The boys have made an appearance! :DDD Happy now?

Warnings – Some cursing, somewhat Dark!Spain, implied FrUk, AmeBela and SpaBel.

Angelique - Monaco

Michelle - Seychelles

Mei Lin - Taiwan. (You would have figured it by now, yet still... :)

Alice found herself staring at the eyes of six girls of about her age, sprawled across the whole of the room, doing god-knows-what who were so very different from each other. They all looked at her with different emotions; one had a deadpanned face, the very next a surprised one, and yet another had one that looked like she was just about to start crying. She was unsure of what to do.

A few moments passed with absolute silence and staring, and both Alice and Mei Lin found this extremely awkward. Until the latter decided it was time they stopped this.

"Ah-hem." Mei Lin cleared her throat to attract their attention towards her. Immediately all 12 eyes landed upon her, as if she was some sort of a teacher and they were the children, ready to hear the announcement being made. She smirked seeing the reaction.

"This is Alice Van Willigen," Started a victorious Mei Lin who had successfully silenced the usual chaos and commotion, "She was rescued yesterday from our two leaders, as her brother was taken in by the Mafia. I expect you guys to treat like she is your family member you've known for years."

Alice, as a response, gave a shaky smile. "Hello."

Still no response. Just the same staring as if she was some Alien. Alice mentally sweat-dropped. Perhaps, this won't go as she thought it would.

Suddenly, with no warning, a short blonde-haired girl who was sitting in the couch reading a book, walked towards them and stood in front if them. She then smiled politely and held out her hand to introduce herself.

"I'm sorry we took so long. My name is Lili Zwingli. Nice to meet you."

Alice eyed the short blonde with surprise. Still unsure of herself, she held out and gathered her shaking hand and Lili's for a hand shake.

"P…. Pleasure!"

God, how she wished she could stop being a nervous air-head sometimes.

Next a twin-tailed black haired girl jumped in front of her, eager to introduce herself. She had an extraordinarily large fish in her hand, which Alice found impossible to even exist in this world, only to realize it was just a stuffed toy.

"Bonjour! Je m'appelle Michelle B… Well, Michelle." The girl had ended her sentence rather abruptly, presumably to hide her father's name. Alice smiled politely and shook her hand with Michelle.

"Bonjour to you too! Còmment çà vas?"

Michelle beamed as if she had saw a large chocolate bar standing right in front of her. Nobody knew French fluently except Angelique, her sister. She was just about to say something in return, when Mei Lin pulled at Alice's hands, motioning her to follow Mei Lin. Alice looked at her.

"You must be hungry, right? We'll go eat something else, and then I'll introduce the others! I'm sorry Chelle, but she needs to go."

Michelle pouted. She had been looking forward to speaking and befriending the new girl, and now even more, because she found that she knows French, but it seemed to her like that should wait.

"I'll see you later, Michelle!" Alice said and she waved her hand, as her other free hand was being pulled away by Mei Lin. She allowed herself to be dragged by the Chinese girl, and after a while, she realized why Mei Lin had compelled her to come with her with such difficulty.

Elizaveta and Natalya were standing a yard away from the chaos that was ensuing in the living room, leaning upon a large window. They had grave expressions and spoke very lowly, as if they didn't what any others to hear what they were saying. She could say that within their emotions that they were talking about the incident the previous day.

Their expressions somewhat lightened up when they saw Alice and Mei Lin. Natalya gave a smile and ruffled the other girl's hair.

"Welcome to the club, kid." She said, still holding onto her serious tone but failing to hide a hint of amusement to it, "Had good dreams?"

"Not really!" Alice laughed.

"Well, I hope your injuries are all gone now!" Elizaveta cheer-heartedly said, "Because we have something to say. About your residence."

The short blonde creased her eyebrows. "Well, what about it?

"Well, technically as you know, you cannot return to your home." Natalya took a small glass of vodka from the nearby table and fiddled with it before continuing, "Those fellows must've surrounded your house and must be expecting your arrival any minute."

Alice looked a bit disappointed hearing this, and she gave out an upset sigh. "Well, where do I go, then?"

Elizaveta eyed Natalya and then faced Alice. She smiled with approval.

"Well, we were considering the proposition that you live with us."

Alice's eyes widened with surprise and joy. Did she really mean that? To join, get to know and befriend the other members and never feel lonely again? To have a real family again?

"Yes! I mean… I'd love to, if it'll be of no burden."

Elizaveta smiled again and then stepped forward to hug her tightly. Alice found herself giving in and returned it. After a while passed with Alice and Elizaveta continuing the same emotion with Natalya and Mei Lin joining them, she heard a soft murmur through her blonde strands from her newly found friend.

"Welcome home."

The preferred tranquillity and peace of Edelstein Manor were broken by a shrill shriek of protest and pain, which sent the spectacled aristocrat to jolt up from his nap, as well as his cat to leap and run away from the comfort of its master's lap. The sound lasted for about 10 seconds straight, and if Roderich hadn't closed his ears half-way through, he was sure it could have made his deaf.

His forehead furrowed into an irritated frown. This was the seventh time the same action was happening, and it was all from the same person – the blonde-haired American, Alfred F. Jones. But this time, the musical genius had enough and was determined he had a word with either his guardian or the idiot himself.

He may be suffering a lot from his wounds, but that doesn't mean that he could destroy the peacefulness of Roderich's house.

Keeping himself composed and ready to present himself strictly to the louts upstairs, he gently put down the cat from his lap and walked towards his ex-wife's bedroom upstairs, which was now turned into an infirmary which provided solace for anyone who had been messing with their much-hated enemies, the girls.

"Ow! Watch it, will you Gil?" Alfred had fidgeted too much which resulted in his albino, 'filled-to-the-brim-with-awesome' friend, to pour too much antiseptic in his wound than necessary in accident. That made another ear-piercing cry to come out from the self-proclaimed hero.

Gilbert placed his hands on his hips and sighed in exasperation. "Seriously, stay still. Either you let awesome do the nursing work, or don't get involved in fights at all! Your choice."

Alfred looked at his friend with a shocked face. "Did you really mean that?" He asked, almost bursting with self-pity, "...I thought you were my friend, dude! And you betrayed me!"

The albino guffawed loudly hearing his friend's response.

"Well, you get beaten up by your Russian girlfriend, every. Single. Time you do." Gilbert stated out the fact, which burst Alfred's bubble of heroic selfishness. The albino saw him cringe a bit when he said that and within moments the amused look in Alfred's face was replaced by an angered frown.

"She's Belarusian, not Russian. And she's not my girlfriend."

Gilbert ignored him. "Yo, Antonio!" He called out to his tanned friend, finally deciding that he was being ignored too much like Alfred's twin, who was sitting a couple of beds away from them, equally injured like Alfred, but he was much less noisy. He hadn't spoken a word since he had been brought into the hospital due to his wounds, thanks to Elizaveta and her frying pan, and even after he recovered, he just turned his body and sat towards the right hand of his bed, with his back being shown to his friends, clearly mentioning that he wasn't interested in any type of conversation and preferred to be alone. Even when his much loved Lovino came to see him (Reluctantly), he said he was tired and dismissed his visit.

Antonio's thoughts were pre-occupied. All of them drifted towards that sister of Lars, that pretty blonde-haired Alice Van Willigen. Try as he might, he could not get her out of his mind. He tried thinking of anything else, but all thoughts somehow lead to thinking of her. It made him frustrated.

He clutched his black locks of hair in frustration. Why was she so important anyway? She was just another ordinary girl. Hell, he had seen much more hot girls than her, those of who are willing to share a bed with him and love him like no other. But what was with that particular 19-year-old girl? He couldn't pinpoint it.

He shook his head to get rid of his ever-growing confusions and thoughts just as he heard Gilbert calling him. He turned his head back to face him and gave a weak smile.

"S... si, mi amigo?" The Spanish said, rubbing his head in embarrassment, returning to his air-headed façade,"I was pre-occupied with something else..."

"Well you better not be," Alfred loudly butted in, even before Gilbert can even open his mouth to reply, "'coz tomorrow we're gonna go to Lars' house again, and see if there's some clues that will lead to his sister. OW! I know you did THAT on purpose, Gil!"

The albino gave a triumphant smirk as Alfred frantically rubbed his sore wound which was poured with another dose of antiseptic, courtesy of Gilbert's revenge. Antonio turned his head away from them and resumed back to his thoughts.

His effort to gain Alice's Zodiac gem was futile, but that wasn't the only reason why he wanted her to come with them. He just hoped that perhaps, just perhaps, she might agree to stay and live with him, and become somewhat like a mother to Lovino. He blushed at the thought.

But now it was all down the drain because of that Hungarian and her troupe. He can never see her any more, and just when he had gained her trust, Hèdervàry just had to jump in and make her believe all of it was only to gain her gem. He balled his fists at the memory of it.

He was going to make Elizaveta pay.

He played with his fingers, contemplating a plan in which Elizaveta was going to suffer the same pain. He had to share his plan with the others, so that they can get their fair share of revenge at them, as well as his. He smiled darkly.

Things will be just going perfectly.

Meanwhile, as he returned to reality, he heard Alfred cursing to Gilbert at the top of his breath at how he wished he had come a bit earlier so that he might have overcome Natalya and Elizaveta by his heroic skills and would have made an escape with the girl. Antonio couldn't have smiled better. Everyone in their group hated them.

Suddenly, the wide, elaborated door of the infirmary opened with a loud bang, and revealed Roderich Edelstein and thick-eye browed Arthur Kirkland, both of them flaming with anger and irritation. Alfred let out a squeal seeing his care taker, and jumped towards him and clung to the elder's arm, forgetting his wounds and refusing to let go.

"Artie!" Alfred exclaimed, getting melodramatic whenever he had the chance, "I know you care for me and that's why you visited me, right? Right?"

Arthur's eyebrows furrowed even further in irritation as Alfred rubbed his head with his arm, seeking for attention.

"L... leave me, you git!" Arthur tried to wriggle his way out of Alfred's death grasp, but the younger blonde had an iron grip and was reluctant to let go. He gave up in desperation as Gilbert laughed loudly seeing this show of affection.

Roderich wasn't near amused, and he grew more irritated. He cleared his throat to catch their attention. Alfred released his clinging, Gilbert stopped cackling, and Antonio was snapped out of his thoughts, and looked towards the aristocrat who looked like he was about to make a declaration.

"The noise you make is too loud." He said angrily, pointing towards a guilt-filled Alfred who was now looking sober. "Either you cut down your voice, Alfred, or I cut down your daily supply of Hamburgers."

Alfred's eyes widened as big as saucers in surprise and disbelief. His blue eyes began to grow misty with tears as he looked at Roderich with a beyond shocked face.

When Roderich didn't move of a muscle of his deadpanned face, and continued to stare at him coldly, Alfred held his head down in defeat.

"Everyone's conspiring against me. What's a hero to do if he isn't even being honored by his own people?"

Arthur and Roderich mentally slapped their foreheads on hearing his stupidity. Gilbert resumed his cackling and Antonio, realizing that there was nothing important coming, resumed back to his thinking.

"Gentlemen, please. Calm down." Arthur tried to keep them still so that they can turn their attention to what he was about to say. When he realized that they were not going to reciprocate, he furrowed his forehead in anger. He let them argue and chatter incessantly, and did not stop them. It would be useless. He had to wait for the opportune moment.

But that never came. Arthur realized he couldn't have it any more. Without another moment's warning, he banged the desk near him hard, so hard that you could have actually heard the 'crack' signifying that it was in a broken state.

"QUIET!" He bellowed louder than how Alfred had when Gilbert poured antiseptic into his wound.

And then, came the satisfactory silence. Arthur's chest was heaving up and down to compensate for his lack of oxygen while shouting. He was still angry as he faced each and every one of them, reading their emotion.

Both Alfred and Gilbert had a surprised 'whoa-dude-you-could-actually-do-that' face while Antonio remained impassive. Roderich, on the other hand, had a stern and un-amused face, probably because the British man had broken HIS property while he was trying to keep them on bay.

A while passed. "Thank you, Mr. Kirkland," Roderich said sarcastically, being not at all amused at the sight of 'someone he thought to be a mature man' shouting at youngsters, "Now I would appreciate it if you would say your part and we shall all depart."

Even though Arthur was embarrassed hearing that, he tried to hide it. He squared his shoulders and began as if to proclaim some law.

"Francis had….."

"You made out with Francis, again?" Alfred butted in, even before Arthur can finish his sentence. He pinched the bridge of his nose in disgust, mocking him. "Seriously, Iggy. You should be private about these kind of stuff…"

Arthur's jaw froze in mid-air. He closed his opened mouth, then opened it again, and repeated this several times like a goldfish. Gilbert placed his hands on his hips like Super man and resumed his cackling.

"Kesesesesese~ So Alfred is right?"

Arthur was so shocked at hearing the first reply that, after coming back to reality, glared deathly at Alfred much like how Natalya did when she fought him. Alfred yelped seeing him and tried to hide behind Gilbert.

"I'll deal with you later….." He sneered, and continued with his unfinished sentence.

"As I was saying, before I was so rudely interrupted by a certain someone who likes to prank others by saying false facts…." Arthur eyed a sober-looking Alfred.

"But it is true!"

"….. to which, gentlemen, please do. NOT. FALL for. He is a bit mentally unstable."

Alfred pouted, crossed his arms and booed like a child.

"Francis had located the girls' hideout," Arthur began, and ignored the booings from his ward.

Suddenly, as quickly as he said those words, they all looked seriously at him. This got everyone interested, especially Antonio. He perked up after nearly falling asleep hearing the usual arguments between Alfred and Arthur.

Was this the great chance Antonio was waiting for? He can finally 'repay' Elizaveta for all her doings on him? It was just great. He was mentally jumping hysterically.

"Well, where is it?" Antonio asked, trying to sound casual and not too interested in the matter, for he did not want anyone to get suspicious about his irrational behavior. Arthur shrugged before wrinkling his forehead as he tried to decipher the French word written upon a chit of paper which he taken before he began his speech.

"It's uh… Lè T…Treeport."

"Trèport," Corrected Roderich, "It was Francis' summer Villa. He had taken me there before."

Arthur's eyes glinted a bit with jealousy for a micro second as he eyed the aristocrat before facing the others to tell a little more, that made Antonio nearly jump up to the sky with joy.

"We will be leaving tonight. Make sure you have enough ammunition and weapons, though I seriously doubt that will be necessary. And don't forget that gem-holder, we can not forget those."

Antonio smiled again. His inner feeling of 'everything will go just fine' was washing him over, again.

DUDES AND DUDETTES!~ I HAVE OFFICIALLY COMPLETED 3k+ WORDS ON THIS CHAPTER, AND SO I SHALL HOLD A BANQUET TO ALL OF YOU WHO READ THIS STORY WHERE IGGY SHALL PROPOSE TO ME, AND YOU ALL GUYS WILL JUST GROW JEALOUS AND FULL OF REGRET AND…. *drools* Sorry, where was I? Oh, I was just day dreaming. There's no way in hell that I'll let my precious Iggy to that pervert! He's mine. :DD

Thank you for all the reviews everyone~ And I shall look forward to more constructive criticism and I shall try to update my chapters more quickly. But… school… is….*cries in a corner*