"𝓐𝓷𝓭 𝓘 𝓴𝓷𝓸𝔀 𝓲𝓽'𝓼 𝓵𝓸𝓷𝓰 𝓰𝓸𝓷𝓮 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓽𝓱𝓪𝓽 𝓶𝓪𝓰𝓲𝓬'𝓼 𝓷𝓸𝓽 𝓱𝓮𝓻𝓮 𝓷𝓸 𝓶𝓸𝓻𝓮, 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓘 𝓶𝓲𝓰𝓱𝓽 𝓫𝓮 𝓸𝓴𝓪𝔂 𝓫𝓾𝓽 𝓘'𝓶 𝓷𝓸𝓽 𝓯𝓲𝓷𝓮 𝓪𝓽 𝓪𝓵𝓵."

***

Whoever made this contraption was sick in the head. If you're wondering what's happened, let Artemisia catch you up. The performers dragged the three of them into a back room with a bunch of different equipment. Obviously, this was where they kept props and other things for performances. For Nami, they placed her in a cage that floated above the ground and locked her inside so she couldn't get out. They then tied Zoro to a spinning wheel, making it to where he couldn't get out of his binds.

Now, you might be wondering where they put Artemisia. When Buggy said they should put her in a special place, they took that literally. They put her in a contraption that she swore was from hell. The contraption was part guillotine and part one of those magic sawboxes. You know the ones where they pick a person from the audience to saw in half? That one. Except this box didn't have the fake feet that you pushed out to give the illusion that you've been sawed in half. So she was screwed if the saw came crashing down. She knew how screwed she was the moment they brought the lid down (this one had a different lid. One that closed at her side rather than above her.) and put a lock on it.

Usually, these contraptions, specifically ones modeled after a guillotine, would have some rope or lever used to drop the blade. This one didn't have that. Instead, every time Artemisia made any sudden moves, the blade would drop. Clearly, it was faulty. They probably kept it back here since they didn't know what to do with it. Or, hey, maybe they were waiting for this exact moment. To say that she was scared out of her mind would be an understatement.

It was so horrifying that she refrained from speaking loudly or even speaking at all. She just knew that Nami was enjoying her few minutes of peace. Though, Artemisia was also upset with her so she hadn't been speaking to her anyway. A whisper came from Artemisia, "This is not comfortable."

The voice of her source of anger rang out from the cage, "Did you seriously think it would be?" Unlike before, Nami's voice brought more frustration. After the stunt she pulled, Artemisia couldn't help but be angry with the girl. Did Nami have to stick around with them? No. Did she have any obligation to get them out of here? No. Did it still slightly hurt when Artemisia saw the girl leaving them? Yes. Artemisia's thoughts were cut short when she heard Zoro struggling. He had been trying to escape his binds since they put him in them. He's been unsuccessful for the moment. Nami focused on him upon hearing his efforts to break free, "Give it a rest. Those ropes are too strong, even for you."

What wasn't surprising was that Zoro refused to listen. Although Nami told him to stop, he continued like he was hoping for the off chance that she was wrong about this, "I've got out of worse." Artemisia didn't doubt that at all. It was actually something that seemed very on-brand for the pirate hunter. But those circus freaks tied those ropes tight. It was like they had a personal vendetta against him. Well... He did kill pirates for a living.

Out of all three of them, Nami was the one who resisted the least. That excluded Artemisia, though, since she would be cut in half if she tried to escape. Nami hadn't tried to escape since they put her in the cage. She just sat in the cage with a look of thought on her face while her legs hung out of the cage. Artemisia wondered what she was thinking about so intently. Every once in a while her hands that rested on the bars of the cage would tighten and then relax.

The question was answered when Nami spoke up again, "When I ran out of the tent," Oh, great. You just had to remind Artemisia of what you'd done. Anger came over Artemisia once again. For a split second, she forgot that she was angry and now it was back. "I... Saw a town or... What was left of one after Buggy destroyed it."

"You mean, when you tried to leave us for dead?" Zoro barely glanced over at her. He was still focused on trying to get free from the ropes that held his wrists up against the wheel.

It was nice to know that Artemisia wasn't the only one who was upset about that. She felt that if she asked Zoro upfront about it, he would deny it. Nami tried defending her actions though it pissed off Artemisia even more, "We were surrounded and unarmed. You were picking a fight you couldn't win."

If it was that dangerous then maybe she should've let them in on her plan somehow. That way, they could all escape. It would've been much better than her escaping by herself. Maybe they wouldn't have been caught like she was if they escaped together. Zoro's thoughts were drifting off to other places, "I know your type. If there's nothing to gain, you're out."

And he was right. As much as Artemisia hated to admit it, he was completely right. This was a fact that Artemisia knew. It was obvious to her. Despite how obvious it was, she still wanted to deny the truth. She wanted to say that Nami would never do that since she wanted to believe that she would warm up to them during her time with them. This was not what happened at all. That much was apparent when she tried to ditch them like she did.

A small part of Artemisia wished she had been successful. It would've saved her from feeling the way she was now. The feeling of betrayal that she knew all too well. What upset Artemisia even more was the fact that Nami didn't even look upset. The orange-haired girl let go of the bars and leaned back, spitting out a remark to respond to Zoro's statement, "Says the wandering bounty hunter, trading lives for a handful of berry."

"I serve a purpose," Zoro told her. And that was true. Obviously. Despite the annoyance that bounty hunters usually brought pirates, they were incredibly useful. Wanted to take out one of your enemies? Hire a bounty hunter. Want to get rid of pirates? Hire a bounty hunter. Want to hunt someone down after you lost track of them? Hire a bounty hunter. It seemed like a stable career choice. If Artemisia wasn't a pirate then she could totally see herself becoming a bounty hunter for the money.

While the brunette girl agreed with Zoro's statement, Nami did not, "Sure you do," There was silence. Nami turned to look at Artemisia with a look in her eye. It was one that Artemisia tried to dismiss but it was hard when it was drilling into the side of her head. It was at that moment that Nami could tell something was up and Artemisia didn't say anything. She knew as well. Nami narrowed her eyes at Artemisia, "No response?" No response was exactly what she was getting. A look of skepticism was on Nami's face now, "You usually would have tried to flirt with me by now."

It would have been better to keep her mouth shut. Let Nami and Zoro continue with their arguing while she tries to figure out how to get out of this hell trap. That was her number one priority. Unfortunately, Axel always said she had a problem prioritizing. "With this thing above me, I'd rather not take my chances. Besides, I'm mad." Artemisia would've crossed her arms like a pouting child if she could. For obvious reasons, she didn't want to take her chances. Not to mention how cramped the box was.

As if she was reading Artemisia's mind somehow, Nami crossed her arms, "Yeah, we all are," The sudden statement confused Artemisia slightly. She was not expecting the girl to be on her side, especially so easily. This thought came crumbling down when the next words came from Nami's mouth, "We are not supposed to be here."

She didn't get it. She did not get it. How the hell did she not get it? How could she not know that Artemisia was mad at her? Artemisia found herself becoming even more upset with the orange-haired girl, "Not about that." There was a bite in Artemisia's tone. Something that none of them had ever heard before. It was enough to slightly surprise them.

The surprise felt by Nami was easy to overcome. She passed it off as the girl just being in a mood because of their situation. Nami continued, still not understanding why Artemisia was so upset, "How are you not upset about that?" She uncrossed her arms and leaned toward the front bars of her cage to get a better look at Artemisia. The brunette still refused to look at her. "We could've been halfway to the Grand Line already."

"There are more important things to be mad about."

Totally untrue. For Nami at least. Zoro too, but he wasn't really involved in this conversation. Nami could have sworn that Artemisia was out of her mind. What did she mean by that? What- "More important than the Grand Line-" Nami started saying.

Halfway through her speaking, Zoro cut in, "That's enough, love birds."

Neither girl paid any mind to his words. They were so wrapped up in the conversation (more like, argument) that they were having. To them, it was like they were suddenly the only two people in the room. Something that Artemisia would have loved to feel if it was under different circumstances. Nami pushed on with her questioning, "What could be more important than the Grand Line?"

The words forced themselves out of Artemisia's mouth, "The fact that you tried to leave us here!" Completely forgetting her position, she whirled her head around (as best as she could) to look at Nami. The sudden movement caused the saw above her to fall further. A gasp escaped her when she noticed this, "Oh, my God!"

Thankfully, the saw hadn't reached her yet. It was now halfway which meant that the very next move could easily be her death. Zoro, for once, actually looked a little worried but hid it once he realized that he was showing emotion. At least, that's what Artemisia thought. Nami looked almost as worried as Artemisia herself did, "Artemisia, no sudden movements."

Artemisia's voice came out squeaky; the fear was very prevalent in her tone, "I noticed," She took a moment to breathe. Her breathing had quickened from the unexpected fright she had suffered through not even a second ago. She eventually let out a sigh and spoke up again, "But you tried to leave us here. I know we don't know each other that well, but I thought you knew us enough to not bolt at the first sign of trouble. So I'm a little hurt," Now she was just feeling like she was making it all about her. Maybe she should just shut up and resolve this later. They were clearly in a very bad situation. Even though she thought this, she kept going for some reason, "Despite what you say, inevitably, we are a crew," This had to be the one time that Nami didn't say anything upon hearing the word. "Crewmates are supposed to... Be there for each other. They're not supposed to leave the others behind to save themselves. It's a coward's way out."

"Well, maybe I'm a coward."

"Yeah, maybe you are," It was something that Artemisia hated saying. She had thought of Nami so highly before. She didn't know her well, but she made her own inferences based on the small pieces of her she had gotten to know. So to admit that she was different from what Artemisia thought was hard-hitting. It was hitting even harder when she whispered her next words, "Just like them."

Silence fell in the room. This one was much more uncomfortable than before. Zoro didn't know what exactly to do. It wasn't like he was involved in the lovers' quarrel. Nami wasn't sure what to say either. Safe to say, everyone made the wise decision to keep their moves shut. Nami focused on the lock of her cage, grabbing it to inspect it. Meanwhile, Zoro continued to struggle against his bindings.

"I think I can get us out of here," Nami spoke up.

"You mean get yourself out of here." Zoro shot at her.

For the first time, Nai sounded like she was trying to take responsibility for her previous actions, "That's fair, but I'm going to need you to trust me." Artemisia would like to believe that their argument had some impact on the girl, but there was nothing that she could say for sure. So she remained silent and let the other two talk it out.

The thought process Artemisia was having was not one Zoro was having. This much was obvious when he said, very clearly for Nami to hear him, "Just like a thief to lie to my face and ask me to believe her." He didn't even miss a beat. It was like he was keeping that locked away, waiting for the perfect moment to use it in the conversation.

Still, Nami chose not to fire back at him, "You got any other options?"

There was silence with Zoro. He stopped struggling against the ropes, and Artemisia could tell he was thinking. From the look on his face, it was easy to tell that he wasn't at all happy with the choice he had to make, "Fine," It sounded like he vomited the word out. He forced himself to say it. "Just tell me what we're gonna do."

The expectant look Nami gave him was moved to the other person in the room. Artemisia. Artemisia locked eyes with Nami. She wasn't sure what to do. She would've loved to go against her just to spite her. But in the situation they were in, she didn't see that helping them at all. Artemisia let out a frustrated sigh and looked up at the ceiling, "I would love to say we do have other options, but we don't, so what do you got?"

There was no sense in arguing with the only person who actually had a plan. Nami brought her foot up, which was still hanging outside the bars, and reached for her boot. No, not for her boot, but inside of it. Artemisia raised an eyebrow in interest as she waited to see Nami's idea. "We do what we've been doing," Nami looked around to see if anybody was around. She saw nothing. Artemisia had to take her word for it since it was hard to look around the room in her condition. "Waiting to make sure we're alone." That's when she pulled it out.

Their saving grace was a lockpick. She had a lockpick stashed away in her boot. A sigh of relief escaped Artemisia. Finally, progress to actually help them. Zoro was a little surprised to see the item in Nami's hand as she got to work on unlocking her cage lock, "You have a lock pick?"

"I have four lock picks," Nami spoke nonchalantly. "The clowns only found three."

She went quiet as she worked on the lock. The silence was broken when a scream was heard from outside of the room. Artemisia made sure she didn't make any sudden movements. She did not feel like getting sawed in half today. If her suspicions were correct, which she hoped was not the case, it was Luffy screaming. All of them stopped and looked in the direction of the scream. Artemisia grimaced, "I don't think I'll have what he's having."

An uncomfortable expression was on Zoro's face as well, "Better work faster," Upon hearing the scream, Zoro went back to struggling against his ropes. Artemisia doesn't know why he was insistent on trying still. It didn't seem like they were going to give. Screaming rang in their ears again. They all tried their best to ignore it while they focused on escaping. Nami paused when she heard the grunting from Zoro's struggling. She glanced at him momentarily then shook her head, focusing on the lock. Zoro noticed the action, "What?"

"This is my life now." Was all Nami said.

"You want to trade places?" Zoro inquired.

Artemisia jumped at the chance, "I will. I would love to. Anything to get out of this damn box." Whose bright idea was it to make something like it? She was sure that whoever made it had a talent for torture methods, specifically psychological ones. She didn't doubt that they were a master at physical ones too.

Suddenly, rustling was heard outside of the room. It was coming from the direction that Artemisia's feet were in so she wasn't able to look and see who it was. She first thought she was the only one to notice the noise but turned and saw Zoro looked to be alerted as well. The green-haired man spoke, "Someone's coming."

"I need more time," Nami glanced back at him. "Keep them talking." She turned so her back was to the lock. She didn't want to look suspicious. The last thing they needed was their only escape plan to fall through.

"I don't talk," Zoro stated. "I hit things."

Rolling her eyes, Artemisia told him, "You're talking now so you do it." Zoro did not look to be pleased with the jab. It wasn't like he could do anything, especially not in his position, much less Artemisia's position.

It was hard to see who entered the room. Once Artemisia saw him, though, she tried her best to not laugh out loud. A man with patterned colored hair rode into the room on a unicycle. A unicycle. The joke was telling itself at this point. To Artemisia's surprise, Nami managed to pick her lock with her back to it. It was impressive, to say the least. Artemisia would definitely need to ask her how she does it if they actually make it out of here.

Back to the man, he got off the unicycle and walked up to Zoro. It was hard to see his face since he had his back to Artemisia. She could tell that his body language was one of someone angry. Not just angry, furious. He stood rigidly like he was trying to hold himself back as he talked to Zoro, "Remember me?"

"No," Zoro said simply. "Must be some other homicidal, unicycle-riding clown."

The comment did not go unpunished. The man punched the bounty hunter in the stomach. Artemisia was barely able to make out the side-eyed glare that the man shot at him. Zoro kept his eyes closed, not wanting to give the man a reaction. Still, the man seemed quite pleased with himself, "I've been thinking about you for years. About how you killed my brother."

Hearing this, Zoro opened his eyes, "I killed a lot of pirates."

There was no doubting that either. Artemisia doubted that Zoro would actually let any of his bounties go free. Money was always a good motivator. The man wasn't too happy with Zoro's statement, "My name is Cabaji," He reached for the knives on his waistband, "And a couple of years ago, you hunted us across the Goa Kingdom," He pulled out the knives, "Followed us for weeks through the swamp lands, day and night, never relenting, like some kind of demon."

Zoro and Nami shared a glance. Nami only raised an eyebrow at this. Zoro turned the stare to Artemisia, who tried her best to give him a small shrug, saying that she had no idea what was happening either. The man, Cabaji, picked up on the gesture. Cabaji narrowed his eyes at Nami and slowly made his way over to her. This was it. The plan. Failing. They were screwed.

At least, that's what Artemisia thought. Zoro talked once more, "Still not ringing a bell."

That was all it took for Cabaji to freeze in his tracks. He quickly turned and threw a knife at Zoro. The knife flew into the wooden wheel. It lodged itself a foot away from Zoro's head. Zoro didn't even flinch, much less glance at the sharp object. Cabaji continued with his sob story, "You cut off his head, and you stuffed it in a bag, all for a few berry." Once again, money is a good motivator.

A sigh escaped Zoro, "Okay, that does sound like me."

This was the moment that Artemisia decided to tune everything out. She wasn't too interested in what was going on. She did not care about this man's tragic backstory. All she cared about was escaping this hell trap. Cabaji decided to have fun with spinning the wheel and throwing knives at Zoro and Zoro still didn't seem interested which Cabaji was not happy with at all.

While the two continued to talk, something eventually caught Artemisia's eye. It was Nami. Nami managed to unlock the lock. She gave a gesture to Artemisia, telling her to keep quiet. Artemisia moved her gaze away, not wanting to give the girl away. She only tuned back in when she saw Zoro finally release one of his hands. Nami kicked Cabaji in the chest once he turned to face her. He stumbled back into the grasp of Zoro.

The pirate bounty hunter had his free arm wrapped tightly around Cabaji's neck and choked him as Nami grabbed a knife from the wheel and broke Zoro's other wrist free. Once both hands were released, Zoro stepped off the wheel and dropped Cabaji. Cabaji fell to the ground, clearly unconscious. Now that that threat was out of the way, "Okay, can someone get me out of here now?" The two quickly made their way over. Nami focused on the lock while Zoro focused on the saw. Zoro stopped after a moment and just stared. Artemisia raised an eyebrow at this, "Well?"

What he said was the last thing she wanted to hear, "It won't budge," Oh, you have got to be joking. Seriously? It won't budge at all? Was he even trying? Zoro didn't notice the millions of thoughts rushing through her brain. Obviously, he wouldn't. "They really shoved it in there. You'll need to be careful."

"And fast," Nami added. Artemisia gave the girl a look of confusion. Nami took a moment to look Artemisia in the eyes, pausing on her lockpicking. It was strangely comforting, even after the argument that the two had earlier. "Sudden movements trigger the saw. If you move too quickly, too rigidly, it's game over."

Were they seriously suggesting- "I have to get myself out of here?" Nami nodded in response to Artemisia's question. "How am I supposed to move fast but careful?"

Neither of them knew what to say. If Zoro had his swords then he could have held the saw up but they didn't know where to look for those. The knives were too short, and they could risk getting badly injured. The only solution was for Artemisia to try and get herself out without getting injured in the process. Suddenly, after the lock came undone, Nami seemed to come up with an idea.

Releasing the lock from its place and throwing it to the side, Nami looked up at Zoro, "Zoro, open the box very carefully," Slowly, Zoro placed his hands on a part of the lid that stuck out. He raised the lid, trying not to be too quick and careless with his actions. Nami turned her attention to Artemisia, "Misi, stick your arm out," Artemisia was hesitant. She was scared. What if this went horribly wrong? What was Nami's plan? Why did she ever end up in thi- "Anyday now."

"Pushy much." Artemisia rolled her eyes.

Slowly and carefully, Artemisia did as the girl suggested. She extended her arm out. Once it was straight out, Nami grabbed onto her wrist. Something about the gesture lit a fit in Artemisia's stomach, which she desperately tried to ignore. Nami turned her gaze to Zoro for a moment, "Drop the lid as soon as you see the saw come down."

Do what now? Huh? What? "What is that supposed to mean?" Artemisia's brow furrowed in a puzzled manner. You could see the twinge of fear that passed over her features as well. Zoro responded with confirmation and Nai adjusted her grip. Neither of them said a word to answer her question. This led to her asking even more, "Hello? What are we doing?"

An answer was apparently the last thing that Artemisia was getting. Nami only told her, "Just relax," Silence. It was something that Artemisia was starting to hate. This silence didn't last nearly as long. It was hard to be silent when Nami suddenly jerked Artemisia's arm, hard. The sudden pull was enough to make Artemisia's body slide off the bottom of the open box and onto the ground. She closed her eyes tightly as she heard the lid drop and the saw coming down. This was it. Her final moment. That's what she thought. This proved to not be the case when she suddenly felt arms wrapped around her and something under her. The mass spoke, "I got you. We did it."

Breathing deeply, Artemisia opened her eyes. She was lying on top of Nami. The position they were in made the girl blush. She quickly jumped up, avoiding the gaze of Nami. Artemisia spoke quietly, "Thanks."

The other girl nodded and started looking around, mostly likely trying to find their stuff. Zoro joined in on the search, asking, "What's the plan?" It didn't take long for Zoro to find his stuff. He picked up one of his swords. Nami didn't respond to his question, only grabbing her stuff. Zoro questioned her once more, "You do have a plan, right? That's your thing, plans."

"I say..," The girl trailed off. "We beat the hell out of every clown we see." She chucked and extended her staff.

Thankfully, Artemisia's stuff wasn't hard to find either. She picked up her crossbow, already feeling better now that it was in her grasp. She then picked up her quiver of arrows and slung it over her shoulder, loading an arrow into the crossbow. She shook her body like she was trying to shake her previous nerves off, "I'm all for that plan."

Safe to say that Zoro was as well. The look on his face said everything to him. The three, once sure that they had everything, made their way out of the room, weapons in hand, ready to fight whatever was waiting for them outside of the back room.

~~~

How would you guys feel about an original story arc taking place before season 2 comes out? I came up with a really good idea that I think everyone will find interesting. It includes more Nami and Artemisia moments along with some Phillipa lore 👀. I have the plot halfway planned out, and it is coming along pretty well; it still needs some work here and there though. Tell me what you think!

Now... An unexpected message from my cat: oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooaaaaaaaaaddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddr.

He stepped on the keyboard of my laptop while I was trying to write. He was literally one inch away from erasing the entire chapter. He somehow highlighted everything I wrote, and if he had stepped one paw to the right, it would've all been gone. Y'all would've never heard from me again 😭.