Ship In A Bottle || South Park Pirate AU

Twenty-One

In which the red sea is, at last, reunited.

Tweek inched open the door and peered through the crack, squatting down slightly so Kyle could see too.

The state of the hall outside was nothing less than a bloodbath, littered with bodies. A slick scarlet was splattered up the wooden walls, occasionally oozing out little drips, to join the puddles that drenched the floor. It was as if a tidal wave from the red sea had washed through the ship. Kyle glanced down at the scars on his hands, then back up to watch the candlelight dance around the glistening corridor. It was almost beautiful, in a macabre sort of way.

Up the hall stood Craig, with her back to them, whispering to a small crowd of pirates. Kyle hoped they were not the only ones remaining. Shoulders hunched and heaving, fists clenched around both of her bottles. She was as blood soaked as everything else there, the bottom of her trousers seeping up more from the pool in which she stood.

"Craig?" whispered Tweek, stepping into the corridor. "Are you—"

Craig whirled around. Her face was set like stone, lip curled, a murderous gleam in her dark eyes. But then she caught sight of Tweek, and she crumbled. The bottles slipped from her grasp. "Tweek?" she murmured. "You're..."

They stood for a moment, frozen in place, staring as if it were the first time they had ever laid eyes on each other. Then, almost in unison, they launched from their places and charged towards each other, colliding into each other's arms.

"Oh, God!" gasped Craig, squeezing her as tight as she could. "You're—You're alive! I was so sure that—" She dissolved into a stream of Spanish, words tumbling far too quickly for Kyle to distinguish any meaning from them.

"Craig," wheezed Tweek, "this is all very sweet, but—I kind of need to breathe."

"Oh." Craig pulled back, and clutched Tweek's face in her hands, studying her for cuts and bruises. "Are you okay? Did anyone hurt you? If anyone laid a hand on you, I'll—"

"Kill them a second time?" Tweek put her hands on top of Craig's. "I'm in one piece. That's good enough for me. But you look... not so well put together." Her eyes dipped down Craig's clothes, which were a violent red.

"What?" Craig looked down. "Oh. No, this isn't my blood," she said casually, rolling her shoulders back.

"Not one drop of it?"

"Ha!" said Craig. "They couldn't have drawn it even if they had the chance to." Her eyes grew dark again. "And none of them got the chance to."

"Well then," said Tweek. "Good job."

"Thanks," snorted Craig. "I'm sure you did an excellent job yourself." She leant in and kissed her, hands still cupped around Tweek's cheeks. Tweek's shoulders tensed, then relaxed. Sliding her arms around Craig's waist, she let herself be pushed up against the wall, despite the bloodstains.

It was at this point Kyle realised he was not the only spectator. Pirates were gathering at each doorway along the hall, staring in silence. Neither Craig nor Tweek seemed to notice. It took Kyle clearing his throat, stepping out into the corridor, and clearing his throat again before they looked up.

"What?" said Tweek, irritated.

Kyle nodded to the surrounding crew. "You have an audience."

Craig glanced up and down the hall, one arm still around Tweek. "What are you lot looking at?" she snapped.

No one said anything. But no one looked away, either.

"Well?" she demanded.

"A net profit," said Bebe, after a beat of silence. Her face split into a grin. "I've just won about five different bets."