Loyal she Began, Loyal she Remains

Disclaimer: Hetalia and its characters all belong to Hidekazu Himaruya :3

Chapter 1:

It's been close to over two years since Madeline was introduced to the other countries as Ontario, and so far, her only major problem was that her sister, Quebec, had been trying to become her own country.

"Mariette, why do you want to be your own country? Don't you like Papa?" Madeline had asked her sister, while laying in the grass on their favourite hill.

"It's not a matter of liking Papa, Madeline. I just feel...alone. I'm the only province that speaks more of a different language than English." She said while tripping over her French accent. Madeline turned to look at her sister.

"I know, and I'm sorry you feel that way, Mari, but I don't want to be the only personification of a province. You're my sister and I need you..." Madeline sat up with her legs crossed, and put her head in her hands, trying as best she could not to cry.

Mariette sighed and patted her sister on the back. "I'm sorry. I know you do. One day you're going to have New Brunswick and Nova Scotia with you! That will be fun, right? I mean, I had to wait for you, can't you wait for them?"

Madeline turned to her sister. "Would you...l-leave if you could?" Madeline wiped her eyes, while Mariette sat for a minutes, choosing her words carefully.

"I think...I would. We would still be sisters! Just not a part of the same country," Madeline closed her eyes while rising to her feet.

"Okay...I understand...I think I'm going to head home now. Bye, Mariette." Madeline walked down the hill and headed home, pulling her winter coat closer to her to avoid the wind. Mariette sat on the hill and watched her go, letting out a small sigh. "Au revoir, Madeline..."

When Madeline got home, it was nearly midnight. After her visit with her sister, she had roamed the streets to take her mind off of it, to no avail. Madeline walked down the hall to the washroom, and rolled up her sleeves. She stuffed her hair into a messy ponytail, and grabbed a sharpie from her pocket, and began to write on her arm. "Ut Incepid Fidelis Sic Permanet; Loyal she began, loyal she remains" It had been her motto as a province for as long as she could remember. Madeline smiled down at her arm. 'I'll always be a part of Canada. Unlike Mariette, I will always want to be,' Madeline's smile faltered as she remembered the first time she had been to a World Meeting. 'Not even Russia can change that...' She rolled down her sleeve carefully and went to her room, throwing her maple leaf pajama pants on, and passing out under the protective blankets of her bed.

Dream

Madeline was standing at the top of her favourite hill, with rain pouring down on her. She looked around quickly. "Hello!?" she shouted, hoping for a reply. A gust of wind nearly knocked Madeline down, but instead of falling to the wet ground, she was caught by a pair of hands. The next thing Madeline knew, she was in shackles with a blindfold over her eyes. "Who's there!?" Madeline screamed over the wind, while attempting to get her hands free.

"You want to escape?" Madeline shivered at the words that were whispered into her ear.

"L-leave me alone, Ivan!" Madeline could barely hear him laughing.

"What was your motto again, Madeline?"

Madeline screamed as the shackles rubbed against her wrists, slowly tightening. "I-Ivan, Papa wont let you take me!" Madeline managed to say.

"Kolkolkol~ Silly Madeline. Your Papa doesn't have time to care about what happens to you, da?" Madeline suddenly felt something warm running down the side of her face. "What did you..." She began to feel light headed, and soon fell unconscious, just before hearing the Russian laugh.

End of dream

Madeline sat upright, trying to steady her breathing, before looking over to her flashing alarm clock. 'Must have lost power from the storm...' She brought her hand to the side of her head, relieved when she pulled back and her hand was clean. Madeline sighed and threw off her blankets. 'I need to call him...' she thought about her reoccurring nightmare, and sprinted off to the phone in the kitchen, typing Matthew's number in.

"H-hello?" Matthew said, sounding half asleep.

"Papa, could I talk to you about something?" I-it's kind of important..." Madeline slowly dragged herself to the living room with the phone in hand.

"S-sure, Madeline. What is it?" Matthew's voice began to show signs of concern.

"Well, I keep having this nightmare... Do you remember last year, when I told you about all of the questions that I-Ivan was asking me? Well, in the nightmare, I'm standing on the hill down the street while it rains, but then I'm in shackles and I'm blindfolded, and it was... it was Ivan." Madeline sat in silence, waiting for Matthew to respond. "Papa?"

"M-Madeline! I p-promise I wont let Ivan h-hurt you, okay? But...why d-didn't you tell me the first time it happened?" Matthew's voice sounded shaky.

"Well...you've been really b-busy with Mariette, so I thought, maybe, you didn't have t-time to worry about me..." Madeline said sheepishly.

"M-Madeline, why would you th-think that?" he asked.

"I...I don't know..." Madeline thought about what Ivan said in the dream. "Ya know, n-nevermind, Papa. I'm sure the nightmare will stop. Tell Mariette I said 'hi'! Au revoir!" Madeline quickly hung up the phone and took a deep breath, before standing up and tossing the phone onto the couch.

"Madeline!?" Looking over to the door with a look of confusion, Madeline listened to the person on the other side of the door. "M-Madeline! S'il vous plaît!" Madeline slowly started to the door, unlocking it. She swung the door open to find Mariette standing there with a worried look.

"Mari? You okay?" Madeline asked, gesturing for her sister to come in. Mariette was shaking, and looked pale. "What's wrong?"

"I came to apologize for yesterday, when I overheard you talking on the phone with Papa!" she said, hugging Madeline. "Tell me next time! Mon dieu, you could have brought it up yesterday!" Madeline pulled away from her sister, and held her at arms length.

"I didn't want to bring anymore problems into your life, okay!? If the nightmare means something, that something would have happened already!" Madeline moved out of her sisters grasp.

"Madeline, you don't get it! Ivan could be thinking of something right now, and you don't even care!" Mariette glared at her sister, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I'm sorry, Mariette, but you need to go. Just go and enjoy Papa's company." Madeline began to shove her sister out the door softly, while Mariette gaped at her.

"Fine, Madeline! Ne venez pas pleurer pour moi, quand vous faites partie de la Russie!" (Do not come crying to me when you are part of Russia!) Mariette stomped down the damp path of Madeline's house, mumbling things in French. "Dernière fois que je l'aide dont mioche!" (Last time I help this brat!) Madeline rolled her eyes, closing the door behind her sister, and running up to her bedroom. She threw herself on the bed while struggling to hold back tears. "Ut Insepid Fidelis Sic Permanet..." Madeline said quietly, with her eyes shut tight. 'I don't need her help anyways...' She slowly began to relax, and was soon asleep.

Chapter 2:

Dream

Madeline heard the doorbell ring, and got up from her bed furiously. Not realizing the fact that she was in a dream, she stomped down to the door and threw it open.

"Mariette! Leave me al-" Madeline's anger turned to fear, as she found Ivan standing at the door.

"Привет, Madeline. May I come in?" (Hello) Ivan said, smiling. Madeline looked at him in confusion after noticing his red eyes and black clothes.

"Um, n-no, I don't think that's a good idea..." Madeline began to close the door, but was stopped by Ivan's foot.

"I want to talk, da?" Madeline tried forcing the door closed, while Ivan stood there smiling. "No!" she shouted. Ivan laughed as Madeline ran towards the backdoor, picking up the phone and dialing her fathers number. "Madeline? Where did you go?" Madeline turned around to see Ivan walking towards the opening of the forest that she had just entered. 'Come on, Papa!' Madeline got his answering machine, and quickly began to type in a new number.

"Bonjour?" they said, within the first few rings.

"Grand-père! Oh, thank goodness! I need your help! Ivan is-" Madeline was unable to finish her sentence, for Ivan was standing directly in front of her, no longer smiling.

"Madeline? Who are you talking to?" Madeline dropped the phone, and slowly began to back away.

"L-leave me alone, Ivan..." Madeline began to shake in fear.

"Kolkol, you look so cute when you are helpless." Ivan began to approach Madeline, and Madeline let out a small shriek.

"Go away! I don't want to be part of Russia!" Madeline's bottom lip quivered.

"Don't worry, Madeline. I am a second personality of Russia. I wont hurt you." Ivan put his hand out for Madeline. 'Second personality? What the hell is that supposed to mean!?' Madeline turned on her heal and took off running, trying to avoid any branches that were sticking out. She looked over her shoulder, expecting Ivan to be close behind her, but there was nothing but darkness. Madeline stopped to look around. 'It's just trees...but the opening of the forest should be right here!' She began to panic, and slowly started walking past trees. "Madeline?" she turned quickly to find Ivan not far from where she stood, and started to run, only to appear in a large clearing. "...where am I...?" Madeline looked around in the darkness, shaking, and finally sat on a large rock. 'What am I supposed to do...? I miss Papa, Grand-père...even Mariette...' Madeline looked down at the moss under her bare feet and sighed, moving her toes, when she felt a hand on her shoulder. Madeline stiffened.

"What do you think you're doing out here?" they said, tightening their grip.

Madeline turned her head slightly, enough that she was able to see the man from the corner of her eye. "W-what?" she said. Madeline turned to fully look at him. 'Why would he have sunglasses on? It's nearly pitch black out here!' She realized how much the man resembled her Papa.

"Madeline, what's wrong with you? You know damn well what I just said, so answer. What are you doing out here?" The man leaned close to her and whispered the last sentence with a rough tone. Madeline squeaked and began shaking.

"I'm sorry! I-I heard you, I swear! I was running from...Ivan..." Madeline had remembered the reason she was out here, and began looking around for Ivan in fear.

"Stop being a wimp! And what the hell was Ivan doing, anyways? You usually talk about being able to kick his ass!" He stood up straight and crossed his arms, raising an eyebrow.

"W-what? I don't even know who you are! I mean, you look like my Papa, but my Papa doesn't act like a...a stupide trou du cul!" (dumb asshole) Madeline stood up quickly, mirroring the mans movements.

"What did you just call me?" The tone in his voice was giving off anger as he reached for a hockey stick on his back that Madeline hadn't noticed at first. He stopped and moved his hands to his sides, clenching his fists. "Madeline, what the hell is with you!? I know you didn't eat one of England's cupcakes or else you'd be dead... so what did you do?" He let his sunglasses slide down his nose, revealing his violet eyes.

"Cupcakes? If I were to eat ANYTHING England makes I would probably die!" Madeline was becoming annoyed with him, and considered turning around and walking back into the forest, only Ivan was probably still out there looking for her. She watched as the man pushed the sun glasses back up his nose, and took a few looks at her before he began to fade away. Madeline's expression changed to shock, as she spun around to find that the forest was fading as well. 'What the... what's going on... Where's the forest going!?' Soon, the forest had vanished completely, leaving Madeline in a pool of light.

End of dream

Madeline rubbed at her eyes in confusion, wiping away tears. 'It was another nightmare...I'm okay...but, who was that man? He knew me...and he looked like Papa. And what's a 'second personality' like Ivan said?' Madeline stretched and looked at her clock. It was 2 pm. Only a few hours had passed since Mariette had visited her. Madeline stood up while twirling the string of her sweatshirt, and went to sit at her desk with her knees against her chest. On the corner of her desk, was Madeline's cellphone, flashing a small green light. The phone's screen told Madeline she had a missed call from Matthew, a text from Peter Kirkland, and nothing from her sister. She went to her messages, hugging her knees and yawning, and opened the message from Peter.

Hi, Madeline! I don't have any chores in my country anymore, so I was wondering if I could come over for a few hours to visit! Alright, I'll talk to you later :D

~ Sealand

Madeline rolled her eyes and thought of an excuse. Normally, she wouldn't mind having company, but Madeline was becoming worn out from her nightmares.

Hey, Peter. I'm not feeling all that great, sorry. I'll let you know when I am.

~ Ontario

Madeline turned off her phone and sighed, bringing her chin to her knee, thinking about the missed call from Matthew. 'I should ask him about the second personality...but I can't bring up the nightmare. No, that would just take him away from working on keeping Quebec a part of Canada...' Madeline groaned as she felt her phone vibrate.

That's alright, I could come over to take care of you! I'll see you in a few hours!

~ Sealand

Madeline starred at the message and read it over. 'Shit. Now I have to worry about him too.' She stood up and pushed her chair back, grabbing a pair of jeans as a replacement for her pajamas. Madeline grabbed her phone and dialed her Papa's number, falling back onto her bed in the corner, when she had gotten his answering machine. "Bonjour, Papa. C'est Madeline. I'm sorry that I didn't answer earlier. I was asleep. Oh, and that reminds me! I didn't have that same nightmare! Okay, well that was all I was going to say...you don't have to call back, I know you're really busy. Au revoir." Madeline decided against mentioning the new nightmare and had ended the call. All she had to do was endure Peter for a few hours, and she would be able to find out what happens next in her nightmare.

Chapter 3:

Matthew: When Mariette stormed through the doors, Matthew didn't follow her to her room. She wasn't like Madeline. Mariette didn't enjoy company, especially from Matthew, and could spend a week locked in her room. Instead, Matthew sat at his office desk sighing with his head in his hands. He had called Madeline after realizing that Mariette had left the house, and hadn't been around when she had called back.

"What's with her?" Gilbert was standing in the doorway, half looking down the hallway to the room that the angry girl had run to.

"I-I don't know... would you mind going to see if she's o-okay?" Matthew looked up to his, now pouting, Prussian friend.

"But Birdie," he whined. "She hates me enough as it is! Which is already really unawesome!"

"Gil, p-please?" Matthew watched as Gilbert let out a defeated sigh.

"Ja, fine... if I'm not back soon, it's her fault!" Gilbert was nearing the room and shouted the rest of his sentence so Matthew could hear it. Matthew just smiled and shook his head, when Kumajiro came in the room carrying Matthew's phone.

"It rang a while ago," he said, handing the phone to his owner.

"Th-thanks, Kuma." The bear walked off without saying another word. Matthew looked down at his phone, noticing the voice mail, and clicked on it. He smiled when he heard Madeline's quiet voice, and, before he had the chance to start dialing her number, Gilbert ran into the room, trying to catch his breath with his hands on his knees.

"Sheiße, Birdie! That was so unawesome! I think I would rather be hit with Elizaveta's frying pan than go through that again!" Matthew rushed over to him, carefully patting him on the back.

"W-what happened, Gil?" Matthew said, while Gilbert stood up straight, putting a hand on Matthew's shoulder.

"Birdie... she has a creepier glare than Russia... she probably would've killed me if I hadn't run!" Matthew smiled at Gilbert.

"G-Gil, she wouldn't have killed you. Believe me, I-I've gotten that look before..." Matthew shivered as he remembered the first time he had gone to check on Mariette after their argument about her becoming her own country.

"Gott...so, Birdie! Who were you on the phone with?" Gilbert quickly returned to acting like he normally did, and threw himself on a couch in the office.

"N-nobody. I had a voice mail from Madeline." Matthew walked back to his desk chair and sat down, looking at Gilbert, who was had an interested look on his face.

"What did she need? Did she have one of those unawesome nightmares again?"

Matthew sighed. "She d-didn't really say... she mentioned that she didn't have the s-same nightmare, so she could have had a new one...she didn't sound like herself..." Matthew was becoming worried about Madeline ever since she told him about the first nightmare. She had suddenly shut herself off from him, claiming that she didn't want to bother him...but Matthew knew that the nightmares were affecting her.

"Don't worry, Birdie! I'm sure she's alright. Besides, if she wasn't she would at least tell Francis, right?" Gilbert smiled at Matthew, trying to reassure him.

"I-I don't think she would... Gil, she's been keeping things to herself and I-I'm starting to worry about her. W-what if her nightmares got worse?" Matthew began shaking as he thought of possible ways that they could have gotten any worse. Ontario was his responsibility, and he needed to take care of her. But how could he if she wouldn't let him?

"Why don't you try texting her?" Gilbert looked at Matthew and his phone, got up, and stuck the phone out to him. "Go on, try it."

"Th-thanks, Gil..." Matthew took the phone from Gilbert and began typing in a message.

Sorry, I missed your last call. I haven't been very busy since Mariette stuck herself in her room... also, I was wondering if you wanted to come over to visit us? I could ask Gilbert to pick you up if you wanted. Okay, I'll talk to you soon, Madeline.

~Papa

After a few minutes from sending the message and putting his phone down, it vibrated. Matthew picked up his phone. 'That was fast...'

Can't. I've been feeling pretty crappy for a while. Maybe when I get better.

~Madeline

Matthew looked at the message in confusion, when Gilbert carefully took the phone out of his hands to read it.

"That doesn't sound like quiet little Madeline. It sounds like Quebec more than anything." Gilbert went to hand the phone back to Matthew, when he noticed Matthew wasn't in the room anymore. Gilbert walked into the hallway.

"Birdie?" He looked down to Mariette's bedroom to find Matthew knocking on the door. "M-Mariette?"

"Quoi?" A muffled voice said from the other side of the door.

"Did you go to M-Madeline's house?" Matthew took the doorknob in his hand when he heard the sound of the door being unlocked.

"...Oui. Pourquoi? Did petite Madeline come whining to you?" Mariette had sat on her bed with her legs crossed and her arms crossed over her chest.

"N-no. Why didn't you tell me you were g-going over there?" Matthew stood in the doorway with Gilbert now standing behind him.

"I heard about the nightmare. You can't keep everything from me, Papa. You know, it could mean something. I told Madeline that, and she got mad at me and made me leave." Mariette ignored Matthew's question.

"Mariette, Madeline might not w-want to talk about it just yet. You can't start telling her things l-like that." Matthew sat next to her on her bed, while Gilbert shifted awkwardly at the doorway.

"Birdie? I think I'm going to go...sit in the living room...or something..." Gilbert rubbed the back of his neck, avoiding looking at Mariette, who was now glaring at him.

"Papa n'est pas un oiseau, d'accord? Et je pense que c'est une merveilleuse idée!" Matthew sighed and walked over towards Gilbert. (Papa is not a bird, okay? And I think that's a wonderful idea!)

"M-Mariette, c-could you please s-stop being like that?" He looked behind him at Mariette, who was getting ready to launch a pillow at the both of them.

"Il suffit de prendre votre petit ami stupide de Prusse et sortez!" Matthew quickly closed the door behind him and heard something hit it harshly. He sighed. Matthew was beginning to get a headache from all the stress with his provinces. (Just take your stupid Prussian boyfriend and get out!)

Chapter 4:

Peter: Peter was determined to make Madeline feel better, and within a few hours of sending that text, he was knocking on her front door, when he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket.

Hey, sorry I'm not home yet. I took a walk, so I'll be home soon.

~ Ontario

Peter frowned and sat at the doorstep. 'Since when does she just go on walks?' He thought about the places she could have gone, when he remembered the hill she normally sat on, and quickly rose to his feet before running down the street.

Peter stopped a few minutes later at the bottom of the hill. On his way there, he had gotten another text from Madeline saying that he should just go home, and that she would probably be out all night. It didn't sound like her, though. It was as if she was being forced to tell Peter to go home. 'Might as well check to see if she's here!' He calmly walked up the hill, and when he reached the top, he found Madeline lying in the grass with her eyes closed. Her wavy blonde hair was in a messy ponytail, her red sweatshirt was caked in mud, and her jeans had grass stains all over them. Peter got closer to her and knelt down in the grass. "...Madeline? Wake up, it's me, Peter! Hello?"

Dream

Madeline was lying in the same clearing as before, and was propped up by her elbows. The clearing looked calmer somehow. Instead of complete darkness, there was some light shining threw the trees. Madeline let out a sigh of relief when she realized that the man resembling her Papa was nowhere to be found. She rose to her feet and let out a small shriek when pressure was put on her right leg. There was a large hole in her jeans above her knee, revealing a deep bloody gash. Madeline's sleeves were rolled up to elbows, showing a large amount of bruises. She examined her arms in shock. 'W-what happened to me? Why am I even back here?' "You look hurt, Madeline. What happened?" The voice showed no concern for Madeline, and she whipped around quickly. "What do you want?" The blonde man leaned against a tree grinning at Madeline.

"You really don't look too good. What did ya do? Threaten Ivan, again?" He ignored her question and went on with antagonizing her. Madeline noticed bandages around a part of his chest that wasn't covered by his red Mountie jacket.

"I hope you realize how stupid you sound. I mean really, look at yourself. It looks like you've been worse than I am. Also, I've already told you: I don't know who you are. So why don't you just leave me alone?!" Madeline rolled her sleeves down and walked past him, ignoring the pain that had been shooting up her leg.

"Where do you think you're going?" The man was walking close behind Madeline.

"Well, I'm trying to get away from you," Madeline let out a slight scream when he pulled her back by her bruised wrist. "Let go!"

"You really are different. Well, this is interesting..." The grip on her wrist became loose and Madeline pulled it back and rubbed it.

"What do you mean by different?" Madeline kept her eyes on him as he frowned at her.

"I'm his second personality," He watched as she brought her wrist close to her chest. 'There's the second personality stuff again...'

"Do you mean my Papa? Also, what is a second personality?" He let out a laugh and Madeline felt slightly embarrassed.

"Who else do you think I look like. And a second personality is exactly what it sounds like. I'm kind of, the opposite, of the Canada you know. We call ourselves 2P's." 2P Canada looked at Madeline with a bored expression, and began messing with the bandages that were wrapped around his chest.

"Oh...so, you thought I was my 2P didn't you..." Madeline shifted awkwardly under 2P Canada's gaze.

"Pretty much. The Ontario I know probably would have punched me in the face if I had grabbed her wrist." 2P Canada grinned as he realized the differences between the two girls.

"Right... I don't really think I want to m-meet her..." Madeline thought about what her 2P would be like and shuddered, causing 2P Canada to grin devilishly. Madeline opened her mouth to ask him something, when everything began to turn black. It was just like before, but instead of leaving her in a white space, Madeline was surrounded by darkness. 'Oi! Madeline stop it! This isn't funny!'

End of dream

Madeline opened her eye's slowly, when she saw a concerned Peter, hovering over her.

"You're okay! Bloody hell, Madeline, you nearly gave me a heart attack!" Peter helped Madeline sit up while she gazed around in confusion.

"What do you mean? I told you I was on a walk," Dark clouds were starting to fill the sky and Madeline looked at Peter as he helped her to her feet. She would've fallen over if Peter hadn't had his hands on her shoulders to steady her.

"Madeline," he began, while slowly bringing his hands back to his sides. "You told me to just go home. Don't you remember?" Madeline reached for her own cell phone, but it wasn't where she remembered putting it. She scanned the ground around her, but her cell phone didn't turn up anywhere.

"I can't find it... My phone is gone... Peter, could I borrow yours for a minute?" Peter gave her a quizzical look before handing over his phone. She quickly went to the messages and found the message that Peter had been talking about. "Have you responded to this?" She asked, pointing to the message on the screen.

"No, I don't think I did. Are you going to call it?" Peter watched her actions over her shoulder, and she began to type. "No. I'm going to talk to the person who has my phone."

Oh, alright! I'll come over tomorrow to check on you then! Message me when you wake up, bye! :)

~Sealand

Madeline re-read the message, making sure it sounded believable. If she remembered anything from her dream, it was that she had a 2P, who most likely had Madeline's phone.

"Now what? I think it's starting to rain, so I don't think we can wait here for much longer." Peter put his hand out to catch some of the light rain that had started to fall.

"We'll just go back to my house to wait for a response then..." Madeline mumbled, before trudging down the hill, with Peter trailing behind her.

Chapter 5:

After running back to Madeline's house, drenched from the rain, Madeline and Peter sat on her bed wrapped in towels, while starring down at the phone that sat in between them. The phone vibrated after a few minutes, and Peter quickly grabbed it, causing a damp Madeline to glare at him. "Read it out loud..." Madeline mumbled.

"Um, actually, it's not from whoever has your phone... It's from that jerk Arthur..." Peter sighed and put the phone back on the bed. Madeline swore under her breath.

An hour passed, and Madeline had nearly fallen asleep with her head on Peter's shoulder, when the phone vibrated again. This time, Madeline went for the phone, nearly knocking Peter off the bed, and read off the sender's name. "It's from Ontario... I was right, Peter. Someone has my phone." Peter quickly moved next to her and opened the message for her.

Don't bother. I'll be at Matthew's house with him and Mariette.

~Ontario

Madeline grinned as she read the message out loud, while Peter sat next to her, expressionless. "That's really creepy, Madeline..." He turned to look at her. "Do you think, maybe, Mariette is messing with you? Maybe she has your phone!" Madeline listened as the rain hit her window, and she thought about her second personality.

"I doubt it. I was covered in mud and grass stains, remember? Mariette can barely sit in the grass, unless she has a blanket underneath her. She wouldn't have been able to get me covered in dirt. Also, whoever did it was able to make me forget what happened..." Madeline smiled as she thought of her sister ever touching mud. 'Mariette can't even step in a simple puddle without freaking out.'

"Right..." Peter watched as Madeline smiled out the window. 'She's acting sort of... weird...' "Madeline, I think you should go to bed. You aren't exactly acting much like yourself." Peter hopped off of the bed, grabbing his towels and the ones that were draped over Madeline's shoulders, and ran out the do or. "I'll be downstairs!"

Madeline yawned and sprawled out on her bed with her eyes closed. "Going to sleep means I might meet her... but I don't think I want to..." The room had already gotten dark, and the only light was coming from the occasional lightning.

Dream

This time, there was no clearing. Madeline was standing in an alley resembling the one that she had been in when she had first met Matthew. It was pitch black in the alley way, and Madeline was on the floor, leaning against a graffiti covered wall, half expecting Canada's second personality to appear, but after a while of sitting there, nobody came. Madeline finally decided to walk towards a flickering street light at the opening of the alley when she heard two voices arguing. Madeline got closer to hear them better.

"So, you know what you're doing?" Madeline recognized the voice of 2P Canada.

"Mattie, shut up!" A voice much like Madeline's spoke up, but sounded infuriated. Madeline froze in place against a wall.

"Don't call me that. I've been doing everything you've wanted me to, got it? So don't tell me to shut up!" 2P Canada's voice rose quickly.

"You see why I want to do this?! Because everyone hates me! I want to restart... I want everyone to hate her! I'm sick of having to be like this without getting the option to change!" The voice of Madeline's 2P was getting closer, and Madeline could hear her quick footsteps. She tried to press herself closer to the wall,squeezing her eyes shut. Once Madeline thought her 2P was gone, she opened her eyes and stepped away from the wall, only to run right into someone. The girl standing in front of Madeline had wavy dirty blonde hair, with sunglasses perched on her head. Her outfit was much like Canada's 2P, but her jacket was torn at the sleeves and at the bottom. The girl smiled wickedly at Madeline, with her hands on her hips.

"Well, if it isn't perfect little Madeline. I've been waiting to meet you. My Papa told me about the forest, and Ivan, and I do apologize for that." Madeline's heart was beating loudly as she looked at the girl. "Don't worry, Maddie. I'm not going to physically hurt you!" She laughed at Madeline.

"W-what?" Madeline looked at her in confusion.

"I'm your 2P, Maddie. Did you know Mariette has a 2P? Because she does. Oh, and about the forest, Ivan wasn't going to hurt you." 2P Ontario smiled at her as if it was a normal conversation. "I couldn't let him hurt you. If he hurt you then he would get the idea that I'm just as weak as you are."

"So...i-it was your fault I got lost in there with that psychopath!?" Madeline balled up her fists.

"Sure was. Aren't you proud of me, Maddie?" She pouted at Madeline then let out a small laugh. "I never realized how much fun it would be to torture you with the nightmares I made! You look like you're about to cry and hurt me at the same time!" 2P Ontario laughed at her.

"Shut up! Just leave me alone!" Madeline tried to turn towards the opening of the alley way, but her 2P stepped in front of her.

"We're so different," She giggled. "If you were like me, you probably would've beaten the shit out of me..." 2P Ontario looked over Madeline, smiling. "Wanna stop these nightmares?" Madeline narrowed her eyes at her serious 2P.

"What do you mean?" Madeline said carefully.

2P Ontario let out a bored sigh. "It isn't a hard question. Sure, I'll be hurt if you don't like my nightmares, but I can get rid of them." She half smiled at Madeline.

"Well...okay." Madeline didn't trust her 2P, but she would do anything to stop the random nightmares.

"Good girl. Follow me, okay? We have to go see England." 2P Ontario turned the corner and walked half way down the street before turning to face Madeline, who was keeping her distance. "Maddie~," 2P Ontario whined. "I wont hurt you! So stay close to me! ...Unless you want to risk being taken by another one of us..." She smiled wickedly and continued walking. Madeline's widened and she quickly picked up her pace.

After a while of walking around the dark town, Madeline and her 2P stopped infront of a large house. 2P Ontario didn't bother knocking on the door, and walked halfway down the main hallway before realizing that Madeline was still standing in the doorway. Her 2P sighed and went back, grabbing Madeline's wrist, and dragging her into the house. "Hey!" 2P Ontario's voice echoed through the house. "It's me, Maddie! Where are ya, Artie?" She dragged Madeline into the kitchen, where a man was standing. His back was to them, but Madeline could tell he had something in his hand. 2P Ontario flicked the man on the head, causing him to turn around. Madeline gasped when she saw a large knife in one hand, and the other covered in blood. 2P England looked at her and gave her a reassuring smile. "Sorry, love. I was practicing for when I play the knife game with Al, later on!" He said, cheerfully, while he threw the bloody knife in the sink.

"Hey, Ollie, I need you to do some freakish magic-type stuff to Madeline here so she doesn't have these nightmares anymore." 2P Ontario pushed Madeline towards 2P England, who had just wiped his bloody hand off on his pants.

2P England smiled, before taking a stiff Madeline into a hug. "Uh... h-hi..." Madeline tried to push away from him, but he began tightening his grip on her before 2P Ontario grabbed the back of his pink sweater vest and pulled him backwards.

"Ollie, you're gonna kill her! Now, all I want, is for you to make it so she doesn't have these nightmares!" 2P Ontario shouted at the smiling strawberry blonde.

"Hm? Why would you want that? She can visit us in her nightmares, and it's always fun to have new people around to try my cooking!" 2P England went to hug Madeline again, until 2P Ontario slapped him. He stepped back so he was able to lean against the kitchen counter. Holding his cheek, he pouted at 2P Ontario.

"That hurt!" He whined, ignoring the glares from her.

"Pay attention! I don't want to have to deal with her, alright? She's too wimpy to take care of... Can you do it?" 2P England's smile returned as he looked over to Madeline, who was now, unsuccessfully, trying to hide behind her 2P.

"Of course! Would you both like a cupcake while you wait?" He turned to grab a tray with blue cupcakes out of the oven.

"No! Madeline doesn't want to die, and neither do I!" 2P England looked over his shoulder, frowning.

"I'll leave them on the counter," He said, ignoring the statement. 2P England left the kitchen, and returned quickly with a large old book. The book was dropped on a kitchen table and Madeline jumped before following her 2P over to it. 2P Ontario put her hands on the table, while 2P England flipped to a certain page. He looked over the spell before taking a step towards Madeline, positioning her so she was a good distance infront of him, and taking a few steps back again. 2P Ontario looked up from the book and began grinning at Madeline. Madeline was going to ask what the spell did, but was interrupted by 2P England shouting out a spell. There was a bright light, and Madeline collapsed onto the floor.

End of dream

Chapter 6:

Sealand: Peter had fallen asleep on the couch, to make sure he was able to take care of Madeline when she woke up. He rolled onto his side, and felt something poke his back continuously. He groaned and tried swatting away the hand, when he heard a small giggle. Peter turned slowly and opened his eyes, to find a little girl with wavy blonde hair in two pigtails, wearing a sweater that looked far too big on her. The little girl gave a wide grin and crawled on top of Peter, taking his sailor hat and putting it on her own head, giggling. Peter looked at the little girl in shock, before taking his hat back. 'She...she looks like Madeline... but that's impossible! S-she's asleep in her room!' Peter quickly picked up the whining girl and placed her on the floor, before running up the stairs and bursting into Madeline's room. The blankets were thrown onto the floor, and the small girl came running in, jumping onto the pile of blankets. "Oh no..." Peter mumbled. He walked over to the girl who was holding her arms out to be picked up. Peter held her at arms length and looked over her as she laughed.

"M-Madeline? Is that you?" The girl gave him a confused look.

"Hm?" She cocked her head at him. "I'm Ontario, silly!" Ontario put her hands out and tried grabbing Peter's shoulders.

"I thought so... Um, Ontario, you know who you belong to, right?" Peter tried to hold her farther out, but Ontario jumped at him, and made herself comfy against his chest.

"Mhm! Canada! But I stay with my grand-père, France." Ontario looked up at him and smiled.

"R-right... so, we should take you there, yeah?" Ontario frowned at Peter and clung tighter to him.

"No~! I don't wanna! I want to stay here! Y-you could take care of me! Please, big sister Quebec picks on me when I'm at grand-père's...she says I'm too weak to stand on my own..." Ontario whined and buried her face in Peter's shoulder.

"D-don't do that! Let go of me!" Peter tried pulling her off, but she whined in protest.

"No! Please don't make me go home, Sealand!" Ontario looked at him with tears in her eyes. Peter looked away from her and sighed.

"Fine. Wait... Ontario, how do you know who I am?" Ontario stuck out her tongue at him, and let go of his shoulders and dropped to the floor. Quickly, she walked out the door and towards the stairs, not realizing Peter following her.

"Hey!" He shouted.

Ontario turned around to give him an answer. "Grand-père taught me all the names of the countries, so when I go to my first world meeting with Papa I'll know everyone!" Ontario pushed up the long sleeves of the sweatshirt and smiled.

"So...you think of me as a country?" Ontario sighed and crossed her arms, before turning her back on him and walking down to the kitchen, with Peter trailing behind her.

"Ontario, I think I should call Canada, don't you?" Peter went to grab the phone, but was stopped when something soft was thrown at the back of his head. He turned around to see an upset Ontario holding a bag of giant marshmallows that had been on the counter.

"Don't. Touch. The phone. Papa doesn't know about me yet! He will one day, but right now he has to deal with big sister, so I wont get in the way!" Ontario threw another marshmallow at Peter, hitting him in the face.

"Hey! Quit it! He already knows that you're his daughter, so calm down!" Ontario's eyes went wide with horror, the bag of marshmallow falling from her hand.

"W-what...? How!? I bet big sister Quebec told him... she doesn't like me so I bet it was her..." Ontario walked over to a chair at the kitchen table and climbed on top of it, wiping her eyes. Peter watched her and sat across from her and sighed.

"Ontario, it wasn't Quebec. Do you remember what you did yesterday?" Ontario looked up at him frowning.

"Y-yes. Grand-père was visiting Papa and big sister yesterday, and he dropped me off here, saying that this would be my home when he was gone away..." Ontario smiled at the thought of having her own home. "D-did he tell Papa about me? He promised me he wouldn't!" New tears began falling down her face.

"N-no! Let me explain, Ontario! That isn't what happened. Yesterday I came to visit you because you told me you were sick. When I got here you had gone out for a walk and I found you asleep on a hill. When you woke up I took you back here so you could rest. Somehow overnight you... turned into a six year old again and lost your memories of what happened... That's why I need to call Canada, see. So we can figure out what happened to you." Sealand sighed heavily.

"...Liar... You're a liar! That didn't happen! I'll call grand-père to prove it!" Ontario reached across the table and grabbed the phone from him, and began putting in a phone number. She put it on speaker and grinned at Sealand.

"Bonjour?" Francis answered after a few rings.

"Grand-pére! It's Ontario. I was just calling to prove to Sealand what you and I did yesterday! You dropped me off, and went to visit Papa and big sister, right?" There was a long pause before Francis answered her.

"...Est-il Sealand, ma chère?" Ontario looked over at Peter and frowned. [Is Sealand here, my dear?]

"Oui. Pourquoi?" [Yes. Why?]

"Je voudrais lui parler s'il vous plaît." Ontario pushed the phone towards Peter and crossed her arms while sticking her tongue out at him. [I would like to speak with him please.]

Peter carefully took the phone and held it where they could both easily hear it. "Hello?"

"Bonjour, Peter. I take it you can explain what that was all about, oui?"

"Uh...well, yes I suppose. Yesterday, I came over to visit Madeline because she said she wasn't feeling very well, and when I got here, she said she had gone on a walk. I found her asleep on a hill down the street and when she woke up we came back here. I... um, slept on the couch, so I would be able to see if she was alright in the morning... When I woke up she was about six years old and couldn't remember what happened." Peter rubbed the back of his neck when he noticed that Ontario had been starring at him.

"Ohonhonhon~ Peter, you were trying to take care of mon petite Madeline?" Peter's face turned red. "This is interesting, non? You wouldn't happen to have a crush, would you?"

"Sh-shut up, wanker! You heard about the nightmares she was having and you didn't do anything! And did you not hear me say that she's now a six year old!?" Peter stood up from the chair and walked into the living room to escape Ontario's gaze, only to be followed by the little Canadian.

"Nightmares? Madeline never told me about any nightmares... What were they about?" Ontario stood infront of Peter with a questioning look.

"Oh...well, she mentioned something about second personalities. I didn't want to ask about them since she actually didn't mean for me to hear. She was talking about it in her sleep when she was on the hill..." Peter lowered his voice and turned his back to Ontario. There was a long pause on the other end of the phone.

"She should have told me... Peter, do you know if she told anyone else?" Peter turned around to see Ontario standing on the couch, reaching out for the phone, and took a step back.

"Well, I would think that she told Canada, and if she did, then Quebec would know as well...I was going to call him to ask, but she insisted on calling you to 'prove me wrong'."

"Alright. I'm going to pick you two up and bring you to Matthieu's house then. Make sure you're ready and petite Madeline understands what is going on. Au revoir." Francis hung up the phone, and Peter looked over at Ontario, who had sprawled herself out on the couch.

"Come on, Ontario. We're going to Canada's house to see if we can find out what happened to you." Peter grabbed her wrist and pulled her up. Hopefully, they would be able to fix her. Peter wasn't fond of taking care of a stubborn Canadian.

Chapter 7:

It didn't take long for them to arrive at Matthew's house. Francis was carrying Ontario on his back, while Peter rang the doorbell. The door was opened a few minutes later by Gilbert, who was looking over the three people at the door.

"Hi, Prussia!" Ontario waved at the albino and quickly put her hand back on Francis' shoulder to steady herself. Gilbert looked at the small blonde in confusion.

"Gilbert, mon ami, is Matthieu home?" Francis ignored the expression on Gilbert's face.

"Ja...Who's that?" Gilbert moved to the side to let the three of them in, while pointing to a giggling Ontario.

"I'm Ontario!" She said happily.

"Grand-père!" Ontario looked down the hallway to find Mariette running towards them. "Tu m'as manque!" [I've missed you!] Mariette was about to hug Francis, when she noticed Ontario. "Grand-père, qui est que?" Ontario tried hiding behind Francis, but felt Peter pull her off and put her on the ground infront of Mariette. [Grandfather, who is that?]

"H-hi, big sister..." Ontario began playing with the sleeves of her sweatshirt. "I'm Ontario...remember?" Mariette looked over at Peter, and then at Francis with a questioning look. Getting on her knees to be level with Ontario, Mariette looked over the little girl.

"Madeline? What happened?" Ontario shifted awkwardly under Mariette's gaze, and looked at the floor. When France first met Ontario, he wasn't the only one that knew about her existence. When Ontario first appeared, she was all alone in a park, until Mariette found her. Mariette refused to take her to Matthew, in fear of the young girl not truly being a province like she claimed, and handed her off to France. After a year of being with France, they were sure that she was a province. The only problem was, Mariette didn't want a sibling, and wouldn't let France bring her to Canada to take care of her province. Mariette hoped that with the representative of Ontario not being in Canada, the province itself would weaken, which would give Mariette the chance to gain land for Quebec, helping her become her own country.

Gilbert cleared his throat to get their attention. "They're here to see Birdie," Mariette looked over her shoulder to glare at Gilbert. "Stop looking at the awesome me like that, verdammt!" The Prussian stalked off down the hallway, and soon returned, dragging someone behind him. Ontario hid behind Peter after realizing who the man was.

"P-Papa? What are you and Peter doing here? And, w-who is that?" Matthew said, holding onto his bear tightly, after noticing the girl.

"We came to tell you something about this petite fille. I'll let Peter explain, though, since he knows more about what happened than moi." Matthew, Gilbert, and Mariette all looked at the boy, making his face turn a bright shade of red.

"W-well, do you mind if we sit down while I explain it?" They nodded, and all headed to the living room, not realizing that Peter had stayed back with Ontario.

"Okay, Ontario," Peter bent down to her height. "I need you to just stay quiet while I try and tell them what happened to you. Can you do that?" Peter took off his sailor hat and placed it on her head to cheer her up, and held his hand out to Ontario, who smiled shyly, and grabbed Peter's hand. The two of them walked into the living room.

After explaining to the three, Peter sat there silently with Ontario next to him, and waited for them to respond. Finally, Mariette spoke up.

"Why were you at my little sister's house, vous idiot!" Mariette was on her feet, preparing to hit Peter, when Ontario stood up on the couch to be at eye level with her sister.

"Leave him alone, big sister! He's obviously been a better friend to me than you have, so just be quiet!" Ontario and Mariette stood there, glaring at each other, when Francis got up and stood in between the two. He looked down at Mariette and put a hand on her shoulder. "Ma chère, Peter was trying to take care of Madeline. Your sister needs a friend, oui? And it just so happens that Peter is that friend."

Mariette looked at Francis in anger. "Why does everyone always take her side!? There was a reason I took her to you and not Papa! Whenever we go to world meetings, nobody ever notices me because of her! Tout le monde aime précieux de l'Ontario!" Mariette pointed to a shocked Ontario, before storming off down the hall to her bedroom. Ontario fell back onto the couch, her eyes watering. Matthew, Gilbert, and Francis all stood around her.

"I... I didn't mean to... I didn't mean to..." Ontario repeated to herself quietly.

"O-Ontario, she knows that. I-it isn't your fault," Matthew tried comforting her, but instead of listening to what they had to say, Ontario jumped off the couch, and ran down the hall.

Ontario quickly ran into a room, shutting the door quietly. She looked around the room for a place to hide, and ended up crawling under a large desk. Ontario silently cried to herself, hugging her legs to her chest. 'I didn't mean to make big sister unhappy,' she thought. 'B-but I can fix it! I'll make everybody notice and love her! I-I can act mean to people so they will like her more...' Ontario's thoughts were interrupted when she heard the door open, and loud footsteps echoed through the room.

"Hallo? Frau, come on, we want to talk to you! Hiding from us is so unawesome!" Gilbert stood near the desk, and Ontario had her gaze fixed on his boots. 'I-I can test it on Prussia...' Ontario crawled out of her hiding place, immediately getting Gilbert's attention.

"W-what do you want, jerk?" Ontario crossed her arms and glared at him. "Why are you even here? You aren't a country anymore so there's no point." Gilbert looked at her in shock.

"Problem?" she said.

"Ontario? What's with you? You're acting like Quebec."

Ontario sighed and closed her eyes. 'Looks like it's working...'

"Uh, Ontario?" Gilbert was moving towards her slowly, when she opened her eyes and continued to glare at him.

"Leave me alone. Also, I'm proud to be like big sister! I-it's better than being wimpy and unnoticed...like...Canada!" Ontario forced out the end of the sentence, trying not to burst into tears as Gilbert's expression changed to anger.

"What the hell?! I was right, you are like your brat of a sister! I don't understand how Birdie can deal with either of you! Gott, you don't know how much he does for you!" Gilbert left the room, mumbling to himself, while Ontario stood in the room for only a second before quickly leaving to grab her black flip-flops and running out the front door. 'I-I took it too far!' Ontario thought, wiping tears from her eyes.

Once she was far enough down the street, where she knew nobody would find her, Ontario sat on the curb of the road. 'What have I done... I-I thought I was doing the right thing! I bet Prussia already told them what I did, so I can't go back just yet. Canada must be so disappointed in me...' Ontario held her legs against her chest, crying, when she noticed that someone was standing behind her. She turned her head slightly, seeing a tall man with strawberry blonde hair, a bright blue bow tie, and a purple sweater vest over a light pink dress shirt. He smiled warmly at Ontario.

"Hello there, love! Why are you all alone?" He went to sit next to Ontario on the curb.

"I-I did something I really shouldn't have... I can't go home right now..." Ontario sighed and looked out onto the road. The man next to her nodded in understanding.

"I'm sorry to hear that. Would you mind if I kept you company?"

Ontario smiled slightly. "No. Maybe I'll stop thinking about it if I'm talking to you. What's your name?"

"Oliver. Oliver Kirkland. What's yours?"

Ontario looked up at him. 'I c-can't tell him I'm a province!' Ontario thought about what Peter had first called her.

"I-I'm... Madeline... Nice to meet you, Oliver." Madeline smiled at him.

"Nice to meet you." he said happily. "Madeline, would you like to come over to my house? I made cupcakes earlier but nobody wanted any." Oliver frowned, thinking about his wasted cupcakes.

"You had cupcakes and nobody ate them?! Don't worry, Oliver, I could help you!" Madeline got up laughing, and Oliver looked at her in shock.

"Y-you will?" He said, rising to his feet.

"Of course! I love cupcakes!" She cheered.

"Good! Alright, let's go then!" Oliver picked her up and placed her on his shoulders and began walking down the street in the opposite direction of where Madeline had come.

"Hey, Oliver? Do you think my family is looking for me?" Madeline said sadly. Olive was silent for a minute.

"Not yet. You can stay with me for a while, thought!"

"O-okay... Thank you..." Madeline rested her head on Oliver's.

"It's not a problem, love." He smiled.

Chapter 8:

Oliver: After Oliver and Madeline arrived at his house, and Madeline had insisted on helping Oliver make the cupcakes, the two of them sat at the kitchen table and enjoyed the pink and blue baked goods.

"These are really good, Oliver! I can't believe none of your friends wanted to eat any!" Madeline said, licking the pink icing off of her fingers.

"Thank you, dear!" Oliver smiled happily. "And my friends aren't very appreciative of the things I do, but it doesn't bother me!"

Madeline frowned. "Well, they should. Hey, you should invite them over to try these!" Oliver giggled as Madeline stuffed another cupcake in her mouth.

"Yes, well, maybe tomorrow. It's getting rather late." Oliver rose from the table, grabbing the three left over cupcakes and putting them on a plate near the stove. "I think you should head off to bed now, don't you?" He picked up the yawning girl and held her on his hip as he walked down the hall to his spare bedroom.

"Thank you for letting me stay here, Oliver." Madeline hugged him, causing him to freeze in shock at the door of the room. He had never been hugged before , mostly because the members of his family were cold hearted, and awkwardly hugged her back.

"Y-you're welcome..." Madeline let go of him and smiled. "Alright, Madeline, you're going to need something other than an oversized sweatshirt, a pair of shorts, and those filthy flip-flops, so I'll grab a t-shirt for you and in the morning I will have your clothes washed." Oliver sat Madeline down on the bad and went over to the closet, pulling out a red t-shirt.

"Here you go, love! It's going to be a bit large on you, but it should do just fine!" Oliver draped the shirt over the bed and began to help Madeline out of her outfit. She examined the t-shirt for a minute before throwing it over her head, and tugging it down enough that it stopped just above her knees.

"Thank you, Oliver!" Madeline crawled over to the head of the bed, and pulled the covers down enough so she could easily get in. Once she was cozy in the large bed, Oliver went to shut the curtains to make the room darker for her.

"W-wait! Um, Oliver, d-do you think you could... s-sing to me? My grand-père usually does that..." Madeline tried hiding her face under the blankets, and Oliver smiled happily.

"Of course!" Oliver sat on the side of the bed and began singing softly.

"Come little children,

I'll take thee away,

Into a land of enchantment.

Come little children,

The time's come to play,

Here in my garden of shadows.

Follow, sweet children,

I'll show thee the way,

Through all the pain and the sorrows.

Weep not, poor children,

For life is this way,

Murdering beauty and passions.

Hush now, dear children,

It must be this way,

Too weary of life and deceptions.

Rest now, my children,

For soon we'll away,

Into the calm and the quiet..."

Oliver quietly and carefully got off the bed to shut the curtains, and went over to the door after grabbing the pile of clothes. He smiled as he heard Madeline shift onto her side, and then closed the door behind him. Oliver tossed the clothes into the laundry room on his was down the hall to his own. "Oliver Kirkland, what would Matt think if he found out you actually enjoy her company..." he said to himself, as he opened the door to his room. Just as Oliver had thrown himself onto his bed, the phone on his nightstand began to ring. Oliver reached over to answer it before it went to voice mail.

"Hello?"

"Matt wants to know how it's going. You got her, right?" Oliver smiled at hearing the voice.

"Hello, Al! Oh, and yes I did! We just finished eating cupcakes not long ago!" Oliver's smile widened.

"You... WHAT!? You can't kill her, you dumbass! If she's dead when we get there tomorrow, Matt's gonna kick your ass and I wont fucking stop him, got it!?" Oliver let out a small giggle.

"Don't worry, Alfie! Madeline is asleep right now, love, so I need to get going. I wouldn't want to wake her. I'll see you both tomorrow!" Oliver hung up the phone and placed it on the nightstand, before relaxing onto his bed, gazing up at the ceiling. 'Tomorrow should be interesting... Although, I don't think I want to give her up. Al and Matt didn't need to be taken care of when they were young, so it's nice having Madeline around..." Oliver sighed. 'She's like the child I never got..."

Next Day

Oliver had gotten up early so he was able to wash Madeline's clothes before Matt and Al showed up, and so h would be able to get the leftover cupcakes out. He was standing in the kitchen, putting fresh icing on the cupcakes, when Madeline came in.

"Hm?" She mumbled tiredly. "Oliver, what are you doing? Are you friends coming over today?" Madeline brought a chair next to Oliver, and stood on top of it. He looked down at her and smiled.

"Two of them are, yes. They're more like my own children, but I didn't have to take care of them much." Madeline nodded. "Oh, love, I cleaned your sweatshirt and shorts! They're over on the table when you want them." Oliver finished icing the last cupcake on the plate, and brought them over to the table as Madeline hopped off the chair, grabbed her clothes, and sprinted down to the spare bedroom. She came back a few minutes later in her oversized clothes and watched as Oliver began cleaning the icing off of himself.

"Oliver, come here," Madeline waved him over and waited as Oliver walked over and got down to her height. She reached out to grab his blue bow tie, and began tugging on each side.

"It was getting loose," She smiled.

Oliver blushed and stood back up. "Thank you, love." Madeline nodded and sat down at the table to reach out for a cupcake, when the front door flew open.

"Oliver! Get over here!" Madeline jumped and pulled her hand back, folding them both in her lap as Oliver happily walked off to the door.

"Hello, boys! It's lovely to see you again. Would either of you like a cupcake? They're in the kitchen." Oliver turned his back to the two of them and walked back to the kitchen, with Matt and Al soon following in annoyance. One holding a taped hockey stick, and the other a bloody baseball bat with nails sticking out.

"Oh, this is Madeline, by the way. Why don't you two sit at the table with her," Oliver leaned against the counter, watching as Matt awkwardly took the seat next to her, and Al taking the one across.

"Hello. It's nice to meet you both. Want a cupcake?" Madeline smiled shyly while placing a blue cupcake infront of them. "They're really good!" Oliver put a hand over his mouth to muffle his laughter, as Madeline cheerfully stuffed a cupcake into her own mouth.

Al looked up at Oliver, swing his baseball bat over his shoulder. "Oliver, you know why we came over, so cut your bull crap!" He looked over to Matt, who was starring at Madeline awkwardly. "If you wanna do it, go ahead. It's your kid, anyways..." Matt sighed and pushed himself out of his chair with his hockey stick in both hands. "Hm, thanks..." He mumbled. Madeline looked up at Matt in confusion before turning around to see Oliver rushing up to her.

"Madeline, run!" he shouted. Madeline jumped out of her chair, just as Matt swung his hockey stick. She screamed and ran to Oliver, who quickly picked her up, and ran to the door.

""Kirkland! Get back here with her, dammit! Don't you remember why we're doing this, because we can sure as hell show ya!" Al shouted. Oliver had begun running down the sidewalk in the direction of Matthew's house, ignoring the two angry parallel nations behind him. Madeline buried her face in Oliver's shoulder and held on tighter.

"Oliver, what are they t-talking about? J-j'ai peur!" Madeline began sobbing quietly as Oliver turned down an alley way and pressed himself against the brick wall, watching as Matt and Al ran past.

"I... I'm so sorry, love... I never wanted them to hurt you..." He closed his eyes and sighed, rubbing Madeline's back. "I'm so sorry..."

Chapter 9:

Matthew, Gilbert, Francis, and Peter had continued to look for Madeline after Gilbert explained what had happened. Matthew refused to sleep, insisting on driving around most of the night, while the other three stayed at home with Mariette to she if Madeline would turn up. They all sat in the living room, waiting for something to happen.

"Gilbert," Matthew began tiredly. "Do you think she'll come back?" He looked over to the exhausted Prussian.

"Of course, Birdie. It isn't you she should be mad at anyways..." Gilbert shrunk back into the couch sighing, as the others all looked over at him.

"Mon ami, don't blame yourself-" Francis stopped, realizing that Gilbert was glaring at him from behind his hair.

"You didn't see how she looked at me, Francis. I've never yelled at anybody like that, especially a kid! Not even when I took care of Ludwig..." Francis opened his mouth to speak again, when there was a quick knock at the door. The four of them all got up at once and ran to the door, watching as Matthew threw open the door. They all looked at the strawberry blonde in confusion, before noticing Madeline asleep in his arms. He cleared his throat and smiled wearily at them.

"I apologize for my tardiness, but Madeline and I were in a muddle. I'm Oliver Kirkland. Arthur Kirkland's second personality. It's a pleasure to meet all of you." Peter stepped out to stand infront of Oliver and crossed his arms.

"You're the one that's been tormenting her in her sleep, aren't you..." Peter watched as Oliver's smile faltered. "So why would we ever trust you, you wanker!"

Oliver sighed. "First off, your language is repulsive. Second, it was her own second personality that was doing that to her. See, the parallel Madeline wanted a fresh start. That was the only way, I'm afraid."

Peter frowned. "Then why is she unconscious? I bet you bloody did that!"

"I'd be asleep too, after what she's just been through. Now, if you're done accusing me I would like to come in and explain." He looked over to Matthew and smiled. "May I?" Matthew nodded slowly, and they all made their way back to the living room, laying Madeline down on one of the smaller couches.

"Now, please don't think anything of me until I'm finished explaining. Also, I take it all of you know about the nightmares?" He watched as each one of them nodded. "Right. Well, Madeline's second personality, Maddie, is quite the moody one... She found it unfair that Madeline got all the attention, and that she didn't get a choice, so she began tormenting her until Madeline was desperate enough to actually take Maddie's advice. Once she was able to have Madeline as a child, the same would happen to her, and she was convinced that she would get to choose how she acted. Unfortunately or her, Madeline was able to take control of it, and not change at all, which would mean that her second personality would stay the same as it always had. Canada's second personality, along with America's, came over earlier to take Madeline away and...torture her...until she became miserable enough that Maddie would change... Luckily, I got her back here before they could actually get to her." Oliver smiled down at the sleeping girl, unaware of the looks he was now getting.

"Th-thank you, Oliver," Matthew smiled kindly at him. "Um, do you think you could change her back to a twelve year old before you leave?"

"Of course!" He said cheerfully, and began repeating the same spell he had used on her in the first place. A minute later, he took a step back from her, revealing a twelve year old that was fast asleep on the couch.

"Now, Matthew dear, she's still going to have the memories of when she was young. I just wanted to warn you." Matthew nodded and went over to Madeline, followed by Gilbert, Francis, and Peter.

"I suppose I'll be off now. Also, I promise I'll do my best to not let my...friends hurt her again. Oh, and if you wouldn't mind telling Arthur about me I would appreciate it!" He smiled and planted a small kiss on Madeline's forehead. "I know you're awake," he whispered in her ear. " And I'm leaving for good now, Madeline. I'll miss you, love7, and I promise I'll do my best to protect you..." He stood back up and walked down the hallway and left through the front door.

Madeline: Madeline opened her eyes after hearing Oliver leave, and smiled up at her family and friends.

"I'm sorry," She said quietly. "For not telling you all sooner about the nightmares. Also, Gilbert, I'm so sorry for what I said to you. It was just because I was trying to make all of you not like me, thinking you would end up liking Mariette better... Speaking of Mariette, I need to go and apologize to her, too." Madeline stood up and grabbed Peter by the wrist. "You're coming with me. Mariette is sensitive, and you blurting out that you slept on my couch didn't help her at all." Peter blushed, while Francis and Gilbert stood behind him laughing.

Madeline dragged him down the hall, ignoring the two, and knocked on Mariette's door.

"Quoi?" [What]

"Mariette? I wanted to apologize. May I come in?" Madeline had her free hand on the door handle, waiting for a response.

"...D'accord..." Madeline pushed open the door and pulled Peter into the room with her. Mariette was sprawled out on the floor and looked up at them. [...Okay...]

"Pourquoi est-il ici?" [Why is he in here?]

"He came to apologize to. I'll go first: I'm sorry that I've always made you feel unwanted, Mariette... I never meant to." Mariette looked away from her.

"Madeline, ce n'est pas quelque chose que vous avez à présenter des excuses pour..." [Madeline, that isn't something you have to apologize for...]

"Too late, now. I already did." She looked over to Peter. "Your turn."

"...Fine... I a-apologize for... stay over at Madeline's house..." Mariette let out a small laugh and got to her feet.

"Wh-what!?" He blushed.

"You don't have to apologize for that. I think it's cute that you like my little sister."

Peter's blush deepened, and Mariette stared wide-eyed at her sister.

Mariette threw her arms around the both of them laughing. "Madeline, tu devrais sortir avec lui déjà!" [Madeline, you should just go out with him already!]

"S-stop it! Mon dieu, you're almost as bad as grand-pére!" Madeline pushed her laughing sister away and crossed her arms.

"Aww~! Madeline, je ne faisais que jour avec vous," Mariette smiled. [Madeline, I was just playing with you,]

"W-we're just gonna go now," Madeline grabbed a blushing Peter and opened the door, only to find Francis and Gilbert right outside, and Matthew standing behind them with an apologetic look. Francis and Gilbert went on either side of Peter, Gilbert putting an arm around him.

"Now, Peter, if you want to go out with our little frau, we need to be able to know you wont take advantage of her," Gilbert teased.

"Oui, mon ami. Her uncle Alfred is protective of her to, you know. Not just us." Madeline starred at the two of them in horror before going over and hugging Matthew, hiding her face in his sweatshirt.

"Papa, pourquoi ont-ils de me mettre dans l'embarras?" Matthew smiled and hugged her back. [Papa, why do they have to embarrass me?]

"J-je ne sais pas, Madeline," He said quietly.

"Honhonhon~ Ma chére, are we really embarrassing you?" Francis and Gilbert left Peter standing there while they went and joined in on the hug.

"Kesesesese~! That's what we're here for!"

"I already have a big sister for that! I don't need you guys doing it too..." Madeline groaned. They all let go of her and laughed, when Mariette went up behind Peter, and pushed him into Madeline.

Madeline caught him awkwardly, giving him an apologetic look. "I-I'm really sorry about my family..."

Peter blushed and pulled Madeline into a hug. "Y-you don't have to apologize," Madeline let out a small laugh and hugged him back, causing everyone around them to laugh.