A/N- Heya! It's been a while, hasn't it? Well, I'm sorry that I couldn't upload this sooner, but my cousins are visiting from across the country and I haven't had much time to write. But I do hope that you like this chapter, I think it might be my best yet...

Also, I'd like to thank everyone who reviewed/faved/alerted this story! You guys are the best! ;D

DISCLAIMER- I wish I owned Hetalia, for it is awesomer than Prussia.

Chapter 4- A Voice in the Wind

England stood atop a small grassy hillside. Looking down, he could see a small river dividing the vast field ahead of him from the forest behind. It looked peaceful and undisturbed, but as he took a closer look at the grass on the hill, he could see that part of it had been flattened. The scent of tomatoes was also present, though not very strong due to the fact that the rain had washed most of it away.

Spain and Romano must have been here. . .

The Scottish fold padded down the small hill, sighing as he sat down by the river. Realizing just how thirsty he was, as he hadn't had anything to drink since before the rain started, England dipped his tongue in, appreciating the coolness of the liquid as it went down his throat. A gentle breeze was tussling his short fur as he stared at his reflection. Short fur, bushy eyebrows, and a patch of ginger covering his left eye and ear. Nothing else had changed, except now, there was a silver cross dangling from his collar.

Why did this have to happen? And how am I supposed to find the others? What if I don't find them, what if I don't find America? Wait, what am I talking about? I could care less for that bloody American! Heh. . .

Shaking his head, he glanced at his reflection again before getting to his paws and walking over to where some of the grass had been flatten. He inhaled; the scent wasn't fresh, but it wasn't stale either. They were definitely here before, no doubt about it. Now the question was, where are they now?

Following the faint scent trail, England found himself nearing the forest again. The cat continued to follow the trail to the roots of a fairly large oak tree, similar to the one he and America had watched the sunset from. He shook his head again, he needed to find Spain and Romano first, America could wait.

Circling around the tree, he found a small opening in between two of the roots. He peeked inside. As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, England could see the sleeping forms of Spain and Romano. The small brown tabby was curled up, leaning against Spain, who was trying to cuddle the other.

"Hey, Spain, wake up!" England whispered, prodding the Spaniard with his paw. Waking Romano wouldn't do any good right now, he still remembered the bruises Spain had arrived to the World Meeting with after waking the Italian up from his siesta. Who knew Romano had connections in the Mafia?

". . . One more. . . minute. . ." Spain mumbled, yawning.

England hissed irritably as he prodded him with his paw again. "No! There's not enough time for that!"

The white and tan cat stirred a bit, rolling over as he did so. (Don't worry, he didn't crush Romano, that would be mean of me~) Opening his deep green eyes just a crack to see who was there, the Spaniard was met by the sight of an irritated looking Scottish fold. "Huh, England? What are you doing here? And what do you mean by 'not enough time'?" he asked.

England, however, instead of answering his question, gasped at what he saw. There, around Spain's neck, was a silver collar like his own. And dangling from it? A silver cross. "W-Where did you get that?" The Briton asked, emerald eyes wide and eyebrows raised so high that they looked as if they would fall off his face.

"Huh? What do you mean?"

Raising a shaky paw, he pointed to the silver cross, "T-that!"

Spain looked down and stared at the small cross, "Oh, when did that get there?"

England, who was pacing around the entrance of the den shared by Spain and Romano, stopped. "You mean that it wasn't there before?"

"Yeah, I don't remember having this around my neck when I was walking around before. . ."

oOoOo

Hungary blinked wearily. Yawning, she pressed herself closer to the Austrian beside her. I wonder if he's still awake. . .

"Hm, Elizaveta?" Said Austrian stirred, opening his violet eyes slowly. "Why are you still up. . .?"

The white and brown cat blinked, surprised that her lover was still awake. He usually didn't wake up until midmorning, when she was already finished making breakfast and Prussia was lying unconscious on the floor. "No reason, just go back to sleep, dear. I'm going for a walk," she purred. As she did, she could feel something wrapped around her neck, something that wasn't there before. It was cold and made of metal, and it felt as if there was something dangling from it. . .

The Austrian cat shifted, allowing the other to get out of their temporary den. He knew better than to argue with her or ask what was wrong. The last time he had done that, he got a fistful of SuFin pictures shoved into his face and a handmade GerIta poster. He was also forced to help put glitter on the poster because Hungary and Japan were too busy taking more pictures of the two. "Want me to go with you?" he offered anyway.

Hungary shook her head as she stepped out, "No, I'll be fine. Just go back to sleep."

Too tired to continue the conversation, Austria just nodded. Curling up again, his tail wrapped around his body tightly until it lightly tickled the tip of his nose. Ears slightly drooping, he yawned contently. "Okay, be careful though," he mumbled.

"I know, I know," The white and brown cat rolled her eyes. Taking a few steps into the still night, Hungary sighed. The collar around her neck was still there. So it wasn't just a dream. . . What's going on? I know this wasn't on me this afternoon, and I'm definitely sure that no one slipped this around my neck.

The wind was blowing harder now and she blinked. Wasn't it peaceful just a minute ago? Suddenly, a gust of wind engulfed her, blocking out her surroundings. With the wind howling in her ears and stinging her eyes, she managed to make a a tiny voice. It was barely above a whisper, but the Hungarian could still hear it clearly. A cat that looked like Ancient Rome was also present (in fact, he was the one delivering the message), but Hungary didn't seem to notice, as she had closed her bright green eyes.

You must find the other two with the cross before the next full moon. Together, you three shall travel to the mountains and find your way home. Along the way, some may be lost, but fear not. . .

And the rest was a blur. The voice was abruptly cut off, making it sound mysterious and erie.

Hungary screamed.

Inside the abandoned badger's den, the Austrian cat stirred. Opening his violet eyes slowly, he heard a scream coming from outside. He was on his paws in a flash, eyes instantly open and all traces of sleep gone. Darting out of the den and into the night, he skidded to a halt beside his ex-wife.

"What's going on? What happened?"

oOoOo

"What do you mean by 'stuck here forever' you tea-drinking idiot?" The Italian cat hissed, ears folded back and claws unsheathed.

England sighed, "I've been told," he started again, "Tha-"

"I know what you said, but how?" Spain cut in as he gently stroked Romano's back with his tail, relaxing the Italian slightly. "How could we be stuck here forever?"

The Scottish fold wrapped his tail around his paws neatly before narrowing his thick, fuzzy eyebrows. "I told you before, I don't know."

The three were sitting by the river bank, the moonlight illuminating the otherwise dark world. Stars were twinkling above their heads as the rush of the river broke the awkward silence. The tall grass was swayed by the gentle breeze, and small silver fishes darted downstream as the petals from the from some nearby flowers flew around the sky, creating an almost whimsical feel.

"So we better find the others then, right? The faster the better," Spain said.

The other two cats nodded in agreement, "Yeah, let's go."

Old grudges weren't forgotten and made traveling awkward to say the least. Spain was still mad at England for sinking his armada, Romano was intimidated (not that he'd admit it) by the scary Englishman- er, cat, and England still held a grudge about how Spain held a grudge for him sinking his stupid armada. They had been walking along the river for a while, not that they knew where they were going, but it was better than just sitting there and doing nothing. The moon was still high in the sky as the three traveled, Romano occasionally lagging behind due to his drowsiness. (Never wake an Italian up in the middle of the night. Never.) Spain always waited, though, and nudged him ahead towards England, who was forced to wait for the the two 'love birds' as he dubbed them. They eventually stopped to rest, however, when the moon was hanging low in the sky and the sun peeked over the horizon. By then, even England was feeling weary. Spain was tired too, but not so much that he needed to stop. Romano, though was practically asleep on his paws, stumbling on small pebbles and bunched up leaves. The cats decided to sleep on the branches of a sturdy oak tree, as they couldn't find any other type of shelter.

England sighed as he settled on his branch. It wasn't too high, but it was high enough so that any predators that might come wouldn't be able to reach him. Resting his head on top of his paws, he wrapped his tail around his body until the tip of it vaguely covered his stomach. His ears twitched as the wind started blowing harder. England thought that maybe, just maybe, he would be able to hear a trace of America's voice saying 'I'm the hero!' like always.

The faintest of voices answered his thoughts. So faint, that it could have just been his mind playing tricks on him. But it didn't matter to him, because the voice was a familiar one. The one that he had been hoping to hear. It was America's.

"I'm the hero!" it said.

A/N- So, what'cha think? Review, please? =3