Chapter 14: Through The Storm
"What the actual fuck is this!?" Skyler shouted, but her voice was nearly swallowed by the storm raging around them.
The wind was howling, drowning her voice. The sails of the ship whipped while the crew scurried to pull them up so they wouldn't be damaged. They had been sailing in a calm sea but suddenly, as if someone blinked, the sky had darkened, thunder starting to clap down to the ocean's surface.
The ocean had come alive, violent waves crashing and shaking the ship. The water twisted itself unnaturally, currents spiralling into towering pillars before crashing down with force, drenching everything in their path.
"Captain!" Wire's voice barely cut through the cacophony as he clung to the mast, struggling to keep his footing while the ship rocked violently beneath him. "It's a snake current!"
From the helm, Kidd stood tall and unshaken, his coat whipping wildly in the wind, rain streaking down his face. A manic grin stretched across his lips as he took in the raging storm like it was nothing more than a thrilling challenge.
"We push through!" He roared, his voice cutting through the commotion like a battle cry. "We are going to the New World!"
The crew erupted into cheers despite the violent tossing of the ship, their cries of excitement nearly drowned out by another deafening crash of water against wood. Skyler staggered forward, gripping anything she could to steady herself, her boots sliding across the rain slicked deck as she climbed toward the helm.
Then she saw them.
Dark, hulking shapes in the distance, just barely visible through the sheets of rain. At first they were just smudges, but as the wind shifted, the truth became horrifyingly clear.
White sails.
The blue symbol that quickly became familiar to her: The Marines.
"Kidd!" Skyler's voice rang out, sharp and urgent, fighting against the storm's fury. The moment her voice reached him, Kidd turned instantly, almost on instinct. His expression softened just a fraction, his copper gaze locking onto her as if she were the only thing in the world cutting through the madness. Rain lashed against his skin, thunder cracked overhead, but none of it matter in that fleeting moment. She pointed past the spiralling waves, urgency flashing in her gaze. "Marines! They followed us!"
For a second, Kidd didn't move. He simply held her gaze, the storm raging around them, his chest rising with something that had nothing to do with adrenaline. Then, slowly, his smirk returned, wider, wilder, something wicked sparking in his eyes.
"Let them come!" He bellowed, laughing against the wind, his excitement only growing.
She stumbled up to stand in front of him, her fingers clutching at his coat. Another wave slammed against the ship, sending a spray of salt water over them. Kidd didn't hesitate. His hand shot out, fingers curling around her waist, rough and unyielding as he pulled her against him, holding her in place.
She was drenched, rain and seawater dripping from her hair, drops of water running down her throat, soaking into the fabric clinging to her body. His grip flexed against her hip, calloused fingertips pressing in, feeling the heat of her body against the cold bite of the storm.
Kidd's copper eyes roamed, drawn to the way her chest rose and fell with each unsteady breath, the way her soaked clothes moulded against her skin, revealing more than they hid. Lightning flashed, illuminating her face for a split second. Wide eyes locked onto his, lips parted as if caught between a gasp and a thought she hadn't spoken yet. He had to fight an urge that surged in him to kiss her, tasting the salt of the water and sweetness of her mouth.
"Kidd! We have to get out of this storm!" Her voice grounded him. Despite their proximity, she still needed to shout so he could hear her.
The ship lurched, and without thinking, he yanked her closer, her chest colliding with his. His breath was heavy, his pulse thundering in sync with the crashing waves. Everything around them was chaos: the wind howling, the ocean roaring, men shouting orders. Yet, all he could focus on was the way she felt against him.
He looked down at her, expression wild and untamed, voice rough like the storm itself.
"You think I don't know that? I got this."
Skyler gasped, not just from the cold, but from the way his voice cut through it all, rough and raw, mirroring the storm around them. It was the kind of voice that curled around her, made her stomach tighten with something instinctual.
She could feel the strength in his fingers, the possessive way they held her steady, like letting go wasn't an option. Her pulse pounded, a wild rhythm that had nothing to do with fear. It was him, his voice, his presence, the way his eyes, sharp and blazing, dragged over her like he wanted to commit every inch of her to memory.
She swallowed, tongue darting out to wet her lips, and for a moment, she almost forgot where they were. Almost forgot the storm, the danger, the Marines closing in.
A smirk tugged at the corner of her lips, despite feeling her heart slamming against her ribs.
"Working your charm on me now!?" She shot back, her voice sharp enough to earn a rough laugh from him.
Kidd's laughter rumbled through the air, settling inside her chest.
"Been doin' that since the beginning, witch." He teased, leaning in, his face close enough for her to catch the wild spark in his eyes. He was drinking her in, seeing how she choked on a breath, how the cold did nothing to stop the heat rising to her cheeks. He revelled in it.
"Don't push it, froggy." She jabbed a finger into his chest, meaning to put some distance between them, but her touch lingered longer than it should have. And even if she had moved, she didn't really want the space to grow.
The realization made her pulse stutter. Her mind raced, flickering back to that moment in the kitchen with Killer, a few days ago. How different it had been, yet how something familiar stirred inside her now. Confusion pressed against her skull, but this wasn't the time to untangle it.
The sharp boom of cannon fire snapped her out of her trance, her head whipping toward the source. The Marine ships were too close, soldiers already invading the deck, blades drawn.
Hot breath ghosted over her neck.
"Go below deck. Help House with the cannons." Kidd had leaned down, his voice a rasp against her ear.
The warmth of him nearly undid her, her legs threatening to shake beneath her, but she held firm. She gripped his coat tighter.
"I can fight, Kidd!" She insisted.
His gaze locked onto hers, intense, not with doubt or dismissal, but with something far heavier. Something that told her he saw her.
"We need you downstairs," His voice edged with something close to understanding. "House needs another set of hands." Her throat felt dry, but she nodded. "Go."
With that, she scurried downstairs, gripping the railing as the ship lurched violently. Even below deck, chaos reigned. Pirates rushed past in the narrow hallway, their boots pounding against the wood. She pressed herself against the wall, narrowly avoiding collision.
Heat shot past her but skidded to a halt, dark eyes flickering with a hint of concern.
"I'm okay." She said quickly, waving him off. "Kidd sent me to help House."
"Watch out for the explosions." He warned, a knowing smile appearing on his lips before sprinting away.
Skyler barely had time to process his words before he was gone.
Explosions?
The ship rocked violently, nearly knocking Skyler off balance as she rushed down the final set of stairs to the cannon deck. The air was thick with smoke, burning wood and something more.
Gunpowder.
She spotted House darting between the cannons, arms full of small spherical objects that looked like cannonballs, except they looked lighter.
Something felt off. House moved too erratically, her energy unsettling.
"House!" Skyler called, raising her voice over the confusion. "Kidd sent me! Need help?"
"Yes… YES!" House's voice was high-pitched, laced with excitement. She practically skipped between the cannons. "Let's make them burn~!" she sang, twirling before shoving a sphere into a cannon.
One slipped from her grasp, bouncing lightly across the floor –
BOOM!
A shockwave rattled Skyler to the core. She stumbled, coughing as a fresh burst of smoke filled the air.
That's what Heat meant about explosions..
"That one was a dud!" House cackled, already lighting the fuses. She clapped her hands over her ears. Skyler barely managed to mimic her before a deafening blast shook the deck. The cannonballs tore through the stormy night, slamming into enemy ships.
House had completely lost it, dancing between the cannons, eyes wild with delight.
"HOUSE! CAREFUL!" Skyler lunged as another sphere tumbled from House's arms. Without thinking, she snatched it up and shoved it into a cannon before it could detonate in her hands.
"You're good at this!" House cried, spinning with manic energy. "COME ON! LET'S MAKE THEM ALL BURN!" Another cackle. "Bust holes in their hulls! MAKE THEM DROWN~!"
Skyler felt like she'd stepped into the twilight zone. House, the calm, laid-back one, was revelling in destruction as if it were art.
"House… do you actually need help?" She asked cautiously, unsure how to handle her like this.
"Yes!" House grinned, grabbing several spheres from the corner of the room. These were a different colour, a dark shade of orange. She shoved a few into Skyler's hands, eyes gleaming. "There are perfect for burning! They don't go out in water!" Her grin stretched wider, almost delirious. "It's beautiful. BEAUTIFUL!" She threw her arms up, spinning in place. "LET'S LIGHT UP THE OCEAN!"
"…Pyromaniac. Got it." Skyler muttered under her breath, but she obeyed, quickly loading the nearest cannon. She wasn't about to argue with the person holding the explosives.
"Sky! What are you doing here?" Emma's voice cut through the chaos as she rushed inside, snatching the spheres from Skyler's hands. "Go back up! The captain wants you. I'll handle this."
"But House lost her mind." Skyler whispered, glancing warily at the pyromaniac still gleefully setting off explosions.
"I know." Emma hesitated, searching for the right words. "She… likes fire and explosions. And when those two are involved, she gets like this. It's…" She exhaled, "…a hobby."
"A… Hobby?" Skyler tried to process that, but there was no time to dwell on it. "Whatever! First, Kidd sends me down here, now he's calling me back up?" She groaned, stomping towards the stairs. "He better make up his damn mind."
The moment she stepped back onto deck, all the noise felt ten times louder. The sound of the rain pouring down, lashing at her face; the Marines firing their cannons at them while the pirates fired back; the thunder roaring above. She barely had time to register all the sounds before a chill ran down her spine. Ahead of them was a gigantic whirlpool and the ship was heading towards it.
Skyler's breath hitched as she scanned the deck, searching for Kidd.
Even in the darkness of the storm, that bright red hair stood out like a beacon. He was standing firm against the wind and rain, at the bow of the ship, eyes locked on the whirlpool like he was challenging it.
She called out to him, demanding an explanation. Slowly he turned and a smile stretched across his face. His eyes gleamed with a childlike glee, something wild, reckless. He stretched out his hand for her and Skyler hesitated.
Something about the way Kidd stood there, steady against the storm, completely unfazed by the chaos, made her pulse stutter. That reckless smirk, the way his eyes burned with excitement… it sent a strange heat through her chest.
She wanted to call him insane. Wanted to scold him for grinning when they were barrelling straight toward a whirlpool. But the words stuck in her throat. Because some part of her, however small, irrational, felt drawn to that wildness.
Then the ship lurched.
The violent tilt sent her feet skidding out from under her. She barely had the time to gasp before gravity abandoned her. But, before she could hit the deck, a sudden force yanked her sideways. It wasn't the natural pull of the ship. It was sharp, immediate, like an unseen hook had snagged her and reeled her in.
She barely registered what was happening before she collided against something solid.
Kidd.
The impact knocked the breath right out of her lungs. Her hands, purely by instinct, fisted into the fur of his coat to steady herself. The world swayed around them, rain striking her skin, but he stood there, firm as ever, unshaken. To him, the storm was nothing more than an afterthought.
It took her a second for her to realize she hadn't just fallen into him. He had pulled her. Her eyes snapped to his, breath still shallow as she felt the residual pull still humming against her skin, still tethering her to him through the metal in her buckles, the fastenings on her clothes. He had used his devil fruit on her.
Her heart was racing but she quickly realized it was not from the fall. It was pounding because of him. Because of the way his devil fruit had erased the space between them like it was nothing. Because of how close they were, how she could see the smallest details of his skin; how the droplets rolled down his face, his neck, tracing the taught muscles.
And worse was the way she felt. Like something inside her had snapped out of place, shifted into territory she didn't quite understand. She knew what fear felt like, the cold, gnawing bite of it.
This wasn't fear.
It was something else. Something that had made her pulse stumble, her breath hitch, her fingers twitch against the fabric of his coat before she realized she was still holding onto him.
"Kidd," Her voice came out weak, barely more than a breath. But somehow he still heard her. Above the crash of wave and the deafening boom of cannon fire, he heard her.
He didn't look at her right away. His gaze locked on the whirlpool ahead, sharp and unwavering. But when he did turn, when those wild, burning eyes found hers, she stopped breathing for a moment.
She had always seen him as reckless, brash, dangerous. But now, standing there against the storm, the rain tracing the sharp line of his jaw, he looked like something else entirely. He was steady, certain and sure of himself.
"Trust me," he said, his voice low but firm, cutting through the noise like steel. "And grab on tight."
She had spent enough time on the ship to know Kidd didn't do reassurance. He commanded, he threw himself into battle without a second thought. Yet now, in the middle of all the confusion around them, with the whirlpool threatening to swallow them whole, he had become something solid.
Like a lighthouse standing against the tide, calling ships home.
And just like that, the panic that had gripped her chest loosened.
She turned to face the whirlpool head on, trapped between Kidd's arms, his hands grabbing onto the railing. Her fingers curled around his arm, gripping tight, not just because he told her to, but because for the first time since she had gotten to that world, she felt safe.
She had seen impossibilities unfold before her eyes. She heard tales of devil fruits that twisted reality and had seen Kidd's devil fruit in action. She was told of sea monsters larger than ships. She remembered what Quincy had told her of fishmen and mermaids that once were mere myths and stories to Skyler. Yet nothing felt more surreal than this: blindly trusting whatever reckless plan Kidd had thought up.
Around them, the crew gathered at the rail, gripping ropes, bracing for impact. And beside them, Killer watched.
He said nothing, but took it all in: the way her knuckles whitened as her grip tightened around Kidd's arm, the way she stood steady despite the chaos. There was no jealousy in him. Killer had long understood who Kidd was. This force of nature, a storm contained in a man's body. He knew that, in moments like these, Kidd could command a kind of certainty, a raw magnetism that made people follow without question. It was rare, so rare, that even the crew had learned not to expect it. But when it did happen, it was impossible to resist. That was the reason Killer and the rest of the crew had chosen to follow him.
And Killer also knew what Kidd felt for her even if the captain had not named it, or fully understood it.
They had spoken about it, about her, agreeing in their own way to pursue her together, to see if she was willing to stand beside them both. So no, there was no jealousy.
If anything, there was pride.
Skyler wasn't just clinging to survival, she was embracing it. Standing her ground, even as they faced something that, in any other part of the world, would mean certain death. For her, this must have felt like the end of the road – but it wasn't.
The ship rocked, spiralling into the abyss, the deafening roar of the whirlpool preparing to swallow them whole. The rain and sea spray blinding their vision as the ship pitched downward, only to be caught in the twisting current.
And then, they were flung upward.
The whirlpool formed a dome and, like the serpent currents that had crashed all around them, pushed them up and forward, hurtling the ship through the storm, breaking past the raging sea like an arrow loosed into the sky. Skyler's grip on the rail tightened and, suddenly, she felt something warmer, steadier wrapped around her hand that rested on the rail.
She blinked, breathless, whipping her head to the side and saw Killer staring ahead.
He had reached out, grasping her free hand, fingers firm but not demanding. He wasn't looking at her. His masked gaze was set forward, watching as the ship climbed higher. But his hold was deliberate, steady in a way that sent an unexpected jolt through her chest.
She didn't pull away and neither did he. What she would give to see what expression he had on his face at this moment.
Kidd's laughter rang through the storm, wild and triumphant as the ship broke through the clouds, into an endless expanse of clear, blue sky.
For a moment, time seemed to hold its breath.
The roar of the storm, the thunder of Marine fire, all of it faded, swallowed by the vastness above. In its place came something untamed and intoxicating.
Freedom.
A fleeting thing. A dream she had never dared to believe in.
But right here, right now, she felt it, pure and undiluted, surging through her veins like fire. The sky stretched endlessly around them, the wind kissing her skin as if welcoming her home.
And for the first time in her life, she was free.
No chains, no expectations. Just her, the open sky and the people she had grown to trust. She'd even dare to think that she had grown to care for them.
Her chest tightened as a familiar burn of tears rose behind her eyes. The weight she had carried, the fear, the guilt, suffocating grasp of the past, it all dissolved, swept away by the wind. For days, death had clawed at her mind, ever since she had killed that Marine soldier. A feeling she thought would tear at her, destroying her with guilt and remorse. All of a sudden, it was gone, lost in a vast expanse of blue.
And for days, she had feared she would never find a way back home.
But now? Now, for the first time, she wasn't sure she'd want to.
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
A/N:
This chapter was a journey. The amount of rewrites and reviews I did on this…
It was a journey and I got emotional writing this, especially the ending. This is a chapter I am happy for how it turned out.
Thank you reader for taking some time to read my work. I really appreciate it and there are more chapters to come.