A/N: Alright, just to clear some thing up before we get to the real meat of this story, here's a list of character's ages. More of their ages will be added as the characters appear, ok? Ok.

Lovi - 22

Feli - 22

Artie - 25

Toni - 25

Ludwig - 23

Alfred - 24

Rebecca - 22

Yong Soo - 21

Piero - 58

Disclaimer: Hell naw!


Arc One, Chapter Six: Taken

"Get up!" a sailor yelled as he flipped Ludwig out of his bed. The entire cabin was up and hurrying about. The buzz was about them making landfall soon, and everything had to be ready to go. Thankfully Piero had been showing him other positions around the ship so he would be able to help out when needed, like now. After a quick stretch the German put his boots on and hurried along with the others up on deck. In the flurry of movement he saw Lovino giving out orders while Feliciano stood beside him, occasionally going off to help out at a station that was short on hands at the moment before he turned to his brother.

"Alright, so Feli'll stay behind with a most of the crewmates while the rest of us go out and explore. Mark out any suspicious areas you find, as well as gathering supplies here and there." Lovino instructed those that had been chosen to accompany him on the trek. Spotting Ludwig, he glared at him. "Potato, you're staying behind, got that?"

"Ja..." Ludwig stood towards the back, arms crossed. It's not like he didn't see that coming. The elder captian seemed to have it in for him for whatever reason.

Feliciano by this point seemed to be spacing out, barely even noticing when they dropped anchor next to a medium sized island, only snapping out of his daze when Lovino hit him upside the head.

"Oi. We're leaving."

"Ve? Oh, take care, Fratello. I'll be here when you get back~" The younger Vargas chirped, wrapping his arms around the other enthusiastically.

"Yeah, yeah... Don't do anything stupid, alright?" Lovino replied, sighing and returning his brother's hug. "Alright, let's go!" Boats were lowered into the water, and soon enough the men were on their way. Those left on the ship waved them off, and while they returned to their duties or to just longing around for the time being, Feliciano remained at the side of the ship, planning on watching the small boats until they had disappeared from view. Once that had happened, he busied himself once again by helping around the Scarlet Maiden, unaware that they were soon to have company.

A little while later, the Arcadia crept around the island. Alfred grinned when he saw the Scarlet Maiden's aft. "Artie, looks like they've made land... And left only a few behind with their ship. Shall I pull up to board?"

Arthur smiled, easily able to pick out the rich emerald green of Feliciano's coat even in the distance. "Be my guest," he purred, "But be sure to keep the Vargas boy alive, understand? Though, don't be afraid to hurt him if need be."

"I love when you talk like that..." Chills ran up the American's spine and he turned to their own crew. "Alright ya dogs! You heard the captain; prepare to board! Capture Vargas and bring him back alive! Do what you want to the others!" Alfred yelled, getting a cheer from the men on deck. Quickly they readied ropes, hooks, and weapons as the Arcadia pull up alongside the Maiden. There was scrambled movement from the other ship as everyone rushed to get ready for the impending attack. Feliciano hurried to find their medic, catching the Asian by the arm and giving him orders to go find Lovino and tell him what was happening.

"But Captain-!"

"Yong Soo, go!"

Yong Soo hesitated just a moment longer before taking off, going as fast as he could to alert the elder brother. A splash in the water alerted Feliciano that his orders had been followed and he turned back to the Arcadia, lip drawn in a sneer as his ship was being boarded.

"Lucky day for us, huh Feliciano?" Arthur called, goading the Italian. "Are you going to come peacefully?" The taunt worked as his target bristled.

"You wish, ve!"

"Suit yourself~"

As if a silent signal had been given, Arthur's men attacked, easily outnumbering the lightly manned ship. Metal on metal echoed through the area, startling local animals away from the pirates. Ludwig had gone and took up a sword while he had still had time, but when he returned he saw Feliciano surrounded. His eyes went cold and his face stern as he began to painfully fight his way to the young captain.

Said captain was trying his best to fend off the enemy crew, but a hard blow to the back of his head caused him to crumple, unmoving, to the floor. Roughly and without care for his injuries he was picked up and slung over a man's shoulder, the one carrying him making a hasty retreat with others flanking him in order to keep the Scarlet Maiden's crew from attacking him. Ludwig redoubled his efforts when Feliciano was taken, but froze when the other pirates, fed up of the Maiden's persistence, put a blade to the Italian's throat. "If you want him alive, I suggest you let us go."

Seeing that Ludwig was too distracted to defend himself at the moment, his current opponent decided to take advantage of the situation. Ludwig grit his teeth as he felt a kick to the back of his knee taking him down to the deck.

The one with Feliciano grinned and headed back to the Arcadia with their prize. Some of the others decided to beat the crap out of the Maiden crew as a 'lesson'. Kneeling, Ludwig took the beating never once crying out, merely grunting. It wasn't so bad until one of them kicked him under the chin and sent him flying back. Ok now that hurt. Thankfully he had his jaw clenched or else he just may of bit his tongue off.

Arthur had a cocky grin on his face as he watched his crew return with their prize, waving his hat at the defeated ship. "Pleasure doing business with you," he jeered. "Alright you blokes, let's go. Do what you like with him; doesn't matter to me as long as he stays alive."

~#~#~#~#~#~

Antonio was looking around a rock formation when he heard some yelling approaching. It wasn't clear at first, but he could tell it was Yong Soo crying out urgently... But once he made out what the Korean was saying... The first mate paled and looked over to where Lovino was. The Italian's face was the picture of horror as he abandoned the search, instead yelling out orders to get back to the Maiden as quickly as possible. The call went out, and anyone within earshot relayed the message and booked it back to the ship. The scene the crew was met with wasn't as bad as many feared. At least the Maiden was still afloat. It seemed the reason Arthur came for wasn't to see Scarlet go down, but something else. The ones left behind were slowly recovering from the severe beating they received. Lots of blood and bruising but thankfully nothing fatal, at least yet.

Slowly sitting up, Ludwig rubbed his jaw. It didn't feel broken, that was good. Standing up he looked out to the horizon, hoping to see the ship but no such luck. The German felt a volitile mixture of dissapointment in himself, anger towards the other pirates, and worry over how Feliciano was going to manage. His worries were short lived however as Lovino's voice cut across the ship, frantic and fearful.

"Feliciano? Feliciano? Goddammit, where are you?" This wasn't happening... This couldn't be happening. Abruptly he rounded on Ludwig, grabbing him by the front of his shirt and shaking him. "Where is he?" he snarled, his expression akin to a cornered animal searching desperately for a way out.

"They took him... put a sword to his throat if we tried anything..." he managed to tell the elder captain. "They had him swarmed..."

"You... You were supposed to protect him!" Lovino roared. "I trusted you to keep him safe, dammit!" The Italian looked like he was torn between gutting Ludwig right then and there or simply breaking down. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you right now..."

"I know!" Ludwig just about yelled as he grabbed Lovino by his own collar and lifted him so they were face to face. Having his face that close caused small pools of water to form in the corner of his eyes. Never before did he really look to see how much the two looked a like. Antonio's instinct was to go to Lovino's aid but he was stopped by Piero They both knew Lovino would be fine, and Ludwig more than likely. "You want a reason Kapitän? I'll get him back..." he said softly just between the two of them. "If not... you can kill me later..."

Lovino stared at him for a moment before nodding. "Al-alright," he whispered in reply, placing a hand over one of Ludwig's. "Do you know which direction they went in?" There were collective sighs of relief that no copious amounts blood would be spilled on the ship's floors, though they still remained wary.

"Nein..." Ludwig said, lowering Lovino and releasing the captain. The kick had set him reeling and he didn't get to see which way the enemy ship ran. Lovino swore, his gaze fanning out over all gathered.

"Did any of you see which way the Arcadia went?" he yelled. The Italian appeared to have calmed some from his initial frenzy, now starting to think straight.

There was a silent murmur across the deck. The other sailors were in the same boat as Ludwig, as they were too dazed to of seen. "A-aiy sir..." one sailor spoke up and limped forward, his one arm holding some fabric tight around his other, already stained red. "She came up on us from the aft and left by the same way..." he said tossing his head towards the back of the ship.

Lovino nodded. "Grazie... Yong Soo, get started on getting everyone bandaged up. We've got a lot of ground to cover..." He sighed, making his way to his quarters.

"Don't worry, da ze. You can count on me!"

He wasn't listening, however, and soon enough his door slammed shut behind him. The brunet made his way to his bed before collapsing onto it, burying his face in the sheets. "Dammit Feliciano... I can't leave you alone for one minute, can I?" he mused with a bitter chuckle. In reality he felt like crying, just as he had done that night so long ago... Suddenly the memories washed over him and Lovino bit back a sob at the memory of his parent's terrified faces as they told them to run and hide, followed by the sound of his mother's scream as a sickening thud sounded from where he had last seen them, only to be abruptly cut short. Then the voices speaking, and the next thing he knew the house was starting to fill with smoke while Feliciano clung to him and cried.

"Fr-fratello, I'm scared!" Feliciano whimpered. The two were around age seven and much too young to understand what was going on.

"Don't worry Feli, it's gonna be ok," Lovino soothed as he pulled his brother behind him. Thick black smoke hung above their heads as they headed for the front door, knowing that they needed to get out and that the house was on fire. "Mamma and papa are already waiting for us outside, you'll see." His response was a nod and a sniffle as they continued on, only to be confronted with more smoke that caused them to begin coughing and a wall of flame as they neared the entry way to the living room. There was no time to hesitate or consider finding another way out as part of their home's beam work crashed to the ground behind them, sending sparks into the air that singed their skin and spurred the two Italian twins onward.

However, the sight that awaited them was something that would haunt Lovino and his brother for the rest of their lives. Their father and mother were lying in a pool of their own blood as the fire raged around them, sightless eyes gazing at the two boys and mouths open to scream or yell, but nothing to ever issue from them again. Feliciano let out a wail of despair and tried to run to his mother, only to be held back by Lovino as more of their home fell to the ground, crushing the dead bodies beneath them and cutting off their only exit left.

"Feliciano, get down," Lovino commanded, pushing his twin to the ground and shielding him from the heat of the flames slowly encroaching upon them with his body. He could see tears streaming down Feliciano's face as he hovered over him, and Lovino knew that he was the same. "We're gonna be ok... D-don't cry, we'll be fine, si?" Lovino promised, and continued to promise even as his vision started going fuzzy from all the smoke he was inhaling. The last thing he remembered was praying to God to at least save his brother before he couldn't see anymore, couldn't hold out anymore, and before hearing his brother's desperate pleas for Lovino not to leave him.

When he had next awoken, his body was covered in bandages and it hurt to move all over. Abruptly Lovino had become aware that he could hear his two youngest siblings playing outside. Hadn't they been with his nonno? Turning his head, Lovino saw Feliciano laying in a bed much like his own. Apparently their grandfather had returned for a visit just in time to go and rescue the two boys from the flames after seeing the burning house, effectively saving their lives.

Lovino snapped out of the unpleasant memories, and sitting up, removed his shirt and boots before going to stand in front of the mirror with his back facing it. The Italian craned his neck around to stare at the scars from that night, much of his back having been burned by the flames while he took the brunt of them. It was a decision he'd never regret. Ever since then he'd made it his priority to keep Feliciano safe from harm, and now... He was gone.


Yup, so, a little background info on Feli and Lovino, and finally, FINALLY, we get to the plot. *throws a party* But yep, Artie's the bad guy here. Sorry fangirls.