Hey guys! Sorry this is so late! But I do have an explanation. This chapter was finished three days ago, and would have been up on schedule if it weren't for my sucky internet connection.

I have been without internet for a full week now. The only way I've been able to reply to all of your lovely reviews is by using the internet at my school (where I can still acess my email). I literally had to wait until I could borrow one of my friend's USBs to get the file for this chapter of my computer onto one that has internet. So yeah. I'm really really angry at my network, but at least I can get this to you guys :D

And there's something important I gotta say, but it can wait until after this chapter...Enjoy~


Alfred had always admired heroes. As a child he had basically lived off of super hero comics and shows. His favorite past time was spending Saturday morning watching Superman cartoons.

It was awe-inspiring to watch someone fly across the sky, defying physics simply because they could (or were in radioactive goo, from another planet, or given powers- all of them seemed to have the same result). Having powers like that was a fantasy Alfred loved to indulge in as a child. When he was five, he had even tried to jump off his old apartment roof in an attempt to fly. Luckily his father had caught him before he jumped (they had lived on the tenth floor) and made him promise not to try it again.

But their powers weren't the reason why Alfred loved superheroes. It was what they did with them.

Instead of using their powers for themselves, they used it to help those in danger. They didn't even get paid! Some superheroes, like Spiderman, were even put down for doing what they did! But none of them cared. They just kept helping those in need, without asking for anything in return.

Superheroes had been and always would be his biggest role models. Whenever Alfred didn't know what to do, he just imagined what any of his heroes would do in his situation.

That was why an image of Superman blocking a group if citizens from an impending rocket was the first thing that came into Alfred's mind when the monster began charging right for England.

Heroes always put themselves in danger before others!

There was really only one course of action for this situation in Alfred's mind. He didn't even think about the fact that, since this was of course all a dream, he couldn't really get hurt. All he knew was that there was no way he was going to run away and let England get skewered.

And so, when England just stood there as the monster's horns (more like spikes) came closer and closer to running him through, Alfred didn't hesitate.

He ran straight for England. Alfred hadn't exactly been far away from England when the monster appeared, but the monster was much closer. And was moving fast.

So even though Alfred was only about two feet away from reaching England, he was afraid he wouldn't make it in time.

Why wasn't England moving out of the way?

Alfred was starting to get a little desperate. When he was only one foot away, and the monster's horns were uncomfortable close to skewering England like a shish-kabob, Alfred made a jump for it.

He grabbed England with both arms and used the momentum from the jump to move the both of them out of the monster's path. They landed on the ground with a thud, and Alfred felt a string of pain in his right cheek along with his protesting back (which had felt the brunt of the fall). He ignored all the pain however, to quickly check to see that England was alright.

"You idiot!" England's angry voice caused Alfred to do a small victory dance in his head. First part of Operation: Save England was a success! "I was just about to-"

"You can thank me later." Alfred said, giving England his brightest hero smile as he got up from the ground. The fight wasn't over yet.

The monster wasn't very bright. It had kept on charging for a few moments even after Alfred had moved England out of the way, and only just stopped. It turned around, even angrier now that its target had moved, and steam (literally!) came out of its nose as it gave an angry snort.

Alfred only had a few seconds before the monster would begin charging again. He had to act fast.

He ran away from where England was starting to get back up, to a spot a few ways away. There would be no point in saving England if the monster ended up running him over while they fought!

The monster looked confused, as if trying to decide whether or not attack Alfred or England. Good. It was time to help it make up its mind.

"Hey, you! Ugly! You want some of this?" Alfred yelled, waving his arms up and down to get the monster's attention. It reacted just as he hoped, its red eyes narrowing as it began charging towards him.

There was more steam coming from the creature's nose, now followed by small sparks of flame. It was breathing fire now?

The monster was only a few feet away from him when Alfred realized he didn't know what he was going to do now. He hadn't thought that far.

"Uh-oh…" Alfred probably should have planned this through better.

The monster took a deep breath and snorted a fire ball towards him. Alfred realized there was no way for him to get away in time and tensed himself for the impact.

A wall of flame burst before his eyes, but Alfred didn't feel any pain. The flames looked as if they hit an invisible wall, staying a good ten inches away from Alfred. The fire died away, and the charging monster came back into view.

But the monster fell back as if electrocuted, as it too hit the invisible wall. And it was a wall. Now that the fire was gone, Alfred could see the shimmering air where the wall stood.

"Move you idiot! The barrier won't last for long!" England's voice called out, and Alfred realized where the wall had come from.

England was standing on top of a shining circle, surrounded by a green aura that formed his own personal tornado. If Alfred looked closely, he could see a sheen of the same green on the invisible wall (or barrier or whatever England had called it).

"I said move!" England yelled again.

"I can't just let you get killed!" Alfred replied, still not moving from his spot. Now that Alfred had more time, he was starting to work up a plan. The monster was starting to get up, still looking slightly dazed, and the barrier looked as if it was starting to disappear. Alfred's eyes looked around the area, looking for anything he could use as an impromptu weapon.

"America-You dolt! You don't have anything! I have my magic, I can handle this on my own! Now get out of my way!"

The barrier fully broke down, and Alfred listened to England and moved.

But he had no intention of leaving the fight so soon. It didn't matter what England said, Alfred wasn't just going to leave him here to fight by himself.

Alfred hadn't known him that long, but he knew that heroes didn't leave others behind. Or sit by and do nothing while someone else did all the fighting for them.

The monster groaned in pain as England sent a giant ice ball into its side. But even though the beast looked slightly pained by the attack, it only barely slowed down its stride towards England. England noticed this, and began sending even more attacks. None of them seemed to affect the monster for very long.

A gnawing worry began to eat as Alfred as the monster kept closing the distance between them. England's sweater vest didn't look like it could stand a blow from those huge horns. Alfred could tell England was thinking the same thing, as his attacks seemed to be getting more desperate.

With new found enthusiasm Alfred tried to look even faster for something, anything, he could use to help fight.

Alfred's eyes passed again over a tree a little ways a way, when an idea struck him. There was only a slight chance…but Alfred was getting desperate. He began to run towards the tree, hoping he would make it in time.


Why the hell wasn't the monster down yet?

Arthur took another step back while simultaneously sending another fireball. Not even that seemed to slow it down. Arthur had tried nearly everything- all of his elemental and energy attacks- and none of it was working.

And even worse, Arthur could feel his magic slipping away. That shouldn't be happening. None of this should be happening. Only very huge spells, the kinds he needed to prepare for beforehand, were supposed to tire him out like this.

Arthur summoned a lightning bolt to strike the monster, and cursed when it only caused him to flinch.

What was happening? Arthur was a powerful wizard! He should have taken down this thing twelve attacks ago!

The monster was moving even closer now, so close that he could feel the heat as the beast prepared for another fire attack (which he braced himself for by putting up yet another barrier).

It worked, but the monster was getting close enough for a physical attack. One that Arthur knew he was not prepared for.

He was running out of options. His magic, for reasons he didn't understand, was weakening. He didn't have any kind of protective gear, just the simple outfit that he usually wore in Abaddon. Arthur rarely wore armor or anything of the sort. He hardly ever fought with monsters, only occasionally when getting a job with the hunters, and tended to stay inside Abaddon's borders (which were free of monsters and such things).

Which was another thing. Why was there a monster here in the first place?

Arthur knew China's house was close to edge of Abaddon's border, close to the area where monsters and other such things roamed freely, but they were still well enough inside the area where Arthur knew the guards regularly patrolled. He wouldn't have taken America to this place if he thought it wasn't safe.

At least America was out of the way now. He had finally listened to him, Arthur could see him running away out of the corner of his eye. But he barely had any time to clearly see where America was going, seeing as he had to keep his attention on the advancing monster. Arthur could only hope that America was running towards China or someone else who could help.

At least Arthur could concentrate a little more now that America was out of his hair. He knew the boy was only trying to help, but he had messed up Arthur's original spell!

When the monster had first appeared, Arthur had remembered that had he still had some leftover herbs from the job he did with Turkey. Knowing that he had to protect America (who he was still in charge of) and didn't have any armor on, he had decided to try a larger spell that would banish the monster away.

The spell required for him to wait until the monster was close enough for him to fling the herbs on it, but the idiot had pushed him out of the way before he was able to do so.

Now Arthur didn't have the herbs, or the magic, to do such a spell.

The monster was very close now, and the glint in its red eyes told Arthur that it knew it had him cornered. There was little Arthur could do now. His magic was almost gone, and there was no way his sweater vest (even with the few defense charms he had out on it) would hold up against the monster's horns.

Arthur briefly entertained the thought of running away, but he knew there was no way he would be able to outrun the beast once it started charging.

Still, it was all he had left. So Arthur set himself in a running stance hoping that, if the monster started charging and he was able to get out of the way, he would have some time to run before it changed its course and came after him.

But suddenly the monster grunted in pain and as it was pushed roughly to the side, something having hit it.

The monster moved its attention away from Arthur and towards whatever had hit it, giving Arthur enough time to widen the distance between the two of them. He would have run away, if he didn't have a sick feeling of who had hit the beast in the first place. But there was no way. There was no way he was strong enough to hurt the monster like that….

"Take that! The hero has arrived!"

But his feelings were proved right. Arthur turned to see him, America, standing there with a huge smile on his face. In his hands was a large, but partially broken, tree branch.

Splintered wood flew through the air as America hit the monster again. The tree branch was barely a stump now, the monster's steel scales having broken most of it on impact. But impossibly (because America was new and he was using a bloody stick for goodness sakes) the monster seemed injured from the attack.

Arthur was caught between relieve and horror. Relieve because he was now out of the monster's way, and that something was finally hurting the damn thing. And horror because, well, America was fighting it with a toothpick!

Which was what the branch now resembled, America having hit it against the monster's steel hide about three times.

America dropped the branch (or what was left of it) and looked ready to try and tackle the monster. There was no way this was going to end well. Especially since the monster looked ready to do another fire attack. And Arthur didn't know if he had enough magic left to block it.

"Get out of there you idiot!" Arthur yelled, catching America's attention. It was then that America seemed to finally saw the steam coming from the monster's snout, and he did the sensible thing. He ran.

America ran towards Arthur, barely avoiding the stream of orange fire that flew out behind him.

"Ow! England, what do we do now? Damn, that hurt." America hadn't been able to totally avoid the flames, the smell of burning hair coming from the back of his head. Luckily his hair was only slightly singed, though Arthur couldn't get a clear look at the back of his neck. But he figured he was alright, since America wasn't complaining.

Arthur would have reprimanded America for his behavior, but there was no time. They had to get away from the monster, its attention on the both of them now. Arthur could yell at him later.

"We got to get out of here." Arthur said, giving the signal for America to follow him. They were both a ways away from the monster, and there was a slight chance they would be able to run before it started charging. A small chance, but still a chance.

However, before either of them could start running, a burst of red and orange sparks came from behind the monster, causing it to fall down.

As soon as the monster hit the ground, a small dark-haired man appeared and slammed a thin white paper with strange markings on it, which Arthur recognized as a type of banishing paper, onto the monsters forehead. With a final groan, the monster faded out of sight.

The man stood up and brushed of his clothes, turning towards them with a blank expression.

"You are looking for China?" He said, his question sounding more like a statement.

"Wow! That was cool! Were those fireworks or something? Who are you?" America said, asking about the sparks he had seen earlier, while running up to him with a curious look on his face.

"Hong Kong." Arthur acknowledged the man with a nod, which was returned with a blink. "Yes, we are looking for China." Arthur answered his question, relieve coming into his voice now that the monster was gone.

Hong Kong nodded. "Then I will take you to him. Follow."

Hong Kong began a brisk walk towards the direction of China's house, and America and Arthur quickly followed.

"Thanks for saving us! Man, for a second there, I thought we were done for!" America said, not minding that Hong Kong didn't answer his question.

Hong Kong nodded. "China sensed something near here and sent me to investigate. He's been very careful lately, ever since Taiwan disappeared."

"Who? Someone disappeared?" America asked.

"I'll tell you later." Arthur said before turning to Hong Kong. "You have some information about what happened to Taiwan?"

"China will tell you what he wants to tell you." Hong Kong said, the answer not really revealing anything. That was how it was with Hong Kong, with anyone a part of China's group really.

China was perhaps the only person in Abaddon who liked to mentor new kids. It was almost as if he actively searched for them. Any newcomer from Asia was almost guaranteed to be mentored by him. Arthur didn't understand it, but China enjoyed acting like a sort of big brother to (most of) his charges.

And those he mentored, like Hong Kong, usually stayed with him even after they had learned. Some, like Japan, went there own way. But most preferred to live with China in his large house.

It wasn't hard to see why. China was very powerful, and knew many things. There was a rumor that he was the person who had been visiting Abaddon the longest, but Arthur didn't really believe it. China didn't look that old, he was simply very knowledgeable.

Taiwan, as far as Arthur knew, was one of China's old charges that had decided to stay. Which meant China would probably have information on her disappearance.

Arthur felt happy with his decision to come. Not only would he get this whole curse business out of the way, but he could also get more information on the disappearances.

"Are we there yet?" America asked, starting the whole thing up again. Really, didn't he have any patience?

"It's only been five minutes!" Arthur said, his annoyance starting to show.

"I know, but what if we run into another of those monsters again?" America asked, and Arthur felt the annoyance fade away.

"…We're almost there." Arthur said, trying his best to reassure him. Having seen a monster so early after coming to Abaddon most have been shocking. It was amazing that America had been able to do what he did.

Not only did he push Arthur out of the monster's way (he really couldn't expect America to know what he had been doing), but he had also come back to fight the monster when he had the chance to run away.

Fighting back with a tree branch of all things? Sure it was very stupid, but also very brave…It was amazing it had worked at all. It was just wood, and the monster had had steel scales. America must be incredibly strong, seeing as he was able to even injure the beast. It was almost as if… no. That was impossible.

Sure, some people who came to Abaddon had two gifts. Some even had multiple gifts, like China (Arthur still didn't know all the powers he had). But when that happened one gift was usually strong while the others were weaker, or all their gifts were of average power.

America had a cursing power. A powerful one, seeing as he was able to curse Arthur in such a way on his first night in Abaddon. But if he was strong enough to hurt a steel scaled monster with a branch… No. Having two incredibly strong gifts was impossible.

A horrible possibility was starting to creep into Arthur's mind. He refused to believe it. If it were true…

"We are here." Hong Kong announced, jolting Arthur from his thoughts.

Before them was China's house, looking more like a Buddhist temple then a home.

"Cool!" America said, running inside before Arthur or Hong Kong could even move. Arthur was thankful that none of his shoes had fit America, and that he had been walking barefoot (as he had been when he fell asleep). China preferred people to take of their shoes when entering his house, and Arthur couldn't afford to offend him when they so needed his help.

He followed America inside (after taking off his shoes), and Hong Kong lead them into the main room.

Inside was China, sitting down and eating with a few others. Arthur thought he recognized Vietnam and Tibet.

Tibet excused himself quietly when he saw them entering, deciding to give them privacy to talk. Hong Kong followed, though Arthur guessed it was more out of boredom then courtesy. Vietnam didn't bother to leaving, instead standing up leaning against the nearest wall, her eyes glaring at them with clear distrust.

"Ah! You finally arrived aru! I've been waiting! Do you want some food?" China asked as he stood up, smiling as he offered them dumplings.

Arthur didn't bother asking how China knew he was coming. He could never tell if China was pretending to know or if he just kept tabs on everyone. It was hard to tell with China.

"No, no thank you." Arthur said, but America nodded and accepted the plate of food gratefully.

"Aru? Who are you? A newcomer?" China asked America, who had already started to eat the dumplings.

"Ymmheah" America said, barely coherent over his chewing. Arthur gave him a look, and he swallowed before talking again. "I'm America!"

"Oh." China said with a bit of disapproval. America didn't seem to notice, too caught up in eating again.

"We've come to ask you a favor." Arthur said, gaining China's attention.

"A favor aru? What kind of favor?" China asked, his voice both wary and curious.

"I need you to activate his gift." Arthur stated, pointing towards America (who had finished the dumpling and was now eyeing the dim sum that China had been eating).

"It will cost you." China said, his business face appearing.

"You owe me. Remember?" Arthur responded.

"Aiyah! That was ages ago! And it didn't work at all! South Korea came back even after that! And I had to take care of him when he was in that state! It was more troublesome then helpful." China protested.

"I don't care. You still asked me to do it, and I did it. It doesn't matter what the results were!" Arthur said, trying to sound calm. "Besides, it's important."

"Hmph. Fine, aru. But what's the reason? Can't you just let the gift develop naturally?" China asked, still sounded slightly annoyed.

Arthur had decided before to tell China the reason. While he didn't particularly trust the man, he might be able to help more if he knew the full story. He looked over at Vietnam, wondering if he should tell the story while she was still in the room. But she glared at him, and Arthur realized there was no way she was going to leave and that he might as well just tell the story.

"This idiot cursed me the other night. I haven't been able to leave Abaddon since, and he isn't powerful enough yet to undo it. I was hoping he would be able to after you activate it." Arthur explained, looking towards America. He stopped looking at the food and stared at his feet, looking slightly guilty.

The frustration he felt remembering his situation melted away at the look, and he felt an urge to tell America it wasn't his fault. Which was ridiculous, because it was his fault. Even if it was an accident…

Arthur looked back at China, whose face had turned serious.

"I see." China said, nodding. "I will help you then. It is better for you not to be stuck here during such a time, especially someone like you."

Arthur thought he saw Vietnam tense in the corner of his eye, but she said nothing.

"Thank you." Arthur said, feeling relieved that China was going to help. He would finally be able to wake up again! Even if it was around night time in London now…

"So…how does this work?" America asked.

"Come here." China said, waving America near him.

America walked towards him, and stopped when they were standing close together. China then placed his right hand on America's forehead, and began to mutter under his breath.

A sky blue aura began to appear around America, glowing softly. It grew brighter and brighter as China continued chanting. China's chanting grew softer until it finally stopped, and the aura slowly faded away.

China stepped away from America, a frown on his face.

"Did it work?" Arthur asked, not liking the look China was wearing.

"Yes. I activated his gift." China said, though Arthur could tell there was something he wasn't saying. He just hoped that it wasn't what Arthur had been fearing ever since America had fought the monster.

"Man, I feel awesome!" America said, looking at his hands. "Do you want me to try and reverse it now England?" America turned to him, a hopeful look on his face.

Arthur looked to China, who stayed silent. Well, he could ask what was wrong after the curse was reversed. That was his priority after all.

"Yes. You can try now." Arthur said, and America smiled wide.

"I'll totally do it this time! Just watch!" America's enthusiasm was contagious, and Arthur felt himself smile a bit at the thought that he would be home soon. He loved visiting Abaddon, but he still had his real life to live.

America grew silent as he concentrated hard on Arthur. It was a bit unnerving, having those eyes stare at him unblinkingly. His bright blue eyes were visible even behind his glasses, and it felt as if America was staring right through him.

"Did it work?" America asked after a while, slightly startling him.

But Arthur could still feel the curse. It felt as if there was a shadow over him at all times, keeping him anchored do this place. And it hadn't left.

"…No." Arthur said, horror starting to creep into his stomach. This was bad. This was really bad.

"It's just as I feared." China spoke up. "This boy does not have a cursing power. Or any magic at that."

It was what Arthur had been hoping wasn't true.

"It's his strength. That's what's been strengthened, hasn't it?" Arthur said, knowing it was already true. It was why America had been able to fight the monster. No one with normal strength could have injured it like that with just a tree branch.

"What do you mean?" America said, looking both confused and worried. "I thought England couldn't wake up because I cursed him! Does…does that mean he's stuck here?"

Arthur would have expected America to be more excited. On the way to China's house, before they had been attacked, America had told him how much he loved super heroes with super strength (it had been brought up when the fought about who was better, Harry Potter or Superman). The fact that he was more worried about Arthur being stuck, even though he had only known him for about four hours, caused a warm feeling to swell in his chest.

"For now, I'm afraid." China said, his voice growing somber.

"Then who cursed me? I know it's a curse…and it happened when I met America. Who else could have done it?" Arthur said, the severity of the situation starting to sink in.

"I don't know aru."

If America hadn't been the one to curse him, then Arthur had no idea how to break it. Or when he would be able to wake up again. What would happen?

Arthur only had about twelve hours before Peter would wonder why he hadn't woken up. And then what? Would he call their brothers? The police? What if he never woke up?

"Taiwan couldn't sleep either." Vietnam suddenly spoke, startling all three of them. "I was out hunting with her, and she was complaining. She said she wasn't able to fall asleep in Abaddon…that she was supposed to be awake already. It was only by a few hours, not that strange but…it was the day she disappeared."

"What aru? Why didn't you tell me this?" China asked, surprised by Vietnam's statement.

"I didn't think it was important…but if he can't wake up either, then there might be a connection. You were attacked by a monster on the way here, correct? Was there anything strange about it?" Vietnam asked, her voice clear and steady. It sounded as if she already knew the answer to her own question.

"Yes." Arthur answered, starting to see where Vietnam was heading. "My magic weakened the more I fought it."

Vietnam nodded. "I've been suspecting something like that. Both Norway and Taiwan were capable of taking down any beast they could have run into."

"So you believe that monsters attacked both Norway and Taiwan before they disappeared?" Arthur didn't like what all of this was implying. But if gaining more information could help him wake up again, then he knew he had to do whatever he could to find out more.

"Yes." This time it was China who answered. "We found out from Denmark. He was with Norway when two monsters attacked. They ended up getting separated while fighting. According to Denmark, halfway through the fight his monster disappeared, and when he went to look for Norway, he was nowhere to be found."

"I found that out from Denmark." Vietnam coldly corrected. "You have done nothing to look for Taiwan."

"You know that is not true." China said, causing Vietnam to direct her glare towards him.

"What? Oh please enlighten me. What have you done? It seems as if I'm the only one who even cares about trying to find her. I thought you would have some information when I came here today- but you know even less then me. At least I am out there, looking for her." Vietnam said, her icy voice never rising to a yell. Her words were even, but the hostility behind them was clear.

"Vietnam…We all miss her. We're trying our best to find her. There is not much we can do." China tried to reason with her, but she was not listening.

"Sitting here and eating will not find her." Vietnam snapped. "I'm going to talk to Denmark. If Norway could not sleep either…then England is next. And we will be closer to finding Taiwan."

Vietnam walked out of the room, but not before turning to Arthur. "You. I will be watching you." She left, leaving behind a pregnant silence.

"…Wait. I'm really confused." America was the first one to speak. "So there's people disappearing? And England's next? What does this have to do with him not being able to wake up? And what was that chick's problem?"

China sighed, his fight with Vietnam having obviously worn him out. "Vietnam has taken Taiwan's absence the hardest. They were very close…and I believe that Vietnam blames herself for her disappearance. That being said, she does not understand that these things take time. She is too impatient. I have already sent someone from the real world to check Taiwan's residence to see if she if perhaps there, and somehow unable to return to Abaddon. But it will take a few more days before my colleague reaches the area, and Vietnam does not want to wait."

"Oh. But why are people disappearing in the first place?" America asked.

"That I do not know. All the information we have, besides what I have already told you, is that people with powerful magical abilities are going missing."

China paused, turning towards Arthur before continuing. "If you are truly stuck in this world, then you must be careful. You should stay closely inside Abaddon's borders, where it is still safe, until you have figured a way to return home."

Arthur nodded wearily. This whole situation was much worse then what he had first thought. But at least he had a bit of an idea of what to do next. He still had the same goals as he did before he came to China's house. He still had to find out what was happening to the disappearing wizards, it was just that he now had a much more personal stake in them.

Not to mention that he still had to train America. Oh joy. Even with all of this happening, the boy was still his responsibility.

At least his strength could come in handy. It was probably best now that Arthur wasn't traveling alone. Not because he was lonely mind you. It was simply a good idea to have someone non-magical, someone who could fight any monsters Arthur might run into, around.

"You know, this is one of the most confusing dreams I've ever had." America said, "Is it almost done yet?"

Both Arthur and China decided to ignore him.

"I'll have Hong Kong walk you home." China said, trying to subtly say that he wanted the two of them out of his house.

"No! Ah…that's fine. He can just accompany us to the inner part of Abaddon." Arthur said. Although he did not want to risk running into another monster, he didn't exactly want to have Hong Kong near his house. He was notorious for playing "pranks" that resulting in things catching on fire, and Arthur didn't want to rebuild part of his kitchen (again).

China agreed, and Hong Kong led both him and America out of the house.

Arthur spent half of the walk thinking about what to do next, and the other half listening to America tell Hong Kong increasingly horrible jokes in an attempt to make him smile (or make any kind of facial expression). Predictably, none of the jokes changed the blank expression on Hong Kong's face. When they reached the inner part of Abaddon, Hong Kong left them with a curt and polite goodbye.

Between the jokes and his worrying, by the time it was just him and America, Arthur already had a large headache.

"You should try to relax." America said, giving Arthur a small smile.

"Relax? How am I supposed to relax? I'm stuck in this place for who knows how long…and apparently some monsters- who, by the way, I can't fight- are after me! How am I supposed to relax?" Arthur yelled, letting out all his frustration about his situation.

"Well…that China dude said you were safe in this area. So just don't go where you aren't supposed to. And you like this place, right?"

"…Yes. I wouldn't come here if I didn't." Arthur answered hesitantly.

"What's the problem then? The way I see it, you got it made! You don't have to go to school, don't have to do any work, and you can do magic here! You're basically taking a magical vacation." America said, smiling wide.

"I suppose." Arthur said, slightly lightening up. At least he was getting a break from having to deal with Peter and his brothers, and he didn't have to do any essays or the like for college. Sure, there was the whole problem with what would happen to his real body while he was stuck here, but there wasn't anything he could do about that. And he was obviously still alive, and would continue to live as long as he didn't run into anything to dangerous.

"Besides!" America continued, "This isn't real anyways!" He gave a grin as he put both hands behind his head, looking completely carefree.

Arthur felt ready to punch him (how dare he act as if his problems weren't real!) when a look a pain flashed across America's face.

"Ow!" He said, quickly removing his hands away from the back of his neck. It was then that Arthur remembered how close America was to the monster's last fire attack, and how his hair had been singed. He couldn't have walked away from that without being a bit burnt…

"Stop. Let me see that." Arthur commanded, stopping in his tracks.

America stopped his walking as well, but shook his head. "Nah, it's nothing. I'm fine!"

"I don't believe you." Arthur wasn't that much shorter then America, and when he walked behind him he could clearly see the burnt area on the back of his neck. It wasn't a serious burn, but it definitely didn't look painless. The skin was pink and swollen, with blisters already starting to form.

"Why didn't you tell me you were hurt?" Arthur asked, concern creeping into his voice.

"It's nothing, really." America insisted.

"This is not nothing!" Arthur gingerly pressed a finger to the burnt area, resulting in a hiss of pain from America.

"Come now, I have some burn ointment back at my house." Arthur said, entering into maternal mode. He grabbed America's hand without thinking, and led him for the remaining walk to the house.

He took America back up into his bedroom and placed him on the bed with a firm grip.

"Stay right there. The ointment is somewhere in here." Arthur said, turning to look inside his dresser.

"You seriously don't have to do this." America sounded embarrassed, but Arthur refused to simply ignore the wound.

"Nonsense. Ah, here it is!" Arthur held up the small jar filled with burn ointment, along with a small washcloth, victoriously. He unscrewed the lid and placed a handful of the green herbal paste onto his hand.

"This should help it heal, and it will also help with the pain." Arthur explained, "Now hold still."

"I can put it on myself." America protested, but Arthur shook his head.

"No, you won't be able to spread it properly. And stop fidgeting." America relented, and Arthur sat behind him on the bed.

Arthur spread the ointment on the burn, careful not to press too hard. He saw America clench his fists, but he didn't complain. America seemed to relax after a bit, letting Arthur know that the medicine was working.

"…It feels better." America said quietly, once Arthur had spread the ointment on evenly.

"Good." Arthur sat up from the bed once he was finished, wiping his hands on the washcloth. "We should probably clean that cut on your cheek while we're at it."

"Huh?" America said, his hand coming up to the small cut on his left cheek. It wasn't deep, and had stopped bleeding a while ago, but it was dirty. "I forgot about this."

"Well, we don't want it getting infected now, do we?" Arthur said, giving a small smile. He remembered seeing America get it after he had pushed him away from the monster.

Arthur was less angry now that the monster was gone (they had turned out fine even though Arthur's original spell was ruined. Not to mention that it probably wouldn't have worked anyway, seeing as it wasn't that affected by any of his other spells) and Arthur was slightly touched that America had been so willing to help him. Even if he still thought this was all a dream, it was still brave.

Not that Arthur would tell him that. He had a feeling it would go straight to the idiot's head.

"I'm going to go wet the cloth. I'll be right back, alright?" Arthur said, beginning to leave the room to walk towards his bathroom (which contained the only sink in the house).

"Hey, England?" America yelled before Arthur was out of the door. "…Thanks."

Arthur gave a curt nod and hurried out of the room, careful to hide his reddening face. It was just hot in there, is all!

After wetting the cloth, and making sure his face was its normal color, Arthur returned to find America fast asleep on his bed. He had fallen to his side, his arm uncomfortable trapped under his body.

"Can you not take care of yourself?" Arthur said, not expecting him to answer.

America snored in response.

Arthur gave a small sigh and moved America so that he was lying comfortably on his back. Figuring he might as well, Arthur cleaned the cut on America's cheek and silently hoped that the idiot wouldn't end up drooling on his pillow.


Yay! Finally got this up! This was fun to write. And this won't be the last we see of Vietnam or China...but we will be seeing a lot of countries still. Man, this story is ending up so much longer then I orginally planned XD

And, here's the IMPORTANT NEWS: I'm leaving for my school's Japan Exchange on Wenseday! For three weeks! Without internet... yeah. So the story won't be updated until I get back. I'm planning on trying to update by at least November 15th or around there. While it does mean there won't be updates for a while, the trip might end up being a good thing. It will give me time to create a more detailed plan for the story (I already know what's going to happen, but this will help me plan out each chapter better and be able to get them out faster).

So, I'm really really sorry guys. But don't worry! The story will be started again as soon as I get back! And hey, at least there isn't a cliffhanger like last time, right? XD

Thank you again for all everyone who has read, reviewed, alerted, and/or favorite this story. I'm so happy that so many people are enjoying it. Here's to hoping you guys will stick around!