YES! WRITER'S BLOCK DEFEATED! XDDDDD. I began to post this story before it was finished (which I don't usually do) but now I've not only finished it but I even wrote and posted a one-shot called Mon Petit Lapin. TAKE THAT, WRITER'S BLOCK! (doing a victory dance). Anyway here's the next chapter.

Additonal Characters

Francis – France

Enjoy!

Hetalia belongs to Hidekaz Himaruya, not me (sob!)

Chapter 2 : The Investigation Begins

Francis was on one of his little jaunts, visiting fellow inventors in other kingdoms and comparing ideas. Right now, he was outside the woods in Germania, heading toward the town of Holzstadt where he was planning to stop for the night, whistling to himself when he heard people talking. Coming along a road that was joining the one he was walking on, Francis saw four men. Three were blonde and one was dark-haired but the three blondes had wings. One had green wings, another had blue and the last one had red wings. All four were talking.

"We need to keep our minds open to other possibilities," the green-winged one was saying with a British accent. "Just because this thing could have come to Germania after running from Denmark doesn't mean that it did. This could be something else and we don't know what's happening to these children, only that they've disappeared."

"Do you think they're still alive," The blue-winged man had a Nordic accent, perhaps Norwegian?

"That would be nice," the wingless brunette replied. He sounded Bulgarian. "But none of them seemed to have been seen since. I'm not hopeful."

"And what else could be responsible if it's not the Denmark creature?" The red-winged blonde asked in a Romanian accent. "And just what is happening to these children?"

It was an interesting conversation to Francis. Clearly, these Fae and whatever the other man was were looking for missing children and possibly some monster was involved. That was when the green-winged man saw him and hushed the others.

"Bonjour!" Francis called out. "A lovely day, messieurs, is it not?" The green-winged man scowled.

"Great," he muttered under his breath. "A bloody frog! How much do you think he heard?"

"Everything, Sourcils," Francis replied, noticing the green Fae's enormous eyebrows and wanting to irritate the scornful winged man. The Fae scowled at him. Arthur really did not like the French. A little too touchy-feely for his taste.

"About missing children and possibly a monster," Francis continued, smirking. The green Fae growled.

"Please tell me we can kill him!" This Frenchman was rubbing Arthur up the wrong way and he had spent less than a minute in his company. He did not know what it was about him because the Frenchman was quite good-looking. Long blonde hair pulled back into a messy ponytail that looked like it was meant to be messy and blue eyes, even the stubbly beard lent an attraction to his face but every time he opened his mouth, Arthur wanted to punch it.

"I'm afraid not, Arthur," The blue-winged Fae replied. He did not showing much emotion but, judging by the way the other two were laughing behind their hands, he was probably amused by the green Fae's attitude. "I suspect this man is not involved with the missing children and, therefore, safe from our wrath."

"Yours, maybe," the green Fae retorted. "Don't make any promises about mine!"

"I apologise for my friend," the blue Fae replied, coming forward and holding out his hand. "I'm Lukas of the Bondevik Tribe and this is my irasible friend and colleague, Arthur of the Kirkland Clan." Francis took Lukas's hand and shook it. Francis held out his hand to Arthur who just looked at it.

"Pleasure!" he said in a tone that implied that it was anything but. The red-winged Fae came forward.

"I'm Vladimir of the Drakulya Line," he smiled, showing fangs as he held out his hand for Francis to shake which he did warily. "And this is my partner, Aleksander of the Drackon." Aleksander also shook hands with the Frenchman.

"Now that the pleasantries are over," Arthur huffed. "We must be off. We have to make Holzstadt before nightfall."

"What a coincidence, mon ami!" Francis exclaimed. "I am heading there myself. Perhaps I can join you."

"The more, the merrier!" the Red Fae, Vladimir replied with an amused, sideways glance at Arthur.

"Just great!" the green Fae muttered.

Holzstadt was a small but busy Germanic town with people bustling here and there. It did not seem like there was anything untoward happening in the town. The people were, for the most part, relaxed and happy except every now and they wondered to their friends where the little boy had disappeared to.

The Fae, who had hidden their wings, looked at each other when they heard these snippets. Clearly another child had vanished so something was happening.

"We'll hire rooms at the inn," Arthur said. "Then we'll talk to the carpenter and his partner. See if they can shed any more light on what's going on." He turned to Francis.

"Well, it looks like we part ways here," Arthur was pleased about that. The Frenchman was entirely too flirty and hands-on. At one point, he had picked a wild rose and presented it to Arthur with a flourish, much to the amusement of the others.

Francis was enjoying teasing the British Fae. He was entirely too easy to rile up and the French inventor was enjoying himself enormously. And he was not done yet.

"Oh non," he replied. "I also required a room for the night and there appears to be only one inn so you can have the pleasure of my company a while longer."

"Oh, joy!" was the sarcastic rely.

The inn was cosy and accommodating, the landlord friendly and soon they were settled. Arthur, Lukas, Vladimir and Aleks left Francis at the inn and were making their way toward the carpenter's cottage. It was neat and well-maintained with a lovely garden around it. In the garden was a small, blonde man who was dead-heading his rose bushes. He turned as the group approached and smiled.

"Hello," he greeted. "Lovely day, isn't it?"

"Indeed, it is," Arthur replied. "Is this where Berwald Oxenstierna lives?"

"Yes, it is," the man confirmed. "Do you want me to get him for you?" Arthur nodded.

"If you would." The small man disappeared and a while later, returned with another man. The last time Arthur had seen someone so tall, it was King Ivan of the Russias. He had short, blonde hair and piercing blue eyes behind his glasses, giving him a stern appearance and he was wearing an apron that was covered in sawdust.

"I'm B'rwald Ox'nsti'rna," he said, putting his hand on the other blonde's shoulder. "And this is T'no, m' w'fe!" The Fae and the dragon's eyebrows rose and 'T'no' blushed. "W'at can I d' fer ya?" Lukas came straight to the point.

"We've been sent by King Wolfgang!"

"Ya b'tter c'me 'n!"

"P'ter sa'd two m're chilr'n disappear'd last full m'on," Berwald reported as they partook of the refreshments provided by Tino. "A br'ther and sist'r n'med Lars and E'ma. Th' orph'nage sa'd th' childr'n h've b'en ad'pted"

"But there are rumours among the children," Tino added. "That there's something in the woods and that's where the 'adopted' children are taken."

"Peter is the boy you've been trying to adopt?" Lukas asked. Tino nodded.

"We've been refused three times," he revealed.

"For what reason?" Arthur requested. He could not see any reason to deny a child a home with this couple. Berwald seemed stern at first glance but he was actually quite nice and would make an excellent father and Tino was definitely the nurturing type.

"They said 'Financial Instability'," Tino replied. Vladimir looked around their home. It was not the home of poor people, not rich, but hardly struggling.

"You look like you could more than adequately provide for a child," he commented. Aleksander agreed with his boyfriend.

"You don't believe that reason," he observed from the way Tino had said 'Financial Instability'.

"I'm th' only carp'nt'r fer m'iles," Berwald replied. "I e'rn m're th'n en'ugh fer 'ur n'eds. But I w'rry ab'ut P'ter, especi'lly ar'und full m'on."

"And what about this other boy that seems to have vanished?" Arthur asked. "We've been hearing people talking about that."

"He disappeared at the full moon too," Tino replied. "He's four years old and I know the family. They're frantic!"

"I can imagine," Vladimir replied. Aleks, Arthur and Lukas agreed.

"So," Arthur stated. "Our next step would be to investigate the orphanage. They obviously want to keep the children from being adopted for some reason and it seems be linked to the disappearances." He turned to Berwald and Tino.

"I trust you'll tell no one of our true purpose here," he said. Both shook their heads.

"Of course not," Tino reassured.

"N' pr'blem!"

"So," Lukas replied. "We'll return to the inn and decide on the next course of action."

"Some of us should check out the woods," Arthur suggested when they got back to the inn. "And some of us should look around the orphanage."

"Perhaps two of us could pose as potential adoptive parents," Lukas replied.

"Would they even let any through the door?" Vladimir asked. "I mean, if they're blocking adoptions ….?"

"Would they refuse anybody to whom King Wolfgang recommended the orphanage?" Arthur replied. "We could pose as courtiers, looking to be parents and King Wolfgang could have told us to look in the orphanages in Germania. After all, they are supported by the Crown."

"That should work," Lukas replied. "They wouldn't want anyone running back to tell the King that they're refusing to let the children have homes. They can't possibly know about Berwald's letter so they wouldn't think that the King would be sending people to investigate them."

"Now the Big Question," Aleks asked. "Who's searching the woods and who's pretending to be prospective parents?"

"I think I should check the woods," Lukas replied. "It wouldn't hurt to have a dragon-shifter on side either. We don't know what's there!"

"That sounds good but there's a problem," Vladimir said. "That leaves Arthur and I to pose as the parents. I can hide my wings but if they catch sight of my fangs, they'll ask us to leave, King or no King!"

"There has to be two of us," Arthur replied. "They'll never consider a single man."

"Well," Vladimir replied, staring at the door. "There is someone who might help." Arthur followed Vladimir's line of sight to the door, knowing he was looking toward the room across from theirs and just who was in it.

"No!" he said, adamantly. "No! No! NO WAY IN HELL!"

"But of course I'll help you, mes amis," Francis was more than happy to help put a stop to disappearing children and it gave him another opportunity to flirt with the British Fae. It had been Lukas that had asked him with the others looking at him, hopefully. Arthur had hung back with a disgruntled expression on his face, showing that this was against his will. Lukas had cast his wand over both of them, changing their clothes to those of royal courtiers, Arthur in green, Francis in blue.

"We'll be searching the woods while you and Arthur check out the orphanage," Lukas laid out the plans. "Talk to the children, the warders, anybody who might possibly know something."

Francis went over to Arthur, took his hand and kissed it.

"Well, my little husband," he teased, with a smirk. "Let's us go choose our child." Arthur pulled his hand away with a disgusted look, wiping the back of it on his pants.

"I feel sorry for any child you raise, frog!" he snorted and left the room with Francis following him with a chuckle.

"You could hide your fangs if you had to," Aleks commented as he hugged Vladimir from behind and kissed him behind his ear. "What are you up to?" Vladimir grinned, his fangs glinting in the candlelight.

"Just a little matchmaking," he replied. "Arthur might seem like he dislikes Francis and he might even believe he does but you have to know him. I've never seen him behave like that with anyone else. Believe me, before this is all over, those two will be madly in love."

"When we meet the head of the orphanage," Arthur muttered as they walked up the street toward the building. "Let me do the talking. Just keep quiet and don't draw attention to yourself."

"Who, moi?" Francis asked, innocently. Arthur was already regretting this, the Frenchman was clearly out to cause mischief.

They walked into the building and were met by a dark-haired woman who was looking every bit the efficient woman in charge of an orphanage.

"Can I help you gentlemen?" Greta Eisenberg asked.

"Yes," Arthur replied. "I am Sir Arthur Kirkland and this is my husband, Francis. We've come here with the aim of adopting a child." Was it Arthur's imagination or did the woman look nervous for a second?

"I'm sure you understand that I just can't allow free access to the children," she said. "You could be anyone."

"Of course," Arthur smiled and produced the letter given to him by the Duke of Austria with King Wolfgang's signature. He handed it to Greta who opened it and read the contents.

To whom it may concern,

Please give the bearer of this letter every co-operation. He is acting with my approval and permission and he is to be rendered every assistance by royal order.

By Royal Command of His Royal Majesty,

King Wolfgang of Germania.

The letter also carried the royal seal. Greta gulped. She dare not disobey a royal command. If she did, these two could report back to him. He would sent someone to investigate and they did not want the attention. She handed the letter back to Arthur and gave him a nervous smile.

"This way, gentlemen," she said and lead them into the children's area.

Lukas, Vladimir and Aleks reached the edge of the woods. They stopped, Lukas held up his hand and closed his eyes in concentration. The others waited as he 'sensed' the woods.

"There is something," he reported. "I'm too far away to recognise it but the animals are afraid. Death surrounds it!" He put his hand down and opened his eyes again.

"So the woods do have something to do with it," Aleks replied. "But how does it connect with the orphanage?"

"We won't find out standing here," Vladimir said, readying his wand. Lukas did the same and Aleks was prepared to transform at a moment's notice, should he need to.

They moved with caution into the trees, looking left and right for any unusual signs but nothing showed as yet. Birds twittered in the trees but they were agitated and it made the three magical beings uneasy. As they moved closer, they began to hear other sounds, of people or beings moving about, of words being spoken but they were too far away to recognise what they were or even what language but as they got closer, Lukas recognised the language as Danish.

'Er det bror og søster trygt og sikkert? (Are the brother and sister safe and secure?). The words drifted toward them through the trees and Lukas turned to stare at the others who looked confused as neither Vladimir nor Aleks understood Danish so Lukas translated for them.

'Ja, (Yes)' came the reply. 'De er under bevogtning i den kongelige telt (They're under guard in the royal tent). The two Fae and the dragon-shifter crept further forward and a camp became visible through the trees. Beings moved about, some looked human and some did not. They were large and covered with hair, sporting tusks that grew up from their lower jaws and they were carrying axes.

"Trolls!" Lukas said. Not a great deal was known about trolls. Although nomadic, they generally stayed within the Kingdom of Denmark. To see them this deep in another kingdom was unusual to say the least.

They were a secretive race, keeping to themselves for the most part, unless they were coming to market to sell their wares (they are quite industrious). As a result, all kinds of rumours circulated about their behaviour, a lot of it uncomplimentary so a great deal of suspicion arose around trolls.

The three crept close, using the trees to hide their presence but still maintaining a little distance to hide their magic auras. A human troll with blonde, spiky hair passed two guards who nodded respectfully to him, entered the biggest tent in the camp and, for a moment, Lukas, Vladimir and Aleks caught a glimpse of a teenage boy with spiked-up blonde hair and a girl, also blonde, who looked slightly younger before the tent flap fell closed.

"The missing brother and sister?" Aleks asked.

"Who else could they be?" Vladimir replied.

"Looks like we've found our child-nappers," Lukas stated. "And we have two children to save."

Lukas and Vladimir readied their wands and Aleks transformed.

Then they attacked!

Not a hard question but hands up anyone if they know who the human troll with the spiky hair is? Sorry there's nothing about Alfred and Matthew in this chapter but they'll be back, never fear and Arthur and Francis have met, flirted and been flirted with and scowled and been scowled at. Same old, same old! The Danish translation is from Google Translate so, if it's wrong, could any Danish speakers out there let me know and I'll correct it.

Now, review replies!

To Scarlet Phantom – Don't despair! Like I said when I announced this story, I'm hoping to do some one-shots attached to this saga so watch out for them. I love it when Sweden calls Finland his 'wife'. I'm so glad I got the cuteness right and Arthur and Francis will get a dose of it soon :3. As I mentioned that Vlad and Aleks were together in HT1, I decided to bring Aleks into this story and he will play a vital role so look out for that. As you probably know, I did get to read the second chapter of 'The Unwound Unicorn' and I'm awaiting the next one. Yep! Those are the old names for the countries of the UK, although Cymru may have come from Cambria which was the Roman name for Wales. Wales itself may have come from Wealas, an old Anglo-Saxon word which roughly means 'foreign', I think. A little bit of trivial for you. P.S. Thanks for the review for Mon Petit Lapin you just set and feel free!

To Ishikawa Miki – Thank you. And the cuteness will be back! :3

To takuya – I'm so happy you like it and I do hope it is! :)

To FireFox Vixen – Thank you. I find writing children's dialogue a little difficult. I think I might have written them speaking a little older at times but I'll see what you think. :)

To themuscialcat – Yeah, I wanted to make the danger clear from the start so I went straight in with a tense moment. I hope you enjoyed your concert and thank you for taking the time to read this before you went. And more you shall have, I promise! XP

To EverythingMath – Yep! Enjoy! :)

To Cardfighter by Maple – I hope so! I do try for awesome! XD

To briana. schmidt1 – It's fine, don't worry! I so happy you like this so much and I will try to keep the three boys cute! :)

To Superwholockingers – Don't worry, there's a few chapters to go before this ends and, with any luck, I'll have some linked one-shots to post once I've finished with what I'm currently working on. And, as for adorable, just wait for next week. XP

To ArtemisIsis13 – The old names are cooler than the new, aren't they! :) Oh, that line and, given that this is Hansel and Gretel, you can fear the worst, I'm afraid. DX. Now that you mention it, that does seem to occurred throughout the stories, doesn't it! Feliciano separated from Lovino, Katyusha separated from Ivan, Alfred separated from Matthew, I didn't realise until you pointed that out. Even in HT4, Lukas was separated from Emil. Thankfully, there's none of that in this story :D As for Matthias, you might know the answer to that now XP. I could hug Berwald and Tino too. With Peter involved, Berwald won't sit back, doing nothing and I don't think he cares what the Mayor thinks :( If you think the boys are adorable now, just wait until they unleash their full cuteness powers on Arthur and Francis (They don't stand a chance :3) Their high, child-like voices would be a guaranteed sugar high and I want to protect them too (so I send the Fae and Aleks :D) It was nice to see Roderich again. It just seemed logical that letters to the King would go through someone and he was prefect for that. The Fae and Aleks are going to need that luck, I promise. I didn't really have this story planned until I wrote the FACE family into HT1 otherwise I might have done this story first but, hey ho! I try to keep the suspense going and please! Don't cry! :')

Well, over for another week. Two familiar faces will be showing up in the next chapter and Arthur and Francis will be assaulted by cuteness :3 And so, until next week,

Hasta la Pasta!