Okay, I can do this...Be useful, (Y/N)...

That was easier said than done. I had intended on setting up a sniper's perch and taking Livewire down from a distance, but between the man's speed, and a lack of high places in the building, my plan didn't seem very possible now.

The highest place I could get to was on top of one of the least damaged cells on the opposite side of the area, which would do, but Livewire wasn't staying still, even for a moment. Kid was strong, sure, but he wasn't the fastest man in the world. It was proving to be one of his worst downfalls against an opponent like that electric bastard.

From where I was crouched, I could see Kid was struggling. What little light from the moon, shining through the high windows, was bouncing off of his sweat, and his chest rose and fell in a way so ragged that even my own lungs ached in sympathy.

Stay still stay still stay still stay still..!

My agitation rose as I followed the punky freak with the barrel of the pistol, unable to lock on for even a second before he was on the move again. This wasn't going to work.

I had two options. Put the entirety of my faith in Kid, or offer myself up as a distraction. As much as I wanted to believe that Kid could take Livewire down on his own, my view was giving me doubts. Even if it was only for a brief moment, I had to try and gain his attention.

Shoving the pistol into the waistband of my pants, I stood up, taking a few deep breaths to try and compose myself before cupping my hands around my mouth.
"OI! ASSHOLE! YOUR MOTHER SMELLS LIKE ROTTING SEA KING CARCASS!"

Was it the wittiest thing to ever come out of my mouth? No. Did it work? Indeed it did. I barely managed to register that his head had turned my way before he cleared the width of the building in a split second, narrowly avoiding yet another crushing bash of Kid's fist of steel.

Livewire was right up in my face, a breeze would have had trouble passing between our noses. Flashing me a smile that would have seemed charming in any other situation, he backed me up towards the wall, causing me to have to momentarily place the majority of my focus on not letting my feet slip through the bars of the cage-top.

"Aw, Little Lady, were you gettin' jealous because I was playing with your big, dumb captain? Well, don't you worry your pretty little head. You've got my attention now..." His purr crackled from his throat like faulty wiring, the hairs on the back of my neck standing on end as I tried not to look past him to watch Kid approach.

A few seconds, then he's as good as dead...

"Damn...Here I was hoping that mother slander would get under your skin..." I mumbled, my palms flattening against the wall behind me once I couldn't move any further.
"Sorry, but unlike your overcompensating casanova back there, I don't let words rub me the wrong way." Livewire replied, completely ignoring the metallic screeches as Kid grew closer.

His smile never faltered, and it was honestly unnerving. His entire personality was. He reminded me of my first impression of Kid, but I knew for a fact that this devil didn't have a single redeeming quality.
"You came over to see me though, right?"

Over the top of his head, I could see the collection of magnetised scrap raising from the ground where Kid stood, ready to smash the electrified bug before me, so I continued to stand my ground. I would until the last second.

"You're really not as smart as you seem to think. Why else would I come all the way over here?" Livewire playfully tilted his head before the world scrambled for a few long moments. Whilst suddenly dizzy and confused, it didn't take me long to realise that he now had me in a headlock, standing on the ground facing Kid, who froze solid.

What are you doing?! Strike, dammit!

"Would you look at that? He doesn't want his precious little lady to get hurt. How sweet." Livewire chuckled against my ear. Kid was staring between the two of us, confliction written across every one of his features.

I didn't care about getting hurt this time. Any member of our crew would do the same, so why was he hesitating? Why now, out of all times, did he have to show a shred of humanity?
"Kid...Just do it. No hard feelings..." I urged him, jaw tightening when I felt the sharp tip of Livewire's spear against my side.

"You've got one of two options, friend. Either follow through and catch a nice long glimpse of me gutting your little girlfriend like the piglet she is, or stand down and kneel. I'm patient. I can wait." The peccable punk spoke slowly, drawing a threatening circle across the material of my shirt.

"You really think I give a shit, you bastard?" Kid scoffed, lip curled back over fierce teeth. There was the captain I knew. He either had a plan, or was really ready to sacrifice me. Whichever it was, I knew we stood a pretty good chance. Me not necessarily included.

Wait...I still have those pistols...

Cautious and sloth-like, I began reaching down towards my waistband, trigger finger at the ready. The guy was strong, sure, but not strong enough to withstand a bullet to the cranium.

"Oh, you give a shit alright. You stopped, didn't you? What other reason could there possibly be?" Livewire responded to Kid as I prepared to make my move, the pads of my fingers grazing against the metal of the pistol handle. "You almost look scared. It's kind of hila-"

My body suddenly began to seize. Painful electrical shocks pulsed through me, but that wasn't the only pain I felt. Livewire squeezed his arm tighter around my neck as he dragged thr sharp of his spear across the width of my torso, unzipping me as promised.

No, wait...

I wasn't unzipped, or gutted like the piglet he had said I was. He had cut me, that much I could feel, but not deep enough to open me up completely. A mere flesh wound, but it still hurt.

Along with my aftershock shuddering, I flinched when steel came crashing down, but not over us. Kid had instantly disarmed himself and dropped to his knees, a look of rage-filled defeat etched across his face. He had yielded.

"There we go. That wasn't so hard, was it, big guy?" Livewire's voice held the depth of his smile as his arm unhooked from my throat, his hand moving to grab my pistols from my waistband to toss one far aside, the other being clipped into a holster attached to his belt. "You guys have caused way too much trouble. The boss is gonna want my head for this..."

As he nudged me forward into a slow approach, the hand that had removed my pistols trailed up over my stomach and to the deep cut he had given me. Continuing upward, he smeared my blood across my chest and up my neck and jaw, finishing off with a harsh swipe across my mouth.

It hurt. Oh man, did it hurt, but I only flinched a little, cringing at the rich, coppery taste of my own blood. Kid watched with burning eyes, waiting until we were stopped a mere foot or so in front of him before he spoke.
"I'll kill you."

Livewire huffed a loud air of laughter out of his nose as he tangled a hand through my hair, the sharp chill of his spear leaving my body.
"Sure you will."

Again, everything moved a little too fast for me to keep up with. I was shoved, hard, out and away from the devious man, hitting the ground with a thud that sounded a lot wetter than I cared for. My hand flew to clutch at the sliced section just above my navel as I looked back at where I had come from, my throat constricting in shock.
"K..Kid..!"

When my world had been moving, Kid must have risen to his feet, but it had changed nothing. Livewire was too fast of a man, and Kid wasn't on that level of speed yet. He quite possibly would never be, now that he had a spear pierced deep inside of him.

He had been impaled in a similar place where Livewire had begun his cut across me, fresh red lacing down his skin and lizard-print pants. Blindly, unable to pull my eyes away, I felt around for one of the guns, desperate to help, even though my attempts at assisting before had lead to this.

"You really aren't so tough, are you, buddy? All bark and very little bite. I'd pity you if you weren't such a pain in my ass." Livewire stood before him, poised and ready to move, because that wasn't going to kill Eustass 'Captain' Kid. Even I knew that, but it didn't make it any less traumatic seeing him wounded.

"I warned you..." Kid spoke in a low, deadly register, the palm of his right hand turning to face his opponent, and his other reached to grasp hold of the spear.

To grasp it and pull it further into his flesh.

The sound was sickening, to say the least, and just watching it with a gaping jaw I almost didn't notice how Livewire wasn't moving. Actually, it seemed as though his body was moving closer to Kid, and not just because of the drag of his spear.

The oddly angled pivot of the man's body took a moment to register, but once it did, it clicked. The pistol clipped tightly into his holster was metal. Magnetic. He obviously didn't even realise it himself as he squirmed and struggled, the first signs of panic bursting out like a rash across his face.

The pair stilled once they were nose to nose in an almost intimate way, Kid's eyes of gold impaling the electrified bastard right back.
"You don't mess with me. You don't mess with my men, and you do not mess with her. You fucked up."

What came next shook me deep down to my core, and I very nearly decided that it had been a hallucination, even long after the fact.

There was a lot of red. Thick, streaming crimson looking almost like ink in the darkness. Kid's eyes unchanging from that raging stare as his teeth tore and ripped into sensitive, unprotected flesh. I had seen throats cut before, in swift, neat motions, but I had never once witnessed another human bite out a jugular.

A rabid, feral animal. That's what Kid looked like, the usual red of his lips hidden behind the syrupy gore that continued to spurt and gush from Livewire's throat. He held on tight, head shaking violently, even as the man fell into limp, lifeless twitches. It wasn't until that final death rattle that he let go, panting and licking what oozed down his chin.

Holy...shit...

I was too transfixed on the sight to care when somebody picked me up, be it friend or foe. Kid's eyes darted my way, and for a time - a moment, a minute, an hour, I wasn't sure - I was lost in him. In the good, the bad, the hate, the fury, the glory...the heavy emotion that neither one of us would admit.

"We gotta go..!" When my view was blocked by Killer rushing to Kid's aid, I finally snapped out of it, blinking once, twice, thrice before realising Wire was already rushing me towards the exit.
"Navy's gonna be here any minute! They were gonna hand us over for our bounties! Crap, we need to get you both looked at!"

Being carried, there wasn't much I could exactly do, but even if I could, I was far too mixed up in that moment to do anything, even panic. Bridal style in Wire's arms, one hand absently putting pressure on my wound, I leaned back to try and see Kid again.

Behind us, Killer was carrying him with ease. From the look of it, he was no longer conscious, just dangling over the man's shoulder, his blood turning strands of blond into dirty pink. Even in such a state, he looked like a monster.

A monster that I was quickly and deeply falling head over heels in love with...

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***I regret adding this stupid side story. It made no sense and I'm sorry. Rushed the ending so it wouldn't span over several more chapters. Some of the loose ends will be explained next chapter.

I took a little break because work really took a lot out of me last time I updated. I very much appreciate my bosses having faith in me and giving me the chance to step up and have more responsibility, but my unhealthy insomniac ass is wrecked xD

Now we can get onto more interesting stuff, at least. More Eustass romance, maybe some Killer flirting, some soft bestie Heat...We'll see.

Next Time: Twins***