Hiccup and his team were running down the stairs to Level VI and several jailers who had positioned themselves ready for them.

"Ready?"

They all aimed their rifles just as Hiccup shot out in his hybrid form from the dark.

"Out of my way!" he yelled.

"Aim!"

"Plasma Blast!" Hiccup roared.

He fired a plasma blast directly at the jailers and instantly took them out.

Near the bottom of the stairs, a jailer could hear the commotion.

"Oh yeah, how'd you like this?" he said, activating the traps.

Steel spikes shot out of the walls and would have skewered him if Hiccup hadn't nimbly dodged them.

"With a bothersome little trap," said Mala as she jumped in. "Death Wink!"

With one, when she was able to destroy the traps, the attack continued, hitting the jailer and slamming him into the stairs. Mala then stood over the jailer with a small smile on her face.

"Who are you people?" he asked. "How did you—"

"I don't think any of that is your concern right now," said Mala. "You can be quite useful."

She then grabbed him and carried him on her shoulders.

"Take it easy; it won't hurt, I promise," she assured him as he tried to free himself.

"Almost there," said Throk. "Let's just hope we're not too late."

They continued running down the stairs after Hiccup and Astrid, who went ahead.

More jailers arrived to attempt to stop them.

"Alright, guys, don't let them through!"

"We don't have time for this," said Hiccup.

"Do yourselves a favour and get out of our way!" Astrid yelled.

The two of them jumped at the jailers and instantly took them down in less than a second.

The guard in the observation room watched the entire thing, and Hannibal was greatly annoyed.

"The trapped isn't work, sir! And all the jailers out cold!"

"Dragon Conqueror Hiccup, War Maiden Astrid, Mala Queen of the Defenders of the Wing and Throk, the Revolutionary. All four criminals are now entering Level VI."

"What are we going to do?"

"Ace!" Hiccup yelled as he finally reached the bottom.

Unfortunately, they had a new problem; they may have reached the bottom floor, but they had no idea where Ace was being kept.

"We made it; this is Level VI," said Throk.

"This place is known as the Eternal Hell, where the most legendary of criminals have been held," said Mala.

The entire place was filled with giant stone blocks, with the prisoners inside every one of them.

"Yeah, but where, Ace?" Astrid asked.

"We don't have time to look at every single cell and hope he's inside," said Hiccup.

"Agreed, the direct approaches not going to help," Mala agreed and then looked at the captive jailer she had acquired, who looked at her terrifyingly. "That's where you come in. Do you mind telling us where he is?"

"No way," he said stubbornly.

"What should I do with you?" Mala smiled vindictively. "I believe we need to be more open with one another and ourselves."

"What are you doing?" he asked terrifyingly as he tried to back away.

"Imperial Female Hormone!" Mala yelled.

She then stabbed him with her nails, then suddenly, he began to transform into a woman, a rather beautiful one.

"Is this me?" she said, looking down at her new body.

"Whoa, did she just turn him into a girl?" Hiccup stared.

"That's right, you were there when she showed off her powers," said Astrid. "Apparently, she is able to remake the human body thanks to her Hormone-Hormone powers; she can even change someone's sex."

"That's some power," said Hiccup.

"It's the you that you were always afraid to be," said Mala as she pulled out a hand mirror to look at her new face. "Look."

"I'm beautiful," she said stunned.

"You've been reborn, my dear; you are no longer a jailer. You're a New Kama now," said Mala.

"Thank you," she said and immediately jumped to her feet. "What have I been doing all these years? My gosh, I don't know how to repair you, Mala."

"Oh, it's nothing, don't mention it," said Mala. "There is one thing. Do you think you can point us in the direction of Fire Fist Ace?"

"Down that way," she pointed.

The former jailer then began to escort them to Ace's cell, but when they got there, they found that Jinbe was the only person inside.

"He's not here!" said Hiccup.

Mala looked at the jailer. "Are you absolutely certain that this is the right cell?"

"Yes, I promise you," she nodded frantically. "He was just here, I swear."

"They must have moved him; we got here too late," said Astrid, clenching her fist.

Jinbe looked at the new arrivals curiously, and then his eyes fell upon Hiccup; recognising him though it had been several years, he remembered a little boy on Stoick's ship with those same piercing green eyes.

'I know those eyes anyway; he couldn't be the same boy I saw on Stoick's ship,' he said, stunned. However, he also remembered Ace telling him that Atali had informed him that his brother was there. 'She was telling the truth. I never thought anyone would penetrate this fortress, let alone make it all the way down to Level VI.'

"Your Dragon, aren't you?" Jinbe asked.

"Yeah," Hiccup nodded, looking at him.

"You're a moment too late; he was here," said Jinbe. "They took them to the elevator for the prisoner transfer. Go! There is still a chance you can catch them!"

"Thanks, but who are you? You look familiar," said Hiccup.

Astrid looked at Jinbe and noticed the sun mark on his chest, but she kept her mouth shut.

"My goodness, it's you," said Mala recognising him.

"We need to move," said Hiccup. "Thanks for the help."

They then quickly ran towards the elevator.

'To think he used to be that scrawny boy clutching to his father's leg,' said Jinbe, half amused. 'I never dreamed that he would ever break the impossible and accomplish the inconceivable, and he charged into another struggle just as hopeless as the last, which Ace knew.'

Hiccup and the others were rushing towards the elevators as quickly as possible.

"They took that elevated to the upper floor, let's go," said Throk. "Thankfully, they left the gate open."

"Guess they didn't expect anyone to break in this far down," said Astrid.

Mala grabbed the handle and pulled it with all her strength, but it refused to shift. "The operational system is locked up. It won't budge."

"Then I'm going to have to fly up there," said Hiccup.

"Do it!" Hannibal ordered.

"Sir!" said a jailer pushing a button.

Hiccup was just about to fly up when a ray of spice fell from the elevator. He managed to jump back just in time before getting skewered by them.

"That was a little close," said Hiccup.

Mala then looked down the elevator. "Ah, I see. They can't make things convenient for us now, can they?"

"They must be watching us," said Astrid.

"We should go back to the stairs," said Mala.

They quickly ran back towards the stairs, but Hiccup was annoyed, knowing there was no way they could reach Ace in time for the handoff.

Hannibal was indeed watching from the observation room, smiling.

"Oh yeah, just try it," he said.

They had bad should just reach the stairs when suddenly a barrier was lowered blocking.

"They've just got the staircase," said Hiccup.

"They're trying to trap us," said Mala.

"Then we'll just have to break through," said Astrid as she drew her battleaxe.

"Ready when you are," said Hiccup.

However, they suddenly heard a hissing sound, and when they looked up, they saw gas was now leaking into the floor.

They quickly jumped back to avoid the gas, but it slowly started to fill the floor.

"That's an awful lot of gas," said Throk.

"Do you think it's deadly?" Hiccup asked.

"Poison gas again?" said a prisoner.

"Hey, you listen up. I don't know who you punks are, but if you're going to get yourself killed, don't take us with you."

"Shut up," Mala glared. "Nobody cares."

Astrid then gripped her battleaxe tightly. "No way, let Hiccup get hit by poison again."

Then, before anyone could stop as, she charged at the gates with her axe in hand.

"Wait!" Throk yelled.

However, before getting close to the barrier, she suddenly collapsed and began to snore.

"There you have it, sleeping gas," said Throk.

"I think even at bay for a little while," said Hiccup as he took on his hybrid form.

He then began to flap his wings, blowing the gas away from them, but it was still pouring in.

"Get out of here already, move!" a prisoner yelled.

Then, he and everyone in his cell immediately collapsed and fell asleep.

Other prisoners quickly covered their mouths and backed away from their cells.

"This is the last thing we need."

"Looks like they're hoping to stop us without a fight," Throk growled. "How cowardly."

"I can't keep this gas at bay; we need to come up with something quick!" Hiccup yelled as he constantly flapped his wings.

Hannibal and the jailers were observed in the observation room as the sleeping gas flowed in.

"Vice-Warden, Level VI is now blocked off completely," said a jailer. "The sleeping gas is highly effective, and there's nowhere to run."

"Just in case, keep the guard on standby," Hannibal ordered. "Did you report all this to Warden Magellan?"

"Yes, sir. Just now."

"Good," said Hannibal, smiling. "That means I get to keep my job! Now, I want to place all the blame for this entire fiasco on Magellan. Then I'll become the warden."

"Uh, sir, the microphone is still on."

"Come on, man!" Hannibal moaned.

Magellan then placed the receiver down and turned to Ace. "What do you know. Dragon made it to Level VI just after we left. Unfortunate timing for you."

Ace's eyes widened as he stared at him. "Hiccup?"

Hiccup was still flapping his wings, trying to push back the sleeping gas, but there was just too much of it, and it was slowly beginning to consume them.

"How long can you keep this up?" Mala asked.

"Not for long," said Hiccup, who was already getting exhausted from the constant flapping.

Magellan looked at Ace smugly. "It's all over. The emergency sleeping gas has flooded Level VI. It is only a matter of time before they capture Dragon. Apparently, the Freezing hell wasn't punishment enough for him. Since the cell you were in now has a vacancy, Dragon will taste the torment reserved for our most heinous criminals."

Ace turned and looked to the lift. "Hiccup…"

"No one told you to stop; keep walking," said a guard.

Ace turned around and continued to walk but then spun around and kicked the guard across the face. He then began to do the same to the others and made a mad dash towards the left. Naturally, other guards moved in to apprehend him, but even cuffed in Sea Prison Stone, he was still tough enough to take them down.

Magellan then moved in, annoyed that Ace managed to disarm one of the guards and use his spear against the others. He grabbed hold of the spear and snapped it in two using his pure strength.

Ace then ran towards the lift, only to be grabbed by Magellan and pinned to the ground. "I assure you resistance is futile."

Ace watched as the elevator gates closed, preventing him from entering and denying him anyway to reach Hiccup.

"Hiccup!" he yelled.

"Your brother is a pirate; his fate was sealed the moment he stepped into this prison," said Magellan.

'Damnit, Hiccup,' Ace cursed helplessly. 'I had hoped that Atali was lying.'

Magellan, however, could have been more confident. 'This troubles me. No matter how strong he is, he should have recovered from my poison so quickly. How did you do it, Dragon? How did you survive?'

Meanwhile, Buggy and Mr 3 finally reached Level III, much to their joy.

"We made it back to Level III!" Buggy yelled triumphantly.

The two of them then collapsed, looking absolutely exhausted.

"But that's only halfway home," Buggy moaned.

"Sadly, I think we moved faster on the way down thanks to those times we fell through the floor," said Mr 3.

"I'm so thirsty. I think my legs are going on strike," said Buggy as he rolled onto his front.

A large shadow appeared directly over them, and Mr 3 screamed as he looked up. He then nervously began to tap Buggy with his lack.

"What is it?" Buggy groaned with his face in the sand. "Let me rest for a minute, will you?"

Suddenly, a large amount of a drawl landed directly on top of him.

"What the?!" he said, looking up.

His eyes widened as he came face-to-face with the Sphinx, who was looking at them rather hungrily.

"Hello," said Buggy nervously.

The Sphinx then swiped its massive claw at them, and they quickly jumped to one side. They quickly jumped to their feet and quickly ran away.

"You're still here!" Buggy yelled.

The two of them kept on running as they avoided the Sphinx's massive claws.

"Let us go!" they cried.

Unfortunately, the Sphinx just kept chasing them down.

"Come on!" they moaned.

Meanwhile, gas was still pouring through the stairs down on Level VI, and Hiccup was finding it difficult to flap his wings.

The prisoners were currently in a panic.

"Come on, do something!"

"The whole floor is filling with gas!"

"Someone help!"

"I can't keep this up," said Hiccup.

"Do not worry, Hiccup Haddock, I will take it from here," said Throk as he stepped forward.

Then, suddenly, his hands transformed into scissors, and everyone watched as he began cutting through the stone floor like it was nothing.

"Who the hell is this guy? He's cutting the stone like it's made of paper."

He kept on cutting through the stone, creating perfect lines going up and down the base of the staircase.

"What's he doing?" Astrid frowned.

"You'll see," said Mala.

Throk finally stopped cutting through the floor and began to flip the large strands of the cut stone right in front of the staircase.

"Huh? Now he's flipping it up like a ribbon?"

The entire staircase was blocked off in a few seconds, and the gas stopped flowing into the floor. The prisoners just stared dumbfounded.

"Well, I suppose that's one way to deal with the problem."

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

"Throk ate the Snip-Snip Fruit," Mala explained. "Which means you can cut through any kind of surface and manipulate it as though it is made of paper."

"That's impressive," said Hiccup as he turned back to his human form.

"Yeah, but now we don't have any way to get the upper floors. We're stuck here," Astrid pointed out.

"This was the only way to prevent the sleeping gas from filling up the room," said Throk, folding his arms. "After all of your unconscious, you will be able to save anyone, right?"

"But at the same time, we can't save everyone. It was stuck down here," said Hiccup.

Mala then winked at the surveillance transponder snail, knocking it out cold. "Now, no one is able to listen in on us. Alas, I am very certain they have made their way to the top floor and handed off Ace D Portgas for the transfer. Even if we could get out, we have several obstacles blocking our path. The Navy convoy is quick too; just take a look at the viva card."

Hiccup pulled out his viva card and saw what was pointing straight up. It was now shifting left.

"It's not pointing up any more, is it?" said Mala. "That means Ace has already been handed over to the Navy."

Sure enough, on the surface, Magellan was right the very moment handing Ace over to Gorg and the rest of the escort fleet. Ace, however, was looking up towards the sky, which he hadn't seen for quite some time.

"You're right on time," said Gorg, looking at his watch. "Very good."

"Impel Down here by transfers the custody of the criminal Ace D Portgas to the Navy pauses present today," said Magellan.

Ace then made his way forward rather reluctantly, but he couldn't help but look back at the prison, knowing that his brother was still trapped inside. He now regretted giving Hiccup that viva card.

"Hiccup…" he said.

Gorg then grabbed him by the arm and pulled him away.

"It would seem as if we have failed to rescue your brother, and now we need to focus on saving ourselves, Hiccup Haddock," said Mala. "Making sure both you and Astrid can escape this prison is the top priority, but I'm afraid, as far as Ace D Portgas goes, that ship has already sailed quite literally. I suggest that you put your faith in your father; there is no way he would give up on one of his own. I'm sure that he'll come up with something."

Astrid then approached Hiccup. "Whenever you decide to do it, I'm with you, no matter what."

Hiccup looked at the viva card and then clenched his fist. "I'm leaving… I am going to Marineford."

Mala stared at him as if he was crazy. "That would be foolish. A massive battle is about to start between two of the most powerful forces in the entire world. You, of all people, should know how strong your father is, and that is not considering the sure strength of the Admirals and Warlords on the Navy side. Have you forgotten how close to death you were after the fight with Magellan? Do you truly have that many lives to spare?"

Hiccup looked at her with a determined look. "If I give up now, I'll regret it."

For a brief moment, Mala thought she was looking at Valka. 'I know that face anyway; I have seen it many times before. It is the face of his mother staring at me unflinchingly.'

"Before we do anything, we need to get out of here," said Astrid.

They then heard laughter coming from one of the cells.

"If you want out that badly, then set me free," said a voice. "I'll make a hole in the ceiling, and you'll be free to go. Sound good?"

The prisoner stepped out of the shadows, and Hiccup and Astrid instantly recognised him. It was none other than Viggo Grimborn, the man they tried to take over their friend Vivi's country.

"He's down here too?" Hiccup stared.

"Mala did mention that he was locked down here, but I didn't think we would meet," said Astrid.

"Just like old times, huh? Did you miss me?" he said, smiling.