Good news and bad news!

The good news is, Yay another chapter! The bad news is, I'm leaving for vacation tomorrow. TOMORROW. Heading off to Jamaica so I can be chillin like a villain ;)

Since I won't see my laptop for like ten days, I should probably say Happy Holidays! And enjoy your winter break and see you when I return!

Also, fair warning, now that Romano's made a literary entrance so to speak...ummm...well...watch out for his language. You know how he is...

As always reviews, favourites, follows and feedback are all greatly appreciated.

Enjoy!

-luvlani88

Happy Holidays!


What the actual fuck… The Italian scowled to himself as he sent yet another text to his brother's phone. "Anything?" He called to the Japanese personification who shook his head.
"No." He said regretfully as he kept the phone pressed to his ear.
Fuck. Romano thought and his pace sped up.
When they finally reached the square, Romano scowled deeper. "He went to it…!" He muttered under his breath.
"Pardon?" Japan looked at him.
Romano shook his head as a few police officers ran over to them, trying to explain in broken English what they had seen.
"Shut up." Romano snapped. "I know." The Italian stared at the hole in the ground several feet away, and shook his head.
"Did Italy-kun…?" Japan breathed, seemingly unable to form words.
Romano nodded, and scowled. "That asshole."


Germany's breath caught in his lungs as the man entered the room, guards on either side of him. He was dressed in a long white robe, more of a tunic with tucks and folds that made his whole body seem weightless as he walked. His dark eyes scanned the room and the nations held their breath. China stopped squirming. The room was silent.
The Leader smirked slightly as he made eye contact with Germany. The German felt suddenly very vulnerable and hollow, as if the man could read anything his mind thought, and see inside every part of him.
Germany realized he was actually afraid.
The Leader walked, no, glided to the chair, some sort of throne, and sat down noiselessly.

"Sir." A guard said carefully. "They were found in the city. Another void has opened up."

A void? Germany thought. Wait, are they talking about the hole that dragged us into it?

The man nodded, and stared down at the nations through his long, dark lashes. Germany's insides turned to steel.
His gaze was enough to make the personifications want to run, but at the same time they felt oddly mesmerized by the glint in his dark eyes. Mein gott...Germany could barely think as the whole room felt electrified.

"You..." Britain breathed, finally breaking the silence. "You're-"

"Sir!" Another guard cut him off as he rushed in. "Another one! Fallen through the void like the others!"

The man nodded to him, and the guard rushed back out.
What is this place…? Germany thought as he tried but failed to avoid the man's gaze. What is HE doing here?

There was something going on outside the room. Scuffling, yelling, struggling...sniffling?
Oh no… The German thought, as his mind made the connection.

"Hey! Let me go! I don't wanna fight! Just let me go and we can be friends?!"

The doors burst open again, and a young man was forced inside, covered head to toe in the tar he had fallen through.
"Italy!" Germany gaped as he met the Italian's eyes, practically the only things visible underneath all of the darkness covering him. "Italy…!"

"Germany!" The Italian cried, and his eyes scanned over the rest of them. "All of you! What are-"

He stopped as his eyes met the Leader's, and Germany's heart stopped. Italy's eyes widened.
For once the Italian was silent and unmoving.

And once again, the room felt electrified.


"Who else should I call?" The American said as he paced, phone in hand.
Spain shook his head. "I don't know, maybe some of the other nations?"

Japan frowned. "We can't. We do not want to cause panic. We will tell them, at the right time."

Hungary closed her eyes again and hummed. "Continue." She said. "Tell me what happened next."
America nodded and continued explaining what had happened.
When he finished, Hungary pursed her lips together and said, "I see... So you think Prussia was taken first…" Her voice held something painful in it, and America couldn't help but look away. He nodded. "Well, yeah. That's what we thought and now...Well.." He sighed, and glanced over at the window.
The early afternoon sky was beginning to get darker, a sure sign of rain coming. The American sighed with frustration. "What the hell is happening?" He asked nobody.
Spain stood beside him, stared out the window and shook his head. "I don't know, mi amigo. I don't know."

The room was silent again, except for the occasional bustle of someone outside of the doors, and outside of the world between the nations in the room.
"I'm going to go and get Romano." Spain murmured. "Before it starts to rain."
The Italian's back was in view of the window as he stood outside, a group of officers and people talking to him and to each other. Spain didn't see his face but then again, he didn't have to.

America said nothing more and Spain strolled downstairs to the front of the building to his friend.

It had indeed begun to drizzle slightly when Spain finally reached the front entrance and opened the door, calling out to the Italian.
"Roma!" He called. "Come inside!"

The Italian didn't move for a moment, and then his shoulders slumped as he turned around and strode back inside. As he passed by the Spaniard, Spain tried to reach out to him, but Romano brushed his hand off and kept walking without a second glance.


"Sir!" One of the guards gripping Italy's arm called. "The other one. Fell through just a minute ago. We heard him crying."

Italy's sniffling had stopped. From what Germany could see of him, he was staring wide eyed at the "Leader", unmoving.

The man gestured for the guards to step forwards with a hand, and they did, pulling Italy with them. They plopped him down abruptly beside Germany.
"Italy, are you okay?" Germany tried to nudge him with his shoulder.
Italy didn't respond, he still stared wordlessly at the man in the throne, and shook his head back and forth slightly.
"Italy…!" Germany pleaded. "Is he-"

"SILENCE!" The man commanded and once again the room was silent, enough for the fall of a pin to be heard. The man's voice was grand and loud, but not in the way Germany expected. It wasn't so much volume, but more of the way his voice carried, the way in vibrated against them.
Germany's eyes darted to Italy.

"Who are you?" The man continued, somewhat quieter. His tone held something angry in it and beside him, Germany could feel Britain flinch.
When nobody said anything, he scowled.
"Speak! Infidels! Do you not have the power of speech?!"

"I-" Britain began. "We're from...um...above you…? We're..." He tried.

The man looked unconvinced. Shaking his head he said, "The world above us is unreachable. Until now, apparently. You." He glared at Italy.
"What is your name? Why do you come here and disrupt my people with your crying?"

Italy couldn't say anything.


"So it just coiled around them and dragged them into a…?" The man repeated.

America nodded. "Yeah, yeah. Like, a… a void. Like in one of those sci-fi movies, you know?"

The man looked unconvinced.
Romano sighed. "Look." He said finally, the first he had spoken in a while. "It sounds strange but he's not lying. We have witnesses." He explained. "Other witnesses, I mean." He said as he glanced around. "Citizens that saw them get taken. And a few officers that saw my brother get taken."
The man stared at him silently, urging them to continue.
"He's right." America hurried. "I know it sounds weird, but this could be another attack on the planet. Like the Pictonians all over again, but this time from, like, underground or something."
At this, the man looked interested. "Like the Pictonians?"
America shrugged. "Maybe. I mean, I don't know what that thing was or what's happening down there, but for all we know it could be another attack. Aliens or something."
"Or maybe something more earth-like?" Spain offered. "Something that's been hiding away underground all these centuries?"

The UN official adjusted one of the buttons on his suit as he sighed. "Okay, I'm going to be frank." He said and the nations leaned in.
"There's not much we can do."
A collective sigh of frustration echoed in the room.
"It's not that we don't want to help…" The man continued. "...But it's more like there's not much we can do. The Pictonians nearly ruined the whole planet and if it weren't for the G8, we'd all be white blobs of goo. I get that it was a long time ago…" He said as he saw America's expression. "But you guys are right, this isn't something that us…"citizens" can handle on our own. It's one of those things that personifications just have a better chance at handling. Do you understand?"

A chorus of nods.

The official stood up and collected his papers. "I'll report it back to the United Nations, though. Ms. Hungary was right, there could be more instances of this happening that we haven't noticed yet. We'll do what we can, conduct an official investigation, take it out of the Paris Police Department's hands…" He looked at all of their forlorn faces. "But for now," He said. "This might be something for you guys to tackle. And if it is...well...consider the United Nations at your disposal."

When nobody answered, he simply nodded and left the room, his group of UN security people following.


"Answer me!" The Leader scowled deeper, and his scowl was reminding Germany of someone else that he knew.
Finally, Italy spoke.

"Don't you recognize me?" He whimpered. "Nonno?"