The British ship docked in London harbor a few days after England's confrontation with Spain and France. Their ship was met with a French one, ready to take the other adult nations and their charges across the channel to carry out the sentence against Spain. On the deck of the French ship was a pale man with ruby red eyes and snow white hair.
Matthew stared at the new man, hiding behind Francis halfway. He hadn't really met any of big brother's friends until now, but he could rather safely assume this was one of them if he was on Francis' ship…
France and the new man beamed and hugged each other, the blond giving the other the customary kisses as a greeting. "Mon cheri! It's so good to see you!" "Hallo Francis! Gut sehen Sie auch!"
England glared at the pair, glancing toward his emptying ship. He still had a chance… If he could sneak away while Francis was busy…
The Frenchman was trying to encourage his little brother to chat with his friend, telling him he really had to socialize more.
Spain was led out by a few of the English crew, glancing at England.
He watched the pair warily for a moment before motioning for the crew members to bring Spain further into the town. If he could hide the Spaniard away he just might get away with this…
They obeyed. Spain looked around, frowning. This wasn't the right way… "FRANCIS! GILBERT! THEY'RE KIDNAPPING ME!" The crew hissed angrily and conked him on the head to shut him up. Romano started cussing the grown men out and screaming until they hit him too. France and Prussia looked over at the commotion in surprise.
Arthur cussed under his breath, grabbing his colony and making a run for his home. Stupid loud-mouthed Latino nations…
Alfred let himself be dragged along, frowning slightly. What had that been about? Why had they started screaming? He didn't ask anything out loud, however.
The Englishman pulled himself and Alfred into his smaller home a ways into town, praying his crew had been able to drag Spain and his underling after them.
Unfortunately, back at the harbor, the French and German sailors had fought the English ones. However, they lost sight of the unconscious Latinos in the fray. Francis started cursing up a storm when he realized some crafty Brit must've carried them off after Arthur.
Arthur grinned when he realized he'd actually won the scrap, moving to help Alfred out of his dirty, sea-tattered clothing and into a set that had been waiting at the home for them.
Alfred complained a fair amount about the clothes. "It's too floofy…" His first mate and the others that had managed to pull the nation and a half away knocked on Arthur's door.
He blinked and hurried over to answer, eyes lighting up at the sight. He ushered them inside quickly. "Are they following you…?"
"Not yet, but here will probably be their first target once they realize they're gone." The man dropped the part of Spain he'd been holding. It landed on the ground with a loud thunk.
The Brit nodded, biting his lip for a moment. "… To the tower it is, then. We can lock him up there." He glanced over at the Spaniard's underling, frowning. "Not him, though. We can… we can have the king watch after him with Alfred…"
The men nodded. "I can take them both to the palace if you'd like, sir. They'll be safe with me."
"Good, yes…" he moved to get Alfred.
Alfred was peeping in from the other room, eyes wide. Those guys looked dead…
He trailed over to the colony, trying to pick him up. "Hey…"
He backed away suspiciously.
Arthur frowned. "Alfred… come on now… we have to go, alright? This isn't time for games."
"What did you do to Spain and Romano?" He asked cautiously. The child certainly had a thing for conspiracy theories…
"They're just sleeping right now, I promise…" he tried again. "You're going to go play with Romano at the palace while I have a word with Spain elsewhere…"
"Why do we have to go to the palace? That place is icky."
"Because that's where I know you'll be safe."
"Why won't I be safe in your house, Iggy?"
"Because the last time I left you to watch yourself you ended up letting Antonio take you away from me." His eyes glinted. "Which we'll talk about later, for the record. Now come on, America…"
He sighed but let England coax him out into the open. He was gonna get caned later for sure…
Britain scooped the smaller boy up into his arms, starting for the castle without another word.
The man carrying Romano accompanied him. The others took Spain and admitted him to the Tower of London.
After dropping Alfred off and explaining to his boss what was going on, Arthur stalked to the dark tower at which he was set to make Spain suffer. It wasn't a matter of what France had to say concerning the matter, he couldn't get away with taking his colony like that. Ever.
Spain was just waking up from his smack induced sleep when Arthur entered his cell.
His eyes darkened, more excited butterflies gracing his stomach than he would have liked. "You said something earlier about how this meeting would be canceled…?"
He blinked blearily. "Hm…? Who's there…?"
"Your old friend, 'Toni… We were here to discuss how things have been recently, remember…?"
"Oh that meeting… No, I cancelled it…" He frowned. "What are you doing, Britain?"
"I'm about to start a sermon~" He glanced around the dim room, where several machines lay waiting hungrily to be used. "I'm just not quite certain how I would like to start…" The Brit sauntered closer, watching Antonio. He had the right build for a few of the larger devices… Oh, but some of the smaller ones could be more fun… "Any suggestions?"
"Ah, something nice and catholic would be best~" Antonio beamed back. "I get yelled at if I listen to anything else~"
He gave a small hum, gaze settling on a small screw-driven set a ways away. A smug smile settled on his face, wandering over and blowing the dust off of it. "This is close enough, I believe…~" He started back for the chained Spaniard. "Don't make this difficult for either of us now… I wouldn't want to have to waste my time getting someone to hold you down…"
He eyed him. "I hope you realize I'll not roll over and let you have your way with me. It's just not going to happen."
He grinned. "I never said that. Of course you won't." He frowned slightly, glancing down at the device in his hands. Perhaps this wasn't the best to start with… It wouldn't immobilize him quite enough… he moved back and got a larger machine with a similar build. Arthur glanced over to measure how well the Spaniard was tied down, as it was clear there wouldn't be much cooperation from him.
Antonio was merely restrained with a pair of handcuffs. He wasn't even buckled to the wall like most were.
The Englishman grumbled quietly. They just couldn't make this easy for him, could they...?
Spain smiled at the man's obvious distaste. "What's wrong, amigo? Not strong enough to hold a bull down?"
"You're no bull." he growled, moving to jerk Antonio's leg into the spiked contraption.
The man jerked his limb away violently.
He hissed angrily, tightening his grip and trying to get it back. "You know, I could have chosen worse..."
With his other leg Spain kicked at the blond. "You could also just let me go~" Even then, in this dark predicament, or perhaps because of it, Antonio refused to take his position seriously. He was a light hearted soul and he'd probably go on smiling even after death.
"Not a chance." He growled. "But if you really don't want your kneecaps gone first..."
"I'd really rather not have anything gone, amigo~!" He laughed. "How long do you think you have until Francis and Gilbert arrive with battalions of soldiers and arrest you~?"
He snarled. "They won't be getting the chance to do much for you, even if they find me." growing irritated, the Brit yanked an iron set of grizzly-looking claws from the wall, swinging at the Spaniard. If he couldn't immobilize him, he'd make him loose blood to the point where he couldn't do anything...
Antonio howled in agony as his flesh was ripped into by the claws. He began thrashing, trying to worm his way away from his captor.
A cruel glint came to the emerald green eyes of the Englishman, grinning with something bordering sadism and complete maniacal joy. He'd been waiting so long to get back at Spain...
"You son of a- England I'll kill you!" He hissed, trying to keep the pain out of his voice. He almost managed it, except for the part where he didn't.
He cackled. "If you ever live to get out of these bloody stone walls~!"
"I'll get out, you filthy bastard! Just watch me!" He howled, beginning to worm at his restraints.
He swept at the man again hungrily, barely noticing the weight growing heavier on his arms. Iron wasn't very light... Oh, but that blood... That scarlet blood that somehow seemed so much more beautiful than any other shade he'd seen... It didn't matter now what happened to him; he felt his purpose in life had been fulfilled.
Spain was knocked sideways with the force of the blow, creating a sickening tearing sound as both his flesh and his clothes were wrent from his bones. He couldn't stop the agonized scream that escaped him.
Another joyous laugh left Arthur's throat, kneeling by the man and placing one of the large paws delicately on the Spaniard's back. "I believe they named this one after you, old chap...~"
Antonio hissed as he felt the points press against his back. "You're a filthy sadist, England..." His normally red coat was now seemingly turning black with his blood; white undershirt an angry red.
"Only towards you~" he pressed a bit harder, studying Spain's expression thoughtfully. "Besides, the same could go your direction. Can you really blame me, for wanting to keep my bright little darling away from a filthy pedophile~?" With that the claws came down again, smacking at Antonio's shoulder blades and slowly dragging down to the small of his back.
The man let out yet another animalistic howl. He couldn't stifle it on anything fast enough and the pain left him unable to respond in any kind of language. His overcoat was irreparable thanks to the Spanish Tickler England had been using.
Arthur set down the weapons he'd chosen, tracing small patterns in the blood on the floor with his finger. Oh, the scraping the Spaniard's bones had made against the blackened metal...~ It was really a shame that he couldn't manage it again...
Spain forced himself to look up at Britain. He refused to let himself be beaten like this. He would fight back to save whatever shreds of dignity or pride he had left.
He grinned back at him, a distant, foggy look occupying his eyes. "I think we're ready for our other little friend now, aren't we~?"
He spat at him. "Like... Like something that's never going to happen, you... You..." Antonio closed his eyes momentarily to regain some strength.
"I'm rather certain I can have my way now~" He got up, retrieving the knee splitter that had been so rudely denied before.
Antonio began attempting to crawl away from him. He couldn't stop fighting. And, it seemed he'd been wrong about the 'smiling until death' thing.
The Englishman grabbed for his victim's ankle, yanking harshly to try and pull him back. "We're not through here..."
Spain snarled as he was pulled, the ground severely irritating his fresh wounds. This was bad...
He slid the contraption up to the Spaniard's joint, uncaring if the spikes happened to scrape him on the way. All the more fun for him~
He thrashed his legs angrily, doing his best to kick Britain and or remove his leg from the machine.
The man hissed angrily, jerking the lever downwards to close the snare's maw. "Oh stop that!"
Antonio grunted as the loop closed around his knee. He did his best to ignore the spikes for the moment and quickly pulled a wad of his coat up to his mouth to bite down on. He didn't want England to have the satisfaction of hearing him scream.
He glanced at the door momentarily before proceeding to tighten the splitter's grip. Once he'd taken out Spain's kneecaps, there would be nothing stopping him from toting him around to view all his other fun toys. Even as he watched his victim writhe he started mapping out their little tour. He wanted Antonio to be able to see for the rack, so they'd probably save the iron maiden for later... And of course, they had to be careful on said rack not to kill him- no, that would be the brazen bull's job, as the nation seemed so fond of the particular animal. Yes, this would be fun...~
The brunet nation stiffened immediately, jaw tightening around the fabric in his mouth. Dios that hurt...! No, he had to be strong and stay calm. What would happen if he didn't stay calm? Oh Dios what would happen to Romano when England got a hold of him!? No. He couldn't let that... His mind trailed into oblivion as pain and blood loss sent him spiraling into unconsciousness.
England snickered, satisfaction taking place in his eyes as he heard the crunch of the weak humanoid joint under him. It was quickly replaced by a frown as he found Antonio no longer paying attention. Was he... sleeping...? "Oy...!"
The man didn't stir, eyes closed gently much like in one's slumber.
He snarled, reaching to grab the Spaniard's shoulders. "Get up y' fat git! We're not through yet!"
The man lolled limply in England's grip. He was deeply unconscious and not likely to wake for awhile...
Arthur growled in frustration, smacking the nation and letting him drop. What a disappointment... They couldn't go on like this; it wasn't any fun if he invoked no reaction...
He hit the floor with a smack and a thunk.
England moved to get the Spaniard bandages reluctantly. No point in letting him die before they were through...
There was a hurried hammering on the door.
He scowled, moving to see who was in such a hurry. "What is it?"
It was England's first mate; one of the sailors that had helped bring Antonio to the dungeons. "Captain, we can't stall the frogs any longer! Them and the German are their way here an' they look out for blood!"
The Brit cussed quietly, glancing back at Antonio. It was probably best to leave him... He started for the door in a hurry, praying his opponents hadn't yet reached the door.
The other man cast a quick glance around inside before leading Arthur out a secret passage. You had to love the Brits if only for their fondness for hidden ways out of a sticky situation.
The Brit started for the castle, eyes narrowed. He had to notify the military and shift the colonies to a safer area...
As the two retreated from The Tower what seemed to be the entirety of the French presence in England or at least in London. They looked pretty angry or at least determined for Frenchmen.
He watched for a moment, unsure what to do. He'd made a giant mistake...
The human at his side tugged his arm. "Let's go, Cap'n. The two like yourself won't follow you but I don't know about that mob. Nobody'd dare attack the palace."
He nodded, casting his gaze downward and shuffling towards the castle quickly. He'd get rid of them... It was just a simple mob, not an army...
The man followed about two paces behind him, looking on edge despite his words.
Arthur was allowed into the castle without a word. Everybody knew him there and, even if they didn't know who he was, they knew he was pretty important and to leave him alone.
Arthur stalked towards the room he was certain the king would have locked away the children in, trying the door.
There was screaming, crying, and as he got closer the crash of something clearly valuable all coming from inside the room.
He frowned, slipping inside. "What's going on...?" He'd forgotten in his haste to change into cleaner clothing...
Lovino and Alfred were fighting. Well... Perhaps fighting wasn't the right word. Lovino, tears of unknown origin streaming down his red cheeks, was verbally abusing the stronger chibi in all the languages he could think to use. Naturally most of it was unintelliable but the insults that were very bad. Alfred didn't seem to understand most of them, but when he caught one he did he'd either kick or punch Lovino like children do. But, the boy was much stronger than other children and even his half hearted hits left bruises on the other.
"Alfred!" the Englishman snapped, eyes narrowing. "Is that any way to treat a guest?!"
Alfred whipped around, looking angry. "Have you heard what he's been calling you, Iggy!? He's bein' a big jerk to you and he won't take any of it back!"
He sighed quietly, moving to separate them. "It's not really a matter to me what he says; it's rightful anger, after all." England tried to pick Romano up. "Now apologize at once. We won't have any violence among us, you hear?"
Both of the boys suddenly spotted the blood on England's clothing. Romano screamed and backed away as quickly as his battered body would allow him to. America's eyes grew huge. "I-Iggy...?" Suddenly he sounded scared.
The man closed his eyes for a moment. Great... "It's alright, everything's okay..."
"But... But that's so much blood... It's more than you had when you were shot..." Those nervous eyes surveyed him in a panic.
"I promise America, everything's fine." he tried to coax Lovino into calming down, cursing himself for failing to change.
Romano refused to let England get near him. "What the hell did you do to Spain you god damned bastard!? Where the fuck is he!? I want the stupid tomato bastard back here right this second, you hear me!?"
"Antonio won't be back for quite a while," Arthur said, trying to keep his tone gentle. It wasn't the child's fault, after all... there was no real need to punish him... "He's left you in my care for now..." his gaze flicked to Alfred, motioning for him to come closer.
Alfred sidled over to his big brother, hugging his leg. Romano let out a terrified laugh. "Like hell he did! He hates your guts! That's the same fucking excuse he used to get those two losers in his grip in the first place!" He pointed accusingly at Al. "He'd never leave me with such a miserable fucking cook!"
He rubbed his colony's back, frowning slightly. "Now now, no need for that kind of language... honestly, I'm sure he's on his way back home right now. Said he needed to have some things done. But I'm sure once he's back on his feet he'll be breaking down my door for you anyway..."
"Fuck you, ass! I'll use whatever kind of language a damn well want!" The boy started shaking uncontrollably, looking almost like he was dancing. "'f he had errands then what the hell were they!?"
Arthur knelt down. "He had to deal with a few problems in his cities. There were a couple uprisings and things aren't looking very well." It was all complete lies, but he had to get on the chibi's better side... He paused for a moment, watching the boy confusedly. "...Are you alright...?"
"Shut the hell up and get off my case, jackass!" He hissed, still trembling. "Boss'd never leave me when he went on travels! Especially not with the likes of you!"
Another sigh left his throat. "Alright, alright... It's clear this isn't going to work very well. The bottom line is, Antonio can't be around to help you out at the moment, so I'm taking the task into my hands."
"I'd rather rot in the streets than stay with you, you stuck up son of a bitch! You and your king and your 'brother' can all go rot in hell!"
His expression fell, growing irritable. "Now you just stop this foolishness; it's uncalled for."
"Uncalled for my ass! You kidnapped me!"
The Brit stood back up, moving to grab the smaller boy. Enough was enough, and he was sick of hearing it. He wouldn't wrack up the nerve to hurt the child, never- but there was just enough in him to want to lock him away for a while.
Romano shrieked as England's hand clamped down on several bruises from Alfred, struggling weakly.
He raised the child to his level, doing what he could to keep him in his arms comfortably. "I think it's about time for bed..."
Romano didn't stop struggling, his continued twitching making him even more difficult to hold. "I'm not sleeping anywhere near here!"
"That's where you're mistaken." He snorted, glancing back at Alfred.
Alfred released England's legs, smiling up at him. Lovino spat at Arthur.
He managed a small smile back before trying to calm Spain's underling. This was going to be more of a challenge than he thought...
"Hey Iggy, can I try to calm him down?" America asked earnestly. "Please?" Romano began flailing, kicking and hitting at England. He somehow managed to keep up a steady stream of curses as he did so.
He blinked in surprise, trying to keep from wincing at a few of the southern colony's blows. "Are... I... ... Alright... no more hitting though, alright? We'll have a talk about that later." He shut the door once more, setting Romano down carefully.
Alfred put Romano in a choke-hold, cutting off his air supply pretty quickly. Lovino went limp before England could have even tried to stop it. America let him go and he fell to the floor with a loud smack. "There."
Arthur let out a startled yelp, kneeling down to make sure his colony hadn't killed the boy. "Alfred...!"
Lovino was alive, though he had another bruise forming. This time around his neck.
Arthur pinched the bridge of his nose before scooping the child up. "Come on then..." It was clear he wasn't through with his rant, though it would have to wait. They needed somewhere safe to stay the night...
Al grinned and trotted after his brother.
The Englishman found them a temporary home where a citizen had recently died, leaving the building vacant. He lit a couple candles and set about getting the children into night clothes.
Alfred changed without complaint, looking excited and pestering Arthur with questions about their 'camping adventure'. Romano remained unconscious.
Arthur managed to get their 'guest' out of his ridiculous dress and into some reasonable clothing, glancing at Alfred without answering most of the questions. "...America."
"Yeah, Iggy?" He grinned at him, not seeming to care that most of his inquirries had been ignored.
He sat down beside the smaller boy. "May I speak with you for a moment?"
"Of course, Iggy~!" The boy beamed.
He moved to pick the boy up. "You know it wasn't nice... what you did to Lovino back there..."
Alfred's face fell. "But he was saying all these nasty things about you and being really rude and all this stuff... He had it coming!"
"I know, I know..." He rubbed his back. "All the same... He'll be living with us for a small while now, and I want to make sure you two don't fight like that anymore..."
He sighed. "Well... Why does he have to stay with us? He's mean to everybody!"
"Because Spain won't be around to take care of him anymore, and I really think if he's disciplined right we can change him." he gave the colony a small hug.
Alfred nestled his head against England's arm. "You're gonna break a lot of birch on his back..." He predicted glumly.
He managed a small chuckle, glancing at Lovino for a few moments. "... Heavens... Alfred, don't ever let me forget again what a good colony you actually are..." If that's what Spain had to deal with on a daily basis... Goodness...
The blond giggled. "Wouldn't dream of it, Iggy~" Mentally he made a note to stop with the mud pies in the prince's bed.
Arthur stood with the boy, moving to put him to bed. "Hopefully by tomorrow we'll be back in our own home..."
Al nodded, letting Arthur tuck him in. "Yeah... This place smells like fish..."
He smiled, rubbing Alfred's shoulder and blowing out the candle. "Good night..."
"G'night, Iggy..." Came the sleepy reply accompanied by a quiet rustling of fabrics.
