IMPORTANT AUTHOR'S NOTE: This Chapter is divided into two parts, a "BEFORE" and an "AFTER." This is because I am currently rewriting the entire story. This division will probably only exist in the FIRST CHAPTER to show a comparison between work I wrote OVER THREE YEARS AGO and things I write now. If you'd rather see what I do now skip to the "AFTER" section of this chapter. Please understand that as of 7/15/2015 I am rewriting this story. When the chapters are REWRITTEN I will leave a note with the date at the TOP of the page. Otherwise, from this point on you will be reading work from YEARS ago.


CHAPTER ONE - PROLOGUE
Who's That Man in the Shadows?

BEFORE

Feliciano wandered around the small mini mart, grabbing anything and everything he could possibly use in his pasta dinner. He bought bags of flour, cartons of eggs, and plenty of other ingredients that he would use in his special 'secret' sauce.

"Garlic, sugar, tomatoes..." he mumbled to himself as he surveyed the shelves. Whenever Feliciano was to go shopping, he'd often spend hours and hours on end in the store. He always tried to get the best ingredients he could possibly find, always wanting to make dinner a bit of a special occasion even if, in reality, it wasn't.

Feliciano happily hummed to himself as he skipped around the store. About thirty minutes later he had a basket full of ingredients. He carried it all the way to the checkout counter before putting the basket down. He placed his items on the conveyor belt and smiled at the clerk. He nodded in return and quickly went back to scanning everything and placing them in bags. This was one of those '15 or less' checkouts so it wasn't very busy. But because of this it also didn't have anyone else bagging things.

As Feliciano opened his wallet to pull out a couple of dollar bills, he suddenly felt like he was being watched.

Feliciano wasn't exactly a very paranoid person. He didn't always think of things before they happened and thanks to this he usually just surrendered or ran away before anything got out of hand. But when he felt like he was being watched, he was usually correct. He looked around, beginning to scan the area briefly.

He quickly turned back around and handed the clerk the money. There were a couple of people behind him and he didn't intend to keep the line held up. He grabbed the couple of bags and stepped away from the counter. Looking around, he didn't realize that he had looked at the person multiple times. It wasn't until the clouds uncovered the sun that Feliciano managed to see a silhouetted figure.

He couldn't really make out their features. Barely any of their facial indentations were visible; all he could really identify were the seemingly glowing violet eyes and the fez on his head. The man seemed to be staring right back at him; Feliciano quickly became uncomfortable. He turned to the door and rushed out, nearly colliding with a shopping cart full of waffles and soda.

"Sorry!" Feliciano blurted out before rushing back to his car.

Well, it wasn't exactly his car; it was Ludwig's old black BMW. He got a new one and since most of Feliciano's previous cars ended up in junk yards so he figured he could give that old one away. All it was really doing was collecting dust in the garage anyway. And now if the car did end up in bust he could at least sell the scraps.

Feliciano unlocked the door and stepped inside, throwing the grocery bags to the passenger side. He closed the door and attempted to start up the car. But each time he tried to turn it on the engine started and shook the car for a moment then stopped, dying off. He turned the key multiple times, trying again and again but with no luck.

The car was dead. He stepped out in an attempt to find the problem. It took him a moment to realize that he was standing in oil. He kneeled over and saw the pipes busted from underneath, multiple puncture wounds, likely from a screwdriver, being noticeable. Oil was pouring out of each and every one of them. Feliciano stood up and pulled out his phone. He called Ludwig, the first person he ever would in a situation like this one. When he answered Feliciano started blabbering about what was going on.

"Germany! Germany! I'm at the supermarket and I just bought some stuff for pasta and I saw this guy and he was staring at me so I ran to my car and-" Feliciano was talking so fast Ludwig could barely understand him. He was about to speak up and tell Feliciano to slow down when the voice on the other end of the line suddenly cut off. He heard nothing except something collapsing aided with a bit of a crackle.

"Italy?" Ludwig asked nervously. He could hear something rustling and heavy breathing. Then the line went dead.


AFTER

It was a mild day.

Not too hot, not too cold. Perfect for a brief shopping spree.

Feliciano sped around the mini mart at top speeds. He knew what he was looking for, and where to get it. While most people moved at a leisurely pace he whizzed past them with an objective in mind. He was long past due a pasta dinner, and had the list of ingredients basically memorized: flour, eggs, tomatoes, garlic, and more types of cheese than he could count on both hands. When put together they made a masterpiece, and his mouth watered at just the thought.

It took him the longest time to pick out the best of the best. Regular old tomatoes wouldn't do well in his sauce, and some cheeses didn't appear nearly as appealing as others. It was the pickiness mixed with the desire for a once in a lifetime perfect dinner that led him to spending hours that day in the market. He occupied the lonely times with blissful humming and brief daydreams that kept him awake and interested. When his list had been completed and his basket was filled, he went to the checkout counter.

From there things went downhill.

He placed his things on the conveyor belt, smiled at the clerk, and watched as each item was

scanned. Things were put in bags as Feliciano pulled out his wallet. He was counting out the dollar bills when a chill ran down his spine. He tensed and turned around.

The feeling of being watched sent off alarms in his head. He wasn't a very paranoid person, and usually didn't see things coming. He didn't really plan ahead either, which meant he usually ran away or surrendered. But this didn't seem like a situation where either of those were applicable. Rather, he felt like prey before a predator. Like someone was stalking him, but who he couldn't tell. No amount of times that he scanned the crowd could he find a face that sent him running

When he realized he was holding the line up, he quickly handed the clerk the money. Feliciano took his grocery bags and stepped towards the front of the store. Once more he looked around, but didn't find anything alarming. Little did he know the predator was homing in.

He rushed out of the store, nearly toppling over a shopping cart in the process. "Sorry!" he blurted out, hurrying past. Not even risking a glance back to see if he was being followed. He arrived at the car, body shaking but he tried to muster a cooled expression, Feliciano gripped car keys with white knuckles. He felt too nervous for his own good, heart pounding at an invisible threat. Something about this situation just set him off, left him feeling uncomfortable in his own body.

He needed to get the Hell out of here.

The doors were unlocked with the click of a button, quickly pulled open with bags tossed into the passenger side. He got in and locked up just as quickly. It felt a whole lot safer in the confines of a metal case then out in the open. The keys went in the ignition and then turned.

Feliciano expected the sound of the engine starting up. No matter how old this car was it still had a kick to it, and the roar it emitted could get him to jump when unexpected. But this was no roar. A mere whimper that died off too quickly to be reassuring. His eyes widened, and he turned the keys again. Again and again, but to no avail. Something was wrong, the car was dead. It couldn't have been a worse time.

Despite his better judgement, he stepped out of the car.

Looking for anything broken, anything worn down. He got here in this car with no problem, what was the issue now?

It took a moment of circling before he noticed the pool of oil. Trailing out from beneath his car. He knelt down, forgetting to make sure his pant leg wasn't stained in black. Oh well, he didn't care. There were too many things to worry about to care so much about a pair of ruined trousers. A glance underneath revealed the main problem.

Someone had punctured the pipes, and oil was currently leaking out. Definitely not an easy fix, especially in the middle of a mini mart parking lot. He'd need help, and he'd need help fast.

Feliciano stood up and pulled out his phone. He called the first person that he could think of: Ludwig.

When the other line picked up he started talking, blabbering, about his unfortunate predicament.

"Germany, Germany! I'm at the mini mart and I bought some stuff for pasta. I thought someone was watching me but I couldn't see anyone so I started panicking and ran to the car and-" Feliciano was talking so fast that Ludwig could barely catch what he was saying.

The German was about to speak up, cut him off and calm him down, when the voice on the other end was stopped short. There was a crack, a slam, and the line went dead.

"...Italy?"


A/N: The "AFTER" section is an entire 140 words longer than the "BEFORE" section.