A/N: First of all, I am so sorry. It's been two weeks since my last update, and I'm afraid to say the chapter after this one won't come out until about another week and a half, as a rough estimate. I've been so caught up in revision, which is something I usually don't need to think about (I'm usually a really bad student). I got so carried away that Gakutalia was lost on the wind.

Also, we've had guests round, and if I'm caught writing FanFiction, I find it a little hard to explain what I'm exactly doing without having to explain the entirety of Hetalia and my back-story and authorial aspirations to boot. Now I come across as a little grump... I'm a nice person, really! I promise!

Thirdly (and final excuse, I promise) my sister's back from both university and Norway! She visited there for her boyfriend, so I would like to thank a particular Norwegian family for looking after her! Shout out to Norway! I wanted to spend some time with her over the Easter break, but also get to know him a bit more, because he visited here, too. He brought back Norwegian chocolate. One of them was these things that are translated to "Quick Lunches", and they were delicious. They're basically like a Kitkat dipped in Milka chocolate. Considering I like Kitkats and absolutely adore Milka, I very much enjoyed my Quick Lunches. He preceded to tell me they were usually eaten by hikers on mountains. Does going upstairs count as hiking?

Ah, also for the next chapter... It'll take a little longer before it's updated, because I'm going on holiday to Mexico tomorrow! I'm very excited and am really looking forwards to the hot weather. The flight will be extremely long, though! About 12 hours, so I'm going to need some serious preoccupation on the plane... I'm going to have so much fun relaxing on the beach and just eating. I love eating. I really hope they have tacos there, as I would love to test some authentic Mexican tacos. I love tacos... Tacos are my life.

Enough about me! Gakutalia is back!

A.K.

The corridor was brutally long, a never ending strip that just called for Eris to appear at its mouth and launch several bullets each into their backs. However, that wasn't the case. Whatever happened with her, they managed to get out safely on the other side. Mr Vurkel slowed to stop and paused, looking down with a frown.

"What is it?" Arthur asked, joining his side and looking down. "That's Vinni's hat."

"Vinni?" his teacher glanced at him curiously.

"Some gangster thug leader who works with Eris," Arthur explained. "I just remember him wearing it earlier."

"I was looking at the phone," Vurkel replied.

Looking closer, Arthur did see the smashed remains of some kind of technology.

"I wonder if it belongs to this Vinni character," Vurkel mused, and started going down the stairs. "If that's the case, we can take the SIM card and use it to gain all his contacts. If we can trace the numbers, we may be able to find some big names."

Arthur glanced over his shoulder to check for Eris before following Vurkel down the stairs. Strangely, she had yet to make her reappearance. He stepped off the last stair and joined Vurkel at the bottom floor. Approaching the phone, Arthur felt his heart skip a beat.

"That's not Vinni's phone," he commented, crouching beside it and picking up the remains. He turned it over and saw the back had a strange hamburger sticker on the back. "This is Alfred's."

Looking around, Vurkel wore the same frown Arthur could only imagine he himself was wearing. Suddenly, Vurkel's eyes lit up with realisation.

"Eris called 'Vinni' to go after Alfred," Vurkel clenched his fists. "Did this thug find him? What kind of guy is he? Would he…?"

"Kill Alfred?" Arthur finished, then reflected on the brutal nature of that man. "Yes – he nearly killed my little brother."

"Peter?" Vurkel shook his head. "Actually, I don't want to know, so long as everyone's fine… In this case, though, what happened to Alfred?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Eris yelled from above. "Alfred's dead. Vinni killed him."

She was leaning dangerously over the side of the railing. There was an ecstatic expression in her eyes, a wild anticipation that prompted a pit to form in Arthur's stomach. By now, he could clearly see the woman was treacherous.

"What do you think, Vurkel?" Eris started walking round, slowly making her way down. "Do you think Alfred's sacrifice was worth it? Only to have the pair of you slaughtered down here?"

Vurkel pulled a gun from his belt and aimed it at her. She froze on the spot, but then turned her gun towards Arthur.

"You shoot, and I do the same," she said, and continued walking.

He won't shoot if I'm here, Arthur thought, keeping his gaze fixed on Eris' every movement.

She reached the bottom, the silky smile still on her face. "Let's not turn to guns, Vurkel. Can we not solve this cleanly? A negotiation?"

"You and I both know that will never happen," Vurkel replied.

"Just tell me the code," she snapped. "If I kill you here, you won't have to face punishment from your superiors. That's what you're really afraid of here, isn't it? The punishment you'll face."

"Have you lost all reason?" Mr Vurkel was exasperated. "Don't you realise how different our viewpoints are? No matter how many times you ask for a negotiation, we'll always reach the same, fruitless conclusion. I'm not telling you the code."

"But I was right about you knowing it, yes?" she asked, and Vurkel offered a shrug.

"Only top agents get to know the truth," he answered, and her entire body stiffened.

"It's always the top agents," she scowled. "Those lousy good for nothings who take life too seriously."

"With the positions we have, being mature is a necessity," he replied.

"This is why I think it's total bullshit that I was never chosen to be at the top," she complained. "There are so many agents in your section who I could beat. Admit it, Vurkel. It was a mistake to not let me reach my rightful place."

"I can't say that, Eris, because it's not true," Vurkel replied. "You wouldn't be able to manage this. That's why I told them to reject you."

"I've killed people," she answered, and suddenly sounded sullen, childish, even.. "What else is there more to manage?"

"Killing people whom you consider your enemies, and killing people who were once allies, even close friends, is completely different," Vurkel replied stonily. "Murder is different from discovering information about the world and top people that you would rather not know. Some of the things I see every day could destroy a person's stability. The reason I rejected you was for your own safety – I never wanted to do it as a personal offence."

"Shut up, Vurkel," she screeched, and her words echoed around the warehouse. "You ruined my career. You held me back. You couldn't bear the thought of me, once your student, suddenly being allowed in the same class as you. You couldn't bear the thought that, soon, very soon, I'd be better than you."

Vurkel remained silent as he watched her pace around them in a circle, a lioness circling her prey.

"Look at us now," she smirked, suddenly serene once more, pausing just before them. "I'm better than you. What you feared has come true, yet instead of allowing me to continue being a friend, you forced a bridge between us that drove us to become enemies. With my skill, I could've been your ally, yet you, Vurkel, knowingly made us enemies – you could've been able to effectively use my skills on your side."

"That may be true, however, I stand to what I said," Vurkel replied. "Even now, I wouldn't let you into the top band."

"This is where things go wrong," she spat. "You and your condescending nature. I can't stand it. It's always grated on me. "

"Eris, allow Arthur to leave," Vurkel begged.

"I and sidekick Kirkland have already had this discussion," she answered petulantly. "We've already concluded that he won't be able to leave here alive, purely because of what he knows. He's fine with that."

"I never said I was fine with it," Arthur replied coolly, suddenly finding his strength return. "Just that I acknowledged your intentions."

"Both of you are one and the same," she hissed, and Arthur noted a slight shake in her hand as she held the gun too tightly. "Would you upgrade him to the top, Vurkel? Would you let sidekick Kirkland into the top band?"

"No," Vurkel instantly replied. "Because that would be cruel."

"He sucks, anyway," she leered. "You have an excuse for not letting him reach the top. As for me, you had no excuse. You just rejected me. You betrayed me and made me look like a fool in front of everybody. Before I kill you, I want an explanation, Vurkel. Why? Why did you do it?"

"Because you're emotionally weak," Vurkel blurted out, exasperated.

"What?" she tilted her head and stared at him savagely.

"You're too easily controlled by your emotions," Vurkel sighed. "Look at you! You always have been, and you evidently still are. Your defection only backed up my point. I would've been more inclined to consider the position for you had you stayed."

"What?" she repeated, and sounded genuinely surprised.

"By allowing your emotions to control you, you make brash, irresponsible decisions," Vurkel replied. "These types of decisions could've led you to ruin your future missions and even lose your life. What's the point of that? I wanted to wait just a few more years whilst you matured, but it seems it's too late for that."

She laughed in his face, manic once more. "You're just old and stupid."

Eris moved extremely quickly after that. Her hand shot out and a knife sunk into the flesh of Vurkel's arm. The gun slipped from his hand and she was ready, taking aim already. Vurkel regained composure in enough time to dash forward and wrestle her arm upwards.

"Arthur, get out of here!" he yelled, waving for him to leave.

"But-"

"Just go, don't put me through this stress," Vurkel snapped.

Dipping his head to show consent, Arthur hurried to the stairs and started climbing up. He glanced over his shoulder to see Eris lob the gun to the side and swing her elbow to connect with Vurkel's jaw. Rather than watch them perform perfect, practised hand to hand combat, Arthur continued on his way up, listening to Vurkel's instructions.

He had been told to leave. Whilst it would be ideal to find Alfred, it seemed that Vurkel believed that was impossible in their current stage.

He reached the top of the staircase and looked down one more time. Eris had opted for one of her small knives once more, and Vurkel was dodging to preserve his life. Frowning, Arthur felt a sudden guilt descend over him. He couldn't just leave the man that had saved his life not once, but twice.

Looking around, his noticed an array of materials, the most obvious ones being the wires and pipes. He reached for a wire, and pulled it. It slid out of the wall, clearly not connected properly, although it still sparked.

With immense care, he stepped away from the wire and tested all of the pipes until one came away loose. Satisfied, he tied the end of the wire to the pipe, and looked back down below. Vurkel and Eris were in close combat, he needed to time this carefully.

Watching them battle, Arthur positioned himself. Rather than yell and distract Vurkel, he wolf whistled to catch both their attention, and lobbed the pipe down. Grabbing the wire, he swung it manically around, until, upon reaching the bottom floor, the pipe collided with Eris's head, all within a matter of seconds.

She lost her balance and dropped her knife. Vurkel shot forwards and grabbed her, bringing two fingers forwards and jabbing her in the throat. Her legs gave way beneath her, and she fell to the floor, limp and unconscious.

For a moment, Arthur stood there, grinning like an idiot, until Mr Vurkel looked up at him, shaking his head. He believed he was in trouble, until he saw Vurkel wore a reluctant smile. He shrugged nonchalantly, and met Vurkel halfway down, whilst his ally was carrying an unconscious Eris.

"This is lucky," he commented. "She's been a wanted figure the day she defected."

"What now?" Arthur said in dismay. "What do you think happened to Alfred?"

"I'm afraid to say I just don't know," Vurkel sighed. "Our best option would be to just try and leave."

Arthur nodded forlornly, and followed Mr Vurkel down the corridor.

A.J.

His footsteps made an odd clanking sound as he raced down the corridor. The man's casual behaviour was unsettling, considering he didn't seem to be in any particular rush to catch up to him. Alfred kept glancing over his shoulder, and although he could see him, he never tried to fire at him.

He turned his head and saw a sudden hole in the ground. Skidding to a halt, Alfred stared in horror. The floor had caved in, with only a small platform in the middle held in place by a chain that dangled from above – a poor, half done job of repairing it.

Alfred glanced over his shoulder, saw the man approaching, and leapt forwards. He landed on the platform, where it wobbled and shook, threatening to tip over. He clung on tightly to the chain, staring wide eyed at the abyss below. Rather than get shot mid-jump, he rushed forward and jumped for the other side-

-only to have his foot slip and his chin crack on the ledge. He grasped onto the length with all his strength, when a shadow fell across him. He raised his head and his heart skipped a beat to see Dino standing above him.

"Wh-what?" he gaped.

He was hallucinating. The dead had come back to reap their revenge.

"'Is brother, Nico," the man replied from the other side, amusement in his tone. "Step on 'is fingers, Nico. Do it."

Nico's large foot rose, and Alfred squeezed his eyes shut. There was a loud buzz, and Nico slumped on the floor in front of him, as Arthur grasped Alfred's wrist and pulled him up, a Taser in hand.

"Arthur?" he gaped just as Arthur said, "Alfred."

He heard the click of a gun and turned just as a bullet impacted against the armoured vest. There was a sharp pain and he slumped in Arthur's arms, just as the man jumped lightly to the other side, taking aim again.

The bullet was directed straight towards Arthur's head. If it did not kill Arthur, it would be because it would kill Alfred for defending Arthur. There was no time to move, because they were in point blank range. His gun had no bullets, but Nico's did. He clasped it and turned, gripping onto Arthur's shoulder for support. His ribs were ringing from the impact of the previous bullet. The man's finger slid towards the trigger, and Alfred noted how everything was in that strange, slow motion feeling again. Even he felt a little bit sluggish, as the gun raised in his hands. There was something victorious in the man's eyes, to see Alfred pointing a gun at him. Kill or be killed. But Alfred wouldn't turn to that. He knew that was a dark path, and an intentional shot would be murder. Alfred was not a murderer. In the trance-like slow motion, he raised the gun higher and slammed a bullet through the ropes holding the platform up.

It was Alfred's satisfaction to see the horror briefly in the man's eyes, as the platform sank and snapped down towards the abyss below. His ears rang as his enemy fired a bullet of his platform fell and he was gone, his eyes flashing with anger being the last thing Alfred saw.

After that, it was just the two of them in the warehouse, with Arthur shaking him slightly and calling out his name, whilst the sound of blood pumping frantically rang through his ears.

A/N: Thank you for your patience in updating this chapter! I'm glad everyone has supported Gakutalia throughout, and I'm glad to say I feel it is nearing a very fruitful end indeed! Everyone has been very positive throughout, and I would like to thank you all for having such faith in me and this Fic. I won't get sentimental yet, because it's not THE end, but I would most certainly like to show my appreciation to everyone who has read and enjoyed Gakutalia.

Thank you very much, and the next update won't be until a week in a bit, where I will definitely let you know how my experiences in Mexico turned out! Until then, enjoy the rest of your Easter break!