"America!"

Lithuania bolted up in his bed, startled awake by the realness of his nightmare. But, of course, his nightmare was real. The precious admiral of the SS Hero had been captured by pirates. No one expected it to happen – what, with all America's talk about how heroes never lose to pirates – but that didn't stop it. Now all Lithuania could do was hope that America was still alive.

He could only hope.

~0~0~0~

Man, I'm so hungry!

America's stomach growled insistently, urging for food that he couldn't get. Why couldn't he get it? Because he was tied to a stupid chair. Stupid, stupid chair. Standing in the way of me and food.

Or, to be more specific, he was tied to a chair under the deck of a pirate ship. He had to admit, however, that the ship was a lot… well, cleaner than he had expected it to be. Although, admiring the polished floors didn't take his mind off his hunger.

He tried to call out for England, but the gag tied around his mouth muffled any attempts. I sure hope they bring me some food soon. Starving to death would be so unheroic.

~0~0~0~

England hadn't expected the run-in with the admiral's ship, and he certainly didn't expect the headache that came along with dealing with the man. The pirate had tried to question him, but all he really got was that his name was America, he was convinced he was some kind of hero, he hated pirates, and that England would be "so sorry once he got out". They let this idiot become an admiral? The standards must be really low these days.

No matter.

It wouldn't do to let him starve, since he was their only leverage if his men came back. Not that England doubted his own crew; it was just that his own ship had taken enough damage as it was, both from the battle and the storm.

~0~0~0~

After ten minutes of trying, America finally got the gag off of his mouth just enough to yell, "England! I'm hungry, is there any food?"

A few seconds later the door opened and an irritated looking England walked in. "Shouldn't you be more worried about escaping than stuffing yourself? After all, it must be so unheroic to be captured by pirates," the captain asked, emphasizing the word 'unheroic' mockingly.

"Starving to death would be even more unheroic!" America complained. "And I can't escape on an empty stomach!"

"Fine." England sighed. "I'll–"

"England!"

England didn't get to finish his sentence as Prussia burst through the door. Again, he sighed, angered at being interrupted. "What is it, Prussia?"

"The awesome me spotted a ship coming, with its flag raised in a request to board the ship." Seeing America's hopeful expression, Prussia added, smirking, "And it's not the hero ship."

The admiral's face fell. So it wasn't his men… Too bad. It would've been heroic for them to come save him – not as heroic as America, but pretty dang close – but he supposed his ship would need repairs before they could launch their Rescue Mission.

There was a commotion on the upper deck, and America could only assume that it was the other ship boarding. Silence reigned for a minute before a cheery voice called out. "Ah! Yes, I just came to visit. England wouldn't happen to be on board, would he? It'd be helpful if you could tell me where he is."

~0~0~0~

"Hola, capitan de Inglaterra!" the man greeted as he entered the room, having been given directions by another crew member. "Long time no see, ah?"

"Spain," England recognized. Prussia nodded in greeting.

America looked the newcomer over, eternally confused. He has curly, dark brown hair and bright green eyes, and the admiral wondered if he too were a pirate. What else would make sense, considering? Although, this guy was way different than America had ever imagined pirates as being. He was too… friendly looking.

"I still don't see why we had to come. It still seems like a complete waste of time," another voice said, the owner of it coming in after Spain.

Spain looked back at the new-newcomer. (How many people were there?) "Now, Romano, don't be so pessimistic. There's nothing wrong with visiting amigos, si?"

Romano, too, hardly looked anything like a pirate. In fact, he hardly seemed of age, with reddish-brown hair that had one stubborn curl in it, tempered golden eyes, and a build scrawnier than England's. Granted, Romano was taller…

"He does have a point, though," England cut in before Romano could say anything. "Not that it isn't nice to see you, Spain, but why are you here?"

~0~0~0~

"Comment allez-vous, Lithuania? You seem down."

Lithuania sighed. They had just gotten the ship back to the base when France greeted him. How was Lithuania supposed to break the news that America had been captured by pirates? He dreaded the very thought. How Canada would react to the news was beyond him, considering it was America's little brother.

"A-America… he…" the informant tried to find the right words, "he's not…"

France blinked, thankfully smart enough to catch on. "He's gone? Merde… Where is he?" Lithuania didn't respond. "He's not dead, is he?"

This time, the younger man shook his head. "N-no, he's not… I don't think… at least…"

"Pirates?" France guessed. They always were an issue.

Now someone just had to break it to Canada.

~0~0~0~

"So, I thought you might be in trouble, England, but you seem to be managing things well," Spain explained. "Although, your ship is a bit battered up. Is that from your run-in with," he glanced at America, "The Hero?"

America couldn't ask if Spain meant him or his ship, as England had stuffed the cloth back into his mouth. Other than that, this was the first time any of them have acknowledged him in the slightest, and America found that it was really annoying. After all, heroes weren't supposed to be ignored. Totally unheroic.

Not that anyone else seemed to care.

Spain had evidently been not that far away when America and England fought, and a merchant ship had informed him of the cannon fire and whatnot after the storm had passed. So here he was, checking up on his friend. America didn't know that pirates even had friends.

Then again, by now, nothing should have been surprising to him.

"Unfortunately." England sighed. "However, I do have someone that'll help repair the ship, so that's not much of a problem. And I do believe that we should be arriving soon."

"Switzerland?" Spain mused. "He does owe you a favor, si? His island's only about half a day's sailing from where we are, isn't it?"

England nodded. "Yes, it is."

"Awesome!" Prussia yawned and stretched.

Today isn't a good day, America thought, stomach still growling. But wait…. If we're stopping, then this could be my big chance to escape!