HELLO EVERYONE~~~
Before you read this, I would like to warn you that there is SOME blood/gore in this chapter, but not a lot.
Also, if you are in a hurry I suggest you wait until later to read this, because this chapter is FOURTEEN FREAKIN PAGES LONG.  Yes? Okay.
And I want to thank you guys so much for reading this story up until now.
It really means a lot.  Seriously.  ;W;
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"Run, run, all you can little poppet~" Arthur says as he lets you gain the lead.  "What a pity that I let you a chance to escape in the first place.  No matter…now I shall enjoy catching you~"

You are in the doorway now and can see a staircase leading out of the room and into freedom.  You take one last glance at the dangerous man standing in this cell; his crazed grin and lonely eyes glaring back to you.

You do not say another word to him, nor do you waltz back into the room.  You loudly slam the door shut, lock it behind you, and run for your life.

England hears the click of the lock as you leave his sight.  His body is still, his glare refusing to leave the door.

Arthur then looks down to his pink vest and rummages through the pockets.  He sighs aloud and closes his eyes.  "Oh dear, I seem to have forgotten my keys upstairs.  I am in quite the troublesome predicament now.  How ever will I escape from here?"

The man chuckled to himself; he knew perfectly well how he was planning to escape.  "It is so very cute…" England whispered "…That you would think I could be stopped by such petty things such as a lock."

~~~~~

You climb to the very top of the staircase and notice a round hatch in the ceiling above you.  You strain to reach its handles until your hand finally has a grip, and you push with all of your might.

You climb out of the hatch and fall onto your back as you pant heavily from exhaustion.  When you finally open your eyes again you are staring directly at the open sky.  Only, this isn't the beautiful blue sky you were so hopefully expecting.

The atmosphere above you is not one of a cheerful summer day.  Instead, the sky is surrounded by an ominous aura.  It is not a lovely blue, but instead a soft and almost crimson red color.  Not a single white cloud is in sight, because every cloud is the color of charcoal, as if they were waiting to pour down rain and thunder at any moment.

You are now becoming quite alarmed with your new surroundings.  You stand up and look around you.  The grass here does not glow with a healthy green color, though it looks as if it were slowly dying.

You find yourself in a very small town.  The houses here are full of gloomy, if not morbid extent.  You walk down the pathways between houses until you hear a door creak open.

You quickly hide behind a dry bush.  The door opens shortly after, revealing that the noise was coming from the house directly across from you.  Soon you notice three figures stepping out from the doorway and onto the lawn.

"Doitsu! Doitsu!"  The first boy says, bouncing up and down like an excited child.

"Yes, Feli, we are going to see Germany.  Now if you would please refrain from repeatedly saying his name, I would be rather grateful, as it is beginning to grow quite annoying."  Says the second figure, who looks slightly like the first.

"What Romano is trying to say is SHUT UP!"  The third man angrily glared at the cheerful boy, who was still bouncing.

The second boy, dubbed as Romano, covered his ears hastily.  "Now, now, Alfred, you know how I despise when people use such vulgar language!  Please do not cause me to feel the need to do anything drastic."

Alfred laughed.  He leaned over until he matched Romano's height.  "What are you going to do, politely talk my ear off until I suffocate myself?!"  He chuckled and straightened up again.

Romano softly closed his eyes and smiled sweetly as he tilted his head to the side.  His right hand was hidden inside his white suit pocket which held a pair of stainless steel scissors.  "Would you like to say that again, dear sir?  I'm afraid I couldn't quite hear you."

The American tightened his grip on the bat in his hand.  He smiled a sinister toothy grin at the lower man before him.  "I said—"

"Ah-chooo!"  You cover your mouth quickly.  You had tried to hold the noise back for as long as you could, but the fact is that sitting behind a dying bush on a dirty pathway is horrible for allergies and you simply couldn't hold back the sneeze.

Three heads turn to look in your direction.  "Who's there!?"  Alfred asks the bush in front of you, knowing there is someone behind it.

"Ve~ Come on out, please.  We won't hurt you~" Feliciano puts on his sweetest smile.

Romano crosses his arms and gives his little brother a disapproving look.  "Feli, don't lie.  I can already sense your blood boiling, and you've got that look full of murderous intent in your eyes.  If you're going to be dishonest at least don't make it so obvious…"

"SHOW YOUR STUPID MONOTONOUS FACE ALREADY BEFORE I DECIDE TO COME OVER THERE AND POUND IT INTO THE DIRT!"  You could tell the American was becoming quite aggravated.  Still, you refused to leave from your hiding spot.

"Boys, you are only going to scare the poor soul away before they have a chance to show themselves.  You can't be so harsh."  The blonde Italian sighed and shook his head.  He then opened his eyes once again and began walking towards you.

You tried to find an escape route, but the man was beside you quicker then you had imagined was possible.  

He crouched by your side and softly took hold of your hand before closing his eyes and sweetly kissing it.  "I am terribly sorry my friends have frightened you, my dear.  Would you please honor us in coming out from this bush?"

The Italian lifted his head until his eyes were completely fixated on you.  His smile gleamed and brightened his entire face.  His eyes, along with Feliciano's, took on nearly the exact color of the sky.

As soon as his tender lips touched your skin you felt a rush of heat come over you.  You could feel your heart beating rapidly inside your chest.  Romano smiled sweetly and almost laughed at the sight of your cheeks matching the sky's red hue.

"O-Okay…"  You say to Romano, who then helps you stand and walk towards the other two.  

As you are walking you finally take in all of your surroundings.  You realize the predicament you in; it is dreadfully the worse thing that could ever happen to you.
Arthur has succeeded in his ever so promised task.  He has brought you to his home.  You were now in the world of Second Players.

"What the heck is a normal girl doing here?!"  Alfred yelled.

"Hmmm, she must have gone through the portal, don't you think~?"  Feliciano sang.

"Yes, that is a good question."  Romano mumbled as he turned to face you again.  "Exactly how did you get here?  And why have you decided to come here of all places?  We do not have visitors very often…"

The three of them stare blankly at you.  You are scared to death, but you know you have to answer them or things may get deadly.  "A-Arthur brought me here…"  You say quietly, barely getting the words out.

"Oh, that idiot…"  Feliciano says as he glares in the other direction.  "Why would he want to bring such a boring child to this world??"

You gulp and try speaking again.  "H-He seemed lonely…maybe he just needed a friend?"

Romano stuffs his hands into his suit pockets and lets an uninterested frown fold onto his lips.  "A friend, huh?  Well that's understandable seeing as nobody ever hangs out with him."

"And it's no mystery why, either!  The man is a freak!"  Alfred shouts as he chuckles to himself.

"Exactly."  Feliciano chimes in.  "He's dumb and careless.  I don't see why anyone would ever want to be in the presence of such a horrid person."

You forget all feelings of being terrified; they are replaced with the feeling of pity and anger.  "How can you say such things?!  He's one of you, isn't he??  He isn't all that bad… He can be sweet sometimes, and he has feelings too!"

"Feelings??"  Romano scoffs.  "What an incredible liar you are.  He has no such thing!"

Feliciano glares.  "He's nothing but a monster."  The other two nod in unison.

Riiiiiiing!

Alfred takes a vibrating cell phone out of his jacket pocket.  "Well speak of the devil…"  He says as his eyes turn to a glare.

"Hmmm?  Is it Arthur?"  Feliciano curiously asks.

Alfred answers the call.  "What is it now dimwad?! …Yeah, I know it's not a 'very polite name' to call someone….yes I'm aware of this now what do you want?? ….That's not….Arthur, come on dude…Alright, alright fine! If I come pick you up will you just shut up already?! Fine…FINE…..YOU KNOW WHAT I'M HANGING UP NOW."

The American shoves the phone back into his jacket pocket and grumbles irritably.  "He wants me to come get him out of his basement, because apparently the idiot forgot his keys and is now locked inside.  How pathetic."

You shrink back a few steps and laugh nervously. "Hahah….yeah…I wonder how that happened."

The three nations do not seem to realize how inadvertently obvious you are being.  You wish, however, that they would focus on a light subject like you locking a psychotic man in a basement, other then what they were speaking about now.

"I say she's just a nuisance.  I haven't had some fun in a loooooong time, Feliciano.  I say we play around with her a bit….By the time I get Arthur out of his stupid predicament you two should have the girl in pretty bad shape, and we can see how important she actually is to the guy."

Romano smirked at hearing the American's gruesome idea.  "Play around with Arthur's emotions?  I'm all in!"

"Ve~ That sounds like fun!"  Feliciano agreed with a broad grin and a happy glare.  "But….wouldn't we have to catch the girl first?"

Romano and Alfred quickly turned their gaze on the path where you had been standing.  All that was left now was an empty road and a small cloud of dust and dirt.  The nations looked around eagerly, but you were no where to be found.  This is, of course, because you ran away at the first chance you saw; especially after hearing just half of what they were planning to do to you.

~~~~~

Alright you little pest, where are you?!"  Alfred growled angrily while walking down what seemed like miles of old and rusty stairs.  The American could not believe he was actually doing this guy a favor, but he assumed that the reward of hearing England's screams as well as yours alike would be worth the trouble.

"Now, now, is that anyway to talk to your host~?"  Alfred heard Arthur's sing-song voice through the heavy door ahead of him.

"I wouldn't necessarily call you a great host either…"  Alfred took a hold of the doorknob and was about to turn the cold, metallic handle when a question struck him.  "Arthur, I don't even know why I'm helping you right now.  Why don't you give me a good reason that I should actually let you out of here."

"You should know better then to challenge me, love."  Arthur replied, his voice muffled by the door in between them.

"That sounds like a pretty weak threat!"  Alfred laughed while swinging his blood stained baseball bat in circles with his freehand.  "I asked for a reason, not a pathetic intimidation attempt."

"A reason, hmmm~?"  Alfred could hear Arthur taking a step away from the door before beginning to slowly walk in a circle; The constant clack of his shoe hitting the floor as he took a step in between each word.  "What clack is a clack good clack reason clack that you clack should let clack me out."

Finally the sounds came to a stop.  England turned towards the door again and smiled in a sickeningly sweet way that was equally threatening.  "The reason, dear Alfred, is simple.  If you do not let me out, I will only find someone else to do the job.  I have ways, my love.  Only, by not doing the simple task that I asked of you in the first place, you will be placed on my bad side.  Once I am released from this temporary imprisonment, I will personally hunt you down if I have to kill every living soul before I know of your whereabouts.  I will find you easily and dig my ever so longing nails into that smooth and lovely, tan and gluttonous skin of yours.  I will dig deep into your fattest and thinnest portions until my hands have dug gaps into your skin.  Only then will I stretch those bloody holes until your skin begins to fall off completely.  I will reach my claws into your system and grab every intestine in your body before ripping them out of your chest.  I will tie you up with your own bloody appendix and force your neck open with a scalpel and use every vein and cartilage to make spaghetti with all of your livers as the main course and your delightful blood as the special ingredient to my tea, and I will grade the remains of your skin like it is moldy cheese until the dry flakes make perfect topping for my cupcakes.  After this I will feed all of this lovely food and drink to your family if I haven't decided to kill them already.  I think it would be quite the better choice that I keep them alive, though, so that I may watch them suffer as they are forced to eat the remains of their loved one……….is this an adequate enough reason for you, Alfred?"

Not even a second passed by before the large door was slammed open, revealing an American who was attempting to hide the immense fear he felt, and failing horribly at it.  "You're a sick dude, you know that?"  Alfred said with a gulp.

"Why thank you, little poppet~!"  England sang as he skipped out the door and started up the staircase.  He stopped halfway up and turned to face Alfred, who was practically frozen in place.  "I am so glad that you didn't force me to use such drastic measures, Alfred dear.  But you should come and visit me later on, and maybe we can try it then~" Without another word Arthur hurried up the remainder of the stairs and out of Alfred's sight.

~~~~~~~~
"Ve~~ There's no need to be scared, we just want to play~" Feliciano swayed back and forth in front of you with a genuine smile across his face.  You would have run from this obvious danger if his Italian brother wasn't holding you in place.

Romano had one hand holding your left arm in a very painful position behind your back; the other hand held a threatening knife to your throat.  He was standing in the perfect position behind you, and could easily kill you at any given time.

"Fratello, do we honestly have to kill the poor child?  You must agree with me that she is quite the lovely human.  I can only see all of this as a waste…"  Romano sighed as he spoke to his younger sibling.

"She is indeed."  Feliciano admitted.  "But we are on Alfred's orders, remember?  And this is not a complete waste…I am sure you will find something to keep your interest soon."

The young Italian seized in his swaying.  He brought out his own knife and pointed the tip less then an inch from your face. "Let's say we have a little fun, Ve~?"

"D-Describe fun..."  You say nervously.

Feliciano lowered the knife to his side.  You felt relieved until the young Italian swooped in to take a kiss.  His lips were soft and gentle; almost fragile.  You were still being restrained, and had no choice but to kiss him in return.

The blood in your veins went cold as you felt his lips curving into an eerie smirk on yours.  Suddenly the gentle motions had disappeared, and he was now practically forcing his tongue into your mouth.

Feliciano giggled, and bit down on your lower lip with what felt like canine teeth.  You could feel a hot liquid forming at the brim of your mouth and you could nearly taste the metallic flavor of red and sticky blood as it pooled from your lip and down your throat.

Finally, when you thought you would faint out of lack of oxygen, the man separated from you.  He closed his eyes cheerily and licked the blood from his lips.  "Mmmm, she is indeed a lovely girl."  Feliciano repeated.

Romano cleared his throat.  "Hey, remember me? Your older brother who's still here?  I would prefer to not be forced into watching my little fratello make out with our victim."

"Don't be so boring, Roma~" Feliciano said with a grin.  "I still want to play with her for a bit more.  You will have your turn soon~"  Romano rolled his eyes.

Feliciano took a tight hold of your right arm; the arm that wasn't being pinned behind your back.  You were suddenly struck with fear as his knife was raised, and the point of the cold blade touched your skin.  In one quick moment, Feliciano pierced the blade deep into your skin, earning a loud scream of pain on your part.  The knife twisted and twirled as it cut into your skin; it almost seemed like the Italian was carving a pattern into your flesh.  You bit your lip in an attempt to hold back another scream as the agonizing pain only seemed to get worse and worse.  By the time Feliciano had carved up half of your forearm, you could see a picture of vines and thorns taking form.

"T-This is sick.  This is…wrong.  You're all senselessly insane!"  You tried to speak even though you were in great pain at the moment and even on the verge of tears.  You could hardly get that one sentence to crawl up your throat and leave your mouth.

"Why thank you, bella."  Romano said sweetly from his position behind you.  "Alright Feli, cut any deeper and she's going to bleed to death.  Let me have some fun too."

"Awww~~" The younger Italian pouted and stuck his lower lip out in an attempt for more time.  But Romano, obviously immune to the boy's tactics, shook his head and told Feliciano to put the knife away.

The brothers then switched spots which left Romano in front of you.  "Alfred said that she would need to be pretty battered if we're going to toy with Arthur's feelings.  I suppose I can not do such horrible things to her by myself.  Would you like to help, Feli?"  Feliciano nodded his head eagerly.  "Well then…"  Romano said with a greedy smile.  "…Let's get started."

~~~~~
"-And I'm telling you that she's at my house!"  Alfred trudged behind Arthur attempting to convince the man of your whereabouts.  But since Alfred wasn't always one hundred percent honest, Arthur did not feel like believing him.

"I do not wish to participate in your constant tom foolery, Alfred."  Arthur said grudgingly.  "The only reason I called for you was so you could assist me; nothing more nothing less.  So if you would close your impudent mouth and leave me be, I would be more then grateful."

"I don't see why you're into her so much."  Alfred scoffed.  "She's nothing but a lousy human.  I thought your standards were higher then that!"  When Arthur did not say anything in return, Alfred continued to speak.  "Is it because you really are lonely?  That's what the girl said, anyway."

Arthur stopped dead in his tracks, forcing the taller man behind him to come to an immediate halt as well or else run into him.  "Could you repeat that for me, Alfred?"  Arthur said without turning to face the man.

Alfred crossed his arms and huffed out his irritation at having to repeat himself.  "I asked if you were lonely, ya freak."

In two seconds flat Alfred was shoved to the ground with Arthur sitting on top of him; his pink and blue eyes wild and blazing with fury.  He took a pair of large scissors and jammed them into the taller man's chest; nearly inches from his feverishly beating heart.

Alfred screamed out in pain and glared and his enemy.  England tore the scissors out of the man's chest and shoved them back in again.  He repeated this until Alfred's lungs began to shatter.

In a desperate attempt at freedom, Alfred raised his bat and swung at England with all of his might.  Arthur dodged the weapon before taking it from his victim's hand.  He raised the bat above his head before bringing it down on Alfred's face.  The sound of agonizing screams and dry skin tearing on the rusty nails filled England's eager ears.

Arthur brought the bat down on his victim's chest, arms, and head in between his words.  The sound of blood splattering everywhere grew louder with each hit.  "You splat will splat take splat that splat BACK!!"

Alfred groaned and gritted his teeth.  He couldn't feel his face or body anymore.  He wasn't she that he wanted to know how bad the form of his face was anyways.

Arthur stood up and began walking away from his nearly dead victim.  He swung the bat around in his hand and hummed to himself.  He did not want an apology from Alfred; he wanted to see him suffer as he died slowly and painfully, but time was ticking and the Englishman was in a hurry to find you.  "So you are at Alfred's house, hmm?"  The man said, thinking aloud.  "Wait for me, little poppet.  I will be there soon."

~~~~

"Ello?  Little poppet where are youuuu~?" England stuck his head through the doorway and peeked inside the dark house.  When no other sounds were heard he quietly walked inside.

"Well look who's here~" Arthur turned around violently at the sound of a voice.  The room was dark and quiet, and he had no idea which direction the noise had come from.

"Did you come here to play with us~?"  A second voice said from the dark before giggling.

Arthur frantically looked around the shadowed room until he found a small lamp.  He turned on the bulb, illuminating the room in a dim light.  The subtle light only reached half of the small room he was standing in, but it was enough to reveal two Italian brothers sitting on the couch; their legs crossed and their eyes wide and full of eager excitement.

"Where is she?!"  Arthur demanded to know; his eyes furiously glowing in the dark.

"What I'd like to know is what you did with poor Alfred."  Romano said, gesturing to the bloodied bat in Arthur's hands.  "I do believe he was supposed to be here with you."

"Alfred dear is currently…distracted with other things."  England paced over to the twins.  He lowered his glare to look them in the eyes.  "There is no need to wait, now.  We can start without him.  A worthless person who dares to stoop as low as he does is not worth my time anyways.  He would only slow us down."

The twins turned a cold glare on England.  "Watch your mouth, Arthur."  Romano said without his eyes ever leaving Arthur's.

"Si~ Alfred may be an idiot, but he's also our friend."  Feliciano chimed in.

"But it is rude to make our guest wait, si?"  Romano asked his little brother.  "We should give him what he wants, then."  Feliciano nodded in agreement and smirked broadly.

Romano snapped his fingers together, and the lights in every room in the house came on at once.  To England's horror, you were sitting merely a few feet away from him.  Your body was covered in bruises and splattered with your own blood.  Your eyes were shut tightly as you breathed heavily.  Your hands tied behind your back.

"What did you do to her!?"  England demanded furiously as he turned to face the brothers again.

"We just had a little fun~" Feliciano stated in response.

"I would have given the honor of doing this to Alfred, but seeing as he isn't here…"  Romano, who had his hand behind his back the entire time, finally revealed what he was hiding; a black skillet.  "I guess I, myself, will have the enjoyment of doing this to you."

England didn't have time to blink before the bone-crushing pan was brought down on his head.  His vision went blurry and his senses refused to work.  Romano brought down the pan one last time, and everything went black.

~~~~

When England awoke his senses were almost completely numb, and his vision was still a tad bit blurry.  His hearing was echoic and dim.  He tried to rub his eyes but noticed that his hands were tied behind his back; much like yours.  He was sitting on the same couch that the Italians sat but a moment ago, though they had moved to the chair across from England now.

"Ohh, butterscotch…"  England moaned as he moved his aching head from side to side.  "Just what do the two of you have against me?"

"Nothing much."  Romano said with a frown.  "We are simply bored, and you are fun to play with.  Isn't that a good enough reason?"

Arthur struggled in his bounds and grimaced at the burning pain the rope gave him.  "Then what of the girl?  There is no need for her to be here."

"She is a part of the fun!"  Feliciano sang happily.  "And I wouldn't struggle too much, or fratello might end up tightening those ropes."

England looked questioningly at Romano, who only nodded somberly in reply.  Feliciano stood up and walked over to you.  Your eyes were still shut, though you could hear everything that was going on.

"Hey, wake up bella~" Feliciano said as he continuously poked your cheek.  "This won't be as much fun if you aren't awake to enjoy it~"

You gradually open your eyes, though it is painful to even do that much.  "What is it?"  You say softly as you try to stay awake. "A-Arthur?"  You look over to the man beside you and shock overwhelms your completely sore body.

There are blood stains soaking his entire form; and you do not know if the blood is his…or someone else's.  There is a worried look on his face, as if he is genuinely scared.

"E-Ello, poppet."  England says nervously.  "Are you enjoying your stay here?"

You close your eyes again and grumble to yourself.  What kind of question is that!?

"Now then, let's see how much pain we can inflict on your damaged friend, shall we?"  Romano stood from his chair and walked over to you.  Feliciano held England down so he couldn't even struggle.  You couldn't do anything now but expect the worse.

"You're going to hurt her?!"  England shouted, a worried tone in his voice.  "Why!? What purpose could damaging her even more possibly suffice you with?!  What—"

"Because you love her."  Was the response that Romano gave.  "Because watching her slowly die is going to make you suffer greatly; and that is what we want."

England had no words to say after that.  He bit down hard on his lip and turned his head away, but you had already seen it; a light blush was coming across his troubled face.

"Let's begin."  Romano stated.
He picked up Alfred's bat from the floor and forcefully pulled out one of the rusty nails.  With nothing but his own strength, Romano sent the nail flying towards your head; it hit with great force and dug deep into your scalp, enough to crack the skull underneath.

You screamed out in pain, barely even trying to hold back the shrieks and tears now.  It seemed like Romano fully intended to engrain the nail into your skull completely.

The action was repeated, and a stream of blood begin to pour down your face.  "Her skull is incredibly thick."  Romano said with disgust before moving the nail's point towards one of your eyes.  "Maybe gouging out her eye would prove more sufficient."

"STOP!!"  
Romano's hand hovered away from your face and rested at his side.  He looked towards Arthur and impatiently waited for him to continue.

"Stop it….please…"  England begged.  "T-The screaming…I….I can't watch her suffer like this.  PLEASE, just stop this madness at once!"  Arthur's eyes were tightly shut, but a stream of tears had already begun pouring down his face.

"It was my choice to bring her here."  England continued.  "It is my fault….that she is in this predicament right now.  It's me you want, isn't it?  You said that you wished to see me suffer…"

"Yeah, so?"  Romano said with a shrug.  "You aren't getting out of it this easily, Arthur.  I don't know what you are hoping for but it won't work."

"I don't wish to get out of this; I know it is my fault.  I wish to get her out of this."  Arthur glanced up to look at you.  Watery pink and blue eyes stared into yours thoughtfully.

"And what makes you think we are going to let her out of this so easily either~?"  Feliciano asked with a giggle.  "You are both in too deep now."

Arthur turned his gaze away from you and looked into Romano's eyes instead.  "Please."  He begged once again.  "If you want to see me suffer then hurt me personally; don't use a childish tactic like bringing someone else into this."

The twins looked at each other; their expressions carrying on a conversation.  Finally, Romano said "You realize that if we let the girl be and take it out on you instead, the pain will be brought on a thousand times worse."

England nodded.  "I know that, but I truly do not care.  I just want her safety now, alright??"

Romano sighed and picked up Alfred's bat again with the nail still in his other hand.  He walked over to Arthur and frowned.  You were grateful to have the nail so far away from you now, but you were also worried about Arthur.  Of course, it was his fault that you were in this kind of trouble in the first place, so why were you worried?  Why did you care if Arthur was to be hurt right before your eyes?  Why did you seem so happy inside when you heard the words 'You love her.'

Feliciano released his grip on England; but he did not try and escape.  The young Italian took the nail from his brother's hand and placed the tip directly above England's head.  Romano raised the bat above his head and aimed for the nail.

You wanted to scream, and to plead for them to stop, but no sound came out of your mouth.  Your throat was dry; it could not form any words.  All you could do was watch in horror as the bat was brought down on that rusted item, forcing the nail to dig far into England's skull, until it was nearly invisible.

Arthur let out a bloodcurdling scream.  The agonizing pain he felt showed clearly on his face.  The Italian in front of him grew annoyed of his screams, and punched the man clear in the eye.  Arthur winced, but took the pain without screaming again.

Any normal human would have died by having a nail engrained into their skull.  Any normal human wouldn't have been able to take the beating that Arthur was taking right now.  But then again, Arthur isn't normal.  Arthur isn't human.


You watched in horror as England was kicked, punched, shoved, cut into, and hit with a baseball bat.  All the while your hands were busy struggling out of your bounds.  You tugged and pulled at the ropes, and squeezed your wrists out of every loop that was binding them together.  Finally you slipped out of the ropes.

"England!"  You shouted at the top of your lungs in hope that the word would form.  You nodded to the man whose attention was now fully on you.  England took your short motion as a signal, and with what strength he had left, Arthur kicked his leg up high and ended up striking Romano's member.  A shot of pain was sent up the Italian's body as he stumbled to the ground.  Feliciano gasped and ran over to his older brother.

Before the twins could realize what was happening you lunged from the couch and took a hold of Arthur's arm and lead him out of the house.  You could hear Romano shouting Italian swears out the door, but you did not stop or turn around to look.  You kept a tight grip on Arthur's arm as you both fled away from the house.

~~~~

England huffed tired breaths as he sat along the wall in his basement.  You apply a wet rag to his wounds, which makes him wince every other second.  He looks up to you with pained and curious eyes.  "Why did you do that?"  He asks softly.

"Do what?"  You reply as you wipe the blood from his face.  "Why am I treating your wounds?  Or are you asking why I decided to save you back there, even though this is your fault entirely."

Arthur laughed weakly.  "I'm asking both, I guess."

You placed the rag on the ground and looked deeply into England's eyes; they were so crazed, and insanely manic.  Yet… they were also alluring, and full of kindness, and hope.  You did not want to gaze into them for too long in fear that they might trap you in this moment forever.

"I helped you because…."  You looked down at your hands.  They were bloodstained at bruised, just like the rest of your body.  All you wanted to do was make a simple batch of cupcakes, yet England had other plans.  You wanted to be a lazy couch potato all day, yet England had kidnapped you, poisoned you, drugged you, choked you, brought you to a dangerous world and then asked for help.  So why did you help him?

"Poppet?"  England tilted his head to the side and awaited your reasons.  He did not seem insane, or manic, or violent or murderous in any way, shape, or form.  In this moment, he could be the sweetest guy on earth.  The most gentle and caring man you know.

You lean in close to Arthur, and lightly kiss his forehead.  England winces and blushes all at the same time.  He recoils away from your soft touch with a bewildered expression on his face.  You smile sweetly and stand to your feet, and extend a hand out to help him up.  "Love is a crazy thing, isn't it?"

England lets the tinniest smile curve on his lips.  He reaches up and gently takes your hand to stand by your side.  He is perfectly content with your given reason.

"Arthur…"  You look into his eyes again, a sad expression hovering in both of them now, as he knows what you will say next.  "You know I can't stay here forever.  I have friends and family.  I have my own life to live."

"I know that…"  Arthur says with a somber sigh as he looks down at his feet.  "It was wrong of me to think that forcing you here would make you want to stay.  I'm….terribly sorry."

You were about to comfort him, and tell him that it was alright, even though it wasn't.  However, England gently pulled you into another room before you could speak a word.  He opened the door to what seemed like nothing more then an old closet, but behind this door lie a portal.  The portal to home.

"This is….how I go back and forth between my world and yours.  It is the difference between first and second player.  It is the only thing separating us."  England releases your hand and motions towards the swirling colors that lie on the other side of the door.  "I won't force you to stay here, love.  I will give you two choices."

Two choices? You thought curiously to yourself.  You wandered what they could be.  Would England tell you that if you chose to leave him, he would kill your family and loved ones? Would it be something equally as horrible?

"Here are your choices, poppet.  One, you stay here with me, and I promise to keep you safe from anything and everything.  Including myself."

You look at Arthur with wondering eyes.  His words were not ones that you expected.

"Your second choice…"  England continued.  "…Is to go back home.  If you choose this, then I will promise to never bother you again.  I will murder myself before I ever step one foot into this portal after you make your choice."

You suddenly feel as if you can not breathe.  Your choices were to stay here with Arthur, with the one you love, and risk the possibility of nearly being killed again.  Or, to go home and be with your family, but never see Arthur again.

"Well, little poppet…"  England said with a light smile on his lips and a great sparkle in his eyes.  "What do you choose?"