Thanks to Mehloveshorror, Zaaze, ThisIsTheEarth, Amethystfairy1, ScandinavianTrash, NekoRyuuKo, Adorable Reader and Under Celestial Stars for reviewing.

Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia.

Chapter 10

Lovino walked back downstairs with a perplexed frown on his face. He didn't understand Vlad's last statement. After thousands of years of fear, why was it suddenly happiness that summoned his wings? What had changed?

Well, the only thing he could think of was meeting them and having to train them. But most of the others didn't even trust him yet. It couldn't be that.

Lovino was brought out of his thoughts when he felt fire erupting along his shoulder blades. It wasn't pain, but… Actually it was worse than pain.

It was an itch.

A brutal itch that stretched across his entire upper back, focusing especially on the shoulder blades. He gasped as he fell against the wall, and he started to brush his upper back against it, hoping that it would cause enough friction to scratch his back.

No, it didn't work. He needed something else.

He stumbled down the stairs, reaching one of the doorways. He opened the door and started scratching his back against the doorframe. He sighed when he couldn't feel the discomfort anymore, and started to go down again.

Only for it to come back with a vengeance.

He instinctively reached back to scratch, but it wouldn't quite reach his entire back. And it was getting worse and worse.

"FUCK!" he shouted.

…

When the others heard Lovino shout they grew worried. And suspicious.

"What's that thing doing to him now?" Alfred asked.

Feliks sighed.

"Vlad's not a…"

Before he could finish, the others had already ran out of the room. Feliks rolled his eyes before he followed after them.

They found Lovino on the first floor landing, acting bizarre. He was trying to reach his back, to no avail.

"What's wrong?" Feliciano asked.

"My fucking back…" Lovino muttered.

Feliks sighed, before walking over towards Lovino. His fingernails elongated, becoming talons, which he used to scratch Lovino's back.

Lovino sighed in relief as he seemed to melt into the phoenix's attention. But soon it stopped, and he was cursing again.

"Bring them out," Feliks said. "It's totally the best cure for the itch."

"Bring what out?" Marcello asked.

The group was startled as Marcello's question was answered. They stared at Lovino's wings, and the latter sighed in relief.

"Like, yeah," Feliks said. "Like, it'll happen the first dozen or so times. You need to let the wings in and out, otherwise it'll totally itch up a storm."

"Would have been nice if Vlad told me about it," Lovino said.

"Like, Vlad tends to forget that one."

The others stared in awe at the wings. Whenever they tried to touch them, they would shrink away, almost as though they didn't want to be touched.

"So, this is what Vlad was teaching you?" Matthew asked.

"Si," Lovino said.

"Dude," Alfred said, "it's kind of… cool."

"Ve, can you fly?" Feliciano asked.

"Preferably not," Feliks said. "Like, unless Vlad shows you how to fly, it's best not to try. Like, bad things happen if you try to fly before you're ready."

"Like what?" Alfred asked.

"Like, ever heard of Icarus?"

"Um, no?"

Feliks sighed.

"Like, somehow, that totally doesn't surprise me," Feliks said. "Like, he flew too close to the sun and got burned. Like, how's that for a summary?"

"Vlad warned me too," Lovino said. "I still need to get used to this. If any of you bastards need me, I'll be outside."

Lovino retracted his wings and walked off, but he didn't manage more than ten steps when he cursed again and was forced to let those wings out.

The others stared after him.

"I want wings," Alfred said. "It'll be so cool! I can fly like a superhero!"

"You do know that you need to trust Vlad to teach you, right?" Jason asked.

Alfred's face twisted, and the others chuckled at the conflicted expression.

All except for Feliks, who looked upstairs. He had a feeling that he needed to check on Vlad. So he started ascending the stairs.

…

Vlad was perusing the journal again when he heard Feliks approaching. He sighed, looking up as the phoenix entered the room.

"Like, how did it go?" Feliks asked.

"You already saw the results," Vlad said. "I could hear everything."

"Like, not what I meant," Feliks said, leaning against the wall. "Like, which emotion did you use?"

Vlad sighed.

"Fear," Vlad said. "I tried happiness first, but his body doesn't want to cooperate with that. I told him to think of those vampires and what they did to him."

"Like, are those old vampires or like the newer ones?" Feliks asked.

"Old ones. The Bad Touch Trio."

Feliks's eyes widened, and his mouth formed an 'o'.

"Like, if you want, I can totally find them and incinerate them."

Vlad simply shook his head, looking towards where a window would be.

"He's outside," Vlad said. "Ever since his escape, he hasn't had much chance to simply bask in the sunlight. That's where he should be."

"Like, so should you," Feliks said. "Like, you know as well as I that…"

Vlad raised his hand, his eyes narrowed. He could hear footsteps, slightly hesitant but confident. They were coming towards them.

Feliks must have noticed this too, for he poked his head out of the door.

"Like, hi Matt," Feliks said. "What are you doing here?"

A moment later Matthew came into view, looking towards Vlad with a nervous expression.

"Um," Matthew said, "could I… maybe… like Lovino?"

Vlad smiled.

"Sure," Vlad said. "We also need to work on your invisibility problem."

"Like, I'll be outside if you need me," Feliks said, before he walked away.

"Alright then," Vlad said, standing up. "You can come closer. I'm not going to bite."

Matthew bit his lip before he did as told.

"Alright," Vlad said. "To summon wings, you need to use your emotions. Any emotion that's dominant in you at the moment. I prefer to teach you guys to use happiness, but things don't always go the way we want them to."

"W-which emotion did Lovino use?" Matthew asked. "Do you know?"

Vlad sighed.

"Da. I do. It was fear. He's still afraid of the vampires that captured him."

"He doesn't want to talk about it. Do you know anything about it? Anything that we should know?"

"That is for Lovino to decide. And he didn't tell me. I was curious and, well… Anyway, do you think you can muster a happy memory? Something that makes you want to burst from happiness?"

Matthew looked down, before he shook his head. Vlad sighed.

"I kind of figured you'd be the more passive type," Vlad said. "Feliks said you're a guardian angel. Fine then. We'll go that way. A technique that guardian angels can use is to think about those that they want to protect. Anyone fit that description?"

Matthew nodded.

"My friends and family," he said.

"Alright then. Just imagine you have wings that you're holding as a shield around your loved ones. Shouldn't be too hard, if you've seen birds do it before."

Matthew focused for a moment, and Vlad let out a delighted clap of his hands when the other revealed his wings.

"Excellent," Vlad said. "Not so hard, is it?"

"You're right," Matthew said. "You know, I thought that this would be difficult. You're a great teacher."

Vlad shook his head.

"Nu," he said. "You've had the potential all along. You just didn't know it yet. Now, I think that's it for now. You need to focus on bringing them out at whim, and especially when necessary. Practice often."

"And don't try to fly," Matthew said. "Feliks already gave that warning. And I think there was something you forgot to mention."

Vlad looked confused, and Matthew laughed.

"You forgot to mention that they're going to itch," Matthew said.

"I always forget that one," Vlad said. "Probably because I…"

Vlad shook his head, and Matthew cocked his head.

"Hey, Vlad?" Matthew said. "If you don't mind my asking… What exactly did that demon do to you to make you become a vampire?"

Vlad sighed.

"He tricked me, and that set off a chain reaction that caused me to become this."

"Were… were you human before? I'm sorry, it's just… with all these supernatural things going on… I thought…"

"It's okay," Vlad said. "No, I wasn't human. But you wouldn't believe me if I told you what I used to be. But it's in the past now. I can never go back. It's been made clear to me by pretty much everyone that I know."

Matthew bit his lip.

"Why exactly are you helping us?" Matthew asked. "I mean… what do you get out of this whole thing?"

Vlad smiled.

"Let's just say, I've always had a soft spot for Nephilim," Vlad said. "That, and I was promised something I've been missing."

"And that is?"

Vlad looked behind him, towards the wall, and sighed.

"The chance to walk around in the sunshine again."

…

The rest of the humans were back in the living room. It was quiet among them. But the quiet would be broken by either Alfred or Feliciano.

Turned out to be Alfred.

"So," Alfred said, "are we going to do that? With the wings?"

Jason sighed.

"In case you hadn't noticed, Matt already went," Jason said.

"Why does Mattie and Lovi trust that guy?" Alfred asked.

"Because he hasn't given us reason not to," Marcello pointed out.

"He's a vampire."

"One that protected us against other vampires," Jason said.

"Ve, they're right," Feliciano added.

Alfred scoffed, rolling his eyes.

"I bet it's all part of his master plan," Alfred said. "He's keeping us all for himself. And I bet that when we're full-fledged angels he's going to have a buffet."

"There's just one flaw in that logic."

They jumped and turned to see two blonde women, one with green eyes, and one with blue. The one that had spoken had a British accent.

Alfred swallowed nervously.

"And what's that flaw?" he asked.

"Angel blood tastes disgusting to vampires," the blue-eyed blonde said. "Nephilim blood is delicious up to a point, after which it becomes horrible to them. Kind of like Alice's cooking."

The green-eyed blonde, apparently Alice, looked angry.

"Hey, my cooking isn't horrible," she shouted.

"The last time I saw your scones, they were black on the outside, raw on the inside, and I'm pretty sure some of them were moving," the other one said, keeping her face blank while her voice took on a teasing edge.

"I thought I heard familiar voices," Feliks said as he entered the room, sounding amused. "Alice, Nora, what are you two doing here?"

The two turned to Feliks.

"Hello Feliks," Alice greeted. "We're here to see Vlad, actually. But then we heard this git insulting him."

Alfred sputtered in outrage while Feliks rolled his eyes.

"Like, yeah, he totally does that," Feliks said. "Like, Vlad's on the third floor. Like, you know? The floor without windows?"

"Thank you," 'Nora' said, before the two of them disappeared.

"Who were those bellas?" Feliciano asked.

"Like, they're old friends of Vlad's," Feliks said. "The two of them are angels, but, like, they're probably Vlad's closest friends. Like, they would totally maim you if you trash talk Vlad."

"What kind of angels are they?" Marcello asked.

"Like, they're angels of life. A very rare type of angel. Like, each of the angels of life has a power. Alice has the touch of life while Nora has the breath of life. Actually, now that I think about it, there have only ever been like three, actually four now. One is a Nephilim."

"Why are they rare?" Gupta asked.

"Like, it's because they can totally heal anything. And I mean anything. The only thing they haven't been able to heal so far is vampirism, but that's because the original vampire was totally designed to be immune to their healing powers. And, like, they could even save someone that's almost dead. Even dead a few minutes can be healed. But, like, everyone wants their power, especially demons, and…"

"FELIKS!" Vlad's voice shouted, along with the two women's.

"Okay, like fine," Feliks huffed. "Totally steal my thunder."

"What don't they want you to tell us?" Hans asked.

Feliks looked towards the ceiling, biting his lip. Eventually he turned to them.

"Alright, like, you remember when I said that the fallen angel that has held out the longest was an angel of life?" Feliks asked. "Like, the third one."

"We remember," Alfred said.

"Well, like, the reason he fell was because there were demons that wanted him on their side. His power was the blood of life, and it's like totally more powerful than the other two because the blood stays in your system longer, and can heal any wound days after you get the blood in your body. Like, the demons have been wanting him since the demons were still angels, and they like haven't stopped going after him."

"You said that one of them is a Nephilim," Feliciano said. "Ve, who is it?"

Feliks ran a hand through his hair.

"Lovino," Feliks said, before he walked away.

It was silent for a moment as everyone pondered something.

"I have a question," Jason said, looking towards the ceiling. "I can understand how Vlad could hear us. But… how did the other two?"

…

Nora was sitting on the desk while Alice was leaning against the wall. Vlad looked between the two angels, a small smile on his face.

"I still don't see why that bloody wanker gets to insult you," Alice said. "How can you stand it?"

"I understand that he doesn't trust me yet," Vlad said. "And according to Feliks, he's an angel of war."

"Figures," Nora said, rolling her eyes.

"Not that I'm not happy to see the two of you again," Vlad said, "but why exactly are you here? Last time, it wasn't a social call."

"Unfortunately, you're right," Alice said. "We've managed to locate three Nephilim for you. Three siblings. There's only one problem."

"The eldest brother goes out every night hunting for vampires," Nora said. "He's actually pretty good."

"And which vampires are in the area?" Vlad asked.

"The Nordic Five," Nora said.

Vlad sighed, running a hand across his face.

"I'm going to have to ask Feliks to help me then," Vlad said. "In convincing, possibly fighting, and flying them out of there."

"We're sorry that all this is on your shoulders," Alice said.

"It's fine," Vlad said, waving her off. "It's the first time in how many thousand years that heaven decided I'm useful again."

"Vlad…" Nora said sadly.

"I've said it before, and I'll say it again," Alice said. "I hate that bloody bastard."

…

Lovino was outside, basking in the sun's rays. He had missed it. The feeling of the warm sun on his skin… He needed a tan. Never before in his life had he been so pale.

When he felt them itching again he let the wings out, and after a while he retracted them again. It had become a bit of a routine now. It was getting a little boring, but the more he had to do it, the easier it became, and the less Lovino had to focus on his fear, allowing his instinct to guide him.

He was lying on his stomach so as to make things easier for him. He was calmly resting his head on his arms, but when he heard footsteps approaching he looked up.

Matthew smiled at him, before there was a flash of annoyance on the blond's face. Lovino was confused, at least until he saw Matthew pulling out his own set of wings.

"So, I take it that you at least trust Vlad?" Lovino said, relaxing again.

"Oui," Matthew said, sitting next to him.

"Please do me a favour," Lovino said. "Don't speak French."

Matthew frowned a little, before remembering that one of Lovino's kidnappers had been French.

"Sorry," Matthew said. "How are you holding up?"

Lovino shrugged, before letting his wings out again.

Lovino was far more patient with Matthew than he was with other people. Matthew had always been calm around him, and the calm aura had extended to Lovino as well.

"Hey, Lovino?" Matthew said. "Do you think that… Vlad might be a fallen angel?"

"I already asked him," Lovino said. "He says that fallen angels can walk in daylight and have bronze blood."

"Oh. I was just curious."

"It would make sense, since he knows so much about anything related to angels."

"He wasn't human before he became like this," Matthew said.

"Si, I know. And he has a brother."

"What?"

"There's a portrait of him and his brother in my room. And it turns out that the bastard was friends with Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo."

"Wait, as in…"

"Si! Two of the greatest Italian figures in history. They were our idols. And Feliks told me that Vlad was even a muse to them." Lovino chuckled. "Vlad has an interesting life, and then there's me."

"Lovino, your life is interesting," Matthew said. "You're interesting. Nothing like me. Finding out I'm part angel is probably the only interesting thing that's ever happened in my life."

Lovino shook his head.

"I wonder what it would be like to live for thousands of years," Lovino said.

"I think it must be lonely," Matthew said.

…

Alice and Nora were laughing hysterically, and Vlad tried to keep a neutral expression on his face, but one could still see a smirk.

Alfred blushed, glaring at the three without much success.

"Come on," Alfred said. "All I said is that I want you to show me how to get those wings."

"That's what's so funny," Alice said. "You're the one asking."

Alfred looked away.

"Look, I just want to know how to fly," Alfred said. "So shut up and teach me already!"

"Oh, he's definitely an angel of war," Nora said. "So demanding."

Vlad chuckled.

"Alright," Vlad said. "But you're going to have to listen to everything I have to tell you, alright?"

There was no way I'm not adding my favourite trio. Seriously, I have like three oneshots about the magic trio, and Game of Mirrors features the magic trio, along with a few other stories I'm working on, namely Return of the Magic Trio, Return of Transylvania, Continental Dragons, Enough, Bloody Vengeance and Mansion of Darkness. And I seriously need to work on these stories.

Also, an interesting piece of trivia: in Afrikaans, the shoulder blade is called the 'vlerkie', the diminutive form of 'vlerk', which is the word for 'wing'.