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

I don't know whay should i help you some strangers. I heard about Maximmilion still if he is so good he can escape without my help.

Dio said and turned his back to Manta nad countiniued walking.

When he first became aware of someone having the opportunity to sneak up on him, Alvaro cursed himself quietly. He must have been slacking off while in prison, and it hadn't even been relaxing in any way.
He could feel someone standing behind him, and was expecting an attack, but instead someone almost gently touched his shoulder, as if to politely draw his attention. Later, Alvaro would not remember whether he had heard the voice before or after he ahd turned, but such details did not really matter at all.
What did matter was that there was that handsome devil from his dream, right in front of him, offering him a hand and inviting him to dinner. After spending so much time in starvation hell, Alvaro had to seriously stop and think about whether or not this could just be a too good to be true hallucination... Maybe his brain had been more damaged by his stay here than he thought?
Still, there was no point in not being as friendly to a hallucination, or no point he could think of, at least.
"I would be a fool to turn such a tempting offer down, especially coming from a charming young man such as yourself..."
He took his hand, and being able to do so was enough proof to him that this was neither a waking dream nor a hallucination, allthough he considered, for a moment, the possibility of having gone mad enough for it to be (which he soon put aside as irrelevant, since even if he was, this hallucination would still be much preferable from having to go on suffering in this hellhole all on his own).
But with the certainity that Ranyx was real, and here, arose a lot of new questions, all of which he planned to ask on a later point. BUt since Alvaro was not only romantic, sophisticated and undeniably charming, not to mention humble (by his own description, you just couldn't deny such facts), but also reasonalby practical at times, he settled for a more direct approach to the matter at hand.
"And I would like nothing better than to leave this place behind me, though, if I may be so bold to ask, how do you plan to do so?"
He noticed, in the back of his head, that for a fighter, Ranyx had notably soft hands. Then again, when seen in contrast to the things he had encountered here, so would everything else seem to be to him, he expected. In this way, his stay had been a good thing, as soon as he was out here, he could, for once, truly enjoy all the things life had to offer, and he planned to do so. Only he had to get out first... Funny how plans could change, only a minute ago, he had been hellbent on staying until... well, until he knew if Ranyx would keep his promise. Which he did. Which was more than anyone else would ever have done for him...

No one was in the room, they must have rushed out to fight the intruder though this was merely an observation of Azreal. Watching the many cases of weapons and other stuff, damn it, he didn't have time for that. He broke the glass cases and throwing weapons behind him, searching for his own weapons. After the second case someone half dead shot at him which resulted in a scratch wound, Azreal didn't have time fr that so he continued searching but throwing any and all weapon on the half dead in hopes that any weapon would kill him. On the fourth case of weapons he found what was his two Tantos, now if i was stupid performance pills where would i be and the moment he thought that he looked in the drawer of a desk, bing there they where. He strapped on the belt and the two tantos scabbard onto his pants, putted the pills in his pocket You held your end of the bargain, now let me help you he said, he wanted to know what they where up to but couldn't afford to ask, there where just to much going on.

Ranyx smiled, happy Alvaro had accepted his invitation: after all, who wouldn't jump at the chance to get the hell out of Impel Down? Alvaro's hand seemed more frail on the outside than it had than when he had first met the assassin, but upon taking Alvaro's hand, he realized it was still as strong as ever. He tightened his grip ever so slightly, to ensure Alvaro knew he was real. "Ah, what a silly question, Alvaro!" His grin grew wider: "It's simple. If anyone gets in my way, I'll kill them. I have a dear, dear friend who's working on obtaining the plethora of weaponry I remember you having, so soon we will be able to get out of here. The heat here wreaks havoc on the body, doesn't it?" He led Alvaro to the staircase up to Level 2, noting that a large animal's body was heaped on it. "Ah dear. Excuse me, I must deal with this..." He put up both of his fists, facing the monster.

"Rokuogan." Ranyx breathed, blasting the thing up through the staircase with a blast of compressed air. Up on Level 2, the body was blasted out and collided with several large chunks of masonry, prolonging its unconsciousness. "Now that that's cleared up, shall we continue?" Ranyx gestured to Alvaro, offering for Alvaro to lead the way. Alvaro looked admirably healthy for the length of time he was stuck in this hellhole... Imagine how he must look when fully healthy. "Dinner's on me, of course... I wonder, do you like seafood?" Ranyx asked politely, as if they were chatting on a beach by the seashore... hey, better make sure the date liked the food before arriving, right?

“I wouldn’t expect a Marine to understand,” Alex said, his eyes glazing over. He didn’t really seem to be looking at Draculo, even though his gaze never wavered. “Marines fight to kill and destroy. That is why you exist. But pirates live our lives to the fullest. We dream and fight so that we can live. That is the key difference between our philosophies. As for the girl…well…she means nothing to me. But she is willing to help us achieve our goals and that makes her a comrade. Just as the one she killed was your comrade. I will fight for her just as you would have fought for him.” Then Alex shook his head, clearing his cluttered thoughts, and he raised his sword over his head so that the tip pointed towards the ceiling. “But as you have already said, it is time we ended this battle. No more talk. Allow me to show you a technique I invented as my brother fought you.”

With his sword still pointed towards the ceiling, Alex began to rotate in midair. At first it looked like Alex was going to perform his Wing Blade technique, but from this distance that wouldn’t have come anywhere near Draculo. Then Alex tilted forward so that his body was lying horizontal in the air and he shot towards Draculo like a bullet. His sword, still held over his head, was now pointed at Draculo’s chest and his body was still rotating with his bladed wings slicing through the air on either side of him.

“DEATH DRILL!” Alex roared.

As the guards once again started firing as Ellen's cherry bomb was pre-emptively exploded, she cursed and dodge rolled once again, running helplessly tring her best to avoid the bullets, franticly using whatever acrobatics she could do to her abillity, but unfortunetly was shot twice in the leg, and tumbled along the ground as a result, cursing again in pain. "Well, guess here goes nothing.", she said under her breath, as she quickly lit her two remaining bombs as she got back up on her feet, and lobbing them both, at the gunners trying to mow her down and Miguel, hoping the gunners werent a good enough shot, and struggling to keep at a running pace, grimacing in agony. Those were my last bombs, now I can't even fight. Well, this sucks., ellen thought to herself as she was shot in the arm.

"Love it, admire it... Have you ever had the chance to taste Elephant Tuna, I wonder? With a good wine, red, of course, and fresh fruit, there's little that can reach this little delicatesse..."
This all seemed very unreal. Seeing how he had simply... dealt with the beast, bow he had simply... lead him here through the fighting, it might even be possible for him to breath fresh air again, a hope which the young man had thought lost for the longest time... Yet, getting it up now wasn't well advised. It was still two more levels beyond this. Even for Ranyx, it was not possible to fight his way through two levels, especially since Alvaro himself would be of little help... help... wasn't he forgetting something? Ah, yes.
"Do excuse me for one moment."
He turned and, after only one moment, had found the one he had been looking for, which wasn't hard, seeing as there was only one blue haired girl in prisoner outfit around. It seemed she was well on her own way, taking the cyborg boy as an escort. Just as well. He was probably of more help than Alvaro, in his current state. It was good to know she wasn't completely lost and on her own. Hopefully she would find her way out of here, though Alvaro doubted it... But stranger things had happened today, hadn't they...
After his curiousity was satisfied and his conscience as calmed as much as he could affor it right now, he turned back to the staircase and took the first few steps, keeping close to the wall and the few shadows in case of anyone, anything (you never knew, this was Impel Down after all), coming down towards them.
"I must say... This is possibly the strangest first date I've ever had..."
He murmured more to himself than Ranyx, and caught himself thinking that this probably did not count as a date. Too strange. Besides, a date on the first, correction, second meeting was rather a big relationship update, and a quick one as well...

Ranyx smirked. "I might've. Probably was so long ago I no longer remember the taste... a total pity, by the way, I hear it's delicious." He walked alongside Alvaro, shoving his hands into his pockets. Though he looked like he was taking the whole situation like a joke, his entire body was tensed in readiness to beat the shit out of the nearest bastard who moved. "Is there any place in particular you would like me to bring you once we've gotten out?" He asked, trying to make conversation. The sooner Alvaro forgot about the shit going on in here, the better. They walked out into Level Two, Ranyx taking the time to kick a Blue Gorilla in the face.

A chain whipped around Ranyx's leg, drawing his attention to the Marine wielding it. The Marine was carrying a heap of weaponry in one arm, and a chain in the other. "Awesome, Ti'ar, thanks!" Ranyx said cheerfully, before Ti'ar growled, "Tomorrow, the normal place. Or I'll beat the shit out of you." He shoved the assorted weaponry into Ranyx's hands, along with a coat, before turning away and stomping off. A light laugh was all Ranyx responded with, before saying, "Oh, Ti'ar, every time you say that it cracks me up." He turned to Alvaro, shaking the chain off his leg. "So, here's about everything I remember you chucking at me, so... yeah, this might help you feel a bit more secure." Because, you know, who doesn't feel safe with a bunch of throwing knives in his coat?

"It's not your normal outfit, I know, but it's better than the bland black and white stripes they've force you to wear. We simply MUST get your normal clothing back, as well..." Ranyx was almost about to devolve into mindless babble, but the constant threat of Blue Gorillas was kinda making that impossible. As he continuously punched and kicked the things unconscious, Ranyx lightheartedly added, "Once you're ready, we can get on outta here."

"Well, there is that one place called..."
Alvaro was interrupted by a sudden attack, out of reflex he jumped back and got into fighting stance, though he knew he stood little to no chance. Astonishingly though, the marine who had attacked Ranyx seemed to have no intention in harming either of them, instead showed an entire arsenal into Ranyx arms and left, not without hissing what sounded like an invitation. One or two more questions to add to the heap. For now, dealing with the newly acquired heap in his arms was enough.
"I am afraid storing all this weaponry in this coat might be a bit of an issue..."
Alvaro stated, while already shovi... securing what he could grab of the throwing knives in his new coat's arms and, if he could, made use of the shirt by simply using it as a holster for some of the others. He didn't give a damn how, he needed as much of this on him as he could store, or he would only be a bother, and also, most likely, dead before he would ever see the sun again. Who knew, maybe he would even get to take a shower... Aaah, but not to get too far ahead. For now, he weighed a whip in his hand, not so much as to actually get to know it's weight, which was slightly more than his usual whip, but to admire the small spikes, and the dry bllod on aforementioned spikes. This thing had been used to torturre here, no doubt...
He gave it a testing swing, and suddenly felt a lot more in his element when he heard it crack on the ground.
The second swing went against one of the... what were they called... Bluegoris? ghastly creatures... It wrapped around it's almost nonexistant neck and Alvaro pulled it back as hard as he could and heard the animal, if that was what it was, howl when the spikes dug into it's skin. Felt wonderful to be of use...
With one more pull, he ripped it away, leaving a strain of blood where it had gone around the animals neck, like a collar of deep red... He had to get himself one of those. Unfortunately, he had now transformed from a harmless bein into a threat in the minds of the... creatures, and was therefore a validated target. He jumped aside and dodged the punch his first victim threw at him, then, with as much strenght as he could afford, rammed one of the short swords through it's neck. It howled and went down. Looked like going for the neck was a good idea with those things as well....
But the hole left by his comrade was immeadeatly filled by another of the beasts. Alvaro jumped backwards and out of it's attack range, and, now back to back with Ranyx, sheathed the sword the way he had done with the knifes (by simply putting them through the cloth on his shirt... He could feel the beasts blood on his skin now, rubbing off the blade, rapidly growing colder), and instead, sacrificed one of aforementioned knifes by throwing it at what he estimated to be the Bluegoris eye... another howl proved him right.
Only then did he speak up.
"Ready to go on anytime now..."
Ah, damn, to hell with it. He really wanted to know.
"I don't know if it's a fitting question to ask right now, but it would simply not let me go... Who was that man?"
Dark, tall and handsome described him well, much like Alvaro himself. Only "Dark" seemed to stretch to personality with that one... Marines did not tend to help Alvaro out too much, and he did not see why this one would.

Quincy leaped with the last of his strength over the air blade. Quicny put his hands together and released a chemical beam toward Lector "Die you bastard. Die!!!!" He shot the beam with all his might toward Lector. Quincy fell to ground bleeding on the ground from his large gash in his chest after releasing the beam. Hopefully this attack would finish him.

Gabriel giggled and took his sword into both his hands, he was done messing around. He then went into a cyclone motion with his sword in his hand, deflecting the attacks and hopefully killing the guards. Suprisingly, the boy began SINGING again, in the middle of the battle. It was the same song he was singing earlier, but much louder.

As Quincy was targetted by Lecter's Air Blade, he did something that the Chief Guard seemingly did not expect. Apparently, the doctor of the Dusk Pirates launched a chemical beam towards the Chief Guard in an attempt to kill him. The attack not only destroyed the air blade, but it also moved with great speeds towards Lecter. "NO!!!" The Chief Guard shouted as he looked at the beam coming towards him. He raised a cloud of dust from the ground with the help of his naginata, by stabbing his weapon fiercely on the ground. Then, an explosion took place. The explosion could be heard everywhere. Even at the farthest spot of Level 3... Afterwards, only the dust remained... And as soon as it cleared, there was nothing to be seen... Not even a single part of the Chief Guard's naginata. The chemical beam had probably destroyed the whole body of the Chief Guard. Quincy emerged victorious in his battle.

Draculo stared at his enemy. For some reason Alexander seemed to not be willing to stop. For a brief moment, as Draculo looked at him coming towards him, he thought "Could this be? Could he be acting like that because he does have a sense of loyalty inside him after all? I cannot understand... He is not like any pirate scum. He seems to be... different.". Then, "The Tenth" raised his sword and pointed towards his enemy. With a serious look on his face, he said "Blade Rain!" and he jumped very high on the air, dodging the upcoming drill-like attack. Then, as he was falling, he pointed towards Alexander who was on his "drill" mode and fell towards him while pulling the sword forward and backwards in order to pierce through his human body as many times as possible.

As he performed the attack, he shouted, refering to Alexander "No... You cannot understand! You understand nothing at all! We live to fight and protect the innocent people who are in danger just because pirate scums like you exist! If pieces of shit like you didn't exist, then we wouldn't be doing this job in the first place! You won't escape from me! The one of us falls, then the whole world might be in danger! Even one pirate in this prison is enough to cause trouble to at least 10 people! Don't expect me to let you go and rampage through this place!". Draculo was going all-out... Except from the world, he was protecting his morals... And he wouldn't stop at anything to protect them!

Meanwhile, the guards smiled as they looked at Ellen getting shot at the arm. They said "You didn't expect us to let you go after killing, Lion, did you not?!" before they raised their guns in order to shoot her again. However, before they did, something unexpected happened! The fire that was created when Miguel's shot hit the woman's bomb, started getting much bigger and reached them. It was growing in a rapid rate and many of the guards were caught in it, getting incinirated and turned to ashes... Ellen was very lucky... Very, very lucky!

Seeing this, Miguel stopped doing everything. He was aware of the little fire, but the big fire that appeared now could mean trouble for both sides and he did not want his subordinates to get killed. At least like that. However, there was nothing he could do and so he decided to focus on pursuing the Dusk Pirates. With a killing intent on his face, the sniper raised his gun and shot towards Ellen without hesitation, aiming towards her forehead. If the attack hit, it would be an one-shot kill. Who would protect the injured woman?!

At the same time, Koga looked at Azrael who retrieved his weapons. He said "Good to know that you are keeping the end of your bargain. I am Koga, a member of the Dusk Pirates. We are heading to the lower levels to get our captain out! That's why we are here! Now, follow me. We need to assist the others!". Then, he got out of the room. He looked at the big fire and said "What the?! Th-This is bad! We are in trouble! We cannot afford to deal with that fire right now!!!!!!! DAMN IT, WE ARE DOOMED!". Koga was panicked once more... He did not know what would happen next...

On the other side, R.A.M. 2, who was protected by Shrieker, looked at the fire. He thought "Everyone... Alexander... Koga... Manta... Quincy and Frank... Please come back... I don't feel I can make it... Please...". The cyborg was desperate. The fact that he could not help at all hurt him and the fact that the others were busy fighting and were away from him hurt him even more. At least he had Shrieker with him...

Also, at Gabriel's spot. The guards looked at the cyborg boy who was killing them one after another. That little child was a monster! Who could have created that? They could not understand. It was freaking. A twelve years old child managed to take out the guards of the safest prison in the world! That was absurd!!! Some of them tried to run away and some of them tried to fight Gabriel. However, they all knew that because of the fire that had just started, they were sharing the same fate. They would all be sent to the real "Hell" and there was nothing that could prevent that. At least from their own side.

And at Maski's spot... With Alvaro and Ranyx gone, the girl was now all-alone. Seeing that as an opportunity to catch an escaping prisoner, two guards appeared around her. With the intention to catch her, they pointed their guns towards her and said "Follow us, or we are shooting!". Now, the girl was in real trouble! What would happen next? Would she escape somehow or not?

Finally... Seeing that Dio was leaving, Manta took a strange face. He sighed and said "Listen... I am not asking you to follow... I am telling you to follow.". Then, he raised his scythe and pointed with it towards Dio. "You know, it is very easy for me to turn people into chicken whenever I like. This gives me the ability to defeat even the strongest enemies with ease by disabling them. And one last thing. Why would you not want to follow the crew that is going to take over the world soon? The world outside shall belong to us! Maximillion is the first person in the world who achieved the impossible... He laid his hands on two different Devil Fruit powers. He is the future! This era shall have his name. My name. Your name. OUR name!". With this speech, Manta hoped that Dio would change his mind... He got to see by himself...

[Okay. Now the setting is under a very big fire in the whole level. We are fighting under the fire! Hurray!]

Why wouldn't i he wondered, where people that disloyal in this world or where they not willing to trust the words of a prisoner, whatever it was he had started to think on his own, which was good else he would still be in his cell and burn. He hit Koga lightly on the head as Koga panicked Don't panic, as long as you move you will not burn, that much Azrael said. However he didn't know about a boats mechanics, that the other levels might become like an oven or collapse into each other and he didn't know that the boat could sink.

He walked out of the room, he stood still in about ten seconds to feel the heat, it was an environment he was comfortable whit, growing up as he did. That was when he saw Ellen, though he didn't know her by name she was in trouble and didn't lock like a marine. He used Soru and quickly got to the enemy, put one foot on the gun (in an angle so that he would shoot the floor) and then attempted to sliced his throat. Ellen was injured, he wanted to lift her up and carry her because if she was still for to long she would burn, it wasn't anything against her it was just that it had to be done to let her live and he neeed to make sure first that his opponent wa dead.

Frank's eyes shot open. He accidentally fell asleep in his cavern of tunnels out of exhaustion. Using his Ghost form was put a hard strain on his body and he couldn't help but fall asleep. The only reason the zombie woke up now instead of a day from now was the sudden heat that was filling his cave, and along with the orange glow that was coming from the holes, it only meant one thing: fire. He then remembered that he left Quincy to fight against Lecter, a powerful opponent he could not beat by himself. A panic sensation went through the zombie's body as he climbed up his main hole and arrived at ground level. Up here, the scene was horrific, battles were going in every corner, flames were running along the walls, bodies were thrown around the floor, a total mayhem. Frank desperately looked for Quincy or Lecter but couldn't see any of them past the flames, or any of his other crew members.

After a few seconds of looking around, Frank spotted R.A.M lying on the ground. He couldn't do anything right now, fire was one of his only weaknesses, he had to escape. But if he can't help his crew, he should still try and help RAM. He rushed to the robot's body and easily picked him up. "You hear me? How do I get out of here?" He asked the robot, running toward a path that was currently clear, hoping to bump into a friendly face.

Apparently, R.A.M. 2 was very damaged from the fire. His mechanical body was black because it got a little bit burnt and he could not say anything because the glass of the tiny screen he had on his forehead was also burnt. The only thing he could do was to look. He stared at Frank who was carrying him. If the cyborg was a living creature he would cry because of his hapiness. He was glad that his comrade was alright and had come to his rescue. Shrieker could not protect him all alone, after all. He looked at Frank with his little green eyes. He had a cute look on his face. It seemed like he wanted to say something with his eyes. However, it was still very difficult to understand. The cyborg had no means of communication at all. He was unable to move and he could not say anything to anyone. Was that his end? He could not understand. He thought "... I can't move... I can't speak... I can't do anything. I am practically useless... Is this the end?".

And as he thought all these things, something unexpected happened! While the cyborg was held tightly on the zombie's hands a strong air blew and started dragging the two towards the fire. R.A.M. 2 was dragged away from the zombie's hands and disappeared in the flames. As soon as the cyborg was dragged away, the air stopped dragging Frank towards the fire and stopped. R.A.M. 2 had just disappeared! What was possibly going on?! What caused that event? And what would Frank's reaction be about this?!

Meanwhile Koga looked at Azrael as he saved Ellen from Miguel's shot. That man... He seemed to be very fast and very strong. He was not looking as strong as Maximillion and Manta, as strong as Frank in terms of strength and as strong as Chusei in terms of speed, but he seemed to be the user of a profficient battling style that would give him great advantages in a battle. He thought "Maybe I did well for helping him..." as he stared him while he prepared to face Miguel! Another battle under the fire would start!

Miguel, on the other side, did not think of anything. The only thing he thought was that he should have taken the whole situation seriously, before it was too late. He couldn't fix anything anymore. However, he could prevent the pirates from causing more damage before it was too late. With an angered look on his face, he raised his gun and pointed towards Azrael. He said "Pirates... As a Chief Guard and a former Warden of the place, I will not let you escape!" and he shot two times towards Azrael in an attempt to hit him at his legs so that he would move with more difficulty.

"R.A.M!" Frank shouted after the cyborg's numb body. He couldn't believe he let one of his nakama get killed like that, perhaps he was still weak from exhaustion. He couldn't follow the cyborg's body into the fire, he'll only get killed himself, and two dead comrades are worse than one, what a horrible thought. "Shit, SHIT!" Frank shouted in anger and frustration. "IT'S ALL BECAUSE OF THAT LECTER FOOL! GUYS?! QUINCY? MANTA? ANYONE?!" Frank shouted as he continued walking through the path that was still clear of flames. Koga was the closest to RAM, he will be so sad when he'll realize the cyborg was gone, if he was still alive that is.

Pirates? what had his instructors said about them "Pirates are people who breaks the humans laws, not that you are a human or have rights". He had wanted to tell his opponent that he wasn't a pirate but he didn't know what he was, he looked like a human, walked like a human but according to his teachings that wasn't enough, you also needed to be born a human which according to them he wasn't.

As his plan failed he used Soru, as a means to get to Miguel's other side, then he used his second hand and aimed for his opponents neck and if that would miss he planned to pull up his hand so that if his opponent didn't move he would hit his opponents chin, that would paralyze him, if just for a few seconds. Woman, take this he said to Ellen before going through his pockets and found his performance pills, he gave her one You will be able to take more punishment, become faster and stronger whit that but after a set amount you will pass out, use it if you want

Rick stopped for a while and listened. well he knew that he wouldnt be able to break out of Impel Down alone. He needed help. This was hard for Rick to understand, he never before needed help or any kind of things like that. And he also knew that if he wants to reach his goal doesnt depends if he join them or not, after he joins and escapes from Impel Down, he can do what he wants, if he wants to stay he can stay, if he wants to leave he can leave.

Fine, I'm in! Now where is the Warden he is the biggest problem here as i heard and saw.

He said with no emitons on his face and waited for the answer of Manta.

As Ellen was saved by Azrael she merely looked at him gratefully and grunted thanks as she struggled to get up on her feet. As the stranger passed her some sort of drug, she merely shrugged and stuffed the performance pill in her pocket, managing to get back on her feet. "No point in useing them yet, I'm defenseless without some lovely explosives, andi've just ran out of the stuff, though to be honest they were a hell of a lot more powerful than I thought I made them but, eh, you live and learn to blow things up a another day.", she blathered as she tried to limp over to where she thought the nearest way out was.

Alex’s spinning body and wings, which he still held out on either side of himself, protected him from most of Draculo’s strikes. A couple of them still made it through and left minor cuts on his back and chest, but Alex didn’t even seem to notice them. Instead he stopped his rotation and came back around and started knocking aside each of Draculo’s stabs with his wing sword. As he did this, he laughed in Draculo’s face.

“You say I cannot understand, but it is you who knows so little!” Alex said when his laughter subsided. “You claim that if no one like me existed, there would be no reason for people like you to do the things you do. Such foolishness! There have always been people like me and many of them are hidden among your precious Marines and World Government! Think for an instant what would happen if no pirates existed. The World Government would no longer have any reason to keep people on their side. They are corrupt; do not attempt to deny it. The Celestial Dragon, Absolute Justice, these things only lead to more pain and sadness and it is because of the World Government that we must endure them. Without pirates restraining them, the World Government could and would rampage across the world, sowing the seeds of misery and rebellion. Eventually they would be overthrown and once again the world would dissolve into the chaos that is the only thing keeping any kind of freedom and unity alive!” Alex leaned in towards Draculo, his eyes glinting dangerously. “So really…pirates like me are the ones that are keeping the World Government from falling to pieces.”

Alex left Draculo on that note and flew backwards a couple of feet. He raised his wing sword again and pulled his top two wings back, while his lower ones continued flapping, holding him aloft on the hot air that was rising from the fire below.

“Spike Strike!” Alex shouted.

He stabbed his two higher wings at Draculo’s chest and slashed at him with his wing sword simultaneously.

"Sorry, Alvaro, Ti'ar's not one for thinking of every possible problem." Normally, Ti'ar's thought process included only murdering the nearest criminal and various other NSFW activities. As Ranyx sent a Rankyaku slashing through a Bluegori, he continued, "That was a friend of mine, Ti'ar. You may or may not remember rumors of "The Demon Jailor" or "that perverted mother f***er"... he managed to get quite a few of his prisoners scared out of their minds." He shrugged, before backflipping over to another Bluegori and smashing its head face first into the ground. "We meet up sometimes, and do each other favors. Like this one. Another friend was responsible for getting us in here, though." He spun, running back to Alvaro. "Now, Level One sucks, hard. You're going to have to let me carry you, or else we'll be cut to ribbons by the plant life. I can stay safely above the plants, but I somehow doubt you can..." He took off his vest, throwing it so it collided with a Bluegori's face, (the vest is HEAVILY weighted.) before saying, "Now, how'd you like me to carry you. Your decision, of course."

Draculo was surprised to listen to a speech like this from the mouth of a pirate. Alexander, who was a mere pirate dared to say that if pirates like himself did not exist, the Government would be unable to have control on people. A pirate dared to say that thing! That was absurd. That bastard, who was going against the law with his actions, had the guts to say that the Celestial Dragons and most of the Marines were corrupted. He sighed and said "Well... You might be right... But that doesn't mean that your actions are right! You are still a danger to the people of the world and so I have to stop you! Pirates or marines, I really don't care! As long as you are a threat for this world, I am your enemy!". The man was clearly angry and had no control over what he said. With his angry look, he raised his sword and prepared for one final, last attack. As he wanted to end that battle, he grabbed his sword with his two hands. He swiftly moved the sword diagonically in order to cut Alexander at the chest and defeat him. However, as he did, the man intercepted his attack with his Spike Strike. The first wing clashed with his sword and blocked the attack, while the second one cut him on the chest, causing great bleeding.

Draculo fell on his knees. He could not understand. He had been defeated... By the pirate. He could not understand. He looked at the place around him that was a burning inferno and touched his injured chest. Blood was coming out of it in a rapid rate. He stared at it for a brief second and tears came out of his eyes. As the tears fell from the eyes, they became one with his blood. The man was thinking of something... On the verge of death, he remembered something... A memory from the past...

[Flashback]

On a small island two children are seen playing on the beach. One of them is carrying a very long wooden sword while the second one is carrying a heavy brunch with only one of his hands. The two children are clashing their wooden weapons and they are having equal battles. The boy with the long wooden sword goes with very swift attacks while the boy with the branch is going with brute and powerful attacks. As their "weapons" clash, the two of them seem to have fun...

Some time later, in the night the two children are seen again. They are staring at the sea together. They seem to be having a conversation... A friendly conversation. One of them sighs and asks

"Lion... I have never asked you... Why are you training at all?"
"Huh? What do you mean Draculo? I am training for the same reason as you!"
"Really? I never knew that before? You don't seem like the kind of guy who wants to protect the innocents."
"Well, nobody's personality can be seen with the eyes..."
"That's true... And what made you decide that in the first place?"
"Ah... It's difficult to decide... It's probably the fact that I always wanted to be a hero..."
"I see... And have you thought what would happen if you got killed somehow?"
"Indeed... There would always be somebody with my will... Somebody who would share my ideals... Somebody like you."
"Like me? Do you really think so?"
"Indeed, Draculo. Listen... Can you promise me something?"
"Sure, Lion. What is it?"
"If I ever fell on the battlefield... I want you to keep fighting. If I ever die it will mean that I was not strong enough to protect my morals... But if you get stronger than me, you will probably protect these morals... Our same morals."
"Don't be stupid! You'll never fall with your current strength!"
"Oh come on! I am just asking you something..."
"Whatever... I'll do it..."
"Thank you Draculo... A lot."
"It's okay... It's not like you'll ever die anyway."

[Flashback Ends]

"I am sorry Lion..." Draculo said. "I failed to keep my promise... I am really sorry..." he continued, before finally collapsing. Alexander won the battle against the vice-guard. Lion, Lecter and now Draculo. Only Miguel was still standing...

Meanwhile, Manta smiled as he looked at Dio. The darkness user agreed to join the crew. He did not know if that was temporary until they would get out of the prison or not, but he was still a valuable ally in the effort to free Maximillion. In the previous levels, the Dusk Pirates had a few problems to move deeper inside the prison but seeing the events of Level 3, Manta decided to gather a few people to assist him. That would echance the forces of the crew to the point that they would be able to finally free Maximillion if the crew worked carefully.

Then, as soon as the darkness user said that, the temporary captain decided to finally make his move. With an evil look on his face, the man decided to demonstrate a short portion of his power. In an instant, he used his signature shockwave from his feet to go with his Shockwave Fly move. The man moved extremely high on the air, and by using his Shockwave once more to move, he reached a spot where he could be seen by anyone. He shouted "PRISONERS! LISTEN! MY NAME... IS MANTA... MANTA MAIMOU!"

While Manta said that, Koga was looking at Azrael. The man was fighting with Miguel and the battle seemed to be very difficult. While the assassin was trying to kill the Chief Guard with his stealth attacks, Miguel easily dodged by using a series of weird techniques that allowed him to disappear from his previous spot and reappear somewhere away. He was thinking "That man is in trouble...". However, as soon as he listened to Manta speaking, he looked at him. He said "Manta! He finally appeared! He defeated the snake after all! That bastard... What took him so long?!"

Manta continued speaking "I WILL TELL YOU WHAT I WANT! THOSE WHO NEED TO FOLLOW US, THE DUSK PIRATES, MAY COME TO THE STAIRCASE LEADING TO LEVEL 4. OTHERWISE, YOU MAY BURN IN THIS HELL OR RETURN TO YOUR CELLS! WE ARE HEADING TO THE DEEP WATERS... THOSE WHO ARE BRAVE ENOUGH MAY COME! THE WEAKLINGS CAN STAY HERE!".

As soon as he said that, many prisoners withdrew theirselves back at their cells. After hearing this, Koga said to Azrael and Ellen "If you want to come, follow me!" before running towards the staircase.

Miguel was surprised with that thing. He said "Damn it! Guards! Move at the staircase!" and the guards started moving through the fire, with some of them getting burnt, others getting severely injured and others being safe and sound. And with them, Miguel was coming, willing to stop any prisoners that would follow the Dusk Pirates. Would the prisoners and the Dusk Pirates escape the burning hell and reach the 4th floor? And what about Miguel's endless pursuing?!

[Okay! Members of the Dusk Pirates! RP moving towards the staircase that leads to level 4 while being chased by random guards. There, the whole crew will reunite! Thanks!]

[EDIT: AND DON'T IGNORE THE FRIGGIN' FIRE!]

Gabriel began slicing, shooting and singing as he made his way through the prison, killing many, and then was distracted. He saw some blood, and he smiled happily, and admired it like it was a bunch of roses, giggling to himself, and might have actually SMELLED the blood if it wasn't for hearing Manta's voice. What he was talking about...sounded fun, and there would defiantly be blood, and maybe he could be in the pirate crew, that would DEFIANTLY involve blood, fun or both. Gabriel followed Manta's voice until he was next to him and giggled "I'll help you play" he said, with a sick grin.

Frank was happy to finally see a familiar face. He thought about shouting about RAM's death but it might be best to save it for later, when they weren't fighting for their lives. He watched as the guards moved towards the staircase, attempting to block the Dusk Pirate's way. There was no way in hell he was staying here with the raging fire, so he rushed forward like a mad bull, throwing guards from his left and right into the flames, getting light burns on his arms as he did so. He had no time or intention to stop and look at the burns, he was to angry about Ram's death to care, he wanted pay back. When he finally reached the stairs, he stood right in front of it, letting every prisoner to pass and stopping every guard that came at him, he was super pissed now. "ALL CLEAR CAPTAIN MANTA!" Frank shouted form his position.

As soon Manta started yelling around about who is gonna follow the Dusk Pirates or who is gonna not, Dio didnt even listened to that and started walking to the stairway alone and not willing to wait for Manta or any other, He walked and took out he fire that was in his way with the power of darkness, without saying anything, all it was seen or heard was darkness coming on the ground and covering the burning surfaces infront of his feet. It wasnt his thing to walk around with no boots or a big black coat, still he showed no kind of emitons why walking straight towards the stairs. Some of the guards around got drained into the darkness and some didnt even tried to charge him in any way and just walked back away from the weird guy, and it was clearly seen, Dio wanted to reach LEVEL 4.