"You guys wouldn't wake up no matter what!" Prussia throws up his arms in exasperation. "I had a hell of a time after you went to sleep! It's a miracle I'm still alive!"

"Prussia, you were gone when we woke up," Japan explains sincerely. "Was it because you encountered that Thing?"

"Oh, that." Prussia turns up his lip, not looking very pleased. "When I was having a blast keeping watch, all alone, someone suddenly started to pound on the door. When I opened it," he scowls and points at France, "I found it was him."

"His face was a masterpiece." France lifts his chin, before side-eyeing Prussia with a pout. "But he came out swinging his sword at me, and I got my beautiful body injured." He cradles his arm. His cloak is torn, and the blue material is purple-ish around the rip.

Blue + ? = Purple... also, that means the blood on the floor was France's, not Prussia's! Germany worried for no reason. Well, maybe he would have worried about France too?

"Aw, come on, I said I was sorry!" Prussia waves him off. "Geez, It was just a flesh wound!" France rolls his eyes and continues to explain.

"Anyway, while you four snored away, we were exchanging some information, when suddenly--" France got cut off by an explosive albino.

"That monster came out of fucking nowhere! I was ready to fight, but my sword wasn't sharp enough, so we got injured. We were in big trouble!" Prussia rushes as he waves his hands around, being dramatic. "Waking you guys up would only make things worse, so we fought in the hallway. We were at a disadvantage, so we ran away to the first floor."

"And then," France drapes himself over Prussia's shoulder, "before we knew it, that monster was there ahead of us, attacking America. We were tired and injured, so we tried sneaking behind it's back, but then America waved at us and said loudly, 'Hey~! Over here~!' with a huge grin... So we got dragged into it." France sighs dramatically, body sagging as he gives America a look, Prussia copying him.

"Great friends you are!" America looks at Prussia with wide eyes before pointing to himself. "I couldn't fight it alone! What's the problem?! I just thought we'd have three times more chances to beat it--" The naivety of that sentence bores Prussia.

"Anyway," Prussia cuts him off, "since we weren't ready to fight, we couldn't fight. So we ran away to this place." He gestures behind him. "We took refuge in that cell, but then we couldn't open it from the inside, so we had no choice but to wait for you guys to find us." Germany nods, pressing his lips into a thin line. He looks around to his group.

"We need to explain to them what is going on. It's best if we split into two groups to get things done faster." Germany instructs.

"Indeed. I will keep looking around the basement." Japan nods, before looking at you. You arch a brow, surprise showing on your face once he addresses you. "Can you make sure everyone's feeling okay for us, (F/n)-chan?" Japan asks you. You nod immediately, the air in your throat gripping as they all look at you.

"England and I will stay to lecture America." Canada nods firmly.

"I have some things to tell them, too." Germany adds.

"Then I'm going with Japan!" America grins, stepping towards his friend.

"Aiya, were you not listening?" China berates him, scowling. "We are going to explain to you what is going on, so you have to stay, aru!" America looks around with wide doe eyes, looking for someone to pray on.

"Aww, do I have to? Japan can explain to me, can't you Japan?" America whines, holding his hands together as he flutters his lashes. Japan stares at him for an intense second, his face not showing his decision.

"Very well." Japan sighs. Why does he always let America get what he wants? "We will go and look around." He nods to Germany. "We will see you later."

"I'm coming with you, too!" Italy adds.

"No, we will be fine. We'll be okay on our own." Japan turns to Canada and Britain. "Canada-san, England-kun, I will lecture him on your behalf." Japan gives a bow before heading for the door.

"Give him a good earful." Canada scowls towards his brother, waving his fist in mock anger.

"No, wait." Englands holds his hand up to stop them. "I'm coming with you. There's something that has been bothering me."

"Ah, but..." Japan wonder off, looking at Italy.

"It's just something I want to check out. Please." England approaches him.

"I see." Japan agrees hesitantly, his hands overlapping before him. "You may come along, then. We will be back in 15 minutes." Japan bows once again and makes his way out the room.

"I'm with you then, mon enfant." France sends you a charming smile.

"Yes." You look around, lips pursing. "Do you want to sit or something?" You ask, combing through your bag.

"I can do whatever is easiest for you." He smiles, holding his arm. You take the first aid kit out and look him over.

"O... Kay." You say slowly, evaluating the situation. "We should sit you down." You nod to the edge of the room, out of the way. He can lean against the wall at least. You pull out a jumper from your bag and quickly fold it, putting it on the floor. "Take your cape off too."

"It is a cloak." He gives a pointed look, pulling it off with his uninjured arm. "It is fashionable, no?" You eye it; lips pushed together. It went with his outfit. But such extravagant clothing never looked right to you. But ever so strangely, it did kinda suit him. Maybe because of his flamboyant personality?

"I'm sure it was a nice cloak before it got a hole in it." You give a wavy gesture to the item. "And blood. Now, can you please take off the cloak? It could be infected, and we really don't need you hurt." France smiles as he flips up his collar and undoes the button. You take it from him, folding it up and placing it on top of your jumper. You gesture to it, and France brushes his dress shirt forward to sit on.

Don't want him sitting on the cold hard floor.

He raises his injured arm, holding it away from his body as he settles. Everyone else in the room is talking to one another, and after speaking with Germany, Prussia comes bundling over.

"Can I help?" Prussia asks, snooping around. You look at him and hold out the green bag.

"Yes. Hold this for me and hand stuff over, if that's alright?"

"Sure thing, Kinder." You crouch in front of France, knees hitting the ground, trying to look over his injury.

"Remove your shirt, please." France grins at your order and wiggles his brow.

"I'd normally ask for a drink first, but I suppose I can skip all that for you." He chuckles. You stay quiet, trying to ignore him and concentrate. He's wearing a tight white vest underneath, so at least he saves some of his modesty. You straighten out his arm to see the injury on his right bicep, an inch long. It isn't deep.

It almost like a pattern now with all this being shallow.

"Antiseptant wipes." You hold out your hand to Prussia, waiting. He takes it out of the packet and hands them to you as you clean up the cut.

"I would'a thought you'd be squeamish at the sight of blood." Prussia says from beside you. You pause for a moment, the wipe halfway to the wound, before looking up at him in disbelief. You squint at him, mouth falling open to spout words which refused to tumble, so all that there is to do is a befuddled expression which couldn't even muster how dumb he sounds. France chuckles, drawing you out of your mind-spasm and you return to the healing process.

"You obviously know nothing." France says, a crooked smile on his face. "Right, mon enfant?"

"The tiny contact case plaster, please." You make a grabby motion with your hand, waiting for Prussia to hand it over. He snickers, so you look back at him. Prussia is barely containing his laughter. "Oi, I get to name things whatever I want when I do doctor. Give it." You hold open your hand at him once more. He passes it over, wheezing. You can see France from the corner of your eye barely containing his own, but opt for ignoring them. How are you meant to know the name?! "Plaster." You hold out your hand as you roll your eyes them both. He continues to smile as you run your hand along the plaster, making sure it is on securely. You look up at him and smile once, looking at his face. It is so weird to be face to face with him. He is... you can't explain it. Your chest swells as you look into his eyes and he stares back at you.

"Have you fallen for me already?" France pulls on a smouldering look. You stare for a moment longer.

Not the first time someone's asked me that today.

"You can put your top back on, now." You say, collecting up the rubbish, finally breaking eye contact.

"Merce." France thanks, reaching for it.

"Check me out." Prussia gives you a closed-eye smile, tensing his bicep.

"Have you hurt yourself?" You ask, giving him a once over. You survey him, but you think back to before. He was able to hug you tightly and run over to the bars. He didn't show any signs of being injured.

"Ah... Nein." He scratches his cheek.

"Someone's getting jealous." France coos, his signature 'hononon' making you giggle.

"The awesome me doesn't get jealous." Prussia defends, tilting his nose up.

"That's good to hear." You laugh through your nose before placing your bag down. "Either of you feel fatigued, or weak at the moment?" You question, raising a brow.

"Je me sens bien." France smiles.

"Ditto." Prussia agrees before he grins, watching you put away the first aid kit. "Can I have a beer?" You raise a criticising brow at him.

"Because you want one, or because you feel weak?" You question, raising a brow at him.

"... I'm thirsty." He replies with a pout, knowing that the honest answer won't get him what he wants.

"Then you can have water." You take out one of two sealed bottles left and hand it to him. France watches you two with a smile, and you mirror his expression before reaching into your bag again "You should have something to drink and eat. You've been down here for some time."  You give him a rice ball, and try to open a bottle for him. You put it into your lap again, mostly squishing the bottle while you try to twist the cap. Not this again!

"I can do it if you'd like?"

"No, no." You deny, scrunching your face while you lean forward, putting in more effort. You use the cloth of your shirt to try and get a better grip. "You need to save as much energy and not further damage your arm." Your palm stings, And you try to shake it out. You have an angry red indent and yet you still haven't gotten the cap off! You look to Prussia, twisting your lips before holding it out to him. He cackles.
"Of course you want me to open it for you!" You don't blow up his ego with a response, just a scowl. Prussia winds his neck in, giving an awkward laugh as he does it - easily - and hands it over to France.

"Merce." France nods appreciatively. You pick up your bag, chugging your own bottle bitterly. What a load of bullshit.

"You've been debriefed, haven't you, Prussia?" You ask him.

"Yep, West told me." He nods.

"Then you can explain things to France. I'm going to check if America needs anything." You say, getting up. You look to France as he, too, gets up with a grunt. You stand toe to toe, your nose almost touching his chest. You take a step back almost instantly and look up at him, eyes shaky. He raises a brow, a smile on his face as you gape like a fish before collecting yourself. "If you don't get it from what Prussia says, then ask Canada."

"You have so little faith in the awesome me," Prussia says, scooping up your jumper from the floor and France's stained cloak.

"Does it seem that way?" You raise a brow to him, face unbothered as you take it from him and return it to your bag.

"Ja."

"I guess I do then." You shrug, ignoring Prussia's dejected look.

"Are you alright, France?" A tender voice asks, making you flinch. You peer over your shoulder to see Canada, Kumajirou having a piggyback ride.

"I'm alright, Canada." France smiles at him.

"I'm sorry that I left you, I should have stayed." He looks down. France places a hand on his shoulder.

"You stayed with your brother, so don't be sorry." He then spots Kumajirou and gives the animal a sceptical look before facing his son. "Et toi? Est-ce que vous vous sentez bien?"

"Je suis bon, Papa." France sighs at the reply, smiling fondly.

"Speak a language we can all understand." Prussia rolls his eyes, annoyed by the foreign language.

"Vous ne parlez pas couramment le langage de l'amour?" You grin at Prussia, giggling. At least school is useful for one thing right now.

"Vous pouvez parler français?" France raises a brow, impressed with you.

"Pas très... bien." You rub your arm self-consciously. "I've only learnt the school stuff, so... yeah."

"You have a beautiful French accent." He compliments.

"Really?" You brighten up, laughing. "Cool... and thanks!"

"At least you're speaking English..." Prussia grumbles before looking at Canada. "Why can't your bear heal him? It did it for Russia." He asks what you are thinking. You wasted first aid equipment when Kumajirou could have just fixed France up.

"Oh, Komoo runs out of energy easily. It takes a lot out of him, so he can only do one a day." Canada explains as he pats his pets head. "It will be a while until he's restored all his energy, possibly by dinner time for any shallow injuries." Canada looks to France. "By then I will make sure to heal you."

"Don't say 'I'. I do it." Kumajirou pipes up, closing his eyes.

"Sorry." Canada apologises.

"Okay then," you speak up. "I'm going then."

"Where to?" Canada asks. You look up at him, surprised he asked.

"To check on your brother." You reply, jabbing your thumb over your shoulder to the direction they went off in. Adjusting your bag, you wave to them before leaving.

"Au Revoir." France smiles as he waves to you.

"Später." Prussia nods.

"Bye," Canada whispers.

"Yep, later." You wave to them before heading towards where England is. You open the door to see him standing by the bookcase in the left corner. "Hi, Britain. What you doing?" You ask. His back is facing you, his eyes scanning the bookcase. At your voice, he looks over his shoulder, a hand dropping from his chin from where he was previously rubbing.

"Hello, (F/n)." He greets before turning back to the shelf. "Something is unsettling about this room."

"How so?" You hold your hands behind your back, watching him curiously as you take steps closer.

"Something feels like it's pulling me..." He brings his other hand up to the bookshelf and moves some books around on the shelves.

"That's weird." You stare, pulling out a book and reading over the cover. "Grim Tales..."

"Oh? There's some kind of seal." He says in surprise as he looks behind the books. You look up, eyes scanning the back of the book shelve, to see on the wall, a black pentagram with symbols written around the edge. England smooths his hand over the diagram. He places his palm firmly on the middle of the star. And that's when you're blinded. Your hands instinctively raise to cover your eyes, protecting them from the bright green that engulfs the room. It fades slowly, and you peer over your arm to see green mist swirling above England's palm. It vanishes after a moment, and with wide emerald eyes, England stares at you in astonishment.

"Some of my magic is back!" England beams, staring back at his magic in awe. "This is it! I was worried for a while there, but now I can at least try to fight the Thing if I need to!" He looks to you in excitement.

"That's amazing, England!" You grin back at him, stepping closer. The door that leads to the ladder bursts open, and in comes a boisterous America with Japan walking closely behind.

"Hey, you two! What took you so long?!" England shouts, staring at the two in excitement.

"Did something happen?" Japan asks, noticing England's obvious excitement.

"You could say that!" England turns to him with a smile, gripping his fists triumphantly. "Next time, I won't be such a burden anymore."

"What, you were a burden before? Well, if you say so." America shrugs, grinning.

"Now I can easily stop that guy." Then he slowly becomes less excited, his body visibly deflating. "Though only for a few seconds. Well... about two seconds..." England wonders off as he looks at the floor, before looking at his fellow nations. Japan stares at him for a moment, unblinking as you hold back your excitement. Ah, you loved the realisation that happens soon. Brotherly bonds. "Wh-what? If I can replenish it a little more, it can be longer--"

"Ah, no. I did not mean it like that, forgive me. How can I put this?" Japan questions, cutting him off. Then your ears perk up.

Something is... ticking.

You look to the bookshelf to see an old fashion alarm clock sitting on the top shelf.

"Oh! Isn't that a clock? Look, on the shelf!" America shouts, totally ignoring Japan.

"I see. It certainly is one." Japan nods. At least it shows America remembers something he told him. England hums in thought as he reaches up to grab it. He inspects it, his eyebrows furrowed in thought.

"What the hell?" England murmurs.

"What is wrong?" Japan asks him.

"This clock is working with my magic." England is in wonder before scrunching up his face.

"Anyway, can you break it now? If I don't go through that even once, I won't know how to deal with it." America whines.

"It will be my pleasure," England smirks as he removes the clock from the shelf. "I'll enjoy a cup of tea and laugh at you being all confused and panicking because your stupid brain thought it was a good idea!" England scoffs.

"Please, do not fight." Japan sighs, an expression that tells you he's been through this whole ordeal before. "Besides, we have already found an exit, so I do not think it is necessary to break the clock."

"Yeah, I think some people would prefer it if they didn't get any more confusing memories." You add in awkwardly, sending Japan a look. "Or at least wait for Japan to sit down."

"Aww, man! I want to get more experience! It's not every day I can do that kind of thing." America looks you and Japan over before looking at England. "Can't I try it even once? Pretty please?" America begs, clasping his hands together as he stares at England with pleading eyes. "I'll buy you a happy meal!"

"Keep your calories to yourself. But since you insist, I'll break it. Just don't come crying to me later!" England humph's as he uses his magic to smash the clock. You blink at your surroundings, only to see you're in the same room with the same people.

"Nothing happened..." you mumble. Then you look over to Japan who stares blankly at the floor. You immediately go to his side and cautiously place a hand on his shoulder. Japan looks up and blinks slowly at you.

"Are you alright?" You ask quietly, trying not to frighten him. America and England talk to each other as you comfort Japan, the two oblivious to what Japan just went through. He may seem fine, but you know better. You always do.

"... Hai." Japan nods, looking at you uncertainly.

"That wasn't as fun as I thought it'd be. Um, so, which one is real again?" America asks, scrunching up his face in confusion.

"Try to sort it out while we go back. If you still can't figure it out, ask Germany." England opens the door with a long sigh. "He isn't being affected for some reason."

"Right..." America makes no move to go out through the door. "By the way, England, you look unfocused. How many fingers am I holding up?" America questions as he holds up his hand, shaking two digits at the gentleman. England turns to look at him and furrows his brow, halfway through the door.

"Two fingers, obviously. We don't have time for this nonsense." England rolls his eyes. You send a pained stare to the American, seeing his eyes swell with doubt. He senses your gaze and smiles, inclining his head to you. You take his offer and leave through the door first, fingers firmly laced together before you.

That's seemed awfully fishy. Why would America ask England... maybe he gained a memory when England lost his eyesight and got paranoid. That seems likely.

"Oh, you found an exit?" Russia asks after Japan finished explaining things.

"Yes! We can finally escape! Come on, let's get out of here." England smiles as he ushers them over.

"We already have an exit secured! I want to explore a little!" America grins with excitement. "All I've seen was the basement; I want to go upstairs, too!" You make bug eyes at him. You look around to everyone else, wanting someone to speak up. You know it won't happen, but are they all being serious right now? This is so OOC!

"Germany, you go ahead with the others." Canada sighs. "When America is like this, nothing can stop him."

"Shouldn't we hurry?" Italy asks in concern. He asked a sensible question, yet no one wanted to bother with a blunt answer.

"Well, we have to make sure that the rope isn't rotten. We'll go ahead and see if there aren't any problems." Germany nods to Canada and America. Your mouth falls open at this, unbelieving. Standing in this room, you can feel the raw emotion Italy omits, his eyes flickering to each member for any of them to side with him. From where you are stood, you see Germany refusing to even look in his friend's general direction. You're annoyed beyond belief as you step up next to Italy.

"Are you guys being serious?" You question. You can feel a ball welling in your throat. Italy turns to you in surprise while the others look confused. "This place is creepy as hell, with a monster trying to kill you, weird clock-memory things that cause you to become unstable, and someone wants to leave and you just ignore them?" Your eyes are wide, eyebrows drawn together. You're so confused. Shocked. Appalled.

"It's not that deep." America brushes it off.

"Italy has the habit of overreacting." Germany says, but still refuses to look at Italy.

"Overreacting?!" You yell. You can't hold it back now. "You guys were expecting the worse an hour ago! You weren't expecting to find your friends alive." Italy jumps at your voice. You don't even know what to say to that to them to convince them. But you aren't thinking about convincing them now. You're pissed! How can they act like this? "But now because there's a way out you'll leave it be?" You laugh cruel. "What the hell?! You guys said all you had to do was find them and we'd go!" You throw a hand in the direction of France and Prussia, who look ashamed at the sudden attention. You then cast your eyes to America. "It sure sucks when your atmosphere-searching partner doesn't get a clue."

"(F/n), you can go ahead with us to inspect the ladder. It's okay to be scared, but you'll be with your parents in no time." Germany tries to calm you down, but he doesn't look like he knows what he's doing. He looks hesitant. You clench your jaw, fists turning white.

"This isn't about me going home. This is about you guys acting like Italy's worry is nothing. Like you guys didn't want the exact same thing an hour ago!" You thin your lips at him. "As Italy's best friend, I would'a thought you'd listen to him for once." You scowl, scrunching up your entire face as you mumble. "Seems like you don't listen, ever. Deja vu." Italy swallows thickly. He can't believe you stood up for him, and now you're brooding, you're entire atmosphere telling anyone to fuck off. He takes a quick peek at Germany, and feels a sharp pricing in his chest when they make eyecontact. But they both look away. Shame. It's shame that boils in them both.

"(F/n), it's okay." Italy gives you a sorry smile, his hand grabbing at your sleeve. You pull away from him, glaring.

"No, it's not."

"If Italy says it's cool, I wanna check out the house." America speaks up. Britain gives him a twat around the head.

"Read the room." He hisses.

"Aw, but Canada wants to come with me!" America whines as he leans into his brother. Canada stammers, looking to everyone, for someone to help. America begins to drag him off towards the door, straight up not listening to a single word. Jeez, and you were excited to meet him. But now you dislike the guy. Everyone disperses warily. You turn to Italy beside you, and he looks hopeless. He's slouched, head lowered. He seems very intent on avoiding eye contact with you too. You huff, crossing your arms over your chest. Everyone gives various reasons for leaving, you hearing Prussia's voice above the rest. Why didn't he say anything? Odd for Prussia to not speak up. Japan and Prussia linger, and you watch them ruefully. You can't believe no one is doing anything. Why they're not taking the chance? You know that it's not how it happened in the game, but couldn't you change that? Get everyone to leave now? What would it take? Mostly everyone is gone, Prussia and Japan whispering to each other. But Italy is still there.

"Italy..." You say softly, but you can't remove the scowl on your face. This lingering vex won't go anytime soon. You need to calm down first. Italy sniffles. "Huh? Wait, Italy are you okay?" You reach out and grab his arms. You try to get a look at his face, but he keeps looking aay.

"I-I'm gonna go find Germany, ve!" His voice cracks as he turns his back to you, hurrying towards the door. "I think you should go find France!"