Doldrum

[mekachu04]

Doldrum by Mekachu04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Additional Tags:

Post-Wano Arc Egghead Island Arc Victoria Punk has been destroyed Kidd Pirates don't survive well - about a third of them do but most do not hurt!Kidd hurt!Killer Sick!Heat

Smile Fruit Shipwrecked and Stranded no on screen deaths but bodies mentioned Emotionally Compromised!Kidd he's not so much suicidal as he is depressed and doesn't realize it but it does colour him with a melancholy that could be fatal

This was originally going to be part of Shenanigans but it was having a very different vibe and while that is not unusual for me, I wanted to try something else with this so I broke them up into two stories

Summary:

Kidd has been an all or nothing kind of man his whole life. He filled his ranks with the same mindset - go big or die trying. At least, they'd all had certainly thought so, until the die part of die trying loomed over them, pushing them under the waves of the Grand Line in one last glorious blaze. The Victoria Punk - their home - burning around them, corpse slowly lost to the sea. But she gave up little parts of herself as life lines, flotsam rising to the surface for those not ready for the sea's embrace.

Boogie had grabbed his captain in the sea, pulled his soon-to-be-corpse back to the surface and clung to the pieces of Victoria Punk's wreckage, begging her to shelter them one last time. Quincy and Dive found him shortly after, towing a battered Heat with them. The commander was clearly distressed, casting his gaze over and over across the rough seas as he struggled to clear his lungs of seawater, struggled to get his wits back about him.

Their captain remained lifeless among the debris, only he and Dive afforded the courtesy of being fully pulled from the water on their collection of debris as the others clung to the wood and treaded water. Hip and Pomp found them not too long after and Heat knew they needed to risk the island; the chances of surviving open water dwindling as the corpses started to surface with them.

Wire, Mosh and Jaguar met them not far from the beach, having already made it to shore and swimming back out when they realized the wreckage washing in with the tide was still living crew. They took Captain from Boogie easily, tucking him away in scant tree line where they'd started to hide anything salvageable from being spotted from the shore line - in case the giants or red-hair had patrols about.

Heat panted in the breaking surf, coughing up more water once his feet touched ground, looking at Wire warily. "Any.. one.. else?"

Wire eyed him warily, shaking his head negatively, "Need a hand?"

Heat shook his head, coughing once more, but he could still breathe and waved Wire's help off.

"Emma was with us at the start, but I lost track of her. Haven't seen anyone else until you all."

"Killer?"

Wire shook his head to the negative once more.

"Fuck..."

Wire helped him to the brush where the others had gathered around their Captain, Hip had rolled him into a recovery position, and judging by the amount Heat was still coughing up, it was probably a good idea.

"Anyone else hurt?" Wire asked to collective, grateful to receive shaking heads and murmured 'No's. Pomp sat up abruptly, before jerking on Jaguar's arm.

"What?"

"Something shiny."

They turned to try and see what he'd seen out in the open grasses.

"There!" Quincy whispered hoarsely, pointing to the tree line across the field. Sure enough, something small flashed again.

Mosh and Boogie squared up, staying low but getting ready.

"Wait!!" Dive said suddenly, jumping up and taking off across the field before anyone could stop her. They stood with bated breath, losing sight of her in the tall grass by the halfway point.

Then she was at the tree line. Three figures moved from the shadows then, forming around her -

"Boss Killer!" Pomp cheered, taking off across the field next, Quincy and Mosh behind him. Hip looked up from where she was hovering over Kidd, looking hopefully at Wire.

"Looks like it," he said relieved, "UK and Papas too."

The shine of light Pomp had seen had been Papas - using a shard of Killer's mask to catch the light and flash it across the field. He'd seen them, but not well enough to identify anyone, and was hoping to lure them out into the open in case they'd been enemies. Instead he'd found family.

Killer was being supported between the two other men, dizzy and weak but somewhat aware. Mosh had switched with Papas to usurer them across the field quicker, easing him down next to Kidd and Heat. Heat clapped him on the back but otherwise they said nothing.

What was there to say? I'm glad you're not dead like everyone else?

In the days to come, no one else showed up alive. But the bodies did start to wash up. Kidd watched dully, in his own state of shock, from the little shelter they'd set up, little more than a bumini top, once he'd woken up. Wire got the remaining crew assigned small but essential tasks; Killer wasn't able to stay standing for long before getting dizzy and Heat's wet cough had started to sound thicker, leaving Wire the de facto Boss for the time.

And then there was sails on the horizon.

"Boss Wire..." Jaguar had approached him, both watching the ship. Death come to finish his job or a fool ripe for the plundering. She was a brigantine like ship, smaller than what they were used to, but with their reduced crew, they likely couldn't take anything much bigger.

"Get Captain" Wire ordered him softly; They'd have to be united on this, Kidd would need to snap out of this funk if they where going to get off this island.

Kidd staggering up to him not long after, moving slowly, favoring his left leg, body battered and stiff still. He studied the ship sailing in, the shape and sails coming into focus for them both at the same time, Kidd turning away angerly with a 'fuck'.

Wire hung his head, dreading the next words. But instead of throwing a fit, a tired Kidd just swore again, pressing his hand to his face before turning tiredly to Wire. "Well, lets roll out the fucking welcome mat and get this charade over with." he muttered, staggering away to go rouse Killer and Heat.

The Kidd Pirates waited at the shore, just a bakers dozen of them left as Monkey D. Luffy, Fourth Emperor of the Sea, disembarked his own ship before them.