A/N: Okay, here starts one of my favourite chapters this far. We've got Elsa and Akseli(and mention of the Cantorini twins) and then we also have BTT(France, Spain and Prussia)! And they are not portrayed as perverts for once! I worked really hard with this one and I hope you'll like this. :)

12. Underwater

Sun was shining high and bright in Salou, Spain. It was about midday and a lot of shops and restaurants were closed for siesta. Locals were about nowhere seen. Some were out and enjoying the sun though. Who knew when the temperature would drop to the horrible plus five degrees of Celsius! It was already October after all.

But most of all there were tourists there. Escaped the dreary weathers of their homecountries to the warmth of Spain. So were Elsa and Akseli Ahola there too. Enjoying their time on a holiday. It was nice to get out of the dark and wet Finland for a moment and charge batteries before starting to wait for the white and cold winter. They weren't the only ones from their school to escape the rainy month. Their good friends and Akseli's classmates, half-Italian twins Luciano and Felicia Cantorini had gone to Firenze to visit the family of their father's.

But back to Ahola's. The kids had left their family's hotel room(apartementos actually) to go to the beach nearby while their parents were having siesta. Elsa giggled at the thought. When in Rome, do what the Romans do. But since she and Akseli were full of energy and had no intention of napping, they had bugged the adults until they had given in and allowed the two go to the beach. Of course there was some restrictions like "no more than an hour", "stay between the flags", no going into the water if the flag is red" and of course the classic: "stay together and don't go with strangers".

"C'mon Akseli, we're going to miss the best waves!" Elsa took the hand of her ten-year-old little brother and pulled him along to the water as soon as they had gotten rid of the clothes over their swinsuits.

"Yeah, I'm coming but shouldn't you tie your hair first?" The boy offered two hairbands to his twelve-year-old sister who accepted them half-grumpily before smiling.

"Fine, but only because you're so cute!" Elsa hugged the boy tightly.

"Gah, get off!" Akseli shouted. Hey, it was a universal law that boys didn't like getting hugged by girls. Especially by their sisters, especially at a certain age and especially on public.

"Killjoy…" The girl muttered and tied her sandy-blond hair on two low ponytails by the two elastic fabric loops. "But let's go now. There's only a yellow flag up so we'll be fine."

If only…

Akseli couldn't breathe. Water was surging into his lungs and he hadn't had a chance to hold his breath. It all had happened so fast. one moment he was hand to hand with Elsa, laughing at the big waves, and the next his hand had slipped and his feet were swept by the returning currents. And he had sunk underwater, the currents dragging him further and deeper. The boy had his eyes shut. He had never been able to keep his eyes open underwater. And if he were, his vision would be blackening by now. Because he was running out of oxygen…

"A-Akseli!" Elsa looked at her hand which was wet due the saltwater and slippery because of the sunscreen they had put on their arms and backs before coming to the beach. And because of that their hands had slipped. Elsa had turned away for a second and turned back when she hadn't felt her brother's hand anymore in hers. Akseli had been gone. And no one else had noticed it. No one lese saw a boy disappear underwater. A bulb of panic rose from the girl's stomach to her throat and choked her.

"Akseliih!"

Antonio Fernandez Carriedo noticed two things while swimming. He had come to the beach in Salou with his best friends Gilbert Bieldschmidt and Francis Bonnefoy and fooled around with them a while before going to swim and cool down. But now he noticed those two things. One was a blonde girl – a tourist – looking around in panic before hurrying back to the dry land and continuing look around. The other literally bumped into him. Hit him in the legs to he almost lost his balance. He look down(thank god the water was almost crystal clear!) and a boy lying there, unconscious and not breathing. Swept by currents and the only thing keeping him from being washed out to the sea was Antonio's legs.

The nation acted quickly. Because the water reached his chest, he had to dive to get the boy. And he did, just barely in time before the boy was too far to reach. But Antonio got a hold on the boy's wrist and pulled him to the surface. To his horror the boy didn't start coughing and spitting the water out and rasping for air.

"I just hope I'm not too late." Was the only thought the personification of Spain had when he hurried towards the shore, the boy on his arms.

"Toni! Yo! What's up?" Gilbert greeted his friend from the shadow of a large parasol. Gilbird chirped too and landed in the hair of the albino. Francis was lying on a towel nearby too and bathing in sun while flirting with a couple of girls. The Prussian was grinning until he saw the unmovable form of the boy in Spaniard's arms.

"He isn't breathing." Antonia gasped. The run from the now to shallow waters to his friends hadn't been easy.

"Put him on the ground. Was he underwater?"

"Yes, it just happened."

Gilbert's mood had changed drastically and the casual grin was replaced with a serious expression. Francis sat up too and shooed the girls away. Antonio laid the boy in the shadow of the parasol on Gilbert's towel as the albino moved away and jumped into action, checking for any life signs. He found a pulse and started CPR.

It took a good few minutes before the boy jerked and started coughing. Gilbert helped him on his side so he could spit the water out of his systems.

"Hey, easy, easy… You're fine." The albino rubbed the boy's back while muttering soothingly in German. Thankfully they had gathered very few spectators which Antonio and Francis kept in a good distance and sent away eventually.

The boy looked up at the Prussia and was about to say something when another coughing fit hit him. After it was over he promptly passed out.

Elsa watched the crowds on the beach. Could she ask help? She didn't trust her language skills enough to do so… And she wasn't as brave and open as she used to be… But Akseli…

Suddenly her attention was caught. People swarmed by a colorful parasol but were sent away. Soon all spectators were gone and doing whatever they hadn't been doing prior that. Only three guys remained there and by them on the ground was...

"Akseli!" Elsa didn't believe she had ever run that fast in her life. She stopped only when she stumbled and the blond guy caught her around her midriff, preventing her falling flat on her face.

"You okay, mademoiselle?" He asked in English. He had a funny accent, French maybe.

"Yes, is Akseli alright? He's my brother." The girl looked anxiously at her brother's still form on the black and white towel.

"Si, he was awake a moment ago." The man who looked like one of the locals reassured her.

"Luojan kiitos…(Thank god…)" Elsa let a sigh of relief. "I… I almost thought he had… I don't know what I would've done then… I was so worried…" The tears she had refused to spill earlier came back now and the young teen was crying. It started as sobs but turned into a waterfall.

The BTT stayed silent while the sandy haired girl cried. Gilbert was sitting by the boy, Akseli as he was identified now, and making sure he kept breathing. Francis guided the girl to sit down on one of the towels and kept comforting her silently. Antonio looked around for a moment before asking the girl where her and her brother's belongings were. It was a bright blue bag with golden yellow starfish.

After five minutes Elsa's crying had ceased into hiccups and she was furiously wiping her tears away and muttering about how embarrassing the situation was.

"It's alright, frau. Even zough crying is so unawesome sometimes, I've done it too. Und I vould do it again is it vere mein brüder in danger." Gilbert declared.

"Or Lovi. I don't know what to do if something were to happen to him." Antonio added.

"Y-Yes, but crying in front to strangers…" The girl muttered to the towel she had wrapped around her shoulders.

"Well, let's not be strangers then. I'm Francis and these two are Gilbert and Antonio."

"I'm Elsa though on the Internet I'm called Eliza. Some foreigners are weird…"

"On the Internet?" Antonio questioned.

"I keep a video blog, a vlog. Started during last summer to improve my English. I just talk about random things. Of course not revealing any personal information."

"You like blogging zen?" Gilbert asked.

"The…" Elsa paused a moment to look for the right word. "…reception had been mainly positive. And I like the idea of talking my thoughts out."

The four of them talked for a while, each taking turns on telling about themselves. Antonio told about his tomato fields and an Italian boy he raised up, Francis told about his farming business while brushing Elsa's hair and tying it on a French braid. And Gilbert told how he lived in his brother's basement and occasionally helped him in his work. What work, he didn't elaborate. Elsa in the other hand told about her hobbies: playing the piano, drawing and being a scout.

"How old are you, chica?" Antonio asked suddenly.

"Twelve. Akseli is ten."

"Where are your parents then?" Francis frowned.

"At the hotel having a siesta. I bugged them enough to let us come here on our own…" Elsa trailed off to look at Akseli. She frowned. "Ylös, unikeko.(Up, sleepyhead.)" She poked the boy on the side. He yelped and opened his eyes.

"Ei hauskaa, Elsa.(Not funny, Elsa)" Akseli glared and sat up slowly. Gilbert helped him.

"Sinä se teeskentelit nukkuvaa.(You were the one the fake sleep)"

"Pyh.(Tsk.)"

"Pyh itsellesi.(Tsk yourself.)"

"Dummkopf.(Stupid/Idiot.)"

"Don't go all German on me." Elsa flipped the boy a top of his head. "Axis."

"Don't… call me that." Akseli said with a bit of difficulty. Well, he had studied English only a bit over a year.

"Why not? In a way that's your name."

"Was?(What?)" Came the question in German.

"Periaatteessa se on sun nimi." Elsa repeated her previous statement in Finnish. With a sigh.

"Vat are you talking about?" Gilbert asked.

"Akseli's nickname I gave him. In Finnish the word 'akseli' can be both a name for a boy but also a regular word. And if that word is translated in English it'd be 'axis'. Like…" She paused to think a good example.

"Axis Powers, oui?" Francis guessed, a smirk aimed at Gilbert who glared back.

"Hmm? Axis Powers?"

"The other alliance in the World War Two." Antonio clarified.

"Ah, Akselivallat! Yes, just like that." Elsa's face brightened in realization.

"Very funny, Elsa." Akseli grumbled, holding his head.

"No need to be so grumpy. Or is Luciano rubbing on you?"

"Kopfschmerzen…"

"Eh?"

"He has a headache." Gilbert translated.

"And he couldn't say it in Finnish…" The girl muttered. "We should probably get back to the hotel so Akseli can rest properly." She shook the towel off her shoulders and pulled t-shirt, which she had fished from the bag, on.

"We'll walk you there." Antonio offered immediately.

"Gracias." Elsa smiled to the Spaniard while handing Akseli his shirt. Antonio laughed merrily.

The group of five walked along the corridor of a hotel. Akseli was taking support from Gilbert because he was still feeling dizzy. Francis had offered to carry Elsa's bag and Antonio was trailing behind, chattering to a phone. All their of stuff was put on the back of their car.

"Here it is." Elsa knocked on one of those identical doors of the hotel rooms. After a couple of seconds the door opened and a woman with blonde hair and blue eyes opened it.

"Ah, Elsa, tulitte jo takaisin…(Oh, Elsa, you already came back…)" The woman began but noticed the three men then with her children. Before she could question it though, Elsa had launched into explaining the situation in quick Finnish. When the explanation was out, the woman enveloped the girl in a hug and held out a hand for Akseli too. The boy took it and together he and Elsa were almost squeezed to death.

"Thank you very much. I don't know what I would've done if something had happened to either of them." The mother of the two thanked the trio once her children were ushered inside.

"De nada.(It's nothing.) It's great to see them alright." Antonio smiled.

"Oui." Francis agreed while Gilbert nodded. They all were giving their best impression to the woman. They could sense she was suspicious about them which was only natural in any situation.

"Äiti, sä voit kyllä luottaa heihin.(Mum, you do can trust them.)" Elsa had appeared to the doorway. She had been in the bathroom changing her clothers and washing the salt water and sand off her skin. (Her hair hand been wet in the begin with so she still had the French braid.) "Akseli on pesulla nyt.(Akseli is washing now.)"

"Selvä sitten. Minä menen etsimään teille jotain pientä syötävää.(Alright then. I'll go to look for something for you to eat.)" The woman left the four of them standing there a tad awkwardly.

"We'll be going now too then." Francis smiled.

"Ja, I'm hungry…" Gilbert grumbled, holding his stomach. Elsa giggled.

"Starving more like but alright, off you go then. Take care of yourselves and thank you once more."

"Au revoir!"

"Auf Wierdersehen!"

"Adiós!"

A/N: Alright, what did you think of this? I'm quite happy with this one. Only thing is that I probably should've included Gilbird a bit more but oh well...

Please review! I really appreciate it!

The next chapter is what happened with Akseli when the BTT had left. Curious? Just wait. ;) A tip: it's another 'ghost' but not a historical person.