Authors Note: Hi everyone! Sorry this is a bit late, I had to fix some problems with my computer (which is now getting a new video chip thingy), had rehearsals, homework, and almost didn't have time to write this. But when your outta time, you MAKE time! Hahaha...lame joke

Some notes and such before we start. When there are ***** or something, that just means we are moving to a different place and fast forwarding a bit in time. (a.k.a nothing interesting happened from here to there). When there are little dots such as

.....

that just means that a short amount of time has passed (like 5 minutes or so, depending on your preference)

This is the longest chapter yet! (If barely). And is the start of some exciting times! yay! Hope you enjoy!

Feliciano woke up in a strange state. Lying on a small and bumpy bed, he first thought that he was back at home with Elizaveta and Roderich. But that couldn't be right, he had left home, right? Not to mention that the room he was currently in was too different from his own bedroom. It was too bare and bleak, lacking all the various paintings and bright colors that Feliciano had decorated his own with.

Then he remembered. He was staying at the house of that nice man he had met, Ludwig. Feliciano immediately felt better knowing where he was, and decided to go down stairs to thank the man who let him had let him stay here.

After remembering to put on his clothes from yesterday (he didn't like to wear much to bed) he walked down the hallway and towards the living room.

Upon reaching the room, Feliciano could see the remains of make-shift beds on the couch and a space on the floor by it. They were empty at the moment, and a pleasant scent of food coming from his left told him that their previous occupants were in the kitchen.

Food! Feliciano hurried toward the smell, hoping that he might also see Ludwig and perhaps get a bite to eat.

However, upon entering the kitchen the only people he saw were Ludwig's brother and his friend. He was slightly disappointed, but immediately perked up when he saw the large amount of food they were making.

"Oi!..uh...Feliciano! Want some pancakes?" Gilbert waved him over to the kitchen table."Francis made em', so they're sure to be good."

"Merci, Gilbert. But I doubt that even moi can make much of that old package of pancake mix you found in the back of the closet." Francis said, as he finished making their breakfast.

" 'Tis probably expired for all we know. But still, I hope you will enjoy it, as there is officially no food left in this house." Taking a seat at the table, Francis handed both Feliciano and Gilbert a stack of pancakes straight off the pan.

Feliciano didn't think the mix had been expired. The pancakes were a nice golden-brown color, and gave off a rich scent that told him otherwise. Besides, he was too hungry to care!

He took a bite out of a rather large one, and was happy with what he tasted. They were warm and buttery, and Feliciano bet that they would taste even better if they had any syrup.

"Ve~ Thank you! This is very good!"

"Ah, my friend, I think that if you find these so good, you should find my other works a delicacy."

Feliciano was about to suggest that they should cook together some time, but then remembered that he probably wouldn't be able to stay long enough to do so. He sobered a bit, but immediately cheered himself up. He had to leave, he was on a quest! A quest of utmost importance! There was no time to be sad.

Besides, from what they had told him last night, Francis and Gilbert would be traveling too. Maybe they could even travel together....

Feliciano didn't like to be alone, and traveling with others sounded like fun! They said that they were headed toward Central City, and that was as good a place as any to start his quest. There was even a chance that Ludwig would be coming too! He would really like that.

In fact, he couldn't imagine anything more exciting than traveling with these people he had just met, eating pasta, talking, and just being together. The more and more he thought about it, the more and more Feliciano liked the idea.

But he wasn't sure that the others would allow him to come. Ludwig was really really nice, but Feliciano wasn't even sure if he would go on the trip. Besides, it seemed like Gilbert was the one who was actually in charge, and Feliciano hadn't been around Gilbert long enough to know if he was the type of person to let him tag along.

Thinking about it so long wouldn't get him anywhere, and Feliciano was the type to say whatever was on his mind. So he figured it would be best to ask now if he could join them on their trip. He was just about to ask when Gilbert opened his (food filled) mouth to speak towards the kitchen entrance.

"Oh Luuwiig. Yor up. Yor nebar up thes wate" Gilbert's words were a bit mangled as he talked through his stuffed mouth (he had been basically chugging down the pancakes ever since they had been placed on the kitchen table), but Feliciano could pick up Ludwig's name.

"Good Morning!!"Feliciano gave a loud shout, turning around towards the kitchen entrance to see Ludwig walking in, looking a little worse for wear.

Ludwig looked over to him, still a little sleepy as he grabbed the remaining chair by Feliciano at the table. "Oh...uh... good morning."

Gilbert had by then swallowed all the food in his mouth, so he could now talk clearly. "Seriously West, this is like the latest you've ever gotten up. You look like shit. Did you get drunk or something while we weren't looking?"

A tired sighed escaped from Ludwig, looking at his brother while Francis gave him a plate of spare pancakes. "I've had trouble sleeping. When I did sleep I ended up having nightmares. No doubt because of you."

"Whatever. Have you decided yet?" Even though his own brother seemed unconcerned about Ludwig's condition, Feliciano felt a pang of worry for the man and wondered if there was anything he could do to help. Yet he fended off asking more about his condition, as he was too was curious to learn if Ludwig would end up going on the trip. It would definitely be 10 times more fun to travel with Ludwig then with just Francis and Gilbert (even if he didn't really know if he could accompany them).

"I have to go to the Post Office today." Was all Ludwig said. Feliciano was a bit confused about what this meant and, apparently, so was Gilbert.

"What the hell does that even mean?!"

Ludwig began to eat his pancakes, dropping eye contact with his brother. "Well I have to send a quitting notice to the factory if I'm to go running around the country with you."

Realization edged on Gilbert's face, resulting in a wide victory grin. "YAHOO! I knew it! You won't regret it West!" Gilbert began laughing, punching his brother on the shoulder in good humor. Ludwig was not amused.

Feliciano thought that now would be a good time to ask. "You guys are leaving for Central City late this afternoon, right?" Francis turned to him and nodded.

"Oui, it seems that way. Why?"

"Oh, Ve... I was wondering if I could come with you guys? Just to Central City I mean! Its just that I was gonna head there this morning anyways and I thought that-" He was starting to ramble a bit, a little nervous that they might think him weird for asking. "I- I would pay for my own ticket! I have money that is. Europa was where I was heading anyways! And-and." His hands were all over the place, trying to put forth what he was trying to say. He would have continued on like that if Gilbert hadn't interrupted him.

"Calm down! Jeez, its not a big deal. Sure you can come with us. There's enough room in the train compartment cart. You know, it might actually be a good idea for you to come... that way its less likely any one will try to sit next to us." The last part of Gilbert's declaration was too quite for Feliciano to pick up. He was too happy to care.

"YAY! You'll sit by me on the train, won't you Ludwig? Oh! This will be so much fun!" He gave Ludwig an impromptu hug in excitement, not really caring if it was in an awkward position seeing as they were sitting.

"Uh...okay." Ludwig was obviously a bit unsettled by the physical contact, and made it apparent that he wanted it to stop. Feliciano did so, not very bothered, too happy that he was going to go on a trip with everyone. Even if it was only until they reached Central City.

Gilbert, who had been quietly talking with Francis when Feliciano had gotten affectionate, again spoke up.

"Wait. You called Central City "Europa", right? Man! I haven't heard it being called that in ages! Where the hell are you from anyway?" Gilbert didn't give him a chance to speak before moving on to a different subject.

"Whatever. So! Our train leaves at 4:00 today. That should give you enough time to go to the Post Office, West. And um- Feliciano. Why don't you go with him? Francis and I gotta hold au- I mean, met a friend of ours, who will be coming with us. We can all meet back here and head towards the Station 'round 3:00 or something. That sound good to you guys?"

Feliciano gave an excited "Yup!" , while Ludwig simply nodded.

**********

The two of them were walking together along the busy street. Francis and Gilbert had left to meet their friend, and he and Ludwig were currently on their towards the Post Office.

Feliciano liked walking with Ludwig. He was quite, letting him do most of the talking, and allowed him to simply ramble off -something he had not done for a while, since Elizaveta was also a talker, and Roderich didn't think it polite for him to take over the conversation-.

He was just about to go on about how pasta should be served every meal of the day when he heard Ludwig speak up.

"I was just wondering exactly why you were heading towards Central City. If it's not too personal, that is." Ludwig's face didn't change much (in fact, Feliciano had begun to notice that his face always had the same serious look on it) but there was a slightest enough change for him to tell that Ludwig was slightly embarrassed by asking.

Feliciano didn't see how the question was personal, and it was easy for him to answer.

"I'm going to see my brother!" He said cheerfully.

"He lives in Central City?" Ludwig inquired.

"Ve... I don't know."

Ludwig was obviously confused.

"What do you mean? Don't you know where your own brother lives?"

"Not really. That's why I'm looking for him!" He explained further when he saw the lingering confusion of Ludwig's face. "Me and my brother got separated a long time ago. I got picked up and put in an orphanage, and I haven't seen my brother since. So I thought that I would look for him now! I thought Europa- Central City would be a good place to start! Especially if I can go with you guys!"

"Oh... I'm sorry for bringing that up... it must be a painful memory for you." Ludwig did look regretful for asking, but Feliciano didn't feel any pain. He did miss his brother, that was true, but it had happen so long ago that he hardly remembered him.

"Its alright~ It's because of what happened that I met Elizaveta and Roderich!" He was only six or so when he was found on the streets. The children police -people who were temporarily put in charge of collecting all of the orphans left during and after the Fall- had put him in an orphanage with other children like him.

It was there that he had met his family. Although Elizaveta and Roderich were much older then him, all three of them quickly bonded. None of them were adopted during their many years there -there were, after all, hundreds upon hundreds of orphans left after the violence of the Fall. It was the reason why there were "children police" in the first place. Even with families from within and outside the country adopting, there were still many children left without parents-. So as soon both Elizaveta and Roderich turned of age, they signed the papers to adopt Feliciano.

Feliciano began to tell Ludwig about his life with his surrogate family. How they had all worked together to buy a house in a small town not too far from where they were, and the days they spent together. He told him about how Elizaveta could be so gentle one moment, yet become fierce and passionate in the next. How Roderich could play the piano with so much emotion, but was very strict and had a type stiffness when he tried to display his emotions outside of his music. He told Ludwig how much he loved the two of them.

When he ran out of praises for his family and friends, he began to tell him why he had left.

"Well, I'm twenty-one now, and even though I loved living with everyone, I thought it was best I tried to go out on my own. There was something I always wanted to do, something I couldn't do at home. That was to look for my brother! I want to be able to complete my family, and I can't do that without him! I want to be able to eat pasta, cook, and paint and all sorts of things together! So I'm on a quest to look for him!"

Ludwig spoke up then, while also helping to move Feliciano along (he had stopped in the middle of crossing the street to make that last declaration). "Do you remember your brother's name?...I could probably look up his records at the Archives, without much trouble."

He shook his head, though he was glad for the thought. "I just remember what he looks like. He was basically a double of me! So I figured I could probably just travel around and look for someone with my face. I like being able to just travel around! Plus, I would meet tons of interesting people, I mean, I've only just started and I've already met you!" He beamed up at Ludwig, but could not get a good look at his face seeing as it was turned away from him -What? Was he being annoying! He didn't mean to be!-.

It was quite for a moment, as Feliciano grew more and more nervous that he had done something wrong. His nerves were calmed however, when he heard Ludwig speak.

"We're here."

Indeed, they were now standing outside the small building that was the Post Office. As soon as they walked inside they were pushed into the busy crowd of people. For being such a small building, the Post Office was always a place of activity. Especially today, as many people found themselves off from work, and it was common for them to use such free time to send letters and checks back to their families and friends in different cities.

They began to wait in the long line to send Ludwig's notice.

...

...

Feliciano was bored. They weren't doing anything. Ludwig seemed to be able to wait patiently, but Feliciano wanted to do something! There wasn't much to do though, so he began to amuse himself by looking at the people around him -Something he was rather good at, often capturing random people's feelings and thoughts in the paintings he did for fun back at home-.

Everyone else seemed to either be as bored as he was, or angry at the time it was taking for their turn. There was one person that caught his attention the most. He was a tall blond man, who seemed not to care about mail and the like. Instead of standing in line, he was walking frantically around the place eyes wide with panic.

Maybe he's lost something? He could see the man was saying something over and over again, but he couldn't hear it over the noise. He tried to listen closer, but it wasn't until the man walked nearer to where Feliciano was that he heard what he was saying. It was a name! Did that mean he had lost someone?

He wanted to help the man, but he knew that it was probably best to stay by Ludwig (or else get lost like the man's missing person) so he settled to try and look for anyone who seemed lost. Feliciano couldn't see much from where he was, but he begun to notice that there was bump in the curtain that separated the internal part of the Post Office (where the mail was stored and such) from the front. Further inspection made him realize that the bump seemed to move when the man was father away, yet stayed still when he came near.

Ohhh, it's a child! Feliciano thought he must have been as bored as me!

While he didn't blame the kid for trying to entertain himself, the man looking for him was definitely worried.

"Hey! Hey you!" He called out to the searching man, mostly ignoring the questioning look Ludwig was giving him.

At first the man didn't seem to hear him, but after many hand signals from Feliciano, he came over. "Um, Hello?"

"Hi! Are you looking for a little kid? Cause I think he might be over there." He pointed in the general direction of the bump in the curtain, while the man's face widened in surprise (he apparently hadn't thought of checking there yet).

"Huh? Man! How did you know? Thanks!" He then proceeded to run to the whereabouts of his lost kid. After pulling the young boy from the curtain (and after a bit of frustrated yelling) he dragged the newly-found kid back towards Feliciano.

"Thanks man! I had no idea where this guy went of to! His parents would kill me if I lost him... Say, why don't I buy you a beer in thanks?" While the man look thoroughly relieved, the young boy looked very annoyed that he had gotten caught (Woah! Look at those eyebrows! He's would have to try to draw those some time...).

"It's okay!" Feliciano declined the offer, just glad that he had been able to help someone while relieving his boredom. Ludwig by then had been listening, and seemed a little curious as to what exactly had happened.

"Nah, I gotta re-pay ya! I know! You guys are waiting in line to deliver something, right?"

Feliciano nodded as the man continued. "Well, most of my friends work here, so I could just give them whatever you want delivered later. That way you won't have to wait in this god-awful line. What's the address you want it delivered too?"

He couldn't believe their luck! They didn't have to wait in line anymore! Which was a very good thing, for besides waiting in line being incredibly boring, it was also very close to the time they were supposed to meet up with Gilbert and Francis.

While Ludwig began to exchange the factory's address with the other man, Feliciano gave a happy smile to the young boy besides him.

The boy responded by sticking out his tongue.

**********

They arrived back at the house only a few minutes before Francis and Gilbert. The two of them brought their old friend, a pretty girl who was much younger then Feliciano had expected.

The girl almost looked like she was related to Francis, with short and straight hair that was as bright a blond as his (though, he had to admit, blond hair was very common in these parts). Her green eyes and round face, however, seemed to show a distant relation if any at all.

She was very shy, and had a tough time introducing herself to him and Ludwig. "Uh...Hello. My name is Lili."

"Hi! I'm Feliciano! That's Ludwig. It's nice to meet you!" Lili looked a little flustered at first by his exuberant introduction, but quickly warmed up to him. Smiling and nodding while listening to him talk about his day and other random information.

"You guys ready to go?" Gilbert asked, after he finished packing up some of the supplies and clothes for the trip -he usually left such things lying around Ludwig's house for when he visited-.

Feliciano had very few belongings with him, nothing he couldn't carry in the coat that Elizaveta had given him before he had left home. Everyone else, however, had to carry their belongings in traveling bags.

Lili especially seemed to have a lot of baggage, with a large black bag that seemed awfully heavy. Figuring that he didn't have anything to carry himself (and the fact that he could never ignore a cute girl in need!) he offered his help to carry her bag.

"Thank you." She whispered to him, obviously glad to not have to carry the burden.

"I'm sorry to rush everyone, but I am sorry to say that we will miss our train if we do not leave this moment." Francis called out to them, ushering them all out of the house.

Everyone quickly moved along, save for Feliciano, who was having trouble keeping up. The bag was much heavier then he had originally thought, and he realized that he should have thought twice before offering to take such a heavy hassle (strength wasn't his strong-suit after all).

Luckily for Feliciano, Ludwig had noticed him falling behind and had walked back towards him. "Sorry... this is a little heavier then I thought it would be." Feliciano said, trying to laugh it off while feeling bad for making them move slower.

Without so much as a word, Ludwig picked up the heavy bag and (along with his own) began walking again.

"Ve! Thank you Ludwig~" Feliciano began to walk much faster, now that he was unburdened by the weight.

"Just...don't take on too much at once from now on." Ludwig said, as both of them caught up to everyone else.

Thankfully they were able to make it to the Train Station on time without any other problems. They all bought tickets to the same train (Feliciano using money that Roderich had given him, while Gilbert paid for everyone else) and Feliciano was excited to finally enter the train.

It's so big! He thought, happy that he was finally starting his journey. There were many different compartment cars that connected to the train's main hallway, and Feliciano looked on in wonder as Ludwig looked for the one they would all be riding in. Theirs was one of the last on the train, with room enough for six people to sit comfortably in.

Feliciano decided to let Lili claim a seat by the window (ladies first!), sitting down besides her while also saving the seat next to him.

Ludwig had promised him after all, and he would make sure that that promise was kept.

Gilbert sat down on the opposite window seat, with Francis seated next to him. As soon as Ludwig had put away the last of their bags, Feliciano waved him over to the seat besides him. Ludwig obliged, and Feliciano began to talk rapidly to both him and Lili.

"-Hey where did you get that ribbon? It's a really pretty color. Hey Ludwig! Isn't being on a train so much fun? This is my first time-" He continued to babble on as everyone waited patiently for the train to move.

It had been a while, and Feliciano had begun to doze on and off (leaning on Ludwig during his more lucid times, which seemed to make the man slightly uncomfortable though he didn't say anything), yet the train still had not budged.

"Jeez! What's the hold-up!" Gilbert said impatiently, wanting to be off already.

"It's probably just a technical problem," Francis re-assured them. "I'm sure it will be up and running soon enough."

It was then that they all heard the gun-shots.

Authors Note: First of all, MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Sorry, please excuse me, it's my first time leaving on such a very dramatic cliff hanger.

Okay! All I can say for the next chapter is that it will mostly be in Francis' view, and it will be a big game-changer. This is where it starts getting fun!

Just so you know, Lili is Liechtenstein. It's supposedly a very popular fan name, and is also short for her country name and the Lily, which is occasionally the country's flower. Or something like that. Also, Europa is the name of Central City that was used before "the Fall". It is taken from the character from a Greek story from which Europe was named. If any one is curious, the city they are in now is named Amerigo, after the explorer of which the America's were named.

Now before I go and collapse, anyone want to give a guess as to which Hetalian characters showed up un-named in this? There were two :D

See you guys soon!