"𝓗𝓮𝓵𝓹, 𝓘'𝓶 𝓼𝓽𝓲𝓵𝓵 𝓪𝓽 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓻𝓮𝓼𝓽𝓪𝓾𝓻𝓪𝓷𝓽, 𝓼𝓽𝓲𝓵𝓵 𝓼𝓲𝓽𝓽𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓲𝓷 𝓪 𝓬𝓸𝓻𝓷𝓮𝓻 𝓘 𝓱𝓪𝓾𝓷𝓽, 𝓬𝓻𝓸𝓼𝓼-𝓵𝓮𝓰𝓰𝓮𝓭 𝓲𝓷 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓭𝓲𝓶 𝓵𝓲𝓰𝓱𝓽. 𝓣𝓱𝓮𝔂 𝓼𝓪𝔂, "𝓦𝓱𝓪𝓽 𝓪 𝓼𝓪𝓭 𝓼𝓲𝓰𝓱𝓽.""

***

There were many times that Axel asked Artemisia what she dreamed about.  The question was spurred on by just random talking. Artemisia asked the question first as a joke, she knew that Axel would ask her the question seriously. Of course, she replied with a joke answer. He hated how she never took anything seriously. "That's how you get killed out there," is what he would always say. But she didn't care. She wasn't out there. She was here... And that was the problem. The problem was that she was on a small island with Marines in the middle of nowhere when she could've been in the place she could only dream about now. The ocean.

That's what she always dreamed about. Artemisia dreamed about being out on the ocean again. Growing up on a pirate ship was one of the best things ever, especially if your mother was the captain. Everyone doted on the little girl and protected her as fiercely as they protected their captain. Artemisia thought of her time with her mother fondly. The way she was treated, how she felt, how free everything was. The late-night music and dancing, staying up to listen to ghost stories when her mother had already put her to bed. The rocking of the ship as waves hit lightly against the vessel as she tried to sleep.

To say that she missed that life would be an understatement. But she not only missed the life, she missed her mother. Despite being a pirate, Philippa Nightlove was known to be a very gentle and kind woman (at least she was to Artemisia). There were times when Artemisia wished that her mother would caress her face like she used to do when tucking her in at night. That was the hardest thing she had to deal with when being left on this island, not having her mother around anymore.

A close call with Marines was all it took for Artemisia to be dropped off somewhere. Artemisia could have easily gotten hurt very badly; Philippa knew that. She started evaluating how the pirate life would be with her child around. She couldn't stand the horrible things she thought of so she did the best thing she could think of. She dropped her only daughter off on an island in the middle of nowhere so her friend could care for her. Artemisia understood why she did what she did, but a part of her was angry.

Why couldn't her mother stay with her? Why leave her here? For years, Artemisia couldn't think of the answer. That was until now. Now she understood. While Philippa loved her daughter, she loved life at sea just as much. The only way Artemisia came upon this answer was by being out of the sea for so long herself. There were many times she thought about going back out to the ocean. To get that feeling of being free to go wherever, having no responsibilities, and also to find her mother.

It was an elusive pipedream. At least it was at this point. Almost two years ago, Marines came to the island. They decided to set up a small base and station a few Marines on the island since pirates tended to stop by occasionally. Artemisia was pretty upset about this. Marines were the reason that her mother left her. She became even more upset about their presence when they actually came.

They were awful, power-corrupt, egomaniacs. Any chance that they had to torture the people of the village, they would take. Raised taxes whenever they wanted, threw people out onto the streets when they couldn't pay, took their stuff without asking, and said it was, "a suspicious item that they needed to investigate." At first, the people of the island fought back. Mostly the men. The women weren't very adept at fighting, mainly just staying home to take care of the house and kids.

A few men decided to march to the Marine base to take back some stuff they took. Only a few came back. The Marines had spared them to send a message back to the villagers. "Don't mess with us or we'll find a reason to get you too." No one knew what happened to the men who stayed behind. Some of the more rational people said that they were being held in prison while some people said they were executed. Safe to say though, after that, no one messed with the Marines. They only gave in and gave them whatever they asked for out of fear. Except for Artemisia.

If there was one thing that Artemisia learned growing up, it was to never take crap from anyone, no matter what position they were in. So she gave them all the hell she could. She would torture them whenever they would come into the village, purposely destroy supplies that were sent out to them, and beat up any Marine that bothered unsuspecting people. It was almost like it was her hobby at this point. Every time, they tried to take her in. They were unable to. Artemisia was quite good at running and hiding.

A longing sigh escaped Artemisia as she woke up from a peaceful dream. Another day stuck on this island... Might as well see what Axel is up to. The girl almost always went to Axel's bar when she woke up. There were a few times she showed up in her pajamas, not feeling like changing. Today was not one of those days, however. Today, Artemisia decided to go with a simple outfit. A black and white striped shirt with blank pants and boots. Nothing too flashy. Just simple.

"Look what the cat dragged in," A man with dirty blonde hair smiled at her from behind a bar. He looked to be wiping it off before he saw her walk in. Artemisia smiled back at the man. This man was Axel, who practically raised her after her mom dropped her off, and one of her mother's longest friends. If there was one person that Artemisia was closest to on this island, it was him.

Scoffing playfully, Artemisia smirked, "I think you mean bat," An inside joke. Her mother's crew was called the Hellbats. Definitely an intimidating name. She skipped up to the bar and looked up at the menu. It always said the same thing every day. She always ordered the same thing but she still made a show of ordering something, "Now let's see... What will I get today?"

She was immediately met with a murmur from Axel, "I wonder what." His tone was a plain one and so was his expression. They both knew that she always knew what she wanted. Everyone in this bar could tell you what she always got.

Crossing her arms onto the bar, Artemisia said, "How about a beer?" Axel gave her a pointed look. She sighed dramatically, "Well, it was worth a try. Get me... the usual." She rested her elbow on the bar and placed her chin in the palm of her hand. She smirked at Axel. The man just stared back at her with a look that said he was done with her already for the day. But he went right to making her order.

While she had a moment to herself, Artemisia looked around the bar to get a sense of what everyone was doing. The same people that were always here were here. They got the same thing as usual. They talked about the same thing they always do. Nothing was different. Except for one thing. There were two new people. Artemisia narrowed her eyes as she studied the two people. One was a scrawny boy with big glasses and pink hair, it looked like the wind could easily blow him away, and he would let it out of fear. The other person was a boy wearing a straw hat with a red vest. Artemisia assumed that they were just sailors stopping by before going back on their way. She turned back to watch Axel work on her food.

The peaceful and joyful air of the bar changed when someone burst through the doors. It was another villager, his name was Orcis. He had a panicked look on his face. Axel flipped his towel over his shoulder and stared at the man with a look of confusion. Before Axel could ask the question that was on everyone's mind, Orcis spoke, "The Marines are coming!"

"We paid them already!"

"Why would they be coming back?"

"Don't tell me they're taking our food again."

More and more questions were shouted into a void. Eventually, you couldn't understand anybody. Artemisia could see the two new arrivals looking a little puzzled by the reactions and what was going on. All she could say was that she was jealous of them. Being so unaware of the things they go through daily. The thoughts in the dark-haired girl's mind were broken up when Axel shouted, "Quiet!" It didn't take long for everyone to shut up. Axel turned his gaze to Orcis, "What are they wanting?" There was no verbal response. Orcis just stared at one particular person. Artemisia. Axel followed his gaze and locked eyes with the girl. He sighed and turned around, he bent down and banged on a panel of the wall. The panel opened, and inside was a crawl space. Axel stood, "Get in." He gestured with his head.

You knew it was a regular occurrence if he had a crawl space for her to hide in. It was originally made for a different reason. There used to be a safe that Axel would keep the money in at the end of the day so people or the Marines wouldn't steal it. Eventually, instead of being a crawl space to hide money, it became a crawl space to hide Artemisia.

Sighing, Artemisia stood from her chair at the bar, "This is getting old."

"It wouldn't be if you kept your nose clean," Axel lectured her. The girl only tuned him out, mouthing, blah, blah, blah. The man saw her doing this and hit her upside the head. Before she could snap at him, he pushed her head down and pushed her to start going into the crawl space. The girl went inside without complaints, closing the panel behind her. The familiar uniforms of the Marines started to come into sight. Axel gave a pointed glare to the two new people, "Not a word." They slowly nodded, still not understanding what was happening.

Everyone returned to acting like they didn't just hide a girl in the crawl space. The conversations were now forced and tense. Knowing the Marines were just outside put everyone on edge. Orcis had sat down at the bar at this point, biting his nails in anxiety. The Marines darkened the bar doorway and, once again, everything went silent. The whole room slowly turned to look at them.

The group of Marines separated into two groups and a short, blonde girl walked forward with a proud smile on her face. She walked up to the bar and looked at Axel head-on, "Where's Artemisia?"

No one in the room didn't know who she was (except for the two new boys obviously). This girl was named Lizbeth Riley, the daughter of the commanding officer of the Marines on the island. There was also no single person in the village who didn't hate her. No one could bring themselves to think about her positively after what she did to Artemisia. She was cruel just like her deranged father.

If there was one person who was more upset than Artemisia that she was here, it was Axel. He stared down at the girl who made his adopted daughter cry in his arms for months. "She's not here. Why don't you find somewhere else to go bother people?" It was obvious to anyone that he didn't want to deal with any of the Marines' shit today.

Unfortunately for him, he would continue to deal with them. Lizbeth's eyes fell on the food that was cooking on a pan. Her smirk widened and she stared at Axel with a challenging glance, "Then why are you cooking her usual? Bacon cooked in with the scrambled eggs?" Axel gave no response. Of course she would know that.

"Uh..." A new voice spoke. Everyone turned in the direction of the voice. It came from the boy with the straw hat and red vest. "I ordered it. I heard it was really good." Axel had no idea who this boy was, but he was grateful for his response. You could tell just by the way he stared at the boy. He stared at him like he just saved his hide.

This didn't seem to be enough to satiate Lizbeth's suspicions. She stared at the boy blankly for a moment before turning back to Axel. Axel made sure to drop the grateful look, returning to looking upset with the girl's presence (it wasn't that hard to act that way toward her though). Lizbeth looked annoyed at this point; you could tell it through her forced smile. She smiled through gritted teeth, "Then I guess you wouldn't mind if my father's men looked around, would you?"

With a frustrated look, Axel gestured around the bar, "Go ahead. She's not here."

That was all the Marines needed to hear to start absolutely wrecking the place trying to look for Artemisia. Artemisia couldn't see what was going on, but she could hear it. She gritted her teeth in anger at the thought of the Marines tearing apart the place Axel had worked so hard for. She remained quiet, not wanting to draw any attention to her or the crawl space.

Every time a Marine threw something, the people in the bar would flinch. Axel remained cold as he watched the men tear his bar apart to look for the girl he swore to protect. Of course, they found nothing. They didn't know about the crawl space, thankfully. They weren't even suspicious that he was standing in one place specifically. Lizbeth was none the wiser either. She turned her gaze to one of the Marines who approached her. He shook his head, confirming that they couldn't find Artemisia.

It was clear that this upset Lizbeth. She huffed and focused back on Axel, "Fine, she's not here this time. But we will continue looking for her," She forced a grin back on her face. This grin looked more genuine than the one before, "We have something we need to discuss if you would like to talk in private." She looked at the people in the bar with disgust, and they looked at her the same.

Axel didn't move an inch, "If it's all the same to you, I'd rather talk out in the open."

A laugh resonated from Lizbeth, "Oh, come on. It's not like we'll do anything to you," Axel wasn't too convinced. Not only that, he didn't feel comfortable stepping out from in front of the panel that hid the crawl space. He said nothing to Lizbeth. She got the idea that he wouldn't step away and rolled her eyes. She straightened her posture, "My father noticed that you were a little short when it came to paying this month."

Ah, that. No wonder they came here specifically. Axel placed a hand behind his head, rubbing it, "I didn't make as much money this month with you guys stomping around here all the time. I should have the money by the end of the week-"

"That's unacceptable, and you know it," Lizbeth interrupted him. "You made a deal with my father. You said you would pay him more money each month in full. You know what will happen if you don't pa-"

"And I will!" Axel raised his voice slightly. He placed his hands on the edge of the bar. He was practically towering over her at the moment. Sensing the hostility from the man, the Marines moved to stand closer to the girl in case Axel were to try anything. He wouldn't be stupid enough to even think about it. Axel calmed himself down and lowered his voice, "I'm just asking that you give me until the end of the week to get the rest of the money," Lizbeth said nothing. She just motioned to the door and the Marines and she started to head out. The next thing that came from Axel's mouth was muttered quietly, "I didn't even think you Marines knew how to count."

What he said was not quiet enough because the group stopped in their tracks. One Marine turned his head and said, "What did you say?"

This was the part of the conversation that Axel knew he should back down. He knew it, Artemisia knew it, and everyone in the bar knew it. But he didn't. "What? Are you guys too stupid to comprehend words now too?" And he was always telling Artemisia not to lose her temper with them. Hypocrite. If she were to ever bring this up, though, he would only say, "Do as I say, not as I do."

It seemed this was the last straw for the Marines. The Marine who asked him the question rushed forward and grabbed Axel by his shirt. He lifted the man up and over the bar, shoving him to the ground. This action caused the other men in the bar to try to run over and get the man off him. More Marines fought them off. An all-out brawl started in the bar. The two boys were only watching, and so was Lizbeth.

Hearing the fighting from inside the crawl space, Artemisia couldn't stand it anymore. She needed to do something. She kicked open the door to the crawl space, stepped up onto the bar, and jumped down onto the man who was beating Axel. She landed on his back with ease and maneuvered herself so her thighs were on either side of his head. He tried to get her off but to no avail. Artemisia pushed her body back as far as she could and the Marine started to go down. She placed her hands on the floor and with all her might, threw him over her, his head hitting the ground. He was knocked out.

A smirk grew on Lizbeth's face at the sight of the girl, "Now we're talking." She made no move to fight Artemisia. She only stayed back to watch the scene play out.

Marines started coming from every angle to fight her. Artemisia was able to use their strength against them at some points. Two Marines were coming at her from either side so she dropped to the floor and let them hit the other hard enough so they were down for the count. One Marine came from behind and tried to grab her as she came back up. She sensed someone behind her and dodged, grabbing the Marine's wrist and jerking him forward, slamming him against a nearby wall. He wasn't unconscious but he would be down for the count for a little while.

Another Marine ran at her with a sword. She couldn't move side-to-side because of the tables in the way so she only moved backward. Artemisia ended up hitting another table. The Marine advanced forward and went to slide at her neck. She dropped her body backward and the top part of her body lay on the table. The Marine had her right where he wanted her. He raised his sword to deliver a final strike. What he got instead was a kick to the stomach. His arms dropped, and Artemisia used this to grab the hilt of his sword and bring it down on his face. He fell to the ground, unmoving.

Breathing deeply, Artemisia looked around for more. All of them were down. The only person left was Lizbeth. Artemisia felt uncomfortable. The last time she had seen the girl had not been the best (for Artemisia). Lizbeth looked smug at the girl's appearance, "I knew you were here."

If Artemisia was thinking rationally and not high on adrenaline, she probably would have reacted correctly, like Axel would have wanted her to react. But she was irrational and on edge. She did the first thing her mind thought of. She grabbed an arrow that she kept hidden on her in case she needed an extra and threw it. The arrow scratched Lizbeth's cheek. Blood rushed down the girl's face as she winced, reaching up to touch the crimson red.

"Get out of here," Artemisia stated coldly.

It was silent for a moment. The Marines that hadn't been fully knocked out were watching the scene, waiting to see what their boss's daughter would do. Lizbeth seemed to think for a moment before finally saying, "Okay. But we'll be back, and when we come back... We won't be so forgiving." Lizbeth motioned for the Marines to leave. The Marines that were still awake picked up their unconscious buddies and followed Lizbeth out of the bar.

Now that she didn't have to worry about them, Artemisia could focus on what actually mattered. She bent down beside Axel and studied the wounds on his face. Before a single word could escape from her mouth, Axel shouted at her, "You're stupid, you know that? You could have gotten killed! They could've taken you again! Do you want that?"

Artemisia could only think how he had the audacity to shout at her for helping him. She made sure to let him know this too, "I just saved you from getting your face pummeled in and instead of saying, I don't know, thank you, you decide to yell at me for it?!"

"Yes! I don't need help! I'm the adult! You're the kid! Act like it!"

Crossing her arms and gritting her teeth, Artemisia shouted back, "You want me to act like the kid? Fine! I will!" The girl turned on her heels and marched to the front door, slamming it behind her with all her might and stalking off. She could faintly hear him shouting at her for slamming the door, but she ignored it. She could feel tears well up in her eyes from anger. She wiped them away.

While Artemisia was distracted by her racing thoughts of anger, she didn't notice the person following behind her. She didn't notice him until he spoke up, "You fight really well!"

The new voice made her stop. Artemisia furrowed her brow in confusion, not recognizing the voice at all. She slowly turned and studied the person. It was the boy from the bar. The one with the straw hat. He was grinning at her widely. Artemisia looked around for his friend but couldn't find him. She raised an eyebrow at the boy, "Thanks... Do I know you?"

"Nope! But I would love to get to know you!" This boy was oddly chipper. It was like someone had stuck sunshine up his ass or something. No one is that nice. Maybe he wanted something, and that's why he was so nice. "Do you want to join my pirate crew?"

There it was. The question. The question that her answer could change everything. Everything seemed to freeze for Artemisia as she stared at the boy. She could take his offer and get out of there. She wouldn't have to worry about the Marines, Axel being mad at her. She could just be free like she wants to be, possibly find her mom in the process. But... She couldn't just leave. No matter how much Artemisia wanted to pack up and never look back, she couldn't. There was no way that the villagers and Axel would be able to handle themselves against the Marines. They were struggling in a simple bar fight between them.

Breathing deeply, Artemisia knew what her answer was. The boy seemed to think it was going to be a good response. He was disappointed when she released her breath and said, "I can't. For one, I don't even know who you are. Why would I run off with someone I don't know? For two, the Marines would run this place to the ground if I left."

As expected, this response disappointed the boy. Not even a moment later though, the grin returned to his face. This grin seemed to hide something behind it. Was it mischief? Artemisia couldn't be too sure. The boy spoke with the same emotion as the one hidden behind his smile, "How about a deal?" Artemisia's expression is all she needs to show him for him to know she's interested. "If I get rid of the Marines for you then you have to join my crew."

Was he actually serious? Artemisia couldn't stop herself from laughing out loud. The boy continued to look confident in himself and his abilities. She stared at him with more confusion before shifting back to amusement. She might as well humor him; there's no way he'll win against the Marines. Sure, their base was small, and there wasn't a lot of them but if the villagers couldn't take them down then how could he? "Go ahead," Artemisia told him. "But I doubt that you have a shot." With that final statement, the two parted ways.

After that interaction, Artemisia doubted that she would ever see him again. If he actually did go through with his end of the deal then he would probably never make it out of the base. Best case scenario, he left with his friend and never came back. It would be the best for both of them if they left this godforsaken island. They wouldn't have to deal with the Marines like the villagers would. This was not the case. She certainly didn't expect the news she was met with the very next day.

It was a regular morning. She woke up and didn't feel like heading to the bar that morning, still mad at Axel. She didn't have to head to see him like usual since he came to see her. He busted into her home with a shocked look on his face. Despite being mad at him, Artemisia couldn't shake the worry she felt for him, "What's going on?"

"It's the Marines," That's all he had to say for her to start gathering her stuff. She grabbed her crossbow that sat in the corner of the room and grabbed her quiver. Noticing it was missing a few arrows, she started looking around the room for the rest of them. "No, no, no," Axel walked over to her, stopping her rushing around by placing his hands on her shoulders. She looked up at him and all she could see was relief, "Their base is destroyed. They left. We don't need to worry about them anymore."

Cold shock ran through Artemisia's body. Their base was destroyed? They left? What- "How?" There was no hiding the surprise and confusion in her voice. There's no way the villagers could have done it. Who could have broken into their base and destroyed the place? Who drove them out?

The next thing Axel said was a shock, "It was the kid in the straw hat! He asked where the base was, I told him he was stupid for going there. He kept asking so I told him. Next thing I know, the Marines are jumping into their ship with their tails between their legs!" A relieved laugh escaped Axel. Instead of being the high-strung individual he was yesterday, he was his relaxed and carefree self. The one that he was before the Marines came.

"Where is he?"

"The docks. Why?"

No response was given. Artemisia just dropped her stuff and rushed straight there. Once she arrived, she saw it with her own eyes. The Marines ship way off in the distance and not in its usual place in the water. The boy and his friend were standing on the dock, watching the ship get farther and farther away. Artemisia stared at the straw hat's back for a moment. How could someone so unimpressive do something like drive the Marines out of their island?

"How did you do it by yourself?" Was the first question to come out of her mouth. There were plenty of times she imagined heading there herself and beating the shit out of every Marine she saw but it was impossible. There was no way she could take them down all by herself. But this random guy did?

Both boys turned to her. The pink-haired boy stuttered out words here and there but she couldn't understand most of what he said. She thought that he was trying to say that he didn't do anything and it wasn't his fault. The straw hat boy wasn't as nervous as his friend. He looked really smug, "You have to join my crew now."

That was his concern? Artemisia rolled her eyes with a scoff, "Fine. If you're not gonna tell me, I'll leave-" The girl started to turn away to leave. She didn't get far when a hand grabbed her arm. She looked down and over her shoulder. The arm was stretched out way farther than it was supposed to. She stared at the boy in shock. She's gonna go out on a limb here and say that was how he took them down so easily.

After that was settled, the boy introduced him and his friend as Luffy and Koby. Luffy told her to go get anything she wanted to bring with them, and they would wait for her. Artemisia returned to her home but didn't get any of her stuff together. She only sat on the bed in shock. The Marines were taken down by a boy who looked like someone could break his pinky by tapping it with a little force. He took them down with his power of stretchiness. What the hell was her life?

The sound of someone walking into her house caught her attention. She looked up and saw it was Axel, "They were worried about you and I said I would come to check on you. Are you going to go with them?" Axel looked a little sad, and it hurt Artemisia to see him that way. She knew that she couldn't leave now.

She shook her head, "I'm staying. I just said I would go with him because I didn't think he would actually win the bet." How the hell was she supposed to know he could take down the Marines? It felt like the bet was rigged from the start. If Artemisia had known that he had that power then she never would've agreed to it.

"I think you should go," Axel stated. Artemisia looked up at him. His face had turned to a cold expression. "You don't do much. All you do is get in trouble. You caused a lot of problems for me with the Marines. I had to pay way more than everyone else every month to bail you out. You say that you help, but you only hurt."

Now this was definitely shocking. What was with the sudden change? "But... You said that you didn't care that you had to pay more. You said that you cared enough about me to do it." Artemisia beat herself up relentlessly when Axel told her that he had to pay more money for her to be bailed out. She hated herself for it. He assured her it was fine and that he didn't blame her. So why was he saying this now?

A laugh came from Axel, "You think I actually wanted to pay more? I didn't. I lied to make you feel better. I felt bad for you," Tears welled up in her eyes. "I only took care of you because Philippa was your mother. I never wanted a kid to take care of, much less you," He glared at her, "You're much more trouble than you're worth. I would be better off if you left."

Why was he saying this? Did he really feel this way? Artemisia thought... She thought that he cared about her. He told her that he did. He called her his daughter every time he introduced her to someone. He built this house for her because she didn't want to live with him anymore. He made her crossbow for her. Was all of that just an act?

Sniffling, Artemisia slowly nodded, "Okay... You want me to go so badly? I'll go."

"Good riddance." With those final words, Axel turned and left.

Being alone allowed Artemisia to release all her feelings. She slid to the floor and balled her eyes out. Her father figure, the only one she had ever had, disowned her. He just admitted that he never cared about her and he only saw her as a burden. This thought ran through her head as she packed up her stuff to leave. Once everything was packed, she wore a different outfit. An outfit that screamed, I'm a pirate. She looked at her reflection in the pot on the stove and wiped whatever tears lingered. More fell. She hoped they would be gone by the time she met up with Luffy and Koby.

Taking a deep breath, Artemisia composed herself as she headed toward the dock. Luffy was very happy to see her heading toward them while Koby was anxious. The three packed up into the small boat and sailed away into the ocean. Turning to get one last look at the island, Artemisia saw people. Someone specifically was watching them leave. It was Axel. Upon closer inspection, Artemisia cried at the sight.

Axel was balling. The villagers tried to comfort him as they watched her get farther away. He did care. He only said that so she would leave. He knew how much she wanted to go back to sea to find her mom, to find herself, so he pushed her in that direction by being ruthless to her. Axel looked up through his tears, and the two locked eyes. They smiled tearfully at each other. They would meet again. One day.