A/N: Hooray for clichés! xD

Title: Lost at Sea
Summary: Matt left to hunt treasure across the sea and his ship is late coming in.
Rating: T
Warnings: Language
Genre: Angst, romance, friendship
Pairings: MattxNatalie, mild AnnaxLance
World: Post EBF4


Matt clung to the wide piece of flotsam he had snagged when the ship had broken apart. He coughed cold water out of his lungs and squeezed his eyes shut against the stinging ocean spray. Winds tore at the caps of massive waves and swells and lightening crackled through the boiling clouds. Matt clung tighter and prayed that none of the waves would crash over him.

"I should have listened when Lance, Anna, and Natalie said not to go on a ship in the spring," the swordsman thought. He wondered if he would ever get a chance to hear them say they had told him so, or if he was going to drown out here. "So close to shore, too. At least they're safe on land," Matt thought.

He braced himself for a long and terrifying night, and prayed that it wouldn't be his last.

OOOOOO

Natalie sat on the edge of the dock, blue eyes fixed on the distant horizon line. The sea breeze tossed her orange hair and red dress. Seabirds called overhead and waves crashed against breakers and the shore. The mage heard Anna and Lance come up from behind, but didn't turn around. They all came out here each day to wait and hope.

Matt had decided to go on a voyage, following a map to some buried treasure. They had tried to persuade him to wait until summer, when the seas were calmer, but the swordsman had been too excited. He had left immediately and alone after a heated argument. They hadn't even gone to see him off. That had been a month ago and they missed him a lot, even Lance admitted it wasn't the same without the cheerful blonde around. His ship had been due to come in three days ago, but it never arrived. Each of them hoped that it had merely gone off course, or had been delayed, or maybe he'd had to catch a different ship home. Anything was better than what they feared was the case.

Lance glanced at Anna, his face somber. He and the ranger had just been to talk with the harbor master about the ship their friend would be coming in on. The news hadn't been good, and now they needed to tell Natalie. Anna shrugged with downcast eyes, and the gunner heaved a sigh. He swallowed and took a deep breath.

"Natalie?" Lance finally said in a quiet voice. The mage nodded, but didn't turn around. The gunner went on just as softly, "The harbor master said some flotsam washed up last night. We're positive that it's from the ship Matt was supposed to be on."

The mage stiffened and shook her head. "He's fine. He is. Matt wouldn't drown, I know it. It was from a different ship," she said with stubborn defiance.

Lance exchanged a glance with Anna.

The ranger stepped forward and knelt beside Natalie. "They- they found this skewered on a plank," Anna whispered. She set a familiar hat down on Natalie's lap.

Natalie stared down at Matt's Captain Hat. The feather was gone and there was a hole through it, but she couldn't claim that it was someone else's; it had the poor stitching of Matt's name on the edge she herself had done. Tears welled up in Natalie's eyes and she hugged the hat to her chest.

"B-but he c-can't be g-gone," Natalie sniffled. She shook her head and squeezed her eyes shut, forcing the tears down her cheeks, "I-I didn't get to t-tell h-him that I l-love him. I didn't e-even get to s-say g-goodbye. A-and the l-last th-things I s-said t-to him were s-so mean." She burst into sobs.

Lance crouched down beside her and wrapped an arm around the mage's shaking shoulders. "I know," he whispered, a shimmer of unshed tears in his own eyes as he stared at the clear, blue water. His voice fell even further, "We all did the same thing."

Anna had tears running down her own face as she stared across the ocean. She wondered if Matt had died thinking they were still mad at him. The ranger hugged herself as a sob burst from her throat, and turned her head away from the sea.

They stayed there for the longest time, mourning the loss of their friend, and regretting that the last things they had said to him were the products of a fight. The sun was setting when Lance finally wiped his sleeve across his eyes and stood up. He held a hand out to Natalie and pulled her to her feet. He observed the lost look in her eyes with a sense of helplessness, Matt's hat clutched in her arms. He hooked an arm around her shoulders and guided her away from the dock with Anna close on the mage's other side. The uncaring ocean continued to roll against the shore behind them.

The next day, they headed for an abandoned peninsula jutting out just over the water of a small cove. Lance set a large, irregularly-shaped rock down with a grunt and stood back. His eyes swept across the piece of wilderness they had chosen as Matt's memorial. They had decided that Matt wouldn't have wanted his grave to be in some stuffy tomb next to Whitefall, but out in the wild he had spent so much of his life exploring. This was about as out of the way as one could get; they'd had to hike through Lankyroot to reach it, and the sharp rocks at the cove's entrance would prevent boats from sailing in.

Anna stood beside Natalie, but stayed back as the mage came forward and placed Matt's hat down in front of the stone. She set another rock on top of it to keep it from blowing away. Natalie sat back on her legs with tears in her eyes, staring at the marker. Anna came up beside her next, and set down a small bundle of wildflowers. Finally, Lance came forward with a small knife. After a moment's hesitation, he carved the words, 'R.I.P. Matt, a brave and beloved hero' into the stone. He sat back with a shuddering breath.

"Goodbye and rest well, Matt. Wherever you end up, I hope they have a lot of food and fights for you. Thanks for stopping me all those years ago, and for being such a great friend. I wish we'd had more time, and I'm sorry we didn't try harder to stop you." Lance said in a soft voice.

Anna spoke next, her voice barely more than a whisper, "You were one of my best friends, Matt. I wish you hadn't gone on that ship more than ever, but you did. I'm sorry I'll never see you again, and I'm also sorry for yelling at you before you left. Thank you for helping me stop Godcat, and thank you for being such an awesome friend and adventure buddy."

There were a few seconds of silence, but finally, Natalie spoke up in a small and trembling voice—the first words she had spoken since the day before, "Goodbye, Matt. I'm sorry for yelling at you and I wish you were still here. Thank you for the awesome years of adventuring, I'll miss you, your sense of humor, your strength. I never told you this, but I love you. I always have and always will love you. I-I'll do my best to be strong, even with you gone."

Anna hugged Natalie as the mage burst into sobs. Lance ran a hand over her head and down to rub her back. Finally, Anna pulled Natalie up and began to lead her away. She paused when Lance remained sitting there. The two women looked back, but Lance waved them off.

"I'll catch up to you in a bit," the gunner said. He watched as they hesitated, but nodded and left. Lance turned his eyes to the marker.

"You dumb, bastard," Lance seethed. "How dare you go and drown? We're going to miss you, you jerk." The gunner's shoulders slumped, "Why didn't you listen to us? Why didn't you just wait? I guess you wouldn't have been you if you had, though. I know you loved Natalie, too, even if you never grew a pair and told her. She's going to miss you most of all, you know. I promise Anna and I will keep an eye on her for you, so don't worry about that, okay?"

With that, Lance turned and walked away, heading after Anna and Natalie.

OOOOOO

Something was fluttering nearby. Matt slightly raised his cheek from where it had been pressed against the wood. He cracked his eyes open against the film of salt that coated the lids in time to see a seagull fly off. He stared after the bird, watching enviously as it soared away. The swordsman lifted himself further up with a groan, ignoring the hungry complaints his stomach made. He'd been adrift for nearly five days now, carefully rationing the water he had in his canteen.

"I'm so glad I still had a full canteen in my Adventure Pouch," he croaked to himself. "Now if only I had a motor boat." He gave a dry laugh and added, "While I'm wishing I might as well ask for a GPS and a chunk of roast chicken. Maybe that gull will come back and I can eat it."

Suddenly, the swordsman's head jerked up to stare at the bird overhead, heart lifting as a second bird swooped into view. "Birds mean land, right?" he realized with a flash of hope. He twisted his head around, and squinted against the glare of the sun off the water. He scanned the horizon and gasped as he spotted a dark smudge in the distance. Immediately, he began kicking to drive the piece of wood he was resting on forward, eyes fixed on the dark smudge.

Slowly, so slowly, the dark smudge grew closer, and Matt recognized it as the cliffs at the edge of Lankyroot. He gave a tired grin and kicked harder until a thought occurred to him and he slowed down for a short rest. He chewed on his dry lower lip, eyeing the cliff. If he just swam up to it, he'd likely get dashed against the rocks, but they extended for several miles in either direction. The swordsman glanced back as a stronger and colder-than-normal breeze swept over him. His eyes widened as he spotted dark clouds on the horizon.

"Great, why now?" he muttered.

Matt turned his head forwards again and kicked out as strongly as possible. He'd never be able to hold onto the piece of wood through another storm. The swordsman decided he'd have to risk the cliffs. Better a possibility of survival with the cliffs, than near-certain death at the hands of another storm. He mused that maybe he could scramble up the cliff. He still had his swords, after all; he could wedge them into the stone for hand-holds.

The wind grew stronger and the waves grew rougher. Matt used them to propel himself more quickly towards the cliffs, avoiding thinking about the force they'd add to his impact with the stone. He kept his eyes firmly fixed on the stone as it began to loom overhead. He frowned as he spotted a small break in the cliff wall, signaling a cove. He eyed the jagged spires at its mouth, but changed course for it anyway. Rain began to fall as he drew even closer to his goal.

A few dozen feet away from the spires, Matt dove off the plank and began swimming for the cove. He heard a splintering crash as the piece of wood shattered on the stone. He fought against the tides as they pulled him back and forth. Water frothed around the stones as he swam through them. He gritted his teeth as one scraped his leg and the resulting cut burned from the saltwater.

Finally, he was through and in the relatively calm waters of the cove. Matt panted as he swam the last few yards to the sandy shore. He struggled to his feet, slipping as the water receding from a wave dragged at his legs. The swordsman staggered above the tide-line, limping on his wounded leg. He reached safety and collapsed onto his side on the sand, heavily panting.

"Made it," he breathed with immense relief. His eyes slowly slipped shut, despite the rain pouring down, and he passed out.

OOOOOO

Lance furiously grumbled as NoLegs appeared out of nowhere, loudly meowing. He snatched the cat up and took him outside. Anna anxiously checked where Natalie was sleeping on her bed in Greenwood Village, but the mage remained asleep.

"We just got Natalie to sleep for the first time in days, you damn cat," the gunner snarled, throwing NoLegs down on the grass.

The cat sprang up and bit the leg of Lance's pants and tugged. The gunner growled and shook his leg free of the cat's jaws. NoLegs merely bounced a short ways away, frantically meowing. Lance rolled his eyes with a sigh. He held up one finger and poked his head back inside.

"The furball wants me to follow him, can you keep an eye on Natz?" he whispered.

Anna nodded and waved him off.

Lance shut the door again and turned to the cat, "Lead on, furball."

NoLegs led Lance through the village, headed for Lankyroot. Water dripped off of branches from a recent storm, but the sky was mostly clear and starry. The gunner grumbled as he followed the cat into the wilds of Lankyroot, but made no move to stop or turn around. They walked in silence, trying to avoid any prowling monsters. NoLegs confidently led Lance deeper, heading directly north. Lance finally froze when he heard waves, and realized where the cat was leading him.

"Look, I know Matt is dead," Lance said in a shaky voice. He frowned when NoLegs merely shook his furry head and pushed out of the tree line.

The gunner swallowed and followed. His eyes welcomed the change from the dark jungle to the better-lit area of Matt's grave. A cloud covered the moon, but Lance could clearly see the marker of Matt's grave and the damp hat in front of it. He wondered what NoLegs wanted him to see. To his confusion, the cat headed past the marker and vanished over a dune on the beach. Lance followed the cat onto the beach and froze.

The cat was standing next to a dark lump, lying still in the sand. The moon came out from behind the clouds and illuminated long, wet, blond hair and tattered clothing. Lance's jaw dropped and he dashed forwards, slipping on the sand in his haste. He skidded to a halt beside the figure, spraying wet sand everywhere, and rolled it over. The gunner hardly dared to believe it was true. His eyes widened as they fell on Matt's face. Sand crusted one side, and he was thinner than before, but it was definitely the swordsman. And he was breathing. Lance lightly shook the unconscious swordsman, trying to wake him up. His heart soared when Matt let out a groan.

Blue eyes flickered open to blankly stare up at Lance. Matt blinked a few times before his eyes widened and his face split in an exhausted smile. His smile faded some when Lance wiped the back of his hand across his eyes. "Hey, sorry I'm late. I'd also like to say you guys were right: sailing in the spring is a bad idea," he croaked with a small grin.

Despite himself, Lance laughed, "I'm going to punch you later, but for now, let's get you back to Greenwood." He stood up and held a hand out for the swordsman to grasp.

Matt nodded and accepted the hand his friend offered. He staggered to his feet and nearly fell back down as his injured leg gave out. Lance caught him under the arm and helped Matt sling it over his shoulder. With a grunt, Lance heaved his friend up, one hand gripping Matt's wrist the other hooked in the belt of his pants, and began to slowly lead him back to Greenwood. NoLegs bounded alongside them, purring. They traveled in silence for a while until Lance quietly spoke.

"The others will be stunned to see you and Natalie will be ecstatic. She isn't doing so well," the gunner murmured.

Matt jerked his head around to stare at the side of his friend's face, "What? Is she sick or hurt?"

Lance shook his head, "She thinks you're dead. Until the furball brought me to you, we all thought so." He turned a glare on his friend, "If you so much as try to get on another ship, I will break both of your legs, by the way."

The swordsman flinched, "You guys thought I died, huh? Can't say I blame you, I thought I was going to die several times."

The gunner turned to face forwards again with a nod, "Had a small service, said some words, cried, and everything. You actually washed up right next to the grave we set up for you." He snorted and complained, "They're going to think the furball and I are necromancers now. Thanks."

Matt gave a rasping laugh, "I think the lack of a body being buried would debunk that theory."

Feeling the swordsman slump further, Lance paused to adjust his grip and hitch his friend up further. He stepped out again, as quickly as Matt was able to go. They were only halfway back to Greenwood, and being in the middle of Lankyroot at night was dangerous; especially alone with only a badly weakened party member and a cat for backup. A pair of slimes dropped down out of the trees and the gunner stopped with a sigh. Carefully, he lowered Matt to sit down with an order to stay still and silent while NoLegs slashed at the two monsters. Lance loaded two bullets into his gunblade and took the two now-weakened monsters down with a Double Shot; the two gunshots ringing through the trees.

Turning back to help his friend up again, Lance froze at a loud crashing sound in the trees, headed straight towards them. He spun around, raising his gunblade and stepping in front of Matt defensively. NoLegs puffed up with a hiss, but settled down a split second later. Natalie and Anna lunged out of the leaves, weapons in hand. The gunner grinned at them, only to flinch when Natalie stepped forwards and smacked him.

"What are you doing all the way out here, alone?" the mage spat, tears in her eyes. "I just lost Matt; I don't want to lose you, too."

The gunner rubbed his sore cheek. Despite the pain, he smiled, "Actually, the furball brought me out here to pick Matt up."

Anna frowned, thinking Lance had gone cuckoo "Matt's dead, Lance. Please tell me you haven't snapped?" Her frown deepened when the gunner merely rolled his eyes with a small laugh.

Natalie hissed, "This isn't funny, Lance!"

"It wasn't really supposed to be," Lance said with a smirk.

The gunner ducked another slap and stepped aside to reveal Matt leaning against a tree. Natalie and Anna froze, staring at the swordsman. Matt had fallen asleep against the trunk at some point. As they stared at him, his head rolled to one side with a small mumble, tangled blond hair falling across his face. Natalie covered her mouth as tears welled in her eyes. She lunged forwards and tackled Matt with a hug. The sudden motion jerked Matt awake with a hoarse cry of surprise. Anna laughed and joined the mage in hugging the swordsman.

"Uh, hi," Matt said. He glanced between the two and then up at Lance. "Are we in Greenwood already? Can I have some food? Maybe get a Heal for my leg?"

Anna weakly punched the swordsman's chest, "You-you-you ass! We thought you were dead, dead! The ship you were on sank, for Godcat's sake! How did you survive? Actually, you know what? I don't care. I'm so glad to see you!"

Matt snorted at the rapid shift from anger, to disbelief, then to happiness. He awkwardly patted the ranger's back and she pulled away to go hug Lance. The gunner spluttered in embarrassment and confusion at the sudden affection. He finally relaxed a little and hesitantly returned the hug, though the look on his face clearly showed he had no idea why Anna was hugging him. Matt grinned up at him before turning his attention to the mage still draped over him.

Natalie buried her face in Matt's chest, still crying. She hugged Matt tighter, relishing in his warmth and steady heartbeat. Both things reassured her that the swordsman was alive. Finally, she pulled back with a sniffle to beam at his baffled face. The mage raised her staff. With a flash of white light, the cut on Matt's leg vanished, and she smiled at his sigh of relief.

Matt grinned and opened his mouth to thank Natalie only to have the words vanish from his mind, along with all other thought. The mage had dropped her staff and lunged forward to kiss him full on the mouth. Matt stiffened in surprise, but relaxed after a few seconds to return the kiss. Both were oblivious to the identical smirks they were getting from Lance and Anna. Natalie pulled away and met Matt's eyes with her own sparkling.

"I thought I had missed my chance before. I'm not going to make the same mistake twice," Natalie said in a quiet, but firm voice. She smiled and said, "I love you, Matt. I've loved you for a long time, now."

A brilliant flush rose on Matt's cheeks as he stared at the mage in disbelief. He opened his mouth to reply, but shut it again a moment later.

"Now would be a good time to tell her the same," Lance stage-whispered. Anna let out a small snicker of agreement.

Matt glared sideways at them, but had to agree. He turned his eyes back to Natalie who was watching him with hopeful eyes. He raised one hand to rub the back of his head and quietly said, "I love you too, Natalie. I'm sorry for scaring you so badly." He gave a crooked grin and shot Lance a wicked look, "You can thank Lance for the second chance, by the way. he has some impressive Necro-voodoo." He took immense satisfaction in the splutter Lance gave. Vengeance was sweet.

"Hey! I just found you on the beach. If anyone here is a necromancer it's the furball!" Lance protested.

"Meow?"

Anna eyed the gunner with mock-concern, "I didn't realize you're a necromancer, Lance. Going to try zombies instead of robots for your next attempt at world conquest?"

Lance choked and glared at her, "No! Rotting, dead bodies are gross! Why would I want to resurrect one, much less an army of them?"

"I'm not hearing any denial that you could," the ranger said with a grin. She laughed at the aggravated sigh Lance released, and gave him another hug. "It's okay, I'll still follow you," she consoled him.

Natalie burst out laughing at the light blush that spread on Lance's face. She turned back to Matt and said, "I don't care how you got back, Matt. I'm just glad you're here."

Matt grinned, "Same here. So can I get some food? And a bed? And maybe some beer?"

Lance rolled his eyes, but stepped forwards to haul Matt up again. "You're lucky I'm tired and want to sleep," he muttered.

Natalie walked close on the swordsman's other side and Anna stepped up next to Lance. NoLegs bounced a little ways ahead of them, purring loudly. Together, the five reunited friends made their way to Greenwood Village.


A/N: I'm supposed to be working on the next chapters for 'Retribution' and 'The Long Road Home' as well as another one-shot (for Thanksgiving), but this idea jumped out at me and I had to write it. I hope you all liked it. Leave me a review!