Sorry again for lateness, blame life, school and Sherlock feels. I'm just tired and cranky and not emotionally ready for anything at this point.

Disclaimer: Don't own Hetalia, IB or anything worth much really

"Brat? Siastra? Come out~! I brought some friends to play with. Isn't that nice?"

Who was she talking to? Did she know they were there? Lovino gripped Antonio's fingers, feeling Antonio's breath speed up against the nape of his neck.

"Ivan? Katshuya? Come out you two, this isn't funny! ...Alright, I get it, we're playing Hide and Seek! Okay, ready or not! Here I come!"

They heard her scramble out and slam the door behind her. Lovino twisted his head to see his own frightened eyes reflected in Antonio's.

"What do you reckon?" He breathed as quickly as he could.

"I think she's gone. We're safe now."

Lovino huffed out a soft laugh. "Good. Also... how long have you had your fingers on my fucking hip?"

The aforementioned fingers flexed slightly. "Want me to let go, Lovi?"

Antonio watched as Lovino's entire face lit up in a vivid blush. "No... it's...um...good...fine...yeah."

Antonio chuckled quietly. "You look like a little tomato~! I'd love to stay here and spoon you forever, though I'd prefer to be on the bed rather than under it." Okay, he kinda deserved that harsh elbow to the ribs.

"Stop it, you creep. Let's get out from under here." He began wiggling his way out with Antonio whining slightly behind him. Lovino crept up to the window and gingerly peeked out. No sign of Natalya anywhere. Thank crap. "Who do you think she was looking for? She called out some names but they sure as hell weren't ours."

Antonio's brow crinkled. "I think they were the other two people in the painting with her. It really looked like a family picture."

"She did mention siblings. For some reason, that makes it even more creepy."

Entwining their fingers, Antonio joined Lovino at the window. "Should we get going? I wanna be able to cuddle you in peace without the threat of stabby-girl."

They gingerly crept out of the house and into the next one. It was pretty much the exact same except for two things: one, it was bigger on the inside and two; the only thing in there was an intricately painted chest. Lovino idly tapped the spiralled sides. "'The fuck is this? Looks weird."

Antonio crouched and began fiddling with the latch. "Looks like a toy box. Maybe it's Natalya's. Should we open it?"

Lovino shrugged. "Why not?"

Together they undid the latch and lifted the lid. It seemed much deeper than the size of the chest implied. The darkness yawned before them as they peered even harder. And of all the things they'd been expecting, one thing that they hadn't was a hard shove forcing them into the darkness.

Cold air whistled past his ears, accompanied by screams. It was only as he landed with a thump that Lovino realised that they were only half his. He blinked hard and frantically rubbed his face, trying to dispel the oppressive darkness. As he let his hands fall back down to the floor, something small scurried over his splayed hand. He screamed shrilly before hurriedly clamping his mouth shut. His mother had always said 'if you can see nothing, no thing can see you.' She said nothing about hearing.

He sat as still as he could, straining his ears as hard as he could. There was a continuous skittering in the darkness like a thousand spiders marching up and down. He fucking hated spiders. A sudden shiver of doubt and fear went through him. He rummaged through his pockets. Then again. And again. He bit down on the "Oh God" that threatened to spill out.

His daisy was gone. The daisy that was essentially his health bar was gone.

FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCCCCCCCCCCCCKKKK!

He rolled over onto his front, searching frantically for it. It might have fallen out as he fell. It had to be around here somewhere, it had to be.

His left hand brushed against something warm. Something ALIVE. The thing twitched and rumbled. Suddenly Lovino had a fairly good idea what it was. He felt along blindly, tracing fingers, a knobbly wrist, a slightly flexed bicep and a set of now familiar features. Lovino frantically shook Antonio's shoulder and hissed into his ear. "Come on, numb-numb, wake up. We've got to get out of here."

Antonio began making more conscious sounding noises and straightened up into a sitting position. "Who's there?"

Lovino lightly shoved his shoulder. "It's me, dumbass. And keep your voice down. Don't know what the fuck's down here."

Antonio reached out and rested his hand on Lovino's. "What happened? What pushed us?"

"What d'you think, dumbass. Natalya. Natalya pushed us. She's the only thing we know of in here with hands that wouldn't eat us... straight away."

Antonio made to answer when something called out in the darkness.

"Lovino! Antonio! Come out, come out wherever you are!"

Holding his breath, Lovino twisted his hands to grab Antonio's wrists. He moved to where he thought Antonio's ear was and whispered, purposely lisping to stop the "s"es from carrying. "Let's get moving. Find a wall and follow it. We're bound to find a door."

Antonio gripped back, presumably in assent. He turned his arms and pressed something soft into Lovino's hand. "I caught this as I fell, you mind it."

Lovino curled Antonio's fingers back around the soft thing. "No, you keep it. I'd probably only hurt it. It's safe with you."

Natalya called out again, sounding horribly close. Simultaneously they silently rose, joined at the hand like babes in the wood. They shuffled quietly, for all the world playing a high-stake game of Marco Polo, having only Natalya's increasingly angry calls to tell them where they shouldn't be going.

Suddenly Antonio yanked on his arm, causing him to let out a gasp that might as well have been a gunshot for how loud it sounded to their ears. The next thing Lovino knew he was running, still being led by Antonio. But his pounding footsteps and racing breaths weren't the only sounds in his ears. Lighter treads echoed behind them accompanied by the incessant scuttling. This honestly couldn't get any worse. It was like something from nightmares of nightmares: no matter how fast you run, it's still right behind you, breathing down your neck, waiting for you to make one wrong step and fall into its grasp. A heady coppery smell infiltrated his nose as each step seemed to squelch slightly.

All of a sudden, Lovino felt his retinas burst into flame as bright fluorescent lights erupted around them. Lovino squinted under the vague shield of his free hand. They were in a white room with a single painting hanging on the far wall. Natalya's family portrait. As they continued running towards it, Antonio glanced back at him, jaw set determinately.

"We've got to destroy it. Destroy it and we destroy her. Maybe then we can escape."

"But Antonio..."

"I want us to get out of this fucking place! Do you trust me?"

Lovino swallowed thickly and nodded. Antonio rummaged around in his pockets and pulled out a lighter. "Let's burn it."

Natalya screamed brokenly behind them as they reached the painting. "NO! Leave them alone! Get away from them! GET AWAY!"

Anotnio set the flickering flame to the canvas. The heavy weave and thick paint layer caught easily. Natalya wailed, her eyes rolling back into her head, her limbs twitching violently.

"No! Ivan! Katyusha! NOO! MAKE IT STOP! HEELP!"

She seemed to melt like the Wicked Witch of the West before their very eyes, leaving nothing but a bright blue flower behind.

Hope you enjoyed!

Ja!

-Animerockchic