Magneteers Chapter 1: lost & found

[mekachu04]

Magneteers by Mekachu04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Additional Tags:

Post-Wano Arc Egghead Island Arc Jiki Jiki no Mi | Magnet-Magnet Fruit kidd is his own kind of radar non!canon Use of Akuma no Mi | Devil Fruit Powers

Polar Tang has been destroyed Victoria Punk has been destroyed Kidd Pirates don't survive Schrödinger's cat!Killer Emotionally Compromised!Kidd

Summary:After fleeing Blackbeard, Law & Bepo have been rescued by the Strawhats. Luffy is more than happy to help Law find his ship and crew, but his crew rightly points out that finding a submarine under the water is a big ask. If only there was someone they knew who could find large metal things and easy move them around. Possibly bring a sunken sub up to the surface with his magnetic abilities.

Law rested in Chopper’s infirmary for the time; he and Bepo had been exhausted when they'd been rescued by the Thousand Sunny. When Bepo had awoken first, he'd slipped out of the room before telling their story, worried about his captain and wising him to sleep more. Law may have slumbered on, but is was not an easy sleep, worry for his crew plaguing his dreams. Bepo schemed with the Strawhat crew, and the ship backtracked to try and hunt down where the Kidd pirates may have sailed off too. With the Shark Submerge III - they might have been able to get down to the Polar Tang’s wreckage, but would be unable to do much more than look if it had sunk deep enough. But with Kidd’s magnetism, they might have better luck of bring her back up.

Might have a chance of rescuing anyone trapped below in the wreckage.

The problem was - where was no sign of the Victoria Punk docked on any islands, no sign of her sails on the horizon. 

Just wreckage on the waves. And bloated bodies in the water.

No one had told Law yet of the destruction, left him to his own dark memories, not wanted to add to them. That they'd chased a bad lead, and now not only didn't find the help they needed, but were now further from the Tang then they started. Luffy stood solemnly on Sunny’s head, directing the crew in collecting bodies. Kidd would likely have his own rites for the fallen, and Franky been working below deck with Chopper to rig something up for storage.

Ultimately, Nami cracked to code, approaching Luffy with a small compass she’d kept as a memento of their start back in the East Blue. They were useless here on the Grand Line - the magnetic pull of the islands to unstable and just confusing the tool.

But if you where looking for someone with magnetic devil fruit… “It was a whim “ she explained, “I wasn’t sure if it would of helped at all, but it’s been pointed in one direction for the last hour.”

With no other ideas, they followed the needle. Bepo quietly went to rouse his captain when an island indeed rose up the horizon.

More wreckage littered the beach, a few bodies face down in the sand where the tide had left them. Law’s face remained blank. It was going to be the same thing he’d be doing shortly after. 

The needle pointed them down the beach where the sand slipped away to a rocky shore line too dangerous to sail along. They anchored the Sunny, before taking the Mini Merry II ashore.

“Let me talk to him first,”  was all Luffy had requested of Law once they hit the shore. Kidd had just lost his own ship and many of his own crew - he likely would not react well to being asked for favours right now. And the fact he’d been using his power non-stop since sometime before Nami had pulled out her old compass didn’t do much to ease anyone’s worry on his state of mind at the moment.

Luffy and Chopper went first - in case Kidd needed medical attention - Robin, Law, and Zoro watching their backs as they moved inland. Zoro’s attention flickered between the pull of Kidd’s power on his katana, and the deathly quiet of the area. No birds, no insects. Nothing but the faint breeze moving though the tree tops.

“Found them,” Law and Luffy both murmured together, Zoro’s attention jumping ahead to his captain. Robin was inspecting the area with her own powers, but she could only shake her head. “No lights inside,” she warned, “I can’t see any thing. I can hear someone breathing, but that's all.”

From the rocky shore, the land had sloped softly before rising into a steep cliff side worn away by storm waves. The waves had washed divots and ripples in the stone face, some only a foot or so deep - others maybe four or five. All of them, though, were narrow and small.

And one of them was sealed over in scrap metal.

It hummed with energy, an active buzz that set Law’s teeth on edge and he could feel his earrings vibrating in response. He and Zoro stayed back; out of the corner of his eye Law saw Chopper rub at his broken antler, the metal fixture bugging him too.

Luffy and Robin inspected the casing; Luffy knocking gently on the barrier, “Hey Gizao?”

In the heart beat after Luffy’s knuckle touched the metal, still speaking, there was a -push- of power, Zoro jerking forward to drag Robin and Luffy down as part of the shell shot out like shrapnel. It fixed its self back in place almost immediately, but not quite fast enough, allowing for Law and Robin to both get glimpse inside.

How Kidd managed to wedge his bunk in that crevice was a feat in of itself, but the fact he wasn’t alone made it worse. At least two bodies where crammed in there with him... Law didn’t know the one’s name - orange mohawk that he remembered lingering around from time to time. And then there was Killer.

Neither was moving.

Kidd was curled around them, good arm clutching to them to him, tucked under his chin and pressed against his chest. He was growling now, snarling, teeth bared. Orange eyes wide and feral.

And then the metal snapped back into place. There was no recognition in Kidd's face when he lashed out at them. Robin was immediately back to listening in the small cavern, the men deathly quiet.

“Two heartbeats” she said finally. Two - not three. “But one is very faint. Barely there. He’s not going to last much longer.”

“Kidd?” Chopper asked, and Robin heard what he wasn’t saying. 

“Stable enough - but his breathing isn’t right. But not the one I'm worried about. But I do not believe he will allow himself to be separated from his crew regardless.”

“I saw enough of it,” Law said quietly, “I can shambles them out - which one?” he asked, looking around for a substitute.

“Can you get them both?” Luffy asked.

“He’ll lose it - if we leave the dead one with him we might be able to keep him calm...” 

The look of heartbreak on Luffy’s face told Law all he needed to know. Placating Kidd with a corpse… it would work but that was not how Luffy worked. “Luffy-ya, if you want to help his nakama, we can’t also deal with him rampaging.”

“Shambles me in place of his men. I’ll deal with Gizao while you get whoever's still alive back to Sunny.”

“I can stay and help Luffy,” Robin chimed in. “but Trafalgar will need assistance still if he's needing to rush back.”

Law shot her a dirty look, but it was true. They were too far to shambles back to Sunny, especially if he needed to keep his stamina up for a looming threat of surgery.

“I’ll carry Kidd’s nakama,” Chopper agreed, shifting arm point, “and Zoro can carry Torao.” Both men started to argue, but Chopper shot Zoro a look and the man turned beat red and shut his mouth. It was enough to stop Law’s complaint, looking at the reindeer curiously. He looked back. “Zoro will help you converse energy, and you'll make sure he gets there without getting lost.”

“If the Sunny didn’t move...” Zoro mumbled, but was otherwise ignored. It wasn't the time for excuses.

They moved to the sides of the plating - not wanting to get caught in the explosion of metal was undoubtedly going to happen once Kidd’s crew was taken from him. Law settled a -room- over them, picturing the dark alcove in his mind. Clear sight would be better, but he was confident enough to make it work - Kidd was positioned in a way to prevent his crew form being taken, meaning there wouldn't be much moving he’d of been able to do.

Law shambled Luffy in place of the two men pressed in to the dark.

Zoro and Robin were quick to catch the bodies, ease them carefully to the sandy ground before Kidd -exploded-

The metal lashed out in angry violet waves, and the man began to scream.

 Robin immediately switched back to using her many to pin down the scrap, to help hold Kidd in Luffy’s winding grip, and the other three men did their best to block out the sound of an ally's heart being ripped away.

Law and Chopper confirmed the man with the orange hair was passed and that he’d been so for a while, before turning their attention on Killer. The Kidd Pirate's vice-captain's mask was shattered open, leaving a gruesome mess of his smashed face on display, but he was still alive.

Zoro helped Chopper pick the bulky man up, and Chopper started sprinting to the Sunny without a backward glance. In turn, Law allowed himself to be manhandled across Zoro’s back, one knee awkwardly tucked between the hilts of three swords and Zoro’s torso, Zoro’s hands locked together under his ass. It was humiliating, and Law grumbled into the back of Zoro’s head for a moment, before clasping his own wrist across the swordsman's collarbones, and directed them after Chopper.

It was a necessary humiliation for the both - considering how many times Law had to readjust Zoro's course. If it had been was any else and any other time, it was have been a wonderful joke.

As it stood, once Zoro and Law arrived, Chopper had already returned to the Sunny with the Merry, but some barrels had been left on Sunny's grassy deck, and Law didn't hesitate to shambles he and Zoro from the beach with them. Usopp waited for them, "Chopper and Bepo are already in the Medbay. With uh.. Killer?"

Law thanked him and rushed off, while Usopp looked at Zoro in concern. "I'm guessing things are not going as planned?"

"You could say that; where's everyone else?" The Strawhats grouped up as Zoro updated them on the situation.

Washed and masked up, Law entered the Sunny's infirmary; This was Chopper's space, and he would follow the reindeer-man's lead.

“The internal bleeding is a worry,” Chopper was explaining to Bepo when Law arrived, focused in a way to imply his own devil fruit was in use. “But his skull is shattered, I think the helmet is about the only thing holding his head together right now - but we need to get it off to do anything helpful...”

“We can leave it on,” Law murmured, flexing his hands and setting out a -room- to work in, “I can get take his brain out to work on it without having to worry about the skull...”

While the three set to work, Zoro was finishing his own extremely brief meeting with his crew. It was going to be too dangerous for Franky to be anywhere close to Kidd in the near future until they could be absolutely sure Kidd's magnetism wouldn't interfere with his own internal configurations. He and Nami would prep Sunny for sailing as soon as Luffy returned. Sanji and Brook started to get food prepped, between Chopper and Law’s ongoing surgery and the power Kidd, Luffy, and Robin were burning though, the meal would have to be carefully prepped for the power users.

Sanji had assumed Usopp and Zoro had gone to help Franky, but then Zoro was barefoot in his kitchen, swords being gently placed on the table. 

“What are you doing in my way?” Sanji snapped, before he watched in his own kind of muted horror as Zoro carefully started to pull out his earrings. Sanji had never seen the man taken them off - never. And Zoro clearly didn’t like the fact he was taking them off. “You’re going back…” Sanji realized.

“Luffy’s plan is to tire Kidd out and then being him back here… and I know Luffy gets it, on some level, with Ace and all. But I also don't think Luffy gets how long that his plan is going to take.”

“And you have a better one?” Sanji accused, Brooke pausing to watch curiously.

“And Luffy will hate it.” Zoro admitted, looking at the gold in his palm.

Sanji offered himself pulling out his cigarette case - a metal one Nami had gotten him recently - and without thinking on it, pulled the sticks  free and placed them in a kitchen draw. He puffed into the case to blow out and loose leaves, before offering it thoughtlessly to Zoro. “Give us a sec and we’ll come too,” he said, almost like he wasn't aware of his offering.

“You got pants with no zipper? Shoes with no arch support? Get ready to take off the belt too.” Zoro looked at the case thoughtfully, before tipping his hand, the gold bars and hoops sliding in safely. Brook would watch his swords, Zoro had no worried on that. And now, Sanji would keep his earrings safe.

Usopp appeared then, a set of sandals in hand, a pair of his own already on his feet. His goggles here gone, and he’d dug an early model of Kabuto out - one without the support rods in the base. He’d also cut the closure off his bag.

Sanji looked at him baffled, but Usopp was far way at the moment, his face closed off. “Somebody’s gotta make sure he gets there today” was all the sniper said, gesturing to Zoro.

Zoro slipped on the offered sandals, and they were gone, pushing little Merry to her limits back to the shore. Sanji slipped the smoke case back into his pocket.

---

yeah yeah yeah - i know gold isn't magnetic - Zoro did not need to take his earrings off.. but i'd already had it written before i remembered that fact. i really like this little interaction between the two... so.. maybe his earrings are gold plated. *shrug*


A Magneteer is someone who practices magnet fishing, which is pretty much what it sounds like, using a neodymium magnet and rope.