A/N: HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE I HAD CANADIAN AND ITALIAN VIEWS~! Sorry, I get hyped up over stuff like that. It's a quirk. ^^' Read and review, guys! I really want to hear feedback from you all!

Chapter Two

Andorra saw nothing.

Well, it wasn't exactly nothing. I mean, she didn't go blind or anything. She could still see the cedar floors, the beige walls, the staircase in the near distance, and the door directly to her right. Her vision wasn't impaired at all. The problem wasn't what she saw, but who.

Having said that, Andorra saw nothing.

The foyer was completely barren of anything now, including the two countries that had previously been standing there. In fact, there was no trace of anyone ever setting foot in the place, aside from a small a few tangled strands of blonde hair blown dismissively into the corner of the room. If possible, the air seemed thicker and stuffier, yet the cold still remained. Andorra pulled her jacket closer around her to ward off the chill. Did they leave after all? It doesn't seem like something they would do…

That sucks.

Crossing the foyer, listening to her footsteps echo through the darkened house, she grabbed the doorknob of the entry and turned it. The door wouldn't give way, however, and rejected her requests of opening with silent defiance. Andorra stared bewilderedly at the metal knob through her hand. "…Well, this is a really bad joke," she commented aloud, trying to steady her nervous voice as she jiggled the handle once again, more rapidly this time. "Yeah, it's just a joke…or am I really stuck here? No, the other must still be here. They wouldn't just leave like that, right? I'll just have to look for them."

Look at me, narrating to myself like I'm in a book or something. Just like Yugo. The thought was slightly comforting to the stranded Andorran, and it made her chuckle slightly as she started down one corridor in hopes of finding any signs of life. She passed by a door, which she found to be locked after a quick test of the doorknob, then turned to her right when she reached a bend in the hall. Her eyes had quickly adjusted to the pale light of the mansion's interior, so she examined the walls for anything of interest. There was a doorway to her right, another directly in front of her, a large gray thing standing in front of that, a –

Wait a minute.

Half-obscured in shadows, the "thing" was a sight to behold. It was slightly taller than the doorway and ashen gray in color, with a huge head balancing on a long neck connected to a humanoid-ish body. It was turned away from her, so she couldn't see its face, but she imagined it with big black eyes similar to those of the aliens in America's movies. She didn't know whether to cry out or stay silent at first, but after a moment of staring at the "thing," she decided to keep her mouth shut. It must have been a good idea, because as soon as she decided, it darted inside the room at a frightening speed and shut the door behind it, sealing itself off from the rest of the mansion.

"…!? Wha… What the heck was that? M-Maybe I'm getting tired… Yeah, that's it…" Staying closer to the wall this time, Andorra slipped through the threshold on her right and emerged into a large bathroom with several empty shelves and a toilet hidden behind a long wall. Like the kitchen, there wasn't that much to see. The vanity mirror was covered in so much dust and grime that it was impossible to see anything in it. A shelf nailed close to the ceiling held several bottles once filled with who-knows-what. The toilet, upon further examination, appeared to be just an ordinary toilet, made of surprisingly clean white porcelain. Nothing to see here.

Returning swiftly to he foyer – I'm not getting any closer to that thing than I have to – Andorra glanced down the corridor beside the stairs before climbing upward, surfacing on the second floor. The design scheme was the same, for sure. She ignored her stomach, which was suddenly growling like an angry lion, and poked her head inside of the first door she saw. It was a bedroom, one with a small bed, several bookshelves pressed against the wall, and a pair of chairs side by side facing a slightly dated television set. She saw something glint faintly in the corner of her eye; turning around, she noticed a brown-handled meat cleaver poking out from under the bed, its smooth silver blade slightly scratched and worn from use.

"Is that… Malta's knife?" With gentle hands, she picked up the weapon, giving it a good once-over before confirming its identity. "What's it doing in a place like this?" Maybe she dropped it… But where would she be? Glancing down the hall once again, she noticed a second doorway no more than ten feet away, as well as a third farther down. For some reason, she was drawn to the third over the second. Eh, why not? Sneaking soundlessly through the hall, she pushed through the third door and took a step inside.

Surprise! It was another bedroom, very similar to the one before it. The only difference was a large white curtain hanging from the wall beside a small chest of drawers, its ends stained gray with age. Andorra was about to ignore it when she noticed it tremble, shaking rapidly from whatever was hidden behind it. She reached for Malta's knife, which now hung from her belt at her side, tightly gripping the handle as she took a fistful of the curtain and threw it aside.

"M-Malta?!"

For once, the Maltese girl was silent, hugging her knees to her chest and shaking violently. Her eyes stared at nothing, focused on a dot far more distant than the wall just inches from her face. She didn't even seem to see her friend at all.

Andorra's lips drew into a thin line of confusion. "…Malta, where's Yugoslavia?"

No answer.

"You look…shaken. I'll go get you something to drink." Replacing the curtain, Andorra fled into the hall, her mind still trying to process what just happened. She's never been just silent before. I wonder what happened to her… First I need to get some water. She stomped down the stairs and turned on her heel so that she faced to the right, the direction of the bathroom. I don't want to be near that thing again… But it's better than the long walk to the kitchen. I'm getting tired. Obtaining said water was pretty easy – the tap was working, despite her previous worries about having to substitute it for toilet water – even though it looked a little strange to be water. Whatever. It's probably…safe…

"Hey Malta?" Andorra entered the bedroom cautiously, as if she was expecting her friend to be asleep. "I brought you some water. It'll help you calm down a little. It's not filtered though" Kneeling beside the quivering nation, she raised the glass to Malta's mouth and poured a little, just enough for Malta to snap out of her trance, grab the cup, and drink it herself. She sputtered a little as she drank, and a slightly disgusted look spread across her face.

Malta, now aware of her surroundings, wiped her mouth on the sleeve of her shirt, her voice wavering as she finally spoke. "…Was that…really water?"

"Judging by its color…" Andorra considered, shrugging nonchalantly. "…probably."

"Oh." Malta stared at the now-empty glass, letting out a breath she didn't know she was holding. "Anyway, sorry for falling apart like that. I feel much better now, thanks to you."

"That's good to hear. So, where's Yugoslavia?"

Malta's head dropped slightly, her voice stabilizing but lowering in volume. "I'm…not sure. At any rate, we both ran for our lives… We went in different directions…I think." The slight guilt in her voice was plain to see, so she sucked in another lungful of air to keep herself calm, squeezing her eyes shut. "Sorry, just… Give me a second to pull myself together."

"Sure thing." Andorra got to her feet once again, still holding back the curtain with one hand. She nudged the glass aside with her foot. "I'll go look for Yugo. Try and get some rest, okay?"

"Sorry… Oh, by the way, I found this when I was running. Maybe it'll be useful to you?"

Turning around just in time, Andorra snatched a small metal object out of the air just as it sailed past her shoulder, the cool, smooth surface pressed against her palm. It was a gold-colored key, tarnished with age, with a light inscription on the flat end reading LIB. "Oh, cool. Thanks." She pocketed the key and once again slipped out the door away from her friend.

LIB? Her mind was solely on the key as she made her way toward the stairs again. That could stand for library… Maybe it's downstairs? Couldn't hurt to look, right? In a flash, she was on the first floor, standing in front of the first locked door she saw. Please work… Inserting the key into the keyhole, she turned it, hearing a satisfying click as the tumblers gave way. Nice! I wonder what's in here… The question didn't last for long, however, as she swung the door open and took a confident step inside.

It was almost like someone had turned off the heating completely. It was even colder in the library than it was outside, and there was this weird feeling that Andorra kept having even after her first few steps. It was like a ringing in her ears, like the creepy viola music in the background of horror films. Rubbing her arms to rid herself of the goose bumps that were threatening to come, she scanned the many shelves of books. There were so many; Yugo would have a field day in here, she commented to herself, turning her attention to the table across the room. She would love to be in here, with all of these books to – WHAT THE HECK IS THAT? Skirting the edge of the table, she stared at the suspicious object until she was right n front of it. Then, she stared at it some more.

"T-this is…sushi." Andorra picked up the rice ball with one hand and raised it to her nose, taking a whiff. She was briefly reminded of her angered stomach. "It smells pretty good. It's already wrapped up, too. Maybe I could just…" She stuck the Japanese delicacy in the pocket of her jacket, turning away from the table and starting for the door once again. That ringing in her ears was back, and it was getting really annoying at this point. "Maybe I should get my ears checked. It's probably not – WHAT THE CRAP?!" From out of nowhere, a huge gray shape appeared, barreling toward her faster than a freight train. She had barely enough time to dodge it before it slammed into the wall, dazed for just a second.

That thing… She saw its shape: ashen gray, huge head, long neck, humanoid-ish body. Oh crap, not THAT again… I have to get out of here! She tried making a break for the door, and would've gotten away with it too, if it weren't for that cursed lock. "It's locked? But I…" The key! Oh no… Did I drop it?! Crap, this is bad… She could just hear the Thing's footsteps behind her, getting closer with every passing moment. What am I going to do? I can't just – At that second, she remembered something. The key had left her grasp while she was looking at a book near a dead end in the shelves, but she didn't remember picking it back up.

Of course.

Dashing across the room, she skidded to a halt by the bookshelf and dropped to her knees. I swear, if it's under this thing… Luckily, she didn't have to finish her empty threat, because the key was hidden in the shadow of a book on the bottom shelf, impossible to see from her previous height. "I found it! Now I have to get out of here!" The Thing was blocking the only exit now, her other three sides obstructed by walls and nearly immobile shelves. Before she could think, her body decided to utilize an epic ninja move she had seen in one of China's movies one time: she ran toward it, then dropped to the floor and slid between its legs, her eyes never leaving the door in the corner. If she wasn't scared out of her mind, she would've congratulated herself on her ninja skills, but at a time like this, she was only focused on leaving. Jamming the key into its proper place in the doorknob, she flung the door open then slammed it behind her. Now, the only thing she could hear was her own breaths, raspy and energetic in contrast to the lethargic air around her.

"… Wha… What on Earth was THAT?!" She slid down the length of the wall, sitting down against it when she was a reasonable distance away from the library door. "I have to find Yugo as soon as possible. Who knows what trouble she's in by now…"

A/N: I feel so sad. This chapter is an epic fail. The paragraphs are all screwed up… I didn't even add Keongwoo in this one! It just would've been annoying, adding the otter's every move as well as Andorra's… Well, I hope you all like it~!