Hi Guys! Back again! Things get tense in this chapter. Ready! Here we go!

I don't own Hetalia!

Chapter 7 : Time Runs Out!

Arthur gave a quick explanation to Emil because Emil could not leave the orphanage without arousing suspicion and he needed to know. After which, Arthur and Francis left as soon as possible without disappointing the children and made their way back to the inn.

"What's wrong, Arthur?" Francis asked, noting the Fae's agitated state.

"We have to find the others," Arthur replied. "Emil told me something that means things could be far worse than we first realised. Come on!"

They reached the inn and everyone was there, even Matthias who was 'furthering' his acquaintance with Lukas. They looked up when Arthur and Francis burst into the room.

"We may have a very serious problem," Arthur blurted out, wasting no time. "This next full moon is not just a full moon, it's a blue moon!"

Matthias and Aleks looked perplexed, Vladimir was thinking about it but it dawned on Lukas very quickly. For the first time, a look of horror crossed his face.

"The Dark Fae could bring the others back!" he gasped. Arthur nodded. Francis looked back and forth between the two Fae.

"How can the Dark Fae do that?" he asked.

"The blue moon has an amplifying effect on magic," Lukas replied, as Vladimir fearfully realised what Arthur and Lukas were talking about. "The Dark Fae could open the portal to the Shadow World and force the door to open in the other direction, allowing the other Dark Fae to leave, along with anything else that happens to be with them."

"So, not only could the other Dark Fae come through, which is bad enough," Matthias surmised. "But any other dark creatures who happen to be in the right place at the right time! That's a scary thought!"

"Fortunately, I've been to see King Ivan about how he and his sisters dealt with the Dark Fae, a hundred years ago," Lukas replied. "They created a portal of iron and used magic fire to open it to the Shadow World. Unfortunately, the Dark Fae will need the same as well as ….. " Lukas could not say it.

"As well as what?" Aleks asked, not liking the way the three Fae had gone quiet.

"The Dark Fae would need to devour two victims," Vlad replied, darkly.

"Two children!" Francis gasped, voicing what Vlad had been reluctant to say. "This thing will go after Alfred and Matthew!" Francis looked at Arthur.

"Of course it will," Arthur said. "Twins would give the Fae even more power because of the connection between the siblings. Alfred and Matthew would almost certainly be a target which is why I asked Emil to keep particular watch over them"

"Mon Dieu, Arthur," Francis grasped Arthur's shoulders. "We can't let that happen to them, to any of them." Arthur took Francis's face in his hands.

"Calm down, Francis," he ordered. "We have another two days and we'll get Alfred and Matthew out tomorrow. We'll tell Eisenberg that we want to adopt them then we only need to worry about the other children."

"I'll tell my people to start patrolling tomorrow," Matthias said. "No one will get any children past them and they'll detain anyone trying to take children into the woods. Then we can defeat this thing when it's weak."

"There you are!" Arthur told Francis. "Nothing to worry about!"

He was wrong!

"We tell them the boys ran away!"

The Mayor came to visit Greta to tell her what to say to Sir Kirkland and his husband, should they want to adopt the Williams Twins but he had another issue to address.

"We have another pressing problem," he continued. "The carpenter and his 'wife' have magical help."

"What!" Greta could not believe this development. "How do you know?"

"I tried to sabotage the carpenter's workshop," he replied. "I set fire to it but a man used magic to put it out and repair the damage."

"What does this mean?"

"I don't know," the Mayor replied. "It could be just friends of theirs. It can't be help from the crown. Even if they have already written the letter and sent it, it couldn't have reach the palace yet."

"Even so," Greta mused. "I don't like this at all. More Fae here! If he's friends with Oxenstierna, he won't take kindly to what we've been doing if he finds out."

"If he finds out," the Mayor pointed out. "I'm making no more moves against Oxenstierna so his friend has no reason to come here."

"His friend might cause trouble if he champions Oxenstierna's bid to adopt the English boy," Greta said.

"We'll deal with that when it happens," the Mayor replied. "Just keep the Dark Fae happy!"

"Yes, sir!"

Night had fallen and the orphans were settled down for the night. Because it wasn't the full moon yet, they slept peacefully. Except for one.

Emil began to take out his wand to cast his Sleep Spell on the other boys again when he heard the door knob turning. He laid back down and closed his eyes and listened as he heard footsteps cross the room.

Greta went to Matthew's bed first as he was the least likely to make a fuss and shook the boy's shoulder. Matthew's eyes open drowsily.

"Hmm," he muttered and Greta put her finger to her lips.

"Hush," she whispered. "You don't want to wake your two friends. Get changed while I wake your brother." Matthew looked confused. If this was the full moon, he would have been frightened but because it was not, he thought there had to be another reason for all this so he gathered his clothes and began to dress.

Greta moved to Alfred's bed and shook the other boy awake. Alfred resisted being woken up, groaned and pushed the offending hand away. Greta shook him again.

"Alfred, wake up," she ordered, quietly. Alfred just curled up in the bed.

"Don't wanna!" he said, sleepily.

"Alfred, get up now," she demanded. Alfred sat up and rubbed his eyes.

"Why am I being woken up?" he asked, a little loudly for Greta's liking and she put her finger over his lips.

"You'll wake the other two," she warned. "Just get dressed. I need you and your brother awake to do something important. Something only the two of you can do." Alfred looked at Matthew,who was already dressed and carrying his teddy bear, as he gathered his clothes. When he was dressed, Greta ushered them both out of the room.

After the door closed, Emil opened his eyes and looked toward the door. He did not like this new development at all. Why was she taking Alfred and Matthew away. As he looked up, he caught sight of Peter's frightened blue eyes across the room.

"Emil, why is she taking Alfred and Matthew?" he whimpered. The poor boy was scared.

"I don't know," Emil admitted. "I'm going to see where they're going, stay here!" Emil got out of bed and crept to the door, opening it and peering outside. He tiptoed down the corridor toward Greta's office but ducked into a doorway when Greta appeared in sight with Alfred and Matthew in their coats and herded them toward the back door, both boys looking confused and a little frightened.

She was taking them to the woods! Now! But it was not the full moon until the night after next. Why now!

He jumped when someone tapped him on the back. He turned to see Peter at his back. He gave a sigh of relief.

"Peter," he scolded. "I told you to stay in the room." Peter looked at the back door.

"She's taken Alfred and Matthew to the woods," he whimpered. "But it's not full moon!" Emil knelt down beside Peter.

"Peter," he said. "I want you to go to the inn and find Arthur. Tell him what's happened and then you do what he tells you to. Understand!" Peter nodded. They went outside and they could see the trio heading for the woods. Emil pushed Peter in the direction of the inn.

"Go!" he ordered and Peter ran. Emil took out his wand, magically changed his night-shirt into outdoor clothes and followed.

As they neared the woods, Alfred and Matthew knew something was wrong, even though the full moon was two days away. They looked at each other and a silent message passed between them but even as they got ready to run, Greta grabbed both boys arms and pulled them along with her to the trees.

"Stay close, boys," she ordered. "We don't want you getting lost now, do we!"

"I don't want to go into the woods," whimpered Matthew.

"Me, neither," said Alfred, adamantly. "I want to go back!" Greta ignored the both of them and just dragged them along. The boys began to struggle but Greta held on.

"LET GO!" Alfred yelled and Matthew tried to twist out of her grip but they were unrelenting dragged into the woods.

Matthias was taking his leave. He had to get his people organised for the full moon and time was late. He said his farewell and opened the door to exit when …..

"Arthur! Arthur! ARTHUR!"

"Who's shouting!"

"Shut up, you noisy little brat!"

Arthur looked into the passage and saw Peter running up it, shouting Arthur's name.

"Peter!" he called. The frightened little boy turned and ran up to him.

"You got to help them, Arthur," he plead. "They've gone! Into the woods! Please! You got to help!" Arthur had a really bad feeling and took Peter into the room and shut the door. Peter looked round nervously at everyone in the room. Did that blonde guy really have sharp teeth? He began to shake with fear.

"Calm down, Peter," Arthur said. "Who's gone into the woods?"

"Alfred and Matthew!" Peter cried. "Greta took them into the woods! It's not even a full moon and she took them into the woods!" Everyone stood stock still. Lukas was the first to recover.

"Peter," he asked. "Where's Emil?" Peter frowned. He had never seen this man before, why was he asking about Emil?

"How do you know Emil?" he asked. Lukas looked at the others who nodded.

"Emil's my younger brother," he admitted. "We know something's wrong in the orphanage and sent Emil into find out what he could. Please, where is he?"

"He followed them," Peter replied. Lukas did not show emotion but if he did, he would be freaking out.

"We have to find him," he said to the others. "We still don't know what we're facing but if it is a Dark Fae, he won't have a chance, not tonight!" Arthur turned to Matthias.

"How fast can you mobilise your people?" he asked.

"If I can get to my camp immediately," Matthias replied. "My people can surround the woods within the hour and begin to work inwards." Arthur nodded and took out his wand.

"Make sure that they're prepared," he said. "This won't be the weakened adversary we were hoping to face and I don't want to lose anyone to this thing. Ready?" Matthias nodded.

"Think about your camp!" Matthias closed his eyes and Arthur waved his wand. A glow surrounded Matthias, there was a flash and Matthias vanished. Peter jumped at this display of magic.

"How did you do that?" he gasped. Arthur knelt down beside the little boy and put his hands on his shoulders.

"Have you heard of Fae?" he asked, gently. Peter nodded. Arthur indicated to himself, Lukas and Vladimir.

"We are Fae," he admitted. "We're here to take care of what's threatening you and the other children."

"So you were never going to adopt any of us," Peter looked down at the floor and twisted the hem of his shirt with his fingers. Arthur looked up at the others and straight into the eyes of Francis. He smiled at the Frenchman and looked back at Peter.

"It wasn't part of our plans," he admitted. "But I'll be getting married soon." Francis looked startled at this declaration. Arthur, his little British Fae, had agreed to marry him in front of witnesses. He had never been so happy.

"We'll be happy to adopt Alfred, Matthew and you," Arthur continued. "But I think there's someone else you want to be adopted by." Peter looked up at Arthur smiling at him. Then Arthur turned to Francis.

"Francis, I want you to take Peter to Berwald and Tino," he ordered. "Peter, stay with them and we'll bring Alfred and Matthew back." Francis had an objection, however.

"I'm coming with you!" he declared. "I'm not allowing my fiancé to go into danger without me." Arthur did not have time for this.

"Francis," he replied, sternly. "What we're facing is dangerous, even for us! An ordinary human would have no chance. And we need someone to take Peter to the Oxenstiernas. Every second we waste now puts Emil, Alfred and Matthew in greater danger. Please don't fight me on this!" Francis realised he was delaying the rescue mission and nodded, resignedly. He came forward and gave Arthur a quick kiss, took Peter's hand and left.

"Well," Vladimir smirked. "Congratulations, Future Mrs Bonnefoy!"

"Oh shut up!" Arthur snorted. "We have two little boys and a half-ling to save."

"Yes," Lukas replied. "Can we stop wasting time, please? My brother's out there alone!"

"Quite right," Arthur agreed. "Aleks, take to the air above the woods and see if you can find out where this creature might be. The rest of us will search the woods and you can direct us if you spot anything. Let's go!"

And they left to face what was out there.

Greta held tight to the two boys who were now both struggling against her as she pulled them deeper into the woods and finally they reached a clearing. Alfred suddenly kicked Greta in the shin, causing her to loosen her grip on Matthew who managed to twist free.

"RUN, MATTHEW!" Alfred screamed and Matthew turned and ran, dropping his teddy, determined to get help to free his brother but he collided with something that was covered with a black cloak who immediately put its hands on Matthew's shoulders. He looked up to see cold lavender eyes in a face framed by white-blonde hair looking down at him.

"Now, now, Greta," Anya said with a mock scold. "You shouldn't frighten little children like that. Are these my new …... children?" Greta nodded, glaring at Alfred. Anya took a firm grip on Matthew's hand and he had no choice but to be pulled along as the figure moved forward to grab hold of Alfred's hand.

"This is your new ….. parent!" Greta informed them. "You belong to her now!" Alfred struggled to pull away from the woman while Matthew hunched to as small as he could.

"NO!" Alfred shouted. "Arthur and Francis are adopting us. Us and Peter! We're not going!"

"I'm afraid you don't have a choice," Anya said with a cold smile. "You're mine now! Run along now, Greta!" Greta turned and left without looking back.

"Come along now, my little boys," Anya cooed and began to drag the boys away. Matthew thought that, sooner or later, Arthur and Francis would come look for them but how would they find them if they went too deep into the woods then he had an idea. Reaching into a pocket, he pulled out the dying daisy chains that Arthur had made for him and Alfred. Breaking the chains, Matthew began to drop the flowers, one by one, leaving a trail.

He could only hope that if his prospective parents did come looking for them, they would find the daisies.

Emil followed at a distance. Matthias was right, it was a Dark Fae. He had to find out where this creature was hiding out and then go get the other Fae.

After everyone left the clearing, a dragon-shaped shadow, cast by the almost full moon-light, fell over the clearing.

Aleks flew above the woods in dragon-form but it was hard to see for the trees. They were thick, the leaves full and plentiful so visibility was practically nil! There were clearings here and there but he saw no one in them as he circled the woods but as he began circling the outer edge, he saw a woman exiting the woods and making her way to the orphanage. He quickly drew the conclusion that this had to be the woman in charge of the orphanage and he began to look for the Fae.

He spotted them coming into one of the clearings and landed in front of them.

The Three Fae had picked their way through the woods and managed to make it to one of the many clearings when Aleks landed in front of them and took his human form.

"Did you see them?" Arthur asked, desperate for news of the twins but Aleks shook his head.

"The trees are too dense to see through," the Bulgarian replied. "But I did see a woman leave the woods. She was heading toward the orphanage."

"Greta Eisenberg!" Arthur spat. "I knew that woman was involved."

"I was thinking, though," Aleks replied. "If she took the boys into the woods then we can make her show us where exactly she took them to." Vlad nodded in agreement.

"It's better than stumbling randomly through the woods," Lukas concurred.

"Agreed!" Arthur replied. And they began to make their way out of the woods and to the orphanage.

Francis knocked on the door of the Oxenstierna's cottage with Peter in hand. He knocked hard because it was very late at night and the couple would have retired for the night. It took a while but eventually the door opened to Berwald's sleepy but stern visage which turned to a second of surprise when he saw Peter with him.

"What's h'ppened?" he asked. Peter ran to Berwald and clung around his waist.

"Alfred and Matthew have been taken from the orphanage," Francis replied. "Peter came to warn us. The Fae have gone after them and they sent me to bring Peter here." Tino appeared behind Berwald. Berwald passed Peter to Tino who began to cuddle the distraught boy.

"We'll t'ke care 'f him," Berwald said. "What ar' you go'ng t' do now?"

"I'm going to the woods," Francis replied. "I will not allow my fiancé to face whatever is there without me!"

"Wait a m'ment!" Berwald ordered and disappeared back up the stairs to his bedroom. After a while, he came back down, full dressed.

"I'm c'ming w'th you," he declared. Tino hugged his husband.

"Be careful!" he said. Berwald kissed Tino and, after stopping off at his workshop to collect his tool-belt, he and Francis headed for the woods.

Matthew had almost run out of daisies when a woodland cottage came into sight. Alfred was still struggling in Anya's grip but she was too strong. Matthew dropped the last of his flowers as they were pulled toward the cottage.

"Welcome to your new home, boys," Anya said with a little laugh. "Your home for the rest of your lives." That seemed to be have a double meaning as they were dragged inside.

When they were forced inside, the sight of the two cages really made them panic.

Emil watched from the trees and when he was sure he would not be seen, he made his way to one of the windows.

He peered inside in time to see Anya force the boys into the cages and as he looked around the rest of the cottage, he spotted a large cast iron oven. He wondered about that. Fae hated iron, it was harmful to them and this oven was particularly large. He realised something else. It was big enough to take a human body. He shuddered.

After locking the twins in the cages, Anya left the cottage through the back. Emil knew he should get Lukas and the other Fae but he could not leave the boys there, he had to help them escape.

He quietly open the door and made his way into the room. Both boys turned to see him and Alfred opened his mouth to say something but Emil put his finger to his lips for him to be quiet. Alfred and Matthew looked at him, perplexed as he aimed his wand at the lock on Alfred's cage, not seeing Anya silently slide back into the room after waiting for the half-ling she had sensed outside the cottage.

"Behind you, Emil!" Matthew cried.

Right before Emil was sent into darkness!

Oh no! Going for help first would have been the best way to go but, in Emil's defence, he didn't know what would happen to Alfred and Matthew while he did but now they're all in danger and no one knows where they are! DDDX Yay! Arthur finally said yes to Francis! FACE Family, here we come! XDDD. And I think Anya's creep factor just went up (shudder!) But the Fae are gathering their forces and Francis and Berwald are coming to the rescue too.

To briana. Schmidt1 – Don't worry! It's not over yet, they'll get theirs! FrUk forever! XD

To Nightshine315 – Nothing so drastic, she didn't even know he was awake but he's still in danger anyway D: And no one can stand against the powers of the Cuteness Trio :3:3:3

To Normandy – Ah! Over-protective brothers! Funny to watch and the bane of every younger sibling's existence :D. Pinocchio is a idea for another time. I'm struggling with my latest story right now but I'll get there! ;)

To themusicalcat – Ha ha! What do your friends make of that? XD Right now, Arthur will look for any excuse rather than admit that he wanted to but that's a tsundere for you XP The proposal was always on the cards (that's one problem with a prequel, spoilers) and, since Norge won't stop call him an idiot, Denny might as well use it to his advantage (; And Well Done, You! Here's a virtual cookie (::) Oh what the hey! Have another two! (::)(::)

To EverythingMath – And here comes more! ;P

To takuya – Yeah! The problem with prequels is the outcome is already known so you have to make sure the story's worth reading so I'm trying to build up the tension to keep people interested and throw in a few surprises if I can. I hope I don't disappoint! (sweatdrop!)

To Scarlet Phantom/Sylveon-of-Melody/ MidnightAsbol – Just his usual silly antics probably XD I looked back to make sure I hadn't missed your review when answering the others but I couldn't find one. You did, however, review Hetalia Tales 1:5 so maybe that's the one you remember doing. Never mind! Anya scares you! Good, she's supposed to! XP Now you know the significance of the blue moon and about the daisy chains, they'll be important in the next chapter. We all have our OTPs. There's no law that says you have to like them all (is there?) O_o

To Cardfighter by Maple – So glad to hear it! XDDDD

To ArtemisIsis13 – How can anybody miss the cuteness, it shines like a doitsu :3 Emil was very careful during his little re-con missions but it didn't stop him landing in trouble D: Arthur has finally succumbed to the enviable and accepted Francis's proposal (no head injury required :P) Yes! Lukas's advice has certainly borne fruit and I'm sure Francis is very grateful. Maybe they should bottle that water and sell it as a 'find your true love potion', they'd make a fortune :D I hope you squeal more over Lukas and Matthias (although not in front of your parents, they might take you to a shrink next time XP) Mayor Gruber was a bleep to do that to Berwald and Tino but he'll be too scared to do anything against them now that he knows they have magical friends but he doesn't know that 'Sir Kirkland' is also a Fae. Perhaps if he did, he would have thought twice about telling Greta to giving Alfred and Matthew to Anya. You got it right about the daisy chains and they'll come into their own, trust me! Arthur's brothers won't be appearing in this story but it could be good for a linked one-shot when Francis and the boys are introduced to them. Something to consider. Devour and Youth are a creepy combination of words and it might take more than a skillet to deal with Dark Fae, I'm afraid. A definite cast of 'prevention is better than cure'. Please! Let the knowledge breathe! DX

Another week, another chapter! Greta's about to have a visit from some angry people and the Final Battle is coming.

That's all for another week,

Hasta la Pasta!