Hello, my lovelies!

Forgive me for the inactivity. . . I have such a full plate, and I only keep adding more to it. But here is another chapter for you all!

Until next time!~

Don't Lean On Me (c) Bringmemisery

Hetalia (c) Hima

Chapter 25 – Wilkommen Zurück

"Antonio?!" Gil yelled as he pressed his back against the wall hard, stone behind him.

The ground below his feet rumbled as he looked across the way to his friend.

Antonio gave a quick shrug as he pressed himself against the other part of the wall that was next to him.

Gil had been wandering around for a while earlier and would have continued to do so had he not seen both Antonio and Cain running from whatever that black mass was. The three had been reunited for not even 10 minutes, but now was really not the time to celebrate. While Cain was trying to rid of the mass, Antonio and Gil were on the sidelines trying to wait it out.

Though he hated being the coward, Gil didn't even have a slightest clue as to how to rid that thing. This was now the second time he had been pulled into this world, and this place was still tripping on something.

He look a quick glance past the corner of the wall and his eyes fell upon Cain who stood before this massive black curtain. It had no distinguishable features, but the fact that it was like a huge dark fog. It loomed over Cain's tiny body, and Gil swore he heard it hiss.

He pulled his head from the corner and glanced over to Antonio again.

The Spaniard had been doing the same thing since he too pulled his head away and looked at Gil.

"What does he really think he's gonna do?" Gil asked as he scratched his neck.

"Make it leave?" Antonio shrugged again, "don't know how, but he might come up with something?"

Gil looked around and saw a few rundown buildings across the way. Then the ground gave a violent shake and he almost fell to the ground. He regained his footing as he once again peaked over to where Cain stood. However Cain didn't seem to be there, nor was that large cloud.

He glanced around the area some more before he turned back to his friend.

"Bro, where'd they go?"

"Oh crap," Antonio looked over as well, "I don't know."

"Are we supposed to just wait here, then?"

"I don't know," Antonio ran his fingers through his hair, "This place makes as much sense as soggy churros."

Gil looked once again, but this time he noticed something. In the place that fog was a few moments earlier stood this shadow figure. It wasn't too tall – probably about Gil's size. It stood there motionless aside from the random swirls of shadows that protruded from its body.

"Ton," Gil rose his eyebrows, "what's that?"

"Nothing good" Antonio tugged Gil's arm, "Gil, we need to get out of here."

"But what about Cain?" Gil tried not to tear his eyes from the creature.

"He'll find us. Come on, Gil. We need to go. This thing's bad news."

Gil's gaze remained fixed on the creature. He knew something wasn't right about it, but he couldn't pull away. It was almost like he was frozen in his spot as this thing continued to stand. He felt another tug at his arm when he noticed the shadows around that figure start to dissipate. It wasn't long before a person stood before them – a person that shared his face.

"Well, well," the doppelganger grinned, "where do you both think you're going?"

Gil's heart jumped.

The copy made a single step, his grin grew wider.

"Well?" He asked again, "Forget how to talk? That's odd coming from a chatterbox like you."

Gil's body remained stationary as he continued to feel his friend tug on him. He couldn't understand what was happening. This thing looked like him – of course Cain had done the same thing before, but this time was different. This time felt wrong. Though it looked like Gil this figure had a few noticeable changes. His hair was a bit of a darker tone, like he'd been rolling around in a pile of soot. He was wearing all black; his jeans, his low-cut shirt, his jacket – all of it was a hollow black. Gleams of red seemed to pulsate from his deep red eyes, his skin was deathly pale.

Then Gil felt his body jerk back. He awkwardly tried to gain his balance as his friend pulled the two of them away from their current spot.

"Bro!" Gil yelled as he tried to pull himself from the Spaniard's grasp, "what gives?"

"That thing is not good," Antonio replied as he shot a look back, "we need to find someplace out of here."

Gil turned his head around, but he saw no sign on his clone. His stomach lurched as he turned forward. He didn't know where they were going, and he was sure neither did Antonio, but he hoped they'd find someplace that wasn't as confusing as this.

As the two continued down the long stretch of road Gil happened to notice how less and less buildings they passed until there were none at all. Besides the stone ground below their feet there were but a few trees here and there, yet there was no sign of that imposter.

His body started to grow weary as his chest tightened. He wasn't one to get tired so soon, but for some odd reason he had almost no energy. He could feel himself slow his pace as his friend continued to pull his arm.

"Gil," Antonio panted, "we've got to keep going."

"Toni, we need to stop."

Antonio frowned as he too slowed down.

It wasn't long after that the two of them stopped in the middle of the road. Gil tried to catch his breath as he looked around. There was still no sign of that copy, but he didn't think they were in the clear just yet.

"You okay?" Antonio asked.

Gil shrugged, "Where's that thing at?"

"Somewhere close, I think," Antonio looked around, "I can feel it."

Gil looked around some more as he tried to clear his mind.

Cain wasn't kidding that this place can drive people crazy!

Then off toward a few trees he saw it. That double's huge grin made Gil's stomach lurch. He was about to turn to Antonio when that thing appeared before him. Before Gil could really react there was an immense pain in his chest. He winced as his was thrown to the ground. Then he couldn't breathe. It felt like he was thrusted underwater, he could literally last it. He tried to look up but his vision was blurred.

In his panic he reached out and his hand caught something. He yanked himself upward, and then started to cough as air filled his lungs. After a few more coughs he realized his body was completely wet. As he looked about him he realized he was . . . sitting in water. To be more exact he was sitting in a fountain.

He sucked in more air as he looked around. A few people looked at him, but they all turned away once his eyes fell upon theirs. He furrowed his brows as he turned his head and met three familiar faces – Officer Marshall, Detective Mendez, and Miguel.

The three of them stared at Gil for a few moments before Detective Mendez spoke.

"Gilbert," she put her hand on her hip, "a fountain really is no place to take a nap."

Gil blinked a few times as he struggled to stand from the chilly water. Both Miguel and Officer Marshall grabbed hold of his arms, and aided him out. His wet t-shirt clung to his now shivering body.

"Well," Officer Marshall released his hold, "least we found one of 'em."

"One of . . . what?" Gil questioned as he shook water from his hair, "where am I?"

"You're in a park," Detective Mendez replied, "Mr. Beilschmidt, have you been here this entire time?"

"How?" Gil looked up at her, "Park? W-where's Antonio?"

The Detective shrugged, "we're here looking for him, and we were looking for you too. Your friends reported the both of you missing yesterday."

"Me missing?" Gil scratched his neck, "wait, yesterday?"

Detective Mendez nodded, "Yes, which poses quite a few questions for us. Gilbert, what on earth were you doing inside of a fountain?"

Gil reached for his phone, but after realizing it wasn't in his pocket he glanced off. He realized then that he was in fact in the park, but he wasn't too sure how he would end up there. Last he remembered was running with Antonio and that clone thing was following him.

Cain said he could return to reality if he'd found his body in that world.

So, how exactly did he manage to get back?

"I need to go," He said as he started away.

"Wait," Officer Marshall followed after him, "you didn't answer our question—"

"Fine," Gil looked over his shoulder, "here's my answer: my friend is in trouble, and I have to find someone else who can help me free him."

With that he left the confused trio and bolted towards Arthur's house.

†††††

"Tellin' ye he's not here," Allistor scratched his neck, "haven't seen him all day."

Gil groaned, "Come on, bro. You've got to know where he is. I can't find my phone, so can you at least call him for me?"

"I just did," Liam replied as he took a seat on the couch, "he's not answerin' though, which is a bit odd for Arthur."

"Gil, why you ye need him anyways?" Allistor tilted his head.

Gil tried to think of where to begin. Allistor knew about that whole demon possession thing, but Liam and Gavin did not. How they'd react Gil could only guess. He took in a breath as he looked at Allistor.

"Something weird is going on," he started.

"Weirder than the beasty?" Allistor interrupted.

"What beasty?" Liam questioned as he leaned forward, "There's a beasty runnin' about?"

"Used to be," Allistor replied, "But I rid it a while ago."

"Al," Gil squeezed the bridge of his nose, "listen, please."

"I am listenin'," Allistor laughed, "Liam here just doesn't know how to shut it."

"Do too!" Liam whined.

"Guys," Gavin's tone rose, "Let him finish. Go on, Gilbert."

"Thank you," Gil sighed, "as I was saying something weird is going on. For some reason Antonio vanished and I went looking for him, but I blacked out and woke up in another dimension—"

"That's called hallucinatin', Gil," Allistor remarked.

"Listen!" Gil tried to keep his voice down, "look, after my car accident the same thing happened to me. And NO, it is not a 'hallucination,' it's a legit other dimension."

"How're you so sure?" Liam asked as he scrunched his nose, "sounds like a dream to me."

"I know it sounds stupid, but you have to believe me!" Gil started to get irritated, "I went there once, but I went there again. But this time I think Antonio got stuck there too because he was there with me. The first time I was by myself, well, aside from this guy there that was helping me, but this time Antonio—"

"Wait a minute," Allistor rose his hand, "So this world you got sucked into, you're sure your friend's there?"

"One hundred percent positive."

"But you're also sayin' someone else helped ye?"

"Yes, the first time," Gil walked around, "but this time I saw the same guy with Antonio running away from this huge black cloud thing, and it chased after all of us. Then that guy and that cloud vanished and I saw this shadow thing that change into me and started chasing me and Tony. Then I felt this weird pain and I woke in a fountain."

"Sounds awesome!" Liam laughed.

"It's not!" Gil groaned, "Look, this world, people get sucked into it. I don't know how, but they do. And I really need help trying to get him out of there, okay?"

"Wait a minute," Gavin spoke, "this is . . . who was helping you, Gil?"

"This guy named Cain," Gil scratched his nose, "He told me he goes around trying to help people get out of there. I mean, the guy's helped me out once, and he was trying to help me and Ton before I got thrown out."

"Cain?" Allistor furrowed his brows, "Cain, Cain, Cain. Why's that sounds familiar?"

Gavin stood up and walked over to a duffle bag upon the floor. He unzipped the top and retrieved a large brown book from inside. He flipped through a few of the pages before he stopped on one, and his eyes lit up.

"What is it?" Liam asked, "Whatcha find?"

"Allistor," Gavin looked up, "Nirvana."

"What?" Allistor shot to his feet, "that's impossible. That place has been sealed for centuries."

"Wait," Gil looked over, "you guys know of this place?"

"Ay," Allistor frowned, "It's a godforsaken waste land. When I was younger I did some research on the place. It's a manmade dimension that got taken over by demonic entities some centuries ago. Over the years its power had gotten so out of control that anyone who was unfortunate enough to land in it were as good as dead. However, yer friend Cain supposedly was sent there as a sort of 'punishment cleanser' of the place. Now Cain wasn't always the greatest guy, but it's supposed that he had a change of heart and decided to aid as many out of that world as he can."

"He told me something like that," Gil nodded, "when I first got there. So who exactly is this guy, anyways?"

"Ever read the Book of Genesis?" Gavin asked, "The sons of Adam and Eve: Cain and Able. Cain worked the soil while his brother Abel kept flocks? Upon their offerings to the Lord Abel's was favored. Out of spite Cain killed his brother, and became the first know murderer."

Gil glanced between Gavin and Allistor, "Wait, so if he's that Cain, and he's helping . . . wait."

"Cain never was an evil man," Allistor replied, "but he did fall into terrible sin, so he got punished for it. But since he was the first to commit this type of sin his soul was damned to Hell. Once Nirvana came to bein' it's said that Cain was sent there to keep guard of the place, and be granted a second chance. Yet if you're sayin' that he's still there after all this, his sentence may not be served just yet."

Gil ran his fingers though his hair, "Okay, then how do people get sucked into that place? Cain told me he wasn't sure."

"Depends," Gavin responded, "usually their cast in by another person."

"But why?" Gil rubbed the back of his head.

Why was nothing making sense?

"And how?" Liam finally spoke, "sendin' someone off to another world seems like some heavy stuff."

"It's not easy," Allistor answered, "you'd either have to be very powerful, or get some help from another person. Gil, ye said you've been sent twice?"

Gil nodded, "Yeah, first time after my car accident, then the next time yesterday when I went to Antonio's place. Both times I blacked out and woke up in that world."

Allistor brought his hand to his mouth, "what would someone like you need to be in a place like that for? And who would send ye there?"

"Got any enemies?" Gavin asked.

". . . Kinda?" Gil shrugged, "Toni's old worker doesn't like me much ever since we turned him in, and that thing Allistor and Arthur took out a few nights ago didn't like me much either. I even saw that thing the first time I got sucked in."

"You saw it there?" Allistor's eyes widened, "Gil, the beasty liked you a lot, yet I don't think it would have dragged you there . . . unless. . ."

"'less what?" Liam asked as he eyed his brother.

Allistor looked at his brothers before he turned back to Gil, "Maybe the beasty and that hooligan are workin' together."

Gil furrowed his brows, "what would that guy gain in helping a demon?"

"Better yet," Gavin cut in, "what would a demon be gaining in aiding a mortal? The possibilities are almost endless. Allistor told us about your encounter with that creature, Gil. From what it sounds like, the beast might like you enough to try dragging you to his domain. Now, if this man that doesn't like you is in fact aiding that creature, he might be the key to how you got there."

"But he's just a guy," Gil leaned against the wall, "how could he help drag me to that place?"

"Hates you that much?" Allistor shrugged, "all's I know is the beasty likes ye, and that man doesn't. So what better way of revenge than by that?"

"But Tony's there, too," Gil sighed, "so he dragged both of us in?"

"Perhaps," Gavin nodded, "but it's hard to tell. And with Arthur not picking up his phone, it's hard to get another opinion on the notion."

"Oi," Allistor looked at Liam, "try ringin' up Arthur again. It's odd of him to not pick up."

"I just did," Liam whined, "his cell's still goin' to his mailbox. I even tried callin' Francis, and even he's not answerin'."

Gil sighed as he tried reaching for his nonexistent phone. It felt odd not having it on him. He looked up to Gavin who held out his own phone.

"You can use it," Gavin smiled.

Gil nodded as he took the phone and tried for himself. Just like Liam had said neither Arthur nor Francis replied. He glanced at the phone then decided to dial up Basch's cell.

Maybe Francis was at work?

After a few moments the line picked up.

"Hello?" Basch sounded a bit confused.

"Basch," Gil replied, "it's Gil—"

"Where the hell have you been? Roderich's been worried sick about you."

"You wouldn't believe me if I said—"

"Is Ludwig with you?"

Gil blinked a few times, ". . . No, why?"

"Dammit. Well, he's not home, and apparently neither is Felicano. I'm on my way over to your place 'cause Rod says a few of your friends are parked in front, yet there isn't a single person inside."

Gil's heart picked up "Lud's . . . not home? He doesn't have class today."

"No one's there, and no one is picking up their phones either. Gil, where are you?"

". . . I'm at Arthur's. . . Basch?"

"What is it?"

"Give me a bit. I'll be right over."

Gil hung up the phone and returned it back to Gavin before he turned to face Allistor.

"Allistor," He started, "I think others got sucked in too."