Hope you enjoy the chapter. I worked hard on this one. I don't own Hetalia and never will.


Alice froze for a second as the man charged at her, sword at the ready. In the last second, she managed to avoid him. She stumbled back, falling back and knocking her head against the wooden deck. She started to force herself up, nausea starting to set in.

"Not now…" she muttered. Her green eyes found a crew member a few feet away from her, carrying a sword. Once on her feet, she realized Antonio was smirking at her, just waiting for her to get up. Somehow, the tables had turned and now he was toying with her.

She ran toward him, eyes blazing in anger. He immediately reacted by handing over the sword. She turned to face the Spaniard again, awkwardly holding onto the weapon. Her right hand hung uselessly at her side. Antonio charged again, and she met his blade with her own.

Her eyes bore into his over the metallic blades as each tried to overpower the other. Alice felt herself slipping back, and tried to plant herself more firmly. A particularly large crack of thunder sounded, making the other flinch slightly. Alice took her chance and pushed him back away from her.

"You can do it, Alice!" she heard over the din of the storm. Glancing over she saw all her mythical friends standing back against the railing. "Don't give up!" the fairy shouted at her.

Antonio obviously couldn't hear them. He stepped forward again, sword raised to cut the slightly distracted woman. Her eyes drifted back to him just in time to raise an arm to protect herself. The sword embedded itself into her already injured right arm. She didn't even cry out. She was beyond feeling the pain.

Her sword cut into his stomach. If it had been aimed better, it would have been fatal. However in her weakened state, using her non-dominant hand, it only injured him enough to make him take a few steps back. Alice knew to gain the upper hand again, she'd have to pick at his defenses one at a time and defend herself well enough against him. Her eyes searched the deck for anything that might help her.

Nothing jumped out to her, so she turned her focus back to the Spaniard in front of her. He had his hand pressed to the wound in his stomach, his face contorted in a mask of pain. For a moment, she thought she might have injured him more than she first realized.

"Damn you, Alice…" he muttered. His olive eyes shone through the pouring rain, rage igniting inside him. He adjusted the blade in his hand and ran at her once more. "Why can't you just die!?" he shouted in a fury.

The witch took a step back and ducked low under the blade, cutting her own into his left knee. He stumbled back and fell and she jumped onto him immediately. As he prepared to land a final blow through his chest, cool metal pressed into her neck. She froze, realizing if she moved she was dead. He must have realized the same, staying as still as a statue under her.

She retracted her blade as he did the same and she stood up. He pushed himself out from under her and forced himself up to his feet, clearly supporting all his weight on his right leg. She took the offensive and charged, aiming again at his stomach. He hobbled out of the way, moving back until he was pressed against the railing.

"You idiot!" Alice shouted, feeling triumph already. He couldn't fight with only one leg in proper working order. She could easily win this fight, even with most of her powers gone in the present moment. "You thought you could actually beat me! I'm the best pirate that traverses these waters."

"No!" he shouted back at her, voice weaker than before. He was obviously losing blood very fast from his stomach wound. "You're a coward who hides behind magic and sorcery, believing that makes you better. It doesn't. You're a witch, plain and simple, whether you're at sea or on land. And even if you win this fight, you'll be damned to hell by the God you turned your back on!"

Alice glared at him, eyes blazing with fury at his words. She'd never been religious, but this man had struck a chord somehow. Her heart beat frantically and she looked around the deck at the men of her crew. She realized that they weren't on her side anymore, and that terrified her. She'd been abandoned by them, just like by everyone else.

As Antonio's strength began to wane, he slipped down onto the deck. His olive eyes were still focused on her, even as the life started to flow from him. Alice could see him giving up. His head rolled onto his shoulder, the weeks in the brig starting to catch up to him.

"You can't die on me yet, Antonio!" she screamed at him. "I'll be the one to stop that senseless heart from beating another second!"

Her boots pounded down onto the wood as she ran towards him, sword positioned to plunge deep into his chest. Just as she would have made the final blow, he seemingly snapped back to life. He shoved his blade up through her stomach. It ripped through her body, emerging on the other side. Alice coughed, her body going limp as her life giving blood dripped down the blade and splattered onto the rich, mahogany deck. Antonio twisted the blade for good measure and Alice coughed again, blood coming up from her lungs.

Her blade clattered to the soggy deck as her eyes closed. Antonio grabbed a portion of her wet hair and pulled out the blade. He pulled her to the very edge and tossed her limp body into the ocean below. All around him, he heard gasps of surprise as the men of the crew rushed to look for her body in the churning waves. The dark water quickly swallowed her up and carried her down into the depths.

Antonio dropped the sword and walked to the center of the deck. As he did so, the rain ceased, as the last rumble of thunder was heard in the distance. One man followed him, tears leaking down his face. All the rest seemed to stunned to speak or move or breathe.

"Don't you see!" the man cried happily. "We're free! We're free from Alice! This man has saved us all!" he started clapping and cheering. Soon, the whole crew had joined in on his celebration.

Antonio glanced over. He was just overcome with a sense of relief. He felt like crying and he did so without shame. He looked up to the heavens where the clouds were parting and rays of afternoon sunshine started shining through the thick cover. "Thank you, Lord…" he whispered followed by another short prayer.

"Sir!" he heard and turned to the sound of the voice. It was the man who started the celebration. "We're forever in your debt! How can we repay you?"

The Spaniard sighed and shook his head. "I want nothing of you."

"Please, accept something. Alice has multitudes of gold in the hull of the ship. You could bring it back and be the richest man in your country."

Antonio thought for a moment, then shook his head. "I don't want her blood money. I can earn that myself. Take it. You have earned it."

"Then what can we do for you?"

Antonio smiled up at the sky, feeling true happiness for the first time in what seemed like forever. "I just want to go home." he said. The sounds of celebration escalated around him at the word. Home. For everyman on this deck, home had been a distant dream. Now, it could be reality for them.

The crew, with Antonio's help, quickly set the ship on a new course, to Spain. Antonio, now fed with his wounds bandaged, was declared the new captain. The Spaniard could feel the ecstatic charge in the air around him as the crew continued the celebration late into the night.

"It's over…" he whispered to himself. Relief fell over him and he joined in with the rambunctious men. Every man on board drank to his heart's content and enjoyed their first tastes of freedom.

Far away from the laughter and joy of the night, a body washed ashore on a deserted island. Wet blonde hair splayed out around her head, her coat of red hiding the stains from the battle she had been in. Covered in cuts and bruises, the still form laid undisturbed on the beach for the rest of the night. Just as the sun was breaking over the horizon, two glittering green eyes opened. One word rose to her parched lips. "Antonio."


Don't worry people! This is not the end! I'll be back with the next chapter soon. Okay, so please leave me a review. I sincerely thank everyone who has reviewed. It helps get me motivated to write. So review!