Part 2.10

Instead of throwing the last prisoner up and into the hole above me, I instead chose to do something nore efficient. I tucked the struggling man with green hair under my arm and jumped.

Even by boosting myself a Hundred-Fold, I almost didn't make it. I'm not all that good at jumping straight up. Maybe if I had to cross a giant gap or something it would be easier for me.

When I landed on Level Two, I expected to encounter some of the beasts that the floor is famous for. Instead, I was pleasantly surprised when I didn't have to smack a manticores to death. Those underwear obsessed lions were tough... when I was eight. Now I'm much stronger than I used to be, and the manticores don't have anything on Army Wolves. But I didn't have to worry about any beasts at all!

When I threw Kreig up, he was immediately attacked by everything near by. He fended them off himself until I had thrown someone else up to help him. With every person I tossed, his fighting force increased to the point he was able to rally everyone together and make the beasts retreat entirely.

I didn't have to worry about the beasts at all, which is great. I release the green haired guy from under my arm and he stumbles off dizzy until he falls on his knees and vomits. He then mutters, "Gotta go fast bitch..."

I ignore him and instead look to Kreig. I nod my head in his direction and he seems immensely smug when I tell him, "Thank you very much for sending off the beasts so I wouldn't have to fight them all. What you did makes we'll have to do that much easier."

He laughs. "Fighting these mutant freaks was no problem for the strongest man in the East Blue!"

Klahadore pushes his glasses up then prelies snobbishly, "That's funny. I didn't know you were Arlong or Straw Hat Luffy. Oh wait, you aren't. I guess that makes you a liar."

A vein pushes itself out of his skin on Kreig's face. "You calling me a liar!"

"Yes. Right to your face. What are you going to do about it?"

Before the other prisoners can start taking bets and those two start fighting I decide to break it up. I step between them and shoot my best glare at them both.

"If you fight each other... I'll fight you both. Do you want that? No? Then cut it out before I cut you down."

Kreig grits his teeth so hard I can see one of his teeth crack a little. Klahadore on the other hand just pushes his glasses up, then replies, "Of course. My deepest apologies to both you and Kreig. We shouldn't be fighting amongst ourselves when out goal is so close. We must stand united if we wish to make it to the entrance."

"Yah! He's right!" Someone in the crowd calls out.

"United we stand or united we fall! All for one, and that one is me!"

Gurry is eating... a bone? Yah. It looks like a bone from a manticore. He nods his head. "When running to the light at the end of the tunnel, don't forget Mephistopheles. He's a terrifying person."

I look at him heavily confused. "Whose that?"

Gurry blinks a few times then strokes his beard. "Ah. Sorry. My memory was playing tricks on me. Mephistopheles was the Warden before Magellan. I'm getting them mixed up. He was at least ten times stronger than Magellan himself. I wonder what happened to him? Nevermind, I don't care."

"I'm not worried about Warden. We're getting to the entrance to stop an invasion after all. There's no reason for him to stop us." I reason with the fishman sage.

With all of our internal conflict taken care of, I continue leading the way to where I believe the stairs to Level One was. Level Two is much smaller than Level Three, so I have a better memory of where the stairs are. There's less to forget, if you get what I'm saying.

As we get closer and closer to the stairs the prisoners get more and more excited. They begin to shout jubilantly and jumping for joy. We're so close to the goal that sometimes I can't stop myself from from joining them in shouting.

I'm going to stop the invasion and the prison break! Warden will be so impressed, and so will his bosses! I will get so many years taken off my sentence it will be ridiculous, they might even let me out now if I can capture the ringleaders, like that Straw Hat guy!

Nothing can stop us now!

We turn a corner running full tilt. There's someone quickly coming our way however, and I have to hold my arms out to stop the guys running behind me and we skid to a halt ten feet before the person.

I gulp nervously, I'm kind of scared to be honest. Behind me the prisoners begin to freak out. One brave soul decides to speak his mind.

"I-It's Warden Magellan!" He shouts loudly.

I don't say anything, and neither does Magellan. We're just looking at each other silently. I can tell he's pissed off about something however.

His metal fists are clenched shut, I can hear his stomach roaring with indigestion from where I stand, and he's sweating dark purple sludge the melts through the floor instantly when it lands.

He grits his sharp teeth, and his teeth grind against each other with a sound reminiscent of metal grinding together. Then he growls out with his voice full of venom, "Prisoner One-Zero-Zero-One-Three. What are you doing out of Level Five?"

The prisoners behind me are afraid of the anger in the Warden's voice and they take a few steps back. I go against the grain, and take a step forward so I'm in front of him. Then I reach into my shirt and withdraw the keys I took. I hold the white keys in front of me to hand them to him.

He blinks a few times, and I see red blood vessels starting to burst out of his eyes.

"Where did you get those?" He commanded.

"There was someone going around Level Five and letting all of the prisoners they could out of their cells. I confiscated the keys and apprehended the people escaping." I told him while pointing to the people behind me. "I then heard that there was a prison break going on and encountered some invading pirates covered in your poison. I decided that a good prisoner would hurry to return the keys and fight off the invaders and rushed to find some guards. All the guards I found on my way to stop the invaders at the entrance were dead, dying, or disabled. Now me and the prisoners I took with me are here to help in any way we can."

As I speak, Magellan's anger visibly fades. He relaxes, his eyes clear up, and he's no longer sweating liquid death. When I'm finished, he takes a deep breath. Then he slowly reaches forward and takes the keys I'd been holding in front of me. He looks at them for a few moments before placing them inside his massive black coat.

He looks at me critically for a few moments before looking at the prisoners behind me who all shirk away from his gave. Then his eyes lock onto mine.

I stare back, unafraid.

"Take that mask off. I want to see your face."

I don't hesitate and reach behind my head to undo the leather straps. As I undo them a though enters my head. Where the hell did Kuzric get the leather to make these straps?

I hold the mask in one hand and look at Magellan. He frowns when he sees my face.

"It's been a long time since I last saw you Prisoner 10013. Do you know why?"

"No sir." I reply honestly.

"It got reported that I was showing one of the prisoners in Impel Down favor and I was ordered to immediately cease all contact. I complied."

I understand of course. That's just how the world works.

Magellan looks hesitant for a moment, but he then asks, "Do you still dream of seeing the sky, Prisoner 10013?"

I nod. "Yes sir. But right now I'm more concerned about stopping the prison break. I want to be on good behavior so I can have my sentence reduced."

He frowns, and for an instant he looks... sad? "No one told you?"

Now I'm frowning. "Told me what?"

Yes. Magellan definitely looks sad. Very sad. "Two years ago when you were sent to Level FiveI received a message from the higher ups. It concerned you and your sentence..."

"What did it say?"

He opens his mouth, then closes it. He looks down, as if he's considering what he wants to say then looks up. He has his business face on. He tells me in an official tone of voice, "Prisoner 10013, your crime of 'Being Born' has been reevaluated. 'Being Born' is now a crime punishable by life imprisonment." He looks sad again. "I'm sorry."

Heh. "IhsIhsIhsIhsIhs." I laugh. I don't know why, but I'm laughing. I see water dripping on the floor in front of my feet and feel it running down my face. I look up to see if the ceiling has a leak, but I don't see anything. Where is the water coming from?

I touch my face and wipe away the liquid. Am I crying? Yup. I'm crying. Like a little bitch. Kuzric would have bitched slapped me by now. He probably would have called me a pussy too.

I put my mask back on and stop crying. When I do, Magellan speaks.

"Straw Hat Luffy and two hundred and thirty-nine other prisoners have escaped. I am heading to the control room to close the Gates of Justice before they can get away on the warship they have stolen..." He then look away, and back to me.

"The entrance is presently ungaurded. There's no Marine ships docked, and no way to escape. I will not stop you if you wish to verify that there are no longer any invaders or escapees... I believe it's a foggy day, but you may be able to see the sky."

He walks past me without looking at me. When he gets to the prisoners that followed me he says, "Get out of my way." The sound of a few hundred people scrambling quickly follows.

His footsteps fade away into the distance, and I don't hear a single noise from the prisoners. I take a deep breath. I don't know what I'm feeling, but it hurts.

I take a step forward, torwards the stairs, and the entrance. I take another step. Behind me, I hear more steps. The prisoners are following me.

We walk in silence the entire trip. The rush we had felt previously to get to the entrance is gone and we take our time.

We walk through the razor blade forest of the Crimson Hell without complaint. I barely even notice stepping on the spikey metal grass. Within a few more minutes we arrive at a large gate thrown open with one door torn off. I see light shining through it that is brighter than anything I've ever seen before. I have to sheild my eyes as I walk forward, and outside for the first, and last, time in my life.