A/N: There is mild violence in this one, so please be careful reading! Hope you guys enjoy this chapter, had to do a lotttt of research for this one. Thanks guys!

The party from within the ship has not even died down by the time Augustine came back up. The bright lights were still flashing, the synchronized singing was still going strong, and the copious amounts of drinks were still flying around the whole ship.

Attempting to quietly pass by, Augustine failed as one of the drunk crew mates called upon him. The crew mate laughed, an arm around another guy. "Hey Cap'n! Come dance with us! It'll be reallllll fun!"

"As I said, I can't celebrate too early. But all of you can go on, a few of us need to stay sober," He joked, earning laughters from the others. They walked away without questioning any further. Dancing wasn't a part of his thing, especially during the recent events. Dancing was the last thing he wanted to do at the moment. Rogue and Athena, he kept telling himself.

He heard peaceful whistling as he met the open air, looking up to see someone steering the ship. She was pretty tall, her figure being outlined by the moonlight. She was whistling a pretty melody, her dark hair flowing with the wind. Augustine gave a small smile, climbing up the stairs to the top deck. "Always so busy!"

"I am the pilot, right? Someone's gotta keep track of where we're going," She remarked, keeping her eyes focused straightforward. The pilot was a good friend of Augustine's, her name was Ora. She has known him for five years, fought by his side in all sorts of adventures. "I heard about your plan to Athena. What are you expecting to gain from it?"

Augustine stood by her, sighing heavily as he followed her line of sight. The fresh breeze of the night calmed him in a way dancing never could. "Of course, there's the loot and all but I want a safe home for my son. A safe home for all of us. Athena is well-known to be this sort of paradise so I thought Rogue would have the childhood he deserves there. Out here in the sea isn't very ideal for a boy his age."

"But Rogue really admires you, you know that. You've done so much for him out here."

"Taking her ship down just to get the map to Athena was only the beginning," Augustine replied, clutching onto his coat.

"And that proves more than enough. Rogue is happy where he is now. He's happy as long as you're with him." Ora watched as the captain's expression softened, pursing her lips. She jokingly nudged him by the arm, grinning joyfully.

"They should call you the greatest father to ever live instead!" The helmsman added, steering the ship through the cold breeze. Augustine laughed softly alongside her. She chuckled as she saw the captain's exhausted state. "Do you really ever sleep?"

"Hah! Never even bat an eyelash!" Augustine scoffed, looking off into the distance towards the horizon. The moonlight reflected off the waters, the quiet breeze sending chills down their spines. Ora breathed in deeply, taking in the calming atmosphere of the open seas.

"Those restless hours are gonna get to you, Con," Ora whispered, giving her friend a side glance. The ship began to sway harshly again, almost making the two lose their footing as well. Augustine cursed as he was trying to get up, glancing up to see Ora reach a hand out to him. He gladly took it.

"The weather is crazy," She spat. "Something doesn't seem right."

"Were our predictions correct?" He asked. "We were expecting cold weather but the tides seem off."

"Perhaps I should check on Rogue, be careful Ora," Augustine nodded to her, heading down the deck. His captain instincts struck him like a blast of electricity, slowly reaching for the sword in his baldric. His fingers snaked down the sheath of his sword, his heart beating rapidly. There was a single candle illuminating that area of the ship. He sensed a presence inching closer. He remained low, taking each step carefully as he pulled his sword out. He could barely see a shadow by the corner and eyed it's every move. Once the cold breeze killed the only light source, a voice came out of thin air.

"Well if it isn't Augustine Con!"

Catching him off guard, he was pushed to the side. His back hit a wooden box, grasping both ends of his sword to fend himself from a figure pinning him down with its own sword. With a grunt, he kicked the figure away. A gentle thud could be heard.

As he stood back up, the figure immediately charged towards him. The figure thrusted its sword continuously. Augustine noticed a certain pattern with it's blows and strikes. Though the darkness wasn't too helpful.

The figure was fast. Augustine noticed it's continuous attempt to strike him in the lower torso, its breathing hitching as it grew tired by the second. Augustine threw a strike, eyeing it's reaction very closely through the dark. The figure's arms are growing heavy. It thrusted its sword lazily. An advantage point. With a parry, Augustine thrusted his own sword shallowly, encircling his wrist to bring their swords up vertically. Once he saw the opening, Augustine pointed the tip of his sword down suddenly towards the outside of his blade, sliding the sword down then jerking it in towards him.

With a quick and strong jerk, the sword came flying out of the figure's hand. Augustine laughed, pinning the figure against a wooden pillar, his blade carefully against the figure's neck. "I've done this hundreds of times. Do you really think of me that lowly to attack me in a sword fight?"

"If it means being this close to you Con, then yes," Her voice was sly. Augustine paused, earning a cloth being tightly wrapped around his neck. He hissed, being pulled back. He dropped his sword to grasp the cloth and maintain his breathing, grunting. He felt someone on his back, holding the cloth that was strangling him.

A sudden swerve of a flame lit in front of him, his eyes focused on the recent figure. The light from the torch illuminated her face that was filled with exhaustion and satisfaction. She adjusted her collar, feeling her neck to breathe freely again. "I thought I told you to manage your focus when it comes to fights?"

"Hah, and I thought I told you to manage your stamina," He finally recognized her, his eyes fixated on the woman holding the torch. With the torch, he finally saw her unique features, her eyes filled with the same burning passion from years ago. Augustine felt two pairs of arms pinning him down, grunting as he was forced to kneel.

"Rey, it's nothing personal, it's just business," he weakly shrugged his shoulders, grinning slyly. She growled and took him by the collar, their faces barely an inch away with her breath barely brushing against him.

"You attacked MY ship!" Rey glared down at him, her gaze meeting his, intensely. It was filled with anger, polished with hatred. As she held Augustine by the collar, she wanted nothing more than to see pain coat this man's body. "You knew how much everything you've destroyed meant to me. And yet you took it from me anyway!"

She released him forcefully, her eyes set on him as he grunted. "Why did you do it, Con?"

She glanced to the side, scoffing with disbelief. "Of course, you did it for the boy."

"What?"

She called in her crew who forcefully brought Rogue towards her, shoving him to the floor. Rogue looked up to see his own father being held down. "Papa!"

Before the child could run for his father, Rey took Rogue by the hair, yanking his small body towards her effortlessly. She knelt down, lifting him up by the hair to meet her height. She held the burningly bright torch in her other hand, bringing it to a certain angle to look into Rogue's large brown eyes. Rey chuckled as the boy tried to free himself, but it was no use.

"Rogue! It's going to be okay! I promised, you're going to be okay! I'm gonna handle everything!" Augustine met the boy's eyes. He turned to Rey. "Wait, leave the boy alone. He's not a part of this--!"

"Listen to me, Con. I couldn't care any less if this boy gets hurt!" She smiled slyly, the flame in her eyes sparking menacingly. She held the torch closer to the boy's face. "You've done every little thing for this child that you think he deserves. Now, it's my turn to show that."

"Rey, please, let him go!" Augustine's pleads could be heard all across the sea, his breath not only hitching from the cloth, but also for the sound of his own son crying. He attempted to free himself from their grasps, but the harder he tried, the weaker he felt. His energy was beginning to drain out along with his pride. "Please, he means too much to me."

Rey paused.

"You're right," She mumbled. She looked back down at Augustine, eyeing at his weakening state. She then turned towards Rogue, the child's tears flooding him into a sobbing mess. Rey's chest was heaving at the sight.

"Augustine, you know well that I've raised this boy alongside you. I pledged my life that I would care for him after his mother died," The fist that held Rogue's hair grew tighter. "I saw Rogue as my own son.. and you as..."

From the corner of her eye, she saw Augustine, quietly pleading. She felt the sudden urge to cry in her eyes.

Without finishing her sentence, she harshly pressed the burning end of the torch to Rogue's face, immediately dropping him to the floor as the little boy cried loudly.

"NO!" Augustine screamed out loudly, his heart completely breaking as he watched his son suffer in utter pain and horror. "ROGUE! Rey, please, please, please! Let me go! I need to see my son! Please, Rey, I beg of you!"

Rey stared blankly at the boy crying in pain, the screams around her tuning out as she focused on the boy mercilessly. Rogue's loud crying muffled with his face in his hands, the awful crack in his sobbing exemplifying his pain.

She began to walk away from the child, approaching the broken man as he laid there in defeat. Augustine weakly glanced up to see her merciless figure, wincing as he saw his son from across the ship. Rey leaned down, chuckling.

"You should've gone for me," His voice became a weak whisper. "This was supposed to be OUR fight. Not the boy's."

"You're right," Rey tilted her head, smirking. "Maybe you should've thought of that before you took everything from me and gave it to the boy."

She held his chin and lifted his head up, her face blank but her eyes filled with resentment. "It's nothing personal. It's just business."

She harshly let go of him, noticing the boy's crying dying down. She began to adjust her coat, putting her gloves back on. She nodded towards her own crew mates, turning around to hear Augustine fall completely to the floor. Rey glanced at the boy, walking up to his small body. She stood over him, her shadow towering him.

"Let this be a lesson to you, Rogue," Her voice was cold and empty. She called for all her crew mates, leaving the scene swiftly before Augustine's own crew could arrive.

Rogue panted, his silent crying tearing himself apart. When he was sure they left, he struggled to run up to his father, calling out to him weakly. But from all the crying, his voice was weak and hoarse. He held the right side of his face that was burnt, his tears blurring his vision.

"Papa," he whispered, his own father's body not moving at all. "Please.."

Before he could take another step, he collapsed onto the floor, the last sight he could ever see was his own father, laying on the wooden floor of the ship, absolutely lifeless. Pitch blackness began to overcome his sight.

Muffled screams began to fill his senses.

"ROGUE! ROGUEEE! WHERE ARE YOU?!"