Ayyyyyyyyyy. Look~! An update~! Way quicker than the last one~! :D Lots of stuff goes on here ^^ Aaaaa I hope it doesn't suck. I'll work on the new chapter at camp.

And since I'm going to be gone at camp during America's birthday, happy 4th of July to my fellow Americans! :D

The next morning, Lovino and Feliciano went out onto the deck to watch the sun rise. Feliciano snuggled close to his twin's side, Lovino having let his internal fire raise his temperature a bit so the two could stay warm.

"Veh, the sky is so pretty," Feliciano sighed happily, his voice soft as he rested his head on the elder boy's shoulder.

"Yeah, it is," Lovino agreed, letting himself enjoying the peaceful moment.

Suddenly, a strange scent drifted to the brothers and the two sniffled, trying to figure out what it was. Could it be... gun powder?

A thundering boom filled the air and the ship jerked violently in the water, rocking side to side wildly.

Feliciano screamed in fright, grabbing onto Lovino as his brother's eyes darted around in search of the source of danger.

The ship came alive as the crew members swarmed onto the deck, yelling to one another as they rushed to get to their places, some going back down to check if the hull had been hit. Andray appeared at the helm, barking orders to his men.

Nicolas sprinted up from the sleeping bay to his sons, wrapping his arms around them protectively. He looked over the railing to the ship that had fired on them. His eyes widened in recognition and fear as he took in the black flag fluttering in the wind, the insignia of a skull wearing a monocle displayed boldly over it.

"Lovino, Feliciano," he said quickly, turning the boys to face him. "If I don't survive to see another day, I want you both to always remember that I love you. Even though we've only been together for a short time, you gave me the one thing I always wanted. You gave me a family. I have never been prouder of anyone in my entire life than I have been of you two."

"P-Papa?" Feliciano whimpered, frightened by this speech.

"W-What are you trying to say, y-you old bastard?" Lovino demanded, his own fear creeping into his voice.

Another cannon shell rocked the ship and the boys clung to their adoptive father tightly, alarmed cries escaping their throats in unison.

"I'm saying," Nicolas yelled over the screams and returning cannon fire, "thank you for letting me be your father!"

The ship groaned as the enemies' ship smashed into it's side, the attackers surging over the railing as they began to board the ship.

Steel crashed against steel as the two crews went into battles, the fights all across the deck.

In the frenzy, the brothers were knocked away from Nicolas and only thanks to their reflexes were they able to dodge and weave around the weapons aimed for them and get to a clear spot. They held hands tightly, terrified of losing one another in the throng as they scanned the crowd for Nicolas.

A loud laugh up ahead caught their attention and they rushed forward, getting as close as they possibly could. The men that had been blocking their view suddenly parted, giving them a clear view of the fight happening before them.

Nicolas was locked in combat with a shortish man, the pirate sporting a large feathered hat and acid green eyes that felt as though if you looked long enough, would eat into your very soul. It took Lovino only a second to remember why he looked so familiar though he knew he had never seen the man before.

It was the pirate from the stories he had heard at the tavern.

Arthur Kirkland.

He tired desperately to call out to Nicolas, to reach his father's side.

As the younger teens watched, the pirate captain stabbed his blade forward deep into Nicolas' chest, his mouth opening in a wicked laugh.

The world around the two seemed to slow as they watched Nicolas fall to the deck as Kirkland pulled his sword free.

A primal scream ripped from Lovino's throat, fire erupting from his body, the blaze flaring around him in an angry inferno. Tendrils of flame grabbed for the men near him, burning a few into crisps instantly.

Frightened shrieks tore from the men and, friend and foe alike, jumped away from the blazing Italian.

His eyes glowing, teeth bared as his nails sharped to claws, Lovino lept forward, attacking the shocked British captain.

Feliciano ran to Nicolas, sobbing and pleading with him not to die, gently setting his hand over the gushing wound and using his ice powers to stop the blood leaking out.

Nicolas, barely conscious, slowly raised a shaking hand to cover Feliciano's, his eyes filled with pain and tears, the light in them dimming as his life ebbed away, though he still tried to smile for the panicking teen.

"F-Fe... li..." he pushed out, his voice weak and hoarse. "I-It's o... okay. Do-Don't cry, m-my s... son. I-I lo-love y... you. Y-You a... and L-Lov-vino."

"Papa! Papa, don't die! Please!" Feliciano cried, holding onto Nicolas' hand tightly, his watering eyes obstructing his vison. "W-We need you, papa!"

"I-I'm sor... sorry, F-Feli..." Nicolas' head slowly fell back against the deck. "I'm... sor... ry..."

The elder fisherman's eyes slid shut and his chest went still.

Feliciano stared at Nicolas' body for a moment in shock. Then, deep inside of him, his own rage was ignited, and his furious rawr joined his brothers as an arctic wind whipped around him as he pushed himself to his feet, his face tear stained, his eyes filled with unbridled anger.

Ice formed on the deck, snow and hail swirling through the air, a blizzard forming around Feliciano. He joined his brother in the attack on the man who had killed the one person besides each other that had been important in their lives.

Kirkland was surprised. He knew immediately what the two boys were. Long before he had become a pirate, the captain had discovered his affinity for magic. At an incredibly early age he had become the most powerful mage in his homeland.

He had always had a deep interest in mythical creatures, especially dragons. He had studied all he could of them, originally becoming a pirate to fund his research, though he ended up enjoying it so much, he kept with it.

A dark smirk grew on his face and he held out his hand towards the attacking twins, calling out, "Noxus!"

A thick, green mist exploded from the ground, blasting the two backwards, sending them crashing to the deck.

"Children, even Dragon children, have no place apposing me," he said, stepping towards the coughing pair. "You are a thousand years to young to fight me. I am a powerful mage and magic flows through my veins like blood."

Lovino growled at the nearing Brit, hissing, "What the fuck are you talking about, you evil bastard? What fucking dragons?" A soft spluttering sound caught his attention and he looked over, only to discover it was Feliciano, the younger seeming to be struggling for air.

"You bastard!" he yelled, whipping back towards Kirkland. "What have you done to my brother?!" His eyes flared and fire danced around him threateningly.

Kirkland grinned darkly and crouched down by the elder brother. "As we speak poison is infecting your brother's body. With each breath he takes, it spreads further. Like I said, little Dragon, you are far to young to challenge me."

Before Lovino could answer, demand for an explanation of this "dragon" business, or order the Brit to help Feliciano, a furious roar ripped through the air. Fear flashed through Kirkland's eyes as he recognized the sound.

That was the sound of full grown dragons coming to protect their children.

A large, ferocious, light pink scaled dragon dove out of the clouds towards the ship, it's sharp claws extended, teeth bared. A few unlucky men were caught in her maw, others cut to ribbons. The large tail whipped around, slamming some of the crew over board.

Kirkland turned to run back to his ship. A moment before he could cross to the other vessel, a dark orange dragon appeared, crashing onto the deck, large talons digging deep into the wooden planks, tearing it to pieces as the crew that was still on Kirkland's ship scrambled to throw themselves onto Andray's ship.

Lovino dropped down onto his knees, pulling Feliciano onto his lap and holding him protectively as the younger wheezed.

The pink dragon turned to look at them. As soon as their eyes met, Lovino felt his heart warm and fill with relief, knowing this female dragon would keep them safe. He had no idea how he knew she was a girl, but in that dragon's gaze, he had seen nothing but love and devotion. And it was directed at them.

She turned away shortly after, her golden eyes locking onto Kirkland, her eyes narrowing in hate and fury.

On the Brit's ship, the orange dragon lashed it's tail, the powerful appendage easily smashing through the mass and turning it to splintered piece, the destroyed wood falling into the ocean as it roared at the pirate captain.

Kirkland snarled angrily. He ran across Andray's ship to his first mate, a young man who had been thrown onto the ship when the dragon had landed. The teen was unconscious, his head bloody from where it had hit the railings.

Hissing, the irate man looped an arm around the unconscious man's shoulders, supporting him. He snapped his winds and a gal swirled around him, mist rising from the water until the two were invisible through the fog.

The pink dragon roared again and slashed at the mist. Her claws went right through without resistance. The winds died and the fog lifted, revealing the two were gone.

The two dragons looked to the twins one last time, their eyes pained, then spread their massive wings and took off, the reluctance somehow obvious.

The ship was quite as Andray's crew tied up what remained of Kirkland's, then began to sort through the dead and wounded.

Clerval was caught and exposed as a traitor as he attempted to move a few of Kirkland's crew to the kitchen where no one could have found them. It was obvious he had been part of Kirkland's crew as the mark of the Brit's crew, a monocle, was found tattooed on his shoulder, the clothing having been torn open during the fight. He was executed on the spot.

Tears dripped down Feliciano's cheeks as his chest rose and fell, his breaths ragged. "F-Fratello," he whimpered softly. "P-Papa... H-He's... He's..."

"Shh, shh," Lovino hushed him gently, pressing a finger to Feliciano's lips. "Don't talk now. Save your strength."

Feliciano weakly grabbed Lovino's hand, his body shaking as the poison worked through him. "P-Papa is d... dead..." he forced out, his voice a strained whisper.

Lovino's blood went cold. His head whipped back to look at the last place he had seen Nicolas.

The elder man's body was still were Feliciano had left him, laying silent and still on the deck, waiting to be added to the dead toll.

He felt his brother go limp and turned back, his eyes shinning in concern. The smaller teen was unconscious in Lovino's arms, struggling to breath.

Slowly, Lovino slumped back against the railing. He wanted to scream, to cry, to rage, to do anything at all. Anything besides just sit there. But he had to remain calm. Stay in control.

His brother was dieing from poison. His father was dead from a sword. A fire was kindled in his soul and his blood simmered.

The man responsible had escaped.

For now.

After the dragons had disappeared, Andray had sailed to the closest town to get medical attention to the men. Those that had been part of Kirkland's crew either left the ship free, or they were welcomed to join Andray's crew, seeing as they had been abandoned by their captain. Most agreed to join him.

Now, the remaining members of Andray's crew stood somberly on a cliff side, looking out at the wreckage of Kirkland's ship blaze on the ocean, the dead from both sides safely stored on the deck as they made their final journey to Davey Jone's locker.

Behind them, a ways down the hill, under a great willow tree, Lovino and Feliciano, along with Andray, buried Nicolas. As they had dug the grave, Andray told them about the man's life.

As it turned out, Nicolas had been a great pirate years ago. Andray had been his first mate until the Italian had decided to retire in a the small village where they had met. The fisherman had gone on many great exploits, many ending in misery for the people who's land he had sailed to. According to Andray, as he had grown older, Nicolas had become remorseful, hating himself for all he had done to the innocent people he had encountered.

When he had retreated to the village, he told Andray he would deny himself the one thing he wanted more than anything, a family, though he was still well within fathering years. He refused to give himself something as wonderful as a family when he had taken away and denied so many the same thing.

The brothers listened in silence to their father's story. Even with this new information, they could not bring themselves to think any less of him. He had been so wonderful and kind to them. He would always be the gentle and understanding father they had know him as, never the ruthless pirate he had once been.

Lovino touched the trunk of the tree with his finger tip, concentrating his fire into the finger, and slowly began to write, marking his grave.

Nicolas Vargas

Loving father, Great friend

Conqueror of the Seven Seas

Feliciano then froze the ground where he was buried, encasing Nicolas in ice until they could return and give him a better funeral.

Neither thought his current grave did him the justice he deserved.

As they stood surveying the grave, Feliciano slumped heavily against his twin, his breaths harder than they should have been. They had been unable to find anyone to cure the poison, and thus, the younger twin was still struggling to fight it. As long as he didn't push himself, it seemed the poison spread slowly, though he could feel his strength being sapped with every movement.

Wrapping his arm around his twin to help support him, Lovino bit his lip hard, thinking. He supposed that since Nicolas was no longer with them, Andray would demand for them to leave his ship immediately. If that happened, as the elder brother, it was his job to know what to do and where to go.

He had no idea what the fuck to do, but he knew when it was time to move on.

Just as he was beginning to panic internally, Andray approached them.

"Hey..." he greeted, his voice soft. "I know you probably won't want to... But I want you to know, if you want to keep traveling with me, you're welcome to. I know... I know I wasn't very good to you while you've been with me, but I promise that will change. I can be nice, I swear. You can stay as long as you like, I won't force you to go until you want to."

Lovino looked to the side, at his twin's softly flushed face, a light sheen of sweat coating his face. He knew his brother would feel safer on the ship, but he was worried the mage would reappear and attack them again. If they were with the crew, the men were in danger. But if they were on their own, then they would be in danger. There was no easy answer, but he knew the one he had to make.

After a long, torturous, internal debate with himself, Lovino denied the offer.

"Thanks, Andray," he said. "But we can't risk it. We can't put you guys in danger again. We can protect ourselves. I have to find a healer for Feliciano." The captain opened his mouth to argue, but Lovino quickly cut him off. "I'm going to head inland. I have a better chance of finding someone that way than by sailing around. Besides, I don't Feli would last must longer on a ship."

Andray sighed in defeat, then nodded. "Very well. If you ever change your minds and happen to see around, don't hesitate to come aboard."

A few of the crew members, the few who had actually spoken to the twins and discovered they were actually quite approachable, even Lovino, made sure to give the twins their goodbyes, telling them they hoped to see them again one day.

Once Andray had everyone back on the ship, the men set sail and disappeared onto the horizon.

Signing softly, Lovino turned to his brother. "Alright, Feli. Get on my back. We're walking and no way in hell are you going to exert yourself."

Getting Feliciano situated on his back, Lovino began to walk, heading down the cliff, heading inland. After a few minutes, Feliciano wheezed out a question. "F-Fratello, where do you t-think those d-dragons came from? W-Why did t-they help u-us?"

"I don't know," he answered, pushing back a tree branch as he entered the woods. "P... Papa did say that dragons lived in that mountain near where he found us. Maybe..." The image of the light pink female flashed through his mind. "Maybe those dragons know who we are. I think they do, at least. Something about them seemed familiar."

"Si..." Feliciano agreed softly, nuzzling his head into Lovino's neck, his mind slowly working.

His eyes shot open as a realization hit him. "It's a scale!" he yelled. The sudden noise startled Lovino and Feliciano began to cough.

Halting and quickly sliding Feliciano onto the ground, Lovino knelt down beside him, putting a hand on his back worriedly. "What's a scale? What are you talking about?"

Feliciano pointed helplessly at Lovino's pocket, his free hand covering his mouth as he continued to hack.

Reaching into his pocket, Lovino took out the pink stone. After staring at it for a moment, his eyes widened as he understood what his twin was trying to say. "Y-You're right! It is a scale! I-It has to be that dragon from before! B-But... But why do I have this...? A-And yours must be from that orange dragon... How did we get these? W-Where did we get them from?"

Finally regaining his breath, Feliciano managed to speak again. "M-Maybe if we f-find those dragons, w-we could find out w-who we really a-are...?"

Slowly, Lovino nodded in agreement. "Maybe so. But we don't know where they went. It'll take us a long time to find them. We'd have to be really patient."

Feliciano nodded, then weakly took his brother's hand. "Then let's go f-find them. I don't care h-how long it takes. W-We can go back to the m-mountain." Lovino nodded, then carefully pulled his twin back onto his back, and began the long walk back towards the town they had left behind after what felt like so long ago.

Lenix and Chiara had broken the rules. As they flew towards their cave on the mountain, they knew they were in trouble.

As soon as they landed, the other dragons were upon them, demanding to know what had happened and why the two young parents had broken the golden rule: Do not be seen by the humans.

"We had to do something!" Lenix defended, spreading a wing in front of his mate protectively.

"Our babies were in danger!" Chiara added.

Malkave snarled, his tail lashing side to side. "I knew those hatchlings were dangerous! We should have smashed their eggs and throws them off the mountain when we had the chance!"

Lenix roared furiously, his scales rippling as his wings flared out to his sides to make him appear larger, Chiara letting out a horrifying, screeching sound as she listened to her babies lives threatened. The older dragon hissed and crouched down, his own wings spreading as he prepared to spring up and attack.

Before the fight could begin, Rome dropped from the sky, landing between the two and letting out his own deafening roar.

"ENOUGH!"

The two males instantly fell away from each other, though they continued to glare hatefully at one another.

"Malkave," Rome growled, turning his glare to the dragon, "you will hold back such comments in the future or I shall remove your tongue." Next, he turned to Lenix and his daughter. "Go to my cave. NOW."

The couple, filled with terror and dread, flapped their wings and went up to Rome's cave, located higher on the mountain than the main cave where the others lived. Soon after, the golden scaled dragon himself arrived, his eyes smouldering.

"You two have done a very bad thing," he said, his voice grave.

"B-But, father!" Chiara objected. "We had no choice! O-Our babies were in trouble! We had to do something!"

"By attacking two human ships?"

Lenix gulped. "H-How did you know it was ships? H-How did you even know we'd broken the rules?"

"Because you both reek of the ocean and humans." Rome's voice was growing colder by the minute and the pair coward under his gaze.

"I understand why you took the actions you did, but that does not make it okay. You know you have to be punished now..."

The pair lowered their heads in shame, nodding sadly.

"Until it is time for them to return..." Rome paused, hating what he had to do. "Until they return to the mountain, you are forbidden to see Romano and Veneziano. You will stay near the mountain and far away from any humans."

The two went up in arms, arguing furiously.

"You can't do this!"

"They need us!"

"Our babies could be in danger!"

Rome let out another ear shattering roar, instantly silencing the parents. "Chiara, Lenix, I know this is hard. I'm sorry. But you broke the most important rule our kind has. Your children will be safe, but you will not see them."

"B-But!"

"No buts. My word is final."

There was a long pause, then they closed their eyes and lowered their head.

"Yes, sir."

"Yes, father."

Before Rome could say anything more, the distraught parents spread their wings and drifted down to their nest. They curled up together, Lenix hiding his mate from the harsh gazes of the other dragons, growling lowly at them until they turned away. Then he turned back and gently licked Chiara's head.

Sniffling, she closed her eyes, hating her father, the clan, the rules, everything.

She just wanted her babies back.