Urgh. I'm sorry this took so long but it was really difficult to write this chapter. Probably cause it's another establishing chapter. And, just, urgh.

But I managed! And it's all fine. :) Hopefully.

"You said that you had something which could help?" Francis said.

Kiku nodded, swivelling around so he could speak to him directly. "Yes. I have modified several weapons that Ivan... graciously provided for us. They should be able to hold off the creatures while we search for a way to get rid of them completely."

"Weapons?" asked Arthur, feeling uneasy.

"Yes. And I believe that not all of us should go inside."

"What do you mean?"

With a faint smile, Kiku said, "I have set up cameras in the house already – if everything works out, I should be able to see you at least. However, I am also hoping that we will be able to keep audial contact, too."

"How are you going to do that?" Lukas asked. "With earpieces like SWAT teams use?"

"Of a sort. We will be using radio waves, of course, at a frequency which we hope will penetrate the house thoroughly."

"Will that work?" Vladimir asked.

"They work in the house at the moment, at least."

"But maybe not when I'm there..." Arthur put in, raising his eyebrows.

Kiku nodded. "It is very much a case of wait and see."

"What use will that be?" Vash asked. Everyone looked at him and he shrugged a shoulder. "This is all just a lot of 'ifs' – if the weapons work, if the cameras continue working, if the radios work when we go in. I thought you had more than that."

"Iron was used to fight them off," said Ivan, mildly. "Surely that means that ours will as well?"

"We can't be sure, though," Vash protested. "And, anyway, what about the people waiting outside – what will they be doing?"

"It will be a safety measure," Yao told him. "Anyone on the outside will be able to know when you get in trouble. We can call the police and also try to enter to help." He looked at Ivan. "We will have at least one strong man on the outside."

"I will also monitor your vital signs," Kiku added. "That way, if anyone gets into trouble, we will be able to tell whether they need help or... not."

"You mean, we can tell if they've died or not?" Arthur demanded.

"Yes..."

Turning to Alfred and Francis, Arthur glared at them. "I don't like this. It sounded much safer the way you were telling it."

"Er," said Alfred, grimacing.

"We..." began Francis at the same time everyone started murmuring to each other.

A loud yawn from Vladimir cut them off. They all looked at him in surprise to find him rubbing at his eyes. The sight of him obviously tired reminded Arthur of his own exhaustion and he fought back his own yawn.

After a brief pause, Kiku turned to the room at large. "I have told you what we plan to do so perhaps we should sleep on it. It is late after all and several of our number must be jet-lagged..."

"I'd rather-" Arthur began but, of course, another yawn interrupted him, free for the room to hear. Grimacing, Arthur ducked his head. "Bed sounds like a good idea," he mumbled.

Kiku nodded and stood. "If the newcomers will follow me, I will show you to your rooms."

"'Rooms'?" Alfred asked before he stood and stretched, curving his spine backwards.

"Yes. I got a room with two beds for you and Francis-san and another room for Arthur-san."

"What? But-"

"We'll stay with Arthur," Vladimir piped up. "That will be all right, Arthur?"

Nodding, Arthur pushed himself to his feet and wearily grabbed his bag. "Yes," he tried to say around a yawn. When he realised it hadn't made any sense, he nodded once again.

"Then follow me," said Kiku and walked to the door. The others began to move, obviously leaving for their own rooms or homes.

The group made their way to the lift again and went up two more floors. Alfred and Francis were dropped off there, saying their goodnights. Up another floor, they went, and soon, Arthur was in room 77, staring around the rather large space. It had a huge double bed on an elevated part of the floor. At its foot was a long couch which faced a large, flat-screen TV. Another door led to the en suite bathroom – from what Arthur could glimpse of it, the bathroom was almost as big as the bedroom.

"Unfortunately, the hotel had little options for us when we came to book the rooms," Kiku told them. "And there are not enough beds for you..."

"It's okay," Arthur assured him. "Two of us can share the bed and one of us can be on the couch."

"Right. I shall leave you to it."

And so Kiku left the room. Yawning, the three of them rooted through bags, looking for nightwear and toiletries. They worked in silence, too tired to really speak. However, when they were finally ready to climb into bed, they remembered that one of them needed to find bedding for the couch.

"I'll go down to reception," Arthur told them, reaching for the key on the coffee table.

"No, it's okay," Lukas told him. "The bed's big enough for all three of us."

"I don't-" Arthur began but Vladimir grabbed his wrist and, after throwing the covers back, pulled him down onto the bed as Vlad fell into it. Lukas climbed calmly into the other side.

"We're too tired to fuss with finding blankets," Vladimir murmured into the pillow.

Arthur gave up, feeling far too fatigued to get up again. He ended up being sandwiched between his two friends, both of them cuddling into him. Arthur didn't mind: he found it quite peaceful.

It would be the last peaceful moment the three of them would have for quite some time...

He walked through the forest, eyes wide at all the living things surrounding him. This wasn't too different from the suburbs he lived in – there were trees and bushes and cats and dogs there. Here, he had already seen several squirrels (all of them, disappointingly, grey), far more wild flowers than he could remember the names of and even, once, a skittish deer. There had been lots of insects, too, some of which seemed to glow. Reaching out to touch the nearest one, he was startled as his peace was broken by a frightened cry.

Gasping, he whirled around and found himself looking at a dense patch of foliage. Slowly, carefully, he stepped forward and began to push his way through. As he went further, he realised that the light was fading. When he reached his destination, it was so dark, he thought that night was beginning to fall. He should find his parents soon.

The place seemed to be a small clearing where, almost unnaturally, trees had refused to grow. It revealed a cliff that would be dangerous for anyone walking above. At the bottom of it, a small figure was curled up. Whoever it was had placed their back against the cliff and was sobbing quietly into his knees.

He could understand why. This place felt like -.

Frowning, he tried to concentrate. What did it feel like? Like... the place where...

Unable to remember, he decided to concentrate on why it felt like it. Upon reflection, he realised that it felt like something was there, just on the edge of his perception. As if he could see things moving out of the corner of his eye despite not seeing anything at all. Like the feeling of being watched multiplied and distorted. There was also something in it which drew him in and he took a step forward.

Instantly, the person's head shot up. Now that he could see, he realised it must be a younger Vladimir. The boy had the same dark eyes and his hair, though more dishevelled, fell in the same shape. Sniffing, he looked around and, after choking back a quiet sob, he called out.

"Who's there?"

Could Vlad not see him? Was he a ghost? Or was he seeing his friend's memory? Why?

"We're friends!" came the answer, the same voices he'd been hearing nearly all his life. "You'll play with us, won't you?"

"Are you going to eat me?" asked Vlad.

"Of course not!" Giggling. "Why would you think that?"

"Well, will you drink my blood?"

"Now... That we can't guarantee." More giggling, getting louder until, suddenly, the noise dropped. It was still there, though, he knew. The giggling sound was moving. Moving closer to Vlad.

The poor child started and, with a shrill yell, fled the clearing. He watched him go, wondering. Was this just a dream? Or had Vladimir really heard the voices?

"Does it matter?" asked the voice and he started, stumbling away from them, back to the safety of the trees. "Does it matter, Artie?"

"It's so good to see you, Artie!"

"Come play!"

"Play, play, play!"

But he ignored them and plunged into the foliage, trying to ignore the way the twigs and branches caught on his hair and clothes. Trying to ignore the fact he was a child again. Trying to ignore the sense of foreboding spreading through him.

Hands caught hold of him: some on his arms, some on his waist, some on his ankles and one covering his mouth so he couldn't scream though he tried and tried to call for help...

Arthur sat bolt upright, breathing heavily. It felt as if he'd been holding his breath for far too long. Gasping, he clutched at his chest, the fabric of his pyjama top clenched between his fingers. After a moment of breathing, he realised that he was alone in the bed. Alarmed, Arthur looked around but was eventually relieved to see that Vladimir and Lukas were both sitting on the couch, watching the TV. The volume must have been high enough to disguise any thrashing about he had done during his nightmare.

Sighing, Arthur calmed himself. He wondered what the dream had been about. After all, he usually only had dreams about houses, not darkened forests where vampires roamed. Shaking his head, he slipped from the bed and headed to the bathroom – just as someone hammered on the door. He recognised that overly exuberant knock.

"That'll be Alfred," he told his friends who startled at seeing him awake and out of bed. "I'm going to get ready so just let him know."

Into the bathroom he went, heading for the shower and hopefully another wake-up call. He still felt exhausted and he even yawned as he sorted himself out. Since he figured he had to be more alert for tackling ghosts, Arthur gave himself the luxury of a perfect shower but followed it up with a blast of water so cold he was surprised it didn't come out as ice. Then he dried off, tied the towel around his waist and went looking for clothes.

Almost as soon as he opened the bathroom door, he was assaulted with noise. Apparently, not only had Alfred turned up; Francis, Kiku and several of the others were there, too. They were all arguing, getting louder by the second. Arthur could barely make out what they were going on about. None of them had noticed him exit so he grabbed his clothes and returned to the bathroom to dress.

And hide.

Eventually, he re-emerged to find that everyone was sitting in what seemed to be a reluctant silent. Perhaps they had come to an agreement.

"Ah, Arthur," said Francis, the first to notice him.

"Good... Is it morning?"

"Afternoon," Lukas told him.

"Huh. Good afternoon, then. What are you doing here? And where's that Ivan and Yao? And... Yong Soo, was it?"

"They are setting up the outer base at the house," Kiku replied.

"Right." Arthur shifted under their gaze. "I see. Is that what you were arguing about?"

"Well," said Alfred, shrugging a shoulder uncomfortably.

"We were arguing about whether we should go in or not, after what they said last night," Vash told him, brusquely. "A few of us... had our doubts."

"So what do you think?" Gilbert demanded. "Are you willing to go through with this? Or are you chickening out?"

Feeling a little bewildered, Arthur studied their faces. Vladimir was smiling at him, perhaps intending to be encouraging. Lukas was as impassive as always. Alfred was biting his lip, worry written clear to see. Francis looked pained as if he wanted two things but both were equally distasteful. Kiku seemed calm, ready to accept any answer. Ludwig looked agitated, his fists clenching and unclenching. Beside him, Gilbert looked fierce, ready to argue and defend his brother and the dead Feliciano. Vash looked angry as always and Lili looked sad yet determined. Mei looked angry, annoyed at the delay, perhaps. Tien merely blinked at him, waiting for the verdict.

Looking at all of them, Arthur wasn't sure what to say. He didn't want to disappoint anyone. Yet, for some reason, he felt that taking any of them into the house with him would only end in disaster. They wouldn't listen, though – he knew that much. He had already tried, time and again, to stop them from going. However, here they were in Japan. There was little he could do to stop them now.

Besides, hadn't he already given his consent to be used as bait when he bought the plane ticket back in Scotland?

With a deep breath, Arthur nodded, mostly to himself than anyone else. "We go in."

Several people gave a sigh of relief. Vash sniffed haughtily as if he had been expecting a different response and was reluctantly impressed. Both Francis and Alfred, though, seemed less than pleased. But only Kiku spoke.

"We should grab anything we feel we need and make our way to the cars."

There was a light ahead though he wasn't sure where it came from. This place was dark. The only sound was a steady dripping from somewhere. He headed towards it regardless. Perhaps he would find out where he was.

As he moved onwards, the light revealed more of his location. Wherever he was, the walls were made of rock, as were the floor and ceiling. He stumbled a few times, catching himself on the wall. To keep himself from falling, he kept his hand lightly trailing along the wall as he walked.

Finally, the walls widened and he found himself in a large cave. There was something a little wrong with it, from what he could see. All the rocks seemed smoother, as if someone had sanded them down. In the middle of the room was a large lump in the floor, lots of little ones surrounded it. Little alcoves could be seen in the walls though there was nothing there bar small pools of water. It looked a lot like someone's dining room.

On the table, quite rudely, a little boy sat, knees clutched to his chest. The boy had light hair and he looked around himself with wide eyes. Strapped to the boy's head was a torch, its light what he had seen along the tunnel. He recognised the younger Lukas and a sense of foreboding shot through him, making him gasp lightly. Concerned, he began to make his way to his young friend. However, he kicked a loose stone and sent it skittering along the floor. He froze, surprised at the noise. Lukas did the opposite; he sniffed and looked directly at him, puzzled and hopeful – it was clear Lukas couldn't see him.

"Dad?" Lukas whispered, beginning to relax.

"I'm better than that," said a deep voice. It was so at odds with the high-pitched voices he was used to that he stumbled away from where he stood. After all, it seemed to have come from right behind him. He stood to the side, watching the scene in fear.

"Who... are you, then?" Lukas asked, letting go of his legs so he could stretch them out in front of him. It was clear that the boy was scared but he seemed to be readying himself for flight. He approved of how smart Lukas was being.

"A friend," said the deep voice.

"Your host," another voice chimed in, this one a little higher pitched.

"A brother," added another, sounding almost human.

"Romance," said one which sounded more like a woman.

"Everyone you will ever need," the last one told Lukas, this one sounding more like the voices he had become used to.

"I... I only want my dad..." said Lukas, hesitantly. Obviously he was thrown by the abstract topic the voices had settled on.

"You don't need him. Come with us."

"What are you?"

"Friends," the voices explained.

Lukas looked around the room they were in. "Do you live... here?"

"Near here. Would you like to come with us and see?"

Slowly, Lukas slipped to the floor. Then he shook his head. "You'll eat me..."

"Why would you think that?" asked the voices, laughing gaily. "Come with us."

"No! I want my father!" And, without further ado, Lukas dashed off, moving for the opposite entrance to the cave.

He dashed after him, concerned for his friend. However, the light disappeared and, suddenly, he was surrounded by whispering.

"Artie!"

"Come to us!"

"You're almost here!"

"Play with us!"

Before he could react, Artie was suddenly surrounded by people or things he couldn't see. They jostled him and he stumbled. Catching himself, he had barely straightened up when he was pushed from behind. He fell forward, crying out, falling and falling and falling into darkness...

Arthur woke with a jolt, gasping as he almost fell out of the car. He had obviously dozed off while they drove and they must have stopped somewhere for the door was open. Alfred stood there, steadying him as Arthur tried to orient himself.

"Hey, woah, it's okay," Alfred told him, rubbing Arthur's arm. "I've got you."

Breathing deeply, Arthur nodded his acknowledgement. For a while, he said nothing, calming himself before he spoke. "Where are we?" he asked. "Where's Lukas and Vladimir?"

Frowning, Alfred moved out of the way so that Arthur could get out of the empty car. "They're over there," he said, pointing over at what looked like a large PortaKabin. "They're waiting on you."

Sighing in relief, Arthur stepped out and stretched. "Thanks," he said to Alfred. "How long have I been asleep?"

"For most of the journey," Alfred replied, gesturing to the sky. It was beginning to turn dark with half the sky being a light blue and the other so dark it was almost purple. The sun had turned the clouds to the west a light pink. Alfred drew Arthur's attention back to earth by pointing at a long hedge which cut off the field they were in from the rest of the world. "The house is beyond that. We'll have to go back to the road to get in at the gate."

Arthur glanced at Alfred before looking at the hedge more closely. It had clearly not been maintained. Turning to take in the rest of the scenery, Arthur noted that the cars were parked on an area of bare dirt. The rest of the field was overgrown, the grass up to his shins. Beyond the cars, Arthur could see a set of buildings with a gate; it seemed to be a set of dilapidated stables. Arthur wondered who had lived in the house, who had housed horses here. Had what had happened to the owners of the American house happened to the Japanese family living here?

A shout from behind him made Arthur turn back to the cabin to see Francis waving at them. Obviously, everyone was getting impatient. Pausing to stretch a final time, Arthur followed Alfred to it, Alfred glancing worriedly at him as they walked. "You don't need to do this, you know," Alfred murmured.

"Weren't you the one telling me I should?" Arthur pointed out.

"When I thought there was some super weapon which would kick those things' asses, yeah!"

"And now you're chickening out?"

"No!" Alfred protested. "I only want to... protect you. I don't mind going in there in your place."

"You need me to be the bait, Alfred," Arthur said, kindly, smiling weakly at him. "I'll... I'll do my best."

"Well... Stay close to me, okay? I won't let them lay a finger... or whatever on you."

At that point, they reached the cabin and entered it. Arthur was instantly in awe. The entirety of the walls of the cabin were given over to banks of computers. Above them, on one side, monitors showed streams of data. Opposite were monitors which showed rooms devoid of life, still and silent, waiting. A few rolling chairs were littered throughout the cabin. It looked very much like the inside of the portable police command centres Arthur had seen in films and TV.

The others were huddled around a small, round table upon which several black items were sitting. All of them, for some reason, were wearing black what looked like black vests over their clothes. When they turned to look at him, he soon found out why: each and every one of them had one of those protective vests that police wore for raids. Most of them were holding large guns whilst others had what looked like bits of metal pipes.

"What...?" Arthur began, taken aback.

"Ah, Arthur," said Francis, turning back to the table. He grabbed a vest and came towards Arthur. "I'll help you get this on."

"What's this for?" Arthur asked, letting Francis put it on him.

"I hope that it will protect you from any sharp objects," Kiku said as Francis gently turned Arthur around to strap the vest on tightly. "I feel it would be best to try preventing as many injuries as possible."

"But it won't protect us from high-speed projectiles," Vash piped up. "They're not bulletproof."

"Those are far more expensive," Ivan said, mildly.

"And what kind of guns are those?" Arthur inquired as he was handed one by Lili.

"They're Kalashnikovs," she told him, taking his arms to show him how to hold it. "From the AK-12 series."

"I... see."

He concentrated on holding the weapon, feeling uneasy. This didn't seem right, holding these dangerous things. It made him feel as if he'd been conscripted into an army. Arthur only looked back up when Ivan passed him some ammo.

"We made the bullets from iron. These should be used for long-distance attacks." Ivan turned back to the table, grabbed something else and handed it to Arthur. He stared down at the bit of metal pipe in his hand. "This is for closer targets," Ivan explained. "It's a... truncheon."

"It's a bit of pipe," Arthur replied, dryly. Nevertheless, he slipped it into the holster made for it and accepted the head torch handed to him by Kiku.

"Da. They are very useful," Ivan said, serenely. His happy smile made Arthur shudder and was thankful that Ivan moved away to sit in one of the chairs.

"You are not going!" Vash suddenly snapped and Arthur turned to find out what the problem was. His old friend was frowning down at his younger sister, arms folded. Lili had her hands on her hips, frowning as well.

"I don't want to watch you from here," Lili protested. "I want to help. I can help."

"You can help from here."

"I-"

"I don't want to lose you in there if something goes wrong!"

Arthur decided to weigh in. "It would be something of a relief if less people were going in," he told Lili. She turned to him, fire and determination in her eyes. He grimaced at her, trying his best to look apologetic. Slowly, she relaxed, her arms dropping and her sad gaze lowered to the floor. "And, if anything goes wrong, we'll need you to come rescue us. Ivan alone won't be enough."

"Actually," said Yao, "I'm staying behind, too. Kiku, Ivan and I were planning to be here – if anything was to go wrong, Ivan and I were going to come in and leave Kiku to coordinate a rescue."

"But that is only if you need rescuing," Kiku added with a small, encouraging smile.

"Hm," said Arthur.

"Here." Turning at the voice, Arthur found himself face to face with Mei who held out her hand, palm up. Upon it was what looked like a Bluetooth headset. Hesitantly, Arthur took it. "Put it on. That's our communication system."

"Ah, thank you."

Carefully, Arthur did as he was told, sending a frown Kiku's way. "I thought you said we were using radios?"

"Modified radios, yes. I've modified the headset to send and receive radio waves over a larger distance."

"Is everyone ready?" Ludwig suddenly demanded, obviously eager to start the 'mission'.

"Make sure you have everything important!" Lili reminded them. "You can use the pouches in the vests, too."

At the reminder of the pockets, Arthur patted himself down. He knew he had brought something along which had felt important at the time. Now, though, he wasn't sure why. However, as he hesitated, wondering if he should leave it behind, he spotted Vladimir pulling out a couple of his amulets and popping them into a pouch. Meanwhile, Lukas pulled something small out and put it into one of his own; Arthur was sure it was one of the stones Lukas had carved magical circles on. Supposedly, it was to help with the problem of not having time or room to draw one when in an emergency. As for Arthur, seeing that made him a little more confident to pull out his Tarot cards and place them in a pouch. He hadn't had a chance to try reading them recently but, since they had been his first gift from Vladimir and Lukas, he felt a little more at ease with them on his person.

Not that they would be any use within the house.

"Let's go," said Ludwig, marching to the door. The group looked at each other but followed him. Arthur hovered for a moment, reluctant to see this new house. Yong Soo stopped to hug Yao who pushed him away, grumbling. Mei was the one to drag Yong Soo away fully and Tien followed them closely. Lili grabbed hold of her brother's hands and held them tightly, looking teary. Arthur looked away, reminded of Lovino and Feliciano. If Vash were to die...

"Are you ready?" said Alfred, suddenly coming up beside Arthur.

"I suppose so," Arthur murmured and allowed Alfred to guide him out of the cabin again.

Outside, they moved off, heading to the gate to the field. They exited and turned along the road. It was almost entirely silent. The calls of nocturnal animals and insects were muted, as if something was blocking them. With the eerie atmosphere, Arthur was beginning to feel even more uneasy. He gripped his gun tightly as they stopped before a tall gate which was almost invisible since the hedges had merged with it. Ludwig pushed it open; a sharp creak rent the air and Arthur jolted in surprise. The gate would only open halfway so they filed through the gap one by one. Arthur was the last through and, once he was in the grounds of the house, he stopped beside Vladimir and Lukas.

The house was a mansion, much like the other two had been. It was huge, its triangular roofs piercing the sky. Besides the overgrown front garden, the house took up the rest of the space, sprawling across the plot of land. The overhang of the roof shielded the lower part of the house from their eyes, the elongating shadows leaving the front door in shadows. An odd feeling stole over Arthur, as if the house was eagerly awaiting its visitors.

He knew the struggle had already started.

Shuddering, he took a breath and turned to Vlad and Luke. However, upon seeing them, his eyes widened. They were both staring at the house in horror. Something about their expressions filled him with dread. A whisper of wind ruffled their hair as he waited for them to move.

"It feels like... then," breathed Vladimir.

"Ja..." Lukas whispered.

"You... You can always go back," Arthur said, softly, reaching for them.

Both of them jerked away from him at the same time, turning their wide-eyed gaze on him. Arthur flinched and stepped back, confused and more frightened than he had been upon seeing the house. For a quiet moment, the three of them breathed heavily. Then, suddenly, Arthur's headset sprung to life with the noise of static followed by Kiku's voice.

"Can everyone hear me?" A chorus of yeses sounded from the group. "Good. We will have to wait to see if it works inside the house as well."

"Right," said Ludwig. "I'll open the door now."

Wincing, Arthur turned to the house, prepared to face those things once more. A hand caught his arm and he almost spun to shoot at whatever it was. Instead, he turned to find Vladimir holding him, a determined expression on his face. "We won't let you go in there without us," he said while Lukas nodded behind him.

A small smile graced Arthur's face. "Thank you," he murmured.

Steadying themselves, the three young men took a breath and followed their friends into the house.