((And so it begins! I'm with Ludwig and Kiku on this, by the way. This stuff is embarrassing just to write. orz Also, they will have outfits eventually. I have a fantastic artist friend who is thankfully better at costume design than I am, and she's working on their costumes. It might be a while before they're done, but they will be there eventually. So, enjoy the chapter!))

It was about four o'clock, and the certain five students from Mr. Johnson's class had met up in the courtyard, ready to walk home together. That is, most of them, anyway; Four of them were sitting on a tree bench, but Feliciano was nowhere to be seen.

"Man, where is he? I'm getting really bored," Alfred complained.

"It's not really that unusual for him," Ludwig pointed out. "He probably just got distracted by a cat or something."

"Yeah, but we're all waiting," Alfred said.

"Be that as it may, I am starting to get worried," Kiku admitted. "Remember what Kirkland-sensei said? If something were to happen-"

"Nothing is going to happen," Ludwig said firmly.

"O-of course," Kiku replied awkwardly, staring at his feet in embarrassment.

"I'll try calling him," Matthew suggested, taking out his phone and putting in Feliciano's number. He waited for a moment, listening for an answer.

And waited.

And waited.

"He's not picking up," Matthew said worriedly, frowning in concern.

"That's not good," Alfred stated. Kiku and Ludwig exchanged worried glances. Just as Matthew was about to hang up, he heard something on the other end.

"Hello?" Feliciano answered.

"Hey, it's Mattie," Matthew replied, thankful he was alright. The others sighed in relief.

"Oh hi!" Feliciano said cheerfully. "What's up?"

"Oh, nothing much," Matthew replied calmly, before remembering why he had called him. "Listen, Feli, where are you?"

"Near the running track," Feliciano replied. "I found a kitty!"

"That's great, but we have to go, remember?" Matthew prompted.

"Ohhh yeah! Sorry, I'll be right there!" Feliciano exclaimed.

"Ok, see you in a minute, eh?" Matthew said.

"Yup, bye!"

With that, Matthew hung up, letting out an exasperated sigh.

"Well?" Alfred asked, waiting expectantly.

"Ludwig was right," Matthew admitted. "He found a cat and got distracted."

"Of course he did," Ludwig mumbled, rolling his eyes. "Honestly, I don't know what to do with him..."

"At least he is safe," Kiku pointed out.

"Hey guys! Sorry I'm late!" Feliciano said, running up to them and waving.

"What have I told you about stray cats?" Ludwig scolded him, glaring.

"Ve... Sorry, Ludwig, but it was just so cute!" Feliciano explained.

"Can we go now?" Alfred whined.

"Ja, let's go," Ludwig agreed.

"Bet I'll get there first!" Alfred announced, grinning and running ahead.

"I wish he wouldn't do that," Matthew mumbled, sighing.

And so the boys set off for Arthur's house.

"You know everyone says Jungle Fury is the best, but I like Mystic Force better," Peter rambled between bites of sandwich, "And I want to be just like the Red Ranger!"

"That's nice," Arthur said without paying attention. "Don't talk with your mouth full."

"So what's your favorite Power Ranger?" Peter asked excitedly.

"Who, not what," Arthur reprimanded, "And, er... The one with the blue eyes?" he said hopefully. Peter rolled his eyes.

"You don't know what you're talking about, do you?" he mumbled.

"No, now eat your sandwich," Arthur told him. Sighing, Peter obeyed.

And now for a sentence we've all heard a million times before: Suddenly there came a knock at the door. Man, I need to find more ways to convey the fact that people showed up. What, do they not have doorbells in Japan or what? Anyway, Arthur went to answer the door.

"Ah, there you are," Arthur said, nodding in greeting to the boys standing at the door.

"I apologize for our lateness," Kiku said, bowing deeply.

"Don't worry about it," Arthur replied dismissively. "Come on in."

The boys obeyed, entering the house one by one. There they found Peter sitting on the floor playing with some action figures, until he saw them, at which point he dropped the toys in shock.

"I remember you guys!" he exclaimed, jumping up and pointing in accusation.

"Hello again," Ludwig said, smiling gently. The intimidating boy was surprisingly good with kids.

"So why are you here? Are you gonna have an awesome way cool party or something? Can I come?!" Peter asked excitedly.

"Even better," Arthur replied. "We're going to study."

"Oh," Peter mumbled, staring at his feet and looking disappointed. "Um, I think I'm gonna go to Paula's house, 'kay?"

"Go ahead, just be back in time for dinner," Arthur told him, nodding.

"Ok, see you later!" Peter shouted, waving as he grabbed his action figures and ran out the door.

"Sorry about that," Arthur said apologetically, sighing.

"Oh, it's fine," Matthew replied, smiling awkwardly.

"Aww, are we really going to study? That's boring," Feliciano whined. Ludwig facepalmed.

"Feli, he was lying," Ludwig explained annoyedly, frustrated with his friend's innocent ignorance.

"Ohh... I get it," Feliciano said slowly, nodding.

"Do you really?" Ludwig asked in a monotone voice, not believing him.

"Nope," Feliciano replied cheerfully. Ludwig slammed his head against the wall in frustration.

"So what ARE we gonna do, anyway?" Alfred asked, hanging upside-down off the couch.

"Sit properly," Arthur ordered sharply, glaring at the energetic American.

"But I don't want to," Alfred replied simply. "Now are you gonna answer my question or what?"

Arthur sighed. "I'm going to teach you all to use your powers," he explained, "Though how exactly I'm going to manage that when you can't even learn proper manners is beyond me..."

"I'm sorry about him," Matthew said, apologizing once again.

"It doesn't matter now," Arthur replied, sighing. "We have more important things to worry about. Follow me."

With that, he stood up, walking down the hallway and opening a small closet full of coats, both his and Peter's (And probably a few of Francis' as well). Pushing them aside, he reached for the back wall and found an electronic panel with a keypad and a scanner. He placed his hand on the scanner and waited for a moment, until it gave a cheerful little beep. Removing his hand from the scanner, Arthur pushed a button and the wall swung away.

The five boys stood there shocked, staring in awe at what had once been the back wall of Arthur Kirkland's coat closet.

"Well? Don't just stand there gawking," Arthur interrupted, crossing his arms in annoyance. Before any of them had a chance to respond, he turned away and walked through the now-open door. The boys hesitantly followed, too amazed to even argue or run.

What they found was like nothing any of them had ever seen before, nor would they ever see something like it again. It was as if the U.S.S. Enterprise and Bag End had somehow had a child, and it was wonderful. It was a high-tech bunker-like structure, yet very warm and inviting, with rich hardwood flooring and walls. The whole thing was reminiscent of a late 19th-century British home, if said home was also the base of operations for the Rebel Alliance.

"This is amazing," Ludwig breathed, staring in awe at his surroundings.

"It's just like a movie," Feliciano stated quietly.

"I don't think I've ever seen a movie like this before," Matthew added.

"Dude, this is so cool," Alfred agreed. "It's like the freaking Batcave or something."

"It is certainly unique," Kiku observed.

"This is my little pet project," Arthur explained, unable to hide a small, proud smile. "I've been preparing it in case of an event like this. You five are some of the first to see it," he told them.

"Bonjour!" Francis called, popping out from behind a corner. Arthur jumped.

"Where the hell did you come from?!" he demanded.

"The computer room," Francis said simply. "I got a cool new dating sim but my computer doesn't have the graphics capability to handle it, so I figured I'd just try it out here," he explained, shrugging. Arthur gave him a good solid whack on the head.

"Ow!" Francis exclaimed, rubbing his head.

"What have I told you about using the system computer for video games?!" he reprimanded, glaring.

"Oh, something, I'm sure," Francis replied, "But whenever you start lecturing me I tend to just tune it out. After a while it all starts to sound like 'Blah blah blah Francis blah blah blah responsibility blah blah blah wanker blah blah blah'."

"Why you-"

"Hey, what's this button do?" Feliciano wondered out loud, glancing curiously at a large red button.

"Don't touch anything," Ludwig told him firmly.

"Anything?" Feliciano asked, frowning.

"Anything," Ludwig replied.

"But what about the floor?"

Ludwig sighed in annoyance. "Anything BUT the floor," he corrected.

Smiling mischievously, Feliciano began to poke his German friend in the shoulder. Repeatedly.

"What are you doing?" Ludwig mumbled after the first few pokes.

"I'm touching something," Feliciano replied innocently. Alfred began to laugh loudly.

"Dude, Feli totally dissed you," he observed, still laughing. Ludwig glared at him, blushing in embarrassment.

"Enough of this," Arthur decided. "Let's get down to business, shall we? Go ahead, have a seat."

The boys hesitantly sat down in several leather chairs, still slightly shocked by their surroundings. Francis decided not to sit, instead leaning casually on the back of Arthur's chair, much to the other man's annoyance.

"I'm going to teach you the basics of using your powers," Arthur announced. "Starting today, we'll have training every day, except on weekends."

"Aww man!" Alfred whined.

"But that's a lot," Feliciano agreed.

"I know, but we have no other choice," Arthur pointed out. "If something were to happen, you all need to be ready, and I would never forgive myself if one of you got hurt for the sake of not having to train every day."

"I hate to say it, but he's right," Ludwig agreed.

"So what exactly is this training going to be like?" Matthew asked.

"Well, I figured since it's the first day, we'll start simple," Arthur explained. "You'll start with your transformations, and after that everything else should come naturally. I think."

"Oh, oh, do we get cool outfits like Sailor Moon or Pretty Cure?" Feliciano asked excitedly, raising his hand. Francis laughed.

"I see Feliciano's got his priorities in order," he observed, smirking. Arthur rolled his eyes.

"Look, we don't have all day," he pointed out annoyedly.

"Of course, of course," Francis replied amusedly.

"So do we get secret identities and shit?" Alfred asked.

"Must you be so vulgar about it?" Arthur complained, glaring.

"Says the guy who calls people wankers almost as if it's an affectionate term," Francis pointed out, receiving a dark look from the person in question.

"Yeah, on that note, what's a wanker?" Alfred asked innocently. Arthur and Francis went pale, their expressions of a similar horror to if he had just asked them how babies are made.

"It's... er... Well, uh," Francis stammered, "It's..."

"Oh goodness would you look at the time?" Arthur interrupted quickly, giving a nervous laugh.

"Oh, you're right! It's siesta time!" Feliciano exclaimed. He immediately lay down on the floor and instantly fell asleep.

"...Is that normal?" Arthur asked, raising an eyebrow in confusion at the sleeping Italian boy.

"Unfortunately, yes," Ludwig mumbled.

"He will probably wake up in an hour or so," Kiku added.

"Wait, doesn't he usually take his nap around 3:00? It's way past that," Matthew pointed out confusedly.

"It would appear that Feliciano-kun's watch is stopped," Kiku explained, pointing to Feliciano's watch.

"Well that explains a lot," Ludwig observed. He began gently kicking Feliciano in an attempt to wake him up.

"Get up," he told him, still kicking him. Feliciano simply rolled over, mumbling something about pizza. Ludwig growled in frustration and kicked him slightly harder.

"Whaaat?" Feliciano whined, weakly slapping at Ludwig's foot.

"You can't sleep now," Ludwig told him. "And it's not even the right time. Your watch was stuck."

"Oh, really?" Feliciano asked, sitting up. "I didn't know that..."

"Well now that everyone's AWAKE, let's get to training," Arthur said impatiently. "Follow me."

He led the way down a long hallway, opening another door to reveal a room with steel walls, a padded floor, and some targets.

"This is the practice room," he explained. "It's designed to be used for training, and is probably impossible to destroy, unlike the rest of the house."

"Dude! Cool!" Alfred exclaimed excitedly.

"Now then, here's how things are going to work," Arthur began. "In order to use your powers you have to transform. To do that, you have to say a certain phrase."

"Is it 'password'?" Alfred asked.

"No," Arthur replied, glaring.

"That is Arthur's computer password, though," Francis added. Arthur smacked him on the head.

"What is it, then?" Feliciano asked curiously.

"It's 'World Warrior', and then whatever country you're from, and then 'Transform'," Arthur replied, sighing. "Oh, er, except you," he added awkwardly, pointing to Matthew. "You get to be Canada."

"But I'm not Canadian," Matthew pointed out.

"It's basically the same thing, isn't it?" Arthur said, shrugging.

"No, it's really not," Matthew replied, sighing.

"Anyway, go ahead and try it," Arthur told the boys.

"Yes, do try it out," Francis added, smirking. Arthur glanced at him suspiciously.

"Isn't it a little embarrassing, though?" Kiku commented awkwardly.

"There's no way I'm doing that," Ludwig agreed. Arthur gave them a look, putting his hands on his hips.

"Look, you're going to have to do it sooner or later, so get over-"

"WORD WARRIOR AMERICA, TRANSFORM!" Alfred shouted, grinning. Before anyone could react, there was a blinding light. Alfred was surrounded by sparkles and stars, and his clothes disappeared, replaced with a ridiculously showy outfit that cannot be described yet as it hasn't actually been drawn, but was definitely red, white, and blue. In his hand a large gun materialized. Finally the fancy effects disappeared, the whole process taking about one minute.

"Dude! Awesome! Awesomeawesomeawesome!" Alfred exlcaimed in awe, bouncing with excitement.

"It really IS just like Sailor Moon!" Feliciano announced, amazed.

"Speaking of Sailor Moon, why am I wearing a skirt?" Alfred asked confusedly.

"W-well, your costume is supposed to be a reflection of your true self, I think..." Arthur explained hesitantly. Then he noticed Francis snickering behind him, and turned to give him a dark look.

"What did you do?" he hissed, his eyes burning with anger.

"Remember that time you lost your spellbook, only to have it mysteriously turn up on your dresser the next day?" Francis asked between giggles.

"Yes, why?" Arthur replied suspiciously.

"I had it the whole time~" Francis explained, a mischievous twinkle in his eyes. Arthur snapped.

"YOU FUCKING WANKER, DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT YOU COULD HAVE DONE?!" he shouted, attempting to strangle Francis.

"I knew what I was doing! Just because I don't have as much of a capability for magic as you do doesn't mean I don't know how it works!" Francis insisted. Meanwhile, Alfred was running around shooting things and laughing in a rather terrifying way, while Feliciano cheered him on and Ludwig and Kiku stared in shock and horror.

"I AM GOING TO MURDER YOU SO HARD," Arthur announced.

"NOT IF I KILL YOU FIRST!" Francis retaliated. They were interrupted when a sparkly bullet whizzed past Francis' head.

"Ahahahaha! This is way fun!" Alfred announced loudly, grinning.

"WATCH WHERE YOU'RE SHOOTING THAT THING!" Francis shouted, hiding behind Arthur.

"I wanna play too!" Feliciano decided. He too transformed, and in a moment he was also wearing a ridiculous and incredibly girly outfit. In his hand was a large and very fancy white flag. He ran after Alfred, smiling widely and waving the white flag.

"This is very... strange," Kiku said slowly, frowning. Ludwig nodded in agreement, too stunned for words.

"Hey guys, check this out! It's like baseball!" Alfred exclaimed, firing his gun towards Feliciano. The others were horrified, until Feliciano hit the bullet with the pole of his flag, sending it flying in the other direction. It was, as Alfred had said, like baseball.

"Stop it before you kill someone," Arthur ordered, but neither of them were listening. They continued to try out their attacks, narrowly avoiding serious injury.

"Uh, can we go home now?" Ludwig asked quietly, glancing around awkwardly in confusion. Arthur sighed.

"Yes, I suppose so," he replied reluctantly.

"Wait! Don't go without me!" Feliciano exclaimed suddenly, not wanting his friends to leave him behind. He ran after them, his outfit disappearing and replacing itself with his normal clothes.

"Aww man, time to go already? I wanted to try some more tricks," Alfred whined.

"It is getting late," Matthew pointed out. Pouting, Alfred reluctantly followed the other boys outside.