Welcome to Chapter Three! This story is fun to write, so I'm glad people like it.
If anyone is interested, there is a poll on my profile asking who you think the killer is.
Many thanks go to RomaneLuka, Kokyou Konran, and I. Heart. Good. Fiction, who reviewed.
There will probably be one more chapter and an epilogue. I know this is a short story, but I might write a sequel to it (or another murder case.) I really like this AU, though, so I'm definitely not finished with it.
This will be a long chapter.
The first scene of this chapter might be confusing. It takes place a day before Feliks was killed. (That should clear up some of the confusion.) You also get to find out who Elizaveta is married to.
Here's a list of the investigative team, in case people forgot who was in it and who wasn't in it.
Day shift supervisor: Elizaveta
Coroner: Roderich
DNA specialist: Antonio
Fingerprint specialist: Francis
Technology specialist: Yao
Toxicology specialist: Morgens (He'll be introduced in the next chapter)
Field investigators: Gilbert, Alfred, Kiku
Police officers: Ludwig, Vash
Police captain: Jans (everyone addresses him by 'Sankt', his surname)
…I realize that Vash would have made a perfect ballistics expert, but then he wouldn't be able to go out into the field and be awesome, XD. That's why he's a police officer.
Natalia Arlovskaya: Belarus
Leon Li: Hong Kong
Morgens Van der Berg: Netherlands
Hetalia doesn't belong to me. If it did, Norway and England would have a battle with their magical creatures, and Denmark and America would be the spectators (though they can't see what's going on, XD).
Chapter Three: Salty Tears and Saltier Licorice
Elizaveta had just gotten off the phone with Berwald and walked into her bedroom.
"Who was that?" Gilbert asked, putting his journal down.
"Berwald Oxenstierna." The brunette sighed and climbed onto the bed. "He wanted to see Peter Kirkland's body tomorrow."
"Oh. Is he bringing everyone?" asked the albino.
"I think so."
"I hated going over there today, Lizzie, I really did," Gilbert said after a brief pause. "Their faces when West and I told them about Peter were…not awesome."
The Hungarian draped an arm around her husband's shoulders. Around others, the (self-proclaimed) Prussian was loud, boisterous, and brave. But around her, he was a different person. He let his vulnerabilities show.
Eliaveta might have said she hated him during college, and threatened him with her frying pan a few times, but she honestly loved the man. She hated seeing him upset. She kissed his forehead.
"We should get some sleep; we have a busy day tomorrow."
Elizaveta was broken out of her thoughts when someone tapped her on the shoulder.
"Bonjour, Lizzie." Francis Bonnefoy wiggled his eyebrows.
"What the hell is it, Francy-Pants? It better not be one of your stupid pickup lines. I'm married to one of your best friends, remember? And don't call me 'Lizzie'!"
The Frenchman pouted. "Your words wound me. I just wanted to let you know that Sankt is at a crime scene right now. The Alley Killer struck again. He said that he wouldn't be able to pick up that Braginskaya woman for questioning until he's done there."
The Hungarian nodded. "The Alley Killer?" she asked, tilting her head.
"Oui," replied the blonde. "That's what the media is calling Peter's killer." He paused to take a breath. "I also wanted to give you this." He handed the brunette a package.
"What is that?"
Francis shrugged, "Some kid with a weird Nordic name passed me in the hallway before he left. He told me to give it to you."
"Erikur?" Eliaveta guessed.
"Yeah, that was it!" He nodded. "I hate to cut this short, but I have to get back to my lab."
"Okay," answered the brunette.
The Frenchman nodded, exiting the office.
I wonder what Erikur sent me, she thought.
The box wasn't sealed, so she opened it easily.
The first thing she saw was a note.
Mrs. Héderváry (I know you're a 'Mrs.'; I saw the wedding ring you wore when I was in the morgue earlier today),
After the Beilschmidt brothers left Berwald's and Tino's house yesterday, my friend Leon Li and I did some research on a man named Ivan Braginsky. I'm sure one of the Beilschmidts told you about him. He's the man who stalked Tino six years ago, according to Nikolai.
Apparently, Braginsky was a very troubled man. Before stalking Tino, he attacked a man named Tobiasz Łukasiewicz for 'looking at him the wrong way'. Łukasiewicz didn't press any charges. When I searched his name, I discovered that he died in a hit and run last year.
Anyways, back to Braginsky. Yesterday, Leon and I went looking through Tino's room for anything that had to do with him. We found a restraining order against him, a copy of his death certificate, and a few pictures. These items are in the box.
I know Braginsky is dead, but something is off. Things just don't add up. (Look at the death certificate; you'll see what I mean.)
I sincerely hope you find whoever killed Peter. He was a good friend, and he didn't deserve to be put through so much pain.
I hope this helps you solve the case.
-Erikur Pettersen
P.S. If you do find this helpful, Leon wants us to be credited in some way. That's why I told you his name.
Elizaveta narrowed her eyes before removing everything from the box. Like the note said, there were three photos, a copy of Ivan Braginsky's death certificate, and the restraining order. She decided to look at the pictures first.
The first one was of a tall man holding a sunflower in one hand. His expression was cheerful, but his eyes were cold, and the brunette decided there was something off about him, though she didn't know what. His eyes were an unusual light violet color, and a thick, pinkish scarf was wrapped around his neck. She assumed this was Ivan. When she flipped over the picture, she found that she was right; the words 'Ivan Braginsky' were written in the top right corner of it.
The second picture was of Ivan and two girls, one on either side of him. One was a cheerful-looking young woman with pretty blue eyes, bobbed hair, and…large breasts. The other was serious-looking, a scowl on her face. Her hair was long, and her eyes were a shade lighter than Ivan's. When Elizaveta flipped this photo over, the names 'Yekaterina Braginskaya (Ivan's sister)', 'Ivan Braginsky', and 'Natalia Arlovskaya (Ivan's half-sister)' were written.
She almost dropped the photo. 'Yekaterina Braginskaya'? That's the name of our suspect! She's Ivan Braginsky's sister?
She realized that Erikur was right; there was something suspicious about the Russian man.
Her hands almost shaking, she put the photo down, and picked up the third. This one, unlike the others, didn't have Ivan in it. Instead, three young boys with scared expressions on their faces were staring back at her. A blonde boy with glasses had his arms wrapped around the shortest one, and the final boy—a brunet with a bruise around one eye—stood behind the others, his hands on the bespectacled boy's shoulders. Elizaveta quickly flipped the photo over. The names 'Toris Lorinaitis', 'Eduard von Bock', and 'Raivis Galante' were scrawled in messy handwriting on the middle of the blank side.
Raivis Galante was the name of Peter Kirkland's best friend. Why would a picture of him be with a bunch of Ivan Braginsky-related items?
The Hungarian put the photo back on the table. This case is getting so complicated.
She looked at the restraining order next. She decided there was really nothing special about it; it basically stated that Ivan wasn't allowed anywhere near Tino.
Finally, she looked at the death certificate. It said that Ivan Braginsky died from a gunshot wound to the head. There were three signatures on the bottom of it: one was the doctor's, one was the coroner's, and the third was the nurse's. Yekaterina Braginskaya's signature.
What?
Suddenly suspicious, she logged into her laptop and opened her internet browser.
Yao's the tech specialist, but that doesn't mean I can't research leads on my own.
She found a medical database filled with the names of most doctors in the U.S., and searched for one person who signed Ivan's death certificate.
There were zero matches, so she searched doctors around the world. Still no matches.
I'm going to let Yao research this more, but I'm pretty sure the doctor and coroner don't exist.
She hoped that Sankt would be back soon; she wanted to question Yekaterina as soon as possible.
Vash sat next to Toris, who was crying. After awhile, the brunet wiped his eyes and took a shaky breath.
The Swiss man guessed that the teen was finished crying, at least for awhile. "Toris," he said, as gently as he could. "Who's Ivan Braginsky?"
At the mention of the name, the boy stiffened, closing his eyes.
"You can tell me, you know."
"I-I want to, Officer Zwingli, I really do. But I can't. It'll put Raivis and Eduard in danger."
"What do you mean?" asked the blonde.
Suddenly, Toris gasped and grabbed his arm.
Vash had forgotten about his injuries. I'm so stupid! He needs medical attention! He reached for his walkie talkie to call an ambulance, but Toris grabbed his hand.
"No hospitals," he gasped. "Please. He'll kill them if anyone sees!"
Sees what? But the investigator kept his thoughts to himself, instead looking around the room. "Do you have a first-aid kit? I can help bandage your wounds." He would respect the boy's wishes, at least for now.
"Yeah. It's in the top cabinet; the one above the refrigerator."
The blonde nodded and grabbed the kit from its shelf.
"You're going to have to remove your shirt."
"What? Can't I just roll up the sleeves?" Toris wrung his hands.
"Toris, your upper arms and shoulders are cut. Rolling up your sleeves won't do anything."
"O-okay." Now he was shaking as much as Raivis did when Kiku questioned him about Peter.
Slowly, he removed his shirt, making sure his back was against the wall after it was off.
"I'm going to need you to move away from the wall. I need to see how severe your injuries are." Vash was getting impatient.
The brunet just shook his head, more tears sliding down his face. "Don't you understand? If you see, he'll kill Eduard and Raivis in front of me!"
"See what?" The Swiss man let his impatience get the better of him. He grabbed Toris' wrist and pulled him closer.
As soon as Vash's hand wrapped around his wrist, the teen hung his head and didn't resist.
"Oh my God!" The investigator let go of the brunet, shocked and sickened. Toris' back was a patchwork of scars and burns. After a long pause, he finally spoke. "Braginsky did this to you, didn't he?"
The boy said nothing, silently sobbing.
Vash continued to look over the wounds, saddened. A lot of those look old. He must have gotten them when he was just a kid. He snapped himself out of his thoughts and proceeded to bandage the cuts on his arms and shoulders. Luckily they're not deep, and won't need stitches.
"Toris," he said.
The brunet didn't even acknowledge that he was being talked to.
"Toris," he tried again. "You and your brothers are coming with me, back to the station. You can talk there, if you want."
No response.
"Just nod once for 'yes' and twice for 'no'. Does that sound okay with you?"
One nod.
That's progress. Aloud, he said, "I'm going to call Mr. Honda—Kiku—to pick me up. You, Raivis, and Eduard will come with me. It's not safe for you to be here anymore."
One nod.
"Good." The Swiss man grabbed his cell phone and dialed Kiku's number.
"Moshi moshi," said the Japanese man.
"Kiku, this is Vash. I'm at Raivis Galante's house. Something's come up, and the boys are in danger. Can you give us a ride back to the station?"
"Sure, Vash-san. Just one question: where is your vehicle?"
"Ludwig dropped me off here. He couldn't stay because he had to question a suspect." The blonde thought of Im Yong-Soo and rolled his eyes.
"Okay. I will be there soon."
Once the call ended, he kneeled down next to Toris. "You're going to have to get another shirt."
The brunet nodded and went upstairs. When he came back down, he was wearing a green, long-sleeved shirt.
"Ready to go?"
One nod.
"Let's get your brothers then, shall we."
Toris showed Vash where the basement door was. When the two walked down the stairs, the blonde heard muffled crying. Raivis.
When they reached the end of the staircase, the investigator realized his assumption was incorrect. Raivis was silently sleeping on the floor, his face still looking tormented even in unconsciousness. Eduard had his arms wrapped around himself, softly sobbing. When he saw Toris, he stood up.
"You idiot!" he yelled, tears still sliding down his face. He ran to the older boy and hugged him. "How could you have locked us down here when you were in danger? We could have helped! You're so stupid!"
"Better me than you two," Toris' voice was soft; Vash could barely hear it. "If he hurt any of you, I wouldn't know what to do."
Suddenly, Eduard drew his hand back and slapped the brunet across the face. "Shut up! You're just as important as Raivis and I!"
Toris' eyes widened, and for a second he looked completely terrified. He backed up against the wall, holding his face, which was bleeding again (the force of the slap re-opened one of the cuts).
The blonde looked at his hand, which now had blood on it, and back at the older boy. "Oh, God. I'm so sorry Toris."
He wrapped his arms around the brunet, who looked like he was on the verge of a mental breakdown. "It's okay. He's gone now. You can relax." He stroked his brother's wavy hair.
"I can never relax, Eduard. As long as he's out there, we'll never be safe."
Vash didn't want to interrupt, but he was pretty sure that Kiku was close to the house. "Ahem," he coughed.
Eduard turned around, looking as though he saw a demon. The terror left his face when he recognized who was standing near him.
"Officer Zwingli? What are you doing here?" he asked, relief evident in his voice.
"Toris invited me over, but he was injured when I arrived. I'm taking you all back to the police station; your attacker might return." He said nothing of Ivan Braginsky; he would talk to them about him once he was sure they were safe.
"Okay," the blonde boy replied. "Just let me get Raivis." He gently picked up the smallest boy and carried him bridal-style. "He's very light for someone his age," he explained. "Because he's so stressed out all the time, he doesn't eat very much."
What did Braginsky do to them?
After everyone was upstairs, Vash looked out the window. Sure enough, Kiku was waiting for them, his car parked right outside the house.
"Come on," he said. "Kiku's here."
One the four were in the car, the blonde spoke again. "I know this isn't the best time, but Feliks Łukasiewicz was murdered today, most likely by the same person who killed Peter Kirkland. I just wanted to know more about him."
Eduard nodded, Raivis (who finally woke up) tilted his head sleepily, and Toris put his head in his hands.
"Feliks was my best friend," the brunet finally said, his voice cracking. "He was the most annoying and strange person you could ever meet, but he was just so kind. He was really the only person besides Eduard and Raivis who understood me and respected me. I…I can't believe he's gone."
"Um, were you two in a relationship?" Vash felt really awkward, but considering what the second victim was wearing, it was entirely possible.
Toris shook his head. "No. He must have been wearing a girl's outfit when…you found him if you're asking me that."
The investigator nodded. "When the body is brought to the morgue…do you want to see it?"
"Yes." The teen bowed his head. "I need to say goodbye to him."
Once they arrived at the police station, Vash took the three boys directly to Elizaveta's office, which was empty. He had texted the Hungarian while he was in the car, and she gave him permission to use the room.
The Swiss man closed the door and offered his guests the couch to sit on. They did.
When everyone was settled, he spoke. "The reason why I brought you here was to find out why Toris was attacked." Speaking directly to the oldest boy, he continued, "You wanted to talk to me when you originally invited me over. What did you want to tell me?"
"I really wanted to tell you; I was so close to telling you, but then he showed up and threatened me," the brunet explained.
"Look, Toris, I saw the scars on your back. I know someone hurt you and your brothers some time in your lives, and I know it has to do with someone named Ivan Braginsky. I just need to know what happened. You're at a police station; you're safe."
The teen's eyes were shut, and he bit his lip. "I-I can't."
"NO!" Everyone's heads snapped up; it was Raivis who yelled. "We c-can't keep living this way; i-it's insane! Tell him about I-Ivan, Toris!"
"Very well." Toris took a deep breath. "Ivan Braginsky was our guardian. Eduard, Raivis, and I lived at an orphanage since we were toddlers. We were sent there from different countries: I was from Lithuania, Eduard was from Estonia, and Raivis was from Latvia. We became close friends there. When I was ten, Eduard was eight, and Raivis was six, Ivan adopted us. We were so happy; it was our dream to have a real home." He hollowly chuckled. "Little did we know we'd be entering hell on Earth." He paused, his legs starting to shake.
"He hurt us constantly. He liked to hear our screams. He wouldn't let us go outside, or even look out the windows; he covered them with heavy curtains. He homeschooled us. If we didn't get perfect scores on everything, he'd hit us." He took a deep breath, and continued.
"He'd like to play…games…with us, like hide-and-seek, or chess. If he won, he'd hurt us. If we won, he'd leave us alone. If I was able to, I took Eduard's punishments. I didn't want him to break like I did. But Raivis…I wasn't able to help him."
His eyes started to water. "Raivis was Ivan's favorite, probably because he was so small. He used to be such a cheerful boy, so outspoken; he'd say the first thing that popped into his head. But Ivan got mad a lot; he didn't like it when we had opinions other than his. Oh God, I can still hear Raivis' screams… One time, he tied him to a table, carved the word 'useless' into the skin on his chest, and beat him senseless with a broken faucet pipe. You can see why he doesn't speak much now."
Vash's heart was breaking with every word. He wasn't an emotional person; he prided in being cold, but he felt himself wanting to fire every bullet he owned into Ivan Braginsky's skull.
"You saw my back, Officer Zwingli. Eduard's is just like mine. Raivis' is worse. He has scars on his chest too. He never broke our bones—he couldn't repair those—but he cut us, whipped us, burned us, beat us, and broke our spirits. I'm pretty sure a few other people lived in the house with him; I vaguely remember a woman bandaging my back a few times, and another one singing." He sighed.
"It was after four years of living with him that he finally killed himself. We were sent back to the orphanage. We knew no one would adopt us, but we didn't care. We were too broken."
He shuddered and leaned into Eduard, who wrapped his arms around him.
"We thought that it was all over when Ivan died." This time, the bespectacled boy spoke. "We thought we'd finally be able to be happy. We were, for awhile. I guess nothing lasts forever, though." He sighed.
"After Toris became our legal guardian last year, we started getting threatening letters and phone calls. Though the voice was always distorted in some way, we knew it was him. It had to have been; he brought up specific injuries he gave us. He also told us what he wanted to do to us once he made his move. God, it was terrifying. We lived every day as though it was going to be our last day free. It was torture."
He stroked Toris' hair. The older boy was still crying into his shirt. "Then, Toris was attacked today. I think you scared him off, Officer Zwingli, so it was a miracle that you showed up. I don't know what would have happened to Toris if you didn't come."
That did it. Vash wasn't about to let the boys go back into their house. Even if it wasn't Ivan, if it was just someone who knew of what happened to them and wanted to exploit their suffering, he wasn't about to leave them after the story they just told.
"Why didn't you go to the police?"
"Because Ivan said that he would torture and kill Raivis and Eduard in front of me, then kill me," explained Toris. "I knew he was capable, so I listened to him."
The Swiss man couldn't believe how evil some people were. If it wasn't for Peter Kirkland's murder, he never would have discovered the terrible crimes Ivan committed.
"Do you have somewhere you can stay, like a friend's house? You could always sleep here, if you want."
"Thanks for the offer, Officer Zwingli, but I do know someone trustworthy," said Eduard.
"Who? I will drive you there; I don't want you out on the streets."
"His name is Tino Väinämöinen. I work at a computer repair shop, and he has the same shift as me. He's twenty-five, but I consider him to be my best friend. He's the only person, besides Toris and Raivis, who understands me."
Yekaterina Braginskaya sat in a chair in the interrogation room, her hands shaking. Elizaveta, Antonio, and Captain Sankt sat in the chairs opposite of her.
"Ms. Braginskaya," Sankt began.
"Please, call me Katyusha," the woman said.
"Okay, Katyusha. You are here because your DNA was found on the duffle bag of a murder victim."
"What?" she pretty much shrieked. "I would never hurt anyone; I'm a nurse! I want to help people!" Her pale-lavender eyes gleamed, and she glared at Sankt.
"Calm down, chica," said Antonio. "Is there any other reason why your hair might have gotten on the bag?"
The woman slightly relaxed. "I'm being framed, of course. I can't hurt a fly."
Good job, Toni, thought Elizaveta. That was the reason why the Spanish man was participating in the interrogation. His voice could be very soothing, and potential suspects often responded to him better than to Sankt or herself.
She looked at Katyusha again, and felt a twinge of uneasiness creep into her stomach, though she couldn't pinpoint the cause of it.
"You are Ivan Braginsky's sister, is that correct?"
Sankt and Antonio turned and looked at her, confused. But she knew what she was doing.
"Yes, that is correct," the woman answered coolly. "But my brother has been dead for five years. I was with him when he died." Her eyes started to water. "Why would you bring him up?"
"Well," answered Elizaveta, "the first victim, Peter Kirkland, was the adopted son of Tino Väinämöinen and his partner. It was a proven fact that Tino took out a restraining order against Ivan, so we naturally assumed that he'd want to hurt Peter to get revenge on Tino. But once we found out that he died, well, that theory fell through." She paused to take a breath. "But I came up with a new one. You were angry that Tino supposedly caused your brother's suicide, so you killed Peter. An eye for an eye, so to speak."
"That's crazy, Mrs. Héderváry, and insulting. It was also quite impossible. I was working the night Peter was killed. Ask my co-workers at Kievan General."
"Will do," stated the Hungarian.
"Can I leave now? You can't prove that I murdered anyone."
"Just one more thing, Katyusha," added Elizaveta. "We're going to need another DNA sample, just for protocol reasons."
"W-why?" Suddenly, the woman's calm tone faltered. "You already have one."
"We take a sample from everyone who's considered a suspect," explained the brunette.
"I can refuse, right?"
"Ms. Braginskaya, it's best if you cooperate," said Antonio.
"…I want a lawyer."
After Vash dropped the boys off at Tino's house, he went home. He wasn't needed at the station, and he was exhausted. What a long day. It was only sunset, but he wanted to go to sleep.
Suddenly, Toris' terrified face flashed through his mind. But it's nothing compared to what those kids experienced. I couldn't even imagine what they went through. All three were younger than him, but acted in a manner that was well beyond their years. Lili is the same age as Raivis. He didn't know where that thought came from, but it saddened him. He never got to have a real childhood. None of them did. Now that Peter's gone, Raivis has no one besides Toris and Eduard. Toris as well; his best friend was killed too.
Something clicked in his mind, and his eyes opened wide, all tiredness gone. Some of the boys' conversations buzzed through his head.
'P-peter was my best friend…h-he was the only one who didn't tease me…'
'Feliks was my best friend…he was the only person who respected me…'
'His name's Tino…I consider him to be my best friend…he's the only one who understands me…'
As he ran as fast as he could to his squad car, he grabbed his walkie-talkie. "Possible four-nineteen in progress. I repeat, possible four-nineteen in progress! Requesting backup at 1261917 Linnea Way, I repeat, requesting backup at 1261917 Linnea Way!"
He knew who the next victim was going to be.
As soon as he got into his car, he turned on the lights and sped down the street.
Please let me make it in time!
He was the first one at the house. The door was open, which was a bad sign. He ran inside the house, and promptly fell to his knees when he saw the destroyed parlor.
Tino Väinämöinen was sprawled out on the floor. Like Peter Kirkland, his shirt was off, and there were various gashes on his chest, arms, and face. Unlike Peter, there was a large knife stabbed through the center of his forehead.
He knew in his heart that it was futile, but he checked the Finnish man's pulse.
Nothing.
Looking down, Vash let a tear escape his eye. It was the first time he cried in years.
He noticed something shine near Tino's outstretched arm, and looked closer. It was a heart-shaped locket.
Putting on a pair of latex gloves he kept in his bag just in case, he picked up the locket and opened it. On one side was a picture of Tino, Berwald, and Peter smiling happily (or at least Tino and Peter were; Berwald's looked more like a grimace). On the other side was an engraving.
To my wife, may we be happy for eternity
-Yours forever, Berwald
Vash's eyes began to water, and he dropped the locket and stumbled to his feet.
He wiped his eyes and straightened his jacket when he heard police sirens wailing down the street.
Suddenly, he heard a rustling noise coming from the stairs. Drawing his gun, he carefully walked towards the staircase to find…
A bloody and semi-conscious silver haired boy.
"My name is Erikur Pettersen, sir," he gasped. It was clearly difficult for the boy to speak. "I'm one of Tino's friends. They took the other boys, the ones that came today."
Toris, Eduard, and Raivis! Aloud he asked, "They?"
"Já. Ivan Braginsky…and a woman. The one from the photo. Mrs. Héderváry knows what I mean…" The boy closed his eyes, and he fell limp.
Vash quickly checked his pulse, and relieved that it was still there. He's just unconscious.
Suddenly, noise filled the silence as police, paramedics, and crime scene investigators entered the house. Soon after, Berwald, Søren, and Nikolai (Vash knew their names and what they looked like from seeing them leave the morgue.) burst through the broken door.
"TINO!" Berwald yelled, for once not mumbling. He ran to the body, sinking to the floor.
Nikolai and Søren noticed Vash by the stairs and began walking towards him. The smaller man let out an inhuman wail when he saw Erikur. "Brother!"
He leaned into Søren, who wrapped his arms around him.
"He's alive," said Vash. "He's just unconscious." Standing up, he yelled, "Can we get a paramedic over here?"
"Thank Odin," Nikolai whispered.
Because of the confusion in the station when Vash called in a potential murder, Katyusha slipped away, noticed by no one…
And that's the end of Chapter Three! (Wow! It was really long! XD)
Yes, Elizaveta is married to Gilbert. (PruHun ftw!) She kept her last name because she wanted to. (Some women do.)
Erikur (Iceland) and Leon (Hong Kong) are BFFs, XD. They both seem pretty smart, so I decided to have them investigate too.
Tobiasz Łukasiewicz is Feliks' father. He'll be mentioned in the next chapter, but he's not very important.
England actually calls France 'Francy-Pants' in the English dub. I thought the nickname was hilarious, so that's what Elizaveta calls him.
Poor Toris, Eduard, and Raivis. I put them through so much in this story. (I want to give them all hugs…)
Hopefully you all paid attention during Katyusha's (Ukraine's) interrogation. I just gave away some major clues during that scene.
Poor Tino! –Cries- I can't believe I killed him off; he's one of my all-time favorite characters!
Berwald's reaction is going to be so hard to write.
I hope Nikolai (Norway) isn't too OOC. He seems to really care about Iceland, so I bet he'd show some emotion if he was seriously hurt. –Shrugs- That's just my opinion.
There is a reason why Vash cares about Raivis, Eduard, and Toris. My theory is that he seems really cold and tough, but is really caring towards children in need. (This was based on the episode where he saves Liechtenstein from the alley, feeding her even when he didn't have enough for himself.)
Translations:
Bonjour: Hello (French)
Oui: Yes (French)
Já: Yes (Icelandic)
Odin is the leader of the gods in Norse mythology. (Sort of equivalent to Zeus's position in Greek mythology)
Virtual cookies (Kirkland brand, XD) go to anyone who knows what Tino's and Berwald's address is referencing, as well as the hospital Katyusha works at.
I hope you enjoyed the chapter!