holy flying rhynoceros with tiny purple wings and a rainbow trail drinking tea and triangle sandiwches while singing hakuna matata and doing the hula dance!

(P3ace9797 i blame YOU for this! XD)

this is a LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOO...OOOONG chapter! 4000+ words!

i spent all day writing it ._."

i'm exhausted!

oh and 2700+ views! and 55 reviews! *flails arms around happily* THANK YOU!

..

anyway, i hope you ENJOY this new chapter!

Mathias and Berwald went out again the next day. They had to find food, with the Rock family increasing in numbers, including the cat (named – very originally - Gatto by Feliciano).

The day went on smoothly, until they returned.

The jeep's tires screeched as they stopped, as if they had run from something.

Both blondes hurriedly came in the cave. "Guys! GUYS! We have a situation!"

The people in the dining-cave looked up. "Ve, Mathias, what's wrong?"

Mathias was panting. "I…we… fuck! We saw a RED in the city!"

Everyone was suddenly alert. "Where?"

"Near the main street of the city!"

"Who was it?" Kiku asked.

"W' d'd n't know h'm." Berwald said. "It w'sn't L'kas… We w're j'st able t' 'scape…"

"Did he follow you?" Arthur asked.

"Nay, l'ck'ly… 't least th't's what we th'nk."
"Well, spill it, damnit! What did he look like?!" Romano barged in.

Mathias took a deep breath and stopped panting. "H…he had a light blue armour…and the 'mask' only covered his eyes."

Arthur's eye twitched. "I think I know him."

Everyone turned to face him. He sighed. "Did he have medium-length blond hair?"

Mathias nodded.

The Brit sighed again. "He was my friend…well if you could call that French pain in the arse friend. Anyway, his name is…was Francis."

Ludwig folded his arms, and asked in a very business-like tone: "Do you happen to know his abilities?"

Arthur nodded. "Speed. He's fast. And he can fly."

Tino looked at the ground. "Oh my…what if he followed you?" he asked again.
Mathias shook his head. "I don't know! I don't think he saw us, but it was a narrow escape. Maybe he saw the jeep riding away, I don't know!" he repeated.

"Merda." Romano growled, also folding his arms.

"We have to be ready, if he shows up! Quick, make haste!" Kiku said, going to get his katana.

Everyone soon had their weapon. Feliciano his staff, Romano his sword, Ludwig his hammer, Kiku his katana, Berwald his broad two-handed sword, Mathias his double-edged axe, Tino his spear, Bella her axe, an Arthur his dagger. And everyone (except Feliciano) with at least one gun or rifle strapped at their hips or back.

They all stood awkwardly in the cave for some minutes. Gatto meowed, worried.

"What the fuck are we waiting here for?" Romano suddenly asked.

"We're waiting for the RED to come…I think." Tino said, unsure.

"Well why don't we fucking go outside then?!"

"It'd give us away immediately, you wanker." Arthur snapped.

"It'd be better than just sit here like complete morons!" Romano snapped back.

"Ve! Please don't argue!"

"Feliciano's right. Stop yelling or they'll find us anyway." Ludwig said.

Everyone shut up.

"B't still…wh't should we do?" Berwald asked, the grip on his sword tightening.

"Hm, we could wait here, and maybe we get busted, which would be our end, or not, and then we'd be all safe. We still don't know if it's even looking for us. OR we could get out, fight that thing, and then maybe we lose, and some people die, or not, but in both cases everyone else here would be safe." Mathias reasoned aloud.

Ludwig raised an eyebrow. "Mathias, did I just hear you make a reasoned thought?"

The Dane smirked.

"I think…" Kiku started. "I think a team should go outside and face the RED."

Everyone now turned to the Japanese. "Why?!" Tino asked, horrified.
"Well, I think that…." Kiku tried to explain, however not finding the right words.

Arthur's face suddenly lit up. "Yes, why the bloody hell not?" he glanced at Feliciano (who didn't notice).

"Are you serious?!" Mathias asked, incredulous.

"Yes, actually I am. I think…I think we might be able to beat this guy. Don't ask me why, but I have an interesting theory. It could change everything. This would be the perfect chance to prove it!" Arthur said. "I volunteer to be in the team. And I need Feliciano."

"Wh-what?! Me?!" Feliciano almost squeaked, startled.

"Why him?" Ludwig asked, raising one eyebrow. "Why you?" he looked at the Englishman.
"I said I had a theory, and I need him to prove it. And, truth to be told, I really want to kick that Frenchman's arse." Arthur said, nearing Feliciano.

"Guess I'll be coming too…" Ludwig sighed, nearing the two.

Arthur raised his eyebrows. "Huh? Why?"

Ludwig waved his hand. "I need to do something. It's been a while since I went out." He glanced towards Feliciano. "And I kind of have a debt with Feliciano saving my life."

"You're not going anywhere with my brother and without me, eyebrows bastard! I'm coming too." Romano said, joining the three. He glared at Ludwig, who plainly ignored him.

"Well, I think that's enough people risking their lives tonight! Good luck! And don't die, vær så venlig!" Mathias smiled, putting his axe down.

"Hey, shut it, bastard! Non gufare!" Romano exclaimed, making an Italian gesture to avoid bad luck (closing the fist except the index and pinkie, pointing at the ground) .

"I…don't really think this is a good idea, Arthur." Tino murmured. "But…if you really are sure of this 'theory' of yours…"

Arthur nodded. "I am. Almost. I really want to prove if it's right. As I said earlier, it could change everything around here."

"Now I'm curious about what that theory actually is…" Kiku murmured, glancing at Arthur and then at Feliciano. The Brit nodded, both remembering the day Arthur had talked about Feliciano's supposed "asthma".

"Lycka till." Said Berwald, nodding a little.

Bella patted Romano on his shoulder. "Veel geluk." The Italian snorted "Speak normal, woman." but Bella just smiled.

The four of them left, and Feliciano shivered. Did Arthur really think he could cure the RED? Because he had guessed this was what it all was about… he really hoped that the Brit's theory was correct.

The four of them hopped in the jeep: Ludwig at the wheel, Arthur beside him, the two brothers in the back seats. They soon drove off and they were in the desert.

Feliciano observed the scenery. The landscape was beautiful. The sun shone brightly (it was four o' clock in the afternoon, so…) and the sky was clear, except some random fluffy white clouds. Feliciano only now noticed that the desert wasn't a sandy one, but a…what did you call it? It was all just dried earth, with some bushes here and there. The ground's colour was somewhere between brown and orange, and the jeep left a huge trail of dust as they rode.

Ludwig broke the silence that had formed in the car. "Arthur, would you mind explaining to us this theory of yours? There must have been a reason why you didn't tell it out loud in the cave before, I know, but I'd really like to know what I'm risking my life for right now."

"Yes, the potato bastard is right. I'd like to know too." Romano spat.

Ludwig blinked, astonished. "Potato…bastard?"

"You're German, of course I'd call you potato bastard, you moron."

Arthur swallowed. Then he turned his head a little to look at Feliciano, who only nodded in approval.

"Well, it's like this…" he informed them both about his 'anti-Nightmare' theory.

"What the fuck? That can't be real, you eyebrows bastard! Potato! Turn the damn car around and let's go back!" Romano exclaimed when the Brit had finished.

Ludwig did not budge. "Arthur…are you sure of this?" his knuckles turned white because he was gripping the wheel to tightly.

The Brit nodded. "I am not 100% sure, but…it's all we have. And think about it! It really could change everything."

Romano folded his arms when he saw the German didn't turn the car around. "Bullshit. I don't believe any of it."
Feliciano jump-hugged his brother. "But Romanoooo! It's true! Look!" he took the bandages off his hand, and he showed the back of it, the part that was glowing.

Ludwig glanced back through the mirror. "Unglaublich…" he whispered.

Romano stared at it, a mix of horror and astonishment in his eyes. "The fuck?! So…?"

The Brit nodded, turning to face forward again. "Exactly. And don't tell me you didn't notice the Nightmare had melted…"

"I thought it was because of the desert sun…" Ludwig muttered.

"I thought that too, at first, but then I found Gatto stuck in it." Arthur explained very matter-of-factly.

Both Romano and Ludwig nodded, gravely, understanding. Feliciano bandaged his hand again.

"So, your plan basically is to go there, beat the crap out of this RED and then see if Feliciano actually succeeds in healing the bastard?" Romano asked.

The Brit nodded. "I know it isn't much of a plan, but it's the best I got. And because Mathias and Berwald spotted the git during daytime, he might probably still be there."
Romano nodded.

"Ve! I see the city already!" Feliciano chirped. Everyone thought it to be strange he was so cheerful, but shrugged it off.

As they rode more slowly through the streets, Feliciano started remembering what it was actually like to face a Nightmare. Only now he remembered he had trembled when he had fought that Nightmare with Ludwig.

He shivered. What would happen to him if he faced a RED…?

His train of thoughts was interrupted by Ludwig halting the jeep. "Let's continue on foot, it otherwise gets too difficult to ride." The main road was indeed the largest, but as consequence beside it there had been built the largest buildings. Those, by falling, had covered the whole place in rubble and debris. Still some frames of the first floors of buildings had survived, but they were only the skeletons, shadows of what grand and tall buildings there were before. Feliciano shivered. The silence was…eerie.

Ludwig loaded his gun, as did Arthur. Romano grasped his sword, while Feliciano took a hold of his staff. He looked kind of ridiculous with that weapon, standing beside the others, but he didn't care.

"Now what do we do?" Ludwig asked.

"We search for that wanker." Arthur murmured, on guard.

They started walking on the main road, no sound except the one of their footsteps.

It became five o'clock, and the sun started his journey down to meet the horizon. They were all getting nervous…

Feliciano heard something. A leathery swish, nothing more. He frantically looked around, but did not see anything or anyone. Guess it was my imagination…

Arthur suddenly halted, making everyone stop. He tightened the grip on his gun.

"Up there." He growled. Feliciano saw a whole whirlpool of emotions in the Brit's eyes, but they were too fast for him to actually understand which emotions. So he looked up to where Arthur had said. And he saw him. The RED.

He was sitting on the debris on one of the surviving floors of a building as if it were a throne: slouched, legs crossed and head leaning on an arm.

"Finally. I was starting to get tired of waiting" he said, and Feliciano shivered. How could a human voice become so…distorted? He could just make out the RED's features. He had blond medium-length hair, and some stubble on the chin. The upper half of his face was covered by a skull-looking light blue mask, even if it was a bit asymmetric (the left part of the mask covered the cheek and had some pointed teeth, while the right part covered the forehead). The eyes were cast in shadow because of the mask, but even from that distance Feliciano could see the colour of his eyes. They practically glowed a bright electric blue.

"It's been some time …right…" the thing sighed, standing up. "…Arthur?" It looked almost as if he had to make an effort to remember the Brit's name.

Feliciano's eyes widened as he saw the RED's body. The left part of his body was completely covered in light blue armour, while the right part lacked it in some places, revealing the clothes under it.

Ludwig's and Romano's grip tightened on their respective weapons.

Arthur did not respond, he clenched his teeth instead.

"Why so cold? Aren't you happy to see your friend? Come up here, and give me a hug, no?" the RED spread his arms, as if welcoming the Brit.

"I will come up there, but only to kick your annoying arse, git!" Arthur exclaimed.

The RED sighed, dropping his arms. He then flipped his hair back. "You disappoint me, Arthur…"

The Englishman gritted his teeth more. He glanced sideways at Feliciano, and then to the RED again. "I don't care, Francis. Let's get this over with!" he trained his gun on the RED.

Francis smiled a sly smile. "Would you actually shoot me? My, you have grown…!"

"Shut up!" Ludwig barged in. "Don't listen to him." He murmured at the Brit.

Arthur nodded.

"Oh, so you are serious. Hmmm, let's see… you brought two brothers, one of them with a ridiculous weapon, and a German bodyguard. I'd expected more from you, mon cher… Oh!" he said, as if remembering something. He looked at Feliciano, who shivered when he saw those frightening eyes look at him. "…Bonjour there, little Italian… I think I know you!" Francis smiled, putting a clawed hand on his chin. Feliciano trembled even more and then gulped, taking a step back. How does he know me...? Did I know him?

Something suddenly appeared from behind the RED's back.

"Holy shit, the bastard has wings." Groaned Romano.

Indeed, Francis spread his two big wings. He grinned. "Let's see you catch me, oui?"

Suddenly a war cry came out of nowhere. Actually, it came from behind the RED. A man appeared, and struck the RED with a metal baseball bat.

"Take that, motherfucker!" the man yelled. The four men in the street were astounded.

"Who the hell is that?" Ludwig asked, voicing everyone's thoughts.

Francis managed barely to avoid the bat by turning around, but the man continued to try and hit him. The RED had to take a few steps back, and then he jumped off the destroyed building. "My my, so you actually had a plan Arthur? I must say I'm impressed, even though it failed…"

Arthur blinked, confused. Who the bloody hell was that man?!

Said man stood on the floor of the building, panting. "Fuck! I missed!" he complained. None of the four had ever seen him in their whole lives. He had dirty blond hair, and a single strand was standing up, as if defying gravity. He wore glasses and the strangest jacket Feliciano had ever seen. He held the metal baseball bat in his right hand, and he was panting.

Francis landed smoothly on the street, not so far away from the four, who braced themselves.

"Oh, I remember you! What a nuisance." he said, looking at the man with the bat. "However…" Francis smiled, turning to face the four. "Let's begin"

He charged forward, and Ludwig and Arthur started shooting at him. The RED moved at blinding fast speed, aided by his wings too, so they barely hit him. Only one shot got him, but it bounced off his armoured shoulder. "Aim to his right side!" Ludwig exclaimed.

"Ve!" Feliciano squeaked when the RED whooshed past them. Francis made a sharp turn aided by his wings, and then came back.

Romano lunged forward with his sword. "Prendi questo, stronzo!"

Francis stopped and started sparring with the Italian, sword clashing with claws. Ludwig tried to shoot him again, but the RED found a way to roundhouse-kick the gun out of his hands. "Sheiße!" Ludwig reached to his belt to get his hammer.

Francis then ducked to dodge Romano's sword, and his claws slashed the Italian's shirt open, leaving three red cuts on the stomach.

"Gh-ack!" the Italian lost grip of his sword.

"Fratellone!" Feliciano exclaimed, running to help his brother. But Francis kicked upwards to Romano's chin, and the Italian fell backwards.

"You wanker!" Arthur shouted, running forward and shooting at the RED. Francis not only avoided the bullets, but dodged Ludwig's hammer as well. He jumped in the air and dove with incredible speed towards Arthur, flexing his clawed hands. Arthur tossed away the gun and got out his dagger. Feliciano, at his brother's side, couldn't help but notice…was the blade glowing?
Arthur described an arch with the dagger, attacking Francis. The RED was moving at an incredible speed, hovering in mid-air, but the Brit looked like he could keep the pace.

"I see you got better with that magic mambo-jumbo you said you had" Francis mocked, lashing out with a claw.

Wait, what? Feliciano thought. Magic?

Arthur deflected the blow and ducked. "You have NO idea!" he quickly whispered something, and a fireball appeared in his left hand.

"What the…!" the RED managed to say before Arthur threw it. Francis dodged swiftly, but the ball hit one of his wings. "Merde!" he shrieked, he landed some meters away from them, flapping the injured wing to put out the fire.

The man with the metal baseball bat suddenly barged in, armed with a rifle. "Take that, you monster!" and shot through the already injured blue wing.

Francis snarled (a sound that made Feliciano's neck hair stand up) and whirled around to slice the rifle in two. "Whoa!" The man said, letting the rifle go and ducking do avoid Francis' angered attacks.

"Don't forget about me, Erlöst!" Ludwig said, hitting his back with the sledgehammer. The armour protected Francis, but that didn't stop him from flying a few meters away because of the sheer force of the hit. He landed smoothly, though. He held the injured wing while glaring at them.

"You pitiful humans, you have NO idea what you're dealing with!" he snarled, straightening up.

Suddenly two Nightmares came out from under the rubble, growling, as if the RED had called them. Their weak spots weren't green(one was purple and the other orange), so they weren't 'newbies'.
"Oh shit!" Romano exclaimed, back on his feet and startling Feliciano. Romano, Ludwig and the new mystery man engaged the Nightmares, while Arthur started attacking Francis again. Feliciano did not know what to do.
He frantically looked back and forth, wondering what he should do, and whether he would be of any help or just be in their way.

One of the Nightmares saw him, and ignored Ludwig who was currently fighting it. It charged towards him, and Feliciano squeaked, afraid. "VEEE!" "Feliciano!" The Italian pointed the staff at it and closed his eyes, and by pure chance the Nightmare ran right into it, impaling its own eye.

The Nightmare shrieked, wounded, and backed away. Feliciano now dared to open his eyes. "Ve..?"

"Feliciano!" Romano was immediately at his side, taking advantage of the momentarily blinded Nightmare. He slashed at another weak point, making an arch of glowing purple blood. The Nightmare roared in pain, staggered and then fell on its side.

"G-grazie, fratellone…" Feliciano panted, still shaken. Romano huffed and put his hand on his stomach, which was bleeding a little. "Ve! Romano! You shouldn't fight!"

"Shut it, moron…" Romano said, glaring at his brother.
"Hey! Some help here!" Ludwig said, avoiding barely the second Nightmare's jaws.

"Yeah that would be appreciated! A lot!" the man with the bat said, hitting the monster's head. Romano ran to assist the two men, while Feliciano's attention was taken because he heard Arthur yelp.

He turned his head and saw Francis holding the Brit's neck, Arthur's feet dangling in the air. The RED was smiling wickedly. "You can't mutter your incantations like this, oui? It is much better, I must say…" Arthur was trying to pry the claws away from his throat, but with no avail. He choked.

"Arthur!" Feliciano exclaimed, running to the RED.

"Huh…? Oh, it's you." Francis said, nonchalantly. He blocked the Italian's staff with one hand, and then snatched it away from his hands. Feliciano could only watch as his 'weapon' fell some meters away.
"A…" Arthur choked, his eyes closed.

"Oh, still conscious? I'm surprised!" he turned to Arthur again, an amused smile on his face.

"…Arde!" the Brit said snapping his eyes open, and suddenly fire appeared on the RED's face. Francis screamed in surprise and let go of the Brit's neck, who fell on the ground coughing.

Feliciano was immediately at his side, while Arthur panted, holding his throat. "O…"he coughed, "Omnem corporem eius arde!"

Francis' whole body caught fire, while he was screaming.

The incantation required too much energy to hold, though, and Arthur was already weak. The flames soon died, leaving a scorched and very, very pissed off RED.

"A-Arthur…?" Feliciano asked, petrified under the RED's gaze. Arthur was on his knees, his eyes blank, and looked as if he were moments from spacing out.

"That took the last ounce of energy you had, didn't it, batard?" Francis growled enraged, his electric blue eyes glowing menacingly.

Feliciano saw his staff nearby, and lunged towards it. He grabbed it, and stood trembling in front of the kneeling Brit.

"D-don't come any closer!" he said, stuttering.

Francis laughed. "Or what?" he asked, with a little glee in his voice. He came closer, and snatched the Italian's staff out of his hands. Again. Feliciano yelped. Francis stepped closer.

"Feliciano!" Ludwig shouted, still fighting the other Nightmare.

"Cazzo!" swore Romano.

Feliciano looked at the RED in front of him, who was smirking, already enjoying his victory. And he did the only thing he could think of. He punched him in the face with his left hand.

That, Francis did definitely not expect. It did little to no effect to him, but his eyes widened, stunned at the stupidity and despair of the action. Then he laughed.

"Hahahaha! …Ah, je suis désolé, but was that supposed to hurt me?" he moved his hand to his eyes as if he were drying a tear.

Feliciano panted, tears forming in his eyes. What do I do? What do I do?! That hardly did anything! He punched again, aiming for the chest this time. Francis just stood there laughing, letting the Italian do that. He took every punch without really feeling them.

Then he felt one. Hard. He staggered a little.

"Gah! What...?"

Feliciano's eyes widened, staring at his right hand. He had thrown a punch with it and it had actually hurt the RED! He smiled, confidence returning. He punched Francis again with his right hand. And again it hurt him.

"What the hell?! Fils de pute!" he felt every punch draining his strength. How was that even possible?! He cursed himself for underestimating the man. Then he staggered again, getting weaker and weaker with every punch Feliciano threw. He noticed the Italian's right hand was glowing under the bandages. Francis lashed one last time with his claws. "Batard!"

Feliciano only barely managed to avoid the RED's claws. He yelped as he jumped, but then punched Francis again, a warm feeling seeping in his hand. This seemed to be the last one needed. The armour cracked, a strange black liquid oozing out.

The RED staggered on his feet and stepped back, holding his cracked chest. "I…I…" he looked at the setting sun, and couldn't finish the sentence. He breathed out, and closed his eyes. Then he fell backwards, arms spread.

Feliciano stood there, incredulous. Had he actually won? He smiled. "Ve…!" But suddenly he felt very, very tired. Exhausted. And he fell too, his eyes closing and losing consciousness.

i suck at writing battle scenes. but i hope you liked it anyway!

hehehehee, two new characters! Francis and... mystery man! XD (who is REALLY easy to guess, dangit)

i'll see you this friday for the next chapter!

ciao! ^^

whoa, a lot of swearing in this chapter. sorry about that! ._."

Gatto : (italian) Cat

Nay : (swedish) no

Merda : (italian) shit

Vær så venlig! : (danish) good luck!

Non gufare! : (italian) don't bring bad luck!

Lycka till : (swedish) good luck

Veel geluk : (dutch) good luck

Unglaublich... : (german) unbelievable...

Prendi questo, stronzo! : (italian) take that, you piece of shit!

Sheiße! : (german) shit!

Erlöst : (german) Redeemed

Merde! : (french) shit!

Arde! : (latin) burn!

Omnem corporem eius arde! : (latin) burn his whole body!

Batard : (french) bastard

Cazzo! : (italian) shit!

Je suis désolé : (french) i'm sorry

Fils de pute : (french) son of a bitch