THE JOB OF A KNIGHT
"Now shoot the cannon, Nami! And swear upon this, your loyalty and sincerity of your desire to rule the seas with me! Get rid of your old bosses once and for all!" Buggy announced to Nami's absolute dismay.
"Kill them…? Me?" Nami spoke nervously as she began to turn pale and sweat. "N…no! Captain Buggy, I don't think that's necessary! More importantly… " She struggled to devise an excuse that would leave Luffy and Artemyra alive. "Drinks! Let's get back to our drinks! We can just ignore these two!"
"Kill them," Buggy said with a dark and malicious grin. This caused the rest of his crew behind him to cheer and chant out, 'shoot, shoot, shoot!'.
Nami was stunned into silence and felt sick to her stomach. She could hardly hear anything beyond the loud, thumping sound of her heartbeat. She looked over to the two pirates stuck in the cage and saw Artemyra shuffling her body in front of Luffy.
"What are you doing, Myra?" Luffy asked while poking his head over her shoulder.
"Just say behind me, Luffy. I'm confident that I can survive that cannon blast…but I don't know about you. If anything happens…perhaps I can absorb most of the impact," Artemyra said so calmly that it totally stunned Nami.
Aside from the persistent chants of the Buggy Pirates behind her, she couldn't believe that Artemyra, a pirate, would risk it all by placing herself between the cannon and Luffy. And more oddly, be so confident and calm about it. Nami can't even imagine herself doing something like that, and to see someone else do it so effortlessly…she can't believe it.
"Nami! Stop spoiling the fun. Hurry up and light it!" The loud roar of Buggy's cackling laugh made Nami jump with shock.
Luffy moved his head past Artemyra and saw Nami's hands shaking. "Your hand is shaking. The strong oath is what a pirate has sworn himself at, and you lack the strength of that oath," he grinned confidently. Even he wasn't scared despite his life being on the line.
Nami scoffed. "Strong oath, huh. Is it killing innocent people like insects? Is that pirate's oath…?" she dared to say while still shaking.
Luffy shook his head. "No, it's not. It's the idea of being strong enough to risk your own life."
Nami was shocked at this point, completely beside herself. All other sounds had faded around her, so she didn't even notice a pirate coming up beside her with matches in his hand.
"Come on, new kid. Don't you know how to blow a cannon?" the pirates said while taking a match and striking it against the rough surface of the box.
In an instant, all the air in Nami's lungs escaped in a single breath as she stood frozen, staring at the dancing flame. As it moved closer to the fuse of the cannon, she began to feel her body moving on its own. She pulled at the three staff pieces attached to her thigh in a split second and quickly connected them all. She whirled her body around and smacked it against the pirate's head with all her might. He went down like a heavy sack and laid there unconscious. Nami didn't even know what she was thinking. She didn't even realize what she had done until Buggy started to shout.
"Nami, you idiot! What the hell do you think you're doing?! I actually gave you the honors of lighting the cannon's fuse because you're my crewmate!" he roared angrily.
"Are you saving us now?" Artemyra said with a wildly confused look on her face.
"Shut up!" Nami shouted but stood her ground between them and the pirates. She hoped that Artemyra's bottomless confidence would rub off on her to keep her from running away. "I just didn't want to become an evil pirate! Pirates stole the life of someone who was precious to me. I hate pirates more than anything!"
Artemyra swallowed hard. "Nami…" She looked down at the fuse and gasped sharply when she saw it burning. Her eyes went wide with fright, and she immediately started to kick her legs against the bars. "Luffy, the fuse had been lit. It's burning!"
"What?" Luffy looked past her and cried frightfully when he saw the burning fuse. "Crap! We're gonna die," he screamed and started to gnaw at the cage to try and free them.
"I don't want her to leave here alive! Kill her!" Buggy ordered, and his pirates started to charge at Nami.
"Nami! The fuse! The fuse!" Artemyra yelled out.
Nami looked back at the fuse and saw it slowly burning towards the cannon. It won't be long until it blows. She quickly looked back at the pirates and swung her staff, but they all easily dodged by jumping over it. Nami didn't have time for them though, and abandoned her weapon by throwing it to the side. She turned around swiftly and raced for the almost burned-up fuse. Not thinking at all, she grabbed it with her bare hands and burned herself trying to stop it.
"Nami!" Artemyra called out while struggling against the ropes binding her together. She pulled at them so much with her high adrenaline that she began to hear them rip. "Nami, look out!"
The pirates dove at Nami, but they all met with the hard surface of two scabbards, stopping them dead with broken noses and busted teeth.
"How many does it take to charge at one girl," Zoro's calm voice spoke up, appearing behind Nami in the nick of time.
"Zoro!" Luffy exclaimed happily.
"Zoro, thank goodness you actually found this place," Artemyra expressed her relief with an honest, wide smile. "And you brought my sword, right?" She moved her head to the side and saw her sword and sheath hanging off his back by the leather straps. A glow of silver and gold she never knew she'd miss so much.
Zoro looked at her with a puzzled expression. "Are you two serious? I expect this from him, but not you. You both get carried away by a giant bird, and now when I finally got here, you're in a cage. What are you? Idiots!"
Artemyra frowned, and her face started to burn a vibrant shade of red. "I know, I know. I'm embarrassed too. Can you please give me my weapon!" she cried out, frustration beginning to ooze from her voice.
"In a minute. Let me handle this first." Zoro looked around and realized that all the pirates were staring at him in shock, recognizing him.
"Is that really the Pirate Hunter? What's he doing here?" they muttered amongst each other, but no one was as shocked as Nami was.
"The crew member those two were talking about…was Pirate Hunter Zoro. I don't understand…." She whispered with a grave face.
Despite the growing concern and hysteria of the pirates, Buggy was surprisingly calm about the situation. His arrogance knew no bounds, and he played it off coolly with his arms crossed over his chest.
"You're definitely Zoro. Are you aiming for my head?" the mad clown asked.
Zoro shook his head and hardly gave attention to him. His only point of concern was making sure Artemyra and Luffy got safely out of here. "No, I've no interest in that. I'm no longer a bounty hunter because I quit."
Buggy took out multiple knives between his fingers and spun them around effortlessly. "That's too bad. No matter. Now that Hira's daughter is here. All I have to do is kill her, then my name will surly reach the heavens with fame," he said with a wide, threatening grin. His eyes gleamed with dark intentions.
Zoro cocked a brow and began to grow suspicious. "Hira? Who's that?"
"He's talking about Myra's mom!" Luffy called out from the cage. "Her parents were famous pirates."
Zoro had to take a second to roll those strange words through his head, but even after processing them, they still made no sense to him. Yet, as he thought it silently over, he felt something warm on his back where the dangerous weapon was. It was actually burning a little, leering with a dark atmosphere that felt like a heavy blanket had just been put over him. An ugly feeling…of greed. Zoro squirmed uncomfortably and glanced to Artemyra for some comfort. Just trying to imagine what her parents were like.
"It's one thing after another with you, huh…" he muttered before narrowing his eyes and taking his swords out ominously. "Doesn't matter though. She's still my crewmate. So you can put those dreams to rest. Because that ain't happening," he said and took a stance between Artemyra and Buggy.
Buggy didn't hesitate and started to charge at him. "If you plan to be a shield, then you better prepare to be bloodied!" he laughed wildly as the gap closed between them.
Zoro was sharp and swift with his weapons, so Buggy didn't even have the chance. He took his swords and cut the clown down, slicing him in half in three different places. It was over in a flash, in a single blink. Nami, Luffy, and Artemyra could hardly believe what they had seen. All the confidence and arrogance that Buggy had, in the end, meant absolutely nothing in the face of a stronger and more experienced opponent.
"That was easy," Zoro said with a cocked brow before putting his weapons away, but as his swords clicked into their scabbards, he noticed Buggy's crew just standing around. Chuckling.
Artemyra wished she could be relieved that the situation was finally over. Still, the knots in her stomach told her otherwise. The only thing she could really bring herself to focus on right now was Buggy's scattered body…and her sheath. "They're laughing…why?" she said while growing nervous. "Zoro, please just give me my weapon already. I don't like this."
"Alright already." Zoro walked over to the cage and looked it over. He already knew by looking at it that it wouldn't open easily for them. "This thing won't open without a key. I can't slice these bars either."
"I can cut them. Just give me my- " She slowed her words down when the pirates suddenly burst into boisterous laughter. They were so loud that it made her jump. "Why are they laughing?"
"They're pretty weird," Luffy said.
This was the breaking point for her patience. "Zoro, just give me my weapon. I don't like…this?" Artemyra looked back to Zoro but turned pale when she saw a disembodied hand appear behind him, carrying a knife. "Zoro!"
The floating hand took the knife and stabbed it right into Zoro's side. Blood dripped from his mouth as he collapsed to his knees.
"Zoro!" Luffy cried out in shock.
"Is that a hand?!" Nami shouted with wide, stunned eyes.
With what strength he had left, Zoro quickly swatted the hand away, and it yanked the knife out. He pulled out his sword and turned to face it, finally seeing what it was. "What the hell is that thing?"
"The Bara-Bara Fruit…." Buggy's haunted voice spoke up behind him as his limbs began to pull themselves back together. "That's' the name of the Devil Fruit I ate! No matter how many times you slice me up, I can't be cut down!" he announced as he became whole again.
"He stuck his body back together! I thought the Devil Fruits were just a myth!" Nami shouted.
Luffy stared in disbelief. "That guy is a real monster."
Artemyra could feel her heart throbbing with panic as she watched Zoro's knees shake. As his blood dripped onto the floor, her vision began to turn red, and her mind muddled with a million voices. All telling her that this wasn't supposed to happen. The roles should've been reversed. Artemyra was supposed to be the one to protect them all. Yet, she was the one tied up with her crewmate bleeding heavily in front of her.
This wasn't it…
It went against every fiber of her being…
"Stabbing someone in the back is dirty! You big red nose!" Luffy screamed out
Every pirate on the roof recoiled in shock at the word Luffy dared to say. The word that would anger Buggy the most.
Buggy's face twisted with inconsolable rage. "Who are you calling a big red nose?!" he screamed. He raised his arm and his knife hand detached from his body, rocketing straight for Luffy.
"Luffy!" Zoro shouted.
"Rah-ah!" Artemyra raged, screeching so loudly that it made everyone's ears ring sharply. She pushed against her bindings until the rope finally snapped off. Once she was free, she reached out for the flying knife at a nearly inhuman speed and caught it just in time. Stopping it only a millimeter away from Luffy's face. "This lunacy stops here!" She kicked her leg out through the bars and struck it hard against the cannon, and with immense strength, she managed to flip it over so that it would be pointing at Buggy and his crew.
This immediately caused the pirates to flee from the rooftop.
"Wait! The ball is still inside!" Buggy screamed with sweat rolling down his face.
"Nami, hurry up and light the cannon," Artemyra urged her.
Nami flinched. "What? Ah, right!" She got over her shock and quickly rushed to the cannon. She lit what was remaining of the fuse, and the cannon went off a moment later.