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Chapter Text

The deck was silent as the crew avoided the gaze of the Kraken. The man paced back and forth, searching for something to punish them for. It'd been weeks since they crashed the wedding, things had fallen apart since then.

Izzy stood to the side, watching over what was left of the crew. He'd made sure everything was perfect, there shouldn't be a mistake for Blackbeard to punish them for. The four remaining members of their crew kept their eyes lowered and scrubbed the already spotless deck aggressively. What was left of Izzy's foot was throbbing in his boot, he didn't dare move.

He watched as Blackbeard prowled across the deck, approaching Jim and then Frenchie as if to see if they'd slip up and make eye contact with him. The Kraken was terrifying like this. His kohl had smeared and there was some rhino-horn in his beard, he was drunk out of his mind. This is when he's the most dangerous.

Suddenly, with a huff and a grumble for Izzy to bring him something to drink, Blackbeard left them. As soon as the door slammed shut Izzy grabbed his cane and used it to ease the pressure off of his foot. The remaining crew made eye contact with each other, no words were needed, they had survived another day.

Silently they filed below deck, only speaking once the brig door was shut behind them.

"Great job crew," Izzy rasped, "Keep it up." He had found that Bonnet's crew responded better to praise, though it was mostly to keep up spirits at this point.

"Thanks Boss," Fang responded, rubbing a very rigid Frenchie's back. The man's eyes were trained on the floor, he looked like a mess. A bard wasn't meant to for battlewear.

Now that the only eyes that mattered weren't on him anymore, Izzy allowed himself to collapse onto a nearby bench and take a shuddered breathe. Everything hurt and he wanted to cry, but he wouldn't, this was all his fault after all.

"You ok, Izzy?" Archie asked with a grunt as she sat beside him, "We're worried about you."

"I'm fine," Izzy snapped, before accusingly adding, "You lot better not be wasting your energy over me."

Despite what he said the crew seemed to hover, Izzy straightened his back and set both feet on the floor self consciously. Fang protested, "You can't worry about us and expect us not to worry about you Boss."

The rest of them nodded along, Izzy grumbled. "It's my job to worry about you twats, someone's gotta keep us afloat." To say they were afloat was an overstatement.

They were low on food, ammunition, and were sailing at the sea's mercy. But Izzy once again, couldn't complain; he'd caused this when he chosen the Navy and Calico Jack.

Izzy wished he could go back in time and just cut his losses after his banishment, maybe then he wouldn't have his crew looking at him like he was a kicked puppy.

"Izzy," Jim said, breaking through Izzy's thoughts, "He's been hurting you."

It had been an unsaid thing upon the Revenge, in the dark of the night the Kraken would enter Izzy's room, even if a single mistake hadn't been made and...

"You've been taking all the punishment upon yourself," Fang croaked, eyes watering, "We just wanna help you somehow." The man began to sob, Frenchie and Archie hugged the man. Izzy couldn't help but notice that Fang had lost weight.

Izzy didn't have the energy or heart to lash out at the weeping man, he just focused on composing himself and kept his eyes away from Fang's streaming kohl.

"Why don't we settle in to rest for the night, I..." Izzy suggested, "I could join you if you'd all like." Maybe sleeping somewhere else would keep the Kraken from...

They all agreed as enthusiastically as they could while half starved, then ushered him to the mess hall. Izzy avoided their eyes as he took only a small helping from the little stew Fang had made. He would never admit it, but he was a small man, he didn't need as much food.

The group ate silently together, comforted by each other as for the first time in hours they didn't have to watch their own backs. When they finished no one made a move to leave, they just remained seated with each other. They took turns drinking from the water rations and then ushered Izzy into the crew's shared cabin.

Izzy laid back onto the waiting bedding in the corner and listened as the rest got themselves comfortable, he kept his eyes trained on the closed and locked door. He knew that locks never meant safety on nights like these.

"Boss?" Fang whispered from his hammock, "Aren't you going to get comfortable?" Izzy huffed, he was extremely uncomfortable in his leathers. With a sigh he began to remove his many layers, it was when he pulled off his boots that he made his mistake.

The crew seemed to freak out in unison. "Izzy," Frenchie finally spoke, "Your...your foot is rotting."

And sure enough, the skin around what was left of his toes was blackening, the smell was putrid. Though it was nothing new to Izzy. "It's fine," He grunted, "Ignore it."

The cabin was tense as the crew decided whether or not to say something. They seemed to decide against. "Goodnight," "goodnight boss," "goodnight everyone," "'night," They each murmured.

Izzy leaned his head back onto the wall behind him, his mouth was dry and his eyes were watery. He kept his eyes trained on the door, even though he knew that he could do nothing about it if the Kraken chose to enter.

Chapter Text

It was only a matter of time before the Kraken lashed out again. It was a few days later, Izzy had spent every night since he first joined them watching over the crew's door at night, things were tense. They were about to run out of provisions and the Kraken had gained a new sense of mania.

Izzy had nothing for breakfast and had only a sip of water before he entered Blackbeard's cabin, unsure of what he'd find. Rather than being passed out or drinking as he'd expected Blackbeard stood at attention looking over a map.

Izzy announced his presence, "Captain." Blackbeard grunted in acknowledgement but didn't turn his way. Izzy observed how the man's hair and begun to matte, his hands were steadier than they've been in weeks. Blackbeard was sober.

"I'm sorry to interrupt," Izzy continued, "But we need provisions."

"Oh, no mate," Blackbeard said, "We're tailing a Frenchman ship right now, we can anything we need there."

He knew it was a risk, but he had to push him on it, "We need food, and ammunition. I should've taken account at the last raid, Captain."

Blackbeard paused his movements, still as if daring Izzy to say another word.

Izzy focused all his attention on keeping calm, "Captain the crew can't fight right now, not properly."

It was then that Blackbeard turned to him, "Oh they can't can they?" The man turned and approached Izzy, "Well let's go rile them up then."

The man was gone, this was the Kraken speaking, his eyes looked dead.

The Kraken made to leave the room, to go terrorize one of the remaining crew members. It terrified him but Izzy blocked the man from leaving, "Captain please, we're going to starve."

Izzy flinched as the Kraken took his face in his clutch. "And why should I care?" The man hissed, "We can just pick up more crew at the next stop!"

Blackbeard pushed past him and Izzy painfully hobbled to keep up. He was too far behind and could only watch as the Kraken drew his gun on the crew. "You lot aren't willing to die?!" He demanded, "Too hungry, too weak?!"

"Captain," Izzy croaked, trying to interject. His foot wouldn't stop throbbing.

"Our first mate seems to think so," Blackbeard laughed, "Doesn't seem willing to replace you!"

Izzy shivered, finally finding the nerve to yell, "Captain! Enough!"

The deck was silent. The Kraken turned to him, "You dare yell at me?"

He turned and gestured to the ship around them, "I gave you this and you dare yell at me! I became what you wanted! I'm The fuckin' Kraken mate!" Then he drew his gun on the crew again, "I should kill them right now for that."

Izzy shook, how could he keep the violence away from the crew, the crew who looked so frail now that they were at gunpoint?

He knew what would change the direction of the Kraken's anger, he knew he'd regret it. Izzy emulated his inner-Bonnet, "Captain, what if we talked it through--"

Before Izzy could even finish a bullet was shot through his leg. He fell back with a scream and clutched at where it'd hit. Black spots filled his vision, over his wail he could distantly hear Blackbeard telling Frenchie to finish the job and his receding footsteps.

Then there were hands on him, comforting, trying to pull his hands away from the wound, hovering.

Izzy screamed as the crew lifted him, he heard the drip of his own blood against the deck. He tried to reason with them, "Let me die, don't disobey him."

They hushed him and he lost the will to plead.

He was settled onto a bed and the pain overcame him. Izzy fell into unconsciousness, possibly for the best as Archie and Jim argued over how to treat a bullet wound.

Izzy woke to agony. He held back a wail as he peel his eyes open, he found Archie and Jim hovered over him. "What are you twats doing?" He demanded croakily.

"Uhhhh," Archie dragged, "Nothing Izzy." He scoffed, but then saw the tools that rested by his beside. They were trying to amputate his leg.

"There's no fuckin' way I'm letting you take my leg!" Izzy yelled as he tried to pull away from Jim's grip him. Flailing made the pain worse.

"Shhhh," The pair tried to calm him, "Izzy, please!"

The pain was blinding and suddenly he was being pinned down, unable to see what Jim was holding up to his leg. The first breaking of skin knocked Izzy out cold again.

It was good that he'd passed out, now Jim and Archie didn't have to worry about scaring the man.

Jim cut through the meat of the man's leg, ignoring the spray of blood and the muscle tremors.

It was when they reached the bone that Jim paused. "You can't hesitate!" Archie protested, "You just have to do it!"

With a yell Jim used all their might to cut through the bone, the sound was sickening. More meat and then the leg was severed. The pair panted and focused on not throwing up at the sight as they bandaged the wound.

They froze at the sound of the cabin door opening, turning to find the Kraken in the doorway.

The pair sat still as Blackbeard walked towards Izzy's bedside, there was no worry in his expression. "Leave," He ordered. Archie and Jim said nothing as they stood and left.

Izzy woke to the sickening feeling of vertigo, the ship swayed back and forth. He tried to figure out where he was.

Izzy looked over himself and gasped, his leg was gone.

Acceptance fell over him quickly, his leg was gone and he was going to die, if it wasn't by infection it would be by the Kraken's hand. They hadn't let him die.

He laid back and reflected over everything, a dying man deserves time to reflect doesn't he?

Izzy thought of how much he loved Ed, those feelings had surely passed by now. Severed off just like his leg had been. If he was going to die he hoped Bonnet would find Ed and the crew. Everything would be right then.

He turned to the side and realized he wasn't completely alone, Ed's gun sat on his bedside table. Had he tried to shoot Izzy? No, Izzy knew how Blackbeard thought, he'd left it there for Izzy to finish the job for him, one last time.

Izzy took the gun and sat up with a groan. He thought about it for a second, the cold barrel pressed to his temple.

With a sigh he lowered it, he wouldn't be doing Blackbeard's dirty work, not anymore.

Tearing a strip from the bedding he tied a make-shift tourniquet around his upper thigh, he let out a scream as he tightened it with all might. Then breaking a mop he made a sad excuse for a leg.

He panted and despite the vertigo began to crawl up the stairs leading to the deck. Izzy wailed each time the churning of the ship made him strike what was left of his leg against the floor or wall.

He crawled through the doorway and was met with chaos, everyone was yelling and bleeding. The Kraken was going to kill them all. Not if Izzy could help it.

With a groan Izzy pushed himself to his feet, foot and mop handle. His aim was steady and his shot was clear. The Kraken fell with a roar and Izzy with a sob.

The ship continued to sway and Izzy continued to cry, time passed and his head spun. He was startled when a pair of arms lifted him, aggravating his leg anew.

Fang carried him with care, taking him up to the Kraken's body. Izzy didn't want to look.

"It's ok Boss," Fang reassured, "I'll make sure to get a few kicks in for you."

He then took Izzy to their shared cabin, settling him into all the bedding Fang could gather. "I'll keep us afloat," Fang promised as he left. Izzy was too tired to do anything more than sink into the cot.

He woke to the sound of worried murmurs and rapid breathing. Izzy opened his eyes, the crew was gathered around him, all seemingly in various stages of grief. "Ed?" Izzy asked.

Fang gave him a sad smile, "His body's on board, don't worry about it Boss." Izzy felt some tension leave his shoulders, though the tremors didn't cease.

"So, we're finally going to starve?" Izzy croaked.

Everyone turned to him in disbelief. "Was that a joke?" Frenchie gawked, "You choose right now to have a sense of humor?"

Izzy sighed, "Why not? Literally got nothing left to lose."

It was silent for a bit after that. "I still can't believe you quoted Bonnet," Frenchie murmured, "You saved us."

Izzy huffed at that, "Didn't save us that much time." He ignored the warm feeling in his chest, he'd kept them safe.

The crew seemed to huddle closer around him after that, curled around him as they comforted each other.

This would be their final resting place.

That was it would've been their final resting place, but hours later they awoke to the Revenge being boarded.

Chapter Text

Izzy woke to the panicked murmurs of the crew around him and the sound of footsteps on deck. He forced himself to sit up with a hiss and reached for his rapier. His leg-stump throbbed and he felt unbearably hot. Meeting the eyes of each of his companions it was clear, they would not be going down without a fight.

He was shakily standing on his mop leg with his sword, adrenaline the only thing keeping him up. Fang had a barrel held over his head to pummel whoever dared enter. Jim and Frenchie both had their knives drawn and Archie had her machete. They all stood at the ready.

Izzy tensed when he heard steps along the hallways that led to their cabin. Whoever was approaching them moved with comfort and a pace that was almost sophisticated. There was a familiar knock on the door. "Crew of the Revenge?" Asked fucking Stede Bonnet, "Are you in there?"

Izzy lowered his sword with a sigh, everyone lowered their weapons in a same disappointed manner. "Come in Bonnet," Izzy said. He sat down as the pain in his leg stump spiked and the throb in his head grew intolerable. The crew seemed to huddle around him as Bonnet opened the door.

The man looked different, more pirate. But there was no getting rid of the ponce-like-energy. "Hello everyone, long time no see!"

Izzy rolled his eyes and focused on his breathing, "What do you want, you twat?" He was too tired to threaten the other man.

"Oh!" Stede began, "Well, the rest of the Crew and I have joined the Pirate Queen's fleet! She sent me first because she figured I could talk down anyone on board or die trying!" In other words she found him rightfully expendable.

"Well," Izzy huffed, "Consider the Revenge conquered."

That's how Izzy found himself on the deck of the Pirate Queen's vessel, with a bowl of soup and in the company of all the crew member he'd left to die on that island. He greedily ate and drank, desperate for any relief from the pain, the fever that burned him and the hunger in his gut.

The crew that had been with him during the rein of the Kraken talked with their old crew members with gusto as they ate as much as they could. Izzy watched as the deck of the Revenge was searched over, they were looking for something...someone. The Kraken. He didn't feel like chatting.

He resigned himself to whatever punishment he was to face as yells of mutiny were called. There was nothing to do except focus on keeping his balance as he and the others were taken to the brig.

Sat in the brig's only chair Izzy relished the feeling of a full stomach and the warmth of his crew around him. He huffed for breathe as his fever made him dizzy.

Bonnet came by and let them know of their fate, execution of course. He seemed pained to tell the rest of the crew, he didn't even spare Izzy a glance.

At this point Izzy just wanted it to be over with, if it was gonna happen let it happen, all this waiting was a pain. Frenchie leaned onto his side and Izzy closed his eyes to rest.

Izzy was jostled awake by the feeling of being thrown over someone's shoulder, he cried out in pain. "Sorry Boss," Fang whispered.

He resigned himself to the fate of a potato-sack as the crew broke them out of the cell and stole the Queen's wheel. It was all a blur.

When Fang hit the deck of the Revenge he set down Izzy with an apology before rushing to get the ship moving. Laying on the deck as ship set sail, he couldn't help but wonder if he'd ever left the ship at all. If he cried out in pain no one was there to hear it.

When the ship was set sail and the Queen's ship was no longer in sight, the crew of the Revenge turned their attention to Izzy.

"What should we do with him?" Black Pete asked, "He's no fun to kill like this." Izzy would've rolled his eyes if he could bring himself to open them.

None of the crew he's spent the Kraken's rein with were on deck, as Izzy peeled his eyes open he was met with the glares of the crew that he'd abandoned on that island. "Will you twats let me die in peace?"

They seemed surprised by this, they continued to discuss with each other. "Should we keep him alive then?" Wee John asked, "If what he really wants is to die?"

Izzy had apparently created quite a predicament.

They voted on it, they agreed to keep him alive to so that he would suffer longer. With protest from Izzy, the crew, led by Roach, picked the man up and took him towards the cabin--the cabin where it all happened.

Izzy couldn't help but yell out in protest at the sight of the familiar bloodied bed and the still dripping saw, "Please! Anywhere but here!"

"Ah, this spot causes distress, perfect!" Roach laughed at Izzy's flailing.

They threw him on the cot and pinned him down so Roach could examine Izzy's leg stump.

The other man huffed, "Who amputated your leg, little man? Cause they did one messy job." Izzy felt lightheaded as Roach removed the tourniquet and began his examination. "Whoever did this must've--"

His commentary was interrupted by yells on the upper deck, it was Izzy's crew. Izzy screamed out as Roach poked at the bone of his leg.

Immediately the crew was bustling down the stairs at full speed, horrified expressions greeting him. Izzy closed his eyes and focused on not passing out as his crew yelled and push the rest of the crew off of Izzy. When he wasn't pinned down any longer he found himself held against Fang's chest, the normally passive man yelling in his defense. It was all unintelligible.

The noise and fighting brought Bonnet down the stairs, "What's happening here?!"

"We're trying to keep Izzy alive!" Roach answered.

"What?" Archie protested, "We're trying to keep him alive!"

"So, we're both trying to keep him alive?" Lucuis clarified.

At that the divided crew turned towards each other. "You're trying to keep him alive?" Frenchie asked in disbelief, "We thought you all hated him."

"We do!" Roach answered, "We're keeping him alive so we can take our revenge on him later!"

The crew seemed to come at a standstill at that.

Bonnet chimed in, "Well, we are sailing on the Revenge after all!"

Izzy groaned out at that, everyone turned to him. "You're still the same old Bonnet. New beard, new clothes, still a fuckin' twat!"

"There he is!" Fang said in relief, holding the smaller man close.

"Let me die and save yourself the trouble!" Izzy protested.

"Well," Jim finally spoke, "There's our answer, we're keeping the old man alive."

"And we can kill him when he finally wants to live!" Black Pete said.

"We'll see about that," Jim said, with an arm on Izzy's tense shoulder.

Chapter Text

Izzy was alive, but was he really? Everything was foggy and his body was ravaged by fever. Nightmares and the little time he was awake seemed one in the same. The silhouette of the Kraken haunting him, standing at the foot of his bed ready to cut the rest of his toes off or one of his crew members sitting by his bedside, caring for a dead man despite his protests.

Izzy, when he was truly awake and sure that the Kraken wasn't standing over him would find be met with a sense of deja vu. His crew would be sat around him. Sometimes all of them would be there, sleeping or throwing knives as they had during that night they'd thought would be their last.

He wished they'd use their time more productively, but instead the moment they noticed him awake they would huddle close and fill him in on what he'd missed. Offering him warm broth or cool water, Izzy was often too exhausted to protest.

It was two weeks after Roach's re-amputation, when Izzy was able to sit up without passing out, that Izzy wanted to walk again. He told Frenchie that he needed some sun, though truly he was hoping to throw his crippled self off the side of the boat when no one was looking.

Frenchie, pleased with Izzy's enthusiasm helped the man up the stairs. The mop-leg more painful than Izzy remembered as it stabbed into his nerves with each hop up the stairs.

Then finally, Izzy was in the sun, alive despite it all, for the first time in weeks. Only to be met with the sight of The Kraken.

He couldn't control the panicked sound that left his throat and had him reeling back to protect himself. His vision got fuzzy when his stump leg hit the deck. He heard Frenchie shouting and shoved himself back along the deck. The Kraken was still and silent, but that was when he was the most dangerous, Izzy knew what he was capable of.

He saw the blurry figures of his crew standing over him him, trying to block his vision, murmuring things that went in one ear and out the other. But Izzy only had eyes for the man who'd been dead only days ago.

"Iz?" Blackbeard asked, no, Ed asked. "What happened to your leg?!"

The deck was silent, and the absurdity of the question brought Izzy back to himself. "Ed?"

Ed kneeled down to Izzy's level with a smile, bell jingling as he did, "That's my name, what happened Iz?"

The familiar smile and nickname sent something through Izzy, a spike of anger, "Don't fuckin' call me that! You're supposed to be dead, why the hell are you--!

Stede Bonnet's voice cut Izzy off, "That's enough!"

Perhaps out of exhaustion or perhaps defeat, Izzy stopped.

"Both you, Israel and Edward, are prisoners of the Revenge. This aggression will not be tolerated." Bonnet said.

A bubble of anger inflated in Izzy's chest, "Why the hell is a prisoner on deck then?! If he was really a prisoner he would be in the brig, not wearing a collar like some pet!"

Stede turned to Izzy then, looking him in the eye for the first time, "Well you aren't going to be here long, we're set to dock in a few hours. You are being expected to leave then."

Something about that silenced Izzy, he has to leave?

Yelling brought Izzy back to the present.

"What? That's not what we agreed on!" Jim protested.

"We're supposed to take care of him, keep him alive!" Fang chimed in.

"To kill later!" Black Pete added.

An all-out screaming match began with that, crew members yelling profanities and making their opinions known.

Bonnet struggled to make his voice heard, "I think Israel leaving is what's best for the Revenge, I don't make decisions without reason!"

It was all pissing Izzy off, "YOU TWATS!"

That certainly made the crew quiet quick.

"JUST THROW ME OVERBOARD AND GET IT OVER WITH! END IT RIGHT FUCKIN' NOW!" He howled, pulling at his own hair.

His voice faltered but he continued, "All I feel is pain, I'm no pirate now, everything hurts, there's nothing left for me, I did what I needed to and now there's nothing." Izzy felt hands grabbing him as he spiraled, curling his fists into his hair and tearing what he could out in anguish.

His crew picked him up and he writhed in protest as they tried to take him back below deck, "Don't! Throw me over! Let me die!"

During his struggle he made eye-contact with Ed, who was standing where he'd stood before, face horrified. "Don't look at me like that!" Izzy barked, "You did this to me! You killed me! Don't you remember?!"

The crew was silent as his question echoed across the empty deck.

Ed shook his head no, eyes conflicted.

All the desire to fight trained from Izzy's body, he croaked out, "So it was all for nothing?" Izzy gave up, silent as his crew took him below deck.

Chapter Text

Before Izzy had been a pirate, he had been a Navy ship's cabin's boy. Even further before that he'd been the son of a whore. Those versions of Izzy had been killed a long time ago, but now laying in his cabin he'd give anything to return to what he once was.

"Once you're back on your feet you'll be back to swinging your sword in no time!" Frenchie encouraged as Izzy stared at the ceiling. Ever since his crew had decided they would keep him alive Izzy hadn't spoken. What was there to say?

Jim, who was seated near Frenchie elbowed the lanky man, "¡Idiota, ten algo de tacto!" That almost made Izzy laugh, almost.

It had been three weeks since the Ed-mishap and Izzy hadn't seen him since. He wasn't sure what was worse, having seen him or having not seen him.

Frenchie and Jim continued to bicker, the contrast between Jim's fluent and Frenchie's broken Spanish amusing.

It was clear Izzy wasn't getting to die anytime soon, might as well put the two to work.

He cleared his throat.

The two stopped bickering and turned to Izzy with twin looks of hope.

"Frenchie, could you figure out my leg situation? I need something other than a mop." Izzy asked, "Jim, could you teach me to throw those knives of yours? I have a feeling I won't be in close-combat for a while."

Not even a week later, Izzy was on deck with a make-shift leg and one of Jim's knives in his hand. His crew was gathered around him, pretending to not be watching.

"So the trick is," They explained once again, "To think of the knife as an extension of yourself, let it slip from your fingers."

Izzy took a deep breath and focused on the target, speckled with near-misses. He then threw the blade, the difference was immediate: a bullseye.

Frenchie, Archie, and Fang applauded enthusiastically, breaking the illusion that they were minding their own business and making Izzy redden.

"Mucho mejor que ayer, Izzy." Jim praised.

Izzy scoffed, "Anything is better than when I first started."

From where Frenchie was seated on the deck he asked, "Now that you're back on your feet, do you think we could continue our lessons?"

Late at night when Frenchie couldn't sleep during the Kraken-era he'd find Izzy on deck, also unable to sleep. They never spoke about it but Izzy helped prepare Frenchie for raids in the dead of night.

"Why not," Izzy gruffed, "Not like I have anything better to do."

Izzy found himself on deck with the entire crew's attention on him.

He pinched the bridge of his nose, "Frenchie, why is the entire crew here?"

"Oh, I told them you were giving sword-lessons!" Frenchie said with a grin.

"To you, not these twats!" Izzy shouted, uncomfortable with the entire crew's eyes on him.

"Can you just start?" Luicius heckled, "Any day now!"

Izzy sighed, "Alright, swords at the ready!"

Izzy coached the crew through drills and watched in pride as Frenchie and Jim excelled.

He then turned his gaze to the rest of the crew who was struggling, "It's a miracle you lot have survived this long!"

The crew remained silent, though many lowered their gaze.

"We'll have to continue these lessons until you twats get it together!"

Two weeks from now they'd reach port and none of this would matter.

One day after practice the crew lingered around Izzy until Black Pete finally approached him.

"Mister Izzy, Sir?" Pete asked nervously.

"What?" Izzy responded.

"Would you join us tonight for Story-time?"

Ed attended every story-time, was Izzy ready to be on the same deck as him? During story-time Izzy was left alone below deck, which always put him on edge. Maybe it was time to join the rest of the crew?

"I...I'll stop by." Izzy answered eventually, ignoring the crew's celebration as they welcomed Pete back into their huddle.

That night Izzy found himself in the middle of the crew's cuddle pile, he pretended to be disgusted at first but eventually melted into the warmth of the crew.

When Ed showed up on deck Izzy froze, his heart pounded and his hands began to tremble despite his protests.

Jim presses their shoulder to his, "Está bien, estamos aquí."

Ed sat by Stede's side and the story began, Izzy zoned out and focused on capturing the scene around him.

The warmth of Fang against his back, Frenchie's humming under his breath, the brief glances Pete would give him every few minutes, as if in disbelief that he was still there.

As he laid on the deck, surrounded by the crew, both his and Stede's. He felt safe for the first time in a while.

He would miss this once they reached shore.

Chapter Text

When they reached port, Izzy was the first off-board. With his embarrassingly-few belongings in his bag and his crutch keeping him stable he was more than happy to make his departure as quiet as possible.

The crew was still asleep, those lazy twats, but Izzy was grateful for once. The last thing he needed was someone to make a scene when he was in this state!

He'd made it almost a block from the docks when he began to hear voices in the distance, "Iz!" "Israel!" "Izzy!"

It couldn't be, those twats wouldn't...

He moved faster, if he had to look the crew in the face as they said their goodbyes and still be left on-shore he wouldn't be able to stand it.

Izzy got to the shadiest part of town and slipped into the nearest bar. The place was a dump and it was clear that it doubled as a whorehouse. He would never admit it, but the familiarity let him relax a bit.

He stiffly sat in a booth and let himself drop his head into his hands. There was a painful lump in his throat, he ordered an ale.

Izzy had been sipping on his unpleasant ale for not even an hour when someone entered the bar.

He stilled but there was no obnoxious call of his name so he didn't make a move to leave.

The new person walked with purpose and the cadence of their footsteps was familiar. It couldn't be, Izzy couldn't possibly have such horrible luck?

Stede Bonnet peeked his head into Izzy's booth with a small smile, "There you are Israel, do you mind if I join you for a pint?"

Izzy drank silently as Stede made an effort to admire the pub they were in, his ale barely drank, there was nothing to admire.

"Why'd you look for me Bonnet?" Izzy finally asked.

Stede avoided his question, "Ed talks about you a lot, you know? He loves to tell me about both of your young pirating years."

"Pfft," Izzy scoffed, "I wasn't young during any of those years."

"He told me about the mutiny against Hornigold, about how you chose him of all people to be your captain."

"And look where that got me."

"Indeed."

"How'd you know where to find me?"

"Luckily there aren't many one-footed people in this port."

"Why'd you come looking for me, really?" Izzy asked again, "I can guess why the other twats would, but why you?"

"I wanted to tell you that I've changed my mind. I would love for you to rejoin us...please?" Stede plead.

"Why would you want that? I'm crippled Bonnet." Izzy scoffed.

"I'm not hearing any sort of protest? Why didn't you leave after the first time he hurt you?" Stede questioned.

"I'm most comfortable in places I'm not wanted, The Revenge, Queen Anne, The Navy, places like these." Izzy said gesturing around them, "Did Ed tell you where I grew up?"

Stede stayed silent, shaking his head.

"I grew up in a whorehouse, truly a hot-spot for undesirables, the unwanted."

"You aren't unwanted on the Revenge, Izzy."

"What are you trying to get out of me Bonnet?" Izzy sighed, "There's no need to go through all these formalities with me."

"Why not? Izzy, please come back to The Revenge, even for just another hour. The crew has been working on something for you."

"Working on something?" Izzy demanded, "Is that what they've been doing instead of manning the sails?!"

Stede laughed, "Probably, but that doesn't matter now."

"Fine," Izzy agreed, "I think we've overstayed our welcome here anyways."

Izzy stood and dropped some coin on the table, he left without checking that Stede was following.

The walk back to The Revenge was tedious and painfully filled with Stede's one-sided conversation. By the time they reached the ship Izzy was panting and his arms were shaking. It pissed him off how composed Stede looked in comparison.

Stede watched as Izzy climbed the ladder to get on deck, he truly wasn't let Izzy run away again.

When Izzy got on deck he was immediately engulfed by the crew, trapped in their embraces and forced to listen to their overlapping complaints.

The only clear voice was Jim murmuring in his ear, "Don't leave, please."

With that Izzy took a unsteady step back to look at the crew's teary faces, "Bonnet said that you twats made me something instead of working?"

Pete presents it with pride: a leg, golden and that of a horse. It was obviously hand-made and Izzy could tell with just a look-over that multiple people had worked on this, perhaps the entire crew.

His eyes burned with unshed tears as he dragged a finger along it's painted finish.

"You're our unicorn Izzy, we need you." Frenchie murmured with a hand on his shoulder.

No one said anything as the tears spilled over and he clutched his hand over his mouth to hide his sobs.

He was embraced again until he finally composed himself and stepped back, "So, how do I put this on?"

To his surprise the crew laughed.

"You think you get this leg after that stunt you pulled?!" Jim demanded, "So you can run away again?!"

Izzy squawked in protest.

"You don't get this leg until we're at sea again!" Archie chimed in.

"Are you fuckin' serious?!" Izzy groaned.