The moment Marya's hand closed around Eternal Eclipse's obsidian hilt, the air crackled with impending chaos. Beside her, Galit Varuna uncoiled his long neck like a released spring, eyes fixed on the tank. "Jelly! With me!" he barked, already sprinting toward the water's edge. Jelly Squish jiggled with glee. "Bloop! Splash time!" He bounced after Galit, leaving glittery footprints on the grimy walkway.
They reached the tank's rim just as the dark-suited guard's hand descended toward Fia's shoulder. Atlas Acuta moved faster than thought. A blur of rust-red fur and blue sparks, he intercepted the guard's wrist, his own hand clamping down with a crack of stressed bone. The guard gasped, face contorting in pain, his halberd clattering to the floor. "Touch her," Atlas snarled, sapphire eyes blazing, "and I'll see how many pieces you come apart in." Fia flinched away, pressing herself against the cold glass, her terrified gaze still locked on her family inside.
Galit reached the heavy iron grating sealing the tank's top. He gripped the bars, muscles straining, but the metal groaned stubbornly, locked from below. "Blast! Sealed tight!" Jelly, however, wobbled gleefully. "Slippy time!" His azure form liquefied, oozing effortlessly through the narrow gaps in the grating like spilled ink, plopping into the churning water below with a soft glug.
Inside the tank, Henrick shielded Geo, his hammerhead frame tense as the dazed Great White shark began to circle again, its dead eyes fixed on them. Jelly bobbed to the surface, waving a mittened hand. "Fishy friends! Big stabby lady says MOVE AWAY FROM GLASS!" Henrick's eyes widened, recognizing the bizarre newcomer from Marya's group. Trusting instinct over understanding, he grabbed Geo and kicked powerfully backwards, away from the barrier just as Jelly launched himself at the shark.
"Sharky hug!" Jelly chirped, his gelatinous body expanding like a living net, wrapping around the predator's snout and gills. The shark thrashed wildly, its powerful tail slamming against the glass, but Jelly clung on, his form absorbing the impacts with rubbery jiggles, muffling the beast's jaws. "Bouncy! No bitey!"
Marya saw it all: Galit straining uselessly at the grating, Jelly entangling the shark, Henrick and Geo swimming clear, Fia trembling as Atlas held the guard at bay, and Saint Jalmack's bubble-helmet tilting with removed curiosity. Subtlety was ash. Eternal Eclipse slid free from its sheath with a whisper like tearing silk. The obsidian blade drank the harsh spotlights, runes along its length flickering with hungry crimson light. Marya didn't shout, didn't posture. Her voice cut through the arena's roar, cold and clear as breaking ice, aimed solely at her crew: "Now."
She swung. Not a wild slash, but a single, devastating arc imbued with the crushing weight of Armament Haki. Eternal Eclipse met the scarred, algae-streaked glass.
The sound wasn't a shatter. It was an explosion. A thunderclap of fracturing crystal that drowned the crowd's roar. A spiderweb of cracks erupted from the point of impact, spreading faster than thought. Then, with a groaning scream of tortured material, the entire tank face disintegrated.
Ten thousand gallons of seawater, thick with the metallic tang of blood and the briny stench of confinement, exploded outward in a raging, glass-studded tidal wave. The force ripped benches from their moorings, sent spectators tumbling like driftwood, and flooded the lower tiers in an instant. Screams – raw terror now, not bloodlust – ripped through the humid air, mingling with the roar of the deluge and the tinkling rain of falling glass shards. Spotlights fizzed and died, plunging sections into chaotic semi-darkness lit only by emergency lamps and the eerie glow of Marya's blade.
The wave slammed into Fia, Atlas, and the guard, knocking them off their feet. Atlas cursed, blue sparks fizzing violently as his fur soaked through. The guard was swept away, choking. Fia sputtered, scrambling upright, her eyes frantically scanning the receding floodwater. Then she saw them – Henrick, coughing, hauling a spluttering Geo onto the submerged walkway where the tank wall had been. Fia didn't run; she flew, stumbling through knee-deep water, her coral-pink hair plastered to her face, to crash into them. Her arms wrapped around Henrick's neck and Geo's small shoulders, pulling them into a crushing embrace, her body shaking with silent sobs. Pearlescent tears mixed with saltwater on her cheeks.
"Fia!" Henrick rasped, his voice raw, returning the embrace with one arm while keeping Geo close with the other. His eyes scanned her borrowed clothes, her terror. "By the Deep… how are you here? How did you find us?"
Galit, dripping wet but already scanning the panicked exodus and the elevated box where Saint Jalmack's guards were now forming a protective cordon, splashed towards them. "Questions later!" he snapped, his analytical tone sharp with urgency. "We need to move! That display won't go unanswered!" He jerked his head towards the noble's box.
Atlas wrung seawater from his fur, grimacing as blue sparks sputtered weakly. "Ugh! Smells like low-tide gutter water!" Jelly, riding the crest of a receding wave back towards the group, giggled. "Wheeeee! Big splashy!"
Fia pulled back slightly, her ocean-blue eyes wide with renewed dread. She cupped Geo's face. "Where's Lulee? Your sister! Where is she?"
Henrick's expression darkened, a storm cloud passing over his features. He shook his head, chains still rattling on his wrists. "They separated us after capture. I don't–"
"I know!" Geo piped up, his small voice surprisingly firm despite his shivers. He pointed a trembling finger towards a reinforced metal door on the far side of the flooded arena floor, partially obscured by fallen debris. "Bad men took her through there! To the 'special bids' room! We gotta hurry! They said… they said she was 'prime'!"
Fia's breath hitched. She whirled towards Galit, her eyes pleading, desperate. "My daughter! Please! We have to find her!"
Galit met her gaze, his emerald eyes unreadable for a heartbeat. Then he gave a single, sharp nod. He turned to Atlas, who was slicking water from his fur with clear disgust. "Acuta! Stop preening! We're not done yet!" Galit's voice held a familiar, needling edge. "Move your soggy hide!"
Atlas's head snapped up, his fur bristling instantly, blue sparks reigniting with a sharp crackle. His eyes narrowed to slits, locking onto Galit. "What," he growled, the sound low and dangerous, vibrating with sudden, electric fury, "did you just call me, Noodle-Neck?" The competitive fire, momentarily doused by the flood, roared back to life. The rescue was far from over, and the path to Lulee led deeper into the belly of Sabaody's darkest trade.
The humid chaos of the flooded arena seemed to shrink for Saint Jalmack. High in his pristine bubble, he watched Atlas and Galit's bristling standoff, the lynx mink's fur crackling like a storm cloud, utterly ignoring him. A low, distorted grumble emanated from his helmet's speaker. "Incompetents. Useless swine. Must I handle everything?" The remaining dark-suited guard beside him stiffened, hand tightening on his wicked halberd. With a petulant wave of his gloved hand, Jalmack gestured towards the epicenter of the disruption – Marya and Rayleigh standing near the shattered remnants of the viewing walkway, water lapping at their boots. "You! Accompany me. We shall correct this insult personally."
He descended from his sterile perch, his bulbous suit awkwardly navigating the wet stairs, the guard a silent, lethal shadow at his side. They splashed through the knee-deep water, Jalmack's environmental suit hissing faintly with each step, drawing a wide berth from the panicking crowd still scrambling over soaked benches. He stopped a dozen paces from Marya and Rayleigh, raising a peculiar, ornate flintlock pistol – more a symbol of status than a practical weapon – its barrel inlaid with mother-of-pearl.
"Halt, vermin!" Jalmack's amplified voice was tinny, yet dripped with imperious disdain. Both Marya and Rayleigh turned. Rayleigh took another slow swig from his dented flask, his expression one of mild curiosity, like observing an unusual beetle. Marya's golden eyes met the distorted visage within the bubble helmet. One dark eyebrow arched fractionally, a silent question hanging in the damp air: Really?
"You have disrupted my entertainment," Jalmack declared, the pistol wavering slightly in his gloved grip. "You will kneel. You will serve as compensation. Your… peculiarities might amuse me for a time. The fishwoman first, then the lightning beast." He gestured vaguely towards Fia and Atlas.
Rayleigh chuckled, a low, rumbling sound like distant waves on rocks. Marya's response was simpler. She rolled her eyes, a slow, deliberate motion that conveyed utter, weary contempt. Her hand, gripping Eternal Eclipse's obsidian hilt, didn't even twitch.
The insult struck Jalmack like a physical blow. His bubble-encased head jerked back. "You DARE?!" he shrieked, the distortion making his fury sound comically shrill. "Guard! Subdue them! Make them bleed for their insolence!"
The dark-suited guard moved. He was a blur of tailored darkness, halberd whipping up, its cruel point aimed not to kill immediately, but to maim, to incapacitate for his master's pleasure. He covered the distance in two powerful strides, water spraying in his wake.
He never reached them.
Marya didn't draw her sword. She simply looked at him. A wave of invisible force, colder and heavier than the seawater flooding the arena, slammed outwards. It wasn't a physical blow, but a crushing weight of sheer, indomitable will. The air shimmered faintly crimson around her for a fleeting instant. The charging guard's eyes rolled back in his head. His knees buckled, his expensive suit crumpling as he hit the water face-first with a heavy splash, unconscious before he submerged. The halberd clattered uselessly beside him.
Jalmack stumbled back a step within his suit, a distorted gasp echoing inside his helmet. "W-What sorcery?!" He raised his ornate pistol, hand trembling with rage and sudden fear, and fired. The crack of the flintlock was shockingly loud in the relative lull.
Rayleigh shifted his weight, a movement so fluid and minimal it seemed like an afterthought. The lead ball whined past his ear, splintering a mangrove root support behind him. Marya tilted her head perhaps half an inch. The second shot tore through the damp fabric of her casual shirt's sleeve near the shoulder, missing flesh by a hair's breadth and embedding itself in a soaked timber beam with a dull thunk. Neither flinched. Their attention was already shifting, drawn by Galit's urgent shout across the flooded expanse.
"Zaleska! Old Man! We move! Fia's daughter – the 'special bids' door! Now!" Galit pointed towards the reinforced metal exit Geo had indicated, already herding Henrick, Fia, and Geo towards it, his long neck scanning for threats.
Rayleigh glanced at Marya, a ghost of a smile playing on his lips as he recorked his flask. "Shall we?"
Marya gave a single, curt nod. "We shall." She turned her back on the World Noble.
Jalmack spluttered, the sound like a clogged drain inside his helmet. They were ignoring him! Walking away! He fired again, the shot going wide, kicking up a plume of water near Marya's boots. "Stop! I command you! STOP!" Another shot. And another. Bullets sparked off the metal railing Marya casually stepped over, whined past Rayleigh's head, or vanished harmlessly into the chaotic gloom. They moved with an infuriating, unhurried certainty, navigating the debris and water towards the group gathering at the metal door, treating his lethal tantrum like annoying gnats.
Fury boiled over, eclipsing even his sense of self-preservation. "YOU FILTHY MAGGOTS!" he screamed, firing his last shot wildly into the air. He took an enraged step forward, deeper into the flooded walkway, the water now swirling around the lower third of his bulky suit.
Marya paused, glancing over her shoulder not at Jalmack, but at Atlas. The lynx mink was still glowering at Galit, blue sparks dancing violently across his soaked fur, radiating barely contained fury from the "soggy hide" comment.
"Atlas," Marya stated, her voice flat, cutting through the gunfire and the Saint's screeching. "Handle that."
Atlas's head snapped towards her, then to the floundering, bubble-encased figure ranting and shooting in the water. A slow, predatory grin spread across his face, baring sharp teeth. It wasn't a smile of mercy. "Gladly," he purred, the word crackling with static.
He didn't charge. He simply raised one hand, fingers spread wide. Blue lightning, raw and furious, surged down his arm, leaping from his fingertips and vanishing into the knee-deep saltwater flooding the walkway.
The effect was instantaneous and brutal. The water around Saint Jalmack's legs lit up with a web of incandescent blue energy. A strangled, electronic gargle erupted from his helmet as thousands of volts coursed through the conductive seawater and into the vulnerable systems – and occupant – of his environmental suit. The bulbous form stiffened violently, limbs jerking like a grotesque marionette. Inside the helmet, visible through the curved plastic, his eyes bulged impossibly wide, mouth open in a silent scream before the suit's internal lights flickered and died. With a final, convulsive shudder, Saint Jalmack collapsed face-first into the water he'd electrocuted, a plume of bubbles erupting around his helmet. The ornate pistol slipped from his gloved hand and sank.
Atlas lowered his hand, the blue sparks subsiding. He shook water from his fur with a disdainful flick, casting one last challenging glare at Galit. "Annoyance handled. Now, about that door, Noodle-Neck?" The path to Lulee, and deeper into Sabaody's grim underbelly, lay just ahead.
The humid air in the corridor behind the reinforced door tasted of rust, despair, and stale brine. Dim emergency lamps cast long, wavering shadows on the damp concrete walls, illuminating iron-barred cells lining both sides. Moans and whimpers echoed from within, the sounds of broken spirits. Geo, undeterred, scampered ahead on the wet floor, his small figure a beacon of frantic hope. "This way!" he called back, his voice bouncing off the grim walls. "I remember! They took her down here!"
Jelly bounced eagerly after him, leaving faintly shimmering patches on the concrete. "Adventure time! Find fishy friend!"
Rayleigh and Marya moved with the group, the old pirate's eyes sharp, missing nothing, while Marya's golden gaze swept the cells with distant assessment. Henrick kept pace beside Fia, his massive frame tense, chains still dangling from his wrists. He scanned the motley crew – the towering, coiled-neck strategist, the crackling lynx, the bouncing blue anomaly, the stoic swordswoman, the old man. Suspicion hardened his features.
"Fia," he rumbled, his voice low and gravelly with strain. He gestured subtly towards the others. "Who are these people? Can they be trusted?" His protective instincts were a visible shield around his family.
Before Fia could answer, Marya turned her head slightly, one dark eyebrow arching in a look that was pure, unimpressed dismissal. Her tone was flat, cutting through the corridor's gloom. "These people," she stated, her thumb subtly indicating the group, "are the ones who just shattered a tank and electrocuted a World Noble to free you. Trust seems somewhat academic at this point." She didn't break stride.
Fia placed a calming hand on Henrick's thick forearm, her touch gentle but firm. "She's blunt, but she's right, my love," she murmured, her ocean-blue eyes meeting his worried gaze. "They helped me find you. They helped Geo. We can trust them." The conviction in her voice, born of desperation and witnessed courage, eased some of the tension in his shoulders.
They rounded a corner into a wider, slightly better-lit area. A makeshift checkpoint barred their path – a flimsy wooden barricade manned by two nervous-looking guards in cheap leather armor, their faces pale under the weak light. They gripped spears with white knuckles, having clearly heard the commotion from the arena.
Atlas Acuta stepped forward, pushing past Galit. Water still dripped from his rust-red fur, but blue sparks now danced playfully, lethally, around his claws. A slow, predatory grin spread across his face, baring sharp teeth. He didn't draw his chui; he simply looked at the guards. "Well now," he purred, the static crackle amplifying his voice unnaturally. "You two look like you're thinking about doing something incredibly stupid. Are you sure that's what you want to do?"
The guards exchanged one terrified glance. They took in the crackling mink, the towering figure with the serpentine neck, the woman with the obsidian blade that seemed to swallow the light, the old man radiating quiet menace, and the freed fishman glaring at them. The spears clattered to the wet floor almost simultaneously. One guard fumbled desperately at his belt, throwing a heavy ring of keys towards Henrick's feet before both turned and fled down a side passage, their panicked footsteps echoing away.
Rayleigh chuckled, a low, warm sound in the grim corridor. "Efficient deterrent," he remarked, picking up the discarded key ring and tossing it easily to Henrick. "Saves the mess."
Henrick caught the keys, the metal cold in his hand. Without a word, he moved to the nearest cell, fumbling with the large, rusted key. The lock clanked open. He moved to the next, and the next, throwing open doors. Hesitant figures emerged – humans, fishmen, others – blinking in the dim light, disbelief warring with fragile hope on their faces. Whispers of "Freedom?" and "What happened?" filled the air.
Fia didn't wait. Her eyes scanned the cells frantically as Henrick worked. Then she saw it. At the far end of the corridor, partially obscured by shadows, stood a large, cylindrical glass tank, like a grotesque fishbowl. Inside, floating with her coral-pink hair drifting around her like a sorrowful halo, was Lulee. Her small hands were pressed against the thick glass, her deep ocean-blue eyes wide with tears that shimmered like trapped pearls. Geo had reached the tank first, pressing his own small hands against the outside, his voice muffled but desperate through the barrier. "Lulee! We came back! Mama and Papa are here! We found you!"
"Geo!" Lulee's voice, thin and watery, came through a small vent near the top. She pressed harder against the glass, fresh tears tracking down her cheeks. "Mama! Papa!"
Fia was a streak of desperate motion. She pushed past the slowly emerging freed prisoners, stumbling once on the slick floor but not stopping. She reached the tank, pressing her palms flat against the cold, unforgiving glass, mirroring her daughter's position on the other side. Her own tears flowed freely now, mingling with the condensation. "Lulee! Oh, my baby!" Her voice cracked with a mother's raw relief and anguish.
Lulee choked back a sob, her small hands sliding to align perfectly with her mother's through the barrier. "Mama… I was so scared…"
Marya appeared silently beside Fia, Eternal Eclipse already drawn. The obsidian blade hummed faintly, the crimson runes pulsing with restrained power. "Step aside," she instructed Fia, her voice calm but leaving no room for hesitation. Her golden eyes assessed the thick glass, calculating the angle.
Fia pulled her hands back instantly, stepping away but staying close, her gaze locked on Lulee. Marya raised the blade. There was no grand wind-up, no battle cry. A single, swift, horizontal slash. The obsidian edge met the reinforced glass with a sound like a diamond scoring ice. A hairline fracture appeared, then spiderwebbed outwards with impossible speed. The glass didn't just break; it dissolved along the cut line, the top half sliding off with a smooth, heavy whump to shatter harmlessly on the concrete floor away from the tank's occupants. Sea water, no longer contained, sloshed over the rim.
Lulee didn't hesitate. She scrambled over the lower edge of the tank, dripping and shivering, and threw herself into Fia's waiting arms. Fia caught her, sinking to her knees on the wet floor, clutching her daughter as if she might vanish, burying her face in Lulee's wet hair, her shoulders shaking with silent sobs. "You're safe, you're safe, you're safe…" she whispered, the words a mantra against Lulee's ear.
Henrick arrived, dropping the keys with a clatter. He knelt beside them, his huge frame dwarfing them both, but his touch was infinitely gentle as he wrapped his arms around his wife and daughter. Lulee twisted in Fia's embrace, flinging one arm around her father's neck, pressing her face into his shoulder. Geo immediately burrowed into the group hug from the side. For a moment, the grim corridor vanished. There was only the tight knot of family, the shared warmth against the pervasive damp chill, the shaky breaths of relief, the quiet murmurs of reassurance, and the soft sound of tears that were finally, finally, tears of reunion.
Galit Varuna, ever the strategist, watched the joyful scene for only a heartbeat. His emerald eyes darted back down the corridor they'd come from, then towards the passage the guards had fled. The sounds of distant alarms were starting to echo – deep, resonant clangs that vibrated through the concrete. He cleared his throat, his voice cutting through the family's moment, urgent but not unkind. "The reunion is touching. Truly. But the World Government's response won't be. We need to move. Now." The fragile sanctuary of the holding area wouldn't last. Their escape from Sabaody's underbelly had only just begun.