Wow, twenty chapters already! I didn't think that this fic would go on that long! *Gives a toast with my boots* Heta-li-a!

Time frame- Remember, it's a big island. So that's why this takes place at night, when the fight was at about two o'clock. The forest, where Iggy, Canada, and Sealand are is located between the prison and the dock, so the others had to walk there and back, taking more time.

Chapter 20 (John POV)

Okay, I admit it. I was crying. Mary would have laughed in my face, but I didn't care. Those people were scaring me! And he tried to kill me! I ran so fast that I couldn't see where I was going.

"Hey, what's the matter, John? Back so soon?" Mary mocked. I was at the station already? "You can't handle a pair of kids? You're pathetic."

"It's not that! There'rethesepeopleattheprison, and-" I had to catch my breath. I'd never run so hard in my life.

Mary sighed. "What new excuse have you cooked up this time?"

"Some people broke in!" I yelled at the top of my lungs.

For once, she was speechless. "Oh. In that case, you go home. I'll go beat them up myself!"

I sighed. Typical Mary.

"Or at least, that's what I would normally say." Eh? "John, I know you. Yes, you're a wimp, and you're a coward, but…"

She's going to say it; she's going to say it!

GONG, GONG, GONG, GONG, GONG, GONG, GONG, GONG, GONG! It's nine fifteen right now.

"…the jail's two miles off. Cid told us that your shift is the nine o'clock shift, right?"

I nodded, disillusioned. I thought that she'd say that I was brave or something.

"It's nine-fifteen right now. If you had gotten in at exactly nine, then you'd have to run two miles in fifteen minutes. Now while that is possible (I can do it in less), you can't do it."

I was confused. "But… I did, didn't I? If I couldn't do it, then why am I standing here?"

"Have you ever heard of survival instinct? It's also known as fear, fight or flight instinct, lizard brain, Italian retreating miracle-"

"Italian retreating miracle [1]?" I repeated.

"Yes, Italian retreating miracle. Now the point is, you'd only run that fast if you were afraid. And if you're afraid, then something bad happened. Now I'm going over there, and you can go get the rest of the force."

"B-but… one of them has an axe! And I saw a kid with a sniper rifle!" There's no way that she could do it on her own!

"That's why you're gonna run and tell everyone to help! You think that a girl like me can do it all on her own?"

"… Yes, lassie. But why me?"

"You just ran two miles in fifteen minutes. You think that I'm going to let that talent slide?"

"B-but that's only when I'm scared!"

"Oh look, there's a guy with an axe coming up the road!"

I scampered.

Later, outside the prison, after several tedious and virtually fruitless searches…

"You're saying that Mary went in first, partner?" Adam asked.

I nodded. "I'm worried about her…"

Sam laughed. "Don't worry; she'll probably be right there, grinning. She'd already be waiting for us in there!"

"Enough chatter, let's go, men!" ("It's only the four of us," I muttered.) Mr. Cid unlocked the door. "Mary! Are you alright in there!"

Mary lay on Arthur at the threshold, unconscious. The lock of the last cell was broken.

"Geh…mi economía… [2]" the axe guy was still lying on the ground in pain. It was hard for me not to feel sorry for him, even if he tried to kill me.

"Spain! Hang in there!" the crossdresser's brother lay at his side, shaking him.

"Ve~ Germany!" The crossdresser himself was hugging the blonde kid affectionately. "Ve~" he also hugged the black-haired kid.

"Um, guys?" the glasses guy whispered. "The police are here, aren't you going to do something?"

"I c-can't…" said the axe guy- Spain. "The economy is…"

"H-hey!" I somehow managed to shout. "W-w-wha-t-t d-d-d-did you d-d-do with Mary?"

The black-haired kid was the first to react. He charged at us, sheathed katana in hand.

"Ve~ I'll help!" The crossdresser threw a small, red metal object at us. It landed right between us.

"Gyah! It's a Red Devil!" The glasses guy dragged Spain over to one side.

"Hyah!" Katana-kid brought down his still-sheathed katana on Sam's head, knocking him out.

"Th- this is for M-" Adam whipped out his gun-

BLAM! Adam fell to the ground, groaning in pain. He was shot from behind! I looked for the source, and saw a glimmer of light. It was the sailor kid with the sniper rifle!

"Even if you're a kid, you'll pay for that!" I got out my own loaded revolver, and fired all six shots randomly. A mix of hot guilt and grim satisfaction filled my body as he collapsed. Why did I just do that? I thought. He's only a kid, and I just killed him!

"Sealand!" the glasses guy tried to run to his side, but Mr. Cid hit him on the back of his neck. He crumpled easily.

"Ugh…" (Schist)! Spain got back up!

"Spain! You're awake!" The crossdresser's brother stopped shaking him.

The blonde kid- Germany- looked at the ground between us, and shouted "Ve haf to get out of here! Ve haf already fulfilled our objective!"

"Ve~, yes sir!" the crossdresser and his brother/sister bolted from the room. The ones left began to run.

"H-hey, you can't just-"

BOOM! The red metal thing that the crossdresser threw exploded just as they passed over it. The black haired kid was knocked forward by the blast and hit his head, Spain was thrown backwards and slammed into the bars of the cell behind him (ouch), and Germany, who was right above the bomb, was hurled upwards and crashed into the ceiling. The glasses guy was still unconscious at our feet. Thankfully, Mary and Arthur were untouched, and so were we.

"Um, Mr. Cid?" I asked, surprised at the unexpected turn of events. "What should we do?"

"We put them in the slammer," he said plainly. Well, you couldn't say that Mr. Cid wasn't efficient. "And you're going to watch them until ten o'clock tomorrow. I'll take care of Mary, Sam, and Adam, so don't worry,"

"Yes sir…" I said feebly. Oh well, I thought as I locked them in the last untouched cell. At least I can get some sleep. After all, they're unconscious, aren't they?

I was wrong. In the end, they had to wake up sometime.

LINEBREAK

"Konichiwa," Eh? Did someone say something? "H-hello,"

I sat upright. Still in the prison, still on guard duty. "Okay, who's there?" I glanced at the cell, and saw the black-haired kid sitting upright.

"H-hello, jailer-san. We did not introduce ourselves last night. I am Kiku Honda"

"Um… why are you telling me this?" I asked. For all I knew, he was distracting me while the others dug their way out.

"Because we injured your friends last night. The woman's name is Mary, correct?"

I nodded. "What did you do to her?"

"Masiyu-san hit her on the head with a hockey stick," he said, "Do not worry, he made sure not to hit her… vital regions. I mean, regions that cause lasting harm," he said before I could make a disgusted face. "I sink zat Peter tried to avoid your comrade's organs, and your other friend should be alright,"

"Ugh…" Oh, (poop), Spain just woke up! He's gonna kill me! "Buenos días!"

…"EH?"

"Zis is Antonio," Kiku introduced. "He said 'good morning' in his language."

Wait a second…"D-didn't that kid call him Spain last night?"

Kiku was taken aback. "Um… it is a nickname," he said quickly. I didn't believe him.

"Hola!" Antonio said, more cheerful than I thought he would be after being arrested. In fact, he seemed almost… normal. "It's a nice day outside!"

"…" That from the guy who tried to kill me with an axe last night?

"Zis is normal for him," Kiku said as if reading my mind. "He is usually like sis, he was angry last night because you arrested Lovino-san,"

"Lovino? Was he the crossedresser or his brother?"

"His brother. But he also used to wear a dress when he was a child,"

"Rgh," Germany sat up with difficulty. Then again, his back was hurt. "Vhy are ve here?"

"That's what I should be asking you!" I yelled. "You broke in last night, trashed the whole place with a bomb and an axe, and you can't even remember that?"

"Ja, ja, I remember now," he said exasperatedly, "Ve vanted to get… Feliciano und Lovino out of here,"

"Huh? Those were their names?" I asked. "I didn't get the chance to ask. Why was he wearing a dress anyway? And how did he get one? I mean, it's not like he could go into a store and-" Oh yeah, I thought that he was a girl even before he put on the maid outfit.

Antonio laughed. "Roderich made him wear a dress when he was growing up. He thought that Feliciano was a girl!"

"Who's Roderich?" It seemed like he was throwing names around just to annoy me.

"He's kind of like Feliciano's adopted father," someone whispered. It was the glasses guy.

"You're… um, you never told me your name," I said.

"I'm Mathew… I was awake before any of you…"

"My name's John, but what do you mean by 'kind of'?" I wanted answers.

"Well… first, he took in Feliciano and Lovino when their grandfather died, but he sent Lovino to Antonio's parents, and he made Feliciano work as a maid," Mathew said quietly.

"A… maid?" that explained the dress, but why a maid? "He's a guy, right?"

"He looked and sounded like a girl until he hit puberty," explained Mathew. "He thought that he was a girl for years,"

"Oh yeah, he told me when he was out getting thread for sewing. He said that he expected something like this to happen, for some reason," Antonio said cheerfully.

Something wasn't right about this… "Hold on, how old is Feliciano, anyway?"

"I sink that he is about twenty. Vhy?"

"Then why did he hit puberty when he was seventeen?" Okay, it was possible. Not probable, but possible.

"He didn't. How did you get that number?" asked Germany.

"You said that Roderich took them both in after their grandfather died, right?"

They nodded. Kiku seemed to get my point, though.

"So Lovino was alive at the time. The point is," I said before any of them could stop me, "Lovino is about five, at the oldest. Let's say that Lovino was just born when their grandfather died. Feliciano would be about fifteen then. But they were sent to Roderich's house, and he thought that Feliciano was a girl. Then he hit puberty a few years later. You expect me to believe that?"

They exchanged uneasy glances. "Um, you see, it's like this," Mathew began, "Lovino was de-aged,"

"How?"

"Magic. I know, it's a long story," he said without really explaining.

"Estás despierto!" Antonio yelled arbitrarily. I looked over his shoulder. Arthur was awake.

"Good, we were worried about you," Kiku said.

"But where the bloody hell are we?" he yelled. His accent was always a bit odd, granted, but it seemed stronger than before.

"Ja, ja, ve got zem out, but now ve…" Germany was embarrassed when he said that. "Vell, take a look."

Understanding filled his eyes. He took in a deep breath, and grabbed the rusty bars. "IS THAT YOU, JOHN? I SWEAR, WHEN I GET OUT OF HERE, THE FIRST THING I'M GOING TO DO IS RIP OUT YOUR BALLS, TIE THEM AROUND YOUR NECK AND HANG YOU FROM THE RAFTERS IN THE INN'S ATTIC, WHERE THEY'LL NEVER FIND YOUR MANGLED BODY, BUT WILL FOREVER SEARCH FOR YOU WITHOUT KNOWING THAT- [3]"

"SHUT UP!" Germany yelled, miraculously silencing him.

"… I… didn't know you were so violent," I said. I'd never seen Arthur so angry; I thought that he was just a normal guy. Yes, we found him collapsed in the middle of the forest, but he'd been more serene then. I thought that he'd just sit apathetically when I locked them in.

"You have no idea…" Antonio said nervously. If he was afraid, then…

I subconsciously edged away.

CRASH! "THE HERO HAS ARRIVED!"

TO BE CONTINUED!

[1] Italian retreating miracle- If you do not understand, refer to more episodes of Hetalia

[2] Spain when he is on the ground- 'My economy…"

[3] He's channeling Pirate Iggy here!

Alternate scene- This almost happened, but I just decided on the scene I have now. Instead of Canada saying that Italy hit puberty a few years later, he says that Austria took North Italy in when he was little, and that he also says that South Italy was sent to Spain's parents. John realizes that there's too much of an age difference for that to be possible (Italy is twenty, Romano is five, if it was Italy's childhood, then it would be before Romano was born).

Now, I thought that it would be more in-line with the 'maid' statement if Canada said something about the crossdressing and hitting puberty. Plus, I just liked it better.

How do they get out? What about Sealand? Will John be okay? And when will I remember that they're kids? Find out next chapter!