It had been a day since Romania's little stunt and it had spread like wildfire around the institute. I for one found it quite annoying; I mean, he shouldn't have gone out alone to fight a dragon himself, but the consequence that followed affected him severely. Romania refuses to leave his room and, from what Moldova tells me, he won't even let him in.

"I'm worried fratele mai mare might be sad...Bulgaria told me that he's not going to speak to him for a while..." he confesses quietly. I frown, but it's barely visible. "I'm scared he'll do it again...

"He won't...Not without us.." I mutter as the man of the hour finally emerges, and he looks AWFUL. "Romania?"

He looks up and blinks. Normally bright red eyes were now dull and lifeless, his hair had lost its shine and he looked paler than usual "...yes...?"

"Are you alright….?"

"...yeah…..I'm ok….." he mutters quietly, trying to force a smile onto his face. Seeing this, I can tell he's in so much pain from last night and from what Bulgaria told him; it affected him so badly he completely shut down.

"Do any of you know where I can find my boyfriend? About this tall and normally eats yogurt~" Romania teased, smirking softly as Bulgaria stood up and ran over to him, tackling the Romanian in a hug.

"Hey, 'Mania~" Bulgaria whispered. I rolled my eyes. Those two were like a "fairy tale" couple. It made me sick.

"One year anniversary~"

"I know~ So what do you have planned?"

"Impatient, are we?"

"Romaniaaaa! Tell me!" Bulgaria whined, causing me to cringe. These two were going to give me a cavity, I swear. Romania swept Bulgaria into a small kiss before leading him off and leaving me alone.

Moldova goes over to his brother and hugs his leg before looking up at him with sad eyes; it reminds me of Iceland when he was younger.

"Big brother….don't be sad. I'm sure Bulgaria will be forgive you!" he chirps, causing his brother to smile a bit.

"Thanks, little man…~" he mutters softly before looking at me. "Well….what's the plan for today, Norge…?" I sigh and shake my head.

"We're going back to the spot you saw that man change into a dragon… You, me, and England…" I tell him. Seeing his eyes spark with that life they once had before going dull again makes my lips twitch with a small smile.

"What time?" He asks, beckoning me into his room; I follow.

"As soon as you get your s**t together…."

"Alright, just let me shower, get actual clothes on, and get food before we go~" He smirks softly. There's the Romania we all know.

^.=.^

After we meet up at the gates, you-know-who comes to give us some supplies in case we need to heal someone.

"Be careful…" Bulgaria nods to us before turning to leave, only to get caught by Romania.

"...I'm sorry…..About last night….please….forgive me…." His eyes were pleading for Bulgaria's forgiveness.

"...I can't, Romania….." He tugs his hand free and leaves, leaving Romania standing there in pain. England places a hand on his shoulder and clears his throat.

"Time to go, Vladimir…." England tells him. I nod and walk off with those two trailing behind.

An hour later we're trudging through the snow and looking for the dragon Romania fought.

"That's him." Romania points at a large white dragon with crimson eyes, scanning the area for any threats. Before his eyes settle on where we were standing, I pull us behind a mountain peak before it can see us.

"Norway, what do we do?" England ask. I stare at him and muster up the courage to say something I never thought I would say.

"We attack. Romania from the right, try to blind him so he can't spot us. England cause something to go off to distract it...I'll try to kill it from there…." I grit my teeth and shake my head "Go!"

Romania sends snow flying up to the dragon's eyes as England fails a spell - not the first time he's failed, but it sends rocks flying and snow, littering the air. I rush in and try to get close to it's chest area, but get flung back by one of its paws.

"ROMANIA, MOVE!" I manage to get out despite being winded and almost out of breath; despite my warning, he doesn't move.

"...How can I?" he mutters. I sit up and shake my head free of snow.

"I MEAN IT, ROMANIA, MOVE!"

"He won't remember me anyway….so why try…?"

"Stop talking like that….Romania, get out of the way!" It's only a matter of time before I stab the dragon in the foreleg to get its attention and he really moves- about time..- and move he does. Romania sprints over to my side and heaves me out of the way of an oncoming breath of fire, only to get slammed into the rocky surface of the wall by the dragon's left paw. Time seemed to come to a halt and every movement, every sound, smell, and taste became nothing but air; the dragon flies off after seeing us frozen there and unable to move.

"Norway…" England glances at me before his eyes avert to our friend, who's still facing the mountains. We both decide to get closer, but to our horror we see that around his facial area on the mountain is covered in blood. His face was frozen in pain and blood had been smeared from his mouth and nose, covering the left side of his face. Words can barely describe how in shock I really am; seeing his neck snapped in the painful position it is made him look as if he has been beaten to death, then thrown against something.

"Romania…..why did you do this….?" I whisper, my gaze darkening as I carefully pick him up with England's help. I flash him that rare smile I give sometimes before heading back to the institute wondering, what will I tell Moldova…?

~Bulgaria's POV~

"Why won't you forgive my brother?" Moldova asks me for about the fifth time today as I sigh and look at him.

"He made a stupid mistake and it almost cost him his life…" I answer finally before hearing the gates reopen and a trio of dragonslayers come back through, I look up from the remaining herbs that weren't covered in debris and stand before realizing who it was. "...Norway….what happened….?"

Norway doesn't look up at me but just keeps walking with someone I hardly recognize until I see the red eyes. Romania…no… I shake my head and follow him and England, only to have someone tug at my pant leg.

"Bulgaria what's going on….?" Moldova looks up at me, curiosity and worry visible in his eyes; I shake my head and smile softly.

"Nothing, Moldova….Go find the other micronations…" With that, I head after Team Dark Woods and start to ask questions. "What happened up there?"

"Just what it looks like….." Norway snaps, his glare looks deadlier than any poison out there. I decide to withdraw on the questions and just do small talk. This resolution lasts until I open my mouth.

"Ok….tell me...how...how did he die…?"

"...Saving me….." Norway whispers. I could hear the guilt and grief dripping in his voice- which is strange because he normally keeps it so well hidden. He catches me off guard with what he says next. "The only time a goodbye is painful...is when you know,"- his voice chokes a bit- "you'll never say hello again..."

I stand there in shock before feeling a sharp pain in my head. What now...?

I walked up to Romania and put my arms around his neck, surprising him.

"Hey you, why are you out here~?" Romania purred, turning to look at me with that smile of his that could instantly make anyone smile.

"I wanted to see you~" I smiled. "You seem to be working pretty hard, thought you could use a break." The sun was beating down on the open arena and seeing as we were both in long sleeved shirts and coats, it was a problem.

Romania groaned and slid out of my grip before stripping out of his long coat and shirt, leaving him in only his pants and boots; I had to look away to conceal the fact I was blushing.

"Mania?" I asked him.

"Yes?"

"MUST YOU STRIP IN THE OPEN?"

He started to laugh and nodded. "Why of course, my love, did you not enjoy the show?"

I shake my head again and sigh softly.

"What's happening to me...?" I wonder to myself aloud.

~Norway's POV~

This was my fault; Romania's death was my fault. Germania, Rome, and Scandinavia stand there in shock when we tell them what had gone down at the mountains.

"...We'll hold his funeral tonight..." Scandinavia tells England and me, her blue eyes glazed over in a slight fury, but grief can also be seen in them if you looked closely.

"I see..." England nods. "Estonia's trying to hold the infirmary together..."

"So what are we going to do now?" I ask as we slowly head to the dorms.

"What?"

"You know we aren't allowed to do anything except in groups of three… And now Team Dark Woods is down to two."

"... Does this mean we'll have to work with Greece?" England turns to me, silent for a moment, with a look of fear on his face. "He'll just spend all day sleeping and playing with his cats!" he added after a few minutes of silence.

"We don't have any other options. Italy, Romano, and Spain are a team, and so are Switzerland, Hungary, and Finland… And I'm not going to try to get Lithuania to leave Russia, Denmark, and Germany. Russia's made it clear he won't allow that." I don't suggest that we could raise one of the trainees to full dragonslayers; they're all either too young or too inexperienced to be fighting dragons.

"Let's not think about this until later," England murmurs. I feel a flash of guilt for even thinking about replacing Romania, my friend and teammate, before we even held his funeral.

"You're right... I'll see you in a few hours, England," I mutter, turning around and going to my room.

~(/)~

I stand outside the dorm entrance, waiting for England. The sun had already set thirty minutes ago. The air is slightly chilly with wind from the mountains and the stars look especially bright. Romania would have loved this.

"Hey, are you ready?"

Turning around, I see England in a nice black suit, just as I am.

"Ja. Let's go," I mutter.

We walk in silence. Other dragonslayers can be seen trailing with us nearby. They keep their distance, giving us space to mourn our fallen friend.

Approaching the forest clearing only known to us dragonslayers, we gather around the large rock set in the center. Circular, large, and unnaturally smooth, the top is Romania's last resting place, his flag draped over. Up above, the clear sky twinkles with welcoming stars.

Germania takes his place in front of the stone as we all gather together. Rome and Scandinavia are nearby, holding twin torches. Germania clears his throat. "Eine Stunde ohne Schmerzen ist bedeutungslos. Für Sie kann nichts ohne etwas anderes im Gegenzug Abstriche zu gewinnen , aber wenn man es überwunden zu haben und machte es Ihr eigenes ... Sie werden eine unersetzliche Vollmetall Herz zu gewinnen."

A sob sounds in the crowd.

"Norway, England. Come forward."

We walk towards him, and he holds out the torch, but we refuse it. Knowing Romania and Team Dark Woods, we do things by magic.

"...Vladimir didn't die in vain. He died protecting-" I can't finish my sentence as England continues for me, seeing the guilt I tried to hide in my eyes.

"Vladimir protected Norway from death, even as he tried to protect Vladimir himself...but the price of freedom wasn't easy… It was difficult and…" England hesitates before continuing, "We fought together, laughed together...Vladimir wasn't just our friend….he was more than that...He was family….and….I hope...when he's in the stars….he'll shine..like he always has…."

"It's time." Germania steps back to join Rome and Scandinavia.

Together, England and I cast a fire spell on Romania. We watch the fire with its purple glow characteristic of magic fires as it burns brightly and turns Romania's remains and his flag into ashes, which float away. A wisp of silvery smoke drifts upwards, to the stars, where Romania's soul would finally find peace.


A/N: ahahahahaahhahahahahaha- MURDER 8'D

*points* definition of evil right there

I think I'm going to cry. ;3; (CURSE YOU ROSEH.)

well I AM the feels master~ uwu and I'm very proud of that title….

Translation for what Germania said (quote from the creator of fullmetal Alchemist): A lesson without pain is meaningless. For you cannot gain anything without sacrificing something else in return, but once you have overcome it and made it your own...you will gain an irreplaceable fullmetal heart.

We all did this togetherrrrr but if you want to kill someone kill our French person 'cause she killed Romania…

W-we stirr rove you, Roseh-senpai senpai desu desu~! It's j-just… *USES COUCH AS BARRIER*

OAO WHY ME?!

B-because you're our faburous feers master. uwu :'3

Arrivederci until next chapter~ And please review, fav and follow!