SEK: So any excuses for the slow update?

MW: Umm life sucks? I also have my other story to worry about? The unholy amount of reviews made me faint with gratitude.

SEK: The usual. I see.

MW: But anyways GUYS! THIS IS A PSA! Are any of you lovely darlings part of the Bleach fandom? If so, then I have the fanfiction for you! The ever beautiful Anatolica has published a Bleach-fandom of the Fanseries, entitled "Karma Needs New Glasses". So if anyone here would like to be awesome and read it, you all can find the link in either my profile or favorites list.

BFTL: So in a sense, there is a fanfiction for this fanfiction.

MW: That wouldn't be the first time that has happened to us . . .

Chapter Summary: After Larry meets someone he was totally not expecting, he encounters a few, er, problems.

Warnings: Strong language, sexual themes, blood, violence, and yaoi.

Disclaimer: if I owned Hetalia, there would be a coherent plot.

~Chapter 4~

She With My Name

"Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen."

-Winston Churchill, British Prime Minister

The Void: Day 5

I think after all of my praying, God finally decided to save me and get me out of that hell hole. Actually, God wouldn't do that- Jesus would. I always thought that Jesus was a cool guy. I mean, not only did he die for our sins, but he turned water into wine. That's practically screaming "I'm a good religious guy and stuff, but I also like to party." Jesus has always been my favorite.

Then again, I might just not like him as much. Granted, he did take me far away from The Romanov and every single pervert on there, but I was now in this world of black. Opening my eyes, I saw an endless black void, stretching out for who knows how long. There was definitely some light in there since I could still see my rough hands and plaid sneakers. If only I knew- wait a second. I wasn't wearing a dress. And I was positive that sneakers are definitely not in that time period.

My heart racing, I took a second look at myself. There were my plaid shorts, brown tee shirt, and black coat. I was wearing this when Sherry and I went to the hospital. Why would Liechtenstein be wearing this? "Actually, I don't think I'm a girl anymore," I corrected, groping my own chest. My boobs were gone. "Am I . . ." I reached up and felt my face. There were my glasses! I quickly ripped them off and held them far from my face (I was far-sighted).

There, in the glass's reflection, was my own face.

"Oh my God!" I gasped, nearly dropping it. One hand went to my pounding chest while the other worked to put the back on. "Oh my God!" Warmth swelled in my chest as a relieved laugh escaped my mouth. "I'm alive!"

Thank you, Jesus! This was great, this was fantastic, this was- hold on. I frowned and stopped my rejoicing. Looking up at the ceiling, I asked, "All right, Jesus: where am I?"

Someone made a small, quiet noise behind me. "Um, excuse me?" I knew that voice. That was my girl voice! Oh no. In a blink of an eye, I jerked around to see the small petite figure of Liechtenstein.

I stared. "Wow. . . " She was pretty- prettier than I remembered her. Her arms and legs were like skinny sticks and her skin was a flawless white. Her hair was cut short and framed her beautiful face perfectly. She was everything a man could ever hope for.

And she looked just like Stella.

True, I would have to change Liechtenstein into a goth Asian, but the resemblance was still there. Everything from how they held themselves to how cute they were. Excuse me- that is not true. Liechtenstein was cute, but Stella was gorgeous. A small pain pierced my chest. In the past few days, how often have I thought about her? Not enough, considering the fact that I was doing all of this to save her, to keep her by my side.

"Excuse me?" I snapped back to reality to see that the blond was still giving me a wide-eyed look, though this time her eyes gleamed with a little impatience. "Are you the guy who's in my body right now?" she asked, taking a small step forward.

My eyes went up and down her body. How odd. She was wearing the pink dress I first woke up in, not the clothes that I borrowed from Hungary. Shaking my head, I held out my hand and smiled, saying, "Yeah. I'm Larry Ebenezer Sue. You're the girl whose body I've been possessing, right?"

She smiled wryly. "Are you always this charming?" she asked through the holes of her teeth.

I raised an eyebrow. Me, charming? Since when? I couldn't even ask the girl of my dreams out on a date! And I've known her for nearly six years! "Maybe you're just easy to please," I said. I immediately knew that it was the wrong thing to even think when she scowled. You know, when she did that, she looked a lot like Switzerland.

Scarily so.

Giving me an obviously forced smile, she beckoned, "Why don't you come here for a second?" I gulped. I can suddenly see how these two are related. Oh God, she was going to kick my arse, wasn't she? But I could not refuse- her eyes were practically threatening me not to. I thought it best for my overall well-being to do as she said. I tentatively came closer to her and waited for her to do something.

Liechtenstein smiled cutely and wrapped her arms around my waist. I sighed and relaxed. "Oh, she just wanted to hug me." Inside, I was laughing. "That makes so much more sense. Why would she ever want to cause me pain?"

Those were the fateful words going through my head before she arched her back and flipped me over her. My head crushed into the ground and my whole world was consumed with the pain of possible brain damage. I moaned. My vision was out focus and I could feel a throbbing in my skull.I was perfectly content with just lying there, sprawled out on the floor, but little-Miss-backstabber wasn't through with me yet.

Roughly, she grabbed me by my collar and lifted my upper half to her face. "That's for letting Turkey touch me," She said, nice and cute. Oh heck, she was definitely related to Switzerland. She struck me across the face. "That's for letting Denmark touch me." She released me and I fell with a thud! back onto the ground. Just when I thought she was finished, Liechtenstein returned and pressed her foot onto my neck. "And this-" She added more force, causing me to choke. "-This is for having Prussia of all people put a corset on me."

I looked up at her through tearing eyes. "W-what the . . ." I gasped, trying to gain some breath. After a few more long and painful seconds, she finally released me. I curled up on my side, coughing up. A few more tears leaked from my eyes when my lungs expanded again. "What are you doing?" A part of me asked. "Stop acting like a whimp! Would Dad want you to be like this?" The answer was simple: no.

Strongly, I forced myself to sit up. My whole body ached, my head was spinning, and my chest was heaving from incessant coughs, but I still narrowed my eyes with the best glare possible. "W-why did you-" I coughed and saw dots in my vision. Frack, that was definitely not good.

"I'm sorry for doing that." I rolled my eyes as Liechtenstein sat in front of me, her legs folded behind her like a princess. "I hope that I didn't hurt you too bad."

I rubbed my neck as I coughed, saying, "Then why the heck did you do it?"

Her warm, slim finger reached out and playfully tapped my nose. "You fully deserved it," she said.

"How?"

The girl irritably sighed and looked up at the sky, as if praying. Maybe she was asking Jesus why I was, apparently, such an idiot. "I just told you: you not only let both Turkey and Denmark touch me, but you allowed Prussia to change me."

Words failed me. Oh, that's what she was so upset about. Those guys were touching her and. . . . I get it. I winced and held out my hands. "I didn't mean for those things to happen," I said. "They just did it without permission."

"You could've fought them away a bit more," She snapped quickly, her voice stabbing my chest. "And the last time I checked, you let Prussia do all of those things!"

I groaned. "I'm a guy in a girl's body!" I yelled. "I have no idea what the hell I'm supposed to do half of the time! If you think that it's bad now, wait until I'm on my period, then things will get crazy!"

She slapped me. "Would you just stop it?" She screamed, breath dancing on the red hot wound on my skin. I hissed and shot my head back. I was going to yell back at her, demand that she stopped being such an insensible broad, when I saw it: tears.

Two rivers of tears ran down her cheeks. Her blue eyes were shrinking as their whites turned red. For a moment, all I could do was stare. She was crying. Was the whole 'touched by guys' thing really that upsetting? Oh Jesus, please tell me that she wasn't raped.

Delicately, I moved my arms up and around her small frame. A thick sob escaped her as I started to rub her back. "It's all right," I cooed stiffly. "Just . . . why are you crying?"

Liechtenstein looked at me. "Why wouldn't I be?" she sniffled. "I'm stuck in this stupid contract just like you and hate it-" A new wave of tears overcame her. I panicked and quickly pulled her close to my chest as she started wailing. "I hate it so much!"

I nodded and continued to rub her back. All right, Larry. You have a cute little girl wailing into your chest. You have to comfort her. The only question is how? Darn it, I am not good at these kinds of things. What should I do?

Clear my douchebag name.

"I don't mind doing this because someone who I really like might die," I told her. My words were slow, as if it pained me to say them. She didn't stop crying, but her cries softened and I could tell that she was listening. "Actually, I more than like her." I thought about the way Stella looked when she smiled. "I love her. But I never told her that and she got into an accident and she might die. This guy- Erwin -he just offered to save her if I did this. And-" I took a long breath. "Maybe that's why I'm not upset. Because I want to be here. For her."

By now, Liechtenstein had long stopped crying. Something about my story had calmed her to the point where her chest was moving with even breaths. A silent moment settled over us as I felt something inside of me soften. That was the reason I was here, wasn't it? I could definitely bear through a bunch of perverts for her, couldn't I?

"I also didn't have a choice." I looked down at Liechtenstein as she returned my hug. Her face was turned to the side so that she could talk, but I could still feel her wet cheek through my shirt. "THE WAR was just starting and everything was supposed to be fine. Everyone swore that we were going to have fun doing this. But then this guy—Bud— said that something bad would happen to Prussia if I didn't agree to this. And-" Her hands gathered my jacket in fist fulls. "-I couldn't let anything bad happen to him. I didn't think, I didn't even read it, I just signed the stupid contract."

"So you must really love Prussia then," I said. On the outside, I did my best to sound cool and understanding, but deep down I was in shock. Liechtenstein loves Prussia? That idiot? Who would have thought! It must be one sided though since Prussia had yet to use that as an excuse to be near me. There was nothing I could do about it now. So I asked, "But you said that the guy was named Bud?"

She nodded. "Yeah, Bud. He made the contract with me. Light hair, glasses. I didn't get a good look at his face."

"Mine was Erwin," I replied. "Dark hair, glasses. I could spot him in a heartbeat. They must be in league with each other." I gave her a minute to just hug me, to separate the two conversations from each other, to make a distinct line between the good and bad. When I felt as though she was ready, I asked, "So what is this place anyways?"

"I'm not really sure," she replied, pulling away. She looked a lot better, even letting a small smile dance beneath her frown. "I'm just here when you're me. I sometimes get a little control, though."

I blinked, remembering the time when my- her -body went numb and someone beside me controlled it. That voice I heard, asking me to trust her sounded like Liechtenstein. "I think I know what you're talking about," I said, scratching the back of my neck. Now that I thought about it, I should have believed Russia when he threatened to put me on the rack. "So can you do that at any given time?"

Lucky for me, she shook her head. "No, only when I have a great desire to," she said. "But even then it's hard to keep it up."

"I see." I leaned back onto my elbows and looked up at the endless black. "Is that what's going on now? You're the one thing holding me here?"

She nodded again. "Yeah. It's hard."

"Well don't over exert yourself. If you can't hold me here for very long, then just let me go."

A small sense of satisfaction graced me when she genuinely smiled. Brushing her hair behind her ear, she asked, "Are you always this charming or am I just lucky?"

I smirked and hummed. Everything about me felt better. My body didn't hurt half as much and my resolved seemed stronger. I could do this. I could do anything for Stella. "Neither. I just like you." When I looked back at her to see if her smile was bigger, I saw instead her body fading away.

I frowned. "Liech . . ."

"I can't hold on to you forever," she told me, voice growing fainter with the passing second. "So I. . ." I wanted to contradict myself. I wanted to scream, to beg to hold onto the girl who looked like Stella. But I was the strong one and I had to be strong for Liechtenstein. So I closed my eyes and bathed in the feeling of endlessly falling

and falling

and falling

and falling

a

n

d

. . .

THE WAR: Day 6

I groaned as I felt the sunlight try to get through my eyelids. No, five more minutes Mom. Can't I sleep just a little longer? I was about to roll onto my side and go back to sleep when I remembered the void. Liechtenstein was depending on me to do this. Stella was not going to get better if I did nothing. Who was I to betray either of their trusts?

Filled with determination, I opened my eyes to the wood ceilings of the Brown Coats' ship. I was not in my hammock, but on a cot in the crew's sleeping chambers. Figures- who would put an unconscious girl in something she could fall out of? I tried to sit up, just to find that there was a weight on my stomach. I groaned when I saw Sokka curled there, sleeping. Memories of Berry told me to let sleeping cats lie or else risk getting my face mauled off.

I flopped back on my pillow and looked around. Switzerland was on a chair on the wall across of me. His arms were folded over his chest and his face was down. By his steady breaths, it was safe to say that he was sleeping. I craned my neck to see that in the hammock behind me was Prussia. He was also asleep, but his head was rested at the end by me, as if he was watching me. No, he was watching over me- Liechtenstein. "He loves her back," I realized, remembering his surprise erection problem. "They're both just too afraid to say it."

"They both watched you while you were out." And finally, I looked at the doorway to see Turkey. He looked relaxed and cocky as usual. There not was a single trace of him even being in battle. In fact, all of the men looked to be in prime shape. Even the cut on Prussia's forehead was gone.

"Well, they're countries so I guess that makes sense," I thought. Immediately, I scowled. "I can't believe I'm actually going to believe this . . ."

"Alfred was in here too," Turkey continued, kicking off his wall and steadily walking towards me. "But Belarus yelled for him about an hour ago."

I glared up at the turban-clad man as I asked, "What about you?"

He shrugged. "I came in and out a few times, but I had to help Neder and Estonia reinforce the cell door." He took a seat next to my colt, crisscrossing his long legs like a child. I focused my eyes on his red shirt. I wondered if being a country left him a few scars on his chest, like the one I had on my thumb. I wondered if I could ask him without sounding sexual. "Did you know that she refused Russia's offer?" He asked, reaching for a metal canister at his belt. He suddenly smirked. "That was stupid of me. You've been out for a whole day- of course you would have no idea."

My eyes drifted to his face as he took a long swig from it. "What's in there?" I asked. Was it just me or did that look like one of those old fashion alcohol containers?

Turkey quickly wiped his mouth along his arm before holding it out for me. "Do you want some?" he asked. "Don't worry; it's only apple juice."

Even though I could smell its sweetness clearly, I still didn't trust him enough. Or, at least, that's what I told myself. There was something about the smell that was tingling my memory. And the second I admitted that it was familiar, it came to me: Sherry, sitting at the kitchen counter, drinking straight from a plastic jug of it. "Why are you drinking that?" I asked her, wrinkling my nose at her vulgar behavior.

Sherry only swallowed what she had and shrugged. "A friend of mine really likes this stuff," she simply told me. Simple, yes, but careful and secretive. "It really calms me down."

"Sherry and Turkey are not friends," I sternly told myself as I shook my head at the bottle. "She would have had to come to this universe and that's impossible. Even if she did, I would know since that jerk can never keep her mouth shut about anything."

"So what are you doing here?" I asked as he put his bottle away. "You don't seem like the type to watch over little girls in their sleep." It suddenly hit me what I was saying. "Actually, you do, but I want to give you the benefit of the doubt."

Turkey chuckled. "Well I originally came in here to remind Switzerland to help Greece clean the guns, but since you suggested it . . . " Using the swiftness of the Ottoman Army (Oh my God, if stupid fangirls actually write lame comparisons like that in their Hetalia fan fictions, I swear that someone is going to lose an eye), he sprang into a crawl position. Right on top of me. Arms trapping my head on both sides. Like a guy about to have sex with a woman. At least Sokka was still sound asleep, offering my lower ends a little protection.

I think that this is one of the few times I fully deserve to swear. So here it goes: fuck.

Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck.

Turkey brought his face so close to mine that I could smell the apple in his words as he whispered, "I think that you and I can spare some time to have a little fun."

I was about to fight him away myself and demand that he get a hobby, but the beating Liechtenstein gave me came back to me. She was upset because I let a bunch of guys touch her . . . It looked as though I was going to have to do this the quick and cowardly way. I cleared my throat and did my best to look at Switzerland. I screamed, "Big brother!"

Bam!

In a flash, Switzerland had Turkey on the ground next to me, growling as he straddled his chest and jammed a gun under his chin. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" The blonde snarled like an angered rabid dog.

Turkey shakingly grinned and lifted his hands up in defense. "This is all one big-"

"He was trying to have sex with me," I said, sitting up. Turkey had enough time to shoot me a betrayed look before Switzerland starting ranting off a series of swears. I think this time he was really going to kill him.

A felt a hand on my shoulder. I didn't need to turn to know that it was Prussia, awake and here for Liechtenstein. As I watched Switzerland punch the daylights out of Turkey, Prussia leaned in and asked, "Are you alright, Liech? Did he-"

I placed a hand over his and shook my head. "I called for Switzerland before he could do anything," I told him. I turned and saw the worried creases in his forehead. Even his thin lips were drawn in tight concern. I wondered what he would do if I told him that I was Larry. Would he be as equally serious or explosively upset? I did not like him in his seriousness. It seemed wrong, considering that he was that egotistical brat who thought that he could invent a bra. So I grinned and brightly said, "Don't look so sad, Prussia. I wouldn't let him do anything bad to me."

He nodded. "Yeah . . ." Well that was easy. "But it's my job to make sure that you're okay."

I paused. He looked so sincere, so guilty, like he really was madly and uncontrollably in love with me- her. He wasn't my lover- I had no idea how to reply to him! Opening and closing my mouth, I tried to come up with a reply. For goodness sake, I am a writer! This should be easy! This-

"What are you doing?" Everyone froze as we all realized that F-Cups was at the doorway, simmering with anger as she testily held her wooden spoon. She looked ready to spank the living daylights out of us evil doers- especially Switzerland and Turkey. They had somehow managed to be caught mid-wrestle with arms and legs tangled together.

Switzerland was the first to jump away, coughing nervously as he wiped the dust off of his pants. "I'm sorry, Ukraine," he said, looking down at his boots. His face turned a deep scarlet when he realized that Turkey had somehow managed to pull the zipper of his pants down. "Shit- This is not what it looks like!" He screamed, scrambling to pull it back up. "Turkey, he-"

F-Cups dutifully struck his cheek with her spoon. "What did I say about letting the infirm lie?" She demanded. Prussia and I gulped. I swore I saw steam puffing from her ears.

Turkey hollowly laughed and rose to his own feet. "I'm glad you and I agree on something, Ukraine," he said, his usual cockiness making me want to barf. Even Sokka, who was finally waking from its slumber, looked ready to cough up a furball. Slinging an arm around her shoulder, Turkey said, "Switzy has just got to learn to contain himself. He-"

Tears brimmed around her eyes. "Don't play innocent with me!" She yelled before hitting him. Turkey not only got a good spoon to the face, but the force drove him into the wall. He even made the same splat! sound a fly would.

"That was completely uncalled for!" He said, painfully peeling his face away. "You know that I am not like that!"

She folded her arms over her incredibly large bosom. "What about the night we spent with each other?"

"Didn't I say that you had the greatest pair of breasts I ever had the pleasure of su-" She hit him again.

"I've had enough of this!" She declared. Wow, I didn't know that boobs comments would send her that easily over the edge. F-Cups shot each and every one of us a glare as she ordered, "Every get out before I call Belarus down here for me." And that was enough.

Switzerland and Turkey made the smart decision of bolting while they could. They were gone before the dust from their feet could settle. Prussia, meanwhile, made a smart decision and started to help me up. "Let's get out of here," he said, shooing Sokka off of my lap. "Belarus seems really mad today as well." A pain vibrated from my lower abdominal. I hissed and grabbed my side. Prussia quickly came to my support. "Are you alright?" He fretted. "Are you still dizzy?"

I shook my head. "No, I-" I made the mistake of looking down. There was a freaking Japanese flag right where my butt was. Except that the red spot on the white sheets was made of blood.

. . .

I am a girl now, right ?

. . .

. . .

. . .

Holy Mother of Christ! Liechtenstein's on her period! Wait, no. Correction- I'm on my period! Oh no oh no oh no oh no oh no oh no oh no. . . .

"Ukraine . . ." By now, my whole body was shaking as I looked at her with fear. Freaking hormone imbalances made tears start to stream down my face. She looked at me with a questioning look. Lips quivering, I motioned to my colt. "Help . . ."

It finally dawned. "Oh you poor thing!" She quickly rushed over to Prussia and pulled him away from me. "Oh my, with that much, you must have been going since last night."

Prussia looked over her shoulder. "Hey! What is going- Oh Fritz! Is that blood?"

I hid my face beneath my hair as I turned even redder than the blood. My tears of fright turned into tears of embarrassment. This was humiliating. More than anything, I just wanted all of this to stop. This was too much, too much, too much. . .

I barely noticed when Ukraine kicked Prussia out of the room and started getting me sorted. Her constant motherly rambling was enough for me to pay slight attention to. Within an hour, I knew where the bandages for all of the female countries' periods were and where to put them after usage. I was reminded of how often I should bathe and that it would only last for a week.

After what felt like forever, I was sitting with her at a table in the dining hall. She was having me drink some sort of herbal tea that would soothe the ache in my lower regions. I was quiet. My crying was done and all that remained were the trails on my red cheeks. I could picture it now: The next time I go on deck, the crew would magically know that Lichtenstein was on her period. I looked out at the other, far end of the room where the cannons were. There was a giant wall of ice where the hole was blasted. I had a feeling that we would be going to dock soon in order to fix it. I wondered if it would be possible to blast myself out of a cannon and die before then.

I sighed and tried to tune back into Ukraine's apologetic rant. Great, now she was begging for forgiveness over every single little thing she has done in the past hour or so. I stared at Ukraine. I wondered if . . .

Wait a second. When did I stop calling her F-Cups? I gave the blond a criticizing look. She was still F-Cups now, wasn't she? No, she was Ukraine. Yeah, I still hated the slut who I once dated, but those two were nothing alike. Ukraine was sweet and kind and Tamara was a broad. Why was I even placing them in the same category in the first place? Isn't that racist?

"Hey there!" I shifted in my seat as Alfred slid into the spot between us. A small layer of sweat covered his skin and sparkled under the light. Like an Edward. "How are my two babes doing?" he asked, grinning stupidly.

Ukraine waved him off. "Oh, we're doing fine, Alfred. What did Belarus make you do?"

"She just had me do a little weight lifting, that's all." I continued to hide my face as he nudged my shoulder. "Hey Liech, what' up?" He asked, excitedly. "How did you sleep last night?" I shrugged him away. There was a second where he didn't move, a second I imagined where he just stared at me with shock. Delicately, I felt him lean in. I could hear how grave he was when he asked, "Hey, is something wrong? Did Erwin. . .?"

I shook my head. As much as I would have liked for this whole thing to be a secret, I had to tell him or else run the risk of all of this turning into one big misunderstanding. So in a low whisper, I quickly told him about Liechtenstein and my womanly problems and how Ukraine was the one to save me.

When I was finished, he nodded and turned back to the woman. "Dude, Ukraine, that was super sweet of you," he said, giving her a look of awe and gratitude. "We have to pay you back."

She shook her head. "Oh, that won't be necessary," she said nervously. "I like helping people."

"So do heroes and they are always paid back." He reenacted "The Thinker" and propped his chin on his hand. "There has to be something that we can do." I was impressed. He seemed as though he really was working his tiny little brain for a solution. After a few awkward moments of nothing but me sipping away at my tea, Alfred snapped his fingers and gave her an excited look. "You said that it's hard to find a guy who doesn't only like you for your boobs." He wrapped an arm around my shoulder. "So Leich and I going to find you someone who doesn't care and hook you two up!"

I shot a spray of tea from my mouth. "We're going to do what?" I shrieked.

Alfred grabbed my hand and yanked me from my seat, saying, "You heard me, sidekick! We're going to help mend people's love lives!"

"I did not agree to this!" I yelled.

And I was ignored. "Quick!" Alfred struck a pose and pointed his finger to the stairs leading to the deck. "We must gather possible contestants!" He ran to the stairs, dragging me along with him. My heels were dug ten feet into the deck, yet the maniac was able to move me as easy as butter. As easy as I can't believe it's not butter buttery spread. The only thing I could do was shakingly wave at Ukraine and pray that we didn't screw this up.

Oh God, what was Liechtenstein going to say? My job was to find Gilbert, not mess with other people's romances.

When we came onto deck, I was relieved to find that everything was normal. Everyone was working and yet having a good time with each other. Smiles and hearty laughs were quick to go around. Even better, Belarus was nowhere to be seen. "Probably off having sex with Russia," I thought darkly.

Alfred suddenly paused in his steps and I knocked into his back. "Ow, watch it!" I snapped, rubbing my nose. Strange, it hurt a lot more now that I was PMSing. Oh boy, he was going to pay for- Alfred suddenly yawned and his whole body swayed with it. I hissed and jumped aside. "Hey, what's wrong with you?" I demanded, watching him lean on the rail for support. I was going to berate him some more, but then I saw how tightly he was gripping it. His knuckles were turning white. I bit my lip. "Alfred, is everything . . ."

He gulped and gave me a forced grin. "I'm fine," he said, sounding very tired. "I just gotta go now. Hero duties call for me to be elsewhere."

I frowned. "What do you mean by-"

"See ya!" He ran past me, swaying with each gulf of wind, and drunkenly made his way back below deck. I thought for a second that I should go after him; see if he was really okay. Alfred did look very tired and it looked as though he was struggling to stay awake long enough to even speak to me.

But if he wanted me to know, he would have told me. "It's still odd," I thought, forcing my legs to walk away from the stairs and further down deck. "Alfred never hides anything from me." A loud meowing drew my attention. Sokka was lightly scratching my leg, giving me a hopeless look with its large, adorable green eyes. I smiled and bent down to pick him up.

"I'm sorry boy," I said, cradling him close to my chest. I winced. Okay, periods makes a girl's boobs sensitive. I will remember that.

Still holding the ball of fur close, I leaned against the rail and watched the crew. Denmark was sleeping, Estonia and Prussia were joking around, the Netherlands was sitting on a crate as he wrote- hold it! A rush of excitement flood my veins. He's writing! Maybe he has some left over, unused paper I could use. A giddy smile stretched over my face as I rushed over to ask. No words could ever describe how my fingers itched to continue writing. I didn't even care what I wrote, I just needed to let the words flow off my hand.

"Hello Netherlands," I greeted, sliding onto the crate next to him.

The Netherlands jumped and held the papers out of reach. A loud swear left his mouth before his brain registered who I was. "Sorry about that," he said, grinning nervously. He lowered his arms and placed his paper back on his lap. "I didn't realize that it was you."

I shrugged, barely able to contain myself. "It's okay. What are you writing?"

I think that was the first time I ever saw such a serious man smile with happiness. It looked odd on his face, like his mouth was only made for frowns. But it was the most genuine smile I had ever seen. "I'm actually writing poetry," he explained happily. He gave a small laugh as he scratched the back of his neck. "I've been trying to write it in Cantonese, but since I'm rather new to the language, I don't know a lot of rhyming words."

I knitted my eyebrows. "Why would you be writing in that?" I asked.

The Netherlands placed a hand around my shoulders (why has everyone been doing that lately) and pointed up to the crow's nest. "See that?" He asked, voice barely reaching a whisper. I squinted my eyes and saw the black dot of Hong Kong's hair. "That's where my boyfriend is-" Oh frack. "-And I'm writing this for him."

Okay, so he's gay too? Oh come on! He would make a perfectly cool straight guy! But no, this universe has to go over and just ruin things like this for me. I freaking hate this place. "That's . . . nice," I growled in a poor attempt to hide my displeasure. I think he understood my anger anyways since he looked away and we were silent for a few moments. It was when the blonde was looking down at his pocket watch did I get the courage to try to push it all side and get the writing supplies. "Can I have that?" I asked, pointing to his spare paper and feather pens.

The Netherland sadly shook his head. "No, they're on loan from Russia," he said. "But-" His frown turned into a grin. "I bet that if you asked him nicely, he would give you some."

"Oh no." I made an 'X' with my arms, greatly disturbing my cat. "There is no way that I'm going to be getting friendly with that creep." It didn't look as though he was going to let the subject go. In fact, it outright looked as though he was going to continue trying to persuade me of some goodness Russia might have deep down. So the only thing I could really do is quickly change the subject. "What does your poem say?" I quickly asked.

The Dutchman looked slightly taken aback, but he nonetheless scooted closer to me. He pointed to each line of characters as he said it, making the romantic words loud and clear.

There are millions of things

That I wish I could say to your face.

Millions of 'I love you's'

I wish I could whisper into your heart.

There are a millions things I think about

When I get to lay so close to your warmth.

But I fear that I will not have time

And I will be lost before I could kiss you again.

Yet times ticks on with the clock,

And this delusion will end when the hands scream "midnight."

I am a coward among millions of men

Yet my heart has chosen to love a strong one like you.

I love you, so I will continue living,

" . . . And that's where Cantonese fails me," he finished.

I faced him, making sure he saw the wide eyes and gaped mouth on my visage. "What do you mean?" I demanded. "That's brilliant! How could you even consider ending it right there?"

He scratched his chin. "Well Liechtenstein, I know what I want to say, but there is no way I can make it rhyme in Cantonese."

I inched closer to him, asking, "So what is it?"

The Netherlands shifted, giving himself a little space from me. Was my eagerness scaring him? I hoped not- I really did like him. As a friend, of course. Sighing, he pointed at his incomplete line. "It's supposed to say 'even if it means selling my soul for you.'"

My chest suddenly hurt and it wasn't from holding Sokka either. Didn't I do that for Stella- sell my soul, I mean. Well not necessarily sell it, per say, but more like let some creepy guy mess around with it. "I get it," I whisper, smiling forlornly. "I know what you mean."

He gave me a surprised look. "Are things between you and Belarus really that bad?" he asked.

And there I go: boiling over like an overdue kettle. "We are not a couple!" I yelled, jumping from my seat. Sokka yelped as it fell from my lap and onto the deck. I didn't have time to feel bad about it, though. This was now about me and keeping my dignity. "Why do you people keep on suggesting that?" I demanded, attracting the attention of the whole crew. "There is nothing between us now and there never will be. I-"

The door to the captain quarters suddenly slammed open. Dressed in his usual brown coat, Russia sent everyone on deck a glare before yelling, "Liechtenstein! Denmark! Get in here right now!"

I jumped, feeling the color leave my face. Oh crap, a pissd of Russia wanted me. This was not going to be pretty and everyone knew it. I saw everyone on the whole deck give us Red Coats pitiful looks before making the sign of the cross. I think with how angry Russia looked, God wouldn't even be able to save us. Denmark and I met each other halfway and, without much thought, continued our death march together. It would be a miracle if we both survived. Somehow we both found the courage to walk past Russia and into the dark crevices of his quarters.

It was rather clean, with the curtains drawn shut. In the darkness, I could see a neatly arrange desk by the window, covered with organized maps and tools. There was a dresser, drawers opened to reveal shirts and trousers and a mirror and dresser. A table stood in the middle of the room, decked with fine china and goblets. On the wall, closest to me, was a built in bed. Belarus was there, carelessly holding the blankets in front of her naked chest as she glared at us.

Great, Russia was pissed off because of incest. Great!

The captain slammed the door shut and I heard the locking of the key. And now I was stuck in a dark room with Russia, Belarus, and Denmark. I was definitely going to be screwed in one form or another. "Sit," Russia ordered. He marched by us and stood at his desk. I exchanged a look with Denmark's blue eyes. Where?

Belarus rose, wrapped the blanket around her like a dress and went to meet her brother. On the way over, she nudged my shoulder and pointed to the seats at the dining table. "Why are we here?" Denmark asked as we both pulled up a chair. "I don't remember doing something wrong."

"Don't you dare question my brother," she snapped, lovingly wrapping her arms around Russia. Poor guy, he looked stressed- he was hunched over, face buried deep into his hands. I could feel the stress radiating off of him. "He will talk to you when he is ready."

A vein popped in Denmark's forehead. I had never seen the guy so angry before; he looked ready to swear his head off. But something about the way Belarus held her brother made him calm down. I really didn't see how- she was doing it rather seductively, like slipping her long white hands into his shirt and running them down his chest. I didn't want to speak and I sure as hell didn't want to watch them. So I turned my eyes downwards.

I jumped when I saw Sokka sitting politely at my feet. "Stupid cat." I scowled and motioned for it to go away. "Get out of here before you get yourself killed." Obviously, cats can't read minds, so Sokka just sat there, looking up at me with its cute face and fluffy tan-ish fur. "Know what? If you're going to be so stupid, I hope you get yourself killed. Yeah, that'll teach you." I frowned, feeling a guilt root in my gut. "I'm sorry, Sokka. I didn't mean that. It was just-"

"That's it." Denmark suddenly stood, pushing his chair back as he did. "This is a waste of my time," he declared, face turning red from irritation. Belarus gave him a look of contempt while Russia seemed to grow more and more tense. "I did not come here to watch you sulk in a corner." He kicked the seat completely, making a loud bang to compliment his mood. "Call me back when you-"

"You fucking sold us out!" Russia screamed, slapping his hand on his desk and he suddenly stood. If I thought that he was scary when he was happy, then he was terrifying when he was pissed off. Even Belarus had the sense to jump back and give him space.

However, Denmark, being the stupid idiot he is, continued pushing. "What the hell do you mean by that?" He demanded, marching back to the desk.

The captain glared at him, growling and flashing his teeth like a rabid dog. "You know exactly what I mean. The Red Coats had to have found us one way or another and both of you are the prime suspects."

"I've been captured on this ship for over two months," Denmark said, bringing his voice into a low growl. He leaned into the desk and met the Russian's glare with his own. "Why do you think that I would betray you now?" He pointed a hand back at me. "And look at Liechtenstein. She's small, she's sweet, and she depends on her brother for everything. Why would she put his life in danger?"

"We are countries," Russia sneered. "We are tailored for war. Do you really think that anyone would put aside the chance of victory for someone they pretend is their sibling? Hmm?"

The other made a low 'tch' noise and drew back. "You're wasting my time," he repeated. "You're upset that we lost the battle and you don't want to admit it to yourself." I watched helplessly as Denmark turned to walk away. "I'll escort myself out, tha-" An inhuman noise gurgled out of his mouth.

Gasping, Denmark fell to the ground, revealing a knife to be sticking out of his shoulder. I screamed as I scrambled up my chair. How did that get there? Did Belarus throw it? Why would she do that? Oh God. Hyperventilating, I starred with fear at the weapon. Oh God, Oh God, Oh God. . .

I felt my heart race even more as Sokka timidly trotted up to Denmark. In the dark light, I could see the cat lick his fingers and nudge his face.

Cats are really strange creatures- or at least this one was. They did not discriminate between people for their race, sexuality, or interests. All they cared about who gave them food or scratches behind the ear. In return, the cat takes time to figure out of their owner is as a person. Then their constant need for attention becomes endearing, a way to show appreciation. And then, when that person is in trouble- dying from a literal knife in the back -they come to their need.

Something inside of me was stirred. Not like "Oh, I'm going to start a revolution over this" and everyone gets their head chopped off, but more like I felt as though I could do something. After all, if a simple feline could try to help the wounded, why couldn't I?

Pressing my lips together, I testily stood and marched right up to Russia's desk, sneering, "How dare you." I shot my glares between Belarus, who looked a little taken aback by my angered behavior, and Russia, who was only raising an eyebrow. "I don't care who you people think you are, but we are not traitors. Denmark is a simple man and when he swears his loyalty, it would be foolish to doubt it. As for me, it would be foolish to cross your wrath. The life of the girl I love is on the line and I would gladly dwell under your rule to save it."

"You speak harsh words for someone who is trying to convince innocence," Russia replied evenly. I noticed for the first time that the stab wound in his arm was gone. How did he get rid of that so quickly? Was it something about being a country?

I leaned in closer to the desk. It was moments like these where I really needed my breath that I really hated my corset. It was making it hard for me to get enough air to rant and defend myself. "You point fingers easily for someone who is supposed to lead," I replied. His neutral face faltered into a frown. I was going to be killed for that.

In the darkness of the room, I took one last, calming breath. I have to be strong, for Dad, for Stella, for Liechtenstein, and for Denmark. I had to be strong for all of them. "You may call me back in here when you actually have an argument to press. Until then-" I went back to Denmark and saw that his chest was still rising and falling with breath. I picked up his legs and started dragging him to the door.

Of course, it wasn't until I turned the knob that I realized that it was locked.

"Open the door," I ordered, giving them a side glare.

Russia shrugged and nodded off to his half-naked sister. "Give me back my knife first," Belarus said, her narrow eyes cold enough to freeze a dessert. I looked back down at the weapon. It was still in his back, taunting me with glee. I could pull it out, if I tried.

But it was a knife.

Even so, it was my only ticket out of here.

Keeping my gaze on Sokka, I bent down and felt for the knife. Once my hand was around the handle, I thought of a prayer before yanking it out and sliding it across the wood to her. Immediately, I started wiping my hands on my skirt. I prayed that there was no blood on me. But no matter how much I wiped, the sticky feeling would not leave my hands. I barely noticed Belarus as she tossed me the key. Catching it, I thought about what a milestone this was. Not only did I nearly get myself killed, but I also managed pull a bloodied knife out of someone's back.

Giving the woman a spiteful grin, I unlocked the door and quickly dragged Denmark out. I was blinded by the light for a second, but I had to be quick. "We have a bleeding man!" I screamed well before my eyes adjusted. When Denmark was fully out of the captain quarters (he was tall, so it took a while), I dropped his legs and leaned against the rails. My head was buzzing. Crew members were already rushing to his side, calling out the need for bandages and alcohol. At one point of time Switzerland came by to see that I was alright, but he was called back to help Ukraine be the doctor.

Holding my stomach, I hissed and sank to my knees. My period, added with the rocking of the boat and the scent of the blood, was making me feel sick. More than anything, I just wanted to lie down and die for a few days. "Hey Larry." I smiled as Alfred slowly sank to me height. "You don't look so good."

"I'm doing better," I replied emotionlessly. Taking a large breath, I met his innocent, blue eyes and asked, "Alfred, can these freaks die?"

He blinked. "Everyone dies, Lar."

"But they're countries." I leaned back and looked up at the clear blue sky. I wondered if I was ever going to see a cloud or bird up there, free and noble. "Surely there has to be an exception for you guys."

His hand wrapped around my shoulders. Giving me a reassuring squeeze, he gave me a somber smile. "Well it is harder to kill one, but it is possible. Most of the time, a country who is critically injured would fall into a coma like state for a few hours and heal himself. But sometimes death beats them. In that case, a clone of them appears with the same looks, personality, and memories. But the old man told me that they would always be slightly different."

I gave him a funny look. "Who's 'the old man?'"

Alfred looked down nervously, playing with the ends of his vest. "He's my older, stuck up brother," he explained. "He-"

Something touched my leg. "Sokka?" I asked, seeing the cat at my lap. It sat there proudly, holding a letter in its mouth. It placed it on my lap and meowed loudly, as if to say 'read it.' Alfred and I exchanged a look. Where the heck did it get this?

Hesitantly, I took it and turned it in my hands. Considering the time period, it was pretty average with that parchment looking paper and wax seal. The seal itself was red and decorated with an emblem of a watch with the hands pointing at the twelve. "That's odd," I muttered, showing it to Alfred.

His only reply was to peer at it curiously and quickly shrug.

I carefully tore the top of the letter and pulled out a folded piece of paper. On the inside, written in neat black cursive, was a little message:

To She With My Name,

I apologize that we cannot speak in person, but these are matters that I was forbidden to vocalize to you. Even though the only way I can talk to you can only be through letters, I pray that you will heed my words and take them to heart. I cannot explain to you why I must do this or what is at stake if I don't, but you must forget about your feelings for others and focus on Belarus and Russia. You must fall in love with either of them and you have to prove this love with a kiss. I know that this is sudden, but there is so much at stake. Please, you only have to love them- they do not have to return the feelings. I tell you all of this because my time is running out. Please, help me.

Sincerely, He With Your Name

The Room: Day 6

"Yo! Winny!" Erwin sighed as his brother threw his arm around him. Bud grinned largely as he gave him a noogie, saying, "Did you know that you have the worst timing ever? I was in the middle of something extremely important and you just decided to butt your head in and get Alfred in here? And I really badly wanted to see what would happen if he-"

"We have more important things to worry about," Erwin snapped. He shoved him away and walked to the middle of the cold, white room. He was fuming, irritated at the change of events. Himaruya did say that his mess up would not harm the plan, yet he was introducing a new element. If bringing Larry Ebenezer Sue to this world was not a bad thing, then why were they taking a new precaution? The idea that he had made things harder for his father plagued him. No, things were not supposed to be that way. He had to figure out a way to fix things, to make things better once again.

Bud leaned against the wall and covered his nose. He said, "Is it about the smoke problem in here? Because that is totally not me."

"We both know that is from our client," Erwin told him, taking a seat in the chair. All around him was the repulsive stench of cigarette smoke. He looked down at his reflection, seeing how stressed and tense his face was. He needed rest, but every time he tried to sleep, the plan would come back to him. It was so carefully laid- there could not be a hair out of place if it was going to work. "But I do have to agree with you, Bud. He needs to cut back on the smoking."

The blond grinned. "Stop being so scary, Winny, and maybe he wouldn't have the need to."

Erwin frowned. "You are quite aware that we are supposed to be intimidating with the clients or else they will believe that they can beat us," he said.

Bud waved him off. "Yeah, yeah." He suddenly jumped and grew very excited. Practically giggling, he asked, "Oh, did I tell you?"

"Tell me what?"

"Hima-pop's prediction was right. The boy and Liechtenstein met each other, talked about the both of us, and parted as friends. It's completely opposite from the previous time," Bud said as he walked over to his brother. "And then, when he met up with Alfred again, he told him about their meeting."

Erwin nodded appreciatively. "Yes, he is reacting exactly how Himaruya said he would." He smirked. "What do you think that would mean for Alfred?"

Bud shrugged. "I don't know. Probably an over the top whine about betrayal before deciding that the damsel just needed to be saved by the hero." He sat at the other's feet, covering his tensed reflection. Looking up at him brightly, he asked, "Didn't you say something earlier about talking about more important things?"

The younger nodded, mentally scolding himself. This was why he was so incapable of giving Himaruya his happiness. He seemed to always forget the most critical details in times of importance. "I presume that you also received the notice from Himaruya about the new precautions?"

"I skimmed it."

He sighed. And that was Bud's flaw: carelessness. It was not as though he was not concerned with the outcome- he really was. But he was more relaxed about it. How many times had he listened to him stretch as he said, "No worries, Winny. It'll all sort itself out." Perhaps it was a form of overconfidence. He wasn't sure what it was exactly, all he knew was that it was going to endanger the plan.

And the plan, to Erwin, was life itself.

"Himaruya ordered us to mess with the boy's mind," Erwin explained. "He went on about how the girl from before caused her own problems with her arrogance. The boy's arrogance, however, is bringing him closer to his goal than originally anticipated. Thus, we must interfere with his mind processes so that his progress slows down, but our other clients do not."

Bud's eternal grin grew larger. "So we have to cause a hell of a lot of mind-fuckery?"

Erwin, for once, returned the visage. "The biggest we can produce."

Bud jumped to his feet. His excitement was so great that he could not keep still. He rolled his shoulders and paced around the room, muttering to himself of the ways they could achieve that. They ranged from giving the boy bad dreams to turning a friend against him.

Trying his best to be helpful, Erwin offered, "I was thinking about bringing his girlfriend into this."

Sadly, his brother shook his head. "No, you know what he thinks of her. Doing that would only make him strive more. We need something he would-" His feet stopped. His brain seemed to have shot to somewhere else before a laugh echoes out of his throat. "I got it!" Like a child, he slid to his knees and placed a finger on the glossy white floors. "How about we bring-" The white rippled at the tip of his finger and a clear image appeared. "-This onto the ship? It will definitely set him off."

Erwin looked at it and smiled. "Yes. That would work marvelously."

MW: Hey guy, guess what?

SEK: Do I want to know?

MW: The next chapter is awesome and I am extremely proud of it.

BFTL: That's fine, but what about this one?
MW: I think it's safe to say with this one that I gave you all a lot of plot. Like who is this "He With Your Name" and why does he need Larry need to fall in love with Russia and Belarus? All of the questions I give you a—

BFTL: Let's shut her up now while we can. So thank you all for reading!

Notes

"Tamara" In case you did not make the connection, Tamara is the bictchy ex-girlfriend/Ukrainian exchange student Larry had way back in the day.

"I'm actually writing poetry" Cannon fact that the Netherlands loves romantic poetry.

"There are millions of things" This is also my own poem. It bugs me that it doesn't rhyme or have a proper verse scheme, but it's supposed to be in Cantonese, so what can I say?

Next Chapter: Larry and the crew spend some down time at a local port. But what could be waiting there for them?

Hey Guys. To celebrate season five, you should all review and I'll make an effort to reply to every message.