BUGGY THE CLOWN

"It's just at the end of this road here," Nami said while pointing to a bar right at the end of the street. "It's that bar that the pirates are staying at."

"Is that so…" Artemyra walked ahead of them and used her hand as a visor to block out the sun. She stared at the bar and could hear loud chattering and singing coming from inside. "But what is the-"

"Ah! Myra!" Luffy suddenly called out from behind.

Artemyra whipped her head around and instantly narrowed her eyes at what she saw. In only a matter of seconds, Nami had snuck up behind Luffy and tied him up tightly with rope. He was then pushed to the ground with Nami standing over him.

Artemyra kept her cool and sucked in a deep breath. "Oh, so this is your plan," she said while crossing her arms. "I should've known."

Nami's smile turned up, resembling that of a Cheshire cat. "Don't blame me. Blame your blind loyalty and your stupid friend for getting yourselves into this mess. So…" She stepped over Luffy and flexed the rope in her hands. "Are you gonna make it difficult for your friend here…or are you gonna cooperate?"

Artemyra's eyes harshened a little, and she began to walk towards the young girl. Nami flinched and quickly pulled tight on Luffy's knots. She was hoping to remind the knightess who was in charge. Luckily, Artemyra did stop and was clearly annoyed by this betrayal. Getting a sense of what Nami wanted her to do, she backed away a couple steps and put her hands up in defeat.

"Fine. Let's see how well your plan goes," Artemyra said calmly, not allowing some cat burglar to rattle her. Even if she was captured, there was still the chance to learn things and escape later on. "But I can guarantee this…it's not going to be ideal for you either." She warned Nami one last time as the orange girl approached her with a rope.

"I like those odds."

Luffy and Artemyra were roughly thrown at the feet of who they could only guess to be Buggy the Clown. When they looked at his face, they quickly realized why he was called that. He had a striking appearance that heavily resembled that of a clown. He wore colorful clothes and had bright blue hair, red and white paint on his face, and a big red noise that Artemyra contemplated if it was real or not.

"I captured the thieves, Buggy the Clown, leader of this pirate fleet! I will even return your stolen map." Nami claimed before the mad clown.

Luffy struggled to lift his head. "You tricked us!" he growled.

"Luffy, calm down," Artemyra whispered softly so no one would hear them. "It isn't over yet."

Luffy looked perplexed by this. "What do you mean?"

"I mean…I don't believe Nami has the stomach for crude piracy. We'll play It safe for now." She motioned with her head and looked back to see what Buggy would do.

"I see, you're obediently returning the map to me. But…why are you doing this?" Buggy asked.

Nami smiled innocently. "You see, I came into an argument with my bosses. I'm tired of it. Please let me join the Buggy pirate crew."

This seemed to be the last thing Buggy and his crewmates expected. They stood in silence for a bit before suddenly bursting into obnoxious laughter. So loud and boisterous that it made the whole rooftop shake. Even Artemyra was surprised to hear this and looked worryingly at the young woman.

"So you're tired of it now, eh? You're a pretty amusing girl!" Buggy said, laughing along with his crew. "Okay! I'll let you join as part of my crew. You lot! Toss those thieves into the cage!"

"Right away, Captain Buggy."

Buggy snickered to himself and watched as Luffy and Artemyra were picked up, but as his eyes landed on the knight's face, they nearly bugged right out of his head. His skin turned deadly pale and looked as if it would melt right off in petrifying horror. He looked at her like he was looking at a ghost.

"Hi-Hi-Hi-Hi-Hi…Lady Hira!" he screeched so loud that it made everyone flinch and cover their ears.

Artemyra's eyes widened, and her breath got caught in her throat. "Huh?"

Buggy scrambled off his throne and marched right up to Artemyra. He grabbed her face with both hands and inspected her intensely. He moved her head side to side, and his popping eyes finally relaxed and sank back into their sockets. What soon followed was realization and disgust.

"Oh, I get it now. I know this face anywhere. You must be Lady Hira and Armstrong's brat," he said flatly before pushing her face away and sauntering off.

Artemyra watched him leave as her face broke into myriad emotions. Mainly confusion with a hint of pain in her sea-green eyes. She didn't know what to say. She looked at her captain, who was just as confused as she was.

"Cap…Captain?" One of Buggy's crewmates called out to him.

Buggy stopped and looked back at them. "What are you waiting for? Throw them both in the cage! This is a time for celebration. The stolen map of the Grand Line has been recovered! Furthermore, we've recruited a new crew member! Our navigation is now perfect! Now drink to your heart's content! Then at the battlefield, let us fight well!" he announced to the joy of his crew.

It wasn't long until pirates turned the whole rooftop into a party with endless food and endless drinking. Nami looked like she was getting along just fine, and was even drinking more than them. Luffy was frustrated though, biting at the cage he and Artemyra were tossed into.

"Oh, come on! Let me out! I'm hungry!" Luffy grumbled while trying to stuff his face between the narrow bars.

"How's it going, Boss?" Nami asked while approaching them.

"Oh, shut up and let us out! I'm hungry too. Gimme something to eat," he complained, and strangely enough, Nami complied with this request and got him something to eat. "Oh, you really are a nice person. I guess I'll let you join my crew," he said while happily chewing.

"I don't' want to, you idiot." She raged and immediately zapped all her energy away. She didn't have the time to argue with him and just groaned. "Anyway, there was something I wanted to ask you," she said while turning to Artemyra, who looked to be in deep thought. "What was that thing that Buggy said to you? Hira and Armstrong? Who are those people?"

It took a moment for Artemyra to answer, trying to compose herself after the shock. "They are…they are my parent. Lady Hira and Lord Armstrong. But…why of all people would Buggy know them. They were knights. Not pirates."

A sudden shrieking laugh from behind them made all three of them jump. They turned around and saw Buggy looming over them, a wide grin still on his face that wasn't going away anytime soon. He was obviously basking in Artemyra's confusion.

"So you're mommy and daddy really didn't tell you anything? About their own adventures," he said with his grin stretching further and further across his face. "A long time ago, there wasn't a single person in this world who didn't know your mom and dad's name. After all…" he reached into his inner coat pocket and pulled out two sheets of wrinkled paper, worn with age. "Your parents were famous pirates themselves!"

The moment the papers fell from his grasp, everyone's eyes opened wide, and the color from their faces drained. When the papers hit the ground, they realized they were old wanted posters of a man and a woman. These were young versions of Lord Armstrong and Lady Hira. However, the bounty below their pictures was the most shocking.

Hira: 4,400,000,000

Armstrong: 1,200,000,000

"You gotta…you gotta be kidding me! These are your parents!?" Nami exclaimed with disbelief. Her eyes even showed traces of fear as she stared at the silent knight who looked catatonic.

Luffy, on the other hand, wasn't affected negatively at all. He was bewildered to hear this but beyond excited. "This is so cool! Myra, hey! Hey! Hey! Myra! Why didn't you tell me your parents were pirates?"

"It's because she probably didn't even know!" Buggy cackled. He squatted down and leaned close to the bars to stare at Artemyra, who hadn't said a word since finding out. "Tell me…how does it feel? To have been lied to your whole life!" he didn't wait for an answer and only laughed before walking away.

Artemyra's face was unreadable, hidden by her bangs. She kept her mouth closed while shifting closer to the picture of her mother. It was as Buggy, and her father claimed it to be. She and her mother's faces were nearly identical. She had the same face shape, mouth, eyes, and nose. Her mother's face did look at all like the bronze statue back at home. Hira's face in the wanted poster was so much livelier. So much more energetic. She was confident-looking, and that just made her all the more beautiful.

"H-hey…are you alright?" Nami asked hesitantly.

Suddenly, Artemyra's face brightened, and her lips turned into a smile as she began to laugh. Giggling so much that her stomach started to cramp up and hurt. It took a minute, but she eventually calmed down and resided to just smiling at the picture.

"Suddenly…suddenly it all makes sense now," she said softly as all the stress on her face melted away to an at-ease smile.

"What do you mean?"

She took a deep breath and leaned her head back. "The elaborate stories my father told me when I was a kid. About the adventures he and my mom went on. I always thought he was hyping them up for me because I was young, but now…I see that they weren't lies. My mother…really was a wonderful woman." She sighed as flashes of relief sored across her eyes with a smile breaking to her face. "Nami. Can you stuff those posters into my chest plate?"

Nami blinked. "What?"

"Please. I don't have a picture of my mother. I really want to keep them," the knightess said softly.

"Oh… okay." Hesitating only a little, Nami picked up the papers and folded them up. She reached inside the cage and stuffed them in Artemyra's breastplate.

Artemyra smiled warmly and bowed her head. "Thank you."

"Boys! Prepare the special Buggy-balls." Buggy's voice shrieked across the rooftop.

At the same time, Luffy and Myra lifted their heads and looked to see what the pirates were doing. They were no doubt planning something as they brought out a cannon and set it down a couple feet away from the cage. They began to worry though when the crew took out a strange-looking cannonball with Buggy's jolly roger painted on the front. They lifted the ball up and stuffed it down the cannon.

"Special Buggy-ball ready, Captain!" the crew shouted.

"Alright, show them! Show them its power!" Buggy ordered.

They aimed the cannon away from the cage and pointed it down a row of buildings to their left. They lit the wick at the end, and in a blink of an eye, a blinding light shot out from the cannon and fired straight into the buildings. The blast was so powerful that it absolutely destroyed everything in its path, leveling that side of town and leaving no traces of houses anywhere.

"The power is so great; this thing can wipe out the whole little village in one shot! This and the power I have gained from my Devil Fruit assure my future success at the Grand Line!" Buggy announced to the absolute jog of his crewmates. The only ones who stood in shock and despair were Nami, Artemyra, and Luffy.

Artemyra's face melted into a grimace as she slowly turned to Luffy. "I think…I think we might be in trouble."