Serious: The Dusk Pirates; Chapter 4: The big move (Open to the Dusk Pirates)

Seeing the Emperor Cobra poisoning Alexander and launching its venom towards Frank, Manta pointed towards the attack with the scythe. He said "That is not going to do anything!" as he gracefully and swiftly swang his scythe, launching a powerful air blade that sent the venom away from the zombie as soon as it collided with it. Then, the temporary captain started spinning the scythe above his head. He was going to do something mighty. He said "Everyone. Prepare yourselves!" while he spinned the weapon. Afterwards, he stopped spinning and grabbed it like a spear, placing it on the ground from the side it lacked a blade. He pointed towards the Emperor Cobra with his scythe while having a serious look on his face and he said "Frank! Take Alexander and follow Quincy and the others to level 3, we can't say in these stairs forever! Quincy has to treat Alexander as soon as possible! Chusei and I will take on the snake... If my plan does not work, I will need his assistance. Anyway, go!". Then, he took an angry looking face. Everyone would understand how much angry he was. He said "Pathetic snake! That bastard will not die here. He will only die by my hand, not from yours! Chicken Beam!" and he launched his mighty attack towards the cobra in an attempt to turn it to a chicken.

Meanwhile, Koga and R.A.M. 2, who had just arrived to level 3, were searching for the entrance to level 4. However, it would take them more than a while to find it... Apparently, something fishy was going on at level 3. Lecter Kageroza, a Chief Guard of Impel Down, as well as other officers were prepared to take on the pirates. On top of that, the prisoners were begging from their cells to get freed by the pirates, offering their assistance. Koga would not free any of them as long as Manta did not ask him to. As he walked, though, he listened to a few people talking "Shrieker... Come on! DO SOMETHING INSTEAD OF WATCHING!". As soon as he listened to that, the turtle freaked out. Shrieker... He knew that name. Could that be? Was that person inside the prison as well? That was unexpected. If that Shrieker was the one he knew, he could assist the crew at level 3 and below because of the sake of the past. Shrieker was a member of the Avenger Pirates, a crewmate of Koga and under the command of Maximillion. And so, with that in mind, he said to everyone "Follow me everyone!" before moving towards the cell he heard that name from.

The three comrades moved towards the cell. Koga asked "Who is the man called Shrieker?" with a curious face. However, as he asked that, something unexpected was about to happen... A figure that appeared out of nowhere started speaking to the pirates. He was behind all of them and the people inside the cell could see him. He said with a calm voice and a loon on his face that was hidden by his glasses that shined "Well, well. What do we have here?".

The prisoners all looked in awe. They knew that man very well because he used to work on that level and live there. He was one of the autorities of the Impel Down... A man who was not known in the prison for his fighting capabilities, rather than his tactical abilities. That person was none other than Lecter Kageroza, a Chief Guard of the prison. "May I ask what are you trying to do with the prisoners, Dusk Pirates?" he asked with a voice that was still calm. Then, he moved his eyes on his eyes, as they fell a little bit and took a battling stance with his naginata. The prisoners in the cells had not seen him fighting before and that was the most terrifying thing... What were the capabilities of the Chief Guard? The three members of the Dusk Pirates would find out soon... Very soon!

Quincy slowly turned to see the chief guard standing behind him. He froze to see his opponent standing only a few feet in front of him. "We were just passing by. This is a nice place you have here. Why don't you give us a tour of the place particularly in level four?" Quincy had both of his hands behind him making two small chemical balls in each palm. He turned to both Koga and RAM winking at them as some kind a signal to attack. This guy maybe be powerful but even he was made of out of flesh and blood. Quincy threw his chemical balls straight at the guard. He knew he wouldn't be killed but at least this would give them a great distraction for a retreat or an attack. It really depened what Koga and RAM did next.

"Hm?" Lecter said as he disappeared out of the way all of a sudden while the chemical balls were moving towards him. The prisoners were all surprised. They had never seen the Chief Guard battle like that. Usually, he would be acting as a tactician. Everybody in the prison, including the Warden, believed that his best abilities were his tactics and not his battling abilities. "What the?!" the prisoners in the cell said. Apparently, they did not want the pirates to lose because they could get them out of their cells... They said "Be careful intruders!" while cheering for the pirates in a funny way. These guys wanted to get out of their cells desperately...

Seeing them, Koga sighed. He thought "These people are pathetic..." while waiting for that man who was called Shrieker to appear. R.A.M. 2, though, would not wait. He would assist Quincy at battling the Chief Guard. The cyborg looked towards the Chief Guard who appeared in a place away from his previous place. A message appeared on the screen on his forehead that said "He is dangerous Quincy! We have to be careful!" and the cyborg shot himself and Quincy with his suba beam, echancing their speeds dramatically. Then, it run towards the Chief Guard and attempted to launch a Shockwave from its foot in order to damage him. However, Lecter easily managed to avoid that by running away with his extreme speed.

As soon as he dodged, he pointed with his naginata towards the two pirates. He said "You have taken that too far... Naginata Art #8 - Flash Steps!". After he whispered that, he appeared behind R.A.M. 2 in bullet time. He quickly moved his naginata and cut the cyborg on the back, causing it much damage. R.A.M. 2 turned his head, seemingly undamaged and looked towards Lecter. Then, the cyborg fell on his knees and a message appeared on his forehead, saying "Game Over." before he fell unconscious. The Chief Guard was a big deal... How would his battle with Quincy finish?!

Ellen Niarbel was bored. Though to be honest that was hardly suprising since she had little to do trapped in a cell, after marines finally caught up to her, and worst of all, had nothing to use to explode something. She sighed sadly, reminicing about her past explosions, with no-one for company except an 'expired' fellow convict. She then heard a huge amount of noise not too far off from where she was locked up. "Huh? Whats going on? did someone get out of their cell? Huh idiots are only gonna get slaughtered if they can't back themselves up, plus there aint even one explosion to see!", she complained to herself, though secretly wanting to see what was going on, straining to get a view of the battlefield from her cell.

Quincy quickly ran toward RAM equiped with his enhanced speed. He quickly grabs RAM before throwing a large chemical known as his mass juggling toward the chief gaurd. Qunicy figured he had enough time to help RAM before Lector came out. He got out his medical kit and tried his best to save RAM. "I'm sorry I didn't mean for this to happen. Dang it, this is all my fault. If I had just stayed with the others instead of going on my own none of this would have ever happened. I'm so sorry RAM!!!"

Quincy saw that the wound was deep, but RAM would in fact live if given medical treatment on the ship thanks to his metal body. He quickly put some cloth on the wound and asked koga to apply pressure to keep RAM from bleeding out. Quincy would face Lector....

"You are not doing anything." Lecter said as he started spinning his weapon quickly. As he spinned his weapon, his eyes, that were hiding behind his glasses that were shining, were probably staring at the doctor with a very evil look. It was difficult to predict whether he looked with an evil look or not, but it was probably the first. The Chief Guard was so ruthless to R.A.M. 2 and he would probably be to Quincy as well. As soon as he spinned his naginata, he stopped spinning with the blade pointing behind him. Then, he run towards Quincy with his extreme speed and said "This is probably the end..." as he spinned the naginata in a circular way upwards and the blade of the weapon moved from upside downwards in order to cut down the doctor of the Dusk Pirates.

Meanwhile, Koga was surprised to see that Chief Guard. What was that man? How could he be that strong? He could not understand... However, he was not as surprised as the people in the cells were. Usually, THAT Chief Guard would never fight so seriously and would be easily defeated. He was treated as the weakest of the Chief Guards and the most quiet. This time, though, he showed something different... The personality of a beast... Something strange was happening.

And as Koga was surprised, he caught a glimpse of a woman inside the cell that he heard that a man with the name of Shrieker was in. Apparently, he had seen that woman before in the newspapers... She had a small bounty of 2,000,000 beli but she was in the third level. She was probably a person with much potential, a woman who could make anything explode... For a brief moment he thought of freeing her... The crew was needing a person like her. However, he was not commanded to do so, so he did not... For now...

Meanwhile, in level 5... Maximillion looks at Jack, who is not saying anything. He takes a smile on his face and says "Vice-Warden... Soon, we will be ready and you will see the might of the Dusk Pirates with your very own eyes. My crew shall soon get reunited. We will get freed and then nothing can stop us! Hmphmphmphmphmphmphmphmph!". As he said that, a man at a nearby cell drew back. The man had white hair and a scared look on his face. He did not wear anything on the upper body while he wore a long white skirt that covered his whole legs and a black belt. With a trembling voice he asked "Si-Sir... Could you not harm me when you get out?". "Shut up "Dark Lord!" " another inmate of him said to mock him, while taking an ironic voice while saying the man's epithet. "I still wonder why they placed you here. You are more pathetic than a level 1 prisoner..." he continued and spitted towards that man... "S-Sorry." the "Dark Lord" said and shut up, without saying anything at all...

"Aye Aye Captain!" Frank shouted before diving into his small cave. He emerged behind Manta and the others,, jumping out of the ground like a lunatic, He picked the inured Alexander off the ground, without any effort at all, and started running down towards Koga and the others. He knew the Manta was powerful, but he doubted that he could take the snake down on his own. But he was right, they couldn't stay in the stairs forever.

After he reached the next floor he rushed through the main corridor, cells on his right and left were filled with excited prisoners, talking about a fight. This was bad, Koga's group had the weaker warriors of the Dusk Pirates and a powerful opponent could take them down. He ran faster, worried that he might be too late.

He arrived right on time, seeing a man attempting to cut Quincy, perhaps the only member of the Dusk Pirates that Frank liked, with a Naginata. "Look out!" He shouted, before ramming into Quincy with his shoulder, knocking him out of the guard's way. He then fell to the ground, the naginata passed a few meters next to his body. The first priority was to help Quincy and the others, and that is exactly what Frank will do! "Doc! I'm afraid I have a patient for you..." Frank said as he placed Alexander next to Quincy. He then got up on his feet and cleaned himself off the dust he caught from his fall. "An who might you be?" He asked Lecter.

Quincy was surprised that Frank saved him from getting sliced into pieces. The joy that he had from seeing his friend safe ended when he saw the mutilated alex. Another dust pirate out of the count. By the look of the wounds they were self inflicted. Quincy pulled out some alchol and poured it on the wounds. Then proceeded the wrap them up with bandages.

"Hmph. A zombie? It is nice to meet you, Frank N. Stein." the Chief Guard said as he spotted the zombie right in front of him. Apparently, the zombie had saved the doctor from his clutches. He was sure a powerful member of the Dusk Pirates. Lecter had seen him before with the Visual Den Den Mushis he set up at level 2. However, Frank was unaware of him. With a smile on his face, the Chief Guard jumped several meters backwards without even looking and landed on the roof of a short building. Then, he pointed towards the zombie with his Naginata and said "A... You should have checked out the personel list of Impel Down. I am the Chief Guard, Lecter Kageroza. And I am the one who is going to stop you at level 3 for bursting in my-I mean in the Warden's prison.". Afterwards, he started spinning his naginata and said "Naginata Art #9 - Air Blade!" as he launched an air blade towards the zombie from his weapon. The Chief Guard had started a battle with the Musician of the Dusk Pirates. Who would emerge victorious?

Koga looked at Frank. He was happy to see that his nakama had just come. He said with a smile on his face "Frank! I am glad to see you! R.A.M. 2 is in trouble and he needs to get repaired by Quincy but if he battled that man, he wouldn't be able to repair him and so he would be forced to battle and R.A.M. 2 would probably be destroyed and...". The turtle was panicked. However, he got more panicked as he looked at Alexander. He did not believe that the powerful swordsman was defeated... He said to Quincy with a worried face "Move Quincy! Treat them right away!" , without realising that Quincy was already doing that, and turned his head towards Shrieker's cell. "COME OUT SHRIEKER!" he said, waiting for the man who was called Shrieker to come out. He wanted to see if his former comrade was that Shrieker guy...

Meanwhile, in level 5...

After seeing that scared person before, Maximillion took a look at him. He had not seen him before because he was hiding his chained body behind the shadows, without even saying anything. He wondered who he was... He seemed so scared... Why was he at that level? What crimes could he possibly have commited? He did not know. But he wanted to learn... He turned his head towards another prisoner and said while pointing towards Mercury with his eyes "Who is that man and why is he here?". The other prisoner started laughing. He said "That weakling... He is the "Dark Lord" Mercury D. Ryper. At least that is what he cliams. However, he is more scared than a little kid and is only talking about his armor that was taken. There are rumors that he is a very dangerous assassin and with a very strange Devil Fruit ability, but I highly doubt it...". "I see..." Maximillion said and smiled evily while looking at Mercury. He thought "Dark Lord... You are so lucky, because when the time comes for me to get out... I am taking you with me!"

Frank's pupil-less eyes shot open when he heard his full name. 'How does this fool know me? What else does he know about me?' Frank thought to himself when he faced the guard. "I'm not much of a planner..." Frank said as a response to Lecter's words, "And Lecter is a stupid name!" He shouted. He had no plan behind he taunting, he was just angry. Seeing an air blade travel towards him, Frank shot himself up with his powerful legs, performing an extremely high jump, well above the blade. While airborne, Frank yanked his left arm off and grabbed it by the wrist. "And one more thing..." He said as he prepared for a counter attack. "HOW THE HELL DO YOU KNOW MY NAME FOOL?! Dead-A-Rang!" He shouted as he launched his arm like a powerful giant boomerang at Lecter, aiming at his mid-section. He then landed on the ground, satisfied with his move.

"What do you expect Frank?" The Chief Guard said with a smile on his face. "Unlike all the other officers here, I look into the depth... I am knew about your crew long ago...". Then, he started spinning his naginata quickly. Apparently, as the hand was coming towards him, the Chief Guard said "Naginata Art # 6 - Deflect!" and deflected the hand with his weapon, sending it towards Quincy's side in an attempt to strike him instead. After the hand was deflected away, the man moved his glasses upwards with the middle finger of his left hand and said "You will have to improvise, Frank... These attacks will not do any harm to me at all, unless you improvise.". What a man...

Meanwhile, around the place. The guards were looking with excitement the battle of Frank with Lecter. They did not know that their Chief Guard possessed such strength. They were all surprised. They could not understand why he was hiding his strength from them. However, they were all cheering for him, hoping that he would win the battle and catch the pirates. He had already defeated one of them, another one was badly injured, the turtle seemed to be unable to take him on and Manta and Chusei were fighting the Emperor Cobra at the stairs that led to level 3. The only obstacle at level 3 was Frank and they wished that Lecter would beat him...

Alex groaned and his head rolled to one side as Quincy worked on him, but he didn’t wake. Inside of his mind it was like a light had gone out. Neither voice spoke. There was absolute silence. Then…

Ugh…man, I hate when that happens, Alex groaned.

I concur, Alexander replied. It is certainly unpleasant.

You and your big words, Alex muttered. Anyway, which of us is up next?

Me, Alexander said firmly. You are tired and need to rest.

So are you, Alex pointed out. We share the same body.

The same body, yes, but not the same mental functions, Alexander told him. Though that could argued, considering both of us faint and fall asleep simultaneously. In any case, I believe that a more subtle approach is called for here.

Yeah, yeah, Alex grumbled. You’re always sayin’ that. Just get on with it.

Alexander slid into the control seat and opened his eyes. He could see Quincy bending over him and could feel the doctor bandaging him. Alexander reached out and caught Quincy’s hands before pushing them away.

“There’s no need for that,” he said quietly. He closed his eyes and groaned as the wing stumps retracted into his back, leaving clean, undamaged skin behind. “Though they are part of my body, they leave no traces,” said Alexander. “It is only when damage come to my original form that I am truly injured.” He winced. "Like the cut Chusei gave me on my side." Alexander looked around at Frank battling Lector and his eyebrows rose slightly. “This is not the same battle I remember. Tell me doctor, what has happened while I was unconscious?”

"Block!" Frank shouted as he ran at full speed towards Quincy. he positioned himself in front of the doctor, allowing the flying arm to reattach to his body without damaging his friend.
"Attacking a doctor while he is treating a wounded comrade, now that is low, even for a marine associate..." Frank said as he assumed a battle stance. 'Improvise huh?' He thought as an idea popped into his head.
He raised his arms over his head, and jammed them into the floor. The digging tricks worked nicely around Impel Down so far, but this time, Frank was going to add a twist. His opponent seemed to know a few things about him, but let's see how he can handle a thinking Frank, when he is making a technique salad. He dug himself underground, and didn't come up. He was digging and digging, slowly making a cavern of small tunnels around the battle zone. They were small and nowhere near as wide to house Frank when he wasn't crouching, but they will do for his next idea. He kept on digging, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. But, he had no way of observing Lecter, so he positioned his left ear right next to the first hole he created, to try and hear if the guard was making any moves. The zombie was finally thinking.

[Sorry nikz but you always forget the RP and I am bored of asking you always. I believe I start getting annoying, so I am posting with the Snake instead.]

Seeing that Frank was underground, Lecter thought that it was a very good chance to strike Quincy and Alexander and eliminate them. With Frank underground and out of the way, it would be more than easy to kill them. Alexander was in a bad condition and Quincy was treating him without paying attention around. He smiled and said "It is about time... Naginata Art # 10 - Cheetah.". Then, he disappeared from his previous spot and with Soru speeds, he reappeared right in front of the doctor of the Dusk Pirates as well as Alexander. He smiled as he moved his naginata and said "You are not escaping this time..." while he attempted to impale Quincy with his weapon and kill him... Would Frank save the doctor from the clutches of the Chief Guard or not?!

Meanwhile, at level 2... Manta looked at the snake. Apparently, his chicken beam hit it and turned it into a chicken. With a smile on his face, the temporary captain of the Dusk Pirates said "You pathetic snake... You have caused us much trouble, but Maximillion might like you..." before he slashed it at the sides, causing a severe injury to the point that it fell on the ground, bleeding. However, it was still alive. He said "Snake... We might get you when you get back. Take this as a mean of mercy for punishing that stupid swordsman! Chkchkchkchkchkchk!". Then, he turned his head towards Chusei. He sighed and said "Let's go, the others might be in trouble!" and continued moving TOWARDS level 3. They had to climb down the stairs to arrive to the third floor and reunite with the rest of the crew...

The moment Frank's detached war picked the words of the guard, Frank traveled through his tunnel, arriving in his original hole, near Quincy. "Detach!" He shouted as his limbs left his body to run around the cavern. Both of Frank's detached arms shot through the ground to push Quincy and Alex out of the naginata's way. Frank's left leg then shot up in front of Lecter, upside-down, trying to kick his face and break his glasses. At the same time, Frank's head burst through the ground. "Enjoy my Zombie Grave!" Frank shouted under Lecter's right foot. He then moved in to try and bite his foot, trying hold the guard in place and help his kick connect. This move was in Frank's mind when he imagined himself kicking the asses of all of the people in the world who mistook his fiddle for a violin, and this was the first time he ever tried it.

"Not my foot!" Lecter thought as he noticed that the zombie had almost got him trapped. However, with a quick maneuver, the man spinned his naginata and said "Naginata Art #10 - Cheetah!" as he used his fast technique to run with Soru speeds and escape from the zombie. "You almost got me..." he said with a smile on his face as soon as he escaped. That zombie. He was a pain in the ass and a very dangerous foe... He had to try something bigger than his previous attacks in order to emerge victorious...

"All this time, you put up a great fight... But now, your luck is about to end." were the words of the Chief Guard as he started spinning the weapon fiercely and endlessly, in an extremely fast rate. As he spinned the weapon, the blade was getting heated and a small fire started appearing on it up to the point that a medium sized flare appeared on the weapon. He said "Naginata Art #4 - Go Mad!" as he fired up his weapon and rushed forward to strike the zombie with the fire weapon.

As Ellen finally managed to get some sort of view of the battle, she realised that not only where the gurads actually struggling, but whoever the escapees were they sure were powerful and somehow grabbed a few weapons too. "Wow, these guys are alot tougher than the other weaklings, hmmm maybe they're from a lower level." she mumbled to herself, and then an idea formed in her mind. He started waving franticly trying to catch attention, and bellowed out; "Hey! Over here! I want out too! Cmon! I blow stuff up so let me help!"

"In short we are getting our asses handed to us on a silver platter by this cheif guard lector who frank is fighting. He is very powerful. You still need rest after such a battle. " Quincy said. He then looked at the female who was in the cell "Shut up!!!" Quincy turned to alex "Just rest up ok. Me and frank can handle this guy."

“Thank you Frank,” Alexander said. But of course, he doubted the zombie would even hear him. Not when he was so far away. It wasn’t like his hands had ears. Alexander pushed himself back to his feet and placed a hand on his empty sword sheath. “Hmmm…it looks like I will not be able to help as much as I would like too,” Alexander commented.

Alex had been holding their sword before they had fainted, but Alexander supposed that it was no real surprise that Alex had lost his grip. Oh well. He didn’t have any real connection to the weapon. Alex was the one who actually cared about that stuff. For him losing the sword simply meant he would need a new one. Maybe when they escaped this place he would find it again. He doubted that though. A guard would probably run into it soon and it would be lost forever. Quincy's words then squashed any further ideas he might have had of fighting.

"Very well, I shall stay out of the battle unless it appears that my assistance is necessary," Alexander told him.

With the extra time on his hands, Alexander thought over what Ellen had said. And then, instead of blowing her off like Quincy, he turned towards her and since he had nothing better to do, he walked over and sat himself down next to her cage. He didn’t get into arm’s reach, however. He wasn’t stupid.

“You like explosives?” he commented. “Perhaps you would be an asset, but considering the fact that there are hundreds of prisoners in here, I don’t see why you would be any better than the rest.” He paused, considering. “Unless, of course, you could provide us with a distraction when we reach the lower levels?”

"Damnit!" Frank hissed. After the Detach technique was used, Frank's body was doomed to be detached until it was stitched back together, which meant bad luck for the zombie. He was limited to his loose limbs and his set of tunnels. Seeing Lecter closing in on his with a powerful attack, Frank had nothing to do but retreat to his cavern. His head, leg and two arms dived underground. This was tricky, neither of the limbs had any telepathic connection between them, and since the plan Frank had in mind when he detached them was over, they were acting on they're own, leaving Frank to only hope for the best. The battlefield turned into a bloody version of Whack-A-Mole, where Frank's limbs were hidden under ground and Lecter's flaming naginata had to pick the right moment. Meanwhile, Frank, who was now limited to only his head, rolled down a tunnel to the heart of his small cavern, shouting commands up the tunnels for his limbs to follow. The fight wasn't going where for the now broken zombie, he will have to find a way to reverse the score.

"Why are you hiding from me, Frank? I am bored of playing hide and seek. Especially at my very own territory!" were the words of the Chief Guard to the zombie that was hiding himself underground in order to survive from the attack. Apparently, now that his head was detached from his body he could have a chance and destroy the zombie for all eternity. On the other side, though, when he noticed that Alexander was talking with one of the prisoners, he decided to let the zombie hide and concentrate on the other Dusk Pirates. He raised his glasses on his eyes with the middle finger of his left hand and took an evil smile. Afterwards, he disappeared from his previous position and by using his Naginata Art #10 - Cheetah technique, he moved with Soru speeds to reappear in front of Quincy. With his heated naginata, he pointed towards him and said "This is the end, doctor. Naginata Art # 5 - Fire!" as he launched the fire of the blade towards the doctor in an attempt to incinirate him and prevent him from treating R.A.M. 2.

Meanwhile, Koga looked towards Alexander. Apparently, he heard what he said to Ellen and he agreed with him. He said "Hm... You have a great idea, Alexander... We could use some assistance from the prisoners to distract the marines. However, it will be a very big risk, won't it?". Despite the fact that the plan sounded good, Koga was still afraid. He could not know whether Ellen would really help them or not or whether she would do what Alexander thought. It was a little bit risky. Despite that, though, he stopped thinking about her as he looked at the fire that was launched towards Quincy. He said "NO!" as he looked at the attack moving towards the doctor.

At the same time, R.A.M. 2 was lying on the floor. He could feel the pressence of Quincy around him. The doctor was taking care of his wounds, even if they were some scratches at the cable that provided his legs with strength to move. A message appeared on the tiny screen on his forehead saying "Thank you." to the doctor that was followed by "If you were not here, I would probably be killed. I appreciate that... Please don't die.". The cyborg was grateful towards the doctor and wanted to share that with him as he looked at the fire attack coming towards him.

And as these things were going on... Finally, Manta arrived from the stairs of level 2 to level 3. He was at Starvation Hell. Now, all he had to do was to reunite with the crew and continue moving towards the next floors, in case Maximillion was not there. He said "I am coming to you, you stinky bastards!" as he started running at the level randomly, searching for his crewmates. Would he find them soon or late? He did not know... But one thing was for certain. He would find them eventually...

After Manta arrived at the level, though, something else happened... In an office inside level 3, three people were staring at a visual Den Den Mushi. These people were not wearing clothes that were worn by high ranked officers, but they were not low ranked either. One of these three people said "Manta Maimou has arrived. We would better do what the Chief Guard said.". "Indeed." the other responded, without pointing out too many things. Finally, the third one spoke and said "Listen. We should not lose the pirates. For the prison!" before they were all dispatched at level 3 and started moving towards Lecter as well. Who were these people and what would they do? Everyone would find out soon!

Quincy shot a chemical beam at the naginata in an attempt to destory it. Without his weapon Quincy could afford to let his guard down a little. He wanted to run away, but he couldn't allow his patients to recieve any harm on his watch. As a doctor Quincy was bound to protect RAM, Alex, and the rest of the crew. Would the beam be enough to stop Lector?

“I’m sure she won’t…” Alexander’s voice trailed off as Koga ran away to help the others. He sighed. He hated not being able to finish a sentence. So, left alone with Ellen again, he turned back to her and smiled amiably. “You wouldn’t betray us, now would you?” he asked. “After all, we’re such lovely people. Our current captain is this psychopathic murderer who turns people into chickens and cuts their heads off. And his brother is the one we are here to save. He’s a Yonkou. And then we’ve got a swordsman who can move so fast you can’t see him. And then there is that zombie guy who is fighting the Chief Guard right now. And…well…there are several others, but I’m sure you don’t want to hear about all of us.” He paused and for a moment, Alexander’s smile turned cold and held no trace of the amusement that had been twinkling in his eyes before. “Do I make myself clear?” he asked, quietly.

As one of the combatants told her to shut up, Ellen merely retaleated by answering back with same phrase, and then heard Alexanders proposition. "Huh? Distract them? Pppppphhhhhhh easy stuff! And you say your boss is a psychopath? Bet he'll let blow up whatever I want right? It's a deal just let me outta here already! Oh, and if you guy's find anything that makes explosions, I call first dibs! They took away all my stuff.", she answered waiting for the pirate to break open her cell and stepped back a bit. Damn, looks like it's just decoy work for now, and it dosen't look ike it'll be easy to just stroll out of here away from these guy's. Eh, guess I could just join this crew, as long as I get to blow stuff up., the explosives technitian thought to herself.

"You seem to be thinking of something..." Koga said to the woman while she was thinking whether she should ditch the crew or not. "Anyway... We will free you I guess. We need assistance so that we can distract that jailor and treat R.A.M. 2!" he said as he got out of his turtle shell and started spinning it quickly. He thought "For R.A.M. 2..." before he said "Shell Stamp!" as he started using his normal attack to the wall of the cell in an attempt to break it down and free the woman out of her cell. Seeing that his attack was not enough to break the cell, he said to Alexander "Alexander! Assist me!" hoping that the two of them would be enough to break the wall down. Would they succeed or not?

Meanwhile, Lecter looked at the chemical beam that was coming towards him. He sighed as he said "You probably did not see that before, did you? Naginata Art #6 - Deflect!" and he started spinning his weapon quickly and fiercely, deflecting the beam that was coming towards him with the blade of his weapon that was surrounded by fire thanks to the Naginata Art #4 - Go Mad technique. Then, he said "Time to finish you off, doctor." as he started spinning the weapon once again. This time, he was going with an attack he had not shown before. He whispered "Naginata Art #7 - Circle!" as he launched the fire of his weapon in a circular form towards Quincy, attempting to incinirate him for good. Would his attack work this time or not?

Seeing that the doctor struggled against the Chief Guard, R.A.M. 2, who was lying on the floor was thinking. He was thinking about the purpose of his existence and what he was doing at the crew. It was true that he was a navigator but he was probably the weakest member of the crew. He could only provide the crew with the shot of his Subagun in order to power them up. Nothing more at all... He thought "Why am I that weak? I-I was created to fight and yet it is impossible for me to take on anyone. That Chief Guard... He defeated me so easily, with a single slash from his weapon. Now, I can't move at all. And how did he manage to hit me at that spot? Does he have knowledge over cyborgs? And what about Quincy? What can he do against him? If Frank hadn't appeared, he would probably be defeated if not killed and now he is taking him on to protect us. Why does he have to be in a grave danger while I cannot help him at all? And what is Koga doing? I know his strength is roughly greater than mine... Why is he still here and is not trying to escape with his life? Why should he suffer a fate like mine? Why...". The cyborg was thinking so many things. He was so desperate that anything he thought had no reason in it... He was jumping from a matter to another matter all of a sudden. He thought of the purpose of his existence and his role in the crew and that Koga should not be fighting there, even if himself was there to fight. The machine was behaving in a very strange way...

At the same time, the three people who started moving from an office at level 3 were now almost next to the spot of the battle. From afar, they could see everyone as tiny figures on the horizon. The first one of them said "We have almost arrived...". "Indeed." the second one said and the third one prefered to be silent and did not say anything. Would these three people mean more trouble or not? And who were they? Were they strong or not? Everyone would find out soon.

While these events took place, Manta, from a different side of the level, could see everyone on the horizon, along with Lecter and the prisoners who were in their cells, watching the battle with the Chief Guard. He sighed and said "I have almost reached them..." as he run towards the others in order to assist them. Would Manta's arrival play a significant role in the battles of level 3 or not? How would his arrival influence the turn of the events? It was impossible to predict this time, but wouldn't be in the near future...