He reaches up weakly. There's a large gash in his chest, and I can tell he isn't going to live. He whispers something, and I fall to my knees, putting my hands on his shoulders. "Can..." my voice cracks. "Can you repeat that...?" He says it louder. "Avenge me...Switzerland..avenge.." His voice cracks, and I realize he's crying. "Avenge me..." He sobs one last time, and then goes limp. I swallow around the lump in my throat, my eyes prickling with tears. "I will...I will avenge you, my friend." I stand up, putting on a face of bravery that's more for show than anything. I don't lean on the wall this time, the pain inside overshadowing the pain outside. I look up. "I will avenge you."

I follow the trail of bodies outside, realizing that I never even knew half of them, and watching that fact - that stone-cold fact - break me even more. "I will avenge you..." I don't look up or down, focused on one thing. No, not revenge now, nor Finland, my old lover, nor Poland, my old friend. "I will..." My voice falls down to the cold ground. "I will..." I wipe my eyes, smiling for real for the first time in years. "I will avenge you all..."

I walk up a hill, towards the unused well. Everything feels numb now, like my future is carved in stone, outlined in gold. Time has slowed down as I reach the crest of the hill, looking at the back of someone in a grey coat, pulled far up over their head. Blood flies through the air, like ruby-colored beads. They turn around, and...

<4 DaysAgo>

~Finland's POV~

I'm stumbling down the hall, passing the familiar hallways, when there's a hard, sharp knock at the entrance. I wait a minute, sliding, shadow-like, behind an open door, until Poland comes to open it. Who are you?" She asks. Someone else responds in a voice that is very high, "My name is.." there is a small pause. "Kat. I came to ask to join this organization to learn self-defense." Poland looks her up and down. I study her too. She has blue eyes, pale skin, and brown hair. It also looks as if she's from Scotland. Poland thinks, then says "Okay, you're in." Something about her feels...familiar, but I can't place it. I pull my hood over my head and walk off, tiredly.

I sit in my room, doodling, until the dinner bell rings. I walk out, passing bunches of countries and normal humans, and sit at my favorite table. The wood, once pretty, is stained by years of ink being applied and taken off. I sit at the farthest spot, pulling up my hood, and look at the heart drawn in marker on the wall. 'F + S Forever' it says, in blue and red. I whisper, under my breath, "and ever and ever." I'm about to say the last line when a whisper behind me says "Amen.". I jump, whipping around, then seeing that it's only Poland. I paint my face with an emotionless expression, and say "Why are you here?". Her face falls, then she realizes I'm just acting for the sake of it. "I wanted to introduce you to the new girl!" I say "K-" then realize i'm not supposed to know her yet, and say "-an we go see her?" I don't know why I said it, but it's out there now. She looks taken aback, then her face splits into a wide grin. "Yes!" she says. "Yes, we can!" I don't know why, but I smile.

Poland leads me to the table where Kat is sitting. She doesn't look lonely, but she's sitting all alone, not eating anything. In her eyes is...regret? Yes. I think for a moment, then when we reach her, stick out my hand for her to shake. She shakes it. Her grip isn't exactly hard, but it is strong. She smiles, though it seems hollow, and says "Kat. And you?" "Finland." I choose to pull down my hood, dropping all my fake expressions for once, and am surprised to see her face change. Her eyes open wide, brokenly, and her face displays regret, anger, pain and heartbreak. It changes back in a split second, into a sympathetic, but still hollow, smile. "Is everything okay?" I hear another question in those words; 'Is this my fault?' I don't know how it would be her fault, so I respond "No. Now go away." While we're walking back, Poland is still slightly smiling and rambling about something, but I watch Kat. The smile stays on her face, but her eyes fill with tears as she watches me go. I'm taken aback - she seems to think my heartbreak is all her fault. I don't know why...

It's 2:00 when I wake up, my mind still raging with questions. I decide to go outside, to get some fresh air, so I shuffle into the common room and startle. There's already someone there! I say gruffly "You should be asleep..." They barely look up, not at me. "Then so should you, how are we any different?" I internally chuckle. Then they take a swig of alcohol straight out of a bottle, no cups in sight. I'm startled - they drink like me too? "You shouldn't drink, it's bad for you." she - I've decided they're a she - chuckles dryly. "I'm not surprised." They glance up, and I see an expression of 'Shoot, I was talking to him?' flash across her face. "Kat?" I say in surprise and confusion. She coolly responds "Yes?" I cough, then mutter "Uh, nevermind." She studies me for a minute, then says "Germany wanted me to search around in my room, do you have any idea why?" A lot of ideas flash through my head, the main one being 'That idiot, does he want us to get caught?' I finally say "Well...I suppose he wanted you to search for things she left behind so that he could bring her back to our side..." she responds, though slightly strained,"Why?" "The traitor was his little sister..." She covers her mouth in shock, though even that seems fake. "So...that picture I found..." My eyes widen. She didn't... "You found a picture?" "Yeah, it had a little girl with a white plus and a red background on her flag, along with a boy with stripes of black, gold and red on his flag, and Germany in the background." I look down, to hide my hurt face, and mutter "That was his family..." She thinks, then there is a beep that almost sounds like a com. She looks at her phone then says "Oh, I have to take a call, see ya around..." she walks off, texting I suppose. I follow her, quietly, until she says "Hey mom, why are you calling me at 3am?". I wander off, satisfied that she's not up to something, at least not on a com.

I fall asleep eventually, waking up only when I hear footsteps. Checking the time, I see it's 8:00. Wait...I rub my eyes, clearing them, and see it's actually 6:00. I quickly pull myself off the couch and duck behind it, just as someone looks in. Wait. No, not someone...Kat? I follow her silently, ducking into doorways and behind corners all the while. She heads to the training room, and I blink in surprise. I mean, she's probably really weak--I am cut off by her absolutely destroying the dummies, making their seams split and stuffing fly through the air.

I stifle a curse. How did she get so good so fast? I mean, she doesn't even have a trainer yet. Was she self-taught, and if so, why did she come here? Questions, phrases, and quite a bit of confusion run through my head. Is she a spy? For who? Why would she spy?

I walk down the hall in anger. I've figured out nothing, and even after I searched her room...nothing! She had no bags, or- I freeze. She had no bags. People that come here plan in advance - I've been told they researched us, and they always arrive with bags. I run through the halls, my head foggy, realizing only when I am outside the door that I was heading to Germany's lab. I throw open the door, all tiredness gone. "Ger-!"

He's gone.