Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia or Twilight.

A/N: So ja, this one I wanted to get up fast as an apology for the last chapter taking three weeks. C:

And I've decided to start posting these fics on my LJ, the link to which can be found on my profile paaaage! L'honhonhon! /shot

I hope you like it, there's only one more chapter planned for after this ^.^ I hate cliffies, so -happy flail- y'all don't get any here! /shot

Um, I'm a dumbass and forgot to say that the prizefics are getting done. Stargazer, yours is gonna take a little longer because I have to do some history work, but it's funnn :D Lumoa, Pomo (who, by the way, did FANART. GO CHECK IT OUT, LINK ON MAH HOMEPAEGGG), yours are in the making! :)

Chapter 9 - bastard, come save me already!

The drive was long, painfully uneventful, blindingly sunny, and - I already said it was boring as fuck, right? plugged her iPod into the MP3 jack and blared pop music the whole ride, though Roderich looked a bit annoyed at her playlist. They held hands for most of the drive, like the sappy dorks they were.

I didn't think Ludwig would really have believed my story - that staying with Antonio would tie me to Forks, and who wanted to live in such a nasty town? - but he probably would have called Mom in Italy. I thought I should call him too, just to make sure he wasn't spazzing and calling the mafia and...well, whatever else hyperactive Italian parents did when their kids bounced.

"Hey, Mom, it's me...I'm not in Forks, duh, but I'm fine. Don't worry about coming down to Phoenix, God knows I don't need you spazzing out all over me."

Liz laughed lightly from the driver's seat and said, "I think your mom will still fly down."

"Probably." I slid my phone shut and dropped my head back against the seat. "Are we there yet?"

"Almost. We'll be staying in a hotel, to make your scent trail a bit less obvious," replied Roderich.

"Is Mask still following Antonio?" I asked, gripping the back of the front seats and pulling myself closer to hear better. "The tracker guy?"

"He is, but I don't know how long this will keep him away." Liz didn't sound too worried, really, but her brow furrowed.

The drive from Forks to Phoenix is around 25 hours if you drive at the speed limit. Liz, however, could hear police radios when they were close, and slowed from her 120-average to 60mph whenever we approached a cop car. I had no doubt at all that, even if we were pulled over, Liz or Roderich would be able to "convince" the cop to leave us alone.

There was absolutely nothing to do but sleep and text people, and after a few hours even that got boring. Liz pulled over several times for me to eat and whatever.

At some point, I fell asleep again, and Liz woke me up when we reached the hotel, some huge one with a nameplate too high up for me to read. I yawned as we got out, and smiled at the brightness outside.

"I bet you missed the sun," Liz giggled as she unlocked the rented room. The two of them had had me climb into the front and drive under the awning so they could get off and check out the suite without getting caught sparkling under the sun, and I'd parked before walking over to meet them. The sun felt great, especially after so much time spent under a cloud.

The room was large, with a long sofa in front of a coffee table and a television across the room. Liz and I flopped down onto the couch; I grabbed the remote and turned on the screen. "Top 20 okay?" I asked, turning on VH1.

I turned to look at Liz when she didn't respond. Roderich had flitted over and put a piece of paper on the table and a pen in Liz's randomly moving hand; she gripped it and started sketching out something onto the paper.

"The tracker," she gasped, "he figured it out..."

She was drawing something, but I for the life of me couldn't figure it out. "What the hell? Is she possessed?" I asked Roderich.

He shook his head. "Liz's visions are subjective. Different decisions have different outcomes. The tracker's new choices are leading him to a...is that a dance studio?"

Liz lifted her hand off the paper and I picked it up. It was a dance studio, and I recognized it. "It looks like the place I used to take classes at. The arch..."

"Is it here in Phoenix?" she asked.

"Yeah."

My cell phone rang right about then, and I slid it open. "Antonio?"

"The tracker's heading down to Phoenix. Gilbert, Arthur and I are coming to meet you three. From there I'll take you somewhere, just us, until the others can take care of Sadiq." He sounded strained, but warm.

"A-and Ludwig?"

"Francis and Nat went back to Forks to protect him. The Egyptian pretty much vanished."

"How long will it take you to reach us?"

"A few more hours, we're crossing into California right now."

"Che... Antonio?"

"Yes?"

I swallowed and mumbled, "love you." Liz cooed happily.

There was silence, before I practically heard him grinning. "I love you too, mi tomate!" he sang, making kissy noises through the phone (actually, those were probably Gilbert). "I'll see you soon!"

I faintly heard Arthur screaming for Antonio to slow down, and Gilbert reminding him that since they were indestructible and could sense cops, nothing would happen.

I smiled a little - er, scowled, and hung up.

"That was so cute~!" sang Liz, glancing up from her phone. "Almost as cute as this! Come on, let's watch!" Before I could argue or ask what she wanted to watch - I was pretty sure it included two guys kissing or, knowing her, doing other certain unmentionables - she had jumped up and plugged her phone's USB cord into the DVD player. Dance music - a fast-paced tango - started up.

"H-hey, is that me and Antonio?"

My cell rang again several hours later, when Liz and Roderich were down in the lobby renting the suite for another couple of days. The ringing woke me up, but the caller ID said 'Home' so I answered.

"Fuck, I was sleeping!"

"Lovi? Vee~ Lovi, where are you?"

"Mom, damn it. Why'd you go home? I told you nothing was -"

"Nope, nothing's wrong. Not yet, anyway."

I blanched.

"F-fuck, how did you - how -"

"My darling Gupta dropped by Forks High School. You'll find that he can be very persuasive."

Swallowing hard, I gripped my phone tighter. "G-god, shit, don't hurt him!"

"I think we can make a trade," said Mask in an offhanded tone. "Perhaps...you for your mother, as you call him?"

"W-where do you want to meet?" It didn't take long for me to decide. Even when I ran with my mafia, Mom's safety was a top priority to me. Just 'cause I'm nice.

"How about your old dance studio," suggested the bastard on the other line. "Tarantella, hmm? Well, come alone or the deal's off. I'll know if you bring anyone."

I blinked. "You want me to get away from -"

"From your friends, evet."*

Wouldn't Liz see me making my decision to go? I didn't really know how her visions worked, so I couldn't make any assumptions, but it sounded like she would at least see where I was going.

"It's your decision." There was a clicking as Mask hung up the phone.

I pulled my handgun out of my bag. From there, it took me a few minutes to get my stuff together, and then I dashed downstairs and into a taxi as fast as I could.

I'd had to look up the address of the studio up on my phone, but I gave it to the driver. He looked surprised at the address but drove off anyway in the needed direction.

"Place has been closed for years," he said with a slight chuckle. "Meant for demolition soon."

I smiled worriedly.

Well, I'm not an emo bastard, so I'd really never thought much about how I would die. Maybe a mafia hit, or something stupid like tripping out a fourth-story window. I didn't exactly want to die, either, but, well...dying in the place of someone I loved was probably a pretty good way to go out.

Unless Mask had plans of tearing me apart limb from limb. Then that would suck big time.

Fifteen minutes and forty-five bucks later, I climbed out of the taxi and slowly pushed open the studio door.

It was silent inside; neither Mask or my mother were anywhere in sight. I stepped in and called out for my mom tentatively.

"Lovi? Vee~ Lovi, where are you?"

"Mom! Are you okay?" I shouted, running towards the voice. "Mom?"

"Oh, there you are. Why are you in here?"

I froze, confused until I heard a response from another voice - a voice which was my own, maybe ten years ago judging from the higher pitch.

"Dammit, Mamma! I hate dancing and my feet hurt!"

"Vee~ but you're so good at it!"

"So?"

It was a fucking home video. Not my mother. A goddamned recording; that asshole had tricked me!

I gripped the gun harder as I heard a chuckle from somewhere behind me. Spinning, I gasped at the man standing there. He held a camcorder in one hand.

I wished he had come in a...a tutu...or...something. Would've at least given me a laugh before I kicked the bucket.

But noooo. Not only was the douche an assassin, but he had to dress like one too. Bastard.

"Oh, you came," he crooned. I saw a red light on the camera blinking as he zoomed, probably onto my face. "I didn't know if my trick would work, but looks like it did~"

"Bastard!" I shrieked, lifting the gun and firing. The bullet cracked into his marble skin, forming a small crater that apparently didn't bother him because he just growled and reached up to yank the metal out. The crater in his throat kind of popped back up, and I aimed to shoot him again.

He moved so fast, vanishing and reappearing right in front of me. He grabbed the gun and made to crunch it when I shot a hole clean through his palm.

Again, he didn't seem to be hurt and the telltale cracking of his skin reforming itself around the gape (which I assumed must have been pretty damn annoying to have in your palm) resounded in half a second, but he hissed as I tried running.

It wasn't as if I got far. He jumped in front of me and backhanded me hard enough to send me slamming into a pillar across the room. My head cracked against the stone and I felt blood dripping down my temple.

Icy hands grabbed my shoulders and flipped me over.

"Aw, how sad," Mask snickered, teeth bared in a feral grin and crimson eyes glittering with malice. "Does it hurt?"

"Fuck yes, it does," I choked through gritted teeth.

"Then tell your dear Antonio how much!" he cackled.

I sputtered. "He's not 'my dear' anything!"

"Sure he's not."

There was a loud cracking as Mask stomped on my knee. I've got such a high pain tolerance that I didn't even shriek. My leg, when I felt composed enough to glance at it, was bent in an unnatural position at the knee. I felt more pain stab up my thigh.

It hurt like a bitch, and I slammed my fist against the ground. I could taste blood in my mouth from biting my tongue so hard. "F-fuck!"

"Tell him," the tanned vampire said with a barking laugh. He ground my knee against the floor and I whimpered in pain. "Tell him!"

Something connected with his face, and sent the bastard flying across the room. I looked up - and it was raining on my face, which was why everything was so hazy. But Antonio's face, blurry or not, was a welcome sight. And that's only because I'd spent the last few minutes with Mask's ugly face, not because Antonio was insanely gorgeous.

"Took you long enough, bastard," I sniffled. He crouched in front of me, reaching out and kissing my forehead.

"I'm sorry, Lovi," he said with a strained smile, standing and turning to face the other vampire. "But let me just finish up, okay?"

"Don't get his hopes up, Antonio," laughed the brunet across the room. Mask's mask had shattered from the impact, revealing a strong nose and sculpted face behind it. He was in an offensive position, legs bent at the knees and his body crouched over enough to allow him fast movement. Antonio stood straight and proud, fingers twitching slightly and a mad grin stretching across his face. I shuddered; it was the expression he'd worn when he'd sav - er, stopped me from beating those thugs half to hell, but more violent.

The two flew towards each other at about the same time, and I swear to God I expected nastily animated Japanese words to pop up out of their attacks. Nothing happened, of course, except for some early demolition, until Maskless kicked Antonio into a window before grabbing me and hurling me into a mirror. Why was this guy so fucking violent?

I was a bit disoriented and didn't feel the giant sliver of mirror digging into my thigh until I tried to move. Some old biology lesson told me to leave the glass where it was, stoppering the blood flow albeit being pretty damn painful. Before Antonio could jump down from where he was, Maskless had grabbed my wrist and raised my arm, staring straight at Antonio before biting down.

It didn't hurt much more than, like, getting pricked by a needle, and I pulled my arm back to me. Antonio shouted, "No!" and then the pain hit me like a tidal wave, fire spreading from the bloodied bite mark on my arm. It felt like I was holding my arm above a candle, except that the candle temperature was closer to molten silver than burning wick.

I shrieked and waved my arm frantically. If it were an actual blaze, the fire would've gone out; since it was pain spreading through my blood, not much happened. If anything, the pain spread faster.

And yeah, it was a bit preoccupying. I didn't notice when Liz, Roderich, Gilbert and the doc arrived, or when Liz held me down to yank the glass skewer out of my thigh. I was more than a little pissed when I realized that I'd missed the whole killing scene. At some point, Antonio had pinned Maskless down long enough to tear his arm off, and then the others had come. After tying a tourniquet with her belt, Liz ran over to Roderich and Gilbert, while Antonio skidded to a stop in front of me. His shirt was ripped beyond repair and he looked a little worse for wear, but probably not nearly as bad as me.

"Lovi!" he muttered, taking my arm and lifting it to examine the bite. "He bit you?"

"N-no shit!" I choked out. "B-burning!"

"It's the venom," I could hear the doc saying. "Suck it out, if you don't want your boytoy to become one of us."

I squeezed my eyes shut in pain, and faintly heard Antonio whispering to me. Then I felt icy lips on my forearm, and a strange pulling sensation before I blacked out.

When I opened my eyes again, it was to the annoying beeping of a hospital respirator.

My mother's worried face was the first thing I saw, though, and I jerked back, regretting the action almost immediately. That uselessly broken leg still hurt like nothing else.

"L-Lovi!" he bawled, reaching up to rub at the fat tears rolling down his cheeks. "Vee! I-I w-was so w-w-worried! D-don't you ever, ever do that to me again!"

I smiled a little, wincing at the pain. "I'm sorry, Mom..."

He sighed and reached out to stroke my face, sniffling as he did so. "You're okay, though?"

"Yeah." But... "What happened?"

Mom blinked in shock. "You don't remember?"

I shook my head.

"W-well...you showed the famous clumsy Vargas nature, vee. You were in a hotel here, and went over to see Antonio and Doctor Kirkland, and you tripped! Down two flights of stairs, out a window, and onto a rose bush, vee..."

Giving myself a once-over, I decided that I certainly looked like I'd gone through that. I remembered quite clearly, though, the raging fire and the stench of burning vampire remains; I could remember the blistering pain from the venom, and the look on Antonio's face when he found me.

I had asked Mom to go get Ludwig, who was in the cafeteria. I wanted to apologize for what I'd said, and I also wanted to take the time to speak to Antonio.

Antonio had entered as Mom left, in clean clothes and with a cheery smile that slipped a little as he entered the hospital room. He sat on the edge of the bed, reaching with one hand to cup my cheek as he leaned in to kiss me. "I thought..."

I scoffed. "Yeah right. You don't think, and it's not like you were worried. Liz would've seen me alive."

He laughed, and no, I did not smile at the sound! "She did, but her visions can change..."

I groaned, and my hand covered his. Damn gremlins. "Italians are resilient, don't you know?"

"But what if you hadn't survived? I was so afraid that we were too late..."

"Well, you weren't," I replied. "So don't think about what could have happened. Be useful and go get me something to eat."

Antonio grinned, that energetic beam back one hundred percent, and leaned in to kiss me.

A/N: OH MAI DEAR LORD UP HIGH, CAN YOU BELIEVE I'M ALMOST DONE? There's an epilogue, and then a week or so's time to plan out the New Moon parody, the first chapter of which can be expected Sunday morning.

Thank you guys so much for reading ; ;

And thank you to Lily Winterwood, baby doll, you've saved my life so damn much! Guys, be dears and go read her EPIC Hetalia/Harry Potter crossover, "Blurring House Lines". It's SO GODDAMN GOOD.

Thanks again! :'D