Thanks to Time Turner, nicolai87, Adorable Reader and ScandinavianTrash for reviewing.

Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia.

Chapter 24

Lovino shuddered, staring at the setting sun. After he had finished his painting, he had gone outside to enjoy the warm sun again. He realised that if he went too long without it he would be reminded of the cold darkness that he had spent several months trapped in.

But for some reason, as he saw the sun set, he had a feeling of doom about him. It was as though something horrible would happen once the sun set. And Lovino didn't like that feeling.

He became worried about Vlad. He had a feeling that something terrible would happen to him while they were on their mission. And Lovino didn't like that feeling either.

He wondered, not for the first time, why he worried so much about Vlad. He had seen the other fight several times. Vlad couldn't get killed, only injured.

But even though it was only injuries, Lovino didn't want the other to endure them. He was no stranger to pain, and he could only imagine how much it hurt Vlad to be impaled in the heart. And considering how much the other had to sleep in order to heal himself, it took a toll on his body.

Lovino hated seeing Vlad like that, and it annoyed him. He had only known him for less than a week, and yet he was even more worried about Vlad than he was for his brothers. What he couldn't understand was why.

Why did he grow so attached to Vlad in such a short period of time? It couldn't just be because he saved his life. There had to be something more.

"Is something on your mind?"

Lovino jumped at the sound of the voice, and he turned to see Matthew, looking concerned.

"Learn to make some noise when you walk," Lovino snapped.

Matthew smiled, and Lovino realised that he was glad that Lovino was his usual self again. He didn't know how to feel about that.

"But seriously, is something wrong?" Matthew asked.

Lovino sighed, before he looked at his friend. Matthew was a lot smarter than his brothers. He was also the only one between them that stopped to think. He was always able to keep a level head. And perhaps that was what Lovino needed.

"Have you ever grown close to someone in a short amount of time, and you don't really know why?" Lovino asked.

"You're talking about Vlad," Matthew said.

"N-no! Answer me, dammit!"

Matthew chuckled, before he looked thoughtful.

"I'm not sure," Matthew said. "I mean, I'm not very social, as you know. But… I think the closest I came was Fletcher this morning."

"Your heartwing, right?" Lovino asked.

"Yeah. It was only a few minutes, but… Somehow, I felt as though I've known him my whole life. And there's this feeling, you know? Like I'm completely safe with him."

Lovino frowned in thought. Some of that described how he felt about Vlad. But no, it was impossible. Vlad would have told him by now, wouldn't he?

Matthew shuddered, and Lovino turned to face him.

"I feel as though something bad is coming," Matthew said. "And it doesn't help that Vlad taught me a few tricks that guardian angels use."

"What tricks?" Lovino asked.

"He mentioned that guardian angels are very perceptive of danger, and they can sense it before other angels. And I'm definitely sensing it."

"I get the feeling that something's wrong too."

Matthew looked over towards the garden, a frown on his face.

"Jason's in the garden," Matthew said.

"Good for him."

"No. I feel as though something's wrong."

And before Lovino could say anything else Matthew was off, running towards the garden. Lovino pondered for a moment whether or not to follow, before he shrugged.

It wouldn't hurt to check.

Lovino ran after Matthew, wondering what was going on and worried that something had happened to Jason. Jason was his friend too, and if he was in trouble, Lovino would help Matthew with dealing with the problem.

The two arrived to see Jason, and they were relieved to see that he appeared to be unharmed. He looked annoyed, though, as he was getting rid of quite a few dead plants. And Lovino noted that some of them looked burned.

"What's up?" Jason asked, frowning a little when he saw that his brother looked worried.

"I thought I felt…" Matthew said, before he shook his head. "I don't know."

Jason shrugged, before turning to the plants again. He made a disgruntled sound which had Lovino going closer.

"Who's the idiot that's been trampling the plants?" Jason asked.

"Don't look at me," Lovino said. "What about the Bird Bastard? I mean, some of these plants look burned."

"I don't think it's Feliks," Jason said. "It wouldn't make sense to burn the plants in your own garden. Why go through the trouble of making one in the first place?"

"You have a point," Matthew said.

The three of them heard footsteps approaching, and they turned to see Feliks coming closer.

"Like, you should head inside," Feliks said.

"One question," Jason said. "Did you walk through your plants and burn them?"

"Like, of course not. Why would I…?"

Feliks cut himself off, his eyes widening. He went closer and looked through the plants, eyes focused on the ground.

Lovino saw a footprint in the dirt, and he wondered who would walk around with bare feet. Feliks paused when he saw the footprint.

"Like, get inside," Feliks said. "We'll be leaving soon, and it won't be a good idea for you to stick around outside. Trust me."

"What's wrong?" Matthew asked.

"Like, don't worry about it. Come on. Let's go."

Lovino could tell that the phoenix was worried. His movements had started growing jerky, and his eyes kept darting around. Lovino didn't like the idea that Feliks was hiding something from them, but there was something that bothered him more.

Lovino knew that Feliks would tell Vlad if something was bothering him, and Vlad would keep it secret as well. And the thought of Vlad hiding something didn't sit well with him.

But then he was reminded about the revelation of Vlad's true nature, and the fact that he had been afraid of their reactions. A part of him knew that Vlad wouldn't keep something from them without a good reason, but another part hated that Vlad would keep something from him.

…

As each of the covens woke up, they slowly made their way towards the conference room that they had used the previous night. Miguel was already there, and he smiled when each of them entered.

Antonio made his way towards his sire, intending to learn more from the former vampire.

"Why did you let me think that you were dead?" Antonio demanded.

"Because in a sense, I was," Miguel said calmly. "Still am."

"I don't mean…"

"I know what you don't mean. I died as a vampire. But my consciousness was transported to purgatory. We don't have souls, so it was my consciousness. That's what happens to vampires when they die, by the way. Since we don't have souls, a true afterlife is barred from us. A demon somehow managed to get to me and offered me a deal I couldn't refuse. As for why I let you think I was dead: well, it's not that I let you think that. I was only able to return to this world a few months ago, and I never got around to tracking down all my children. As it is, I can only remain in this world for a few days at a time."

Antonio stared at him for a moment.

"What was the deal?" Antonio asked.

Miguel smirked.

"That is my little secret," Miguel said.

Antonio frowned, but before he could say anything else Yao entered the room, and the vampires knew that they would begin shortly. Antonio threw Miguel one last look before he went to rejoin his own coven.

"Are you sure that Vlad would come?" Yao asked as he addressed Miguel.

"According to my sources, he has received the message and is on his way," Miguel said. "Though they've had some difficulty acquiring the information, since apparently they turned the area into sacred ground, making it impossible for vampires to enter and nearly impossible for demons. A weak demon who isn't pure evil can step there, but it would be painful."

"How do we know the information is accurate?" Arthur asked.

"In the underworld, information is the currency, so everyone makes sure to have more than enough of it. And it needs to be as accurate as possible, since spreading false information could result in some of the cruellest forms of torture imaginable. Tortures that humans or vampires could think of are no more than child's play for them."

"So the information can be trusted?" Yao asked.

"Of course. You have my word for it."

"How long will it take for him to arrive?"

"A few hours at most. But rest assured, he will be here tonight."

"Good. We will have every entrance blocked and once we've established his position, we will all move in. There's no way he can defeat all of us."

"Will he be bringing friends along?" Francis asked.

Miguel frowned.

"I'm not sure," Miguel said. "None of my sources told me of any friends. But if he knows how many of us there are, then he will certainly have some assistance."

"So it all boils down to whether or not he knows how many of us there are," Lukas said.

"I know about a few friends of his, namely a phoenix, a naga and a mermaid. The mermaid shouldn't be a problem, and Lord Yao will have no problem with the naga. The problem is the phoenix."

"How do we deal with the bird?" Mathias asked.

"It's not going to be easy," Miguel said. "A phoenix revives itself every time it dies. And after each revival it comes back stronger than before. We have no idea how old this phoenix is and how many cycles it went through."

"And let's not forget about his angel friends," Arthur said. "Those bloody bastards really worked us over."

"I will deal with them," Yao said, before he looked at his coven. "I'm sure you will help with that?"

"Of course," Leon said. "There is no need to even ask us."

"I will guard our little prisoner," Miguel said. "I'm the only one that won't be tempted by his blood."

"Very well," Yao said. "Are all of you well fed? We need to be sure that we are all at full strength."

Everyone except for Miguel and the members of the Dragon Clan fidgeted nervously. Yao arched an eyebrow.

"Well?" he prompted.

"It's been a few days since we've last fed from our slave, before he escaped…" Francis said sheepishly.

"We might also be a little deprived…" Arthur said.

"Well, we were supposed to be hunting when we ran into him," Tino said, chuckling nervously. "We were more focused on finding and defeating him that we completely forgot about it."

Yao sighed, before he glanced at Miguel.

"Perhaps that is the reason why you couldn't manage to defeat him," Yao said. "You were all weak with hunger."

"Hey!" Gilbert exclaimed. "When we first faced him, we had fed from our pet just the previous night."

Yao glared at the white-haired vampire.

"You should remember your place," Yao growled.

Miguel cleared his throat, and Yao turned to face him.

"Perhaps you should all take the time to feed," Miguel said. "I'm sure you could spare them some of your slaves. After all, you have about fifty in the basement of this building."

"I see that I would have no choice in the matter," Yao sighed. "Very well. You can feed from my slaves, but keep them alive. Humans are a lot harder to come by than they used to be. Well, unless you burn down their house."

"I just thought of something," Alistair said, looking at Miguel. "You don't need an invitation into their homes. You could get a few humans."

Miguel looked annoyed at that statement.

"I am doing more than enough to ensure our victory," Miguel said. "Because of me, angels can't enter here, unless they have someone like, say, a fallen angel helping them. And even then, they will be weaker than they normally would be."

"How'd you do that?" Lukas asked.

"I turned this area into cursed ground."

"Would have been nice to know that sooner," Patrick said.

"So we have an advantage?" Yao asked.

"Against angels, yes," Miguel said. "However, other creatures, particularly the ones that fall on the other side of the spectrum could pose even more of a problem than before."

"But it is still an advantage," Francis said.

"Come," Leon said. "I will take you so that you may feed."

Soon enough, the only ones remaining were Miguel and the Dragon Clan, with the exception of Leon. Miguel looked around at the other members to try to see if he knew who each of them were.

There was Kiku, a young man from Japan. He was Yao's first child who had been sired over two thousand years ago.

Yong Soo, an energetic teen from Korea, before the divide. He had a knack for building things, as well as infiltration. There was also a chance that he might have some magic.

Lien, a serious woman that hailed from Vietnam. Miguel wasn't sure when she had been sired, but he knew that it was a long time ago.

Lobsang, a monk from Tibet. Miguel knew that Yao prided himself in siring someone from a religious order. The Tibetan was usually close to Yao, and he rarely spoke.

Kasem, a man from Thailand. He had actually been the crown prince once upon a time, but then Yao got to him. He was apparently a monster on the battlefield.

Chio, a young man from Macau. He had been sired in the last century. He had a lot of luck on his side, which made him one of the vampires in the Dragon Clan that you didn't want to face in battle.

And finally there was Mei, the youngest of the group, only a few decades old. She usually posed as Yao's secretary, but that was all a ploy to make others underestimate her. She was very talented when it came to combat, and she was an expert strategist.

Then there was of course Yao and Leon, and Miguel felt pleased that he knew who each of them was. Out of the covens assembled, the Dragon Clan could prove to be the most troublesome.

"I'll just go to the prisoner," Miguel said. "If he manages to get past all of you, I will be ready to take him down."

"Forgive me for saying it," Kiku said, "but I do not recall you mentioning how to kill him."

"You can't," Miguel said simply. "There are only a handful beings that can do that. But you don't need to kill him to defeat him. Just make sure that he's powerless to fight back. I can handle the rest."

Yao narrowed his eyes, and Miguel decided to leave before he was asked another question, one which he knew he shouldn't answer. He mentally berated himself. He couldn't afford for them to become suspicious and ruin his plans.

He paused, glancing towards the ground. He no longer cast a shadow, and yet there it was. He tensed when he felt something cold, followed by the scent of smoke and old blood. He knew what the shadow meant.

"Is everything going according to plan?" a cold voice asked.

"S-sim," Miguel said. "He's on his way, and the vampires suspect nothing."

"Excellent. And don't try to betray me. The punishment will be of the likes that you cannot even imagine. Be grateful I made sure that the Winter King didn't hear of this yet."

"U-understood."

The shadow disappeared, and Miguel sighed in relief. He couldn't afford for things to go wrong. He needed to find a way to achieve his own goals, as well as his master's, and he needed to make sure that he didn't betray his master in any way.

…

Vlad was waiting for Dimitri, Samuel and Clara to arrive. He wasn't sure what was taking them so long, and he grew worried.

He jumped when there was a knock on the door, and he immediately ran towards it. He could already smell that it was them, and relief washed over him.

He opened the door and smiled when he saw Dimitri, but frowned when he couldn't see Samuel or Clara. Dimitri sighed.

"They couldn't make it," he said. "There was another emergency they had to tend to."

"I understand," Vlad said. "At least you're here. And at least you use the door."

Feliks and Elizabeta came closer, and when Dimitri saw Elizabeta his eyes widened.

"Wait, you're here?" he questioned. "And the house is still standing?"

Feliks sighed, before he glared at Elizabeta and Vlad.

"It takes a lot of work to keep the peace between them," Feliks said.

"I know," Dimitri said. "I've tried."

Heracles came closer as well, accompanied by Alfred, Lars and Matthew. Dimitri looked at Heracles for a moment, before turning to the Nephilim.

"Why exactly are they coming along?" Dimitri asked. "Isn't it dangerous?"

"Two of them insisted," Vlad said. "The third is a guardian angel in the making, and Jett figured it would be a good idea to take him. I've been contemplating it for the entire day."

"Does he know some protection spells?"

"Da. I taught him. And with him coming, so is Fletcher."

"Fletcher?" Dimitri asked. "Why Fletcher?"

"Heartwing." Vlad said.

Dimitri nodded his head in understanding, before he looked around.

"Where is Fletcher?" Dimitri asked.

"He's meeting us there," Elizabeta said. "Now we can go, can't we?"

Vlad nodded, and they were about to leave the house when a voice spoke.

"Wait."

Vlad turned to see Lovino standing in the doorway of the next room, looking nervous. Vlad quickly approached him.

"Is something wrong?" Vlad asked.

Lovino blushed and looked down.

"Don't get hurt again," Lovino said.

Vlad smiled.

"I'll try not to," Vlad said.

"Don't try, dammit. Just don't."

Vlad chuckled. He was fighting the urge to wrap his arms around Lovino in a hug, so instead he placed his hand on his shoulder.

"I will do my best not to get hurt," Vlad said.

Reluctantly he turned away to join the others. Once he did, Elizabeta glanced at him coldly, and he rolled his eyes.

"Idiot," she muttered.

He wasn't in the mood for a fight and tried to ignore her, but apparently she wasn't finished.

"When are you going to tell him that he's your heartwing?" she muttered.

He glared at her but didn't answer. The last person he wanted to discuss this with was her.

After Feliks turned into his true form to allow the Nephilim to ride him, the others all spread their wings and took flight, knowing that it would be a long and difficult battle awaiting them, especially since they couldn't kill out of fear for attracting demonic attention.