A/N: I'm back! After this chapter, there's only two left! We're on the home stretch, guys!

A great big thank you to everyone who's stuck by me for this incredibly long ride. I'm trying to get this done for you guys, but I'm also trying to improve it for your enjoyment. Please don't hesitate to give me concrit on how to make stuff better! Now, let's get on with this chapter!

DISCLAIMER: Ooooooooollllllllliiiiiiieeeeeeee~
Oliver: Yay! I'm back! Okay, so~... Let's be creative this time!
Go right ahead, hon.
Oliver: Neah owns nothing except the plot that they think is shitty but others have told them is good-
Ollie, we're not here to talk about my issues.
Oliver: Fine. They don't own anything except the plot. They're just a broke human, so please don't sue!
Thanks! ON WITH THE STORY!

When you feel my heat
Look into my eyes
It's where my demons hide
It's where my demons hide

"Ah, Oliver, I'm going to miss you and your enthusiasm. No matter how fond I am of Angleterre, he is still extremely grumpy. Your optimism is incredibly refreshing. Please know that you're welcome back here anytime, oui?" Francis waxed poetically with tears pooling in the corners of his soft blue eyes. Oliver giggled a little in response, a warmth spreading through his chest. He really was going to miss Francis and his silly behaviour.

"Hey, don't hog him," Matthew teased, gently shoving the Frenchman to the side before pulling Oliver into a bone-crushing hug.

"Oof!" Oliver exclaimed as Matthew squeezed tighter.

"Remember: You do have people who care, okay? Don't try to handle everything yourself, yeah?" Matthew whispered so Alfred and Francis couldn't hear.

"I'll try," Oliver whispered back.

"That's the best I'm gonna get, so I'll take it," Matthew replied before letting go and cackling. "And make sure my idiot twin in your world takes care of himself. If he's anything like Alfred, he's an idiot."

"Hey! I'm not an idiot!" Alfred yelped before tackling Matthew into the couch. The Canadian just cackled again and wrestled back, leaving Francis and Oliver to fondly shake their heads and look on.

"Are they like this over there too?" Francis asked. Oliver thought for a minute. When they were younger, Allen and Matt had acted quite a bit like this with each other. As time went on, though, they grew further apart. Then a memory from about a year ago sprang up, of Allen and Matt playing one-on-one hockey with each other. As the game went on, it devolved into tickle fights and miniature wrestling matches, both boys laughing and seemingly having the time of their lives. The sight had warmed Oliver's heart and given him hope for the future that maybe they could get along again.

"Yes, they are," Oliver finally replied after a few minutes of deep thought. Francis' smile widened.

"Then I believe you will be fine. Come, let's break them up before someone starts crying," Francis suggested, moving to grab Matthew. Oliver hauled Alfred off of his twin, causing him to pout.

"Aw, Ollie! I almost had him!" Alfred whined. Oliver grinned.

"I'm sure you did, but I should probably get this spell going." At that, Alfred instantly sobered and pulled Oliver into another hug.

"It's been a great week or so. I'm gonna miss you," he whispered. Oliver felt tears start to pool in his eyes and studiously ignored them in favour of hugging back and whispering "Me too."

"Well, we'll leave you alone so we don't disturb you. Good luck, Ollie!" Matthew said before dragging his brother and Francis out of the room. Oliver took a deep breath and opened the book to the right page before starting to recite the Gaelic.

A tugging sensation in Oliver's gut started about halfway through the ritual, and Oliver ignored it, assuming that meant everything was working. As he recited the last words, the tugging sensation overwhelmed all of his senses, and Oliver barely managed to choke out the last few words before darkness overtook him.

Let's hope this means it worked, Oliver thought before his consciousness detached from Arthur's body and he knew no more.

Don't get too close
It's dark inside
It's where my demons hide
It's where my demons hide

So make your siren's call
And sing all you want
I will not hear what you have to say

"Ugh! Oliver! If you can hear me you little bastard, hurry the fuck up! We've been here for close to five hours and NOTHING! Do you wanna come back or not?!" Francois screamed at the ceiling from his position reclining on the couch. Arthur sighed and rubbed his temples, hoping and praying to some higher power that this would be over soon. He had said all of his goodbyes about four hours ago since he had no idea when Oliver would perform the necessary spell. In those four hours, there had been ten bouts of screaming at the universe to hurry it up, four pots of tea and coffee brewed, three rounds of Mario Kart played, and a steadily increasing pounding in Arthur's skull. Seriously, all of the yelling was giving him one of the worst migraines in the history of horrible migraines, so much so that Arthur was beginning to think that Oliver's body was trying to kill him as revenge for screwing up the spell in the first place.

"Calm down, Francois. This is, what, the sixth time you've screamed at Oliver, who definitely can't hear you?" Allen drawled, barely looking up from his phone. Francois shot a sub-arctic glare across the room at Allen; his response was to casually flip off the Frenchman. Francois growled, and Arthur finally had enough of the bickering.

"Will. You. All. SHUT IT?!" he screeched, massaging his temples again. Allen and Francois immediately shut up and went back to glaring in icy silence. Matt casually scooted in between them, presumably to stop them in case they decided to lunge at each other.

"Look, I'm just... going to go get something for this bloody headache all your screaming caused me to get," Arthur ground out before standing up and wandering to the bathroom.

"Have fun. We'll be here when you get back!" Matt called, pulling out his phone to entertain himself in the meantime. Arthur waved in response before locking himself in the bathroom and taking a deep breath in an effort to sooth the merciless drums in his mind. After a few minutes of deep breathing, Arthur pushed himself away from the door over to the medicine cabinet to grab some pain medicine. He had barely opened the cabinet when a dizzy feeling crashed through him like a hurricane, causing his knees to buckle under him. Arthur struggled to stay awake, frantically trying to figure out what was happening. He hadn't done anything in the past six hours that would cause his blood sugar to change drastically, had he?

Unfortunately for Arthur, the darkness won after a brief struggle, and Arthur consigned himself to his fate, hoping that he wasn't going to die. Allen, Matt, and Francois would be pissed if he did.

'Cause I need freedom now
And I need to know how
To live my life as it's meant to be

A/N: Thanks for reading! Short chapter, I know, but the next one is going to basically just be a whole bunch of reunions and dialogue. Leave all your thoughts in the comments! Concrit is VERY MUCH APPRECIATED, flames are... well, you should know by now ;D

Until next time, lieblings! ~Neah

P.S.: If you wanna check out more of my stuff, go to my AO3 account: AshesStarsAndRedStringsOfFate