Quick side note, this is going to be the final chapter for some time now. The story isn't over I'll tell you that much, but I want to go back and read through all the previous chapters and fix mistakes and change a few things before I finish the next chapter.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

The Beginning of the End: Part 1

It was time.

Finally time.

The others, they were all asleep. Most refused to speak after watching that video. They just went off to an area of the house and fell into slumber.

Deep, deep slumber.

And it all played in his favor. He had gained all the information he needed. Every last word. And now all he needed to do was share it. Tell Luciano exactly what he needed to know. And what better time to do so, then in the middle of the night? The only problem with that was the fact that some people were sleeping in the living room, in the way of his path to the door. Some were lucky enough to get onto the couch, others being left with the floor. It was a matter of whether or not you managed to claim said sleeping area first.

He moved over them stealthily, carefully. Stepping over each and every one of them, and trying his best to avoid making any floorboards creak. He continued on and eventually managed to get to the door after recovering from a close call stumble that would of ended in his definite discovery.

But now he was just about home free. He grabbed the doorknob and unlocked it, the faint clicking noise being heard within close range. He turned the knob, pulling the door open. It was then that he jumped as a piercing, unforgiving beeping sound echoed throughout the house as it was emitted from hidden speakers. It took him a moment, but he soon realized that the security system had gone off when he opened the door.

But he had thought he shut it off a few days prior, and no one seemed to take much notice to the missing red light.

Yet that didn't matter right now, as it would seem he had a much bigger problem as more and more people began to wake up. He turned and bolted out the door, heading down the same path he had taken before. The others would realize quickly that someone had snuck out and was now going to Luciano's location which they most likely had no idea of where that would be.

Ivan could hear the others yelling behind them, stumbling over each other as they tried to understand what had just happened. He knew they would remain in that state for a good bit of time, long enough for him to give the information and then return.

Also plenty of time to prepare for their wrath that was going to come whether he liked it or not.

Meanwhile, everyone had piled into the living room. Ludwig and Vash had silently cheered knowing that their plan to reset the security system was well worth it, even after the hours they spent searching and then programming it after it had been mysteriously shut off prior.

At first everyone had just figured that a burglar had tried to break in, picking the lock and sneaking inside but then becoming startled by the alarm going off and fleeing. But they now figured otherwise when they took a headcount and realized they were missing someone.

"Who got out?"

After the video was shot Luciano had tried, along with help of others, to get any information out of Lanzo as they could. He obviously knew plenty of things as he had been exchanging information in secret between himself and his counterpart, and what they spoke about wasn't shared amongst others until recently.

So the torture continued afterwards, Lanzo was beaten senseless to the point where every feeling in his body was numbed. His blood stained every article of clothing he wore, and he could no longer hold his head high as his energy had depleted. The most noise he could make were grunts or inaudible words. Shaking his head was at this point impossible and he was left to suffer whenever he couldn't answer the questions.

He found that saying no had a lesser punishment then not answering the question at all, Luciano obviously hated to be ignored more than he hated to hear something he didn't want to. Eventually Allan got bored and left along with a couple of others, leaving Lanzo to face the devil alone. But this only lasted so long as Luciano was also annoyed and at the point of giving up as well.

Then an idea popped into his head and he decided that though now he would leave, it would be with a couple of words that he hoped would stick in Lanzo's mind for a while. He started for the door as he began.

"Well it's seems like you won't be of any use to us Lanzo, as you're more stubborn than we had first expected. But it's not a matter, we already have the information we truly need. Anything we would get of you would just of been a bit of a... bonus. But don't worry, I'm sure we'll get everything we need out of poor little Kuro,"

Luciano stopped and looked over his shoulder, his infamous sly smile present. "Wouldn't you agree?"

Lanzo had, at this point, tensed as not much more of a reaction was possible. His hands balled but weakly as they shook and his mouth gaped open as he tried to look for words he could say if any at all. Luciano was at the very least satisfied and left the room, knowing that this either meant that Lanzo figured Kuro was still alive, or he had known all along and thought that Luciano didn't which, quite honestly, he hadn't.

He would of sworn he had burnt that pest in the flames of that old cabin, but it would appear otherwise at the very least. Which meant another threat towards himself.

But if he knew anything it also meant that Kuro was in a rather dire state as of now. A fight with him would most likely seem laughable one-sided. In fact now that he thought about it, he wouldn't mind to fight Kuro head on again. He would have a very obvious advantage and would definitely use it to the fullest.

All he really wanted was to finally strike Kuro down once and for all.

Especially after everything that had happened, everything that had changed. At some points, Luciano felt guilty. Otherwise he only felt rage. Tons and tons of pent up rage that he had just been dying to let out for so damn long.

In the other room Luciano's companions were trying to wrestle some more information out of Lukas. He knew what this spell was, how it worked, and how to use it and the two-ps wanted to know if there were other ways they could postpone it. But so far they were gaining nothing as Lukas refused to speak a word and they had been informed to use nonlethal ways of interrogation.

Obviously this was not working well for them at all but they weren't allowed to go against Luciano's word as it would cause conflict to erupt. Allan had already been escorted out by a few when he started to slowly enter his fit of rage that no one likely wanted to see.

He was stuck outside with Leonardo while Kasper, Viktor, and Jian all tried to squeeze the smallest bit of information out of the stubborn Norwegian.

Along with this the word of Lanzo's betrayal and torture had already spread around by this point and now people were getting antsy. Jean and Oliver were more nervous than anything as they feared that they would also be exposed and then receive the same punishment as the poor albino, leaving less and less people to fight in the supposed resistance.

"What do we do now? With Lanzo compromised it's only so long until they figure us out too... what if they already did?!"

"Oliver calm down." Jean scolded, trying to retake control of the situation.

"If they knew about us they would of taken us when they took Lanzo. Luciano knows how much of a threat we would be otherwise. Right now we just need to make sure that we don't draw attention to ourselves. Stay low and avoid the others. When they talk about Lanzo leave the conversation. We don't want them to think a thing about the possibility of our betrayal. Capish?"

"...Yes"

Ivan had managed to meet up with Luciano after struggling a bit to draw out his attention, shared what little information he had, and then left but not without first briefly stating that he likely would not be back again. Then he took the long walk home, making sure that he was in no sense of a rush as he did. If the others hadn't yet figured out that he was in fact the person that had back stabbed them all, then he would laugh.

He would laugh again and again as they would have to be rather oblivious to a large degree to not put the obvious puzzle pieces together and come up with a conclusion. He figured at least one person would really figure it out and whether or not the others believed them didn't matter as they would soon be proven correct.

He rounded the corner and the Jones residence came into view. The lights were on, being the only household on the entire street that was up. Everyone was still asleep and the sun hadn't even risen yet. He stopped and stared at it, briefly taking in a breath of air before continuing ahead. He wasn't exactly sure what to expect when he entered. Whether he'd be jumped the second he opened the door, or if he'd manage a few steps before being tackled. He could only wonder at this rate.

He got to the door and went up the few steps before standing there, looking down at his feet that were placed on an American Flag themed door mat. On the other side of the entrance he could hear people bustling about, trying their best not to yell but finding it all that harder not to.

He prepared himself for what was to come next as he reached for the doorknob. He turned it and found it to be unlocked, though ending up not too surprised by the discovery. He sucked in another breath before slowly opening the door.

No one seemed to really notice the movement of the object until it was three-fourths of the way open and, at that rate, Ivan's frame had already been revealed. He stepped through the door and into the house when he figured he could fit through and that's when everyone fell silent. They all stared at him, some in disbelief and others seeming less than surprised. It was just about everything he had expected.

Then the next thing he knew, he was on the floor stomach first. He didn't put up a fight while being restrained, but some still found it required to hit him or roughly push him around. He'd likely have a couple of bruises at the end of all this, maybe even a cut or too.

He was hauled down into the basement, taking Kuro's place in the chair as the other was being tended to elsewhere. He was tied up, the ropes becoming increasingly tighter each breath he took in. For the most part everyone had left, disappeared upstairs. No one spoke a word to him, usually just landing a cheap strike to him when he wasn't prepared for it.

Alfred was one of those.

He probably hit Ivan most out of everybody else. Not that the Russian hadn't seen it coming. The American would take any chance he had to inflict pain on him.

But nonetheless he eventually disappeared as well and Ivan was left in the dark to think about exactly what had just gone down. He knew they'd be back later, probably to teach him another form of a lesson that they found reasonable. And until that happened, he'd be waiting for them.

. . .

Kuro had stood to the side and watched as the superpowers wrestled Ivan to the ground. Not that he had much of a choice, he was still restrained as Alfred still refused to trust him despite how much the others did.

Heck, even Yao said that the bindings were a bit of a stretch.

But the other was stubborn and refused to listen to their reasoning.

So Kuro kept it all, every rope that dug into his skin and left burns whenever they were tugged violently when someone wanted him to move just a bit faster despite that fact that it was near impossible for him to do so. He was at least glad they had decided against gagging him again. It was a rather distasteful piece of equipment that he would happily avoid being shoved into his mouth and popping his jaw open a bit farther than he would have preferred.

It was also nice to have his wounds patched up as close to professionally as he seemed like he was ever going to get. That was at least one less thing to be complaining about.

He was also glad that he now had a bit more freedom than he did when he first arrived. It seemed like word of Kiku's rescue was spreading around quickly and people were picking up on what exactly had previously gone down. This obviously earned Kuro a good bit of respect, most ignoring the events that had happened nearly fifty years prior.

But of course there were still some that were unable to look away from what he had done in the far past and still blamed him for certain things that he had done which even he had admitted to be rather regretful.

Some just didn't seem to understand this.

But now everyone was back, upstairs and in a bit of a huddle. Kuro was left to the side with Heracles who had been told to watch the other and to not let him out of his sight. Which is the only thing he'd really done since his arrival. From where they sat they could hear the conversation going on. They were trying to figure out who should go on the rescue.

"It's already been decided that we'll send four people, we just need to know which four. Whoever we send needs to be able to help the mission in some way, that fact ignoring what their position may be as a country. We need to put that all to the side for once and look at the big picture." Ludwig informed as everyone listened and waited.

"Who are we going to send?"

The room fell silent as everyone looked around, trying to figure out who to send.

"I want to go."

Everyone turned their heads to see Lovino sitting with his arms crossed. Some were shocked while others sort of saw it coming.

"I've come into contact with a majority of the two-ps... I have a general idea of how to outsmart them and get pass them. It might be helpful if we run into them. Plus if we get chased I can lead them away, since I'm one of the fastest here."

"So Lovino will be a part of the rescue team. Anyway else?"

"I'll go too." Alfred added quickly after. "I'm one of the strongest here. If we get into a fight I'll be able to hold most of them off."

"I think I'll join in too." Ludwig added. "If we do end up going after Feliciano I can carry him out, it'll save us the time." More agreement.

"Who else should we send?" The room fell silent. Again more thinking, people trying to figure out the best pick.

"I think Kuro-san should go." Kiku added in from the back of the room. Heads turned quickly, everyone trying to make sure they heard him right.

"Why?" Arthur asked, trying to avoid sounding rude.

"Kuro-san knows where their base is located, and he knows how to get around it too. He'll be able to show alternative ways in and which room to be looking out for. He's the most informed on the location and will avoid getting everyone lost."

"Are you mad!?" Alfred butted in from across the room, everyone now looking over at him. "Kuro's a menace! A threat! If we let him go with us, how do we know he won't jump on the opportunity to take us out when we least expect it. It's a terrible idea!"

"But you have to admit, Kuro could save us all a lot of time if he were to lead the way. We wouldn't have to deal with searching through every room, since he would just lead us to the probable ones."

"It could still be a trap!"

"How? Kuro hasn't had any time to prepare one, and after the things that Luciano's done to him, why would he help the madman aru?"

"Because he's a damn backstabber."

"...Are you still going on about World War II? Al that was fifty years ago!"

"And you expect me to just forgive him after all he's done?!"

"Well... no. But you have to at least understand that he's changed since then!"

"Matt it's not that simple. Someone doesn't just sto-"

"ALLE DIE KLAPPE HALTEN!" Gilbert yelled over the other's rant, already fed up with the idiocy going on and only becoming more annoyed as it continued. He was pissed off as well at the fact that Alfred was still blaming Kuro for things that happened long before. Gilbert knew he could trust Kuro, simply because of the letter Lanzo sent him.

And he wasn't about forget about it either.

"Alfred your damn head's so high up in the clouds you don't see the fucking big picture! You still act as if Kuro only intends to do bad when it's obvious he's done just as much good, maybe even more.

"Do you not remember that he saved Kiku's life?

"Hell, he put his own on the line just to do it. He ran into a burning building for fuck's sake.

"If it wasn't for him we would of lost Kiku that day. And yet you still find it necessary to bad mouth him in front of everybody else?! If you ask me, you're acting like more of a monster than he is. You treat him like trash and I think we're all just about full of it.

"So do us all a fucking favor and shut the hell up!"

No one spoke after that. They were all a bit stunned, some having their mouths gaped open as they couldn't believe such an outburst had occurred. Alfred looked irritated, but didn't say a thing after that.

"...Then it's settled. Kuro will be going as well. Any objections?" Arthur asked, looking around the room for anything.

"No? Then let's get a move on."

. . .

Before departure they had decided to rummage around in Alfred's attic to see if they could locate anything of use. They weren't about to walk into this unarmed as they already knew the power of their counterparts and hand-to-hand combat had barely gotten them anywhere.

But as they searched through his stuff Alfred moved down into the basement to greet their new prisoner. He was still a bit peeved over the fact that they were now allowing Kuro a good majority of free will, but he was at least glad they weren't stupid enough to just leave Ivan to the side and not even bother with bindings.

As he entered he didn't bother to attempt to be stealthy as he saw no real purpose of it. Ivan was tied up to the chair and didn't even seem to care that much about someone else's arrival.

He kept his eyes down, scanning the blood stained ground at his feet.

Alfred walked up behind him at first, simply looking the other over before stepping in front. Ivan had taken a good bit of a beating while being moved into the room, but the wounds seemed to have little effect on him. He remained unphased nonetheless and it only made Alfred question even more what was going on inside his head.

The two remained in that room in utter silence.

Neither of them wanted to speak first for their own reasons, and in reality Alfred only came down to do two things. One was to waste time while he waited for the others to find something of use. The second was to ask Ivan a question that had been gnawing away at the side of his head since the discovery.

He figured his first purpose would be fulfilled within mere minutes so he ought to complete the second before it was too late.

"Why did you do it?"

Ivan looked up from the ground for the first time, his stone cold violet eyes staring holes into Alfred's own.

"Do what?" He replied back, minimal change in his expression being visible.

"You know what you did, damn bastard. Why did you back stab all of us?!" Alfred's irritation became obvious

Ivan chuckled.

"I figured you already knew. Not that I'm too surprised... you always were the "Never Back Down" type. It's no wonder you always got into so much trouble, Amerika." He noticed Alfred's hand ball into a fist and then be hidden away behind his back. Ivan's smile returned.

"You really are delusional. From the very beginning Luciano was winning. And he still is. It's only so long until he finally succeeds, and then everyone will fall...

"But to answer your question, I did it to protect my family.

"My sestra, Katyusha and Natasha. Maybe even Toris and his friends too. Luciano promised me that he wouldn't lay a hand on them. I knew it could all be a lie... but I wasn't willing to risk it. I just want to make sure they're all safe..."

"So you decide instead of aiding your 'comrades' in a fight to defeat him, you help him instead? There's a 40/60 chance that he's even telling the truth and you still helped him?!" Alfred spat, taking a few steps closer until their faces were no more than a few inches away from each other, his hands being placed on the arms of the chair for support. Ivan met his glare and his smile disappeared.

"First off, we are not 'comrades' rebenok. Not since the war ended. And second off, I am protecting my family from threats that could over power them with ease. Not that I'd expect you of all people to understand."

"And what's that supposed to- !"

Suddenly they heard the basement door open and someone come down the stairs. Alfred stood up from his previous position and turned his head to see who was coming. It was quickly identified to be Ludwig who, for the most part, had not heard any of the words shared between the two.

"Time to head out." He informed the other. Alfred cracked his friendly smile and stated that he'd be up in just a moment. Ludwig nodded and left, not really thinking twice about any of it.

Ivan and Alfred exchanged a set of death glares before the two were parted by a door and four solid walls. The other three waited upstairs for his arrival, having found weapons that they considered usable at this rate. It wasn't too much, simply a metal baseball bat, an old sabre from America's "Dark Ages" and a pistol from recent warfare. They were tempted to take the rifle instead of the pistol, but figured if there was to be a break-in here then the others would likely need it more than they did. Even with this fact in mind though, Kiku still gave Kuro his katana since his own had been lost in the fire. The other was hesitant at first when it came to accepting the weapon, but Kiku had insisted and wouldn't let Kuro say no otherwise. They also took a set of walkie-talkies that would allow them to easily communicate with each other and everyone back at base, just in case.

So now they were all geared up and ready. Quick goodbyes were muttered and then they left, Kuro leading the way with the others following behind.

Lovino was given the pistol and had been informed specifically to keep the barrel against Kuro's back, just in case he happened to turn on them or run. But that didn't seem like a real problem with Alfred and Ludwig to his sides. In his current state, outrunning those two seemed near impossible.

They went down the path Ivan had gone down earlier that morning and were easily moving down the streets. Every so often a car would pass by but they all seemed oblivious to the group of people walking down the sidewalk with weapons at the ready. They figured at least one person would question them, from a distance of course as no one wanted to be within swinging range of a sword or bat. Yet not one did.

They continued in silence until eventually they were right across the street from the old butcher shop.

"This place?" Alfred asked, jaw slightly open. "I remember this place. Used to come here all the time to get meats for Thanksgiving. It was pretty popular around the holidays but the economy just wasn't doing this place any good and it had to be shut down... the building has been abandoned ever since then. I never thought this would be the place holding two captives and a group of madmen. What were the chances?" Lovino shrugged.

"Obviously pretty high. Are those bastardi really in there?" Kuro looked over his shoulder, expression remaining blank.

"Why don't you go in and find out?" Lovino was unsure whether or not that was a threat or a statement but before he could decide Ludwig was already heading across the street. The others followed and struggled to keep up with his increasing pace.

Once they got to the door step Kuro ushered them towards the back where they could go in through another door.

"I'm not sure whether or not they're up right now but I have an idea of where they put your friend. Just stay low and avoid everyone at all costs. We don't want to end up in a tussle with them..."

"Got it"

"Va bene"

"Verstanden"

. . .

The four entered quietly yet quickly. They followed Kuro who moved down a path that seemed very familiar to himself. For the most part they ran into no one until they were in the hallway of the room.

Kuro pointed out the room that Lukas was in and the one that Feliciano was in if they had a chance to snatch him. The others nodded, taking in the surroundings as they continued on. Kuro pointed out people as they began to see them. Allan was sitting in a chair in the hallway, passed out as he slumped forward. A key was barely visible in his hand, fist tightly wrapped around the base and only the end tips being visible.

They could hear a few people talking, but it was in a room they weren't really concerned with.

It was decided that Lovino would stay behind, gun at the ready just in case things got out of hand. Kuro and Alfred would go snatch the key and Ludwig would wait nearby for the signal to head in and grab Lukas.

With the plan set they moved out. Lovino sat at the corner of the hall, gun lowered with his finger placed on the outside of the trigger guard, simply waiting in anticipation. He cocked the gun briefly, a bullet loaded and at the ready. Ludwig stood behind him, standing up with a hand against the wall to give him enough room to see. They watched Kuro and Alfred crouch down and head over towards Allan, debating what to do.

"Should we knock him out?"

"No that'll make noise."

"But if we don't he might wake up."

"We don't have enough time to bother with trying to knock him out, it might fail."

"So will trying to remove the key from his hand without pulling back his fingers!"

"We'll just have to deal with it."

"You're going to get us all killed."

"Like you haven't already."

They shut up that instant when they heard Allan moved around in his seat, sitting back now instead of slumping forward. His hand remained shut despite this, and they knew they had no way out. Alfred sat to the side, bat at the ready as Kuro placed the katana down at his feet before sitting up next to the chair.

He eyed Allan before moving to remove the key. He decided to try and softly pry open the fingers so the grip would loosen and the key could be released without much of a hassle. Of course this was easier said than done as he was unsure how light of a sleeper the American was.

He began to open up his hand, doing it slowly and steadily. Allan moved slightly but not enough to be alarming. Eventually the hand was opened up wide enough and Kuro was able to slip the key out.

He was relieved and handed it over to Alfred who moved to the doorway where it was supposed to be used in.

He slipped it in and attempted to turn it but the key wouldn't budge. In fact it didn't even fit.

"Wrong key idiot!" He barked at Kuro who shrugged, becoming utterly confused on which door that key was meant to be used on. But that wasn't the only thing they noticed, though the second they discovered it was far too late.

Allan had awoken, and was very well awake when they arrived.

It was all a set up if it wasn't obvious enough and he knew he had the jump on them when their backs were turned. He lunged forward and grabbed Kuro, putting him in a solid choke hold.

"THEY'RE HERE!" He yelled as he struggled to keep Kuro in place while trying to choke him out, something that the other was not about to let happen so easily.

"THEY'RE HERE!" He yelled again, ducking under a swing from Alfred's bat after he had jumped up from his crouching position.

"Go help them!" Lovino ordered, falling back while aiming the pistol at the end of the hallway. Ludwig nodded and ran over, landing a punch in the gut of the unsuspecting Allan, who lost his hold on Kuro and ended up being met with a straight back kick to the jaw, causing him and the chair to both fall over.

"Come on we need to hurry." Ludwig warned, running over to the door that was presumably locked.

"It won't open the key didn't work." Alfred noted, throwing the useless piece of metal to the side. Ludwig tried anyway, and was annoyed to discover that the door was in fact unlocked. The two glared at the American before moving inside. Sure enough Lukas was there, seeming alone in the room. But they weren't quick enough to react as they were soon surrounded.

Hiding in the shadows, likely after Allan had called, was Andrew, Viktor, and Kasper who were all armed and ready for a fight. In the hallway the trio also heard gunshots go off, assuming Lovino had also been ambushed.

"I told you..." Kuro muttered as the three all backed up into a corner. Lukas watched, hating the fact that he was unable to do a thing about the situation. Everyone was able to make out a series of loud curse words outside of the room, only imagining the worse.

"So you really weren't dead..." Kasper began, looking over at Kuro who stared back. He chuckled. "I can't wait to hand Luciano your head."

Gilbert was pacing, back and forth nonstop. Something was obviously getting to him but what was unidentifiable to others. Most ignored him either way as they discussed what they were to do if the rescue mission was a failure. Most expected it to be a success but of course they still needed a Plan B just in case.

But the albino cared little about that as he couldn't help but worry sick over Lanzo's well being.

That video had him spooked and now he could only hope and pray that Lanzo was not dead, or at least near it. He knew if the other was dead he would already be effected by it, but the thought of him going through seemingly endless sessions of pain and misery was not ensuring at all.

His pacing seemed to be only annoying one person in particular, who found it hard to listen to his brother explain everything while someone was nervously moving back and forth behind him.

Eventually he got fed up and stood, walking around to the back of the couch and confronting the other.

"Oi Gil." Ross muttered, drawing the other's attention and briefly stopping him.

"Hm?" He said in some form of a reply. Ross sighed, rubbing his forehead before dropping his hand to his side.

"Somethin's buggin' you and quite honestly it's getting a bit trying. Mind explaining yourself?" He crossed his arms, meeting the other eye to eye. Gilbert sighed.

"It's nothing really just some... issues." Ross half-heartedly laughed.

"If th'se so called "issues" are more 'mportant than the meeting we're having right now, then do share." Gilbert shook his head.

"I doubt you'd understand."

"Go ahead n' try me then."

"No really it doesn't concern you-"

"At this point I don't seem ta care now do I?"

"...Fine." Gilbert said, finally giving in and wanting to stop the pointless arguing. "You remember that video last night right?"

"With th' kid and that psycho? Yeah how could I forget."

"Uh... yeah. Anyway that "kid" is a really close friend of mine and... I'm just really worried for him. I keep thinking that he's just going through more pain that he doesn't deserve and it's my fault for putting him in that situation and... and I just feel bad and I'm worried sick." Gilbert looked down at his feet, not wanting to see Ross' face.

But he was drawn to look up anyway when he heard the other begin to laugh.

"What the hell are you laughing about? You think this is funny!?" Ross stopped, smile still on his face.

"Course not, a poor kid gettin' tortured is never funny. But what is funny is that the "Awesome Prussia" is just sittin around moping 'bout it when he should be out there, saving his bud. Wouldn't ya agree?"

"Yeah I guess but... me going in alone is way too dangerous you know?" Ross laughed again.

"Who says you gotta go alone?"

"Who's going to be crazy enough to go with me?"

"You're lookin right at 'im."

ALLE DIE KLAPPE HALTEN = EVERYONE SHUT UP (German)

Amerika = America (Russian)

Sestra = Sisters (Russian)

Rebenok = Child (Russian)

Bastardi = Bastard (Italian)

Va Bene = Alright (Italian)

Verstanden = Understood (German)

A/N: HAHAHA

It's almost over. This story is almost over. How long till it will be, who knows. It'll be a minimum of three chapters [Including this one], maybe even a few more depending on how much content I can come up with in the time I have. But yes, things are going dooooown.

To all of those who guessed Ivan as the spy, give yourself a pat on the back. Unless of course I told you then you can go kick yourself in the shin. Don't ask me how to do it, you can figure it out on your own.

And of course I needed to add in that nice little encounter between Alfie and Ivan, as the truth is revealed that even though he did back stab them it was only to help people he cared about more than you might of first guessed. Also now Kuro is gaining more and more respect and trust from the others, even Gil who stood up for him in front of everyone after Alfred tried to persuade everybody about how bad of a guy he is.

And now the mission has begun and so far it's not looking too good for the rescuers as they're already in deep water. Expect massive fight scenes and plenty of surprises along the line. I'm hoping to be able to put in plenty of final fights that you guys have been dying to see. Also Ross is being a good guy with helping Gilbert out with his "issues" and now it's only so long until the Magic Trio meets their deadline.

And who do you guys think will win in the end? The One-Ps or the Two-Ps? You can go ahead and figure out what that means, as I go and take a break from writing.

Ciao~