---Chapter XII : Beds (Part 3)---

///Reader's PoV///

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With a trembling thumb, I pressed the button on the screen and answered the call. Placing my phone to my ear, I spoke,

"H-Hello?"

The other end of the line went silent for a while, until I heard a familiar voice.

"(Name)?......It's me."

I dropped my phone.

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"(N-Name)-chan? What's going on?" Japan called out to me as he heard my phone land on the floor with a loud thud.

I looked at him with a shocked expression on my face before turning to the ground to pick up my phone. The call was still on, and I raised the receiver to my side. I heard someone panicking on the other line,

"Hello?? (Name), dear? Are you alright???"

I felt tears welling up my eyes as I took in a deep breath and chuckled, "...Ehehe....Yes, mom. I'm fine. I'm fine."

"Oh thank goodness you're okay! Honey, we've been so worried about you!" my mother exclaimed, relief evident in her voice.

Unknowingly, a tear slipped down my cheek. "......And I've been worried so much about you guys, too. So much."

"(Name), dear, we're at the front yard of the mansion--would it be alright if you come down by the window? I know hearing your voice over the phone takes away our worries, but your father and I want to at least see you. Even if vaguely." she asked.

I nodded to myself and remembered the window where Italy was able to see Austria before. "Of course, I'll be there in a few." I said as I placed my phone in my pocket, not ending the call.

"Guys, I'm gonna go outside for a bit." I told them.

China turned to me and asked, "Your parents, aru?"

"Yes! I can't believe I'll finally be able to see them--even just through the window." I told them excitedly.

They smiled. "Would you like us to go with you, dudette?" America asked me.

"No, it's fine. I'll be by the windows in the other hall on this floor." I said, shaking my head and reassuring them that I'll be alright. "I'll be right back, I promise."

"Alright, but at least take this with you..." Japan said as he handed me a sword. I tilted my head. "Oh, but, it's a limited edition...so please be careful with it--and, ano,  you be careful, too, of course." he told me with an uneasy expression.

Placing the strap of the sheathe of the sword over my shoulder, I smiled. "Thanks, I'll take good care of it. And I'll be cautious, too." turning towards the door, I spoke, "Well, I need to go there now, I don't want them to worry again."

"Be careful!" they called over as I exited the saferoom.

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I peered nervously through the window. Some of the windows were covered with floorboards and grills, making it quite difficult to see the outside, but this particular window had just enough space to let me see through. It was the same window where I discovered my parents outside from before.

"The same window that exposed that bastard's lies." I muttered under my breath as I lifted my phone to my ear.

"(Name)? Did I hear you cuss or something?"  my mom asked sternly.

My eyes widened, I almost forgot that the call was still ongoing. "N-No! Of course not, mother. Ahaha..." I defended nervously.

"Hmm...where are you, dear?" she asked.

I stepped closer to the window, looked out and scanned the front yard. I paused for a while when I saw my two beloved parents standing below at a distance, facing me. Waving at them to get their attention, I spoke over the phone, "I'm here!"

"Oh, dear...there you are!" my mother breathed a sigh of relief as she waved back.

Pulling my father closer to her, my mom seemed to have passed the phone to him. "(Name)...you'd be grounded...." Dad said in a stern voice.

I creased my forehead. "Wh-What?!"

"....Let me finish. I said, you'd be grounded if we didn't know everything you did and everything that happened to you there." he explained.

Taking a step back, I gave a puzzled look. "You know...?"

"Okay, maybe not exactly everything--but we know enough." Dad answered, sighing a little.

This still made me restless. "Wait wait... You...you guys understand what's going on? Who I'm with? How I'm stuck here??"

I heard my father take a deep breath before speaking, "Well, crazy as what we've been told, we somehow began to understand. At first, we thought it was completely impossible...but now that we've seen some of the real deal here outside...we couldn't help but accept this.

Accept that our daughter's stuck in some horror mansion infested with alien creatures with older men that are considered as 'countries'.

Accept that we're stuck here outside that is also somehow infested with alien creatures with other people that are considered as 'countries'.

Accept that all of us are in danger, but thankfully are still safe and alive.

And most of all, accept that I probably need to get a year's worth of appointments with a psychiatrist."

At his last statement, I couldn't help but laugh. It's been a while since I've seen my parents or have heard their voices, so it was somehow comforting for me to hear a joke from them at at time like this. "Hahaha, well, that makes two of us, Dad."

"Oh no, dear, count me in." I overheard my mom say.

I still sorta can't get over this, even with all their explanation. "You guys really accept the situation that easily?"

"Definitely not, (Name), dear. Seriously, if you have only seen how your father almost went mad trashing around this abandoned yard after that good man named Austria explained to us the whole thing." Mom told me.

Oh, so they are normal after all. I chuckled to myself but tilted my head as I caught a name from them. "Austria?"

"Yes, he's the owner of the phone we borrowed, actually. We tried calling and calling for you using our phones, but we can't get a single ring. When Mr. Austria offered us to borrow his phone to call you, we got connected instantly!" she explained.

Confused for a moment, I only reacted by saying, "R-Really?"

"It's true...but uhm, there's something else that we need to talk about." Mom told me, her tone growing serious.

I pressed my hand on the cold window pane. "What is it?"

"...You're going to be okay, right, dear?" she asked me in a soft voice.

Her words took me aback because I felt like her voice was already cracking. It's been so long, and with a situation like this, anxieties have built up in all of us involved...who wouldn't be on the verge of breaking down?

I took a deep breath and spoke, "Absolutely. I'll get out of this mansion with all of my new friends, and I'll be giving you guys a really big hug as soon as I walk out from the exit. I can't promise you guys that I'll be out of here soon, but I can promise you that I will be alright. I'm safe. I have my new friends to protect me, too. Everything will be okay, so don't worry about me." I reassured my parents.

They need to know that even though I'm in a situation like this, I won't allow myself to be a reason for them to worry the living daylights out of themselves. Sure, it's normal to worry--it means they care, but I don't want them to suffer by not knowing that I'm alright.

"That's good to hear, honey. We're so glad--and relieved. You're not scared of the monsters?" Mom asked.

I thought about all the encounters with the so-called Steves. "Well, it did freak me out at first, but I've gotten used to seeing it. My friends here can handle those monsters, so I'll be fine. I'm not scared. You guys know me--I'm hella brave. You guys raised me, after all." I told them, winking as I said the last statement.

"(Name), we just want to remind you that you need to be really careful there. We know that you already know that, we just hope you won't forget. And also," Dad paused for a moment, making me raise an eyebrow in anticipation. "(Name), we're proud of you. Being able to handle this--maybe even better than we are; you're growing up to be a strong woman."

"I-I...Thanks. Thanks Dad, Mom..." I managed to say, feeling tears welling up again.

I then heard my mother speak up, "You're welcome, dear...but just because we told you you're growing up doesn't mean you can let any men pounce on you there, got it?"

"Hahaha...Yes, ma'am." I saluted. Then whispered, "....but what if I happen to like one of them and that person happens to be reaallll good-looking?"

Mom gasped and whispered back, "....as good looking as the other men here like Mr. Austria?"

"What? (Mother's Name)!" Dad exclaimed, hearing what my mother had said.

"Yep." I replied, supressing a giggle from my father's reaction.

I could hear Mom laugh lightly. "Well, dear, we could negotiate about that some other time." she then turned to Dad. "And, don't worry, (Father's Name), you're still the most dashing one of them all."

"Hahahaha! Real nice recovery, Mom." I told her.

All three of us had a good laugh for a while, when it died down, I heard my father speak. "Okay, we'll be needing to return the phone to Mr. Austria now. We love you, (Name). Always keep safe, okay?"

"Yes, I promise. Love you guys, too." I smiled.

I was about to end the call when I heard my mother say something, "Oh! I almost forgot!"

"What is it?" I asked.

After a moment, my mom spoke in a serious tone, "(Name), is--"

"Poppet." I suddenly heard someone speak in a thick British accent.

I turned to my right to find the source of the voice. When I did, I was so surprised that I accidentally pressed the button to end the call with my parents.

Just a few steps away from me was a man with strawberry blonde hair and baby blue eyes. He was wearing the same brightly coloured sweater vest and bow tie...but what stood out from him the most was his bloodied arm that's covered with bandages made from cloth.

"O-Ollie! What....What happened to you?!" I exclaimed.

He stepped closer to me and covered my mouth with his hand. "Shh. Poppet, we need to keep quiet. And, I'm fine now, really, so don't worry..." he told me with a small smile.

I nodded, then spoke, "I've been worried about you... I didn't hear from you ever since I passed through that freaky mirror. You weren't even there when I found at that the 2Ps didn't have my--"

I stopped.

".....my parents. I almost forgot...you were in on that plan, too." I said, gritting my teeth.

He pulled me into a tight hug. "Oh, poppet. Forgive me. I really am sorry. I wanted to confess to you about that, but...they kept me away. They prevented me from doing so. I'm telling the truth, honest."

Seeing the sincerity in his words, I nodded. Then, something else came to mind. "Kept you away? Oh. Were you the one in the sack they had with them?" I asked when we broke the hug.

There was something strange about the look on Oliver's face when he heard my question, but he seemed to brush it off and shook his head. "No... They locked me up and had the other guys watch over me. Allen and Matthew wanted to help me out, but they ended getting tied up, too."

"Ah... so that's why you guys weren't there." I realised.

Oliver placed a hand on my shoulder. "Yes..." he suddenly looked away from me. "Poppet....remember the first time we met in this mansion?"

"When...When we met in the library?" I recalled, giving him a curious look.

He nodded. "That's right... That time...I gave you some sort of proposition, correct?"

"Y-Yeah...what about it? I'm sorry but, Ollie, I won't help in getting rid of the First Players, let me be clear on that." I told him with a frown.

The Brit shook his head and gave me a sad smile. "No, (Name)...this one's different."

"....W-What is it?" I asked nervously.

Oliver looked at me straight in the eyes with his blue coloured orbs,

"How about I send you back home, poppet?"