"What's this?" I hear you say. "Another update for this story? OHMYGA—"

Yep. I'm back. Spring break has started for me, though things are a little weird now with school, given everything that's going on, so I might be home until at least mid-April? Yeah, I don't know. I just feel bad for the seniors who might not get to walk the stage until after this thing cools down. Anyway, I digress.

This isn't a warning, it's more of a notice: THERE WILL BE POV SHIFTS IN THIS CHAPTER. I was technically going to already do that; shifting to a certain protagonist's POV when she becomes the focus of the series again, and switching back to the Vet for a short bit while the protagonist is, ahem, occupied. Then, of course, it will return to the true protagonist's point of view. Really looking forward to those chapters, but I'm trying to be patient, which isn't always a virtue of mine when it comes to myself.

Oh! And there will be a short cameo at the end. We've heard of them before, and no one knows them better than you! (That's your hint. Good luck guessing.) See you at the bottom of the page!


Chapter 7: Being Redirected

The Vet vaguely noticed that as the cult and countries trudged back to "base", Casey was moving around the group and not staying by Brittany's side like she'd usually do. Right then, though, Vet really didn't give a darn. She was mad. No, it was worse than mad. She was infuriated, enraged. How dare that woman—whoever or whatever she was—kidnap her sister and then not even give a clear answer on what was happening to her? Normally, she'd have thought something like: Well duh, she didn't let me know. Why would a real villain tell anyone how to rescue the one they'd stolen? But she didn't think that now. She was a mess, to put it lightly.

She was stewing inside so hard that she barely noticed they'd entered their base until she heard Brittany sigh loudly and call out: "Alright, you lot. We're back to square one, but that's okay. So, does anyone have any thoughts-?"

"Nope." Casey declared and grabbed Brittany by the arm, dragging her to the trapdoor.

"Casey, what are you-?"

"You sit here." Casey made Brittany sit down next to the trapdoor with her back to the wall. Then she walked over to The Artist and pulled her to the wall on the left. "You sit here… and you sit there." She took The Vet's hand and sat her near the wall opposite The Artist. "Alright, then. Countries, ya know what to do?" They nodded.

"Casey, what is this about?" Brittany asked. She made an attempt to stand up, but Casey shot her a look that made her quickly sit back down.

"Just let me handle this, love. Ya need to take a breather. That goes for you two as well, it does." She looked between The Artist and The Vet. Neither tried to get up, but The Artist looked a little annoyed by all this. "Good. Cult members, to me; countries, just like we talked. Now go!"

The other cult members gathered around Casey. Most of the countries stayed close to her, too, but a few—five, to be exact—split up and made their way to the three sitting members.

Brittany's Point of View

Her eyes were on Casey, to the point she didn't notice anything else until two people sat next to her. She looked up and saw… oh, gobsmackers, was that-?

"Hello, Brittany," Arthur said.

Kiku nodded politely at her.

"A-ah, Mr. Kirkland, Mr. Honda." Brittany tugged at the collar of her black cape. "Do you need anything, or…?"

"Actually, according to Casey, you are the one who needs help. And I couldn't agree more," Arthur said.

Brittany looked confused, glancing between Arthur and Casey until it hit her. "I suppose I should have known she'd try to 'help'," she said quietly. "She always did fret about me far too much… but really though, I'm fine."

Arthur sighed. "I understand the feeling of having to stay strong, for yourself and others. Believe me, I've felt that way for practically my whole existence. But after everything that's happened—the mansion, the cult, our weird adventure to another dimension—I've come to understand that there's a time and a place for that. Things are bad, yes, and it's important to keep moral up and not give in. But I believe being a little more vulnerable has its perks as well. You're very good at your job, Brittany, but it's obvious you're working yourself to the bone, especially now. If you won't calm down and take care of yourself, for yourself, then perhaps consider doing it for the people who care about you." Brittany's eyes wandered to Casey again. She was talking to the other countries, Gilbert in particular, then turning to the other cult members and asking questions or explaining something. Arthur followed her eyes. "Do you appreciate what she's trying to do for you, Brittany?" he asked.

"O-of course!" Brittany replied quickly. "It's just… she shouldn't have to put herself through that…"

"And you should?" Kiku asked.

Brittany drew her knees to her chest. "I just want this to be over. It's been wonderful, dangerous, I even found lo-, er, friends. But I know it won't end. Something will always go wrong, and I'll have to fix it over and over—"

Arthur set a hand on her shoulder and she flinched, looking up at him. "You're right. It may not end. But that doesn't mean you have to do all of this on your own. Don't you have a life outside the cult?"

"…I have school," Brittany said numbly after a beat.

"I see. Have you considered trying something in conjunction with that? And I know," Kiku raised a hand to stop her from speaking, "I know that is easier said than done. But like you said, you have friends in the cult, right? Why not try to interact with them sometime? You clearly have the ability to override time zones and all that. Why not give it a try?"

Brittany didn't say anything for a moment. Then she sighed. "I… suppose it wouldn't hurt to try… I'm just not used to this sort of thing."

"Kiku can talk to you about that," Arthur said lightly, pointing at his companion.

"Indeed. I did isolate myself for over two hundred years, as I'm sure you recall," Kiku said with a slight smile."

"Of course," Brittany said, breathing a laugh. "Who could forget those episodes?"

"I have been doing research into the anime series we are in… I cannot help but feel some of the events of the dub are a bit… exaggerated."

"Well, yes." Brittany sat up a little straighter. "Given they're only five-minute episodes, they had to keep the jokes rolling a mile a minute, even if they weren't entirely accurate to the sub or the comic. I find that just makes the episodes funnier." To her surprise, Kiku let out a quiet laugh. Arthur looked cheerier, too. "…What is it?"

"I think you'll be fine with socializing, Brittany," Arthur said.

"Hai, I agree," Kiku nodded.

Brittany smiled and blushed slightly. "Thank you, sirs."

"Please, Brittany, you can use our first names," Arthur corrected. Again, Kiku nodded.

"…Okay," Brittany said with a hint of hesitance. "Thank you, Mr. Kir—I mean, Arthur and Kiku."

"You're welcome." They stood up, and Brittany was about to follow suit when Arthur held a hand to her. Thinking it would be rude to ignore, Brittany took his hand and let him pull her up.

"I believe we should rejoin the main group," Kiku said, pointing at everyone in the middle of the room. "We should see what they have discussed so far."

The Artist's Point of View

Honestly, The Artist would have probably sat against the wall and stewed until the end of time if someone didn't clear their throat loudly. She looked up, about to snap at them to go away when she saw who it was… aw, heck…

Feliciano and Lovino were standing in front of her, Lovino with his arms crossed and Feliciano with his hands on his knees, a concerned look on his face. "Ciao, bella," he said, a little less cheerfully than she had expected.

"…Hey," she said after a second.

"May we join you?"

"Why the heck are you asking, fratello?" Lovino shot him a look. "Casey said we'd sit with her, even if she said no, si?"

"Because it's polite, Lovino." Feliciano looked at his brother out of the corner of his eye.

The Artist sighed and patted the spots on the floor on either side of her. "Sure, have a seat. Just, no yelling, okay? I'm tired of yelling today."

"We're not yelling—" Lovino began, but his brother nudged him in the side and sat on The Artist's left. Lovino sighed and sat on The Artist's right. It was silent for a moment.

"Sooo… how are you, bella?" Feliciano asked.

"Not great." The Artist said shortly, resting her chin on her knees pulled up to her chest.

"You wanna talk about it?" Lovino asked.

"Not really." She couldn't see it, but the brothers were looking at each other for a moment before returning their gaze to the young woman.

"Why don't you tell us about The Author? How you met and stuff," Lovino suggested.

"What is this about?"

"Answer the question, bella." The Artist glanced at Feliciano in surprise. The concern on his face was a little sterner. While she kind of wanted to push them away, she also knew that they were her favorite characters. Also, if The Author had been talking to her like this…

"Okay, fine," she said, leaning back and bumping her head lightly against the wall. "The Author and I met in kindergarten. We didn't really know each other, which made sense 'cause school was the only place we had ever met. There wasn't really any buildup or reason to it. We were sitting near each other, nervous as heck about school, when I turned to her and said, 'Hey, you wanna be friends?' And she was like, 'Okay.' And it sort of grew from there."

"Aw, that's cute!" Feliciano said happily.

"Si, it kind of is," Lovino agreed.

The Artist shrugged, blushing lightly. "I guess. I kind of feel like we're growing apart a bit, mostly because of graduating high school. She has college, I have work and a boyfriend… Sometimes she texts me to ask how I'm doing, but I'm usually so busy with those things that I can't answer right away. If either of us decides to text the other, it's probably her."

"Are you okay with that, ragazza?" Lovino asked.

"I mean… not really? But that's life for us, I guess. I saw her once at the beginning of summer… to introduce her to my new boyfriend…" She paused. "I might see an issue here."

"No kidding," Lovino said. The Artist and Feliciano shot him a look.

"He does make a point, though, bella." Feliciano returned his gaze to her. "Don't you ever wonder how she's doing?"

"If she really needs me, she usually texts me herself," The Artist said.

"Does she text you every time something happens?"

The Artist opened her mouth, then closed it. "…Maybe not."

"Can I ask what you usually talk or text about?" Lovino asked.

"Well, if she texts me a "how are you doing", I usually tell her pretty much everything that's going on in my life, mostly bad stuff. It's not like I don't ask how she's doing, too, it's just… I end up a bit preoccupied and… forget, sometimes."

"Bella… that's not healthy," Feliciano said. "I'm a little surprised she hasn't broken off with you yet, or you with her."

"Because I don't want to lose her!" The Artist cried quietly. "All these years, all the bad things that have happened to me, all the people who treated me like dirt because I was a little stubborn… she was the only one who stood by me. The only one who seemed to really care for so long. I don't want to lose that… and I don't think she does, either. I mean, she knew people throughout school, but she didn't really know them, you know? Most of the time, her friends were my friends at some point. Even in college, I think Vet said she's kind of close to some people, but even then, they don't hang much. She mostly sits alone in her dorm room or at the library or at a table during lunch. I guess what I'm trying to say is… I don't want to lose her, and I don't think she wants to lose me. I want to be a better friend."

Feliciano and Lovino looked at each other again. After a moment, Lovino set a hand on The Artist's knee. "Ragazza… when we see her again—and we will—just talk to her. Si? And let her talk to you."

"Okay… okay." The Artist took a shaky breath.

Feliciano wrapped an arm around her. "You too, fratello."

Lovino sighed dramatically, but put an arm around The Artist as well.

"Guys, stop, you're g-gonna make me cryYyY…" She buried her face in her legs and cried quietly for a few minutes. The three of them sat there, the only three people in this world at that time. After a bit, The Artist raised her head and wiped her face. "Heh… sorry guys, I'm trying not to cry so much. Old habits die hard, I guess."

"Crying isn't such a bad thing, bella," Feliciano said. "I've cried so much during my existence."

"I just kind of got mad a lot," Lovino shrugged.

The Artist laughed a bit. "…Thanks, guys."

"Of course." They stood together and held a hand each to The Artist. She took them and let them hoist her to her feet.

"Let's go see what Casey's been up to," Feliciano said. "I think she's doing a good job keeping things running."

The Vet's Point of View

The Vet was glaring at a spot on the floor in front of her. Her thoughts were circling in her head like a broken record: How-dare-she-where's-my-sister-I-need-to-find-her-I'll-make-her-pay-stupid-Onis-how-dare-she—

"Guten Tag." The sudden deep voice broke her from her thoughts and she looked up to see… oh, Jiminy Christmas…

"Hallo," she replied to Ludwig. Huh. Despite knowing he was real for so long, she had never really talked one on one with him, which was technically by Brittany's rules: no one cult member should be with the countries one on one, to be fair to everyone and avoid favoritism. "Moechten Sie sitzen?" She asked politely, patting the floor on her right.

"Ja, danke." They sat there for a moment, not looking at or talking to each other at all. The Vet was almost about to go back to her inner steaming when Ludwig finally spoke: "So... you like me? Only me?"

"...What?" Vet was perplexed. Then, she noticed him looking at her clothes in particular. "Oh, yeah, the clothes... I mean, yeah. I like you as a character. You're probably not a bad person in real life, though I wouldn't know, since we've never properly spoken."

"I have always wondered about that," he said absently.

"You mean Brittany didn't tell you?" Ludwig gave her a confused look, so she continued: "One of the things Brittany told us was that no one should be alone one on one with the countries. Avoiding favoritism or something like that."

"The Author was with us for two whole days."

"Yeah, and she kind of got scolded for it. Even though it wasn't in her control..." She grumbled this last part to herself, but Ludwig still heard.

"I see..." Ludwig seemed thoughtful, in that always-serious way of his. "Perhaps we should clear things up with Brittany. The countries and I, I mean."

"You do you, man. Just, uh, don't tell Brittany I told you, okay? I don't need her flying off the handle at me, the little—"

"A-hem."

"Sorry, sorry. It's just so... annoying, to put it lightly. Everything's annoying..." she drew her knees to her chest.

"Every time I have seen you, you've been a generally angry person. At your sister, at Brittany... You need to stop being so angry all the time."

"Hello, Pot, I'm Kettle," she said sarcastically. "And I'm not always angry, it's just that we keep meeting at bad times."

"Listen, Frau Kessel, I've been an 'angry person' for most of my existence, and if I've learned anything during that time, it's that being angry doesn't always help. When us countries were trapped in the mansion, we argued all the time. It was a force of habbit. But once we calmed down and listened to each other, we started to get closer than we ever had to escaping. That is how we formed our alliance."

The Vet glanced up at him. "I always was kinda curious about how that went over with your leaders or whatever."

"You are avoiding the topic." Ludwig scolded. "Also, zum Teufel mit ihnen."

Vet choked and covered her mouth. "Can't say I ever expected you to say that.

"The topic at hand?" Ludwig snapped his fingers a few times.

"Right, right, sorry. But I'm being honest, I'm not usually so mad. It's just with my sister being kidnapped and disapearing all the time—"

"It has happened twice."

"For several days each time!" She snapped. "And I can't tell anyone in my life because it sounds like a bunch of random stuff I dreamed about, and no one would believe me. Why would they? They'll just think I'm crazy and ignore me or send my to a psychologist and they'll try to convince me I'm making it all up! And what if they succeed? What if I start thinking I'm crazy? That Author just died in a car accident while at college or something? Or—"

"Stop and breathe," Ludwig said firmly.

"But—"

"That's an order."

The Vet gave him a watery side glare, but did as she was told. In. Out. In. Out.

"Gut. Jetzt hoer mir zu."

"Ich bin."

"I can't use magic to see the future, or however it is it works with the cult. I can't guarentee everything will be alright. But if we sit here whining or rush in blindly with anger, I can at least guarentee that the chances of saving The Author will be slimmer. Do you understand?"

"Yes... sir."

"There is no need for that. We're supposed to be... friends, not superiors and inferiors."

"Okay then... Luddy."

"Do not call me that."

"Okay, okay, I won't." After a second, she leaned against his arm.

Ludwig froze. "Um—"

"It's not flirting, dumnkopf," she said. "I just need to sit for a second."

Gingerly, he patted The Vet's head a few times. A bit too roughly and heavily, but it was the thought that counted. After a moment, she sat up straight and Ludwig quickly smoothed out his clothes as he stood. Vet stood, too. "We shall go to the main group now, in case we need to be caught up on anything."

Vet nodded and followed him.

Regular Perspective (Technically Still The Vet, But Hey! Who's Counting?)

"So glad to see you all again, I am!" Casey beamed at the approaching group. The countries who had been away rejoined their group. Brittany, The Artist, and The Vet stood near Casey, who quickly wrapped Brittany in a tight hug. "Feelin better, love?" Vet heard her say quietly.

Brittany returned the hug. "Still a little nervous, but… not as much as before." After a second, she settled her forehead on the top of Casey's head. "Thank you, love."

"Retour au present, les amoureux," someone called, a young man dressed in Liechtenstein's uniform with the purple ribbon tied to his belt. Vet didn't know French, but the way France and some presumably French-speaking cult members started laughing, combined with how Matthew was desperately trying not to join them, gave The Vet an idea of what had been said. The same thought seemed to occur to Brittany and Casey and they quickly backed away from each other.

"Very funny, Alexandre," Casey said sarcastically. "If we can get back to the topic at hand?"

"Voilà ce que je disais!"

"Yes, yes, you're French, we get it. Anyway, Gilbert, would ya like to tell everyone again what our new plan of attack is?"

Gilbert nodded and addressed everyone, but mostly the five countries and the three girls. "So it might seem like the leads we had were a bust and we have nothing now, ja? But I believe we already had a lead from the beginning: the awesome ME!" He struck a pose and a few people laughed or clapped.

"As humble as ever, Bruder," Ludwig muttered.

"Ha ha, West, sehr komisch. Anyway, remember how I said I can sense The Author when she says 'awesome' or 'unawesome'?"

The Vet's eyes lit up. "That's right! You said you felt something again, didn't you?"

Gilbert grinned. "Das ist richtig! Though that was back at the mansion site. Now that we're here, I can sense it a little more clearly. So, if my awesome instincts are correct…" He strode out the square door shaped hole, followed quickly by everyone. He stood in the middle of the cobblestone and pointed down the street to the right of the door. "She's in that direction. It'll be a bit of a walk, but it shouldn't take more than an hour or two." He lowered his hand slightly. "I don't know if I should say this, but… I think we should get started right away. I can sense her more clearly, but it's not as… strong. Does that make sense?"

Brittany hummed, putting a hand to her chin. "That is a bit troubling… But you're right. We should get going right away! Of course, if everyone is ready…?" She looked at the people around her.

Someone stepped forward. Everyone's eyes turned to them. They looked slowly between The Vet, Brittany, and The Artist. Then, slowly, The Reader gave a thumbs up. Everyone cheered.

"That settles it, then!" Brittany stood tall, happier than The Vet had ever seen her, especially with Casey holding her hand. "Everyone: MOVE OUT!"


So, yeah! Some of the countries get a little more personal screen time. I kind of want to do this with the other countries to show that they're not stagnant, but probably not like this. Definitely more actions and dialogue, but not necessarily a feels jam for everyone. A certain country you'd like to know more about first? Do you have any ideas for how to best make the countries more prominent? I'm open to ideas, though I do already have plans for one of the countries. I wonder if you can guess which one…?

Now, as for what The Artist says… I can't honestly be sure if that's how she thinks, I was kind of projecting my feelings on the relationship into her perspective. Technically, you shouldn't put words in people's mouths, but if they're anonymous and not likely to read what you've written… well, that's the excuse I'm using. Just to be clear: I really do care for The Artist. She's my oldest friend and even though we rarely get to see each other or even text, I do enjoy her company when we do fun things like take walks or play videogames. So… yep.

Also, Alexandre! He first appeared in The Cult of Veneziano, but he never had a name or even lines… until now. He's much more serious then his dialogue here would make you think; his jab at Brittany and Casey was more sarcastic than teasing. Alexandre doesn't tease. He's a very serious boy with a marksman's aim (though honestly, in this cult, who doesn't?) and tends to be more of the quiet type, but the continued indirectness of Brittany and Casey's obvious feelings was getting on his nerves. (Don't worry, things will get a little more direct between the two soon. Not sure when, but soon.)

Also also, The Reader! Like I said, they first appeared in the first book, though they were only mentioned in passing, partially seen from across the way between a tent and a training arena. Their appearance and gender are vague, to fit any person into the role, no matter their identity or favorite character. I mean, if anyone was going to be invited into the cult, why not you? That's my logic, anyway.

Sooo what did you think? A bit of a cool down compared to last chapter, but well needed. I hope you liked it, so leave a review and tell me what you thought. I'll try to come back again soon. Until then!