CHAPTER TWENTY

Lukas Bondevik

Lanzo would of left that instant, going off to Gilbert and telling him the information he had just managed to gain. But he couldn't because if he had at that time he would of been caught. Everyone had been called in for a bit of breakfast, except those that had been sent off to the airport. Allan, Oliver, and Leonardo were out the door just before Lanzo entered and pushed him to the side. They were in more of a rush than it seemed required but Lanzo knew that they had to be, though he wished they weren't.

He moved inside and chose against sitting at the table and instead in the corner of the room on a wooden chair. Their lack of food supplies forced them to eat nothing more than turkey bacon and a small bit of eggs. It wasn't the best but it was, if anything, cooked well and satisfied their taste buds despite the minimal amounts of flavor.

Lanzo took his fair share of food and moved into his somewhat secluded location. Normally when this group of people would join together for a meal they would all have small conversations with each other. No one would really talk about the same topic and if anything people would just butt in on each other's business. But it was different today, much different, as a series of recent events caused them all to have a widespread conversation.

The biggest topic, Kuro's so called betrayal.

Luciano had claimed the reasoning for his actions of sending Kuro in to die were all because Kuro had been sharing information with their one-ps. He was seeping information out to them in secret and upon Luciano's full realization he acted how he found required and rid of a threat.

It made Lanzo sick how just about everyone believed his damn lies. But he couldn't speak up because if he did Luciano would end up using that to his advantage. So he just sat there and ate without drawing attention to himself. He wished he could block out everyone else as they bad mouthed Kuro. Some stayed quiet, Sebastian didn't speak and Jean refused to put in his two cents. But he noticed the less talkative ones such as Viktor and Kasper speaking up and adding to the 'discussion'.

Overall Lanzo was at least glad that they all assumed Kuro was dead. Especially after seeing his condition. Though he had stood at a distance and wasn't able to see everything to the fullest extent, he knew Kuro was in pain and, at that current point in time, could not fight. Lanzo knew that if Luciano found out Kuro was indeed alive he would likely seek him out and kill him. And who knew if Kuro would be able to fight back in that scenario.

So he was at least glad they were too ignorant to think past their assumptions and left it as that.

Lanzo finished eating his plate of food and moved into the kitchen. He placed the plate in the small sink, not bothering to wash it off as it wouldn't require much effort anyway. He was planning to go straight for the door and head out but Luciano had conveniently placed himself right next to it. Leaving would draw attention from the devil and Lanzo couldn't risk that.

He headed to the back. There was a small window that he thought he might be able to squeeze through but after examining further it he was convinced he wouldn't be able to squeeze in and out of it without someone noticing.

Defeated, he sat there for awhile and just stared out the window as if something or someone would come and be the answer to his problems. Incidentally something did when he heard something whizzing through the air, though not quite fast enough to be considered something like a bullet it was still a quick moving projectile. It was then that something collided with the underside of the window and Lanzo almost fell back in surprise. It was after when he stood up that he found Shay on the ground, dazed and confused.

After shaking back and forth for a bit the oblivious hawk perched himself on the windowsill and stared up at Lanzo, who had a smile on his face. He had an idea, as if he couldn't get out of this hell hole without getting caught then he could at least inform Gilbert via message.

Taking out a scrap piece of a paper and a near broken pencil, Lanzo scribbled down all the information he had. Not one thing went unmentioned and he tried his best to write neatly and still fit the words on one side of the paper. After accomplishing that he rolled the paper up, tied a thin string around it, and handed it to Shay who held it in his talons. Lanzo explained the process to the hawk three times, only hoping that he actually understood before he flew off into the sky.

He was convinced when Shay turned and went into the general direction of the German's household and let out a sigh of relief. If Shay did this right he would have a way to communicate to Gilbert without actually leaving, which could play a key part in everything. But now he could only hope the message would actually reach him and not end up in anyone else's hands.

. . .

Allan had been glad they left when they did because they managed to leave just as traffic was getting bad. Normally this would be terrible news but their counterparts were foolish enough to get stuck in it and they were able to squeeze out onto the back roads.

Normally using back roads would take longer but if the traffic was as packed as it had claimed to be over the radio then they would arrive at the airport ten minutes ahead of their others. The drive wasn't filled with conversation, which was rather odd. It might of been because the radio was being extraordinarily loud but Oliver had sat in the back and stared out the window. Allan was busy driving and Leonardo took no interest in either of them.

Upon arrival at the airport they would move into the underground parking lot when they awaited their target. Luciano had given a brief description of who they were. He would be a boy that they'd have to wait a good hour or so until they were able to get him.

All three of them were unsure how Luciano had gotten ahold of this information. He was able to find out about this person that just so happened to be at an airport at a convenient time period and that was also an important aspect in the plan. Their only explanation was that he had a source of some sort that was sharing information with him. They were even aided with pictures that showed who they were looking for, and the resemblance with the people from the two-pverse was obvious and figuring out which personifications they were was easy.

They turned into the parking lot, moving down multiple stories before finally coming to the lot and finding a parking spot. They shut the car off and sat there in silence. Now it was only a matter of waiting.

. . .

Yao had immediately gone down the basement via departure of the others. And it had only been about thirty seconds upon his arrival in the dark and damp room when the yelling and arguing started. Thankfully their 'conversation' was very well muffled but you could still pick up the anger embedded into their tones.

Most just ignored the fight as they couldn't even make out what was being said, though they supposed strings of curse words and other types of foul language were being shared.

Kiku seemed uncomfortable with the whole thing, an unbearable headache formed as he was reminded of dreadful events in the past. Alfred and Ludwig were both quickly concerned and he was ushered upstairs into one of the bedrooms where he could sleep the ache off, assisted with a couple of painkillers.

Downstairs the arguing continued. Yao, though he should of been interrogating Kuro, was more or less simply making him feel bad for all the things he had ever done. He brought up the fact that he had torn their family apart and how he was the reason why Yao and his brother were so distant. Kuro said he had done everything only to protect Kiku, bringing up how he had managed to defeat Russia back in 1905 despite the odds that were stacked against him, how he had protected Japan because that was the right thing to do.

That was what he was created to do.

But Yao contradicted that, bringing up the brutality of the Massacre/Rape of Nanking and other sensitive topics that only made things worse.

Yao watched Kuro intently as he put up futile attempts to prove himself the better man in this situation. It only ended up with himself breaking down into tears. There was no hiccups or sniffles, no sounds in general.

Just tears.

They streamed down the sides of his face but his bindings stopped him from wiping them away. Yao smiled, knowing that the other had finally broken down. "You're a monster Kuro-"
"I KNOW DAMMIT!" Kuro spat, breaking under the pressure of guilt, stress and regret.

"Do you really think I don't know that asshole? Do you really think I didn't figure that out already? For fuck's sake that's all I've ever been told, all I've ever been called. My family never liked me, Jian always looked down on me and my brothers didn't even show me a hint of respect.

"You know something Yao, every two-p is given a chance. A chance to go with their one-p. The choice is given early and most don't even realize what it means. For fear of making a mistake most decline. I wasn't one of them.

"When I was asked I took it right away. I didn't care what would come I just needed to get away from all that.

"Then... I met Kiku.

"Do you know how much he changed my life Yao? When I was raised I was treated like trash. It was survival of the fittest. You either lived or you didn't live and no one help you either way. But Kiku wasn't like that. No, not at all. He helped me and he cared for me and he showed me the light in this dark and cruel world. It was because he did that, because he helped me, that I found it a need- no a requirement, to protect him. Even if I wasn't given the help to live I would at least allow him to have it.

"I do admit I lost it at certain points. My mind got clouded and I made regrettable decisions... I did hurt him in ways.

"But I'm not the biggest monster here. Not even close. And you're not it either and neither is Ludwig or Ivan or even Luciano. Tell me Yao, how much of the truth do you really know? How much have you been told and didn't question it a second time, simply because it was coming from an ally that you never thought would lie to you? Because, trust me, you know very little about what happened in World War Two, yet you still believed him."

Yao was confused and lost. Whatever Kuro was talking about didn't click his brain. Lie? Alliance? World War Two? What was he going on about.

"You know the story. The bombs being dropped on Japan. What did they tell you when they dropped and we surrendered? That the bombs had ended everything, saved the war and stopped thousands of more people from dying?"

Yao nodded.

"Well that's a lie. All of it a, lie. Yao when I say I want to protect Kiku I mean it. I really do. So when I knew that we were losing the war and that there was no way in hell that we would win in the end, I tried to surrender.

"I really did.

"I went to Russia and I went to Switzerland, hell I even went to Vatican City. I was desperate, I wanted to end this war the second I got a chance and I wanted to make sure everyone was safe.

"But no, that just wouldn't happen. That American Swine wouldn't let me. Yao the war could of ended so much sooner, so many lives could of been saved and thousands of families would have be reunited, if they would've just let me give up. In the treaty that I was planning to give I was going to allow them to take everything I had earned. Every resource I stole, every country I took control of, I was even willingly to sell myself off as a slave if it meant that the war would end. But they wouldn't take that.

"I was willing to give up my damn freedom in order to put a stop to the madness but they just wouldn't take it.

"So you know what happened, America bombed Japan. Two bombs that they dropped on my people and killed approximately five hundred thousand civilians. All those lives ruined. And you know why they dropped those bombs?

"Publicity.

"They wanted to be recognized for their superiority and their prowess. They wanted everyone to know that they were some bad ass motherfuckers that wouldn't take shit from anybody. And the only way they could gain that publicity was by killing innocent civilian lives.

"Military wouldn't cut it, wouldn't give them what they wanted. It just wasn't enough. They had to do something bigger and badder.

"And that's exactly what they did.

"It wasn't until after that that the treaty was signed and peace was restored. Of course I gave them less terms as I didn't see that pig being good enough for any of the things I had offered before. But it was because of him that Kiku and I became more distant than we were before. He changed everything. Kiku and I probably wouldn't have even started fighting if it wasn't for him.

"So Yao, next time you decide to call me a monster remember this. I might of hurt Kiku, but Alfred has done much, much worse for his own popularity."

. . .

Gilbert had been silently reading through a war journal when something collided with the window behind him. He had jumped from his seat and turned around instinctively, preparing for whatever it was behind him to jump and attack. But that, obviously, did not happen and Gilbert moved over to see what had hit the glass.

He figured it being some small object a couple of kids had thrown on accident. But when he opened the window and leant over the windowsill a bird came flying up and into his face. He ended falling onto his back as Shay flew recklessly around the room, running into walls and objects up high, even knocking over a vase and a couple of pictures.

It took a bit of running back and forth but eventually Gilbert caught hold of Shay and held the bird down as he slowly calmed. Once it did the albino noticed a note in his talons, it tied up neatly and it barely scraped despite the chaos that had just occurred.

Gilbert hastily grabbed the note and struggled with the knot used to hold it all together. After failing miserably he finally decided to just cut it open. Grabbing a pair of scissor from the drawer, he snapped the string and unfolded the letter. He then sat there and read it. At first he was a bit worried, knowing that this bird was most definitely Shay and that Lanzo had to send his own bird in order to deliver a message, he worried of his condition. But that fear was quickly relieved within the first couple of sentences.

Dear Gilbert,

Just so you know and before I start this, I want you to understand that I am in healthy and living condition. Luciano hasn't laid a finger on me as has anyone else, and I am convinced that they don't know of my betrayal. But that is not why I went through the trouble of sending you this.

Despite not having any problems as of currently I still have a feeling that Luciano knows something. Whether it be of myself being a spy or something else he knows something, which is why I have resulted to the old fashioned letter form of communication.

This is the most important thing that I have to tell you, and it is that you have a traitor on your side. Someone on your team is sneaking out and slipping Luciano information. I unfortunately do not know who as I couldn't see them and could barely hear them, but they are most definitely a threat and need to be exposed ASAP. I recommend sharing this with your teammates and then having them locked down and watched for the time. If any of them slip information it'll be trouble.

Also, Luciano has sent three people to the airport to kidnap someone. I don't know who but I'm sure someone does and this could be extremely bad. I recommend, if you haven't already, get someone out there and stop them from succeeding. Everyone's lives are on the line right now and it's up to you and your friends to put an end to Luciano's reign.

Signed, Lanzo

P.S. Get Kuro on your side. He might be reluctant but at least show him this letter. It might be of use.

Gilbert read the note once, twice, three times now. He didn't believe it. They had a spy? Someone had betrayed them?

But who!?

Who in the hell would side with Luciano in all this madness and want the bastard to win, especially after everything he'd done? Gilbert had mixed emotions, both confusion and anger. He stood up and shoved the note in his pocket. He slipped on a jacket and perched Shay on his shoulder, Gilbird ending up on his head. Then with that he was out of the house and on his way to Alfred's.

If anything this note would be able to answer a few questions but it also gave many more. If there really was a spy that was working with Luciano, then that meant he knew more than what they had first suspected. Which also meant he knew about the spell and the magic and all that other hullabaloo that was supposed to stop him.

They could still stop him, but now it was a matter of working together.

. . .

Lukas had arrived at the airport late. Later than he hoped at least. He was lucky enough to get on a plane when he did but now he had no information on where he was supposed to go on where his ride was. So putting things together, he decided he would take a taxi to the World Building. If anything Arthur would either be there or be within the proximity.

So he got his luggage and then moved on, heading for the parking lot. For whatever reason you had to walk through the parking lot to get to the Taxis, as the only other way out of the airport was currently blocked off due to some sort of crazy guy walking in with drugs and a pistol on him. Security was busy apprehending him and therefore people were moving through a detour, simply because they didn't want to risk innocents being shot.

Lukas moved downstairs, sitting in an elevator for a good minute before ending up in the underground parking lot. It was packed to the brink with cars which only gave it more of an appearance of a maze than anything.

Not being in too much of a rush, he began to walk in a random direction, only being able to suspect that the exit may or may not be there. As he walked though he passed few. Those that he did pass were leaving their own cars and going upstairs to pick up family and friends. He ignored them and they ignored him, neither making eye contact and barely even recognizing the others presence.

It continued like this for awhile until everything fell silent. Lukas walked and walked, only hearing his own faint steps and listening intently for others. It took him a bit but eventually he did notice some. A group if any, walking from a distance. He didn't think too much about them as they were rather far away and would be of no trouble for him.

But he also noticed that their feet never seemed to fade away, always there and getting increasingly louder. At first he thought that their car was just nearby but when he walked in a complete widened circle he knew they were following him, for what reason he was unsure of. As the people got closer he learned of two things.

One, there were three of them for sure. All following him for unknown intentions.

Two, they had a dark and devilish aura surrounding their beings. They obviously intended to give him some sort of problems.

As he moved on he tried to remain as calm as possible. Never increasing too much in speed nor glancing over his shoulder too many times.
Don't let them know that you're suspicious of them, and they'll be a bit more relaxed, figuring that they're safe for now.

Lukas spotted the exit nearby and moved closer to it. He looked back at the trio briefly to see how far they were from him, but was startled to find the biggest out of the three missing. When he had turned back around he ran into someone, took a few steps back and apologizing before realizing that the same man was now in front of him and smiling down with dark intentions.

"Can I help you?" Lukas asked as the two others came up behind him. He glanced briefly at them before turning back. All of these people, whomever they were, all shared similarities to multiple personifications. This was definitely odd indeed and Lukas began to wonder if this is what Arthur had been talking about over the phone.

"If I'm no assistance to any of you I'd like to continue on with my day if you don't mind." Lukas commented, earning an irritated glance from Allan.

"Actually we would like it if you come with us." Leonardo said with a sly smile on his lips.

"What would be the reason for me to come with you?" Lukas crossed his arms. He was positive this would end with a fight. Though he might not be able to take on all three of them at once, he could at least get away. After all those years of being a viking he had learned some of the best techniques for combat such as this, not to mention he had managed to keep a good bit of muscle earned during those times. You had to be strong to be a viking after all, not even to mention to be a leader of a viking trio.

"You don't have much of a choice." Allan said with a grin, cracking his knuckles for an intimidation factor. Lukas didn't even flinch, instead smiling which seemed to be the last reaction Allan had expected to receive.

"Well, then you'll have to catch me first." His tone remained monotone as the phrase slipped from his lips. A quarter of a second later and Lukas had bolted past Allan and was heading for the exit. He might not be able to fight them but they also wouldn't be able to jump him while out in the open in an airport. They would be restrained and arrested and by that point Lukas would be long gone.

Lukas could hear the feet pounding against the floor behind him, getting close and then causing him to run faster, fading away before returning again with full force. The exit seemed to be thousands of feet away and it only got farther every step. He was breathing heavily and running as fast as he could, but his legs could only go so fast and that was his drawback.

Lukas felt pressure on the back of his leg and realized that it was a foot bringing him to a stop. His knee gave out and he fell into the ground, shoulder dragging into the concrete and creating an unbearable strike of pain. He grinded his teeth and shut his eyes tight as his venture came to a stop. But it wasn't over yet.

He recovered as quickly as he could and ended back up on his feet.

Allan was first to confront him, a heavy hook that Lukas ducked under before bringing his back hand up and landing a solid strike to Allan's midsection. He stumbled back, and was met with another hit to the jaw. He fell into a car that's alarm went off as he held his mouth, tasting that metallic flavor that he hated so much.

Leonardo was next to challenge Lukas. He came up welding a knife that, though it wasn't his favorite weapon, it was effective in this fight. He stabbed and slashed at Lukas but he dodged almost every attack. Of course there were close calls, once the knife barely avoided his cheek and another time it made a paper cut thin line across his shoulder.

Eventually Lukas bolted up and got as close to Leonardo as he possibly could. Grabbing his wrist, he twisted it in the opposite direct that the joint was created to turn and broke the Italian's grip on his weapon. While he was stunned with that another solid elbow strike to the side of the head and he was down too. Now there was only one more but he was nowhere to be found. Lukas looked left and right but couldn't spot him.

And by the time he knew where he was it was already too late.

He felt something hard hit the back of his head and he fell forward, landing on the ground once again. Before he could even turn around to look his hair was roughly gripped and pulled back, exposing his neck to the fullest of extents. A knee was placed in the square of his back, forcing him into an uncomfortable position. Then the steel blade of a knife was placed dangerously close to his jugular vein.

Lukas looked over at his attacker and sure enough found Oliver, but something was definitely wrong with his eyes. They were still their aqua blue color, that was for sure, but pink swirls stirred in the center of both. The knife lingered far too close to his neck than preferred, each breath forced skin against the blade and blood soon started to pour out in thin lines.

"That wasn't very nice."

A/N: Well I'm finally on Summer Vacation. Hopefully this will mean that chapters will be updated sooner but I can't promise anything as I'm still going to be rather busy.

I just want to tell you guys flat out that the guesses you made of Canada being the traitor are completely wrong :U The hints that were meant to be used when concluding who the traitor is were;
1.) They have some sort of wound inflicted on them that causes them to have slower walking speeds/body movements
2.) They have to be taller than Luciano
And come on, do you really think Canada would betray his family and friends? He's probably one of the most innocent people there. Yes he might hate them in certain situations but I highly doubt he would go to that far of an extent.

Also I'd like to mention right now that the thing I put in about the bombings during WWII is completely real. I did not make that up and I actually researched it, and quite honestly it pisses me off. I was always told that the bombings were what ended the war but in reality it was the exact opposite. This just seems to add to the list of reasons why I hate being American. What we did was cruel and was ten times worse than 9/11 and the bombing of Pearl Harbor. If you don't believe me then look it up yourself, and if you decide you want to fight me on the topic I don't give a fuck. Approximately 500,000 civilians were killed in that and it wasn't even fucking necessary.

And on a final note, FIGHT SCENE YUS!

I think I'm getting a bit better at those, and the fight between Lukas and those three was rather fun to write. Of course he couldn't win in the end because that would just be too nice. Plus I've been dying to put in a bit of psychopathic Oliver into here, though I'm sure he'll have a bigger scene later on. And now the two-ps have another victim. Dun dun dun.