---CHAPTER III: The Allies (Part 1)---

~Reader-chan's PoV~

Japan and I venture to the other room on the same floor. There, we found a lever.

A sign reads:

Up is Heaven.
Middle is Earth.
Down is Hell.

So, I push the lever down. The lever breaks, and then a hole is revealed on the floor.

While Japan was inspecting the floor, I accidentally pushed him down and I followed suit. We landed in the piano room on the floor below. Japan inspects the piano and even plays something on it.

"Oh wow. It's not off-tune yet." I remarked.

"Amazing, isn't it? Now that we're here, let's go check out the other rooms on this floor." Japan said.

We went outside and entered a room which seems to be a library. There, I saw a man wearing a blue military uniform, what made him more noticeable was his curl sticking out from his brown hair. I retreated back outside the door to the library.

Japan was curious as to why I retreated.

"______-chan..? Is the monster there again?" He asked nervously.

I shook my head slowly. "N-No...there's a person..." I told him. After that, he hurriedly went inside the library.

I know him... this person is none other than...

"Italy!!" I heard Japan say as he went inside the room.

I went closer to the doorway and peeked inside. The two began conversing.

"Japan! You're okay!!" Italy exclaimed.

"Yes, thank God. Somehow." Japan said, relieved.

"Right after you left, a monster suddenly appeared from the hallway and came after us. Germany was the first to scream.You... heard him, didn't you?" He said, tilting his head to the side.

Japan shook his head. "No, not at all..."

"I see. Germany's scream surprised me, too, and I was too confused at the time and

tried to run away and leave you behind. I'm sorry, Japan...

But the front door wouldn't open no matter what and we split up while running away." Italy said with a sullen look on his face.

"No need to apologise. Anyone would have done the same ina situation like that.Even me.

Still... what on Earth is going on in this house? The exit door and the windows can't be opened. Our cell phones don't work, either." Japan said.

"Yep. It looks like we're locked up.. But! I'm so glad I found you, Japan!! Aren't you hurt or anything? Aren't you hungry?" Italy asked with a worried look.

"I'm fine. But... you're surprisingly calm about this, Italy. You were even wandering around the house..." Japan said.

"Well... When that monster appeared,I wanted to cry and cling to Germany, but...Well, both Germany and Prussia were falling apart, too.

So I figured someone needed to keep a level head, and even I was amazed by how calm I felt!

And then I began to look around for everyone so we could get out of here as soon as possible!" Italy said.

Japan nodded. "That makes sense...I was startled at first, too, but after seeing everyone else so flustered, I felt oddly calm."

"So, what about Germany and Prussia? Haven't you found them yet?" Italy asked.

"No, I've found them.They're on the fourth floor, but I'll explain the details on the way.

They were both very worried about you.You'd better go and let them see you as soon as possible." Japan told him.

"Ah, okay! Let's go together, then! I found some stuff when I was exploring, so I'll leave them with you. I also made pasta~ You can have that, too." " Italy said.

A small menu screen popped in front of me.

Italy joined the party.

Received from Italy: Beer x 3 Onigiri x 5 150 HETA.

Fully restored HP and MP with Italy's refreshments.

The two countries walked over to the door. Suddenly, the Italian saw me and spoke in a surprised tone. "W-Wha? What's this bella ragazza doing h-here?!"

Once again, I did my signature awkward wave. "Uh..H-Hi.." I said shyly. I suddenly looked at the floor as if it was the most interesting in thing in the world.

"Ah. Italy, this is _____ _____. ______-chan, this is my comrade, Italy." Japan said.

Italy fell silent for a while. I looked at him in the eye this time. He had pure confusion written all over his face...and I knew why. He must be thinking 'this isn't supposed to happen!' or something. I know that I wasn't supposed to be here either.

I don't belong here...but I can't just tell them that right now. I can't even tell Italy. What if he'll do something crazy again or whatnot? I should play my role. I'm just a player here... The rest of the story...must continue on. Though the alterations...I leave it to what may happen.

"A-Ano..." Japan said quietly.

Italy snapped out of his confused state and began to give his oblivious smile.

"Ve~ Ciao, bella! Fancy meeting you here! Though I wish I could've met you somewhere nicer like in a restaurant or something. I'm Italy, by the way! Ah, Japan already told you that, huh? Ehehe~" He said as he extended his hand.

"O-Oh. Uhm, ah..Nice to meet you, Italy." I managed a smile and shook his hand.

"Alright, then. Let's go back to the fourth floor." Japan said.

Italy and I nodded and walked up side by side up the stairs. Japan was leading the way.

Though, while we were walking up...I saw it. Out of the corner of my eye...Italy's look of worry, confusion, and maybe even helplessness...

It's because of me, isn't it? Me being here is something that never happened in any of the time loops he's been... Daggers of guilt began to hit me just as much as the pained expression on the Italian's face. I... want to do at least something...

I grabbed his arm and gave it a light squeeze. He looked at me and spoke, "Wh-What is it, bella?"

I took a deep breath and smiled at him. "Look... I don't know what you're going through right now...but I'm here. Please don't be sad... I don't want to see you giving such a pained expression anymore..." I told him quietly.

Italy suddenly stopped and gave another confused look, but quickly changed it and gave a smile instead. "...Thanks, bella. That's really...kind of you, but I'm really fine!~" He said.

I let go of his arm and looked away and spoke "...Okay.."

When we reached the 4th floor, the Thing was there.

Japan was shocked as he saw the monster.

"AAAACK!Japan!The THING! It's the THING!!" Italy shouted.

Prussia suddenly turned to us and gave a stern look. "Tsk... You came too soon!
Japan, take Italy and _______ with you and run!!"

Germany turned to us as well and suddenly looked relieved as he saw his friend. "Italy! You're all right!"

"G-Germany~ Ve...Your face looks weird..." Italy said out of context.

"Me and West will take care of this!!Just go, quickly!" Prussia instructed.

Japan did not move.

Prussia saw this and frantically shouted, "Japan!!!"

Japan drew his sword and spoke, "My, my...I must be losing my hearing in my old age. I can't hear you at all."

"Wha...!?Huh?! Hey, Italy!! ______!!" Prussia shouted once more, wanting all three of us to get away.

"Oh, um... I suddenly got deaf, too!" Italy said.

"Uhm..I may not be able to attack it...but I still have these." I said, holding up the food from my bag.

"Italy?! ______?!!" Prussia said, exasperated.

Italy suddenly took a step forward. "Now that you mention it~ We've been in peace for a while now, so I'd completely forgotten about it~"

"It is my honourable duty to fight along with you. Let's go. " Japan said.

Italy nodded. "Y-Yeah!!"

The two went beside Prussia and Germany and they all began to fight. I standing a few paces behind them. I waved my hand in front of me and monitored them using the menu screen that appears before me. If I see someone's HP getting dangerously low or their MP not being enough to put damage on the monster, I'd give them an onigiri or beer, just as how it should be in the game. After a long battle, the monster suddenly disappears.

"It's gone..." Japan said, panting.

"Ve~ It really IS a ghost..." Italy remarked.

Germany than ran over to his friend. "Italy!!"

"Are you hurt?" Japan asked us.

Prussia looked at us in disbelief. "The hell?! You guys totally ignored what I said!"

"I thought the two of us alone could do something about it...Sorry. You really helped. Are you okay, too?" Germany asked.

"Yep. But I'm so relieved now!You two ran away really fast, so I'd been wondering what had happened to you." Italy replied.

"What about you, frau? Are you really okay? We were facing a giant monster and you didn't even look as shaken as West!" Prussia exclaimed.

"I'm fine, thanks...and u-uh..well.. I have seen it for a couple of times now.. And, uhm...you guys are here with me, anyway. " I told him.

"Kesesese! Brave girl! And you're right! The awesome me and the not-so-awesome-but-will-do them are here! " Prussia said, patting my shoulder.

Japan gave a sigh of relief then spoke, "I am really glad that everyone is all right. Now, what are we going to do from here?"

"Yeah. The Thing could show up here again, so we should move to a room that is as safe as possible. Besides, if the five of us stick together, it won't be so scary." Prussia said.

Germany nodded. "Good idea, Prussia!! Now, let's search for a room that looks as safe as possible. And let's not split up, of course."

Italy smiled and gave a salute. "Roger, Captain!!"

All joined the party.

I started to recall what we were supposed to do next. Then, I spotted the curtain in the room and remembered that there would be a Wooden Box there.

"Guys, I found a wooden box here." I told them.

"Oh. Let's keep it, we might need it later." Italy said.

A small menu appeared before me and stated that the item was added to the inventory.

When we went out of the room, Italy pointed to the other room on the floor and told us to "check it out". I knew what he was up to, so I played along as well.

The guys inspected the room and I walked "aimlessly" towards the lever.

"Hey, Japan. This lever from before...it seems to be fixed now." I told him.

Japan then went over to the lever and inspected it and said, "Oh. You're right, _____-chan. To where should we pull it? We already know what down would do.."

"Ha. Well...I don't think we'd want to go to 'Heaven' yet." I joked.

"The Earth, then..?" Japan said and pulled the lever to the middle. "Ah! The lever

broke."

A key then falls from above and apparently lands on Prussia's head. "Ow. My awesome head got hit by something!" He exclaimed. He then saw the key and picked it up.

"Oh~ A key. We should look for the room it'll open." Italy said.

A small menu appeared.

Obtained: Second Floor Key

We head downstairs to the second floor and open the lower door on the upper right corridor.

Used: Second Floor Key.

"There is something under the table." Germany says.

Obtained: Match Box.

We were about to leave when I remembered something.

"Hey, Japan... I saw a note downstairs earlier. It said something about repairs and stuff...but I remember it said something about a first aid kit here somewhere...." I said as I was opening up the drawers in the room.

"Ah! Here it is!" I said as I opened the second drawer. I then gave the kit to Germany and he applied some bandages on his hand, Prussia got an awesome band-aid, Japan applied some medicine for a little cut and Italy, well he just helped out and said "Ve~"

As usual, a menu popped up before me.

The whole party recovered.

We then go to the upper room on the lower right corridor.

When we were all in, Germany turned to us and asked, "Should I lock the door?"

"LOCK IT FIRMLY." I told him in a stern voice.

Prussia then sat on one of the chairs. I sat across him. "We can't get too careless, but I think we're safe here, for now.We have the key, and the door is firmly locked from inside." The albino said.

Japan placed a hand on his chin. "It is only temporary, but it should do for one night, I suppose..."

"One night is good enough for me.I'm really tired from running around~" Italy chirped.

Germany nodded. "You're right. We ran a lot for one day. It makes me feel like having some beer..."

"Oh. I still have some here. Would you like some?" I asked.

Germany turned to me. "A-Ah. Is...there still enough for later?"

I looked into my bag, "There's about five more. And we can look for more later." I told him.

"Ah. Then, I'll have just one can." He said.

"Oi! What about me? I want some beer, too!" Prussia said.

Germany looked at his older brother and held up the can "Let's just share this one, bruder."

I rummaged through my bag again. I found some chips that I was unable to finish eating and munched on it. It was stale, but hey, I had no choice. I wanted to leave the other food for later.

Suddenly Italy spoke up,"I'm a little cold...I wonder if it's because of this house?"

"If I'm not mistaken, we found some matches.There is also enough firewood for one night,so we can warm up." Japan said.

Germany stood up. "Hm. I'll do it, then."

Prussia smiled at me. "Ooh! That's nice, huh?" I smiled back and nodded.

"Yes. I feel much better now that we have some light. And now I'm not alone, either." Germany said.

"Yeah~ But it was really scary at first! Even though Germany was the first to run away, it was me that monster chased after!" Italy said.

I didn't want to look at Italy in the eye so I just pretended to check up on my bag again.

"Yeah, you're right. I remember thinking 'No, not my precious little Italy!!' and then both the monster and Italy disappeared! And West had vanished, too." Prussia told us.

Germany looked a little embarrassed and spoke, "I hate supernatural things! B-besides...it's not like I just ran and hid? Well, never mind now. As long as we're all okay, it doesn't matter."

Japan agreed. "Yes, exactly. Besides, rather than think about how we acted in the past, we should discuss what to do from now on."

"I see. We can only conclude that that monster has really made us prisoners here. Though, having no way out is what really bothers me..." Germany stated.

"Indeed... I really wish I could go home. I've been waiting for several games that will be released soon..." Japan said.

Italy gave a pout. "Me, too. I can't eat pasta or pizza like this!"

"Mhhm..." I said quietly as I found a brush and decided to fix my (h/c) hair.

"Um, hey, you keep talking about a way out...If all the exits are locked, why don't we just make one ourselves?

Didn't you do that when you were prisoners of war, too? It's time to put that into practice now!" He exclaimed.

Japan stifled a giggle. "Huhu. That brings me memories, too. I miss those times when I kept trying to commit seppuku."

"Germany worked hard to make a way out for us. But this time, I'll do everything I can,too!" Italy said.

"I...I'll help out, too." I said.

They turned to me and smiled.

"Aw. Thanks, frau. You've been doing a good job so far, too! Just..be careful when going about the mansion, okay?" Prussia said. I smiled and nodded.

"Ve~ Don't worry, bella! You're going to get out of here!" Italy told me.

I looked a Italy in the eye and spoke, "You're going to get out of here, too. All of us will."

Italy's face suddenly saddened for a short moment and then went back to normal.

He smiled and quietly said, "O-Of course..."

Germany then spoke up, "All right, all right. So, the plan for tomorrow is to make a way out. We can't forget about that."

"Right. Well, now, I don't know what time it is, but let's sleep here tonight." Japan said.

"My watch broke when I wasn't looking, too!" Italy remarked.

I checked my own watch and noticed that mine is broken as well.

"Wait. Won't it be dangerous if we all go to sleep? I think one of us should stay up to keep watch." Germany suggested.

Japan nodded. "You definitely have a point. So, shall we play janken to decide fairly who will keep watch tonight? Well, with the exception of _____-chan, of course. She needs to rest for the night."

"Thanks." I said.

"Right. Oh, but uhm.. Jan..ke? What are the rules?" Italy asked.

"Well, er... It's a very simple game.You play by showing three types of hand-signs..." Japan explains.

"Whatever, let's do it already! I'm really tired! I wanna sleep!!" Prussia said, exasperated.

"Prussia, wait just a little." Germany scolded his older brother.

"--and Rock beats Scissors.You can throw Rock, Scissors, or Paper." Japan said.

"Ah, it's a little like "La Morra".Okay, I got it, Japan! Let's do it!" Italy said.

Japan agrees. "Let's go, then.

Jan

...ken

..."

--------------

~Third person PoV~

After the game of Janken, Prussia lost and was made to keep watch for the night while the four went to sleep. Germany was at the far left, beside him was Italy, next to him was Japan and ______ was at the far right end.

Prussia then spoke to himself. "Aah...Seriously, it's so fun being alone...

But those three, they really sound asleep...

Haaa...If only I had my computer, I could update my blog. Now all I can do is take pictures of their sleeping faces.

It's just... their serious faces... They looked awesome.

I couldn't resist them. ....

Sniff sniff...

I'm kinda... cold. The fire is... strong enough. What the hell!? I just felt a chill running down my spine..."

Suddenly, the loud knocking of the door and incessant clanking of the knob was heard.

"Th-!!

L-

Look, this isn't funny.I'm just... hearing things, right?

There's no one here! No one!!Why aren't those three waking up!?

Can't they hear anything!?"

~Back to Reader-chan's PoV!~

My eyes suddenly fluttered open as I felt a change in temperature and heard Prussia saying something aloud.

"Hah! That's it! I'll use Japan's strategy and pretend I'm not here! If I turn off my aura, I won't be found!" I hear him say.

What's going on...?

AH! It's this scene... I suddenly remember. Dangit. Why didn't I remember this sooner?

I was about to get up from the bed when...I realised that...

I was paralysed.

Shit. What's this?! I can't move...Nor can I talk?!

"...I guess I can't do it. Right, I have no choice then..." Prussia says.

From the corner of my eye, I see him walk over to the door.

"Forgive me.It's tough being alone." He said.

I am trying with all my might to get my body to move... Why can't I move, damnit?!!

"...SHIT! No!I won't die yet!!" Prussia yells.

As soon as he went out of the room, I was able to move. I grabbed my bag, hurriedly put on my shoes and tried to open the door...

*clankclank*

"What?!" I said out loud. Why won't the door open?!

Suddenly, I hear a blade cutting through something...and something collapsing.

God... I can't remember what happens here...

I kept on frantically trying to open the damn door.

Then I heard a *click*

I opened the door and shouted, "Prussia?! Are you oka--...."

No one.

There was no one there out the door.

That is, until I went out and turned to my right.

What I saw made my face grow pale.