Chapter 3

Russia was watching China running his finger down the keys of the piano. They had managed to get to the room without any incident.

"Alright… C sharp, B flat, E natural, D sharp, A flat, and F natural," China said the notes out loud as he played them.

When he finished, a tremor suddenly started going through the whole mansion. "Aiyaa!" China yelled, gripping onto the piano for support. Russia did the same.

After the tremor, they both let go. "Well… the only thing to do now is to play the second piece," said China.

"What second piece?" Russia said innocently.

"…Are you seriously that dense aru?"

"Nyet."

"Whatever… Let's see… D sharp, G flat, A natural, G sharp, E flat, and C natural." And with that, they both grabbed the piano.

And, not a moment too later, another tremor came, as strong as the one before, but they had expected it and so they were prepared.

"Let's go back to the annex again, Russia. Maybe something changed there."

"Da."

They started heading down.

M

In the hideout, they were having another meeting.

"Hmmm, maybe we could-"

America was cut short by a tremor. "Whoa!" he shouted, falling from his seat.

"What the bloody hell!" England bolted up, but he managed not to fall down.

"What's going on?!" Canada yelled.

Italy sucked in a gasp. "H-huh?!"

"It's a tremor!" Germany said, a tight grip on Italy's bed. "Like the one we felt when we opened the room with the bloody numbers…"

The tremor stopped as suddenly as it came. Prussia shoved France off of him, who had grabbed him on when the tremor came. "A new area?"

France dusted himself off, a slight pout on his face. "You didn't have to be so rough…"

Japan shrugged. "Maybe…"

"So now what do we do?" England asked, taking a few steps forward, but he managed to smack his face into a wall.

Suddenly, a second tremor came. England fell flat onto his back, while America, who had just stood up, fell again.

"Another one?!" Germany shouted.

"What's going on?!" France yelled.

"It's a lot of new ground to cover if those mean new areas," Japan noted.

The second tremor finally stopped. America helped England up, and they sat down on a bed together. Everyone else took seats as well.

Italy nodded. "We should go and see what happened."

England was rubbing his nose and his back. "Maybe you should stay here," said Germany.

Italy blinked. "Wait, why shouldn't I go?"

"Italy, even though I'm blind, I think he was talking to me."

"Both of you," Germany said firmly. England, you're blind and need to be babysat. Italy, you're recovering from a heart attack. You should rest."

"I don't need a goddamned babysitter!" He got up, and promptly walked into a bed, knocking the wind out of him.

"Yes, you do."

England sat down, coughing, but he still looked angry. Though his sight was gone, it didn't seem like his temper was.

America stood up, raising his hand. "I'll stay behind and watch over them,"

"Danke, America."

Italy pouted slightly, but sighed. "All right… but stay safe, ALL OF YOU!"

"We will make sure, Italy," said Japan.

"Promise me. Promise me that you'll all be careful… all right?"

"We promise," Japan said, a small smile on his face for once. Everyone else nodded.

Germany, Prussia, France, Canada, and Japan all stood and started to head for the exit. "We'll be back sooner than you think," Japan reassured them.

And with that, he left with everyone else.