A/N: Hey, there. This is, hopefully, going to continue for a while. I'm excited about this, and I might toss some old ideas in as well.

This is, as the genre says, a suspense/comedy. I'm adding some shipping… this is basically just a fun, action filled story I've been dying to get to, and now that I have time, I can do it.

I won't be taking it too seriously, but it's good practice for me since I'm in a bit of a funk. I hope you enjoy!

Allen let out a shriek. It was loud, piercing, and full of rage. His face was turning so many shades of red that it matched his eyes.

"What in the blazes is your malfunction, child," Oliver snapped, walking into the kitchen where he and Matt were standing. "Oh, good lord, are you two fighting again?"

"Don't worry," Matt said, a calm yet amused look on his face. "He'll calm down soon enough."

"Fuck you! Fuck you!" No knowing how else to approach this, he sputtered and shouted, "Fuck you!" again.

"Language, Allen."

"Oliver," Allen whined, turning to his former caretaker for help.

"Whatever happened, I'm sure you started it," Oliver said before he had a chance to spill the story.

"He fed me a fucking weed brownie!"

The room went silent for a moment. Allen had his hands out in a 'please back me up' gesture.

"I thought you'd be more pissed about the eggs," Matt said.

Allen whipped around, eyes wide with terror. "The…?" He threw his hands over his mouth. "I'm- I'm gonna puke!"

Matt sighed. "You're the one that ate them before I had a chance to tell you. It's your own fa-"

"Oliver-" He pointed at him. "Said he made vegan brownies! I thought that those were…!"

Oliver quietly parted between him and retrieved a small bag from the cupboard. "You're... going to need these." He handed the bag to Allen, straight faced.

Matt gave a small chuckle. "Yeah, man. If ya want, I'll make more of mine without eggs."

"You asshole! You know I don't do that!" He took the bag from Oliver and set it aside before burying his face in his hands. "Oh, my god. This is fucked. I'm fucked. Luciano is going to fucking kill me."

"Why this time?"

Everyone turned to see Francois sitting at the counter/bar, looking horribly exhausted. Though, his outfit was on point. It was his military uniform, as Luciano had requested.

"Mattie fed Allen pot."

"He's acting like I gave him cocaine. Sheesh."

Oliver gave him a quick look.

"I'd never," he said, holding his hands up. "That's not my cup of tea."

He nodded and turned back to Allen, who was still freaking out. "Love, it's only a small mission. Go get dressed before it hits."

Allen started to protest.

"He's right," Francois said, checking his cigarette count. "Luciano doesn't like us being late more than he won't like that you're stoned." He put the pack in his pocket and flicked his lighter, making sure it worked. "How many did you have?"

"…Three."

Francois glanced up at him and pressed his lips together tightly. "G…get dressed."

Allen wasn't finished protesting. "I'm gonna die! I've never smoked the shit, let alone ate it!"

Oliver coughed.

The look Allen gave him could have cut steel. "You motherfucker."

"You were a very fussy child," he said, not even apologetic. "Sometimes-"

"I don't wanna hear it." Allen stormed into his room to get changed, fuming and grumbling.

Matt smirked. "He's fucked."

"Swear jar." Oliver turned to Matt. "Wait…" He looked in the tray where the drugged brownies were. "Why are there more than three missing? Are you…?"

Matt started for his room. "I do it all of the time. No one notices."

When they were both gone, Oliver fidgeted. "This is going to be an awfully long day, isn't it, dear?"

Francois put his face in his hands and let out a small laugh. "I'm looking forward to this."

About twenty minutes passed and Matt, Oliver, and Francois were standing at the door, impatient. Matt finally volunteered to retrieve his brother after he noticed Francois impatiently checking his watch.

When he got to Allen's room, he was in most of his uniform, minus the jacket. He was holding it, but his gaze was so far into space that he was surely in another dimension.

Matt bit his lip, smiling. "You okay, man?"

"Huh?"

"We need to go."

Allen stood silent for a few seconds.

Matt rolled his eyes and took him by the arm, leading him out. "C'mon, rookie."

He stumbled after his brother, his daze getting more and more noticeable. He felt like he was swimming through air, and his brain felt fuzzy like the static that comes off of those old box televisions.

Oliver was right. It was going to be a long day, indeed.

—-

"This is a standard mission," Luciano barked to the others. He stood at the front, his posture perfect, hands folded behind him to keep from flailing around in Italian gestures. His face was stone cold. "There's a facility in the outskirts of Castelmezzano. Last month, Lutz and I did a perimeter check. It's very isolated and heavily guarded." He nodded to Lutz, who immediately got to his feet and pulled some large papers from a box. "We found a few areas that weren't so impenetrable." Lutz opened one room of paper to reveal a hand drawn map, no doubt made by Luciano.

"Um… Why?"

All eyes were on Flavio, who had no problems sassing his brother.

Luciano was very obviously and immediately annoyed. "It's nothing my-" He squinted. "Our government knows about. If you would pay more attention-"

Flavio rolled his eyes and muttered, "Here we go."

Luciano let out a huff of anger. "It's not on legal grounds. There are suspicions of very inhumane activities happening here. I was sent to gather information, and I trust in you all that you'll get the fucking job done."

Matt made glanced at Allen, who was staring intensely at Luciano, focusing every ounce of attention he had to understand what he was telling them. He looked back up at the Italian. "What do you need us to do, man?"

Luciano turned away from Flavio, his face softening slightly. He had a lot of obvious respect for Matt. "You're all assigned jobs that your qualifications meet."

"Oh, Luci, with the formalities," Lutz chuckled and bumped him.

He rolled his eyes and took a paper from Lutz. He scanned it, making sure everything was written properly. "Francois, Matt, you're both to keep up with the perimeter. You'll be the ones to notify us of any trouble or to come to help anyone who gets into trouble."

Matt and Francois nodded.

"Trouble," Allen asked, his voice sounding very foreign to himself, almost startling him.

Luciano raised a brow. "It's nothing we can't handle, but I don't expect it." He looked back at the paper, making a face. "Oliver, Flavio," the names sounded slightly poisonous. "You two are on call. You're bother to keep reports, make sure everyone is where they should be, and to contact everyone else at the base if things go wrong and Francois and Matt are both preoccupied. Understood?" His eyes flicked up at them, Flavio was already giving Oliver the 'Yay! We work together!' look.

"Sure," Flavio said absently.

"If you two slack off or miss an opportunity," he said very coldly. "You could be responsible for a life."

Flavio and Oliver glanced at each other.

"Do I make myself clear?"

"I said sure," Flavio huffed, crossing his arms.

Before he could let his anger out, Lutz took his shoulder and said, "This isn't supposed to be an awfully difficult mission, but with what we know, these humans have guns. and I'm pretty sure I heard dogs."

The two sat silent for a moment, then nodded.

Luciano took his attention from them and focused on Allen. "You come with Lutz and me."

"Me?"

He rolled his eyes. "You and your brother are known for hopping buildings and climbing a lot."

"Parkour?"

"Bless you," He gave Lutz the paper. "The entry point is difficult to navigate. I'm not the best at it and Lutz is… Well, heavy."

The German flexed and winked.

"For fuck's sake." He marked a few points on the map, explained to the first two groups that that would be their base point, and handed them maps of their own. He also handed out walkie talkies, and explained their numbers. Oliver and Flavio had number two, Matt had three, and Francois had four. "Our's will be number five."

"Five? What happened to one?" Oliver tilted his head.

"That's basecamp. Viktor has that one." He Turned his on and clicked a button. "Viktor, check in to all sections."

A moment passed. The walkie in Oliver's hand bliped. A long, static filled sigh came through. "Two. Say something."

Oliver hit the talk button. "Hello!"

Matt's was next, then Francois. Last was Luciano's. "Happy now?"

"He's never happy," Lutz said. Luciano glared at him.

A laugh came through the speaker and was cut off, making the phones silent.

"Don't fuck around with these. This is a mostly stealth mission, only used for emergencies." He set his glare on Oliver. "Don't be stupid."

"Roger!" Oliver smiled cheerfully.

"Remember, don't get split up, and don't goof off. Take ten, and we will be out."

Everyone nodded simultaneously. Allen nodded a little too much.

Matt clasped his hand on his shoulder.

"I'm going to fucking die."

—-

Composure, Allen. Just act natural. Don't let this get to you. You parkour all of the time. Why should this be different? You almost fell of of a twenty story building, and you laughed! That was great!… But Luciano is here. He's here. Oh, no. Luciano is gonna kill me. He already hates your guts… probably because you're American. But how can i help that? You're psyching yourself out. Oh no. Oh… No… Don't puke. You'll be fine. You fought LUTZ before. And WON. Big, scary… Oh, who am I kidding. He's a fucking teddy bear.

Allen kept trying to calm himself down… with no avail.

They were slowly approaching a fenced in area. How did a place like this go overlooked by… anyone? It was a mess. Though, the world they lived in was no better than an apocalypse film. Constant fighting, famine, pestilence, death… Basically the four horsemen of the apocalypse having a party. Sure, the light world wasn't all sunshine and rainbows, but at least it was more…civilized. Allen wished they had things like Tumblr here, because if Alfred thought his version was bad, Allen was sure this one would be worse. On second thought, maybe that wasn't a good idea.

Luciano was climbing the fence… and struggling and he got to the top. Lutz practically jumped it like it was nothing.

"Here goes nothing." Allen couldn't fuck up. He swallowed hard and started climbing. He felt like he was crawling he was going so slow. He carefully straddled the barbed wire and let himself drop to the other side and rolled to break his fall.

"Nice," Lutz said and patted his back when he got up.

"That took forever," Allen said, half groaning.

Luciano raised a brow. "If ten seconds is forever to you, I want to know what ten minutes is." He started walking into the woods, obviously going to a specific direction.

Allen blinked. "Seconds…?"

Lutz smirked. "First time stoned?"

He nearly screamed again and fell backwards, stumbling in fear.

"I won't tell." He winked and slung an arm around his shoulders, walking with him. "You'll do fine. Just don't think too much about it and let autopilot take over."

Allen bit his lip, nervous. "What if I fail?"

"Then Luciano will throw a fit." He shrugged. "But you've got me with you."

Allen started off, watching as Luciano weaved through the wooded area, quietly and gracefully. "Thanks, Lutz."

"Just remember, stay focused on the goal, not the task. And don't stop moving."

"What if I stop moving?"

"You might stare into space like an idiot and forget what you were doing." He patted his arm. "I'm not a fan of the stuff, but I know what it's like."

"Neither am I…"

He made a face. "Did Oliver…?"

"No." He sighed and stared off again. Forgetting to elaborate on that. Lutz waited, then realized he was long gone, and probably wouldn't remember what they were talking about if he tried to ask. He decided it would be better to ask later.

They found a small clearing with a small building. Looking passed it, more were lining after it and around. In the far back, they could barely make out what looked like a prison or an insane asylum.

"Whoa…"

"We need to go through some buildings to get to the factory." Luciano yanked the door open to the first one. It was bland and white, and looked awfully run down. The smell of must ran through it, making it feel void of anything, even spirits.

Luciano continued to lead the way, making it up some stairs, through a few rooms, and out onto a fire escape. The whole building was run down, chairs tossed aside, parts of the floor caved through, and holes in the ceiling. He leaped onto the roof of the building beside it, and crossed it, not bothering to wait for the other two.

"Luci and I mapped this part of the place out. We explored a lot of the surrounding buildings and areas, but this seemed like the safest route." Lutz spoke as he causally helped Allen cross any large gaps and made his way to trail closer behind Luciano. "There were a lot of guards, and there's a section that way," he pointed east. "That's entirely flooded. Judging by the water, we can safely assume we may cross more."

Luciano climbed down a ladder on the side of the building and leaped across the gap between the buildings to a hole in the side of the wall. Lutz followed and Allen went last. Before Allen was able to cross, the floor gave out under Luciano's feet. He let out a cry and grabbed the remaining boards, catching himself.

"Luci!" Allen froze on the ladder.

Lutz quickly got to him and pulled him from the floor. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, I'm fine," he huffed, brushing himself off. "Stupid floor."

Lutz inspected the damage as Allen finally got the courage to hop across. "Water damage,"he murmured.

"Are you okay? Are you hurt?"

"I said I'm fine," he snapped, walking forward again.

Allen stood still for a moment, processing what had happened. He let out a breath and forced himself forward, not sure if he was walking straight or not. He took a practice leap over the hole that Luciano had made and made it without a problem. He looked back at the hole, seeing three floors down. He swallowed hard, his gut twisting.

"We can do this…"

Luciano finally stopped and said, "Allen. You're up."

Allen walked up next to him and examined the area. It was a complete mess and looked like there was a bomb that went off. He could see out of the roof five floors above them, and mapped a route around it as if it were second nature. He was never as good as Matt was at parkour, but he definitely wasn't bad at it anymore.

"Where to, Luc?"

The Italian gave him a sideways glance that was somewhere between exhaustion and disgust. "Don't call me that." Before Allen could apologize, he pointed up at a foggy window two floors up. "I want you to get a look out of that window."

Allen nodded and looked around. There was a rope hanging from a crossbeam close to the window. He made a note that he'd use it to get down if it was sturdy enough, which it looked like it might be.

He took a deep breath and glanced at Lutz nervously before starting. Lutz gave him an encouraging smile and a thumbs up.

While he climbed, Lutz strolled up next to Luciano to watch. After a few minutes, Allen made it to the floor below the window, and he seemed puzzled on where to go next.

"So," Luciano said, softly. "How long do you think it'll take him to realize I know he's stoned out of his brains?" His tone was very deadpan.

Lutz tried not to laugh. "He's worried you'll be pissed."

"I am."

"If it makes it any better… he said it was an accident."

Luciano's face changed a bit, going from unamused to somewhat understanding. "Huh." He crossed his arms and watched as Allen struggled to cross a small gap. "That makes more sense, actually."

Lutz smiled. "You've got this," he called to the American. "Don't look down and you'll be alright."

Allen swallowed hard and quickly took his advice. He stopped clinging to the wall and took a step back before clearing the gap successfully.

"Idiot," Luciano muttered.

"He tries, at least," Lutz defended.

He squinted at the American, his dark eyes peeling every layer back and assessing his entire being. "I suppose."

Lutz patted his shoulder. "Lighten up. He's not a bad kid. You have a lot in common. Like a temper."

"Fuck you."

Allen finally got to the level with the window, but he had to clear an even larger gap to get to the ledge the window was by. He took a long and slow breath, reminding himself who was watching, then bravely ran to clear the jump.

The two on the floor tensed up for a moment, seeing him make the clearing in slow motion before relaxing as his feet planted firmly on the ledge, his balance fully in tact.

"Nice work," Luciano said. "What's out there?"

Allen grinned from ear to ear, hearing the compliment, and pressed his hands to the window and peered out.

His smile fell almost immediately.

Allen moved slowly, pulling his phone from his pocket and tapping on it, eyes wide and stricken with fear.

"The hell… Are you fucking texting?! You stupid son of a-"

"Picture," he said, not looking down at them. He turned to the window and cleaned a small area with his sleeve before lifting his phone and looking through. His hands shook slightly as he snapped a few photos.

He pulled the phone from the window and turned back to the others. "You… you're gonna wanna see this."

Lutz and Luciano exchanged a look of confusion. Luciano stepped forward and gestured for the phone. Allen hesitated, then tossed it underhand. As soon as he let go, he turned back to the window.

"Fuck…"

He stepped away from the window and immediately made a jump for the rope he'd spotted before.

Luciano stared at the pictures, eyebrows pushing together. Lutz made a, 'let me see' gesture and Luciano handed it off.

"They saw me," Allen was saying as he carefully slid down the rope.

The picture showed a line of people, all standing by guards with guns and dogs. The people were in tattered clothes, looking awfully dead. Lutz could even see one of the guards looking directly at Allen in the picture.

Lutz pocketed the phone and stood at the edge of the floor before it dropped into nothing. "Allen, jump. I'll catch you."

Allen's face was full of fear, but he started to swing. As soon as he heard the doors downstairs being busted open, he let go, almost missing the ledge and Lutz, but the German was anything but weak and caught him by the arm. In seconds, the three were running like hell.

Luciano lead the way, taking them through the building as if he'd been there a thousand times. Allen guessed that he might have had it all mapped int he event of something like this. He was very prepared with everything. Hell, he probably had all of his outfits planned for the entire month.

He had the walkie out, shouting instructions to the others, demanding back up and giving locations. His face was twisted in anger.

Lutz seemed to fall behind a bit, muttering, "Those aren't nice dogs," and constantly glancing over his shoulder. The distant barking started getting louder. Allen felt his chest getting heavier and his legs getting weaker and weaker. He felt like crying.

SNAP! CRASH!

Luciano and Allen screeched to a stop.

"LUTZ!" Luciano flailed and stared down into the hole that Lutz had crashed into. Dust was still hovering around him, but he managed to get to his feet.

"Go," he said, out of breath. "I'll be fine. You two need to get going." He pulled Allen's phone out. "I have this. Call me when you're safe."

Luciano gripped the ledge tightly, staring down at his friend. "You can't…"

Lutz smiled, his teeth perfect and his lips curling perfectly around them.

Had Allen not been interested in someone else, he might have been swooned.

"You two will be fine, and I will, as well. I'm going back to find Viktor and the others." He nodded at Allen. "Your brother and Francois should be coming in to find us. Find them."

With a bit of fear and confusion, Allen nodded.

The sounds of dogs barking started again and grew too close for comfort.

"Go," Lutz said, then disappeared under the floor, running like a bat out of hell.

Neither of the boys took a moment to consider his order and got running again. Luciano was obviously uncomfortable, but they didn't have an option otherwise.

"He's got this, man," Allen panted, trying to reassure him.

Luciano ignored him and veered to the right, straight for the roof where the brain dead people and guards were.

"What are you doing," Allen gasped.

"There's a fire escape this way." Luciano got to a window and pried it open. There was a rickety fire escape outside, like he had said, and they both took it, carefully winding down the stairs and towards the ground. It was halfway down when they simultaneously noticed a row of prisoners standing on the roof next to their building. It was next to another building that was in front of the sun, making it an easy place to hide for the time. They halted and stared for a long time, taking a moment to breathe. There were distant shouts on the other side of the building, out of view.

Allen looked down and tapped Luciano on the shoulder, pointing to the ground. The fire escape lead to water, which had taken over this part of the small abandoned town.

"I…can't swim…" Luciano was white faced and gripping the railing so hard that it was creaking under his strength.

Allen looked back at the roof. It wasn't far from the escape… close enough to jump, even without parkour skills.

"I have an idea," he said, moving for the roof.

"What? You're stoned brain can think anything?"

He didn't answer. His gut was in the right place, and the high had him focusing on his target like a hawk. It was strange, as wobbly as he was, there was something in his brain zeroing in on thoughts and actions, making outside concentration impossible, but his goal was in his hands. As long as he wasn't interrupted, he would be able to pull this off.

He stepped back, then cleared the gap with ease. He his behind an air conditioning unit, watching for guards. He then grabbed two of the prisoners. They didn't resist, but lazily stumbled with him. He yanked his jacket off, then shoved it on one. He turned to see Luciano next to him, eyeing him suspiciously. "Jacket and hat." The demand was so… short and weighted. Luciano blinked, then obeyed, watching Allen take his clothes and put them on the other prisoner. He shoved both of the prisoners being the air conditioner, then ran to the back, grabbing two more prisoners. The guards were too busy hunting intruders to notice.

He pulled the new ones over to the empty spot, placing them in line. He then grabbed Luciano and dragged him to the spot he'd opened up.

Luciano, again, followed in both confusion and awe. Once there, Allen turned to Luciano and said, "I'm sorry," before untucking his shirt, unbuttoning his sleeves and collar, taking his tie and ditching it, and untucking his pants from his boots. "Mess up your hair," he demanded, before giving himself the same treatment.

Luciano obeyed, ruffling his hair and making himself look messy. "Now…?"

He pushed Luciano in line. The dogs from the building were getting closer, and someone shouted about them going down the fire escape. "Act like a zombie, and when they move, follow them."

Luciano acted quickly, letting his shoulders slump and his head bowed slightly.

"Perfect." Allen slumps his shoulders back and kept his head up, but cocked to the left a bit so that he could keep an eye on everyone. The high was good for making him look braindead.

Now, it was a waiting game. Allen started coming up with a back-up plan, considering if they were caught.

The dogs started violently scratching at the windows. The dogs in the sun, leashed to the guards on the roof, were getting antsy, as well. On guard stepped out of the window and onto the fire escape.

"Take the hounds back to the roof," he ordered, then proceeded to take out his gun and shoot both decoys in the heads.

Luciano visibly flinched.

The guard called out, "Get them moving again!"

And just like that, all of the others went back to acting like nothing had happened. The prisoners, or zombies, started walking.

Luciano and Allen followed suit, walking with them and stopping when they stopped. The dogs on leashes were still whining.

A woman with fiery red hair walked out, looking furious. "What was all of THAT," she snarled, hands waving. "Why did I hear gun shots? Where are the intruders?"

"The intruders are dead. Hence the shots," one guard replied.

"Don't you fucking sass me you idiot," she stomped back to the line, and grabbed Luciano by the sleeve, dragging him out to the group of guards she was shouting at.

Allen stiffened. The group had stopped again. Luciano wasn't giving up on the act, though.

"If I see one more incident like this," she shook Luciano the entire time, "I'll have these brainless fucks maul you worse than the dogs!" She released Luciano, and he stumbled and fell to the ground. Wearily, he rose again, hoping it was the right move. "This operation can't be taken down," she panted, still clenching her teeth. "If you-know-who gets past our defense, it's game over. If you value your lives, and your children's lives, do your fucking job." She turned to walk out, and snapped, "And get him in line." The woman stormed off, her hair like fire behind her.

There was silence, then one guard walked over and carefully pushed Luciano back in line.

"What would SHE care if our kids got hurt," one man growled.

"Don't…" the one who had helped Luciano said, sounding exhausted.

"Don't? Don't what? Have, yet another, kid get mauled?"

"You know she didn't want to."

The one arguing huffed. "She's crazy. The kids, the dogs, and don't get me started on the room."

"We don't talk about the room," one joked.

"Yeah," the angry one snarled. "It's fucked up, even for the enemies we got."

"Would you rather you- know-who-"

"He isn't fucking Voldemort."

"I'd rather Voldy," the joke man said. "At least I know what kills him. Mr. Fuck-face Leather is a psycho."

"…Well, he is-"

"We need to get back to work. One more innocent… Well, if he thinks we're incompetent, you know what will happen."

"…Alright, fine." He turned and called out, "Let's move!"

The line started again, and the two were very cautious to keep up the pace. They were getting closer to where the dogs were, making things a lot less comfortable as they whined and barked.

One man, holding the leash of one, leaned down to the dog. He said something to the man next to him.

The sun was shining on them now, and the other edge of the roof drew closer. Allen had a horrible feeling. And as he watched the man with the dog reach for the collar, he knew what had to be done.

"Luci," he whispered.

Luciano twitched slightly.

"Run."

"Wha-"

The dog was unleashed.

Allen grabbed him and ran for the edge, dragging Luciano behind him. The dog barked and snarled, honing in closer and closer. Gun shots whizzed by.

"I can't swi-"

Allen practically dragged Luciano off of the roof. The dog nipped Luciano's heels.

The fall seemed to last an eternity, until they hit the frigid water. Without hesitating, Allen dragged the panicking Italian through one of the broken windows of the building that they were standing on.

He didn't stop, dragging him through a room before finding a hole to get air in. They came to the surface sputtering and coughing, Luciano in full panic.

"I can't! I c-can-"

Allen pushed him to a beam that was hanging off of the ceiling to hold on to. "Luciano, shut up," he snapped. The cold water was sobering.

He panted and gasped, trying to get back to calm. "It's- it's fucking c-cold…"

"I know," Allen said, panting as well. "We need to keep moving, though. I'll help you swim, okay?"

Luciano looked at him, terrified.

"C'mon man," he coughed to the side and turned back, trying to be sincere. "You need to trust me."

Luciano pressed his lips together, obviously not okay, but nodded.

"Which way did you direct my brother?"

Luciano took a moment to think. So much had happened in a second, that he needed time to recollect. Finally, he pointed in a general direction. "The building I sent them to is there."

Allen nodded. They stayed for a moment, the silence sinking in. They were far below the roof, so their voices were completely muted.

Once they were both able to breathe normally, Allen took Luciano's wrist, and Luciano grabbed his back. They swam under, making their way to the building. They would occasionally find an air pocket, gasp for a while, then go back under.

They met air just before leaving the building to skip to the building parallel. Hopefully, this would be where they would find Matt. Allen was silently praying that he and Francois weren't taken prisoner. They went far under the surface to clear this gap, considering that the guards might be looking. They also took a path with more shade, so that the sun wouldn't deceive them.

Once in the other building,, Allen made it a goal to get out of the water. His limbs were getting numb.

Luciano looked around, then said in a raspy voice, "We're near a hotel."

Allen glanced back at him as he paddled through the room. "You sure?"

He nodded.

Allen smiled. "Well, maybe we're in luck." He found a set of stairs and they pulled themselves out of the water. "How do you know?"

"I mapped the place next to here. I saw the design of this one, and considered exploring it." He shrugged. "I liked the architecture."

If it wasn't halfway submerged in water, it would have been a nice place, Allen thought. It looked like an old bank or courthouse. "What was this place? I mean, the town."

Luciano thought for a moment. "I think, during some kind of riot a long time ago, it got destroyed and nature just… took over." He shivered as he walked. "I think it sank into the ground a bit, and water just started filling the place up. It had no chance." He shook his head sadly. "Such a pity."

They made their way into a dark hallway, only a light at the end.

They both paused, the floor whining below them. There was a very human-like shadow in the light. They waited, and when it moved, they both ducked around the corner.

The sound of metal clicking bounced off of the walls, and heavy footsteps started down the hall.

Luciano pulled out a knife, his eyes narrowing.

"I know you're there," a voice said, all too calm.

Allen's heart leaped in his chest. "Mattie?"

"Allen?" They turned the corner and Matt was already putting his gun down. "Fuck, you two scared me." He put the weapon back on his back. "You both look like shit." He waved for them to follow, and they gladly did so. They all met in the room where the light came from, which was because the floor was the only remaining part of the floor. The top chunk was completely gone. Francois was sitting in the corner, gun on his lap and cigarette in his mouth.

"I'd slow down with those, old man," Matt said. "Looks like this mission isn't ending any time soon."

Francois growled and leaned back, but he seemed relieved to see Allen and Luciano in one piece. "Lutz?"

"He went out looking for Viktor," Allen explained.

Luciano was busy checking his pockets. "Fuck… my radio was in my jacket."

Allen frowned. "Sorry…"

"Don't be," he sighed. "You got us out of there."

He blinked, then blushed. "Wha- no, I didn't-"

Francois rolled his eyes and grumbled something.

Luciano waved a hand. "You did well." He gave a small, and completely sincere smile. "Even if you were completely stoned."

Allen bit his lip.

"That's my bad," Matt said, sitting back next to Francois.

Luciano shrugged. "Trust me… it happens." He gave a glare to the side. "I can't imagine you doing it on purpose… unlike some people."

They all exchanged glances.

"Did Flavio…?" Matt was trying not to laugh.

"Let's not reminisce."

Allen put a hand over his mouth. "Was that when you went to gave a speech for a meeting, and paused for ten minutes?"

"I said, 'let's not reminisce,' now shut up! Idiot."

Matt stared at them, and veered the conversation away. "You two look cold. And tired. There's a hotel right next door," He stood up. "You guys should take a minute."

Luciano went to protest, but Francois stood up and said, "He's right. We need to wait for Lutz to regroup before we move anyhow."

And of course, the old man was right, and no one argued.

Luciano argued about removing his clothes, but Matt wasn't taking no for an answer. They found decent blankets to cover the two, and Matt found a functional fireplace. The Canadian made a fire within minutes, impressing Luciano.

He still wasn't fond of having only a blanket to cover his body.

Matt had taken their clothes to a spot of sun to dry them, and came back looking perplexed.

"So.." He made a face. "I laid your knives out to dry, too. All… fifty."

Luciano was curled up by the fire, and barely moved when he said, "They're all stainless steel, so they shouldn't rust, but thank you."

Allen had fallen asleep on the floor next to Luciano, wrapped in his blanket tightly. To Luciano's surprise, he didn't snore.

Francois was keeping annoy out on the outside when his radio blipped.

"Hello?"

Francois rolled his eyes and pulled it up, clicking the "2" on the side. "What, Oliver?"

"Franny! Goodness, it's nice to hear your voice."

Viktor's voice came through. "What do you want," he said, blandly.

"Ah, see… we're in a bit of a situat- Oh! Have you found Allen?"

"Oui. What's happening?"

"Oh, good! They're okay! So good to hear! I was quite worried you kn-"

"Oliver, for fuck's sake," Flavio wailed in the background. "Now isn't the time for this shit!"

Francois and Matt exchanged a glance. They also had Luciano's full attention.

"Oh, you're going to owe the swear jar when we get home."

"You mean IF? Fucking- give me that!"

There was some static. Flavio came on, obviously crying. "We're in trouble."

"I wanted to talk…"

"Shut UP, Oliver!" He sniffed, distressed. Luciano had ventured next to them, listening intently. "Are- are you all still there?"

Luciano pressed the button now. "Where are you and what happened," he said flatly.

"Oh, Luci, I'm so happy to hear you," he sniffled again and continued. "We got captured. Some-some kids found us. We tried talking to them and- and then someone came behind us-"

"Chloroform is one heck of a drug," Oliver said.

"Now we're tired up," Flavio sobbed.

"Can you see outside," Luciano asked.

There was a pause.

"I can," Oliver said. "A church, I think?"

"What side?"

Another pause. "I can see the round, stained glass window. It's shattered in most parts, but I think… I think it's Jesus? Heavens, I don't know."

"Is anyone there?"

"They're out of the room for now, so I'd advise not checking in," Oliver was far too calm for the situation.

Matt frowned. He clicked the "1". "You get all of that, Viktor?"

"Da. We will come." There was a loud crash. "Or not."

"Or… Or not?"

"We're being invaded. Hold on."

The three exchanged worried looks.

"Is ANYTHING good going to happen," Luciano whispered, feeling defeated.

"Oh," Viktor said, again, his tone was as flat as a ten year old boy's chest. "It's German. We're good."

Luciano snatched the radio. "Lutz?"

"Da."

Another voice came on. "Luciano?"

Luciano let out a sigh of relief. "Don't fucking scare me like that again or I'll let the Pink One turn you into a pastry."

You could hear Lutz's smile in his voice. "Glad you're okay. I'll help these two get Oliver and Flav, then we'll get you. Be ready!"

The line went dead, and there was a small feeling of hope filling the room.

Lutz had that kind of impact on people.

A/N: That's only chapter one! I wanna thank y'all for reading. I also want to make a quick note for the upcoming chapters- this isn't going to get better. The situations are going to get worse, and I'm going to get more and more… well, I'm going to put a light on our beloved 2p!'s. Blood, sex, and violence, as they say.

I hope you enjoyed and the next chapter will be done soon.