Chapter Text
When Ed returned from his stupid Act of Grace fuckery without Stede fucking Bonnet, Izzy had been over the moon. His captain had finally escaped the clutches of that stupid ponce and now they could get back to being real pirates. Blackbeard, the greatest pirate to ever live, and his first mate, Israel Hands. Not being thrown overboard tied to an anchor also happened to be a very pleasant bonus.
Then the crying started. And it didn’t stop .
All day and all night, Edward was crying and weeping and crying some more. All over that stupid Stede fucking Bonnet. Even gone from their lives his curse was still cast over them. Izzy had tried to warn Ed. He had really fucking tried. He knew this was going to happen from the very start, so it’s hard to find sympathy in his heart underneath all the anger.
But still, he does his duty. He takes care of the captain while he recovers from his momentary weakness. He brings him tea with no sugar. He makes sure that the bastard eats something at least twice a day, even when he curses at him and tries to knock the plate away. He helps him make his stupid fucking blanket fort to mope in and even summons Lucius to his side when asked. But eventually, enough is e-fucking-nough.
He pokes at Edward. Prods at him until he snaps and slams him against a wall and it must be the lack of oxygen reaching his brain that has him caress his captain’s face so gently with a smilw.
Blackbeard throws Lucius overboard, feeds Izzy his own toe for the disrespect, has the crew empty out everything of Stede’s than maroons the lot of them. He keeps Jim for obvious reasons. Frenchie for less obvious ones. They raise their new flag and finally, Izzy can breathe. It was a terrible fucking vacation, but now everything can get back to normal.
Except no, of course it fucking can’t.
Izzy thought that by finally getting Edward away from Stede fucking Bonnet and the Revenge’s crew, he’d go back to being Blackbeard. Instead, he jumped the fucking shark all the way to this new Kraken character. The Kraken who spends more time drunk and mean than sober and planning. Izzy is still barely holding the ship together while Edward does whatever the fuck he does alone in the captain’s cabin for hours. The crew may have been fucking useless, but at least they were a pair of hands. Edward’s moods are even more erratic than before they met Bonnet. He goes from sobbing to that fucking Lighthouse painting in the alcove to storming across the deck just to push and pull and manhandle Izzy into whatever he wants him to do. Izzy didn’t used to mind the manhandling every once in a while, back when it wasn’t the only time Edward would touch him. When the hand on the back of his neck meant security and guidance. Now, it’s like silver against a werewolf’s skin, painful and smothering. It doesn’t matter if Izzy’s in the middle of talking or trying to eat his fucking dinner. The minute Edward wants his attention, he commands it fully.
Things take a turn after the first raid post-SFB(Stede Fucking Bonnet). Izzy notices a small merchant ship flying the Spanish flag on the horizon. It was supposed to be the perfect thing to feed Edward’s bloodlust a bit. To calm it down to something less ravenous.
They board the ship with no issues, The Kraken calmly stomping across the deck. Instead of the boyish grin that used to light up his features, Edward’s face is closed off. Cold. There’s only 6 crew members aboard the small ship, two of which put up a decent fight. Jim and Izzy incapacitate them quickly and Frenchie helps to tie them to the others on deck. Fang and Ivan take care of moving crates full of sugar and tea across the boarding planks back to the Revenge.
The Kraken paces in circles around their captives. A calm, steady thump of his boots against the deck. He doesn’t look at them. Only out at the ocean. Waiting.
All the crates are moved. Ivan and Fang take Jim and Frenchie back to the Revenge. The ocean is still and the night is quiet of everything besides the captives’ occasional whimper. Izzy’s shoulders tighten up in anticipation because this? This is familiar. This is a well-practiced routine.
One of the captives, a brave young man who came at Izzy with a sword the second he saw him and was rewarded with a knife in his shoulder, finally opens his mouth.
“Are you going to let us go?” He asks.
The Kraken stops. He tilts his head.
Izzy shifts his weight on his feet, knowing what comes next. Israel , Edward will say, That one first. And Izzy will throw the still-bound man overboard then move to grab the next one. They’ll start pleading for their lives, which Izzy will ignore until Edward raises a hand. He’ll stop, always the well-trained attack dog. Edward will ask for other merchants’ routes, Spanish naval sightings, any information they have that will benefit him. When he’s satisfied, he’ll make a big show of letting them live as a mercy from the great pirate Blackbeard. Then, Edward and Izzy will return to the Revenge and discuss next moves based on their new information.
That’s not what happens.
Instead, the Kraken turns to the man who spoke. He crouches down in front of him.
“Open your mouth,” He says. The man, either very brave or very stupid, keeps it firmly shut and shakes his head. The Kraken’s hand shoots out like a viper, gripping his jaw. “I said open your fucking mouth!”
His grip tightens until the man’s mouth is forced open. He grabs the man’s tongue with his other hand and pulls it until the man chokes. He lets go of his jaw to grab his knife. The other captives start screaming, cringing, and looking away. Izzy watches, unmoving, as his captain takes his time cutting the man’s tongue from his mouth.
When the Kraken is done, he drops the severed bit to the deck without much fanfare. He stands and backs away just as the man chokes and pukes up blood and bile. One of the other captives has pissed himself and two more are trying and failing to contain their whimpers of fear.
“Israel,” The Kraken says, walking away from the mess he made, and Izzy snaps to attention. “Burn the ship.”
“Yes, captain,” Izzy replies, like he had the option to say no. The Kraken returns to the Revenge, and Izzy ignores the begging from the captives as he cuts open a cask of lamp oil and sets it ablaze.
He stays long enough to make sure the fire is catching before he crosses the boarding planks. Fang helps him pull them in and use them to push the Revenge away from the burning ship.
“That wasn’t Blackbeard,” Fang mutters as they tie the boarding planks back against the railing. “It was just cruel.”
“Don’t tell me that fucking seductress turned you soft,” Izzy hisses back. ”We’re fucking pirates. We’re supposed to be cruel.”
“Yeah, but he’s never been like that.” Fang’s voice is quiet. When Izzy doesn’t reply he sighs and walks away, not noticing that Izzy is clutching the railing so hard to disguise the way his hands are shaking.
His foot aches.