A/N: I am terribly sorry about the long delay! Let's just say that 2016 has been a bit rough on me this far, hopefully I'm back on track now! I'll probably return to my once a week schedule. As always, thank you for reading, reviewing and sticking with me!

Chapter 36

The Mom Of The Group

"Now then, have we all agreed to not touching that shadow anymore?" They were all gathered around the table again. Emil and Berwald had returned shortly after everything had calmed down and not far behind them came Lovino. Mathias, who had been asleep up until then, had joined them as well and now Ludwig was trying to make this meeting work out well.

"I think that's a very good idea" Antonio seemed tired, more tired than any of them. An agreeing hum was heard from around the table.

"Good, then let's get this meeting started. We're all very tired so let's get this over with quickly. You'll all get to ask your questions but only ask the most important ones." They nodded and kept on staring at him. Ludwig looked at them one by one while trying to look stern before he continued. "Well then, who wants to go first" Lovino raised his hand which caused Ludwig to sigh deeply "Anyone else? No? Then, go ahead Lovino"

"Very well" He stood up and dropped two books onto the table "Just like with the first book, which turned out to be the main reason Shade was revealed, I also felt the need to bring these two. Why?" The room fell silent and Lovino frowned as he saw their surprised stares. "What?"

"We didn't think that you would have a question that made sense" Feliciano tilted his head and looked at his brother "It's almost a bit scary"

"What did you say?"

"What kind of books are they?" Arthur was both curious about the books and wanted to prevent any fights so the meeting could move on.

"It's one about math and one about plants. How could these ever be useful?"

"Let me see that one" Lovino slid the plant book across the table towards Arthur that quickly skimmed through the pages. "This could indeed be useful. Can I keep this?"

"Sure but, why?"

"It might be good to have it when we dispel your, well, spells" Arthur carefully closed the book. It was very old and the pages were thin and fragile. Some of the plants that the book spoke of could be used both to boost ones magic energy as well as to break spells. "Not to mention it'll help against the pain…"

"What?"

"What?" Arthur hadn't meant to say that last thing out loud and quickly tried to shift their attention "What about that other book? Any ideas?"

"No, not really"

"It doesn't seem necessary"

"I don't know either"

"I don't know anything about this kind of stuff" Somehow, it turned into an argument on who actually knew the least but after a while Tino managed, with the help of Berwald, to get them to listen.

"I guess that's something only the future can tell us" They all got quiet and thought about it for a moment before they sat down and nodded. Everyone except Lovino at least.

"Wait so that's it? We will just accept that explanation?"

"Yes, now sit down" Ludwig tried to give him a stern look and even though it failed, Lovino still sat down muttering about injustice and the fact that they knew nothing about the future. "Let's move on"

"I was wondering about that energy drain thing that you did." Francis motioned towards Lukas and Antonio "If it was as powerful as you said it was, why didn't Shade just drain all of our energy? He would have won easily." Their heads automatically turned towards Antonio that flinched and put his hands up.

"Don't look at me! How would I know?"

"Well…"

"I'm not him and you all know that!"

"I'll tell you" Lukas sighed and waited for them to quiet down. As he stood up he felt like something was wrong but he couldn't really say what. This made him want to end this quickly so he could go back to their room and rest. "It's much more complex than you might think. First of all, you can't perform it with just anyone." Lukas could feel their eyes on him. "It has to be one with someone you share a bond with, someone that you've spent a lot of time with"

"Now hold up just a second" Lukas turned towards Lovinos voice. "What kind of bond do I share with that… that thing?" Lukas assumed that he was pointing towards the shadow.

"Whether you like it or not, you've spent a lot of time with him and by just being near someone for a long time creates a bond." He heard mumbling around the table as they took in what he said "A bond doesn't have to be positive, despise or hate can create a connection close to the level of friendship" The mumbling grew louder. "A lot of you in here probably share bonds without you wanting it" It felt like the mumbling could explode into a heated argument about not wanting anything to do with each other any minute now.

"Everyone calm down! Just let him finish"

"Right" Lukas nodded gratefully towards Mathias as everyone got quiet. "You all saw that the spell changed from when each of us did it right?" He continued as they agreed with him. "The shape and the colour varies because it shows the kind of bond the two participants share but also might say something about their personalities."

"So the black fog from when Shade and Lovino did it means that the relationship they share isn't very good, the blue light from when Lukas and Berwald did it radiated friendship and trust. When Antonio and Lovino did it, the red clouds showed desperation and passion" Arthur looked around the table. Most of the others seemed utterly confused though Lovino had turned bright red while Antonio seemed rather happy.

"Exactly" Lukas swayed a bit where he stood, he had to sit down soon "But to answer your question, Shade simply didn't share a close enough bond with all of us" He felt someone grab his arm before he even realised that he'd almost fallen over.

"Are you okay?" Mathias whispered it, at least Lukas didn't hear any more than a whisper. More voices started sounding around him but they faded at the same time. His vision darkened and he could no longer feel anything, it was as if he was floating. There was a sudden pop and he could finally feel something again, a solid surface underneath his feet and a cold wind blowing in his face.

And he could see.

But what he saw was not the room he had just been inside, what he saw was something completely different.

"Lukas, hurry up!" He felt his body move on his own and it didn't take him long to figure out that this was another memory, though it felt much more vivid than last time. Mathias, a much younger Mathias, waved at him from above a small hill. Lukas walked towards him and heard himself speak.

"You have way too much energy" His comment didn't seem to bother Mathias one bit, it usually didn't. "Can you see him?" Mathias shaded his eyes against the sun and tried to find whoever they were looking for somewhere within the forest.

"No, not really. He's surprisingly fast" Lukas saw how he frowned a bit before he begun making his way down the snowy hill. "It's dark soon, he should have been back by now"

"Ber can take care of himself. Let's just go back, it's cold outside" The sun was slowly setting and the temperature was dropping. Snowflakes had slowly started falling from the sky and the wind was picking up speed. "Or else we might just get lost"

"Just… a few more minutes okay?" He looked back pleadingly, knowing that Lukas couldn't say no to that look.

"Fine. But don't come crying to me when we get eaten by wolves or something" Lukas flinched a little, he didn't remember being this harsh when they were younger. Well, maybe he still was.

"Yes! Then let's go and-" Mathias suddenly crouched down and grabbed the axe on his back. "Did you hear that?"

"No, I-" Lukas heard a loud crack and felt his own body tense as he prepared for an attack. "What was that?"

"I don't know, let's check it out!"

"Mathias wait!" But he had already started making his way down the hill and Lukas didn't have much of a choice but to follow. Quietly, they made their way towards the forest without making a sound. At least, that was until Lukas tripped. "Look out!"

"What do you-" He didn't get to finish the sentence before Lukas crashed into him and they then tumbled together down the hill. Lukas felt the snow, the hard ground and the heat from Mathias body. Then they stopped, or at least Lukas stopped. He saw Mathias crash into a pile of snow as well as managing to get stuck in it.

"You 'kay?" Lukas looked up and realised why he wasn't stuck right next to Mathias right now.

"Ber, you're here" Berwald carefully put him down on the ground and looked at him with a worried expression. "Yes I'm fine" Lukas brushed off some of the snow and pointed towards the stuck nation. "Should we help him?"

"Do we h've t'?"

"Come on" Together they managed to pull Mathias out of the snow which made him smile gratefully.

"Thanks guys! Ber! You're here too! Where have you been?"

"Yes, where have you been?" Lukas noticed how Berwald hesitated and that made him very curious.

"Well… y' see…" He threw glances over his shoulder while he tried to give them an explanation until he just gave up and motioned for them to follow. They only walked a few steps into the forest before Berwald stopped and looked around. "C'me out"

"A-Are you sure?" A soft voice was heard but Lukas couldn't make out from where.

"Mm"

"Oh Okay" From behind a tree stepped a small boy out. He seemed to be around their age and was fidgeting with his hands. Then he suddenly got a determined look in his eyes and stretched out his hand towards Lukas. "Nice to meet you I am a country just like you and I would like it if we could be friends if you wouldn't mind" Lukas realised that he was nervous, scared even. Maybe he hadn't met anyone like them, like himself, before.

"I'm Lukas" Lukas felt himself move and grab onto the small boys hand "I hope Ber didn't scare you, he can look quite intimidating"

"Lukas, don't be too hard on him. He can't help that his face gives people nightmar- Ow ow I'm sorry!" While Berwald quieted Mathias down, Lukas turned towards the boy again.

"Shouldn't we stop them?" He seemed worried about the other two fighting but Lukas just shook his head.

"This is normal, don't worry too much" Lukas let go of the hand and pointed towards Mathias. "That guys name is Mathias and he's an idiot, though he means well"

"I see, Mathias you say" The boy turned towards Lukas again and smiled brightly. "My name is Tino!"

The ground crumbled and Lukas fell as the memory faded. For a moment, everything turned dark again and the air turned warmer. Then he landed on something that felt like sand. A bright blue sea suddenly spread out in front of him and voices was heard from somewhere to his right. As he looked over, he saw Mathias and a young Emil playing in the sand. Berwald was laying in the sand half asleep not far away and Tino…

"Lukas!" Tino suddenly popped up next to him and Lukas felt himself flinch "Sorry, did I scare you?"

"A bit"

"Anyway, I was just going to say that you should move into the shadow before you get a sunburn" Tino gave him a stern look as Lukas was about to protest. "I'll drag you if I have to"

"Fine" Lukas remembered. Tino was someone who always tried his best to make sure everyone was alright and didn't get hurt. He made sure they always were dressed properly so they wouldn't get cold and took care of them if they got sick. As Lukas saw Tino make his way towards Berwald, the memory faded again. The next one was only a few seconds long but that one had the most impact on Lukas, it was a memory he wasn't prepared for at all.

Tino was standing in the doorway with tears streaming down his face. Lukas felt Emil shaking as he held a protecting hand on him. Mathias was laying on the floor with a furious look on his face and blood streaming from his nose.

"I'm going with Berwald" This was it. The moment everything fell apart and the fighting started for real. The day Berwald and Tino left the house.

"Just go. But remember, you will be back one day. Both of you" Tino took a frightened step backwards as Mathias stood up, looked over at Lukas and whispered before he ran out the door.

"I'm sorry"

The ground disappeared from underneath his feet once again. A light suddenly shone above him and he heard voices, worried voices, from somewhere far away.

"Lukas!"

"Come on, wake up"

"What's wrong with him?"

"Arthur, what do we do?"

"I-I don't k-"

"Wait! He's waking up" Lukas slowly opened his eyes only to be met with multiple worried pairs. Mathias was holding him so he wouldn't fall down on the floor. "Lukas, are you okay?"

"Tino…" Lukas could only whisper, but he had to say it. He had realised something very important.

"I'm right here Lukas, are you okay?" Tino was suddenly right next to him and took his hand.

"Tino" Lukas looked into his tear filled eyes.

"Yes?"

"You used to be a guy"