A/N: Beware! Mushy, gushy, sappy, cliche romance scenes ahead! Proceed at own risk!

Also, mild violence. 'Cuz, ya know, pirates? (BTW I don't claim to be able to write good combat scenes, but I tried my best.)

Enjoy!


The deck was in chaos. Sword clashed against swords. Pistols long abandoned lay scattered across the two ships. All that could be heard was the clanging of metal to metal and blow to blow.

Berwald was going fist-to-cuffs with Ludwig but the Swede was fighting a losing battle. Tino tried to help him by shooting bolts from his crossbow, but it wasn't doing much good. Ludwig spent all his spare time sparring with anyone who would fight with him and it always paid off. Berwald, on the other hand, hated violence and only fought when he had to protect Tino and Peter.

Their battle was over quickly. Ludwig sent a punch to Berwald's face, breaking his nose. His glasses skittered across the deck and out of reach. Tino immediately dropped his crossbow and ran to his lover's side. He swung Berwald's arm over his shoulder and half carried the larger man to the side of the ship.

Ludwig, having defeated his opponent, decided to aid his brother. Gilbert was fighting both Mathias and Lukas all by himself. Even though the albino had only a sword and Mathias, a battle axe, and Lukas, combat knives, he was holding his own.

Ludwig pulled out his own set of knives and attacked Lukas. What Ludwig didn't anticipate though, was being so tired after his fight with Berwald. The Swede had landed several good blows before his defeat and Ludwig was starting to feel them. But the German couldn't back out now.

Lukas quickly noticed the other's lack of energy and used that to his advantage. He wasn't as tired since Mathias had been taking the brunt of Gilbert's attacks. The Norwegian threw himself into the battle. He easily discovered Ludwig's lack of experience in knife wielding and it was only after a few more strikes before the German was defeated.

Tino quickly dashed up and tied the man's hands behind his back.

On the other side of the deck, Ludwig's unexpected charge distracted Gilbert and threw off his timing. Where he should have blocked, he thrusted, leaving him open to an attack from Mathias. The Dane took it. He swung his axe and managed to cut the albino before he spun away.

Gilbert was now wounded and much of his energy drained with the blood pouring out of his side. Axes cut deep and their wounds were incredibly deadly. Gilbert fell to his knees gripping his side.

He nearly passed out but there were arms picking him up and taking him away. He felt hands pressing against the wound, stemming the flow of blood. Someone demanded he stay awake and forced him to drink some alcohol. Suddenly, there was a sharp pain near the wound.

Gilbert cracked his eyes open to see Tino and Lukas stitching him up. They were trying to save his life.

Lukas pulled the needle and thread through his skin, sewing the wound shut. Gilbert closed his eyes again and gritted his teeth through the pain. It was over soon enough and then they were wrapping his middle in gauze.

Tino told him he could sleep and Gilbert gladly passed out. The five men talked amongst themselves quietly and eventually decided to send Mathias and Lukas below decks to search for the captain's family.

Back on the other side of the ship, Kiku and Yao were sword fighting with the skill garnered from years of experience. Kiku wielded his katana with practiced ease. He swung it at Yao and the Chinese narrowly missed losing a hand. Yao responded with a attack at Kiku's stomach, but it was blocked by the other's katana once more.

They repeated this cycle over and over, but aiming for different body parts each time. They nicked each other several times but none bad enough to warrant medical attention.

However, the real battle was between Arthur and Antonio. The two pirates fought as if their lives depended on it. Which, technically, they were. Antonio knew Arthur would kill him as soon as he got the chance and Arthur knew if he lost Antonio would end his family.

Man would bleed rubies before either pirate allowed for those outcomes.

Not a word was exchanged as they fought. There was no need. They could read each other's moves. Each parry was met and each blow was countered. They moved across the deck in a dance of sharpened steel and potential death.

Antonio forced Arthur backward and then Arthur was forcing him backwards. They were in a never ending cycle of combat that neither could win.

A stalemate.

That was until Antonio stepped backwards and onto Berwald's fallen glasses. The combination of glass and wet wood was not good for the Spaniard's balance and he fell on his rear.

Arthur raised his sword to deliver the finishing blow. He was livid. This scum would die for taking the things he loved. No one touched Arthur's family and lived. It was unforgivable.

Antonio had never been more scared in his life. This wasn't how it was supposed to end. He was meant to be the victor. He knew this was a possible outcome when he began this venture, but he never thought it would actually happen. But he put on his best glare.

Arthur was so mad he forgot the promise he had his crew make. The promise that not a single death would take place. That his children would not see a corpse. He was ready to kill Carriedo for his actions. However, he froze when a sharp cry came from his left.

"NO!"


Matthew and Francis stared at the planks above them in hope and fear. Hope because they knew Father was up there fighting for them. Fear of what would happen if he lost.

As the ship groaned at the fighting above their heads, the Italian brothers bickered. Feliciano want to go topside but Lovino refused.

"Antonio hates it when we're up there during battle. And you'd just distract the potato bastard anyway," Lovino spoke as if they had this same conversation a hundred times before, which they had.

"But-"

"He'd just end up getting dead trying to protect you."

That shut Feli up fast. If there was one thing he couldn't tolerate it was others getting hurt on his account. There was a few moments of tense silence before the small italian began wailing once more.

"I can't take it, ve~!" he cried, heading for the stair that lead above decks.

But before he had taken even two steps, the hatch swung open and light poured into the dimly lit brig.

Two unfamiliar men stepped down. Feli backed up fast and Lovino pulled him behind him protectively and drew his sword. The newcomers brought their weapons up as well when they spotted the Italian brothers.

"Y-You're part of Kirkland's crew?" Lovi asked shakily.

"Where are Francis, Matthew, and Alfred?" one of them demanded.

Matthew eyes lit up when he heard the men ask for them.

"Over here!" cried Francis. He crushed Matthew closer to his chest in relief.

"Lukas," commanded the tall one. "Get them out. I'll deal with the Italian."

Lukas nodded and made short work of the lock on their cell. He held open the barred door. Francis clutched Matthew's hand as if he was afraid to lose him and Matthew squeezed back just as tightly.

The other man, who was quickly introduced as Mathias, had already subdued Lovino. He held the angier Italian's arms behind his back and Feliciano seemed to just go along with whatever the Dane said so all was good.

"Let's get you to the Captain," Mathias said with a cheery smile. "Lukas, if you please."

The Norwegian rolled his eyes, but led the party up and out of the brig.

Matthew squinted and shielded his eyes from the blinding glare of the sun. His eyes weren't used to so much light after spending so much time below decks. His jaw dropped at the scene before him.

And so did Lovino's.

"NO!" the Italian screamed. He ripped himself out of Mathias' grip and threw himself between Antonio and Arthur's sword.

The Englishman barely halted his sword in time. "Who in the devil are you?"

Antonio blinked. His proud face fell away to reveal one of terror and horror. "Lovino?" he whispered in shock. "What are you doing?"

The Italian ignored him. "Please. Don't, Mr. Kirkland," he pleaded quietly. No one had ever heard Lovino so meek.

Arthur made no move to lower his sword and Francis decided that now would be a good time to step in.

"Arthur? Mon bijou?" he said quietly.

The English pirate blinked recognizing the voice. "Francis?" Arthur turned and there his husband stood. His sword clattered to the deck as he raced to embrace his lover.

Francis and Matthew met him halfway. The two men fell into each other's arms. They sank to their knees and Francis pulled Matthew into the hug. They stayed there for a whole minute, simply basking in the presence of their loved ones.

Arthur was the first to pull away. He heard the violent clashing of swords and glanced around the deck for the origin of the noise.

Yao was still fighting Kiku.

"Carriedo!" Arthur shouted. He beckoned to the fight. "Call off your man!"

In a second, the Spaniard's grimace was back. He was about to call the opposite, but Lovino elbowed him. Antonio took one glance at his Italian's fearful face and decided against annoying Kirkland further.

"Honda," he called dejectedly. The Japanese man didn't hear him. Lovi frowned at him and Antonio sighed. This time he shouted, guaranteed to get his attention. "Honda! Yield!"

Kiku looked at him, confusion written on his otherwise expressionless face. The man quickly realized what had happened and nodded his understanding. He took a step back and raised his hands in surrender.

Yao quickly took him captive. He brought him over to where the rest of Antonio's crew sat, tied up and bound.

Arthur turned his attention back to his family. He scanned them with his eyes. He was looking for any signs of abuse, mistreatment, or any excuse to make Carriedo walk the plank.

Their clothing was in tatters. Arthur was glad he had made spares during those six weeks. They were also rather thin. Or at least Matthew was. Francis actually had some muscle. Arthur wondered how that had happened. The Frenchman's abilities were all mental and he hated physical labor. He had worked as a navigator on his last ship, not a deckhand. Francis also had a heavy tan. Another sign of outdoor labor.

Matthew, on the other hand, was as pale as a ghost. Arthur crouched down to get a better look at his son. The boy was blinking rapidly and squinting. It seemed like his eyes had somehow been damaged. Arthur snarled at the thought. Matthew flinched.

Arthur's eyes widen as he realized that he scared his son. He reached out and cupped Matthew's face. "I'm sorry, Matthew. Are your eyes okay?"

Matthew looked down at his feet. "I dunno. It's really bright. And faraway is a little blurry."

Arthur nodded. He would have to get the boy glasses. "What about you, Alfred?"

There was no response.

Arthur's eyebrows crinkled as he looked about the deck. There was no sign of the energetic blonde. He looked up at Francis. The corners of the Frenchman's eyes held tears.

"Francis?" he asked, panic leaking into his voice. "Where's Alfred?"

The tears slipped from his eyes as he shook his head.

Arthur's breaths began coming in short. "Where's Alfred? Francis?! Where is he?"

"You'll never find him," cackled Antonio.

Arthur had nearly forgotten about the pirate in his assessment of his family. The Spaniard and both Italians had been bound and placed with the rest of the captured crew men. Carriedo wore a victorious smirk and Arthur felt his rage boil over again.

The Englishman stood and marched over to the bane of his existence. He whipped out his second sword and pointed it at Carriedo's throat. It pressed against his Adam's apple.

"Tell me what you did with my son," he demanded, voice cold as ice.

Antonio sneered. "Never."

Arthur pressed the tip in further and a small bead of blood pooled at the contact. "You will. Now, where-"

"Ve~! I'll tell!" came a panicked squeal.

Ludwig panickedly shushed him. "Feliciano, stop talking."

"No. Continue, Feliciano," Arthur said, the threat obvious in his tone.

The Italian let out a confused whimper.

"Let's make a deal," Ludwig sighed.

Arthur sneered. "I honestly don't think you have anything to offer me."

"Just hear me out," the German asked. Kirkland cocked an eyebrow but did not speak, so Ludwig continued. "I will tell you where your boy is and," Ludwig took a deep breath. He was taking a big risk here. "I will show you where Captain Carriedo has hidden all his treasure."

Shocked and horrified gasps came from all the assembled men.

"Traidor!" shouted Antonio, enraged.

"Shut up!" demanded Arthur. He turned back to Ludwig. "And what do you want in return?"

The German took another deep breath. This would be the hardest thing to convince Kirkland of. "I would like you to allow Kiku, Lovino, Feliciano, my younger brother, Gilbert, and myself to join your crew. If they want to, of course."

Arthur frowned at the other half of the bargain. "There's really no reason for me to trust any of you and I'm not sure if I want to allow so many potential threats aboard my ship. I could take just you though."

Ludwig felt his hopes drop. He shook his head. He refused to leave any of his crew mates, especially Feliciano, behind. Antonio was a terrible captain. His form of leadership meant twisting others around his fingers to get them to do what he wanted. Antonio controlled Lovino, who controlled Feli. Ludwig would do anything for the small Italian so he was captive to Antonio's whims, and Gilbert was trapped by Ludwig's commitment. The only person Ludwig couldn't give a reason to was Kiku. The man followed his orders without complaint - no matter how much he was against them.

Not to mention the fact that they were all against this from the start. Kidnapping rich businessmen was one thing… But children? And for revenge no less? Antonio had gone too far.

"Anyone who wants to come must be allowed aboard," he insisted.

Francis came up and placed a hand on his husband's shoulder. "Come, mon bijou, think about this." He pulled Arthur away from the captive crew.

"I am thinking, Francis," Arthur sighed.

"Then you know that this deal is a good one and you should accept."

Arthur rubbed his face tiredly. "Francis-"

He pulled the pirate into a tight hug. "Arthur, he didn't ask you to house Carriedo. Just him and the rest of the crew. Isn't that worth Alfred's life?"

Arthur could tell Francis was desperately trying to keep himself from falling apart. The Frenchman continued, "I haven't seen him in two weeks and the only thing we could get out of them was that they didn't kill Alfred themselves. We won't find him without their help."

Arthur nodded, defeated. "Our only problem then is finding room for them all on the ship."

Francis let a small smile curl the edges of his lips at Arthur's attempt at humor. "I'm sure we can find space. We'll probably have to fit two to a room though," he teased playfully.

Arthur rolled his eyes and frowned at him, but the effect was ruined by the light dusting of pink that colored the pirate captain's cheeks at the implications. It was quickly wiped away, however, when Arthur smirked and came up with his own clever retort.

"I think we'll have to sleep three to a room, love. I don't believe all these treacherous pirates would be a good influence on little Matthew, now would they?"

Francis's eyes widen as he realized he was no longer holding onto to the amethyst-eyed twin. He spun around in panic. "Matthieu? Matthieu?! Matth-"

A tug came from the hem of his shirt. Francis looked down to see Matthew standing there, brows furrowed in confusion.

"What's wrong, Papa?" the little boy asked.

Francis sighed in relief. "Sacre bleu! Don't run off like that! There are dangerous men here and-"

"But, Papa," Matthew looked up at him, concern and confusion still evident in his voice, "I've been right here the whole time."

Francis blinked in surprise and Arthur snorted.

"Ah, oui. You are right," he said, thoroughly cowed.

Arthur composed himself. A plan was already forming in his mind. He straightened his coat and tri-cornered hat and slipped back into pirate-mode. "Francis, hold on to Matthew. I need to discuss things with Yao and the rest of my crew. If you'd like you can take him to my cabin on the other ship. Tino can show you the way."

Francis nodded and dragged an awed Matthew away from the new, intimidating version of his father.

"Yao. Matthias. Lukas," Arthur barked. The three rushed to his side. "Yao, I need you to make a list of all the supplies we have aboard the ship. You two. Take inventory of all the supplies on this ship. I need to know if we have enough food to get us back to Europe."

Yao's eyes widened. "You're accepting his deal, aru?"

Arthur nodded curtly. "Yes. Now, do as I asked. I need to see how many are going to be joining us."

The crewmen scurried off to their respective tasks and Arthur marched over to the group of captive pirates. He smiled when he saw someone - probably Tino - had the foresight to gag Carriedo. It gave him great satisfaction to see the Spaniard so pathetic and helpless. The poor thing was glaring at him, desperately holding onto one last scrap of pride.

Arthur simply slid his gaze over him and to the true reason he was over here once more.

He stared down at the German. "Mister…"

"Beilschmidt."

"Mr. Beilschmidt, I accept your proposal. With all conditions intact. Anyone who wants to take advantage of this offer, speak now."

The Japanese man spoke quietly. "I would gladly join your crew, Mr. Kirkland."

"That's 'captain' then," said Arthur cocking an eyebrow.

"My brother is fortunately unconscious," Ludwig interjected quickly. "But he will be coming with me."

Arthur nodded in acceptance. "Anyone else?"

Kiku and Ludwig turned to the Italians.

"I'm not leaving Antonio, you traitorous bastards!" Lovino sneered.

Ludwig shrugged. That was the expected response. He turned to the other Italian. "Feli…?" he prompted.

Feliciano was torn. Torn between loyalty and love. Torn between Ludwig and Lovino. Torn between his brother and the man he cared for more than anything.

It should have been a simple decision, really.

But it wasn't. It wasn't anywhere near that simple. Lovino wanted to stay with Antonio - he was smitten even if he wouldn't admit it. Not to mention that he had no idea what Kirkland was planning on doing with Antonio. Feli couldn't leave his brother.

But he could abandon Ludwig either. Without Ludwig, Feli would be dead ten times over. The German was his savior and protector and made him feel safer than he ever thought he could. He would never survive without Ludwig.

Feli glanced up at the German and then at Lovino. His expression was shaped with worry. That alone shook Ludwig to the core. Never had he seen Feli look like that.

"W-What about Lovi, ve~?" the Italian asked timidly.

Kirkland was about to respond when a hand landed on the Englishman's shoulder. Feli quickly recognized the owner as Francis. The blue-eyed man smile happily at him and spoke.

"Well, Feliciano, Arthur here will be taking them back to Europe and be dropping them off at the first port we reach. Won't you, mon bijou?"

Arthur looked taken aback by the statement, but one look at Feliciano's hopeful gaze and his will to fight crumbled. "Alright," he sighed. "But they're staying in the brig."


Translations:

mon bijou - my jewel

Traidor - Traitor


A/N: And BOOM! Chapter 4 out a day early! (Bam! Take that, crappy schedule!)

Anywho, Arthur is Francis' jewel. It fits perfectly within the contents of this fic, if I do say so myself.

Well, you'll finally get to discover what happened to poor Alfred next chapter!

Thanks for reading! Don't forget to comment!