Chapter 5

The next morning, the three countries along with Kumajirou were having breakfast in the dining area before they would go out to search some more. The mini TV above them switched to the news channel where they were addressing a big story.

"Our top story this morning," said the news reporter on the TV. "is the continued search of the escaped criminal, Jade Brockwiler, who broke out of prison a week ago. Authorities encourage all citizens to approach this woman with caution if spotted, for she is extremely dangerous and violent."

A picture of Jade Brockwiler appeared on the screen. Pixie cut bleached hair and a scowl on her face. Arthur looked at the picture. Then he pulled the folded up poster out of his pocket and saw that the pictures were the same. Then he suddenly remembered that girl that he made eye contact in the bar yesterday, and how eerily similar she looked to the pictures.

Matthew was sitting on the couch, completely shocked. He had just seen the news about Jade. For the past two days, he had been living in the house of a criminal?! He had to get out of there fast.

He grabbed his backpack and was about to head out the door, when a hand roughly grabbed his shoulder.

"Thinking about running away from me, are ya?"

Matthew turned to see Jade's evil smirking face behind him.

"Let's go for a little drive," she said, holding up a pair of handcuffs.

"I'm telling you!" Arthur was telling the other two. "She looked like this picture! It's the same girl!"

Francis was glancing out the window when a grey car came into view and stopped at a stop light. Francis looked a bit more closely. A slight panic welled up when he saw that the driver was a woman with pixie cut hair, exactly like the pictures. He saw that there was someone struggling in the backseat. His panic rose when he saw a long, loopy curl on the person's head.

"I SEE MATTHIEU!" he shouted, startling everyone in the dining area. "HE'S IN THE GREY CAR WITH JADE BROCKWILER!"

The three countries dashed out of the motel just as the light turned green and the car startled to drive away.

Alfred knocked on the window of the car that was behind the grey one. "Follow that grey car!" he shouted to the driver. "My brother's been kidnapped by a criminal!"

The driver was shocked by the people who had entered his car, but when he heard about someone being kidnapped, as soon as everyone was in, he stepped on the accelerator and took off after the grey car.

They followed it for a mile into the city. They soon pulled into the parking lot of a tall building where the grey car was parked. The driver called the police while the three countries ran inside the building to find Matthew and his kidnapper.

The two of them were standing on the wide, flat roof of the building. Matthew stood in front of Jade, his hands handcuffed, his mouth duct taped shut, the mixture of hatred and fear in his eyes.

Jade started stalking around him like a crafty cat. "Remember when I told you that there lots of bad people around this area? I guess you're just too naive to know who the real bad people are. It's no wonder no one has or will notice you." She pulled out a dagger from her pocket, and Matthew's eyes widened.

"Someone is gonna find us up here," said Jade. "If they're gonna take me down, then you're going down, too."

But just as she raised her dagger, the door to the roof burst open, and Alfred, Arthur, and Francis appeared.

"Let my brother go, you bitch," said Alfred, the tone of his voice sounding determined and dangerous.

Jade pocketed her dagger and grabbed a metal pipe from a pile that was next to her. She ran to attack the countries, but Arthur was quick. He grabbed a stray pipe from the ground, and blocked Jade's blow with it.

The two of them fought with the pipes like swords. Arthur continued to dodge and block Jade's blows. (Being a pirate in the past had its advantages.) While they were fighting, the key to the handcuffs fell out of her jacket pocket. Francis took this opportunity to grab it and run over to Matthew. He unlocked the handcuffs from his hands and removed the duct tape from his mouth.

Jade noticed this, and she starting running toward Francis.

"Francis! Catch!" called Arthur as he threw a pipe to him.

Francis caught it and quickly blocked Jade's blow. Now both of them were fighting with Jade.

They unknowingly fought too close to Matthew, causing him to stumble backward and fall off the edge of the roof.

Panic flooded Alfred's mind as he ran over to the edge and looked down. Matthew was hanging by his fingertips on a ledge a couple feet down from where Alfred was. He was out of his reach.

Alfred reached out his hand to him. "Matthew! Grab my hand!"

But Matthew just kept hanging there with a sad expression on his face. The events from a few days ago to a couple minutes ago filled his head and made him feel hopeless. "I should just end it all right here," he thought. He looked up at Alfred, but he was surprised to see tears falling from his blue eyes.

"Matthew," said Alfred. "Please don't leave me again."

Without another moment's hesitation, Matthew reached up and grabbed Alfred's wrist. Alfred tightened his grip and pulled his brother up onto the edge of the roof.

But they had no time to relax, because Jade swung her pipe and hit Francis in the head. He fell unconscious to the ground.

"Francis!"

Jade dropped her pipe and suddenly grabbed Alfred with one hand and pulled out her dagger with the other. She held Alfred tight while she held the dagger at his neck, making Arthur freeze.

"Now drop the pipe," Jade indicated to Alfred. "or he loses his head."

There was a long pause. Arthur still had the pipe in his hand, the dagger was still at Alfred's neck, and their eyes were locked onto each other. Finally, Arthur dropped the pipe.

But a second later, there was a loud clang and Jade fell to the ground, unconscious. Standing above her was Matthew, holding a pipe.

All of them stood still, looking at each other and breathing heavily. A faint moan suddenly broke the silence.

"Francis!"

Arthur was the first one to reach him. Francis' eyes fluttered open as he rubbed his head.

"Francis," said Arthur. "What's the date today?"

"It's ….uh….June 6th…."

"What rude nickname do you always call me?"

"I used to call you call you 'Black Sheep of Europe'."

"Well, at least he doesn't have amnesia," thought Arthur. But he did have a big bruise on his forehead. "We'll have to put some ice on this," said Arthur. "But other than that, you'll be fine."

After they got some ice for Francis, the four countries were together in the lobby of the building.

Matthew knelt down in front of Kumajirou. The little bear looked up at him with those small black eyes, and in his tiny voice, he said, "M-Matt-hew."

Matthew scooped up the little bear in a big hug, jubilant to see his pet and that for the first time, he remembered his name. "I missed you, too."

"We all missed you, Mattie," said Alfred.

After a pause, Matthew said, "I'm sorry I ran away. I just felt invisible with no one noticing me, and I'm always overwhelmed with the three of you fighting all the time."

"Don't worry," Alfred told him gently. "We're not gonna fight anymore."

"Really?"

"We walked all over over this city in a different state to find you," said Arthur. "We've worked well together so far."

"Oui," Francis agreed. "I think we can get along for a while."

Tears started to fall down Matthew's face as he broke into a smile. "Thanks, you guys." And he threw his arms around his brother. He felt the arms of Alfred, Arthur, Francis, and Kumajirou wrapping around him, making him feel more warm. The family was finally reunited.