---CHAPTER VII: Memories (Part 3)---

//Third Person PoV//

They all went back to where the rest were and gave them the "good news".

"Oh, you found an exit?" Russia asked.

England breathed a sigh of relief and motioned them to follow him. "Yeah! We can finally escape! Come on, let's get out of here."

"Shouldn't we hurry?" Italy told them nervously.

America shook his head and grinned. "We already have an exit secured! I want to explore a little! All I've seen was the basement; I want to go upstairs, too!"

"Germany, you go ahead with the others. When America is like this, nothing can stop him." Canada sighed and rolled his eyes over to his brother.

_____ walked over to the Canadian and tapped his shoulder.

"Hey, uhm, Canada.. Thanks for carrying my bag for me. I'll be taking it now."

"Oh..you're welcome, ______. Are you sure it's not too heavy for you?" he asked, worried about the girl's condition.

She flung the bag over her shoulders and gave a thumbs up. "Nah. It's fine~ Thanks."

"Well, we have to make sure that that rope isn't rotten. We'll go ahead and see if there isn't any problem." Germany announced.

China spoke up, " I'm splitting up for a while! I found some Chinese medicine that I wanted; I'll go get it!"

Everyone agreed to go about the house for a while before going home. As they were exiting the room one by one, Prussia called out, " Japan! Stay back; I want to have a word with you. The others can wait in the other room."

This made the Japanese man turn around with a puzzled expression on his face. He was silent for a while, but decided to give in. "Very well."

Prussia was about to say something else, when he saw ____ from the corner of his eye and made his way over to the girl talking to Canada.

Canada faced the girl and spoke in a serious tone, "By the way, _____. I want to ask you about somethi--"

"Ah, sorry to cut in your conversation, but I need to talk to the frau." Prussia said, apologising to them for disturbing.

"B-But..uhm...fine... I'll just ask her later, eh? See you later." Canada waved before walking out of the room.

France suddenly raised an eyebrow and called out to his friend in a loud voice. "Hold on! I wanted to get to know about the petite fleur!"

Prussia could only stick out his tongue to his French buddy. "Too bad, frau and I are gonna exchange e-mails. You go along with the others!"

France gave a small pout before huffing out, " Fine, then. I'll see you later~"

With that, everyone left the room except the three.

=====

//Japan's PoV//

"So, what's eating you two?" Prussia asked us after making sure the others were out of earshot.

I raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

Prussia gave a skeptical look before speaking, " I'll start with you, Japan. I haven't been through it yet, but... you see things, don't you? When we break the clocks. C'mon, spit it out."

"... I'm sorry. I was trying not to show it." I admitted.

"You can tell me the details later. Just tell me the most important things now." my red-eyed ally said.

".....I'm... not sure what it means, but...

From now on... if I make a choice, I'll lose someone, and if I follow a different path to save them, I'll lose someone else..." I told them.

They were all silent as they waited for me to continue.

"I tried several options, but it was no use...The more I tried, the stronger the Thing became. I can't do this alone any more?--"

"You can't defeat it on your own? Then how did you do it until now?" Prussia cut in.

I thought carefully. "When it was necessary to fight... I defeated itwith Italy and Germany... and with you. I also fought alongside Russia and China--"

Prussia crossed his arms and questioned my loss for words. "Huh! Why did you stop there?!"

"I-I'm sorry." I looked away.

"You tried several options, right? But did you talk to anyone about it before you tried them? Do you really think you can come up with a solution all on your own when this fight involves so many people?" Prussia said, making his point.

"Oh..." I said as I turned to him again.

"You should have said something before! But I'm glad you told me! Kesese!" Prussia grinned before turning to _____. "....As for you, ______."

"...I...I'm not sure if I can tell you guys..." she turned away, not meeting his gaze.

He then placed his hands gently on her shoulders and spoke, "_____...you can tell us.. If there is something that you know you can't do alone, we're here. We're all here together. We can help you, frau. Trust us."

She looked up and thought for a moment before speaking.

"....I don't know if you'll believe me. That...ain't...mhmm.. it's quite a long story." she told us in an unsure tone.

Prussia shook his head and lifted her chin to face him. "Nonsense! We'll be hanging on your every word. We'll believe you. We promise."

She took a deep breath then spoke, ".....This world... I'm...I'm pretty sure I don't belong here."

"What do you mean by that?" I asked, creasing my forehead.

"From the world I lived in...you guys...are just fiction. You're all from an anime called, "Hetalia". It's one of my favourite animes.. And this...situation we're in...this is supposed to be a fanmade game." she told us slowly.

Prussia looked at her unbelievably and took a step back. "....N-No way! We can't be...this is all real... That's not..."

____ seemed to be hurt from what Prussia said, so she turned away from us.

"...I knew you'd never believe me."

I tried to comfort her by speaking up, "You've got it wrong, _____-chan. It...might be a bit hard to process...but if you say that that's the truth...we believe you. Right, Prussia?"

"Ja... I'm sorry about my reaction...But...uhm, I believe you...yet, I'm still sorta confused." Prussia apologised.

_____ has still not turned around to face us, but she spoke.

"Prussia. Eastern part of Germany. Birthday: January 18. Height: 177 cm. Born to fight the same type of battles as Austria, but was a hooligan who did nothing but fight and avoided any marriage. He will do anything to become strong, and has an arrogant attitude, believing that he is more "awesome" than others, although he hasn't really succeeded at his goal."

"H-Hey, I've succeeded! ...Wait--how...did you know all that?" Prussia exclaimed in a confused manner.

"Amazing... It's because we're from an anime that you like.. That's why you know our personalities." I marvelled at her and the information she gave.

_____ turned to face us.

"Yeah... There are times when I can't sleep at night and I read your character bios online... Sometimes I remember a whole lot of them, sometimes I forget... I don't know how my memory works, really. There are just times when it bursts with all the info...but then there are also times when it's just...blank. It's really annoying how I can't remember stuff when I want to..."

Prussia, still a little dumbfounded, managed to speak up again. "Wow... Uh, how about Japan's info then?"

____ cupped her chin and thought for a while. "L-Let's see...uhm.. Japan...Birthday: February 11th. Height: 165 cm. A shy, quiet, and hard-working man. Japan does not know very much about the outside world and needs time to adjust to other people. He tends to have a behaviour of an 'old man' and was a hikikomori for a long time."

My eyes widened as I heard her describe me perfectly, even if we haven't known each other for a long time. "Scarily...that is all true... But now the question is...how were you able to get to...this world?"

"About that...I still have no idea..." she shrugged.

"You...mentioned something about a game?" Prussia tilted his head.

____ nodded and spoke once more. "Yes... well... We're...in a game called HetaOni... It's hard to explain it, but well... The whole situation is the plot. Stuck in a mansion with a monster out to get us. And...well... I can actually monitor you guys as if I'm still playing the game."

"How can you do that?" I asked.

"If I wave my hand in front of me, a menu screen appears." she said, waving her hand in front of her.

I squinted, trying to see if there would be something to appear in front of her, but I saw nothing. "I'm sorry, but...I can't see anything."

"Yeah... It seems like I'm the only one who can see it. I usually use it to check our inventory--our stuff. And for battles. I can see who's health is getting dangerously low, or who needs to get energised again or whatever..." she explained.

Prussia snapped his fingers. "AH! Is that how you knew that we needed to eat the onigiris and drink the beer?!"

____ nodded.

"This is quite a discovery for us. It's actually unimaginable, but ever since we got here--everything seems to be possible at this point." I told her, feeling a bit more hopeful.

"Wait. So does that mean that you know what will happen next?" Prussia asked.

"W-Well, I have played this game before..." _____ said, twiddling her thumbs.

Prussia placed his hands on his hips. "Then how come you didn't tell us sooner?"

"I-I'm sorry...but I have my valid reasons. I was really scared about trying to change the story... I mean...what if I make a decision to warn about the Thing but then end up with something else gone wrong?" she told us, her voice almost cracking.

"I understand. That's the same feeling that I have when I go through those memories when we break clocks." I reassured her.

"And also... it's like everytime I try to say something, I always get cut off."

She muttered something under her breath. "China.."

"What was that?" I asked her, not exactly catching what she said.

She shook her head. "N-Nothing. Anyways, I'm pretty sure I won't be interrupted this time..Well, I hope. And... I hope that I won't cause damage by telling you all that I know about this..."

"Don't worry, frau! We already found a way out and the awesome me is here with you! Now, just tell us what happens next." Prussia told her while giving her shoulder a friendly pat.

_____ nodded. "....Okay, then. This game...is nowhere near over yet."

Prussia's eyes widened. "W-What??!"

"I...You know...You guys have no idea how this whole story tears my heart apart. I'm scared. I...I'm really scared about what will happen--not only about myself, but also about you guys! The whole time I've been here...I've constantly debated with myself about what I should do, what I should not do, how I can help, how not to be a burden... I'm really sorry. I have the information...but I was so afraid of what'll happen if I used it wrong." she said, her eyes welling up.

"C-Calm down, ____-chan. It's okay. We understand... But you said you've played this before, right? Then...you should already know what to do and not to do...?" I asked her.

"I already told you guys, didn't I? There are just times when my mind bursts with all the info...but then there are also times when it's just...blank. The inconvenience of this is that...I can't use the information I knew whenever I want." she told us with a sullen expression.

"Oh..." Prussia said as he looked down.

"When I played this game, I always had the 'Save game' option to rely on. When I'm unsure of the next step to take, I save the game. If it doesn't turn out right, I could easily reload the game and try again." she explained.

Prussia and I nodded, understanding what she meant.

"But...guys...this is...reality. Well, I'm still unsure of that but this is too realistic to call a dream. So...it's my current reality. I can't save at any checkpoint. I can't afford to take in too much risk...because the price to pay would probably be someone's life! And I can't do that! You guys... You may not know this, but I've grown very fond of you all. I've known and cared about you guys as anime characters before...but now... you guys are real. All real and in the flesh. What more now? I can't risk it." she told us, looking so fragile, like she was about to break.

Prussia also sensed this and pulled the girl into a hug and patted her head. "I'm...really touched, frau. I'm really sorry if I almost doubted you back there. But you know, we're all here now and it's safe to tell us what we can do for whatever may happen next."

"I feel the same as Prussia. We're really thankful for all your help so far, you know? You've been guiding us this whole time without us knowing. But please know you're not alone." I told her. It's a lot to process, what she said...but, from what she told us, she's done so much not just for herself, but for us.

Prussia broke away from the hug so he could face the girl. "Ja! You've monitored us and watched over us. Now, let us do the same thing for you. Let us be there for you. "

She wiped away a tear from her cheek and looked at us. "....Thank you... Alright then... I'm really happy you guys told me that, but you should also tell that to someone else."

"To whom?" I asked, genuinely curious.

"Well you see it's because o--..." ____ suddenly stopped when she began to stagger a little.

I took a few steps closer to her. "A-Are you alright?"

She nodded, but held her head like she was in pain. "...Yeah...I'm sorry...I can hear....someone... no... I-I need to tell you..."

_____ started to lose consciousness and almost collapsed on the floor. Good thing, Prussia caught her.

"F-FRAU!"

"____-chan??! What... "

"....26..."

"Huh?"

"....I found out...th-that....there will a-actually...."

"_____!...Hold on...don't push yourself..."

".....th-there will actually be 26 people...in this mansion...."

"N-Nani?! Wait...but there's just...there's just 11 of us here!"

"...T-Two pl--"

Before she could finish what she was saying, she lost consciousness.

"I'll..I'll carry her. You take her bag. Let's go to where West and Italy are and get _____ out of here! C'mon let's go!" Prussia instructed with a panicked expression on his face.

I have so many things to tell him, but didn't know how to start, so I started rambling, "Listen! That place is dangerous. If--If we go to that place, Germany will--Ah, I mean, you would be risking your own life, too... and even Italy--"

"State your opinion precisely and concisely. You think too much. That's why you're forgetting something simple!" he told me.

I pondered on what he just said. "... Something simple."

Carrying _____ on his back, Prussia faced me with a serious expression and spoke, "First you remembered one thing! When you're that worried about stuff, you should tell people. You have to let us work together and give yourself some breathing space. Look at frau here, she's been bottling up soo much ever since she came here...and it looks like it's been taking out a lot of on her with all the stress...I'll give you points if you remember one more thing. Now, let's go."

"R-Right!"

Prussia leaves the room swiftly but carefully, carrying ______.

---

Since I've glimpsed so many possibilities...I'm sure the Thing has got stronger.

With an enemy that grows progressively stronger... What can I possibly do...?

------

Prussia and I arrived at the tunnel-like place in the basement where the rope ladder was located.

"West!! We need to get _____ out of this place, now!" Prussia frantically told his brother.

Germany turned with a concerned look forming on his face. "W-What happened to her?"

"She suddenly fainted while we were talking." his older brother told him.

"Oh no.. Then we better get bella out of here, quick." Italy said.

Germany then started running forward. "Then I'll go on ahead so that I can assist Prussia in bringing ____ up."

"Oh!! Germa--" I tried to call out to stop him, but he was already out of earshot.

(There's no time left. I can't call out to him, nor can I physically stop him. I'm sure our enemy is stronger, too.)

(... Hm?)

(Wait a minute. Our enemy is definitely stronger. Whenever I glimpsed a memory,its strength and speed had increased greatly.)

(But it wasn't... just the enemy...)

"Aaargh!!" We heard Germany shout.

Italy's face suddenly turned pale. He quickly dashed to where his friend was. "Germany!! What happened? Did you fall over?"

"Let's go." Prussia said as he motioned me to follow them.

(Maybe what Prussia was trying to say is that?)

Germany's Torture level went up.
Italy learned a new skill.
Prussia learned a new skill.
Japan learned a new skill.

"D-Did I just see something flash in front of me just now?" I suddenly said out loud.

....

I need to head over there, quick.

---------

When we got there, the grey monster stood in front of the now-burnt ladder.

"...There it is." I managed to say.

"J-Japan! Run, quickly!" Germany ordered us.

Italy tried to grab Germany's arm and mine. "Let's go, quickly! I'm worried about the others!"

"Ah. I see now. This is what he meant..." Prussia said, realising what was in front of them.

_____ suddenly stirs and awakens.

"W-Wha...? What happened...? And...what's happening..?" she croaked out.

"F-Frau! You're awake!" Prussia exclaimed as he let _____ down gently. She was still in a bit of a daze for just waking up, but she approached her Japanese friend and asked for her bag.

When the girl turned to her side, she suddenly saw what their situation was. "S-Sorry about that! ...Oh shit. It's that Thing."

"Come on! Just run--" Germany said in a panicked manner.

Italy looked at us and spoke, "All together! That's it! If we run, we can still make it!!"

Germany nodded. "Y-yes."

(Our enemy may be tough, but I'm still faster. I can't do this alone. However...)

"Japan!!" Prussia called after me.

(Now...)

We all ran towards the door.

"Prussia! Wait! Germany tripped over a rock!" I yelled.

At that, Prussia suddenly turned back and ran over to where his younger brother was. "West!!"

"Shit! Not in this place--Go!! I can't get this vine off!!" Germany shouted at us.

"...Hh! Germany!" Italy cried.

Prussia looked back at me. "Japan!! Have you got your answer yet?!"

I fell silent.

Prussia suddenly lunged forward and hit the monster with his sword, causing the Thing to step back a little

Germany looked at his older brother with a pained expression. "Prussia!! Why?!"

"Hey, West! Is this really the time to wipe the floor?!" Prussia joked with a sort of bittersweet chuckle.

Italy went over to his friend. "... I'm sorry. Are you okay, Germany?"

"Italy..." Germany looked up to his Italian friend.

(Ahh, I see. My mistake was to try to solve everything on my own.)

(And the reason why we kept being defeated was my narrow-mindedness. I didn't observe anyone but the enemy.)

I quickly rushed over to the others.

"This is my answer! The enemy is stronger, but so are we. If we all join forces, we can defeat it!" I exclaimed, drawing my sword.

Prussia smirked. "Heh. Well done!"

"You idiots!! Why did you come back?!" Germany asked with a sullen expression. It seems he didn't want us to get hurt along with him.

"You want to know why I came back?" Prussia said whilst holding his arms up to somehow cover Germany from the monster.

Germany's light blue eyes widened when Prussia continued,

"Because...

I can't think of a reason why I wouldn't help my little brother!"