"Tickets!" The wagon lit conductor was shouting in the first class car.

"Fratello!" Feliciano was searching frantically for his ticket, flipping through his pockets and his bags, "I can't find my ticket! Oh Dio! I'm gonna be in so much trouble!"

"Will you relax, idiota?!" Lovino scolded, while taking out two tickets from his jacket pocket, "I got them right here."

The younger Italian took a deep breath, "Oh, grazie, fratello. I knew I could count on you!"

The older Italian rolled his eyes, "I knew you were going to lose the damn ticket, so I kept it for you. Idiot."

"Well, I'm grateful I have a brother like you keeping an eye on me," a smile was formed on Feliciano's face.

"Whatever. It's more like you make a mess and I have to help your sorry ass."

"Oh, don't be like that, fratello."

"Will you get that stupid smile off your damn face?!"

"Tickets, boys," the tall conductor said. He had short white and almost red looking eyes. He looked really pale. Lovino already assumed he was an albino. He also had a strong German accent. It seemed the boys were running into a lot of ethnicities in the past hour or so. It almost seemed a bit too coincidental.

"Here," Lovino passed the tickets.

"Ah, so you're Romulus' boys, huh? I recognize that last name anywhere. Not a lot of Vargas' in the area," the conductor smirked as he checked the tickets.

"Si, he's our grandpa! We're going to visit him right now!" Feliciano was jumping up and down in his seat.

"Oh, really?" The conductor gave back the tickets, "I'd be careful in that area. There's been some trouble."

"What kind of trouble?" Feliciano's eyes widened like a little kid's on Christmas.

The conductor gave a small laugh, "have you boys ever heard of the Golden Snake gang?"

Lovino started become intrigued in the conversation, "keep talking, German."

"Don't be so rude, fratello!" Feliciano stared at his brother.

"I'm actually Prussian, which is far more awesome than being German!" The conductor corrected, "anyways, the Golden Snake gang is the most famous gang once you get more west of here. Once people try to find them, they never come back. No one hears of them again. The Golden Snake members are a band of ruthless, heartless, and most worthless creatures on this planet. Once you join the gang, you can never come out."

"The poor, damn bastards," Lovino scoffed.

"Why...why would anyone be a part of a gang like that?" Feliciano gasped.

"I've heard each of those souls has some reason they join the gang. Each want something to gain from joining," the albino smirked.

"You sound like you're coming from experience," Lovino started to become more and more suspicious of the conductor.

The 'Prussian' shrugged his shoulders, "whatever you think of it as, but I'd still be careful when you visit old Romulus."

"Fratello! What if Nonno is in trouble! What are we gonna do?" Feliciano was in full panic mode.

"Relax, idiot! The old bastardo is gonna be alright," Lovino rolled his eyes, "he's got plenty of servants and money to save his sorry ass."

"I guess you're right."

"Well, I'd better leave you boys," The conductor sighed, "enjoy your ride."

As the conductor started to walk away, Lovino started to notice something strange on the back of the conductor's neck. It looked like some burn. As he looked closer, he saw a picture from it. It looked like the head of a snake. In the burning Western sun, it looked almost golden.

...

By the time the train had left the borders of the small town Lovino and Feliciano had come from, the sky turned from a bright blue into a dark blue, lined with pink borders and purple wisps all over it. They were officially in the middle of the desert, in the middle of nowhere. Lovino was wide awake, looking at the sky while Feliciano was sleeping, curled up in his jacket he was using as a blanket. The older Italian was still thinking about the so called "Golden Snake". He almost laughed at the idea. How can a whole group be able to strike so much terror into so many people's hearts? The conductor even said that they were rumors.

Speaking of the conductor, he was a suspicious character. He knew everything about the Golden Snake gang. Also, the strange burn on the back of his neck. He seemed more involved with these tales than most people would assume.

As these thoughts were swimming through Lovino's head, the stars were convincing him he should go to sleep. As his eyelids started to get more heavy, he felt his head fall forward. Finally, he was subdued into darkness. It was peaceful for a couple minutes, until he heard the sudden crash and the sound of gun shots coming from the other cabin. The train came to a sudden stop and almost threw the passengers off their chairs. The "Prussian" wagon lit conductor fell forward, although, he was as calm as the others. His eyes were shot wide open as he heard the screaming of his fellow passengers. Lovino started to sweat and get hot all over his body. As the screaming died down, there was a ripple of whispers amongst the aristocrats and political figures in their seats.

"Lovi," Feliciano whispered, "what's going on?"

"I don't know, but don't say anything."

The younger slowly nodded his head and kept silent, tightening his grip on his jacket. Lovino stroked his brother's head, reassuring him everything was okay. As the gunshots were sounded one more time, and finally, dead silence. The first class wagon was waiting with baited breath for what would happen next. Then, two voices sliced through the silence like a knife.

"Oh, dammit! Those damn brothers aren't here either!" A shrill French accent echoed, "where could they be?!"

"Ni idea, Francis," a familiar Spanish voice answered, "where's Gilbert...he said he would be here, right?"

The wagon door started shaking and the French voice screamed, "dammit! I can't open it, Antonio!"

"Hold on, amigo," then a another gunshot sounded from the other side of the door and the people in the first class cabin started to scream.

"Fratello," Feliciano whimpered, "I'm scared."

"I know, I know," Lovino kept rubbing Feliciano's head, "it's alright. Everything is going to be fine."

The door came crashing down, the light from the other cabin showed two men who looked they jumped out of the rumors the wagon lit conductor told the brothers. Two tough cowboys who had what looked like gold all over them because of the stars. One of them was recognizable by Lovino. Feliciano sucked in his breath as he started to remember as well. It was the nice Spanish stranger they met before boarding the train. Instead, he looked different. Not physically, but his aura was different. He seemed more dangerous and intimidating now. His eyes were a dark green instead of the light green they were before. The man next to him was slightly taller and was a lot more paler than him. He had a little facial hair and golden, blonde hair that was tied back in a ponytail. The top of his head was hid by the indigo colored hat that matched his vest and boots. He seemed to have a lot more fashion sense than any other man the Italian brothers had ever seen.

The albino man who was knocked off his feet by the sudden stop of the train, stood up to the bandits and glared at them.

"Well, you took your sweet time!" he exploded.

The Frenchman whined, "well, sorry for making you wait so long! We missed the train, so we had to drag our horses, including your stupid ass one as well!"

"Hey! Do NOT say anything bad about mein Gil! He is perfectly fine!"

"Oh, you mean the horse you named, 'Gilbird'!" the blond laughed, "Honhonhon~! You were so drunk, mon ami!"

"Oi! Do ya wanna start something! No one makes fun of mein Gil and gets away with it!" The albino took the blond by the scruff of his shirt collar.

"Guys!" The Spaniard knocked their heads together and scolded them, "we have a job to do, remember?" He turned to the Prussian, "did you find the brothers, Gilbert?"

'Gilbert' rubbed his head and he pointed straight at Lovino and Feliciano, "they're right there, Toni."

When the trio looked at the Italian brothers, all went silent. The only sound was the sound of the moon shining down onto the dry desert. Lovino could hear the unusual sound of horses whinnying outside the train. Then, the trio huddled against each other and started to whisper. From the whispering, anyone would've been able to decipher the names of the hijackers. The Frenchman was Francis, the wagon lit conductor name was Gilbert, and the Spaniard was named Antonio.

"Fratello," the younger whispered to his brother, "what's going to happen to us?"

"Nothing!" The older whispered harshly back, "nothing. We're going to be fine. Nothing is going to happen you."

Feliciano moved closer to his brother, shaking all the while. Tears started flowing down Feliciano's cheeks and onto the silk jacket. He whimpered while Lovino was glaring back at the Spaniard as if to say, "you bastard. Making my brother trust like that. Just you wait..."

One of the elder aristocrats was getting sick of everything. He stood up, cane in hand and his snow white hair gleaming in the moonlight and his grey eyes shining in the dark. He spoke in a refined New York accent, "who are you gentlemen? What are you doing here? You have no business here!"

Francis turned around and put his hands on his hips. A wicked smile played across his lips, "well, well, well. Look what we have here. The old, rich American thinks he's the hero here?" As he was speaking, he took the gun from his back pocket and walked dangerously towards the man, "we are here on urgent business," he pointed to the Italian brothers, "these two...are coming with us."

"Leave these boys alone! What have they done to you?"

Francis' ran his long fingers along trigger of the gun, "are you married, Monsieur..."

The old man swallowed, "Roberts..."

"Ah, Monsieur Roberts," Francis' smile seemed to be getting bigger each step he took and there was something dangerous in his blue eyes, "are you married? Is there a Madame Roberts involved?"

"Y-yes..."

"What do you think would happen if Madame Roberts..." the Frenchman put the gun to the Roberts forehead, "just didn't hear back from her husband in a while?"

Roberts started to shake, "you wouldn't dare!"

Francis licked his lips, "try me."

"Stop!" Lovino screamed, "just stop, bastardo!" He stepped up from his brother and stared at the Frenchman straight in his eyes. He knew what he was doing was stupid, but he didn't want Feliciano to witness a man being murdered in cold blood, "just take me already!"

"Oh, honhonhon~" Francis' smile didn't disappear, "he actually speaks. Who do you think you are, kid? You shouldn't mess with people with guns..."

"That's enough, Francis!" Antonio growled from the corner. Was this guy really defending Lovino?

The dangerous light turned off in Francis' eyes and he made a pouty face to his Spanish companion, "awww, Tonio! You are no fun!"

"Shut up!" Lovino barked, "I'll go with you, unless you don't let this train go!"

Francis turned back to Lovino, "how very noble of you, my dear. But, we have to take your brother with us as well."

Lovino growled, "no way in HELL am I going to-"

"Fratello, it's okay," Feliciano slowly stood up, "if it means the people on this train don't get harmed, then we BOTH must go."

"Feliciano-"

"Great! Now that we got the boys," Francis put his gun down and turned to his companions, "shall we go?"

Gilbert nodded, "I agree, we better leave."

"What are we waiting for? Let's go!"

Lovino and Feliciano had to lead the trio, so they wouldn't escape. Roberts looked at the boys with wonder, but Feliciano simply smiled at him and mouthed to him thank you. Lovino only looked at Roberts. Francis pushed the boys forward, making them fall onto the cold desert sand. When the brothers looked up, they saw three horses only 20 feet away. One of them was Antonio's chestnut mare, Valentina who had a calm, serene look. She seemed to be happy when she saw Antonio, because she was pawing the ground and whinnying. The other two, however, were snorting and were fighting with each other. They were both stallions. One of them was a light grey and had grey, almost silver, mane and tail with dark, black eyes. The other had a white coat with brown spotting around the belly, snout, ears and it's eyes with a white man and tail.

"Oh, Gilbert! Our horses are fighting again!" Francis sighed.

"Boys! Gil!" When Gilbert yelled Gil, the grey horse stupidly walked towards the Prussian and chewed on his hair, making him laugh, "aww, buddy! I missed you too!"

"Damien!" Francis whistled to the painted horse, who briskly walked towards the Frenchman with a lot of dignity and honor, just like his owner.

"Okay, so what are the riding arrangements?" Antonio asked.

"Well," Gilbert thought, "I think Antonio should take the older brother and I should take the younger brother."

"But, what about moi?" Francis pouted.

"I don't trust you with kids, that's why."

"You know what-!"

"WE better get out of here before someone decides to inform the police," Antonio said, before the two could start to get into another fight, "vamos, Lovino."

Lovino dragged his feet behind Antonio's, towards Valentina. Antonio put his foot into the foothold of the saddle and gracefully lifted his leg up and on top the horse's back. He held his hand down to Lovino, who rolled his eyes and grabbed it. Antonio grunted as he lifted the Italian onto the horse's back.

"You might want to hold on," Antonio suggested.

Lovino rolled his eyes again and wrapped his arms around Antonio's waist. He could feel the other's man breathing in and out. He checked to see if Feliciano was okay. He was already asleep on the Prussian's back, which the Prussian had to keep the Frenchman silent to not wake him up. When Francis got onto his horse, he waved to Antonio, which meant that they had to go. Valentina started to go on a full speed gallop and the others followed.

However, Francis, who was a little behind the others, lit a match, which he threw on the ground. The flame made a trail, straight to front of the train, which was right before the first class cabin. They must've made an gas trail before they came on the train! Soon enough, the whole train started to catch fire. Lovino watched with horror as people screamed and the flames leapt to the sky.

Lovino searched for the Spaniard's face in the dark of the night, but all he could see was the silhouette his face. He looked on his neck and saw the same mark from Gilbert's neck. Now that he had a closer look at it, he saw that it really was a golden snake, in an attack position.

Lovino hung on tighter to his captor's waist as the horse picked up pace. He put his head on his back and closed his eyes, listening to the screams of the people, the flames from the train, and the beating of Antonio's heart.

Before he drifted to the abyss, he heard someone, who may have been Antonio, but he was too tired to answer back.

"I'm sorry."

Hey! How's it going? School's been a real pain in the butt, so I haven't been able to update as much as I wanted. Sorry! I hope your guy's school year is going well! Thank you for being patient! I appreciate it! Until next time! See ya!