CLIFF HANGER, HANGING ON CLIFF...AND THAT'S WHY HE'S CALLED CLIFF HANGER!

Matthew was looking over the image in the circle before a jolt of pain went through his arm. Being on his hands and knees to get a better view of a trap, he yelped and suddenly fell on his face in surprise, glasses sliding off said face. Allistair helped him up. "Are you alright there laddy?" he asked, concerned.

Mattie rubbed his arm. "A-Alfred's in trouble. He broke his arm. We need to find him!" said Matthew, searching for his glasses. Reiley picked up the glasses and handed them to the Canadian. "Matthew, I'm sure Gilbert and Mathias have his back. He's not the most experienced fighter compared to the rest of us. I'm sure he tripped over something and hurt himself and the other two are dusting him off as we speak," said Rhys.

Francis bit his lip. "Gilbert is injured as well...broken wing and hand," he said. "How do you know that?" asked Reiley, raising an eyebrow. "Antonio, Gilbert, and I have bonded ourselves together. We've been close friends since childhood," he said. Rhys frowned. "Arthur...there may be something wrong. Allistair and Francis are going to go out and investigate it," he said to his brother.

Rhys immediately felt annoyance through the bond before being replaced with panic, fear, and anger. "What the bloody hell do you think is wrong? Is it with Alfred?" asked Arthur, suddenly racing out of the cave out to the other avians. Burning fury was in his emerald irises. "We don't know. Matthew felt his arm break and Francis thinks Gilbert just got one hell of a beating," said Allistair.

Arthur frowned. "I don't feel anything coming from Alfred...Nothing. No thoughts or emotions….Not even when I reach out for him," he said, worry starting to color his voice. "Maybe he and Alfred got in a fight?" weakly suggested Reiley. Francis frowned. "Non...I felt fear coming from Gilbert before he got a blow to the head…If it was Alfred he were fighting, he'd be more annoyed and it'd be more of a play fight than a real one," he said.

"Do you feel anything coming from Alfred?" asked Arthur, grabbing Francis's arm. Francis concentrated before opening panicked eyes and shaking his head. "N-Non...j-just like last time…" he said. Arthur swore. "I-I still feel him...He's not dead if that's what you're worried about," stuttered Matthew quietly.

Everyone turned to look at him. "You still feel him? Can you talk to him? Are you getting any sense from him of what might be going on?" said Arthur in a rush, quickly droppping Francis's arm and going to Matthew. Matthew nodded. "K-Kinda...It's really hard to do it, I need a lot of concentration, but I can do it….Something's trying to block me," he said.

Arthur frowned. "Nothing breaks or blocks a bond easily except death….This is a show of quite a force of magic," he said. Allistair nodded, red brows knitted together. "Aye...Very few people can do it and of those that can...they wouldn't see any reason to waste so much energy trying to do it. That, and most of them are already present and the other two are friends," he said.

"Is there any chance that Ivan is a magic user as well?" asked Matthew. Arthur swore, starting to march into the house. "Who bloody cares? Right now, we need to rescue them before it's too late," he said. Rhys wrinkled his nose. "By the time we get there, they'd be long gone. I'm going to call the Nordics," he said, spreading his hands. He concentrated and an orb appeared.

Lukas appeared in the orb, eyebrow raised. "So you two felt a disturbance as well I assume," he said. Rhys nodded, furrowing his brows. "Aye...Something's wrong with both Alfred and Gilbert. It sounds like Gilbert is hurt bad," he said. "We're already flying to the clearing. We'll be there any minute," he said. Rhys nodded. "Contact us when you get there," he said.

Lukas shook his head, frowning at something in the distance. "We're here….but they aren't. Tino had gone ahead of us to scout, but he isn't here either. But then again, he's good at hiding. Give me a minute," he mused. The orb flickered and showed the clearing where Arthur found Alfred. There were some feathers, a pool of blood, and droplets leading between a few trees.

Arthur clenched his fists. "Those are from where I fought the hunter the first time...though the blood trail is new," said Arthur. "They must have followed it and have gotten jumped," said Matthew quietly, starting to feel sick. All this stupid fuss over his wings may have led to his twin's demise. "Careful when you follow it, but hurry," said the quiet Canadian.

Lukas nodded and nodded to Emil and Berwald, both of whom were armed. Emil had a spear and Berwald had a sword. Lukas waved his hand and made it so the orb on his end was now floating above him so he could fight in case they got ambushed as well. They made it to another, but smaller, clearing where they saw a broken tree and footprints in the ground that indicated a fight, but nothing else.

Lukas waved a hand and a light flashed through the clearing. "There's no one here. My magic doesn't detect even Tino here," he said, frowning. Emil looked over the tree. "Do you think that this was how Gilbert got hurt?" he said. Lukas shook his head. "Only Mathias is thick-headed enough to break a tree. That explains his concussion," he huffed.

Berwald scowled and tightened his grip on the spear. "Tino is fine...I can't detect him being hurt...only concerned," said Lukas. Emil affectionately bumped into Berwald. "I'm sure he's helping those idiots in a cave somewhere. He probably got them out of there and is mother-henning them. Alfred especially," said Emil. The corners of Berwald's mouth twitched and he nodded.

Berwald suddenly froze and narrowed his eyes. "You're right. He's with them," he said. Emil blinked. "How do you know?" he asked. "Told me with bond. They're headed to Arthur's place," he said. Arthur blinked. "That's almost an hour's flight," he said. "Then maybe they have good news. They must not be hurt too badly if they can make the flight back," said Matthew hopefully, dread sinking in his stomach like a stone.

Francis frowned. "But then why would Tino come," he said. "Someone must have been hurt to get him to leave without telling us…." said Lukas, trailing. "Are you able to follow any of their energies?" asked Allistair, pushing Arthur out of the way so he was in front of the orb now.

Lukas concentrated. "I can sense Tino, Mathias, and Gilbert's energy going in the direction of your nest...but I can't sense Alfred's. It's like he just disappeared the minute he walked over to that spot," said Lukas, pointing to where a gold/brown feather laid. "Not at all?" asked Reiley, frowning.

Lukas shook his head. "We're going to go before we attract any unwanted attention. It's no good being here anyways….there's nothing. I'll talk to you guys later," he said, cutting off the connection. Arthur frowned and Francis wringed his hands. "Perhaps we should fly down to meet Gilbert and the others…" trailed Francis.

Arthur felt his knees trying to go weak and his stomach become upset. Rhys rubbed the spot between his youngest brother's wings. "Alfred's a tough kid. I'm sure he's fine. He sure isn't going to go without a proper fight," he told Arthur. "He's not dead...I promise. He broke his arm but that's it. I-I bet he's on his way with Tino and the others," said Matthew.

They sat around the circle and tried to distract themselves for the next hour. It was agreed that the Nordics, with Lukas's magic, had been thorough when scanning the clearing and that if they weren't able to figure out what happened, it would be better to wait to see what the others had to say when they come. Afterall, as Rhys pointed out, perhaps there was a chance they were all jumping to conclussions.

About an hour later, Reiley spotted specks in the sky, growing as they got closer. He ran to get the others inside, where Allistair made Arthur and Francis sit down for some tea, and called them over. As the specks got closer, they noticed it was three men, one of which had to be carried between the other two men.

"It's just Mathias, Gilbert,and Tino...Alfred isn't with him," said Allistair, frowning. As the trio came forward, it was obvious that at least two of them had been in a nasty fight. Gilbert's wing was crumpled and limply hanging from his back, in a splint that had been hastily put on. "W-Where's Alfred? What happened?" demanded Arthur, running over to them the minute they landed on the edge of the ledge.

"Es tut mir Leid (I'm so sorry)...T-They took him..Ivan has him," choked out Gilbert. "What?" asked Arthur, his face falling and his eyes filling with horror. Francis took and angry step forward. "Don't blame Gilbert. He was badly hurt...Ivan got the jump on both of us. Alfred fought a good fight...but Ivan's a dirty cheat," said Matthias, blinking back tears.

"They both insisted on coming here and telling you immediately. I had to twist their arm to convince them to let me put a splint on Gilbert's wing," said Tino. Francis swallowed and helped Gilbert and Mathias over to the rocks. "I thought you said you would look after him!" shouted Arthur, shaking from anger.

'"We tried...He outsmarted us. I-I should have put two and two together….I'm so sorry Arthur," said Gilbert, swallowing as Francis quickly busied himself with healing his wing, in hopes of distracting himself from an overwhelming need to burst into tears. "Arthur...We'll get Alfred back...H-He's still alive. He'll find a way to survive or cause Ivan trouble," stuttered Matthew, putting a hand on Arthur's shoulder.

Arthur shrugged the hand off and turned on the Canadian angrily. "Allow me to make this clear to you. Your brother has been captured by the hunter that shot him out of the sky simply because he had wings. In fact, he may be captive of the very monsters that tried to take both of your wings and lives that night so many decades ago. There's no telling what they'll do to him. Ivan was a horrible, despicable man who enjoyed hurting people. Who knows what kind of hell he will be forced to endure before they probably try to tell him," he snapped.

"Arthur!" snapped Francis, "Don't tell him that." He walked over to Matthew and crushed the boy to his chest, trying to hold back tears. Arthur had tears streaming down his face and was furiously trying to wipe them away. "I-I'm sorry Matthew...I lost my temper," he managed to choke out. Allistair sighed and draped a brotherly arm around Arthur's shoulders.

"We'll find him Artie. We ain't going to lose him twice," he said. Gilbert nodded from where Mathias was straightening the wing out and putting it in a proper splint. "The kid is a fighter for sure. He would've kicked Ivan's butt with a bit more training and if he didn't have to worry about tripping over Mathias and I. He got in a few good hits I'm sure Ivan will be feeling in the morning," he said.

Mathias nodded and grinned. "He's the reason why Gilbert isn't losing the hurt wing. Alfred shot Ivan in the arm with a crossbow before he could sever anything," he said. Gilbert smiled tiredly. "Good thing. I don't think Ludwig would enjoy having to carry me around and Sylvia would have a heart attack if she saw me come back missing a wing...especially since she told me specifically not to lose any limbs during my trip here," he said.

Matthew pulled himself away from Francis so he could try to recompose himself. "T-That does sound like Alfie...He's a good fighter he just went a little easy on the villagers because he was stronger than them...I just wonder what's happening to him…." he trailed, wiping his eyes.

What's Happening to Alfred

Alfred woke up to the sound of something dripping nearby and the feeling of someone trying to stare holes into his back. He resisted the urge to groan. Maybe if he played dead a little longer he could figure out a way to get out of wherever they were keeping him before they even realized he was awake. Heck, maybe they'll think he's dead or sick or something and try to move him.

Alfred tried to keep his breathing even as he mentally assessed any injuries he might have had. His wrist was throbbing...that had to be broken. A twisted ankle. He could feel some bruises on his face and legs...nothing major. He could still feeling his wings, which was a huge relief. There was, however, a foreign weight hanging around his neck.

Alfred frowned. It felt like a necklace...but also not a necklace… Something about it was off. He could feel a pendant stuck under his shirt. It was strange, but he could feel it pulsating somehow. Alfred waited a few seconds, still feeling eyes on him, before he slowly snuck a hand over to the pendant.

It was circular in shape with another circle impresed into the middle. He gently tugged at it, wanting to put his fingers around it to get a better idea of what it might look like. It didn't budge. Alfred wedged his fingernails around the edge and pulled harder, surprised when it sent a flash of pain through him. The pendant was stuck to his chest..or worst, imbedded into it.

"Don't try to pry it out. You'll only make yourself a mess and I would be the one stuck with cleaning up," muttered a girl in a gruff accent. Alfred frozed and heard the girl huffed. "I know you're awake. You don't need to pretend anymore. I saw you try to take the necklace off. That, and you talk in your sleep," she said.

Alfred scowled. He thought that was something Mattie made up to embarass him in front of the village girls. Well, I guess the gig is up. Might as well figure out who is keeping me hostage and what the heck they want with me. With that thought, Alfred slowly sat himself up, careful not to put any weight on his wrist and to be careful as to which way he moved his foot.

He found himself in a makeshift prison cell that looked as if it used to be a storage area for a pantry before the wooden door was replaced with one made of iron bars. There goes using his brute strength to break down the door. Sure, he could probably bend the bars but his wrist wasn't going to appreciate the effort. Which might be a good thing. He could feel the pressure of being underground on his feathers. Who knew if he'd been caught before getting upstairs to a window.

Alfred turned his attention to the girl who was sitting on the other side of the bars with a bored expression on her face. She had platinum blonde hair, blue eyes, and was wearing a blue dress with a white bow adorning her hair. Alfred would have been up to flirting with her if she wasn't scowling at him. That, and the fact that she was probably the one keeping him hostage.

"What do you want with me?" he asked, scowling at her. The girl's scowl deepened. "If it were up to me, you wouldn't be here and I would be anywhere else but here," she said. "What does that mean?" asked Alfred. The girl ignored him and grabbed his arm, making him wince. She pulled him over to the bars and in his surprise, he let her.

"May I have permission to heal you?" she asked. Alfred blinked before glaring at her. "What do you mean?" he asked. The girl gave him a blank stare. "I need to created a bond in order to heal you and that requires mea sking permission first," she said as if the answer was obvious.

"How? You're not even a bird-person anyways!" said Alfred, starting to try to pry the arm out of her surprisingly good grip. At that the girl's eyes looked amused despite the ever-present frown on her lips. She backed up so that the doorframe wasn't blocking his view of her back. Black and blue wings were folded neatly behind her.

Alfred blinked. He was sure not expecting that. "You're an avian?! Why the heck are you keeping me down here? Are you trapped too?" he asked. The girl tucked her wings back into place and sat back down. "Yes I'm an avian. I'm keeping you down here because I have to. And mostly trapped," she said, not elaborating.

Alfred raised an eyebrow. "That doesn't answer any of my questions. Why do you have to keep me down here? How is anyone 'mostly' trapped? Are you going to answer any of my questions?" he asked. "No," she said plainly. Alfred scowled. "Then, um, no. You can't heal me. Not to be rude or anything, but I don't really want to have my kidnapper reading my mind or being in my mind or anywhere near my mind. Stay out of my mind," he said.

The girl snorted. "Trust me. I wouldn't want to be anywhere near the crumb you call a brain. I only figured that being jailed without injuries would be more appealing than sitting in a cell with a broken wrist and hurt ankle. I won't bother myself with you anymore. Let me know if you need food or drink," she said, getting up. Alfred blinked. "That's it? You're not telling me anything else?!" he asked.

"No," she said, walking away.

So you probably want to know what went down. *Sighs* Gil take it away

Francis wiped the sweat off his forehead as he and Mathias worked to heal Gilbert's wing and hand. Mathias's injuries weren't so bad, just a hurt back and a concussion. Both Tino and Mathais insisted that Gilbert was looked at first while he explained what happened. Mathias was working on healing his wrist, since he was still sore. Francis, who was not all banged up, worked on the wing.

"What happened? How did he just manage to grab Alfred?" asked Arthur, pacing back and forth in the dirt. Matthew was exhausted just watching him. Was this how he was the first time he disappeared? "Nae. I wish he was more like this. He was a lot more depressed and panicky when he lost the two of you the first time," said Reiley.

Mattie looked up at his brother. "How'd you know…?" Reiley grinned. "Had the question written on your face lad. No, he was worse the first time but I'm not sure how long this side of him lasts before he gets all mopey. Don't worry about it. The Kirkland brothers know how to handle the youngest one of us," he said back.

Gilbert winced as Francis shifted his hand. "Easy there! Well, he had Alfred with a knife at his throat and told us that if we followed or even moved, he'd kill him then and there. I wasn't in any shape to jump him or try to do a surprise attack. With my wing I might not have been fast enough to shove Alfred out of the way so Mathias could attack him," he said.

Mathias nodded. "And to be honest, I was still dazed from hitting that tree so that it would have taken me a second or two to realize what Gilbert was planning," he said. "If you two moved, you could have risked him accidentally cutting Alfred," said Allistair. Tino nodded. "They were in no shape to follow him anyways...With their injuries, they might have put him in more danger," he said.

"When did you come in?" asked Rhys, keeping a weary eye on his youngest brother, not sure if he was going to explode into flames or tears. "A minute after Ivan left. He convinced us that we needed medical attention and back up if we wanted to rescue Alfred without putting him in danger or getting anyone injured...or more injured," said Gilbert.

"Then what happened?" demanded Arthur, pausing for half a second during his pacing. "After Ivan threated Alfred, shot me with the cross bow to pin my sleeve to a tree before dragging Alfred away. A few seconds later, Tino showed up," said Mathais. Tino swallowed. "I should have followed them. Maybe with my sharp shooting I would have been able to give Alfred a chance to get away," he said.

Gilbert tiredly shook his head. "Nein, that wouldn't have worked. He had a crossbow too and Alfred was knocked after Ivan put a necklace on him," he said. Arthur blinked. "A necklace you say? What do you bloody mean by that?" he asked. Before they could answer, someone shouted Gil's name.

Before he could turn to see who it was, Gilbert was tackled. "She wanted me to swing by and pick her up. What happened amigo? You look like you forgot how to fly again and fell off a cliff," said Tonio. Gilbert looked down to find Sylvia, his Monacon mate, squeezing him half to death. "I thought I told you not to lose any limbs," she muttered.

The Prussian man smirked. Francis paused from his healing. "Tonio, what are you doing here?" he asked. "I could feel his wing break all the way from my mountain. I knew he was coming here to reconcile with you and the boys. I didn't think Arthur would have gotten so mad that he would go into la moda pirata to try to rip his wing off," he said.

"I didn't rip his wing off!" said Arthur, pausing from trench his pacing was starting to created. "He was close but it turns out we owe Gilbert and Mathias a beer," said Alistair. "Will his wing be alright?" asked Sylvia. "Ja, I'm always fine. I've had worse breaks. Francis already has it feeling a lot less sore," he said.

She glanced around and spotted Matthew and the giant magic circle. Sylvia gave her older brother a frown. "Francis, who is this and...what exactly is that thing over there?" she asked. Francis sighed. "We found your older brothers and Arthur did a spell to find out how to reattach one of their wings. Unfortunately, one of the twins was captured by hunters when scouting the area where the wings are being kept," he said.

Both her and Tonio's eyes bugged. "Francis, you just got them back! How did you manage to lose one of them again?" asked Tonio. Reiley snickered. "What? He's got you there," he retorted when Arthur sent him a look meant to kill. Sylvia sighed. "Francis, I'll finish healing his wing up...or doing what I can today," she said. "Merci," said Francis, moving so she could take his place.

Arthur ran a hand through his hair. "What do we do now? Not only do we have to worry about getting Alfred back, but they must know now that we're after the wings," he said. "N-Not necessarily….All they can guess about is that Alfred and the others were coming back to make sure the hunter was dead...They might not know anything about our plan for the wings," said Matthew.

Francis frowned. "I don't know...They're bound to question him," he said. Matthew scowled slightly. "Alfred wouldn't rat us out. He won't tell anyone anything. I know that. If they start hurting him, he'll just make up stuff because even if he's an idiot sometimes, he's good at talking his way out of things. Alfred is going to be alright," he said, raising his voice, nails digging into the palms of his hands.

Tonio sighed and looked up at the sky. "Arguing about it now won't help us amigos. We should get some rest and try to think this over in the morning. Sylvia, need help with Gilbert? It looks like he fell asleep on you chica," he said. With that, everyone got up and started heading to bed.

When Matthew made it to his room, he was surprised to hear someone knock at his door. They couldn't let him sulk for five minutes? He had just threw his twin brother to the wolves without even thinking of the consequences. What if Alfred was dead? What if he was hurt? What if they try to kill him?

"Mathieu...It's Francis. Are you alright?" came the french accented voice. "O-Oui," he lied, getting into bed and burrowing under the covers. "I know you're lying," sang the Frenchman. Matthew sighed. "Can I sulk for five minutes? Please?" he asked. Francis came into the room as response.

He sat at the edge of Matthew's bed and carded his hands through the Canadian's hair. "Mon chou, none of this is your fault. Your brother and the others knew the risk of looking for the hunter. We couldn't have predicted it happening and even if we could, Alfred would probably still have done it," said Francis softly.

Matthew balled up his fists. "Non, that's exactly why it's my fault. I'm the one who's supposed to keep Alfred from doing anything stupid, especially something that could get him hurt. I should have just said that I was okay with not having wings, w-which I am. I shouldn't have been so stupid," muttered Mattie.

Francis frowned. "You aren't stupid Mathieu. And besides," he chuckled a little, "Knowing your brother, he'd see straight through anything you tell him and come up with a half-baked plan to get your wings on his own. If anything, this is safer than any alternatives. At least we still have the chance to get him back," said Francis.

Matthew curled up next to Francis, hugging the stuffed bear toy that somehow managed to survive despite the decades. "B-But he might be hurt. They could torture him or kill him or threaten him or something and it'll be all my fault," he choked out. Francis tried to smoothen the Canadian's hair.

"Tell me, do you still feel him right now, at this moment?" he asked. "O-Oui...but-" Francis smiled. "And do you feel any pain besides the broken arm?" asked Francis, before the boy could protest any further. "N-Non...but" The frenchman shook his head. "Non, no buts. Then he's still alive and he hasn't been hurt than the minor injuries he got from the fight. Your brother is fine. He is healthy and alive," said Francis.

Matthew swallowed. "H-He's still being held hostage by hunters…." he said reluctantly. Francis rolled his eyes. "We'll get your brother. I bet after a few days, they'll be begging us to take him back. I promise we'll bring him back Matthew. We don't want to lose him any more than you do," said Arthur, entering the room.

Francis gave Matthew a smile. "See? The wizard boy agrees with me. Now get to sleep. We'll have a lot to do in the morning and I'm sure Sylvia would like to get to know you better. And from what Tonio says, other avians might want to come and help us if we need more people for any plans," he said. Matthew nodded before hugging Francis and laying back down.

Francis carefully closed the door behind him and sagged against it. "The poor lad shouldn't beat himself up over something that isn't his fault," muttered Arthur. Francis raised an eyebrow. "Well isn't that the pot calling the kettle black. Are the rest of them settled in?" he asked. Arthur sighed and nodded.

"Reiley and Allistair are sharing a room and Rhys is going to be bunking with me. We tried to get Mathias to take one of the beds but he insisted on the couch. Said that there's no point in him taking up any extra space. Tino and the others said they were alright sleeping out on the veranda. Sylvia and Gil are in her old room. Tino's still up. I hope you don't mind, but I said he could use Pierre to tell the other Nordics what happened," he said.

Francis waved the question away. "That's perfectly fine. I suspect Berwald is very worried about him. Besides, he did us a great favor today and told me that he wants to stick around to help us get Alfred back. Isn't it wonderful how much our friends are willing to help us?" he asked.

Arthur huffed. "Yes well I wished they didn't take up so much space….Though I do appreciate their help," he said. Francis smiled. "Let's hit the hay and get some rest. I'm sure we can figure out a plan once we've had some sleep," he said.

What? You really thought I'd send Alfie in and he wouldn't get hurt or captured? I mean, it is the Awesome Trio that was being sent in. Something was bound to get goofed. Anyways, until next time!