WARNING: This chapter has a small mention of rape and men being creepy, however it does not actually happen to the reader or anyone else. This is here to warn those that are sensitive to the word, as I know imagination can cause some horrible scenes. It also had an in between mild and vivid descriptions of death and gore.

||: Romano, Romano, Where Art Thou
Romano :||

It's been a little over a month now, and I was mostly healed. Stefano had me practice walking around the room to see how I was doing. Lovino still visited me practically every day that he didn't have a meeting of some sort, and even Feliciano had visited me. I was beginning to be more comfortable when they were around, especially Feliciano, as he had toned down the attitude a lot. I figured out why he was acting like he does during one of our conversations.

"Hey Feli, is there a reason you're acting so different towards me now?"

"Ah... Well, bella ragazza, since I'm supposed to be fratello's right hand man, I have to put up a front and act how a real mafia boss should. It's to instill fear in those that try to approach him. I am really sorry for scaring you those times." I giggled.

"No need to worry Feli, we're on good terms now."

Now I was sitting in a chair across from Stefano, as he was giving me a general checkup to make sure I was ready to be released. My stitches had been removed a week earlier, and now I should be able to start light exercise without fear of reopening my wounds. Stefano finished scribbling a few things down on his clipboard and then looked back to me.

"Do you feel any pain currently?"

"Nope. Not a thing."

"Good. I'm going to give you official release then. If you experience any sort of pain in your stitched areas, please come see me immediately."

"Thanks, doc." He wrote on a piece of paper, scribbled his signature, and then handed it to me.

"Take that to the boss and then you'll officially be able to explore the campus." I smiled at Stefano as I gingerly took the paper from his hands. With a wave I left the room, and walked down the halls. Before figuring out where in the hell Lovino was, I decided to wander the mansion. The decor was very regal, classic paintings were hung everywhere, and vases of roses and assortments of other flowers sat in almost every corner. Using the banister, I walked down the large staircase carefully, taking in every bit of detail that the mansion had to offer. As I reached the bottom of the stairs, a voice caught my attention.

"______~!" Suddenly I was enveloped in a large hug. The curl bouncing in my face told me that it was Feliciano. I laughed, attempting to struggle out of his embrace.

"Feli, let go, please. You're crushing me!"

"Oops! Scusa bella!" Feliciano released me and stared at me with a huge grin on his face. However I no longer feared his smiles, in fact, they felt warm and cheery. It made me happy that the people here were beginning to warm up to me. Feliciano glanced at the paper in my hands before grabbing it from me.

"Hey-!"

"Oh! This is your release form, si?" I nodded.

"Well, let's take this to mio fratello!" He grabbed my hand, my form in his other hand, and dragged me off down the halls. We followed the hall behind the stairs which turned into a dark, barely lit hall. It gave off an uncomfortable, ominous feeling. At the end of the hall were two large great oak doors. Feliciano kept dragging me until we were standing in front of them. Without even bothering to knock, Feliciano pushed both doors open and shouted out a cheerful:

"Fratello~!" As he ran up to the dark oak desk in the center of the room. He slapped his hand with my release form onto the desk, on top of the paper work Lovino was currently hunched over. He glanced, or more like glared, up at his brother. With a heavy sigh, he leaned back into his chair and took off the glasses that were resting on his nose. 'Since when did he wear glasses?' I thought, but dismissed it when Lovino's eyes met mine. With a gesture of his hand, he waved me into the room, and I did as I was told.

"So you are finally able to walk around freely then?" I nodded my head.

"Good, we'll have you start training immediately then." I cocked my head to the side.

"What're you talking about?" Lovino sighed again and stood up, grabbing my form as he did so.

"We need you in order to find your missing father, but we can't babysit you. If you want to find him, you'll have to be able to take care of yourself." He paused for a moment, a smirk spreading across his face. "And you definitely showed me you have the spirit to fight like us." I wasn't sure what he was talking about at first, but then I remembered when I had pointed one of their own guns at them in the principal's office. 'That feels like it happened so long ago now... Oh god, I haven't been home in a month, mother must be so worrie-'

"______!" I snapped out of my thoughts and looked up at Lovino with wide eyes. "Did you hear what I said?" I shook my head, looking down dejectedly.

"What I said was, on second thought, it seems you are only cleared for light exercise, so we'll begin training when Stefano says it is okay. In the meantime, we'll get you acquainted with the surrounding area first. Feliciano, please go grab Romeo. He knows the ins-and-outs of the city better than anynone." With a cute little salute, Feliciano left the room. Lovino then turned his attention towards me.

"So... any pain?" I shook my head. "That's good. Listen, ______, I hope you can come to understand our motives for taking you away. I know it must be hard, being forced to leave behind everything. You may see us as the bad guys, but I assure you, we aren't anywhere near as bad as some of the other groups roaming this world." I gritted my teeth.

"I know..." I whispered.

"Huh? Could you repeat that please?" My hands clenched into fists and I met Lovino's olive eyes with my own fiery (E/C) ones.

"I know. I've encountered them before." Lovino perked up and walked around his desk, standing in front of me.

"I hope you're telling me the truth." I glared up at him.

"Trust me, I am, I could never forget that. They did kill my older sister after all." Lovino's eyes softened for a moment.

"It was the Chinese mob wasn't it?" I nodded, anger dashing my features.

"Pretty sure it was the Russian mafia as well." Lovino rubbed a hand down his face, and settled into the edge of his desk. He let out a few deep sighs before mumbling to himself.

"If Yao and Ivan are working together now... This isn't good." I perked up at the mention of names.

"Yao and Ivan...?" I heard a 'tch' come from Lovino.

"Yes, they're the leaders of the Chinese Mob and the Russian Mafia. Yao is also your father's eldest brother." I took steps forward until I was basically on top of Lovino, then with both of my hands I grabbed his collar, and dragged him down to be at eye level with me.

"I want you to tell me all that you know about each and every mafia or mob that has a connection to my father. If you don't I'll kill myself right here, and you'll lose all hope of finding my father." My voice never wavered, it was steady, and I was scaring myself by how intense I sounded, however, it seemed to be startling Lovino even more. From our close proximity I could hear him gulp.

"I-I promise, I'll tell you what you want to know. But! In return you must help us find your father without any complaints." I released him and backed away.

"Good, also, one more thing. Leave my mother out of this. I want her to continue living a normal life." Lovino held out his hand. "I'm guessing we have a deal then?" He nodded. I took his hand and shook on it. Just then Feliciano came back with a shorter boy being dragged behind him. He had a curl very similar to Feliciano's just a little more square looking. They both paused on sensing the tension in the air.

"Jeez you two. Can't you take a chill pill? I thought we were already passed this bad blood!" Feliciano called out cheerfully. The boy perked up to try and ease the atmosphere, and change the subject.

"You wanted to see me fratello?" His smile was bright and genuine, I felt my heart melting at the sight of it. He was a very cute lad, maybe no older than 16, and you could sense the bright energy behind his green eyes. I smiled at him when we made eye contact, and his grin grew even wider.

"Why yes, Romeo. You know the city better than anyone so I want you to get ______ here familiar with it."

"Of course, fratello! Sounds like fun!" Romeo playfully saluted his older brother. "Would you like to go now?" He turned to me. I was surprised a little by the question, but wasn't sure if I was allowed to make those kind of decisions. I gave Lovino a side glance to find him looking at me, and he gave me a small nod. I smiled warmly at Romeo.

"Now would be great, I haven't been outside in a long time." In response Romeo threw his hands into the air, before stepping forward and trapping me in a hug. I froze from the action, slightly surprised, but giggled and returned the friendly affection. The hug lasted longer than I thought it would, however, and I think it would have lasted longer if Lovino hadn't cleared his throat then.

"You two should get a move on if you're going to have any daylight left. I want her back by sundown, no excuses. Am I understood Romeo?" The youngest Italian brother gave another small salute.

"Completely, sir!" With that Romeo grabbed my hand and began enthusiastically dragging me away. We made a couple of turns and came to a small door. It wasn't made of oak, like the others, but rather a more solid, possibly metal, door. Romeo unlocked the bolt and then swiftly turned the handle and pushed the door open in one fluid motion. I was surprised because the door seemed fairly heavy. He noticed the look on my face and chuckled.

"I had to learn to open this huge thing from a young age. I'm used to the weight by now." He let go of my hand, and grabbed one of the keys off the wall. He made his way to a red convertible, and being the slight nerd that I am, noticed the make and model immediately. I audibly gasped at the sight, my jaw dropped and eyes went buggy. Romeo gave me a have crooked smile, cocking one eyebrow at me.

"That's a Ferrari 550 Barchetta Pininfarina isn't it?! That is my dream car right there!" A small squeak of delight came out of my throat as I practically leaped over to the car, admiring it's beautiful ruby red coat. "But wait... this thing is like over half a million in US Dollars... How in the hell did you afford this?" Romeo gave me a knowing look and made a wide gesture to the entire house.

[In case you were wondering, this is what the car looks like --- https://www.carscoops.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/2001-ferrari-550-barchetta-pininfarina-0.jpg ]

"We're the mafia, bella, we've collected more money in a year than your grandparents and parents did in there lifetime! Well, actually..." Romeo trailed off, putting a thoughtful finger to his chin. He was muttering something, but I was too fascinated by the car to care.

"I should have known..." I wanted to just run a hand down it, but decided against it. "Sorry, what was that? I got distracted."

"Haha, don't worry about it, I was just talking to myself." Romeo opened the passenger door for me, and I sat in the soft black leather seats. He then walked over to the driver's side and turned on the car as the garage door opened up behind us. As he slowly began backing out, a dangerous thought occurred to me.

"Um... Romeo?"

"Si?"

"What's the legal driving age in Italy?"

"Hm? Eighteen, why?"

"And you are how old?" A smirk spread across Romeo's face.

"Fifteen." I gulped loudly.

"Y-you really shouldn't be driving you know. I don't know if I'm okay with this anymore..." I grew more nervous by the second, thinking about whether I should jump out of the car before we got on the road. Romeo let out a bellowing laugh.

"Don't worry! I'm the get-away driver, been so for 3 years now. Trust me, I know what I'm doing!" We pulled out onto the road as he said that, and I gripped my seat belt for dear life. The road in front of us was long and desolate, winding down a beautiful mountain road. I could make out some guard rails in the sunlight, but not as many as I would have liked.

"You ready?" Romeo said, and I turned my head to face him, already sweating buckets of worry. I shakily nodded and he gripped the steering wheel slightly tighter, and then, the car revved as he pushed the gas pedal down, the car accelerating quickly. If I remembered correctly, this beast can accelerate to 60 mph (about 100 km) in 4 seconds. I gripped a handle bar next to the door for dear life as we zoomed and swerved down the mountain road, knuckles practically paper white. Within minutes we were onto a main road, and Romeo was slowing down to a reasonable speed. I let out the breath I was holding, releasing my death grip on the handle.

"I am never driving with you again." Romeo laughed loudly, catching the attention of some of the passerby's. We cruised through the city, coming out on the other side to a more desolate part of town. The houses grew smaller and more decrepit looking as we continued. Finally we reached a part of the town where everything seemed to be falling apart. Romeo parked behind one of the houses that looked abandoned and got out; I followed suit.

"Where is this?" He looked around with a nostalgic look in his eyes.

"An old home. It's where the Vargas family started. That's all you need to know." The look in my eyes softened as I looked around. Before I could speak again, the laughter of kids seemed to be growing closer. A group of about 7 boys and girls alike crowded at Romeo's feet.

They were speaking Italian so I couldn't understand anything, but they ignored me, so it all worked out. Romeo caught my eye and mouthed, "Go ahead and look around." So I left Romeo to the children and began wandering the streets.

The people of this part of town, I could tell, were fairly poor, but they all had smiles on their faces and even waved as I walked passed. It was very humbling and I enjoyed the peaceful atmosphere that the little part of town gave off.

I slowed down when I came to what looked like a flea market and began browsing. The market had everything; ranging from foods to antique wares and even mystic stuff or jewellers. From what I could tell, it was all hand crafted. I didn't have any Euros on me, so sadly I couldn't purchase anything.

'Today really couldn't get any better.' I thought as I passed two little girls who smiled at me as I passed. 'Finally got out of the Vargas mansion and got to enjoy window shopping at a humble flea market.' Looking back on it now, I probably jinxed myself in that singular moment.

I was getting close to the edge of the small part of town, and as I was about to turn around and look for Romeo, rough hands grabbed me by my wrists and shoulders. I was being dragged back into the dark alley, and I tried to scream for help, but one of the hands released my shoulder and covered my mouth.

The two men (or at least their hands felt manly) dragged me further and further away from the street and into the inky blackness. We came to a halt when the alley opened up into a little clearing. The men released me and I gasped for breath. Whipping around I saw that I was surrounded by men decked out in biker looking clothes. Leather jackets and gloves, dark shades, chains and dog tags, beat up white shirts, some bandanas and each one was holding some sort of weapon. Many had blunt objects like baseball bats, while others had knives.

"What are you to the Vargas'?" A deep, gruff voice asked me in perfect English. I turned around to face a man who looked like the boss. A nasty scar ran across his left cheek and his steely eyes seemed to be peering into my soul, but what scared me the most was the two pistols he had resting at his hips.

"I-I'm nothing but a hostage to them... a-a bargaining chip that will be used to find my father." My voice was shaky, and a little higher pitched than normal. The boss stood up and walked towards me. He towered over me, and I guessed he was 6' 3" (190.5 cm) easy.

"If that's the case," his head motioned to the alley I had just been dragged through, "then why would one of the brother's bring you out for a joy ride himself." His words made me think. Why did they do that? Any of the grunts could've easily taken me, but even easier than that is just to keep me cooped up as a prisoner. Even if Lovino said I needed to familiarise myself with the area, it's not like I would ever go out without someone from the mansion. I was speechless, and unable to answer the man's question. He scoffed at my silence.

"If you really are a bargaining chip, or even something more, then I guess taking you will be worthwhile." Before I could comprehend his words, a sharp pain suddenly went through my head. I fell to my knees as my vision became blurry and I felt dizzy and nauseous. The last thing I remember seeing was the dirty boot of the boss standing in front of me.

€ € € € € €

I awoke with a start as ice cold water was splashed on my face. Before my vision had even adjusted I whipped around trying to find out where I was in a panic. Word of advice, that's probably the worse thing you can do after getting hit over the head. I got really dizzy and flopped onto the floor with a loud thud.

"Mornin' princess!" A slimy voice that was accented with a hyena laugh spoke above me. He was holding a now-empty bucket and grinning down at me. His teeth were yellowed and immensely crooked, and he had wild eyes, as if he was ready to fight at any moment. Even from my spot on the ground I could clearly see all the dirt on his skin and deducted he hadn't bathed in many weeks.

Throwing the bucket aside he stalked towards me and pulled my chin, forcing me to sit up. It earned him one of my death glares, to which he only whistled at. "Hey boys! Looks like princess here is a feisty one!" A few of the men chuckled and walked towards me. I was now surrounded by five men, all looking very different, but having that same "what's-a-shower" vibe as the hyena dude. The uncomfortable feeling I got from being towered over by so many men stirred me into action, and I stood up on shaky legs.

Now only a few inches shorter than the men, I felt a little more in control. But the way they were all eyeing me like I was the best damn steak they had ever seen unnerved me, so I kept my mouth shut and stayed in place.

"She's a real looker up close, wouldn't you say?" Goon 1 grinned.

"Yeah yeah, good enough to eat." Goon 2 agreed.

"Ya think boss would mind if we played with her a little?" Goon 3 said hungrily.

"It'll probably make the Vargas' even angrier. I say we go for it." Hyena-dude said. They began advancing toward me and soon enough I had my back to the wall and was cornered. My eyes widened in fear before I shut them tight to hide from the nightmare in front of me. A large boom, like a door slamming against a wall, startled all six of us and stopped the men's pursuit. The boss strolled in but stopped when he caught sight of his men surrounding me.

"And what the hell do you think you guys are doing? Back away from her. She's a bargaining chip, remember? If any harm comes to her the Vargas boss will call off the deal." The men glared at their feet, but turned and walked away from me. I let out the breath I had been holding and sank to the floor.

'Lovino... I'm so scared... where are you? Please... please help me!'

~30 Minutes Earlier~ (Unless the Italians are talking to you, they will always be speaking Italian, for clarification)

Feliciano and Lovino were sitting in their office together, small talk happening between them.

"Do you think ______ is alright out there fratello?" The elder Italian twin sighed.

"For the fifth time now, she has Romeo with her, I'm sure she's fine." Feliciano was about to say something, likely pertaining to how irresponsible their younger brother had proven himself, but was cut off by the phone on Lovino's desk. Feliciano stayed quiet as Lovino picked up the phone.

"Who may I be speaking with?"

"I thought it was only polite to introduce yourself first before asking who I am." Lovino frowned.

"You wouldn't be calling this line if you didn't know who I am. Now, introduce yourself."

"My name isn't important, but I do know someone you might be interested in. A girl who was with your youngest brother about 15 minutes ago." Lovino's clenched his fist and his face became shrouded in anger.

"What have you done to her?!" Lovino shouted, startling Feliciano. However the mention of a "her" told Feli all the clues he needed. Swiftly he left the room to grab his Glocks and round up the men.

"Oh nothing yet... but if you don't want her harmed I suggest you listen to my demands." Lovino's knuckles were paper white at this point, and a thin trail of blood was dripping onto his oak desk from his fist.

"Which are?"

"We want you to free Giorno Sanchez from your jail and bring us 10 million Euros to compensate for all the damage and trouble you caused the Diablo gang 5 years ago." Silence fell between the two men as Lovino debated his choices. Free the man who was once their worst enemy and fork over a chunk of the family fortune in exchange for a girl's life, or let the girl, the only bait for and lead to her father, and keep one of the worst criminals locked away. It took a few moments, but Lovino knew the choice he had to choose.

"Fine." The man on the other line sneered.

"Perfect. You have until sundown. Meet us at the warehouse number 13 in Port Gioia Tauro. If you don't meet the deadline, I'll maim the girl and feed her to the rats. Understood? Good." The line on the other end goes dead. In a fit of rage, Lovino throws the phone to the ground, smashing it into pieces. Lovino goes over to his piano and hits a certain pattern of notes in. A loud click sounds throughout the room as the shelves on the book shelf flip around and a panel holding many different types of guns appears.

Without hesitation Lovino grabs two identical pistols and places them in the holsters underneath his arms, then he reaches for his favourite gun to use in a shootout; a Beretta ARX 160. A popular assault rifle among the Italian military. Once equipped with some different types of grenades and enough ammo, Lovino exits his office.

He is greeted by his brother leading the Italian mafia's best soldiers.

"We're ready to go when you are boss." Romeo was the one that spoke. He had arrived back in a panic and fairly winded. He ran into Feliciano, who had given him the rundown of what he knew about the situation. The elder brothers knew that Romeo was blaming himself, but none of them here did.

"Then follow me."

~Back To The Present~

After the boss had said that, the men mostly left me alone, physically that is. They still harassed and taunted me almost to the point of tears, but that was a sign of weakness, and there was no way I would show these freaks that side of me. From the little windows at the top of the warehouse I could tell the sun was setting. The men in the warehouse had burst to life and were running all over the place. More guns kept appearing in their hands, as if they were getting ready to go to war.

"They'll be here soon, when they arrive, open fire and hold nothing back. We kill off that damn mafia today!" The boss shouted. I knew instantly who they were talking about and I began to panic. Lovino and Feli and Romeo were about to get slaughtered and it's all my fault. A little voice in my head said "Why should you care? They kidnapped you!" but I reasoned with it by saying "Would you rather have these ruffians take care of you? They'll likely just rape you and then throw you to the streets. You'll be lucky if they just kill you."

One of the men, the hyena one, came over to me and yanked me to my feet by my wrist. I winced in pain, but otherwise stayed quiet. "Boss wants you locked away so you can't escape during the chaos. He's apparently taken quite the liking to you. I bet you'll have some good fun later!" He chuckled as he dragged me to a small, cramped room in the back of the warehouse. He unlocked the door and was about to throw me in, but licked the back of the hand he was holding first. I shrieked a little at the notion and he seemed to greatly enjoy my reaction. However he continued no further and threw me inside. It seemed to be a storage closet. Before I could resist he slammed the door in my face and I could hear the clear click of it being locked.

Trying not to freak out I slumped against the nearest shelf, which wasn't very comfortable, but better than nothing. This was the kind of door that only locked from the outside. At least the place had a different stink than the rest of the warehouse. It smelled heavily of chemicals. With a sigh I tried to settle in, but the floor shook from the loud boom of an explosion outside the door. Suddenly all I could hear was the firing of guns and the screams of men. I covered my ears, trying to cower away from the visions of death popping into my head. I stayed inside my little bubble until the firing started to die down slightly, which likely meant men had died. Shouting voices were coming my way, and it was hard to make out, but one was definitely speaking English while the other was speaking Italian. The English speaker seemed to be begging for his life.

As the voices drew closer, something, likely the English speaker, thumped against my door. He screamed a few words that were hard to understand before a loud gunshot was heard, hurting my ears, and then silence. But then blood began seeping underneath the door and I screamed. Loudly. Next thing I know footsteps are coming back towards my door. I whimper, but otherwise stay silent. Then the person on the other side speaks.

"Cover your ears! I'm breaking the lock!" My hands fly to my ears as fast as they can and I squeeze tight. A gunshot goes off and then suddenly the door handle slackens. I scoot away from the door and the growing blood pool, towards the back of the cleaning closet. The door slowly opens and reveals Lovino, pistol in hand. I am so overcome with joy at being free that in the blink of an eye I am standing and hugging Lovino. He seems surprised, but wraps the hand that isn't holding a gun around me.

"I'm sorry to make you go through this. Let's go home, you're safe now." It was then that I realised all the shooting had stopped. I pulled away from Lovino, but stopped when I saw blood on my hands.

"You're hurt!" I looked up and into Lovino's olive eyes, and noticed his face has tiny splatters of blood. An expression that says "you poor naïve soul" graces Lovino's face.

"______, that isn't my blood." I took a step back, and almost slip. Looking down I notice I was standing in the puddle of blood from earlier, and the blood was coming from the hyena dude. He lay motionless on the floor, a horrified expression permanently painted onto his face. I almost gag. Carefully taking another step back, I take a good look at Lovino and see that he is covered in splotches of blood. But he was right, none of it looked like it was coming from him. Then I dared to take a look beyond him. To this day I wish I hadn't. The warehouse was now a murder house; blood caked everything, bodies were laying everywhere, some in one piece some... not. All the people that were still standing and alive were faces I had seen around the mansion. Not one of the gang had survived.

I began to feel dizzy again and struggled to stay on my feet. I also struggled to keep my stomach bile down. A man who I recognised as Stefano ran over to us.

"Casualty report." Lovino spoke to Stefano, but I couldn't understand what he had said.

"3 dead. 4 injured. But nothing that won't easily heal." Stefano replied. If they continued talking, I didn't know. My whole world began swaying, and the last thing I saw before I blacked out was a bloody Lovino trying to catch me.

I was safe now, I knew that, but I also somehow felt as if I lost a part of myself along with the dead Diablo gang.

—

Finally after a long wait, that newest chapter is finally here! I was able to get off my lazy ass and finally finished this. It's currently almost 3 am and my head hurts, but I couldn't be more proud of myself and this chapter. It is the longest chapter I have ever written, and it warms my little heart that I was able to write this much. 5262 words. That's insane.

Also a HUGE thank you to all the supportive comments you guys leave on this story. They fuel my motivation! Love you guys!

~Onyx