A/N: I can't believe how close to the end this is. And it wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you guys, so thank you! It seems I gave you a much longer chapter this time. Guess it's because the ship is finally sinking. Also, even though it's kinda late to tell you, Danielle's name is pronounced dan-yell-la, just in case you didn't know.
"Come on," Arthur told Al.
"Where are we going?"
"To the lifeboats."
When they got there, there was already a large crowd.
Looking around, Arthur saw that they were mostly men. And whenever one of them tried to get on a boat, the porter stopped them.
"Women and children only!" He yelled.
Arthur's heart sank. With only women and children allowed, they would never see land again.
"Sirs," said a voice beside them. A crew member handed them two life vests. "It's wise if you put these on."
Despite how futile it would be for them to do so, they slipped the vests over their heads.
Al suddenly grabbed Arthur's hand, and started dragging him away from the boats.
"Where are we going now?" Arthur cried.
"Back to Francis' room," Al told him. "I have an idea."
At the suite, they saw that all three of them had put on their own vests, and were waiting inside.
"Francis," Al said. "How many dresses do you have left?"
"One," Francis said, pointing to the same dress that Ilona tried to destroy. "Why?"
"Shit," Al cursed, ignoring Francis' question.
He scooped the dress up, and looked at each individual in the room.
Finally, he shoved the dress in Arthur's arms.
"Put it on," He said. "'Women and children only'. I was hoping there'd be enough for all of us, but apparently there isn't."
"Why me?" Arthur asked.
"'Cause, as the hero, you're the only one I want to save," Al told him.
Arthur didn't feel like he was being saved. He felt like his heart was being torn away. But he put on the dress without any complaints. It would make Alfred feel better, and that's all he wanted.
While he was in the restroom, getting dressed, Francis approached Alfred.
"What do you mean by 'Women and children only'?" He asked.
"Those are the only people allowed on the lifeboats." Was his answer.
"Will someone button up the back?" Arthur asked, now out of the restroom.
While Danielle buttoned Arthur up, Francis went over to a trunk. From it, he pulled out a hat about the same color as Arthur's dress.
"Even if you're quite convincing wearing that dress, your hair would give you away." He said, putting it on Arthur's head.
"Thanks," The Brit muttered.
"If we can't go with them, we might as well see them off," Francis said.
He hooked Danielle's arm into his, and started for the lifeboats.
The others had no choice but to follow.
Back at the boats, they pushed their way through the crowds of men.
Danielle and Ilona were already in, and waiting for Arthur.
He turned towards Al.
"I won't get on without you," He said.
"Arthur,"
"No! I won't, I can't live without you!"
` "I promise you," Al started. "That I'll find another way off this ship."
"Hey," Francis barged in. Quietly, so the crowd couldn't hear him, he said, "Apparently, if there aren't any more women, they'll let men on on the other side."
"See," Al smiled.
Though his heart was still full of dread, Arthur kissed his lover, and boarded the lifeboat.
On it, he saw that the shop had tilted, for one of the ropes holding up the boats were uneven in order to keep the boat upright.
His heart jumped when he felt the boat go down. Looking around, he saw that it was less than half full.
How many people could be saved if they filled up the lifeboats?
Half-way down, Arthur heard a commotion above them. Looking up, he saw a black shape coming towards them.
The boat shook as it landed in the empty seat beside him.
Alfred received a glare from the porter, and the boat continued it's descent.
"You idiot!" Arthur cried. "What if you had missed?"
"But Artie," Al pouted. "I thought you'd be happy."
"You stupid git," He said, throwing his arms around his idiotic American. "Of course I'm happy. I thought I'd never see you again."
They held each other close as the boat hit the ocean.
"The idiot," Francis said as he watched Alfred leap off the edge.
"I guess that means it's just us now."
The two men ran towards the other side, until Michael went back into the ship.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Francis cried.
"Going back to my room."
Francis followed him. What choice did he have? He certainly couldn't leave him.
The door to the suite was wide open. Francis was going to warn Michael, tell him to wait, but the fool had already gone in.
From his place in the hall, he heard three gunshots.
Fear filled his every pore, as he raced towards the open door.
Inside, he saw two men, each holding a bag of stolen goods, and Michael collapsed on the ground.
Rage blinded him. He grabbed a nearby vase, and slammed it against the closest man's head, knocking him unconscious.
The other one managed to get past Francis into the hall. He was about to go after him, but Michael's weak voice stopped him.
"Francis," He whispered. "Please, stay."
"Michael," Francis said, kneeling beside him. "Don't speak. You'll just make things worse."
Of the three bullets, only two hit Michael, one in the stomach, the other near his heart. The third one happened to hit the mirror behind him, shattering the glass.
"In that desk," Michael said, ignoring Francis' advice, weakly pointing to a mahogany desk. "In the second drawer, there is a letter. Please, give that to Danielle."
Francis felt tears form in the corner of his eyes.
Then Michael Tidey closed his eyes for the last time.
Francis hurriedly searched the drawers, in the second one, he found a letter addressed to Danielle.
Stuffing it in his pocket, he ran towards the door.
"I'll see you at the pearly gates," He said as he passed Michael's lifeless body.
He barely made it to the lifeboats.
"Wait!" He called out, just as the boats were departing.
He scrambled over the railing, onto the boat.
On board, a terrible sadness filled his soul. Michael should be there with him.
But instead, he was wait at the bottom of the wide, cold ocean. Forever.
A/N: I hated killing off Michael, I really did, but I had no choice. The next chapter may or may not be up tomorrow. I'll try though.