Hello everyone! I'm Angel the Neko and this fanfiction is my Christmas gift to those of you reading, as well as a gift to those who have read my other stories and have stayed with me for quite a long time. Whether you're new or you're one of the few avid readers of mine, know that I love you all! So please keep that in mind when you reach the end. Reviews are greatly appreciated!

That's enough of me and my ranting, although I'd like to take the time to point out and thank Naruko Uzu. This mini holiday fanfic was based on an RP I did with her a few months back.

A misty fog erupts from the mouth of the blond haired nation, like billowing smoke from a chimney- pouring upwards into the sky, twisting, swirling and swerving until it disappears in an almost melancholic fashion. But nothing was melancholy about this day so far. How could it be? The United States of America was happy. He always was when his fingers were intertwined in the comforting grip of his boyfriend's smooth, slender fingers.

It was a frosty December morning, but Alfred didn't care. The chilly winter air was stabbing and piercing into his delicate skin but still, Alfred didn't care. He was with Arthur- the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland- and that was enough to fill his whole body with loving fiery warmth. As long as Arthur was with him, he could face any weather- no matter how cruel, cold or challenging.

The two were on a date together, but their destination was nowhere in particular. They were just walking along the streets of London hand in hand, Alfred occasionally stopping to point out something from a shop window, much to the amusement of Arthur who had to smile at Alfred's child-like happiness.

So there they were, strolling along casually at a relaxed and leisurely pace when suddenly Alfred spotted what was quite possibly the most interesting thing yet.

"Hey Arthur check this out!" Alfred pointed, excitedly bobbing up and down on the spot.

"Hm?" Arthur looked up to what the man was pointing at, frowning slightly.

"It says here that they found some cool ship at the bottom of the sea!" Alfred gasped as he read the sign stationed in front of the museum. "Arthur can we go? Can we go? Pleeeeeease?"

Arthur chuckled happily, giving the younger nation a smile of approval. It almost reminded him of the good old days when Alfred was this energetic. The days when Alfred was merely a small peppy child with the heart of gold and the strength of a raging bull (though possibly even stronger than that because Arthur had quite often seen him overpower raging bulls on several occasions as a child).

But back to the present day. It was surprising how often Alfred acted like a cute child and the nostalgia almost brought tears to England's eyes. But the past was past and this was the present. Arthur would never swap the modern day Alfred for the endearing sweet child that he used to be. Although he had often contemplated it and he had to admit that he would like that Alfred back too, that would mean changing the Alfred that he had now.

And deep down, he knew that there was no way he could ever get rid of this Alfred.

"Well alright then." He chuckled. "If you insist."

Knowing that he had been given the green light, Alfred dragged Arthur into the large museum. It wasn't long before Alfred found what he had been seeking: there in the centre of a very large room lay the remains of an old abandoned pirate ship, spread out onto a platform and surrounded by barriers of red velvet rope.

Alfred was literally bursting with excitement, bouncing up and down to get good looks at the remains and reading practically every sign that he saw. According to what he had read, the ship had supposedly been hit by cannon fire and was left to sink to the bottom of the ocean. It seemed that there were no survivors found to have escaped, yet there were no skeletons of the former crew on board.

But despite the fact that Alfred was face to face with a possible ghost ship, he still looked upon it as fondly as a child with a new Christmas toy. There was something about this ship that didn't scare him- something about it that told him that, even if this was deep down, it was perfectly safe.

"Wow Arthur this ship is so cool!" He beamed, no longer holding onto his boyfriend's hand.

After the comment about the ship, Alfred expected Arthur to agree or maybe sigh in a bored way. But after none of these followed, he looked back at the older nation with a frown.

"Arthur?" He asked.

Arthur was not filled with excitement like Alfred was, nor was he admiring the ship with an impressed smile. He was staring, his eyes filled with terror and disbelief. Not only that but he was trembling. Trembling as if his eyes couldn't fathom the very horror of the sight that lay broken up and beaten before him.

"Arthur, you okay?" Alfred frowned.

"...Alfred, could we please just leave now?" Arthur whispered.

"What? No way dude!" Alfred whined. "I still haven't had the chance to-"

"NOW ALFRED!"

The sudden outburst was unexpected and Alfred flinched back in fear. He wasn't scared for long though and, obeying Arthur's command, he promptly left the museum with Arthur storming out at his side.

"Sorry about that." Arthur sighed when they were finally out. "I just..."

"What gives Artie?" Alfred frowned. "You looked really pale. Like you'd seen a ghost."

After a few seconds of silence, Alfred paled just as Arthur did when he realised what Arthur's silence was trying to imply. Had he imagined the feeling of sensing that ship was safe? Was that why Arthur was so upset?

"That... That ship isn't haunted is it?" Alfred squeaked.

"No it isn't haunted but..." Arthur sighed. "I... That used to be my ship..."

"Really?" Alfred asked, staring with wide eyes at Arthur- seeing him in a new light. "You were a pirate?"

"Yes, and I happen to have some... Memories attached to that ship." Arthur whispered.

Alfred was really interested now. He was leaning in and staring- pushing Arthur to continue with his little story. It was really intriguing to Alfred, as was anything else related to Arthur- he simply wanted to know everything about his lover, even the darkest chapters of his life.

"One of my men... Died on that ship." Arthur muttered- his voice quiet and just barely heard by Alfred. "I couldn't save him... I was forced to leave him."

"Oh..." Alfred bit his lip. "I understand. I'm sorry."

"That's quite alright Alfred." Arthur smiled. "It's... It's all in the past now. Why don't we go get something to eat?"

Alfred nodded and the subject was dropped. In fact, the rest of the day went by without another mention of the ship until...

That night

Now most nights usually went by without much happening (except for the occasional activity involving vital regions) but that night was different. Arthur kept rolling about and turning as he slept- a fact that didn't go unnoticed by Alfred. In fact Alfred was worried about Arthur. He hated to see Arthur fret- it must have been something to do with that ship.

"N-no..." Arthur moaned. "Don't..."

Alfred frowned and looked over at Arthur as he shifted uncomfortably. Talking in his sleep? That was new. He'd seen Arthur mutter to himself and talk to thin air, but never in his sleep.

"I won't... I won't leave you!" Arthur whined.

"Won't leave who?" Alfred whispered back.

"No!" Arthur yelped. "Too... Late..."

"England, wake up!" Alfred yelled.

Arthur jolted up in bed and Alfred switched the light on.

"Wha...?" Arthur whispered.

"England, are you okay?" Alfred questioned, placing a hand on Arthur's shoulder.

"I'm fine." Arthur muttered. "Why do you ask?"

"You were having a nightmare..."

"How did you know that?"

"You were mumbling in your sleep. Plus I can see you sweating." Alfred explained. "You were saying 'I won't leave you' and 'too late'- stuff like that."

Arthur looked pale. He opened his mouth to say something in retort, but he could find nothing to say. After a few seconds of thought, he made a small strangled noise and coughed.

"...Water..." Arthur whispered. "I need water. I'll be back in a minute."

Then Arthur left the room quickly. Still worried, Alfred got up out of bed and followed him.

He didn't get far though, for the moment he stepped out of the room, two floating creatures appeared in front of him. One seemed to be a fairy with glittering wings and a worried look upon her face. The other was a pale green bunny with wings attached- also with the same worried expression.

"Should we really be doing this Tink?" Whispered the mint-coloured bunny.

"Positive. He's the only one that can help." The fairy whispered back.

"What are you guys talking about?" Alfred asked curiously.

The two flinched back but did not look scared. They looked more surprised than anything.

"Oh, he can see us." The bunny smiled.

"Who are you guys?" Alfred frowned before he lit up with excitement. "Wait a second! You're Arthur's magical friends!"

"Yes we are!" Tinkerbell beamed- seemingly excited that Alfred had recognised them.

"Wow... So he isn't crazy..." Alfred laughed. "So anyway, what are you doing here? And how come I can see you?"

Tinkerbell and Flying Mint Bunny's faces suddenly went back to very stern. They looked very worried and yet the look of uncertainty was obvious in their faces.

"Well... We've come here to carry out a very important mission." Tinkerbell explained.

"Okay..." Alfred nodded slowly. "But that still doesn't explain everything."

"We need your help America." Flying Mint Bunny explained further, starting to plead. "Please, will you help us?"

"You still haven't explained what you're intending to do." Alfred scowled angrily.

"It involves England." Tinkerbell continued. "We need your help to-"

"What!" America snapped. "England's in trouble? Well hurry up then! We don't have the time to be wasting here! If he's in trouble, I've gotta be his hero!"

"That's the spirit!" Tinkerbell giggled. "So here we go!"

The small fairy waved her magic wand with a smile, covering Alfred in specks of sparkly dust as Flying Mint Bunny perched on his shoulder. Alfred coughed a few times and before he knew it, England's house simply disappeared around him and faded into something completely new.

Alfred blinked in a state of confusion and glanced at the scene around him. From what he could gather, he was in a port. People were rushing by on the bustling streets. They were too busy and preoccupied to notice that a man had suddenly appeared amidst the crowd- along with two flying companions perched on his shoulders.

"What the-?" Alfred began. "Where am I?"

He ran his fingers over his face just to make sure that he could still feel and that he was definitely not dreaming. However, in doing so he made a rather alarming discovery.

"Where's Texas gone?" He gasped, starting to panic.

"You can still see can't you?" Flying Mint Bunny questioned.

Now that the minty rabbit had mentioned it, he realised that yes he could see. This was a rather unusual and new development. How on Earth could he see without Texas?

"Well yeah..." Alfred muttered sheepishly before snapping back into focus. "But that's not really the point! What happened to Texas? Is it okay? It hasn't disappeared has it?"

"America, calm down!" Tinkerbell commanded in a low hiss. "Texas is fine. Please don't make a scene, no-one here can see us. Well, except you and one other person."

"One other person?" Alfred frowned. "Who is it?"

"Never mind that now! To the pub straight ahead!" Flying Mint Bunny commanded. "When inside, head for the back door and the password is 'Rule Britannia!'"

"Huh? What do you-?" Alfred began.

"Say you're looking for the Captain." Tinkerbell interrupted. "And once you're in, do whatever it takes to join the Captain's ship! Remember why you're doing this America!"

That was right. He was doing this for Arthur. It was all for the sake of Arthur's safety and happiness. Even if he still had no idea why all of this concerned Arthur and he had no clue as to where he was, following the orders of two bizarre magical creatures was his best bet when it came to getting home and completing his little mission.

So following the oddly coloured bunny's orders, he headed straight for the building in front of him and once inside, he found what he saw were both strangely fascinating and maybe even the tiniest bit scary...

Then again, it was a 'pub'. So as the title naturally suggested, there were drunken men inside- many of them singing songs. A lot of them were playing card games in their drunken stupor and Alfred spotted some looking angry and holding others at knife point. A wide variety of strange things were going on in this crazy drinking establishment, but there was one common thing that linked these odd men (and occasionally a few women).

They were all pirates.

"You two!" Alfred hissed quietly- though not in anger or fear, as Alfred looked rather in awe of the scene. "Did you guys bring me back in time or something?"

"Maybe..." Tinkerbell fidgeted nervously.

"Amazing!" America gasped. "I mean these guys are actual pirates! That's pretty cool if you ask me!"

"Very." Flying Mint Bunny grinned. "Now get into that back room! We're gonna hide for now, so just remember what we said!"

And with that, Flying Mint Bunny and Tinkerbell dived straight behind America, burrowing in underneath the fuzzy collar of his favoured bomber jacket.

He stepped forward, watching where he walked as he advanced through the mad house. These men were pirates after all, not the most trustworthy of men. However, as he continued to push on through, one question still lingered within his brain:

What was he doing here?

Getting past the guard at the back of the room wasn't too hard. After all, America only needed to say the password that the magical creatures had given him and (admittedly with a look at America as if he were absolutely crazy) he was allowed in.

The back door had led to a single room, much darker than the one that America had entered from. This one was free of drunken men and women and it was very dimly illuminated. The only light source was a small white candle on the desk that was positioned in the middle of the room and thanks to its light, America was able to see two legs crossed over each other on the desk and leading back to a dark figure sat down upon a chair.

America instantly assumed that this man was the captain. After all, his hat was flamboyant (and pulled down low over his eyes), his crimson red coat was impressive and the way he sat so casually with his legs up on the desk gave America the idea that this was only because this man had the authority to do so. This man probably did what he wanted, when he wanted- no questions asked. If America ever tried sitting like that at home, his boyfriend would likely yell at him.

"Hey." America grinned, figuring this was the best way to start off.

"Who goes thar'?" The captain grunted.

"Alfred F. Jones, at your service." America bowed in an almost jokey manner. He may have been known as one of the stupidest nations (or at least that's what they thought) but he wasn't stupid enough to reveal his true country name. Especially when he was in the past and not even sure that he had been discovered yet. "I'd like to join this pirate crew good sir."

"And why might that be, ye landlubber?" The captain growled.

His voice was rough, yet oddly familiar. That isn't... No it can't be... Can it? There's no way! It's just gotta be coincidence.

"Well because I have what it takes!" America nodded as he placed his hands proudly on his hips.

Then it happened. The captain removed his legs from the table and he leaned in. His elbow rested on the table and his arm reached up, allowing him to place his chin securely in his palm. The captain's face was dimly lit by the faint orange glow of the candle flame, his face darkening and brightening again as the candle fire flickered.

"Is that so?" He questioned.

And America gasped. His suspicions had indeed been confirmed. He was face to face with the last person he'd expected to see as pirate captain.

"England?"

Aaand that's the end of the first chapter. Hopefully if all goes according to plan, this fic should take about three chapters and I should have one out next week and then one on New Year's Eve- I hope.

Why has America been transported back in time? Why did Flying Mint Bunny and Tinkerbell steal his Texas? And why does America need to join England's ship? Find out in the next chapter! And don't forget to review!

Sayounara minna-san!

~Neko