Thanks for the reviews! I... failed. Yeah, I failed to update earlier. I'm sorry about that. I don't understand why I keep getting writer's block for this story. Still, I'll just keep trying until I find a way to break out of this habit. Now, on with the show!

Forgive him, but Japan was still not quite convinced of the chances of efficacy of Italy's plan.

He would tell him this, actually had told him this one few times before, but the annoying man would just grow more agitated with each time. And as (very) amusing it was to make Italy angry, neither of them was nearly stupid enough to be childish or violent in the middle of such a delicate operation.

Japan still had to spare an annoyed glance at Italy's back every now and then while they waited for their guest to arrive.

For some reason, Italy wanted to use this little brotherly meeting to convince that flamboyant brother of his to join them. Japan might've already mentioned his failed attempts in dissuading Italy from this, and as one might guess, the latter still insisted on being stubborn. Tch. No, he insisted that South Italy will join their side once and for all and that Japan had nothing to worry about. He had a plan, Italy said.

Honestly, if Italy wasn't such an interesting person and offered so much-needed amusement in his life, Japan would've already had beheaded him by now for being so fucking cryptic. But he will trust him… for as long as Japan saw that it'll benefit him.

They were. A cute little port. Japan smirked. Italy chose this place just because he wanted his brother to know there's no way to escape from here. The only way to escape would be jumping into the water and swim away... until you eventually drown.

But Japan knew better, and thankfully, so did Italy. The man had put many soldiers and spies in the area, keep an eye on who came and gone, or rather, keep an eye for a certain uncouth American and his foolish knight in shining armor. And Japan will be damned if he wasn't keeping his guard up to.

Even Germany, that rude sloth, had his ears and his opened for his beloved older brother. Oh, did Japan forget to mention him? To be honest, even he forgets that the European was also here with them. The whole trio was here. And if anything, that helped alleviate Japan's irritated mood.

Italy would never insist on having them work together if it wasn't important… or interesting, for that matter.

However this event might go, Japan's determined to make this worth his time, and have as much fun as he can.

/ / / / /

It's taking a huge effort on Allen's part to not be in constant disgust of this place and not express it. He hated Venice. It's a shithole that went without saying. At least not it's not a dirty shitstain hellhole like Moscow, or a grimy city that reeked of something he didn't want to know about like… just about anywhere in Canada. But what really grinded his gears was how this place tried to hide the shittiness.

This place wasn't hideous. Oh, it wasn't. Here, the buildings were actually nice enough to look at, if you ignored the piss poor state of some of them near the port and that damn smell. So, yeah, nice architecture, he'll give the bastard that. And if you look at all this and just happen to be unaware of who ran this place, you'd be forgiven for thinking that this seemed like a sweet tourist destination.

Ya don't see any pitiful beggars or homeless on the streets, but only 'cause they never last long in these places. Not with someone like Italy in charge. If you pay attention, you'll notice the fear oozing from the humans in the area, how wary they are and how they try to hide how much they wanna run, and run far.

At least Canada and some others were honest about being shitholes. And at least China actually puts a hell lot effort into destroying anything gross or uncivilized in his country. This was just pathetic. God, did he seriously just compliment those assholes in a way?

Ugh, forget about that. Wonder how Flavio's doing right about now?

Gillen took the damn thing from him 'cause Allen wouldn't leave it alone… and maybe because he almost crushed it in frustration once or twice.

"Everything seems to be going well so far," "Still, we cannot our guard down. Italy might be anticipating our plan."

"No shit, Sherlock," Allen said gruffly, "Sorry, sorry, I'll… be on the lookout and stay inconspicuous and shit."

"I know you won't," Gillen said sincerely with a nod, which Allen really appreciated "And let's pray and hope that Flavio will remain unharmed throughout the ordeal and our goal will be completed without a hitch as they say."

Allen gave a curt nod. He didn't trust no god, but dammit, he'll take what he could get for Flavio's sake. "Y-Yeah… Let's do that."

Allen hated how his voice cracked there for a moment. He hated how small his voice sounded. He hated acknowledging that he felt fucking terrified for Flavio.

"I still don't like how we just left him on his own."

"We didn't abandon him, Allen." Gillen assured him in that ever-patient way of his. Just how the hell did he have enough to put up with Allen? "And he is not alone. We are here following his every move with the intent of saving him when the time comes, are we not?"

"That doesn't mean I have to like it!"

Gillen's eyes narrowed sharply. "And you think I am perfectly at ease with this?"

Allen flinched, despite himself dammit. "I- I didn't mean –"

Gillen's hard expression softened. "I know you didn't. Please, don't worry."

He wanted to do that, he really did, but Allen couldn't help let his anger and worry get the better of him.

"My, Allen, that's quite a scowl you have there." Came a serene voice that Allen instantly recognized.

He nearly flinched and whipped his head back to see none other than their smiling partner-in-crime, completely without the emotionless partner-in-crime.

Allen knew that Prussia was frowning, but he didn't call attention to it and just tried to ease up his scowl. "Oh, Kaf. Is there something you need?"

"Nothing at all, but thank you for asking," Kaf politely replied with a broader smile. "I thought I'd see how you were doing."

"I'm fine, Kaf." Allen replied quickly with a huff, maybe a little too quickly.

"That near-frantic look in your eyes begs to differ." The guy pointed out in an obviously amused tone, that bastard. He raised a hand just as Allen hunched his shoulders. "Be at ease, Allen. It'll be alright. I promised that I'll get the three of you out of this pitiful piece of land in less than a blink of an eye, even that Knight in Cheap Armor here."

Gillen raised an unamused eyebrow, and Allen would've cracked a smile if he wasn't so damn wracked. "I know you will, Kaf."

"And it warms my heart that you have so much faith in me." Kaf smiled easily, which broadened into a full-blown grin that oozed something dark upon turning towards Gillen. Oh boy, here we go… "Ah, and I haven't forgotten you, Gil. It was... fascinating to have heard that you had vouched for me."

"I could never deny your abilities." Gillen said simply in a polite tone. If he was bothered, he sure as hell was doing a good job hiding it. Either way, Allen's thankful.

The man hummed in response, stroking his chin. Anything could tell from that smile that he was smug as hell. "My, is that so? How amusing, to hear that from you."

Gillen cocked an eyebrow. "Are you trying to imply that I am lying?"

"No, you don't have it in you to speak empty words." That guy practically deadpanned, then his face twisted into a sneer. "I just find it funny that you consented to trust your own safety, and that of Allen and Flavio, to me when you cannot seem to trust me with almost anything."

Just like that, the tension skyrocketed. Allen of all people became the awkward third wheel as his two buddies (well, technically, one older brother figure and one borderline creepy friend, but screw it) entered a damn nerve-wracking staring contest.

Shit. He oughta intervene before things could get ugly, but leave it to Gil to always be the pacifist.

"This is hardly the ideal place and time to bring up old grudges," Gillen stated very carefully, his right hand slowly going to grasp the cross hanging around his neck. "We are here united against a common foe that possibly has a plan that concerns the safety of us all, not to snap at each other."

For a long time, Kaf didn't dignify Gil with a response, only staring at Gillen with those cold eyes that the former only reserved for, y'know, 'special' kind of people. Part of Allen was worried that Kaf might refuse to back down. That guy knew how to carry a grudge. Just ask his sister.

Allen released a breath he didn't know he was holding when the guy finally dropped the creepy stare.

"…Indeed. I could not agree more." Kaf said coolly, but it sounded like he was putting a bit of restraint into it. He straightened himself up and his amber eyes narrowed. "Well, I believe I should not remain here any longer. I will go back to lie in wait in the shadows, right where I belong."

Allen nodded and watched as Kaf started taking a few steps back into a more hidden spot in the dark. Then he just couldn't bring himself to stay quiet. "Wait!"

The man stopped in his tracks and looked curiously at Allen. "Yes?"

"I just want to say– I really appreciate you doing this for us." Allen meant that every single bit. He looked, "You didn't have to, but you did, and I… thanks."

Dammit, he's not good at expressing himself like this, like with saying thank you and shit. It's always so much easier when he's pissed off. No risk of looking or sounding pathetic there.

But thank Washington; it looked like he did okay. The bastard in front of him smiled at him, and Allen knew that it was sincere.

"Your thanks are unnecessary, my friend. I would never ignore you in a time of need, especially when it involves matters considering Italy." His buddy said sincerely with a smirk. Allen caught the faint hint of contempt for the bastard.

Okay, that made Allen.

"So you promise you'll keep your distance? Stay somewhere where there's absolutely no chance in hell they'll detect you?" Allen gave a pointed glance at Gillen at that last part,

"I would be a fool if I didn't, Al. Italy will no doubt be on the lookout," Kaf snorted, as unconcerned as always, before shooting a reassuring smile. "My brother and I will stand ready and wait for your signal."

Allen nodded, his expression serious. "Then you get us the hell out of here without Italy even realizing it was us."

"I'm looking forward to it." Kaf flashed one of his smirks before slowly turning his back to Allen, "Well, I should return to my position. I imagine it shouldn't be long now. You should retreat further into your spot too. See you till the signal, my friend… and Gillen."

"We will see you then," Gillen agreed without a single hint of hostility while regarding Kar with scrunity, nodding.

Allen tried not to frown and gave one last small smile. "Yeah, see ya in a bit."

And without any further words, Kaf waved his hand and vanished in a flurry of flames. Allen didn't even flinch, and just scoffed. Kaf always loved his exists.

"He seems quite at ease with all of this." Gillen noted solemnly once the dramatic exit was over, staring at the spot where their friend once stood.

Allen suppressed the urge to groan and roll his eyes. "Man, you always find something to nitpick."

"I'm only saying, Allen, he has asked so few questions and been quite accepting of our desire to obscure some details of this mission." Gillen said calmly, and before Allen could try to respond, he added, "I am not accusing him of disloyalty. I just find his actions and behavior odd."

He still wanted to say something on the damn matter, but no use starting something over nothing, especially in their situation. So Allen kept his mouth shut and went back to surveying the area impatiently with his hands in the pockets of his jackets. Then, as if the universe wasn't about to let him relax even for just a bit, a creeping thought wormed its way into his mind. Hey, you know…

Allen didn't know if he's being paranoid or just stupid, but he always trusted his gut instincts. Moreover, he might not like it, and Gillen may be an uptight guy at times, but Allen always trusted that he knows what he's talking about. And his gut's telling him that Gil's… kinda right. Kaf did seem a bit too compliant and cool about all this, and by this he meant friggin' everything. Italy's weird-ass behavior, the mission itself, promising to keep his distance like it's no big deal…

Even from the very beginning, Kaf showed almost no sign of worry. Well, yeah, that's normal about Kaf. He always kept a cool head and had a way. But…

Hey, could he actually know…?

Nah, that can't be. Allen shook his head, flicking himself in the forehead for thinking that. Jeez, Gil's paranoia must be rubbing off on him…

Then he wanted to bang his head against a brick wall for that other stupid thought. But he couldn't, 'cause they're this was supposed to be a covert mission, so he just settled for sliding his hands down his face and mentally bashing himself with a baseball bat. All the while Gillen looked at him like he was crazy.

God, the fuck's the matter with you, brain?! This was Kaf they're talking about here! He's one of those people who just somehow seemed to know a whole lotta everything. And then there's his whole shtick about talking to Satan or some being from hell in his spare time… Allen wasn't sure how trustworthy a guy like that could be, but Kaf just laughed whenever he brought it up, so…

That guy worked in mysterious ways. Even after almost a full century of being friends with him, Allen just knew that there's plenty of things that Kaf hid him from him. It wouldn't surprise him at all if turned out that…

Shaking his head, Allen rubbed his forehead and sighed loudly in exasperation. Shit, what was he supposed to make of all this crap?

"Allen, it's Flavio! They're here!"

/ / / / /

Lithuania never thought he'd hate Cuba and Argentina so much as did right now.

The dark-haired Baltic cursed under his breath for the umpteenth time as he glared at the computer screen as if it were his most hated enemy before his expression into something calmer, but still peeved, as he tried to calm himself down. No, giving into irrational anger won't do him any good, no matter how it might help him unwind.

He had nothing against those two. Hell, he really liked them. Even Cuba when he wasn't a hot-headed idiot, which thankfully wasn't a lot. And Argentina was all-around pleasant as long as he had that stuffed bird in a safe, foolproof place and didn't ask Lithuania to visit his ovenbird aviary. They were some of the most decent people Lithuania had ever had the damn luck of meeting and Lithuania appreciated them for that.

Not only were they nice, nice people, which were a rarity in this wonderful world they lived in, they were invaluable allies. Cuba, for all his hot-headedness and borderline annoying devotion to America, was a lot smarter than he looked. And Argetina, for all his creepiness and… issues, was great for giving good advice and finding ways to end situations peacefully… regardless of how fun it might've been.

But why did those two have to explicit forbid anyone from informing America?

He had had to spend the past couple of days dealing with the humans stupid enough to try to infiltrate his country. Ha. Now that was fun. And it would've been even more fun if their cries didn't confirm that Latvia had told him. But Lithuania knew better than to complain.

Speaking of that brat with a borderline Napoleon Complex, he still needed Latvia to pass him all the information, AKA the proof, so that he could show it. He just couldn't just burst through the doors screaming about what's been happening under their noses. Not everyone in the group trusted Latvia and Estonia, though Lithuania could understand why.

Again, he distantly wondered if anyone outside the Alliance was dealing with this crap. They seriously couldn't be the only ones. And from what Latvia told them, there's no way that the Alliance could be the only ones having trouble with spies. They weren't the only ones.

What he had here was the proof.

Lithuania gritted his teeth as he forced himself to go through the contents in the monitor. What Latvia went through so much trouble to get…

It was plans to infiltrate different countries, both Alliance and non-affiliated, with exact coordinates. The coordinates were set to locations of historical significance.

And if Latvia's intel was correct, and Latvia was rarely wrong (not that Lithuania would ever admit that to the half-pint's smug face), Italy's looking for something in all those places, something that could topple everything down. It didn't make any damn sense; Lithuania knew that, but still.

Damn it. He just couldn't stay quiet about this. The others could thank him later.

/ / / / /

"Okay, that's it. FLAVIO, LET'S BEAT IT!"

"Now!"

"Perdonami, mio fratello!"

"Wha–"

"Let's get out of there! Now! NOW!"

"You're not getting away from me this time, Fla–!"

"Get us the hell out of here, Kaf! Do your thing!"

"Understood!"

Boy, it's been a bit of a while since Allen got himself into a tougher fight like that.

Of course, before Allen could even think of fully beginning to complain or laugh about the look their enemies had, he and the other boys found themselves unceremoniously falling on top of his precious furniture of his New York Penthouse, completed by plenty of noises of stuff breaking or snapping.

…Great. Now he's gonna need to replace the fucking furniture… again… for the twelfth time this year.

Great, just great.

But there's no time to complain, dammit, he knew that. He groaned as he got to his feet, uncaring when he slightly scrapes one of his knees and accidentally touched some sharp glass, rubbing his throbbing head. Slowly, the others began to do the same. All the while Kaf and his brother stood there calmly, watching them and not having suffered at all from the sudden teleportation. Lucky bastards…

But it looks like everyone made it out alright… That's cool… and they all seemed in one piece too…

Allen uncaringly collapsed from exhaustion onto a chair that was spared from their embarrassing crash landing, covering his face with his gloved hands. God, he hated having to go through those damn portals…

Fuck. What was he sitting there complaining? Gillen and Flavio are the

"Hey. Hey! Is everyone okay here? Talk to me, dammit!" Allen yelled at them in a panic. Oh shit, oh shit. Did they break a bone with that landing?

He felt immense relief when he saw. No blood. No limbs twisted in wrong angles. No teeth missing. Perfect, yeah, perfect.

"Are we…" Gillen slightly winced as he looked around drowsily. "Are we in New York again?"

"You would at least be on your way to bleeding out while in agonizing pain if you weren't, Prussia." Kaf dryly remarked from his comfy little spot. His brother was standing next to him, stiff and still as a statue as always.

Gillen glared at him, but his attention was then stolen by the groaning Italian next to him struggling to get up, and he immediately helped Flavio.

"Mio Dio, we actually did it." Flavio gasped as he steadily got to his feet. "We actually got away."

"You act as if our chances of success were miniscule." Kaf quipped again, but he was ignored.

Dammit…

This was not what he expected to happen.

"So…" America wiped his hands and turned around to glare right at his blonde brother figure. "What the hell, Flavio?

/ / / / /

It appeared that there was not any more they could discover from the Italians.

Not that it was anything disappointing. God, please, no. Argentina was relieved that he no longer had to see anyone suffer or cause that very suffering. Now he could focus on how to make that suffering not be for nothing. Let what they did, despite having been for a good cause; help ensure the Alliance's continued safety.

Argentina was sitting at a desk, his Cuban friend and partner was standing impatiently beside him, having had refused to take a seat over how antsy he was. Despite having already gone over this, Argentina didn't blame him. This interrogation and the process of gathering and picking apart the information they had acquired took a lot longer than either of them had expected.

But now here they are.

His ovenbird plushie friend, Paco el Pajaro, was situated on the desk right next to the papers, here to cheer them on in their investigation. Paco was close enough (and safe) so that Argentina wouldn't need to worry about the anxiety and the chaos that would follow. As long as it was there, and very close, Argentina could breathe easy.

Seeing it also helped with his other nerves…

"Now can we tell the boss?" Cuba pestered for about the tenth time this hour. "Come on, we've taken too long!"

Argentina hummed in consideration, scanning the last notes they have complied one more time. He wracked his brain for any inconsistency he might've missed, anything that just didn't fit. They couldn't take any risks.

His single visible eye through his mop of stringy hair could be seen narrowing.

"Si, Maximo. I think that it's about time we tell Al what we have found."

/ / / / /

Days later, in the Light World…

America eagerly checked his watch for the billionth as he waited anxiously in the airport.

Okay, he was right here on time. Hungary should have left her plane minutes ago. Now it's all a matter of waiting.

Why was he waiting in the airport when he should probably be somewhere else? Well, good question! He may or may not have persuaded his boss to let him drive Hungary to her hotel and to the White House by being super-duper stubborn. Yeah, it's not necessary but come on, could you really blame a dude for wanting to hang out with his buddy? Besides, turned out his boss was totally cool with it! America just had to get out of his office before he got fired.

America wasn't sure how that'd work, but whatever! Point is, he won! And he didn't lose his allowance or his rights to buy videogames for two months in the process! This day's already shaping up to be awesome.

He searched through the crowds of people coming and going out of the noisy airport, eager to spot wavy brown hair and a flower clip.

Then she finally spotted Hungary, and America wildly waved for her until she saw him.

He was glad that she looked just as happy to see him.

/ / / / /

Allen didn't tell Alfred about what happened.

Now before any of you holler at him for being a shitty friend and a moron, shut yer traps and listen. He was going to. He was going to do it straight away even before Flavio told him that Alfred had every right to know about… about this.

But then something else happened, another thing happened and now Allen really wished he could punch Cuba but at the same time it'd just be stupid… He just needed more time to have everything figured out. Allen didn't want to scare the guy.

However, it sure as hell didn't stop him from having one of their usual talks. Stress be damned.

Somehow, Allen had barely managed to pass off his loads of stress as shit resulting from the whole mess with Luciano (which, to be fair, wasn't a lie…), and they managed to spend a normal, if not depressingly short, chat together. It did cheer him up a little to hear Al's voice and bad jokes. The little guy's trying so hard to help out.

Just as Allen seriously began to consider spilling the beans (because damn, Al really had this way of… you know), America began rambling about how in a couple of days, he'll be seeing Erszi's counterpart again. Elizaveta, yeah, that's her name. She'll travel to Washington DC with her 'boss' (tch) for a diplomatic visit or some shit.

It was here that Allen was hit with an idea, and a dilemma.

Should they involve her too? She's so new to the whole Dark World thing. To Al, she's a friend, but to them, she may look like Erszi but she's still a stranger.

Would it be really worth it?

Dammit, Al, this concerned her too. He growled and combed his fingers through his messy hair. Hell, this concerned both worlds, so the more, the merrier, right? Let at least one of those damn Lightners make themselves useful. It'd be real sucky if the Darkners had to do all the work for them. Besides, if they won't tell her, then Alfred will just do it himself, that…

He grumbled under his breath. Man…

Fine. Fine. Allen won't be an asshole. They'll let her in and he'll give her a chance to prove that she deserves to have more of his trust. It's… the least he could go, he supposed. Guess Al's niceness was really starting to rub off him, huh?

He'll have to ask Gil and Flavio for their opinion first. Although, knowing them, Allen just knew what those two's answer will be.

/ / / / /

"Man, look at them go."

"I know. I had a feeling they'd get along."

Smiling, Hungary and America stood side by side against a wall while they happily watched their respective bosses on the opposite side calmly discuss different politics-related stuff and their hopes of strengthen American-Hungarian ties.

So far, this day was going as great as Hungary hoped it'd be. And it'll get even better when they execute their, and she amusingly quoted America, "Totally awesome, genius, and flawless escape plan,"

Their plan went about like this: Their bosses' bilateral meeting will be in the afternoon, but before that, they will meet in front of the press to take questions, which should be starting any minute now. Since the personifications weren't allowed to be present in press meetings since, you know, secrecy and all, America and Hungary will be allowed to leave the White House to have their... private meeting away from human supervision.

When in an international visit, the personifications were allowed to having their meeting without their bosses to discuss their ideas and plans and such to later relay to them, basically doing the same as their leaders. They could provide the humans would helpful information, advice or ideas (but of course they had to listen first) that way that their bosses might've not have thought of.

So, since their bosses will be busy all morning and in the afternoon, it left the kooky duo plenty of time to spend time in the Dark World.

Ah, there was the issue that their bosses might call them to see how they're doing, but America had just the right but weird solution for that. They'll leave their phones with Tony since they'll be useless in the other world, and if their bosses get curious, he'll use this device that allows him to impersonate their voices.

She won't lie; it was really weird hearing her voice out of an alien with no mouth say nothing but a string of curses. Also…

"Do I really want to know why you have that?"

"What? It's great for pranks!"

"Uh-huh, pranks. That's what you use it for."

"Hey, you don't get all suspicious with me. I know about your gay spying and porn stash, dude."

"…Touché."

"What'd ya think? You think we can go?"

"Hold on, Alfred." Hungary gave him a small disapproving frown. "Our bosses are in the middle of important talks! We should wait a little bit longer, just s."

America quietly chuckled and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Yeah, you know what, you're right. Let's wait."

Twenty seconds later…

Hungary turned to him with a definitely-not-suspicious grin and whispered, "Alright, let's ditch our responsibilities."

"Awesome!" America pumped his fist while exclaiming a bit too loudly.

"Shh!"

"Sorry, sorry."

With that, so began the first phase of their so-called 'genius' plan. Discreetly and inconspicuously, America and Hungary kept their not-at-all suspicious grins on as they slowly inched away towards the exit from the room while everyone was busy invested in the two leaders answering the media's questions.

Then, when they were absolutely completely sure that they were at the door, they quickly sneaked outside and closed the door as quietly as they could, both of them wearing matching mischievous grins as they did all this. America sniggered over their success, and Hungary would be lying if she didn't join in. Oh, it's so fun to be a rebel!

"How many hours do we have again?" Hungary excitedly asked her partner as they rushed through the halls of the White House.

"Well, the meeting's at four and right now it's…"America started muttering under his breath as he checked his watch, and his face lit up. "…Ten thirty. So we got about six hours to kill in the Dark World."

"Perfect." Hungary smirked. That's plenty of time to themselves.

It seemed fate or whatever was on their side, because they made it out of the White House completely without a hitch. Yes! Victory. It's a good thing there's a secret passageway behind the grandfather clock. Nice to see she wasn't the only one who had one of those.

"I can't believe you have a portal to another dimension in the Library of Congress." Hungary smirked as they walked to America's car.

"Yeah, it's a pretty weird. Then again, so is every anomaly when you think about it." America shrugged it off with nothing but a typical smile and laugh. "Let's just be glad that it's somewhere in driving distance."

"What would you have done if it wasn't?"

"We'd use Tony's UFO!" America chirped, as if it was obvious.

"Oh, that sounds like– Wait, you know how to pilot a UFO?"

"Anyway, the books in Jefferson Library there need very special conservation," America proceeded to proudly explain as he completely ignored Hungary's question. "And there are over 6,000 of them too. That'd dedication right there. But the point is that it makes this a great long-lasting anomaly without needing to worry about anyone messing anything."

"So in other words, the library there has been exactly the same as the one in the Dark World for years?" Hungary hopefully assumed.

To her immense relief, in response America beamed and gave her a thumbs-up. "Exactly! See? You're getting it!

"Well, I've had plenty of time to understand it." Hungary grinned sheepishly. And get over the headaches she got along the way…

The ride to the Capitol building was thankfully short and before Hungary knew it, they were at their destination. The Thomas Jefferson Building, America had told her with nothing but fondness, the oldest of the four.

Hungary hoped they didn't look odd in public with their rather formal wear, but it'll hardly matter when they're in the Dark World. In all honesty, she's really looking forward to wearing that skirt again. As they went in, Hungary took some time to look around her, admiring the interior design and whatnot. She hadn't visited the Library of Congress before, but it was nice to finally see it with her own eyes.

Hungary spotted a few humans whom she naturally assumed were employees and tourists. America sent a grin at the humans with name tags and they nodded and didn't question either of them as they entered without authorization, some of them even greeted their personification as they passed.

"I visit here pretty often when I'm in D.C." America explained to her. "I can drop by anytime I want and I know everyone here. Don't worry, they won't snitch."

Hungary nodded in understanding and continued following America's lead, entering a large hall almost completely devoid of people.

"Come on, time's a wastin'!" America told her.

"You try to run in these flats, Alfred. Won't someone catch us on survelliance?" Hungary whispered harshly as she threw a wary look around them. It seemed a little late to ask that but–

"Nope!" Eyes twinkling in mischief, America gestured towards the ceiling. "I sabotaged the cameras yesterday night. I planted this virus that makes the monitors go nuts for a certain time, like now!"

Hungary was sure that she was gaping like a fish. "You sabotaged the Library's security tech?"

"And I did it under two hours!" America sounded too proud of this, and he pumped his fist, quietly exclaiming "Yeah, new record, dude!"

"New record? You mean you've done this before?"

America froze in place. Then the color drained out of his face, as if he just realized he said something he should've have, and the laugh he gave was obviously fake. "Um… no…?"

Hungary stared at him wide-eyed, then she barely managed to stifle her giggling. "Oh, Alfred, sometimes I think you're actually a mad genius."

"No, I'm a hero, duh!" America puffed his cheeks, seeming offended by the remark, "It won't last forever though, so let's go dimension jump before anyone notices something's off!"

He didn't need to tell her twice. With America as the guide, they both made their quickly, but in an incredibly non-suspicious way, made their way to up some stairs, then down another hallway again, before the blonde finally began to slow down once they reached a door. The sign caught Hungary's eye and she read 'Jefferson Library'. This was the place.

America dug into his pockets, scrunching up his face all the while, for the keys. Part of Hungary wondered how he managed to get them; most of her mad mind was too busy wondering if at some point, America had read every single book here in record speed and memorized all of them. That and she was getting a kick out of Poland demand that America add more pink to the whole place or at least books about ponies.

The thought of her old friend bummed Hungary out a little. Oh, still felt bad for keeping all of this a secret from him. Did that make her a bad friend? Was she a bad friend? It's natural for nations to keep secrets from each other but was this really… right?

Then again, nothing about this was exactly 'right' in the first place.

Hungary perked up when she heard the telltale sound of keys jingling, and it was just the thing to bring her out of her increasingly depressed mood as she felt a surge of excitement as America went to unlock the door.

A full six seconds passed before America threw a knowing glance at her. "Okay. Brace yourself, Liz."

The warning left the brown-haired woman a bit puzzled as to what her friend could've possibly meant by that. Brace for what, the trip? But once America opened the door, she was given a startling reminder.

(Deltarune OST - The Door)

Hungary's heart nearly jumped out of her chest when the interior of the room was revealed to be nothing but pure darkness. And her breath caught in her throat when suddenly all the lights in the hallway, no, all the light period, began to slowly dim and vanish until it appeared that n A long rectangular shadow grew out of the darkness and went past their feet, sending a chill down Hungary's spine.

Right. No, no, calm down, Hungary. This wasn't anything new, haha. The same thing happened last time, remember? And you're still alive, are you? Well, not like she'd go down so easily, but… ugh, you know what she meant to say.

"You okay, dude?" America's voice snapped her out of her thoughts, and the blonde had a small worried frown on his face. "Sorry if that… uh… scared you."

Somehow, Hungary laughed, but it was weak and honestly inwardly cringed at how it sounded. "No, no, no… It's fine. Just surprised me is all…"

And by that, it really, really surprised her.

"I forgot that that happened last time too." Hungary breathed sharply, hand clutching the fabric over her chest. God, Prussia would never let her live this down if he saw her.

America offered an apologetic smile. "Yeah, that's also something you might wanna start getting used to."

"Is it like this with every single of these… portals?" She'd rather not have the dramatic effects.

"Afraid so, dude. They don't call it Dark World for nothin', y'know." Offering a comforting pat on the back, America flashed a blinding grin. "But come on, forget that! There's a world in there for us to explore."

He took a step towards the darkness, knowing already that there's nothing to fear, and he reached out a hand towards her.

Taking a deep breath, Hungary steeled her nerves, smiled back and took America's hand in hers, and together they stepped into the darkness.

The door slammed shut behind them, and the light returned to the world outside the room.

Hope you enjoyed it! Sorry if it seemed too rushed and that it left a lot of questions. Things will be slower and all the events in this chapter will be clarified in the next, plot-heavy chapter. I'm saving it for a big reveal. Let's hope I don't spend too much time stuck this time. Please review, if you have a minute.