Hiccup and Viggo stared at each other down, neither linking at the other.
"You know, for the life of me, I couldn't think of a good reason to break out of here," said Viggo. "But Stoick and the Navy are going to start a war? This is my chance to bring down that self-centred fool once and for all."
"That my father you're talking about," Hiccup reminded him.
"Oh, I know, but I am the only prisoner here who can help you escape Impel Down to rescue your brother," Viggo smiled. "Set me free, and I will make sure we can all get a front-row seat for the action. Once we're there, you can attempt to stop me. You scratch my back, and I'll scratch yours; not a bad proposition, is it?"
Astrid glared at him. "Do you think we have forgotten about what you did to Viva's country? As far as I'm concerned, you can rot down here for the rest of your life!"
"I assure you I have no interest in that business venture any more," said Viggo.
Mala then walked up. "However, you may feel we do need his help. If we have an opportunity to escape from here, then we are obliged to take it."
"I have to agree," said Hiccup reluctantly.
"Hiccup, you can't be serious?" Astrid stared. "What's stopping him from getting his revenge on you?"
"I don't like it any more than you do, but we've already wasted enough time down here," said Hiccup. "Besides, I know my father can't be taken down so easily."
Viggo now his eyes at Mala. "Hello, Mala."
"It has been a while, Viggo Grimborn," said Mala darkly.
"Wait, you two know each other?" Hiccup blinked.
"We classed about 10 years ago," said Mala. "Don't worry if he tried to doublecross; I'll handle him myself. He is a scoundrel, but a scoundrel with a weakness I know of."
"If you so much as mention a word of that…" Viggo growled.
"Calm down; if you wish me to keep your secret, I suggest that you be a bit more courteous, as I would be more than happy to reveal your sordid past right here and now," Mala warned.
Viggo relented, and Hiccup and Astrid looked at one another, wondering what Mala had on the guy.
"Good," said Mala with a small smile. "Behave yourselves and help us to escape, and I will not reveal your little secret."
"You've made your point, Mala," said Viggo through gritted teeth.
The prisoners in the other cells grinned
"Hey, you guys. While you're at it, you should let me out of here, too."
"Me too! Me too! I've got a bone to pick with Stoick!"
"Yeah, let me out too!"
Astrid looked at Hiccup. "Your dad certainly has quite a lot of enemies."
"He has made a name for himself over the past 30 years," Hiccup sighed.
"Shut up!" Mala growled impatiently. "Death Wink!"
She blasted the prisoners with her deadly wink, knocking them out cold instantly.
"Please, have mercy on me," said Jinbe from his cell.
Hiccup then turned and looked at him.
"I beg you to take me with you," said Jinbe. "I will be a great service. I'm an old friend of your father's; you may not remember me. You were rather young at the time. I am not like the others down here; I was arrested because I objected to Ace's execution. I want to help save Ace, too. I swear, I will put my life on the line for him."
Mala looked at him curiously. 'Jinbe, the First Son of the Sea. If they imprison him here, he must relinquish his title as one of the Seven Warlords. That would mean that his self-proclaimed bond with Ace is merit indeed.'
Astrid looked at Hiccup. "Is what he's saying true?"
Hiccup knew that Astrid had a bad experience with Fishmen pirates, but as he looked at Jinbe more closely, he didn't recognise him. He remembered being scared and hiding behind his father whenever Jinbe visited their ship.
"All right then," said Hiccup.
"Are you sure?" Throk asked, who looked rather sceptical. "He could be lying and is most assuredly dangerous."
"No, he's telling the truth now. Let him out," said Hiccup.
"You have my gratitude," said Jinbe.
Astrid looked at Hiccup dubiously. "I hope you're right about this, but I'll follow your lead no matter what."
Throk looked at Mala, wondering if she would object, but she merely nodded.
"Me next! I like Ace, too!"
"I'll die for him and stuff!"
Mala narrowed her eyes at them. "Death Wink!"
She then went to them, knocking them out cold.
Throk approached Jinbe's cell door, and his fingers turned into scissor blades. Using them, he managed to pick the lock and open the cell door. Once he was inside, his hands turned into scissors, and he cut through the chains, freeing Jinbe.
He then did the same thing with Viggo, and the two former Warlords stepped outside of their cells.
"Two Warlords, or two former Warlords, that is," said Throk.
"Wait, you mean he's a Warlord too?" Astrid blinked, gesturing to Jinbe.
"You won't regret this, I will fight to protect Ace even if it means my own end," Jinbe vowed.
"Ha, if you think you can stop the war between the Navy and Stoick, go ahead and try," Viggo smirked. "I don't give a damn either way; as long as I get a shot at the stubborn bastard, it's worth it for me."
"If you think that I'll let you lay a single finger on Stoick, you're wrong," Jinbe glared.
"Why don't you just try it and stop me?"
The two of them glared at one another, and for a moment, it looked as if they were about to clash with one another.
"Viggo, your secret past remember," Mala reminded him.
"Jinbe, I don't like it either, but we need help to get outside," said Hiccup. "So let's call a truce until we get to Marineford; then, we can start trying to kill each other."
The two men glared at one another and reluctantly nodded in agreement.
"It is settled then," said Mala. "Let's get moving; we don't have much time. With a team this formidable, not even Impel Down can hold us."
In the observation room, Hannibal was still commanding the prison in Magellan's absence. Now, they were sending a group of men to apprehend Hiccup and the others, thinking that they were out cold on the gas.
"All units load up and move out! Use your prison bullets! Prepare to deal with Devil Fruit powers!"
A group of jailers in gas masks were now making their way down the stairs to Level VI, where they found the place was blocked off.
"We've reached Level VI, sir!"
"More in!"
They then fired explosives, blowing down the stone barrier and quickly moved into the floor. However, the first thing they saw was a hole in the ceiling and some sort of spiral staircase reaching up to it.
"What the heck? Is that the ceiling?"
"Worry about that later; spread out and search the floor."
They quickly began to search the floor for any traces of Hiccup and the others.
"Do you really think they stuck around here after making a gigantic hole in the ceiling, you morons?" a voice scoffed in one of the cells.
The guards immediately stopped in their tracks and looked into the cell. There, they saw a muscular man with dark skin sitting with his legs crossed and arms folded.
"Sal! The former Warden!"
"Pathetic," he sneered. "It is as plain as day; you can't do anything right without me. What a bunch of sorry excuses for jailers. Let me give you a hint so maybe you can clean up this disgrace. While you were picking your noses, the four prisoners you are looking for released Viggo and Jinbe."
The jailer's eyes widened in horror.
"And then climbed up through that hole to Level V," Sal continued. "I want you to pass along a message for me. Tell Magellan I'll help them if he wants."
"No, that—uh…"
Hannibal was soon informed of the situation on Level VI, and it was not exactly the news he had expected.
"What?!" he yelled. "What did you say? They've escaped with Jinbe and Viggo?"
"Yes, sir. They're not in their cells."
Hannibal then began to dance around. "No! Are you saying that even after my brilliant plan, they somehow wormed their way out of Level VI, and now there's a group of six roaming wild instead of sleeping like they're supposed to be?"
"Yes, sir. That's correct."
Hannibal began to scream at the prospect and turned to one of the jailers, with their faces just a few inches from one another. "Do you think I might be held responsible for any of this nonsense?"
"Well, Magellan is currently transporting Ace D. Portgas to the Navy," said the jailer nervously. "So I'm afraid you would be responsible for all of it."
"I knew you were going to say that!" Hannibal moaned, practically pulling his hair out. He then instantly grabbed his spear and marched towards the door. "All right, I'm going out there to fight too. All jailers report to Level IV immediately!"
Everyone quickly began to move out, and Hannibal contacted Saldeath and Sadie.
"Mistress Sadie… Saldeath… gather your forces and head to Level IV immediately!" he ordered. "I'll be Warden even if I have to risk my life. Wait, what am I saying? Stop those criminals even if you have to risk your lives!"
Hiccup and the others, meanwhile, were back in New Kama. Viggo was getting changed out of his prison uniform, and Mala was tending to Bon Clay, who had regained consciousness.
"You ready to move out, Bon Clay?" Mala asked.
"Yes, yes I am, Mala," he said.
"Are you sure? Imperial Energy Hormone will only give you strength for one day," she warned as her name was extended, "there will be side effects."
"I know, go ahead and do it," he said. "I mean, what choice do I have? If I don't, I won't even be able to get off the floor."
That much was indeed true; Bon Clay may have regained consciousness, but he was unable to move and lay motionlessly on the ground.
"Yes, you do have a point," Mala acknowledged. "Unless I want to carry you, which, for the record, I don't. Imperial Energy Hormone!"
She then plunged her nails into Bon Clay, injecting him with some new hormones.
Moments later, everyone was on Level V, and they were freezing cold.
"Is everybody ready?" Mala asked as everyone shivered. "Just so you know, even if we do make it to the top of the prison, we will still be in one hell of a fight. We're completely surrounded by the Calm Belt, which is impassable under any normal ship. We must steal a Navy vessel if we want to go anywhere near their headquarters.
"That means we need more people to join our team. I know what you're thinking; we have a lot already, but to be honest, some of you won't make it out alive. When we reached the top floor, many of you wouldn't have been there to see it. If you're captured, you are tortured to death; there will be no mercy. So, if we want to survive, we need to set free as many prisoners as possible as we make our way from here to Level I. Whether we like them or not, we will need their help.
"If we cause enough chaos to start a riot, it will help keep those jailers occupied. That means our first step on the next floor is to open the cells and let our new friends clear the way for us. So, let's give these boys hell. New Kama Land is going to shake this big case, the likes of which it's never seen before!"
Everyone then cheered.
"Are you ready, Hiccup Haddock?" Mala asked, looking at him.
"More than ready," said Hiccup.
"Then onward!" Mala roared.
Everyone then charged towards the stairs that led to Level IV.
Meanwhile, Ace was sitting chained to a chair on the deck of Vice-Admiral Gorg's flagship. Every Marine on the deck watched him like a hawk as he stared up into the sky.
A vast shadow then enveloped the entire ship, and Ace looked up to see the Gates of Justice bearing down on them. The doors then opened wide, allowing the ship to sail through.
Magellan and his entourage watched as the ship sailed through the Gates of Justice.
Back to your posts "That leaves the Navy will remain blissfully ignorant of this disaster," Magellan muttered, turning back to face the prison. "All right, back to your posts and clean up the mess inside!"
"Yes, sir!"
Inside, Hiccup, Astrid, Viggo and Jinbe had already run ahead and were currently climbing the stairs to Level IV.
"It's just before ten in the morning," said Jinbe. "The execution is three in the afternoon. We can be certain that they will do anything in their power to stay on time. So, if Stoick is going to make an attack, it will most likely be as soon as possible. Ace should already be on the ship and en route. The war could break out at any second."
"But they won't kill until 3 o'clock, right?" said Hiccup. "That means we still have a chance to get there and save him."
Viggo suddenly shot ahead of them and stopped at the doors leading to Level IV.
"Is this supposed to slow me down?" Viggo scoffed. He then placed his hand against the door. "I'll just turn this into sand."
Viggo possessed the power of the Sand-Sand Fruit, which allowed him to turn his entire body into sand and control it. However, he also had the ability to absorb moisture out of anything, meaning he could turn people, animals and plants, turning into dust and rocks on Earth into sand.
He then started turning the wooden door into sand, absorbing all its moisture. The guards outside, ready for them to break through, were startled by this sudden display of power.
"They're here!"
The guard immediately aimed their rifles directly at them.
"Level IV, reporting in," said a guard holding a transponder snail. "Jinbe, the Warlord who escaped from Level VI, has been sighted."
"Seems like we have reached the Burning Heat Hell," Jinbe observed.
"Alongside the intruders, Hiccup D Haddock and the War Maiden Astrid," said the guard.
"Man, it's hot," said Hiccup.
"Don't know which is worse, being freezing cold or being blistering hot," said Astrid.
"The former Warlord Viggo is here as well!" said the guard. "We are prepared to engage the enemy! Fire!"
The guard immediately fired their rifles at Viggo, but in haste, they forgot to load their Sea Prison Stone bullets. As a result, the bullet just merely passed through Viggo harmlessly. They finally stopped as they saw Viggo riddled with holes, which would then immediately fill in with sand.
"Idiots! Use the prison bullets!"
However, before they could reload, Viggo swooped in, and a blade of sand on the ship of the scythe shot out of his arm. The blade instantly went through several of the guards, and the moment it did, it completely drained all the moisture in their bodies, turning them into skeletons.
"Fire the prison bullets!"
The guards immediately fired nets at Hiccup, but he dodged them in his hybrid form.
"Plasma Blast!" Hiccup yelled.
He then fired a plasma blast down upon the guards, creating an explosion that sent them flying.
"Capture the War Maiden; she's the only one of them without Devil Fruit powers!" a guard yelled.
The guards moved in, thinking Astrid was an easy target, but she raised her battle axe.
"Valkyrie Tornado!" she yelled, swinging her battleaxe.
She then unleashed a powerful tornado, which slammed into the guards, blowing them away.
"How did she create a tornado?"
"I thought you said she doesn't have Devil Fruit powers!"
Jinbe then took up a fighting stance. "Fishman Karate!"
The guards instantly brace themselves, and Jinbe stretched out his fist. At first, it looked as if nothing had happened, much to the guards' confusion.
"Hey, what just happened?"
After about 30 seconds, nothing appeared to happen, but then they started to feel some sort of shockwave hitting them and felt themselves being pushed back.
"What the hell is this?"
A split second later, they were all struck by an incredibly powerful force that knocked them out cold instantly and sent them scattering in all different directions.
"Have a taste of my Brick Fist!" said Jinbe.
Within seconds, the four pirates had removed most of the guards blocking them, and the rest were terrified.
"Dragon, the War Maiden and two Warlords, we don't stand a chance!"
"Don't give up; we outnumber them at least. We need to hold out until reinforcements arrive."
However, the guards were still terrified.
"Move it," Hiccup glared. "We're in a rush."
"This should be fun," said Viggo.
The four of them then immediately charge of the guards.
"Don't just stand there! Shoot them!"
Hannibal was currently making his way to Level IV with as many men as you could possibly find, and then he received a message about the transponder snail.
"Talk to me," he said.
"Vice-Warden, this is Level IV!"
Hannibal smiled, expecting good news. "You got?"
"Uh, about that…"
They then heard screaming coming from the transponder snail, which was not a good indication.
"Please come help us, sir!"
"Come on, boys!" Hannibal yelled as he picked up the pace.
Soon, all of them began racing down the corridor as quickly as they could.
Buggy and Mr 3 had managed to escape the Sphinx and reached Level II, but their problems were far from over. Mr 3 had to create a barrier over them as they were surrounded by manticores, who seemed to refuse to move on.
"Have mercy!"
"Someone help me!"
"This is torture!"
"I'm dying!"
"All this waiting around sucks," Buggy grumbled as he watched one of the manticores licking his private parts.
"I know," Mr 3 whined.
"Damn, why are they hanging out right here?" Buggy cursed. "Bad enough just wandering around, but we have to listen to their tortured voices."
"It is depressing," Mr 3 agreed.
"We finally make it to Level II and this is what stops us?" Buggy grumbled. "If the guards come, it's all for nothing. "Also, these things won't start farting. It's awful."
"Ain't that the truth," Mr 3 nodded.
There are precise moment one of the manticores farted right in front of the barrier, which was open slightly so that they could see what was going on. The two of them had to cover their mouths and fight the urge to break free from the barrier.
"That was you!" Buggy moaned.
"Sorry," said Mr 3 apologetically.
Down on Level IV, Viggo had separated from Hiccup, and the others began going through the cells until he found who he was looking for. He then tossed the keys into one of the cells, and one of the prisoners immediately grabbed hold of them.
"Holy crap, the keys!" he cried. "Now we can get out. Thanks, buddy. You don't know how…" He stopped when he realised that he was talking to Viggo. "It's… you're Viggo!"
"I'm thinking about breaking out of here, but I might need a bit of assistance, and you are a man of action, aren't you, brother?" said Viggo.
Viggo's older brother Ryker, who also went by the name Mr 1, was sitting inside the cell.
Ryker looked up at him. "Now that you mention it, things are getting a bit boring here. I think I might take you up on that offer, little brother."