Bluebird

Scupper Shanty

Benny heaved a sigh as he waited, halfway draped over the wheel. It was quiet up there, far too quiet for a crew of Master Builders storming the Tower, and he was getting worried. Sure, they were pretty high up, but- wouldn't he see some sort of activity? Explosions? Glass breaking, robots being thrown out? Something? He chewed on his lip, gaze glued to the top of the Tower. He knew this was a Bad Idea, he'd tried to tell them as much... He'd almost had Metalbeard convinced, but the rest of the crew talked him back into it.

Benny sighed again, the knots of worry in his stomach growing larger. He felt ashamed that he didn't really care about the others; the new crew Metalbeard had recruited made their dislike of him obvious enough. They only tolerated the 'crazy spaceman' because they wanted in on Metalbeard's raid. But if he wasn't worth their time and energy, then they weren't worth his either. But he hoped to anyone who was listening that Jonas and Skeeter would at least make it back out of there.

He was just debating flying up there to join them and help out when the Tower finally rocked with an explosion. "There it is," he mumbled, but that gnawing feeling didn't go away.

Something was wrong. Something was very wrong. He saw something come flying out of the shattered window, a speck too small to see from that distance. But his ears soon told him what it was.

"JONAS!!" Benny engaged his jetpack, shooting up to catch the mangled remains of his best friend. The pirate captain was screaming in agony, limbs missing, torso shredded beyond recognition. Oh, God, there was so much blood... Benny let himself drop back down, wasting no time getting below deck. His cryostasis pod was still in the cargo hold, still functioning, last he checked. His heart was pounding in his ears as he gently laid his friend in it, closing the lid and turning it on. It was a while before the muffled screaming faded, and Jonas fell into blissful unconsciousness.

Benny took one look as his suit, and bolted back up onto the deck to lean over the railing, shoving off his helmet before heaving up the contents of his stomach. He couldn't- couldn't just sit here- had to get away- Bad Cop would come at any second to finish the job-

Willing his stomach back into obedience, he staggered up to the helm, determined to get the Sea Cow as far away from the Tower as quickly as possible. He took just long enough to wriggle out of his space suit and fling it away, not caring he was just in a t-shirt and boxers, then turned on the propellers to help steer the ship away from the Tower. Strangely, there didn't seem to be any pursuit, but he wasn't about to question his luck. He simply got back to Cloud Cuckooland as quickly as he could manage.

Unikitty bounced in excitement to see the Sea Cow float up the rainbow to land among the clouds. She galloped out to greet the pirate crew back, but slid to a halt when the only person she saw on deck was Benny, who for some reason wasn't wearing his space suit.

Something was wrong. Something was very wrong. Willing herself into motion again, she gathered her legs under herself and leapt up onto the ship. "Benny? What's going on?" She froze when she nearly stepped on the discarded space suit, eyes going wide when she saw all the blood.

"We failed," the spaceman said, voice shaking. "The crew's all gone, and Jonas- Jonas is-"

Unikitty went very still. "He's- he's not dead, is he...?"

Benny swallowed hard. "Not yet."

Unikitty's big eyes immediately welled up with tears. "Oh, no. Oh, Jonas-"

"He's in my stasis pod for now," Benny interrupted, and she took a shaky breath. That would buy them some time.

"We have to get to work," the princess said, steeling herself in determination. "There must be something we can do for him!"

"I- I had some ideas, on the way here," Benny admitted. "You could use the ship for parts, build him a new body- I think he'll like that-"

"Just me?" Unikitty stared him down in challenge. "Aren't you a Master Builder, too?"

Benny shifted uncomfortably. "'Kitty, you know what everyone else says-"

"I don't give a fig what everyone else says."

"But it doesn't change the fact that I can only Build spaceships! I don't wanna mess this up for him!"

"You're helping me, and that's final."

In the end, Benny had helped, if only because he was the only one who knew his cryostasis system inside and out. It made him sick to his stomach, knowing that Metalbeard would be dependent upon it for the rest of his life. They'd found a vet to remove the remaining damaged organs, and Unikitty healed him up to the best of her ability before they placed him inside what amounted to a mobile life support unit.

And then they waited for him to wake up.

It was several days before he opened his eyes again, and Unikitty cried in relief when he did. It had been so hard for her to stay positive, when faced with the possible death of a friend. But her persistent optimism had paid off, and he was still alive, and conscious now. "What happened...?" he asked groggily.

"I told you that raid was a bad idea," Benny told him, barely refraining from snapping at him. "You're the only one who survived, and just barely at that!"

"Nay, lad," Metalbeard said after a moment. "Not the only one who survived. Just the only one who escaped."

"Jonas??" Unikitty pressed.

"The other Master Builders aren't dead," he told them, voice tinged with some emotion Benny couldn't place. Possibly even several. "They're trapped."

"...I think you better tell us everything," Benny said. And Metalbeard did. He told them about the hall of eerie relics, and Business' security measures, and most of all, the Think Tank. Benny shuddered. That was... almost a fate worse than death, for a Master Builder. Unikitty's eyes were wide, her ears flat against her skull and her tail poofed out as she tried to hide her trembling. He reached over, gently stroking her fur. "Hey, it's okay," he tried to soothe her. "Maybe the raid wasn't a total bust- now we've got a better idea of what we're up against."

"If ye be thinkin' of raidin' that Tower again, Benny, ye be on yer own," Metalbeard sighed. "Tis a fool's errand, goin' back."

"It was a fool's errand going in the first place. I tried to tell you that."

"Aye, lad, ye did," Metalbeard admitted quietly. "And now I've paid for not listenin'."

"Oh, Jonas," Unikitty sniffled, nuzzling his cheek. "I'm so sorry! We did our best..." He looked around at himself, then tried getting to his new feet. He turned this way and that, testing his balance, his control, his agility, his dexterity, and nodded to himself, seemingly satisfied.

"Ye did well, Princess. Tis a fine piece of work. Me feather, did it...?"

"It's still there," Benny assured. "A little singed at the tip, but otherwise whole." Metalbeard heaved a sigh in relief. Benny grinned at him. "You ever gonna tell us how that's 'a piece of her', or are we just going to have to spend the rest of our lives wondering?"

"Someday," Metalbeard promised with a chuckle. "When ye be ready." Benny stuck his tongue out at him.