Notes: I always forget this: I own no one but Artemis!
Please review, please read, and please err…enjoy? I tried to make the chapter longer, since I know I REALLY enjoy long chaps.
"Trust me kiddo, this isn't going to be any fun at all," the burgundy haired girl chuckled leaning back on the wall of the hallway they were in. Sad truth was that the girl she was talking to was probably older than she was, but she was so naïve it was hard to believe. The blue haired girl across from her looked desperate. She scoffed, "Well? What do you want me to tell you?"
"I don't know," Vivi answered shyly. "Maybe there's a way I can get out of it? What if I – "
"Nope."
"Artemis!" she whined. Defiance and determination shone in the girl's eyes. "Please, I don't want to go out there!"
The girl known as Artemis couldn't stand looking her in the eye any longer. Arms crossed over her body, and head tilted down she sighed. "Fine. I'll go. They would have sent one of us anyways, and I'm so used to it what's one more time?"
"I didn't mean – " the girl gasped, but the other held up her hand.
"Forget it." She smiled suddenly at her, picking her head up, "Lord knows that our boss likes me best. Probably misses me too."
"Thank you," Vivi said gratefully. Artemis ruffled her hair and walked away from her down the hallway to where a man with a gun was waiting. As a last thought she hollered, "Don't kill anyone!"
A wink over a shoulder was her answer.
"So Miss Double Finger," the hulk of a man asked as he leaned on the bar. "Which of our two loveliest ladies will be performing behind the bar tonight?"
The deadly woman tossed her hair over her shoulder pausing in her bar work to put a hand on an over curvaceous hip. "Why Mr. 1, someone might think you play favorites. Besides, I don't know."
"Just curious," he smirked turning to watch the rest of the club he and Miss Double Finger were in charge of. Mr. 0, the man that no one in Baroque's Works save for his partner had ever met, was very generous. The top members had been given a very spacious and extravagant club to run, while behind the scenes they did his dirty work.
Suddenly, the slow music that their coworker Mr. 5 had been playing changed to a much more upbeat song. A light beamed onto the wall behind the bar above Miss Double Finger and Mr. 1's heads. When they looked up, part of the wall slid aside revealing a glass room lit from behind and forward creating a silhouette of the girl inside. She was posed with one arm high above her head and the other wrapped across her flat stomach. Mr. 1 smirked slightly, he knew this girl quite well, and was almost pleased to see her up there dancing slowly to the music. Miss Double Finger leaned forward onto the bar watching her partner's face with mild interest, "Well, looks like Miss Wednesday didn't feel like dancing today. I suppose she'll be a waitress for a few hours while Artemis dances."
"I suppose so," was the response.
Artemis ignored the fact that she was in a cage of glass, ignored the men down below cheering for her and other dancers in the club, and most importantly, ignored the owner standing just below her at the bar. She concentrated on the pounding music, which echoed just as loudly in her room as in the club itself. One thing she complimented Mr. 5 on was his ability to pick songs and blend them well. For a sick bastard he was a damn good DJ, hell, he looked the part as well. Eyes shut she moved to music letting her body follow it as her mind drifted off somewhere else. Opening her eyes to mere slits she watched as Vivi stepped out from one of the side doors in her waitress outfit, which consisted of a short skirt and tight button down that Vivi had brought with her when she joined Baroque's Works.
Artemis clearly remembered that day: she had already been there for a month, a captive against her will. She had just figured out an escape plan for herself when she met the blue haired girl. On their first meeting she instantly knew that this girl was not out for world domination like the rest of Baroque's Works. Her, Mr. 8, Mr. 9, and Miss Monday didn't fool her for a second; she knew they were fake, but kept her mouth shut. It was the second day after Vivi's arrival that Artemis found out Mr. 0 planned on taking over a country, Alabasta to be precise. She found this out because she had been watching out for Vivi, then Miss Wednesday, and overheard a conversation that she was listening in on. Fearing for their lives, she grabbed Vivi and had dragged her back to the room that they shared.
"What the hell are you thinking?" she snapped. "You want to die?"
"It's none of your business!" Miss Wednesday snapped pulling her arm out of her grasp. "I wanted to know what the boss was planning, maybe if I knew I could help him achieve his goal quicker."
Artemis laughed mocking her, "Don't give me that bullshit! I know for a fact that you aren't here for that!" The older girl spun around in shock to see her smirking face. "Come off it. What's your real name?"
"We aren't supposed to know each others' names," she corrected. "Just the codenames." Artemis paced the studio apartment-like room as if she were putting Miss Wednesday on trial.
"If you hadn't noticed, I wasn't given one. So what is your real name?" she repeated flopping into a chair in their room. Miss Wednesday looked at her cautiously and tried not to loose her cool, calm exterior. Finally, she sighed and sat down across from her.
"I can't tell you my full name, but I can tell you my first name." She folded her hands in front of her nervously, "Is that all right?" Artemis nodded. With a deep sigh, she straightened up and said, "My name is Vivi."
"Ok Vivi," Artemis smiled. "What are you really doing here?"
Vivi looked nervous and played absently with a strand of blue hair between her fingers. "My country is in danger, and I was sent along with a few others to find out as much information as possible about our attackers before returning home. If I don't find out who Mr. 0 is, then the country will be captured and will most definitely fall."
"I see," the red head sighed leaning forward on her elbows. "So you'll risk your very life just to find a few tidbits of information? Is that what you really want? To die?" Vivi gulped and paled considerably, but she nodded nonetheless. Artemis ran a hand through her hair in frustration; what was she supposed to say? It was easy to have come up with a plan to get herself out, but now that she knew the things she did, would she be able to aid them both? Lord knew she would do everything in her power to stop Mr. 0 and Baroque's Works and save the country, but what the hell could she do? She let out her breath again smiling, "Ok, Vivi. If you're willing to put your neck out there then count me in!"
"What?" the girl gasped.
"I'm in," she chuckled standing up. "Hell, you think I want to stay here? I've been trying to break out since day one! But now that I've got myself a better goal I think I can help you out. So," she smirked grabbing some paper and a pen, "what do we know?"
"Artemis!" Vivi screamed running down the hallway at top speed. Her friend was exiting another room and caught her arm before she passed.
"What's the matter Vivi?" she asked worried as to why there were tears streaming down her pal's face.
"Ig-iga-" she stammered choking on tears and lack of air.
"Calm down kiddo," Artemis soothed pulling her into the room she was just in. Mr. 2 was off in a corner practicing his ballet-kick moves, so Artemis shoved her friend into a chair at the small table kneeling before her. "Kid, breathe. Just calm down and tell me what happened."
Struggling, the spy was able to slow her breaths and wiped the still spilling tears from her face. "It's Igaram! He and Miss Monday were found out!"
"Are they ok?" Artemis asked. She knew that these two were extremely close friends of Vivi's and like her mentors in many ways. They had been watching over the girl just as much as Artemis had.
"I don't know," she cried bursting into sobs. "I don't know. Oh god I don't know!" Artemis pulled her into a hug muffling her sobs and trying to keep her calm. The last thing they needed now was to see thee only remaining Alabastan spy crying her eyes out over the others. That would cause some very big problems. The red head tried to ease the girl's obvious pain. "I think they might be, but I don't know. Igaram was leaving I think. He might have been in his car. Miss Monday went with him, and when they came back she wasn't there so the others were suspicious. Then they figured it out, I think because he mentioned Roronoa Zoro."
"The bounty hunter?" Artemis asked out of curiosity. She herself had been keeping track of people like Roronoa Zoro; he was practically famous in her eyes. Vivi nodded. "Ok, so what was wrong about Him?"
"Igaram said that he was defeated by him, and Miss Monday too!" Vivi cried out pulling herself away. "Him and Monday, and Mr. Nine! And so many others! They had gone to Whiskey Point!" Artemis nodded in understanding; Whiskey Point was a hangout for bounty hunters of sorts. Every man, woman, and child was a bounty hunter, but Artemis was not in the least surprised that Roronoa Zoro defeated them. However, he would have a hell of a time doing it. What confused Artemis though was why he was there and why he would attack them.
Vivi meanwhile, had begun to cry again burying her face in Artemis's shoulder. Trying to be there for her, she smoothed out her hair, "Don't worry about it. Igaram is a brave and courageous man. He would never let himself get caught or thrown out suddenly if he believed the mission was jeopardized. You just have to have some faith ok?"
"But what am I supposed to do now?" she sobbed gripping her friend's arm for dear life.
"Well," she sighed resting her chin on Vivi's head. "I guess this means we bump up or plans a few weeks." Smiling she pulled herself away and tried to beam some of her confidence to the sobbing girl. "First thing is that you need to find out who Mr. 0 is, and I mean within the week. Since we know what he's trying to do we can do even more damage to him. Then, let's say a day or two later, I'll break you out."
Sanji, the resident chef for the Straw Hat Pirates, was enjoying himself. Why? Because he was heading into a nightclub where he had heard from very valuable sources that the girls were quite gorgeous.
With him, was Usopp. He had done everything in his power to escape the cook's plot, but Sanji forced him to come with him on the reasoning that, "You need to go out more."
"But what about Kaya?" he whined trying to stay connected to the steering wheel of Sanji's convertible. The blonde had his hands gripped Usopp's collar trying to drag him out. "I can't do something like that!"
"Usopp you moron she's on another friggin' continent! Get some night life once and a while!" Sanji hissed knocking him out of the car. He looked down at his depressed friend, who was now lying on the ground. "Usopp. One night, hanging out with a buddy, maybe a beer, and just listening to music isn't going to totally destroy your long distance relationship. Now get up." He walked away heading across the street to light up a cigarette before entering the club. Usopp remained on the ground for a few moments trying to decide the best plan of attack.
Then he remembered that Sanji could kick his ass and that it was hopeless.
So he dragged himself to his feet, dusted himself off, and started to go across the street hollering for Sanji to wait for him.
Sanji meanwhile thought for a few brief moments that he was in heaven. A dark atmosphere with spinning colored lights that bounced off every surface met his gaze. The air was thick with alcohol, nicotine, and sweat; the impact was so powerful he actually removed his cigarette from his lips to take in a deep breath of it. Women were everywhere. They danced, the moved, they drank, they laughed, they flirted, they did everything. And they were on all sides of him, in every direction he looked. Some danced on a dance floor; others, they paid ones, were dancing in cages like Go-Go dancers, on platforms defying gravity, behind glass walls taunting the men below, or on stairwells just looking sexy in all their feminine glory. Others, scantily clad, moved amongst the booths and the tables serving drinks and food to those unworthy fools who didn't truly appreciate their beauty. Little hearts began to appear in Sanji's eyes as he stepped in farther. Then someone grabbed his arm. He spun around and snapped, "WHAT?"
"Chill Sanji," Usopp gulped. "I just asked you where you wanted to sit."
"Oh," Sanji grinned. E ran off dragging the handyman behind him until he found a booth buried deep within the throng. "How about right here?"
"You're sure you don't mind?" Vivi shouted over the music.
Artemis nodded to her, "Go ahead! I needed to vent anyway! Just go on serving. Careful you don't get groped or anything!"
"Don't worry about me," the girl smiled flashing her disc like weapons for an instant. "I can handle it." Artemis nodded and went back onto the platform she had been dancing on. Vivi watched her until the platform was brought into place with a metallic whir, hovering over the heads of paying drunkards. Sighing, Vivi picked up her tray, grabbed her pen and pad, and went back into the gauntlet. She noticed a new pair in her serving area; a blonde smoking and a brunette talking into a cell phone. She plastered a smile onto her face and went over to them. "Evening gentlemen, what can I get you?"
The blonde turned to look at her, and then his jaw dropped. "An angel whose beauty cannot be described by mere words alone!" he gasped.
"Huh?" both she and his companion asked. She could have sworn there were little hearts dancing around in his eyes. He fell to one knee grabbing her hand and kissing it.
"Glorious angel, please," he smiled, "tell me why something as wonderful as yourself is lowered to doing something as mundane as servitude!" his friend stared at him for a few moments in silence, but then turned back to his call.
"Yes Kaya, he IS flirting with someone again," he chuckled. Vivi smiled warmly: this Kaya was probably his girlfriend. She smiled down at the blonde who seemed to have died and gone to heaven once she did.
"Oh you mean me being a waitress?" she giggled. He nodded ferociously. "Well, it pays the bills doesn't it?" He laughed at her little joke as if it were the funniest thing in the world. "My name's Vivi if you need anything. Would you – "
"I'm Sanji!" the blonde interrupted. He stood up sharply shaking her hand. "An honor to meet a beauty such as yourself Vivi-Chan." She giggled again at the endearment motioning for him to sit down again.
The brunette with him ended his call and extended his hand to shake. It wasn't until now that she realized he had a very long nose. "I'm Usopp. Excuse his drool."
"Not at all," she waved it off. "I think it's charming."
"See?" Sanji squealed. "She thinks I'm charming!"
God hurt me, but I need to update the other One Piece fic before I can go too far with this one. I hope you liked this chap, please review to battle my inferiority complex!