003

— object of desire —

THE CLOWN PIRATE WAS CLEARLY PROUD OF HIMSELF, ARMS STRETCHED OUT WIDE, HIS GRIN SO LARGE AND ODD IT SHOULD INSTIL FEAR ANYONE WHO MET BUGGY THE CLOWNS PATH. However, Visenya's eyebrows had furrowed, she had never heard of him, and by the look on Nami and Zoro's face, they didn't either.

The Clowns arm dropped but that didn't stop his smile and his wild gestures as he began to stalk closer, still shouting his different titles, "Buggy, the Flashy fool. Buggy, the Genius Jester."

"Wow," Luffy said with a grin, his hands on his hips. "You have a lot of names. I bet everyone in the East Blue knows who you are."

The audience gasped in surprise and Buggy's smug smile faltered. His eyes narrowed in on Luffy, and the entire tent seemed to darken. "What did you just say?" Buggy questioned, his voice lowering.

Visenya slipped from behind the pole, stepping closer to the bleachers, trying to see the trio better. Luffy shrugged softly and repeated himself, "Just that everyone knows who you are."

"Nose?!" Buggy lunged forward, squeezing Luffy's face in his gloved hand. The pirates around them stepped closer, bouncing hammers, wooden beams, pipes and swords in their hands. Zoro and Nami froze, unsure if they should face Luffy, or the pirates surrounding them. Buggy squeezed Luffy harder, "Are you making fun of my nose?"

Was it obvious, Visenya thought.

"Well, I wasn't," Luffy said through squished cheeks, but then his eyes focused on the red nose just brushing his skin. "But now that you mention it. . ." Luffy slowly raised his hand and poked Buggy's nose, "is that thing for real?"

Buggy slapped Luffy's hand away, making the audience gasp again, and Visenya groaned, dropping her head slightly. Luffy was messing with a pirate that should be far stronger than him as if he were another friend. Asking him stupid questions and offering silly smiles. But it dawned on Visenya, they had no idea how dangerous Buggy, and his freaks were, they had no idea just outside was a total wasteland.

"What's real is I've been scheming for months—" Buggy tossed Luffy back, making him stumble but Luffy was quick to catch himself. "—to steal that map from old Axe-Hand Moron!" He leaned closer to Nami, but she just turned her head away. He shrugged and turned back, continuing his speech. "Only to find out that I was upstaged by three little nobodies, who stole it from right out under my no— No! It's in my head now." Buggy yelled, groaning through his teeth as he spun around.

Visenya took a deep breath, she had been messy at Shell's Town, but she had stayed nearly entirely hidden from proper prying eyes. A passerby may notice her, but the Marines, and the pirates had no clue. Good. Visenya was trying to stay invisible.

"Hey!" Luffy called after Buggy. "I'm not a nobody. I'm Monkey D. Luffy. And I will be King of the Pirates."

Buggy spun back around, almost doubling over in laughter, but Luffy kept his grin. "Oh! Now that's funny." The man in the lion costume turned, holding up the laughter sign and the audience gave half-hearted laughs, the eerie trace of how terrified they were in echo of their laughter made Visenya shudder. Buggy raised his hand, and the laughter cut off.

"My bounty poster graces the marquee of every Marine outpost for miles," Buggy went on, pacing around the trio. "And my menagerie of outcasts and freaks is the most dreaded pirate crew the East Blue has ever known. I am destined to find the One Piece. And when I do I will be king."

"No, you won't," Luffy said matter of factly with a very carefree shrug, "'cause I'm gonna find it first."

"You? Don't make me laugh," Buggy scoffed. The audience and performers started to laugh. "I said don't make me laugh!" Buggy shouted in anger and the tent was silent again.

"All right, listen up!" Zoro shouted, stepping forward. Visenya peeked out further, furrowing her eyebrows as she watched him. "I'm Roronoa Zoro. Drop your weapons now and I may let you live." He walked towards Buggy, getting in his face.

Buggy couldn't help but chuckle, leaning back as he did. "Ladies and gentlemen, we have a celebrity in our midst," Buggy cheered. Then his face became very serious. "Too bad I hate sharing the spotlight." The spotlight squeaked and swiftly moved off of Zoro, lightning Buggy once again. "Now, maybe we should skip right to the finale." Buggy held up his hand, four knives in his hand, once placed between each finger.

Visenya flicked her coat back, watching the metal closely. "My freaks put quite a bit of rehearsal time into this little abduction," Buggy narrated as the freaks pulled out their guns and weapons, all pointed at the trio in the centre. "And if I can't reward them with that map, I suppose I'll have to offer them a pound of flesh instead."

Visenya readied herself to stand, there were a lot of freaks, but Visenya would find a way to win, she always did. Nami's sudden shout made her freeze, "Wait! Wait. What if I have something else to offer you? Something more valuable than the map?" Nami was shaking as she spoke, nearly rambling but she kept her smile. Buggy tilted his head, his knife hand dropping. "What if I give you a new freak for your crew? A rare talent. The most spectacular act in all of the East Blue. Besides you, of course."

Buggy chuckled softly and nodded, "Go on."

Nami stepped back, stopping beside Luffy. Visenya tilted her head, confused when suddenly Nami grabbed the straw hat and threw it high into the ceiling. Nami darted out of a side entrance as Luffy stretched his arms to the top of the tent, grabbing his hat before it could escape in the wind.

A duo of clown pirates raced after Nami and Visenya had to dive beneath the bleaches, so they didn't see her. Not a moment later the pirates dragged Nami back through the entrance, but not without some struggle. She almost kicked herself from their hold, but they grabbed her, and she fell to the floor. Nami looked to the side, meeting Visenya's eyes. Nami's eyes winded in shock and Visenya raised a finger to her lips, shushing her as the pirates grabbed Nami again, dragging her back to Buggy.

"What did you do?!" Nami shouted as she faced the red-nosed clown. Her hands were clenched at her side, Zoro and Luffy watching her as she stared at the clown with anger and pain. "What did you do to their town?! You destroyed everything!"

Luffy's eyes widened in shock and looked at Buggy who simply shrugged in response. "Not everything," Buggy said, leaning against a barrel. "I let 'em keep their hands." A man in a sheep's head raised an applause sign and the audience was quick to obey the order, clapping and giggling along.

"Okay," Buggy huffed, throwing his knives back in his pockets. "Here ends the theatrics." The colourful lights cut off and the stark white light focused on Buggy, shrouding the tent in darkness. Visenya crept out into the darkness, racing to the other side of the belchers. "I know one of you has my map, and I'm gonna get it back." Buggy paused and pointed at Luffy. "What was it you said, Rubber Boy? That it was in a safe place?" Luffy's eyes widened, and he glanced at Zoro. "Don't look so surprised. I've got eyes and ears everywhere."

Buggy took a deep breath and turned away, waving for his freaks, "So please make our guests uncomfortable in the green room." A handful of pirates grabbed Nami and Zoro pulling them backwards through a side door, no matter how hard they kicked and struggled. Luffy tried to chase them, but the freaks blocked his path. Two grabbed him, pulling him back to Buggy. "I am gonna have a chat with my stretchy new pal."

◈

BUGGY SIMPLY WAVED HIS HAND AND THE CLOWN PIRATES CLEARED THE STAGE. They went down different halls, tossing balls, and spinning ribbons leaving the forced audience to sit and wait. Visenya stood, keeping her eyes on the pirates roaming around closest to the entrances of the tent. The man in the sheep's head turned his eyes back to the stage and Visenya ran down the side hall he was guarding without a sound.

The walls were lit with coloured hanging lights, signs and posters of the freak crew and the clown captain hung on the stripped walls. They looked like old fair posters, faded and torn but held some life behind them. A girl in pink and yellow frills stood at the end of the hall, juggling blue neon balls doing a very poor job of guarding the halls. Visenya grabbed her knife, creeping up behind the girl. Before the freak could turn, Visenya grabbed her and stabbed her knife upwards through the bottom of her spine. The freak barely cried out and went limp. Visenya dropped her and continued down the halls.

After running through the spiralling halls that twisted like a funhouse, and striking down a dozen distracted clowns, Visenya stopped along a green room hallway. She crept down the hallway until she heard voices on the other side of a bright purple door. She pushed it open without a sound and slipped inside, the sound of Zoro's voice growing louder in her ears. She took a breath and closed the door with the faintest click.

Visenya stayed hidden behind the stacked circus equipment, peeking out just enough to see Nami struggling to pick the lock, backwards. Zoro was strapped to a spinning wheel by his hands and feet, the spinning wheel turning him in constant circles. A pirate with a half-shaved head and ridiculously coloured clothing stood in front of the spinning wheel, entirely consumed with the pirate hunter. He threw knife after knife at Zoro, missing each time but Zoro remained still as a board, not even flinching as a blade sliced a single hair.

"You really don't fear death, do you?" The knife thrower asked once the wheel stopped spinning.

"No. I just don't fear you," Zoro hissed, still rather unphased.

Visenya crept from her hiding spot towards the golden cage Nami was trapped in. She grabbed Nami's hand, making her gasp but Visenya was quick to shush her, motioning for her to stay quiet, but move her hands. Nami took her hands back looking up at the knife thrower. "You know, I'm gonna enjoy this," He gloated, "As soon as Captain Buggy's finished with you, you're mine."

"Uh, tempting as that sounds, I'm not sticking around," Zoro said, keeping his voice casual.

"Why? You got somewhere to be?" The freak scoffed.

Zoro paused for a moment, his eyes wandering. Then he spoke in an oddly sincere tone, "Didn't used to think so. But Luffy changed that." The statement made Visenya's hands freeze for a moment. Luffy had convinced the proud, egotistical, pirate hunter that there was something better than that. Visenya focused, successfully unlocking the padlock with a flick.

The knife thrower laughed, "That simpleton in a straw hat. Don't tell me you actually believe in him?"

"I don't need to. He believes in himself. It rubs off," Zoro insisted. The knife thrower laughed and Visenya stepped away from Nami, walking behind the freak. Zoro noticed her but he didn't let it show on his face as he stared at the freak.

"And one more thing," Zoro called and the freak furrowed his eyebrows. "Don't turn around." The knife thrower turned and Visenya aimed her fingers at the man, the lock flying from her hand slamming dead on his forehead. He dropped backwards onto the floor with a heavy thud. Visenya grabbed the man's legs and dragged him out of the way as Nami carefully stepped from the golden birdcage.

Cautiously Nami took a step closer to Visenya, watching her closely as Visenya walked back to Zoro and cut him free. "What? Are you stalking us now?" Nami asked, keeping her tone teasing but she still stood with tense muscles.

"No, I'm just invested in your safety," Visenya mumbled, cutting away the ropes at his feet. "I think your good people." Visenya cut the last of the ropes away and Zoro stepped free, pausing in front of Visenya. "Stretch your limbs, Broccoli top," she advised.

"Thanks, Laser Lady," Zoro said with a nod, walking around Visenya to his swords. Nami looked up at Visenya and shrugged softly before walking over to Zoro, grabbing her things.

"What's the plan?" Zoro questioned. When no one answered him, he paused and looked between both girls. "One of you has a plan, right?"

"Do you have a plan, Silver?" Nami called.

"Visenya," She corrected, keeping her voice soft as she turned to Nami. She paused for a moment and looked at Zoro, "Did you mean what you said about Luffy?" Zoro nodded in confirmation and Visenya took out her sword. "I cleared the right hall, took care of the freak infestation. I don't like how the left looks."

"Well then," Nami hummed, spinning her bo staff. "I say let's take the left hall and we beat the hell out of every clown we see."

Easy to say with the three of them together, taking down the clown pirates was more than a breeze, it was leading Zoro through the twisted halls that was a challenge. After some trial and error and a very bruised hall of mirrors, they came to a fork in their path. They had to be halfway through the twisting maze, so they split up and each made their way to a different entrance.

In the centre under a spotlight, Buggy had trapped Luffy in a glass cage that was constantly filled with salt water; more and more until there was no air left for Luffy to breathe. But he didn't panic, he just smiled at the Clown Captain and tapped on the glass. Buggy's eyebrows twisted but he looked over his shoulder. Visenya stood over a dead freak and tossed her laser sword at the cage and forced Buggy to dive away. The laser pierced the glass, and even under the water the bright red laser stayed lit.

Visenya raised her hand, and the sword raced back to her, draining the tank of water enough so Luffy could breathe.

Buggy spun towards her and Visenya cocked her head to one side. "You're quite the disappointment, Captain," Visenya scoffed. She flicked her hand, and the glass tank shattered, the metal framing splitting open. In the waves that spilled out, Luffy was tossed out with it; his hat was lost in the waves while he rolled into the sand, trying to cough and clear the water from his lungs. The current was so strong it forced Visenya to jump backwards and knocked Buggy backward, off of his feet.

Luffy coughed and sputtered, the nasty sounds making Visenya turn towards him. She realised quickly that he wasn't just coughing, but also pushing the map out from deep down his throat. Visenya cringed, watching the gold-plated map cover roll onto the floor.

"My map!"

"My hat!"

Visenya jumped from her spot and slid across the stage, kicking the map from Buggy's reach as Luffy raced to grab his hat. Buggy hissed and slammed his fist against the floor in anger, seething through his teeth. Visenya picked up the map and put it into the place her sword handle would sit.

Zoro and Nami walked to Visenya's side as Buggy pushed himself to his feet, staring at the three before him. Zoro took a small step forward and held both swords out, his piercing eyes starting at Buggy. Buggy laughed slightly and held his arms out, "You want a piece of me? Let's see what you got."

Zorro spun his sword and slicked through Buggy's head, but he simply popped his head off. It floated above his neck for a moment and straightened, that's odd. Buggy quickly popped his head back into place, but it didn't stop Zoro from trying to slash through his torso and chest. Visenya glanced as Buggy pieced himself back together, completely unfazed by it all.

Buggy cackled, "Surprise, shithead!" His laughter grew louder as each part of his body popped off, flying around the stage in a tornado of body parts. Nami and Visenya stepped closer to Zoro, standing on either side as they looked around at the flying body parts. Visenya clutched her sword tighter, her eyes trying to follow the clowns body parts, but they all blurred into one.

Zoro's head whipped around, but he couldn't focus on the whirring mess. "How do I slice a guy who's already in pieces?" He shouted.

"This is not part of the plan," Nami yelled, her hair flying wildly.

Visenya stepped back as either a forearm or shoulder flew too close to her face. "Try ducking," Visenya snarked before the 3 split apart, the body pieces breaking from the tornado to chase them.

Buggy's body parts swiped down, kicking Nami over the edge of the stage and a boot pushed Zoro against the remnants of the broken glass cage. Visenya hit a shoulder and knee away, sparking as they hit the laser, but one of the hands swiped down, trying to snatch the map. Visenya managed to hit it off, but the other hand grabbed her arm and yanked her back into the sand.

Buggy started to piece himself back together once the others were down and he turned to Luffy, who had used the stage pole to push himself up.

"Would you look at that?" Buggy cooed, stalking closer to Luffy, twirling his finger at the boy. "Somebody escaped my Tank of Doom. Well, I'll be back to finish you off. Right after I tear apart your sad excuse for a crew."

Buggy cackled again but Luffy simply pulled his hat on. "You can dump seawater on me, and I'll let it slide," Luffy started, taking a step forward. "But don't you ever threaten my friends." Luffy stretched his arm back, shooting it forward and punched a hole through Buggy's torso. It slid out like a perfect cylinder as Luffy's arms stretched back to normal. Buggy looked back at the centre of his torso floating aimlessly in the air, and with a nod the piece raced back to his body. Luffy stared at the clown with wide eyes and all Buggy did was wink and click his tongue. 

"So, you want to die first?" Buggy asked, pulling his knives into each of his hands. He popped both of his arms and legs off, keeping his eyes on Luffy. "Be my guest." He popped his limbs further apart, splitting off at each joint and started to spin then so fast they blurred together. "Chop-Chop Cannon!" He sent his blades and body pieces out. Luffy jumped over the pieces, kicking one away and using the momentum to flip himself onto Buggy, pushing him into the sand.

A boot, however, came flying by and kicked Luffy to the side. He landed in the sand with a thud and not a moment later, the gloved hand holding 4 blades flew right at Luffy raced toward him. Visenya stopped the knives just before they hit Luffy's face. Luffy turned to Visenya, but she was already sending the knives racing to the clown captain, piercing his chest. But he shrugged it off seconds later.

Luffy tried to stand, but he fumbled as a boot slammed into his side, knocking him back into the sand. A hand raced down to grab his throat, pinning him to the ground and no matter how hard Luffy struggled it firmly held him to the ground. Luffy looked around, struggling for a moment before shouting, "Nami! The crates!" Nami looked back at the piles of stacked crates at the other end of the tent and nodded quickly, turning and running to them.

Visenya's eyes singled on the hand forcing Luffy to the ground and she scrambled out of the sand, summoning her sword to her hand. "Luffy, watch your hands!" Visenya shouted, emphasising her words. Luffy's hands slammed into the ground as Visenya reached him, striking her laser at Buggy's hand and sending it flying across the tent.

Visenya held out her gloved hand, urging Luffy slightly. He took her hand, smiling as she helped him to his feet. "I'm Monkey D. Luffy," He introduced himself, his smile growing. "Thought I'd introduce myself properly, after you saved my life."

"Pleasure," she said in turn, "My name is Visenya." Two parts of the clown body flew at Luffy and Visenya and they moved at once; Visenya striking it away with her sword to Nami, who slammed it into a crate, and Luffy stretched out to grab the other piece first before throwing it at Zoro. Zoro jumped high and stabbed both of his swords through the calf, Buggy's far off voice shouting through the tent.

Zoro kicked the calf up at Nami and she slammed it closed in an empty barrel. "Damn it," Buggy shouted, the last of his body parts splitting further, racing faster around the tent.

In moments Luffy and Visenya sent nearly every part of Buggy racing at Zoro and Nami. Moments after that, Zoro and Nami locked them through all the open crates and barrels. All that was left of the vicious clown pirate were two hands, two feet, cut off just above the ankle, and one head, with a very red nose. "What have you done to me?!"

Luffy looked back at the clown and smiled, "Cut you down to size."

"The One Piece will never be yours!" Buggy shouted, his hand clenching and unclenching, his hands pressing against his cheeks. "You're just a sad, lonely little boy wearing another man's hat!"

"I know exactly who I am." Luffy stood straighter and pulled the hat on, his smile there the entire time. "I am Monkey D. Luffy. And I'm gonna be King of the Pirates," he said proudly. Then he stretched his arms back. "Gum Gum—!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!" Buggy rambled, trying to shuffle back on his mismatched body parts. "No, no, no! Wait. Wait. Wait. Wait!"

"—Bazooka!" Luffy's arms shot forward, slamming into the mess of Buggy's body parts and sending him through the roof of the tent.

— lethal lust —