chapter 2



7.35 a.m., Impel Down, level 5.5, hallway leading to a secluded cave

"Iva-sama! Iva-sama! We have a problem!"

Ivankov waved with his hand. "Not nov! I need to talk with Stravhat boy! Listen-"

"But a guard found the entrance!" screamed the candy panicking.

And everybody froze.

Deadly silence.

"Vhat?"

With wide eyes, Ivankov looked at his candy.

"A guard is coming!" the voice of the candy was trembling. "He can be here any moment."

"That can't be- ", Ivankov broke off, taking in the white face of his candy.

If a guard had found the secret entrance… That would mean the end of New Kama Land at level 5.5! The guards can't find out about this place. It was of paramount importance! He - Ivankov - was supposed to stay hidden together with all his sweet little candies until the time to revolt arrived.

"Vel… Strahvat boy wants to leave anyway. I will go to the tunnel and take care of it. Don't vorry, my sveet little candies!" announced Ivankov pushing through his still shocked candies. "Stravhat boy, come! I vill shov you the tunnel to the entrance."

A cry of joy and light steps told him the delightful, sweet boy was following him. And with him, quite the crowd of candies. Bless their pure little hearts.

Swiftly walking through the maze of tunnels and caves, Ivankov led Strawhat boy to the only tunnel connecting level 5.5 with the rest of the prison. Upon reaching the entrance cave to his sweet little paradise in hell, Ivankov instructed sweetie pie Strawhat boy to stay back while he took care of the unwelcome guest. Afterwards, Strawhat boy was free to leave.

Heavy steps echoed out of the tunnel.

With bated breath, everybody watched the doorway leading into the dark entrance tunnel.

"Well, look what we have here.", a voice out of the dark said. "And it looks like I have got a welcoming committee."

Ivankov got ready to give their unwelcome guest a nice little welcome present as he stepped out of the dark into the bright lights of the entrance cave and stopped.

- Something was off.

Very off.

Because that tiny slip of a guard gave off a powerful aura.

Too powerful for a plain guard.

And by the way, everybody around him tensed up Ivankov wasn't the only one noticing it.

In addition, the way the guard carried himself felt so familiar. But why would he feel familiar with a guard? After his meticulously planned arrest and subsequent imprisonment in Impel Down, he didn't even stay long enough in his cell to learn the names of his cellmates, let alone familiarise himself with a guard.

"Vho are you?" demanded Ivankov.

A smile – a very mischief, devious, god-damn bad news smile that not even the beard could hide and that Ivankov knew too well – spread over the guard's lower face. And he sweet little hell froze because this couldn't be, because it was impossible, because there was no way, because how in sweet's little hell, because yes, that's absolutely something he would do – but sugar-fucking how and sugar-fucking why?!

"Eh… Don't you recognize me? After all the fun times we had together? That's disappointing?" and that god-damn, naughty, little sugar boy had the gall to sound sad. Then, reaching up, the guard removed his hat and sunglasses to reveal carefully combed back blond hair and a burn scare around one of his bright sky-blue eyes before fiddling with the collar of his uniform.

"Let me tell you, this uniform is fucking uncomfortable."

"What are you doing here?!" shrieked Ivankov shocked. "Have you lost your mind?"

"Eh, turn it down Ivankov. I have had to listen to enough screaming for the past twenty-four hours.", the man said. "As to why I am here? Well, I have some business to attend to here and thought I would check in with you. You know, see how things are going and shit." The shit-eating smile got wider. "Seeing how I am your commanding officer now. But unfortunately, somebody had to invade a prison and throw a spanner in my plans."

And the man zeroed in on Strawhat boy.

"It's good to see you up. I was worried after hearing the chief warden got you with his poison.", he said, voice soft and sky-blue eyes full of relief.

Bewildered, Ivankov's gaze went from the man to Strawhat boy.

"Eh?" With a confused look, Strawhat boy tilled his head. "Who are you?"

The smile turned into a pout. "That's mean, Lu! I know we are no longer kids, and we haven't seen each other in years, but for my own bro- "

Suddenly screaming, Strawhat boy propellered himself at the man.

"Sabooooo!"

And Sabo, that wonderful, naughty, little sugar boy, was ready for an arm full of Strawhat boy and caught him quickly in a big hug. Strawhat boy wrapped his arms several times around Sabo, who buried his face in the black hair of the sweetie pie.

"We thought you were dead!" babbled Strawhat boy between sobs.

"You did?" asked Sabo lifting his head.

Strawhat boy nodded into Sabo's chest and managed to get snot all over the pristine uniform. "Dogra told us your ship got blown up, and you died."

Sabo whined. "Oh, dear… Ace gonna punch me so damn hard!"

And Strawhat boy promptly tensed up. With a gasp, he looked up at Sabo. "Ace! Sabo, we have to free Ace! They want to execute him!" Unwinding his arms from the blond man, he attempted to move past him, but Sabo grasped his arm and stopped him.

"I know, Lu! Just wait a minute, and let me talk quickly with Ivankov. Then we can go.", said Sabo and looked at what must be a wristwatch.

"Vait! Sabo, what's going on? How do you know Stravhat boy?" asked Ivankov closing in on the two sweet sugar boys.

Sabo sighed. "It's a long story, and I don't have the time to tell it right now, so the short version is Ace, Lu, and I are brothers."

"Vhat? Hov?" Ivankov's eyes widen. "You… you rem-"

"Look, Ivankov, I really would love to swap stories and everything, but I am on a tight schedule right now. I must reach my idiot older brother before he gets sent to Marineford. Magellan and an escorting unit of guards are scheduled to go to level 6 with the lift to pick up Ace at 8 a.m. sharp. That means in – "Sabo once again checked his wristwatch. "- 12 minutes, the bombs I placed in the cable drum of the lift and its engine will explode. That leaves them with the hidden stairs leading from level five to level six, which means they will go there only to notice that the door is locked, which will force them to go back to get the keys, and that's when they will notice that I swept all the keys for level six. And by that time, the transponder snail surveillance will probably also start to malfunction as I took the liberty to mix a very potent but slow-acting sleeping powder into today's food ration for the snails, which got disputed between 6 a.m. and 7 a.m."

Ivankov gapped.

"Right now is the only time frame to reach Ace while nobody suspects anything and get him out of his cell before all hell breaks loose." Sabo took a step back into the tunnel. "And searching for the god-damn hidden entrance already cost me a lot of time. So, I really must go. I will tell Dragon that you are well and everything is going according to plan. Okay?"

"Dragon? What dragon, Sabo?" asked Strawhat boy, confused.

Sabo frowned at Strawhat boy as if he hadn't expected that question. "Nobody you know, Luffy. Just my boss.", he answered casually. "He is called Dragon, but other people call him Rebellious Dragon. You probably never-"

"Oh! You mean dad?" said Strawhat boy. "You work with him?"

Surprised, Sabo blinked. "You know of him?"

"Grandpa told me back in Water 7."

"Oh, right. The crazy old man visited you there.", mumbled Sabo sounding strange.

"Your dad?!" echoed Ivankov shocked, and flew through the whole entrance hall. "Dragon is your dad, but- but-"

"Ivankov!", said Sabo sharp. "I don't have time to explain things! Okay?! I will explain it to you some other time."

With wide eyes, Ivankov watched Sabo slowly being pulled into the tunnel by Strawhat boy. Thoughts were racing through his head.

Strawhat boy was Dragon's son?

And Sabo was Strawhat boy's brother?

But that would mean that… Sabo was Dragon's son, too?

He hadn't been able to remember anything about who he was before he woke up on their ship after Dragon resc- it must have been painful for Dragon that his own son didn't recognize him.

But they suspected that Sabo was of noble origin.

Did that mean his old friend Dragon was a born noble?

His old friend always said not to pry into his origin.

Was that the reason?

Was he a nobleman?

What was the reason for him to turn against nobility?

And the Marines? They were hunting Dragon with all their might.

Does he know something about them and the world government because he was a born noble? Something they want to keep hidden?

And Strawhat boy and Ace boy were his sons, too?

And now the Marines plan to execute one of his sons?

Could they actually be so dumb as to try to provoke Whitebeard and Dragon? At the same time? Or-

Ivankov gasped, they didn't know!

Sweet little hell! They! Didn't! Know!

"Sabo! Vait!" called Ivankov after the two sweetie pies.

"Ivan-"started Sabo.

"I vill come vith you!" said Ivankov determined. "Inazuma! Tell everyone vho vish to leave to get ready. Ve are breaking out! Meet us at the entrance to the stairway to level four, but don't get caught. I vill accompany our sugar boy Sabo and Stravhat boy to get Ace boy."

Inazuma nodded with a serious face while the candies behind him broke out in a buzz before racing off.

Sabo looked confused but didn't say anything.

"And by the vay, vhat do you mean you are nov my commanding officer?" asked Ivankov as he raced after the two boys through the dark tunnel.

.

.

8.10 a.m., Impel Down, level six, cell block on death row

Aside from the occasional rattling of chains, it was deadly silence on level six.

Tension was high between the prisoners.

Everybody knew what day it was.

It was the day of Fire Fist execution.

A man who sailed the seas under Whitebeard flags. Many men and women imprisoned in the endless hell held a grudge against the mighty pirate captain, which is why the pending death of the young man gave them cold-blooded satisfaction. And thus, they impatiently awaited the arrival of the chief warden to send Fire Fist on his very last journey, which would lead him straight to the scaffold and his death.

But if the thrashed lift cabin, which had loudly crashed a few minutes prior, were anything to go by, his departure would be delayed.

Finally, after what felt like aeons, they could hear steps echo from the stairs.

And level six held its breath in anticipation of the arrival of the chief warden.

In his cell, one Fire Fist Ace bowed his head.

His chains rattled as he clenched his fists.

"Jinbe?" he breathed, barely loud enough for the fishman to hear him.

"Yes?" he answered just as low.

"Please don't make a fuss now. I don't want you to become even more injured than you already are."

Jinbe grew stiff.

"Please promise me, Jinbe!"

Jinbe closed his eyes and, with a deep-drawn sigh, whispered. "I promise."

"Thank you."

"What the fuck!" a deep voice shouted, shocked.

And the next moment, Ace's name echoed loudly through the level.

"Ace!"

Ace's head snapped up. Disbelief and shock washed over his suddenly pale face.

"Ace?! Where are you?"

With wide eyes, he stared in the direction the still so painfully young, achingly familiar voice seemed to come from. Slowly he started to shake his head. "No!" he breathed tonelessly. "No! No! Nononononononono!"

And that's when a slip of a boy covered in blood and dirty with badly stitched-up clothes suddenly skitted to a stop in front of the cell.

Breathing heavily, the boy stepped up to the cell, eyes sparkling joyfully. "Ace! There you are!" the boy smiled brightly, putting his hand against the bars, only to slump down. "Damnit! Seastone." He mumbled with his face in the dirt, hands still gripping the bars.

"Luffy!" Ace cried out but was unable to help his little idiot brother.

"Idiot!" an unknown voice bellowed suddenly, and a blond man wearing a god-damn guard uniform with a burn scar on his face appeared. A man with a giant head and in one of the most ridiculous pieces of clothing Ace has ever seen followed him. For fuck's sake, Luffy had two prison guards on his tail and still ran straight to him instead of losing them first. Why was his little brother such an idiot?

"Get away from my brother!" bellowed Ace feeling his desperation and worry for Luffy's safety return in full force. Luffy was outside with two prison guards while clinging to the bars of his cell while Ace was still chained to the opposite wall with heavy seastone handcuffs cutting off his devil fruit powers.

But the two prison guards ignored him.

"Stravhat boy! Are you fine? I told you not to overdo it.", the second man asked.

"Seastone."

The blond man snorted. "Of course, it's seastone, dummy! That is a prison! Come on, let go! We don't have time for this."

"Don't touch him!" Ace barked at him.

This time the blond man looked at him, bright sky-blue eyes meeting his before he chose to ignore Ace – again – and reached for Luffy's hands. And if he wouldn't be so worried about his idiot little brother right now, he might have had the time to wonder why said brother seemed to be so friendly to two guards of the prison – during his stay he had learned that the most ridiculous figures where part of the prison administration – or why his heart painfully ached upon seeing the blond-haired, sky-blue-eyed guard with a noble featured face that looked so achingly familiar.

"I told you not to touch him!" And Ace sent the guard his most nasty look to scare him off, but the blond man simply ignored it.

"Huch? When did Ace turn this protective?" the blond man asked, pulling Luffy back to his feet.

And Luffy fucking giggled.

"No, not really! He is still a real big meanie."

The blond man chuckled. "Ah… so still the same?"

Luffy nodded enthusiastically.

"Can we get Ace out now?"

"Of course!" the blond man said and suddenly was holding a bunch of keys in his hands. "Don't touch the bars again while I get that idiot out." He looked sharply at Luffy, who was impatiently shifting from one foot to another.

Ace growled at the insult of the blond guard.

"Hurry up!" demanded Luffy.

The man sorted through the keys and had to test several keys before he had the right one for the cell door. "Wait here! I don't like the idea of you in a cell with so much seastone."

Luffy whined but stayed put as the blond man pushed the door open and approached Ace. Crouching down, he started to work his way through another bunch of keys to find the key for Ace's chains. The man looked Ace straight in the eyes, still unimpressed from his glare. "You know – "he started just loud enough for Ace to hear him. "– as nice as it is to see you being so protective of Luffy, it is a little bit painful that you would think I would hurt our little crybaby of a brother."

"Wha- "Ace gasped. "Sabo?"

A mischief, devious, god-damn bad news smile bloomed on the blond man's face, making parts of his beard move out of its shape.

And Ace's world shattered in a way similar to how it did back then, ten years ago, as he was told his very first friend, his partner, his brother had died. Everything seemed to consist of sharp pieces. Pieces, Ace was unable to piece together to create a functional world.

"But… how?" Ace barely managed to ask.

Sabo's smile dimmed, and sorrow flashed through his bright sky-blue, sky-blue eyes. "Long story. We will have time for swapping stories once we are all out of here.", Sabo said, standing up for better access to the chains around Ace's wrists. "Oh, also, no punching me right now. You knocking me out at the moment would not be good.", he added like an afterthought.

Seconds later, the last of Ace's chain opened, and he was free.

With wide eyes, he looked up at Sabo, who smiled down at him, one hand stretched out to help him get up.

Still in a daze, Ace raised his hand.

And winced as, with a strong pull, Sabo hauled him to his feet. And straight into a firm, very tight hug. Ace felt Sabo's face pressed into his shoulder for just one second. And there was absolutely no way Ace would ever be able to explain it to anybody, but being held by Sabo once again, made a few of the sharp pieces of his world fit together again.

"Ready to go?" asked Sabo, a cheeky grin in place again as he let go of Ace.

"Eh? Yeah, I think.", answered Ace slowly.

"Perfect." Sabo turned back to the door.

Ace only managed to cross half the way to the door before Sabo angrily cried out.

"Wait! No! Luffy!"

And something collided with Ace, nearly knocking him over. Long, long, long arms wrapped around him as a small figure pressed itself against him. "Luffy.", breathed Ace, borrowing his face in Luffy's messy hair while returning the bone-crushing hug. "You are an idiot."

"Ace, too!" came the childish response.

Another set of arms warped itself around them.

"You certainly both are idiots."

"Shut up, Sabo!"

A happy giggle.

And a few more sharp pieces of Ace's shattered world fit together to create a new world, a world with two crazy younger brothers, a world Ace thought he lost ten years ago. Closing his eyes and breathing deeply, Ace tightened his hold on his two brothers.

An annoyed sigh. "I get that you boys are happy, but ve should leave. Sabo, you have been harping us because of the schedule. And nov, you are the one vasting time."

"Shut up! We are having a moment.", snapped Sabo at the strange man.

"Now, isn't that sweet? Having a moment while in prison.", snarled a voice from one of the surrounding cells.

And Luffy tensed up in the arms of his brothers.

"Oh my… Croco boy. Nov, I remember they caged you here, too.", the stranger said nonchalantly. "Hov about you shut your mouth, little boy." And something crashed loudly.

"Maybe it is time for us to go.", said Sabo extracting himself from Ace and Luffy.

"Wait!" Ace suddenly said as he caught sight of Jinbe still chained to his wall and watching everything with suspicious eyes.

With a confused face, Sabo turned back to Ace.

Ace licked his lips. "Can you- Can you unchain him, too?" he asked, nodding in Jinbe's direction and, seeing Sabo's hesitation, added: "He is my friend. Please!" Something close to pleading slipped into Ace's voice, not that he would admit it to himself or anybody else.

Sabo still looked unconvinced but stepped closer to Jinbe. "You make friends in strange places."

Ace rolled his eyes. "We were friends before all this."

"Who is that?" asked Luffy as if noticing Jinbe only now, which is entirely possible because he is Luffy.

"That's Jinbe."

And Sabo stopped in the process of unchaining the fishman. "Like the warlord' knight of the seas' Jinbe?"

"Yes?" answered Ace. "Is that a prob- "

"You do know that the marines called in all warlords to participate in the fight against Whitebeard, they expect to break out once they sit your ass on that god-damn scaffold that they built in Marineford just for today?" hissed Sabo with an angry spark in his sky-blue eyes. "And you want me to unchain him?"

"He is my friend, Sabo", hissed Ace right back. "And he is here because he refused to participate in the fight! So yes, I want you to unchain him! Now!"

"Ace, you don't- "started Jinbe.

"Do it!" surprisingly, it was Luffy who all but ordered Sabo to free his friend.

"What?" asked Sabo, confused.

"He is nice. Unchain him.", said Luffy, head tilted to one side and looking straight at Jinbe. "Plus, he is friends with Ace." A bright sunny smile slipped on his face, so out of place in a prison like Impel Down.

Sabo blinked but then turned back to unchain the fishman. "There! Are you two happy?" asked Sabo once the last chain fell away.

"Thank you, Sabo!" said Ace bowing to his brother. And it was not Luffys' arms around him keeping him from face-planting straight into the dirt, making Sabo snort. No! Nope! Never!

"We have to go.", Sabo sighed.

"You didn't have to do that, Ace.", Jinbe said, rubbing his wrists.

"You are here because of me. The least I can do is make sure you get out.", answered Ace looking down, a frown on his face.

Immediately Luffy pressed himself into his side, smiling brightly up at him. Distracted by Luffy, he didn't see the concerned glances Sabo and Jinbe sent his way.

"Come on. We really must go.", said Sabo and glanced at his wristwatch. "The chief warden should be on his way, and I am not fond of the idea of running into him."

"Sabo, my sveet sugar boy. Can I have the keys?" asked the strange man as Ace, accompanied by Luffy, stepped out into the hallway.

"Why, Ivankov?" asked Sabo confused.

"I found us another strong fighter.", answered the strange man – Ivankov, Sabo said Ivankov.

"Who?"

Ivankov pointed at a man in one of the opposite cells.

Long hair slicked back, a horizontal scar over the middle of the face, an untrusty smile underneath, and a hock for a hand. The man standing on the other side of a cell's bar looked familiar to Ace, but he couldn't place him at that moment.

"Crocodile!" Luffy growled at his side.

And then Ace remembered. The warlord Luffy talked about beating up as they met back in Alabasta. "No!" the word slipped out of his mouth before realizing he had spoken.

"No!" Sabo said at that same moment, a desperate expression on his face. "I already told you I only planned on having to smuggle out Ace. Then Luffy here – "Sabo took the liberty to slap Luffy lightly on the head, making their idiot baby brother whine "– had the brilliant idea of invading the prison and messing things up for me. And then you insist on coming along with us with all your candies, and just know Ace insisted on Jinbe. And now you want to take another one with us?!" Sabo swept a hand through his perfectly styled back hair, tousling it up. "This riot-break-idea of you is going to bite us!"

Ivankov waved Sabo's objections away. "Don't worry, Sabo sveety. I knov Croco boy very vell. I can keep him in check." And something menacing flashed over his face as he looked at the former warlord.

The man tried to keep the smile on his face but didn't do a good job.

Sabo sighed and handed the keys over. "That one is on you." Then he swirled around at Ace and pointed at him. "And you better keep that friend of yours in check. I will not take responsibility for him. I only do it for Lu and you."

Stunned, Ace blinked. "Eh? Okay?"

.

.

8.25 a.m., Impel Down, level five, in front of the high-security door of the stairway connecting level five to level six

"The door is locked, sir." said the guard with an unhappy face.

"What?" Incredulously Magellan stared at the door. "That's impossible!"

The guard whimpered like he expected to get punished for the locked door.

"Unlock the door at once! We are already too late! Any more delays, and it will be impossible to hand Fire Fist over for transportation to Marineford on time.", demanded Domino, disgruntled. "Not keeping the schedule would be a shame for Impel Down."

"I- I- I don't have a key.", stuttered the guard pressing his back against the heavy high-security door.

"And where are the keys?" asked Magellan irritated.

"I believe in your office, chief warden.", answered Domino. "Somebody gets these keys. And quick! We don't have any time."

Two members of the escort unit sprinted off.

.

Minutes earlier, Impel Down, on the stairway connecting level five to level six

Even though fatigue tugged at every limb of him – he still didn't understand what Iva-chan did to make the fatigue, which made him ready to lay down and sleep for days, feel a lot less intense – Luffy felt giddy.

Ace's hand brushed against him.

Ace was free! He managed to reach him before his transportation to Marineford.

Stiff fabric touched his skin.

And all thanks to Sabo! Sabo, who was alive! Sabo, who had the keys and knew where they had kept Ace locked up.

Both his brothers were alive!

Both were with him! Running up the stairway, which would lead them away from this horrible place.

It was strange.

For so long, it has been Ace and Luffy, but now?

Now, they were once again Ace, Sabo and Luffy. They were together once again.

He, once again, had Ace and Sabo at his side.

Nothing could stop them now! Not even the faint traces of lingering exhaustion.

Luffy couldn't fight the grin on his face.

All they had to do now was get out of this hellish place, and then they would be free to go wherever they wanted to. They would roam the seas, have adventures, have parties, have fun, and be free. And nobody would be stopping them because they were Ace, Sabo and Luffy.

"Fuck!" cursed Sabo suddenly, grabbed Luffy and pulled him to an abrupt stop.

At the same moment, Iva-chan stopped running, too, blocking their way. Ace's friend Jinbe – Luffy wasn't sure about the name, but he looked kind of badass, and Luffy liked how he looked at Ace. Like he was very fond of his big brother, so Luffy could only like the badass fish-dude, too – nearly ran over Ace.

"You are okay, Ace?" asked badass fish-dude – that was easier than worrying about a name – his brother with both hands on his shoulders.

"I am fine.", answered Ace frowning.

"This is not good.", said the idiot-Croco, whom Iva-chan insisted on taking with them.

Luffy could have done without him.

There was no reason to take idiot-Croco with them.

They were Ace, Sabo and Luffy. And then there was badass fish-dude, who Luffy somehow was sure was super strong, and Iva-chan. That was more than enough fighting power to get out of this awful prison. So, what did they need idiot-Croco with his ugly scarred face, slimy smiles, oily hair, silly hook, and dumb sand powers for?

For nothing!

Idiot-Croco being with them was the only setback Luffy could find.

"Sabo, you don't think that is?" asked Iva-chan, hushed.

"I fear it is them.", answered Sabo just as quietly, not letting go of Luffy.

"And now?" asked Ace, who sounded tense.

Everybody around Luffy seemed to be tense for some reason. "What's going on?"

"Sh!" hissed Sabo. "Quite Luffy!"

Luffy was confused. "But- "

"Still no skill, I see.", said Crocodile in a low voice.

Luffy whipped around, glaring at idiot-Croco.

"Careful, Croco boy!" warned Ivankov while Jinbe manoeuvred himself between idiot-Croco and Luffy, successfully blocking his view at the source of his irritation.

"Ace, can you keep Luffy quiet? I will go and check things out.", asked Sabo, gently pushing Luffy toward Ace.

Frowning, Ace looked at Sabo while reaching for Luffy. "Isn't that too dangerous? If they notice you- "

Sabo smirked. He smirked as he did back when they had been kids prowling through Grey Terminal, and he had one of his ideas on making money for their pirate treasure. Smirked with sparkling sky-blue eyes and Luffy knew whatever Sabo planned to do would make Ace angry because, in his eyes, it would be something dumb.

"I have been sneaking around many places I was never supposed to be at. So, don't worry, big brother dearest, I know how to keep myself hidden." Sabo said, confidently slapping Ace's shoulder. "You guys wait here, and I will try to figure out what's going on."

Luffy glanced at Ace, and yes, he looked unconvinced but didn't say anything. Or at least nothing Luffy could understand because he had the feeling his two big brothers were doing that talking with looks over his head again, which he already hated as a kid.

But Sabo didn't seem to care about Ace's opinion and pushed past Iva-chan with one last smirk at them.

"Wait- "shouted Luffy, only for Ace to clap a hand over his mouth and hush him.

"Be careful, Sabo, my sugar boy.", said Iva-chan in a low voice.

Sabo only lifted his hand in a wave before tiptoeing up the stairs.

"I hope that boy doesn't get us caught.", idiot-Croco's voice said from behind badass fish-dude.

Luffy growled as Ace tightened his grip on him.

Yep, Luffy was right. Idiot-Croco was entirely unneeded.

.

Same time, Impel Down, level four, a hallway between two cell blocks

"Vice-warden Hannyabal!" Heavily breathing, a guard slid to a stop in front of Hannyabal.

"What?" he asked, stressed. Magellan wanted him to find out who was responsible for the explosion in the lift's engine, which resulted in its crashing. How was he supposed to become chief warden if he was forced to lead such a sorry investigation? Then again, he probably could spin it so that it would be chief warden Magellan's fault, and he could become the new chief warden.

For it could only be an act of sabotage.

And probably the thrice-damned okama was behind it.

Shame burned in Hannyabal for falling for the okama's trickery.

If he would get his hand on that okama…! There would be hell to pay!

"The snail surveillance- We don't know why, but the snails are falling asleep one after another. We have already lost around 35% of all the snails.", the guard reported, desperate. "The majority currently seems to be in levels six and four."

"What?!" Shocked, Hannyabal stared at the guard.

.

Same time, Impel Down, somewhere else

"Do you see anything?"

"No, gane!"

"What do you think caused that loud crashing we heard earlier?"

"I have no idea, gane."

"You think we can risk moving further?"

A sigh. "I would wait a little bit longer. We barely managed to hide the last time we changed location, gane."

"You would think they would all be busy handing Fire Fist over. Instead, the guards are all over the place."

.

.

8.50 a.m., Impel Down, level five, in front of the door to the stairway connecting level four to level five

Carefully Ivankov pushed the branches of a tree to the side, but he couldn't see any of his candies.

They should be here – no, Ivankov knew they were here – so why couldn't he see them? There was no time for delays anymore. On their way to the meeting point with Inazuma and his other candies, they had to hide from a guard in heavy clothes running in the direction of the once again locked door to level six and subsequently to the chief warden and his companion, who all were seeking shelter from the cold in one of the barracks built for the guards of level five. Sneaking past them had been nerve-wracking, especially because sweetie pie Strawhat boy constantly needed to be hushed.

"There!" Sabo whispered and pointed at a snow pile.

And Ivankov felt relief float through him as he saw one of his sweet candies pop his cute head out of a snow pile. Pushing past the tree line, he closed in on his candy. And suddenly, heads popped out of the snow all over the place.

"Ivankov!" the smooth voice of Inazuma reached his ears. "We were worried as the chief warden passed through, and we haven't heard anything new from you."

"I am sorry, we got a little bit side-tracked for a few minutes.", answered Ivankov smiling at his candies.

"But you were successf- "Inazuma stopped as he saw the group of five people step out from the same trees from which Ivankov emerged.

Sweetie pie Strawhat boy stayed close to Ace boy, so close in fact that he was practically clinging to his arm. On Ace boy's other side was their sugar boy Sabo, one hand constantly seeking contact with the older boy like he was ensuring the other was still there. Behind the three brothers, like a guarding shadow, followed Jinbe. Croco boy hung a little back, but one sharp look from Ivankov motivated him to move faster.

"As you can see, we got Ace boy and some additional fighting power." Ivankov smiled at his long-time partner and friend.

"Strawhat-chan!" a cheerful voice cried, and in the next moment, Bon boy raced at Strawhat boy.

Ace boy tensed up as Strawhat boy let go of him in favour of hugging Bon boy happily.

"You are up again, Bon-chan!"

"I am so sorry for not being able to come along to get your brother!"

"It's okay. You did so much already. And look! We have freed Ace!"

Bon boy's attention snapped from Strawhat boy to Ace boy. And even though Ace boy looked like he wanted to throw one of his famous fire fists at Bon boy – with Sabo assisting him if Ivankov read his face right – the little candy happily beamed at him. "It's so nice meeting Strawhat-chan's older brother!" And in the next moment, he threw his arms around Ace boy and, by default, also around Sabo, who stood direct next to him, for a hug.

Strawhat boy giggled happily.

"Eh? Okay! We must leave!" explained Sabo, frantic and skillfully removing Ace boy and himself from Bon boy's hug. Quickly grabbing Strawhat boy Sabo walked to the door with Jinbe and a happy Bon Boy in tow.

"You heard it, my candies! Let's go!" Ivankov clapped his hands before following Sabo's lead.

.

Same time, Impel Down, harbour, battleship of vice-admiral Onigumo

A guard nervously stood in front of vice-admiral Onigumo. "I am to inform you that the handover for the pirate Fire Fist Portgas D. Ace will be delayed."

Onigumo frowned. "What does this mean?" he asked, clearly displeased.

"There were some troubles with the lift, and- eh- the chief warden is truly sorry for the inconvenience." The guard bowed low. "We will keep you informed." And practical raced off the ship before Onigumo could ask further questions.

No need to let the vice-admiral know that they had lost all means to access level six now that the lift was crashed, the high-security door to the stairway looked, and the keys vanished. It would just take them some more time to find a way into the eternal hell and Fire Fist's cell. It's not like he could vanish out of his cell.

.

Same time, Impel Down, inside, the main monitoring room

Shocked, Hannyabal stared upon rows and rows of black monitors.

They lost all surveillance in levels six and four. Level three and one were closing in on nearly fifty per cent, and level two was already missing nearly three-quarters of surveillance.

In one of the monitors, he had seen the two prisoners, Buggy and Galdino, sneaking through the door for the stairways leading to level two before it went black. And even though he sent a group of guards to recapture these two again – how the hell had they gotten free again? That surely was also the work of the damn okama! – he hadn't heard anything from them.

And the chief warden was still on level five, trying to figure out a way to access level six without the lift or a key to unlock the high-security door, which sealed the entrance to the stairway leading into the last level of the prison, to get Fire Fist and hand him over for transportation to Marineford while Hannyabal handled all other problems.

And the okama was still running around somewhere.

And more and more snails stopped sending signals as one monitor after the other went black.

And Hannyabal wanted to blame the chief warden for all the mishaps so that he could become chief warden himself.

So why did it feel like they would make him responsible for this mess, too?

It was a hellish nightmare!