Hiccup and those who escaped with him from Impel Down were now falling down onto the battlefield directly over Marineford.
Buggy looked at Mr 3 desperately. "Do you think you can slow us down somehow? There's got to be something!"
"What good would wax do in a time like this?!" Mr 3 yelled.
They were falling from the sky mostly because of the tsunami created by Stoick. Naturally, as the massive tsunami headed towards them, everyone began to panic.
"It's a tsunami!"
"It's huge!"
"And it's headed our way!"
Jinbe had a good idea what caused the creation of this giant tsunami. 'This is no natural occurrence. There's only one man who can command such fearsome power.'
Astrid looked at Hiccup. "You're saying that your Dad created this thing?"
Hiccup nodded. "Yeah, my Dad ate the Tremor-Tremor Fruit, giving him the power to create quakes."
That's when he noticed that the masks were beginning to shake; it looked as if they would snap at any moment.
"Bringing the sails!" Hiccup ordered. He then looked at Jinbe. "We only have one option, don't we?"
Jinbe nodded. "Everyone, hold on. We're going to ride this tsunami."
Buggy stared at him, and many of the prisoners on board looked at him frantically.
"Is that a good idea?" they asked.
"That moron is going to get all killed!" Buggy yelled. "I'm not ready to die yet!" He then frantically rushed over towards the wheel and attempted to turn it. "Turnaround, you fool. Give me the wheel!"
"Hey, stop it!" Jinbe yelled as he fended off.
"The tsunami is getting closer!"
"Jump into the sea!"
"What?! How will that help?!"
Viggo rolled his eyes. "And you call yourselves pirates. It's common sense, amateurs. If we turn around now, the way will strike the side of the ship, and we'll capsize."
"And jumping into the sea will only lead to us getting caught in its current," said Astrid. "Even those of us who can swim will drown."
"Riding it is our only option," said Hiccup.
"So there you have it," said Jinbe, shoving Buggy off of him. "So, if you all don't want to be washed away, everyone had better hold on tight."
"You heard the man!" Hiccup yelled. "Everyone, hold on to something; it's gonna be a wild ride!"
The prisoners were busy following the sails up as quickly as they could before the tsunami hit them. Then, they began holding onto anything that was nailed down, like the mainmast or the railings.
Eventually, the tsunami picked them up and began shooting upwards up the massive wave. Everyone was screaming and holding on tight for dear life. It was only through Jinbe's mastery of the helm that they were able to stay upright. Eventually, they shot right up into the sky through the tsunami and landed safely right on top of it.
Everyone sighed in relief, but then suddenly, this tsunami was frozen in place in seconds.
"What the heck?" Hiccup stared.
"The wave stopped moving."
"How did that happen."
"That is messed up," said Buggy as he leaned over to the side. "I mean, at least we're not dead, but what are we supposed to do? Take ice pick to this thing?"
'I think I know who did this as well,' said Jinbe.
Viggo hopped off the ship and made his way over to the edge of the frozen tsunami. "Take a look below. The answer is clear enough."
Everyone joined him and saw that they were now directly over Marineford, and they could see signs of a battle taking place.
"It's the old man," said Jinbe.
"The battle has already started without us," said Mala.
'It's just as I thought,' said Jinbe. 'He set off that sea quake as a declaration of war and Admiral Asmund's frozen tsunami in response.'
"So we're here, but we're like 500 feet up in the air," said Astrid. "How are we going to get down?"
"I'm afraid there's only one real option," Hiccup sighed. "Personally, I would prefer if we had more time to come up with a plan, but we've only got three hours, so this is our best chance to save Ace from getting executed. Though I imagine that you're not going to like it."
"Uh-huh, go on," said Buggy.
Hiccup then began to explain his plan.
"Are you mad!" Buggy yelled.
"I did say you weren't going to like it," Hiccup pointed out.
"You want to slide all the way down this frozen way back into the sea?!" Buggy snapped.
"That about sums it up, but first, we need to free the ship from the ice," said Hiccup.
"Need I remind you that this is a battleship? " Mr. 3 pointed out. We're not going to free it easily."
"I'm sure if we put work together, we can do it," said Hiccup, trying to maintain his composure.
"Well, when you put it that way, it does sound pretty cool," Buggy admitted, much to Mr 3's horror.
This was because Buggy's followers were within earshot of the plan, and they all smiled at one another.
"All right, if Captain Buggy, the next King of the Pirates, thinks we can do it, anything is possible."
"His fighting spirit is rubbing off on us. Buggy is the best captain ever."
They cheered as Buggy groaned, realising he had just involuntarily agreed to the plan.
They were then suddenly interrupted by the sound of the transponder snail on the ship's mast.
"Attention all ships and soldiers," said the Marine over the transponder snail, "the new target is TO TTZ. Commence change and formation and make the shift to operation three."
"Sounds like the Navy is busy giving out orders."
"Advance preparations now!"
"TOT? What do you think that means?"
"Don't know, maybe it's some sort of secret code they're using."
"Once all soldiers are in place, we will move the schedule forward and execute Ace immediately! That is all!"
Hiccup's eyes widened upon hearing this message.
Immediately, all eyes fell upon Hiccup.
"Let's move!" Hiccup yelled.
"There is no time for arguing," said Mala. "We can't bumble around any longer. Everyone follow Hiccup Haddock's lead and help move this ship!"
Everyone began to follow Hiccup, who quickly jumped off the side of the ship, and then they slammed the most powerful attacks into the ice. The ice started to crack, though they were much bigger than anticipated.
"Wait a minute," said Buggy, the only one who hadn't been able to crack the ice.
In their haste, they had failed to notice that they had attacked at the very rear of the ship.
"No, that's the wrong way!" everyone on the ship cried.
The tip of the ice shattered, and they began falling straight down towards the ground.
Ace watched as the bawling ship descended towards the ground, as did everyone else. The Marines in the bawling ship's path immediately ran for it before they got squashed. Fortunately, the ship had landed on the large chunk of ice that had been removed in the battle earlier, so they weren't smashed to pieces. Although the impact from that height did split the ship in two, but everyone on board managed to survive.
The people on Sabaody and watching the battle were also confused by what had happened.
"Did that really just happen? A Navy ship fell out of the sky like it was nothing."
The prisoners on board the ship managed to resurface, still amazed that they were alive.
"Water! It's water! I thought we were dead."
"I figured we'd all be goners once the ship crashed into the ice."
"Hey, why isn't it frozen?"
The Hairy Hooligan Pirates just stared at the spectacle.
"Look, the ship landed in the exact same spot where Sven ripped a chunk of ice!"
"Could it be a surprise attack?"
"No, those guys don't look like the Navy."
The prisoners were busy climbing up on what was left of the ship.
"Grab hold! Start climbing!"
"Ha, this ain't nothing compared to the water torture we got from Impel Down!"
Unfortunately, those with Devil Fruit powers who landed in the water sank as they could not swim. Fortunately, Jinbe dived down after them and pulled them to the surface.
'What use are Devil Fruit powers if you can't swim,' said Jinbe, perplexed as he carried them to the surface.
Hiccup, however, had transformed into a dragon and managed to grab Astrid. He then flew down towards the ship's wreckage, and once there, he transformed back into his human form.
Astrid then watched as Hiccup looked across the battlefield. The fighting between the Marines and pirates had continued, but she knew that his main focus was on finding Ace.
"Where is he?" he said frantically.
His search was interrupted when some Marines latched some ropes onto the ship and began to climb aboard.
"Onto the ship!"
Astrid then drew her battleaxe and sliced through the rope. "Sorry, boys, but this ship's pirate property."
"Come on, Ace. Where are you?" Hiccup said as he continued to scan the area.
He then made his way to the front of the ship, where he confronted some Marines that had climbed onto the mast, which was acting like a bridge between the two halves of the ship now. They attacked him, but he easily dodged their swings.
"Out of my way!" he yelled, blowing them away with a single punch.
He eventually made his way to the front of the ship and looked across the battlements, looking for any sign of him. He suspected he would be in front and centre where everyone could see him, and that's when he spotted him on the scaffolding. He was relieved that he was all right and noticed that Sander and Wrinkly were beside him.
"He's alive," he said.
He smiled broadly, relieved to see that his brother was alive and well, even though he knew that might not be the case for much longer.
Ace himself just stared at Hiccup, shocked to see him. The last he heard, he was at the very depths of Impel Down and expected never to see the light of day again. While he was pleased that Hiccup had managed to escape, he wasn't as pleased to see him in Marineford attempting to rescue him.
"Ace!" Hiccup yelled at the top of his voice. "I'm here!"
"Hiccup!" Ace yelled back.
"Ace, I finally found you."
"Hiccup, no!"
"Ace, I'm coming. Just hang on a little longer."
Astrid and the others soon stood behind him, which the Marines took notice of.
"Hey, is that who I think it is? It's Viggo Grimborn!"
"And he's not the only one either. Just take a look at that lineup."
"Well, I see some famous people on both sides," said Mala.
Buggy laughed. "The world can't handle this madness."
"Ace, just sit tight, okay," said Hiccup. "Because we're going to get you out of here!"
Sander immediately glared at Wrinkly. "Hey, Wrinkly, your family is messing things up again!"
Wrinkly just stared stunned at Hiccup. "Hiccup, no!"
"Look, Dragon and the War Waiden have got some company!"
"It's Jinbe and Revolutionary Army Mala!"
"There's a ton of infamous pirates behind them, too! They must all escape from Impel Down!"
"Dragon is causing trouble again, is he?" said Hawkeye with a faint smile. "Can't say that I'm surprised."
Moria clenched his fists in frustration upon seeing Hiccup. "Is that Dragon?"
"What is Dragon Conqueror Hiccup doing here, too?" Fullbody asked.
"Looks like he's only brought the War Maiden with him," Jango noticed.
"Hiccup… Astrid…" Atali gasped with relief. "I'm so relieved to see the two of you alive."
Upon seeing the ship fall from the sky, Gustav rushed to the battlements to get a better look. To say that he was surprised to see Hiccup was an understatement.
"I don't believe it, Sven," said Gustav.
"What is it?" Sven asked as he looked over the battlements as well. "Not another surprise, I hope… Dragon?"
"That's crazy," said Gustav. "That means he must have escaped from Impel Down. How much tougher can this guy get?"
"Now, those are some big fish we're staring at," said Asmund.
"Well, fancy seeing him," said Kia. "That boy sure gets around and even brought his girlfriend along."
"Hiccup?" Gobber stared. "Must say I was not expecting him to show up, not that I'm surprised."
"A former and active warlord hand-in-hand," Johann laughed. "We even have the famous rookies Dragon Conqueror Hiccup and War Maiden Astrid in attendance. This is just too good."
"Smoker, look there quickly!" Stormfly pointed.
Smoker turned, and a pirate tried to cut him down.
"Take this!" he yelled, swinging his sword.
However, his sword went straight through Smoker's body, who struck him down with his weapon.
"Dragon Conqueror Hiccup and Viggo?" he said, surprised to see the two of them standing side-by-side. "What are those two doing together?"
Magnus was standing on the battlements serving the battle, but his main focus was on Hiccup.
"So it is him," he said. "The grandson of our very own Marine hero Wrinkly and son of the Revolutionary Stormcutter and Stoick the Vast. I will make that boy regret the day he decided to become a pirate."
Sander was absolutely furious at Jinbe. "Of all things… you have the gull to ally yourself with Dragon Conqueror Hiccup. After all we've done for you! You pay us like this?"
"That's right!" Jinbe yelled back. "I choose to resign from the Seven Warlords!"
Sander gritted his teeth.
"Rather peculiar," said Wrinkly as he looked down at the field, "all these groups united against us. Prisoners, a commander of the Revolutionary Army, those strange-looking fellows and Viggo. I highly doubt everyone here has a common goal in this battle. They are all too different for that to make any sense."
Viggo then turned his eyes towards Stoick, who was his real target.
No one had attacked Stoick since that giant attempted to flatten him, but his presence was still enough to frighten every Marine that gazed upon him. Marine had just won his bludgeon of a couple of Stoick's men and laughed but stopped when he saw Stoick's gaze and practically wet himself.
Mala was the first to notice that Stoick was gone. "Where did Viggo Grimborn go?"
"I guess the sucker chickened out and left us high and dry," said Buggy.
"Hiccup's gone too," Astrid noted.
"There's Viggo!" Buggy pointed.
They quickly turned and saw that Viggo was making a move against Stoick.
"Damnit, you're supposed to wait for me!" Buggy snapped.
Viggo appeared directly behind Stoick.
"It's Viggo! He's going straight for Stoick!"
Stoick's men panicked and rushed over towards him.
"It's been a long time, Stoick," said Viggo.
Stoick did not even look turned to look at him. "You never learn."
Viggo drew a knife and was about to stab Stoick in the back, but then Hiccup appeared right in front of him in his Beta Form. He quickly took the knife out of his hand with his tail and then attempted to kick him.
Viggo quickly jumped back to avoid getting hit as he noticed Hiccup was soaking wet. Evidently, he soaked himself with water before getting here, knowing full well of his weakness.
'Dragon knows too well what my strengths and weaknesses are,' said Viggo.
Hiccup had figured out that he could make physical contact with Viggo's sand body as long as he was covered in any kind of liquid.
"You know there is only one reason I'm here," Viggo reminded him. "If you want to save your brother so badly, stay out of my way. I'm killing Stoick, and you can't stop me."
"Like I would let you kill my dad," said Hiccup. "Besides, I only freed you because it was my only way to get out of Impel Down. Now that we are here in Marineford, all bets are off."
Gobber gave a small chuckle. "It would seem as if stubbornness runs in the family."
Before Viggo could make a move, some of Stoick's men placed their swords against his neck.
"Don't let him get close to Stoick."
Stoick then turned his head towards Hiccup. "Hiccup, what do you think you're doing here?"
Hiccup turned his head towards him. "Saving my brother, what does it look like I'm doing? And while on that topic, why didn't you tell me that he was captured! My crew and I would have helped!"
"The reason I didn't tell you was because I did not want you to partake in this war," said Stoick. "Am I right in assuming that you broke into Impel Down to free Ace?"
"Yes, but we missed each other by a few seconds," said Hiccup regretfully. "If I had just been a little bit faster, this wall could have been avoided."
Stoick gave a small smile. "You did more than most; not only did you manage to break into impel down when you got out again with over 200 prisoners. No one has ever done that before. But even still, compared to what you went through in Impel Down, you're facing the most powerful men in the Navy. You're going to get yourself killed trying to rescue your brother!"
All eyes fell upon Hiccup and Stoick as they glared at one another.
"For once in your life, will you stop trying to protect me!" Hiccup snapped. "I thought after everything that I've done, you would stop treating me like a child! Well, I'm here now, and nothing is going to stop me from rescuing Ace, even if I have to fight you!"
Stoick growled in frustration and looked at Hiccup with an intimidating look, but then he smiled.
"Looks like I've got no choice but to work with you, son," Stoick relented.
"Good, then perhaps we can turn our focus on the real enemy," Hiccup suggested. "I'm going to be the one that rescues Ace!"
"Talk about family drama," said Astrid.
"If anyone else had said that to Stoick the Vast, they'd be dead," said Mala.
"What a touching family reunion," said Kia. He then turned and looked at Sander. "I assume that this is punishable by death? Right, Sander?"
"Definitely," he said.
Ace just looked at them, distraught. "Hiccup… my family…"
"Just sit tight, Ace, I'm coming for you," said Hiccup. "You're not going to die today."