Chapter 2: Civilizing

Word Count: 7,248

This story is not going in the direction most of you think.

Also, to Anon S: This is a RusAme story, for some reason fanfic didn't put them as a pairing like I tried to do. Sorry to disappoint. I rarely write them as platonic though. Sorry again.

Years past. Decades even, almost a century now. Ivan had left Alfred's body in the Batcave, the best resting place for him that Ivan could think of. And now, well now it was time to find the new personification. The other countries were actually taking part in it, probably assuming that if they got the personification that they could manipulate it. That may have been true, but Ivan didn't forbid them from coming. More help in finding the new country.

Ivan looked out of the helicopter down at the land so different from what it used to be. But there was life. Savages crossing borders into Canada and Mexico had happened, and looking down at the ruins covered in green, it was clear that even with all the bombs it had healed quickly. The place they were meeting and staying was to be close to where the old capital used to be, closer to the beach though. Still, even with the green it still had a dark, destroyed look to it.

The helicopter landed soon, and he got out, watching as it took off. No reason for the humans to stay in what could be dangerous land. Who knew what kind of creatures were created during the radiation? He looked towards the building that the satellites had taken pictures of several months earlier. It was stable, very much so. Though all the windows seemed to be blocked out by growth, he was okay with that. They would just have to hook up the power to a generator that should be being delivered before that night. It had been difficult to get a generator that would work with such an old building too. Ivan walked towards the building, taking a breath before he grabbed the handle of the heavy, reinforced door. He knew that all the other countries would be here, he was running a few hours late after all.

Not looking forward to having to deal with everybody, Ivan shrugged it off as he opened the door, letting it close behind him. Darkness surrounded him the same time he heard the door close... but also a clicking sound... almost like a locking mechanism. He blinked several times, his eyes trying to adjust and after awhile he saw some light streaming in through the cracks in the plants. At least the weather was warm so he didn't care if a small breeze got in here and there. Still, it was silent. It wasn't a small building, so he wasn't too surprised. Part of him was paranoid enough to suspect that this could have been a trap. He had taken a couple pictures from satellite to see if all the other countries were there before coming to make sure they weren't plotting something against him, reason he was late to begin with. And they were here, somewhere.

Walking forward, Ivan pulled out a small flashlight, clicking it on easily and looking around the building. It certainly was structurally sound, barely any cracks at all. There was dust everywhere of course, and his footsteps were loud and heavy in the dead silence. Now, to find the other nations somewhere in the several stories of the building. Well there were two basement floors below this, but he doubted they would set up down there without a generator yet. It would be pitch black down there. So that only left about eleven other levels above the one he was on. Walking forward in what seemed to have used to be a hospital.

There was sound of some small bugs scurrying away. It was kind of sad he could hear that. Looking over the old rotting secretary desk that had obviously seen its fair share of termites, Ivan heard soft footsteps. Looking behind him, he shined the flashlight across the room, wondering what nation was there. He didn't see anything beyond the almost non-existent waiting room chairs and an old toy set for toddlers or some age group akin to it. Walking over to the old toy table, Ivan kneeled down. He remembered some of these toys, though they had stopped being made a very long time ago.

Beads that had faded and chipped color sat peacefully around semi-thick metal that wound itself into an iterate design. Thumbing one of the beads he smiled at the old object. It was strange seeing it, and it was interesting to him to see old objects. It always brought a sense of nostalgia. Standing up, he decided against playing with them childishly and that he should leave them for now and look for the other countries that would be here. Well, that was the plan of course before something hard and solid hit him in the side of his jaw. Seeing stars and moving his nearly dislocated jaw around gently, he stumbled to the side, one hand holding his chin as the other reached for his pipe. He had dropped the flashlight, shining uselessly as it rolled away.

Well, it seemed that the other nations had set up a trap. They had always had something against him, especially after he gained America. Even if he choose not to become the personification, that didn't matter to them. Another hit was delivered to his shoulder, strong and powerful... his bones vibrating from the metal weapon. He could tell it was coming again, and he turned and blocked it with his pipe. Yes, whatever they had was metal judging by the sound, he couldn't see them or what they were holding well enough though. Maybe it was France or England, they were both good with swords and probably similar-shaped objects.

Of course they had all agreed not to bring weapons (a pipe was hardly considered a weapon by most, China probably had his fighting wok too, so it's not like he was alone in this) so Ivan couldn't simply pull out a gun and shoot the betrayer simply because he didn't have one on him. They were strong too, so they were clearly a nation, though it was hard to tell which, he should be able to tell by the fighting style after a moment. England fought dirtier than France did at times and each country had their own fighting styles. They pushed against Ivan's pipe, trying to move it into his neck, apparently aiming for killing.

Pushing back and standing up from his knees, he was obviously more powerful considering he was the only real superpower anymore. They seemed to weaken and Ivan pushed down, starting to push them to the ground. Good, he was going to beat them bloody for this little trick. Suddenly the weight against his pipe disappeared. He fell forward a moment, hearing metal cling to the floor. They dropped their weapon, but they were certainly very fast. And a moment later he felt a strong punch to his shoulder blades. Now this was just getting annoying. Ivan stood up again, swinging his pipe. This time he hit something, hearing crunching, but he had missed the head.

Whoever it was was thrown back a bit though, at least onto the floor by the sound of it. Raising his pipe, he was about to hit down powerfully when he felt a kick right to his kneecap. Falling to the ground and hissing in pain and he hoped that it wasn't too damaged. Weight fell onto his chest, straddling him before a fist connected with his face. They were very below the belt. More so than England, and if they were this below the belt it definitely wasn't China or Japan. Another hit and he saw stars. Ivan caught the fist before it hit again. The assaulter put his other hand at Ivan's elbow and twisted it painfully.

Growling in pain and anger, Ivan felt a certain familiarity in the fighting style, though it had taken a while. Still...it wasn't. There was a punch to his stomach when he refused to let go of the hand in his. Wait a minute...Ivan grabbed the other hand and a moment later a head connected with his forehead. Ouch, okay that really hurt and he saw bright lights light up his vision, the good news was that the other seemed to also be affected negatively. Yes, this was very familiar. Ignoring his dizziness he turned, pinning the other under him who instantly started struggling, slowly squirming out from under him. It had been a long time since anybody had fought against him, darkness or not. And it had been even longer since there was anybody who fought like this. Like a bubble surfacing from deep down, the name came to his lips, "America?" He asked before there was a punch to his jaw again and a kick to his stomach.

Rolling again, they rolled off of him. Ivan backed away, grabbing at the flashlight that was close by, not knowing when he'd dropped pipe or where it was. Grabbing it swiftly, he turned to shine the light around. There was nobody. Standing up quickly, he looked behind him just to be sure. Still nobody. Looking around, he tried to look for some sign that somebody had been there and where they had gone. Moving his light to shine on the ground, he saw a glint of metal and moved the light onto the object. It wasn't his pipe. Walking towards it, he picked it up and looked it over. It was a metal baseball bat, blood staining the very metal and some parts dented with years of use.

Looking around once more, he wasn't sure how he felt about this. He felt some hope that it was Alfred... but even if it was him, but that would be impossible, he was long dead. But it was clear that this new personification had a similiar fighting style and was more savage and bloodthirsty if he was aiming to kill and harm. Turning the bat in his hand, Ivan thought about leaving it there, considering it was a favored weapon and the other would be very pissed about having it taken, and considering how easy it was for him to start a fight, he'd hate to see an angry savage Alfred. It probably wasn't Alfred anyway, just a new personification, built on the ruins of the old one. But he really wanted to get a good look at them.

With that thought, Ivan put the bat into his coat and looked for his pipe. It lay on the ground not too far away, leaving that in his hand he looked towards where he knew the basement was... perhaps it went down there? There would only be two stories, one a storm cellar and the other a morgue. Walking around a bit and passing some out-of-use bathrooms and some useless elevators, he saw a door that held the staircase shown by the fading sign. Opening it and shining his flashlight inside the pitch blackness leading down. Well, the staircase was in good condition. Letting the door swing shut, he started descending down cautiously. Going down to the first level, the morgue, he was very uncomfortable searching that. He knew that bodies would be locked away in the air-tight body-lockers. He wasn't positive enough to know how long it would take for things to decompose in such an environment, but he didn't want to find out. Skeletons would still be there if they were left out, but those were better than bodies, they didn't smell and they didn't look as human.

Continuing past that, he walked down to the lower level, perhaps he would look in the morgue later... when he'd looked on all the other floors in the entire building a few times over. Opening the door to the storm cellar, he stepped inside before he heard a noise, turning he shined a light towards it, only to see somebody he wasn't expecting, "China?"

"Stop shining that light on me!" The older snapped, using his wok that he had in hand to shield his eyes. He must have been planning on attacking and with him so close to the door... it had been an ambush... which meant that the other countries were there.

"Bloody hell, it's you Russia." Another light flickered on, a lantern that did a good job at lighting a very decent area of the large room. Indeed, all the countries were there with some sort of weapon or another. So much for no weapons.

"What is all this?" Ivan questioned, looking around. France and Japan were there with a sword and katana to the left of the door and Canada was there with a hockey stick that happened to have rusty nails in it before him England had a sword - though different from France. Germany with a gun, and of course China had a wok, "And I see you all have weapons."

"Yes, we seem to have all brought one." Germany grunted. Ivan flickered off his flashlight.

"You all have not... seen anybody have you?" Ivan asked as he put his flashlight into his pocket.

"So you saw it too?" England snorted, everybody seeming to relax slightly and move out a bit so they weren't boxing him in. He'd have liked to see them try and take him, "When you didn't show we thought you'd set it up."

"I thought one of you were attacking me at first, so I will not be insulted." Considering none of them were above suspicion really. Ivan walked over to where the lantern was set up, on an old dusty medical tray, "So things have happened in the last few hours?"

"Yes, there is something here that keeps attacking us!" China exclaimed.

"None of us have actually seen who... or what." England said mysteriously, "It likes to attack from the shadows. And my magical friends refused to come in... I should have listened."

"Well I think it is clear that we are dealing with the new personification." Ivan muttered, rubbing his sore chin. He felt bruises forming everywhere, "America was powerful even when he was savage before, da? Why would it not be the same now?"

"Well then why would it be attacking us?" England snapped, "I may not remember much about it, but I don't remember anybody being this hostile!"

"We are strangers in a world that has been without contact... it probably feels threatened." Ivan sighed, rubbing his forehead. He should have known it wouldn't be easy to get the new personification. He had just thought it would have been hard to just locate them.

"Well it being threatened is preventing us from leaving." Canada muttered, keeping his distance from everybody. Ivan looked towards him curiously.

"It doesn't like us moving past the morgue. And the times we did, we found the door locked... and it wasn't so easy to break down." Germany explained. Well it was reinforced after all. So either this thing was trapping them to kill them, or just really stupid. The latter would be better.

"And of course it has homeland advantage. We don't know if it comes down here."

"That is the reason for the welcome then?"

"Ja, though it doesn't have any flashlights... so we didn't attack right away. Consider yourself lucky."

"Is there anything you know of it?"

"Nein, other then it's hard to see and harder to hit."

"And it has some sort of blunt weapon." France whined slightly and rubbing his shoulder, rolling it slightly in pain.

"We were forced down in here. We believe that it stopped chasing us before the morgue, but we're not too sure." Well it was a creepy place.

"If it is like most savages, it probably believes in ancestor resting places are sacred places... please tell me you have not gone inside it?" Ivan questioned, looking at them.

"... for a little."

"Well then it's going to be pissed off." Ivan sighed. Disturbing a resting ground always pissed people off, no matter how civilized or savage they were, "But if the door's locked that must mean it's trapped in here with us." Which also would make anybody a bit crazy, even for the shortest time.

"Well that doesn't help us much." Japan commented.

"And if this is the new personification it's not going to be easy to colonize." England sighed.

"Nyet, we'd have to calm them or contain them or both in some combination or another. They should be easy to influence after that." Ivan said, "However, if the door is locked and it stops us from getting any supplies that are going to be helpfully dropped close to us."

"Great, who's brilliant idea was that?" England growled angrily, glaring at Ivan.

"I do not want humans getting curious and wondering around in probably still radioactive areas." Ivan growled back, looking at England, England didn't say anything, just glaring angrily.

"Well I say we kill it. Another personification should show up after that." England said.

"We haven't known this thing for more than a day, we should learn more about it before we decide to kill it." Japan said.

"Well even if we did kill it, a new personification would just be about the same right? So I don't see much the point in that." China commented.

"We can hardly see it, let alone kill it." Germany grunted.

"I say that we just find a way out and find another place to stay for awhile." France said, nodding in agreement with himself.

"But-" Canada started.

"Of course you suggest running away, how typical." England snorted.

"We don't even have any food! I'm going to starve!" France cried out.

"Don't be ridiculous, I'm sure I could make something that could keep us alive." England snorted.

"I fear to know out of what." China said, looking disgusted as Japan nodded in agreement.

"Well supplies would be nice, but be reasonable, we won't be able to get out without a fight." France said, seeming not to even want to talk about England's food.

"Then we'll fight, all of us against an uncivilized nation shouldn't be too hard." Germany said.

"True, but it keep hiding in the shadows and ambushing us. It is cowardly, but very effective." Japan pointed out.

"If we could catch it or make it hold still for a moment that would be helpful." Canada sighed.

"The whole reason we came here was for one of us to colonize it." Ivan said, "We knew it wouldn't be easy, and killing it seems to be the opposite of our goal."

"As much as I think we should be trying to catch it on our own, it's hard considering we are all stuck down here. So we should at least try working together to get out of this." The voice of reason, Germany said.

"Are we seriously considering colonizing it? It's trying to kill us for hell's sake!" England exclaimed, furrowing his large brows, "I say it's too dangerous to even try colonizing and it's given up it's right to live!"

"I agree." China said.

"It seems we can never agree." Germany mentioned, looking around at all the nations, "I think that those who wish to kill it can group together with those who wish to catch it. If catching it goes amiss, then those who wish to kill it are welcome to. This way we are not facing it alone and we are not competing with people we are suppose to be helping to get out of here. And I'm sure that even those who wish to kill it will not care as much as long as it cannot hurt us. Is this all acceptable? Of course during each of our separate missions, all of us should have the main goal of finding an exit. Let's try avoiding the morgue as well."

"Well, I would rather know it could never hurt us by just killing it... but I suppose I'm alright with this plan." England muttered, shrugging a bit but looking unappeased. Nobody objected or commented further.

"Good, now those who wish to kill it stand over here, and those who wish to capture it here." Everybody moved around a bit, splitting into two groups on the opposite side of the small table. China, England, and Germany were for killing it and Ivan, Canada, France, and Japan were wanting to capture it. Obviously an uneven amount, "Very well, China and Japan will be paired together, France and Canada... ... and-" Germany looked in between England and Ivan.

"I am fine with being by myself." Ivan smiled. Germany didn't seem to question this, whether it was because he just didn't want to question Ivan's motives or secretly hoped the savage would kill Ivan was unknown as he paired himself with England. Well, Ivan was sure he had an advantage. The thing would want it's weapon back and probably soon. He didn't need protection or somebody tagging along that would try and kill the new nation.

"Right, well the batteries won't last forever, so we will try and use them sparingly, we don't know how long we'll be down here." Germany said, telling everybody how long and at what points they should turn off the lantern and their flashlights. They would have to set up watch for night, which was getting close and most the nations tired from jet lag. But apparently that would be lights out. They said they discovered quickly that in the empty building there were a lot of echoes, and it was easy to hear the door to the stairs open and somebody come down them, so they wouldn't need a light to listen. But if they heard that the watch man could turn on the lights, wake everybody up and plan for attack.

Canada, least affected by the jet lag volunteered to be the first on watch. Nobody argued as everybody tried finding a nice place to lay down and sleep. There were old hospital beds but they probably had mites all in them and nobody wanted that added problem at the moment. Ivan sat down in his own little corner, pretty wide awake considering it was about seven in the morning in Moscow.

"Canada?" Ivan called. The blond squeaked in surprise. It had taken forever to find the nation without running into others.

"O-Oh Russia, what is it?"

"I am just going to tell you that I am going to go upstairs."

"You know it attacks us whenever we about set foot up there right?"

"Da, I heard that." Somehow he doubted that very much. Canada paused for a moment, "I am telling you so you do not freak out when you hear the door open and close when I go by and start a panic."

"A-Alright..." Though it sounded like the younger was expecting him to get attacked, or killed. Probably why Canada was alright with him leaving to get a head start.

"I will be back. Be sure it is not me before you wake anybody up or attack."

"Okay... have fun." Ivan nodded, stumbling a bit over towards where he hoped was the exit. Finally finding the door, he opened it and walked through it. Once it closed behind him, he turned his flashlight on and started walking upstairs. Getting to the door at the top, he hesitated, looking at his flashlight. It could be that this new country was just blindly attacking... or giving it the benefit of the doubt, it was smarter than that and it was, for whatever reason, going through a lot of trouble to not be seen. Perhaps because an enemy is always scarier when one couldn't see it, could be any size, shape, or strength and they'd have to guess.

Meaning that if he had the light on, not only would it pinpoint him, but it would attack from the back. Clicking it off and trying to get used to the darkness as best as he could before grabbing the metal bat and opening the door, stepping out cautiously. He took several steps forward, walking blindly around awhile before he suddenly heard growling. Pausing, he looked towards it. He heard something fall to the ground, like it had jumped from someplace. The growling sounded mostly human with an animalistic twist.

"Hello there." Ivan said, feeling his adrenaline filling him at the angry sound he was very aware of, "I suppose I do not know if you can even understand me." It continued growling, but it didn't seem to move. It could be that this thing was just as scared as some of them were of it. If it was locked in this place with strangers from a strange land and language, Ivan would probably be very cautious and hostile too.

At least, that was what he was hoping for, "I have something that you might want." Ivan said, tapping the end of the bat against the ground. The thing that had been growling in front of him stopped growling, seeming to recognize the sound. Yes, it was very used to this weapon if it could tell that it was the bat from just that. It shuffled. It must have been very sentimental, and that probably meant that it would do anything to get it back. From going out on a limb to get closer to Ivan or bash his head in with a rock, "You can have it back... as long as you don't kill me." He muttered as he sat down slowly.

Right, well hopefully this wouldn't kill him. He slowly laid down onto his back stiffly, tapping the bat onto the ground a couple of times before putting it on his chest. Right, now not to move at all. Really, considering that this was somebody who had been raised practically in the wild, they would be more animal. And the way to get animals used to you was usually to feed them, usually several feet away from you and slowly get closer before putting it in your hand for them to eat out of.

And one would take a different approach to different things, like rabbits compared to bears. Bears could tear out your insides, mostly when their cubs were threatened while rabbits would run away if you so much as breathed wrong. Unfortunately, Ivan didn't know which this person was more like, and he only had one thing to lure it instead of just going to the store to buy food. He had one shot and if he messed up he was going to die or get hurt, but he did want this country. It was almost a part of him after all.

There was a very long stretch of silence until he heard the sound of slow footsteps making its way towards him. Slow and very cautious compared to earlier when it didn't seem to have a problem with trying to bash his head in. But sometimes all it took was one step of trust, and him laying defenseless while giving up a weapon to the other would hopefully do it. They stopped quite often, almost like they were expecting Ivan to attack them at any moment, well he did have the weapon. He was patient though, and tried to scarcely even breath when it seemed to get within two feet as it seemed to become increasingly skittish.

Then he felt a hand on the side of his ribs that pulled away swiftly, waiting for him to jump or move, but Ivan didn't. After a long moment, it put it's hand on Ivan's side again, a moment longer, testing him to see if he would attack. It stayed about a foot away though, clearly ready to bolt. It moved it's hands around, seeming to be trying to be cautious but too busy looking for something. Then Ivan realized, it was just as blind as they were in the dark. They're flashlights and the doors opening and closing were probably what gave them away so easily. After the hands looked along the ground next to him, they brushed against his chest to probably try looking on the other side when it seemed to notice where it was.

Ivan felt it grip the bat. Now to see what it did. Once it was in it's hands it bolted away. Ivan laid there a while, sighing almost in relief. Well, it hadn't killed him. But it didn't seem like it trusted him anymore. Either way, he stayed laying there for awhile, glad that he wasn't hit, as well as letting his body calm down. Then he heard some more shuffling close by. This might not be over. The door hadn't opened, so nobody had come looking for him that was downstairs. It started getting closer, almost as slowly as before. Ivan had to wonder if it was coming back to kill him this time, knowing he wasn't going to move.

Those thoughts didn't really help him in staying calm, but he tried not to move, curious to what they would do. They stopped about a foot away again and Ivan waited and waited for something, most likely a bat to his face or vulnerable organs. Then he heard the sound of metal softly scraping against the ground. It had put it down. Then Ivan felt a hand slowly place itself on top of his head. It patted there a few moments before another hand came up and seemed to be fascinated by his hair for the moment, playing with the tips and tugging on it gently, though not enough to cause pain, thankfully.

Not daring to move a muscle other than blink and breathe slightly, Ivan couldn't help but feel hope and a bit of pride that this had worked alright. The hand moved to his forehead, still a little sore, but they didn't press down into it. They traced his eyebrows and then his cheekbone, ears, seeming to map out his face. Then again, if its eyesight was as good as theirs (which made a lot of sense actually, he didn't know why he was surprised by it only a moment ago) then it could only see the flashlights' light, and since that usually didn't shine on their faces it may not have known that they were human-looking, just like it was. They could have been strange life-forms from another planet, or demons. Depending on what they believed.

Ivan had to force himself not to scrunch up his nose when it started playing with that. Well actually, it was a guy, at least judging from their fight and mostly how big the hands were and how calloused. It seemed to grow somewhat bored of his face and moved to put a hand on his shoulder before moving to his arm and lifting it up by the wrist, almost curiously. Ivan felt tugging at the sleeve and a hand go inside the sleeve next to his arm, it was a tight fit but Ivan didn't do anything about it, feeling the fingers inside move around curiously. Of course when he had trouble removing the hand, he freaked out and seemed to panic a bit before it came loose. But then he ran off several feet, waiting a few minutes to start his approach again, "Well aren't you the curious one?" Ivan thought in amusement.

Soon it was back, this time it sniffed his hair a bit, as if wondering if that would smell different, or maybe smelling the shampoo there that this place probably didn't have. It ticked a bit, the hot breath breathing strongly against his scalp was an unfamiliar sensation. Then he touched Ivan's scarf curiously. The Russian had to resist the urge to move then more then before, kind of wanting to hit the savage, but refraining somehow. They traced the length, but didn't do anything else to it thankfully, instead going back to his hand. Ivan felt a finger press slightly into the palm of his hand. Just when Ivan was thinking it was doing good, the other froze suddenly as if listening to something or perhaps realizing something before he dropped Ivan's hand and ran off swiftly.

The footsteps faded to the point where Ivan knew that he wasn't coming back for awhile. Sighing, he sat up. Well, he would say that that had been very much an improvement. He hadn't tried to kill Ivan and had seemed comfortable with curiously poking Ivan here and there. Perhaps it wouldn't be too long before he could get the other comfortable enough to have Ivan standing and walking around. One could hope. He would have to move fast, but not too fast. It would be hard finding a balance. Still, he wondered what had spooked the other into running off so suddenly.

Ivan watched as France and Canada came back from their exploration, "How did it go?" Germany asked, looking up at them.

"It attacked us as soon as we got out." Canada muttered, he was limping and seemed to be bleeding lightly from his shoulder.

"I think we should be concentrating on finding food first." France huffed.

"We can't do that if this thing attacks us every time we try leaving the floor." Germany grumbled bitterly. Ivan turned over, ignoring the lights of the flashlights - to conserve their main light source of course. Closing his eyes and ignoring the hunger in his own stomach, he tried going back to sleep, "It has to have eaten, so if it has food so do we. The only problem is getting out and then finding it."

"And that would be easier if this thing was out of the way." England sighed, "We might just have to start aiming to kill it if it keeps being this hostile. What time is it anyway?"

"Sometime in the afternoon, that's for sure."

"A-At least it hasn't killed any of us, right?" Canada questioned.

"Yet. Because we won't let it!" England snapped. Their voices started to fade and blend together. He felt that he was starting to fall asleep when something woke him up. Nothing touched him, there was no sudden noises. All he heard was people talking just like when he had drifted off. Then he realized the conversation.

"Well... I mean I thought that he was just going to die..." Canada said.

"And you're saying he came back unharmed?" Ivan made sure to stay half-asleep, enough to hear everything going on around him but his body still being in the state of sleep so that others didn't know he was eavesdropping.

"Well it was hard to see in the dark... and this morning he didn't seem to be more injured than yesterday. But it was hard to tell... I didn't pay close attention to where all his bruises were when he came in, just that he did look like he'd taken a beating."

"Still, this might still be a plot against us." Japan said.

"Well, we'll just have to keep an eye on him." China seemed to think that would be easy, "You are sure he is sleeping?"

"Yeah, he's out like a light." England said.

"Alright, well enough gossiping." Germany growled, "Whoever wants to go out for the last run can. After that, it's lights out."

"We have not gone out." England said, "Hopefully we can find something to eat."

"Fine, we will probably be back in a little." Seeing as the conversation wasn't about him anymore, he was set on getting some sleep despite all the noise.

"Da, I am going up." Ivan sighed, "Is that a problem? I am still used to my sleep schedule in Moscow and it is not like time matters much in here."

"But none of us will be able to come and help... it seems quite suspicious." Germany grunted, who was on watch that night.

"Hm? What are you implying? I want my chance at trying to befriend them as well. It would not be fair if I did not get a turn."

"Very well." Ludwig gave in, "But be back in less than half an hour."

"Easy." Ivan nodded, "I can do that." He said before walking up the stairs, not bothering to even turn on his flashlight, feeling along the wall to guide him upstairs. Skipping the first door he came across, he went to the second and opened that one, walking several feet away. He waited there for a moment to hear some sort of growling, and it started a couple minutes after Ivan had predicted it, "There you are, why do you growl at first I wonder instead of attack?" They continued growling, "Do you remember me?" Ivan asked before kneeling down a bit and tapping against the floor three times, similar to what he did with the metallic item. The growling slowly died, seeming to wonder if it was him. Then there were three taps of the metallic object that was probably the bat.

It seemed that he was trying to communicate. That was good, Ivan created three taps back once again. There was silence for a moment before Ivan slowly laid down, just like he did last time and waited a moment. He heard movement towards him advance slowly, but quicker than yesterday. Good, it was going well then. Then again depending on how long they were trapped they probably craved some sort of friendly human contact. The man poked him in the sides a couple times before moving and touching along his face, probably double-checking to see if it was him, seeing as facial structures were very unique.

After a moment, Ivan heard the sound of the bat being placed down gently and then he felt a weight around his stomach. Trying not to react immediately and scare the other off, he realized that they were straddling his stomach, back towards him. A moment later he felt hands on his knee, moving it up and moving his leg about, seeming to still be curious about Ivan's bodily movements. Anything to make the other not think that he was an evil demon or something. Ivan let his leg relax so that it would be easy to move around. Soon they put it down, going to the next one and picking it up. Ivan hissed, his kneecap still hurt from the day that they fought.

The savage jumped in surprise and rolled off of Ivan, only going a couple of feet away. It certainly was easily startled, but Ivan couldn't blame it. He didn't want it touching his injured leg though. They came back quickly enough, but this time they put their hands on his chest, feeling the buttons on his coat. Eventually they found the old metal on there and played with it for awhile, probably curious over it. Ivan heard his stomach growl. Surprisingly enough, the other didn't startle this time and Ivan felt a poke to his stomach, making him laugh a bit. It moved away, picking up the bat as always and going a few feet, but before it seemed to stop moving it was coming back, and not slowly either.

Then there was a hand on Ivan's shoulder, pressing down to the floor only lightly, then it went away a bit again and came back, repeating the actions a couple times before it came back and put it's hand on Ivan's head, nodding it up and down before stopping all it's movements and waiting for something. Ivan tried to decipher what it was wanting. He didn't get it, but he nodded. Then it was running off, this time it didn't come back. Ivan hummed a bit, listening to the footsteps become further away. Maybe it had meant that he would come back the next day/night or something. Or perhaps that he would be back soon. Ivan decided he could wait a bit longer to see if he came back. He heard the sound of something deep in the floor, but after a little it faded. Still, he wondered what it had been.

Several minutes seemed to stretch by. Ivan closed his eyes to just let his thoughts wander as he waited. After a long moment he heard something drop to the floor somewhat close by and the sound of somebody moving around a bit before they came close to him. For not being able to see, they certainly could locate him easily. Pausing beside Ivan, they tapped his shoulder before moving a bit behind his head, which made Ivan more than a little nervous. But then he felt a hand on his shoulder, pushing it upward. Ivan slowly sat up and that seemed to be what it wanted, "I see you're back." Ivan said quietly. A moment later it trailed it's hand down his arm before taking his hand and putting something in it... it felt like... Ivan brought it close to his face, sniffing it a moment before taking a small bite. Yes, it was food.

It was cooked, though not warm, but Ivan could understand that. He slowly ate it, finishing it up and looking towards where he thought the other still sat, "Where did you get meat here?" He felt them searching for his hand and he moved it towards the hand on his arm. It put another piece in his hand. Ivan ate it easily, licking his lips, "Do you have enough for my friends?" Ivan asked, holding his hand out slowly, eventually touching the person, their chest by the feel of it. They were wearing some sort of clothes. His open hand was taken and he waited a moment, but he didn't expect them to put his hand to their face and felt them shake their head in a negative. No more food.

They dropped his hand and then a moment later Ivan felt a couple pats on his head before they let out a small yawn, the most human sounding noise Ivan had yet heard from them. Then he heard them running off, this time probably not coming back. But that wasn't what gave him pause for thought. It was clear that they would be seeing each other around this time very often, but it was interesting... how it gave him some food but not more. It may not have had more, but the patting on the head, like an owner gave to a pet. All that together made him wonder. Giving him food, but making him come back to get more instead of store it himself, just enough to eat for that day. It would make Ivan somewhat reliant on that food supply, he would get so used to receiving food like that.

Hm... who was civilizing whom?