I just wanna say how sorry I am that the last time I updated this story was March 23, 2019. I can't believe I let so much time go by... O.O But I am back in the Hetalia game, and I've even started uploading this same story to my other channel on Wattpad: Sakura_KitKat. I have a lot of fanfics on there, so please go check them out! :)

I'm not going to go on a long spiel about why I haven't updated. Just suffice to say, I'm working on it. So here's chapter eleven - finally!

Enjoy!

XXX

"Shh! You guys have to be quiet or Arthur will hear us!"

Gilbert and I pretended to zip our lips at Annie's anxious words. She shot us a glower, obviously not happy with our nonverbal sarcasm, and stalked to the front of the small group exploring my friend's house. Behind Gilbert was Ludwig, clearly uncomfortable with exploring a fellow nation's house without permission, but he was on a mission to get me to forgive him, so he wasn't saying a word.

"I think she's just afraid he won't want to date her after this," Maeve chuckled in my ear.

That made me have to muffle a snort. "The girl has no clue how crazy he is about her, does she."

We shared a smirk with Gilbert sniggering in the background.

Washington D.C., or Phoebe as her human name was, stuck next to Annie, not wanting England to get mad if she didn't keep Annie safe, and take it out on America by not letting him anywhere near Ireland, aka, Maeve. We all knew her true agenda was to look good in Austria's eyes so he'd finally notice her and stop pining over the 'single and loving it!' Hungary/Elizaveta. Everyone had immediately thought she and Gilbert would get together after her separation from Austria, but neither was interested in that kind of relationship. They preferred pranking and drinking Spain and France under the table when they got together. Nothing more.

Sophia stayed by me and Gilbert, shooting Ludwig distrustful glances. She didn't like him very much, due to what Ludwig/Germany had done during World War 2. I couldn't blame the poor girl. After all, I didn't trust him either - and he was my own baby brother! (Under duress, but still my baby brother.)

We all followed closely after Annie and Phoebe, a few giggling now and then when they ran into the narrow walls. Honestly, England's house seriously needed a remodel. His servant corridors and doors were far too small for the modern man or woman to fit through without a struggle. Fortunately, or unfortunately as the case may be, Gilbert and I were both still lithe and skinny after our stint with Russia then behind the Berlin Wall, cut off from real civilization, so we were able to fit through the entryways and hallways pretty easily.

"Here it is!" came Annie's excited whisper up ahead.

I squinted into the darkness. Nope. Still couldn't see her. "Where the hell-ack!"

Gilbert grabbed my arm and hoisted me up before I could fall through the floor.

"Arthur needs to fix the floors up here," Gilbert muttered to me.

Brushing the spiderwebs off my trousers, I made a face. "I agree, little brother."

"Ah, enough with that little brother stuff! I'm not so little anymore!"

A smirk appeared on my face at the thought he was most likely straightening himself up to his full height to prove it. "Doesn't matter. You'll always be my little brother."

Ludwig was silent.

We carefully felt our way to where Annie and Phoebe were, dim light making it easier to see they were kneeling at an opening in the floor.

"Isn't that dangerous?" Sophia said, inching closer to peer over the side.

Annie just shrugged.

Below us was England, arguing with what looked to be a flowing circle. We watched in silence as he waved a hand, but the glowing only got more intense.

"Stop it!" he hissed at the circle, stomping a foot. "The last time you did this, Russia popped his head up through my floor, and I don't fancy a repeat of that nightmare!"

Gilbert and I held each other while our bodies shook with suppressed laughter. The only one who didn't find a bit of amusement was Sophia.

"Stop yelling at inanimate magic circles, Artie."

Phoebe's eyes went wide in shock at her brother's voice. "What is Alfred doing down there?"

"Who knows." Maeve leaned closer in an attempt to see him.

"Careful. The floor is really bowed there," Sophia said in alarm, grabbing Maeve's arm and pulling her back.

"I used to live here, Sophie. You think I don't know this house better than the rest of you? I raised England!"

"Did you hear something?"

Sophia clapped a hand over Maeve's mouth, all of us staring down at America and England as they looked around for the source of the voice. America shrugged.

"I dunno. I think you're hearing things again, Artie."

"Stop calling me that! Git." Arthur glowered at Alfred. He grabbed a book off a nearby shelf and started chanting in Brythonic.

"What's he saying, Soren?"

I translated for Gilbert, not caring he'd called me the wrong name again. It was only when we were behind the Wall that I finally revealed I was really a woman. "He's basically trying to bring the circle back under his control so he can seal it for good. I guess it's been causing issues with the house."

No sooner did I say that, an ominous creaking came from the floor we were crouched on. The entire group froze in fear. The creaking stopped.

"Do you think we should leave?"

"Of course," Ludwig answered Phoebe in a calm voice. "We could explore the rest of the servant corridors instead."

I nodded approvingly when he looked to me. His eyes were full of relief.

We slowly got up so as not to make any noise and alert the two nations below us, and started making our way back to the corridor-

CRACK!

My foot went through the now splintering floor, cracking and snapping under all of us. Ludwig managed to jump back, evading the bigger hole in the floor. Phoebe tried to grab Annie and a beam, but her hand slipped, and they both fell together - into the glowing circle.

They vanished the moment they hit.

"Phoebe!" Alfred cried, diving for the hole.

Arthur grabbed him and hauled him away. "No! It's too late, America. She's…she's gone."

Alfred twisted in Arthur's grip, fighting to get free. "Let me go! That's my sister!"

"Arthur!" Maeve shouted, her nails leaving grooves in the broken flooring as she started to slide down the piece of board she was holding onto desperately.

England and Ireland made eye contact, both horrified at what they knew was going to happen.

"Maeve, hold on!" England let go of America. "I'll get you!"

Sophia was the next to fall, her hands slipping free of the pipe she'd grabbed. She stared up at us in terror as the hole swallowed her without a sound.

"Sophie!" I called, tears filling my eyes. Was this our fate? To vanish into a magical black hole and never be seen again?

"Soren," Arthur breathed, eyes locking onto me.

"Um…hi?" I tried to smile. "I'd wave, but then I would fall into the hole, too."

"Don't even joke about that!" America snapped.

"Schwester! Grab my other hand!"

I looked up to see Ludwig holding a hand out to me. He'd somehow tied himself to a beam using his jacket and was keeping Gilbert from falling into the hole with his other hand. I grabbed his hand just as the plank I'd been holding gave out, vanishing into the black hole along with the three nations.

"I can't hold on anymore!" Maeve's voice was full of tears. She looked down at the hole, took a deep breath, and closed her eyes. "I'm sorry." Her hands slipped off, and she disappeared into the black hole along with the others.

"MAEVE!" Arthur screamed, about to stick his hand in the circle to get her-

"No! You'll get sucked in too!" Alfred pulled him back as the other had done to him.

"Gil," I said softly.

He looked at me, red eyes calm and accepting. "Soren?"

"We'll find our way back, right?"

"Of course we will."

Ignoring Ludwig's loud protests, Gilbert and I reached out, taking each other's hand just as our other hands slipped due to sweat, Ludwig's grasp unable to hold on, and fell together, hugging each other tightly with our eyes closed. I could hear both America and England shouting our names, human and nation, then their voices were garbled.

Everything went black.

XXX

I hope you all enjoyed the chapter! I'll try to work on the next one as soon as possible. I have a list of fanfictions to work on, and a specific order I put them in. This one, and another one only published on Wattpad at the moment, are the ones I'm working on right now. I'm determined to finish this one. ^_^

Have a good day!

Allons-y~/span/strong/p

KitKat