So this is it, the end of my first ever fan fiction. It took two years, a hell of a lot of writers block and now it's the end. I feel a little bit sad, but thank you to everyone who's read, reviewed, liked and followed. And especially to Dax, this one's dedicated just to you xxx

Two and a half years later

"Matthew Dogsdon, you have a visitor coming in one hour."

Matthew, opened his eyes and realised once again he had fallen asleep on one of his books. As he pushed The Brief History of the Universe aside, he blinked and sat up. The sunlight in his jail cell was streaming in, so he realised that once again he had missed the breakfast. This wasn't the first time, in truth it was almost an occupational hazard, which the Warden now recognised so would make up for later.

"Matthew are you up?" Came the Guard's voice again, in a voice that tried to be stern but clearly gave away that he was a parent, and didn't come off as being that serious.

"Yeah, I'm up. I'm up". As he got to his feet and made his way to the sink, careful not to trip up on any books or paper that were lying around. He had so much paper, he had been told that he was becoming a fire hazard and he had promised that he would send the books over to the general population…at some point.

Matthew, he mused out loud as he begun to wash, it still seemed strange that, that was his name, and even stranger, as his hand passed over the scar on his stomach, from the night that Karnage had shot him, that was the night he had been given back everything including his own name. When he had finally woke up, after a week in that pristine private Hospital, and was called his real name, he first was so medicated he told them they had got it wrong. He was Mad Dog, had been since he was sixteen. It was only when they produced his DNA evidence that convinced him otherwise.

He remembered the moment when he was first called "Mad Dog." It was during one of his first torture sessions, the moment he became the "Whipping boy" for six months. Being so young, and until that point practically hero worshipped the Captain, who had found him living in a squat and living off scraps, as he offered him a job and to be trained as a Pilot, and to his credit he was a natural in the air, the first few raids had gone perfectly, until someone had screwed up something, they had all got away empty handed and Matthew's life changed as he was whipped across his back in revenge.

Before he passed out on the deck, he remembered trying to speak, but it looked like he was foaming at the mouth "Like a Mad Dog". According to Karnage, who got the crew to join in on his laughter, as he woke up the next day with that as his name, and there was nothing he could do about it.

In the end, he learned the traditions, he would soon be bigger and a new one would take his place, in the end he begun to look forward to the new arrival, almost willing to Don to find him and in the end he, had no qualms about holding the next boy down, as the pattern repeated itself all over again, well until that boy had come on board.

Matthew had to do everything he could to survive, he knew he wasn't as strong, so he had to sly, crafty and this boy had shown more strength than he had ever could as he endured the beatings over and over again, as perhaps something like a conscience began to grow…and then Sally, proved to be the final straw. After he had been shot, Sally had been taken away and all they would tell him was that she was receiving treatment and would shortly be adopted, which pleased him greatly. That was the only thing he wanted for her, nothing more.

In the time he was in the hospital, he had told them everything, skipping no detail of his life as a Pirate and the crappy things he had done whilst he was charged for them all. He knew he had the option to plead innocent, but he had lost that luxury years before, if he ever really had it. In the end, due to his support in assisting in apprehending Karnage and protecting minors present on board, he was given an eight-year sentence to be spent in solitary conferment, to ensure both his safety and anyone with a grudge against Pirates.

Matthew didn't complain, but accepted the situation, deep down he felt that he deserved worse. Karnage had been sentenced to life in Jail with no possibility of parole, narrowly avoiding the electric chair, as Matthew was taken from the hospital straight to the clink, and almost felt nothing as the doors slammed shut behind him, It was a bare room, just a bed, table and sink. The only physical objects were the clothes he was given and the traditional Bible. The first few nights, he slept like a baby for the first time in perhaps years and took his hourly walks with the guards, in silence. But eventually everything gave way to boredom and he began to wish for a radio, even though he knew it would be refused.

In the end, he began leafing through the Bible, with it being the first book he had read since he was a child, and a few minutes later was getting the guards attention to ask what that word was, and a few minutes later it was the same question. After two days of this, which wasn't international but Matthew sincerely didn't understand the words, he woke up to find a copy of a children's bible and a dictionary on his cell floor which he begun to read. As he read the words, trying to make sense of what he was reading, it was on one of his walks with the guards when he speaking for the first time began to ask them about religion. One of them, the one that had given him the children's bible was the son of a Priest and happy to answer his questions, which led to more questions…then more.

In the end, as Matthew graduated onto the more advanced stuff, which took a few months and soon neither of them were certain who were enjoying the walks more. Naturally this actions was noted by the warden in his reports as Matthew begun to ask for more books to read, not just about religion but anything he could get hold off and in the end Matthew was taken from his cell one morning to be sat across a gentlemen, who looked vaguely familiar with a scar across his forehead

With the Guards next to him, in case he tried anything, which both of them knew wouldn't happen, as he introduced himself as Charles Adler and laid out new conditions of his sentence, after being contacted by an affluent and well respected member of society. Even though Matthew had asked for nothing in his time nor complained about anything, the powers that be had decided it would be beneficial for him to get his GED whilst in the prison system.

As soon as he heard the information, Matthew laughed for a good few minutes until the look on Adler's face made him realise that they were being serious. He was an Ex-Pirate, he had never gone to school... let alone graduate, but they weren't joking, and with no choice in the matter they got to work. The lessons were slow, Matthew was so new to words and basic concepts that he was sure that the three hour lessons, four times a week would eventually cause Adler to one day not bother to come in, but as the months went on, eventually it became easier and he began to get his head round the words and histories, to the point he begun to enjoy doing the homework, which occupied his evenings, as the little red marks that made up his mistakes began to decrease until he was soon pulling perfect grades.

For Matthew it felt like something was being tapped into his brain, and the fact that he was twenty-six and by his own admission thought he was too old to do something like this, was never an issue as his brain occasionally hurt for the information overload, but riveting as well as even trapped within the four walls, felt his mind transported elsewhere as he read the state suggested books and begun to want to read more to answer some of the questions he kept finding. Along with his new interest in religion, he would never consider himself religious, or consider himself "saved".

But there were questions, as with his tutor and the Wardens permissions begun to fire off letters to various religious groups to seek some answers on a deeper level, which he did at the same time, he sat in one of the interview rooms taking his final test to get his GED. His hands were shaking as he begun to fill in the questions, even though he found he knew a lot of the answers to them. The two-week wait for the results was torture but he tried not to think about it, already being told that if he failed he would re-take in a few months. When Adler passed the letter to him to open and as he read the words out loud, perhaps for the first time in his life he let the tears fall down his face as he announced that he had passed, and Adler hugged him the same way a proud father would, as about the same time he receive a letter from a Theology College in Cape Suzette, who had heard about him (he wondered who from, after reading that) and wondered if he would consider a scholarship placement on their correspondence course, to study religion and theology.

This one action amazed Matthew which he described to Adler, since for the first time in his life he had options, he had a chance to rebuild his life, something Adler understood as they were stepping out on one of Matthews walks, Adler had recently began to join him to "take some air", when he noticed the tutors wallet had dropped out of his pocket, and raced to retrieve it. Upon doing so, he noticed a small photograph falling out, which he picked up to pass back to Adler, and at his brief look at images noticed someone very familiar "Their my grandkids, I have four grandsons and a little granddaughter called Janna, my son's little girl". Passing the photographs back , Matthew could only respond with "You have a nice looking family", all the while thinking, that little Sally now looked so happy, and understood why she went under a different name now, and was coming to understand why Adler had been chosen to teach him.

As the months wore one, and Adler still his tutor since his course was proving difficult at times, especially when he was asked to write something about his life, this was something he didn't want to talk or even think about. He was determined to finish his sentence and do something with his life, but had no idea to revisit his past. It took some encouragement from Adler to convince him otherwise as he decided to write about his life with the Pirates and the realities of being one, eventually it led to more pages, then more and as he opened his soul to the reason and the crimes he had committed showing the realities and the harshness of his life, it felt cathartic, as if he was finally ridding himself of "Mad Dog" once and for all.

As he passed the paper over he thought no more of it, until he was contacted a few months later by a new guest, in a sharp business suit, who introduced himself as Alexander Dax from the Dax Publishing House, a name Matthew recognised from all the books he had read. By means unknown to Matthew, he had come into contact with the stories he had written and wanting to see if Matthew would consent to have them published in a book! Matthew was amazed by this news, to have gone from a weasel who could barely read to being a published author, he didn't know what to say…but as Dax informed him his words could dissuade anyone from living the life he had, to destroy the romance Pirates had, then he was happy to do so.

Each one required a major edit, of course, it would have to be anonymous and he felt guilt as he changed the name and age of Kit, without changing what had happened to him. Of course he had to play down his connection in stopping the Captain, instead casting himself into one of the random Pirates on the ship, but as the first copy was sent to him, and he was told that any money that was made would be put in an account for him, for when he left Jail. So he had education and means, it was a new concept for Matthew who some days didn't believe the path he had travelled down, even if he was trapped within four walls.

The true icing on the cake for him though occurred the moment he was two years into his sentence and he was leaning against the cell bars having a chat with his guard, as the keeper of the keys had to step away, dropping his newspaper on the floor. One of the rules was that he was denied press, but as he looked at the paper a temptation stirred in him, and he grabbed the paper to read it quickly, it was the Cape Suzette local rag and it was mainly rubbish, until he came to the school information page and his jaw just dropped as he read the article at rapid speed.

"The School Districts Soccer Championships took a surprise turn, last week following a stunning hat-trick scored in the final twenty minutes by Cape Suzette Elementary Captain, Kit von Bruinwald. Managing to rally his team, he managed to fight back at the last minute to claim the trophy and lead his team to victory. At the presentation fourteen year old Kit, was humble and credited every member of the team for the win. A resident of Cape Suzette, Kit was cheered on by his parents Baloo and Rebecca and little sister Molly."

There was a picture of Kit, totally exhausted by the effort on the shoulder of his teammates as he lifted the trophy in the air, in the background he could just make out Baloo with a slim woman next to him clapping, as he quickly threw the paper back, as he heard the guard returning, but couldn't stop the smile off his face "Good for you Kit, good for you"

Coming out of his memories, as he sat by the edge of his bed waiting for whoever it was who was coming to visit him, he was contemplating getting lost in one of his books as the guard came to the door, and he was quickly ushered into one of the interview rooms where the Warden stood and as it was introduced Chief of Police.

Taking a seat, the details were laid out clearly. Don Karnage had managed to escape, they had no idea how but suspected he had help on the outside and the Flying Vulture which should have been sold for scrap was stolen from the Police Lockup, which was something on a strange level managed to impress Matthew, but he was clueless to see what that had to do with him, something he voiced aloud to the men.

"The thing is, he's been breaking his old crew out of the various jails. So far he extracted Will, Dump Truck and we are convinced that you are next on the list."

"So you want to move me to a different jail? Well, it will take me a while to pack!"

"No, we want you to go with him, to become Mad Dog again for a while, to become our spy in the sky. Send us word if he's planning anything; make sure his child recruiting process doesn't start again. The small stuff, we have no issues with, but the bigger picture we need to know. We will teach you the coded messages to use and your sentences will be halved if you agree.. There are some individuals who will know, of this action including the von Bruinwald family, since they have a knack of running into the Pirates, but they've assured us they will not break the cover in anyway."

Mad Dog thought about it for a minute, where he was, he was actually happy. But he was still a Pilot and he had missed the skies, and least he could do some good even if reverting to Mad Dog for a while would be difficult as he found himself nodding "So when do I start?"

Three weeks later, the sirens of the Jail rang out as Matthew was sitting quietly as a hole was blasted through his wall and the figure of Don Karnage appeared in the smoke. Matthew wasn't bothered by his appearance, knowing it was all facade and deep down he was weak and pathetic, as almost effortlessly as he had been trained Matthew disappeared and he would for a while, and Mad Dog came back to life. "Ahh, my useless Mad Dog" The Captain had lost none of his charms…are you ready to come back to the skies we love…yes…no?"

Matthew swallowed a smirk, as he said in his weasel toadying bootlicking Mad Dog voice "Captain, thank you I've been waiting for this day". As he grabbed the bag, he had packed weeks earlier and followed the Captain through the hole. This was a role he wasn't going to play forever, but for a sentence it was one he could handle.

The end

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