Disclaimer: All Characters belong to their original owners.
Author's Note: I am Handicapped with Aspergers, Dyslexia, OCD, ADHD and a whole lot more so please bare that in mind if my spelling is off. I use spell checker. I also have a slight mental disability so please excuse any mistakes. I do the best I can with writing these stories and trying to post chapters. Also, I am a very sick person so there will be periods where I don't update. But ALL my stories will be updated eventually.
Also, when I come up with a story idea, I can't stop myself from writing it down and posting it. I literally can't sleep to I have written it down. So that is why there are so many stories.
At the moment I am having problems with my brain chemistry and it is hard to write for my older stories even through I know where they are going. So please, please hang on in there. I haven't abandoned ANY of my stories. But with my brain chemistry problem and my Mum's deteriorating health everything has been crazy.
Happy 31st Birthday too me! Also, Happy 57th Birthday to my Dad!
Enjoy!
Introduction
While on a mission D'Artagnan goes missing. Everyone including his brothers think he is dead. But a chance encounter with four different members of the Musketeers leads the brothers to be reunited. Can Athos, Aramis and Porthos protect the man they see as a younger brother from those that still want to hurt him? Hurt D'Artagnan…Mentions of Torture…
Chapter 1: Lost To Them
It was only meant to be a simple mission. A mission that was not meant to be life threatening or needed more than one person.
Oh, how wrong Captain Treville had been. If only he had listened to his gut feeling and the looks on his Inseparables faces when he said that the man they saw as a younger brother would be going on a solo mission.
It was only meant to be a short mission to deliver a message a week away and D'Artagnan was meant to be back between 2 and 2 and a half weeks.
But he never came back.
Athos, Aramis and Porthos were dispatched to look for their missing brother. Well, they insisted on going to search for him. They looked and talked to everyone in the area about D'Artagnan but nobody seemed to have seen him since after he dropped the message off. And his horse and gear were nowhere to be found.
They were persisted but there was nothing to be found. They looked high and they looked low.
When they were called back to the garrison, they protested not wanting to lose anytime in searching for him.
Captain Treville looked at his now four, he winced thinking that and corrected his internal mistake, his three best Musketeers and saw how rough they looked. It was obvious they hadn't been sleeping well or really taking care of themselves. He could plainly see the guilt, pain, fear and exhaustion in their faces and body language. And what was worse was the obvious defeat he could feel radiating off of them and he was sure they didn't know that or didn't want to admit it to themselves that, that was what they were feeling.
This made it harder for him to tell them that D'Artagnan's fate seemed to be. After being missing 6 weeks there was little hope of discovered D'Artagnan alive.
"Do you have anything to report?" Captain Treville asks even though he knew the answer.
"No Sir. There is no sign of him", Aramis replies quietly.
"It is like he has vanished into thin air", Porthos adds just as quietly.
Which everyone could tell you was unusual for him.
Athos doesn't comment but you could see on his face clearly that he was defeated.
"Do we know if he left the town?" Captain Treville asks them.
"He did", Athos replies quietly.
"But nothing after that", Aramis adds.
Captain Treville sighs and looks like the weight of the world was on his shoulders.
"Why did you call us here?" Athos asks them.
"We should still be out there searching for him!" Porthos exclaims.
"How about a drink?" Captain Treville asks them opening up his liquid cabinet and pulling out his best bottle of wine.
These men were going to need it and so would he.
"Sir your stalling", Aramis states quietly with a feeling of dread stirring deep in his soul.
"Just get on with it", Athos growls from his place looking out the window no in the mood for whatever Treville was going to say.
"I am sorry men but the search for D'Artagnan is now being called off", Captain Treville tells them waiting for the explosion.
And an explosion is what he got. Aramis and Porthos jump out of their seats in fury, their seats flying backwards with a loud bang and Athos spinning around from the window his hand on his sword. Like he was going to draw it and challenge Treville right then and there.
"NO, WE ARE NOT GIVING UP ON HIM!" Porthos yells dark fury in his eyes.
"YOU CAN'T DO THIS!" Aramis yells his eyes narrowing dangerously.
"We can't give up on our brother", Athos growls his eyes flashing dangerously, not willing to give up on his protégée and surrogate little brother…
(Line Break)
(Athos)
Athos didn't want to fail another brother. He already failed Thomas. He didn't protect Thomas. He didn't want to fail D'Artagnan. He didn't want to fail in protecting D'Artagnan. Who had filled the void he didn't know he had. He was one of his best friends besides being another brother to him. He didn't know what he would do if he gave up hope of finding him alive or if at all.
D'Artagnan had bought life back to him. He bought purpose, joy and fun back to him when he thought he was unable to feel any of those things. D'Artagnan never judged him for his past and had kept all his secrets. He had been there to drag him out of taverns and made sure he got home safely and, in the time, he had been with them Athos didn't drink nearly as much as he had done before.
And he had spent many nights talking with the Gascon. He found the joy of passing on his skills to someone that he had complete trust with those unique moves.
And he Athos didn't trust easy.
D'Artagnan had changed everyone in this garrison and D'Artagnan had made them a better team. Athos admits he didn't know where the Inseparables would be today without him. Could they really go back to a trio?
One thing was for certain that if he gave up hope there would be no other member of their team. He wouldn't allow it. That spot would always belong to him.
But Athos didn't want to think of that. He couldn't.
He couldn't fail him!
He wouldn't fail him!
He couldn't give up hope!
Not D'Artagnan. No, he couldn't stop looking. It would mean he believed that D'Artagnan wasn't alive. That he would never hear his jokes and laughter again. That the easy banter they had would die with D'Artagnan.
It would also mean that he had sent his brother off on his own to die. Even though he didn't give the order or had no way of knowing that this mission would turn out this way.
It would still be his fault…
It. Would. Break. Him…
(Line Break)
(Aramis)
Aramis couldn't believe this was happening. No this couldn't be true. Treville couldn't be doing this. There HAD to be hope. There HAD to be.
He couldn't imagine want it would do to his brothers and him if D'Artagnan never came back. Aramis hated to admit it. But he believed it would be the end of the life they had fallen into. There would be no going back to being a trio for them.
D'Artagnan made them better and he had always been there ready to help him even when Aramis believed he didn't deserve help. Even when he led the Gascon into trouble he still helped Aramis out and didn't hold a grudge.
There HAD to be someone who had seen D'Artagnan and knew what happened to him. It was just impossible for him to imagine that D'Artagnan had just vanished without a trace. As he knew his little brother loved being a Musketeer and there would be no way he would descent the regiment. So, something bad must have befallen him. But that didn't mean he was dead!
Aramis had prayed and he had prayed to God to help them find their brother. He prayed for a sign that D'Artagnan was alive. But so far, his prays had gone unanswered.
Now Treville was basically telling them that there was no hope for D'Artagnan now. Aramis knew 6 weeks was a long time. But there still must be some change then he was alive.
Aramis was trying to tell himself that D'Artagnan had been through so much that he could get through anything until his brothers found/saved him.
But where was the evidence that would convince Treville of this?
Aramis looked at his brothers and had a sinking feeling. He could feel this was the beginning of the end for the Inseparables.
As their guilt for not accompany D'Artagnan on this mission, even though it was a safe and easy mission, the guilt would consume them…
And Aramis wasn't sure if their bonds of Brotherhood would survive…
(Line Break)
(Porthos)
Porthos felt so much rage. This COULDN'T be how this ended. NO, he WASN'T going to accept this. The bright young man couldn't be gone from their lives.
He had been there for all their faults and accepted them and he had been so willing to learn anything from them that Porthos knew he would have gone onto have an amazing career as a Musketeer. Porthos had so much fun with D'Artagnan and somehow the Gascon had always been there to pull him out of trouble when he was caught cheating at cards.
The laughs they had COULDN'T be over!
The easy comradeship couldn't be over with just a simple mission of delivering a message. D'Artagnan had even joked with them about it. Saying to them for them to not get into trouble without him and he made them swear to be waiting for him for drinks at the Wren when he got back. But when Porthos had sat there with Athos and Aramis at their usual table and waiting for him he felt something was wrong. He knew his brothers felt it too. But they were unable to act unless D'Artagnan was actually late in coming back.
And now Porthos didn't know if that delay had cost them their brother. They would probably never know.
Their mischievous, fun, troublemaking brother couldn't be dead.
There HAD to be some hope.
But Porthos could feel everything already unravelling with every day that passed without any leads on D'Artagnan's whereabouts their bonds of brotherhood were tested. Tempers had become short and the atmosphere around them was tense.
He hated to admit it. But this news could be what finally unmade the famous Inseparables…
(Line Break)
More protests and threats were made from the trio and Treville just let them vent. He knew they would need to get their emotions out if they were going to move on as a trio again.
"ENOUGH!" Treville shouts after letting them vent for several minutes.
They stop but look like they are going to start up again.
"It had been 6 weeks since he was last seen here and 5 weeks since anyone has seen him. I am sorry men but I have no choice but to sign the forms stating the D'Artagnan was killed in action", Treville tells them.
Silence greets his words.
He knew they didn't want to believe the worst. But he had no choice.
"This is policy. I am sorry. If you had some proof that he was alive or what happened to him I would be able to hold out on signing those forms. But since none of us/you can give me proof then I have to suspend the search for D'Artagnan and declare him legally dead", Treville tells them wearily.
"Please we just need more time…", Aramis starts.
"Just a little more…", Athos starts.
"There has to be places we haven't checked yet…", Porthos starts.
"I am sorry. I can no longer support this. Go home. Go have a drink. Even get drunk! Toast D'Artagnan's life. Give him your own private send off. I expect you back at the garrison bright and early in four days' time", Treville orders them.
He looks at the defeated Inseparables who were leaving his office and wondered if this was going to be the last straw that broke the camel's back…
As whether they wanted to admit it all not D'Artagnan was gone…he was lost to them…
That is what they all believed anyway…
~~Author's Note: What Do You Think? Please Review:)!~~