hear that you're a real escapee."

The two of them smiled gleefully towards Hiccup and Astrid.

"Now, with that settled, let's begin with the Dragon for dinner plan with a golden War Maiden for dessert," said Buggy.

"My favourite plan," Mr 3 smiled.

Astrid looked at them suspiciously. "What are you two doing?"

"Yeah, we need to move," Hiccup agreed.

The sphinx then raised his claw.

"Here he comes!" Buggy and Mr 3 yelled in unison. "Look out!"

Hiccup quickly transformed his hybrid form and flew up while Astrid performed a few acrobatic feats and jumped high into the air.

"Dragon Fist!" Hiccup yelled.

"Valkyrie Impact!" Astrid yelled.

The two of them slammed their attacks on top of the sphinx's head, slamming him into the ground. The two of them then landed on top of his head, but all they accomplished was making him even more angry.

"What are you doing?" Mr 3 yelled. "How is it a good idea to piss him off?"

"So long!" Buggy yelled as he detached his feet.

His body then flew into the air to safety, and his feet also ran to find a good hiding spot.

"That's not fair!" Mr 3 cried. "Why can't I go to a higher, safer place too?"

The sphinx then looked down upon him and slammed his claw right down atop him. For a brief moment, Hiccup and the others for what he had been killed, but when the sphinx removed his claw, they saw that he had only crushed a wax figurine instead.

Mr 3 laughed as he emerged from his hiding spot. "I tricked you, you ghastly abomination. What you smashed was just a wax figure that I created with my Wax-Wax power. Though I admit, they look much more convincing with Miss Golden Week's colouring, but it was still enough to trick a foolish piece such as yourself."

He then began creating more wax figurines. "Are you ready? Here we go. Do you think you can tell which one is the real me?"

The sphinx looked around, confused, unable to tell which one was the real Mr 3 and began crashing them at random.

"Missed me."

The sphinx tried again.

"Missed again.

The sphinx attacked once more.

"Try again."

"Part of me is wondering what this is going to accomplish?" Astrid frowned.

"I don't know, but it's rather amusing," said Hiccup.

The sphinx continued to smash the wax figurines, and Mr 3 aggravated him every single time. The sudden movement forced Hiccup and Astrid to hold on tight.

"It's like trying to stay on a mad bull!" Hiccup yelled.

"Yeah, but I think we're safer up here than anywhere else!" said Astrid.

Buggy just stared at them. "Man, I knew Dragon was a risk-taker, but I didn't peg the girl to be the same."

The sphinx now looked like he was having fun smashing up all the wax figures, completely forgetting about the real Mr 3.

"Looks like he's enjoying this little game," said Hiccup.

"Now it's my chance to break for it," said Mr 3.

The prisoners could feel the entire place shake.

"What's all that shaking all about?"

"Holy crap, those three guys must really be pissing off the sphinx."

The sphinx continued to play around, unaware that his smashing was beginning to crack the floor.

"What's happening?"

"I don't know, but I don't like it."

The shaking also caused some of the surveillance transponder snails to fall.

On Level III, the jailers could hear the entire place shake and had no idea what was happening.

"Level III to monitoring room! Level III to monitoring room! We're hearing a lot of noise from upstairs."

"Yes, this is the monitoring room! We still can't get in touch with Level II, so we have no idea what's going on down there."

Upstairs, Buggy and Mr 3 were now making a break for the exit.

"Mr 3, it's time to fly," said Buggy, hovering above him. "The perfect escape plan."

"This wasn't our plan, we're just running!" Mr 3 yelled. "Works either way, I guess."

"Hey, look," said Buggy, looking ahead of them, "that must be the door that leads to the stairs."

"I'll make a key out of wax!"

They quickly approached the door that led to the stairs when, suddenly, the floor gave out.

"No, no, no, you stupid beast!" Buggy yelled. "You've cracked the floor! Now we're all going to—"

The floor beneath then suddenly broke apart, and the sphinx desperately tried to cling onto the ledge.

On Level III, everyone there was in a panic.

"This is Level III; the ceiling is giving way! The sphinx is—"

The sphinx then fell, and both Buggy and Mr 3 clung onto the ledge and tried to pull themselves up, only for the ledge to break apart. Hiccup and Astrid were still riding on top of the sphinx, so they were also falling down to the next level.

"Oh no!" Mr 3 cried.

"Damnit all, we're falling to Level III!" Buggy yelled.

Down on the bottom level, Ace was completely unaware that Hiccup had attempted rescue and was talking with Jinbe instead.

"The government knows me as the pirate who hates other pirates," said Jinbe. "An accurate assessment, excluding your people."

"Really? You hate pirates?" said Ace.

"That must be a shock coming from me. I used to visit Stoick's ship on a regular basis, but because of my status with the Government, I had to travel underwater to get there. Even so, he and his crew were good friends to me."

"That so, well, I recall that you almost killed me one time," Ace smirked.

"I suppose I can say the same thing about you," Jinbe pointed out. "But all that aside, I owe Stoick a great debt. Fishman Island is now a peaceful haven once again and it is all thanks to that old man of yours. As you know, pirates sailing along the Grand Line must pass through Fishman Island to reach the New World.

"So, not long after the dawn of the Great Pirate Era, the island was in trouble. Numerous human pirates and Navy ships chasing after Stoick arrived there, wreaking havoc. Countless Fishman and mermaids were kidnapped and sold as slaves, and just when despair threatened to conquer our hearts, Stoick the Vast showed himself."

"From this point forward, I claim this island as my territory!" Stoick announced, raising his flag high into the air.

"A simple proclamation, a precious few words, ensure that no one would lay a finger on Fishman Island again. The power that Stoick commands is that great; as long as I live, I will never forget that day. He protects not just my home but also other islands in much the same manner. The Government targets him because he's a pirate, but they refuse to see the truth. That is why I object if he happened to die, what would become of the sea? Who would dare to welcome the chaos that would reign in his absence? Who but a fool would dare to usher in such madness?"

He then slammed his head against the wall in frustration. "I want to stop this war even if I must give up my life. I wanted to rescue you, Ace, but I failed."

"Jinbe… please, that's enough," said Ace. "This is painful."

"Even so, I haven't given up hope yet. I believe in a miracle, and our chance may come."

They then heard laughter from a nearby cell. "My, my, sounds like there's a lot of fun going on in the world."

Jinbe and Ace turned their eyes to the cell where Viggo Grimborn was kept.

"This is a now-or-never opportunity to defeat Stoick," said Viggo. "Even locked down here, I can't help but feel a bit excited."

"How dare you!" Jinbe growled.

"Oh yeah, you think you can take the old man?" Ace smirked.

"Not just me," he said.

They then heard laughter from all the other cells.

"Kill him! Kill him!"

"They're going to kill Stoick the Vast?"

"About time, take him out."

"You've got to let me out of here; I want to be the one to kill him. Let me out!"

"I want to take a crack at him, too! I'm going to put an end to his era!"

The prisoners began slamming their feet on the ground and chanting, much to Jinbe's annoyance.

"Fools! Silence!" he roared.

"Jinbe… Ace… Look, do you get it?" said Viggo. "This world is full of dozens of second placers. Silver medallists who could never defeat Roger and Stoick, all holding back their tears."