pirate king (pirate!au) ➵ ateez ✔️

amputate

warnings: contains some gore

The deck is sheer chaos.

All you hear are the frantic footsteps pounding across the deck as the crew race to sail as fast as possible, the sounds of the cannons being loaded, Mingi's sharp commands and Yunho screaming orders to trim the sails from above. Still crushed to Wooyoung's chest, you tap him on the shoulder and he looks down at you, eyes brimming with concern.

"Just let me down somewhere, I'll-"

"Wooyoung! Some of the halyards of the fore topsail has gotten caught, I need you to come with me and free it." Yunho lands lightly next to the two of you, face unnaturally drawn with worry and flushed from exertion. "Chin Hae, are you alright?"

You manage a smile for him, though your legs both feel like they're on fire and you're missing a hand. "As alright as we're going to get in this situation. Wooyoung, go with him, I'll be fine on my own."

He looks doubtful, but relinquishes his grip on you slightly. "You sure?"

"Yeah."

With a sigh, he sets you down and you nearly stagger, biting your lip at the pain that shoots through your legs. Even Yunho looks concerned, reaching out to steady you by the shoulder. "This is definitely not okay. We should take you to the-"

"You have more important things to worry about than a sprained ankle, now shoo!" You push the two of them lightly towards the forecastle deck. "I'm not an invalid, I can get myself to the infirmary on my own. Now go!"

With a final look back, Wooyoung and Yunho take off running for the masts, while you turn around and make your way towards the infirmary, gritting your teeth with each step. However, before you can so much as pass the main mast, the entire ship heels - and you're thrown across the deck.

Your feet practically fly out from under you, and you go rolling like a log across the main deck, arms wrapped instinctively around your head to protect it. Fortunately, you're lucky enough to crash into a pile of netting used for storage, and for a second, you simply sit there, tangled in the rope and your head ringing.

Shouts of panic and cries of pain fill the air, Mingi's bellows interspersed somewhere in between. You can't think straight.

What on earth just-

Yanking the netting out of the way as you stumble to your feet, you glance over at the port side of the ship - and your mouth falls open when you discover the cause of all this mess.

Another pirate ship, one that had been docked beside you, is pulling up right next to the Treasure. An awful scraping sound fills your ears as the hulls of both ships grate against each other, and the entire of the Treasure shudders at the contact. You very nearly fall over again as the deck quivers beneath your feet, but clutch onto the side of the ship for balance.

"Chin Hae!" You hear Jongho shout and whip around to see the young battlemaster dashing towards you. You step forward to meet him, one hand on the main mast to hold steady as the ship groans. "What the hell is that other ship doing-"

Right before you can answer, a dark shape flies between the two of you, so fast that you could mistake it for a trick of light. But no trick of light could cause the awful cracking sound right next to your head, nor the scent of gunpowder so sharp in your nose.

"Attach the hooks!" You hear shouting from the crew of the other ship, and your eyes widen when you see them swarming over towards the bulwarks, throwing long grappling hooks over to the Treasure and pulling taut.

"Chin Hae, get your head down!" The younger man is next to you in an instant and in before you can so much as blink, another musket shot whizzes across your head. You stare at him, wide eyed. "What is happening?"