TruDivination: You know, listening to macabre Vocaloid songs really does wonders for your sleeping patterns.

FlyingElephants: But you said that you couldn't fall asleep till 3:00 this morning.

TruDivination: Yeah, but I was completely out of it. Therefore, if my dolls that I threw away when I was little come back for revenge, I won't wake up.

Flying Elephants: No comment. Just…none.

MasteroftheMidnightYard: And somehow I'm related to you both.

All: PLEASE REVIEW!

Oh little note here. Stuff might begin to start to get a little disturbing starting probably last chapter. In fact, we're wondering whether we should have labeled this under horror genre, but we're keeping it fantasy/drama.

The Hetallious Chronicles

Chapter 2

Abandoned on a Moonlit Night

Year 014

We were left all alone, us two, just like Hansel and Gretel…

In the blink of an eye, fourteen years had passed since that Moonlit night. Elizaveta and Roderich had raised Lovino and Alice, who were now no longer infants, ever since then. Alice had grown into a cheerful young lady, with eyes the color of autumn leaves and hair the color of caramel, her delicate hair curl bouncing as she danced across the living room floor, singing her innocent little heart out. Lovino, on the other hand, was now a handsome young man, dark chocolate hair spilling all over his head and occasionally in front of his molten-gold eyes, silently observing the situation at hand, his own voice quietly adding his own words to the song, for fear of being heard. At least it was better then when he was angry. Both Roderich and Elizaveta did not know where he had learned that kind of language, but they never bothered to find out.
Roderich truly cared for the two twins, he really did. But it was more out of guilt than love, as he had done nothing to stop Elizaveta from taking them. Instead of comforting her in her grief of her lost child before the incident, he had withdrawn to his piano and let himself be lost in the music. If only he had been there for his wife…

However, Roderich still had his fears about Elizaveta. Her violent moods had subsided with the prospect of having two children all to her own. Life was peaceful for a while. But her rages had started to resurface a few years ago. If she felt that Roderich was showing Alice and Lovino too much affection, she would accuse him of trying to take her babies from her. When she was in one of her moods, she was brutal and unstoppable, not even Roderich could calm her down. Now even he had to hide his newly acquired scrapes and bruises from the twins.

To try to prevent any harm from happening to the children, he would act as the strict disciplinarian, sometimes causing the twins to run to Elizaveta for comfort. That always made Elizaveta happy; to be the preferred parent, and Roderich was willing to do anything to keep his dear wife happy. He still loved her with all of his heart, no matter what happened.

Despite his efforts, everything began to go downhill quite fast. It all began when Elizaveta started having nightmares more frequently at night. Many times she would wake up screaming about "the dead bear". This would have had no effect on the events that followed, if it hadn't been that one night. While Roderich was away, the twins woke Elizaveta up from her nightmare, to try to comfort her. When she saw them, she looked at them like they were the nightmare itself. After catching her mother's expression, Alice had drawn back, while Lovino had protectively put his arm around the younger twin, for fear of another rage. Then Elizaveta suddenly started to smile, and pulled her children into a tight embrace, tears of joy coming from her eyes.

When Roderich returned home, he noticed that the twins weren't there. Elizaveta was out on the back patio, sweeping happily and singing a cheery melody. When she noticed him come in, her face broke out into a grin. She ran over to Roderich and embraced him.

"Roderich dear, I'm so happy! I found out what will make the nightmares disappear! The bear is looking for its fruits, right? So I just have to return the fruits and all will be fine! Isn't that wonderful?"

Roderich looked at his wife in horror. Alice…Lovino…where are they? Could she have…

Just then, the door opened. A tiny hair curl popped into view, a head following it, and a fourteen year old girl ran in, sobbing, while her brother walked in after her, swear words muttered under his breath. They both hugged their parents tightly, to Roderich's relief and Elizaveta's apparent annoyance. However, the scowl quickly disappeared and she turned to Lovino and Alice with a smile on her face.

"Children, go back outside, quickly now. We're all going on a trip to the woods soon, so be ready."

Before Roderich could question Elizaveta as to what was going on, Alice broke in, a huge smile on her face, her curl on the left side of her head bobbing up and down.

"Where are we going mother? Is it a good place? Will there be good food there too? I hope there is. Will there be pasta? I really really really like pasta! And…"

While Lovino tried in vain to stop his sister's never-ending stream of questions and babbling, Roderich quietly pulled Elizaveta aside. He started to protest about leaving the children alone and defenseless in the forest, but his wife put her finger over his mouth, her face almost angelic. She pulled him close and whispered into his ear.

"Please, Roderich, for me. If the fruits are gone, the bear will leave me alone. You do want me to be happy, right? They brought me happiness, but it's too much to deal with! They just have to go! Please do this, for me!"

Roderich looked sadly at the twins, who were now arguing, and then back to his wife.

"…yes…Elizaveta…"

Several Hours Later

Lovino was worried. It had been many hours since they had left the house, and still they were walking. He didn't like walking this much, didn't they know! Che palle? They had left the path a long time ago, taking many twists and turns, and cutting through the trees while their Mother claimed that they were taking shortcuts.

This didn't trouble Alice at all, though. After all, their mother and father had been through the woods numerous times, though the two children had never been allowed to go into the forest, ever. They had been warned of bears and snakes and other dangers that lurked in the woods, like other people. They had never been allowed to meet other people. Their Mother had always claimed that they were going to try to take her precious babies away. But that had never stopped Lovino from exploring the surrounding area by him. Alice had always refused to go, sobbing that the woods were dark and scary and that the "meanie animals will eat me". Lovino had been able to guide her home the first time their Mother had left them alone, though it had taken awhile, as Alice was crying and screaming the entire way. It was a surprise nothing had heard her! But not even Lovino knew where they were now.

Leaving his sister's side, Lovino walked over to where his father was walking, slightly behind Elizaveta, and quietly talked to him without Elizaveta hearing.

"Father, where are we going?"

Roderich gave no answer, and seemed to be ignoring Lovino on purpose.

"Why do you look so sad? What's going on?"

Roderich still gave no answer. Lovino just decided to give up. No one was able to get anything out of Roderich when he didn't want to talk. He walked back to Alice, who had started to cry again about her feet hurting, and constantly complaining that she was hungry. Lovino rolled his eyes, profanities uttered constantly under his breath, and tried to block out the consistent noises coming from his twin's mouth. He instead tried to focus on how to get back. He was sure that there was more to this trip than what was told to them, and he wanted to be prepared for the worst. One of them had to be the smart one, and it certainly wasn't Alice!

Eventually, they reached a clearing that was bathed in twilight. Elizaveta suddenly stopped. Roderich stopped himself just in time before he walked right into her. Alice wasn't so lucky. Lovino took one look, sighed, and picked his once again crying sister and sat her down on a rock in the middle of the clearing. Alice plopped down, her tiny body tuckered out from the long walk. Lovino set himself right next to her, making sure she didn't fall off the rock.

"We'll rest here for a little while darlings," Elizaveta said soothingly to the already drowsy twins. "Sleep here, and in a couple hours we shall set off again. We'll reach our destination soon after that."

Alice yawned, leaning on her brother's shoulder, already half asleep. She started murmuring under her breath, whispering.

"…you'll stay, right? You're not going to leave us here?"

Elizaveta smiled sadly and kissed Alice's forehead.

"Of course darling. I'll always be here."

Reassured, Alice smiled and nodded off, falling fast asleep. Lovino followed suit very quickly. But before he blacked out entirely, he thought he saw one figure dragging another out of the clearing and back into the forest. But that was quickly forgotten as he closed his eyes and departed for Dreamland.

A couple hours later…

Lovino woke up to the sound of Alice's sobbing. She was still curled up next to him on the rock, tears pouring out of her eyes at an inhuman rate. Again. She seemed to be repeating something to herself over and over.

"They said they'd stay…they said they wouldn't leave…they abandoned us… why?"

Upon hearing this, Lovino was instantly awake. He sat up quickly and scanned the clearing. Sure enough, they were alone. The two twins were stranded on this rock in the middle of the forest, without knowing how to get home.

Did mother and father really abandon us? Maybe they just went to get something to eat! Alice just overreacted as usual.

Alice suddenly started sobbing even louder. Lovino tried to calm Alice down, reassuring her that they would come back, and that they would never leave them alone, but this just made Alice scream even louder that they had been abandoned and that the "meanie animals" would gobble them up. Eventually she ran out of tears, and remained shaking on the rock. An hour passed, and Lovino started to face the facts. They had been abandoned. Period. They were on their own now, with only faint moonlight and no knowledge of the path to take to reach home.

Lovino's train of thought was interrupted by a sudden burst of laughter from Alice, who had pulled out a pretty glass bottle and reflecting moonlight so as to light up the areas around them. It was the bottle that she had kept with her at all times, ever since she found it years ago buried in the ground next to the remains of what was once a wicker basket. She seemed relieved to have something to laugh about, after the shock of waking up to find her parents gone. Lovino could sense another one of Alice's random drabbles coming on, and the more nervous she was, the more she talked.

"Look Lovino, it's like a moonlight rainbow maker! It can make pretty shadows and light up the area like tiny little fireflies, cause fireflies are so pretty, and they make such pretty lights, and maybe they could lead us home, like tiny little lanterns, and you know, it's like we're Hansel and Gretel because we're on our own and we're lost and don't know the way home, and our mother and father aban-abandoned u-us…"

She broke off, her voice breaking off, and she looked close to tears again, that is, if she had any water left in her after crying for so long earlier. Lovino had never been able to figure out how she could cry so much and still have any hydration left. It really was astounding. Lovino held her close to him for a while, wondering what to do. They couldn't just stay there! Alice could never protect herself from anything, much less anyone! Speaking of which, he stole a glance toward his sister. She was still clutching that damn bottle, and still crying. An idea started forming in his mind. He looked again at the glass bottle, and realized that Alice was right! The bottle could light up the area, and as long as they stayed on one path, it should take them somewhere! The clearing must have been their parent's destination all along, so if they followed that path over there that was in the general direction that he had maybe seen Elizaveta and Roderich disappear, they would eventually find their way home!

The night was still early, so Lovino and Alice picked some fruit to eat before setting off. Lovino chose the path to take, and they walked along it, not knowing if it was the right way, but really having no choice otherwise. Alice was holding the glass bottle to illuminate the area, and still babbling about Hansel and Gretel. Lovino was nearing his limit. If only he had some rope with him, he could tie her mouth shut! He was about to force her to shut up for just five minutes when a house came into view. He immediately recognized it as the house that they had lived in for fourteen years with their mother and father.

"We found the witch's house!"

Lovino turned in confusion towards his sister. Witch's house?

"This is where the witch lives, and we have to defeat her to continue on, remember?"

Lovino caught on. He smiled at his sister, finally understanding at last what he had to do.

"Correct Alice. This is where the witch lives. For us to find our real mother and father, we must kill the witch and her henchman. Only then can we be happy."

Alice hugged her brother, a large smile on her face, before she turned to face the house, and they ran in together.

The witch was sitting in a chair, smiling and singing to herself, green eyes happily watching her henchman at his piano. Alice's anger flared. How dare this evil witch be happy when Alice herself was unhappy? With a shriek, Alice tore through the front door and barreled into the witch, knocking her to the floor. With strength that she hadn't possessed earlier, she lifted the witch up by her throat, and hurled her into the large fireplace. Alice immediately slammed the large iron grate over the fireplace, and held it in place, trapping the witch inside, and leaving her there to burn.

While the witch's dying screams were sounding throughout the house, Lovino had run to the kitchen and grabbed one of the knives there. He ran over to the witch's henchman as the man tried to pull Alice away from the grate, yanking him away by the collar. Lovino hurled the henchman to the ground and stood triumphantly over him, knife in hand. The henchman's brown eyes met Lovino's golden ones, and something seemed to flash in those brown eyes. Shock, disbelief, and…was that regret? Before he could know, the knife came down and the life faded out of those eyes forever.

By this point, the witch's screams had ceased, and Alice stepped away from the grate, laughing at the burning body that she had thrown into the fireplace. She ran over to Lovino, and they hugged each other tight, laughing for joy. They quickly checked the house for food, and then the twins walked outside and shut the door. With the ghastly sight inside blocked by walls, this place seemed rather peaceful and quiet.

"It almost feels as if we lived here all of our lives…"

Alice seemed surprised at what she had just said, but then shrugged it off. Lovino turned to his sister and smiled.

"Come on. We can leave now. Let's go and find our real mother and father."

Hand in hand, the twins walked back into the forest.

MasteroftheMidnightYard: whew! That took awhile! It's 1:30 in the morning, and it's finally done! I feel so proud of myself!

TruDivination: All you did was edit! I'm doing all of the work here. You were just dancing around listening to my iPod songs while I wrote this up for 3 hours!

MasteroftheMidnightYard: And FlyingElephants did nothing at all, never forget that! And I worked very hard, thank you very much! Without me, the story would be a boring waste of screen! Anyway, we'll try to get the next chapter up as soon as possible! Please review!