HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Hey guys! Another chappie! Hope you guys enjoy, and thank you so much for reading, reviewing, favouriting and following this story! It really means a lot to me!

GUYS! It is important to me that you read these author's notes. They contain a lot of important information, and this story might not make as much sense if you don't read them.

In this universe also, many things are different. Not only do they have dozens of planets and aliens and stuff, but the names of the months are different. There are still twelve, and you can kinda tell which is which.

Another thing, I've decided not to just spell out what everything is. That has never been done in a sci-fi novel, so I'm not going to have characters explain everything immediately. I'm still building this world, so it's confusing for even me. I was inspired to do this after staring to read a hetalia story on ao3, called 'Sold to the Highest Bidder' by Sara Generis (kanadka), also a sci-fi universe, but I found it much more interesting to discover things about it gradually, as the author had written it.

IMPORTANT: I found writing Norway as a girl too strange, so I've changed him back into a guy. Also, Yaoi, hehe. Sorry if this is confusing, but I've changed Chapter 1 to reflect this.

One more thing, I've been considering turning this into an original story on FictionPress. It would be a lot darker, with more violence and whatnot. Thoughts?

Chapter 2
The Trials That Divide Us

Tainish Markets,
Krios District,
Reycass

Matthias swung around, triumphant, to the others, all of whom – exempting Berwald – had smiles on their face. Even Ludwig, who usually didn't smile a great deal, had a small one on his face. And of course they did. TR5 was finally theirs. They'd just beat an Anvali to it, and said creature was now huffing in anger away from the bounty hunters.

The droid made a squeaking noise. Alfred could understand most droids, but this one spoke a little differently than others he had heard. It might take him a while to get used to it, but he could decipher its communication well enough. He had always loved droids. Some could be quite eccentric, and they were often entertaining. Gilbert had insisted that they upload expletives to the droid's database, an idea that Alfred – as the only person who could properly understand the droid – had eagerly supported. Ludwig had told them to not be so immature, but the pair had just shot him down as usual, already discussing how they would hook up the cables. Feliks rolled his eyes at them. Matthias wished that he was able to feel truly angry at those two. But after what they'd been through, he just couldn't.

Gilbert had been only 5 years old when his parents were murdered by a serial killer on the planet of Incanda. Ludwig had been only 3 years old at the time, and Gilbert had been forced to take on a responsibility years and years ahead of him. He'd managed to garner sympathy from a kind pilot, who flew the pair to Rywan. They'd spent several years there, and, when Gilbert was 11, he and the then 9-year-old Ludwig had stowed away on a ship bound for Nyma. However, the crew had discovered them mid-flight, and left them on the nearest planet, which had been the beautiful but horribly dangerous Syhvva. The brothers had escaped after selling some things they'd stolen and gotten onto a ship to Reycass. They'd been 13 and 11 by that time, and decided to make a living on the urban planet. Matthias had met them when he was 16 – he'd already been in the bounty hunting business by then – and had offered them jobs working with him. They'd accepted, and been part of his little crew in the four years since.

Alfred, however, had suffered differently. His parents were still alive, but they'd abandoned him on Rywan. As if this wasn't bad enough, Alfred had told him that he'd had a brother – older than him by a year – who he'd lost two summers before that, in a series of raids and riots in their area. Matthias had found this out after noticing that Alfred got increasing quiet and reserved around the beginning of Juillat, the seventh month of the year. He'd narrowed it down mostly to the first of said month. This had struck him as odd, as Alfred's birthday was on the fourth of the same month. As it turned out, the first of Juillat had been his older brother's birthday, and every year he was similarly lacklustre. He'd been only nine when it happened, but he seemed to miss his brother terribly.

It was for these reasons that, no matter how hard he tried or no matter how badly they fucked up, Matthias was never truly angry at them. They'd had much harder lives than he had, and they didn't need any more extra emotional baggage. The pair got on quite well, though their similar personalities could clash quite spectacularly. They really were fantastic at what they did, though. Matthias knew that he would've been caught in a few tough situations if not for those two. He really did owe them a lot.

Grinning as he watched TR5 speed after Alfred and Gilbert, Matthias pulled out his Cell. Glancing through the Index, he sighed, once again seeing the same five entries at the top. The Index was sorted by bounty in it's default mode, something that Matthias had never bothered to change. And these five had a massive bounty on each of their heads. Some had smaller ones, others – three in particular – had gargantuan amounts by their names. The five at the top were all royalty. Three, however, were heirs to respective thrones, which was why they had higher bounties. Matthias' crew had dabbled in searching for the different figures for a time, to humour their ever-present positions at the top of the Index, but never truly tried. Most of them were probably dead by now, anyway. The annexation of the three Free Courts of Daerna, Syhvva and Fynkn had occurred a decade ago, and the peoples of each planet were not permitted to leave, so it had been about a decade since anyone had seen hair nor hide of the three races.

It was bit of a pity, seeing as the native humans of each planet had distinctive looks. The Daernic were known for fair skin, dark hair and pale eyes. The Fynknian were known for their pale hair, pale skin and dark eyes. Finally, the Syhvvanian peoples possessed vibrant eyes and hair ranging between light copper to deep burgundy – that is to say, in any and all shades of red. They were far more interesting, anyway, than Rywanese people. Rywanese humans all had the same; blond hair, blue eyes, pale skin. Matthias was of Rywanese ethnicity, and couldn't help but wish he was from somewhere more interesting, like Pyndaph or Metteoa. Rywan was a nice planet, of course, and it was the only planet in the universe that possessed every single different type of biome/environment. Rywan was interesting to people who weren't from Rywan. To those who originated from the place, though, it was a home that was slightly annoying in how the environment completely changed every few hundred miles or so.

Hell, the 'every biome' thing was the only unique feature the planet had. It felt like every other planet was more interesting. In Dryx, for example, the people lived deep underground because of the surface temperatures, which were always either sub-arctic, or hot as the sun.

Anyway, it wasn't his place to argue it, or even be thinking about it. They had work to do. Glancing down at the Index again, he gave thought to the first entries. Catching any of them would provide them with enough funds to retire permanently. They wouldn't, of course, because this profession had made the lot of them into greedy bastards, but it would be nice to have a lot of savings. They could buy a better apartment, for one. And it would cost a lot extra to maintain their new droid. Matthias tried to dismiss the idea that bloomed in his mind. It wouldn't work, and could possibly cost them more than they would earn…

But if it succeeded…

Matthias ran after the others, deciding to wait until they were back at the apartment to speak his idea.

The silence in the room felt louder than a bomb blast. Feliks and Berwald were staring at him, Ludwig, Gilbert, Francis and Antonio had fallen silent, Alfred was openly gaping at him, and Ivan was just smiling at him.

"So let me get this right," Alfred began, "you want us to travel through the eight Systems, to find the top five?!"

Matthias scratched the back of his head.

"It was just an idea, guys, no need to look like I killed a Minkrat or something. And yeah, have you seen the amounts put on their heads? Catching only one of them would make us rich beyond belief."

Ludwig stepped forward.

"It could also cost us double the reward. Do you have any idea how much money we'd have to spend on fuel?"

"Yes," Matthias sighed, "but won't you at least think about it? I mean –"

"No-one's been able to capture them, not in ten years." Francis interrupted.

"True, but imagine how high in demand we'd be if we became the first."

That silenced Francis, and Matthias took it as an opportunity to speak.

"Listen guys, I know this has a big risk factor –"

"Oh, it has a gargantuan risk factor." Gilbert muttered.

Matthias glared at his comment.

"But, that droid is going to be expensive to maintain." Gilbert continued, nodding at said droid, which made a beeping noise when he did, "And, I know how you think, Matthias. This place isn't going to support the nine of us much longer. That's what you were thinking, wasn't it? Droid maintenance and a better apartment?" Matthias nodded wordlessly. The others didn't seem massively convinced. Feliks moved towards him.

"Matthias, can I talk to you, in private, please?"

Without waiting for an answer, the Pyndaphian grabbed him by the collar and dragged him out of earshot of the others.

"What in the worlds are you thinking? You dumb yyjyt." Matthias noted the word. He hadn't heard it from Feliks in years. He was ultimately oblivious to its meaning, but in the context that Feliks was using it, he was guessing it was some sort of insult or slur. He only slipped into using it when he was angry or frustrated, and Feliks was rather unpleasant in either mood.

"It was just an idea." Matthias hissed in response, "Am I prohibited from having those, now?"

Feliks let go of Matthias' jacket with his left hand, keeping a strong grip on him with his right. He pinched the bridge of his nose and exhaled slowly.

"By Macanna, Matthias, do you honestly believe we will be able to capture any of them? Because I don't."

"How hard could it be?" he countered.

"Oh yeah, because it'll be easy to catch a queen, three princes or a princess! Use your head; they would have hidden themselves away."

"No one can hide forever."

"Well, the top five have done a pretty damn good job! They've not been seen for more on ten summers!"

He was slipping into his old speech patterns, that's how Matthias knew he was pissed. Feliks had spent years learning to speak the Common Speech properly, rather than the Pyndaphian Standard. He only ever slipped when he was angry.

"Feliks, calm down! It was an idea! What are you so afraid of?"

"Afraid?" Feliks bristled, "You'shd be craven of the future in happenings!" Matthias knew roughly, what he was trying to say, but it was hard to understand the style of speech.

"Feliks!" Matthias grabbed his wrists. "You're speaking in the Pyndaph Standard, I can't understand you." Feliks stopped, forehead creasing as he ran over his last words in his head. Realising what he'd said, he snatched his arms back, looking embarrassed by the slip-up. He rarely spoke like that, and hated it when he did.

Muttering under his breath, Feliks turned slightly to look at him.

"You can chase your bounty, but I won't take that risk."

It killed Matthias a little inside, to hear his best friend say it. Trying not to look as discouraged as he was, he nodded, before following Feliks back into the living area.

The others looked up at their arrival, probably, Matthias thought, having heard them yelling. Gilbert leapt to his feet.

"I haven't got any idea what you two talked about, but, well, I'm an idiot, so I'm on board with the idea."

Matthias blinked. "Seriously?"

Gilbert nodded, before grinning at him.

Alfred sighed, but jabbed a thumb at Gilbert.

"And I agree with him."

Matthias glanced around the room, and saw that Antonio, Ludwig and Ivan were all nodding.

"All in favour?" he asked. Gilbert, Alfred, Ludwig, Ivan, Antonio and himself all raised their hands. Berwald, Francis and Feliks all abstained.

"Woo! Majority vote!" Gilbert hollered, pumping his fist in the air. Feliks gritted his teeth, but didn't argue. He knew when he was beaten. Francis was frowning, and Berwald just had the same stare as always. Those two must have had their own reasons for opposing it. Whatever it was, Matthias ignored it. They were actually going to do this.

Now he just had to ensure it actually worked.

Milas Memorial Park,
Herr Sector,
Incanda

Lovino sighed as he lowered himself down beside his brother. Herr Sector wasn't much different to what Jano Sector had been like, except it was a little cleaner. It had still been exhausting, though, dodging identity checks at the gates and getting through. Feliciano had fallen asleep the minute they had gotten to this park, which wasn't a surprise. Lovino glanced down at his brother. He'd been protecting him since the Expansion, and hadn't regretted a moment of it. No matter how much starvation, abuse and hardship he'd gone through, it was all worth it if it meant his baby brother was safe from harm. Well, Feli was 16, not really a baby anymore. Still. The 19 year old leant back, resting his head on the trunk of the tree they were camped under. Always, since he'd been born, Feli had been the favourite. Their parents, their grandfather, the people. Lovino might have been the heir and future king, but his brother was the one everyone wanted for that role. Lovino would never wish such a thing. Not because he was greedy and wanted nothing but to be ruler, but because of how dull a life it was. He still recalled days of being taught foreign languages, politics and other things while Feli ran wild around the palace with his friends. Feliciano would find a life of leading quite boring. He was also naïve. He couldn't remember the Expansion, he had no idea why they kept on running, and he didn't even know what his natural hair colour was.

Lovino ran his fingers through said hair gently, careful not to wake him. Lovino had used a substance called Halkar to dye it, and his own, black. He remembered what both of them really looked like, of course, but the dye had been necessary. Their real hair was an incredible, vibrant red; a colour that was instantly recognisable as Syhvvanian. It drew the eye like you wouldn't believe. On Syhvva, of course, it wasn't anything special. Native human Syhvvanians were known for hair in all shades of red, olive skin and light eyes. When the pair had been running, their eyes had also been a concern. Lovino's were amber, whilst Feliciano's – which were barely open anyway – were a brighter golden colour.

Their accents, on the other hand, had long stopped being Syhvvanian. They'd travelled around so much that their accents were now a strange mix of several. Incanda had been their refuge for about a year now, and was definitely far from the worst planet they'd stayed on.

Lovino's decision to not tell his brother the reason for their running had been controversial within his own mind. Feli knew the planet was now under Saijani reign, he also knew that their grandfather was still stuck there, and he knew that Lovino wanted to get to the Resistance, but he wasn't exactly sure why. Feliciano would probably flip out if he remembered or if Lovino told him. They were royalty, but Feliciano had no idea. He wanted to fight for Syhvva, but for him, it was just the planet he once lived on. For Lovino, it was something different.

He couldn't quite describe it, but he felt rather possessive of the planet. It was strange, yes, but it had never faded, not even a little, in over ten years.

Removing his hand from his brother's head after he began to stir, Lovino cast his thoughts towards the Resistance. After years and years of trying to find them, he'd finally discovered that they had a base on Nyma. He had his heart set on getting there as quickly as possible. However, it would be very expensive to get there. At the current rate, it could take them up to a year to earn enough to get a flight there, and Lovino simply couldn't wait that long. The war between the Empire and the Resistance was escalating, and Lovino wanted to be in the thick of it. He knew that the Resistance had been searching for him and the other surviving royalty from the Free Courts, and he wanted them to find him. It shouldn't have been too difficult for anyone, considering how loose-lipped Feliciano could be.

Trying his best to shut out his own thoughts, Lovino turned his sights on the Port, not ten minutes' walk away. There were countless ships there. If they got on the right one, one going to Nyma, or at least stopping for a refuel…

Lovino and Feliciano had never been stowaways before, but times were becoming a little more desperate, and they did need to get to Nyma and the rebels as quickly as possible.

Another day, he decided, one where he wasn't so tired and hungry. They could afford to stay in the area for a few days and rest themselves. After that, though, Nyma.