Thanks for all the reviews! Hey, everybody! Here's an even more overdue chapter. I really need to take some time to make a proper outline for this story. You'll notice chapter's shorter than the others, but I just couldn't go any longer without updating this. Hope you enjoy it anyways! Now, on with the show!

Ever since the meeting, Taiwan had found it hard to look at mirrors without feeling really sick to her stomach. Ugh. No, it's more than that, she's scared that she might see- whatever that weird shit was that she saw again. Which sucked because her hair takes a bit of a while to straighten out and she just knew she put the flower in her hair all wrong.

But no matter how hard she tried to push it out of her mind and get over it, somehow she could see herself die again, wearing the same pretty dress.

She let her head fall into her folded arms on the table of her vanity mirror, letting out a long, tired, noise, just sick and tired - literally and figuratively- of this.

What's wrong with her? Taiwan made a sour face. Ugh, she could just hear China spouting out a long, long list of things wrong with her, most of them starting with the word 'ungrateful'. She snorted. Forget that old fart. This whatever you'd call it was starting to become a serious problem, not to mention really getting on her nerves. Come on, it's been a week already, Taiwan. Why can't she-

Why did she keep feeling that something's seriously wrong?

She didn't think this'd end up bothering her more than it did. Sure, she failed to talk to Thailand about all this, but her day had taken a turn for the better when America finally came back,

You know, she never did figure out what the whole deal was with her and America. Taiwan then went deathly still. They weren't dating, were they?

Ohhh... Taiwan swallowed the dread lumping in her throat. Well... she'll get to the bottom of that later. Right now, she had an equally if not even more important problem to deal with. And she's thinking that she might now just the person to help her out...

/ / / / /

Little after that was all said, the conversation then just... ended.

Not that abruptly, of course. There were some more questions, this time mostly from America rather than Hungary (though it helped that she shared a lot of America's questions, she's desperate for help in wrapping her head around all this). A lot of shock. Lot of disbelief. And finally, letting the whole reality of the matter sink in.

It all sounded so ridiculous, if you carefully ignore the terrifying aspects.

Then it ended. A sort of quiet – you know, like the one where no one's talking anymore and you don't know what else to say and it seems that no else did either so the whole atmosphere starts to feel really, really awkward? – settled in the room, it lingered for a long moment until America turned around, and without a word, left.

Just… walked away. Hungary considered going after him – she wanted to say want but she's so stunned by everything she just found out that she didn't know what to do – but Gillen suggested that the two of them take some time to digest this whole lovely bombshell that got dropped on them. 'Cause, you know, it's not every day you find out that a psycho from the alternate dimension you discovered only a week ago might invade your world. Hungary could barely hold back a sigh of relief and just said, 'Yeah, that'd be nice'.

Gillen tried to smile in a way that showed that he wanted to assure her that everything would be just peachy. One really had to admire the amount of effort he's putting to be a this calming, reassuring presence for their odd group. It made Hungary feel all the more worse for not feeling any better.

Flavio nodded at her, like telling her he understood. His expression had hardly changed from the somber look it was set, but his eyes held great deal of pity and... guilt? Explaining the unpleasant truth? He didn't have anything to be sorry about. Too much, there's too much pain and bitterness hiding under his normally cheery attitude.

Just one more thing he shared with Poland.

Allen didn't say anything either. His dark red eyes stared off at the direction America went off to with a confliction over whether or not to do something that Hungary heavily sympathize with. Eventually, his shoulders slumped, seemingly giving up on going after his counterpart, likely realizing that America probably needed some time alone too, and then his eyes met hers.

He didn't scowl or anything, which was a relief. He just stared. But if she didn't know any better, she'd say he was sorry for her. Well, that's… rather nice of him, she supposed. And it's good change of pace.

'Talk to him' His eyes seemed to say, more like plead. Hungary will be damned if she didn't.

She left the room for a moment alone to herself. Few minutes later, she did just that.

Wringing her fingers while trying to keep the anxiety from everything welling up from swallowing her whole, Hungary quietly went to find her America- her world's America, she meant. As she walked, she took a bit of time admiring the interior design. You know, it's quite lovely for someone as punkish as Allen. The brownish colors, shiny wooden floor, and miscellaneous items all gave the place a nice, warm feeling of home.

Too bad the all-oppresing silence ruined it. There was no warmth. Only dread and uncertainty, and the question of how a simple but fantastical getaway trip could escalate so quickly like this.

She found America sitting on a couch of what was obviously the living room, a colorful one at that. He didn't look up until she approached him, worried, snapping him out of his trance. There was no smile to greet her.

And that's alright. Last thing Hungary wanted was to force him to keep a cheery front.

"Hey, dudette."

"Hey... dude."

There was a feeling of deja vu that Hungary didn't really pinpoint until she realized that here they were again, sitting together after a difficult, concerning conversation, with America even having that same glum look of solemnity and more apparently, guilt.

And so followed several seconds of awkward silence.

"Can I-?"

"Huh? Oh. Yeah. Sure, dude.

So she did. More awkward silence ensued with Hungary struggling to find a way to break the ice and get the conversation going,

"Look. I, I'm sorry, about all this." America's voiced was pained with regret as he, "You shouldn't be involved in this, or even

"And miss the news that Italy's megalomaniac doppelgänger might invade us?" Hungary said lightly, making an attempt to smile and lighten up the mood. "Listen, Alfred. You don't have to apologize."

"Yes, I do!" She flinched at the yell and America stood up. He looked angry, but it wasn't directed at her. "I brought you here because I wanted to help. I wanted to share the fun of this place with you. And what happens? First we pop up right in the middle of a time of high political tensions, and now this! And this is just the second visit! After last week!"

"You did help me, Alfred." Hungary meant it. Last week's trip was something precious in a way she hadn't felt in decades. "I haven't had that much bizarre fun in a long while, and I'm thankful."

"Yeah, but now you get to go home knowing- being one of the people knowing everybody's in danger. You're gonna have to live every day, watch everybody laugh and go about like nothing's wrong –"

"Hey! If we survived decades with the threat of nuclear war over our heads, we can survive this." She defended. Sure, it's not quite the same magnitude, but… it's still... something similar.

America frowned, "This is different. Also, I lost around half of my remaining sanity thanks to Cold War, Hungary."

"Really? So did I!" Hungary said more cheerfully than she should, and she lightly elbowed his side. "I'm not mad, Alfred."

"You should be." America said solemnly.

"Well, as a certified crazy person, I'm not!" Hungary insisted, giving her best grin. All the while inwardly begging America to just smile again. "Really, I'm not. I'd rather be in the know than stay ignorant, no matter how bad it is. I'm still truly, deeply grateful that you brought me here. There's no way you could've known things would turn out like this."

She let a pause to let that sink in. Then:

"Now get that unnecessary guilt out of your head... or will I have to beat it out of your brain?

With perfect timing, her frying pan materialized in her right hand, straight out of her portable wormhole. Her plastic smile remained perfectly plastered on her face as America jerked back, his face white with fear.

"Hey now… No need to bring in the frying pan into this." He laughed nervously as he sweated bullets.

"There won't be any need once you quit with the guilt complex, Mr. Hero." Hungary replied sweetly.

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry!" America exclaimed frantically, and thankfully, genuinely, holding up his hands in surrender. "I mean it, dude! Can you please put that away, now."

Hungary did with a satisfied hum and smiled gratefully at America. "Thank you very much."

"I think I should be the one saying that." America sighed, but he soon returned the smile with a warm one. "You're… really cool, Liz. You don't take Hope you never forget that."

Wh-Where did that come from? The sudden compliment left Hungary more or less sputtering because- well, that's sweet of him, but she wasn't Anyway, Hungary wasn't blushing. You were blushing. She managed a quick 'thanks' after regaining her composure.

"So, what are you going to do now?" Hungary asked worriedly. But if she knew America, she could easily guess the answer.

"What a hero's gotta do." America was nothing but resolute. Curling up his hands into fists, he fixed the floor with a frown."I can't leave and go back to my life while Allen and the guys deal with this mess. Our world's at stake too. So I'll help them in any way I can."

That wasn't a surprise. And Hungary had to admire him for how quickly he made up his mind. But this just brought up a lot of questions and… "Like how? Won't you being from the other world be a problem?"

"Nah. There's a lotta ways I can probably help." Shrugging, America's gaze moved to the ceiling. "I've been around this world, course not a lot but I get how things work around here. I can help with intel gathering, maybe ask Tony to help me in making something that'll help me find portals all over the world. We've already been making some progress in..."

Like that, America drifted off into a series of musings and mutterings about his plan, too absorbed in his world to see how Hungary was looking at him. How worried and anxious about the risks helping out the people here. Goodness, she could practically hear all the gears in his head turning and grinding. She'd never really seen this kind of side to him, at least not in such a serious way.

"You've been thinking a lot about this, already." Hungary had to note. This seemed to snap him out of his planning reverie.

America's smile was tight-lipped and tense. "Course I have. I'm the hero."

That doesn't mean there's not a chance you'll get in trouble. "Can you really do all that?"

"C'mon, Liz. Didn't ya hear what I said? I'm the hero." The laugh from before and after the words was painfully forced, and Hungary could tell what's really going on under the surface even as his smile never faltered. "Sides, there's much choice if we wanna keep our home world safe from Luciano. God knows we already got our own set of problems to deal with. Don't worry about me, you worry about yourself and your country…"

Worry about herself? How could he…

Wait. Was he assuming that she's going to go back and try to forget all this! Hungary's eyes widened as the realization hit her, while America of course remaining oblivious to the change in the atmosphere.

Hold a minute.

Did she want to get involved? Did she want to help? Hungary pursed her lips at her own indecision. She barely knew these people, as charming as they all were. So she supposed she could understand why America would jump to that conclusion. But he said it himself; their world was at stake too. Would Hungary live with herself if she just sat back in her house in relative safety while America's off preventing an invasion from another dimension?

…No, of course she wouldn't live with herself! That's ridiculous! Hungary's never one to just sit back and watch. She was a woman of action! Always was and always will be.

"Alfred. Elizaveta."

Two heads instantly turned to find Gillen standing in the doorway, his face soft but solemn, though his gaze was full of concern.

"We'd like to speak to both of you again, if you're willing, of course." Gillen said slowly. "Do you need more time?"

America and Hungary glanced at each other. She couldn't tell what he's really thinking, but he seemed to be searching her for a response. I'm okay, she tried to convey.

The blonde turned again to the Prussia copy and smiled. "Sure, Gil."

One minute later and they were back where they once were. Except now the atmosphere was only a little less tense.

"So, now yoi're aware of what we're up against," Gillen began with the same grimness he'd been carrying. "I- We apologize for placing the burden of worry on you…"

"They needed to know, Gil." Flavio reminded him quietly. Opposite of him, Allen nodded his head in agreement.

"That, and I really doubt I coulda gotten anything past Goldie." Allen flashed a wry grin at his doppelganger, who mustered a weak smile in response.

"He's right. Allen sucks at lying to me. The best he could so is dodge questions.."

"Gee , thanks, Mr. Humble Hero."

"Anytime, dude!"

Allen and Alfred share twin toothy grins. Neither of them truly reached their eyes. But Hungary's glad they're making an effort to help each other, even succeeding a bit. Gillen and Flavio seemed to share the same sentiment.

"All the same," Gil cleared his throat, sobering the mood again. His concerned gaze flickering between the two outsiders. "May we ask what you intend or wish to do now? We understand one cannot simply go back to their everyday life after such revelations."

"Course, shit like this is normal for us, so I'm not sure if we'd be good at giving any helpful advice.

Flavio didn't even look at Allen as he pulled at the latter's ear, his smile weary as the redhead swore. "But we'd always make an effort for you two. It's what we can do for spoiling your plans like this."

"You kidding?" America said, disbelieving, eyes narrowed. "How could we care about that right now? You guys have real big problem on your hands, and I'm not telling y'all do it alone."

"Goldie, no." Allen hissed.

"Goldie, yes. Let me help you guys."

"No. I won't let you." Allen snapped. "Get that damn hero complex outta your head and listen. What if Luciano finds out about you? I'm not gonna let you anywhere near him. That includes coming over!"

"I won't be near him." "And I gotta say, you're being awfully overprotective for being the one who decided that we had a right to know about this whole mess in the first place.

"I'm not being – Damn it. I meant that you deserved to know, not that you need to get involved.

"Enough, both of you." Gillen's firm voice cut through the air and put an end to the argument as the two Americas automatically shut up. "Alfred. To be frank, I knew you'd want to throw yourself for our cause as soon as you'd hear of our circumstances. It is very noble of you, willing to help us denizens of this world. But this is not something you could simply step into, despite of your history of easily doing it. Should Luciano – or any non-Alliance nation – come to discover your existence, the consequences could be potentially catastrophic. The same goes for Elizaveta here.

The woman herself couldn't help flinch at hearing her name spoken. Well, I mean, for a moment there she's starting to suspect she was being completely forgotten, or worse, excluded from this conversation. Not that this was the time to bring that up, mind you. Now was the time to pay attention.

America, being the wonderful but stubborn person that he was, was ready to object. "But–"

"Let me finish, please." The albino ordered, raising a hand, and America quieted. Gillen breathed out, "However… I cannot deny that this is indeed a precarious situation we have, one maybe even beyond the scope of our power and abilities. And so we need all the help we can get. That includes from off-world sources."

"Gil, damn it, you'd better not be saying what I think you're saying…" Allen started, growling.

Gillen leveled Allen with an admonishing stare that, despite it being on Prussia's faces, managed to look. So much that it even made Allen falter for a moment, but like the guy he was, he stubbornly stood his ground.

"Allen, you know the odds we're up against. I'm not fond of this idea either, but if we want to win…"

"I know, I know! But, there's gotta be…"

"So you'll let me help?" America cut in, perking up with his eyes gleaming with hope, even with how Allen scowled at him.

Gillen nodded. "Indeed we will. It would be much appreciated."

America beamed, a look that only looked cute, but one Hungary admitted she's happy to see again.

Oh, but fortunately, the moment didn't last long.

"Hey, hey! Hold it!" Allen barked, and everybody's eyes were on the scowling. He, and fear? "How the fuck are we gonna explain this to the other guys?"

"Well, we'll figure out, we always go." A cheery voice answered, and everybody looked at the smiling Flavio. He looked like he hadn't ever stopped smiling. "That's what you always say, no, mi bambino?

Allen made a sound that amusingly sounded like a mix between a choke and a curse. "No way. You too, Flavs? You of all people should know how risky this is."

Flavio's mood sobered at the question, and the look on his face became pensive. "I admit, do have mixed feelings about involving Allie here. If possible, I'd like to completely leave our two guests out of this mess and bar them from visiting again until further notice. And I know Gillen thinks the same. But I agree with what he said, Al. We need help. Alfred has things we Darkners do not have."

There was a pause as a smile found Flavio again.

"Plus, as nations, is it not our duty to put our land and people before our personal feelings?"

As the blonde finished his argument, it's clear that his words had a profound effect on Allen's resolve. It was weakening, but he was hesitant to give up. Sensing this, Flavio gave him a plainly pleading look that reminded Hungary of how vulnerable he was too.

"Bullshit," Allen muttered, though there was only around a quarter of the usual snappishness present. "If I had a nickel for every time we put each other before our own people and land…"

"Please, Allen," Flavio's tone became softer. "Think about everybody. Let Alfred in for their sakes. For the sake of Cuba, for Argentina, for Molossia, for the humans you love– and don't tell me you've forgotten Erszi…"

At Hungary's doppelganger's own name – whom she still wasn't entirely sure what to feel for – she wasn't expecting to see Allen squirm and watch all of his stubborn resolve crumble in an instant.

"Gah! Fien!" Allen yelled out, throwing his hands up in defeat, and he stiffly turned his head toward America and "You're in, Goldie!"

America practically exploded in joy and Hungary smirked as he threw his arms around Allen's shoulders. "Ohhhh, thanks so much, buddy!"

It was hilarious how Allen froze up in the face of America's unyielding affection, then awkwardly returned the hug with slightly shaking arms.

"Y-Yeah. You better be thankful, Goldie." Allen huffed, then somehow managed to pull away from America's energetic grip. His expression serious, he leaned forward to poke his blinking counterpart in the chest. "But if you're gonna be part of the team, you're gonna do things our way. That means you'll follow everything we say and follow our orders to a T, so no disobeying us to swoop in for a dramatic rescue or shit, alright? Promise you'll do that?

"I promise." America said without hesitation.

Like a huge weight had been lifted from his shoulders with those words, Allen's normally rigid posture relaxed considerably and he leaned back, satisfied. Nothing about the Italy problem's been done yet, but to Hungary it felt like things have begun to feel more hopeful for them. It's a nice feeling.

It also got Hungary thinking… The more, .

"I do love it when they finally come to an agreement." Flavio remarked with a proud sniffle and a hand over his chest. Gillen just shook his head, though looked happy too.

Oh, definitely. Well! This was really nice and all. But now, Hungary couldn't stay quiet any longer. Any longer and she might become transparent like Ca… What's-his-name!

"Great!" She said suddenly, intentionally with a higher volume, and everybody's attention turned toward her and her tight smile. "That's great. Except, uh, hello? I'm here too?

Surprise, following by embarrassment crossed the men save America's faces and . Hungary could just feel her eyes twitching in annoyance. Oh, come on! She wasn't forgettable like, like… that guy who looked like America, what's-his-name!

"Right. Of course we knew that." Flavio said merrily.

"Totally," Allen said in a curt manner

All it did was make Hungary more annoyed, but when Gillen stepped forward and cleared his throat, his words were actually genial. "We apologize, Elizaveta. We didn't mean to make it seem like you're not part of this conversation. This concerns you just as much."

…Goddamn, how could it be possible for a guy with Prussia's face to be so gentlemanly? Hungary shrieked in her mind.

"D-Don't worry about it," Hungary cursed herself for stammering but didn't dwell on it as her smile returned. "But anyway, do you have a detailed plan for me or are you going to let me voice what I have in mind?"

"What are you saying, Liz?" America asked.

"What do you think I want to do?" Hungary

America looked as if she just handed him an incredibly complex mathematical problem. "Wh-What do you mean? You're gonna go home, right? I mean,

Hungary didn't know whether to be exasperated or flattered that America's , or if she could blame him for going what was. You know, even though her line of thinking wasn't exactly the same as a normal, boring person.

"No."

"No?"

"I'm not " "You expect me to just go back to my life, dealing with political drama and Poland's attempt to bedazzle my house while you're off stopping a megalomaniac from breaking into our dimension? Hahaha, no. Since you're going to be part of this, might as well get in on the action too."

"Absolutely not." Gillen snapped, his face contorting.

It was so sudden and so unexpected that Hungary nearly jumped out of her skin. She stared.

Even Allen and Flavio looked stunned. "Gil…"

As if only just realized what he did, Gillen's face drained of its color and darted his head eyes away, a hand pressing against his head. "I-I'm sorry, I… I need a moment. Perhaps I'm not fit to judge. Alfred, you know her. What are your thoughts?"

She half-expected America to object to her declaration like Allen did with him. But America only looked flabbergasted, and a bit uncertain. "You… You serious, Liz? I mean, you've only just learned about all this and I can't ask you to-"

"You're not asking me, I'm asking you to let me help." Hungary said, nothing but determined. She looked to the others, who to her dismay all appeared unsure as well. "I can do a lot of things. Beat the crap out of people, spy on the enemy, bake come cookies, I don't care. Just let me do something to contribute to stopping that crazy Italy from screwing our homes!"

Hungary's had enough of doing nothing but taking shit for the past couple of years. This was her chance to do something for the world. She wanted to do this, for America, Poland, for Austria, for Czechia, and even for Slovakia and that stupid vampire.

"He's had decades to experience this world for himself." Gillen stated, tone cold but his eyes begging her to reconsider. "You are only beginning to scratch the surface."

"Yeah, you remember what we told you 'bout this world, do ya, lady?" Allen regarded her with scrutiny, like assessing if this world would swallow her hole. "This is a real shitty place we live in, worse than your human leader-filled shithole. And what we and Al's probably told ya doesn't even touch the tip of the iceberg. You really sure you can handle what the Dark World has to offer?"

It felt like a mocking, skeptical question. But something told Hungary there was more to it than Allen was letting on. There's just something about the way he's staring at her. She wondered if it had to do with a certain someone sharing her face…

"Yes. I am." Hungary stated, chin up as if to dare him to try and stop her. "You're the ones who decided that this concerned me too. Well? I'm deeply concerned, so I'm going to help out any way I can."

For her home. For all the people in the world she or had ever treasured.

"So boys," Hungary clapped her hands together loudly, a wicked grin on her face. "What's our plan?"

Thanks for still reading this! Please review, if you have a minute.