"Tell me, Conrad, what do you know about a young man called Arthur Kirkland?" Captain Joseph Lumbard stood on the deck of his ship, the Golden Sailor, smoking a cigar in his hand. Lumbard was an extremely tall man with a bit of a gut, but was well-dressed, thin brown hair on top of his head.

His best mate grit his teeth before he answered. "He's a young fellow, no older than maybe twenty three. The boy's a legend; apparently he hasn't aged ever since he was first seen sailing these seas ten years ago. No one knows how old he is for real."

"Isn't he British as well?"

"Yes Captain. And he calls his ship the Britannia Angel."

Lumbard went silent, pulling the cigar out of his mouth.

"Captain…?"

"We find that ship, and we take the captain hostage. I'm pretty certain that little pirate is something more than most people think."

"Yes, sir. I'll call everyone to stations at once."

Lumbard turned away, and took a long drag on his cigar. All he had to do was get the brat pirate in his grasp, and then HE, Joseph Lumbard, would be the pirate king. He could even rival God…!

Arthur's laughter echoed over the deck as he and James clung to each other to avoid falling over from laughing too hard. "Captain, ha-ha! I-I can't believe the entire ship bloody serenaded you! HA!"

"You started it, you git!" Arthur replied with a laugh. "And you lot call yourselves pirates…"

Indy came running up to the two of them as the rest of the crew began to go back to their duties.

"Captain Kirkland! Ship ahoy to starboard!"

"Already? Has anyone identified it?"

"Yes, sir, a British flagship."

"Then there's no need to attack it," Arthur replied. He went back to his quarters, shutting the French double doors behind him. He dropped into the ornately carved chair behind his desk, and pulled over a chart. Now about that one island…

"CAPTAIN!"

Arthur looked up, startled. "What is it now?" He asked James, who wore a slightly panicked look on his face.

"I just heard from the man up in the crow's nest. That British flagship just pulled up the Jolly Roger!"

"Call the men to arms, and I want half the cannons on each side loaded, am I understood James?"

"Yes, sir. Are you going to do your normal uh, thing before battle Captain?"

"Yes, now hurry!"

James ran off, yelling out Arthur's orders. Arthur stood up, not even bothering to pull on one of his coats. Sure they were fancy and all, but the weather was much nicer now that it was late morning. He snatched up the same black hat from earlier that morning, and checked to make sure his pistols were fully loaded. With that, he strode from the cabin and out onto the deck.

"Hoist the Jolly Roger! Let's see who these men are," Arthur said, eyes alight. He knelt down to the deck's floor to do his usual ritual. He had a feeling that today was going to be rather interesting indeed.

Lumbard held a spyglass up to his face, and peered through it carefully. He saw many men out on the deck, but he saw the one with the hat. Pale skinned, a little on the short side, lean frame. A nice looking young man overall. Too bad the little thing would be thrown into the brig.

"Bring it on, Britannia." He murmured to himself. Lumbard grinned, revealing his rotten yellow teeth. "I've got you now!"

The two ships sailed right up to each, yet neither captain ordered for a barrage. Instead of waiting for Arthur to extend an invitation to come aboard, Lumbard attempted to force his way onto the Britannia Angel. Arthur motioned to his men to let Lumbard and some of his men by, ignoring the ill manners.

Lumbard extended his hand to Arthur, noting that there were no calluses on Arthur's hands. But his grip was firm, and Lumbard liked that.

"The Britannia Angel, eh? Named it after a fairytale?"

"Yes," Arthur stated. "I was told about the angel as a child."

"Why don't you come on over to my ship and have a drink? I've got plenty of alcohol, and I'm sure there's plenty to talk about."

Arthur saw the coldness in Lumbard's eyes, saw how they were watching him, calculating his every move. "Alright," he said. "But you never gave me your name, nor have I given you mine. I'm Arthur Kirkland."

"Arthur Kirkland? As in the pirate lord? The emerald-eyed master of the seas? Oh, but you're so young!"

Arthur knew that Lumbard was overdoing it. He wanted something, that much was clear, and he was feigning surprise so as to flatter Arthur. The atmosphere aboard the Britannia Angel was getting tense, the crew sensing Lombard's intentions.

"I'm Joseph Lumbard," The captain said quickly, as if he were rushed. No, it was more like he was anticipating something. He seemed too eager, and Arthur could feel it. "Now, let's go have a drink, there are some things I want to discuss with you…"

Arthur handed Indy his hat before Lumbard gripped his shoulder in a somewhat possessive grip, steering him onto the Golden Sailor. James gave a glance to some of the other crewmen, observing them. He could tell that they were barely containing their complete disgust.

"That bastard's touching the captain!" One of them hissed. James gave a slight nod to acknowledge the statement. Why were all of Lumbard's men heading back to their own ship, and in such a hurry?

"James!" He turned to face one of the taller men, George. "I think I know why they're leavin' the ship."

"Why? I'm sure they're probably just more comfortable with their own ship."

"Really, then why are they moving like they're trying to take off?"

James turned and gasped as he saw that the two ships were about to disconnect.

"THE CAPTAIN!"

James yelled for someone to take the helm as the Golden Sailor began to take off. He had a plan; catch up to the ship, take back the captain, pillage a bit, shoot the ship. He was silently praying that hopefully Captain Kirkland wouldn't be too angry that his crew let him get kidnapped so easily.

Aboard the Golden Sailor, Arthur realized what had happened after he felt the ship begin to move. Yet, he wasn't exactly surprised, but was slightly angry with himself for not staying on his own ship.

Lumbard looked rather gleeful. "I've got you now. I am the new pirate king!"

Joseph Lumbard wasn't expecting Arthur to simply roll his eyes at him.

"Oh, yeah, sure you are," Arthur said scathingly in his most sarcastic tone. "What else are you, a fool?"

"I think you were the one that got fooled here, Captain Kirkland…or can I call you Britannia?"

That took Arthur aback. Oh, God, the man KNEW that he had powers. Did he know about personified nations too? Either way, the man would have to die if he carried this knowledge around with him.

"You bastard," Arthur hissed.

"Take him away," Lumbard ordered casually. Arthur, on the other hand, wasn't going to stand for this. As a crewman moved to grab him, Arthur stood and flashed out his blade, striking the man a blow across the chest diagonally. He was about to turn to swing at Lumbard when he heard the click of a gun being cocked.

"Drop your sword, Britannia." Arthur knew he had to obey; he couldn't risk this man seeing his quick healing abilities. He dropped his sword and sheath, Lumbard grinning as he picked them both up carefully with one hand.

"This is a lovely blade. I think I might just keep it for myself." With that, Arthur felt himself be dragged away unceremoniously down to the brig. He was going to beat the Hell out of this fool!

Many of the Golden Sailor's crew gaggled at Arthur like he was some exotic creature that had never been seen before. Yet Arthur maintained his composure and walked with a certain sense of pride.

It wasn't long before they reached the brig, Lumbard shoving the British nation inside, locking the metal grilled doors behind him. "A caged angel," Lumbard sneered. "Sit tight, Britannia. I'll come and see you later."

As Arthur watched Lumbard stride away, he couldn't stop the cruel little smile that formed. The poor fool was going die. Arthur gripped one of the metal bars, and it began to melt.

Captain Lumbard gazed out as he saw the Britannia Angel continue to get awfully close to his ship. Who knew anything so large could be so fast? He fingered the sword that now lay at his hip. All Joseph would need now was the ship, and he would have a complete set.

"Sir! The prisoner has escaped!"

Lumbard turned, shock apparent in his face as the color drained away. How…? No one answered his question as he felt a blow to his kidney. Ugh!

The sword was ripped from his hip, and Lumbard turned to see Arthur standing there, the sword and sheath now around his own waist. This guy was fast! Suddenly, the ship's deck began to rattle violently as cannons fired.

"Return fire!" Lumbard screeched. He pulled his sword on Arthur, who pulled his own, and they began to duel. Swing there; dodge there, And DISARM! The sword went flying from Lumbard's grip as it landed in the sea, lost beneath the waves. Joseph went for his pistol, only to find that it was gone. He looked up, finding the barrel of it in his face.

"You idiot. Only I am the lord of all pirates!" There was a bang, and Joseph Lumbard was no more.

Arthur flung the pistol away, and sheathed his sword. He saw that some of his men were looting the ship. He couldn't help but approve, after all the crap he'd gone through that day.

He jumped back over to his own ship, and came up behind James who was shouting orders.

"FIND THE CAPTAIN! HE'S THE PRIORITY HERE! MOVE IT!"

"I'm right here, James."

The entire ship went deathly silent as the crew all turned to stare at their captain, who was smiling like nothing had ever happened.

"Captain! I-we, uh, please don't be angry that we let you get kidnapped." James said quickly.

Arthur shook his head. "The fault wasn't yours, it was my lapse in judgment."

The Golden Sailor exploded in the background, but no one seemed to notice as they continued to gawk at their captain. It took a moment before the cheers started all around, and Arthur's smile widened.

It would be a few days until something else crazy happened, but at least when Arthur was bad, he was perfectly good at it.