Nikolai yawned as he leaned on the wall. He looked down at his wrists. Sure enough, the shackles were still there, as if mocking him. He supposed that this was the penalty for trying to steal a marine caravel. Still, they didn't need to slap him with a life sentence. It seemed a bit harsh. He stood up. It was a small prison, servicing no more than 200 inmates, but it seemed well run. Prisoners were given 3 square meals and plenty of time in the sun, but it could still get boring. "Well, wonder what I'll do today..." He mumbled as the cell door was opened and he was led out to the yard where he immediately went to a bench and lied down, taking the whole thing for himself.

Of course this pissed off most of the other inmates, but Nikolai didn't really care. He would rather just enjoy a comfortable nap in the sun.

Jade was NOT having a good day. Today marked the one month anniversary of her being thrown in this stupid prison, and for something that wasn't even her FAULT... well, okay, TECHNICALLY it was her fault, but she couldn't exactly help it. She was just trying to help. Anyways, she had just gotten the news that her parole had been denied, meaning she was stuck here for another nine years and 11 months... at minimum. Well, at least she had the minor satisfaction of knowing that the guard who'd been heckling her this whole time wouldn't be around anymore 'If that bastard had kept his dick in his pants, he'd still be a man. Although... come to think of it, that might be why I'm still here...' she thought, scratching her head as she was led out to the courtyard. She sighed hard, as the heavy collar around her neck wasn't helping her spirits at all. "I need a nap" she said, heading towards the one bench in the whole damn place 'Seriously, they can't afford more?' only to find it already occupied.

"Hey" she said, tapping the guys foot gently. "Hey" she said, a little louder, but also grumpier. "HEY!" She shouted, thwaping the top of his head "You're in my spot".

"Hmn?" Nikolai opened one eye, looking at the new person who'd smacked him upside the head. He yawned. "Geez, why does everyone seem to want my seat?" He mumbled. "Can't just take a nap in peace, can I?" He groaned as he stood, looking around. "Well... Guess I'll just leave, then..." He sighed, scratching his head.

Huh, Jade kind of expected a little more resistance on that front. Ah, well whatever. 'At least I have my spot back' she thought, grinning and flopping down on the bench in exactly the same position as the guy was in. 'Oh, yeah. That's nice. So good' she thought, basking in the warmth of the sun.

Nikolai was approached by several of the other inmates, none of whom seemed particularly happy over the fact that he'd given up the bench to that woman instead of them.

"Just what in the hell do you think you're doing, newbie?" One of the inmates asked him. "You think that girl's more important than us? Want to get on her good side for some reason?"

"Hm? No, I'm getting out of here," Nikolai said.

"What the hell are you talking about, newbie?" The man asked. "You're not going anywhere. We should kick your ass just for pissing me off like that!"

"So you're volunteering to help me, then?" Nikolai asked.

"What? Are you stu-" The inmate started, only to find himself interrupted by a fist going into his face.

Just as Jade was about to slip into a nice, quiet nap, when she heard a some of the other inmates bitch about how she got the bench 'Don't know what they're whining about. Not like it's exactly comfy' she thought, preparing to ignore them, when she heard something... curious. The guy from before had just boasted about leaving. 'And just how exactly does he plan to do that?' she rolled over and opened both eyes, curiosity glinting fiercely as the kid punched one of the asses in the face. 'Well, now... this should be fun'.

"Come on, come on, come on!" Nikolai jumped back, bobbing on the balls of his feet with a smile, holding up his shackled fists. "Who wants some!?" He asked, jumping and kicking another off to the side. "Hey, are you guys are spineless or what?" He asked with a smile and a laugh.

"Hey, number 00498A is making a ruckus! Somebody detain him!" One of the guards called out.

"Now that's more like it!" Nikolai said, grinning like a maniac. "Hey, any of you guys have the guts to break out of here then follow me!" He laughed.

Now that got Jade to raise an eyebrow. Sitting up, she slinked over to number 00498A as he downed another inmate 'Eh, the hell with it' she thought, turning to deliver a solid roundhouse to another inmate coming in from the side. "So tell me, HOW exactly do you plan on getting out of here?".

"Hm?" Nikolai stopped as he ducked under another inmate's swing, though the crowd was already starting to thin due to the concern of guards arriving. "Ah, that's pretty easy." He said, pointing at the main building. "I'll use the front door. How do you leave places?" He asked as if what he'd said was the simplest and most obvious thing in the world.

Jade stopped her assault to briefly slap her palm against her forehead. "Okay, fair enough. But the front door is guarded, and we're still shackled. Tell me, do you plan on fighting a shit-ton of guards and then just busting the door down?" she asked, using her shackles to catch a foot and planted hers right in her attackers nether-region.

"Well, I do have to go to the warden's room first," Nikolai shrugged. "I guess I could do something while I'm there..." The man was clearly insane. "Well, in the meantime..." Two marines with sabers had approached them. "I won't fight barehanded for long!" He said as they swung down. He quickly twisted his arms to trap the blades, then kicked one of the guards in the ribs, knocking him into his cohort and causing them to both lose their grips. "Hey, how good are you with a sword?"

Jade facepalmed again at his answer, almost missing his question. "Eh? Kinda. I'm more accustomed to more... brutish methods" she said, cocking her head in thought, "But I'll tell you what, get this thing off my neck, and I'm yours. For however long you need me" she said, pointing at the heavy collar locked tightly around her throat while taking a saber in her other hand. Just in time too, as more marines showed up.

"Eh?" Nikolai blinked as he tossed her the rapier. "Whazzat, some kind of bomb?" He asked as he ran at one of the guards and lunged at him with the pilfered rapier. "Nighty ni-" He jumped back, narrowly avoiding being shot at. "Heeey, these guys certainly mean business." He shrugged, seeing the guard line up another shot. "NOT THE FACE!" Nikolai exclaimed, holding up his arms to cover his face as the guard fired.

The sound of metal hitting metal was heard. "Hey, that worked!" Nikolai said, wrestling a broken shackle off his left wrist.

"What the hell is this guy!?" One guard asked.

"Nobody's that strong... It has to be a..." Another responded with a gulp. "That kind of strength... He must have eaten a devil fruit!"

The guards suddenly started fidgeting. "Hey, what do you think they're all in a fuss about?" He asked.

Jade quickly pushed the kid up against a wall under a walkway. "What are you? CRAZY?!? Are you TRYING to get shot?! Look, you said you can get out of here, and I'M banking on that. So please don't get yourself killed before you get us out of here. Now. They said you have some kind of super strength devil fruit, right? Just go and rip this thing off. Please" she remembered to ask nicely...

"Eh?" Nikolai looked to the woman with a dazed expression as he stretched his newly freed arms out. "Devil... Fruit...?" He mumbled. "No... Never had one of those before," he spoke, plain as day. "What gave you that idea?"

"Deploy the seastone net!" One guard shouted, directing another to aim a cannon at Nikolai. "FIRE!"

"I mean, it's not like I'd- ACK!" Nikolai suddenly found himself on the floor. "Who threw this net at me!?" He shouted, flailing. "Dammit, I'm all tangled! Somebody get it off!"

Jade just facepalmed, once for his denial of having a devil fruit shutting down her hopes of an easy escape, and once more for this idiot getting tangled in a net. As several Marines came shuffling out to subdue the two, Jade took up a defensive stance. "Hey, Idiot. Get untangled quick. That net is seastone. I can't touch it. But I can buy you time" she said, charging into her opponents, ducking and dodging, slashing left and right. 'I swear, if this doesn't work, I'll kill him myself. Probably netted me a life sentence already'.

"Gah! DAMMIT ALL, THIS ISN'T FUNNY!" Nikolai exclaimed, thrashing about in the net.

"What the heck is this guy doing?" One of the guards mumbled. "Shouldn't he be completely drained by that net?"

"I SAID GET IT OFF!" Nikolai shouted, standing and flinging the net off of himself and into a nearby guard, knocking the man over. He huffed out a breath. "Dammit... Right." He stood up straight. "Coming through!" He shouted, running for the door to exit the yard.

Jade was too preoccupied to pay attention to the kid's thrashing as she fought off the squadron. Sure, she claimed she was just okay with a sword, but desperate times call for quick learning. In no time at all, the entirety of the group was writhing on the floor in agony, just in time for the idiot 'I should probably get his name' threw the net off. "Okay, so do you at least have a... what the?" Jade turned, only to see she was addressing an empty space. Looking around, she found him, and just watched, flabbergasted, as he ran out the yard exit. "He-hey! Wait for me!" she shouted, and ran after him...

"Hey, so I know you're just doin' your job and all, so... Outta the way!" Nikolai shouted as he smacked one of the guards with the flat of the saber he'd picked up and kicked the second with the momentum he'd picked up from the swing. "And we're in!" He shouted, slamming his shoulder into the door with a confident smirk. "Hey, hope you don't mind me borrowin' your gun, buddy?" He asked one of the guards he'd just knocked unconscious.

'Well, he's nothing else if not effective. Or is it nothing if not effective? ... ... ... whatever' Jade mused as the mystery man continued to kick all kinds of ass, starting to make her wonder how the hell he got caught to begin with. "Hey. You said we're "in", but where is "in"? What room is this?" she asked, looking around the darkened room.