CHAPTER SIXTEEN

The Ambush: Part 3

When the white van pulled up at the large open plain covered in nothing but dirt and shrubs every here and there, most were confused. Specifically by the fact that rather than having one core building, a warehouse, as Luciano had said, there were two. Yes the warehouse was there but it was next to a single-story log cabin. Few were actually surprised with the discovery, and the drastic change in environment.

One minute they were driving down a badly concrete road, seeing nothing but trees for miles on end. Then, all of a sudden, the trees disappear completely along with the road. The car started bumping around as they hit dirt at high speeds and a few people fell from their seats, mainly the ones who neglected to hold on.

The area looked like it could of been manipulated for farming beforehand, the warehouse maybe being used to store some sort of crops and the log cabin being the living quarters. It was obviously abandoned after a few years, anything that had been growing beforehand was long gone by now.

Luciano told Kasper to turn around and park the van within the trees, hiding it from the naked eye.

He did so, but had a struggle when attempting to drive the truck through the dense woods. He did eventually succeed but it wasn't after some tree branches scratched the paint, not that it really mattered.

Once they managed to do that, everyone piled out while dragging the hostages. Feliciano was to stay within cover of the trees with whomever was left to guard him, and Lovino would be dragged into the warehouse. He was simply there for the purpose of being a decoy. The two-Ps weren't just going to openly hang over Feliciano. Luciano had said that only to trick Kiku. In fact, almost everything he had told to the Japanese man was fake. The feeling of wanting to return home was a tall tale, the plan was truly Luciano's, and no one being there to guard the trade-off was a lie. It was all part of physiological warfare, manipulation.

Something Kiku seemed prone to.

So Luciano acted innocent, tricked Kiku into believing him, and then played it off. It was rather cruel yet genius, and fulfilled it's purpose. He convinced their counterparts to drag themselves out where no one could hear them scream and risk their lives saving someone they hadn't even come for in the first place.

Their counterparts just seemed to be so gullible.

. . .

Feliciano sat down in the damp grass, glancing nervously at his guards. Kasper and Kuro stood in front of him; they did not pay much attention, their gazes reverting to the warehouse as they had a discussion about an unknown topic. Of course they wouldn't care about his well being, they never had and never would.

Feliciano wondered if he could run off, get a head start and ditch them. It was worth a shot. Ludwig always scolded him for running from his fights and during training but he was always so fast. In certain situations he would even outrun the others. If he could just muster the willpower inside of him, he might just be able to get away. Though, he didn't know exactly how far he would make it; if he could just get away from them in general, he would eventually find someone... right? He could just follow the road back.

Though he wouldn't do it directly, as the two-Ps could easily find him if he was out in plain sight, he'd hide in the brush and hope for the best. Eventually he would make it to safety.

Yes, that's it.

That's what he had to do. Try to escape. It was his last resort and if he did not try then he would not know if it would work in the end. He just had to find out, even if it killed him. It's not like they wouldn't kill him eventually after all.

Feliciano settled on it, quickly looking up to see his guards. They were still distracted, good. It was just the distraction he needed to get away... but he still had to be careful and make sure no one was watching him. Surveying the area quickly, he made sure that not one other person was watching him, or even looking in his general direction. One last glance before he stood up from his spot and slowly began to step backwards. Once he was a good few feet away, he turned around and busted out into a full on sprint.

It wasn't until then that Kuro and Kasper noticed him and both bolted after, alerting the others of his escape.

It was hard running with your hands handcuffed in front of you. Feliciano didn't think of that beforehand and now found it being his major downfall. He found it hard running without stopping, especially since the use of his arms were out of the question. But he kept running anyway, the sound of heavy boots trailing after him pushing him to go on. He didn't get very far though. He would have if his enemies hadn't been prepared. It seemed that they expected him to run off, and it was just a matter of when he would.

All Feliciano heard was a pop.

A bang really.

Then he felt the unbearable pain in his leg. He tripped and fell to the ground, receiving a face full of dirt and rocks.

He just laid there, too scared to actually move. He felt the warm liquid flow down his leg and puddle at his feet. He could hear someone running up behind him, and before he knew it he was being lifted by the back of his shirt. Within seconds he was being dragged back to the white van, his leg leaving behind a trail of blood. It wasn't until he was confined in the back of the vehicle that they finally tended to his bullet wound.

In a quick instant he found out that he was shot by none other than Leonardo himself, who had been sent to watch the road in case their counterparts showed up sooner than expected. He heard the shouting and went to investigate.

Seeing Feliciano fleeing, he took the chance he had and shot him, which worked in the two-Ps favor.

Feliciano's leg was cleaned, wrapped, and the bleeding stopped. But the pain was quite an irritation and he found it hard to ignore. Feliciano realized that the hooded man was now gone, though he wasn't exactly sure where he had been taken he didn't bother to ask questions as he wouldn't get a reply. Now everyone was huddled in a circle, Jean holding onto the duffel bag. Feliciano found himself being in the perfect position to hear them talk, and it wasn't exactly obvious that he was eavesdropping.

Luciano spoke first, explaining everyone's roles.

"Alright I want this to be clear. You cannot kill our counterparts, no matter how much you'd love to. You simply need to stall while we set up in the basement of the warehouse. Until we manage to do that you'll have to fight them, whether you like it or not. Allan and Andrew have already set up the esca inside. He's in the center, the main room, so you'll have to keep them away from there for as long as you can. Once we give you the signal via earpieces, then you'll have to back off. Get out of there as soon as possible, if you don't I can't guarantee your survival. I'll stay behind with Feliciano. Jian and Viktor will be in the basement, setting up these." Luciano signaled for Jean to open up the duffel bag. He placed it on the ground and unzipped it, slowly revealing the large amounts of C4 charges.

"Where did you get these?" Kuro asked, taking a step away from the charges. He didn't trust the Italian for one second, especially since he was likely the one with the detonator.

"I... borrowed them." He said with the same sadistic glint in his eyes that he always had whenever he was planning a murder, specifically mass.

"Viktor and Jian will have to set these up in the basement, make sure that you place them on the structural frame. We want the building to collapse on them, any explosive damage to them just being icing on the cake. If you have any extra, fell free to stick them to the roof. Try to put them as close to the bait as you can, since that's where they will be. So, any questions?" Silence.

"No? Then get moving!"

Small black earpieces were picked up out of a box and people ran off to wherever they needed to go. Kuro and Kasper went through the front. Sebastian, Leonardo, and Andrew went off through the side door, the quickest way to the main room. Jian and Viktor through the back, immediately heading for the stairs with Viktor carrying the duffel bag over his shoulder.

Before the final group consisting of Allan, Oliver, and Jean was able to go to their location, they were pulled back by Luciano. He gave them a backpack and told them specific instructions. Allan nodded and went off towards the cabin. Luciano sat behind and smiled, a thoughtful expression on his face.

"So Feliciano, what do you think of the plan?"

Allan wasn't exactly sure what Luciano was planning with the objects in the backpack, he was simply told to set them all up in the house in obvious places so their counterparts would definitely find them... unless they were as stupid as they seemed. Inside was just a bunch of papers, something he took no interest in and handed over to Oliver when he asked for a quick 'peek'.

He shuffled through the papers, seeming to read all of them as they entered the building. Though the outside seemed broken down, giving the building the appearance that it was abandoned, the inside said otherwise.

The first room was filled with furniture, they found it as being the living room. There was a torn up red three seat couch with two matching cushioned chairs to it's sides. They all faced inwards at a coffee table that had a small metal bowl filled with fake fruit. On the side was a bookshelf stuffed to the brink with hard back books, the titles faded on the spines. A lamp was found in every corner, the shades a beige color and the bulbs either missing or broken. It was all covered in dust, an obvious layer found on top of everything. From there, there were three more doorways.

One lead to a kitchen, pots and pans that had once been used piled up in the sink and all covered in disturbing looking gunk. The fridge still had food inside, all of it rotten and stinking up the entire room. The kitchen seemed to be the least well kept room, as a few cabinets were coming off of their hinges and the stove seemed to have never been cleaned once. It was a disgusting mess and the trio left as soon as they got the chance.

The next room was a bathroom, which seemed to be a bit more clean. There were three toothbrushes on the counter in a small cup, a medicine cabinet filled with pills and ointments of all sorts. The toilet was also quite clean, the inside seeming to have been cleaned and then not used afterwards. The sink was... decent. There was a soap bar stuck to the counter, having been used and then left there while still wet.

The last doorway lead to a hallway. It gave off an eerie feeling that made everyone uneasy. It seemed to be one of those long, near endless hallways that people would walk down in horror movies before being murdered. The idea itself made them hesitant, but Jean seemed the least affected. He began down the hall, mumbling how the others were so immature to even believe such a thing. Allan followed next followed by Oliver. The walls were covered in four by four picture frames, each one with a picture of a different person.

Between each picture was a wall lamp that were busted up. The pictures seemed to have the kind of eyes that appeared to watch you as you walked by, causing Allan to question who had owned this house before and what kind of issues they happened to have.

At the end of the hallway was one door, which seemed to make the long walk it took them to get there pointless. Nonetheless, they entered the room. It was dark, the lack of windows being obvious. Jean fumbled around around for a light switch, eventually finding one and attempting to use it. It refused to work, much to their dismay. They ended up stumbling around blindly, tripping over objects they couldn't identify no matter how much they strained their eyes, Allan even managed to bang his knee into a filing cabinet.

How he missed the object in general was a mystery on it's own. Even if the room was as dark as could be, the cabinet was just as tall as he was and one would imagine that if he was feeling around with his hand, as he should have been, his hand would of bumped into it first.

But it would also seem that his misfortune was for the better of the trio. By bumping into the cabinet rather hard an item fell from the top and clicked on as it hit the ground. It was exactly what they needed, a flashlight. But it also happened to land on Allan's foot. It was surprisingly heavy and, as a result, struck him with large amounts of pain. It rolled off of his shoe as he hopped around on a single leg, cursing under his breath.

Oliver picked up the flashlight and looked around the room. It was no wonder that they had been tripping and falling so much, the room was an absolute mess. Though the walkways were, for the most part, cleared; the table tops and desks were covered. There were books and papers and pens and pencils. The bookshelves that aligned the walls were packed together so tightly it seemed that attempting to remove one object would cause all to fly out in some utter catastrophic chain reaction.

With aid from the flashlight beams, Jean managed to turn on the lamps that also appeared to be located in all four corners of the room. It allowed them to see the room fully, and quite honestly it didn't look any better. It just let them see the mess in better lighting.

"I guess we might as well clear off the tables and place the stuff in here." Allan said, snatching the backpack away from Oliver. He had kept it in his possession for no particular reason and seemed to have read every last slip of paper inside. But he refused to share what he had read. Allan shrugged it off and started clearing off the desk, trying to make the sheets of paper seem as important as possible. Jean was searching through the filing cabinet in the back. It made an irritating squeaking noise as it dragged along, opening up slowly.

He peered inside, nothing important. Of course. The file folders were empty, anything that had once been inside was now gone. That was at least assuming that there was anything inside in the first place. He moved over to the desk, checking the drawer for anything interesting. The first one was empty but the second one had a book.

A journal.

Jean picked it up out of curiosity and opened it up to a random page. It was set up in order by chronological dates. He skimmed over random pages, trying to figure out what exactly the previous owner was like. Or what he did, at the least. As he read he could see Allan out of the corner of his eye throwing things onto the ground as he made room for the so called important papers. Once he threw things on the floor Oliver would place down the sheets in the newly cleared section. Not that it was a surprise, the two could work well together when they actually tried.

Jean reverted his full attention back to the book. It seemed to be science notes of some sort. Chemistry maybe. Suggesting the previous owner was attempting... experiments. Of what sort Jean was unsure. That seemed to be information that he couldn't learn simply from looking at a few early dated notes and basic sketches.

But of course that's only what he assumed when reading the first few entries. Once he managed to get a bit deeper into the context, it seemed that the owner was into some sort of black magic. Likely necromancy by the looks of it. Though there was no real evidence that any of his experiments had been successful, the outcome of most tests seemed to be of absence in the journal.

They were scarcely mentioned, and when they were it was usually because of a minor mishap or drawback. This only made Jean more curious and to question why these things had to be so secretive that the writer wouldn't even think of putting them down on paper. Jean came to the supposed final date and realized that the note was not only half written, but the writing was also relatively sloppy. It seemed different from the handwriting in previous texts and Jean had to look closely in order to make out letters and words alike.

From what he could tell it was a plea for help. Whoever wrote it was in trouble and was only able to write down a half finished letter. It seemed to be a warning of some sort, likely to stay away from the house itself. For whatever reason Jean was unsure but he wasn't really certain if he wanted to know in the end. His head jolted up when he felt a tapping on his shoulder. He was relieved when he discovered it was only Oliver and that it wasn't some undead zombie freak that snuck up on them without notice.

"Let's get out of here." Allan motioned towards the exit.

"This place creeps me the hell out."

"You and me both."

The Cadillac slowly drove down the bumpy old road, people jumping up and done in their seats unintentionally and colliding with each other. The road was poorly made and the car rocked back and forth as it attempted to continue. It was late now, just as they had expected.

But it was much, much later than they had hoped and now the sun had set and the moon had rose.

They blamed the fact that they had stopped to get food. Kiku was starving and Alfred asked for some McDonalds to help him get through the trip. After a bit of arguing and unneeded shouting matches, Ludwig finally gave in and pulled into the drive through. They quickly ordered food and were off once again. Kiku ate quickly, obviously the lack of food had taken a toll on him. As for Alfred, he always seemed to be eating a hamburger. After they finished up their meals the trio in the back seat all fell asleep.

They were, after all, the only ones that stayed up.

Even if they were nations they still required the basic sustenance of food, water, and sleep. Being deprived of these lead to them being in a state of low nourishment. Though it didn't happen often, being in such a state for so long could take it's toll on the country and their people. The past few days forced the nations into such situations, though it wasn't as bad as where their people suffer with them, it still put them at a major disadvantage during encounters with their two-Ps.

So the three fell asleep in the back. With them being asleep everyone else was in a much... calmer state of mind. Ivan was able to watch the horror movies he picked out of the box, much to Yao and Francis' dismay. They had to listen to the constant screams and screeches that erupted from the speakers whenever they tried to do something else. They usually ended up being pulled into watching the movie in the end, as trying to read or stare at the trees was nearly impossible thanks to the background noises.

But it was much worse for those sitting up front, as they had no other choice but to listen to the sounds without any real imagine in their minds, their imagination taking control.

It made the ride that just more unbearable and Ludwig had to fight in order to concentrate on the road. But once it started getting all bumpy he was at the least distracted. The sudden change in movement seemed to wake up the three in the back. They were all confused but came to their senses after a little bit. After that it was about ten minutes of badly made roads and trees.

Then the road smoothed out again and the trees were gone. They drove onto a field and stopped the car. Then they piled out and stared ahead. With no cloud in the sky the moon and stars lit up the area perfectly. They were able to see both buildings.

Both.

That was the first thing they pointed. Two buildings. Not one warehouse but a warehouse and a cabin.

"Great, two places. Double the chance of a trap." Arthur muttered, though no one seemed to listen.

"Well, now what? Do we split up or stay together?" Antonio asked as he looked between both buildings.

"We'll just stick to the plan but with a slight change. My team will go and investigate the cabin and everyone else will go into the warehouse, separate entrances like how we decided." Alfred said quickly before anyone could say anything else. No one was in the mood to argue or say otherwise so they just agreed and went their separate ways.

"Alright just be careful. We won't have any form of communicated with other groups, so you'll have to depend on each other. If you don't find anything of important go and meet up with another team. This might be our only chance to get back Feliciano. Let's not screw it up." With that quick speech Ludwig was off, leading his team. A quick glance at each other and everyone else was doing the same.

Team Beta was to go in through the front.

Team Crimson the back.

Team Alpha through the front door of the cabin.

That was how is was going to happen and they could only hope it would work out in the end.

The second Luciano sent the news in through the comms that their counterparts had arrived, Kuro and Kasper instantly got into position. According to their eye outside, they were outnumbered as well.

Two to one.

Kasper quickly stated that he would face the first two since Kuro obviously couldn't handle them. Kuro was tempted to argue with him but didn't want to blow their cover. So he bit his tongue and sat there. It wasn't long until they saw three people walk inside of the room.

They were two rooms away from the main room where Lovino was being held.

The room they were in was used some sort of office. It had twelve tables, six on one side of a walkway and six on another. Each table had two chairs and they were all facing the opposing wall. Kuro commented on how it reminded him of miniature lecture hall. Most of the tables were covered in paperwork, folders, books, and boxes. Scattered across the ground next to the desks were crates, some heavier than others but all of them being hard to open.

Despite the objects there was a good bit of room next to the main door, the perfect place for a fight.

But the objects also had their own advantages, giving a well amount of cover for anyone trying to move around unnoticed. Though Kasper would have a harder time sneaking around, Kuro was small enough to be able to do so with minimal chance of failure. Which is exactly what he needed.

The second he caught sight of Yao he quickly motioned to him, mouthing the words "He's mine" to Kasper before beginning the maneuver over behind him.

Kasper nodded and quickly peeked out of cover to see the other two enemies. He was pleased to see the Russian and Frenchmen there, he would at least have a decent fight.

Kasper watched Kuro stand up behind the group as they took stepped farther into the room, examining everything but their opponents whom were closing in on them quickly. The sound of Kuro's katana slipping out of it's sheath in one quick, slick motion drew their attention behind them. The second Yao saw the blade that was within range of his neck he jumped back and nearly tripped over his own feet.

This caused Kuro to smile as Kasper came out from his hiding spot, blocking off the only other exit from the room. The team looked back and forth between the two men, not really sure on what to do.

Yao looked over at Kuro and felt the anger inside of himself build up, ready to explode. He had been waiting so long for an opportunity to fight Kuro, and this was his chance. He wouldn't necessarily kill Kuro, he would simply face off against him. He had always tried to get a fair fight with him, the one on one kind. But during wars he would always force Yao to face off against his army instead of himself.

Of course he would do such a thing, he was too much of a coward to face off against him.

He always struck when it was least expected, always ambushed him and always went for the back stab. Never once did he challenge him like an honorable warrior would, he always took the coward's way out.

If they were to fight now, he wouldn't have that option.

"Ivan, Francis, take care of the other one. I'll deal with this nuòfū" Yao hissed. The other two nodded, not exactly sure they wanted to get between Yao and Kuro. They turned to face Kasper, who seemed to be smirking. Kasper was glad they wouldn't even have to convince them to fight someone specifically, they decided to split up on their own free will. Now it was just a matter of making sure they didn't win this fight no matter what. Which Kasper didn't imagine being hard. It was simply a matter of not killing them that might need a bit more self control.

Something he could only hope Kuro had.

Francis looked over at Yao wearily as he stepped to the side with Ivan. He hoped that his mind wouldn't end up clouded by rage and he wouldn't get himself killed in the process of pure revenge. During the ride there him and Matthew managed to get a bit caught up on the whole scenario. It allowed him to learn a good bit of things and about a few events in the past he wasn't exactly aware about. He also had some important information cleared up and stories explained. Part of that was learning about Kuro, Kiku's obsessed guardian, and his roles in past wars and whatnot. Obviously encountering him now of all times would probably fuel Yao's rage even more.

It was only a matter of time before he lost it completely.

Ivan seemed to be thinking the same. But he couldn't worry about that at the current point in time. He had an opponent of his own, one that seemed would happily kill him if given the opportunity. He couldn't allow that to happen for numerous reasons and figured that he would have to give it his best in order to survive.

Ivan pulled out his pipe from what seemed like nowhere and smiled, patting it in the palm of his left hand. Despite his intimidating stature Kasper still didn't flinch, only smirked. That seemed to be the opposite of what Ivan expected but he didn't let that distract him.

Francis took a few steps back when he saw Ivan and Kasper charge head first into each other. He wasn't sure if he could be of any assistance to the over sized Russian, and didn't want to risk breaking something in the process. And it wasn't like Ivan couldn't handle himself in a fight. Francis turned around only to see Kuro swinging his katana at Yao, who had an utterly unfair advantage that forced Yao to use any cover he was within range of. He ducked and dove behind crates and tables that were all destroyed in the process with the single flick of a wrist.

Yao needed a weapon ASAP, and Francis needed to be the one that provided it.

He ran over to a pile of crates and rummaged around through them. With all these boxes there was bound to be something to open them with... right? A crowbar if anything, something blunt. The sounds behind him were distracting as he searched. He looked over his shoulder whenever he thought Yao got hit. But these were all just paranoid thoughts going through his head, and Yao was always fine in the end.

Or at least as fine as he could be in the predicament he was put into.

Thus, Francis returned to searching through the debris. But he could find no weapon. Without one they would be sitting ducks to either opponent if one were to charge without much warning. Ivan was the only one armed, therefore he was the only one who could match the attack force of others. Yao and Francis would have to use their own instincts in order to manage. It was all they could do and all they had to do.

. . .

Ivan and Kasper found themselves face to face with each other. When they weren't fighting over the pipe or taking potshots, they were staring each other down. Ivan had to admit, Kasper could land good punches. They weren't often but they were strong and made their point. Really that was all that was required to be a good opponent.

Ivan found the two of them being evenly matched, not counting the fact that Ivan had the pipe at hand. Kasper was obviously skilled and knew how to use his abilities to the fullest. He also knew how to avoid a weapon when required, but he couldn't avoid every attack.

This was proven when Ivan swung at the knee.

He had tried hit the head multiple times before. This either resulted with a block or a duck. So he decided to change it up a bit, try something different. The leg, knee to be specific, seemed to be open. So he took the chance of lowering his block to land a strike.

It, surprisingly enough, landed correctly and Kasper fell onto one knee, a hand falling down instinctively to the wounded area. He didn't cry out, only grimaced and bit his tongue. He could taste the metallic flavor of the crimson fluid in his mouth, which only caused him to spit at the ground to the side. He stared down at the blood on the ground before looking up at Ivan, who almost seemed emotionless.

Kasper staggered to his feet, shaking his leg out a bit before standing as straight as he could. He raised his fists and watched Ivan as he sidestepped.

"Let's play Russe."

. . .

Thoughts of self defense and blind rage flowed through Yao's thinking process as his instincts kicked in. He couldn't die now, he had people he swore to protect and he didn't plan to go back on his word. Without much hesitation Yao brought up his leg and aimed at Kuro's chest. The leg shot out in a sidekick and met it's mark.

Not like Kuro wasn't asking for it. He had, after all, left his chest wide open when he raised his sword overhead. The attack itself had caught him off guard and he stumbled back farther than he would have if he had predicted the strike. He regained his footing and simply smiled at Yao who appeared intimidated, this is what he was waiting for.

A real fight with the man he hated and blamed for moments of despair and agony in his life.

The suffering.

All the suffering. It could be resolved with a single swipe of the sword or the flick of the wrist. Either way it would be over. And that's all Kuro wanted. All he ever wanted.

Kuro swung the sword once again at Yao's head, that of which caused him to bob and weave under the attack and jab Kuro; the punch making contact with his jaw. Kuro stepped back and the two started circling each other. Whenever Kuro made them motion to raise his sword above his head Yao would slap it down with his front hand. Whenever he readied his sword at either side, Yao would move out of range.

It was a game that both were determined to win.

Yet Kuro still didn't see the kick coming. It was far too fast for him to react to, no chance of block or dodge. A well placed roundhouse kick to the right hand. All grip lost, sword sent flying. The steel collided with the ground and left Kuro stunned and defenseless. Yao pounced on the opportunity almost instantly but not literally.

Four kicks later and Kuro was against the wall. Three sliding roundhouse kicks forced Kuro on the retreat and a sidekick made she he stayed there. Then Yao continued with an assault of punches to the midsection. Kuro tried to block but simply couldn't. He had to act fast and accurately. His left knee rose and struck Yao in the gut. He continued to land strikes in that general area until the punches seized.

Then he used his right arm to land a strong hook to the cheek. The older man's head jolted to the side in a painful manner and he stood there, pained and vulnerable. Kuro raised his leg and hit a front kick under Yao's jaw. Positive he was dazed, Kuro grabbed Yao by the collar of his shirt and lifted him off of the ground.

With all the strength he could muster he threw Yao into the table. With the force of the impact itself the table broke in two and Yao lay in the debris. He wasn't unconscious, simply too hurt to move a muscle. It made Kuro smile as he picked his katana off of the ground and walked over to the now halved table.

Yao's eyes opened halfway and stared back into the blood red orbs that seemed to belong to the devil himself.

He couldn't move even if he wanted to, so he just sat there and accepted his eyes never moved away from Kuro's, even when the blade was once again raised, this time the sword itself pointing downward in preparation for puncture; he still didn't lose eye contact.

They were both sure this would be the end of Yao and all his glory, but they were wrong.

Without warning, Francis came up behind Kuro and placed him in a strong headlock. Kuro found himself again being caught off guard and he lowered the katana to his side as he fought the grip. But Francis didn't let up and began to tighten his hold.

Kuro was losing air fast and it was obvious, he needed to get out before he was the one to fall unconscious. He had to act fast. Thrashing obviously wasn't doing him any good, so he had to result to more professional techniques. With his free arm he began to blindly jab his elbow backwards. The first one missed. The second one, not so much. It met with Francis' ribcage and the Frenchmen slouched forward ever so slightly. Knowing where to aim, Kuro struck again.

And again.

And again.

It wasn't until he felt the grip loosen a good amount that he grabbed Francis by his right arm.

A quick swipe with his back leg and his upper strength being focused on one core area, Kuro flipped his attacker over the shoulder and onto the ground in front of him. He landed hard on his back and cringed. Kuro let go of his arm and, just for good measure, kicked him hard in the side of the rib in the same place he had struck before.

He spit on the ground at Francis' feet before looking at the whole scene. Kuro smiled.

"Two down, one to go."

. . .

The fight escalated rather quickly. Kasper always went for Ivan's blind spots, trying to get behind him whenever he could and land a couple of punches before slipping away from a swing or counter of any sorts. Ivan, on the other hand, tried to get Kasper cornered.

Trap him so his pipe could be used to the full extent.

Eventually he was given that chance. Kasper slipped back after managing another potshot, but didn't realize he was really backing into a corner. It wasn't until he was in it and Ivan had him blocked off that he began to panic. Ivan could tell and hoped the fear would work in his favor.

He quickly swung the pipe at Kasper head, not wasting a second before attacking. Kasper instantly brought his arm up to block it, before feeling pain sear through the limb as the cold metal connected with a previously inflicted bruise. Kasper knew that within the next day he would feel the full extent of all the cuts and bruises that he would receive in this fight, and only then will he realize how much he underestimated his opponent.

With a quick fluid motion Kasper had two hands firmly gripping the ends of the pipe.

But so did Ivan.

It now turned to a power struggle between the two, Ivan obviously having an advantage at the moment. Though hitting him was no longer an option, suffocation was. He pushed on the pipe and so did Kasper, it seemed hopeless.

Then Kasper dropped one of his arms. Ivan wondered why but he learned soon after. Kasper pulled a bowie knife out and quickly jammed it into Ivan's hip. The Russian let out a cry as he pulled away, the knife never leaving his flesh.

Kasper thought he was down for the count, but he let down his guard too soon and the pipe came into contact with the side of his head.

And just like that he was on the ground, blood flowing down the side of his head. He knew he was wounded, but it surely wasn't any worse that he had managed to conflict on Ivan. If anything it was equal amounts of damage in separate parts of the body.

Though his wound was in a more vulnerable area, at least he didn't have a knife stuck in his hip.

That was surely something that would take a bit longer to recover from. His vision was blurred so he found it harder to see. All he managed to make out was Kuro running up behind the Russian.

. . .

Ludwig, Matthew, and Antonio weren't startled when three Two-Ps wandered onto their path and blocked off the entrance to the next room over. It only made sense that they would be there, which only caused Ludwig to be a bit more determined. The two-Ps could of easily sent them out there simply to waste time, but if they were there now waiting to pick of fight then they were bound to be protecting something important.

What that was, he didn't know, but he had his suspicions.

Their opponents split up without recognition, dividing and choosing who they were going to fight with on their own free will. It was decided mentally that Sebastian and Leonardo would be taking down Ludwig while Andrew went after his one-p and Sebastian's.

Antonio and Matthew stepped back when their shadows were engulfed by the single one owned by none other than the Moose Man himself. It was a title that seemed worthy enough based off of his appearance, and nationality. He was intimidating and could be considered menacing to some, but it seemed that was just how most two-Ps appeared.

The biggest factor about this guy was his strength. If he could use that hockey stick correctly then he'd be a deadly opponent. It seemed like a well aimed shot from that barbed wire stick could kill you in an instant.

And in reality, it could.

It was truthfully the last thing the two wanted to do today of all days. Matthew wasn't sure if he was prepared mentally to fight his two-p. It was basically like fighting yourself, one always loses in the end. It's just a matter of which one, your brain or your heart. Matthew pulled Antonio to the side and spoke to him in whisper, making sure Andrew couldn't hear them whatsoever.

"There's no way we can fight him head on." Matthew began, peering over his shoulder. "But I have an idea." Matthew quickly explained his last resort plan that had a 50/50 chance of being successful, not counting major wounds inflicted.

The first part of the plan was simple, Matthew just had to divert his two-P's attention to him rather than Antonio. How he was going to do that was the real question. Provoking him seemed most obvious. Maybe a few insults or something of the sorts would cause Andrew to be drawn to him. It seemed to be the only possibility, and his best.

"Hey! Um, you... you poule mouillée!" If Matthew and his two-p had anything in common, it was their ability to speak fluently in French. Which meant that Andrew understood exactly what he said.

"What do you want imbécile?" Andrew replied, turning to fully face Matthew. A trail of insults in French flowed from their mouths, some not making sense but neither of them actually caring. Matthew was surprised that Andrew hadn't attacked him, but he didn't care.

He watched Antonio out of the corner of his eye as the Spaniard got into proper position. His role was simple, he had to jump onto Andrew's back and stop him from using his weapon. Then Matthew would run in and disarm the guy and before they knew it they would be the ones in control. It was an amateur plan with, once again, only half the chance for it to actually work.

But just as planned Antonio got high enough up and managed to land on Andrew's back.

Hard.

"The hell!?" Andrew stumbled forward and ended up using a hand to support himself, the other still gripping his weapon. Matthew took the chance he had and ran over, eyes locking with the lethal blunt. But Andrew saw him coming and stood up quickly, Antonio nearly falling off. Matthew came to a halt, feet sliding against the ground.

Andrew knew he was vulnerable and needed to get whoever it was on his back off ASAP. Grabbing him was out of the question, his arm just didn't reach that far in that direction. Bucking would just make him look like an absolute idiot.

So he only saw one option, break some things.

Without a hint of sorts Andrew bolted backwards in full speed, grabbing Antonio's arms so he couldn't get off even if he tried. It was only a few seconds before Antonio's body was crushed between his back and the wall. Antonio let out a cry as he slid down the wall, Andrew releasing his grip and stepping forward.

Matthew bit his lip, this is what he was hoping wouldn't happen. With their luck they had managed to make their opponent aware of their doings and now he'd be prepared more than he was before.

"Going for cheap shots ey?" Andrew said with a smirk. "And I thought we could all just get along." Sarcasm was obvious in his tone as he moved to the side, gaining full view of the two of them. Antonio stumbled to his feet, confused and weary. Matthew rushed to his aid almost immediately. He helped him fully to his feet before they both turned back to face Andrew.

He still had that smug look on his face.

They were beginning to wonder if this was a bad idea after all. Though that should of been obvious on it's own, they might as well of tried.

. . .

Ludwig wasn't so sure about fighting two guys at once, but it seemed that he wasn't the one making the decisions. Sebastian came at him with full force, knife in hand. Ludwig had no choice but to fight. Sebastian wasn't the fastest but he was accurate. Precise. He knew where to move and where to cut. Ludwig was on his toes, he had to be. He couldn't block a knife, so he had no choice but to always be moving. He also paid attention to Leonardo who was only watching them play chase.

He seemed to be waiting but Ludwig couldn't watch him too much, he was busy.

Looking at anything but the enemy was always a bad idea. He knew that now, one glance at Leonardo and suddenly he had a cut on his shoulder. Looking to check on Matthew and Antonio, slice just above the knee. Sebastian jumped on any and all opportunities he gained.

Ludwig tried his best to play fair but he soon understood that doing so would only result in his own loss. He now had to do whatever it took to succeed, cheating was now an option.

It was kill or be killed, and he wasn't planning to die just yet.

Leonardo watched the two fight back and forth, just waiting for his chance to jump in and ruin it all. He wasn't planning to be a waste after all. He just needed Ludwig to put his back to him.

Then he'd take the shot.

Until then as long as he stayed out of the way he wouldn't be a nuisance. Only act if needed. Only act if given an opening. All he needed was one opening; one. And then he'd finish this. Ludwig just needed to be facing the other direction. So he wouldn't be able to see the shot coming. He would only be confused and hear the bullet zooming through the air, but end up unable to know from where. That's all he needed.

. . .

Matthew and Antonio ended up in head on combat with Andrew, the exact opposite of what they wanted to do. It was obvious what Andrew's tactic was. Get them on the ground and take them out while they're there. He continuously swiped at the legs, usually missing and leaving himself vulnerable for a split second. But there was one time he didn't miss.

Once he actually managed a hit.

Matthew was watching Antonio and making sure he was okay. He seemed to almost be limping after being crushed between two things. But while being so worrisome he let his defenses down and Andrew swiped his legs out from under him within an instant. Next he knew he was on his back, his heading hitting the ground hard.

He felt dizzy and his vision fogged. Andrew stood above him, readying his hockey stick for a final blow. Before he could though Antonio grabbed the end of the stick and pulled it away. It was still in Andrew's grip though, something Antonio hoped wouldn't happen.

The Canadian pushed the end covered in barbed wire into Antonio. When he pushed Antonio would blindly move backwards until he was against a wall and the barbed wire was tearing into his chest. He bit back a pained cry as he tried to push the weapon off and away from him.

At this rate if his chest wasn't crushed he would probably puncture something important.

Matthew acted fast once he got back onto his feet. He ran up behind Andrew and with most of his strength, he struck a punch in the back of the head. Andrew's head jolted forward and he froze before lowering the stick and dropping Antonio to the ground.

"Mierda..." He muttered on contact with the cold concrete. Matthew took a step back as Andrew turned to face him.

"I have to admit kid, you've got guts for doing something that ballsy." He hissed as he stepped closer.

"How about I tear them off for ya?" Matthew felt engulfed in fear, his feet feeling planted to the ground. Andrew raised the hockey stick and Matthew closed his eyes.

All he heard was something swinging followed by wood breaking and something hitting the ground. He opened his eyes when he realized he wasn't the one that got hit but gasped when he saw who did. Laying on the ground next to a hockey stick that was now broken at the end, was a bloodied Antonio.

"Damn," Andrew muttered, looking at the mess at his feet.

"Such a shame." Matthew ran over to Antonio, ignoring Andrew and checking for a pulse. He was more than relieved when he was able to successfully find one still pumping.

"Thank god." He said, dropping the Spaniard's wrist and rolling him over. Then he noticed how his chest looked. It wasn't normal, not close. Something looked out of a place.

Something looked broken.

. . .

Ludwig never saw it coming.

The bullet, it was just there. Coming out of nowhere. He ducked down on instinct and saw it collide and bounce off of the wall. That's what he noted Leonardo had joined the fight, very much without permission. He looked unhappy, probably because he didn't expect Ludwig to actually dodge the projectile.

Ludwig glanced at the gun in his hand before he felt his windpipe being constricted.

It was at that point that he realized Sebastian had a wire wrapped around his neck. Sebastian stepped onto the back of his leg and Ludwig fell to his knees as he fought to breath. He saw Leonardo begin to walk towards him out of the corner of his eye. He had to do something before he got close.

Act first, think later.

Ludwig searched for a gap in the restriction. He quickly found one and wrapped his fingers around it, creating space between the wire and his neck and allowing air to flow again.

Then he violently pulled it forward, breaking Sebastian's grip. Sebastian did move away, but not before landing a kick square in the German's face. Ludwig could taste the metallic flavor of blood in his mouth and spit onto the ground. He wiped his chin as he stood up and searched for where Sebastian had gone.

He ended up finding the end of a boot.

Most would of attempted to move out of the way, or even just attempt to block the kick. But instead Ludwig took a step back and caught the leg. In one quick, swift movement he spun the foot around and let go. Sebastian spun in the air for a single second before coming down. He landed hard on his stomach with a grunt.

Ludwig then turned to face Leonardo, who seemed to be distracted with something. He stared down at the ground and had a finger against his ear. That's when Ludwig realized they all were wearing earpieces, Luciano was probably communicating with everyone! Leonardo turned towards Andrew and caught the Canadian's attention.

"We've got to retreat!" He said, attempting to sound scared. Andrew nodded.

"I'll grab Sebastian." Ludwig was planning to fend them off, but instead found Matthew calling for help. Ludwig hesitantly went over to his aid and noticed his chest almost immediately.

"Did he break a couple of ribs?" Ludwig asked as he knelt down.

"I don't know but... we need to get him help!" Ludwig agreed and stood up. He turned around and thought that their two-Ps would still be there, but instead found them out of site.

Jian and Viktor, after setting up the C4 charges, contacted Luciano who told everyone else it was time to split. Kasper, who had mildly recovered, ran out of the building with Kuro. It didn't take long for Leonardo, Sebastian, and Andrew to come out as well. Jian and Viktor were already with Luciano and Feliciano, just waiting. Jean and Oliver showed up soon after, but Allan stayed behind.

He was ordered to after all.

Stay behind and make sure that the plan goes well. He had to make sure that their one-Ps found the papers. They nearly blew their cover when Kiku, Alfred, and Arthur walked in and almost crossed paths. Jean and Oliver easily slipped out but Allan ended up hiding in the closet inside of the office. Then they walked right inside the room and started searching. Arthur managed to find the files almost instantly stacked on the table and started reading through them. His expression progressively changed as he read more and more.

"That bastard." His grip on the papers tightened.

"What's wrong?" Alfred asked as he put down what he was looking through and joined the Brit's side.

"They plan to blow up the whole damn warehouse! We need to warn the others before they do!" Alfred nodded.

"Got it! Kiku stay here and check for anything we might have missed. "

"Hai."

"C'mon!"

Alfred and Arthur ran out of the cabin faster than Allan thought possible. Thinking his job was over and that Kiku posed no real threat, Allan moved to the exit. But it would be just his luck to be given another task on exit.

"Allan I need you to do one more thing for me~" Luciano spoke, catching the American off guard.

"What do you want Luciano?" A moment of silence before the conversation continued.

"On the right side of the building you are standing outside of is two cans of gasoline and some other tools that will most definitely come in handy. Please put them to good use and burn the cabin to the ground... With Kiku trapped inside. Grazie!" The line went dead without Allan having a chance to reply or question, and he sighed. Grudgingly, he stepped over and sure enough there they were, two red canisters with a box of matches and a pair of handcuffs. He grabbed them and hauled them inside, not even wanting to know where or how Luciano got a hold of these things.

Making sure that Kiku was unaware of his presence as he rummaged through old papers, Allan raised his bat as if he was going to hit a baseball and swung. It hit Kiku right in the back of the head.

His body stiffened up and he fell to the ground, face first. Allan continued, roughly grabbing his wrists as he slipped into unconciousness. He handcuffed him to a leg of the desk and punched him to keep him dazed for a bit longer when he started to come back.

Then Allan started pouring gasoline all around the room.

On bookshelves, tables, papers. Really anything flammable. He even poured it in a circle around Kiku but not directly on him. He then lead a trail in front of the doorway.

Once the cans were empty he tossed them to the side and stepped into the hallway. He stared at Kiku as he lit a match. It was then that Kiku realized what was going on and started to struggle. Allan just smirked.

"Death, courtesy of Luciano."

And then the match dropped.

Everyone met up in the main room where, sure enough, a hostage laid in a chair. They were tied up and their head covered. The only sign that proved they were alive was the fact itself that they still struggled against the binds that constricted them to the chair they sat in.

Antonio was barely conscious, Ivan's wound had been patched but he still walked with a limp, most were nervous and paranoid. But they dealt with it and continued on.

On regroup both teams knew that the other had their own violent encounter with two-Ps that would likely take a while to recover from. But they just wanted to leave in the end and make everything got back to how it all used to be. Ludwig stepped up to the masked man in the chair and grabbed the bag on their head. He quickly ripped it off, only to expose the wounded face of Lovino.

Antonio nearly fell over at the sight of his Italian friend but Matthew kept him up on his feet.

"But.. how?" Ludwig asked as he stared at Lovino, confused as ever. Francis snapped him out of it and helped untie the ropes and remove the duct tape. Lovino's legs were weak and he used the chair to stand up.

"How did you get here?" Ludwig asked as Lovino slowly regained his balance.

"Those fucking bastards broke into the house when I was sleeping! Choked me out and dragged me down here. They used me so they wouldn't have to hand over Veneziano, but I don't know why..." He said with an unhappy sigh. Ludwig had an angered expression on his face.

It was so, so obvious that they wouldn't just hand him over.

Of course they wouldn't have! He was such a fool for believing something like this. Now they had more wounded than they did before and Feliciano's life was still in danger!

Ludwig broke out of his silent moment of rage as everyone turned to the right when they heard footsteps coming down the hall. They prepared to fight off any two-Ps that dared to come now of all the damn times, and were very well planning to until the two double doors opened to exposed Arthur and Alfred.

"Guys! We need to get the hell out of here! Now!" Alfred said as he ran up to them, Arthur following close behind.

"What? Why?" Ludwig asked.

"The basement is filled with C4 Charges and they're planning to blow this place up with us inside!" Arthur explained as gasps and questions were heard throughout the room.

"Exactly so if we don't get out of here now then we're going to blow up with this place! Round everyone up and let's get out of here!"

As everyone rushed about, helping those that couldn't walk and those that barely could, Luciano stood outside with a smile on his face. Not only was the cabin smoking, the charges were also ready to go off. He held the detonator in his hand and everyone else stood waiting not so patiently. Allan had finally returned after telling Luciano his task was complete and the Italian was more than happy.

"Let's see how long it takes for him to notice." He said, motioned with his head towards Kuro who was bandaging Kasper's head. Allan nodded and moved to the side, proud of his work. Luciano had Feliciano removed from the van and placed on his knees, facing the warehouse.

"Now, as much as it would be an honor for me to kill these stolti, I think it should go to someone else." Everyone watched as Luciano forced open Feliciano's hand and stuck the detonator in it.

"You know what to do~" Luciano took a step back and watched as Feliciano looked down at the red button in horror. He wasn't expecting him to press it right? No, of course he was. Why the hell else would he just willingly hand over the one thing that could make his plan success. Luciano wanted him to press it. And if he didn't god knows what would happen. It's not like if Feliciano didn't press it no one else would. Luciano would just take it from him and press it himself. Maybe even shoot him afterwards.

Luciano appeared to grow bored when Feliciano refused to do anything.

"It seems our friend here needs a bit of encouragement. What do you say fratello?"

"Of course." Leonardo replied as he reloaded his revolver of the one missing bullet. He then walked up behind Feliciano and took aim. He pulled the trigger and one bullet flew through Feliciano's foot. The Italian cried out and nearly dropped the detonator on accident. Leonardo then shot the other foot and another cry escaped. As if that wasn't bad enough, Allan decided to come up and step on both feet. The pain was terrible, as if his leg wound wasn't bad enough already.

"Do you need anymore help?" Leonardo asked with his signature smile planted on his face. Feliciano shook his head furiously, tears on the rim of his eyes.

"That's what I thought. Now do it." Leonardo and Allan went back to join the group that continued to watch Feliciano. The Italian didn't want to.

He didn't want to press that damned button.

He didn't want to kill everyone else.

But he had to. He could only hope that he'd die too and that they would all see each other in some sort of country afterlife.

He only hoped.

With trembling fingers he placed them on the button, tears began to fully stream down his face. He closed his eyes and pressed it. Instantaneously the explosives went off and Feliciano broke out into tears.

They were all dead.

Esca = Bait (Italian)

Nuòfū = Weakling (Chinese)

Poule Mouillée = Sissy (French)

Imbécile = Imbecile (French)

Mierda = Shit (Spanish)

Stolti = Fools (Italian)

A/N: GAAAAAAAH! imsorryimsorryimsorryimsorryimsorry

I was fucking procrastinating for the last 2+ weeks and I had Taken wandering the back of my head and I kept thinking about doing it but NOOO! I just had to do a bunch of other random crap and next thing I know it's been over two weeks since the last update and it shouldn't take this fucking long for one goddamn chapter! I was so pissed at myself that I decided to make this an extra super fucking long chapter with a shitty cliffhanger and an awesome idea for the next one which will hopefully not take another goddamn TWO FREAKIN WEEKS! *tabeflip*