A/N: sorry about the late update, guys, but a lot happened in this last chapter. in fact, it's the longest so far, starting on page 64 and ending on page 76 with 4,195 words. shit... anyway, on with the show!


Chapter 11

Arthur smiled and put his tea cup down; reveling in the soothing feeling the drink gave him. He took another long sip, sighing contentedly as he felt the warm liquid slid down his throat. There was nothing like a strong cup of herbal tea at tea time for a Brit. Arthur wished that he was in Alice in Wonderland sometimes, were time was stopped so that it was always tea time…

"I smell tea, aru!"

Arthur jumped, nearly spilling his drink as Yao walked in, eyeing the tea with a sinister smile. Arthur blanched slightly, not liking the look in the usually docile Chinese's eyes.

"Yes, herbal tea. Would you like a cup?" Arthur asked, keeping his voice calm.

"Herbal? Yuck, only Europeans drink that fake tea, aru," Yao said with a disgusted face as he sat down across from Arthur at the table.

"It's not fake tea," Arthur said with a sigh. He wanted to change this subject quickly before they got into yet ANOTHER tea argument. "So, how are you doing?"

"Still alive, aru," Yao said with a soft smile. "Thank you, aru."

"You shouldn't be thanking me, Yao…" Arthur said, looking down at the dark liquid in his cup, his voice ridden with guilt. "You don't know what I was really doing…"

"What you were doing there, aru? Sure I do, aru," Yao said, a hit of sadness in his eyes. "You were there to kill us, aru."

Arthur's eyes widened as Yao spoke. Arthur was so sure that he had been careful. No one could have known why he was there. It was impossible!

"How did you…?" Arthur started, not really able to finish the question.

"I knew it as soon as you too the Wheelwright place, aru," Yao said, a small smirk on his face.

"But… I was so sure…" Arthur said, sort of to no one. He was still running every day over and over again in his head as so what went wrong.

"Trust me, aru. If it were anyone else, they wouldn't have known a thing, aru," Yao said with a smile. "Kiku and I have learned to be suspicious of everything, aru."

"That makes more sense…" Arthur said, still looking down at the ground. Yao chuckled slightly, making Arthur look at him strangely. "Is my confusion amusing to you?"

"Very much so, aru," Yao said, using a hand to cover his mouth.

Arthur was about to snap back when he heard something behind him. He looked over and saw Francis standing there, shotgun in hand. Francis lifted the gun and aimed for what looked like Arthur's head. Arthur reached for his Sais, which were still on the table.

"Arthur, Yao, get back," Francis snapped, making both of them go ridged. "Get back now!"

Both men hit the deck when Francis pulled the trigger, shooting the window behind them. The eagle that was there flew off, squawking loudly. Roderich and Kiku ran in, both scared.

"What was that?" Roderich snapped while Kiku ran over to see if his brother was alright.

"That bird has been hanging around here for nearly two days," Francis said, going over to the window to see where the bird went.

Arthur closed his eyes as he felt a pull on his consciousness. He saw people getting out of a car right in front of the house. There were many that he didn't recognize, but there was one there that he did. He'd know the face of that Germanic bastard anywhere…

"They're here," Arthur said, standing up and grabbing his Sais.

"Kiku, go get it," Yao said to Kiku, pushing his brother up to the stairs. He got up as well and turned back to Arthur. "Let's use the truck."

"We won't make it," Arthur said, running over to the basement doors.

"But it's the best way," Yao said, right on Arthur's heels.

"Trust me, there isn't time," Arthur said, turning to glare at the Asian. "Wait, where's Kiku?"

"Right here," Kiku said, putting a bag over his shoulders. Arthur narrowed his eyes, seeing that Kiku had thrown on a black jacket while he was upstairs.

"There's a tunnel in the basement," Francis said, looking out the window and reloading his shotgun. "It'll take you out to the vineyards. Head north."

"What about you?" Arthur asked, motioning for the brother's to go ahead of him. Francis just finished loading his gun. "Shit…"

"Go," Francis said with a soft smile.

"I'm not leaving you again," Arthur said, gripping Francis's shirt and burring his face in the Frenchie's chest. "Please, come with us."

"I can't," Francis said, placing a small kiss on Arthur's head.

"Give me the gun, Francis."

Both men turned to see Roderich standing in the staircase, a serious look on his face. Francis hesitated for a moment, making Roderich storm over to him.

"I said, give me the gun," Roderich snapped, grabbing the gun from Francis and shoving his own revolver into its holster. "I have a score to settle with these bastards. Now go!"

"Come on," Arthur said, pulling Francis over to the cellar.

"Be careful, Roderich!" Francis called, just before Arthur shoved him into the tunnel.

"Keep them safe," Roderich said, closing the door to the tunnel behind them, just as they started running.

Roderich closed up the tunnel and walked back up the stairs, shot gun ready to fire at a moment's notice. He saw a shadow moving towards the front door and silently walked over to the door himself. He saw the shadow underneath the door and pulled the trigger, blasting a large hole in the wood. Roderich tossed the shotgun aside since he didn't know how to reload it and pulled out his revolver. He walked over to the hole and looked through it, his eyes widening.

He saw a Russian man standing there, brushing off the shotgun pellets like they were just dust. There wasn't a single mark on the man's large tan jacket either, making Roderich just slightly scared. He smiled, his violet eyes twinkling with a sinister spark.

"Holy…" Roderich gasped and se jumped away from the door, just as the Russian busted it down with one hand.


Francis pushed the trap door open, letting the sunlight stream into the tunnel. He hauled himself up onto the ground and helped Arthur, Yao, and Kiku up. The four started running as top speed through the vineyards, following Francis through the complicated twists and turns.


Roderich stood, just as the Russian walked in, a stupid smile on his childish face. Roderich looked sadly at him, and at the Italian boy who followed right behind him.

"Ivan, Feliciano," Roderich said, looking at his two former friends sadly. "Is this what it's come to?"

"Da," Ivan said with a smile.

"Sorry, Roderich," Feliciano said, not a hint of remorse in his voice. "But this is what Ludwig wants."

"Is Gilbert's death what Ludwig wanted as well?" Roderich spat at the Italian.

"As a matter of fact, it was," Feliciano said with a smile. "And I got that enjoyable task. Seducing that bitch of yours was easy since he practically threw himself at me."

"Son of a bitch!" Roderich snapped, shooting Feliciano blindly.

Ivan caught the bullet in his hand, not even fazed by it at all. He dropped the now flat piece of metal on the ground as if it were just a piece of paper.

"Now now, Roderich," Ivan said with a smile. "Zat von't do at all."

"Where are they?" Feliciano demanded, taking a step forward.

"You bastards might as well just kill me now because I'm not talking," Roderich said, handing the revolver off to Ivan.

"Talking won't be necessary."

Roderich gasped and spun around, only to come face to face with his own brother-in-law. Roderich tried to punch the blond, but Ludwig easily grabbed his wrist and twisted it, grinning evilly at the sound of breaking bones. Ludwig grabbed Roderich's hair and slammed his against the wall, staring down Roderich's bright violet eyes with his own ice blue ones.

"But I accept the first half of your proposal," Ludwig said with a smirk.

Roderich felt something invade his mind, something very sinister. He tried to fight back, tried to get this evil entity out, but it was no use. The evil broke through every defense he put up. He felt his eyes roll to the back of his head and he started to shake.

Ludwig invaded Roderich's mind with ease. He saw in his minds eyes Arthur, Francis and two Asians running through the tunnel, coming out of the trap door, and then over the crest of a hill and into the woods.

"They're in the forest," Ludwig said, letting go of Roderich, letting the Austrian fall to his knees. "Feliciano, Yong-Soo, Ivan, get Tai-Ying, head there now. Hurry."

Feliciano smirked widely as he walked past Roderich, kicking the brunet with the side of his heel first. Ivan and Yong-Soo followed him out the back. Ludwig also turned to leave and stopped. He pulled his sword out of its sheath and spun around, slicing clean through Roderich's neck.


Feliciano smirked as he walked through the vineyards, grazing his hands over the many vines and grapes on either side. As his hands ghosted over each plant, they withered and died, turning black and falling over. Feliciano laughed, leaving a long trail of death behind him as he walked leisurely through the vineyards.


Yong-Soo stood on a rock outcropping in the forest. One look around insured that he would not be disturbed here. He pulled off the top of his Kimono, exposing his numerous tattoos that covered his torso. He sat down on the ground and took a meditative stance and concentrated.

The tattoo of a wolf's head on Yong-Soo's stomach started to move, pushing against the Asian's toned abbs like he was breaking out of an old skin. The beast started to growls and howl and then shot off into the forest, leaving Yong-Soo in a trance.


Arthur, Yao, Francis, and Kiku ran through the forest, dodging tree after tree, trying to lose whoever they were running from in the thick woods. Arthur was out in the front, running several feet in front of the others. Arthur suddenly stopped when he felt something pulse in his mind.

"Hold up," Arthur said, suddenly stopping and spinning around.

Yao and Kiku stopped short, trying not to run into the blond, while Francis narrowly missed barreling into the three. Arthur walked past them, back towards where they came. He heard a loud growling and saw a bright light come over the crest of the hill and split into two. Arthur's eyes widened. He knew what those were.

"Follow me, just keep running," Arthur said to the others, running back out into the front of the group, the others on his heels.

Arthur ran into a small clearing and cursed himself. There was a large tree that had fallen down, leaving just a hollowed out log. Arthur stopped and nodded to Francis, who nodded back.

"Get in there," Arthur said, pushing Kiku down into the log. "Yao, go. Francis, you too."

Yao got in right after Kiku, who was cradling the long, cylindrical shaped bag he had on his back. Francis also went in, pulling out his pistol on the way. Arthur handed Francis his small leather pack and walked out into the clearing.

Arthur saw a large tree at the end of the clearing and smirked inwardly. The tree was as wide as about half of Arthur's height, maybe more, and Arthur was just over 6 feet tall. The blond pulled out two small kunai and tossed them at the tree, one on top of the other. Arthur ran full speed at the tree and jumped, using the kunai as a foothold, and hauled himself onto the closed branch.

Arthur got into the tree just in time. Ivan walked into the clearing, his long faucet pipe in hand. He was muttering something along the lines of "kolkolkol" over and over again, a murderous look in his normally smiling eyes. Arthur pulled out his Sais, waiting for just the right moment to strike…

Francis motioned for the Asian brothers to move farther inside the log. He knew what Ivan was capable of, probably better than anyone. Yao took a small step back, but he stepped on a twig, snapping it. The small snap of the twig was nearly deafening into the silence of the clearing.

Ivan's head snapped around, looking right to where the three were hiding. His smiled threatened to tear his face in half and he walked over to the log.

Arthur figured that this was as good a time as any. He jumped down from the tree, Sais at the ready. He lunged forward to stab Ivan in the back… when his Sai broke on impact. Ivan just turned and smiled.

"Zat vas not very nice, Arzur," Ivan said happily. He punched Arthur in the chest, sending the Brit flying back against the tree. "Ant neither is zat."

"Arthur," Kiku whispered, moving forward to try and see what happened. Yao and Francis both covered Kiku's mouth with their hands, pushing the boy back.

Arthur gasped for breath as he stood, sputtering a little to get the dirt out of his mouth. He could feel that nearly half his ribs were bruised, causing the Brit massive amounts of pain. He barely got to his feet when Ivan grinned evilly.

Ivan chucked his pipe at Arthur on its side, making the pipe spin. Arthur jumped up into the tree, just as the pipe broke clean through the large, very decayed tree. Arthur pulled himself up to the branch just as the tree started to tip over.

"Arthur!" Kiku screamed, making both adults push him as far back into the log as possible.

However, it was too late. Ivan heard the cry and he grinned even wider. He picked up a rather large log like it was a toy and walked over to the log. Yao, Kiku, and Francis all started to scramble out of the log, just as Ivan started to smash it in.

"Go!" Francis snapped, pushing Yao out, who pushed Kiku out. The two ran off into the forest blindly. "Just run!"

Francis, however, was unable to get out in time. Ivan smashed the last piece of the log, also smashing one of Francis's legs in the process. For Arthur and Francis, the sound of the bones smashing and grinding was louder than the breaking of the tree. Ivan smiled at a job well done and went to go after the two Asians.

Arthur, at this point, was able to get onto the top of the tree and was now almost walking down it at it fell. Arthur saw that Ivan was unsuspectingly coming right into the area that the tree would fall. The blond did a quick calculation in his head and started to run down the tree, making the falling go faster.

Ivan stopped for a split second as a large shadow crossed his path. He looked up, just in time to see the tree fall right on his head. There was the sound of almost glass shattering as Ivan disappeared in an explosion of green smoke and dust.


Feliciano, Tai-Ying, and Ludwig all stopped when they heard the tree fall. The three could feel that one of their number was just vanquished. Ludwig narrowed his eyes and ran off in the direction of the noise, motioning for his two companions to follow.


Kiku and Yao ran blindly through the forest, just trying to get away from whatever was chasing them. Kiku stopped short when he heard something, making Yao stop as well. Kiku looked back the way they came and heard the growling of an animal. Kiku reached for the pack on his back.

"Not yet, go," Yao said, pushing Kiku along to make the boy run.


Arthur ran through the forest in the same direction that he saw the brothers go off in. But the two Asians were nowhere to be seen. Arthur wasn't sure if this was a blessing or a curse.

The Brit stopped short when he felt something pulse on his mind. He heard an animal growling as his vision appeared. There was a wolf there, snapping at Kiku, who was scared shitless. The wolf bit something and Yao screamed. And then the vision ended. Arthur blanched slightly and turned around, running off in the direction that his vision told him to go in.


Yao and Kiku stopped short as they came into the clearing that they just left. Yao cursed himself when he saw that they just went in a huge circle.

"Kiku, give it to me," Yao said, holding out his hand to his brother.

Kiku pulled out an old, Chinese war sword in its sheath, which he immediately handed off to Yao. Yao gripped the black handle that was made just for him. He carefully pulled the arched blade out of its sheath and smiled. Kiku was about to pull out another, when Yao stopped him.

"Net yet, aru," Yao said, just as the growling got louder and louder.

"When, then?" Kiku snapped, losing his patients with his brother.

Yao was unable to answer the question, unfortunately, as a large gray wolf jumped out of the brush and right as Yao. Yao smiled at the animal's stupidity as he lunged forward, slicing the beast clean in half. Yao smirked, but the smirk soon faded as he heard another set of feet enter the fray.

Yao turned around to see Kiku going at it hand to hand with another Asian. This newcomer had short brown hair that ended along his jaw line and swept off to one side. His brown eyes showed nothing as the two did battle. Yao nearly dropped his sword.

"Tai-Ying…?" Yao asked, startling Kiku just long enough for Tai-Ying to land one well placed kick, making the Japanese double over. The split second that Kiku was down was all Tai-Ying needed to get an arm around the boy's neck and a dagger against his throat. "What happened to you…?"

"What's going on, Yao?" Kiku asked, one hand moving to grab something at his waist.

"Ah, Ge Ge, it's good to see you again," Tai-Ying said with a smirk. "How long has it been? Two, three years?"

"What did they do to you?" Yao asked, taking a step forward. Tai-Ying pressed the dagger closer to Kiku's throat, making Yao take the step back and drop the sword. "What happened to the cute little brother I used to know?"

"He's gone," Tai-Ying said.

"No, Tai-Ying…" Yao said, looking down at the ground.

Kiku smirked and he pulled the white sheathed katana over his head and hooking it around Tai-Ying's neck. Kiku used the small leverage to flip the brunet over his head and onto his back. Tai-Ying glared at Kiku and jumped up to his feet.

"Do it!" Yao called, falling to his knees.

Kiku smirked, finally unsheathing his katana with a deadly shing. There was a red glint in his eyes as Tai-Ying pulled out his own sword. Kiku didn't wait, and immediately stabbed Tai-Ying in the chest. Tai-Ying also disappeared in the same array of green smoke and ash, never to be seen again. Kiku smirked and sheathed his sword, turning to comfort his brother.

Kiku stopped mid step and nearly dropped his sword when he saw Arthur standing a few feet behind his brother, his green eyes wide. Arthur looked like he was trying to saw something, but he couldn't find the right words to say it with. Yao stood and looked over as Arthur and then to Kiku.

"The jig is up," Yao said, sitting down on a stump.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Arthur asked simply. There was no anger or hurt in his voice, just amusement. He finally realized why these two were being hunted and everything made perfect sense.

Arthur's train of thought was cut short as he felt something coming fast. He turned to face it, but he was a second too late. Feliciano was barely a foot away from him. The Italian grabbed Arthur's face and pressed his body against his, clamping his lips onto that of the Brit.

As soon as contact was made, Arthur's skin began to turn a sickly yellow color. He started to fall back, gently and slowly, almost as if time was slowing down in just that small area. He could feel the life being sucked out of him…

"Arthur!" Kiku cried, about to run over and help the Brit. Yao held Kiku back, not wanting the same thing to happen to the boy. "Yao, let me go!"

Feliciano smirked widely as they hit the ground. He pulled away, happy to see that Arthur's lips were a deathly blue and his skin was cracking and yellow and his breathing was shallow. The whites of the Brit's eyes were the same pale yellow as his skin and his green irises were fading fast. Arthur turned his head as much as he could, which was not far, to see what was happening with Kiku and Yao.

Kiku snapped at that point. He unsheathed his sword, making the Italian look up in surprised and annoyance. He was trying to admire his work and that Eastern brat dared to interrupt him. Oh, he was going to pay now… Feliciano stood and walked over to the Japanese, a scowl on his face. Kiku swung his blade, aiming to decapitate the Italian, but he was met with the sound of metal hitting metal.

Ludwig stood in front of Kiku, his own sword drawn and blocking Kiku's. There was a smirk on the blond's face as he looked at the boy. His ice blue eyes looking up and down Kiku, like a predator surveying its prey.

"Ah, you really are the little Treasure, aren't you?" Ludwig asked, flipping his sword and wrenching Kiku's out of his hand at the same time. Kiku stood his ground, unfazed when his sword imbedded itself in the ground. Ludwig's smirk just widened. "The war is over."

Feliciano smiled, about to cheer to celebrate, when he heard something in the trees. He looked up, as well as Ludwig, seeing white ninjas jumping about in the trees. Ludwig scowled, knowing that this was the doing of his grandfather. The ninjas swooped down all around them, startling the Asians a bit. Ludwig's sword was wrenched out of his hand by a wooden staff. Ludwig glared at his grandfather, who stood there with unseeing eyes.

"The war has just begun," Germania said, stepping between the two. "Move back, Kiku."

One of the ninja's grabbed Kiku's arm and pulled him back. A few other ninja's came over, inspecting the boy for wounds. Yao looked from his brother to Germania, an unsure look on his face.

"He is safe," Germania assured, moving so that his glossy green eyes could stare at his grandson.

"Another day, old man," Ludwig said, disappearing with Feliciano.

Germania sighed and walked over to where Arthur was laying. He knelt down next to the Brit, shaking his head. He wanted to chuckle, really, but it wasn't the time.

"Reckless again I see," Germania teased. He covered Arthur's eyes with his hand. "Rest now. You'll be fine."

Arthur's eyes closed of their own accord. He could feel himself slipping into the black abyss…


i started this on page 64 and it ended on 76. that's a long chapter, probably my longest in this series.

anyway, Tai-Ying is Hong Kong, just to clear that up.

Ge Ge means older brother in chinese.

if you guys have any questions about what the fuck happened, then please review. i know it's hard to follow... i can't even follow it...