Hello, once again! Happy Holidays to everyone out there, and a Happy New Year!

A huge thank you for all of the reviews! Reviews are much appreciated ^.^

DISCLAIMER::: I DO NOT OWN HETALIA : AXIS POWERS.

Mei looks like Taiwan, Lili looks like Liechtenstein, Im Yong looks like South Korea, and Kaoru looks like Hong Kong. Osjami looks like Cuba.

Bella looks like Belgium, and Ned looks like the Netherlands.

Jett looks like Australia, Angel looks like Seychelles, and Rand looks like Cameroon.

I introduced quite a few characters this chapter! I think this will be the last 'introduction' chapter. There are still a few characters left, but they'll come into the story later~Sorry if all of the introductions are a bit confusing. The plot will finally move from this chapter onwards...


"Y-You came!"

A harsh thud. He fell to his knees, gaping at the other. "Y-You...you're still alive!"

"I always was. I-I thought it was over, but..."

"I knew it. I wasn't crazy. Our world is still there!"

"W-We have to do something! We have to help the others...my brother...him..."

"Everyone...everyone's there, aren't they?"

"Yes..."

"Well, didn't I tell you that he'd come?"

"Who are you!? Oh mein gott...you can't be...France's..."

A smile. "Oh, so you do remember me."

"Mein gott...I'm not dreaming, am I?"

"I'm afraid not, or this would be a very sad dream. But with you, there is hope. Please...please assist us."

"Anything. Anything at all, for her to remember."


Lovino frowned. "This stupid batter is frothing up again. Is it supposed to do that?"

Antonio laughed airily. "No, Lovi..." He walked over to Lovino, grimacing slightly at the batter. "You mixed it too fast. And the temperature-"

"Don't call me that." Lovino said irritatedly, frowning. Did Antonio have to make this any more painful?

"Yes, yes," Antonio grinned, then looked up as he heard a voice.

"Everyone, three hours is up! Hopefully, all mentors have given their apprentices a good taste of what cooking is like. Now is time for dinner! There is a table designated for every mentor-apprentice pair, so make sure you find yours and sit down! Food will be served to your table. Please clean up after yourselves!" It was coming out of a speaker built into the ceiling.

"It's been three hours?" Lovino looked surprised. "Really..."

Antonio smiled. "Having fun?"

"Maybe if you weren't here." he muttered. Antonio already hated him, and Lovino knew it. Why not make Antonio hate him even more? Then maybe he'd stop with the annoying smiles and laughs.

"What?" Antonio cocked his head. He obviously didn't hear what Lovino had said.

"Nothing." Lovino growled, sighing and taking his apron off. "There's nothing to clean up."

Antonio nodded, taking off his apron. They hadn't made much progress. They spent most of the time talking - which Lovino hated. He didn't hate talking - he just hated talking to Antonio. Antonio kept asking him questions about what it was like after he left. Like hell he cared! He's the one who left because...Lovino knew it. Antonio hated him. So why was he trying to act like he cared? Lovino refused to show him kindness. It would only end up with Lovino getting hurt, like last time. The day Lovino decided to be honest...

He left.

"Lovi?" Antonio asked innocently, waiting for him to follow him. Lovino grunted and walked towards him.

They reached the large dining room, and found their table with ease. It had a piece of paper with the words 'Antonio and Lovino' neatly printed on it. "Here," Antonio smiled, pointing to it, and pulled up a chair for Lovino to sit down.

Lovino ignored it and sat in the other chair, and Antonio, a bit confused, sat in the one he pulled up. "So, Lovi.." he began, smiling slightly, "How was-"

"How long are you going to keep this up?" Lovino interrupted, his eyes flaring dangerously. He froze, waiting for Antonio's response. For Antonio to drop the act and show his hate. But what scared Lovino was that...he didn't want Antonio to stop. Being kind to him. No, he didn't want that. But he'd never admit it. The simple fact that he wanted Antonio to be kind to him scared him.

"Keep...what up?" Antonio asked, a bit confused. "You've been acting strange, Lovi...what is this about?" His eyes turned slightly more serious. His beautiful green irises that Lovino used to stare at way too often for his own liking seemed to darken, if only a bit.

"This whole 'caring about me' thing. It needs to stop. Stop acting." Lovino blurted out. This...was what was good for both of them, right? No acting, no hiding. Just simple.

"Caring...Lovi, I don't understand-" Antonio began, when Lovino cut him off again.

"Yeah, that's it, isn't it? You just never understand anything! I-I don't want you to..." Lovino trailed off. Want Antonio to lie to him? Because...no, he didn't care what that bastard did. But Lovino was hurting, because he hated for someone who hated him to pretend to like him. It would be so much less painful for Antonio to just drop the act. Not that...not that Antonio affected him at all in any way! It was just...annoying right? Why did Lovino feel so insecure when it came to this man?

Lovino growled in exasperation. Why couldn't Antonio understand that he was irritating Lovino?

Antonio tilted his head, his eyebrows furrowing slightly, his gaze becoming more focused. "What's wrong, Lovino?"

For some reason Lovino didn't understand himself, he snapped. "What's wrong!? All of this! Why do...why are you..." Shit. Were his eyes seriously getting watery? No. He'd never cry in front of Antonio. He would never be able to live with himself if he did. He was just...so...so angry!

Eyes drifted towards their table in interest. Were they fighting on their first day? That meant trouble.

Fear coursed through Lovino as he felt their gaze on him. Should they choose to report it...

"Shit!" Abruptly standing up from his chair, he ran over to a door on the opposite side of the large dining area, ignoring all of the questioning looks he was receiving. He opened it quickly, went in and shut it behind him. He...he just needed to escape! He found himself in a long, elaborate hallway with one door at the end of it. He ran over to it, and opened it, only to hear the door he just entered opening. Antonio was panting, and his face was twisted in worry. Emerald met caramel for a brief moment before Lovino let his instincts take over.

He opened the door, ran in without a second thought, and shut it.


Jett, Angel, Rand, and Gupta sat together in the dining hall, bored. Alfred hadn't joined them for the evening meal - something he always did. He always was going on about 'bonding' and yet today he didn't come for their weekly 'bonding' session, which he insisted had to exist in the first place.

"Where'd he go?" Jett repeated for what seemed like the fifty-first time.

"Don't know." Rand groaned. "Tired. Can we leave?"

Angel tugged at his arm. "No!" Her round eyes looked impatient too, but she stood firm. "We have to wait for him."

"He wasn't even doing anything today anyway!" Jett exclaimed, letting out a sigh. "He said he was just going to do some chores today, and that was it!"

Gupta remained silent, his eyes fixed on the empty plate in front of him. He usually never ate much, but whatever he took onto his plate, he always finished. He hated wasting things.

"Where'd he go?"


"No, no, Raivis." Roderich sighed, tapping the pencil on the paper. "Raivis, what rule did I remind you of the last time you incorrectly solved this problem?"

"Um..." The small boy shook a bit. "I-I think...that..."

Roderich frowned, then adjusted his glasses. "Here, you see." He pointed with his pencil to a sentence in the textbook. "You have to divide by this number."

"Oh," Raivis said in a small voice. He hurriedly erased his incorrect work and solved it correctly. "I-Is that good?"

"Perfect." Roderich gave him a tight smile. Raivis smiled back. Roderich usually never smiled at him. He supposed that Roderich must be in a good mood.

"So, if I change the problem..." Roderich proceeded to alter the problem, but Raivis quickly recognized that it was able to be solved using the same rule.

"Oh, so like this," Raivis said, smiling. He solved it with ease.

"Very good!" At least his student understood the rule. Roderich nodded. "Well, we've done enough for today, Raivis. Your homework for Day 1 is this page," he said, flipping to the right page in the textbook, "and this page. Finish it all, and I'll bring you a reward next time."

Raivis' eyes widened. "Really!?"

"Though frugality is needed, I find it is easier to learn with an incentive." Roderich nodded one more time at Raivis, then stood up, dusting himself off. "Good work today, Raivis."

"T-Thank you, R-Roderich sir!"

Roderich said nothing, then saw Toris and Eduard approach him. "Ah, Toris, Eduard. It's been a while."

They smiled at him. "Thank you again for being an excellent tutor, sir," Eduard said, his smile flawless. Eduard adjusted his glasses slightly, his eyes confident. Out of the four in this Unit, Eduard was Roderich's favorite. He was naturally smart, and excelled in academics. He always seemed to understand Roderich's method of teaching, and what he was trying to get at.

"No, it was my pleasure." Roderich nodded, then left the house.

The sunshine hit him, but Roderich did not wince. He was used to it. It was quiet and peaceful - just like how Roderich liked it, and just what Roderich was used to.

"Roderich!" Roderich turned around to see Lili approaching him - his 'sister'. Her short hair blew slightly behind her face in the warm wind. She had an air of...innocence, Roderich supposed, about her. He always felt the need to keep it that way - he never wanted Lili to be sad...always happy, cheerful, and smiling.

"Lili, what are you doing?" Roderich asked, frowning. "I was just coming for your lesson now. Why did you come here?"

"B-Because I was worried...I've been having this strange feeling...ever since..." she frowned, biting her lip gently.

"Strange feeling? Lili, there is nothing strange going on at the present."


"Mei, I'm hungry!"

"Go get food by yourself. I'm not moving. I'm so tired!"

"Yeah, but wasn't it your turn this week?"

"Was not! It was his turn!"

"Mei, I was last week. Get over it and go!"

Mei grudgingly dragged herself off of the couch. Stupid brothers she thought to herself, but knew she must never voice it. She must never criticize anyone in her Unit, or her cluster for that matter.

She walked outside, only to see Katyusha taking a walk. "Katyusha!" she called, smiling.

Katyusha smiled kindly at her. Katyusha was always like a big sister to Mei, even though they weren't in the same unit. They were in the same cluster, but they were practically like family. Katyusha always helped Mei out whenever she could.

"Mei, how are you doing, dear? Hopefully, the boys aren't being too hard on their sister?" Katyusha winked.

"Ugh, they're just so lazy!" she sighed. "I-I mean...they're fine."

"It's okay, I understand..." She lowered her gaze, then said, "You know how Osjami can be sometimes..."

Osjami. He was a rather big man who really liked outdoor work.

"Ah, not that I don't like him. I like Osjami, but sometimes he can be a bit strange," Katyusha laughed, sighing. "But you have Im Yong and Kaoru."

Mei laughed. "Yeah, well...they're all right."

"Are they?" Katyusha laughed. "Natalia always used to whip them into shape. We always hid it, didn't we? Their fights, so that they wouldn't get into trouble with the Court."

Natalia. But then she got married, and was sent to another house. And unless they got married, too, they'd never see Natalia again.

Marriage. Mei grimaced just thinking about it. Being separated from them...from Katyusha, Osjami, Im Yong, Kaoru...she didn't want to think about it.

"Ah, want to come with me? To the Diner. They're too lazy to move, so I have to bring food for them," Mei sighed. Bringing food from the Diner to eat at home wasn't exactly breaking one of the rules, but it definitely wasn't following them, either.

Katyusha laughed. "What's new? They never change." They walked to the Diner, carrying a pleasant conversation, until he showed up.

Ivan.


"What are you doing?" Emil asked, worried, as his 'brother' was bent over in pain.

"No, Emil...not now..." Lukas struggled, trying to conjure up the last of it. It, the one thing that had allowed him to see Mathias, or as Lukas knew him, Danmark. But that was over now. That was the last time Lukas would see him as 'Danmark'.

"And..." Emil frowned. "Where did you disappear to? You were gone for..."

"Emil..." Lukas grunted, concentrating hard. No. He would forget, just as Denmark had. He felt it -a small spark. Of magic.

And that spark felt like his head was burning. Yes, this was what forgetting felt like. So in the end, remembering had been futile. Those years of confusion, pain, angst...wondering where and what Denmark was doing, only to be met with that same face so painfully, and realizing he hadn't remembered...

Emil didn't either. Lukas had lived like this - thinking he had gone insane. But he had shown none of it, and he would never show anything. It was just the way he was. But he had a feeling that his memories weren't a lie. No, they were all so painfully real...

Futile. It was typical Denmark, anyway. To forget about Lukas, Norway, as if it were a huge joke. Lukas shouldn't have expected so much. If...if this magic didn't work...no, it had to. Then Lukas could go back to being himself - all of this...feeling all this pain over Denmark...it felt right and so completely stupid at the same time...

"No, you don't understand, I had to make up stuff for Bella and Ned to understand-" And then Lukas crumpled to the floor. And Emil shouted for Bella and Ned, panic clearly written across his usually calm face.

Bella burst in, worried, Ned was close behind her.

"Lukas!" she shrieked. Lukas lay like a string doll dropped by his master - limbs splayed out awkwardly, eyes open.

"Lukas!" Ned bellowed, rushing to his 'brother''s side. "Lukas, can you hear me?"

Ned usually never acted like this. He was always so calm. He was so worried...panicked...and everyone was scared.


Arthur opened his eyes, gasping. He was sweating. And that had been just a dream.

He exhaled. He never actually thought about how dire it would be if someone had caught him with Alfred - even though it didn't feel wrong. Just as he awoke, he found a hoard of Nurses and Doctors around someone in the bed next to him. How strange. Someone was sharing a room with him...that usually never happened. He barely caught the things they were saying.

"Fainted in his room-"

"No idea-"

"Disappeared-"

"Eyes open-"

"Just fell, just like that-"

"Brother was hysteric-"

He tilted his head to get a better view of the person next to him. Slowly, the Doctors and Nurses began to drift away, to attend to other patients and hopefully come up with an explanation for the patient next to Arthur. The uproar died, and Arthur saw him.

And as soon as Arthur laid eyes on him, he saw some color return to his open eyes. The person next to him slightly trembled, then breathed in slowly. "C-Can't forget..." he murmured, sounding terribly lost and broken. He had just woken up, apparently.

"H-Hello...?" Arthur began. The boy turned to face him, his face expressionless.

His eyes widened slightly, and he breathed in again, holding his breath. He let it out slowly. "Arthur." he said quietly, his voice revealing nothing. His voice, compared to before, was monotone.

Arthur looked at him, surprised. "How do you know my name?"

Lukas turned his gaze to the ceiling. "Can't forget."