CHAPTER FOURTEEN

The Ambush: Part 1

Lanzo sat up on his mattress and rubbed his eyes. He looked around the room, it seemed that most were still asleep. After the rescue team departed, most had gone downstairs to sleep. He was first to the basement, quickly slipping into his pajamas before anyone could walk in on him. He wore a long, white t-shirt and some plaid sweatpants. Overall he felt comfortable and not exposed, since he didn't trust half the people in the room. Specifically Leonardo, who always seemed to be creeping around in the middle of the night.

After that he got under his thin covers and found himself venturing into dreamland without a bit of notice. Lanzo couldn't recall which ones stayed up, but he assumed everyone got a decent amount of sleep. Stretching briefly, he stood up and walked to the staircase. He climbed it slowly and went directly over to the bathroom. Turning on the lights that flicked every so often, Lanzo stared at himself in the mirror and sighed.

He averted his gaze from the mirror to the sink itself. He turned on the ice cold water and washed his face. He needed to wake up so he wouldn't end up seeing things again. He washed away any junk he had in his eyes before shutting off the water. Step one done. Next he gripped the sleeve of his left arm and pulled slowly it up, metal being revealed at the same rate. Underneath was a robotic arm, with the mechanics and everything all still in tact. Lanzo let out a sigh of relief, this old thing was always breaking down, but it seemed to be working as it was designed to for once.

He got it after his left arm had to be amputated, another effect of the dissolution. It was terrible and he thought he just wouldn't be able to use that half of his body anymore. Then one of the doctors recommended a prototype arm. It was robotic and still under testing, but if he was willing to pay a little extra for it to be installed, it could improve his life by a ton.

Since he knew he didn't have anything to lose, Lanzo took up on the offer and got it installed. And that thing sure had it's fair share of glitches and bugs. Sometimes it was like he had some muscle spasm issues. The arm would do whatever it wanted in it's own merry way and sometimes screw things up completely. Or fix things, whatever it felt like doing. Other times it would actually work like it was built to and help him in his life. The arm was supposed to give him inhuman strength, in that limb at least, and he had ended up with increased grip strength, muscle strength, and lack of feeling.

That was an upside when it came to pain, but it was always weird, since the arm felt like it was always numb and could sometimes be hard to coordinate. But Lanzo learned to deal with it since he wasn't going to pay for it to be removed, there was just no point in it. It was simply a matter of adapting and mastering the control of it. If that was even possible.

"Up a bit early don't you think?"

Lanzo jumped from his spot, tensed and startled. He turned over towards the door and quickly settled down. His shoulders dropped when he saw Kuro standing there in his sleepwear. He was wearing nothing more than a black t-shirt and some shorts. The lack of coverage on his arms exposed the tons and tons of tattoo designs that cover both.

"Yeah, I couldn't fall back to sleep." Lanzo mumbled, turning back to the mirror. Kuro was one of the few people he wasn't exactly ashamed to show his scars to. They had a strong bond, a friendship, specifically because Kuro fought long and hard to protect Lanzo and his country when Kasper aided the rebellion groups during World War II. Though he obviously failed to do so in the end, Lanzo had great respect for him, even if most didn't.

And as far as he knew, their friendship was secretive. No one knew about it, and he wasn't sure if he wanted anyone to know about it. It just seemed better the way it was already.

"Hey, why are you up so early?" Lanzo asked, watching Kuro in the mirror.

"You woke me up." He muttered, peering into the hallway. "My apologies." He sighed, pulling his sleeve back down. The room was suddenly awkwardly silent, not a common occurrence with Kuro in presence.

"Something... wrong?" Lanzo asked, but turned around to find Kuro gone. Curious, he stepped into the hall and followed in the direction he suspected he had gone. Finding out that it was right after all, he ended up in the living room that was now filled with people.

"Rescue team's back." Kuro said, less than happily. He rubbed his forehead in irritation and motioned to the group in front of him. Luciano pushed through, tumbling into Kuro and the both nearly fall over.

"Get off of me chikan!" Kuro snapped, pushing the Italian away from him.

"You're the pervertito here Kuro!" It was half the truth.

"And I don't have time for this! We have to hurry up, round up the others and let's get moving. I gave our One-ps a fake location where Feliciano is supposed to be. We need to go there and set up an ambush before they arrive! Allan already shot one of them and Andrew beat the crap out of the American, so we shouldn't have too much trouble. But if we don't hurry we won't get there in time." Andrew and Allan had already gone off to wake the others, and Jean was rummaging through a duffel bag. Oliver seemed to disappear on his own.

"Who's going to stay behind and watch this place? The last thing we want is some weirdo breaking in while we're gone and figuring us out." Kuro asked, his tone bored. Before Luciano could even think of replying, someone behind them spoke up.

"I'll stay behind." Lanzo blurted out blindly. The two turned to look at him.

"You sure?" Lanzo nodded with haste, not wanting to have to fight the One-Ps and also wanting to get some things done while he was alone.

"Alright. I don't really care." Luciano said with a shrug, before turning to Kuro to discuss strategies.

Lanzo, feeling awkward just standing there, found himself looking around the room for anything that can draw away his attention. Jean began to motion with a wave for him to come over to the duffel bag. Making sure that Jean wasn't trying to get anyone else's attention and was specifically telling him to come over, he did as asked. Jean stood up tall and zipped up the bag before Lanzo could see what was inside. Lanzo stood there, confused but didn't bother to ask questions. Jean spoke in a hushed voice.

"What do you think Kuro would do if he found out someone had certain... plans for his friend, Kiku?"

"His one-p?"

"Yes."

Lanzo thought for a moment. After arriving in this dimension, Lanzo had learned a bit about Kuro's past. Specifically, things having to do with Kiku. From what Lanzo could tell, Kuro was his previous guardian before tempers flared and the two were separated via wars and bloodshed. But it still seemed like Kuro felt like his 'protector' and would do whatever he had in order to make sure that Kiku continued to be out of harm's way.

"I'd assume... whomever this person is would likely be murdered." Lanzo replied in a whisper, this probably wouldn't be the best thing to discuss while in the same room as Kuro.

"Why do you ask?" Jean peered over Lanzo's shoulder, making sure that the two others hadn't caught wisp of their conversation and lent forward once convinced.

"Luciano's been acting strange around Kiku lately. At first I thought he was just faking it to make the poor fellow feel... uncomfortable. But I think he has dark intentions behind that damn smile of his. If Kuro finds out what he did at the World Building, Luciano's a dead man." Lanzo could smell the smoke lingering in Jean's breath, but tried best to ignore it.

"What exactly did he do during your 'rescue mission' that could be considered so foul that Kuro would just about snap after learning about it?" Jean was about to tell when suddenly a group of people came upstairs. Viktor, Jian, Kasper, Sebastian, and Leonardo all stumbled into the living room, most already prepared to go to the ambush. Jean sighed unhappily and stood up straight again.

"I'll tell you later." He muttered, grabbing the duffle bag and pulling it onto his shoulder. He walked over to Andrew, leaving Lanzo with nothing but questions and worries.

After the two-ps had fled, Arthur was immediately ushered to the infirmary, Alfred and Kiku leading him there while the others checked the rest of the damage. The two-ps left their mark for the second time, and the place was twice as bad as it had been before. Ludwig was extremely angry that they had once again lost a chance to capture Two-Ps, and the one that they actually did manage to capture escaped.

He had silently let out a series of German curses without letting anyone else notice. And now, just to add to the madness, Arthur had been shot and Alfred had a broken nose. Kiku seemed unharmed for the most part, if anything he was just a bit shocked. Yao officially announced that the World Meeting room wouldn't be accessible for a good while, and would have to undergo thousands of dollars worth of repairs before it could used again. The room had holes all within the walls, wallpaper was torn and exposed the wood behind it, which was also slashed. The floor had a couple of giant holes in it thanks to the cabinets basically being thrown down onto them, and it would seem that some of the glass possessions had been smashed. All in all, it was a mess. Yao also said that they would have to hold their base of operations elsewhere, since it obviously wasn't safe anymore and their enemies knew of their position. For the most part, everyone agreed and it was only a matter of figuring out where.

. . .

Meanwhile, Kiku conversed with Alfred and Arthur as he wrapped both of their wounds, Alfred's being the easier of the two. Though, Kiku didn't have an X-ray of the bone fractures, and he was pretty much winging it, the fix would work temporarily. And, for the most part, Arthur was all patched up. His shoulder was wrapped and the bleeding had seized. Though it wasn't exactly the most professional bandages, and the bandaging wasn't the best it could be, it still did it's job. Yet the pain didn't stop, and intensified whenever he moved that limb specifically.

Plus, painkillers can only do so much and last for so long. Once they wear off, the strikes of pain return and Arthur finds himself struggling to move. Alfred was the one that decided it would be best if they did something to distract Arthur from his throbbing shoulder. Their decision, simply having a conversation. Though it was meant to be one filled with cheeriness (provided specifically by Alfred himself), it ended up to be one talking about their failed attempts to fend back the two-Ps.

"The two fellows I fought were bloody tough to beat, and even then I didn't exactly beat them. I at least learned that Alfred's two-p seems to care a large amount about my own. The second I had mine hostage, he immediately surrendered. Especially when he saw I was hurting him. But it seemed it also fueled his rage a good bit... as you can see by my shoulder. The second he was given a chance, truce or not, he struck me down.

"So yes, maybe getting control of my Two-P did stop the fight, but it also had great consequences, ones I didn't exactly expect." Alfred nodded, seeing that him and his Two-P at least had some similarities. Though he might not of exactly tried to kill someone during peace times, he would of tried greatly to protect his friends, even if surrender was needed.

"But they were both skilled aside from that. Al's Two-P used a nailed bat. It was stained with blood at the tip, so I'd imagine it's not the first time he used it. Mine used a knife... I don't know where it went after I was shot. I had it in my hand, so it must of dropped. But my Two-P used it wisely I suppose. He knew where to aim, where it counted. Maybe not the vital shots, but if he was able to actually stick a shot, then I would of been a sitting duck. Otherwise, it was his attempts to do so that lead to his downfall." The others in the room nodded, Kiku handing Arthur a steaming cup of tea as he did.

It wasn't exactly his favorite brand, but the heat was soothing. And that's exactly what he needed. They sat there in silence, Kiku and Arthur drank their tea while, despite the Brit's protests, Alfred drank a cup of coffee. It seemed that he didn't really need the caffeine, but refused to drink anything else.

He was tired, they all were.

They stayed up all night to watch a hostage that still managed to escape. And now they were sitting in the infirmary, not even sure if they'll wake up the next day, and just hoping that their mistakes won't be ones to haunt them in the future.

Then Alfred and Kiku both saw Arthur's less than noticeable wincing as he took a sip from his tea, and knew they needed to continue.

"Luciano-kun is a very sneaky one, I should've realized this before and acted as required. But instead, I was so distracted by my fight that I failed to do so. Francis-san's Two-P is an excellent sword fighter. Though, not as tough as Kuro-kun, he was still a worthy opponent. He noticed my weak points relatively quickly, and used them to his best abilities. I'd assume his fighting style differs slightly from Francis-san's, if Two-Ps are as similar as they seem, then I believe that he might share some similarities with our France. Kuro-kun and I do, even if it is only one or two things.

"As for Luciano-kun, as I said before, he is very sneaky. Sneaky, yet intelligent. Somehow, he managed to get a hold of a weapon. A knife to be specific. I'd assume he had it on him already, since I don't recall anyone else having anything similar to it. Either way, he cut free from his bindings and caught me when I least expected it. I couldn't of done much else to change what had happened. Though... I don't think that Luciano-kun would kill me since he made no action to do so, but I'm not sure how long that notion will last. I apologize for letting my guard down at a very inconvenient moment in time... and I hope that it will not happen again." His head dipped downward, staring at the teacup in his palm.

Alfred placed a comforting hand on Kiku's shoulder, which he found to be shaking.

"It's not only your fault Kiku. We all made mistakes this time. I fought my brother's two-p. He told me his name, Andrew. The guy, if you didn't get a chance to see him, was huge. Terrifyingly huge. But he was also fair, and respectful. I trusted him. At least, enough so I wouldn't think that he would be the one to back stab me. I'm starting to think that... that was my mistake. I trusted him too much; saw him as too much of someone I just couldn't come to kill. I saw him as... my brother."

"Yes, Matthew and I wrestled together when we were younger and more adventurous. But we never really tried to kill each other. And that's what it was like when Andrew and I fought. I couldn't risk possibly killing the guy. I couldn't lose it like I did before..." He gained questioningly glares from the other two in the room, and he knew it was time to tell them to truth. He needed to tell someone, anyone really. It was something that had been trapped in his mind, fighting to escape but never getting the chance. Now it had one, and it wasn't going to give it up."

"You see... it started happening during the Cold War. World War II was finally over, making America and Russia both superpowers. Russia wanted to spread communism, while America was heavily against it. It only made sense, in the end, that the superpowers would end up in a war. They both had economic and political differences that were just waiting for an explosive outcome. So, I enrolled in the United States army, leading my troops head first into battle, Ivan doing the same thing on the other side. He was fighting for his country, we both were. It only made sense that we would, being personifications after all."

"We didn't really see each other for the first bits of it. A majority of it was psychological warfare, proxy wars. Trying to squash each other in the space race, and trying to get countries to side with us. The first time I was actually sent out into battle was during the Korean war."

"The UN Security Council sent me in with my men, to back up South Korea and keep back the Soviets. I would have arrived sooner, if it wasn't for my... injury." He tried to avoid looking at Kiku, since he didn't want to see the expression on his face.

"Anyway, I remember what happened like it was yesterday, unfortunately. My men and I were outnumbered greatly. Reinforcements were hours away, and we were running out of ammunition.

"So, what did I do? I decide to be the damn hero."

"I told my men to hike it up the hill and out of enemy sights while I stayed behind. I needed to hold them off long enough. Long enough so my men could get to safety and return home like they should. Return to their families. But it seemed that some of them had the same idea as me. Two volunteered to stay behind. I didn't want them to, but I couldn't persuade them otherwise. Time was against us, so we had to fight. The three of us helped the other soldiers squeeze out of their tight escape route, and then turned back to fight. We had limited ammo, limited supplies, but wanted to, no- needed to last for as long as possible."

"I don't know how long the battle went on. Three Soviet squads wandered in, bullets were flying and bodies were dropping. The fact that I didn't lose any of the two men I had with me is a miracle. But I wish I had. It would of saved them the misery. We got flanked and brutalized. They busted through the doors and beat us down. We got tied up, gagged, and dragged all the way back to Soviet HQ. They wanted to get any information we had on them. Something none of us were willing to give, that's how we're trained. These guys, they didn't know I was a personification. But Ivan did. He knew and that's what scared me."

"So, what did they do? They decided they wanted to try to make me break. They tortured my two men and then me. I didn't spill anything, and it just made them want to kill me even more... But then Ivan had a suggestion. I don't know what it was, but he had a plan. He wanted to bring out the monster inside of me and, in the end, he did. They drugged me, knocked me out, and then poisoned me. It wasn't stuff lethal to myself, being a country. But it just pissed me off. And that's what he wanted. That's what the bastard wanted. Ivan kept testing me, screwing with my head. And I just lost it. I fucking snapped."

"I murdered just about everybody in that room. All the scientists, all the soldiers. I would of gotten my hands on Ivan too if I could of found him, the coward. I broke out on my own, fled Russia. About a week later, a British squadron found me. I had changed so much after that, but I thought I was safe, I thought nothing like that would happen again. But it did."

"And it happens when I don't want it to. If I ever get into a fight, verbal or physical, sometimes I'll just have these... random outbursts. Moments of complete pent up rage just erupting and I lose it. I try to kill everything and everyone around me, friend or foe. And that's what I'm scared of happening again."

"When I fought Andrew, I didn't want that to happen. I knew if it did then I'd kill him, my brother. I might of even killed Arthur and myself. I couldn't let that happen, I couldn't risk it. So I tried so goddamn hard to make sure that I kept my head. But I tried too hard. I didn't fight like I should have. I stuck hits yes, I pushed him back and I used everything I was ever taught against him."

"But the strikes had no power behind them. If anything, they were just taps. Tons and tons of taps that did nothing but make me look bad. And then he overpowered me, got me pretty good. Busted up my nose. He promised me a rematch, but who knows if I'll ever get one. He probably only said that because he felt sorry for me. Being a sad excuse for a country." He stopped talking and took a breath, calming himself down. He needed to stay calm and get everything he needed to get out, out.

"I hid this bit of a secret from you guys for so long. I guess... it would of made sense to warn my friends and family. I should have. But it's... hard. Dealing with that and trying to focus on life. It's a major struggle for myself. And I didn't want you guys to have to deal with it too... I'm sorry." The last part was mumbled, Alfred was uncomfortable when it came to talking about such a topic.

Arthur and Kiku were both surprised by the fact that he actually decided to curse. He didn't do it often, and seemed to avoid it as much as possible. It might of been to protect his reputation, or ended up being something he just didn't have a habit of slipping into conversations. Unless he was mad of course.

"Like you said Al, we all made mistakes. And we learn from them. And I think this... talk was fairly educational. I'm glad the three of us were given a chance to sit down and finally able to have a friendly conversation. We got things off of our chests and now can trust each other just a bit more." Arthur said with a smile, but it seemed slightly pained.

"Hai, I agree." Kiku said, nodding. Alfred smiled, it was as if a group of weights was lifted from his shoulders and he was relieved of the stress they caused him for so long.

He felt free again.

. . .

Luciano seemed to have everything planned out ahead of time. He had sent Sebastian and Leonardo off to fetch someone he said played a major part in the plot, and would need to be secured and brought back alive. The two probably should of guessed exactly who it was, simply by the address they were given. But being oblivious as always, neither had taken notice of it. They just walked and walked and walked. It wasn't until they were across the street from the destroyed Vargas residence that Sebastian face palmed and Leonardo awkwardly laughed at his own stupidity.

"I guess we should've figure that out sooner. You know, since it's the address same as my house?" Leonardo said, staring down at the crumpled up piece of paper.

"Don't remind me." Sebastian said with a grunt, walking across the street without a fuck to give. Leonardo followed him, barely managing to catch up with the Spaniard.

"So, that means we're going to snatch the other one too? How does Luciano even know that he's here?" Leonardo shrugged.

"I guess fratello just knows things~" He said with a smug look on his face. Sebastian rolled his eyes. "You Italians are so troublesome." He muttered, stepping up to the door.

"I thought we tore this place apart..." Sebastian said, taking note of the house's current condition. It looked a lot better on the outside than he remembered it being at the end of their last visit. Unless the Italian was some magical being, it seemed nearly impossible for him to rebuild a majority of it within a few hours. Then again, he didn't know what to expect of these counterparts. He couldn't see through the small window on the door, and the windows were closed shut. He had no way of actually knowing if their target was home, and was stuck with simply hoping that this wasn't a failed cause.

"How are we going to get in?" Leonardo asked, trying the doorknob but finding out that it was locked.

"Could you have chosen a less obvious entrance?" Sebastian asked disapprovingly. Leonardo just smiled.

"You never know, I don't even remember if the lock was still working when we left." He followed Sebastian as he walked around the side of the house.

"Any ideas?" He asked, watching Sebastian as he trailed fingers across the wall.

"What are you doing?" Leonardo looked at the wall, and then his fingers. "Trying to find a weak spot." He replied, not looking at Leonardo. "Weak... spot?"

"I'm going to try and break in. I don't want to hang around here for too long. Who knows what'll happen if we do. So, I'm going to get in the easiest way possible. There's bound to be a broken up part somewhere, I just have to find it..." Leonardo wasn't exactly sure how to reply to that, so he simply continued to follow his companion as he circled the house. He wasn't exactly sure how Sebastian was able to differ the strength of walls simply by touching him, but he didn't question. He was simply a man of many mysteries.

Sebastian hoped that no neighbors would question some man walking around a house, tracing the wood with his hand while a random, blonde Italian pranced around without a care in the world. He would consider it an odd sight, if he wasn't used to it by now. Sebastian felt a sudden change in wall texture, finding it softer than all the rest. He smiled, it was exactly what he was looking for. Without the slightest hint or warning, he struck a punch square in the wall. As he expected, his hand flew through it with ease and chunks of old wood and paint chips flew into the air. Leonardo jumped back at the sound of the impact, but calmed down once he realized what was going on.

"Warn me next time!" He said, but his smile said otherwise. Sebastian gave a less than interested hmph and went back to beating the crap out of the wall, the resident inside falling from their place of rest and scrambling to their feet.

"What the hell!?" Lovino blurted out, rubbing his sore head. He had stayed up all night trying to tidy up the house (with some assistance from Antonio, before he was kicked out) and had finally fallen asleep when he seemed to have been woken up not much later.

Is someone trying to break in?! Lovino thought; slightly panicked but trying to redeem his composure.

If someone was trying to break in, they wouldn't get very far. Slipping a hand under his torn up mattress, Lovino felt around for his prized revolver. He always kept it at hand, since he had problems trusting people his brother considered 'allies'. When his hand refused to touch the cold metal, Lovino's heart began to pump faster as the banging noise grew louder and his worry increased. Eventually giving up on the blind search, Lovino stood up and pushed the mattress over. When he found the firearm missing from it's original location, the Italian forced himself to bite back an angered outburst.

"If those fucking bastards stole my gun," He said through gritted teeth, though that seemed to have little impact on the volume of his voice.

"I swear to god..." Lovino suddenly jumped at the realization that the pounding stopped and the house was uncomfortably quiet. Little did he know, Sebastian had smashed his way through the wall, allowing the two of them easy access to the inside. The two spoke in hushed voices, not wanting to chance anything. Luckily, their sheer silence allowed them to hear their target upstairs, raging at something they didn't want to or need to know about.

"Looks like he's home~" Leonardo said, his smile growing bigger. Sebastian, not in the mood to sit through anymore of the Italian's bullshit and simply wanting to get out of there as soon as possible, immediately went for the staircase. The two walked up the stairs, their steps light and their noise production minimal. They could hear Lovino searching his room for the weapon that he desperately needed but was unable to find. He found himself making the fatal error of placing his back to the door, Leonardo and Sebastian slowly opening it to find the Italian rummaging through his drawer.

The two smiled and slowly walked up behind him. Sebastian pulled out a wire, given courtesy of his teammate, and Leonardo pulled out a revolver. Specifically, the one Lovino seemed to be searching hastily for. He happened to pick it up during their last 'visit'. Lovino didn't know of the other's presence until the wire was wrapped around his neck and he found himself fighting for air. He clawed at it, trying to loosen it or remove it altogether, but having little to no success.

He heard laughter behind him in a familiar voice that sent shivers down his spine and made him attempt to turn his head to see the source. When the end of the revolver came into view he froze in spot, face turning pale.

"Ciao altro mi." Leonardo said with his signature smile. Lovino struggled against the wire around his neck, but found that it only tightened more.

"I wouldn't struggle if I were you. Who knows what might happen to your fratello if Luciano finds out~"

Lovino stopped moving completely and sent a death glare in his counterpart's direction. But it didn't last long as the constraint on his neck tightened even more, his head feeling ten times more light headed than it was beforehand. Without warning, a knee struck Lovino in the chest, all of the air in him being forced out and his face changed colors. Consciousness slipped away from him in sheer seconds, giving him no time to stop himself from collapsing onto the ground.

"Lights out~"

Chikan = Pervert (Japanese)

Pervertito = Pervert (Italian)

Altro mi = Other me (Italian)