And here is the long chapter! So, as far as I can tell, some people are getting upset because the story is repetative and has no plot. I'm sorry if this is how you guys feel. We're doing our best and we'll try to work on something different.

Oh, and by the way, today is my 17th birthday.

"Dammit! Why the hell do we keep sitting here?! We have to hurry! Nonno doesn't have anymore fucking time!" Lovino snapped as the group was sitting around, still planning on what to do and how to do it.

They had been at it for hours, going over any ideas that were offered in depth, looking for pros and cons of each. So far, they had had very little success, only managing to sort themselves into different groups to take care of separate obstacles.

"Lovi, you know we have to be very careful," Antonio said. "If we don't plan this as thoroughly as possible, it increases the chance of failure as who knows what kind of bad things could happen if they catch you or Feli?"

Lovino groaned and rubbed his forehead. "I know, dammit… just… Ugh! I thought those assholes were stopping this shit after meeting you and the potato!"

"Si. We did too," Antonio said, leaning back into the couch. It was late and everyone was still dressed up from the dance, though bows, ties, and jackets had been taken off and strewn about. Feliciano was sitting on the ground leaning against Ludwig's legs, wearing only his boxers and tank top, everyone having given up on trying to get him to keep his clothes on after he continuously removed the articles of clothing after they were forced back on him.

"Fratello," he said, looking over at his twin, "where do you think they're keeping nonno? And how do you think they caught him? And how could they have taken him without us figuring it out on our own sooner?" His eyes began to water as he thought of what could be happening to their grandfather. "W-What if they're torturing him like they did us...?"

"They fucking wouldn't," Lovino answered. "The point is to get us. They only got him to lure the two of us."

"B-But you don't know that for sure!" Feliciano cried, getting worked up, his eyes watering. He stood up, shaking. "W-What if they're hurting him r-really really badly and we don't know and he's been there for days and what if they're lying and he's dead!?"

Sighing, Ludwig reached out and pulled Feliciano close. "You just have to believe it, Feliciano. Romulus doesn't want you to think this way."

Feliciano clung to his boyfriend, sniffling. "O-Okay," he said. "I'll trust it, Luddy."

"Danke," Ludwig replied as he continued hugging Feliciano.

The front door suddenly opened then shut and Yao appeared in the hall just outside the room. "I need either Feliciano or Lovino to come with me," he said. "We're going to follow the scent that Feliciano found back to the hunters base so that we can start to make a strategy."

Immediately Lovino stood up and walked over before Feliciano had the chance too. "Let's go, dammit."

"H-Hey!" Feliciano cried indignantly. But Yao was already out the door and soon it was again closed and the two were gone.

"Hmph. Good. He's gone," Arthur said as he walked back into the room while carrying a open book in his hands. "Now we can see if this tracking spell works."

Feliciano tilted his head in confusion. "Tracking spell? What tracking spell?" he demanded.

"So we can know where everyone is at a certain time or if they're in distress," Arthur answered. "Matthew is trailing them now and Kiku should be back in the room momentarily."

"Does Lovi know you put this spell on him?" Feliciano asked, looking far from impressed by these events. "Why didn't I know you were going to do that? Why is everybody sneaking around? Did you guys already make a plan without Lovi and me knowing?"

"No. So far only everyone in this room knows now," the wizard replied. "I wanted to be sure it worked before trying it."

"Tsk tsk~. So rude~," Francis purred as he came out of the kitchen while holding a tray of food. "But here is some wonderful French food to make sure we're at the top of our game~!"

Feliciano crossed his arms over his chest, a pout on his face. "That's not fair, Arthur," he said. "You should have said something."

"I just did!"

"Non~! Not good enough~!" Francis said as he shook his finger then smiled over at Ludwig. "But… at least someone is happy~. Oui?"

"Be quiet, Francis," Ludwig warned with a glare on his face.

The Italian looked between the two curiously. "Why is Luddy happy, Francis?" he asked.

"Pfft~~. Ask him~~~."

Feliciano turned to his boyfriend, asking again why the other was happy.

Ludwig sighed and shook his head. "Just ignore him, Feliciano. He's messing with you."

This seemed to anger Feliciano greatly as his eyes flashed gold and narrowed. He turned towards the French teen and hissed. "Is this some kind of a joke to you?" he growled. "Nonno is missing and could be seriously injured right now and your trying to mess with me?"

"J-Just to make you feel better!"

Ludwig sighed then turned Feliciano around to look at him. "Feliciano. Calm down. We don't have time for this right now."

Feliciano slapped Ludwig's hand away, even angrier. "Don't you tell me what we do and don't have time for!" he yelled. "Don't talk down to me like that! I am fully aware that we don't have time to be messing around!"

"Feliciano. I am NOT talking down to you. All I'm asking is to watch your temper."

The Italian screamed loudly, venting his frustration and anger in the form of sound. He stomped his foot hard against the ground then stormed off into the house. When he turned to leave the room, the bite mark on his leg was bright red and looked painful, though Feliciano wasn't reacting to it at all. There was a loud slam as Feliciano entered a room and shut everyone out.

After a moment of silence, Gilbert sighed. "Ludwig, do you ever think before you speak to him?"

Before Ludwig could answer, the front door violently slammed open with the sound of storming feet then a few seconds later a VERY pissed off and glowing gold eyed Lovino stalked inside, ready to maul the first person he could. "WHY. The. FUCK am I getting distress signals from my damn brother?!"

Not really wanting to see his little brother killed in front of him, Gilbert spoke up calmly, hoping to lessen Lovino's rage. "I think this whole situation is just stressing him out," he said. "I think he just needed to take a little break and cool off."

Lovino turned his glare on Gilbert and growled as he stomped past him and followed Feliciano's scent to the room he went into.

Feliciano was in the guest bedroom. He was on his back, laying on the floor, his head under the bed. The dark helped to calm him down, soothing his thoughts. He didn't go entirely under the bed because that would have felt like he was hiding which would have stressed him further.

Lovino quietly opened the door and slipped inside then shut it before making his way over to the bed, using his sense of smell to locate his brother.

Hearing the door, Feliciano opened his eyes and and moved out, sitting up and seeing his twin. "Lovi?"

"What the fuck happened in there?" Lovino asked as he sat down next to Feliciano.

Feliciano sighed, laying his head on Lovino's shoulder. "Nothing, actually," he admitted. "Francis was just trying to help me feel better but I got irritated then Ludwig just said to calm down and I got angry and yelled at him. He just basically told me to calm down again and that not controlling my temper wouldn't help and I just... I just had to walk away for a little while."

"Oh…" Lovino muttered. "… How do you feel now…?"

"Better. A lot better. Coming in here was a good idea," Feliciano said. "Laying under the bed was a lot more relaxing than I thought it would be. Who knew that could help so much?" He laughed, though it sounded more like a forced chuckle. The two sat there in silence for while, side by side on the floor, their backs pressed against the bed-frame, Feliciano's head on Lovino's shoulder.

Finally, the younger broke the silence with a question. "Fratello..." he murmured. "We'll... We'll find nonno, right? We'll save him before those mean hunters can do anything to him? He'll come home with us and we can go on with our lives?"

Lovino put his arm around Feliciano and gave him a quick hug. "Of course we will, dammit. Just… keeping believing it. Got it?"

Feliciano nodded. "Yeah, va bene. I will."

"You ready to go back out there or should I rip the potato and French bastards' throats out?"

This got a giggle from the younger wolf and he gave his twin a grateful smile. "No, no. It's alright. I'm ready."

"Dammit..." Lovino grumbled. "I wanted a good excuse to do that…"

"I know you did~." Feliciano took his brother's hand, leading him back out into the living room.

"….. Maybe I'll find a good reason later…." Lovino muttered as he let Feliciano lead him.

Everyone was again gathered in the living room around the table, looking at the touch pad Kiku held and was using to show the pictures of the building that was the hunters' hideout. Heads turned and looked up upon the twins' entrance.

Lovino shot them a glare as he crossed his arms. "What? Wipe that damn look off your faces, you bastards."

"I apologize, Lovino-kun," Kiku replied then turned to Feliciano. "Is everything alright, Feliciano-kun?"

"O-Oh, um, yeah," Feliciano muttered, staring at the floor, his face flushing in embarrassment.

Lovino glanced at his brother, then stomped over to the table, purposely knocking into Ludwig as he sat down next to Antonio.

Antonio smiled. "Hola, Lovi," he greeted.

Feliciano slowly approached, wondering if anyone was angry at him for his temper tantrum earlier.

"So what the hell are we doing?" Lovino asked as he crossed his arms and leaned back.

"Keeks was showing us the pics he got with his ninja skills," Gilbert said, gesturing to the device still on the table.

"Please don't call me that, Gilbert-san….."

"Oh….." Then Lovino glared at Antonio. "What's that damn look for, bastard?"

The Spanish vampire blinked. "What look?"

"… Nothing, dammit. So what's the damn plan?"

"I think if we go in from here," Gilbert said, pointing to a spot on the picture, "it would provide the most cover and give us the lowest risk of being caught. Especially under cover of darkness. Alfred, can we use your weird strength to pry those doors open?"

"Gil," Alfred whined. "I already told you! It's not weird! My muscles just have to be stronger so I can survive in the depths of the ocean! If I wasn't built like this, I would be crushed and die!" He pulled Arthur to his chest, resting his chin on the Brit's shoulder, pouting.

"Whatever. That's what we need you to do. Kiku already offered to be the distraction we need, which will lower the amount of guards and hunters stationed inside. With their defenses lowered, Francis, Ludwig, Matthew, Lovino, Feliciano, Arthur, Alfred, and I will all enter the building. Any objections yet?" the albino asked.

"About the plan? No,: Arthur said then glared at Alfred. "But... Alfred? Would you be as so kind to let go and get off my bloody shoulder?!"

"Oh, come on, Artie. Don't be a meanie butt..."

" 'Meanie butt' is NOT a real word! And for the last bloody time my NAME is ARTHUR!"

"U-Um… should we really let Kiku go off on his own…?" Matthew spoke up. "I-I can go with him! I really don't think anyone should go off on their own!"

Antonio nodded. "Si. I agree. It wouldn't be safest to be alone."

"Ja. Alright. Then everyone except Matt and Kiku will go in to locate Romulus," Gilbert said, ignoring the squabble going on between the two English lovers.

"Well then what the hell are we waiting for?!" Lovino snapped. "Let's fucking GO!"

"Calm your fucking tits, Lovino, geez," Gilbert huffed. "We still need to figure out a few more things-"

"Then hurry up!" Feliciano jumped in, unable to keep silent any longer. "We don't have time for all this! We need to save nonno!"

Soon, the gang managed to come up with a full plan that satisfied them all. They set out from Yao's home quickly, dispersing into the woods in small groups. Kiku and Matthew ran off, going straight for the front door, the Japaneses boy shifting into his kitsune form as he ran.

"Hmm…. I think I better go with those two..." Francis spoke up. "Au revoir~!" Then he ran off after the two.

"Hmph. Serves that frog right. Good riddance," Arthur huffed.

"Who gives a damn! Just shut the fuck up so we can get in there!" Lovino growled.

"Goddammit, Francis!" Gilbert hissed. "Can't stick to the fucking plan!" He grabbed Alfred's arm. "Come on, Al! We need to get that door open!"

"Yeah! Let's go!" The two took off as well, Arthur following them, going to their positions to start as soon as Kiku was in place, leaving Antonio, Ludwig, Lovino, and Feliciano to hang back until it was slightly safer to move in.

After a matter minutes, a large group of men rushed out and started chasing after the kitsune.

"Now can we go?!" Lovino hissed.

"Si. Let's go," Antonio whispered.

The four shot off bolting towards there meeting point. They arrived just in time to watch the merman easy dig his fingers into the solid steel door and pull them apart, opening the way into the building.

Gilbert waved at them to go in. "Hurry, hurry," he urged. "We don't know how long this distraction will work." The werewolves slipped inside, followed by Antonio and Ludwig. Gilbert, Arthur and Alfred stayed outside. For their part, the three would stay outside, fighting off anyone who tried to enter from the back. Once the four were inside, Alfred closed the door, casting them into darkness.

Lovino and Feliciano's eyes quickly adjusted and they grabbed the vampires' hands, leading them down the dark hall silently.

"You caught nonno's scent yet, Feli?" Lovino whispered as he glanced over at his brother.

The three heard the soft sound of Feliciano inhaling deeply. "Si," he breathed quietly. "Down the hall, to the left. Three floors down." The four resumed their quite steps, going slowly as to not create any noise. Feliciano glanced around the corner. "... I don't see anyone."

"Seems clear…." Lovino muttered then glanced at Antonio. "What about you, bastard?"

"I don't hear anything," Antonio murmured. "I think we're clear. Anything behind us, Ludwig?"

Ludwig shook his head no. "Nein… but we still have to be on our guard."

The small group continued, moving down the hall. When they retched the turn, they went left moving towards the stairs. Feliciano was growing edgy, not liking the distinct lack of hunters. How many had been drawn away? Surely not that many...

After a few more seconds, Lovino pulled Antonio close and whispered into his ear. "We being led into a damn trap…?"

"It's... highly possible," Antonio murmured back honestly. He took Lovino's hand, keeping him close. "Don't move away from me."

Up ahead, Feliciano opened the door into the stairwell. The red light above the door was the only illumination in that area, the soft glow appearing on each floor above the doors. The younger Italian swallowed, nerves twisting in his stomach.

Ludwig went up to him and gently held him back. "Hold on. We should check it for booby-traps."

Feliciano nodded.

Ludwig broke off a small part of the wall then tossed the piece down the hallway and waited.

Nothing happened. After waiting a bit longer, Feliciano took a tentative step forward.

Before Feliciano could take another step, Ludwig reached out and pulled him back and shook his head no. "Nein. I'll check."

"B-Be careful," Feliciano said softly, not liking sending Ludwig into uncertainty.

"Don't worry. I will."

Watching him closely, Feliciano reached back, taking Lovino's free hand, his own trembling slightly as his mate moved forward, testing the stairwell for any signs of danger. So far, nothing had happened, but anything could jump out without warning.

After some more checking, Ludwig motioned then group forward.

The three advanced, approaching the German vampire.

"Can you still smell him?" Ludwig asked.

Lovino glared at Ludwig but nodded. "Somewhere up the damn stairs."

Feliciano glanced at his brother. "Upstairs?" he repeated. "But, I can smell him downstairs... H-How could nonno be in two pieces at once...?" A horrified look flashed across his face as a thought occurred to him. "U-Unless-!"

Antonio frowned, quickly cutting the panicking boy off before he went into hysterics. "Two different scents... I guess we'll have to split up and check both ways. Lovi and I will check the one upstairs, you and Feli check the one down stairs."

Lovino stood there with a frown then his eyes widened as he shook his head no. "N-No! Don't do that, dammit! One of the damn scents is there to trick us and lead us into a fucking trap or something!"

"V-Veh, we don't have a choice..." Feliciano whispered. "W-We only have time to check one, a-and if we guess, wrong, we'll all be trapped and n-nonno will die. Fratello, we have to risk the trap if we want to get nonno back." His eyes filled with tears and he hugged his twin tightly. "W-We don't have a choice."

Lovino stared at Feliciano and bit his lip. "…. Fine…."

"Let's move," Antonio said.

Feliciano nodded. His grip tightened for a second, then released and he took Ludwig's hands, going towards the stairs that lead down. "See you soon, fratellone," he promised. Then he and the vampire turned, running silently down into the darkness.

"I-I don't like this… a-at all, bastard…" Lovino stuttered.

"I know. I don't like it either," Antonio said, intertwining their fingers. "Stay close to me. We'll all meet up again. Feli, you, me, Romulus, everyone." His tone made his words a fact, not a single shred of doubt anywhere to be found.

Lovino blinked then glanced over at Antonio. "….. you really believe that…?"

"I do. I won't let these animals harm any of you." Pulling Lovino close, Antonio pressed a kiss to his forehead. "You mean far to much to me for me to allow anything to bring you harm or threaten you."

With these words said, the pair took off in the opposite direction, rushing up the stairs to discover the source of the smell.

"You see anything yet, bastard?" Lovino whispered as he paused at the top of the stairs to smell around them.

"Nothing," Antonio responded.

"It's hard to get a read on nonno's scent up here…."

"Why? Is something covering it?"

"No…." Lovino said with a frown. "It's like it's old… and stagnant here…. Why the hell is that…? It was clearer at the beginning of the damn hallway…"

"Maybe they used to keep him up here?" Antonio suggested.

Lovino nodded as he glanced between the two areas. "So... that would mean that nonno's down where Feliciano and the potato went…"

"Let's hurry down there then."

Feliciano and Ludwig arrived at the bottom floor. They knew they were under ground as the floor they had entered on was ground level, and mildew covered the stone walls around them, a dripping noise sounding somewhere off down another corridor.

The Italian swallowed nervously, his eyes flashing with fright, his teeth sharpening slightly along with his nails, his body preparing itself for any fight that might occur down in that dank, dark hole. He took Ludwig's hand, moving along the hall.

On either side of them stood tall, solid, metal doors, all of them having only one tiny window at the top to allow someone to see into, or out of, the room. Feliciano was just a little to short to see in, so Ludwig did. The German had never been so thankful that Feliciano was shorter than him.

Inside the rooms were many, many, decaying or completely rotted bodies. For whatever reason, the smell wasn't filling the hall, but they were definitely there. A few of the rooms contained entirely bare skeletons, nothing left remaining on them at all.

"L-Luddy..." Feliciano whispered, staying close to his boyfriend. "W-What if this is a trap? What if we n-never get out o-or see anyone ever again?"

"I'm checking the walls, Feliciano… It doesn't seem to be a trap…" Ludwig answered. "Possibly they might have had your grandfather in one of the two places and moved him to the other and that's how the smell got in both areas…."

"B-But then Lovi and I would have b-been able to smell him in the hall... E-Even just the faintest trace we would have been able to pick up b-because we've been around him so long we can always just n-naturally find it, not matter what other scents are a-around..." Feliciano murmured.

"There might have been a secret passage that they used to move him… Maybe even a secret room…"

The two continued on in silence, Feliciano tracing the scent of his grandfather as they went. Finally, he stopped in front of a door at the far end of the hall, located one from the end on the left in the darkest part of the long, creepy, prison area.

"T-This one..." he murmured. "I-I smell nonno in this one..."

"Wait here. I'll check it out."

Feliciano nodded, stepping back from the door so Ludwig could approach.

Ludwig cautiously made his way over and peeked in then frowned at the sight. It looked like a normal room with Romulus himself just relaxing on the couch and sipping wine while reading a magazine.

"W-What do you see?" Feliciano whispered nervously.

"You're grandfather…. He seems fine… In fact he's sitting in there drinking wine and reading something…"

Feliciano's face relaxed from the stress that had been in place since they had found out about Romulus' kidnapping. "Well, let's go in and get him then," he said, reaching eagerly for the door handle.

However, Ludwig gently stopped him before he could. "Nein… Something seems weird with this… We should wait for you brother and Antonio."

"Weird...?"

"Ja…. I don't like it."

The Italian bit his lip, chewing on it nervously. What could be so wrong that Ludwig was weary of even letting him go in the room?

"Why the hell are you two standing out here for…?" Lovino asked as he started walking up to them while being followed by Antonio.

Feliciano jumped in fright, whipping around to face his brother. "You scared me," he said, putting a hand over his heart. "Nonno is in there." He pointed to the door. "But Luddy says something is wrong so we were waiting for you guys to show up."

"Wrong how?" Antonio asked.

"Si! What the hell do you mean by wrong, you damn potato?!"

Ludwig shushed him then motioned Antonio over to show him Romulus through the glass.

Antonio frowned. "I see what you mean," he murmured. "Weird..."

"What?!" Lovino snapped, "What's weird?!"

Feliciano quickly covered his mouth, flinching slightly from the noise he was making. "Fratello shush," he whispered, reminding him to keep his voice down. "You'll get us caught and we'll never get nonno out of here."

Lovino growled and yanked himself away then stomped over to the door. "Fuck this! I'm going in there!" Then he threw the door open and stepped inside. However, before he could barely clear the threshold, he yelped in pain and grabbed at his left shoulder where there now was a silver bullet embedded, due to just having been shot at without warning.

"Fratello!" Feliciano cried. He ran into the room, going to Lovino's side, checking the wound. His eyes widened upon catching the scent of silver. He looked around frantically, searching for the culprit. The click of a gun froze him in place and his eyes slowly came to a halt, locking on none other than the twins' grandfather.

"N-Nonno...?" he whimpered softly, fear and shock filling his voice.

"W-What the fuck, n-nonno?!" Lovino gasped then winced, his eyes now gold while his teeth and nails grew out due to his pain and distress. "I-It's US! Y-Your fucking GRANDSONS!"

Romulus smirked as he pointed the gun at Feliciano next, until Ludwig ran up and knocked him out from behind.

Feliciano watched with wide eyes as his grandfather was taken out, tears building in his eyes. "N-Nonno..."

Antonio was now at Lovino's side, speaking to him, trying to calm the werewolf down so he could take care of the nasty wound, careful not to touch the other boy and agitate him further than he already was.

"We have to get out of here now," Ludwig said as he picked up Romulus. "I'll carry Romulus. Feliciano? You and Antonio work on getting your brother out of here and to Yao. That bullet'll start poisoning him soon so we can't waste any time. Let's go."

Antonio instantly scooped Lovino into his arms and ran, sprinting for all he was worth towards the exit, hoping he would make it before Lovino could suffer any more damage than he already had.

Feliciano, on the other hand, hadn't moved an inch, staring at his grandfather's unconscious face.

Ludwig gently nudged Feliciano forward. "Feliciano. We have to move. Come on. We'll worry about your grandfather later. Right now we need to take care of your brother."

The Italian said nothing, but allowed himself to be moved, turning and running from the room after Antonio.

Finally the group made it outside. After a glance at Lovino's pain filled and paling (along with becoming increasingly wolf like) face, Ludwig said, "Do you know where Yao is? He should know how to get it out and treat it."

Before anyone could answer, alarms began to blare from inside and outside the building, red and bright white lights flashing. The boys wasted no time, streaking into the woods away from the hide out. They could hear the shouts in the distance as the hunters organized and began to follow, though they were to far behind the teens to be worrisome.

Then they heard the hunters crashing through the trees before them. They had forgotten about the ones who had left in search of Kiku.

Without waiting, Antonio jumped up, holding Lovino close and securely in one hand while his other grabbed hold of a branch. He swung himself up then proceeded to run through the tree tops, refusing to let anything stop him from saving his lover.

Gilbert grabbed Alfred and threw him into the trees, the American barely managing to grab the branches before he fell. He shot Gilbert an irritated look, but knew better than to try and complain then. He simply pulled himself up onto the limbs and followed Antonio. The alibo repeated the process for Arthur.

"Ludwig," Gilbert hissed. "Give me Romulus! You have to get Feli out of here!" The two looked back to were the younger werewolf was dragging behind, obviously in shock. "You're going to have to snap him out of it! Go fast or you're both going to be caught and who knows what will happen then!" The Prussian teen took Romulus' limp form from his little brother then followed after the other two, leaving Ludwig and alone with Feliciano, the sounds of the hunters closing in on them from the front and the back not seeming to have any effect on the Italian's speed like it usually did.

Ludwig scooped up Feliciano then jumped up and followed after the rest of the group as quickly and quietly as he could.

Feliciano stared up at Ludwig, his eyes dull, his mind racing as he tried to process what had happened in the basement of the hunters hide out. Nothing was making sense or adding up. He simply could not wrap his brain around the fact that his own grandfather had hurt Lovino. Purposefully.

Ludwig continued to carry Feliciano all the way back to where they were all meeting up, if Lovino's growls and snarls wouldn't give it away.

At the area, Lovino, now a wolf, managed to yank himself out of Antonio's arms and curled back into a defensive ball, daring anyone to get close to him.

Naturally, Antonio tried, approaching him slowly, his hands in front of him. "Lovi," he said gently. "It's okay. It's just me. It's just Antonio. You know, the tomato bastard? It's okay, querido. I just want to help you."

Lovino winced and whimpered in pain as he curled up tighter then went to lick at the wound.

Antonio quickly stopped him. "Don't lick it," he said. "I think that's silver, Lovi. You'll only feel worse if you lick it."

Lovino whimpered and glanced up at Antonio's face.

The vampire gently ran his hand through the fur on Lovino's head. "It'll be okay," he soothed.

Yao appeared from the woods, walking quickly towards the two. "Lovino," he said. "I'm going to help you, alright? I need you to trust me. I have to get that bullet out before you start to heal and it gets trapped under your skin."

Lovino growled slightly and bared his teeth as he pressed himself up against Antonio while glaring at Yao.

"You have to let him help, querido," Antonio said, petting him. "He's the only one who can help you right now. I promise he's here to get that bullet out of you. He's going to make it stop hurting, okay? You can trust him."

While this was happening, Gilbert, Francis, and Arthur were gathered around the tree where the albino had tied Romulus up, just in case the Italian woke up and tried to attack the twins again. Feliciano was still in shock and was being looked after by Ludwig and Kiku.

"Damn..." Gilbert grumbled, lightly tugging on his hair. "Now what the hell do we do? Little Lovi-kins is hurt, Feels doesn't look like he's doing so hot, and old man here is nuts! Isn't there some kind of mumbo jumbo you can use to fix this?" He looked meaningfully at the wizard as he said this.

Arthur sighed then said, "Just some restraint spells. And one to transport us. That's the most I can do at the moment."

"Damn." Gilbert looked back at Lovino. "Uh, you might want to use a restraint on Lovi-kins. I think he wants to tear Yao's face off."

"… Very well. Distract him so I can get into position for the spell."

Rolling his eyes, Gilbert moved closer to Lovino, making sure to stay far enough away that the growling, bristling wolf wouldn't feel threatened by him. "Lovino," he said. "You have to calm down. This is so not awesome."

Lovino glared over at him and snapped his teeth, completely unaware of what Arthur was doing until the spell hit him, causing him to become sedated and docile.

The Spanish vampire was, suffice to say, not happy about this turn of events. He marched up to the English wizard and the two began to fight, the argument growing heated alarmingly fast as the two faced off.

Ignoring them, Yao knelt at Lovino's side. "I'm sorry, Lovino," he said gently. "I'll be careful to make it as painless as possible." The nature spirit then slowly pushed his fingers into the bullet wound, going to take out the chunk of silver embedded in Lovino's flesh, being sure to be extremely careful as to not cause unneeded pain and discomfort to the poor werewolf.

On the other side of the small clearing, Ludwig and Kiku were attempting to rouse they friend from his stooper in every way they knew how. They tried bribing him with his favorite foods and games, promising to play with him whenever he wanted, threatening physical activity, and finally they grew desperate as they began to simply beg him to awake from his mind. To look at them and speak. To show them that he was okay, or hurting, or anything. Anything at all besides... this. This silent, dull eyed, shape that just happened to hold Feliciano's form.

Ludwig sighed as he turned to Kiku. "I think we need his family to bring him back… The two of us just aren't working."

Kiku nodded in reply. "Hai…."

Alfred approached them from where he had been talking with Matthew. "How is Feli doing?" he asked, glancing at the Italian, worried for his atmosphere searching partner. "He doesn't look like he's doing to hot..."

"Not well…" Ludwig answered. "How is Lovino right now? We might need him to talk to Feliciano."

"See for yourself..." Alfred said, turning to look over his shoulder. The two followed his gaze, seeing the sedated wolf still being taken care of by Yao. "I don't know how long that will take or how long it'll be till Artie's spell wears of. But until something happens with him, we should probably discuss what happened when you were in the base." The America's face was serious, an expression that was rarely found there. "I'll get everyone together so we can all hear the reports of how each group managed."

Ludwig nodded, then he and Kiku started moving Feliciano carefully back over to the group while making sure he didn't trip and fall.

Feliciano allowed himself to be moved, continuing with his silence.

Alfred gather everyone, minus Lovino who was still being patched up by Yao, in the center of the clearing, being sure to separate Arthur and Antonio. "Alright guys," he said, rubbing his hands together. "Team One, Kiku and Matt, how was the distraction? About how many people do you think followed you? How long were you able to keep them after you? At what point, if at all, did they figure out you weren't a werewolf?"

Kiku shook his head. "No. Thankfully, my kind can make perfect illusions so all they saw was a 'real' werewolf who suddenly vanished into thin air. I do not believe we were followed."

"Good. Gilbert and I managed to get to the door and open it without any complications. No one attacked us and the only soldiers we saw where the ones that had chased you and Matt," Alfred said. "I was a little worried there would be an ambush, but so far, it looks like that hasn't been the case." He then turned to Antonio and Ludwig. "What happened while you were inside?"

Antonio started. "Well, when we got in, we walked down this long, dark hallway. We didn't see anyone else, and we were pretty nervous so we moved slow and looked out for any traps. Feliciano caught Romulus' scent and we started to go after it when Lovi said that he smelled Romulus to, only it was in a different location, the complete opposite way of where Feliciano did. We decided we had to split up and check both, just in case. So Lovi and I followed the scent Lovi had, which lead upstairs and Ludwig and Feliciano followed the other, going downstairs.

"We were really worried that one was going to end up a trap. I didn't understand why it had been so easy to get in and get so far without any confrontations. When we got to the floor Lovi smelled Romulus, he told me that something was strange about the scent. I asked what he meant and he said it was stale, meaning that he probably had been up there, but had been moved since. So we didn't go any further on that floor, but rather turned around and started back down to join Feliciano and Ludwig. I don't know what might have happened on that floor if we had kept going. We didn't take the risk of staying to figure it out."

Finishing his half of the report, Antonio turned to Ludwig, looking for him to continue with his and Feliciano's side.

Ludwig motioned for Kiku to cover Feliciano's ears, which he promptly did, allowing Ludwig to speak. "We found Romulus in a room. But he wasn't restrained in anyway. If anything he looked like someone at a resort. A few moments later, Lovino and Antonio showed up. Lovino rushed inside….. a-and... Romulus shot him."

There was a sharp intake of breath around the huddle along with a few muttered curses. "And what happened to Feels?" Gilbert asked, glancing at the younger Italian who hadn't moved or spoken once the entire discussion.

Ludwig shook his head in reply. "Not sure… It might have something to do with shock… As soon as Lovino comes out of being sedated, we hope he can try to work with Feliciano himself."

There was a triumphant cry from over by Lovino and the group quickly spun to look. Yao was holding up something shinny in between his thumb and forefinger. It was the silver bullet. It was covered in Lovino's blood, but the entire thing was still there, nothing had broken off that could cause more pain later.

"I got it!" Yao called over. He put the bullet into his bag, sewed up the wound, then bandaged it. "It's okay to let him wake up now. The pain should be gone thanks to a few herbs I gave him. He should just be sore for a few days while his shoulder heals up."

Arthur nodded and broke the spell then jumped back as a sluggish werewolf snapped at him with his teeth while growling.

Instantly Antonio was at his side. "Lovi! Lovi, it's okay! Calm down! Querido, it's alright!" he said. "Everything is okay! I promise!"

Lovino growled at him and staggered to his feet then stumbled over to Feliciano and fell down on his lap with a small yip.

The Italian didn't move, his eyes gazing dully at his twin, not seeing him.

Lovino blinked and whimpered as he leaned up and nudged Feliciano's cheek with his nose.

Again, Feliciano didn't respond to his brother.

Lovino whined as he continued nudging Feliciano.

For the third time, the elder brother was given no answer.

Lovino growled and raised his upper lip as he bared his teeth slightly then bit down on Feliciano's shoulder, not enough to draw blood but enough to hurt slightly.

Feliciano jerked, a surprised gasp escaping him. He shook his head back and forth, squeezing his eyes shut. Finally, he lifted his head and his eyes reopened, focusing on his brother. "Lovi...?"

Lovino growled again and lightly nipped Feliciano again, this time in annoyance.

The younger jerked again, flinching back. However, as soon as Lovino stopped biting him, Feliciano shot forward, hugging him tightly, careful of his injury. "Y-You're okay! You're okay!" he cried, tears gathering in his eyes.

Lovino nuzzled into the hug and whined as he gave Feliciano's cheek a quick lick.

The Italian continued to cry, shaking as he held onto his twin.

Lovino let Feliciano hug him a bit more then started to pull away.

Feliciano screamed.

Everyone flinched and instantly jumped towards him, trying to calm him down and quite him, all of them suddenly extremely aware of how close they still were to the hunters' base. Ludwig, Kiku, Alfred, Gilbert, and Francis all placed their hands over his mouth, cutting off the sound and all of them having to press Feliciano to the ground so he couldn't escape. They stood still, listening closely, the scream ringing through the woods.

Then, Lovino tensed up and started growling and baring his teeth as Romulus started to wake up.

Arthur, Matthew, and Antonio all quickly positioned themselves between the twins and Romulus, ready to take the elder man down should he try anything.

Lovino growled more and tried to move around them.

Everyone watched Romulus closely as the man slowly sat up.

Then Lovino darted forward and went to bite down on Romulus's shoulder with a snarl.

Antonio was next to him in a flash, pulling Lovino back just as the wolf's jaw snapped shut, inched away from the architect's skin. Romulus seemed to be dazed.

Lovino growled and shot Antonio a glare as he started howling in anger.

A muzzle appeared out of thin air and strapped itself onto Lovino's mouth, silencing him. Antonio glanced back and saw Arthur.

"Ugh… Finally…" Arthur huffed as Lovino growled and started pawing at the muzzle trying to knock it off. "We should hurry up and get out of here."

Antonio nodded in agreement, though he hated having to side with the British teen. He picked Lovino up, directing Alfred to do the same for Romulus. Feliciano was scooped into Ludwig's arms with no hesitation and the group set off, wanting out of that place as quickly as possible.

Lovino continued to fight the muzzle even after they got back to the house and were currently in the living room after locking Romulus in the basement.

Feliciano was set down next to Lovino. As soon as he was let go, his hand shot out and grabbed onto Lovino's fur, slumping down against the wolf's side, his body curling up into a tiny ball, shaking a little.

Lovino whined and nuzzled his brother then went back to whipping his head back and forth and trying to use his paws to get the muzzle off while growling.

The younger twin reached out, unlatching the muzzle and chucking it across the room away from Lovino.

Lovino shook his head then turned around to lay his head on Feliciano's stomach and stare at him.

The Italian leaned down, laying his forehead against the alpha's, crying quietly, his arms wrapping around his brother's neck.

Lovino softly whined and licked Feliciano's nose then nuzzled up against him.

Antonio and Ludwig watched over the two closely while Yao and Arthur went into the basement to see what they could do about Romulus. Everyone else stood around, unsure what to do, yet not wanting to leave until they knew that the eldest Italian was alright.

Lovino paused in his nuzzling to glance over at Antonio.

The Spaniard walked closer, wondering if something was wrong.

Then Lovino closed his eyes as he started to tremble.

Antonio snatched the thick blanket from the couch which he had placed there earlier for just this purpose. He draped it over Lovino's shoulders as the wolf began to shift back into human form. Feliciano never once let go.

Panting, Lovino reached around to move Feliciano around and hold him close. "D-Dammit, Feliciano... Calm down…"

Feliciano whimpered softly, curling up against his twin.

The basement door opened then, and Arthur exited, Yao following him with Romulus balanced over his shoulders. Catching Lovino's look, the nature spirit smiled. "We fixed him," he reported. "When he wakes up, he'll be back to normal."

However, Lovino glared at Romulus. "Don't fucking care. He's NOT getting near Feliciano again."

Sighing softly, Yao took Romulus upstairs to put the unconscious man in bed, leaving the rest of the teens.

Feliciano's grip tightened on Lovino and he pressed closer, a soft sniff leaving him.

"Stop that will you?" Arthur huffed. "And it wasn't Romulus's fault he acted like that. For whatever reason that bunch got their hands on magic and altered his mind to believe that all werewolves, including you two, are evil. But thankfully that has been removed now so he should be fine when he wakes back up again."

"Damn... This is fucking ridiculous," Gilbert muttered.

"Just another reason to get rid of them all," Antonio pointed out.

"Hmph. I'll GLADLY do that…" Lovino spat as he wrapped the blanket around himself better and winced when he moved his shoulder.

The younger twin whimpered, looking at the wound. He leaned towards it, licking at the injury gently.

Lovino sighed and moved back away. "Leave it alone, dammit."

Yao reentered the room then. "It's been a long, stress full night, boys," he said. "How about calling it a day and everyone gets some sleep? Especially you two." He sent a look at the Italian twins. "Come on, Kiku. We're going home now."

The group slowly dispersed after this until it was only Antonio, Ludwig, Lovino, and Feliciano left in the living room.

"Ugh…. Need to get some damn clothes on…" Lovino grumbled as he stood up.

Feliciano tensed as Lovino moved and his head shot up, watching his brother closely.

"It's okay, Feli," Antonio said comfortingly. "He'll be right back. Nothing bad will happen to him." Feliciano glanced at the Spaniard, then slowly relaxed, nodding.

"But…" Ludwig spoke up as he watched Lovino walk off. "One of us should stay with him….."

"I will," Antonio said, following after his boyfriend.

Feliciano looked up at Ludwig. They were both still dressed for the dance, Feliciano having put back on his clothing before going to the hunters' hideout, though their clothes were now ruffled and filthy.

"Er… Maybe WE should get changed as well…"

The Italian crawled over to the vampire, clambering up into his arms, giving a tiny nod.

Ludwig held Feliciano close as he headed up the stairs to Feliciano's room.