Chapter 7: Sangue

The next morning dawned on the sleeping nations with a melancholy Italy still watching over them. He looked tired and stressed, as he'd not only gotten no sleep the night before, but had spent most of that time agonizing over which memories were coming up. He knew that particular memory wouldn't be far off. Perhaps they'd even see it today. We probably will... he thought to himself, letting his shoulders sag in depression.

His head suddenly whipped up as his instinct screamed at him that something was amiss. What could it be? He stilled, straining his eyes against the grey expanse of nothing that made up the Aurora. He thanked his gut silently for telling him to keep watch from the roof of the house.

There! He heard it this time. The unmistakable cry of a Contaminoid. "Shit!" He cursed, jumping to his feet. "Everybody up!" He barked through the open windows, startling the nations out of their slumber.

"Italy?" France asked, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He'd appreciate a few more hours of sleep. "What's wrong? It's still early."

"Up!" He demanded again, scaring the nations with his no-nonsense tone.

"Dude? What's wrong?" America shook himself awake and stood up, alert and surveying his surroundings, as the other nations joined them outside. He squinted at a steadily growing black dot in the sky heading towards them.

Italy stepped forward. "Stay behind me. And for the love of whatever you hold dear. Please don't try to help." He ordered, pulling out his Dite. "Restoration. 0-2!" His dormant Dite suddenly transformed into the twin short swords they'd seen in the memory yesterday.

"O-oi! Veneziano? What's the matter?" Romano asked, anxious. If his brother was activating his Dite...

"We're about to have company. Like I said earlier—stay back. I can't guarantee your safety or survival unless you stay out of my way." He sent a glare in the direction of the Nations. Maybe this will make everything more... tangible for them?

Then, with very little warning, Italy sped off to meet the enormous Contaminoid. Now, seeing it in person and up close—somehow very different from the memories they'd been watching thus far—everything started to feel so much more real to the nations. They watched, too scared by the sudden appearance of the grotesque monster for even Romano to try to keep his brother from running towards it. Though every one of them was equally terrified for themselves and Italy.

Italy, however, had no such reservations. "Oh, it's you." He smirked, feeling the familiar trill of excitement run through him. Oh, how I missed this. He recognized this particular Contaminoid as one who'd escaped him in Glendan once. "Let's finish this, shall we, Edgar?" He let out a low chuckle as he nimbly and elegantly dodged a very quick strike, lashing out with his own blades to cut off a limb. He flared his Kei as he did so, causing ice to spread across the injury, preventing the creature from regenerating as quickly.

He then jumped high, slicing off wings on both sides, jumping off just as the beast hit the ground, causing a massive shockwave that made the observing nations stumble badly. He then cut it down the middle, trying to find its heart before it could regenerate.

The nations, on the other hand, watched on in awe. Italy was moving with such speed that even those more attuned to following quick movements could make out no more than a blur.

"When did Itary-kun get so fast?" Japan wondered aloud.

"Maybe he was this fast in the memories, but because they were his memories, we never noticed?" America suggested, still trying to digest that the freaky overgrown cockroach in front of him was real.

Prussia let out a low whistle as Italy sliced the thing in half. Again. "Is it just me? Or does it almost look like he's having... fun?"

"Yeah, he is. Veneziano's always enjoyed fights like this. Ones that challenged him. He never liked war because it drags innocent people into a conflict that isn't theirs, and forces him to fight against his friends. But personal fights? Yeah, he loves them. We both do." Romano elaborated, stuffing his hands in his pockets. Hey, there was no way he could fight that thing. And if his brother couldn't beat it, then they were all screwed. So there was no use in worrying himself. Either Veneziano would win, or they'd all die. He still wished he could work one of those Dites, though.

It took Italy a good twenty to thirty minutes of constant fighting and jumping around before he finally found the stupid heart. "There!" He smirked wickedly as he diced it into tiny pieces, causing the Contaminoid to roar in pain and frustration as it finally curled up and died, falling to the ground—its wings re-grew earlier—with a monumentous crash, landing just behind Italy like some epic movie scene.

Everything was silent for a moment before Italy deactivated his Dite and casually walked over to his friends. Only when he came closer did they see how beat-up he'd gotten in said fight (they hadn't really registered when the Contaminoid had thrown him from the air multiple times).

"Well, that was a workout. Didn't expect him." Italy rolled his shoulder to work out a few kinks before looking himself over to take stock of his injuries.

"DUDE!! That was kick-ass! That was awesome!" America started bouncing in place.

"Aiyaa! How many broken bones do you have?!" China rushed forward to help tend the injuries—he got thrown to the ground three times!—but Italy just smiled and waved him off.

"Relax. Bruised ribs, bruises, and cuts. Nothing that needs stitches or anything else. I just look bad because I've always bruised easy. Nothing major." He shrugged, looking at the disbelieving stares of the others. "Internal Kei. I reinforced my body whenever I took a hit. I fought this Contaminoid before, in Glendan. He still had the same battle strategy, so I just remembered the last time and used that information to defeat him for good this time. The only reason he got away beforehand was because there was a child I had to save."

"Still, man! That was incredible!" America gushed.

"Well, seeing as we're all awake, and I doubt anyone will want to head back to sleep after that, why don't I make breakfast?" France offered. The others nodded in agreement; glad to have a distraction from the very large very real dead Contaminoid lying outside of their temporary house.

About an hour later, amidst the friendly chatter of the nations, the environment around them shimmered back to the lab from the future once more.

"Hey! We weren't ready yet!" Prussia protested.

"Apparently, the Aurora was." Russia shrugged.

They watched as the three stood before a gate-like object that looked like something out of a Stargate Atlantis episode.

"Dude, what is that?!" America looked like he wanted nothing more than to poke it.

"It's the teleportation device." Italy stated proudly.

"You mean you finished it?!" Romano blinked in surprise before studying it more closely.

"So you have to—" Lovino started to explain something to his brother, before Feli cut him off.

"Fratello! For the millionth time, I know what to do. I use my Dite's power to fly over to the Blast Point Islands, set up the other side of the portal, and come back through said portal. As quickly as possible." Feliciano rolled his eyes, obviously having heard his brother say this more than once.

"But you have to be careful. Don't forget! That suit will only protect you for three hours maximum in that kind of environment. Beyond that, you'll die. Permanently." Lovino crossed his arms.

"We're just worried about you, Feli-nii." Kiku smiled softly.

"I know, I know." Feli looked a little guilty. "I suppose I'm just nervous, is all. Nobody's been to the BPI since..." He teared up a little bit as he thought of Alfred.

"I know. I miss him too." Lovino said softly, as Kiku looked down for a moment. America didn't say anything, but he was touched that these three nations would still be so affected by his death all these millennia later.

"But that's why we're doing this, hai? To honor his memory." Kiku smiled.

"Okay, I'm heading out." Feli gave them a thumbs-up as he donned a futuristic looking skin-tight suit with a helmet and an oxygen tank.

"If our calculations are correct, it's roughly a two-hour long flight from our current location to the Islands." Kiku stated, typing on the computer at a rapid speed. "Setting up the equipment should only take you ten minutes or so maximum. Once that's complete, send us the signal, and we'll open the portal from our end. If all goes well, we can start transferring the materials immediately, and get you back here with an hour to spare."

"Right." Feli grinned, before opening a small hatch in the floor, revealing the moving ground beneath the Regios.

"Do be careful, Master Vargas. I have grown rather fond of you." Upwhur called out from his perch on Kiku's shoulder.

"We'll keep in radio contact the entire time, so if you need anything, please let us know." Kiku reminded him.

Feli gave a nod as he dropped down, activating his Dite's fourth restoration, forming the wings from yesterday's memory.

"So you are flying all the way to America?" Russia asked, a little surprised that he could keep that form for so long.

"Si. Out of the three of us, not only was my form the fastest, but I could hold it for longer than either Fratello or Kiku. So I was really the only option to go." Italy gave the nations a shrug.

The memory blurred for a moment before refocusing on a flying Feliciano. The nations looked down to see land... or what was once likely land. It was a desolate landscape of earth. No plants... no animals... the occasional rock formation that dared to rise out of the flat expanse looked extremely weathered and worn down. It was surreal, and some of the flat areas on the surface of the ground was nearly reflective.

"Okay, I'm here." Feliciano spoke as he landed, leaving footprints in the fine sand.

"Good. Set up wherever looks good." Lovino's voice came over the headset.

"It's so... different." Feli sounded close to tears. "There's nothing here, fratello. Just... nothing."

America swallowed hard. It hurt him to see what would've become of his nation if Italy hadn't come back in time to save their asses. He didn't know if he could ever repay the Italian for what he'd done.

Feliciano threw a small box to the ground. "Portal Cube 0-1. Activate." The box glowed and beeped for a moment before it started constructing itself into a Portal Gate like the one back in the lab. Meanwhile, Feli decided to take a look around.

"Oh? What's this?" He asked himself when he saw what looked like an odd piece of rock sticking up about an inch from the ground. He tried to pick it up, but it wouldn't budge. He thought for a moment, before creating an ice-shovel with his winter powers and dug. A small time-lapse of a few minutes showed that he'd uncovered the flame of what was once the Statue of Liberty.

"Oh, God." America breathed, realizing his city had been buried beneath millennia of erosion and sand. He hadn't realized he'd been crying until Canada wiped away a stray tear. He felt nauseous and had to clap his hand over his mouth to swallow back his bile. My homeland... my country... my people...

"Oh, Al." The quiet nation brought his twin into a hug. Nobody commented on America's tears. All things considered, they'd be surprised if he didn't cry. The rest of the nations were beyond disturbed at seeing the ruins of a well-known city.

"America..." Feliciano spoke sadly. "I'm sorry nobody could protect you like you always tried to protect us. In the end, you were a true hero, no matter what anyone else says. I'm glad, though... that you didn't survive to see what this world has become."

Feliciano's head whipped up when he heard the distinct sound of a Contaminoid approaching. "Shit!" He cursed under his breath. In his moment of grief for his fallen friend, he'd let his guard drop.

"Feli-nii?!" Kiku's urgent and worried voice sounded across the radio. "What's wrong?"

The portal had finally finished forming, but Feliciano kept his gaze on the quickly approaching massive monster. "Well, the portal's ready, Fratello. But I've got a bit of an uninvited guest. I'll entertain him while you gather the materials." He activated his Dite, forming the twin blades, and ran off into battle.

"Wait! Feliciano! Ack! He never listens to me." Lovino huffed as the portal whirled to life. The blue light swirled like something straight out of a sci-fi movie before the image cleared to show Lovino and Kiku standing in the lab, also decked out in the same suit that Feli wore. Lovino glared but started moving the soil across the portal.

"Feli! Be careful!" Kiku warned. "You don't have much time left. You've got maybe thirty or forty minutes before your oxygen tank is eroded through."

"I'm fully aware, thank you!" His reply came out a little snippy as he barely dodged a strike from the scorpion-like beast. It raised its tail threateningly, and Feliciano only barely managed to avoid the strike that followed. He was then blindsided by a strong hit from its claw, which threw him across the sandy tundra into a rather large pit that had formed from his brother's digging.

"I'm almost done!" Lovino informed. "Are you okay?!"

"Well, I'm alive. But it's getting painful to breathe..." He glanced back when he heard a hissing noise. "SHIT! My tank's been compromised!"

"That doesn't look very good." Prussia gulped, seeing the puncture in the tank.

"No, really?" Romano bit back a little harsher than was probably necessary, but he was worried, damnit!

"Fuck! Feliciano Vargas! Get back here NOW! I'm closing the portal!" Lovino ordered, but Feliciano found that some of his tank equipment was stuck between some of the now unburied rubble of New York.

With a few choice words, he detached his equipment, and barely dodged the massive tail that would've impaled him.

"Too close." Feli muttered, before coughing violently. He was moving a lot slower, now, as he switched his Dite to its fourth restoration, flying out of the death pit and back towards the portal. "Close it!" He ordered through a heavy coughing fit.

"What?! But you—"

"NOW!!" Feliciano cut his twin off.

"... Che. I hope you know what you're doing." Lovino cussed under his breath as he typed in the sequence.

Feliciano passed safely through the portal just a moment before it closed, trapping the scorpion on the Islands. He landed in a heap on the floor of the lab.

"Feliciano!" Kiku cried out, hurrying to get the helmet and other equipment off of him.

His breathing was labored, and he looked pale. "Shit! How much of that did you breathe?!" Lovino demanded, but his only answer was a terrible cough from his brother. To their horror, blood splattered to the floor.

"O-oi!" Romano flinched when he saw that.

"My lungs couldn't take the acidity of the air there. Don't worry, though! Kiku saved my life." Italy reassured the nations.

"Lovino, back off! I can help!" Kiku quickly laid Feli on his back and held his hands over his chest. They started to glow a warm green color, and Feli started to breathe easier. He kept this up for nearly twenty minutes until sweat was dripping heavily from the Asian's brow.

Finally, he pulled away. Feliciano was now in a gentle slumber. "There." He panted, exhausted. "I've fixed what I can. He'll need some rest, now. He'll be fine."

"Arigatou." Lovino's shoulders sagged with relief as he thanked the other nation. He didn't even bother to wipe the tears from his eyes.

"What was that?" England asked, looking at Japan.

"Do-don't ask me!" He shook his head.

"Another gift that Kiku had obtained from an Electronic Spirit. He gained the ability to heal from Guia. However, it costs a heavy amount of kei." Italy glared at Japan in annoyance. "You nearly pushed yourself to death trying to save my life. And while I'll thank you for doing so, you really should've been more careful. You were unconscious for nearly as long as I was!"

"And how long was that?" Romano asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Three weeks." Italy sighed.

"Yikes! I'm glad you survived, though!" Prussia grinned.

"Yeah, me too." Italy smiled softly. "I'm so glad I was able to prevent all this."

"You know..." America looked up at the sky for a moment. "I want to thank you again, Italy. You went through hell for us. Because you never gave up hope, we never had to die or see this kind of future." He leveled Italy with a rare serious look. "We owe you our lives. Each and every one of us."

"He's right." England nodded in agreement.

"Da... If you need anything at all, I will be there." Russia smiled.

"And if you ever want something... you can count on me." Canada grinned. The others started piping up, but Italy just stared at them, flustered.

"I-I-I don't want you to think that you're indebted to me or anything!" His face burned a bright red, making Romano laugh and poke his cheek.

"I know you don't get sunburns. I don't think I've seen you flush this hard since that one Easter where mpff—" Italy's hand clapped over Romano's mouth as he shot his twin a furious glare.

"You said you'd never mention that!"

"Mention what?" Romano shot back. "This is payback for earlier, in the tunnels." He stuck out his tongue.

"You're such a child, fratellino." Italy teased.

"OI! I'M THE OLDER ONE!"

"Not anymore." Italy smirked. "I've got a cool five thousand years on you, now."

"That's not exactly something to brag about, you know." Romano pouted.

The scene darkened before coming back. This time, they were standing in an unfamiliar city.

"Where are we?" France asked, confused. Italy grinned.

"You'll see."

"Finally!" Lovino had a proud smile on his face, which was mirrored by the other two nations.

"It's finished!" Feliciano proclaimed.

"Hero's Freedom!" Kiku hoisted an American Flag up the central pole of the newly christened Regios.

America looked around. It felt like home, in a sense. The architecture looked like a conglomeration of some of his major cities. He could make out touches of New York, California, hell, even Texas and Maine! He spied a (very) miniature Golden Gate bridge off in the distance, and a Statue of Liberty replica in the East. A miniature White House seemed to be the main welcoming center, and there was even a large statue of himself with a bald eagle on his shoulder in the center of the Regios. His statue-self wore his signature bomber jacket with the number 50 on the back, and his right arm was outstretched towards a new horizon. A large grin full of excitement and hope finished off the statue, and America couldn't help but cry when he saw the plaque honoring not only himself, but his people.

"Thank you." America smiled at the three.

"Don't thank me, I didn't do anything." Romano held up his hands defensively. Japan also turned his head.

"It was the least we could do. You were as much a victim as anyone else." Italy explained with a soft smile. "This is 3200 TF, by the way."

"It took you almost a thousand years to build this?!" China gasped in surprise.

"Technically it only really took us a little over two hundred years." Italy corrected. "We had to finish the teleportation machines first. And let me tell you! Those Portal Gates are very tricky to make!"

"Ready for Launch?" Feliciano asked, speaking into a headset. The nations realized that Lovino and Kiku were nowhere to be seen. In fact, they realized that they were now back in Upwhur.

"Si. All ready on my end. Kiku?" Lovino's voice sounded.

"Hai. The citizens are all prepared. Everybody's ready." Kiku announced.

"Attention, People of Hero's Freedom! The Regios will now commence launching sequence. This is Feliciano Vargas speaking, one of the creators of the Regios you have now chosen to call home. My brothers and I dedicate this Regios to a good friend of ours—To Alfred F. Jones! GOD BLESS AMERICA!" He hit a button and the Star Spangled Banner played as the Regios took its first steps into the world on its own. The American flag flew proudly atop the highest point in the city, and America felt tears well up in his eyes, as they were shown the newest city carry off into the distance.

"Thank you. I can't thank you enough." America gave Italy a watery smile.

"I understand, America. That's why I wanted to do it." Italy gave his fellow nation a hug. "I'm glad I could revive some part of you."

The scene faded out. It took longer than usual for the next scene to crop up. It showed Feli, Lovi, and Kiku all riding together in the Roamer.

"So that lead was another bust." Lovino huffed as he drove. Even Kiku seemed disappointed.

"Hai. I feel like we've spoken to every fucking Regios there is! I'm starting to wonder if we're chasing a fool's dream." Kiku's cussing startled the other nations, and Italy stiffened.

"Hey, Saya? Can we break for lunch?" Italy asked, as the memory paused and shimmered back into their break house.

"Italy? Is something the matter?" France asked, concerned. Italy had never stopped a memory in the middle before.

"Well, I'm just hungry and—"

"Cut the crap. Something really bad's going to happen, isn't it?" Romano cut him off. Italy looked down and nodded.

"I don't think anyone will want to eat after watching the next memory, so I thought that maybe we should eat now."

"Another death?" Germany asked gently. He hated being unable to help his friend when he was hurting.

Romano stiffened. So that was it. No wonder his brother didn't want to talk about it. He must've died. That was the only explanation. Or gotten so badly hurt that he was comatose or something. Or maybe he lost Kiku? Maybe I'm not dead in the future, and it's only Kiku. Either way... I have to try to help him somehow. But is there anything I can do or say to make it better?

"I'm not exactly hungry right now. Anyone?" America asked, uncharacteristically quiet. The rest of the nations shook their heads.

"So I suppose that means we're all in favor of continuing the memory?" Prussia asked, and in answer to his question, the memory faded back in.

"Don't say that!" Feliciano clenched his fists as he glared at Kiku. "It's real! I know it is!"

"I'm not saying that it isn't!" Kiku quickly defended himself. "But you have to think... what if we don't find it? Or what if, when we do it only has the power to turn back time a couple of days or years?"

"It'll work! It has to!" Feli argued.

"Fratello, you're being unreasonable. We both knew that there was always the possibility that this fairy didn't really exist. We've been chasing rumors for millennia! Perhaps it's time we—"

"Give up?! No! You two want to give up and live in this God forsaken world, fine! But I'm not going to give up! I can't! We've lost everyone! How could we possibly—"

The Roamer was suddenly T-boned hard, causing it to fly through the air. Luckily, Kiku seemed to have won the earlier argument of putting in seatbelts. The three were jostled around like ragdolls before the vehicle finally rolled to a stop.

Romano couldn't help but wince at the earlier argument and subsequent attack. He didn't have a very good feeling about this.

"FUCK!" Lovino cursed as he grabbed his Dite and a small rebreather. He tossed another rebreather to the other two.

"Those are small devices we developed to purify the air as it was taken into our lungs. They work for short periods of time." Italy softly explained. He didn't want to watch this. He didn't want to relive this. He still had nightmares.

Outside was a very large, very angry Mature Contaminoid. And it wasn't alone. "Is that...!?" Feliciano gasped as he recognized the scorpion Contaminoid from the Blast Point Islands.

"Just so you guys know..." Italy's voice sounded hollow, which only served to increase the nations' anxiety. "It's 3502 TF."

"How the fuck did it get here?!" Lovino yelled as the three of them activated their Dites, and begun the battle. They took care of Scorpion's companion easily enough. Feliciano's golden threads in his Dite's third restoration sliced up the nameless Contaminoid very nicely. But sometime during the fight, they'd lost track of Scorpion.

"Hey..." Lovino stopped, looking around at the now very quiet battlefield. "Where's the other one?"

Kiku and Feli immediately went on high alert. Unfortunately, they hadn't expected it to burst out of the ground behind Lovino.

"It buried itself?!" Kiku cried out in shock, as Lovino whirled around to slice off its pincers. His Dite, however bounced harmlessly off the large claw that it brought forth to guard itself with.

"Che! That claw's too strong! Feli! Go around!" He called out, barely dodging a tail swipe.

"Right!" Feliciano dashed as fast as he could to get around the creature, but was knocked away and into a nearby rock so hard that he left a crater.

"Fratello!" Lovino cried out in worry. The Scorpion took its chance and grabbed Lovino harshly with its claw before throwing him up in the air.

"Oh, God... no..." Spain's eyes widened in horror as he realized what they were about to witness. Even Romano was pale and trembling slightly.

Feliciano looked up in horror. "FRATELLO!" He screamed. "NOOO!" His scream was terrible. Unearthly. The pain encompassed in that scream made several nations flinch violently. Canada in particular looked ill.

Lovino looked up for a moment, seeming to lock eyes with the nations watching. "Futura praeteritis sunt. Memoriae!" He called out. "If I'm going out, then I'm taking you with me, you overgrown cockroach!" He turned and streamlined straight for Scorpion's mouth. Then there was a terrible crunch, and then a terrible silence. A moment later, the Scorpion self-destructed as Lovino sacrificed whatever life was left within him to rapidly expand the Kei in his body, causing a rather spectacular explosion.

"I'm sorry!" Italy cried, hugging Romano for dear life. "I'm so sorry! I should've saved you! I—"

"Shh. Shh, that's enough, Felice... It wasn't your fault." Romano comforted him quietly. But those words... Why would he say those words before he died? What purpose did they serve?

It seemed that Kiku was also horrified by what he'd just witnessed. "Futura praeteriti— what now?" He spoke the words aloud in confusion, as he numbly made his way towards Feliciano.

"Feli-nii?" He asked gently. Feliciano showed no sign of having heard him. He continued to stare at the place his brother had perished. "Feliciano?" Kiku tried again.

"Fratello? Where's my brother? Kiku, where'd he go? He's hiding, right?" Feliciano asked brokenly. Kiku looked at him with sorrow and pity.

"I'm sorry... I couldn't protect him." Kiku deactivated his Dite. "But we need to get you taken care of. You're hurt." Kiku gently touched the back of Feliciano's head, his hand coming away with blood.

"Aiyaa... what a nasty concussion..." China muttered.

"Hold on a moment..." Kiku quickly made his way over to the Roamer and got out the first aid kit. He wrapped Feliciano's head after disinfecting the wound as best he could. "There. That should do until we can get back to—" He stiffened for a moment before he whirled around. It seemed that the first Contaminoid wasn't as dead as it seemed.

"It can regenerate?!" Kiku cried out in shock. He had barely enough time to grab Feliciano and shield him from the brunt of the blow.

"DIDI!" China cried out as Kiku and Feliciano were thrown a fair distance. The smaller nation did his best to take the brunt of the landing for his golden-eyed companion.

"Itai..." Kiku winced, stopping for a moment to spit up blood. He gasped for breath as his shirt started to turn red. Even still, he was more concerned with his friend. "Feli!" It seemed that the poor Italian was still in shock.

"Daijobu... I'll protect you." Kiku promised as he re-activated his Dite. The battle was fierce and gruesome. With his injuries, Kiku was much slower than normal, and Feliciano came out of his shock enough to notice this. He staggered to his feet, barely able to keep his balance. His steps seemed to take more effort than they should've and he appeared to have problems focusing. His concussion was so bad that he could barely walk. The nations watching knew that there was no way he could possibly help Kiku in this fight.

They continued to watch the scene in shock and horror until Kiku finally managed to kill the heart of the Contaminoid. The beast fell and curled up, dead. Kiku staggered back to Feliciano, but collapsed partway there, too weak to stand back up.

Feliciano staggered over to his fallen friend. "Kiku! You-you're going to be okay!"

But as soon as the nations got a good look at his injuries, they could tell that he was lying. "Italy." Kiku stated seriously, causing the golden-eyed boy to quiet down. "Listen to me. We both know I'm not going to make it. Not with the medical technology of this time." He stopped to catch his breath. "And we aren't immortal anymore..."

"Please! You can't just leave me alone! I... I can't do it!" Feliciano sobbed.

"Y-yes you can." Kiku sent his friend a smile. "I'm sorry. For earlier. That time fairy... it's real. I know it is. You can find it. If you must have hope to move forward, then hope! Find it... I promise you... I'll watch over you..." His eyes started to dull, and the nations could see that he was nearly gone. China grabbed Japan's hand to assure himself that his dìdì was alive. "I wonder what Lovi-kun meant? Futura praeteritis sunt. Memoriae..." With that, Kiku's chest stilled, and he went entirely limp in Feli's arms.

"K-Kiku?" Feli asked, brokenly. He gently tried to shake his friend awake. "I... I'm sorry, too..." He sobbed. They were terrible, broken sobs as he cradled his old friend.

The nations had tears in their eyes too. After watching everything Feli and Lovi had been through together... and then Kiku... And now Italy was left all alone? How did he manage to go on?

The scene changed again, but this time, they found themselves back in the break room. The heavy atmosphere was something nobody dared to break.

"Futura praeteritis sunt. Memoriae..." Japan muttered under his breath. He wanted to know what that meant. But as soon has he said it, he felt a horrific headache flare up. He gasped in pain as he clutched his skull. The room seemed to crack and splinter and tilt sickeningly.

"Japan!" China cried out, catching his brother as he fell. He seemed out of it, like he was in too much pain to be aware of his surroundings.

"Japan?! What's wrong?!" Italy asked in worry.

"Give him some space!" Germany demanded, causing everyone to back off. It took several minutes, but Japan eventually shook his head, coming back to himself.

"Oh." He said. Then, much to the shock of the room, he started to cry. But before anyone could do anything, he started laughing.

"Uhhh.... Is he okay?" America asked, concerned. He seemed like he had a screw loose all of a sudden... well, more so than nations usually did.

Japan calmed down, wiping away his tears. "Hai. I will be fine." He answered softly.

"Gomen, Feli-nii. I didn't mean to die on you." Japan locked eyes with Italy, and there was a sudden flash of disbelief and understanding.

"N-no way! But... how?" Italy asked, numbly.

"Do you still have it?" Japan asked, holding out his hand. Italy nodded and handed him his Dite.

"Restoration, 0-2." He stated, forming the Katana. He smiled softly before deactivating it.

"Wait! The Awesome me is very confused!! What's going on?!" Prussia shouted, startling the group.

"Romano-kun." Japan looked over at the Italian. "Do you remember those words future-you spoke before...?" He trailed off, a pained look overcoming his features.

"Yeah. Why?" The older Italian shifted uneasily, not sure where this was going.

"Say them." Japan left no room for question. This wasn't a request; it was an order.

"W-what?" Romano was somewhat offended. Where did Japan of all people get off ordering him around!?

"Just trust me." Japan gave him a wry smile. Romano hesitated for a moment, before he sighed.

"Fine. Futura praeteritis sunt. Memoriae. There, happy?" He crossed his arms, before he also experienced a similar phenomena to Japan. The Asian nation caught him, and gently laid him down on the couch.

"Would you mind explaining to the rest of us what's going on?" England spoke up.

"Oh, my fucking head. A little warning would've been nice, Kiki." Romano glared at the Japanese nation.

"I told you not to call me that!" Japan glared back, before smirking. "Luigi."

"Gck! Why you—!"

"Will someone just explain what the hell is going on?!" Germany's voice rose above the spat, silencing the two. Romano gave a heavy sigh.

"I can explain it."

"Please, by all means." England gestured for him to begin.

"If it helps at all, I'm confused, too." Italy admitted.

"Japan and I have regained our memories from our pa—er... future selves." Romano stated.

"WHAT?! Is that even possible?!" France cried out.

"Those words... it's a spell I found years ago. I never thought I'd have a way of using them, though. You see, it literally transfers memories from ones future self to their past self so long as One, the future self has said the words, which marks the point of the memory transfer, and Two... if the past self says those same words. It was my backup in trying to prevent everything. Even if we couldn't go back in time, maybe our memories could." Romano explained.

"But how were you going to make our past selves say these words? It's not like you could've known we'd suddenly be watching the future or anything." Japan pointed out, raising an eyebrow incredulously.

"I hadn't figured that part out, yet. But I figured that, 'hey, I'm gonna die right now, so fuck it!' And... Well, you know the rest." He shrugged. "Never expected you to repeat those words, though, Kiku."

Japan shrugged. "They sounded familiar, and it'd been so long since I'd heard Latin that I'd forgotten how to translate it."

"So essentially, you two are now future you?" America pointed towards Japan and Romano.

"Essentially." Romano shrugged, before Italy whacked him upside the head. Hard.

"OW! The fuck was that for?! O-oi! D-don't cry!"

"YOU ASSHOLE! YOU FUCKING IDIOTIC, STUPID, ARROGANT, SELFISH, CONCEITED ASSHOLE! YOU FUCKING DIED ON ME YOU PIECE OF SHIT! SORRY EXCUSE FOR A BROTHER!" Italy screamed at Romano before hitting him again. He then pulled the startled Italian into a hug.

"O-oh, Felice... I'm so sorry. Veneziano... I never meant to die. I..." Romano looked close to tears, too.

"I'm also sorry, Feli-nii." Japan, surprisingly enough, joined in the hug.

"I'm just happy I'm not alone anymore." Italy smiled. "I mean, I'm sorry you two have to remember, but—"

"Iie. Stop it; we're a family, hai? I'm glad we're back together, too." Japan ruffled both of their hair and gave them a fond smile.

It was a heartwarming scene for the nations. Especially after watching such a tragic moment in Italy's life.

"Still... What a headache!" Romano complained, and Japan winced in sympathy.

"Yo, I found some painkillers earlier. Here." America tossed the pill bottle to the two, who briefly fought over it childishly. Japan won, and stuck his tongue out at Romano, causing Italy to giggle. He then took out what was needed before passing it back to the Italian, who sent the Japanese nation a mild glare.

"If anyone's hungry, I made us all some lunch?" Canada spoke up, gesturing to the table, which was laden with food.

Everyone eagerly dived on in, thoroughly enjoying the meal. After that last memory, it was nice to have a lighter atmosphere.

Italy was thrilled to have his brother and honorary brother back. It was hard to be surrounded by friends that he no longer really knew. Now, at least, he wasn't alone.

Words: 5,515/6,189

Pages: 11/13

Date Posted: 12/09/2018

Edited: 04/18/2019

A/N: Hello everybody~! Look! Another update~ Lucky you, right? I'm almost finished writing the next chapter for this story, so keep an eye out. But I'll make this announcement twice.

First thing's first. Come January, 2019, I may not be able to update for a while. I'm joining the US Army (Yes, for those of you who asked, I am American). This means that I won't have as much free time to write and post stories as I do now. So I'm trying to update all my stories one more time before I'm shipped out to Boot Camp. (Though these new experiences should make for wonderful writing resources!!)

Secondly; I know several of you were either disappointed or just plain not happy with the Fourth Restoration of the Dites last chapter. I'm sorry you didn't like it, but it was something I'd had planned since the beginning of this story. As a general rule, for any story, if you don't like something plot-wise, please don't write a review saying how stupid it is or how you'd do it differently. It does hurt the author's feelings, and it's honestly rather rude.

Thirdly~! I plan to post one new story. I'm not sure yet if it'll be Hetalia or Harry Potter, so please let me know which you'd prefer to see (Since some of my posted stories are nearly complete, I figured it was about time to post something fresh.)

Thank you all for reading. I know my Author's Notes tend to be lengthy, but please leave a review, even if it's just 'I liked it. Write more.' Or something. I read all of your reviews~!!

Happy Winter Solstice/Happy Holidays/Merry Christmas/Happy Hanukkah/Happy Kwanzaa~! (Did I get them all?) :P

Song of the Post: Christmas Can-Can. You can find it on Spotify or Youtube. It's hilarious!