"𝓒𝓸𝓶𝓮 𝓸𝓷, 𝓬𝓸𝓶𝓮 𝓸𝓷, 𝓭𝓸𝓷'𝓽 𝓵𝓮𝓪𝓿𝓮 𝓶𝓮 𝓵𝓲𝓴𝓮 𝓽𝓱𝓲𝓼. 𝓘 𝓽𝓱𝓸𝓾𝓰𝓱𝓽 𝓘 𝓱𝓪𝓭 𝔂𝓸𝓾 𝓯𝓲𝓰𝓾𝓻𝓮𝓭 𝓸𝓾𝓽, 𝓬𝓪𝓷'𝓽 𝓫𝓻𝓮𝓪𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝔀𝓱𝓮𝓷𝓮𝓿𝓮𝓻 𝔂𝓸𝓾'𝓻𝓮 𝓰𝓸𝓷𝓮, 𝓬𝓪𝓷'𝓽 𝓽𝓾𝓻𝓷 𝓫𝓪𝓬𝓴, 𝓷𝓸𝔀 𝓘'𝓶 𝓱𝓪𝓾𝓷𝓽𝓮𝓭. 𝓢𝓽𝓸𝓸𝓭 𝓽𝓱𝓮𝓻𝓮 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝔀𝓪𝓽𝓬𝓱𝓮𝓭 𝔂𝓸𝓾 𝔀𝓪𝓵𝓴 𝓪𝔀𝓪𝔂 𝓯𝓻𝓸𝓶 𝓮𝓿𝓮𝓻𝔂𝓽𝓱𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝔀𝓮 𝓱𝓪𝓭, 𝓫𝓾𝓽 𝓘 𝓼𝓽𝓲𝓵𝓵 𝓶𝓮𝓪𝓷 𝓮𝓿𝓮𝓻𝔂 𝔀𝓸𝓻𝓭 𝓘 𝓼𝓪𝓲𝓭 𝓽𝓸 𝔂𝓸𝓾."

***

So Artemisia would like for it to go on the record that she never wanted to let Buggy the Clown live. He was annoying, she hated him, and he locked her in a guillotine box. She had hoped that after they had knocked him down a couple of sizes, they would never hear from him again. She was praying to whatever higher powers were out there to keep her as far away from him as possible. SO WHY WAS HE HERE RIGHT NOW?!

That's right. The head of Buggy the Clown sat on the table of fishmen. Artemisia gritted her teeth, crossing her arms over her chest with a look on her face that everyone could only describe as exasperation, "The fucking annoying clown?"

Meanwhile, Luffy had a different reaction, "Burpy?"

The words Buggy chose to focus on were Artemisia's, "Hey, I'm offended, dollface."

There was nothing stopping the laughs that escaped Artemisia, "Your freaks put me in a torture device! I can treat you how I like!" She was almost sawed in half. She at least got to treat the culprit like shit. She did not go through that mental torture for him to let him get off scot-free. That was not how she rolled.

"What are you doing here?" Luffy broke back into the conversation.

"Believe me, it wasn't my first choice either," Buggy stated. He glanced at the fishmen from the corner of his eyes, "But these fine fishy folk persuaded me to point them in the right direction, which ain't easy when you don't have any hands." He let out a chuckle. Artemisia could only imagine. Either way, she didn't feel the least bit sorry for him. He deserved it for everything he put them through. Call her cruel, she does not care.

Shaking his head, Luffy inquired, "How'd you even know how to find me?"

The whole aura of Buggy shifted. Unlike the lightheartedness from before, Artemisia could feel a sort of darkness from him. It shouldn't have been a surprise, but it was. Buggy stared at Luffy with intensity, "I told you. I've got eyes and ears everywhere," Everyone watched in shock as an ear floated out of the red trim of Luffy's hat. Luffy reached up to touch where it came from. Buggy grunted as the ear flew back onto his head. He laughed. Luffy took off his hat to inspect it. Sanji glanced over at Usopp and Artemisia in astonishment. "Stereo!"

"That is a whole other level of invasion of privacy."

"You were listening all along?" Luffy looked just as surprised as everyone else, "You heard everything?" Artemisia didn't even want to think about all of the things he heard. Did he just stick with Luffy the whole time? Had he snuck into someone else's belongings? Did he hear the godawful confession from Artemisia? She shivered.

"Everything," Buggy looked to be gritting his teeth. He clearly heard some things that he didn't want to. "And that got old quick, 'cause you shidiots have no idea what you're doing," Buggy turned to the fishman with long blond hair, "Hey, Lips," He hopped so he could face the fishman fully, "How about a scratch behind the old ear, huh?"

"Sorry, honey." The fishman placed down his beer.

Almost immediately, Buggy seemed to be panicking, "Oh, come on! Give a clown a break. I-" He was cut off when the fishman grabbed him. "Oh, wait! No! Not back in the bag. It's so dark and wet and sandy." Buggy wailed as the fishman placed him inside the black bag. Artemisia only watched in amusement. What can she say? Karma sucked. But not for her.

"Listen here," Arlong got their attention again. The once anxiety-free atmosphere was replaced with one of tension. Artemisia felt herself stiffen up as she became alarmed once more, ready for anything that they would throw at them. "I want my map, along with half of whatever you plunder as tribute. And if you bow down to me, I might even let you serve in my kingdom."

"I don't bow down to any man."

"I'm no man."

"Or fish," Arlong growled at Luffy's words. "And you're no king."

"I will be when I get my Grand Line map," Arlong growled out.

A grin appeared on Luffy's face, "Then..," He trailed off. He placed his hat back on his head then placed his hands on his hips, "You're gonna have to fight me for it." Why did her captain have to put them in situations like this? Artemisia will never know. One of the many mysteries of the universe she supposed.

Unfortunately for them, Arlong seemed to be on board with Luffy, "Then let the fighting begin."

Growling again, he hit his hands together. He went to step forward but stopped. He was shot... And the bullet bounced right off him. Artemisia cast a nervous glance at her crossbow. She looked back up to see Arlong staring at the only person in the room with a gun, Zeff. One fishman stood and kicked Zeff's wooden leg, breaking it.

Flinching could be felt from beside Artemisia. She didn't have to look to know it was Sanji. Zeff was down on the floor. He looked up only to be met with a punch to the face. He flew back into a table. The people sitting at the table had to jump up to avoid getting hit. Zeff hit a column behind him as the table broke into pieces.

"Zeff!" Sanji ran past Luffy.

He managed to kick down the fishman with long hair. He landed on the table they were sitting at and launched himself at the fishman who hurt Zeff. He kicked him in the face and jumped up, kicking him in the chest twice. Sanji spun in the air and kicked him in the face again. After that, he ducked down and swiped at the fishman's feet. The fishman lost his standing and fell to the ground.

"Really great fighter." Luffy blinked.

"You're telling me," Artemisia stated. Sanji flipped up and went to kick him again. Artemisia looked to the side and saw Usopp on the floor. It was obvious that he was trying to crawl away from the two. Still, Artemisia shot him a look and asked, "Usopp, what are you doing?"

"Shh! Do you want them to find me?"

Shaking her head, Artemisia focused back on the fight. She watched just in time to see Sanji get punched in the stomach. He went flying into a table, making it fall over. Under the table was Usopp. Now that his hiding spot was found, he quickly crawled away to try and find a new one. Artemisia tried to make her way to Sanji to help him as it looked like he took a pretty hard blow. That's when she noticed it.

A fishman started running for her, she ducked out of the way, hiding behind some of the tables. She quietly and quickly made her way over to Sanji. Sanji coughed as he lay on the ground. Usopp went to the other staircase and helped Sanji crawl over to him. Artemisia helped him as well. The three then watched the rest of the showdown.

The Strawhat Captain was glaring at Arlong as he reeled his arm back, "Gum Gum... Pistol!" The arm stretched out to hit Arlong but it was caught by the fishman instead. Arlong jerked on the arm and Luffy flew into his grip. Throwing Luffy, the boy made contact with some poles before hitting the ground, hitting his head in the process as well.

A wince came from Artemisia. Usopp noticed her, "I thought you were gonna help him."

The look Artemisia gave him was one that asked if he was being serious. There was no change in his expression so she rolled her eyes, "That was before I knew bullets bounce right off of him." She doubted that her arrows would do anything.

"Get up!" Arlong exclaimed. Luffy grunted as he managed to stand. Arlong chuckled. The dark-haired boy reeled his arm back again and this time managed to hit Arlong. He hit one shoulder, then the other, and then the face. Arlong barely reacted, only grinned at him, "Not bad for a human," Luffy went to hit him again when his hand was caught by Arlong. He tried to use his other hand but ended up in the same position. The fishman pulled Luffy over to him until he was right in front of him, "Oh, big mistake. Now I'm gonna have to make an example out of you."

Snarling down at Luffy, Arlong took him up the staircase. They went out of sight. After a moment, Artemisia could've sworn she heard the sound of wood and glass breaking, along with the sound of a body hitting a wooden deck. She unfortunately knew what that sounded like after Zoro's duel. Usopp, Sanji, and Artemisia shared a look. Two fishmen left in the direction that Arlong took Luffy in.

There was no way they could sit around, "Come on, we have to go after them."

"Or we could stay here where it's safe?" Usopp suggested.

"Nice try," Artemisia shot a sarcastic grin at him. She turned her attention to Sanji, "Is there any other way out of the Baratie except for going through the front? I have a feeling the two fishmen who just left will be guarding the door." She didn't just have a feeling. She knew. They would prevent them from helping Luffy. That's why they needed to get out a different way. They couldn't be stopped.

"Follow me."

The two followed Sanji as he led them out through a back entrance. They ended up on the other side of the restaurant so they followed the dock until they were at the front. They got there just in time to see a disturbing sight. Arlong had Luffy by the shirt and his head was ducked down close to his neck. Artemisia could imagine with his sharp teeth they were about to see a gruesome sight.

Quickly, she loaded an arrow, preparing to shoot the fishman. She froze when she heard a familiar voice shout, "Arlong, wait!" Everyone froze and turned to see who it was. Artemisia's eyes widened when she saw Nami walking out of their boat. She had a bag and the map in hand, "I have it. I have the map. I got it for you, just like I said I would."

"Nami?"

"What is she doing?" Artemisia shook her head. "I thought she wouldn't want to get involved."

There was something about the way that Arlong smirked down at Luffy that Artemisia didn't like. Luffy didn't seem to notice. He was only focused on the navigator who was making her way toward them, "What are you doing?"

"I tried to tell you, Luffy," Nami started. "I was never on your crew. I only joined up with you so I could steal the map." That's when they saw it. There was a tattoo on Nami's left shoulder. The tattoo was of a fish eating its own tail. Artemisia didn't know what it meant at first. What was so important about the tattoo? As she glanced around, everything started to fall into perspective.

"I don't believe that," Luffy stated.

"That's because you only believe what you want to believe," Nami told him. "Doesn't make it true." What was even happening anymore? In what world was this possible? Was it a joke? It had to be, right? Right? Artemisia looked again to see if anyone was breaking character. There was not a single break.

The next words almost destroyed Artemisia, "Sister Nami's a loyal member of the Arlong Pirates. She has been for years." Arlong chuckled. He enjoyed seeing the look on Luffy's face, which was obvious to anyone.

A million thoughts were racing through Artemisia's head. She was unable to comprehend anything that was happening at first. Nami walked closer, looking up at Arlong, "We have the map, Arlong," Luffy and Arlong turned to glance at her. "Let's go." She walked past him and toward, what Artemisia assumed to be, Arlong's ship.

"Not until I finish my meal." His teeth got close to Luffy's neck.

He was stopped when Nami asked, "Why waste your time killing a Devil Fruit eater?" She turned to them. The other two looked at her again. Nami gave Luffy a look, up and down, "Let the sea do it for you." Like she was sizing him up. She turned her back to them and walked away. The words made Arlong chuckle.

Everyone watched as Arlong picked up Luffy by the grip on his shirt and dropped him into the ocean. He watched for a moment before he and his fishmen followed Nami onto their own ship. Sanji ran over first, taking off his shirt. He dived into the water to save Luffy. Artemisia took a few steps before she felt all feeling leave her legs. She dropped to her knees.

The sight made Usopp stop, "Misi, what's wrong?"

"I-" Usopp gave her a confused look. Artemisia couldn't get any words out. "It..," Noticing that she wasn't being coherent, Usopp ran in the direction of Sanji. Sanji just then emerged from the ocean with Luffy. Artemisia didn't run over to meet her captain. She didn't try to make sure he was all right. All she could see in her mind was the sight of Nami walking away onto Arlong's ship. "Oh, my God, no."

Time passed but to Artemisia, it felt like forever. She felt like she was a shell of herself. She wasn't the same anymore. She was angry and bitter. This was the third time someone betrayed her. Maybe it was all because of her. She seemed to be the common denominator of all these instances.

Either way, the crew was getting ready to move on. Zoro was now awake. He was up on the deck with everyone but was forced to do nothing. No one wanted to chance him re-opening his wounds. Luffy focused on doing the ropes while Usopp carried up some barrels onto the ship. No one had asked Artemisia to do anything. They were probably trying to give her time to herself after what happened.

"Lots of dried meat in these barrels," Usopp remarked. He placed the barrel down with a grunt. He moved onto some of the other barrels. He panted at the work he forced his body to endure and took a look at all of their supplies, "You think we brought too much?"

"Doubt it," Artemisia said.

"You know who you're sailing with?" Zoro was leaning up against a pole.

The green-haired man gestured to Luffy. Usopp followed his gesture, "Yeah."

A hum came from Zoro. None of them said anything else. They watch Luffy come down from working on the ropes. The sound of footsteps caught their attention. Artemisia looked over to see Sanji with a bag over his shoulder, "Heard you guys need a cook."

Hearing the voice, Luffy looked over. He was ecstatic, "Yeah! Yes, we do!" He laughed and came down the rest of the way. Sanji came up onto the boat as Luffy stood on the side of the ship. Both men smiled at each other. Luffy patted him on the back, "Welcome aboard." Sanji stepped onto the ship and Luffy followed after him.

"Why are we bringing the waiter?" Zoro asked.

"Because we can't boil water," Usopp responded.

Artemisia scoffed, "I can boil water but you guys are hopeless."

Once they were sure that they were ready, they prepared to sail off. Usopp released the rope holding the sail and the sail unfurled. The sail dropped completely and the people on the dock helped untether the ship. Artemisia could hear Sanji having, what sounded like, an emotional talk with Zeff as she floated away. She tuned it out, not wanting to intrude on the moment.

Once they were far enough away, the others joined up so they could talk about a plan. Usopp first had to check on the sails. Since they met his standards, he came down the stairs that Zoro was sitting on, "So we're... We're going after Nami-"

"Which is stupid." Artemisia cut in.

"But how are we gonna find her?" Usopp finished.

"Yeah," Zoro chimed in. "We don't even know where she is."

From the upper deck, Luffy looked down at him, "I know someone who does."

The group looked up at him in confusion. Sanji and Zoro shared a look before they all followed Luffy. They followed him into the dining room/kitchen. A black bag was placed on the swinging table. Artemisia started to feel a bad feeling. Luffy pulled the bag down to reveal a very familiar head.

It was Buggy. Buggy coughed and spit. Luffy turned to the others with his hands on his hips. Buggy studied the group that he was now with, "Hello, boys and girl!"

"I would love to toss you out of a window."

Luffy smiled while Zoro and Artemisia looked more than annoyed. Buggy laughed at the reactions he was getting. This was going to be a long, unwanted, annoying trip. How was she going to survive?