Urghle-smurghle! I missed another self-appointed deadline! I'm sorry! Really, I am! I've been too distracted by toying with my apps on my laptop and I kind of spent most of my time just making stuff. *sigh* I need to increase my concentration span. ;-;


Despite the internal injuries their bodies suffered from the electromagnetic shock, and the numbness that came afterwards, Tino and Peter pushed their weakened legs to their limits and beyond to get away from the madman that was chasing them. Tino ran in front of Peter, pulling him by the wrist to lead him through the lower level to the stairs; sometime during the run, Tino and Berwald exchanged a sad, apologetic goodbye from the corner of their eyes before they split up, Berwald taking a different direction towards the wine cellars.

"Mama! Mama, what's going on?" Peter panted besides Tino, looking over his shoulder. "Where's Papa? Why is Uncle Mathias acting like this?!"

"Peter, this is not the time for questions!" Tino panted hurriedly. But I do hope Berwald will be okay, he thought afterwards. Please stay safe, honey!

"But Mama-" Peter looked over his shoulder again and gasped. "Mama! He's coming!"

"I know, baby, just stay calm!" Tino said without looking back. He knew that Mathias had just appeared up the stairs and was coming up quickly behind them, closing the distance between himself and the two nations with every second that passed. Such a fact made Tino's heart race and the image of his son, his baby, brutally tortured and murdered in any fashion that Mathias willed made his stomach lurch with fear, but he couldn't let his mind go crazy now, not with Peter still with him. He needed to keep his mind collected in order to protect Peter and hide them both properly and survive Mathias's twisted "game".

Behind Tino and Peter, Mathias charged ahead and followed them as they ran through the upstairs hall. He would've went after Berwald- seeing as how the guy pretty much cornered himself in the wine cellar- and taken down what he knew was going to be his toughest prey, or even went after Emil with the kid's disabled leg making the chase easier, but there was just something so fascinating about chasing a mother protecting his young. Plus, the mere thought of Berwald's face when he finds his husband and kid as nothing more than mere violated corpses (if he survives long enough to see it) was delicious enough for Mathias to try Tino first.

Mathias watched Tino as the nation dragged the child through the hall. Tino made a quick turn around the corner and almost made Peter trip over his own feet. Tino gripped Peter's wrist tighter and yanked him upright. He then paused, whipped his head from side to side. Probably looking for a room to hide in, Mathias guessed as he became closer and closer to the still pair.

His guess was right. When Tino noticed that Mathias was but a few feet away, he ran to the closest room there was and slammed the door. Mathias shook his head and chuckled as he reached the door and tried the doorknob, twisting it like he saw killers do in horror movies to freak out their victims.

Inside the room, Tino pressed his body against the door and dug his heels into the carpet, taking panicking breaths as the doorknob shook vigorously. Oh, Lord. OhLordohLordohLordohLordohLo rdohLord, oh my goodness, this isn't happening! Tino thought. Please let this be a joke! Mathias wouldn't do this to us!

"Mama, what now?" Peter asked, his voice quivering as hard as his knees.

"I don't know, Peter, I don't know!" Tino replied. He looked up at his son and he felt his heart break once more at the strong sense of fear emanated from the small body.

SLAM!

"Eek!" Tino yelped as the Dane slammed himself into the door. He pushed against it and gritted his teeth as Peter screamed and cowered further away into the opposite wall. "No! Stop!"

SLAM!

"Mama!" Peter cried.

"Peter, just stay there!"

SLAM!

"Mama, he's going to get in!"

"Peter, go and hide-!"

With the final slam, Tino flung forward and just missed crashing into Peter as Mathias barged in through the door, his shoulders hunched in a menacing stature. When Tino quickly shoved Peter behind him, Mathias tilted his head in mock admiration and smiled at the motherly protection.

"Mama..."

"Peter, calm down," Tino said in a hushed voice.

"Mama, he's here!"

"I know, Peter!" Tino hissed over his shoulder. "Just don't panic!"

"But the kid has a right to be afraid, doesn't he?" Mathias asked.

Tino turned his attention back to Mathias and scrunched his face in a defensive glower. He bent slightly forward with one hand held up in a fist and the other behind him, his palm instinctively pressed onto Peter's chest; it seemed as if Tino was ready to either fight for Peter to live, or run with him and hide him in safety.

Mathias snickered and crept closer, He wasn't going to allow either to happen.

"Mama!" Peter cried as Mathias took a step. He whimpered more and more the closer Mathias came, latching onto his mother's arm as Tino backed away. When Mathias's arrogantly cold eyes flickered to the child, Peter sobbed and nearly squeezed the blood out of Tino's arm.

Mathias shook his head and clicked his tongue. In a dark yet even purr, so emotionless and smooth that Tino's spine shuddered, "I have no clue which one of you to fuck and kill first: you because you're so damn hot, or Peter so I can shut him the hell up."

Tino's glower deepened with absolute disgust at what he just heard. He took a quick look over his shoulder again to look at Peter and bit his lip at the sight of his son's face glistening and soaked with tears and sweat. He then returned his glare at Mathias and sighed. If it could buy Peter some time to run and hide...

"Peter, go."

"What?!" Peter gasped.

Tino turned slightly and began pushing Peter away. "I said go, Peter!"

"But Mama, I don't want to be alone!"

"Neither do I, but you have to run, now go!"

"Mama-!"

"GO!" With a large, forceful push, Tino moved Peter away. Peter looked back at his mother, begging with his tearful eyes to let him stay and not be separated, before he finally resigned and reluctantly sprinted out the door.

Mathias watched the boy leave and gave Tino a coy grin. "Well, that settles it for me, then." He shrugged. "Looks like it's just you and me. Which is good I guess; I really can't perform at my best with others in the room watching me, especially a kid."

"Shut the hell up!" Tino spat. "Stop it with your disgusting shit, you twisted bastard! Stop this while you still have a chance to redeem yourself! Please!"

"'Redeem myself?' Really? So after everything you all said about how I'm a sick pedophile and that you guys don't even want to be in the same house with me or want to see me ever again, if I do just enough begging and pleading and groveling at your feet, you all will forgive me and forget this entire fiasco?" Mathias caught Tino's lips twitch at the corner in faltering agreement and threw his head back in barking laughter.

"Of course you wouldn't, you lying ass! Hm, but it wouldn't matter if it was the truth or not, anyway, because I wouldn't even shed a damn tear for you guys, let alone grovel on the ground and whimper for forgiveness while you all each take a turn in kicking me like a dog; it would seriously ruin the plans I formulated and waited for MONTHS to enact."

Upon hearing Mathias's condescending remark, Tino took in a shaky breath and nodded. "F-fine, then. There's no other way around this, so..." He widened his stance and pressed his feet firmly into the floor, balling his fists up in front of him.

Mathias's eyebrows shot up in surprise. Seeing Tino take on a fighting stance with so much resolve was a bit of a surprise- albeit a pleasant one- for the man who knew Tino as nothing more than a helpless flower despite his citizens' history of military prowess. If he didn't have a gun in his hand, Tino would usually just turn to Berwald for protection or try reasoning with his opponent (just as he did moments ago).

I guess it must be the circumstance he's in, Mathias guessed. Looks like he's not as timid as he seems when he has to protect his baby. As he appreciated Tino in a new light, Mathias stepped closer and closer to Tino, his fists raised as well.

Oh, Berwald, Tino thought as he kept his glare fixed on the Dane, if I don't make it, please stay alive, for yourself and Peter. Please keep him safe...

"You know they're both gonna die, right~?" Mathias teased as if he read Tino's silent plea.

That pushed him. Tino lunged at Mathias and swung fist after fist targeted at his jaw, all of them Mathias easily dodged. Okay, new note, Mathias thought as he flinched backward from another blow, Tino's totally unfocused when angered. Maybe he won't be a problem. When Tino attempted a roundhouse kick to the ribs, Mathias caught his leg by the calf, twisted it to the point that the knee started to pop, and smiled as he relished the pained whimpers coming from the Finn's throat. Tino tried to shake his leg free, which made the pain worse, so he jumped on his other foot, twisted in the air, and slammed the heel of his free foot into Mathias's jaw. That caused Mathias to let go of Tino's leg and they both fell to the ground.

Wow, that actually worked? Tino wondered in surprise as he stood up. When he stood up straight, the small tingle from his knee intensified to near-crippling pain. He almost fell to the ground and cried out in agony, but he didn't want his opponent to see how much damage he made with that one ankle twist, so he caught himself and bore the injury with a mere wince.

Mathias rose from the ground, rubbing his bruised and purpling cheek and glaring down at Tino with intense malice. Despite his injury, though, he still chuckled. "Man, I don't know how much more beatings my poor beautiful face can take in one night. I sure do hope I can stay pretty long enough for my little kitten. Heh heh heh!"

Tino snarled softly as he shifted more weight from his stinging knee to his good leg without making it noticeable.

"Ah, Tino," Mathias pouted, "Just because we're fighting, doesn't mean you have to force yourself to not laugh at my jokes."

"Oh, ha ha, your damn sick jokes are so fucking funny, I'm absolutely dying here!" Tino sneered back.

"Oh, good, then everything's working out perfectly for me!" Mathias cheered. He threw a punch that landed straight into Tino's nose. The impact was so forceful that Tino's head flung back and he lost his footing. He stumbled backward for a moment before he regained his balance. The look of terror and shock on Tino's face, now with a streak of red running from his nostrils to his lip, had Mathias bellowing in wild laughter. Mathias swung his fists again, but none of them landed as Tino dodged and flinched to avoid being hit again. Mathias even noticed that Tino was backing away bit by bit and was stepping to the side whenever the opportunity arose. Mathias pretended to move by stomping his foot forward and Tino's arms instinctively flew up to protect his face.

This made Mathias giggle inwardly. Well, well, well, looks like the timid little fighter is back. He threw another punch. Tino caught his wrist, twisted it, and pulled Mathias towards him. He flung Mathias back and kicked him in the gut for added measure. Tino then put up his fist, but Mathias knew that that was just for show. This was proven true as Mathias lunged at him and Tino sidestepped and moved further away to increase the distance between them. He lunged at Tino again, but Tino shot his leg up, the one with the injured knee, and planted his foot into Mathias's chest. They both cried out from the hit, but Mathias was the only one who noticed how strange it was that they both did so when it was only he that was hit.

Mathias raised an eyebrow. Unless...

Mathias again lunged for Tino. Instead of trying to attack him, though, he simply scurried and jumped around him, making him move away to avoid what he thought was another attack. Mathias observed every part of Tino's body as he manipulated Tino, seeing that something was off about him and the way he moved; he could sense that Tino was hiding something. His eyes wandered to Tino's legs when he remembered that Tino had cried out in pain when he did that kick. Sure enough, Tino was hobbling about, and one leg seemed to be more bent, as if he was putting more weigh on it and taking less off the straighter leg. Wow, that's the second limb I disabled in under a month! Mathias thought giddily. Sweet!

What is he doing? Tino wondered in a panic. Isn't he going to attack? Is he toying with me? Damn him! Frustrated by the perceived taunting, Tino stopped weaving side to side and faced Mathias head on, ready to fight him while he played around. But he wasn't prepared for Mathias to switch tactics so quickly, so he didn't dodge Mathias as he made a sharp kick right into the bad knee.

"Aaaagh!" Tino screeched and fell back against an end table as his limb burned from the inside out. Mathias grabbed him by the collar and front of his pajama shirt and hefted him high above the ground. He flung Tino to the bedside table, where Tino's body smashed the furniture piece flat. Tino wrapped his arms around his torso and writhed from the impact. When he saw Mathias approaching, he took up a table lamp that fell from the bedside table and swung it at Mathias, who easily knocked it out of Tino's grasp with the back of his hand. Tino tried to cower away from Mathias as far as possible and whimpered as he backed into the wall.

Mathias clicked his tongue and shook his head. "Boy, are you so pathetic!" he sneered as he grabbed Tino's injured leg by the ankle again and dragged him closer. He held Tino up, making him dangle upside-down. "I mean, yeah, I knew that you weren't going to be as strong as Berwald and hold out as long as I know he would, but I was really hoping that you'd hold out longer than this, man! What a disappointment, bro..."

"Let me go!" Tino cried. He swung his fists at Mathias.

Mathias playfully swung him from side to side before dropping him on the floor, pressing his foot on Tino's back so he couldn't get away. "Sorry, no can do, because that would be so unfair to the others!"

Tino clawed into the carpet to crawl away and escape. "Let me go! Get your dirty feet off of me!"

"Hm, okay." Mathias removed his foot, but didn't let Tino go. Instead, he squatted over Tino, pulling him closer underneath him so he can straddle his hips from behind. Tino began to struggle under the weight. "Still, it would've been cool to fight you a bit longer, but beggars can't be choosers, now can we?"

Tino pushed up against the beneath him. "Mathias, stop this now!" He then added softly through clenched teeth, "Please...!" When Tino felt his shirt sliding up on his back, he started to wriggle under Mathias more and more in a panicked fit. "No!"

Mathias ran the tip of his finger inside the smooth curve of Tino's spine. "You know, I haven't noticed until now that you have really nice skin, so soft and creamy smooth. I can see why Berwald wanted to fuck you so much, Tino. I think I'm getting hard, myself." He lowered his lips to Tino's ear and breathed, "Or maybe it's the way you keep grinding against my dick like that when you struggle."

"No!"

Tino threw his head back into Mathias's face and jabbed his elbow into Mathias as hard as he can. When Mathias reared back in pain and surprise, Tino clawed at the carpet again to get away. Angered, Mathias grabbed Tino by his collar, pulled Tino back under him, and grabbed a handful of Tino's hair, slamming his head into the floor. Tino cried out in pain into the carpet.

"Fuck! Okay, that's long enough!" Mathias yelled. He reached under Tino, grabbed each side of his pajama shirt, and ripped it open under him. He pulled the shirt back over Tino's arms until it gathered tightly around Tino's wrists. He rose up and raised Tino's hips up and aligned it with his own pelvis.

Tears and snot dribbled down the side of Tino's flushed face. "P-please, Mathias, don't! Don't turn into this," Tino pleaded as Mathias pulled his pajama bottoms and underwear down to his knees.

Mathias gazed at the exposed buttocks with a hungry glower. He slid the waistline of his own pants down underneath his hardened genitals and took his tip between his fingers. "First up: Finland," Mathias stated matter-of-factly as he guided himself inside.

Tino gasped and looked over his shoulder at Mathias's actions with wild eyes. "No! No! No! Nooo!"