Chapter 9: Field Trip

April 10, 1942

Ludwig felt something kicking at his bed. "Cut it ouuuuuut. Stop it."

Wake up!" Klara said. She kicked at her big brother's bed again. "Wake up, Lazywig!"

"'s not my name," Ludwig mumbled into his sheets. "And you know it."

"You've gotta get up, bruder," said Klara. "Remember what day it is?"

Ludwig sat up with a jolt. "Friday! The tenth! THE FIELD TRIP!" He jumped out of bed, pushed Klara out of the room and got dressed. Then Ludwig ran to the kitchen, dining room and wolfed down a breakfast of eggs, sausage, milk and toast.

"Wes! Up, up!" Gilbert said. He reached out to his big brother with both hands and smiled.

"Good morning, Gilbo," said Ludwig. He picked up his baby brother and messed his hair up.

Elise checked the clock. "Lui, it's almost 8:30. Shouldn't you and Klara be heading to school?" She then handed Ludwig and Klara two tins. "Here. Don't forget your lunches."

"Oh, right," Ludwig replied. He set Gilbert in Elise's lap, then gave his mother a hug. He and Klara both took their lunches. "See ya later. Come on, Klara."

"Coming," said Klara. She hugged Elise and Gilbert, then followed Ludwig out of the house and to school.


"Okay, Klara, I'll see ya later," said Ludwig.

"Bye," said Klara.


Ludwig ran up to Feliciano and Kiku, taking his place with them among the rest of his year 3 class.

"Where are we going?" Feliciano asked.

"To see some monuments, or something like that," said Kiku.

"Cool," said Ludwig.

A teacher came out. "Okay, bambinos, for our trip, we're going to see some of the many monuments in Venice. Now, I want you all to form into groups of three or four. And make sure to stick with your buddies, and don't get lost. Most importantly…no talking to strangers. If you do happen to get lost, find a police officer, or another trustworthy adult, and stay with that person until they can find me. Okay?"

"Yes, maestra," the children said.

"Alright, then," said the teacher. "Andiamo!"


The teacher and children went on a double-decker bus and went to a lot of the sites and monuments throughout Venice. The Little Axis stuck together like glue.

"Feliks, Toris," said Ludwig. "Hi."

"Like, hey," said Feliks.

"Hello," said Toris.

"Who's your member?" asked Kiku.

"Nina Tucker," said Toris.

Nina waved to Ludwig, Kiku and Feliciano.

"H-H-Hey, N-N-Nina…" said Ludwig. He felt his face turning red and turned to look out the window.

"What's with him?" asked Nina.

"Dunno," Feliks said and shrugged.


The bus stopped when the class got to their next destination: Ca' Vendramin Calergi, which was located on the Grand Canal.

Two tour guides, Mayuri and Nemu Kurotsuchi, were leading the kids around.


"Yaaaahhhh! Stop it!" Feliciano cried.

"Feli, what's wrong?" Ludwig asked as he and Kiku fell behind the rest of the class.

"Viktor keeps hitting me!" Feliciano said.

A little boy from Bulgaria by the name of Viktor Krum was hitting Feliciano on the head with a stick. Two other kids from his group were watching. One of them was laughing, while the other was trying to get him to stop.

"Viktor, quit hitting Feli!" said Ludwig. "Besides, don't you know Bulgaria, Germany, Italy and Japan are allies, idiot?"

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Viktor said offhandedly. "But something about Pasta Boy's face made me want to hit him so bad."

"You better keep your stupid stick away from Feli!" Ludwig said as Viktor made a move to hit Feliciano on the head again.

"Hahahahahahahaha!" Viktor cackled as he chased poor Feliciano around in circles.

"Stop it right now!" Ludwig and Kiku yelled. They grabbed a hold of Viktor and held him back.

Nemu came up to the kids. "What's going on here?"

"N-Nothing," said Viktor.

"You're lyiiiiing," Mayuri said in a mock singsong voice. He got in Viktor's face, showing his teeth and scary-looking, black-and-white-painted face. "Tell us the truth, little boy. Or face the consequences. And believe me, you won't like the "consequences" in store for little boys who lie to their elders."

"He was picking on Feli," said Ludwig.

"Was he now?" said Mayuri. "That's not very nice, kid."

Viktor shook in his shoes as he and his two buddies went back to the class, along with the Little Axis. Mayuri and Nemu went back to the front of the group, explaining the history of the Ca' Vendramin Calergi.


"Ca' Vendramin Calergi was home to many prominent people," said Nemu. "It was also the place where the composer Richard Wagner died."

"And," Mayuri added, setting a spooky tone for the lesson. "It is said that Wagner wanted so badly to stay here in this world, that he remained here in spirit and became a Hollow. Rumor has it that Wagner still haunts this place to this day…as a Hollow!"

The kids all screamed and latched onto their teacher and each other.

"Lui, Kiku, I'm scared," said Feliciano.

"Signore Kurotsuchi, please don't tell that story," the teacher said in a frightened manner. "Y-You're scaring the children…and me!"

Nemu looked at Mayuri out of the corner of her eye.

"Fine, fine," said Mayuri. "I won't tell the story. But it's true! I swear! I saw Wagner as a Hollow myself!"

Ludwig, Nina, Feliks and Toris rolled their eyes. "Riiiight."


After the field trip, the Little Axis headed home.


"Hey, son," said Claus. "How was your trip?"

"It was…good," Ludwig said. "The tour guides were a little scary, especially that Mayuri guy."