Thanks to kekasihchaewon for reviewing.

Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia.

Chapter 5

"Really, this is too much!" Vlad said as he stared at the clothes that Dylan had gotten for him. "You shouldn't waste your money on someone like me!"

"We are not 'wasting money'," Arthur said. "And don't you dare imply again that you do not deserve something."

Vlad wanted to continue arguing the point, but he knew that he wouldn't get anywhere. So instead, he looked at the clothes again. They weren't as fancy as the clothes that his master would wear, but they were definitely better than the clothes he was currently wearing. They were a red-orange colour, and Dylan had also gone through the trouble of getting a jacket and shoes. His bare feet were urging him to accept the shoes.

"I tried to guess your size," Dylan explained. "You look as though you're just a little smaller than Arthur, so I hope it fits."

"We'll give you some privacy so you could change," Arthur said, walking with his brother to the door.

Vlad couldn't help but smile. When was the last time he really had privacy? He tenderly picked up the shirt and put it on. It hung a little loose on him, but he was used to not having clothes that fit perfectly. At least it wasn't too small.

Once he was fully dressed, he couldn't help but stare down at himself. For the first time in a long time, he wished to see himself in a looking glass. Did he still look like the same pale slave? Or did he look as though he was an actual person that people could treat with politeness, perhaps even respect?

He was truly grateful to Arthur and Lukas, but he was also worried about this whole mission thing. Why were they chosen, and what exactly did they need to do? And what would happen to him when all of this was done?

That question made him feel cold. What would happen to him? He had nowhere to go, and even if it turned out that Raj had lied about what had happened to his family, he doubted that he could return to them. It had been ten years. No one wanted a former slave for a son.

Vlad sat down on the bed. His future rested with Arthur and Lukas. Perhaps they would be able to find a place for him when they returned to their lives. Because he knew that they had lives. While their clothes weren't expensive, he knew that they were at least of decent quality. They had their trades, though he didn't know what they were. Perhaps they would be able to help him find a job when this was over.

He jumped when someone knocked on the door, and he quickly scrambled off the bed, memories of punishments from being discovered doing something like that flashing through his mind.

"Is everything alright?" Arthur asked. "Do you need some help?"

"N-no, everything's fine," Vlad said. "Um, y-you can come in. I'm finished."

Arthur opened the door, and he stared at Vlad for a moment before nodding his head, smiling.

"That looks good on you," Arthur said.

Arthur's brother poked his head in and nodded in satisfaction.

"I had a feeling that red would be your colour," he said. "Now then, we just need to secure a horse for you, and we can probably get out of this place. I don't think it's safe to stay here for too long."

Vlad had to agree. The longer he stayed there, the greater the chances that his master or his master's guards would find him. Even if he no longer had the brand, he was still considered his master's property. And other than his master, there was still the matter of Raj wanting them.

As the thought crossed his mind, Vlad was suddenly filled with fear. It felt as though the fear was suffocating him. He gasped, taking a step back. Arthur ran over towards him, seeing his distress.

"Vlad!" Arthur exclaimed. "Are you alright?"

Vlad couldn't answer. He didn't know how to answer. He had no idea how to explain this sudden fear. He closed his eyes, trying to calm himself. He saw a flash of blue, and he instinctively knew that it wasn't his fear that he was feeling.

"I-I think Lukas is in trouble," Vlad said.

"What?" Arthur asked. "Why do you say that?"

"It's j-just a feeling that I-I have. P-please, you have to t-trust me."

Arthur pursed his lips, but eventually he nodded.

"Alright, I trust you," he said. He turned to his brother. "Dylan, could you reach out to Pat and Al? I'm worried that they're not here yet."

"You're not going to be doing anything on your own," Dylan scolded. "I'm coming with you, whether you like it or not."

Vlad felt another spike of fear, and he knew that they couldn't just stand there and debate the matter. He ran past the brothers and out the door, taking a moment to figure out which direction he should go before running in that direction.

…

"You're one of Nemthys's followers."

Tino's grin widened, and in an instant he was in front of Lukas. Lukas grunted when he was slammed against the wall, with Tino clamping one hand over Lukas's mouth and using his other arm to pin Lukas to the wall by his chest.

"We don't want to alert the others," Tino whispered. "We'll get them later. For now, you're going to come with me."

Lukas tried to push Tino away, but the other was surprisingly strong. In response, Tino only pressed harder.

"Unless you want my friends to hurt your friends, you'll come with me," Tino whispered. "I can only imagine Emil's face when he realises that his big brother is the reason why he would no longer be able to walk."

Lukas's blood turned cold. Tino wouldn't. However, he couldn't detect any traces of Tino lying. And since Tino had spent all that time with them, he would know that Lukas cared about the others, and Tino would know that hurting them would hurt Lukas.

"Now then, do we have a deal?" Tino asked.

Lukas heard running footsteps, and he turned his head as much as he could. It took him a moment to recognise Vlad.

"Lukas!" Vlad exclaimed.

"Ah, the slave is here," Tino said. He removed his arm from Lukas's chest and flicked the hand. Lukas heard Vlad yelp, and he felt a surge of anger. "I'll get back to you soon. Now, Lukas…"

Lukas raised his hands and aimed them at Tino's chest. He channelled some magic and blew Tino away, just like Vlad had done with Raj. Lukas immediately turned towards Vlad, seeing him tied up with rope. Tino must have cast a spell or something. Lukas filed that information away for later, but for now he needed to help Vlad.

Lukas used his magic to cut the rope. He looked up when he heard more footsteps, and sighed in relief when he saw it was just Arthur and Dylan. If it had been someone local, then he could have been in a lot of trouble.

"What happened?" Arthur asked.

Tino chuckled, causing all of them to turn towards him. He pushed himself to his feet, a manic grin on his face.

"I was hoping to get you two later," Tino said. "But this is a fortunate turn of events." His eyes shifted towards Dylan. "And you also have the brother that we didn't get."

"What?" Arthur and Dylan demanded.

"Alistair and Patrick are with my friends, along with Mathias, Berwald and Emil. Go back to the place where Raj led you before sunset if you want any of them to live. Oh, and Vlad? You might want to be careful. Raj told your master that you went off with the sorcerers. His guards are looking for you, so don't even try to run, and if you stray from the path, then they will find you."

Vlad paled at the words. Lukas gritted his teeth.

"Why involve them at all?" he demanded. "Why don't you just take us if that's what you want?"

"It's because they need you to go willingly," Dylan said. "Isn't that right? There's an element of willingness involved, and you can't take them by force."

"And that's why you're not giving us any other choice," Arthur whispered, eyes widening in realisation.

Tino looked annoyed for a brief moment before his face smoothed into a more natural expression.

"You have until sunset," Tino said. "After that, we kill your brothers and friends, and we will take you by force. If the guards don't kill you first."

And Tino disappeared. The four of them remained silent as they tried to think of what to do. Lukas clenched his fists, his thoughts drifting towards his brother and friends.

"We can't just go in without a plan," Dylan said. "I don't know the full story, but we can't let them take you."

"And what would you suggest we do?" Arthur asked. "We only have a few hours left, and I'm worried about the guards that are looking for Vlad. If they find him with us, then they'll assume we're the sorcerers they're looking for, and after that explosion earlier…"

"He could have been lying about that."

"He wasn't," Lukas said. "That's just the feeling that I get." He turned to Vlad. "How did you know I needed help?"

"I… I don't know how to explain it," Vlad said. "It was… like I could feel your fear."

"Well, thank you. I don't know what he would have done if you hadn't come."

"Now we need to figure out what to do," Arthur said. "We can't take any chances. We can't let them get the jewels, and we can't let them get us." Arthur turned towards Dylan. "I don't think they care much about you, so maybe we can use that to our advantage?"

"Maybe," Dylan said. "Do you know where you need to go?"

"I'm not entirely sure." Arthur turned to Lukas. "Do you think that compass will be able to find our path?"

"I don't know," Lukas said. "But I think we can try."

…

Arthur glanced over towards Vlad, who was clinging to his and Lukas's backs. Tino hadn't been lying when he said that his former master's guards were looking for them. They had forced the three of them to go along the slums, and the only thing preventing them from getting lost was Lukas's compass.

Dylan was trailing behind them. Since Nemthys's followers wouldn't care about him, he could go around the back of the building and cast a spell from there. The three of them needed to keep those followers stalled for as long as possible until then, without having to surrender themselves to them.

"I think this is the place," Lukas said.

Arthur looked up. Did the building look familiar? To be honest, most of these buildings looked the same, but this one appeared to be abandoned. He looked over towards the west, and the sun was already low in the sky. They had to hope that this was the right place, because they didn't have much time.

"Good luck," Dylan whispered, coming up behind them. "I'll see if I can get in through the back or the side."

"Good luck to you too," Arthur said. "We'll give you a few seconds before we go in."

Arthur turned to the other two. Lukas was staring at the building, his jaw clenched. He'd explained that the only member of his social circle that knew about him being a sorcerer was his brother. This was a bad way for his friends to learn about it. Lukas was also afraid because, even if they were able to rescue them, his friends would hate him. Arthur was also worried about his own brothers.

Vlad didn't have that same worry, but he was still afraid. He was probably thinking about running into Raj again. Arthur didn't want Vlad anywhere near Raj again either. He'd heard the suggestion that Raj had been responsible for Vlad's life as a slave, and Raj had no problem hurting Vlad earlier.

"Are you two ready?" Arthur asked.

"As ready as I can be," Lukas said.

Vlad, on the other hand, only shook his head, clenching his eyes shut as he clung tighter to Arthur and Lukas's backs. Arthur had to carefully pull himself away in order to gently take Vlad's upper arms.

"It will be alright," Arthur whispered. "We'll get out of this mess."

"And if you're wrong?" Vlad asked, his voice incredibly small. "What will happen to us then?"

"The three of us will figure out a way to get away from them," Lukas said. "They need us to be at least a little willing, and they can't kill us. Somehow, we can get around that. Just… Promise that, no matter what, we wouldn't abandon each other."

Arthur was surprised by Lukas's words, but he nodded his agreement. Vlad hesitated a bit before he nodded as well, his eyes wide. Arthur smiled at him when he slowly released them. The smile fell before he turned back to the building.

"Let's get this over with," he whispered.

The three walked towards the door. Arthur reached out, and after a moment's hesitation, he opened the door. He was greeted with the sight of Raj leaning against the wall, in almost the exact same location as he did earlier. But Arthur's attention was immediately drawn to the five people on the floor between them, bound and gagged. It would seem as though Tino hadn't been lying.

"Finally," Raj said, his face morphing into a grin. "And with some time to spare too. Our master will be pleased."

Arthur felt as though he was yanked into the room, and based on the yelp, Vlad was dragged in too. He felt Lukas on his other side before they heard the door slam behind them. He gulped nervously as he noticed that Raj wasn't alone.

Tino sauntered into view, hands clasped behind his back. When Arthur looked on either side, he saw two other men that bore a strong resemblance to each other, and he suspected that they might have been brothers or related in some way. He then looked towards his own brothers, whose eyes were wide with fear. The fear wasn't for their current predicament, but for seeing Arthur there.

Remembering the plan, Arthur turned his gaze back to Raj and Tino. He swallowed thickly, mulling over the words to say. He hated the fact that they were looking up at their enemies, for they had fallen on the ground, but he didn't want to risk any potential harm to his brothers, or Lukas's friends.

"W-what exactly do you want with us?" Arthur asked.

"Didn't I already tell you?" Raj asked. "You're the only ones that can find the jewels."

"Yes, but… why go through all this trouble? Why involve innocents?"

"Your cooperation. It would be much easier if you come with us willingly, and these boys are here to ensure that." Raj sneered. "Human sentiments. It is your kind's greatest weakest, and our greatest tool."

"The way you say that…" Lukas said. "You… you're not human?"

"Not entirely anymore," Tino said. "We became so much more when we pledged our loyalties to the master."

"Enough talking," one of the other two snapped. "The sooner we take them, the sooner Master will be restored to his full strength."

"Patience, Antonio," the other said, looking over the three sorcerers. "They are young, and so inexperienced. Besides, there is some fun to be had." He glanced towards the prisoners. "Tell me, how long before your distraction pays off? When will Dylan come by, Arthur?"

Arthur turned cold and his eyes widened. The man smirked lazily, before he flicked his wrist. Instantly, Dylan appeared, his hands tied behind his back, his mouth gagged, and on his knees. Arthur let out a cry of alarm before he tried to push himself to his feet, but Antonio stepped in by literally stepping on Arthur's back and pushing him down.

"Didn't we tell you?" Raj asked. "We know whatever we need to know. Now, are you going to comply, or is Miguel going to kill Dylan?"

"Oh, we're starting with him?" Tino asked. He sauntered over towards Lukas's friends. "I was hoping we could start with Mathias. Rip his tongue out." His eyes narrowed as he stared into blue eyes. "You never could figure out how to shut up. You had to be the worst part about my pretence."

"How long?" Lukas asked. "How long did you know or suspect about me… about me being able to find the jewels? How long were you lying to us?"

"Those two things are completely unrelated," Tino said, straightening himself. "I knew you were a sorcerer the moment I saw you. My intention was to get close to you and steadily convince you to come to our side. It's been a while since we've added someone to our ranks. And I only realised what you are two weeks ago in the stables, and I knew what 'business' you were referring to." Tino chuckled. "Did your inferior god tell you that Vlad needed your help?"

Arthur turned to Lukas, who appeared to be holding back his rage. He also noticed Vlad, who seemed to be trying to block out everything that was going on. Arthur felt really sorry for Vlad. He hadn't had a pleasant life, and for the first time he seemed to have a chance to escape the horrors he had suffered, only to keep getting sucked into these types of things. And Arthur felt guilty because Vlad didn't really have anyone to save, like Lukas and Arthur did.

"Don't ever say something like that again," Lukas said.

Tino smirked.

"Did I hit a nerve?" he asked. "Vlad was the perfect bait. Probably the only time he was worth something."

Vlad whimpered, and Arthur realised that there was something else in the air.