"Why are you all looking at me like that?" Brittany asked her expression one of confusion. "Do I have something on my face?"

"You're back," Arthur said finally, still staring at her.

"I've always been here. You guys are acting weird."

Alfred blinked and exchanged a look with his brother. "Brittany, what year is it?"

"Isn't it 2016?"

Everything started to make sense. "No. That's not even close to what year it is. Do you have any idea how long you've been gone?"

Her eyes narrowed in annoyance and she crossed her arms. "I wasn't aware I was gone at all. Mind filling me in?"

It only took about ten minutes to explain that twenty years had passed. She seemed to refuse to accept the fact that they'd all thought she was dead, however. "It's not a safe assumption to make!" Brittany snapped as Alfred backed away from her. He'd made the mistake of claiming that the conclusion they'd all reached was justified. "Just because Lukas pushed me off that building-" She stopped, her eyes widened and she shot to her feet. "Where is Lukas? You don't just tell a person something like that and then shove them off a roof!" She marched past them and towards the front door.

"Brittany, that's not going to solve anything," Matthew said automatically, chasing her down. "He's probably at home, like always. I've haven't really talked to him lately." By lately, he meant in years.

"Wait, what did he tell you?" Alfred asked, his expression morphing from confusion to jealousy as ideas of what the Norwegian could've said popped into his mind.

"Nothing," Brittany mumbled blushing, only confirming Alfred's suspicions. Suddenly, the brunette looked up. "Wait, where's Maddy? Did she get out alright?"

Matthew's stomach dropped and he sighed. "Physically or mentally?"

"What? Does it matter?"

"Physically, she's fine. Or at least, not close to dying. Mentally..." He trailed off, trying to find a way to describe the predicament. "Well, mentally, she could be better." Brittany looked both perplexed and concerned. He sighed again and guided her to the couch. He sat down, rubbing the back of his neck. "You have to understand, for the past twenty years, we've all thought you were dead. It seemed like the only logical explanation after Lukas told us he pushed off that building and then no one could find a body." He stopped, taking a deep breath. He was getting off topic. "I told you how bad Maddy got after you were kidnapped and obviously, she just got worse after you 'died.' Arthur, Lukas, and Vlad, they cast this spell and I'm actually not sure what it was supposed to do, but it caused something completely different. I'll come back to that. Basically, what you need to know is, Maddy developed PTSD and schizophrenia."

"The PTSD, I can understand, but seriously? Lunar sickness too?" Brittany asked, her joking tone forced.

Despite the severity of the situation, a small smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. "Yes, Brittany, lunar sickness too. I'm not exactly sure why that one happened, but it did."

"Well, let me see her!" Brittany said, jumping up. "Where is she? Upstairs?"

The small smile fell away. "Ah, no. She's not."

"Well then, where is she? Backyard? Basement?" The brunette began listing off more places. But Matthew wasn't paying attention. He had a hand against his mouth, trying not to fall apart.

"Um, Brittany," Alfred wrapped an arm around her shoulders, causing her to stop talking. "Sidekick, you know I love you but stop. She's not here at all."

Brittany stopped, trying to process that. Suddenly, her eyes widened. "Is she dead? Is that why you're all acting like me wanting to see her is taboo or something?" Her mind started racing. Was her sister dead?

Alfred gaped at her and he flailed his free arm around, attempting to come up with some sort of response. "N-no! She's not dead! Far from it! No, um, well, you see-"

"We broke up," Matthew said finally, interrupting his floundering brother.

"What!?" Brittany screamed, turning to him. "You two broke up? After everything I did to get you together?" Truthfully, she was less concerned with all the work she'd put into getting them together and more wanted to know why they'd broken up. "Why?"

A ring from his phone stopped him from answering. Matthew rolled his eyes, pulling his phone out of his pocket and walking away from the other three people in the room. Prepared to ignore the call, he glanced at the caller ID and reluctantly answered it. "Hey, Vargas."

"Williams, where are you?" Lovino asked, rustling from his end of the line making it's way to Matthew's ear. "Are you at home?"

Matthew nodded, before remembering the italian couldn't see him. "Yeah. Where else would I be?"

Lovino scoffed. "Searching for your daughters."

"So you know about it."

"Of course I do!" There was a muffled shout and Lovino sighed. "Severus wants to know how the ragazza is."

The blond pinched the bridge of his nose. "She's doing as well as anyone would expect in a situation like this. Listen, I've got to go. Something's come up."

"What do you mean 'something's come up?' Your children are missing!"

"Yes, I'm aware." Matthew snapped, hanging up and stalking back over to the trio of people at the other side of the room. "It sounds like Lovino is coming over." He'd never use the italian's first name in his presence but around other people, he did. He'd decided after a while that just using 'Vargas' was confusing to anyone who didn't know beforehand which one he meant.

"Why is Lovino coming over here?" Brittany asked in confusion, her attention momentarily drawn away from her earlier question that had yet to be answered.

"Let's focus on that tomorrow," Arthur said. "It's getting late. We should all get some sleep."

Matthew showed them all to guest rooms before any arguments could come up and sank onto the couch once everyone else was at least, in their rooms. He blinked rapidly, trying not to cry once again. He jumped as footsteps sounded behind him then Alfred sat next to him. Matthew looked away from his brother, hoping he hadn't noticed how close he was to breaking down.

"Matty, it's gonna be fine," Alfred said finally. "We're going to find them."

Matthew ignored him, trying to subtly wipe tears off his face. "You don't know that." He muttered. Of course, he wanted to find his daughters and bring them home safely. What father wouldn't? But he also knew that finding them would be difficult and they wouldn't be the same when they got back.

Alfred scowled at his brother. "I do know that we're going to find the girls actually. The people in our family are way too stubborn to give up on them. Besides," He knew this rant wasn't coming out the way he'd wanted it to, but hopefully, if he kept going, it would. "They're tough and they don't take crap from anyone. They're going to give whoever kidnapped them hell and then, said kidnappers will still have to deal with the rest of us." There was a pause. "Why didn't you tell Brittany about the kids? She's going to find out."

Matthew sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I think she's had enough dumped on her for today. I'll tell her about the kids tomorrow. Or... whenever Lovino gets here."

Lovino and Severus showed up at the door the next day, both looking disheveled and cross. "I told you," Lovino hissed at his son as Matthew led them into the living room. "You can't just run off and recklessly throw yourself into the first half-baked plan that pops into your head."

Severus rolled his eyes and ignored his father, displaying a rebellious and snarky side of himself that rarely showed up. Matthew frowned, deciding now would be a good time to check on Brittany. She was just coming out of her room, yawning. "Good morning."

Matthew smiled half-heartedly at her. "Morning." He wasn't sure he could call this a good morning. "How did you sleep?"

"Fine." Loud arguing drew her attention away from him and she frowned. "Is everything okay?"

"It's just Lovino and Severus. They've been at each other's throats since they got here."

"Who's Severus?"

Matthew felt like kicking himself. "He's... it'll be easier to explain once you've been introduced." Brittany followed him, glancing around curiously. It was then that the canadian realized this was the brunette's first time being in the house.

"You can't just run off and not tell anyone where you are!"

They arrived in the living room and the tension was so thick, you could cut it with a knife. Matthew put an arm to stop Brittany from walking away closer to the two arguing italians, distantly wondering if he was about to have enormous property damage to pay for.

"Well, maybe if you actually acknowledged my existence, you'd realize I told you exactly where I was going and you just didn't pay attention!" Severus yelled back at his father. "You're just pissed because now that your precious baby girl is missing, you have to actually interact with your son!"

Shock flashed across Lovino's face, but it was gone in a second and his eyes narrowed. "You're not thinking clearly!"

"Neither are you!"

Lovino groaned. "You are just like your mother! You're both too stubborn and prideful to admit you're wrong!"

Matthew found himself silently agreeing with the italian, though he found it amusing that Lovino couldn't see those qualities within himself.

"I'd rather be like mom than like you!" Severus countered, his eyes blazing. "She actually has feelings and pays attention to all her kids. You spoil Bell so much, I'm surprised you haven't let her take over the entire world! Yet, here I am, completely ignored."

"You're older. You can take care of yourself."

"Don't give me that! You're just trying to ease your own guilt because you know I'm right. You've always loved Bell more than me. You just don't want to be wrong so you'll keep denying that you've always had a favorite child."

Lovino's expression had changed from shock to something that almost resembled hurt. "That's not-"

"No wonder you're the less important half of Italy." Severus spat, turning away from his father and storming out of the house, the door slamming behind him. Matthew looked between the door and Lovino, who looked like he was about to break down sobbing. Brittany looked like she was trying process everything that had just happened. "Lovino has children?" She said finally. Matthew sighed and nodded. "With who?"

"That's kind of complicated." A familiar voice said behind them.

They both jumped and turned, a sense of dread filling Matthew when he realized who it was. "Maddy?" Brittany said hesitantly as if she were unsure if the woman standing in front of her was her best friend.

"Hey." The blonde replied simply. "I came over to make sure no one said anything too awful, but it seems I'm a little too late for that."

"How did you get in here?" Matthew asked.

She held up a silver key. "You never changed the locks."

"You look ancient," Brittany stated, still staring.

Maddy scowled. "I wasn't aware aging twenty years wasn't allowed." She wasn't going to freak out over the fact that her best friend was suddenly back again. She'd taken her medication before coming over so Brittany wasn't a hallucination like she had been the last time.

"You don't look that old. Maybe late twenties." Matthew piped up, his habit of randomly showering her with compliments still prominent.

His ex, however, didn't blush and try to hide her face like she used to. She rolled her eyes. "That's not going to get you anywhere. Now, if you'll excuse me-" She pushed past him and went over to Lovino, wrapping the italian in a tight hug. "Lovi..."

Tears had finally started to slip out of his eyes. "I didn't know he thought- he never said-"

"Shh. It's okay. He's just upset."

"But he said-"

"I know what he said. He'll get over it and apologize."

Matthew felt intense anger and jealousy rear up as he watched them and his hands clenched into fists at his sides. Calm down. They're just friends and she's doing what any friend would do. You're over this anyway. The truth was, he wasn't over his jealousy at all. The anxious, insecure feelings always came back whenever he witnessed them interacting and he had yet to find a healthy way to deal with them.

Brittany had made her way into the kitchen, standing behind Alfred. He had yet to notice her, so she poked his arm. He turned and smiled at her. "Good morning."

"Morning." She spied the half full coffee pot and went looking for a mug. "How does Matthew find anything in here?" She planted her hands on her hips, looking around for a cupboard she hadn't already looked in. Alfred was smirking at her and moved as she went to the cupboard behind him. Opening it and grabbing a mug, she poured herself some coffee, sipping at it. "So Lovino has children."

Alfred sighed. He'd known she'd ask about it eventually. "Yeah. So does Matthew."

Brittany smiled slightly at that. "With who?"

The nation scratched at the back of his neck nervously, avoiding her gaze. "Um…"

"Me."

They both jumped. "Maddy, stop doing that!" Brittany snapped, one hand on her chest. Coffee sloshed out of her mug. "My heart works. I don't need you to constantly test it!"

The blonde smiled and patted the brunette on the shoulder. "Sorry."

Alfred watched her carefully. "You're not freaking out."

"Why would I be? I took my medication before I came over and none of you have ever seen my visions so the fact that you all see her too tells me I'm not hallucinating her again."

"Again?" Brittany asked.

Maddy nodded. "Yeah. You weren't quite yourself though." She leaned against the counter, her arms crossed. "And to answer your question again, Brittany, both Matthew and Lovino have children with me."

Brittany stared at her in shock. "And how did that happen? You and Lovino don't like each other."

"Nah, we're friends now. Much to Matthew's dismay and jealousy."

"I am not jealous!" Matthew yelled from the other room.

"Could've fooled me," Maddy yelled back, rolling her eyes and turning her attention back to her friend. "Arthur, Lukas, and Vlad did a spell. They were trying to bring you back, but it got me pregnant instead."

"They were trying to bring Brittany back?" Alfred interrupted, his eyes wide with curiosity. "How do you know that?"

"Arthur told me when-" She stopped for a minute, her hands shaking. She closed her eyes, regained her composure and cleared her throat. "Back in November."

"When were you planning to tell the rest of us about this?"

"I wasn't."

"Of course you weren't," Matthew said coldly, coming into the kitchen. "You don't tell anyone anything if you don't think it's important."

Maddy scowled, her eyes narrowing dangerously at him. "Have you told them how you were convinced I cheated on you with Lovino yet?"

"You what?" Brittany yelled, setting her coffee down as it spilled onto her hand again. "Why would she cheat on you?"

"And with Lovino of all people?" Maddy finished, quickly turning to the doorway. "No offense, Lovi!"

"None taken!" the italian yelled back. There was a pause, rushed footsteps and then Lovino poked his head into the kitchen. "He thought you cheated on him? With me?" That was probably the most ludicrous thing Lovino had ever heard.

She nodded and turned back to Matthew. "See? Even he thinks it's ridiculous."

"Wait, why didn't you ever say anything, Ragazza?"

Maddy sighed, her argument immediately lost as she remembered she hadn't told Lovino about this. "Um... I didn't want you to-"

"Maybe because it's none of your business?" Matthew interrupted, his eye narrowing at Lovino.

The italian glared right back at him. "You really are just as arrogant as your brother, Williams."

"Shove off, Vargas."

Maddy watched the two of them with amusement as their argument escalated. She didn't particularly want them to fight, so to speak, but she enjoyed watching drama go down. Lovino, for some reason, had become extremely protective of her, she noticed. It was a bit annoying at times, but a small part of her appreciated it. She usually just blamed his protective tendencies on the fact that she was the mother of his children. Speaking of... She snuck out of the kitchen and made her way outside, finding Severus leaning against the balcony railing. "I hope that smoke coming out of your ears is an indication that you're thinking of ways to apologize to your father."

He jumped and turned to her, only his expression didn't take on the happiness it usually did when he saw her. "Why should I? We both know he's always loved Bell more than me."

"No, he doesn't." Maddy crossed her arms, her eyes narrowing at her son. "And even if he did, that wouldn't justify you telling him he's not the 'important' half of his country."

"But mom, he spoils her rotten!"

"I know he does!" It was a topic she and Lovino had gotten into many arguments about. Neither of them had had everything handed to them on a silver platter, so why should their children? Lovino, however, had never quite been able to admit that he spoiled his daughter.

"I don't want to apologize," Severus muttered, turning away from her.

"You have to." She replied, stepping closer to him. "If you're not going to do it today, at least do it soon. Your father does love you. He's just afraid of losing you."

"No, he's not!" The brunette boy yelled, making his mother jump. "He's just upset because his baby girl is missing and now he's stuck with just me!"

"Severus Xavier Vargas!"

The boy stopped, his eyes widening. He stepped away from his mother. He'd seen and heard her get angry enough to yell at her children, but he'd never been the one to evoke that wrath. It had always been his younger siblings and he'd always been the one who comforted them afterward. Now, he was cornered by his pissed off mother and she'd just used his full name. That was a bad sign. She took a deep breath and quietly counted to ten before looking at him again. Her gaze, however, just made him feel sick. Her expression was mostly cross, but under the anger was... disappointment. His heart ached and his stomach dropped. He was fairly certain he'd never disappointed his mother until now. Sure, she'd sent his siblings that crestfallen look, but he had managed to keep that look aimed away from himself.

"You need to apologize to your father," she said finally, her voice sounding hollow and defeated. "Maybe not today, but soon." She turned away from him and went back in the house.

Before anyone says anything in the reviews, I'm aware that's not 2016 anymore. The story Hetalia: Tale Of Two Girls that these characters are from, however, ended in 2016 so I decided that would be the year Brittany thinks it is when she gets back.

pinkittwice54: Yes, well, when I said soon, I meant extremely soon. Yes, Arthur has bad timing, but that's been a recurring thing throughout this story, I think. Yes, you probably should've been prepared, but I'm not sure anyone is prepared for what happens next. Yes, the basement is where the girls are going to be kept, that will come up later. Oliver does not have some weird shrine to Maddy. That would be creepy.