Hello, fellow readers. As you may have noticed, (if you had gone to my user page, that is), is that this my first Hetalia fan fiction. (It's actually very exciting for me!) And, as this IS my very first Hetalia story, I will do my best to impress you all.
Just a few things to let you in on:

1) I own nothing. (Not even Prussia and his awesomeness.)
2) I will be using sentences and words from different languages; translations will be listed at the bottom.
3) You are very much allowed (and welcome) to give suggestions for the story. (I'd appreciate it; the more plot ideas, the better.)
4) Human names are used, however their country will be stated for those of you who might get confused.
and 5) This story contains, wait for it...YAOI. Yeah, it does. Don't start crying now, because there are straight pairings too.

Welcome back, dear readers! Here is the next chapter; I hope you enjoy it. And, once again, on with the show!
Also, dearies, I thank you deeply for your advice for how to continue/improve the story. Normally, people hate being given advice (which I hoenstly don't understand), but I LOVE it. If you have any plot ideas, PLEASE tell me! Keep this story going as long as possible, guys!

(There have been a few comments about Feliciano and Kiku's whereabouts. In truth, I decided to jump back and forth between different individuals, slowly connecting them all together. Kiku and Feli WILL appear, but, possibly, not until Chapter 3 or 4. Sorry, dears!)

(Two)

The weather used to be nice.

Matthew Williams sat with his back against a brick wall, staring up tiredly at the dark sky above him. He winced as one of the first raindrops hit a cut on his cheek, causing it to sting. He let out a shaky sigh, holding a plush polar bear close to his chest. It calmed him, even in the darkest of times; after all, Papa had gotten it for him.

Papa.

Matthew felt tears burn at the corner of his eyes, but he quickly pushed them back, wiping furiously at them with the back of his hand.
'No,' he thought, 'I won't think that way. Papa is in a better place now.'

Shakily, the young Canadian stood upright, legs wobbling as he trudge down the dark and damp alleyway he had been resting in moments ago. He winced weakly as his feet were sliced open repeatedly by the multiple shards of broken glass that littered the ground. Despite the pain, he marched forward, putting the pain past him and placing the idea of safety and freedom before him. Once he was out of the city limits, and back in the countryside, he was sure to be much safer.

After all, the disease had mostly started in heavily-populated areas.
At least, that's what the "survivors" had been told.

Matthew had been visiting the city so that Papa could meet with a potential business partner; their home was, in truth, a cottage in the French countryside. It sat atop a hill, overlooking a small town down the way. The building was surrounded by bushes upon bushes of roses, his Papa's favorite flower. Matthew could almost smell the freshly-made crepes that Papa would set out on lazy summer days.

This time, Matthew could not stop the tears from flowing. He sobbed as the memories flooded through his mind, and he found himself clutching tightly onto the polar bear plushie in his arms. Never again would he share a warm meal with his Papa; never again would he help his Papa clip the weeds away from the rose bundles; never again would Papa read him bedtime stories, or sing him to sleep during his most restless nights, or pat his head in the affectionate way that he used to.

Never again...

Matthew hiccuped, salty drops coating his dirty cheeks. His vision blurred, not just from the tears that refused to cease, and his knees buckled. He felt the ground rush up towards him, and his eyes rolled back into his head, as he collided with the concrete below.

Never again; never again.
Matthew had given up.

-.0.-

"Quit slackin', Iggy!"
Arthur Kirkland was unsure why he put up with the boy sometimes.

He scowled at the blonde boy before him, who was waving his pistol around in what could only be described as a "bored" fashion.
He honestly could not understand that, despite the fact that the undead had suddenly risen and had practically wiped out all other life, he could still be unamused. 'Honestly,' Arthur hissed to himself. 'A boy how had once gushed about how "awesome" it would be to enter a Zombie Apocalypse suddenly gets his sick and twisted wish, and he finds it dull?'

"Iggym get your head out of the clouds! And stop glaring at me"

And now he was pouting; pouting like a stubborn child. His blue eyes held a faint twinge of (faked) sadness as the British man continued to stare at him in annoyance, thick eyebrows knitting together to form an expression that was less-than-pleasant. Scoffing, Arthur trudged forward, pushing passed the young man in front of him.

"Come along, boy, get a move on."

For some reason, this made the blonde boy grin.
Arthur always knew how to turn his own words around on him.

"Yes, Iggy~, I'm coming." The American smirked, following close behind the Brit.

The two moved forward, towards the location of the last-known "safe" location. And while Alfred F. Jones might have been calm and carefree about the whole situation, Arthur Kirkland certainly was not.

-.0.-

"So, where are we heading towards?" Ludwig questioned, gaze turned towards Roderich as he drove quickly, yet cautiously, down the dirt path before them.
"Elizabeta, dear, hand him the map."

Gilbert watched from the bottom-left corner of the truck as the Hungarian woman pulled a map from the inside of her army jacket. Ludwig took it from her, pulling it open and letting his eyes fall upon a large, red circle near the center. He eyed the Austrian warily.

"What is this location, exactly?"

Roderich seemed tense as he produced a disk from the slot from the driver's door. He popped it into the radio, and the silence was broken by a soft and smooth piano piece.
He spared a glance to the German man beside him.

"It is where everyone else is going; one of the last 'safe' locations in the entire area."

A/M: Sudden ending is sudden. Sorry, sweeties! So, are you startled by learning about Francis? It is shocking, yes? And what of Matthew? Guess you'll have to find out in the next chapter, hm? If there are any mispellings or uncorrect grammar, I apologize! Kinda hard to do this when FanFiction no longer has the Spell Check thingy. -fail-