Apologize for any inconsistencies that may have popped up between chapters! I admit I took a long pause and did my best to refresh my memory of the story so far.

Enjoy the next exciting chapter!

Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia or any of its characters.

Another Step Closer

"Owwie!" Arthur flinched as he did his best to gently disinfect Alfred's wounds. The little boy was not making this easy.

"Alfred, lad, I have to clean and dress these boo-boos so they don't get infected." He tried his best to sooth his brother. "We go through this every time." He sighed. Alfred, ever excitable and full of energy, was no stranger to a variety of small cuts and bruises, much to Arthur's dismay.

"But it stings! And that stuff smells so stinky!" The boy pleaded.

"I know you don't like it, but maybe that means you should learn to be more careful." Even though there was no chance of Alfred slowing down anytime soon. The kid was an endless wave of energy from waking until it was time to go to sleep.

"It wasn't my fault!" Alfred protested, "It was- …"

"Hm?" Arthur looked at his brother. The child had gone unusually quiet, which was itself concerning. The child's bright blue eyes seemed to have darkened slightly, like he was remembering something unpleasant.

"Alfred?" He asked, worried. "What is it, love?"

The other shook his head, refusing to tell the other about the strange feeling that had overcome him that afternoon. Even he couldn't explain what he felt the moment he ran by that old house. It was as though all his anxiety and fears flooded to the surface and called to him. It was like the house itself had a force over him, pulling him toward it. But it was so brief, Alfred thought he had just imagined the whole thing until he had time to look back and think.

"... It was that stupid rock…" He finally said. He willed himself to believe the story he was telling. Afterall, that's what his friends thought had happened.

"I was tripped by that stupid rock! It wasn't my fault!" He met his brother's worried emerald eyes with his own defiant sapphires. That is what happened, that is what he had to convince both of them.

The childlike conviction in the younger's eyes, and the fact that he was actually looking directly at him, eased some of Arthur's worries. Alfred was stubborn as always. Of course it was a rock's fault, not his own clumsy nature and recklessness that had caused him to scrape up his knees again. This was normal Alfred behavior.

"Right…" Arthur smiled. "It was all the rock's fault for this." He patted his brother's head and let out a soft laugh. "But that doesn't change the fact that we still have to apply the antiseptic." It was comforting watching the boy revert to his earlier protests.

"Aww, it's not that bad! It can heal on its own!" Alfred tried pulling his knees toward him, causing the forming scabs to crack and stretch. He winced and looked ashamed at Arthur.

"Come on, lad. We're almost done. We don't want to take any chances, do we?"

"... I guess not…" He knew Arthur was right, his brother was right about everything… And that was when another thought struck the small boy. 'If Arthur is right about everything, and he said that old house isn't actually haunted, then that must be true! He'd just been imagining everything!' Alfred laughed at himself. He had let his fear of ghosts and the stories from the older boys get to him. It was all in his head! 'Arthur talked to fairies! He would know if there was a ghost!'

"You know what, Arty, you're right!" He beamed. An avalanche of relief seemed to melt off of him.

"Of course I'm right, Alfred." He too felt the relief of his brother's genuine smile, unaware of the actual meaning behind it. He finished wrapping up Alfred's knees with little protest other than the occasional exaggerated whimper. He kissed each for good measure.

"Thank you!" Alfred jumped from the couch and was already on the go again.

"Not so fast!" Arthur warned. He had just gone through one ordeal of having to patch up his brother, he didn't need another one so soon. "Please, at least try to take it easy this evening?" He knew this was the best he was going to get.

"Ok!" And with those parting words the child was off to play with his toys until dinner was ready.

"As wild as ever…" Sighed the Brit. He went back to the task of preparing 'dinner'. What that dinner was supposed to be was anyone's guess.

Meanwhile, the trio had been on the hunt for information ever since they left the records department. They had a name now, but it was clear that was all they were going to get out of what little survived from the town's old filing system. Now, their research took them to a more modern form of information gathering- the internet.

"Still not a whole lot to go on, but at least we've got more than we had." Antonio leaned away from the screen to give his eyes a much needed rest.

They were back at Gilbert's house since that was really the only place they could work uninterrupted. Francis knows Matthews tends to get nervous with so many loud people around in his "safe space" of home; and Lovino has a habit of dropping in constantly to tell them how explicitly idiotic they are. Ludwig is more of the quiet, efficient, brooding type that just lets the older boys be for the most part.

"Yeah, we have so much more." Gilbert complained. "All Google can tell us is that he was an early settler and 'are you sure you are spelling that correctly?'" He mocked.

"We only just typed in his name!" Antonio reasoned. "I'm sure we will find more after we start exploring some!" He couldn't quite place it, but something about this case seemed to have sparked renewed excitement in him… And another feeling deep inside he had yet to place. Was it justice for that little girl? Or resentment toward the town for covering the whole thing up? Whatever the feeling, he was not stopping now.

"Yeah, yeah. I know." Gil vented his frustration. "I guess I was hoping some big conspiracy theorist would have popped up, or some news article about some strange supernatural happening, or something! This guy never did anything else significant in his life!" He flopped onto his bed.

"Oi, Mon Ami. That does seem to be the case. Perhaps after what happened he intentionally never got his name mentioned anywhere again?" Francis suggested. "It was pretty traumatic." He recalled all the information they were able to find so far.

"Sí, but this is the internet! There is nothing we cannot find after a little digging!" Antonio clapped his hands together.

"You guys are totally right!" The albino perked up. "What is someone as awesome as me doing giving up after coming this far?! How unawesome!" Gilbert declared. He sat down on the edge of the desk next to his computer. "We'll work all night if we have to!" He glanced at the various links on the screen.

"That's our Gil!" Francis cried. "Alas, though, no all nighter for me tonight." Francis stood from his place on the end of the bed. "My parents have to leave early for work in the morning and the responsibility of getting Mon Petit Frére, Matthew to school falls upon Moi." He grabbed his backpack and swung it gracefully over his shoulder.

"I will let the two of you continue the hard work for the time being." He winked.

"So you get to have a full night's rest while we get to suffer doing the dirty work?" Antonio grumbled.

"But, of course!" Francis had no shame at basically being called lazy by one of his best friends. "One of us has to look good when we get our picture taken!" He flipped his luscious locks for emphasis.

"Pictures?" Gil pondered this statement. Photo day at school had already passed and there weren't any upcoming parties to crash until Halloween.

"When they want to interview us for solving the mystery of the Old Haunted House!" The Frenchman exclaimed. "Think about it! This was a dark, dirty piece of the town's history that they desperately tried to hide. Not even the town historian has any information recorded up to that point in time. Imagine the publicity when we, a team of good looking high schoolers, uncover the truth after all this time!" His eyes sparkled at the thought of millions of eligible singles lining up for a chance to get his autograph, and maybe a kiss or two!

"Cool down, there." Antonio could tell by the look on his face where the other's mind had wandered. "I'll have to get Gil to grab the hose again." They all laughed at Francis's expense.

"I'm awesome enough that the cameras won't know what to do with all my awesomeness!" Gil puffed out his chest.

"Yeah, that's it. You're 'awesomeness' is just so powerful it will single-handedly take the credit for all our hard work." The Spaniard rolled his eyes sarcastically. He knew Gil would never intentionally take undeserved credit, but his ego had no problem wrapping him up in the moment.

"Is that what you think, huh?" The albino said playfully. He grabbed the back of the computer chair Antonio was sitting and gave a mighty heave. "Then get out of the way and let a master show you how it's done!" The other slipped out of the chair and landed on his back in the middle of the room as Gil slid into his spot.

"I'm a Google master! It's how I passed middle school!" He gloated.

"Barely passed." Mumbled the young man on the ground. He rubbed his elbow as he pulled himself into a sitting position. "Man, I am getting too old for this kind of abuse." He grumbled.

"It counts!" Gil retorted.

"Quiet!"

The three men stiffened and turned toward the door where a new voice sounded. Ludwig stood in the frame with a far too serious face for a child. He was dressed in his night clothes and his hair was untidy, as though he had just rolled out of bed.

"You two!" He pointed at Francis and Antonio, "It's getting late and it's a school night. Unless you brought a change of clothes for the morning, I suggest you start heading home before the real weirdos come out." The child took the command of an adult.

"Luddy…" Gil nervously started to say, knowing that once his kid brother's mind was set that was the end of any argument. Despite being older, something in Ludwig's eyes had the effect of freezing them on the spot.

"No more nonsense talk about that stupid house or stupid ghost stories for the rest of this night!" He demanded. "You have caused enough trouble!" His eyes held a hardness that was different from the annoyance Gilbert was used to seeing. What was that look?

"Y-yes, sir!" Antonio stood erect and followed Francis out the door passed the smaller boy.

"S-see you tomorrow, at school!" Francis stammered. They both rushed out of the house and knew better than to look back. Gilbert was left alone with his little brother.

"What was that about?" Big brother mode overriding his fear.

"You guys were being annoying and loud. I wanted to get some sleep tonight…" The younger turned from his brother's scanning gaze.

"It's something else. What did you mean by 'you caused enough trouble'?" Gil had turned his chair to face the other. "That seemed a little more forceful than usual." He waited for an answer.

"It's true… You guys have no idea how all this talk takes a toll on others…" He did not elaborate further.

"Others? Not you?" Gil might be egotistical and dense, but he had a keen eye when it came to his brother's mood. He knew when Ludwig was just flustered and when he was actually upset, and right now he was definitely upset.

"Me too, I suppose. But I'm not scared of some dumb ghost story. Others are not as disbelieving…" He was now gripping the hem of his shirt. Gilbert was not used to this nervous, fidgety Luddy. His little brother was a rock and only got embarrassed around Feliciano, mostly due to not understanding the other's laid back behavior and unyielding happiness. But that was always a cute kind of nervousness. This is more an angry protective kind; the kind Gil usually showed to him.

"Ghost stories?" He remembered hearing someone else mention something about their 'stupid ghost stories.' Who had said that? Who else had told them so sternly to stop? … Ah!

"Did that English bastard say something to you?" He asked, anger starting to bloom. If that stuck-up prick had got some idea in Ludwig's head there were going to be problems.

"No… not him…" Ludwig met the other's eyes. "But you guys are really starting to freak out Alfred…" His eyes had that protective firmness again. "He had nightmares after talking with you guys about that dumb house. We tried to convince him not to listen, that it's not haunted!" He pleaded with his idiot brother to get the picture.

"Oh…" Gil felt a pang of guilt in his chest at that. He knew they could get carried away and in the moment sometimes, but he didn't know how much other people actually listened to them. At least, the kids still did, obviously.

"Sorry about that, bro. Guess we didn't think about all that." He rubbed the back of his neck. "Listen, I promise no more talk about it around Alfred or your friends. Though, I can't make that promise for Antonio or Francis." Gil reasoned.

"That would be good." Ludwig agreed.

"Anything else before you send me to bed without dinner?" He managed to quip. The other opened and closed his mouth, thinking about his next words carefully.

"Not tonight. But you should go to bed. It's hard enough waking you up in the morning as it is." Gil laughed for the other's sake and watched him off to his own room.

"Alfred's having nightmares? Because of us? How unawesome." The albino sat for a while, staring at the search still up on the computer. "I suppose this can wait just a little longer." He shut down for the night and did as he was told, went to bed.

"Rest now, little one." A sickeningly sweet voice sung.

"Who's there?" Alfred's cry echoed in the darkness around him. A cold crept into his bones. He could feel a warm sting from where he had scraped his knee…

"So sweet, so innocent. Your blood hasn't changed a bit since the last time I tasted it." The voice giggled. "Not much longer now indeed." The darkness shifted slightly.

"What are you talking about!" Panic was setting in and Alfred searched frantically for a way out of the darkness. "Arty!" He cried and covered his ears from that awful voice.

"Big brother could not save the day before, big brother will be unable to save the day again." The sound echoed all around. "My big brother alone can do great things!" A faint green glow circled the frightened child. Strange, blurry mark seemed to swim under his bare feet.

"Wha- ?" Alfred starred at the engravings, unable to look away. Their very presence froze him on the spot, sending a terrifying calm throughout his small body. They felt familiar, comforting… He had to get away, right? Wasn't this bad? He had to get away, he shouldn't be here!

"You are right where you belong, little one." The voice cooed.

"Art- …" What name was he about to say? There was someone that he needed, who needed him, too. But who was it?

"That's it, clear your mind of meaningless distractions." She encouraged the boy. "You need know nothing, feel nothing. Only obey."

"Obey…? His eyes glazed over and his hands fell to his sides. The darkness didn't seem so scary anymore. It was all he knew, all he ever knew. He was supposed to be here, wasn't he? She said so, afterall.

"And you are going to make all big brother's wishes come true…" The voice faded away, leaving Alfred alone.

"Me… make his wish…" The child repeated, still transfixed on the strange symbols. He felt himself getting lost in the light when something jolted him back. A single, faint voice far away. A girl's voice, much softer than the woman from before…

"I'm sorry…" But before Alfred could ask what she was sorry about, the green glow vanished along with the symbols.

Bright sunlight filtered through the curtains of Alfred's bedroom. He was in his bed, in his room, in his home. His home. He was safe under his covers, the nightmare already erased from his mind. He could hear dishes clinking down the hall, water rushing… Arthur must be making breakfast.

"Thank must be why my stomach is doing flips." The boy felt his previous apprehension dissipate. "Nothing more than Arty's cooking, hehe." He lay there a few moments longer, trying to recall the dream he must have been having. He thought back to last night. He had washed and Arthur tucked him in like always… Alfred remembered feeling tired, but having trouble getting comfortable because his knees kept throbbing.

"I must have finally fell asleep." He concluded, "But I had a dream, didn't I?" He racked his brain for any recollection but could find none. All that came from this was an unusual calming feeling in his gut. It didn't feel bad, but it did feel out of place.

"Man, the Halloween season is really getting to me this year." He justified. While he would never admit it to anyone, and no matter how amazing Halloween night was, he always had a lot of nightmares at this time of year. All the ghost hunting specials were on nonstop on tv, and all the class projects and scary stories about witches and goblins got him watching his back. How could no one else be freaked out by all this?

"All this brooding is making me sound like Ludwig…" He smiled at his joke.

"Alfred! Breakfast is almost ready!" Arthur was knocking at his door.

"I'm up!" The child called happily. Breakfast had become like a game to him. How much could he get away with eating to satisfy Arthur and not have a stomach ache the rest of the day? He would never tell his brother, but the man could not cook. At least he had friends like Matthew that always had enough food to share.

Giving no more thought to whatever his dreams might have been about, Alfred began his daily routine and got ready for school.

Hope you enjoyed and thank you for reading!