Hey, everyone! Evett, it's been a while since my last update, but I'll make this one worth the wait~!

In this chapter, Prussia and Mari stay up to watch for any signs of danger. Naturally, Prussia has some stupid questions to ask her, along with some that may take a little more effort on Mari's part to explain… Then, a slam on the door! Dun duh duh!

Okay, that's enough from me.

ENJOY~!

…

I sat facing the fireplace, my back to Prussia (Which I now admit probably wasn't a good idea.), watching quietly as the flame flickered in a ghostly way. "So. . ." The Prussian began rather awkwardly. "How did you three end up here together?" I turned back around to look at the Prussian, slightly glaring. "Why do you want to know? Didn't Aja tell you?"

"Well, she told me that this is just a video game to you guys, bu-."

"She what!" I whispered a yell, standing up quickly. "Ah, fuck! Gah, whatever…" I slowly sat back down, sinking back into my pit of self-pity. "We came…" I started, trying to put together the right words "We came because we were invited to come. That's all I'm going to say."

Behind me I could hear the Prussian scoff, then a moment of silence before he said something that made me want to jump off a bridge. "So, how'd you three meet?" I stiffened, my eyes widening until they stung, or maybe that was just the tears that started to form, but they didn't fall.

"Wh-why would you care?. . ." I asked "It's not like we could ever matter to you guys." Prussia stood up and walked over, sitting down next to me. "Hey, why are you crying?" I turned to hide my face, deciding that it would be best for me just to tell him.

"We met… when I was 13…" I told him "I don't know about those two… but the circumstances we met under… Were hell for me." Prussia cocked his head to one side, and I continued. "It really started for me when I was 7… I grew up in a very powerful and wealthy family. My name used to be Mariotte Summers. I was the youngest of five daughters, all of whom were expected to wordlessly conform to the ways of the high class citizen like flimsy paper dolls."

I shifted uncomfortably. "I wasn't okay with that. I had to stand out. When I turned 7, I decided to think back at what my life had been like so far. I realized that I'd always dressed, acted, and spoke like everyone else. I didn't want to be in that string of paper dolls. I had to be my own person, so I asked my mother and father one day to get me some different clothes."

Prussia smiled a bit. "Did that help any?" I turned to look at him. "Not in the slightest."

"After I asked, they both shook me off. They told me that if I really wanted to be different, I should just be a maid. For the next couple of years, I snuck away from lessons, cut up curtains to use as clothing, sulked in my room; I did whatever I could to stand out. Still, no one seemed to notice me."
"When I turned 10, I decided to run away. I wanted to see what would happen. So I left. I fell in with a bad crowd. I joined a gang about a week after I left. I was one of the strongest of the bunch, and people were scared of me. About three months after I left, I stole some guy's phone and called the Summers' Estate. The maid who picked up recognized me as the missing daughter. She asked me over and over again if I was okay, and where I was. I didn't answer her, but I asked if my parents had bothered to look for me."

"There was a long silence. The maid hesitated; too long. I knew there was something wrong. 'I'm sorry…' she told me. I knew that my parents haven't even noticed my absence. Or if they had, they didn't care, or were even relieved. I hung up the phone and threw it into the street, letting a car crush it."

"After that , I just got more reckless and violent. I would beat people until they were nearly dead. I left the gang, because I felt like it compromised my freedom. That was the one thing I think I regret doing. Even though it was a bad bunch to fall in line with, they helped me out when I needed it."

"As a child, I'd always been very sickly. After I left the gang, I had asthma attacks a lot, and got awful fevers. When I met Aja and Xenzik, they were talking in an alley. Aja was hiding her face from Zik, who was yelling something at her in a voice that sounded more full of concern than of hatred. At the time I had a fever; one of the worst in a long time, but I never gave up."

"I walked up to them and threatened them. I didn't really need anything, but the way Zik was so concerned about Aja… It really made me angry. No one ever tried to make me happy, or cared how I felt before. So, naturally, Aja wanted to fight. We fought roughly for a really long time, but I ended it by collapsing into a coughing fit."

"I hadn't realized I was that sick, but… Well, we all make mistakes. I was coughing up blood and my chest hurt like hell. So, Aja stepped back, freaking out because she thought it was her fault somehow. Zik came over and tried to help me up, but I wouldn't let her near me. Eventually, I was only about half conscious, so the two of them picked me up and carried me back to their house."

"When I woke up, I told them who I was and what had happened to me, as well as the kind of medicine I needed. They told me that both of them had lived awful lives up until that point as well, so we became fast friends and shared a house. We've lived together ever since Aja and I were 13, and Xenzik was 16."

I looked back at Prussia who'd lost his smirk. He seemed upset now. "Wh-… What happened to Aja and Xenzik… Before you met…?" I looked back at the fire. Sparks snapped and sizzled in front of my face, making my wet eyes dry faster. "You'll have to ask them yourselves." I smirked, tugging at the long, fingerless glove on my left arm.

The Prussian shook his head like a wet dog and smiled. "You really think Aja would tell me?"

"Ha! No!" I laughed, smacking the side of his head gently "Xenzik would tell you, and make Aja explain at least a little bit. Either that or she'd vent on you. That's not so fun…" I reached into my bag and pulled my 3DS out. The internet didn't work, but I'd brought some games, too. I slid one cartridge into the back and started to play.

Prussia leaned over my shoulder, watching the tiny pixilated universe run through the screen. "What are you playing?" He asked. "The Legend of Zelda; Phantom Hourglass." I told him. "I'm a geek, and I love the Zelda games." Prussia looked confused and opened his mouth to say something, but there was a huge BANG on the door.

In one fluid motion, I twisted around, stood up, and drew my sword, disturbing Kyo the rat, who ran for cover. Prussia got up much more slowly and pulled his sword. Slowly, I edged toward the door. I didn't remember what was supposed to happen next, so I slowly opened the door. Prussia gasped and I almost screamed. Standing there was my worst fear. My most hated of all creatures, pixilated and living.

France.

I considered slamming the door in his face, but he rushed into the room and slammed the door shut, locking it firmly. "F-France! Does that mean the allies are here?" France turned at the sound of my voice. He smiled, liking what he saw, which made me gag inwardly.

"Bonjour, miss." He greeted me, sauntering over in the most disturbing way possible. He wrapped an arm around my waist and grabbed my wrist. He put his face VERY close to mine. Apparently he didn't know I was holding a sword. I jabbed the hilt into his side and kicked him in the face.

"Stay the hell away from me, idiot!" I yelled at him raising the sword in one hand. The Frenchman slowly stood back up, staggering as if the weight of my boot were still there. "F-fine…" France walked over to Prussia. "So, the allies are here, then?" The Prussian asked.

"Yeah." I said before France could speak. "While the axis is sleeping, the allies come in with Canada, and France is chased into this room by the Oni." Prussia nodded and France's eyes widened. "How did you know that?" He asked. I rolled my eyes and told Prussia to tell him where my friends and I were from. "Why don't you fill him in on everything?" I told him, sitting down by the fireplace once more.

I just kind of sat there while they talked, telling Prussia to shut the fuck up as he began to retell my past to France. "Why don't we go meet up with China and England then?" I asked. France opened his mouth to respond when the door flung open. The Oni came tromping into the room, scaring the crap out of those of us who haven't obsessed themselves with this game for years.

I stood up and drew my sword just in time to block the monster's first wild swing at me. "Gah! Prussia, help!" The monster threw me back, slamming me into the ground, while Prussia ran in with his sword. He swung it, but he was obviously out of practice, and his blade was incredibly dull. "Shit! Whoa!" Steve grabbed Prussia by his leg and sent him flying across the room into a cowering France.

I got up and ran at the monster, dodging it's arm, but the other arm threw me next to the fireplace. I gazed at the flame for a moment and got a great idea. I ran over to the gas lamp that sat on the far wall and sliced my sword into it, drenching the blade with flammable fuel. I sped back to the fireplace, dodging another attack, and stabbed the sword into the fire, watching as flame exploded across my weapon.

I moved in and pushed the Oni back with my flaming sword, allowing Prussia and France time to get up and edge over near the door. "We need to get to the first floor!" I yelled at them, running into the hallway and turning the corner sharply. Prussia and France followed as quickly as they could.

As we neared the bottom step, we saw the creature had gotten ahead of us somehow, and was furiously attacking America. "Let's sneak around." Prussia suggested, and we all moved around in that direction. Of course, America just HAD to spot us!

"Hey!" He grinned "Over here, guys!"

Fuck. Naturally, I was the only one prepared for a fight, so we had to run. "This way!" Prussia declared, turning toward a door. He opened it and we ran through a few more rooms and hallways before we found a cell. "In here!" America led us into the cell. Word of advice; never let America guide your way. We got into the cell and shut the door, just as we realized we weren't being chased anymore.

Wonderful. I was trapped in a cell with two pervs and an idiot. Just wonderful.

…

Yaaaaaaaayyyyyy… More story….. GOD, that took forever. Anyway, I'm totally in love with Prussia at the moment, so I needed to tell him and only him Mariotte's past.

So, I hoped you all liked reading this. It always makes me happy when people review~!