.

.

.

There comes a time,

In every woman's life,

where she will bring her foes,

to their knees.

.

.

.

-oOo-

Debris flew across the air as she ventured deeper into the brush, thick foliage clouded her vision. before being hastily pushed aside. Shapes blurred by as she ran, jumping over protruding roots. Nami cursed her rotten luck the hundredth time that day. Chest aching and heaving she pushed on wards remaining wary for the sound of the pursuers that were hot on her trail. Legs gave out for an agonizing second only to be straightened in the same moment. A growl ripped from the woman's lips while a scowl marred her features. She knew that at any moment her legs would give out and she would collapse from exhaustion. Only sheer determination drove her forward against the odds.

Still it was not enough to make Nami ignorant to the screams of her protesting muscles. Yes, clearly she was at her wits end but rather than collapsing in range of those jerks chasing her, the orange haired woman wanted to put as much distance between them as possible. 'Damn,' She thought while she continuously jumped over roots protruding from the jungle soil. 'I'm used to running away but this is RIDICULOUS!' Being part of Luffy's crew often meant you developed excellent getting the hell out of here skills. The young captain was always causing trouble for them by either pissing someone off or getting involved in some of the weirdest situations which would again, lead to the former option. But no amount of running could have prepared anyone to track a rogue ship filled with psycho henchmen and led by an even crazier female captain into uncharted territory only to cross a whole island composed out of thick jungle and have the stamina left to face the enemy. Well she had foolishly thought they could (her and Robin were the only ones left) and the older woman voiced no complaint when she proposed the plan, granted both of them weren't thinking rationally then, In fact the normally level headed archaeologist eyes mirrored the fury in her own (Nami would've sworn she saw flames in those blue depths.)

Once found the enemy retaliated and the vast numbers proved too much and overwhelmed both women, in an attempt to gain the upper hand Nami and Robin split ways and retreated in the tropical brush hoping that the numbers of their enemy would be cut in half and in turn increase their odds against them and hopefully turn the tables. It wasn't much, however, both knew they would take whatever chance they got against these bastards. Which is how she was led to her current situation, fleeing from the enemy and ankle deep in thick tropical jungle and having said odds turned against her, Nami stopped and scanned her surroundings, calculating the distance between them that she regretfully acknowledged wasn't much. Caramel coloured eyes landed on a thickly leaved plant and as she was eyeing the thorns warily she heard the increasing sound of multiple footsteps. They had caught up to her and without hesitation then and there Nami decided to throw caution to the wind. 'To hell with it,' she shielded her eyes and dove right in just as the men broke out of the trees. The tallest one of the group stopped and she swore silently. Those guys looked more like beasts in her opinion than men, they towered over her frame easily the tallest having the height of a pacifista with bear like arms and curved claws that reached his knees, different layers of skin seemed haphazardly sown together, stench of death clinging to their deformed bodies, some of them even had extra limbs coupled with their empty milky eyes Nami found them grotesque. The other men had noticed their comrade's halt and he signalled to the ground where her tracks ended. Nami cursed at him with words that would've made the boys proud and readied her limbs for their attack. They moved cautiously towards her hiding spot and the man closest to her raked downwards with his extended claws.

Already anticipating this Nami rolled over and quickly got to her feet, raising her sorcery climatact defensively just as another man lunged with his raised sword. She let him connect briefly with her staff and released large amounts of electricity currents into his body, with smoke exiting from the mouth his body collapsed and just like that they were on the move again. The others charged with similar series of assaults, she met them strike for strike with all of her strength. Nami matched them as best as she could, estimating that there were about fifteen of them left. She jabbed one in the shoulder before using her momentum to electrocute him. She had noticed her attacks were not effective unless they made direct contact with her staff, unfortunately this became apparent to them as well and they avoided her staff at all costs. "Thunder Breed Tempo!" she exclaimed, a dark cloud forming above the group of men with volatile lightning strikes dancing within. She felt the adrenaline kick in and unleashed the attack. Lightning struck down on each of the men, roasting their flesh as they all fell down.

Nami lowered her climatact but instantly raised it back up with a horrified gasp.

"What the hell are you guys made off?!" She exclaimed as her storm cloud attacks did little to hinder them and one by one they raised themselves to their feet, brushing off her attack easily as if nothing. Bringing her guard up as they surrounded her, she worried and began devising her plan. Each one riskier than the first and not at all like her style. 'Close combat is definitely not one of my strengths!' two more men launched themselves behind her and Nami ducked while pushing her climatact against their abdomen, both of them fell. Bodies limp on the ground.'But that doesn't mean I'll just sit by doing nothing' She turned around with speed that even surprised herself, immediately taking the advantage as several of the men faltered Nami struck them down when suddenly a strong blow to the temple caught her by surprise. A pained cry escaped Nami, body landing with a sickening thud to the ground, clutching her throbbing head. Her climatact fell from her hands and was kicked aside. Spots danced across her vision followed by another agonised shriek as her ribs were kicked in so hard she felt them rattle and tears filled her eyes while she moved her arms to her sides and cradled the injured ribs protectively.

Shadows loomed over her body as the remaining men, now only eight circled the wounded navigator. Her frame shook with pants and ragged breaths, willing herself to just move.A solid weight crushed her stomach and air was forcefully knocked out of her.

"Not so tough now, are you?" the tallest man, who was also coincidentally the strongest of the group taunted. "Your death will show those weak pirates our Mistress' power!"He let out a cackle manically pushing more of his weight atop of her. Her eyes glistened and Nami knew the tremors racking her body were of pure rage, she'd have these bastards yet all she needed was them to come closer...

"What's this? Nothing to say?" digging his feet deeper into her stomach he released another laugh.

Step

He sneered and lent over her frame.

Step

Gripping her chin roughly he shoved her up to his eye level.

Step

She knew the tall one's taunting was causing the others to step forward.

Step

Like beasts eager to see her pain, she felt them stop and panic seeped in. They still weren't close enough they had to get closer! But maintained a brave front and spat at the man's face.

"Enough of this, I end you now!" The dagger in his unoccupied hand flew towards her neck and she truly believed that this was it for her, she saw what people often spoke about, those flashbacks of the important moments in her life, she saw Bellemere and Nojiko's faces first followed by all the people in her village,her home and where she played in the orange groves. The first map she made, Luffy asking her to become his navigator, Luffy promising to free her village, her nakama's faces. Their adventures and countless shenanigans but it bewildered her how she kept seeing countless images of her captain's beaming face and found she'd miss it most of all.

Step.

Nami felt it and instantly reacted just as the blade made contact barely grazing the soft skin of her throat.

"Piercing Bolt."

Large shocks of electricity manifested from her body and hit the men tearing their flesh open and sending them reeling backwards hitting the ground, bodies becoming lifeless. She sat up slowly as pain stabbed at her insides. Bruises marred her flesh and she gently ghosted her fingers over her ribs making sure they weren't broken and winced as she pressed on the large bruise blooming below her fingers. Her legs shook with exhaustion and she simply sat there gathering herself meanwhile taking deep breaths and reaching for the climatact. The smell of burnt hair and flesh strong in the air.

A few minutes went by and the navigator was well on her way again heading to the rendezvous point she and Robin had agreed on. She bit her lip in worry and thought of the captured boys 'Are they okay?' crossed her mind 'I'm sure they're alright, no doubt Luffy must be hungry by now.' Nami smiled briefly at the image of her captain whining for food and possibly getting pounded by the others for his gut and felt slightly more reassured but a serious expression replaced the smile. "Everyone please hold on, we're coming to save you." with that promise the navigator walked on.

-oOo-

Fallen bodies littered the floor, limbs strewn haphazardly in heaps. In the middle of it all stood a stunning pale woman who was running her delicate fingers through her raven hair. She spared her opponents one last glance before sliding her sunglasses down, her mouth set in a frown. Nico Robin moved on deeper into the jungle the buzzing of insects and the far cry of birds accompanied her disappearing form. Roughly an hour later Robin reached her destination, a small clearing with a fallen tree stump covered in vine and moss the tall grass grazed her ankles as she made her way to the stump. Planting her bottom on the stump she sat down and waited patiently for the other female crew mate. Robin leant back and crossed her legs as she kept an eye out for Nami while remaining alert of her surroundings. Time as it seemed went by too fast and too slow for Robin, deeply immersed in her thoughts as she patiently waited. Her opponents had been outrageously strong when she thought back, her offensive attacks did little to deter them and she could not risk her location, to utilise her Mil Fluer: Gigantesco Mano attack their bodies had not even budged an inch as her arms wrapped around their necks and they were too thick to enclose her fingers around. Hand to hand was not her real forte and she'd come to realize just how much she relied on her devil fruit powers. Robin was forced to engage the enemy with close combat and suffered a few hits while she fought them with tooth and nail striking with everything she had.

Eventually she figured that she could dispose of them by blocking their airways leading them to suffocate, her powers did nothing to restrain them so she deducted that she needed to be quick and raced away at a safer distance and with that clenched her arms over their noses and mouths cutting their oxygen, holding them off as best as she could until none of them even so much twitched an inch. More time had passed as she was lost in her thoughts and she grew worried. Robin was debating whether she should stay and give the younger woman more time or if she should seek her out but released a relieved sigh when she caught sight of the navigator but quickly stood at Nami's thoroughly beaten appearance.

"Nami, are you alright?" The older woman inquired as she glanced at the particular painful looking wound on the navigator's head. The young woman's body was covered in bruises with the beatings she'd suffered while her face and hair were caked in blood and dirt. The side of her cheek was also swollen and her abdomen and arms were littered with scratches from where she scraped them with the thorns. "Don't worry about it just looks worse than it actually is." Nami explained but quickly winced as Robin brushed a worrying hand over the gash at the side of her throat. "Besides," she joked "you don't look too good yourself."

Despite it being meant to lighten the mood a dark look overtook both women's faces. Robin was similarly beaten as Nami though less bruised, the same scrapes on the back of her elbows and knees from being knocked down to the ground. A split lip where the last man had aimed his fist at her and scratches marred her skin were their claws had caught her. The archaeologist clothes were caked in mud during her run through the jungle yet she let out a triumphant smile. Nami mimicked her and felt that she couldn't have understood better, they had both made it after all and were thankful for being alive even though they both had received hard blows in the struggle.

"It seems as if these men will be quite problematic." Robin stated as the navigator made her way to the stump and kicked it aside to reach for the ration packs hidden underneath. The older women had her head so full that she had forgotten that they had left their bags there.

"Tell me about it, they're crazily strong and I seriously almost met Kami." Nami rummaged through the packs but let out a pleased hum when she found the first aid box they had packed. "Not only that but judging by the condition were in their high resistance can makes them even more dangerous."

Robin made a noise of agreement as she joined Nami and the young girl gestured with the antiseptic. She took a seat on the ground and let her friend treat her wounds. "They outnumber us, also the matter of that woman's power is causing the others to be under her bidding." She told her younger friend. The icy eyed woman hardly winced when the sting of antiseptic was applied to her newly cleansed wounds and elaborated further. "But if we somehow steal the relics we may be able to break her hold on them"

"You mean that bunch?" Nami questioned, referring to Luffy, Zoro, Brook, Sanji, Ussop and Frankie while wrapping Robin's arms with the bandages before moving to treat her knees.

Robin nodded and patted the dried blood of the cut on her lip with the aid of a pocket mirror retrieved from her bag. "Yes, once they are out of her control I feel our chances against her army will increase, particularly with our three strongest members freed"

"It seems my thieving skills will be put to great use-" Nami chuckled an evil smile spread her lips wide, rubbing her palms together."I'll swipe that damned necklace away from her and we'll see how tough she is then."

Robin fufufu'd maliciously as they both began plotting that crazed woman's downfall.

-oOo-

Woooh, thought I'd just end it there. Hope it wasn't too confusing as to whom the mysterious "woman" was, that'll be further elaborated in the next chapter which should be uploaded in the next few days depending on the response this chapter recieves.

So, like it? love it? Hate it? Ideas? Thoughts? Please leave a review referring to one of these or even let me know if the length is sufficient or if I should make longer chapters your opinion is always valued!

~E