So I finally added the UK brothers. I was about to scratch it, but really wanted to put them in. Hopefully it worked out alright! :D Also thanks everybody for the reviews, favorites, and follows!

AND THUS THE AUDIENCE UNDERGOES A TIMESKIP, THROUGH WHICH OUR RUGGED, BATTLE-HARDENED HEROES MUST ABANDON THE TIME MACHINE FOR A PLANE.

BECAUSE THE UNITED KINGDOM AND STUFF.

TRUST ME I'M A PROFESSIONAL- SVEG

The house was indescribably old. Rotting blue shutters hung askew from rusting hinges. The windows could hardly qualify as windows, the glass was so scratched, yellowed, and clouded- though, only a single pane was broken, as if a passerby had decided that, yes, this bottom right window is just screaming to be vandalized.

The house's peeling paint might have once been white, but years upon years had stained it a disintegrating gray. The door was large and didn't appear to quite fit within the doorway. The house itself seemed to lean forwards, as if some eternal wind blew against it. The lawn was plain; no flowers or bushes or trees, just overgrown grass in dire need of being cut.

"Is this a haunted house?" Alfred asked, looking up at it. His face was still a large bruise, and ugly yellow purple. It hurt just to look at.

"Of course it is," Francis replied. "Not even vermin would deign to live here."

There was a bad taste in Arthur's mouth. His forehead felt feverishly hot, and goosebumps prickled along his arms as a cold English rain splashed his skin. He started for the steps, every rational part of him screaming at him, wondering what in the world he thought he was doing. "I can assure you that people do live here." And he knocked on the door, before he could change his mind.

An awkward enough time had passed before it was again suggested that no one lived here, and they should really be going.

Arthur grit his teeth and knocked again. "They live here."

Alfred came up beside him. "Well, it'd be nice to know who."

How could he muster to speak curses aloud? "It really wouldn't. And it seems as if my presence is being ignored."

"Then let's leave."

"Absolutely not. We're getting answers- aren't those your favorite?" He gave the door a combination of a kick and a shove, and while it did shift and creak, made no move as to allow them entrance inside.

"Let me in!" he shouted at the broken window.

The door's peephole was slid back, and Alfred jumped.

"Password, please." From inside came a wail of "Let him innnnnnn. It's deartháirrrr!"

Arthur balled his fists. "Yes, Connor. Make Rhys let me in. I have company."

The peephole slid open once again. "Sorry, but we don't speak English. Come back another time."

"Deartháir! Move, Rhys. Let him in."

"Why I even bother," came the mutter. "Only the password grants entry."

"When Alistair gets home, he's going to beat you!"

"When Alistair gets home, he's going to kiss me. Do you have the password or not, Arthur?"

"There's never been a password."

"Nope, not up until you decided to drag your ass back here. Oh, hoh! When Alistair gets home!"

"Rhys," Arthur snapped. "We can save the rivalry for later."

"We can save the rivalry for later," Rhys mimicked back. "The day you enter this house is the day I forget to put down the salt. This house has been evil-free for six days, gentlemen. Six. Days. I don't intend to break such a streak now."

"There were pixies this time," Connor suggested helpfully. "A whole swarm of them in the attic. Rhys is mad because he tried to drive them out with wasp spray and they stung him. You should have seen him three days ago, before the fever wore off! Alistair and I had to lock him in his room because he thought the chandelier was mocking him-"

"It never happened."

"-And then about three weeks ago some brownies burrowed into our electricity lines. And a week before that there were mermaids in the pond. And we haven't managed to catch the miniature dragons yet. They breed like rabbits."

Arthur closed his eyes and inhaled. By God he hated this. Time was slipping away. "I've brought company," he repeated. "Including a time traveler."

No one said anything to this, but the peephole slid open and Rhys' yellow eyes narrowed. "A timey."

Alfred leaned in. "Hi, I'm Alfred!"

The door was kicked open.

Two Counters stood in the doorway, one sporting blisters all down one side of his face and the other throwing his arms out.

"Deartháir!" Connor cried, barreling into Arthur.

Rhys squinted at Alfred, and then tilted his head to see the rest of the group in the rental car.

"This better be good," was all he said about it, scraping the salt ring away with his foot.

"So this isn't your traveler, you just picked it up."

Alfred pinched his nose. Jeez, this guy was even less fun than Arthur. "I'm literally right here. As in sitting on your couch. Right in the front of you."

Rhys screwed up his nose. "Yes, I'm trying not to think about that. The sofa is ruined."

Alfred made sure to sit extra heavily. Even leaned back. Oh, think I smell? Here, lemme soak your couch. "Too bad for you. I'm a timey and I'm in your house." He stuck out his tongue.

Rhys scowled. "After you've obviously gotten run over by what I must assume to be a donkey- you know, same species and all."

"Have you looked in the mirror lately?"

The Counter frowned and turned to Arthur. "You've chosen quite peculiar company, Arthur. Four more Counters and an animal."

"Alfred's American," Arthur replied. "So you'll have to excuse him."

Alfred opened his mouth "Hey, you're-"

"The purpose of this visit is information. Give us what you all know, and we'll be off."

Connor pouted from where he sat (much too) close to Arthur. "You're not staying?"

"You'd be welcome to join me."

"Ey," Gilbert snapped. "But you gotta bring your own mode of transportation. I just got a seat and I don't see myself giving it up at any time in the near future."

"And you can't talk," Lovino added. "Or look like that."

"Oui. May I interest you in a paper bag? I've heard their very popular this season among the ugly-"

Rhys slammed his palm down on the coffee table. "Shut up! Join you where?"

"Our quest!" Alfred exclaimed. "But only cool people are allowed so- sorry. You haven't received an invitation yet."

Rhys snorted. "A quest? This isn't the thirteenth century anymore."

"Will you just- be quiet, I want to be out of here just as much as you! Are you going to make this difficult or are we going to do this thing at all?" Arthur grumbled.

"The latter sounds delightful."

Arthur grit his teeth and ignored this. "Francis and I have been chasing after Alfred for quite a while-"

Rhys clucked. "Never thought you'd be so desperate for human company. I told you frogs don't make good pets."

Francis opened his mouth for a sharp retort, but Arthur stepped on his foot. "You well know why we were locating timeys. We met him once during the 1800's in America, while he was on an assignment, and again back in his 'Present'. The Axis has taken his Counter."

Rhys squinted. "Axis doesn't take Counters."

"They did this time."

"What would they want out of a Counter? We're practically useless without a traveler."

"The Axis offered him a traveler's timepiece," Francis replied.

Alfred looked away, his chin set firmly in his hand. He'd figured it out once he'd been told. Matthew really didn't want to be saved. Matthew wanted to be free. Well, boo-hoo, Matt! He'd come for him anyway.

His hand trailed down his arm to his wrist, where his Counter's watch now resided. He had to give it to him. Even if Matthew didn't want to be his Counter, didn't want to see Alfred at all- he had to return it. Just…just in case.

Rhys looked interested. "They have extra timepieces?"

"No. It's most likely taken from the travelers they decide to kill."

"Then get to the point."

"The Axis decides who to kill."

The other Counter whistled and clapped. "Wow. Whoo hoo. Well done, figuring that out. What are you, an idjit?"

"Mathieu wasn't killed by the Axis. They want him for something, maybe it's to get to Alfred himself. But we were in Canada to figure out more when we found out. I had just performed clairvoyance and met with Alfred's Counter when Alfred actually appeared under the Circle with me."

Rhys's eyes slid to the traveler, and then back to Francis, who pursed his lips.

"And?" he ventured.

"And the part after that I don't know much about. Alfred can explain better than I can."

"And then Matt punched me," Alfred snarled.

"Good for him."

"It really hurt, too. Next thing I know this masked dude is carryin' me, and-"

"Rewind, Alfred," Arthur ordered. "Go back to when Matthew punched you."

"I had thought Alfred had merely performed his own clairvoyance unconsciously," Francis added. "You can sometimes interact with another environment if the seeing is strong enough- but Matieu's punch was only supposed to surprise him enough to get him unstuck. But it actually…connected. Which means Alfred was at the Circle."

"But I wasn't because the guy was carrying me-"

"-but you had to have had-"

"-I wasn't-"

"-but there's no other explanation-"

Rhys shook his head and interrupted them with a cluck. "There are no explanations when it comes to time. All of you should know that."

Alfred shot him a look. "But Wang-Wang was carrying me."

"Who the hell is Wang-Wang?"

"Axis," Gilbert supplied happily. "They decided to visit us."

"The Axis? When did this happen-"

"Same time," Arthur interjected. "Do you know who the Axis are, Rhys?"

Rhys squinted at Arthur. "Whattya mean?"

"Do you know what they're made of?"

"I assume carbon and some other organic stuff, most living things are-"

"They're timeys, Rhys."

Rhys stiffened.

"Timeys?" Connor repeated in disbelief.

"There were three with Yao Wang, their supposed leader. One of them was my own."

Rhys laughed. "Well shit, Art. You've gotten more coherently drunk in these past years, but you still don't make any sense."

"It's true," Gilbert snapped. "Ludwig was there-"

"Feliciano. Goddamn Feliciano-"

"-They were alive."

Rhys' lips curled over his teeth. "I don't get jokes."

"Good thing this isn't one."

"What is this, Arthur?"

Arthur rubbed his watch. "What have you done about the Axis, ever?"

"I don't give a single damn about the Axis-"

"Then what about the General?"

"I've forgotten about the General. Tell me what you're here for."

"Information, that's all. Anything you have."

He turned away. "I don't have any."

"You've never heard any more about missing travelers-"

"Why would I? It's all the same. They're gone, Arthur."

"But they aren't; we just told you that some of them are alive."

A second of silent battle waged. Neither Counter blinked, but it was Rhys who finally resumed speaking. "And you're telling me you saw your Counter. The one you've never seen before."

"I don't believe there's any other."

"Fine. I can't say I fully believe everything, but fine. Timeys make up the Axis- doesn't quite make sense, but okay. Why are you getting up in the Axis' business?"

Alfred clapped his hands together. "Because we're going to fix the Holes."

He turned on him, head cocked. "You're a timey. You don't fix Holes."

"Well I am, and we're going to start a revolution."

"Funny word that is, 'revolution'. It can mean a war or a breakthrough. Neither one lasts for long."

"He wants to reform the time travel community," Arthur explained. "No war. You don't have any information to give us?"

"No. Get the timey off the couch before Alistair gets back."

"You can't be telling me you've shut yourselves up in this house all this time," Arthur sighed.

"I'm not. For instance, Alistair is absent."

"Rhys."

"Arthur."

"Nothing. Not one thing. We've told you this much, and you can't even-there's the possibility that -nothing?"

"If I tell you something, will you all leave?"

"Yes. I apologize if I didn't promise that before."

Rhys pointed to the front door. "Time travel family in Suffolk. They've got some unpronounceable surname. You know them- Berwald and Tino."

In the distance, they heard the rattle of a car.

Rhys tensed and jaggled his fingers at the door. "Out out out out out."

Alistair watched a rental car start on the curb in front of the house. He looked to the porch and found Connor sniffling and clinging to Rhys, and then turned back and attempted to make out the figures inside the car.

He made eye contact with the passenger, who's face visibly paled. Arms went waving wild and the car went lurching off. He sniffed, once. What smelled?

It got stronger going up through the yard, and damn near sickening on the porch. Like sewage.

"Alistair," Connor started. "You'll be so surprised! Arthur was here, and he brought a-"

Rhys clamped a hand over his mouth too late. While Connor never actually admitted to what Arthur brought, Alistair finally recognized the scent.

"Let's hope you didn't let it inside."

*Moose noises*

MEEERRRRRRR