Italy is still alive…now at the clutches of Holy Roman Empire. Germany made the pledge that he'll save him, no matter what…all because he loves him. That's the Germany that we know.

/=+=/

Everyone waited in the conference room for Spain and Germany to come back. The whole time, Alfred was playing chess with the maid Liara (and apparently no one was that good.) with Francis watching. The room was slowly sinking into major intensity, mainly because most of them were looking at the agitated Italian brother.

"I'm really worried about Ludwig…" England looked at the door.

"I know…" Matthew responded, holding onto Kumajiro. "I'd probably be in his position too, if it was Seyel…"

"…who are you?"

"Canada."

"Oh right…sorry." Arthur turned back toward the two Americans playing chess, making sure Francis kept his distance. "…hey, Matthew."

"Um…y-yes?"

"…" Arthur could not believe he was going to ask this. "…what does it feel like to be in love?"

"H-huh? W-well, I…uh…well…um…" Canada hid his mouth behind Kumajiro's head. "I…don't know how to put it into words…exactly, but…if I can be as precise as I can…you feel it in your blood…"

"In your blood…" Arthur turned to Matthew, thinking about it.

"L-like…your mind thinks of nothing but the other one…you can't even take your duty seriously anymore…you live for that other person…" He turned toward Arthur. "A-are you thinking about Liara's mother?"

"…I think I felt like that to her…once before…" He folded his arms and looked down. "I can't remember anymore. All I know is that I have a daughter I have to care for…and damn it, I'm going to be a good father to her."

"…you'd be a great father to her…" He smiled. "I mean…you dealt with my brother really well…unless…"

Arthur immediately blushed, confirming what Matthew was thinking. They both looked away, trying really hard not to look at Alfred (who had just lost the game of chess…to a human). Suddenly, the door slid open, revealing Germany and Spain. Liechtenstein quickly rose to her feet and ran to Germany, much to Switzerland's shock.

"Germany…Bist du in Ordnung [are you alright]?"

"…ja." He answered. "Thank you for asking…"

Lili nodded as she walked back toward her brother. Everyone looked at Germany as he walked toward the head of the conference table to address the room. For the first time since the beginning of forever, America actually allowed him to talk in the front. He looked at everyone in the room before nodding and muttering something in confirmation to himself.

"…I'm under the impression that all of you know what happened to Feliciano." He started off. "And as most of you know after that…he did that to save my life…acted on impulse, without thinking that everyone else would come and save us…"

Everyone looked at each other, that thought slowly sinking into their minds. They all knew that Italy would do something like that to save his Doitsu…they just didn't know that he actually had the courage to do so. At those words, many of them bowed their heads and thought about what could've been running through his head.

"After all that has happened…and by the information that I have obtained…I concluded that Italy is still alive." Those words quickly caught Romano's attention. "As long as Northern Italy is continuing on as normal, Feliciano must still be operating and alive. That's why I'm going to look for him."

"Where would you even start, aru?" China asked.

"Me and Holy Roman Empire are the same person, so I predicted that he would keep himself in his old territory, figuring out which country to take back first. He might be in Northern Italy…" Germany's gaze turned downward. "So I'm going there…"

"Right now?" Francis blinked. "That's a bit hasty on your part, non?"

Ludwig felt as if he was going to blow up in his face before France smacked him with a calming wave, making him unable to complain about it. It did, however, allow him to think with a straight and clear mind. And he did find some logic in the Frenchman's words. Going now is just going to alarm Holy Rome.

"You're just wasting your time…"

Everyone looked up and saw the figure of Holy Roman Empire descend from the sky. Before anyone had a chance to react, he swung his hands in the air and threw everyone away in a large blast. Screams of shock ran through the room as Germany was the first to jump back onto his feet.

"I expected nothing less from my other half…" He grinned. "I would get rid of you now, but I'm not strong enough to live with just a part of my soul…"

"Where's Italy?" Ludwig screamed.

"Beruhigen, Germany. Yelling is just so childish of you." He floated back up in the air. "I need Italy…more than you did. If you really cared for him, you'd never let this happen!"

And he vanished into thin air, leaving Germany to stand up in shock. Around him, nations were consoling each other and assessing the damage. Arthur was the most worried, since there was a human in the room after all. He turned his head and noticed an unconscious Matthew, his head bashed into the wall and blood streaming down his golden locks.

"M-Matthew…?" He heard Seyel gasp as she rose to her feet. "NOOO!"

She dashed through the wreckage and pulled him out of the dent in the wall. The minute she got there, Alfred was at her side to see just how much blood he lost. That whole scene reminded him of the second World War, when Italy was at Germany's side when he was losing the war…even though he hated war.

Feliciano…Holy Roman Empire has him…I knew it…

"Holy Roman Empire is strong, aru…" Wang Yao walked to Germany. He noticed that he didn't have many scratches on his body. "But he has Feliciano, doesn't he aru?"

"He does…" He answered. "But…I don't know where to start looking…"

"Germany…I have a plan."

He turned his head and saw that Liara was slowly getting to her feet, Arthur panicking when she did so. It was then that he realized that she had a broken arm from the attack. He was surprised that something like that could still make a human stand.

"I suggest we all split up and search in their respective countries: you search in Germany, Lili goes to Liechtenstein, Vash to Switzerland…we all search for Italy and Holy Roman Empire."

"What if we get attacked again?" Alfred asked.

"We split into groups. We'll keep it as even as we can…maybe three or four to a group at a time." She continued, sitting down to stop her arm from swinging. "We'll keep our search in the former kingdom's territory, knowing that he'll try reclaiming land before reaching into new ones…"

Ludwig had considered that, but he didn't think that she would easily catch on. Maybe she did have a bit of England's blood in her veins. He was a good tactician (plus, she was lucky enough not to inherit the eyebrows).

"If we're splitting up…" Kiku turned to Ludwig. "I'm going with you."

"Right…" He nodded.

"I'm coming with!" Lovino darted to his feet. Apparently he avoided much of the harm.

"No, Lovino! You have to search your brother's land!" Antonio got his arm. "I'm coming too, so we have to go there!"

"…dammit."

Slowly, he watched everyone split up into their respective groups. Everyone seemed to be the most determined to find Feliciano, no matter what. He was about to conclude his journey with Kiku when he heard Seyel mutter something. He turned and saw that she was still holding Matthew's unconscious body.

"I'm coming with you, too." She answered.

"You don't have any powers, Seyel." Kiku stated. "Facing Holy Roman Empire as you are now is only going to get you hurt."

"I can't just sit here while everyone's trying to save the world!" She argued. "I'm still a country! I have to do something!"

"…you're still putting yourself in harm's way." Ludwig answered.

"T-then…I'm coming too…"

Seyel gasped as she saw Matthew slowly rise into a sitting position, holding onto her shoulder for some support. He sat there in silence, drops of blood dripping from his head onto the ground, trying to slow down his rapid breathing.

"But…you're hurt!" Seychelles stated.

"I-it's the blond hair…it accents the blood a lot…" He chuckled. "I just need to wash it out, that's all."

Everyone looked at each other and nodded, knowing that they got their group. They concluded that they were going to rest the night (Canada did get his head bashed into a wall), and leave in the morning. As they left, Kiku couldn't help but notice that Belarus was still clinging onto Russia as they concluded that they were going to go with Nel. The desperation on his face made him run out of the room.

/=+=/

Ludwig was the first person of the group to be ready.

He stood impatiently in front of the conference building as the sun was barely rising over the horizon, his whip by his side and a bag of anything that he needed. He heard footsteps and saw that Seychelles and Canada were walking toward him, dressed for a search. What surprised him was Matthew's outfit: it looked like a winter jacket and…were those goggles?

"What's with the outfit?" He blinked.

"Huh? Oh…it's my hunting jacket…it's one of the few pieces of clothing that I can turn invisible." He answered. "It has a hood too, in case-"

Yeah, whatever.

"Where's Japan?" She looked around. "I thought he'd be here."

"I'm right here."

He suddenly teleported in the middle of the group, startling all of them. He was wearing his military uniform and had a katana by his side, but looked dead tired. Germany held his shoulders, worried that he might pass out from the lack of sleep.

"Are you all right, Japan?" He asked.

"I'm all right…" The Japanese man answered. "I was just trying something last night…"

"Trying…something?" Seyel blinked.

"Yeah…" He lifted up his hands. "Hold my hands."

Everyone looked at each other in confusion before agreeing to do just that. Kiku took deep breaths as the others wondered what he was going to do. Suddenly, he closed his eyes and held the fingers of the hands he held.

And teleported.

/=+=/

Here are your translations. Again, blame Google Translate for any errors and feel free to send me corrections in a review!

[Bist du in Ordnung?] GERMAN– Are you all right?

[ja] GERMAN- Yes.

[Beruhigen] GERMAN– Calm down.