#like I'm making a whole ass crew with a small ship that immediately breaks down upon arriving to Earth

[transingthoseformers]

I am actually having ~so much fun~ over here with Fiasco and his plotline derived from Long Nights

[a-killer-obsession]

🔞 Minors DNI 🔞

A search for a rumored Vegapunk weapon leads the Kid Pirates to an unexpected new crewmate, with a bloodlust that rivals their own and an incredible power.

CW: Please check AO3 for all current warnings, but general warning for smut, slow burn, serious gore, and really dark themes. AFAB reader, she/her pronouns.

Masterlist || AO3 || Chapter 1

Chapter 37 - Breaking Point, Side B

The same day, from a different perspective.

Word Count: ~3.5k

Taglist: @h0n3y-l3m0n05 @tremendoushorsepatrolgoth @iggy5055 @eyes-ofhell

A/N: This chapter relies heavily on remembering the events of the last two chapters, so maybe give them a quick re-read if you need to before reading this one. It's sort of a fill in the gaps kind of chapter. Sorry everyone who saw the accidental upload, that must have been really confusing whoops

[Last Night]

Vivre cards in hand, Kid, Heat and Wire's heavy boots hit the docks and they spread to form a small triangle. It was something Double had taught them, using three vivre to triangulate where they were pointing, making for a more accurate direction and less need to keep checking, ideal for a windy day like this where they couldn't just continuously watch it move. They each used their second hand to protect the small pieces of paper from the wind while they watched the pieces bounce and move, before closing their palms and pointing in the direction the paper moved.

“Fuck,” Wire looked at where they were headed, “I scouted the whole island when we landed, whole place is formed like a dinner plate on a tilt. Right now we're at the bottom edge, but at the top edge is just a sheer fucking drop down a cliff. That's where she is, I have no doubt”

Heat looked at the paper in his hand, a small flicker of embers starting to eat away at the page. “Boss, her card is burning,” he reported in a panicked tone.

“She's gonna jump,” Wire realised.

“GO!” Kid shouted, and Wire was moving. Having the longest legs on the crew meant that he was the fastest, rivalled only by Killer's speed. Kid and Heat were tall and fast, but they had nothing on Wire's long legs.

The two of them were left in the dust as Wire moved, cutting through the sleepy town to where he had seen the trail that led to the cliffside. He had to bend as he passed the edge of the forest, it was near pitch black and the path was only cleared to account for the height of a normal person, not his eight foot ass. He didn't have enough light or time to concentrate on avoiding branches, so he ran with his chest low in much the same way Killer did during fights.

His strained breath hitched as the cliff came into view, your lilac hair billowing in the wind as you stood at the very edge, one small step from jumping. He was reaching for you immediately, yanking you away from the edge as soon as his hands found purchase in your baggy shirt and falling to his knees to beg you to reconsider.

“You've got another thing coming if you think I'm gonna support you or that baby on the ship!” Kid called, as Heat carried you and your new baby away from the cliffs. “Stay on this fucking island for all I care! You're nothing but a worthless whore, nothing but a life ruiner! We were all perfectly happy before you came on board and fucked everything up!”

Heat stopped dead in his tracks and turned back to Kid, and Wire's brows almost hit his hairline as he saw the raw determination and rebellion on his usually passive friend's face. “She doesn't need you, or Killer, she has me,” he spat, “and I'll burn the whole fucking ship down before I let you touch her or her baby. You wanna get rid of her? You can say goodbye to me too then”

The two of them watched Heat disappear into the forest with you and the baby, and there was a long silence, buffered only by the howling winds, the crashing waves behind them, and Kid's heavy breaths as he tried to calm himself.

“You shouldn't have said that,” Wire finally spoke, breaking the tense silence. Kid turned to him with an expression that read as fury, but quickly fell to regret and guilt.

“No, I shouldn't have,” he admitted, “really fucked that one up.”

Wire's brows raised as a small sniff came from the redhead, and when he looked at Kid he saw the glimmering wet trail of the tears running down his face, catching the early sunlight as he looked out to the ocean. The two of them had known each other a long time, but Wire had never had to comfort him before, that wasn't his place, that was Killer's job. The taller man didn't know what to do, so he just put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed it reassuringly.

“It's all falling apart,” Kid sniffed, “I'm such a shitty fucking captain, I should have made her get rid of the fucking baby before they got attached. Or, I don't know, fuckin’ chained her to the bed to keep her out of the battle. Now Killer's a fucking mess, Heat and Yin are leaving, and there's a fucking box of baby ashes on my fucking desk. What the fuck am I supposed to do, Wire?”

“Heat and Yin will come around,” Wire sighed, “you just gotta give them some space. And then you've gotta apologise, show her you care, find a way to show them both that you support her choice. I know it's not Killer's baby but we all know what being an orphan is like, that baby won't survive without her, we can't just leave it to die, or rely on the fucking Marines to do right by it. I don't think this island even has an orphanage, half the town is starving as it is. Just focus on Kil for now, we gotta get him stable. Even if it means using force, he's too much of a danger to himself right now”

“Okay,” Kid relented, shakey on his feet, exhausted from being up all night and the desperate run across the island.

“Let's just go get some sleep for now,” Wire insisted, “we'll figure it out tomorrow”

Kid just replied with a sleepy nod and let Wire lead him back to the forest trail.

Kid made an annoyed groan as he rolled over, heavy with sleep and craving for more, but at the mercy of the loud knocking at his door.

“Cap’ wake up, it's Killer,” a panicked voice came from the other side. Like a lightning bolt Kid shot up, pants hastily slapped on, metal arm pulled to his stump, door opening in a flurry of wind to reveal a very concerned and tired Mohawk. “He's in the infirmary, I can't calm him”

Kid nodded and made an affirming grunt before power walking across the ship, manic laughter and the sounds of wood and glass and metal being thrown around getting closer with every step. The infirmary door was thrown open, revealing the Massacre Soldier, blood dripping from his injured and bruised hands, curled in on himself, his shoulders heaving from the laughter and the heavy panicked breaths he was taking. His mask was off, thrown somewhere in the chaos, an unnerving smile on his face, his eyes blown out from rage and bloodlust and fear. Not a single piece of furniture in the room was in the right place or in the right orientation, glass and medications and tools scattered all over the floor, every reflective surface shattered, cabinet doors ripped right off their hinges laying haphazardly on the floor. Kid didn't give Killer a moment to react or flee, he'd learned his lesson over the last few days, this mania was different. A hug wasn't going to do it right now, he was beyond fucked up.

Kid gathered every piece of metal in the room with his fruit, using them to form a vice around Killer as the manic man ran right at him, his body falling to the floor like a downed tree as the metal caught his limbs and forced him to stop. His head hit the floor with a crack, still laughing even with his face pressed to the floor, tears streaming from his face as he struggled to break free of the tight metal swaddle with no success.

“Boss,” Mohawk said, though asking permission.

“Do it,” Kid replied, his boot on Killer's back to keep him from rocking back and forth. It pained him so much, watching his best friend suffer like this, having to use such force to stop him, but the man was out of control and Kid had already done everything he could without taking it this far.

Mohawk scrambled around the room, glass crunching under boot, struggling to find what he needed between the destroyed supplies. Finally he found what he was looking for and he kneeled at the blond man's side. He found a vein on the back of his calloused hand, injecting him with a clear fluid before removing the needle, replacing it with another, and injecting something else. Killer stopped fighting, the energy being drained from him as the sedative took effect, the laughter dying down as his breathing steadied and he came back down to earth. He looked up at Kid with pleading eyes, the smile wiped from his face, his fluffy hair sticking in strands to the tears and sweat on his face. Convinced he no longer had to restrain Killer, he let the various metals fall, kneeling at his side to support his head, which was quickly growing heavy. His eyelids twitched as Kid looked at him, flickering as he fought to keep them open, still looking up at Kid with eyes that spoke of betrayal and fear, but also relief.

“I've got you Kil,” Kid cooed, pushing the stray strands of blond from his tanned face, “just rest now, okay?”

“‘m sor-ry,” Killer's voice was strained and slurred, all his concentration going in to pushing the words out, fighting the pull of sleep, “tel-l her, ‘m sor-ry”

“I know you are Kil,” Kid assured, “you can tell her yourself when you're better okay? Just rest now.”

Tears were rolling silently down Kid's cheeks as he watched his friend fall unconscious on the infirmary floor, a single sob escaping him as he pulled Killer into his lap. Mohawk knew better than to comment, he just stood silently, letting Kid get the emotions out. It'd been a rough week, for everyone on the ship, and the usually strong and tough captain was no exception, he wasn't immune to the pain of loss and heartache.

“How long will he be out?” He finally sniffed, wiping his tears with his flesh hand.

“Few hours,” the doctor replied, breathing a sigh of relief that the tense moment had passed and he could finally move. “I gave him a heavy dose of his meds as well, so he shouldn't have another episode for a few days, but I'm not happy he stopped taking the meds in the first place. I don't want to say it, but I think he needs to be supervised, till we know hes stable”

“I'll make sure he takes them,” Kid nodded, “hand me his helm”

Mohawk gathered the discarded striped mask from where it had been thrown in the corner, handing it to Kid like a sacred item. The captain carefully slipped it back over Killer's face, knowing he'd have to remove it again for comfort once he had the blond settled in his bed, but wanting his face covered for the journey in case anyone was awake and wandering. Killer was entirely muscle, and Kid was maybe the only man on the ship who could carry him, letting the mechanics of his metal arm do most of the work for him as he lifted the limp first mate and stood.

“Have the henchies clean this after breakfast,” Kid said, Mohawk rushing to open the doors for him. “And make a list of everything that needs replacing, I'll pay for it myself”

Kid was asleep at Killer's side when he woke up in the captain's quarters, his own room was trashed so the redhead no doubt thought it better to bring him here. The man in question made soft snores, laying next to Killer in only his boxers, his good arm draped over Killer's front protectively. Killer felt heavy from sleep, but better. For the first time in days he could hear himself think, and fuck were the thoughts that came unpleasant.

He'd fucked up, he'd fucked up bad. Everything Heat had said was true. He was selfish, he'd abandoned you, he'd treated you like all you were good for was bearing him a child. After all you'd been through, everything you'd suffered, the months of hard work it took to make you feel safe and get you to open up, and he had to go and put his fucking boot in his mouth and fuck it all up.

Yes, his baby was dead. Yes, he was fucking heartbroken, and angry, and full of hatred for the world. But in his blind rage he'd misplaced his anger. This wasn't your fault, you hadn't done anything but exist in a world that only ever worked against you. You were mourning the loss just as much as he was, no, you were mourning it even more, because you'd lost more than he could even fathom. And where was he? Refusing to take his meds and breaking shit, when he should have been there holding your hand. His heart had shattered into a million tiny pieces when Heat said you'd tried to kill yourself, and he was right, that blood would have been on Killer's hands, because he wasn't there when he should have been, when you needed him.

And then there was the new baby, fuck. In all this pain and heartbreak, you'd found yourself with an orphaned child, innocent in all this, delicate and new to the world, and that responsibility had been so suddenly thrust into your already fragile hands. You must be so scared right now, he thought, thinking you had nowhere safe to call home, rejected by the person who was supposed to love you the most, with the terrifying responsibility of keeping another human alive. Heat said they were leaving, and he was glad you at least had him to help you, but it should have been Killer that was there. Your whole world had been thrown into a spin cycle and he wasn't there to hold you steady.

He would fix this, he thought, he couldn't lose you, not again. He would show you he cared, even if it meant accepting a baby that wasn't his while he still mourned the loss of his own. That child was dead, he couldn't bring him back, all he could do was focus on the living, on the future. And if he convinced you to take him back, maybe he could learn to love this child as his own. Or he'd at least pretend to, whatever it took to keep you from leaving him again. He needed you back, he needed you to love him, to forgive him for his transgressions, for his betrayals. He didn't know how to go on living in this cruel, fucked up world without you.

His mind set, he slid out from under Kid's arm. The redhead was a heavy sleeper, he'd probably be out for hours before he noticed Killer was gone. The first mate was wobbly on his feet, his head still heavy from sedation, but he fought through it, splashing water on his face in Kid's bathroom before pulling on his mask and setting to work.

Kid awoke with a panic, feeling around the empty space on the mattress and realising Killer was gone. Fuck fuck fuck was all he could think as he jumped out of the bed and pulled on his dirty pants from yesterday. He could hear furniture being moved, but the absence of manic laughter was at least reassuring as he followed the sound. He stood in Killer's open door for a moment. The room was surprisingly clean, broken furniture already either mended or removed, the floor swept, the bed made with military accuracy. Killer met his eyes through the holes in his mask as he approached the door, an armful of his own clothes in his hand.

“Move, please,” he politely requested, as Kid blocked the entrance to his room.

“Kil, what are you doing?” The redhead replied with concern.

“Fixing my fuck up,” he sighed, pushing Kid out of the way. Kid followed him curiously to your old room, where he dumped the clothes on the bed to add to the growing pile, before returning to his own room. Your room was noticeably empty of personal belongings, half of your stuff was already in Killer's room, moved over the last few months, but Heat had packed the rest this morning.

“By moving your shit to her room?” Kid questioned, “I don't understand”

“She can't fit a crib in that closet,” Killer replied matter-of-factly, collecting more things and repeating the process, “so I'm giving her my room”

“Kil, I don't get it,” Kid scratched his head, “can't you just apologise, surely she'll see the logic in staying with you”

“I'm not forcing her to do that,” he huffed, “I fucked up, Kid, she's not just gonna take me back overnight. If I force her back into my bed she'll either refuse and be gone for good, or she'll never stop resenting me. I'm giving her the space to come back without that pressure.” Killer paused and looked at his friend, a deep sigh coming from under the mask, “I need her back, Kid. I can't just sail away and forget about her, I'm in too deep”

“And what about the baby?” He asked, “you just gonna let her keep it?”

“That's not up to me, but if she wants to keep it I'm gonna support whatever she wants, whatever it takes to get her to stay,” Killer continued on his mission, “if the universe doesn't want me to have a kid, fine, whatever, I'm a bastard of a man, I probably don't deserve to have a kid. But she's better than me, and she has an opportunity here to still be a mother, despite how much the universe fought to take our baby from us. I'm not going to destroy her chance at happiness. She's suffered enough already”

“And what about… your baby?” Kid sighed.

“I'm not going to pretend I'm not grieving,” Killer stilled for a moment, “my heart is broken, but it'll never mend if I don't at least have her in my life. Like Heat said, miscarriages happen. I blamed her when I should have been blaming fate. I can't do anything to bring back my dead son but I can sure as hell do everything in my power to make sure the woman I love doesn't follow him to the grave”

“About that,” Kid shifted anxiously, an unspoken secret weighing heavy on his mind, “neither of you would come see him buried, and the rest of us just didn't feel like that was right, so I had the crew build a pyre instead.” Killer stood and looked at him, trying to absorb the meaning in Kid's words. “He's… uh… he's on my desk, for when you both feel ready to see him off together, however long that takes,” Kid continued, his eyes flashing with a spark of recognition as he remembered something, “and I made you these.”

Kid pulled two chains from his pocket and held them up for Killer to inspect. At the end of each chain was a pendant, a simple, flat teardrop shape with small black flecks in a random scattered pattern embedded into silver metal. “I infused the metal with his ashes, so you can each keep a piece of him”

“Kid..” Killer's voice cracked, the emotionally shattered man taking the pendants carefully in his hands.

“They're blank right now, I didn't know if you named him, but if, or when you have a name, I'll engrave it,” he added, carefully watching Killer as he silently looked at the jewellery. “Take em, Kil. Give her one when you go apologise”

“I… I don't know what to say,” Killer sniffed, a tear appearing under his mask and rolling down his neck to wet his shirt. “I thought he was gone. That I fucked up at even saying goodbye to him”

“I know you, Kil,” Kid forced the necklaces into his hand and held his own over Killer's as he wrapped the first mate's fingers around the jewellery. “You weren't in the right headspace, and I knew you'd regret it if we buried him without you, and I'm sure she's feeling the same. I'll keep him safe in my room, till you're both ready, however long that takes, then we'll let him join the sea. The currents will carry him, he'll travel further than we ever dreamed. Hell, maybe he'll reach Laughtale before we do”

Killer collapsed in a mess of sobs, and Kid was quick to catch him, holding his friend tight and pulling off his mask so he could press his face to Kid's chest unhindered. They stayed there for however long it took Killer to calm, Kid's bare chest wet with Killer's tears, and Killer's hair wet with the captain's, rocking back and forth till they finally found solace in their collective grief.

[NEXT CHAPTER]