Chapter 40: The Second Loop

"I feel like I should introduce you." Romano said, gesturing for Asher to stand up—he'd been crouched so as not to alarm the other nations with his impressive height.

"Aaah!" France stumbled backwards upon seeing the full height and bulk of the fully grown wolf. I couldn't blame him—Asher was much taller as an adult than an adolescent.

"This is Asher the Second. My bonded." Romano smiled softly, scratching Asher behind his ear.

His fur was chestnut in coloration, which made his dark green eyes pop dramatically. He stood at a terrifying 5'2" (157 cm), which was unheard of for wolves or dogs.

"Even Dire Wolves aren't supposed to be that big!" China cried out.

"Aww... what a good puppy." Russia smiled, scratching Asher under the chin, making his eyes go a little unfocused.

"Ahh yeah! Right there! Scratch right there... that feels so good." He started leaning into Russia's scratches, making Romano and I chuckle.

"You're such a lapdog." I teased him. He turned to me, miffed, ears flicked back with irritation. "Oh, you know it's true. You've become so lazy in the past few centuries."

"So? It doesn't mean that you're any less lazy." He countered.

"I never said I wasn't, but at least I go grab my food. You've started settling for kibbles of all things. When was the last time you went for a hunt?" I raised an eyebrow.

"... I forgot you could understand me."

"To be honest, I did, too." Romano shrugged.

"You're a fucking wolf. And you don't even hunt?" Luciano gave Asher a look.

"Wh-what?" Asher looked away, embarrassed. "I just haven't found any prey worthy of my attention. Hunting rabbits at my size... I'd expend more energy than it's worth." He huffed.

"He said it's more effort than it's worth to hunt rabbits and such things at his size." I translated for the nations.

"Yeah, well, you're eating up my fucking wallet with those kibbles! Do you have any idea how expensive dog food is?!" Romano lectured.

"I'm a wolf. I don't need to have an idea of human money."

"Fucking ass." Romano huffed.

The memory faded in, then, drawing everyone's attention again.

Feliciano was standing in the hallway of the Meeting Place, staring at his phone in shock. After a moment, he fell to his knees and wept quietly.

"I... was it all a dream?" He took a deep, shaky breath. "How terrifying. Maybe..." He shook his head. "No way... I must've had some kind of daydream turned nightmare... Yeah." He got to his feet unsteadily, and took a step forward before realizing he was holding something. He glanced down at the Journal in shock, before dropping it to the ground with a strangled scream as if burned. He backed away, tripping over the rug and falling on his butt. He shook from head to toe, very pale.

"I... it can't be..." He hesitantly crawled forward and poked the book. He carefully picked it back up, and opened it.

The first page was blank, with the exception of a single signature line on the bottom of the page. Feliciano's signature was there, in blood. He ghosted his hand over it, and reeled back as if suddenly electrocuted.

"What was that?" Japan asked in concern.

"It was the Journal..." Luciano answered. "It was showing him how it's used, and what it does. It sort of... zaps the knowledge into your brain. You have a headache for a few minutes as the information processes."

"Sounds irritating, yet useful." China hummed.

"Time..." Feliciano whispered. "So it did work... but that means that!" His eyes widened in horror. "No... I can't let anyone go to that terrible place!"

He made his way to the Meeting Room. The meeting had started a half hour prior, but the place was already in chaos, so nobody paid any mind to the small Italian's entrance. He quietly padded his way over to Ludwig and Kiku, seemingly in a state of shocked disbelief.

"Itary-kun?" Kiku turned to Feliciano, noticing something off.

"There you are! I looked everywhere for you!" Ludwig lectured.

"Ger...many... Ja...pan..." He stared at them; afraid to touch them and find out it was an illusion.

"Itary-kun? What's wrong? You look as if you've seen a ghost." Kiku frowned.

"Maybe I have..." Feli whispered. He hesitantly reached out and touched Kiku, his hand shaking. Suddenly, tears welled up in his eyes, and he flung himself into the startled Japanese Nation's arms, sobbing.

Several nations looked up in surprise, Lovino especially. "I-Itary-kun?!" Kiku stuttered. "What's the matter?!"

"Italien?" Ludwig and Kiku shared a bewildered look.

"Look, potato-bastard!" Lovino spoke up. "I don't know what you did, but you made my brother cry! You'd better fucking apologize right now!"

"P-please... they did nothing wrong. I'm just happy." Feliciano spoke up to defend the two.

"H-hey, Germany? Japan? Can we go straight home after this meeting?" Feli asked, a smile on his face. He looked so relieved.

"J-ja..." Ludwig nodded.

"A-and everyone else, too!"

The scene blurred, and Feliciano, Kiku and Ludwig were leaving the room, when Alfred's voice called out, telling the room about the Mansion.

"Kesesese!" Gilbert laughed. "Hey, Ludwig! Why don't we join them?!"

"NO!" Feliciano glared. "No... let's all stay far away from that place!"

"Wha?! You're no fun, Ita!" Gilbert complained.

"Actually, Prussia-san, we were just leaving." Kiku said, not interested in the place at all.

"Prussia, you shouldn't go..." Feliciano said, looking at the others. "Nobody should go." He said it louder, this time.

"Hm? What's up? Why not?" Alfred tilted his head, confused.

"Just don't! That place is cursed! If you go..." Tears welled up in his eyes.

"If you're that scared, just stay home." Ivan smiled.

"Y-you don't understand..." Feliciano tried to explain. "We... we aren't nations in that place! If you go, you'll die! Permanently!"

"Ha! That's a good one, Ita!" Gilbert laughed, as did several others.

"You had me going there for a minute!" Alfred grinned.

"Sorry, Italy..." America looked down, ashamed.

"Ja... I'm sorry, too." Prussia nodded.

"No, no. It's fine. I really was making a fool of myself. Honestly, there's no way you would've believed such a wild statement." I chuckled, looking at my past self with pity. "I really had a lot to learn."

"No kidding. If you thought those techniques would work." Yang scoffed. Romano sent him a glare, but it didn't even faze the white-haired man.

The scene shifted again, showing six nations, Alfred, Ludwig, Ivan, Yao, Feliciano, and Kiku, standing in front of the Mansion. The watching nations winced.

"Before some of you go to apologize, as I know you are," I shot a few of them some looks. "Let me explain something. Once you've set foot inside, at least if you were there from the start as the nine of you were, you become tied to the Contract." I settled a steady, serious gaze upon them all so they understood my next words clearly. "No matter what... you had to go there. You would be pulled there somehow. No matter what you did, or what I would do, you would end up there somehow. There was no way of preventing us from arriving there, and getting locked inside. The terms are to get out, not stay out."

"So... we were doomed from the start." France sighed.

"Same for us, I presume?" Kuro raised an eyebrow.

"Yup." Luciano nodded. "And believe me, I tried everything I could think of."

"So did I." I sighed. "But once you're through the Gates, it's already too late."

"Wait, where's the Awesome me?" Prussia asked, looking around.

"You, Canada, England, and France all went on ahead. We were the second group to arrive." I explained.

"PLEASE!" Feliciano's yell startled the nations, both watching and memory. "Please! We have to get out of here, now! You're all in danger!"

"ITALIEN!" Ludwig glared. "That's enough! Nobody's forced you to come along, if you're really that scared, then go home!"

"I... I'm not just being a coward." Feliciano's reply was too soft for the nations in the memory to hear. The group still went inside, and Feliciano reluctantly followed them, holding the Journal securely.

The moment we stepped inside, Asher started growling menacingly, putting the nations on edge. His fur stood up, and his hackles rose. "This place smells of more blood than a battlefield. It's not a place of curses... it's a place of death. This land... it is evil..."

"I know, Asher." I placed a hand on his back, petting him to help him calm down. He stopped growling, but his hackles were still raised. He was on high alert, ready to face any danger to protect his pack.

"Hellooooo! Is anyone here?!" Ludwig called out, looking around.

"They're not here, maybe they went upstairs?" Kiku suggested.

"Sheesh, those old geezers are always going off on their own!" Alfred complained, crossing his arms. "They came here first, and yet they're nowhere to be seen!"

"Look, let's go back!" Feliciano tried again. "I told you! We can't stay here! Please, let's go back!" He looked desperately between all the gathered nations, who looked mildly irritated.

"We told you, you didn't have to come." Yao sighed. "If you really didn't want to, why did you—"

"I told you!" Feliciano cut him off. "This place is dangerous! I've seen it!" Tears welled up in his eyes. "We're going to be attacked by a huge monster, and everyone is going to die! It's true, I'm telling you!"

"Oh, Itary-kun... I'm sorry we didn't listen to you." Japan shot me an apologetic look.

"You're not serious?" Ludwig laughed, "We are going to die? We're nations!" He calmed down a little. "You didn't have to follow us if you were that scared... How unlike you."

"Germany..." Feliciano looked at him, hurt. You... won't believe me?

Asher shot Germany a look of disapproval. He didn't bear his fangs, but he still wasn't happy with the blond for his actions. Oh, dio... what will Asher think when... I shook my head. No... It wouldn't come to that... right?

"I'm sorry. I was wrong to laugh." Germany winced. How could he have laughed after what his friend had gone through?! How did he miss that shine of desperation and fear in his eyes?

"You were taking a siesta before the meeting, hai?" Kiku looked over at his friend. "Perhaps you simply had a nightmare?"

"Even you, Japan...?" Feliciano looked heartbroken. "Will nobody believe me?"

"If you are done over there, shouldn't we be looking for those four?" Ivan spoke up.

Feliciano shot Ivan a harsh glare. "Russia, just shut up!" He snarled, causing the nations to flinch back in surprise. Ivan looked a dangerous mix of shocked and angered. "I'll look for them, you all just stay here! Don't go anywhere!"

"What is wrong with you?!" Yao spluttered. "It's like you're a different person all of a sudden, and it's honestly freaking me out! Where's your usual happy self?"

I couldn't help but give a dark laugh, an amused smirk on my face. "I find that very funny."

"You would, wouldn't you?" Luciano replied dryly.

"Then you have to believe me!" Feliciano continued, misinterpreting Yao's words. He turned his gaze towards Kiku. "Please, no matter what, Japan! Stay away from the Piano Room!"

"Even if you say that... wouldn't it still be easier if everybody were to split up and search for them? We'd cover more ground this way." Kiku replied. "We can agree on a time to meet back up, here."

"I like this plan. I do not want to stick with all of you the entire time." Ivan smiled.

"Don't! That's—!" Feliciano tried again, but his words were cut as a sob bubbled up from his throat.

"Why are you crying?" Alfred asked. He looked concerned and confused. "It's just easier to split up and look, that's all. If we all stick together to search..."

Ludwig sighed harshly. "You're the only one opposed to the plan. What's gotten into you? Look, I'm sorry, but we've wasted enough time. I'm going to start looking." He started walking off towards the left.

"Germany! I told you not to go to the Basement!" Feliciano called out urgently.

"Let's meet back up in an hour." Yao said, finally fed up with waiting. "I'll go search over there." He then walked in the opposite direction of Ludwig, Ivan following behind.

"Wait! Don't split up!" Feliciano warned, but his words fell on deaf ears.

"Cool, I'll search the top floor first." Alfred grinned. "I'll be back in an hour." He then went up the stairs, ignoring Feli's distressed state.

"Then I'll start on the second floor." Kiku decided.

"Wait! No! If you guys do that, then... It was pointless to go back..." Feliciano looked around himself in despair. "It was all useless..." He sighed. "Now that we're all locked inside... we have to get the key to escape... I'll have to live through it all over again." He bit his bottom lip hard to stifle another sob. He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself.

"First Japan... then China, Russia, and France. America, England, and Canada are still fine, but the Basement's pretty dangerous." He looked warily off in the direction Ludwig had gone. "I'll call Germany back, and then if we go with Japan..." He nodded slowly, a plan forming. "I'll have to put on an act. This time, I'll save all of them. Even if I have to lie to them... trick them... deceive them. I'm going to save them all." He nodded his head firmly, having made his decision.

He took a moment to dry his tears and plaster a fake grin on his face, before going after Ludwig. "Ve~ Germany~! I've decided to come with you, after all~!"

The scene faded out once more. "That smile..." America looked off in the direction that Feliciano had gone. "It was so sad."

"You once told me something, Alfred." I stated, making the nation look over at me. "You said I should learn to smile a little more naturally." I gave a small, bitter laugh. "At the time, I'd had no idea why you would say such a thing. But now... looking at myself like this... I really was obvious."

"No kidding." Luciano shot me a sideways look. "Your acting skills were much better by the time we swapped."

"Wait, by the time you what?" Flavio glanced between myself and Luciano in disbelief.

"We ended up switching at one point, and I had to pretend to be Luciano, and he had to pretend to be me." I said, and the 2Ps rolled their eyes or scoffed.

"As if you could fool us." Jason laughed.

"Actually, I did." I smirked.

"Yeah, right." He rolled his eyes.

"Hmm... I don't know, Luci... he doesn't seem to believe me. Think we should...?" I shared a conspiratorial glance with my 2P, and we smirked. This was going to be fun. Once we had a break, of course.

The next scene faded in showing Francis, Arthur, Alfred, Kiku, Ludwig, Gilbert, and Feliciano standing in the bedroom across from the Fireplace Room. They seemed to be looking for something.

Feliciano's head whipped up, as he heard a faint thump. "H-hey, guys? I think that monster's coming back. We should go."

"Oh, come now, Italie." Francis reassured. "Have you so little faith in those three? I'm sure they've got it covered."

"N-no, there's more than one of them!" He spoke out, but the others didn't listen.

"Don't be ridiculous!" Ludwig laughed. "You're starting to sound like you did yesterday."

Asher looked towards the door and growled.

"If you recall, I wasn't wrong." Feli pointed out dryly. "But we don't have time for that, we have to—"

Before he could finish his sentence, the Thing burst through the door, startling the room. It was different from the other one, though, stronger and bulkier. It snarled, looking right at Feliciano, its tail swinging madly.

"What the fuck is that?!" Asher barked out, growling ferociously.

"That would be the Thing. Though this one is admittedly much larger than even Steve." I answered.

"Than who?" America raised an eyebrow. "Don't tell me you named them!"

"Only the Alpha of the Normal Things." I shrugged. "That's the one that killed you all the first go-around." I explained. "I call him Steve because it seemed to annoy him the most."

"Leave it to my brother to be stuck in a cursed Mansion in the middle of nowhere, that makes him mortal and fucking taunt the damn monster that killed everyone!" Flavio threw up his hands in frustration.

Romano, Luciano and I shared horrified looks. "D...did my 2P just cuss?"

The other 2Ps shrunk away, sharing wide-eyed looks of fear. Flavio rarely cussed, finding it rather unbecoming, but when he was well and truly pissed—or frustrated in this case—he resorted to the same bad habit his 1P had.

"What the hell?!" Arthur cried out in shock.

"Merde!" Francis stumbled back. His right arm was in a sling, so he wasn't able to fight.

"So you did find us." Feli glared. "Stay back!" He warned the group. "You won't kill them this time!" He ran at the Thing, brandishing a hidden blade from the stick of his white flag. "This time... I won't run! I will fight!"

"You... have a sword in your white flag?" Germany stared at me incredulously.

"Si. Nobody expects it. Why do you think I always have it with me?" I asked, pulling it out. "The white flag fabric works well for emergency bandages, while the hilt has some medicine hidden in the compartment."

"But you don't have the flag tied around it anymore." China pointed out.

"Well... white flags are pretty useless." I muttered sardonically.

Feliciano slashed at the Thing, and his ferocity made it stumble back in surprise, before it grinned and threw itself at its prey with the same vigor. He ducked under a swipe from its claws, only to be knocked aside by a tail swipe. He hit the couch hard, actually throwing the heavy piece of furniture into the wall. Blood seeped from the area where the spikes got him.

Asher gave an odd mix of a whimper and a growl. He was confused. His nose told him that pack was hurt, and his instinct screamed at him to defend that pack—my past self. But he knew this was just a memory, and that he could do nothing about it.

"Pack has bled..." He scratched at his nose with a low whine.

"It's okay, Asher..." Romano wrapped his arms around his bonded's neck, even though he, himself, was just as horrified. He scratched at his own nose, senses on high alert.

"Itary-kun!" Kiku cried out in shock, as he rushed forward and sliced at the Thing. He had a better time with it, while Ludwig and Alfred ran to help Feliciano, who groaned as he sat up. Ludwig seemed horrified at the blood of his friend.

"I-I'm fine." He gasped out, clutching his injured midsection.

"Like hell you are! What was that?!" Ludwig demanded, sending him a glare. "You aren't a fighter! You should've stayed back like you always do!"

"I won't let you die this time!" Feliciano argued.

"Again with this– this– ridiculous farce! That's enough! Just stop, please!"

"I won't! It's true." All of Feliciano's anger seemed to drain away suddenly. "But it's fine if you don't believe me." He seemed incredibly calm and serene, like some sort of piece had clicked into place. "Just don't ever forget me." He smiled softly.

"Wh-what? Forget you?" Alfred reeled back. Before he could say anything else, Feliciano got to his feet and ran over to Kiku, who was on the floor. Alfred and Ludwig were too slow to stop him. The Thing's claws hit Feli's sword, saving the life of the Japanese nation.

"I'm sorry about this, Japan!" Feliciano apologized as he pushed the Thing away with his blade before shoving the injured nation roughly at Ludwig, who barely caught him.

Feliciano then swung his blade at the Thing, hitting it in the side, before narrowly dodging another strike. He jumped back several paces to give himself some breathing room.

"Run, Italy!" Arthur cried out, using a weak spell to attack, though it served as little more than a distraction.

"Move... Please, go!" Francis tried holding his rapier with his left hand, unable to move his broken right arm enough to fight with.

"I can't... if I move from here, America will..." Feli glanced nervously towards Alfred.

"I would've died?" America asked.

"Look at the floor by your left foot." I pointed towards a nail that was sticking up in the floor. "Your foot would've caught, and you would've fallen right into the Thing's tail swipe, causing massive damage." I gestured to the room once more. "You may not have noticed it, but everyone's already seriously injured."

Indeed, Francis had bandages wrapped around his head, showing signs of a concussion, while Alfred was favoring his right leg, and moved gingerly. He likely had broken ribs. Ludwig had some bandages wrapped around his torso, as did Kiku, and Arthur looked to be rather beat up as well. Gilbert was favoring his left leg, and his shoulder seemed to be causing him no small amount of discomfort, too.

Despite all this, the others tried their best to fight this new Thing, before Arthur fell to one knee from magical exhaustion.

"This is horrible... What the hell?!" Alfred cursed. "Even with so many of us fighting together, we still can't defeat it?!"

"Shit!" Gilbert cursed, glaring at his leg. "My leg... it's broken! I can't move! Please, move!" He begged his abused body desperately, but it had already been pushed well beyond its limits, and refused to obey.

"ITALY!" Ludwig cried out, as the Thing once again focused its gaze on the small Italian. It lunged, and Feliciano made no move to dodge. The Thing bit down hard on Feliciano's shoulder. He gave a loud cry of pain, before smirking. Perfect. With no small amount of effort, he plunged his blade into the Thing's forehead, causing it to let out an ear-piercing screech akin to nails on chalkboard.

Asher and Romano both hit the floor, hands and paws to ears as they tried to block out the very loud and high-pitched screech. They only regained their bearings when the screeching stopped.

The Thing released its hold on Feliciano, and the nation stumbled back.

"Its weakness... is its forehead..." He panted, looking at the monster before him. "Too bad... I win again." He sent the monster a weak smirk as it faded away with a frustrated roar. Feliciano looked around the room dazedly. "France, your injuries... are you okay?"

"We should be the ones asking you that." France muttered, watching the scene with a feeling of dread. "Though I think I already know the answer."

"Japan is still breathing, too... thank God." Feliciano smiled. "America, you can still move a little... right?" He swayed dangerously on his feet, and slipped in the growing puddle of his own blood, falling to the floor. Even still, he smiled. "I... did it!" He gave a small laugh. "I... saved... everyone! I made no mistakes!"

"Itary-kun!" Kiku cried out. He tried to move to get to his friend, but one of his injuries had reopened when he'd fought the Thing earlier. He was forced to kneel on the floor, unable to move.

"Hehe... Your injury looks serious, but you're alive, so you'll heal." Feliciano's smile widened. "Thank God... Thank God I became the Ryuuzu."

"Ryuuzu?" Japan tilted his head.

"It's a title. Or maybe a name, I'm not sure." I said. "The holder of the Journal is the Ryuuzu no Ko. The Master of Time."

"Si. Feliciano and I are both Ryuuzu." Luciano said, looking more towards his group than mine.

"Guys, you may not know this, but... this is actually the second time we came here..." Feliciano spoke up again, his voice weaker than before. "The first time, I wasn't useful at all... I could finally get you back... Thank God... But I'm sorry... now it's my turn to fall..."

"You're kidding, right?!" Ludwig looked around, as if trying to find something that would confirm this as a bad joke. "The second time? That makes no sense!"

"I went back in time, you see... I managed to get out of here. But I was the only one... who got out." Tears fell from his eyes as he remembered the pain of being alone. "I didn't want that... I had to get you all out."

"You—you idiot!" Francis suddenly yelled. "You didn't have to get us out! You had to get out with us!"

"I stand by what I said." France nodded.

"I-Italy..." Ludwig stared at his fallen friend. He started to drag himself towards him, leaving streaks of red behind him.

"Q-quickly! Let's carry Italy!" Alfred looked around, and his expression turned to horror when he realized something important. "Anyone?! Isn't there anyone who can move?!" He took a shaky breath, trying to find some way to save his friend. "What about China and the others?! Aren't they back yet!?"

"Make..." Gilbert swallowed back his sob as his tears fell. "Make a place where we can rest! It can be anywhere! I'll look after him! A really safe place!! Someone!"

I can still hear their voices... I was all alone, back then... but now they're alive, and I'm so happy... I'm happy, but... Feliciano's thoughts echoed again. "Hey, Germany?"

"H-hold on, Italy!" Ludwig stifled his own sobs as he saw just how badly his friend was injured. "Oh, I know! I'll make a place for you. I'll build you somewhere safe to rest."

"Really?" Feliciano turned his head towards Ludwig, though he was unable to see anything, his eyes were already dulled. "Then can you make... lots of beds? Where everyone can rest? Then I'll sleep peacefully... between you... and Japan..."

"Yes..." Ludwig nodded, tears falling thickly from his eyes. All of the people in the room were crying.

"And a biiiig table, too. I want a place where we can all cook..." Feli continued, his smile was turning sad, and his tears fell faster.

"Yes, definitely."

"Ger...many..."

"Yes, Italy?"

"I... I don't..." He sobbed quietly. "I don't want to die here..." He coughed weakly through a half-sob. "I really just... wanted to escape with all of you..." Feliciano let out one shaky breath, and fell silent. The scene faded slowly, but we could still hear Ludwig.

"Italy?" There was a pause, and when his voice came again, it sounded faint. "Italy? Italy?! ITALY!!"

"No..." Arthur whispered in shock.

"Crap..." Gilbert's voice sounded. "Japan, take the others outside! West is out of control!"

"Italy! Stop screwing around, your eyes are still open!! Italy! ITALY!!" Ludwig yelled hysterically.

"Italy is..." Alfred spoke uncharacteristically quietly.

"West! Calm down!" Gilbert yelled again. "France! Gimme a hand, here!"

"Italy is... no, it's impossible... wait... why?" Francis didn't seem to hear Gilbert.

"Why can we still hear this? I mean, didn't you..." China looked at me.

"They say one's brain is still alive even after the body dies for a period of time. Maybe because I'm a nation, it stays longer? I don't really remember this, myself. It's interesting to hear your reactions to my death, as it's something I never actually experience."

"You say that too casually!" Romano glared.

"I'm sorry, fratello, but... I'm just so used to it."

"You're used to dying?!" Jason raised an eyebrow.

"Sort of, yeah." I shrugged.

"Wait, West!! Calm down!" Gilbert tried again.

"Sorry for giving you so much trouble, bruder." Germany looked down. He was pale, and was shaking a bit. He kept glancing over at me, and I knew he was trying to process this entire situation.

"Japan, let's leave. Your injuries are the worst..." Arthur's voice sounded, and there was a pause. "Japan...?"

"I'm sorry." Kiku's voice was oddly blank, as if he was far away. "It's been a very long time since I've lost a friend... I don't know... how to react..." There was a pause. "I feel sad, but also angry and hopeless, and empty... I don't know how I should feel. But I can't stop crying..."

"Japan... let's leave. Besides, it would only make things worse if they saw you like that..." Alfred's voice sounded very faint, and the nations could barely hear Kiku's quiet reply.

"... Yes." The grayness around us finally faded out to the black expanse we'd become accustomed to between memories.

"You... you died." Germany looked at me.

"Yes." I nodded.

"You are way too calm!" Flavio accused.

"We've died plenty of times, it's really no big deal." Luciano rolled his eyes. "I don't understand why you're fixating on that. We're alive, now, isn't that what counts?"

"You died, too?!" Flavio turned towards his brother.

"Both these idiots have died. Believe me, I know." Yang shot us each a glare.

"What?! Some of that was your fault." I accused.

"Only, like, 20 of them!" Yang defended.

"T-twenty?!" Romano's eyes went very big.

"Oh, please!" I ignored my brother. "What about that time on the third floor?"

"...Okay, twenty-six, times, then."

"It's a hell of a lot more than twenty-six, and you damn well know it." I glared.

"I can't handle this." Romano shook his head. "I refuse to accept this information."

"I think you broke my 1P..." Flavio sweatdropped.

"More than twenty six?"

I just chuckled. "Yeah. More than twenty-six." Asher looked heartbroken at the information, but thankfully didn't push the topic.

"Should we perhaps take another break?" England asked, looking around at the group. Asher huffed, giving me a concerned look.

"If you take breaks after every loop, we'll never finish these stupid memoires." I sighed, and Japan shook his head.

"I agree with Itary-kun. We cannot keep taking breaks after each death. If what we've seen so far is anything to go off of, we'll just have to get used to it, just like Itary-kun."

"G-get used to it?! How the hell are we supposed to get used to watching each other die?!" France cried out.

"Look! I know we're all pretty shaken, but... I mean maybe we should just power through these ones? It can't be that many, right?" America shot me an unsure grin. Luciano and Yang gave twin snorts of amusement.

"Uh..." I looked away, and Japan winced.

"Wait, how many are we talking?" Markus narrowed his eyes.

"I really don't want to share that, right now." I muttered lowly.

"What, so just leave us in the dark?" Kuro glared.

"I'm ashamed, okay?!" I glared back. "I'm ashamed of how long it took me to get it right!"

"To be fair, a lot of it was stacked against you. More so than me." Luciano sighed. "I don't know how you fight those fucking Lightning Things..."

"I could say the same to you with your Shadow Things." I shot back.

"Oh, look the next one's comin' up." Yang gestured around us as Feliciano found himself back in the Meeting Place.

"How the bloody hell?!" England stared. "You died. How could you come back again?!"

"You." I said simply. "You found my Journal, and followed the instructions. You turned back time."

"M-me?!"

"Yep. Thank you, by the way. It took me a long while before I remembered the Loops where I died, though." I shrugged. "Whenever I'd die, in the beginning, you'd find my Journal and give your life to turn back time again."

"Oh..." England blinked. "I can hardly believe I'd touch such Old Magicks. All magic has a cost, but the Old Magicks, especially... I'd never really consider using them, least of all time magic!"

"Ah, but you weren't really thinking clearly, at the time. None of us were." I said. "But I'm sure you'll realize what's going on as we watch more." I paused a moment, realizing that the way Feliciano was acting wasn't how I did in Loop 3. "Ah, thank God. We're not going loop-by-loop." I sighed in relief. "That will speed this up a lot."

"Well, nothing to do but watch, now." Luciano turned to watch the memory along with everyone else.

A/N: Surprise! Another chapter! It's about 11 PM my time, so it's 'tomorrow' for a lot of you guys. I'm so happy that I have readers around the world, it's really cool! ^^

So a big thanks to Senpai_is_Amazing for getting the song Nightmare by Set it Off stuck in my head. I trolled the internet to find an instrumental version, and ended up finding a beautifully done piano version on Soundcloud. ^^ This song seems perfect for HetaOni Italy, too. ^-^

Next chapter will be a lot of jumping around, and Chapter 42 will encompass the Loop from the Game. (I literally just finished writing that one, and it's over 5,700 words!!)

I've been writing nonstop since about 11 this morning, guys. Maybe a bit earlier, with an hour taken out for dinner (I skipped breakfast and lunch, a bad habit of mine... I forget to eat sometimes...)

So I've been writing for around 12 hours without a break (because I get super into my writing...). Well, I lied. I did take a few breaks to read your comments and reply (which is fun~!), but I've been sitting at my computer for that long. XD Just counted, I only wrote 10,000 words today, give or take a hundred. So not as many as I thought.

Mind you, after posting this, I'm going to go back and write a bit more... ^^ I'm such a hopeless case. This is why I've no social life. Nobody is willing to get to know me well enough to drag me away from my computer with the promise of anime.

Rest assured, though this update is late at night for me, there will still be an update for tomorrow. ^_^ Since, you know... that chapter's already written.

Good news, guys~! Chipotle Mexican Grill wants to hire me part-time~! I'll have a second part-time job again!! ^^ Maybe I can actually save up enough money to move out by my deadline of April 1? Wish me luck, or this Author will have to crash in her car for a bit.

Words: 4,463/5,394

Pages: 10/11

Posted: 01/26/2019

Edited: 03/14/2019