Disclaimer: Lady Nightwisp would like to state that she does not own HetaOni or Hetalia, never has, and probably never will.

"Canada, are you okay?" America asked. "You've been acting kind of weird ever since you got back."

"I'm fine," Canada insisted, but America noticed that he still clung to his bear like a lifeline.

"Listen. If someone's threatening you-" America began.

"No one is threatening me," Canada interrupted. "I'm fine. Completely, totally fine. Stop asking me."

"I have a right to be worried about my brother," America replied.

"Stop worrying," Canada told him. "I'm completely fine. I'm just tired."

It was obvious that Canada was lying, but it was also clear that he wasn't going to tell anyone anything. They had all tried to get something out of him, but his lips remained sealed.

"Go take a nap," America suggested. "That's what half of us are doing anyways. I mean, it's not like there's much else we can do without Italy. He's the one who really knows what's going on around here."

"Yeah, I'll go do that," Canada agreed.

As if in a trance, he walked over to the bed and flopped down. But he kept his glasses on and his eyes remained open, staring at the ceiling. America frowned. Something weird was definitely going on and it was obvious that Russia was somehow involved.

America generally tried to avoid Russia, but there were times when a hero had to make sacrifices for the people he cared about. He approached the large nation, who was sitting at the table and smiling.

"Hey, Russia," he called.

"What is it, America?" Russia asked.

"Listen, I know you did something to my brother," America said. "Leave him alone, okay?"

"I didn't do anything to England," Russia insisted.

"I'm talking about Canada!" America snapped. "I don't know what you're doing to him, but it has to stop! He's terrified. Everyone can tell. And it's obviously your fault!"

"It's not my fault," Russia replied.

"Look here, you commie bastard-"

"America!"

Canada stormed across the room and placed himself firmly between Russia and America.

"He isn't doing anything to me," he declared. "He's not blackmailing me, or threatening me, or hurting me in any way, so leave him alone!"

America shrank under Canada's withering glare. He seemed completely serious. But if it wasn't Russia scaring Canada…?

"Then tell me what's bothering you!" America demanded. "I can help."

"No, you can't," Canada replied. "Just let it go. Just this once?"

"I-"

"Hey, America!" England called across the room. "Can you please come help convince Japan to let me into the kitchen?"

Russia laughed.

"You'd better go save the world from England's cooking," he remarked.

America grinned, the prospect of heroics causing him to momentarily forget that he needed to help Canada.

"America to the rescue!" he announced, running off to find a way to get England as far from the kitchen as possible.

"Hey! Where are you three going?" Romano yelled.

Spain paused on his way out of the room and smiled.

"Don't worry, Lovi," he called. "Boss Spain won't be gone for too long. I'm sure you can survive without me for an hour or so!"

"Shut up!" Romano snapped. "I'm not worried about you or anything. I just wanted to know what you three are planning on doing!"

"We're just going to have a look around," France told him. "Just to see if we can find something."

"Don't worry, we'll bring Spain back safe and sound," Prussia added. "You can count on it!"

"Shut up," Romano snapped. "Stupid bastards."

But Spain knew the insults were more of a reflex than anything. Romano's way of showing he cared.

Honestly, Spain found it kind of adorable that Romano was worried. He liked the thought of having someone to come back to. Assuming he survived long enough to come back, that is.

He shook off the negative thoughts and hurried after his two oldest friends.

Prussia led them down to the second floor and stopped.

"I think we're far enough away from them," he remarked.

"So, do you mind explaining what you brought us out here for?" France asked. "Why can't you tell anyone else about this secret of yours?"

"Well, I could tell the others," Prussia admitted. "But I don't want to. It's kind of weird, and I'm not even sure it's not my imagination."

"Enough suspense," Spain declared. "Just tell us what you're talking about."

"There's this voice," Prussia told them. "I've heard it twice now. It always comes right after we defeat one of the monsters. It congratulates me. Or maybe all of us. I don't really know. But it's starting to bother me. I don't know who it is -what it is- and that kind of scares me."

"So that's why we had to come all the way out here," France teased. "The almighty Prussia doesn't want to admit he's scared."

"Honestly, I just didn't want Russia or China to know," Prussia told him. "They're up to something. And it would be suspicious to have a meeting and only leave them out. So I figured I'd just tell you guys and hope you could help me figure it out."

France and Spain nodded. They both shared Prussia's suspicions. Russia and China were up to something, that much was clear, but their goal was anyone's guess.

"What exactly are we figuring out?" Spain asked.

"I'm not sure," Prussia admitted. "What the voice is, I suppose."

"Who does it sound like?" France asked.

"It's kind of familiar," Prussia remarked. "But not really in an 'I've heard that before' kind of way. More like something I just instinctively recognize, even if I don't know why."

"Maybe it's someone from your future?" France suggested.

Prussia shook his head.

"Someone you knew when you were a child?" Spain wondered.

"Maybe," Prussia admitted. "And another thing: There's also this weird feeling I got when I was near Italy after we thought he died. Like there was someone else there, or something."

"Is it a bad feeling?" France asked.

"No," Prussia replied. "It's just... it has a really nostalgic feeling. Like something that I felt a long time ago and forgot about..."

"What could it be?" Spain wondered. "Maybe it has something to do with the voice that only you can hear?"

Prussia shrugged.

"Is the voice different every time you hear it?" France added.

"No, it's always the same," Prussia replied. "So, do either of you have any ideas?"

France and Spain looked at each other.

"None," Spain said. "Sorry, Prussia."

"It's fine," Prussia told him. "I didn't really expect you to. I just wanted to tell someone, really."

"So, should we go back now, or should we look around a little?" France asked.

"I say we look around," Spain said. "I want to see if we can find any way to get out."

"It would be a bit odd if we came back only five minutes after leaving," Prussia agreed. "Let's go!"

Author's Note: I finally worked in one of the scenes from the preview! Yay! Also, I've wanted to write that scene with America yelling at Russia for ages now. Angry!Protective!America is awesome. Just sayin'.

Out of curiosity, is anyone else doing NaNoWriMo?

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed it :D