Chapter 14: Magical Magnetic Mischief! All Blue in Neverland!
As per usual, dinner aboard the All-Blue was a work of art, and tasted better. Food didn't care that the Pirate King was listless, the sniper could barely manage to hold his knife, and the archeologist probably couldn't acknowledge the difference between it and cardboard, it was still the same level of ingredient as it always was, and regardless of anything else that was going on, Sanji never put less than his absolute best into it. So, it was served, though not quite as appreciated as always.
However, about halfway through things started to get weird.
"O-oi!" Franky exclaimed, as his knife flew out of his hand at the door.
Then the chandelier bent in the same direction, creaking and groaning, and as their attention turned to it, Usopp's utensils joined Franky's, the spoon catching on the cyborg's nose. Sanji frowned, slamming his foot on the rung of the steel-frame barstool that tried to slide across the floor.
"What the hell?!" He grumbled. Disturbing a meal was a cardinal sin as far as the cook was concerned.
Things creaked and groaned, except it wasn't everything. It was all the metal things. Abruptly, the direction changed, and the barstool flew away from Sanji back to where it usually stood, but the cutlery was suddenly flying in every direction at once, twitching and jerking in the air, sticking in surfaces and bending into incomprehensible shapes. The whole ship began to groan, and there was the feeling of movement somehow, and the scraping grind of the anchor moving across the sea floor. Then the door tore off the frame, suspended by the hinges. It flung itself aside to reveal the source of the antics.
"The fucking—" The cook was abruptly cut off.
"Sanji-ya, tell me Chopper is here! It would be the first good news I've had in over a week." The image of a displeased and disheveled Trafalgar Law was not one that many had the privilege of seeing. He glanced at the much larger body of his lover, hanging heavily on his shoulder. "Oh, do stop squirming! The more you move the deeper the shrapnel goes, and I don't want to have to clean your heart one ventricle at a time."
Kidd's dark eyes were unfocused and wandered aimlessly around, trying to figure out where he was, but unfortunately the man's current state prevented him taking in any actual information from his surroundings. He was only able to register what he 'saw' through his power: metal objects acting funny.
"Ssstoppit," he snapped at them, "only bear fuckin' dance! Go back!" Obediently, each item returned to its proper place and shape, and Kidd immediately slumped against Law, exhausted. "Shrapnel... fuckin'... nnghh... can't... shove... stuck..."
He'd been trying, consciously and subconsciously, to forcibly eject the metal bits from his body since it had become shrapnel instead of parts of his working arm, but it was too deep in the muscle and was tangled with the fibers—'stuck'. In his weakened state, he only made it worse when he tried, but he couldn't seem to help himself.
"That is why I continue to tell you to stop. I can get it out if you'll just have patience!" It was clear the genius surgeon was near the end of his own. Sharp, dark eyes, more shadowed than normal, snapped to the others in turn, searching for the reindeer with the blue nose. "Fuck."
"What happened?!" Usopp exclaimed as Franky jumped to his feet to help support the falling metal-worker.
"Feh. Bellamy." Law growled, succinct for the way his temper was getting the better of him. When had he slept last? Four days? Five? He wasn't sure anymore, but it was affecting his inter-personal skills, such as they were.
A growl that echoed his own rumbled from the gathered Strawhats. Luffy ground his teeth, the shadows on his own face beginning to resemble the Surgeon of Death's normal appearance. There was something of a scramble but seeing as how the standard infirmary bed was currently slotted for Usopp, the couch was Luffy's domain, and the galley counters were never touched by anything other than food, it meant the dinner had to be moved, and quickly.
Kidd barked an incomprehensible order and the metal flakes mixed in with the material of the dishes responded. All of it rose and moved into the kitchen… somewhere. He wasn't really sure, he was fuzzy, all he knew was the food didn't go to the floor or to waste and that would be enough to placate the chef.
"Fucker's METAL! He should've been unner m'control! How the fuck'd he... manage... nngh. L-Law? Th-th' world's... goin'... dark'gain..." His vision was fading. He remembered Law wasn't happy about when that happened. Something about... he shouldn't sleep... but he was so... tired all of a sudden...
"HEY! NO! Damnitall, Eustass! If I have to come in there you're going to be seriously sorry!" D.E.A.T.H. smacked across the redhead's face. "You need to stay with me."
As one, Luffy, Zoro, Sanji and Franky hauled the other captain up onto the table. It was something of a feat as various bits of metal kept trying to make its way across the room at random times.
Struggling to stay awake, Kidd snorted and his eyelids fluttered, giving him a sort of sleepy-looking glare. "I swear t'god yer 'unna make me go blin' un day. Al'ays smackin' me."
Law had been keeping him conscious since the infection had set in—a man as big as Kidd having an infection in the blood, not to mention the concussion, going to sleep would be just the icing on the Coma Cake.
"M'mean, fuck... c'nt e'n control..."
His head thumped down onto the table, eyes glazed as he fought to keep his magnetic control, and to keep the metal shit out of the doctor's way. He didn't realize one of those metal things was Franky, the shipwright skidding halfway across the room before Kidd figured the scrap heap was out of the way enough.
"Oi!" The sixth time the cyborg found himself back to back with the doorframe, he glared. "Tell yer patient ta quit haulin' yer assistants 'round by the knees!"
"I assure you, he has no more control over it than you do, but this should help some. Everyone clear out if you don't want your internal organs rearranged." Law brought his hands up over his lover. "Room."
The electricity in the place darkened slightly as the glowing pale blue dome formed around the private quarters. He hadn't really given them the chance to leave, but to his way of thinking the warning should have been enough.
"Shambles."
The entire left side of Kidd's chest was opened, glittering like a disco ball in the lamplight from the sheer volume of metal scraps that were pulverized into the joint and surrounding tissues. Seriously fighting the urge to react to the way the spring-loaded asshole had damaged his other half, the surgeon immediately began removing the shrapnel. The worst part was that as he liberated each piece, it became caught in the redhead's out of control magnetism. So, while Franky, who was outside of the bubble, was unaffected, the growing number of shards was becoming a storm of dart-like weapons within the blue barrier.
Seeming to suddenly realize the irritating metal was coming out, Kidd's eyes opened back fully and he snarled something else at the shards. Immediately they stopped storming and began to clump together. He barked another order and they instead started arranging themselves, jostling and wiggling, including the ones close enough to the surface of his cut flesh, until in the air there was forming, slowly but surely, the unmistakable shape of what the shards had originally been: Kidd's mechanical shoulder mount.
If the redhead hadn't been laying down, he'd be swaying. This was taking all his concentration and his eyes were nearly crossing. He was sweating like crazy, and his eyes had gone straight from glazed to fever-bright and shiny.
About an hour into the intricate peeling back of layers of muscle, a sheen of sweat broke out across Law's brow. His shoulders were cramping, and his fingers were aching. Just how much of this shit was there?! The trash who'd done it would learn. It was bad enough to attack the Mugiwara Pirates. To do so under his father's flag was worse, but this... this had him almost losing concentration, with the sheer level of his fury. He actually had to pause and close his eyes for a moment to recollect his thoughts as the anger seeping into his aura was threatening to cause harm to his beloved rather than good.
Outside the bubble, Luffy's eyes narrowed, Franky rolled a shoulder, Zoro thumbed Wado, Sanji chewed on the end of a cigarette, and Usopp glared into space. Oh yes, Bellamy was racking up quite a tab in terms of retribution.
Seeing Law's eyes close, and recognizing the feel of sheer, unadulterated fury, Kidd's flesh hand reached out and cupped his surgeon's face. It was weak, and his skin was cold against Law's heated cheek. But it was him. He even managed a wobbly smile.
"Now now... doctor man... I trus-trust you. Nnnno... distractions d-d-during mmmy... surgery. Or I-I-I'll haf... hafta ge... et a n... nnnew... doc." That was his limit of stringing a coherent sentence together. His hand dropped, arm laying limp across his stomach, and he shuddered.
His power was working to aid Law, forcing any and all bits of metal that did not belong to the surface of the cut so Law could pick them out.
"As if any could measure up to me." The smirk was tired around the edges, but there nonetheless. "No other physician in the world would put up with your constant need for destruction."
Another layer and he'd reached the redhead's ribs, lifting each one carefully away to be absolutely certain that nothing had actually penetrated down that far. He really didn't want to have to dissect internal organs at his level of concentration.
Kidd started to giggle. "Dun... tickles..."
It did. Law's nodachi scraping his ribs cause a peculiar sensation his body couldn't comprehend and it translated to a tickle. At least, when Law's Room was involved. Any other time it hurt like a motherfucker.
"Some... back... spine? Can't move... twitchy."
Some of the shrapnel had gotten into his blood vessels and was now pressed snugly against his spine. Any time he even touched those with his power, he started twitching uncontrollably; they were on the nerves.
"Fuck." The levity was gone again. "I will need you to roll over. Do you feel any others in your chest? I don't see any but you have a better sense for metal than I."
Around the Room, a collective level of awe rippled through the Strawhats. Law? Being modest? Just how long had they been fighting for this, and what else had happened to leave the Neverlands this strung out? Unconsciously, Luffy cracked his knuckles, spoiling to have Bellamy's face under his fists. The sound brought similar sentiments from the others.
"Cheszt... good. Just... back. See?"
The metal master weakly gestured to the floating 3-d-puzzle that was his shoulder mount; there were only a few small holes where bits were missing. A dozen at most. And, with almost astonishing casualness, his hand reached out and folded down the layers Law had pulled up before turning onto his stomach so Law could access his back.
"All onna... llleftside."
The way the muscles weaved across the scapula made this part of the job easier, and with a handful of quick, decisive slices, the master of magnetism had his missing pieces, along with several extra that had apparently been there from the first time the mounting socket had been installed. It left the surgeon muttering under his breath about idiotic pirates that didn't know when to have their doctors do an extra thorough job and how if it had been him the first time around there wouldn't be any extra pieces left over. And if he closed the pseudo-wound a little forcefully because of it, he made no attempt to even appear remorseful, let alone actually voice such sentiments.
Kidd just grinned at him, hand pulling him down so he could give him a little thank-you kiss. "If Franky... fires th' bits... slag... blueprint... blueprint then slag... fuck. Drugs, baby."
He hated the drugs, they burned his blood, but this being unable to keep his head straight shit was worse.
"Sanji-ya, I need a pot of hot water and a mug. Someone broke the last one I had." Law smirked a little, the last week really beginning to get to him now that the metal was removed and he wasn't facing the certain doom of his beloved.
"Hai."
The requested items were quickly brought to the dining-turned-operating table, where the brunette dropped a bundle of herbs and a small, white tablet Chopper had developed into the water. Immediately the pill began to fizz, rapid-steeping the herbs with the roiling water, and at the same time infusing the concoction with the right amount of painkiller to balance the antibiotic. He swirled it a few times, and blew across the top, then measured the temperature with his wrist.
"Alright. Sit." He ordered, though he slipped his free arm around his lover's shoulders pretending not to help.
The redhead did his best to sit up, stomach muscles crunching up as he sighed and leaned his head against the crook of Law's shoulder, supporting himself on his hand. Shuddering at the awful taste to come, he shakily wrapped his hand around Law's on the cup.
"Fuck... hate this... but helps..."
Again with an air of affected indifference, the doctor helped his lover drink the potion. "That is generally what medicine is for, regardless of what you muscle-headed morons think of it and its relationship to pain."
After the cup was drained—because he damn well knew Law wouldn't let him stop until it was all in him—he turned his head and stole a kiss. A real one. Then he licked his lips. "Mmm. Tastes like doctor. Better."
Then he shoved his face back in Law's neck and waited for the shit to kick in. Zoro tried not to snicker at the surgeon's expression, now that Kidd was apparently no longer in imminent danger.
The blush that crossed his nose was quickly squashed with a gesture of his middle finger towards the swordsman, but he allowed his other arm to remain around the larger man's shoulders, both for his own comfort and reassurance as well as his lover's.
Robin slipped back inside from evaluating their ship, or more accurately, their ship's wreckage. As an Archeologist, she was able to read how the battle had happened from the remains: bottom line, it had been bad. He'd broadsided them, literally, and launched into their bedroom, presumably at night.
"How is it, Robin-chwan?" Sanji asked quietly, and Franky popped a pair of wrenches from the insides of his forearms.
"It is... very bad. There is a hole in the stern and another in the prow. Starboard side has been pulverized, and the engine system-"
Kidd's whole body shuddered and he made an animal-in-pain sound.
"...that. The mainmast looks to be sheared nearly in half, the sails are in tatters. The crew has many injuries, though none as terrible as Mr. Kidd."
"The idiot decided to throw himself in the way, as usual." Law commented.
The shipwright nodded and began mentally calculating what he'd need to do. As long as the keel was still fine, he could probably salvage the ship from what they had aboard the Lotus and the All-Blue. "I'll need a good look at yer blueprints fer yer engine. I'm not as familiar with yer magnets as I am with my cola."
The fiery captain snorted. "Ngh... hadda protect m'doctor... an' don' worry 'bout th' engine Franky. I'll take care o' it. Uhnf. Or you'll help me rather... I won't be able ta weld for a while..."
The look said doctor leveled his patient with was enough to keep the cyborg quiet. He knew that look. He'd experienced that look. It meant Kidd would be lucky if he was allowed to even lift his own knife and fork to eat for the next several days. So, with a nod and an uncharacteristically discreet cough, Franky made his way out to the Neverlands' ship to make his own assessment of the damage. As he did so he took in the solemn expressions from the others. Usopp had his hand curled unconsciously around the handle of his kabuto, Luffy had pulled his hat down a bit to shadow the glare on his face, and Sanji, being Sanji, flicked the top down on his lighter with a deep inhale of smoke.
His words reached the shipwright even as the larger man left the confines of the All-Blue. "It seems Bellamy is earning himself quite a debt these days."
Robin looked away, hat shading her eyes as well. "Mr. Bellamy will be paying more dearly than he could ever previously comprehend. Doflamingo himself could never have devised such a long and painful payment as that which Mr. Bellamy will be required to... cough up."
And she meant that literally. She would watch his internal organs be coughed out of his mouth in chunks before she considered letting him die.
Kidd was too exhausted to notice The Look as he nuzzled into his doctor's neck and purring softly. "Law? We got ta tha' place again."
Zoro frowned. "What place?"
"The place where I'm so fuckin' tired I'm unable to relax enough ta fall asleep," Kidd groaned.
The marimo raised his sword hilt. "I have the solution for that."
One eye in shadow, Law almost responded to the archeologist, but the nose burying itself beneath his collar kept him from speaking his mind. "Sanji-ya, is there a bed where I can take my idiot co-captain to rest until he's strong enough for me to torture him?"
"Yeah, through the door behind you." The blond chuckled, savoring his smoke as punctuation.
Muscling the magnet-brain towards the door, the surgeon contemplated things for a moment. "I don't believe the Joker would have allowed this to continue had he known of the plaything's survival. He rarely ever let his toys get away once they'd displeased him. So, there may be something to his reappearance beyond what we've already seen. Bellamy is a lackey. He will always be nothing but an amusement for those smarter and more capable than he. Thus, it makes me wonder if there is a puppet master behind his actions, pulling the strings in an even more disrespectful manner." He turned back to the door, his hat low and his collar high, "After all, it wouldn't be the first time someone has come back from the dead."
Robin considered. "Whoever it might be would be a poor puppeteer compared to the man Bellamy belonged to first. But your point has merit..."