As Kidd rots in his cell, deep within Kaido's prison, he hadn't dreamed that he might gain an ally….
One-shot, takes place before Luffy is thrown in next to Kidd.
It'd been weeks since he'd been captured, he'd long since given up trying to count the days, combined with the pain of the place, he'd go crazy.
Weeks spent being brought back and forth from his cell, either to the torture chamber or the workshops to be tenderized even more.
He didn't know how long his allies had lasted.
He'd stopped hearing the screams of Hawkins and Apoo awhile back, whether because they had been broken and joined Kaido or died, he didn't know.
Perhaps they had simply been moved to another prison, Kaido might have many more for all he knew.
The prison he was in had been rather crowded since the beginning, so it was likely that Kaido had more, just to make others suffer.
"You'll rue this day Kaido!" Kidd began, his voice close to cracking from the pain and lack of food. Or rather the state of the food. They were given raw fish every day, and it'd taken a while for him to get used to the poor fare.
"You'll rue it!"
He continued to glare at the bars holding him captive, as if his rage could make them bend. (normally his Devil Fruit powers would do that, but several seastone nails in his body prevented it).
He didn't expect there to be an answer,
There never was.
"It's night you Idiot!" a shrill voice called out, sounding more tired than angry "Don't you get tired of saying that every time they haul you back here?"
What the…. Kidd thought, his surprise briefly making him forget his pain none of the prisoners ever talk like that? but that's not a guard voice!
"you're…. that thing…. that eats the poisoned fish, right?" he began, part of him relishing the chance to talk to someone (the guards cracked down especially hard on chatty prisoners).
"It should be pretty obvious that I'm a person you little Brat!" the voice snarked
"What you call me?" Kidd was just about to loose his temper, weeks of
"What you are boy! A BRAT!" the voice shot back, scorn and condescension dripping from each word "But you haven't broken yet… your comrades gave up after a few days, but you're made of a little sterner stuff… or just values your pride more than your life! HA!" the voice chortled, and even from the distance, Kidd could smell the fish breath of the creature, nasty and rotting, made him wish the creature would've brushed it's teeth or laughed in another direction.
"Gave up you say… my crew'd never give up!" Kidd yelled in frustration, his head denying what he deep down knew it all meant.
His crew could very well be gone…
"You call those mummers your crew? And here I thought Strawhat had odd comrades…" the voice mused, whether from genuine surprise,
or sarcasm,
Kidd couldn't say.
He could say something else though:
"The hell's a mummer?!"
"Entertainers…" the voice began slowly, both tired and aggravated at Kidd's ignorance "That there birthday magician Hawkins and that second rate street-performer Apoo"
Kidd couldn't hold back his laughter
"You think those morons are some of mine? Mekakakakakaka!" for the first time in a while, Kidd could actually laugh and have fun, Hawkins and Apoo didn't fit Kidd's crews' theme at all "We just allied to take out Shanks! After that, we'd divide his territory!"
"You mean you wouldn't cheat them?" the voice snickered, an odd brittle sound, like glass breaking and sliding against the other shards.
"Nah, I'd do that, no problem…" Kidd stopped laughing for a moment, yet still couldn't contain his smile "if those guys bit the dust, it's just less problems down the road"
"I said they broke boy, not died" the voice silenced him immediately "Kaido has 2 more subordinates now… 2 more factors to rule in before Kaido gets what's coming to him…" the voice sounded angry, furious even, that special sort of smouldering wrath that psychopaths gave off when talking about their nemesis, and while that usually was a bunch of hot air to Kid, this guy meant it!
He was starting to like him.
"You wanna kill Kaido?" Kidd began, already getting ideas
"And you want an alliance" the voice concluded
"Nah…" Kidd rebuffed him "I'd like a new crewmember… but only if you fit our theme! We got a good thing going on and I don't want to jinx it!" Kidd thought of his crew, each member looking like a demon-pirate from an overtly metallic hell, spikes, axes and pitchforks "What's your name anyway?"
For a while no answer came, then a metallic rattle came from the other cage, heavy chains being dragged across the stone floor, filling the night air with chaffing and groaning.
Kidd had noted that the entrance to the other cage was huge, but as the creature began to emerge from the darkness and shadows, the mere silhouette proved to equally massive, and Kidd was certain that it was on its' knees and bent forward too.
"My name is quite well known across the world boy, even more so than yours…"
The face that emerged from the shadows was deathly pale and shape like a moon, both crescent and waning at the same time, stitched in places that spoke of vicious battle scars and a life spent on piracy. Combined with the horns, the deep red eyes and a mouth full of fangs made the man instantly recognisable.
Kidd couldn't believe his eyes, even in his dreams, he hadn't believed, he'd ever meet him.
"So the name of the game is Alliance, not subordinate!" the huge devilcrettaure sneered "We clear Captain Kidd?!"
Kidd gawked for a moment more before he smiled and shook his head, all memery of the man's previous insults forgotten.
"Nope! I'll definitely make Gecko Moriah part of my crew, you fit our theme PERFECTLY!"
The former Shichibukai gave Kidd a look of utter disbelief, internally wondering if all members of the worst generation were raving mad and arrogant.
Then he returned to the back of his cell, intent to wait for a chance to free himself.
And if Kidd was useful, he'd be freed too…
thinking about what the creature eating the poisoned fish in Kaido's prison might be,
My guess was that it was a very pissed off Gecko Moriah,
Especially after seeing some gibberish theories on Youtube.
RnR if you'd be so kind