A/N: We would love to touch each and every one of your faces for reading our story. ;) Thank you to everyone who read/favorited/alerted/reviewed. Just know that we apologize for updating later again. But what can we do, eh? C'est la vie. Anyways, please enjoy this chapter~!

-Bee & Jay.

DISCLAIMER: WE DO NOT OWN (but would love to own these characters' bodies...mmmm) ANYTHING SAVE FOR OUR CREATIVE IDEAS AND WRITING.

Arthur looked up nervously at the bigger man.

"What kind of deal do you have in mind?"

As the Russian was about to speak, a tall, blonde man with blue eyes entered into the room. The fact that his shoulders were rising and falling quicker than normal was the only sign that he had been rushing to get there. His eyes widened and then quickly returned to normal when he saw the strangers. Pulling himself together, he stood up straight and cleared his throat.

"Mein Herr," he said with a slight bow.

Ivan gave his second in command a look that could kill and scoffed.

"How pleasant of you to show up, Beilschmidt. I know you weren't fucking the little Italian over there. Where the hell have you been?" The tone in his voice was more curious rather than angry.

The Italian mentioned visibly shrunk, trying to sink into the background. Mathieu reached for his hand and gave it a little squeeze. He knew how uncomfortable it felt to be put on the spot.

Seeing that one of the strangers was being held by Ivan, the tall blonde moved swiftly into the room and secured the boy located on the floor.

"I was attending to some business in the farther wing of the mansion, Mein Herr. I came as soon as I could," the man spoke with confidence while looking Ivan straight in the eyes. That was one of the reasons he was second in command. Despite the tension of the situation he always held his head high and handled his business like a man.

Nodding his head, Ivan looked over to Frances and then to Mathieu.

"One of you tell him what has happened here."

Mathieu looked over at Alfred, who was kicking and struggling in the borderline painful hold. He was going to yell but he caught a stern look from his father. The look told him not to do a damn thing and for once, Alfred listened. to him.

Taking a deep breath, Mathieu let go of Feli's hand and took one step forward, opening his mouth to explain. "Well, Ludwig-"

"The wolves chased in this man. He wanted some shelter so like good hosts, we provided some. It is very dangerous without proper protection! If I knew he was an Englishman earlier I would've left him be," Francis cut in, "I mean out of all the people that could have stumbled upon our home it had to be-"

"Francis." The man, Ludwig interjected with a warning stare.

"Ah, very well. Still skipping the fun parts and getting down to the details, I see." Francis sighed, "Well, he came in and I convinced Mathieu to go get him some food. He looked very cold, you see." He said truthfully. "Mon fils had no choice but to listen to me, it isn't his fault." He continued looking over at Mathieu, trying to ensure his safety. "And then he fetched Feli to make him something to eat. All of the sudden Monsieur Braginski appeared with him..."

Francis trailed off to stare at Alfred. For the first time he seemed to really see him. The resemblance between his own son and the other startled him. Didn't Arthur mention something of the boy earlier? Francis cleared his throat.

"And that is where you came in." He didn't leave out any details that he was aware of. "It was an honest mistake, the two of them coming in here. They should have a free pass or something. They did nothing purposely wrong."

Ludwig kept a straight face didn't show emotion while listening to the story. Afterwards, he just grunted and looked to Ivan, waiting for further instruction.

"We didn't do shit." Alfred hissed under his breath before his eyes met with Mathieu's. The blue-purple eyes were laced with fear, silently telling him not to do anything.

Alfred let out a small noise as the man holding onto him tightened his grip. "Mind your manners, boy."

Arthur tried shaking out of the embrace once again, but wasn't able to budge. "Hurt him and you'll regret it," he spat at the German man.

Chuckling to himself, the Lord of the house looked over to his second. "I said we would make a deal. So we will make a deal. Follow me. Bring that one too."

Ludwig inclined his head and began to follow the other into the lower compartments of the mansion. Before he was completely out of the room, he stopped and turned to face the others in the room.

"Do not follow. You will be punished." That said he walked out of the room with ease as if holding another person hostage came naturally.

"Lemme go! I can walk my own damn self." He cursed loudly, only to be ignored by Ludwig as he was all but forced out of the room.

The remaining people in the room could do nothing but wait and hope for the best. Feli sheepishly turned around to head back into the kitchen.

"I'm going to make something for when they're all finished." He tried to say cheerfully, "I'll make some pasta for everyone. Who doesn't like pasta?"

When he was gone, Mathieu rushed over to Francis and picked him up, hugging him to his chest. Then he brought him to face level and whispered, even though they were the only two left in the room.

"Papa? Do you think they will get the same deal that we were offered?" The blue-purple eyes started to water before his father could give him an opinion.

Francis gave him a small smile, "We can only hope that he does something as generous…" He said looking to the doorway. "Braginski seemed very angry. Hopefully he doesn't take it out on those poor people." Francis thought about something for a few moments as they stood in silence.

"Mathieu?"

"Oui, Papa?"

"Perhaps that boy is what we've been waiting for."

"But you saw how Mister Bragin-"

"No, no. Listen. That young boy, Alfred...He could be the one to free us."

"I don't think that'll happen."

"And why not? Sure there is a rough start between the two of them but...Mathieu this is the first one to come by in so long. We don't have much time left."

Mathieu just nodded and looked away, staring at the floor. The smell of pasta floated into the dining room, along with the sound of Italian singing.

Arthur was being particularly quiet during this time. He was trying to memorize how many rights and lefts they were taking for when they escaped….hopefully. Alfred on the other hand spent most of the time glaring at the back of the tall Russian's head. His antagonist wasn't actually silver haired, he noticed. But instead a very light blond with hidden tints. A rare, freaky color in Al's mind.

First we turned left. Then we went for straight for about 3 minutes. Then a right and down some stairs. Then straight again… His thoughts were cut off by his son's sudden outburst.

"What type of deal are ya' willin' to make?" Alfred asked, still being held by the brooding man with a German accent. "We aren't gonna pay you anything, we aren't scared."

Even though he knew Al would get them into more trouble, Arthur smiled to himself. That was his son, alright. He never did know when not to be a hero.

Laughing again, Ivan looked over his shoulder at his second. "Do you hear what he says? What a mouth, da?" He shook his head and continued to usher Arthur further into the mansion. Ludwig grunted in reply again, keeping up with the other's pace.

"Don't talk like I can't hear you." Alfred said angrily, wanting to do nothing more but to yell and scream at the bastards holding them captive.

"Where are you taking us? I thought you said we were going to make a deal," Arthur gritted through his teeth after trying to break free again. Then he realized their pace slowing down as they approached a regular sized door at the end of the hallway.

Kicking in the door, Ivan hauled his captive into the room with his ever loyal second closing in behind him. The room contained of one table set with three chairs; two on one side facing the other. Other than that, the room was pretty bland and looked like it was rarely used.

Alfred stared at the room and slowly felt dread pool into his stomach when he took in the room. This looked like a standard room where bad things went down. He would know, he's played plenty of video games, read hundreds of comics, and seen hours upon hours of action movies. This wasn't good. Alfred bit his lip, scanning the room for any torturing devices. Thankfully, the room came up clean. Then the Russian began talking.

"Oh. I had forgotten that the last time we used this room it was for the other two. How convenient." He glanced at Ludwig only to find a small smirk on the other's face.

The eerie phrase made the hairs stand up on the back of Alfred's neck. He wondered what exactly happened to the other two when suddenly the German practically threw Alfred further into the room and positioned himself in front of the now shut door. Ivan had shoved Arthur towards the table and took his seat on the side with only one chair.

After Arthur was released, he ran over to his son and gave him a tight hug and asked him if he was alright. When that was finished, he briefly scanned Al's body with his eyes for any signs of physical damage other than minor cuts and bruises.

"You okay dad?" He asked quietly, offering him a small smile before his face turned back neutral. Arthur reached down and gently squeezed Al's hand and then went to sit on the other side of the table. Deciding he was fed up with the way things were going, he spoke first.

"Now what's this deal business? What do you want? We haven't caused any harm or done anything wrong."

"Yeah we haven't." Alfred chimed in, glaring at the other.

The man in charge looked at both of them with cold eyes and a blank expression. "Do you not see two chairs? Sit." He directed his words towards a very stubborn Alfred, who stood there as if he were made of stone. Without needing a command, Ludwig promptly moved to where the boy was and effortlessly placed him on the chair. It was like the two of them had a special kind of communication method.

Seeing his son treated this way provoked Arthur's anger even more. Almost yelling, he once again demanded the reason as to why they were there.

"What the bloody hell is your reason for bringing us here?"

"You have trespassed here on my property. That is your crime."

Arthur snorted at the comment. I don't believe the audacity of this man. I mean really. Oh sure, I trespassed onto his property but did I steal or alter anything? No. I would have gone back to my car if the bastard had his bloody wolf problem under control. Stupid git. And to think that this amazing structure is owned by someone as mental as this guy. But I suppose this was all my idea. Arthur thought to himself about how he insisted on exploring Russia instead of just going to where they needed to go. He cursed himself silently. Looking at his son, flashbacks ran through his mind about how Al didn't even want to go to Russia. Maybe I should've listened to him…So much for this trip being our last great adventure together. Well, I know what I have to do now.

Turning to face Braginski, Arthur regained his composure and spoke to the man as if he were a respected colleague.

"Listen. I know I have made a mistake. Yes, I trespassed. But it was only me who committed the crime. If it weren't for me, my son would have never entered through those gates." Here he paused, trying to piece together how to phrase his next sentence. Sure he committed an offense, but he didn't think it was punishment worthy. However, at the same time, there was no way he would let Al take the blame for his actions.

Alfred tensed as soon as he heard the start of his father's sentence, knowing exactly where it would go. As much as he wanted to call out and yell at his father about how stupid he was being, Alfred stayed put. He squeezed the hand in his in a resort of telling his father to stop. He knew deep down that Arthur wouldn't though. He would protect him till the end. That damn tea loving bastard. A scowl formed onto Alfred's face, a hate growing for Russia, and more specifically the Russian in front of him with that condescending smile on his face.

While waiting for the Brit to finish what he had to say, Ivan was studying the others' faces. The older one looked like a mixture of anger, worry, and uneasiness. But the younger one…his only emotion was anger. The Russian found himself interested in the little Amerikan. Ludwig was listening to the story with an almost bored expression on his face. He could care less what happened to these two. During dull parts in the conversation like this one, he would pass the time by thinking of something he needed to do – or rather someone.

Choosing his words carefully, Arthur continued his previous statement. "If you feel as though there should be some sort of discipline, then only take it out on me. Alfred is not to be harmed." He could feel the aura of defeat emanating off of him as he sat a little more limp in the chair. For Alfred. This is for Alfred. I'm protecting him. He's worth it. He could feel the disbelieving look his son was giving him. He could hardly bring himself to look his way, but he forced himself to. When he did, he tried to reassure his son with an apologetic look in eyes and a small, sad smile on his lips.

Alfred was all but gaping at his father. He knew it would be drastic but this…This was worse. Much worse than what he had in mind. Small tears of anger and frustration pricked their way into his eyes. He clenched his free hand tightly to the point where little indents were sure to appear. There was no way in hell that he would leave his father to some creep like this, he'd rather die fighting. His thoughts of rage were interrupted by a chuckle. The Russian man rested an elbow on the arm of his chair and crossed his legs. Then he rested his chin upon his lazily balled fist.

"How precious," He said with a dark smile on his face, locking eyes with Arthur. "Willing to give up so much for your son." His words were punctuated by another laugh. "Arthur, is it?" He asked with a smile, this one seeming a little nicer.

"Y-yes. That's right. It's a relief you can empathize with me about-"

"However this is the Braginski household. And here only I make the deals. When I said I had one for you I meant it. The only say you have is to agree or not." He said cutting in smoothly, a smirk forming on his face. A smirk Alfred wanted to punch straight off his face. Arthur cursed himself once again. I walked right into that one…nice going Arthur, you prat.

A scoff came from the side of the room where the German stood. It was clear he was looking down on the two travelers for being stupid – or crazy – enough to barter with his master.

"Well then what-" Arthur began but was cut off yet once again.

"You have very simple choices." He started, "You have met Francis already. He used to be like you, Arthur. He has a son and was a normal person. Due to circumstances he and his son had a choice to make, much like the two of you. One had to change and leave their normal body and the other would stay the same."

Alfred listened in shock, no way was that talking candle-thing a person. Russia was creepier than he thought. He looked over at his dad in confusion. He just wanted to go home.

Arthur saw his son looking at him through the corner of his eye. In hopes of reassuring him, he gave his hand another squeeze – but this time his firm grip never loosened. Thinking to himself and looking back on how vividly animated the candelabra was it kind of made sense. Just who is this person and what am I dealing with?

"The person who changes has to stay here. The other can leave as he likes, but if he is gone for too long, then the transformed man will die." He said with a smile on his face. "If not, both of you are off to the dungeon to die. So," He said lightly, "Choose your fate."

"I'll do it. Let my son stay as he is." His face showed no signs of fear or regret as he spoke. Then he turned to his son. "I won't hold you accountable for your choice, Alfred. You can go back home whenever you wish. Don't worry about me. I'll be fine," he finished with a genuine heartfelt smile. Only Alfred could see through his dad's exterior to the sad look in his eyes.

Alfred winced from the sadness in Arthur's eyes. "Dad, no! I'm not going to leave you! What type of son would I be if I left you here to die..." He trailed off and gave Arthur an upset, fearful look. "You're not gonna stay with this creep!"

"What? Do you have no pride in your father? Respect his decision and be a man." Arthur and Alfred were shocked to hear anything come from the man's mouth that wasn't a noise.

"So be it. Beilschmidt, take the boy upstairs and leave him with Matvey. I will bring this one up with me later. You are dismissed."

"Dad..." Alfred whispered as he was brought up from his chair.

With that, Ludwig escorted the boy back upstairs. The boy didn't struggle like last time and he appeared to be stuck in a state of shock. As long as it made his job easier, the German could care less.

"I'm sorry, Alfred…" Arthur whispered to his son as he sat there looking defeated.

Mathieu had been sent to his room by his papa. He was told to sleep, but he couldn't. The thought of his lookalike plagued his thoughts. He really hoped he would be alright and that Mister Braginski would let them go. He clutched his stuffed polar bear Kumajirou and buried his head in its large shoulder. Kumajohn was given to him by the messenger of the house, a gift for his usually forgotten birthday. He looked up just in time to see Ludwig open up the door and place the boy inside, closing the door behind them.

"He will be staying with you until everything is sorted out. I am going to get his things." After giving the boy a little shove, the German strode out of the room as quickly as he came in.

Alfred stumbled a little and then stared at Mathieu with dull blue eyes and offered a half-smile.

Mathieu smiled, feeling relief that the other was pretty unscathed. "Hi, I'm Mathieu. You can call me Matt or Mattie or Matthew. Your name is Alfred, right?"

Alfred grunted, and sat down on the bed. "Is there seriously only one bed in here? They want us to split?" He asked looking around the neat room.

There was one large bed in the room, maybe a queen sized, and off the side stood a decent sized desk with some drawers on the underside. Books were atop of it but the majority of them were in the bookcase across the room. What fascinated Alfred the most was the old looking computer. It was in surprisingly good condition. A few paintings were on the wall and a hockey jersey was framed and signed by a person Alfred didn't know. It was almost like a standard teenager's room, except for the neatness. As he looked around, Matthew studied Al silently. He wasn't very surprised that Al would be put with him for a little while. He'd get his own room eventually, if he chose to stay and if Ivan was feeling generous. Either way, he was excited that he had own company.

"No way I'm gonna split a bed with some dude I don't know." Alfred said looking at Matthew stubbornly.

"You don't have much of a choice, eh? Besides, it's big enough for two people. We won't be close to each other at all while we sleep. I mean, if you don't sleep here, then where?" Matthew knew how the other boy must be feeling. The same thing had happened to him after all. He squeezed his polar bear while trying to figure out the best way to make Alfred feel a little better.

"H-Hey, Alfred. You don't have to worry about your papa. Everything will be okay."

Alfred snorted loudly and shot Matthew a harsh glare, "Yeah right! That bastard has my fuckin' dad." He said running his hand through his already messy hair, a habit he had picked up when was nervous.

Mathieu shrunk into his stuffed animal a little bit before responding. "Y-You're wrong…I do k know. My papa was taken from me too" He spoke softly. Not being able to bare the silence any longer, Mathieu tried to lighten up the atmosphere a little. "B-But only for a little bit."

Al looked over at him a little confused because of the sudden statement. "What?"

"He was only taken from me for a little bit. My papa. That's how I know that yours will be okay. S-So don't worry, okay?" He gave the other boy a little smile to let him know that he was being sincere and not just saying empty words.

Alfred felt a little wave of guilt as he realized he wasn't the only one who had been this... situation. The feeling of sadness and frustration was stronger than the guilt, however. How dare his father do something so risky! Without even giving Alfred time to stop him at that. His shoulders slumped and he looked down. Did this mean his father was never going to look like a person again? Another wave of emotion. This time helplessness.

There was a sudden knock at the door and without waiting for an answer Ludwig briefly entered the room only to place the luggage inside. "Your father will not need his things, so I am giving them to you. Take what you need and put them away. I will collect the rest in the morning." Turning on his heel, he left the room quickly.

"Bonne nuit, Ludwig." Matthew said quietly just as the door finished closing.

Alfred just stood there looking at the luggage. He couldn't bring himself to move towards it as he stood there frozen in his place. Seeing his reaction, Mathieu quickly went over to the luggage and read the labels. Choosing Al's suitcase, he picked it up and placed it on the bed. Then he went to Al and took his hand in his gently, slowly bringing him towards the bed.

"Come on, Alfred. You have to change into your pajamas to get comfortable. Here. Let's go through your things together." Alfred came out of this frozen state a little and started to look through his things with Mattie. He wasn't really up to looking through anything right now but he wanted to get the easier part done and over with. It'd be hardest to go through Arthur's. Alfred already knew that the suitcase would be neatly packed, probably color coated as well. That was just an Arthur thing.

After they went through and picked out some night clothes, Mathieu gathered the rest of his clothes and put them away in some spare drawers in the bureau. "We can go through the other suitcase tomorrow if you want. I might be able to get Ludwig to change his mind about taking it away. Oh – do you want to change alone? I can step out of the room for a little while if you want."

Alfred shrugged softly, "Don't care," He said.

Although he didn't want to be alone at the moment he couldn't say that out loud. How pathetic would that be? He started with his sweatshirt first and worked his way down to his underwear then redressed in his nightclothes. He took the heap of cloths and looked at Matthew who had stayed.

"Where do I put these?"

Matthew smiled and took the clothes, "Laundry bin is right here." He said dropping them inside of said item.

Alfred nodded and went back to the bed and pulled the covers back slowly. He left the covers open for Matthew. He didn't really have enough energy to care about sharing a bed with him anymore. He just wanted to sleep and hopefully wake up from this nightmare. Matthew turned off the lights and adjusted to the darkness of the room before padding his way over to the bed. He crawled in, bringing along Kumajake, and pulled the covers over both of them.

"Y-You can hold onto my bear if you want to…" Mattie offered. Instead of answering, Alfred instinctively moved to the other heat source in the shared bed.

Matthew chewed at his lip, debating on what to do next. He remembered how he had felt when he went through the process. He was scared and never felt more alone. And worried. Swallowing down his fears he cautiously wrapped an arm around Al's shoulder and gingerly pulled him into an awkward hug that Alfred surprisingly didn't pull away from.

All Alfred could think about was how when he was in this soft, warm bed his dad was probably in unimaginable pain. The man that raised him, cared for him, and put up with all his shit. He hated this place. He hated Russia. He hated Braginski. And he hated his father for being so eager to sacrifice himself for his brat of a kid.

In the dead of the silence, a sniffle was heard. It wasn't loud or obnoxious. Just a small sniffle, one that said 'I'm not crying damn it'. Matthew looked down at Alfred in shock but tightened his hold on him and stroked his hair sympathetically.

"It's okay..." He murmured softly to his lookalike. "Everything will be fine…"

And Alfred just clung to Matthew's shirt and cried. He cried about how much of an asshole he was to his dad. He cried out his frustration and worry. He just cried. As little shakes and tremors racked throughout Alfred's lithe body, his companion just held him close, whispering comforting words.

"I know it'll be okay. You'll feel better in the morning. You'll see." He continued repeating the soothing words until Alfred finally drifted off into sleep. He wasn't sure if he should stay like he was or if he should move out of the embrace. Matthew didn't want his new companion to think anything bad or weird happened nor did he want the situation to seem awkward in the morning. As he moved to untangle himself from Alfred the other boy tightened his grip, preventing the two from separating.

Figuring that it was okay, Mattie curled up and made himself more comfortable. This is kind of nice. It almost feels like I have a brother now…

Not too long after, as he said those words to himself, Matthew quickly fell into a relaxed state of sleep.