A feeling he had never felt before. A lithe figure at his side; five shadowy faces, staring at him. Waiting for leadership, perhaps? An enemy shrouded in mystery. A sense of urgency.

"Go! Lead them!" a voice seemed to cry. "It is your destiny!"

Arthur Kirkland sat up with a start. He looked around the dark room, heart pounding. His dream had felt very real, so real that he still felt the urgent need to act. He tried to hold onto the dream, but the details were slipping away like water in his cupped hands. Something to do with a mission... with five other people? Arthur shook his head. He never interacted with others if he could avoid it.

He glimpsed his clock. 6 AM. Well, might as well get up now, he thought ruefully.

Stretching, he pondered again about the strange dream. "No one would ever look to me as a leader," he muttered. "It must have just been another stupid dream."

Staring in the mirror, he took in his appearance again. Messy golden-blond hair, vivid emerald-green eyes, large eyebrows, still really short in stature. Nothing special.

He dragged himself down the stairs and prepared himself his breakfast – a single nutrition bar. He devoured it quickly while pulling out his punching bag.

"Time for Self Defence Class!" he said to himself. "Today we are going to practise the uppercut."

Arthur lived alone, preferring the safety of the house to the rambunctious energy of the outside world. He had experienced so much misfortune as a child that he decided to live out his life by himself, where he wouldn't get close to people and have to watch them die, too.

He threw a few punches at the punching bag. He vented all of his frustration on the poor bag every day, and the red material was quite battered.

An hour later, Arthur announced, "Break time. You've done wonderfully, me."

He wasn't crazy. He knew that there was no one else there, but this was how he coped.

Soon, he pulled out a few books decorated with spiky runes and odd symbols. "Magic Class!" he proclaimed.

Opening one of the books, Arthur studied the words inside, committing them to memory. He took out some chalk and drew elaborate symbols around him, forming a circle. From a makeshift bed on his windowsill he picked up a robin with a broken wing he had found earlier. He placed it in the circle.

He began reciting the spell from the book in a low voice. The circle glowed a vibrant green, engulfing the injured bird in a swirl of colour. Arthur raised his voice to a shout, finishing the spell. The light immediately died, showing the robin completely cured.

"There you go, chap," he smiled, opening the window. "Go back to your family."

He felt a pang as the bird twittered and took off. Family. There was a word that he didn't use often. Not for the first time, he wished he had a special animal companion like everyone else.

"Good job," he murmured. "Class is done for the day."


Gilbert Beilschmidt opened his window quietly, a travelling bag slung over his back. He glanced behind him at his sleeping brother.

"See ya later, West," he whispered. "Take care of yourself. The awesome me will be back."

Gilbert lived with his brother, Ludwig, in the Fortis section of the town Procul. They were proud Fortis' and trained every day to uphold the family honour.

On this particular night, Gilbert had gone to bed, exhausted, only to receive a very strange dream.

"Gilbert."

"Huh? Where am I?"

"This is your dream, Gilbert."

The boy looked up to see a fair maiden standing before him. "W-who are you?" he stuttered.

The girl smiled. She put her hand on her heart and dipped her head. "Me? Well, it doesn't really matter, because you are one of the chosen ones, Gilbert Beilschmidt."

Gilbert unconsciously saluted her in the same way. A thought hit him as he did so. "Wait... Are you Lady Bonus?"

The Goddess giggled. "Yay, you know me!"

Gilbert frantically saluted again. "My lady, forgive me! The awesome me- I mean, I- didn't mean to be so rude!"

"Gilbert, it's okay," Bonus smiled. "Our time is short, so I must give you my message. I take it that you have heard the legend of me and my sisters?"

"Yes, my lady," the albino said seriously.

"Well, this is the hundredth year. The Shadow threatens us all, and I have chosen you and your brother as the Fortis champions. First, you must go alone, tonight, and follow the mysterious lion cub to find your greatest ally. Once you do that, you can come back for your brother and go to my temple."

"I understand, my lady." Gilbert saluted once again.

"Excellent. I can only send this one dream, so make sure to tell your brother about his destiny when the time is right. May you have good fortune on your journey, Gilbert." The Goddess gave him one last smile before fading into the darkness.

That was the reason Gilbert was now climbing out of his window, trying not to wake Ludwig. He dropped to the ground outside of the training building and darted into the woods behind it. Once he was at a safe distance from the building, he put his hand to his mouth and gave a clear whistle. A hawk soared out of the trees and landed on his shoulder.

"Hey, Kralle," he said, petting his animal companion's head with two fingers.

Kralle gave a low cry in response, nuzzling up to him.

"We have to go on an adventure now, okay?" Gilbert whispered. "Can you help me find a lion cub? Eine Göttin came to me in my dreams and told me to follow one."

Kralle looked at him with sharp, intelligent eyes. The hawk gave a nod, and spread his grey-brown wings, taking off. Gilbert jogged underneath him, keeping his eyes peeled for any big cats. Once, he thought he saw a pair of glowing eyes in the bushes, but when he blinked, they were gone.

Suddenly, Kralle banked and swooped down, screeching his call. The animal companion landed straight in a shrub off the path.

"Kralle!" Gilbert shouted, panicked. He shoved the bush aside to see his hawk standing proudly next to a golden-yellow lion cub. The big cat stared at Gilbert with brilliant green eyes, then nodded. Gilbert was used to human-like behaviour from animals, so he nodded back. On a whim, he decided to salute it in the Fortis fashion. Kralle fluttered up to rest on his shoulder again and dipped his head as well.

The lion cub's eyes seemed to brighten. He waved his tail at them in a friendly way.

"Well," Gilbert grunted. "Time for the awesome me to follow a lion cub."


Meanwhile, in the Bellator area of the same land, Elizabeta Héderváry was having a strange dream as well.

"For heaven's sake, girl, listen to me."

Elizabeta regarded the lady in front of her and folded her arms. "Not until you tell me who you are and where I am."

Prolium sighed. Why did she always pick the difficult ones? "I am Prolium, we are in your dream, and you are one of the chosen Bellators."

"You mean like the legend?" Elizabeta asked sceptically.

"Yes," said Prolium slowly, as if explaining to a small child. "I don't have much time, so here's what you need to know. You must leave this place and find a lion cub. Follow him until you find a new ally, the leader of your motley crew, yada yada, beat the Shadow. Okay?"

"So, who's the other Bellator?" Elizabeta enquired, processing the information.

"Doesn't matter, you'll find out soon enough. Go to my temple once you are assembled."

Prolium saluted the girl, crossing her arms over her chest and bowing. Elizabeta reluctantly did the same.

"Good luck, child." Prolium smiled gently. As she was fading, Elizabeta heard the Goddess mumble, "You'll need it."

Elizabeta abruptly opened her eyes, staring up at the ceiling of the run-down building she lived in. She scowled briefly, not sure if she should believe the dream, but eventually curiosity won out, and she packed a travel bag. She clicked her tongue, and a dusky brown she-wolf slipped out of the shadows to stand beside her.

"Well, Eros," Elizabeta murmured. "I guess we have to find a lion cub now."

She exited the building and decided to head into the forest close by. Eros was loping along beside her, sniffing around for the lion cub.

"Are you under here?" Elizabeta grumbled, peeking under a bush. "What about over here?" She looked behind a tree.

Eros was searching in a similar fashion, poking her head into various spots.

All of a sudden, the wolf froze. Elizabeta strained her ears and caught the sound that was spooking her companion. It sounded like someone blundering through the woods, alternating between growling curses and calling himself 'awesome'.

Oh, great. Elizabeta thought, narrowing her eyes. Just my luck to find a nutjob wandering through the forest. She pulled a frying pan out of her bag and held it at the ready, glad that she had taught herself self-defence.

She hefted the frying pan, ready to strike...


And here's the chapter with the Hetalia characters! Still rather short, but they will be growing in length as I keep going. Feel free to drop a review to tell me how I did. Arrivaderci!