Caesar "Rome" Vargas bit his lower lip nervously as he walked through the stone labyrinth that ran underneath the entire Island of Nations. His head was lowered in a submissive way, eyes clouded in anxiety. Rome wiped sweaty palms on the legs of his pants, continuing to follow after the man in black that walked in front of him.

What could he possibly want? Rome hadn't done anything wrong, that he knew of. Sure, he'd pissed off Germania and Gaul a few times, but it was nothing major, and he'd never brought it up as an issue… Rome felt himself get jittery.

A pale hand grabbed his shoulder, and he jolted. Rome slowly turned, swallowing hard. He couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief when it turned out to be his best friend, Germania. The man's face would appear hard to those who didn't know him well; anyone who knew the man as intimately as he would easily be able to pick out the concern that his features expressed.

"Relax, Rome," he spoke softly, giving his hand a friendly squeeze as their fingers interlaced, "We'll be fine."

The Roman gave a weak smile that he knew the German would be able to see through. They were too close for it to be otherwise.

If it weren't for Germania's quick reflexes, Rome would have walked straight into the man in black who walked in front of them, but the stoic blond quickly pulled the brunette back a safe distance away. Rome sent him a grateful look. Bumping into one of them could very well be the last thing they ever did. The door in front of the cloaked man slowly creaked open, making the normally sunny man shudder. With a deep breath in an attempt to calm his anxiety, he stepped into the room, hand interlocked with this long-time lover's. The door slammed shut behind them, making Rome wince. They were now alone with that thing.

The room they stood in was….eerie, to say the least. The only source of light was the piles of low-burning wood that was scattered around the floor of the stone room. With walls and floor made of a cold, black stone, every step, every sound echoed around the large room. Rome resisted the urge to look up by closing his eyes and focusing on breathing properly, knowing that above them was an impossibly tall ceiling. Hanging down from that ceiling would be an enormous spider, as tall as he was when he stood, with enormous fangs that dripped venom, clinging to a sticky, white web woven of string so strong not even a chainsaw could escape it's confines. Lingering in the air was a foul stench, a mixture of musk, spoiled milk, and, even worse: death, rotting flesh, and blood. On the wall farthest from where the two men stood were crossed chains, securely locked in place.

Hanging from the cold, hard manacles was a sickly pale man, bones visible through limp skin. He wore no clothes, exposing his grotesque body to the air for all to see. Dried blood caked his body, but none of it was his own. There was no hair atop his head, with purely black eyes staring out from a revolting face. Rotted teeth of black and gray gnawed on the flesh of something—or someone—that neither man wanted to know the true identity of. The knowledge would most likely make it more painful…Bloodlust mixed with ambition and intelligence shone in the depths of his eyes, alert to any and all threats. This was no human Rome and Germania were up against…This was General Winter, an age-old demon who had inhibited this very island from before the founding of Egypt. And he had no plans to leave it.

General Winter let out a wheezing chuckle that soon turned maniacal, making Rome's breath catch. Oh, how he longed to just bolt it out of the room, but sadly, that wasn't an option. Germania's tightened grip was either A) telling Rome that he was scared, and that he needed comforting, B) inflicting pain on him because he could, or C) warning him not to try anything. Knowing Germania, he figured it was the third option. Though, he wouldn't put B past the man.

"Well, if it isn't Julius Caesar…" The demon cackled, addressing Rome by the alias he had chosen for this round of the IYSA. His voice was hard and gruff, yet high pitched in a way that sent chills up the spine of any mortal who heard it. "I've been expecting you… And it seems you brought little Lukas with you, as well…" Lukas was the name Germania had adopted; his actual name was Niklas Beilschmidt. "This certainly makes things easier… Now, do you know why…I called you here…? Answer me."

Rome had no choice but to comply with what the demon said. "No, sir. I do not." It was extremely hard to keep from stuttering with the waves of intimidation and unease that the room seemed to radiate.

General Winter's eyes narrowed dangerously, almost causing Rome to take a step back. However, it was Germania's seemingly calm presence that kept him going strong.

Remember, do this for Nik and the kids. One wrong move and it's over for all of us… he thought, trying to keep himself from having a panic attack.

The demon on the wall suddenly burst out laughing once again, head rolling from side to side in his wild guffaws. General Winter's head lolled forward, and he looked up at them in a menacing manner. "You seem frightened, Julius, Lukas…" he smirked, glee dancing in black eyes, "While that is completely justified, you may relax for a moment. I merely have a harmless assignment…"

The more fear he saw in his subordinates, the stronger he became. This often worked against people for the worst.

"Would you like to disclose the objective of this task?" Germania stepped forward, face solemn.

"Yes, I would. You've always been a sharp one, Lukas." General Winter beckoned them closer with the motioning of his head, and the two reluctantly, tentatively, and—on Rome's part—timidly made their way forward. "I have taken a special interest in a few of our students. You are probably familiar with them, no?" Again, the demon motioned with his chin for them to look at the wall next to them. In burning orange letters on the wall were the names of a select few students.

Gilbert Beilschmidt

Ludwig Beilschmidt

Francis Bonnefoy

Ivan Braginski

Kiku Honda

Alfred Jones

Arthur Kirkland

Feliciano Vargas

Lovino Vargas

Yao Wang

Mathieu Williams

Both men stared at the wall in horror. Quite a few of their grandchildren were on the board, and neither of them liked that; not one bit.

"I see that you do! Kehehe… These children exhibit unbelievable amounts of power, and due to my weakened state, these are the ones I want to target out of them all. The Russian, the American, the younger Italian, and the Briton most of all… I want you to get close to them. Find out what they like, their fears…what makes them tick. Can you do this?"

The two men shared a quick, fleeting glance at each other. They had absolutely no choice in the matter, as much as they hated it.

"….We can," they said in low voices.

Rome sat at his desk later that day, head in his hands. "I just don't understand why he would choose them…."

"They've very strong wills, all of them. Those are just the kinds of people he likes to target… Both of us know this from past experience," Germania said, leaning against a wall.

Rome looked up at his best friend, eyes red. "We have to do everything we can…."

"And we will. This time will be different," the blond walked over and put a hand on the other's shoulder, "and everyone will be saved."

"Promise?"

"I swear it."

Those soft-spoken words made Rome realize just how far they'd come since the beginning. Years upon years with no one but each other had changed them both. The blond couldn't stand him originally, but look at them now. Rome smiled a bit, hope starting to bloom in his heart. This time they could do it. This time they wouldn't have to leave everyone behind.

This time….

They just might get out alive.

It was a calm, autumn morning, and our band of heroes was walking to class, chattering excitedly. The crisp, cool air assailed their lungs, the strange sensation of the cold warming up in their bodies leaving them a bit breathless. Francis was walking with Antonio, because apparently they needed to talk about something, and Eliza had headed off with Roderich, leaving just a small, centralized group to themselves. Per usual, our favorite Prussian and American were having their daily awesome-off. A certain Brit looked like he was ready to bash his head against his textbook, with Mathieu smiling nervously and patting his shoulder. Kiku watched in slight amusement as the two's exchange got even more heated.

"Well, I'm older than you! That makes me awesomer!" Gilbert exclaimed.

"But that means you die before me! Making me awesomer!" Alfred countered.

"Well I'm Prussian! That's the awesomest country in the world!"

"America is so much better!"

"You're buried in debt… That doesn't sound very awesome."

"Your country doesn't exist anymore because it was too weak." The American smirked at the incredulous look on the albino's face. His smirk widened as the albino walked around a tree and sat behind it so he was out of view as he sulked.

"Alright! The awesome hero, also known as me, says that we get to class! C'mon, Iggy, Kiku, Mattie!"

Mathieu sighed, walking away from the group towards Gilbert. "Gil, are you okay?"

A sniffle. "Ja, fine." Then a… peep? The Canadian looked down, to find a small chick on the ground. He gasped in wonder, bending down to examine it closer.

"Gil, look…" He smiled softly. "It's a baby bird!"

Gilbert crawled over from his hiding spot. Between the adorable look on Matt's face, and the tiny, helpless baby bird, he couldn't help but let out a small chuckle as he scooped the little thing up into his hands. "Awesome! He'll be my minion, and he will be awesome, like me! Hey Mattie, any ideas on what to name this awesome little chick?"

Matt frowned. "Gil…. You aren't supposed to touch a baby bird…"

"Why? The awesome me thinks it needs me!"

"But Gil, it's mom might not take it back."

Gil looked at the tiny yellow ball of fluff in his hands. Two beady black eyes peered up at him, and immediately he felt something inside him melt. "Well…. That's okay! His mom wasn't awesome enough for him if she let him fall out of the nest! Birdie, why don't you be his new mom?"

Before the Canadian could protest, the silveret plopped the little bird onto his head and walked away like nothing had happened. Matthew reached up, patting the small creature that had its talons clinging to soft blonde hair.

"It's okay. Gilbert isn't such a bad guy…most of the time. We'll make sure you're safe. For now, stick with me, eh?"

The bird gave a little peep in response, causing the blonde to smile. Well… No harm in just taking care of him for a little bit.

PLEASE DON'T KILL ME.

I really try…. But life's been busy. There has just been a lot of other responsibilities that have been keeping me back from writing.

And roleplaying on FB, which gave me my muse back! I roleplay a Romano, Spain, and a Finland! I also roleplay a Massachusetts, but… OCs are lame, si? Aside from my London, of course. I love him so much. So very much.

To those two awesome reviewers who told me to update, THANK YOU! You got my little butt in gear! :D …This is all I got for you, though…. Sorry.

Um, reviews are awesome and loved to bits!

And to the amazingly awesome A Bleach-Drinking Hetalian, my lovely Trin-neechan-senpai, the Lud to my Lovi, the America to my France, the Lovi and Turkey to my Spain and Lovi…if you read this…Your Gil gave me this idea. I don't know why, but he inspired me to do this. XD 3

Oh…
YOU ALL JUST LOST THE GAME.