Disclaimer: Do not own hetalia!

Note: Warning! Violence in this chapter, so get ready! This is probably one of my longest chapters so far, but I think it flows really fast. So, without further ado, enjoy!

While the stealth submarines landed on the coast of Japan, a second strike team of the Vertex Union reached the coast of England, but this time, the Genesis Powers were ready for them. With his black magic, Dark Britain was able to sense the submarines regardless of their stealth mode. Dark Britain, Prussia and Germany, along with their counterparts, stood along the sand, waiting for their enemies to show themselves as the submarines beached. Dark Spain was the first to do so, jumping out of the underwater vehicle with wielding his battle axe. Dark Romano, France, Austria and Hungary followed and then Lovino, Francis, and Antonio emerged from the submarine as well. Scowling, the invaders came to face their enemies.

"France, haven't you learned your lesson by now?" Dark Britain sneered. "There's no way a prat like you could even hope to defeat me."

"We'll see about that!" Dark France yelled back, raising his sword in the air before springing towards his most hated rival. He lashed out at the Briton, who created a translucent shield that radiated a bright green light using his magic. But then, to everyone's surprise, upon impact by Dark France's blade, his manifested shield shattered in to thousands of glowing fragments that began to disintegrate and fade away. Bloody hell, Dark Britain thought wretchedly, it's happening again! Now he was forced to draw his own sword, which he had not used in mortal combat for a while, to fend off the Frenchman. Dark France, who had much more recent sword practice, was easily overcoming Dark Britain, until Arthur decided it was time he got involved. He bought time for his counterpart to catch his breath and recover by throwing his own brilliant spells at the enemy. However, his opponent was no amateur; Dark France deftly avoided the blasts, having been doing so in all his battles against Dark Britain.

Dark Germany wasted no time and swiftly attacked Lovino with his lithe whip, but Antonio came to his aide. However, even with the two of them working together, neither Lovino nor his boss could get anywhere near the German for his whip prevented them from advancing on him. If Antonio tried to move in on the offensive, he was punished with a stinging lash. In the mean time, Dark Romano attempted the same on Ludwig, who used his whip in a similar fashion as his counterpart. Yet Dark Romano was able to get closer to Ludwig, who noticed that he no longer used a gun for a weapon, but a double edged sword instead. Dark Italy had also traded his gun for an identical weapon because with the bulletproof vests everyone wore, the guns became useless unless the aim was perfect, but the time needed to aim was not granted on the battlefield. Behind the submarines, Feliciano watched the gripping battle from the safety of his hiding spot. The Vertex Union agreed that he should stay out of the fighting or else he would only get himself killed. They all knew it was no use trying to put Feli in combat.

As Ludwig cracked his whip at his opponent, Gilbert's signature blue sword collided with Dark Spain's heavy axe. The albino noted how his enemy's fighting style was just like his old ally Antonio's, yet dueling him was much harder because this Spaniard had more viciousness in his strikes. It was as if he fought with a passion of deep loathing, his eyes reflecting the rancor he felt towards Gilbert, or rather, towards Prussia. Normally, Gilbert had the upper hand in battle, but that was back on his Earth, where the nations were not really out to kill each other. To his astonishment, he had to put more effort into his defensive techniques than he usually did, and it was strange to him because before, he rarely had to fight defensively. Even still, Gilbert was all too aware that he was not in danger of being outmatched by Dark Spain, and devised a plan to wear out his opponent until the Spaniard could no longer keep pace with him. His plan, however, was about to fail.

Hatred and vengeance. That is all that Dark Italy had in mind when he crept up from behind Gilbert with his double edged sword. His Germany and Prussia had sent his life spiraling down into misery, and so Dark Italy had come to fear and despise the German Brothers. The bullying nations had threatened him and tormented him ever since the close of World War II, and now he concluded that the only way for him to be at peace was to end them. Once and for all. It was because of those bastards that he could never be as happy as his counterpart Feliciano always was, so they deserved to die, right? Dark Italy's mind was a wreck, his thought process distorted by his anger, and so could not distinguish Gilbert from Dark Prussia. To him in his hectic state of mind, every Prussian was responsible for his animosity. Even this one.

Dark Romano used his slightness and speed to his advantage. With apprehension, Ludwig predicted that at any moment, his enemy would elude his whip and come within a dangerously close range, and he was right. When Ludwig cracked his whip once more, Dark Romano dodged and sprinted forward while his hand was extended, leaving his body expose. He thrust his sword as soon as he could reach him and Ludwig was barely able to sidestep out of the way, the blade cutting so close it tore his uniform. Now Dark Romano was in the vulnerable position, already in the motion of propelling forward. Ludwig took the opportunity and threw his fist into his left temple, knocking the Italian out cold.

When he turned away from his unconscious opponent, Ludwig saw Dark Italy brandishing his double edge sword, about to murder his brother, who was too busy fighting Dark Spain. Time seemed to slow, and adrenaline pumped Ludwig's heart even faster. He ran as fast as he could, thinking only about saving Gilbert. Originally, he planned to tackle Dark Italy, who raised his sword over his head in an arc, but the Italian saw him coming out of the corner of his eye. His primal instincts taking over, Dark Italy switched the direction of his weapon to defend himself. When he slashed downward, the blade dug deep into Ludwig's shoulder, causing him stop in his tracks and stumble. As Dark Italy pulled his sword from Ludwig's body, the blonde staggered backwards and fell to the ground at Gilbert's feet. Gilbert, who had just landed a strong kick square in Dark Spain's chest, making him lose balance and land on his rear, turned around just as his brother toppled over. His eyes widened as he watched the blood pool around Ludwig's torso in absolute horror.

"WEST!" he cried frantically as he knelt by his brother. The blood just kept flowing from his wound and Gilbert did not know what to do. Then Dark Spain got to his feet, and Dark Italy took a step closer. Gilbert stood over Ludwig protectively, his face one of pure rage, and growled, "Don't come any closer!" Dark Italy and Spain exchanged glances, and then both attacked at the same time. Gilbert fought like an animal with unprecedented determination to stop anyone from laying a finger on his brother.

Dark Prussia chuckled forebodingly when his opponent charged him with his rapier. He could not have hoped for a better chance to crush Dark Austria, as he had been meaning to for a while now. How foolish of the piano-playing weakling to think he could survive a duel with the all-powerful, awesome Prussia. How silly of the Austrian to actually believe that Hungary ever loved him. These were the thoughts that floated listlessly in Dark Prussia's mind as the Austrian raised his sword against him. The arrogant Prussian lazily blocked his enemy's attacks, deciding to play with his food before he ate. He let Dark Austria attempt to strike him futilely until his opponent surprised him by faking a jab to the face and then driving his foot into Dark Prussia's gut as he ducked. Outraged by the humiliating blow, Dark Prussia began to fight back seriously, evidently outmatching his four-eyed foe. By holding his sword with one hand, the Prussian checked the Austrian's slash and used his free hand to uppercut him under the chin. When Dark Austria tottered after being hit, Dark Prussia ran his sword right through his midsection, impaling him gruesomely.

Blood stained Dark Austria's clothes, and he clutched his wound as he hit the ground, taking rapid, raspy breathes, desperately clinging to life. The victorious albino flashed his sharp pearly whites in an evil grin as he looked down at his prey. "Your life is mine."

Suddenly, Dark Hungary appeared out of nowhere, stepping in between Dark Prussia and Dark Austria. Dark Prussia raised an eyebrow and frowned at his spy.

"Wait!" she pleaded, "Don't kill him!" Her eyes were wild and her voice urgent.

"Why not? I've been waiting for this moment for a long time, so give me one good reason he should live," he demanded impatiently.

"Because…because…" Dark Hungary failed to come up with a legitimate reason, and Dark Prussia narrowed his eyes in suspicion. He studied her green eyes as she struggled to give him an answer, and a shocking realization came over him.

"You…you love him!" he accused wrathfully, "I can see it in your eyes, you traitorous bitch!" Dark Hungary's eyes became unreadable, and she set her lips straight. Then she glared back at him odiously, knowing that it was useless to keep up her act.

"Of course I love him. As if I could ever fall in love with someone like you! In fact, this whole time I've hated you with all my heart. The only reason I ever pretended to be on your side was for my own safety, and Austria's. If you knew that I was in love with him, you would have killed him right away, so I tried to create immunity for us by being your 'spy.' But the entire I felt nothing but contempt for you." Her voice was wrought with abhorrence as she spoke. "I've only ever loved Austria," she proclaimed defiantly. Enraged by her true betrayal, Dark Prussia sank his blade into the center of her collarbone without reluctance. She did not even see it coming. Time froze before Dark Austria's eyes as he saw the sword jut out of Dark Hungary's back. She coughed blood that splattered on Dark Prussia's uniform, and fell before him, never to move again.

"NO!" cried Dark Austria, but he was still unable to move. His own wound threatened his life, but all he could think about was his beloved.

"Foolish girl. You could have had it all, but you succumbed to your emotions," Dark Prussia muttered, "Love is the greatest weakness of all. Look where it got you."

"You monster!" shouted Dark Austria from the ground. Losing Dark Hungary was the most painful thing he had ever experienced, even more so than the wound in his stomach.

"Oh, don't worry," Dark Prussia wiped the blood off his face and licked his finger tips, "You'll be joining her soon."

Dark Spain saw Dark Austria's plight, and looked back and forth between his current opponent, Gilbert, and the other Prussia.

"Go!" Dark Italy shouted at him, "I'll handle things here." Dark Spain nodded, put his strong legs to use and dashed with amazing speed. He swung his axe at Dark Prussia just as he was about to decapitate the powerless Austrian. As the two clashed once more, Feliciano knew he had to help Dark Austria. The Italian witnessed the horrendous slaughter of poor Dark Hungary, and was traumatized. Never before had he seen such an atrocity, but when Dark Spain came to Dark Austria's aide, Feliciano collected his thoughts and used his own speed. He ran straight for the fallen Austrian, threw him over his shoulders, and sprinted back. He would have liked to retrieve Dark Hungary's body as well, but Feliciano could not carry them both. When they were safely inside one of the submarines, Feliciano found a first aid kit and began to bandage and put pressure on Dark Austria's bloody wound. His patient, who was utterly distraught, sobbed, but Feliciano did not think he was pathetic. He himself wanted to cry, but focused on stopping the flow of blood coming from his midsection.

Arthur thought he was doing an impeccable job fighting two versions of France. Neither opponent was able to get within fifteen feet close to him and his counterpart. Dark France knew this battle was lost for the Vertex Union, and that it was time for them retreat right away. He called for his allies to return to the submarines, and then he and Francis turned on their heels and loped themselves. The others left their opponents and jumped in after them, and the Vertex Union submerged under the blue waters and disappeared rather quickly.

"West!" Gilbert exclaimed as he turned his blood-covered brother around on his back slowly and propped his head on his knees. Ludwig's pulse still beat faintly and he had lost so much blood that he had become unconscious. "He needs medical attention!" Gilbert called to the others. He removed the outer layer of his uniform and pressed it against Ludwig's wound.

"Of course, we can take him to the nearest hospital," Dark Britain reassured, already dialing an ambulance. "But he won't be able to stay there very long. With the invasion, my hospitals will be packed, I imagine."

"As long as they fix his wound," Gilbert said, calming down, "Then we can transfer him to our base in Moscow. There, Yao can work his magic."

"The prisoner?" ask Dark Britain curiously.

"Yeah, he's good with medical stuff…" Gilbert trailed off, distracted by his concern for his brother.

Dark Prussia stood staring down at Dark Hungary's dead body. Even in death her long hair was beautiful, as was her lineaments. If the red color had not ruined her appearance, she would have seemed as if she was sleeping. "Behold the fate of anyone who dares defy me," he whispered. Then he went to help his counterpart move his brother to the ambulance.

"KIKU!"

At the cry of his name, Kiku recognized immediately the desperation in Maria's voice. He was able to delay his opponents by kicking up sand in Dark Taiwan's face while jabbing Dark Hong Kong in the forehead with the butt of his katana. Normally, he would not resort to such dirty tricks in a match, but Maria needed his help right away. Darting down the beach, he saw Dark Korea with his dual sword standing over Maria, who had blooding flowing down the gash in her calf.

The Dark Philippines also heard Maria's alarming scream, and decided that she needed to conclude her own fight with Alfred. So far, she had been throwing strikes at critical points in his body, but Alfred dodged most of them. When he had the chance, the American made his own punches, but the Dark Philippines was too nimble. She swiped her knives high at Alfred's head, knowing his reflex would be to duck, then drove her knee up into his chest immaculately. Wobbling backwards, he coughed and hugged his chest, but the Dark Philippines had already begun rushing in the other direction.

Maria could barely breathe as she met Dark Korea's nebulous eyes, his expression soulless. Her ears rang with apprehension… it could not end like this, could it? But when she searched his eyes for the slightest hint of mercy, there was none, and everything seemed to fade away around her. Flinching, she looked away when Dark Korea raised his sword above his head. She did not want the last thing she ever saw to be the accursed blade descending down upon her. Then she waited for two dreadful seconds for the blade to snuff out her life. Instead of being sliced in half, Maria heard the clang of metal on metal and looked up to see Kiku miraculously standing before her, blocking Dark Korea's sword with his own katana.

"Kiku…" she said his name softly in wondrous amazement. Maria was sure she was a goner, but here was her white knight coming to rescue her and she remembered why she loved him so. Kiku pushed Dark Korea back, and Dark Thailand came to his comrade's side. Then Dark Taiwan and Hong Kong surrounded them from the other side, facing Maria. Disconcerted, Kiku did not know which opponents to face. Maybe he could hold off two enemies, but four was really pushing it, and Maria could not help him in her condition. How was he supposed to defend her from every side? The task was impossible alone.

But then, Kiku was suddenly not alone. The Dark Philippines broke the circle of Asian adversaries and stood on the other side of Maria, virtually back-to-back with Kiku. Together, the two of them kept their foes from ever getting close to finishing Maria off. The Dark Philippines proved to be quite the match for Dark Taiwan and Hong Kong while Kiku expertly took care of Dark Thailand and Korea as Maria just gazed at them in incredulity. Her heart swelled as she watched Kiku fight with such resilience for her, but her counterpart showing up for her cause astonished her completely. After seeing the Dark Philippines lend her support, Maria decided that maybe she was not so bad after all. Their fiery spirit was present in both girls, but perhaps it just showed itself in different forms within each of them. Even though the numbers were in their favor, their adversaries were clearly being surmounted by Kiku and the Dark Philippines.

Dark America was not as ignorant as his counterpart. He could tell with a fleeting glance while in combat with Dark Russia that his allies were not going to last much longer. The Genesis Powers were never going to surrender the Japanese islands, not until Dark Japan himself died, and that was a complicated feat in itself. Damn. He was so close to victory this time. Then, looking at the smoke columns rising from the fires set upon the cities, Dark America thought, maybe my work is done already. His goal of enervated the Genesis Powers had gone underway; the attack had sapped the strength of the Japanese nation while proving that the Vertex Union could still win this war. It was time to leave before his luck ran out entirely. While Dark Russia recovered from his last blow, he gave the signal to fall back to the submarines. When the Vertex Union had all abandoned their duels in one piece, the submarines retreated back into the Pacific Ocean. But Dark America felt as if he was the one who won this battle.

Dark Japan tried to give chase as they left, but abruptly, his stomach lurched and he went down on his hands and knees. The damn American had really done a number on his country this time, and he was paying for it now. As the fires throughout Japan burned on, the aches in his body grew worse. The Dark Philippines ran to him and knelt down.

"Sir! Are you all right?" she asked, offering to help him up, but he declined her assistance and slowly stood up himself.

"I-I'm fine," he replied, clearing his throat. Further along the beach, Kiku had taken off his white military jacket and wrapped it around Maria's leg as best he could, the jacket turning a deep red color as it soaked in her blood. However, she was unable to stand and felt extremely lightheaded and drained, her wounded leg throbbing.

"Thanks, Kiku, you really save my life this time," she murmured weakly as he lifted her off the sand and carried her to where the Genesis Powers clustered around Dark Japan.

"Hush," he whispered back, "Don't talk. We need to get you to a hospital."

"Barely any of the hospitals around here are still operational. American forces destroyed most of them," Dark Japan said, sensing it was true.

"Yao can help her, he's an excellent doctor," Kiku told his counterpart.

"Okay, I can send you guys in one of my fastest jets—I think at least a few of them are still left—to Moscow. I'll see to it that medical assistants are aboard," Dark Japan said, "Philippines, go with them."

"Are you sure?" she asked, frowning.

"Hai, I need to tend to my nation, so I need you to inform me of any decisions made in the meetings. I trust you can represent my best interests?"

"Of course," she saluted him as he phoned his air force and requested a jet immediately.

It had become routine for the Vertex Union to recuperate in the most secure country, which was America. The recent battles had been especially harsh for some of the nations, who suffered heavy damages. Dark Austria had been sent to the same hospital that Dark Canada resided in, but was sent to the emergency unit for he required extensive care for his injuries. When the doctors were finished cleaning and stitching, Dark Austria still would not allow any visitors, except for Feliciano. The Italian was a bit confused to learn that he was the only one Dark Austria wanted to see. But he knew that the Austrian needed a friend now more than ever, so Feliciano sat by his bedside to keep him company.

For a while, neither of them spoke, Dark Austria staring blankly at the ceiling. But then he said, "You saw the whole thing, didn't you?"

"Oh, um, yeah," Feliciano answered, the gravity of the other's voice making him shift in his seat uncomfortably. But he wished he had not seen everything. The death of the other Hungary was upsetting enough, but watching his own counterpart try to kill his best friend? When he saw Ludwig's bloody form fall to the ground, he could barely collect his thoughts. Feliciano wanted to help him so badly it hurt, but his friend was on the Genesis Powers. Even now, he hoped with all his heart that Ludwig was alright, but he did not know for sure, and worry strained the back of his mind.

"Just tell me the truth then," Dark Austria continued, "It's my fault she's dead, isn't it?"

Feliciano knew exactly who he was talking about; he had seen the blade pierce right through her body. "It's not your fault!"

"Yes it is…she died because I was weak." His voice was empty, hollow. Lying there, he seemed so crushed, as if someone had sucked his entire soul out of his body.

"She did what she did because she loved you, but you can't blame yourself," Feliciano consoled gently. He did not know what else to say, but he could only how much the other nation was hurting inside.

Dark Austria did not answer. But when Feliciano looked at him again, he saw something flicker in his eyes, but could not name what it was. Could it be vengeance?

When he left the room, he found his brother, Lovino, waiting for him outside. "The Union decided that everyone who is able should return to their respective countries to secure home affairs. America says it'll put us back in tip top shape, and we're going to need that for the next battle."

Within the next 12 hours, both Maria and Ludwig were successfully transferred back to the Russian palace in Moscow, where the Dark Baltics had set up makeshift hospital rooms for Yao to work in because Dark Russia did not like the idea of Yao leaving the palace to use a real hospital. Yao went to work right away, with Dark Lithuania as his assistant, cleaning their wounds and then stitching them. While he administered blood transfusions to both of his patients, Maria slipped in and out of consciousness. Finally her condition stabilized, and when she came to, she saw Kiku standing by her bedside and Dark Prussia sitting in a chair, legs propped up on a counter.

"Well, look who finally decided to wake up for real," Dark Prussia grinned mockingly.

Maria rubbed her eyes, and then noticed the IV needle in her arm. Her leg was wrapped in bandages, numbed so she felt no pain. Yao was not around anymore, so he was probably taking care of Ludwig in another room. "Were you guys here the whole time?"

"I just got here a few minutes ago," Dark Prussia said, "But Kiku never left, even when the prisoner was stitching your wound up." Maria looked up at Kiku, who smiled back at her, but Dark Prussia kept talking. "Speaking of which, how'd you manage to get such a nasty gash in your calf? I thought you were good enough at close combat, but I guess not."

Maria shot him an annoyed glare. "Oh, shut up. It was a dirty trick!"

"Kesesese, you're so cute when you're angry like that," Dark Prussia chuckled and winked at her. A look of irritation flashed on Kiku's face briefly, but Dark Prussia did not miss it. "Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot Maria's already taken, right Kiku?" he asked tauntingly. "You've already claimed her heart and soul for yourself."

Maria and Kiku blushed and turned the same shade of red.

"No, that's not—"

"I never said—"

But Dark Prussia just laughed. "Don't bother trying to hide it. Anyway, Kiku, my brother and I are going to raid Italy tomorrow night. I heard that the Vertex Union sent all their allies back to their nations, so this is the perfect time to stage an attack. No way am I passing up this golden opportunity. My counterpart isn't coming because he wants to stay with his injured brother, so I want you to come with us. What do you say?"

"He'd love to go," Maria answered for Kiku, who was caught off guard.

"I would?" Then Kiku saw Maria nod slightly, "I mean, I'll go."

"Great. I'll tell my brother," Dark Prussia said as he stood up and headed out. "I'll send someone to tell you when we leave." The door closed behind him.

Kiku raised an eyebrow at Maria. "Why do you want me to go on the raid?"

"Because Feliciano and Lovino are going to be there. The Prussia and Germany from this world won't show any mercy, and they might kill them too if you don't go to stay their hand. I would go, but I can't fight like this," she gestured to her bandaged leg.

"You're right," Kiku concurred, "I'll go and make sure they stay alive." Just as Maria was about to thank him, there was a knock on the door and Ivan peeked his head inside.

"Oh, sorry. I hope I'm not interrupting," he said after seeing the two of them alone.

"It's all good," Maria sighed. Ivan stepped in, followed by Yao, whose arm seemed to be almost fully healed, but she was not surprised. Nations healed fast; they had to, or else they would not last very long in wars. However, if the arm had been ripped off completely as Dark Prussia suggested, he would have had to live with only one arm. As Yao checked the bandages on Maria's leg, Kiku asked, "I hope Ludwig's alright? I heard the other Italy almost killed him."

"He's doing a lot better thanks to me, aru," Yao replied. "That's true. Seeing someone who looked like Feliciano try to kill him must have really shaken him. But he's still unconscious so I can't say for sure."

"I'm so glad he's alive. Otherwise, he'd have broken our promise," Maria exhaled in relief.

"I hope our promise still stands," Ivan looked at Maria, who nodded back with a small smile. But Kiku was a little shocked.

"He made the promise as well?" he asked. Ivan frowned at his negative tone of voice.

"Yes, he did," Maria said, emphasizing the sincerity in her own voice. For the promise to hold, everyone had to forget their past quarrels, including Kiku. He had never really trusted the Russian before, and she could understand his reluctance now, but now it was just too important for them to work together. She threw a look at Kiku that said make nice with him! In response, Kiku sighed and offered to shake hands with Ivan as a sign of goodwill. As they shook hands in a pact of mutual tolerance, Maria beamed.

"So everyone here has made the promise and almost all of us on the Genesis Powers too. Now we're just missing Arthur," she said, clapping her hands.

"About him," Ivan pondered, "I think he's hiding something."

"Really? Why?" Kiku asked. Maria did know what he could possibly be keeping from them, but then again, she had not been reaching out to him recently.

"Well, at all the meetings, he's been fidgety, and he rarely talks to any of us except for his counterpart," Ivan explained. "His expressions are always troubled."

"You're right," Kiku thought carefully, "He hasn't been his usual self lately. I wonder what's wrong with him…" Pursing her lips, Maria could not think of anything that would be a reason for Arthur to become so detached. Then Dark Lithuania knocked softly on the door and came inside.

"Pardon me, but Prussia wishes me to tell Kiku that they will be leaving for Italy soon and that he should prepare for the journey." Kiku nodded, said goodbye and get well to Maria, and followed Dark Lithuania out the room.

"Well," Yao said, straightening up after checking her leg, "You should be all better in no time. You're much younger than I am, and I healed reasonably fast, so you should too. We'll let you rest up now." He gave her an encouraging smile and left the room with Ivan. Her mind wandered and flashed back to when Kiku saved her life on the beach. As the memory played itself, she fell asleep on the plush bed with a tender smile.

In the dead of night, Maria awoke to the rasp knocking on her door. While she shook the drowsiness off of herself, Dark Britain revealed himself when he came in and turned on the lights. When her eyes grew sharper and she became more alert, she noticed a difference in Dark Britain's posture. On his face sat a curved grin that left Maria deeply unsettled. His gaze seemed fractured, as if it was too focused or not focused at all, she could not tell which. In his hand he held a cupcake with pink frosting and blue sprinkles.

"Um…hello?" Maria greeted nervously.

"Ello, I just wanted to make sure you were okay," greeted Dark Britain, almost too cordially, "And to give you this little pity present." He held out the cupcake to her, and she eyed it suspiciously. No way in hell would she trust this guy. Not only did he call her traitor, but his persona gave her a terribly bad feeling.

"It's poison," she said accusingly, pushing the pastry away from her face.

Dark Britain chuckled, "Now why would I do that? Oh, well, suit yourself." He took a bite out of his homemade sweet. So it was not poisoned after all, but better safe than sorry.

"So, why are you really here? I doubt you're actually here to tell me get well soon," Maria stipulated, crossing her arms over her chest.

"You're very to-the-point. But that's fine with me," Dark Britain's voice suddenly turned serious, tainted with anger. "I know you're up to something. You and your friends aren't as devoted to the Genesis cause as you pretend to be."

"You're just paranoid," Maria huffed back, once again masking her fears.

"Oh really? I don't think so. I can tell there's something off about your friends, and I think you're the one pulling the strings. I'll give you credit, you're a good actress, but I'm not just any nation. As the British nation, I can see what others cannot. I just want to make this clear: If you get in my way, I'll end you." He talked with a dangerous edge, eyes glinting maliciously, and the two of them glared at each other.

"I'm not afraid of you," Maria said evenly.

"Well, you should be," Dark Britain growled. "You can mess with everyone else's heads, but just stay away from Arthur." Maria's eyes narrowed.

"What are you holding over Arthur? Why are you trying so hard to make sure I don't 'get' to him?" Maria demanded. So Ivan was right, the Britains did have a secret, and she was determined to find out what it was.

"It's nothing you need to worry about," he glowered, "Just worry about your own life first." On that note, he hastily stalked out of the room and shut the door. Maria took a shaky breath and her bravado faded away. Looking down, she realized that her hands were trembling under the covers. Dark Britain was not someone she wanted as an enemy. He was dangerous and threatening, almost as bad as Dark Prussia. And then there was Arthur who was keeping a secret, and Kiku who was about to go on a raid in which Feliciano and Lovino's lives were at risk. Her goals seemed to have shifted since they first got here. Now staying alive was the objective and getting back home was just a bonus. She felt like she was stranded in the middle of the ocean, with nothing but thrashing waves all around. Funny, she had never been afraid of drowning until now.

Meanwhile, Dark Russia stood on the balcony overlooking the ostentatious backyard with Dark Japan, who had just flown in and arrived moments ago after seeing to it that his country was well enough for him to leave and after rallying up his troops by putting the hatred in their hearts. They leaned on the stone railing, looking up at the brilliant full moon above. The air was quite chilly, but neither of them cared; they each had enough of a fire within them to warm the entire palace.

"That was humiliating," Dark Japan spat with acrimony.

"We won the fight," Dark Russia pointed out.

"Did we? Even though the Vertex Union retreated, I still feel like I'm the one who lost," Dark Japan uttered regretfully. "I hate this shame. I need retribution."

"That can be arranged," Dark Russia gave him a knowing smile, "Tell you what. I'll lend you half of my best fighter planes and bombers so you can have your revenge." Dark Japan straightened up, getting down to business.

"Are you being serious?"

"Da, I want to see that accursed American break down and lose his sanity."

"Well, then we should strike as soon as possible, while they won't see it coming," the Japanese man advocated. The notion of his payback gave him a sense of excited satisfaction.

"Let's not just attack America—that's too predictable. Let's strike him where it hurts," Dark Russia said with a mischievous halfsmile. The other nation cocked his head, not understanding what his ominous intentions.

"And where would that be?"

"Canada," Dark Russia answered simply. Dark Lithuania stepped onto the balcony to present the two nations with authentic Russian wine, classier than ordinary vodka. After they took their glasses, Dark Lithuania gave a slight bow then quickly went away back to his chores.

"An attack like that could kill him," Dark Japan commented casually.

"All the more painful for America. I can't wait to relish in his suffering," chuckled Dark Russia. "We'll plan for tomorrow night then." Dark Japan nodded and then raised his glass to his comrade.

"To victory," he said, making a toast.

"And to the annihilation of our enemies," finished Dark Russia. Clink.

From the Author: Wow, I can't believe I'm already on chapter 8! This was a unique chapter, a challenging one to complete the thought process honestly, but it was fun to write! Did it leave you guessing? I hope so! So, if you've read my whole story up to this point, I just want to say thanks for sticking with Maria this far, and I hope you stay with her til the end! Please comment, I just love hearing what yoo guys have to say :D

BTW, if anyone has anything they'd like me to read or review, all you have to do is recommend! I've run out of good books to read, and that's where my inspiration comes from, so you'd be doing me a favor :)