3 Part 1.3

My morning started the same way most other mornings do. With me staring at the ceiling for a few minutes and trying to convince myself that it will all be worth it in the end. It's a tough argument, let me tell you.

Then, I rolled on the floor a bit until I was ready to go. I'm not too worried about getting dirty. It happens sooner or later, and I'd rather get cleaned sooner. Do you know how prisoners are cleaned in Impel Down? Well, we don't have showers. That's for sure.

Instead, when a prisoner is too dirty or when they first come to Impel Down, they are baptized. But not the way you're thinking. Instead, the guards set up a big pot, fill it full of water, and then light a fire underneath it until the entire thing is at a screaming boil. Then they dip you in and out while you dangle from a rope like a tea bag or something until you're clean.

It might be the thing I hate the least actually. I've been dipped in boiling water so many times, that it hardly does anything to me anymore.

Whatever. Time to start the day off right. I stand up and crack my back a few times. Does sleeping on a stone floor mean I'll have great posture?

I clear my throat, then I sing. Badly.

"It's a Hard Knock life. For us!"

I wait, then I hear the reply.

"Shut up you stupid tone deaf Snitch! I'm trying to sleep in here!"

"Yah! Shut your mouth!"

"Hey! Don't tell him to shut his mouth! He's expressing himself in a way he feels comfortable! It's a beautiful thing damn it, like a beutiful butterfly, and we have no right to tell him how to live!"

"He should stuff his clothes in his mouth and suffocate himself!"

"I WANT TO BE A BUTTERFLY!"

I laugh. "IhsIhsIhsIhsIhsIhs. Pirates are silly. Good morning Impel Down."

Yup. Everyday I sing a few lyrics from songs I barely remember and watch the fireworks fly. Pirates will use any and every opportunity to behave like crazy anarchists, trust me.

Oh, don't give me that look. I don't start shit. I just stir it up and watch other people throw it.

I walk up to the bars and look out. I would see if I can make a mad dash to the food hall before anyone else if they are too busy arguing about whatever insane thing they argue about. I wonder why they fight so much. Sure, we're tortured in Impel Down, but that's what you get for being a pirate I guess. I didn't have a choice about being here, but these guys did. They chose to be pirates, knowing that when they were caught they would be sent to the worst place on the planet. They knew the risks, and they won't get any sympathy from me.

I grab the bars to see if I can see any guards walking down the hall to spill the juicy secrets I gathered and forgot to tell Magellan about. That's when it happens.

It feels like I went twenty hours dangling upside down. I feel nauses and weak. I let go of the bars and take a step back. I immediately feel better.

Is there like, poison gas in the hallway or something? Did Magellan fart, and have the fart fumes lignered in the hallway this long to stop prisoners from leaving their cells?

I get closer to the bars and take a few sniffs, but I don't feel weak again.

Why did that happen?

I think, long and hard. I go through a few impossible scenarios. Nothing stands out however.

In the middle of my thinking, my door creaks open. Damn. That means it's breakfast. Screw poison gas, I gotta run!

I take a deep breath and hold it. Then, I dash out as quickly as I could. I need to make it to the food room before most others if I don't want to be forced to sit next to someone, then get in a fight.

Let me explain. There's a stupid rule in Impel Down. When you eat in the food rooms, you have to eat sitting at one of the tables. The seats themselves are finder's keepers. That means if I'm not one of the first to grab my food, grab a seat, and finish eating to leave, I have to sit next to some pirate who is going to try to kick my face in.

I dash through the hall as fast as I can while holding my breath. I'm usually pretty nimble, but I need air to actually get to my top speed.

I'm so focused on holding my breath I didn't notice a pirate running next to me. He kicked his foot out, and I tripped. Don't worry. My face broke my fall.

Some pirates running by took the opportunity to give my ribs a few kicks while I was down. I got up to make a run again, but by now there's a crowd between me and the food.

Shit.

I make it to the room with the troughs full of glop. All the seats are taken. Except for one. The one next to a particularly fat pirate with a neck tattoo.

Damn. If he's fat, it means he's new. New pirates still think they're hot stuff and that they can get away with anything. The neck tattoo also means he's willing to put himself under intense pain to make himself look cool. Which means low self-esteem. Which in turn means he's going to be hyper aggressive. Like a pit-bull with Icy-Hot on their balls.

Speed. Speed is my friend.

I grab a handful of glop and quickly take my seat. Maybe if I finish quickly he won't notice- shit he's looking at me.

"Hey little boy. How are you doing today in this big scary place."

Oh shit! He sounds like a paedophile!

There's only one thing to do. Strike first!

I punch him as hard as I can, but before I can, he catches my fist. Shit! He has skill! Not skill, it's my only weakness.

"I'm Captain Umake of the Turkey-Neck Pirates little boy. Did you think that-"

His hand is inching closer to me. I'm afraid. Very afraid.

I don't know why, but a burst of adrenaline goes through me. I shout, and I don't know why, and punch the fat man in the face.

"By TwentyFold!" I shout out.

My fist makes contact, and the fat man goes flying. He crashes into the wall, and slides to the ground.

The mumuring of the prisoners stops and they look at me. I don't blame them. I'm looking at me too. How the hell did I do that?

Soon, the guards are on me. Let me tell you. They looked pissed.

"Ehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! What's all this then! How did you do that! You picking fights? Ehhhhhh!" There's at least ten guards, and they're all armed the teeth.

I panic. "No sir! I'm not picking fights! I don't know how I did that!"

The main guard squints his eyes. "Well, I think I know. Hold out your arms."

I do so immediately. I always do what the guards say. Good behavior is important.

He slaps my hand with a pair of handcuffs. Immediately, the feeling I had earlier back in my cell comes back. The guards notice and begin to smirk.

That's not good.

"Looks like we have a prisoner with a Devil Fruit ability boys. You know what that means prisoner?"

I do know. What I don't know is when I ate a Devil Fruit. The only fruit I've ever eaten was that rotten pear... Dang.

I shake my head side to side and wave my hands frantically. "No sir! No clue! Utter clueless, devoid of clues! Such ignorance is a crime into itself! I should be punished by being taken back to my cell and thinking about everything I don't know or have to run through the forest!"

The guards don't say anything. In my mind, their shadows grow longer and their eyes light up. Like demons. Like Magellan.

They grab me, laughing. I don't fight back. If I do it wouldn't be good behavior. I know what happens to Devil Fruit users in Impel Down.

They drag me to the center if Level One in the middle of the forest. A giant hole is there. It leads straight to Level Two.

They grab my arms and legs.

"One! Two! Three!" They shout, then they throw me.

With that, I fall deeper into hell.

avataravatar
Next chapter