The suffocating darkness lightened its hold on Romano.

Thin tendrils of light pierced the veil of darkness. The pressure on his head relinquished its hold. As he began to wake up, he obtained more of his senses.

A moan escaped his split lips. He tried to crack over to find out that something cold was blocking his vision.

Something lifted the obstacles off of his eyes. He cracked his eyes open. Feliciano was standing over him, an ice pack in each hand. His chocolate eyes were soft in concern, compassion and pride.

It seemed too much like the old Feli that Romano thought it was all just a nightmare. His lips cracked a smile.

"Feli." he said weakly.

Feliciano's soft expression quickly morphed into a look of anger, though Romano could tell the anger wasn't directed at him.

"You useless pezzo di merda! Do you know how much you cost me?" Feliciano shouted angrily.

Romano's smile disappeared. He blinked his eyes painfully, confused by the sudden change.

"W-what ?" Romano stammered.

"You caused me to stop the fight early and I wasted perfectly good bandages and time because you wouldn't defend yourself!" Feliciano yelled.

Romano blinked. His tired brain struggled to wrap around what Feliciano was saying. "I'm s-sorry, fratello. I didn't mean to cause trouble!"

"Cause trouble ? That's not even half of it! Now I'm going to have to waste time to train you! Did anyone tell you how useless you are?" Feliciano shouted.

Romano winced. "Si, I hear it a lot." he whispered.

Feliciano sighed. "I'm sorry, fratello. You tried your best and I'm chastising you. I'm doing exactly what Germany did." Feliciano said.

Romano narrowed his eyes. What was with Feliciano's sudden mood changes ?

"You tried your best and you proved your loyalty to me. For that, I rewarded you with the bandages and care as well as the training. I'm grateful to have you on my side, Roma." Feliciano said quieter.

Romano hadn't heard Feliciano call him any nicknames in a long time. Too many emotions were swirling around in him, causing him to feel like a hormonal teenager.

"F -Feli!" he gasped. He couldn't stop the lone tear that trickled down his face. He hated crying in front of people yet it happened so often. Feliciano's mouth formed a straight line.

"There will be no tears; tears are for the weak." he said. As if to comfort him, Feliciano took Romano's hand gently, "You are not weak. If I have anything to do with it, this will be the last time you ever shed a tear."

Romano forced himself to calm down and stop crying. Feliciano might be calm now but that didn't mean he couldn't change personalities in a second. He recalled his act and smoothed a determined look on his face. He tightly squeezed Feliciano's hand.

"Help me be stronger!" Romano asked. "I don't want to be..." he paused, struggling to remember what he said to Antonio, "I don't want to be the angry, bratty Italian. I want to help you reign over them all and get revenge for the injustice against us!"

Feliciano grinned deviously, "Of course, fratello. I was help you grow strong and we shall grow and prosper together." he said. His grin turned into a smirk, "Our time of being cowards are over! It's time we took control! This is our time to be a great, vast empire and we shall not fall under anyone's army!"

Romano was finding himself moved by Feliciano's speech. "Yes fratello, we will both rule the world; all continents and countries far and near!" Romano said excited.

"Every person shall quake in fear at the mention of our names!" Feliciano added, a fox-like smirk curving upon his lips.

"No one shall stand in our way; we shall stampede to the top!" Romano grinned.

Feliciano let out a hearty laugh. "You're on the right track, Roma. I think we will just fine!" Feliciano grinned.

"When can I meet our allies ?" Romano asked.

"I have arranged a meeting in a few days for you to meet them. I do not wish to share too much since it's still not set on a date. I need to get them all here which is harder than it seems." Feliciano said smiling just to spite himself. Romano began to relax around his fratello.

Feliciano was relaxing around Romano. Romano smiled subconsciously. He was gaining Feliciano's trust. Maybe if he gained enough trust, Feliciano would listen to some of his suggestions, like to not hurt any more countries. For now, he decided to whole heartedly throw himself into Feliciano's plot. If fate decided Feliciano should find out about him spying for the others then so be it.

"Get up." Feliciano ordered. He himself rose from his chair, the chair legs squeaking, and put the chair back by a desk in the corner of the room.

"Get up ?" Romano asked. He inwardly groaned. He was still exhausted from the fight and not to mention sore and really wanted to take a nap.

"Yes. Get up now; we're going to train." Feliciano said. He allowed a smile to display his excitement.

Romano sighed quietly and obediently did as he was told. He stood up from the side of the bed and stretched his sore limbs. His face was still sore but at least it wasn't an arm of leg or even chest that hurt. He could fight with the injuries he had.

Feliciano smiled, pleased with him, "Come," he demanded, "We can train outside."

Romano followed as his fratello led him outside. Feliciano took him to a flat patch of land, sparse grass growing and, like the last base's training area, hard packed dirt.

"We'll first start with hand -to -hand. I doubt you'll use it much but you never know." Feliciano said.

"Ok." Romano said.

"Ok ?" Feliciano looked at him sharply.

"Um...yes...?" Romano said after a long pause.

"Yes...?" Feliciano offered.

"Yes sir?" Romano said uncertainly.

"Good. Now make a fist." Feliciano ordered. Romano made the best fist he could. Feliciano shook his head, laughing.

"What?" Romano asked looking at his punch. He hardly ever punched; he preferred head butting.

"No. Not like that. First of all, take your thumb out and wrap it around the outside of your fist; you'll break your thumb if you don't. Secondly, there should be a straight line from your elbow to your knuckles. If your wrist is bent, you'll break that as well." Feliciano explained.

Romano made the proper corrections and tried to get used to how it should feel.

"Good. Now take a few practice punches." Feliciano said. Romano did as he was told. He tried to replicate all the boxers and MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) fighters he had seen on the Ultimate Fighter.

"Your form is alright but when you punch, Step into it and put your body into it. Using just your arm won't be as powerful." Feliciano said. Romano tried to remember everything that Feliciano taught him.

"Yes sir." Romano said.

"Ok. Since you've got that down, I want you to take a shot at me and I want you to actually try and hit me." Feliciano ordered.

"Yes sir." Romano said. He leaned slightly into a fighting position. Feliciano smiled approval and also took up a similar stance. Romano made his fist and tried to remember everything Feliciano taught him. He pulled his fist back and exploded his body into the punch.

Feliciano easily dodged the punch. He smiled in approval.

"Your punch was good but I could tell you were going to punch me by the way you pulled your arm back. You need to stay unpredictable so just try not to pull your arm back." Feliciano said. He quickly demonstrated what to do. Romano quickly mirrored his actions, hoping it would please him.

Feliciano smiled. "Very good! You're picking this up quickly!" he said.

Romano smiled, enjoying his praise.

"Now we'll work on defense." Feliciano said. "Keep both hands in proper fists and position them up near your face with your elbows tucked in towards each other." Feliciano said. He did each step as he explained. Romano quickly replicated Feliciano. This part was easy; even a fool could do it. It was learning to put everything together and use it that was the hard part.

"This way, if someone throws a punch as your face, you can move your fists up to block it or vice versa if they try to punch lower like your stomach." Feliciano explained. I'm going to pretend to punch you and I want you to block me."

Romano dipped his head, "Yes sir." he said. He positioned his fists in front of his face. Feliciano spread his feet apart and leaned defensively. Romano quickly assumed the same stance.

Feliciano slowly extended his fist towards Romano's face. The elder Italians arms came up to block the blow.

Feliciano's other fist shot towards his stomach. Romano missed it and Feliciano's fist made contact with his stomach causing Romano to double over slightly.

"The first one was good. You need to think quicker. Your opponents will not go easy on you. Or tell you where they're going to punch you." Feliciano said with a quick laugh.

Romano straightened up and nodded. "Y-Yes sir." he said.

"Good." Feliciano said. "Now again. We do not stop until you are perfect. You will be quick like a cheetah, swift as a fox and as strong as a bear. I want you to think of that as you're doing this."

"Yes sir!" Romano nodded. His heart pounded hard in his chest. He surprised himself with how strong his desire to please Feliciano and show him that he was good was.

He dropped back into position and watched Feliciano carefully. Feliciano switched the order and punched his stomach first, quicker than the last one. Romano quickly blocked. He kept his eyes trained on Feliciano. He saw the fist coming towards his face and blocked it.

Feliciano smiled approval. "Very good. You're getting quicker and sharper but you need to make your movements more fluid."

"Yes sir!" Romano said. He dropped down once again, his eye brows furrowing in determination. Feliciano's fists shot towards Romano's face. Romano quickly moved his arms up but Feliciano faked and his other fist quickly shot to Romano's stomach. Romano's reactions were too slow and Feliciano's fists connected with his stomach again.

"You must be prepared for anything. Your opponents are trying to break you; you have to be ready for anything they throw at you." Feliciano said.

"Yes sir." Romano spit into the grass and got into position again. His eyes darkened in fierce determination. A sly grin spread over Feliciano's face.

Feliciano let out a dark chuckled, "Eager I see. You won't be for long."

He swung a fist at Romano's face with lightening speed. Romano quickly blocked and grabbed Feliciano's fist. He twisted his arm around, pulling Feliciano to him.

"You have to be ready for anything your opponent throws at you." he sneered. A hearty laugh escaped from Feliciano. Romano let him go, smiling slightly.

"Very good fratello. I think you got the hand of both of them. Let's have a match now. If you do well, we'll move on." Feliciano said after he recollected himself. Romano quickly took up his defensive stance. Feliciano assumed the same position.

Both siblings' facial expressions were serious; sharp eyes looking for any hint of movement. Romano threw the first punch. Feliciano quickly dodged and counteracted an attack. Romano blocked and dodged the second fist that came at him.

The two were like this for what seemed like hours; dodging and attacking, spinning and twirling with increasing grace and fluency.

Romano found himself caught in the moment. He wanted to show his fratello he wasn't useless and that he could beat him. Sweat dropped off his brow and his fists were slippery but he could see as more time went on that both he and Feliciano were getting tired.

Romano smirked. He needed to persevere. This could be a huge step in defeating Feliciano in the big shot. Feliciano had placed himself on such a high pedestal. He hadn't considered that his enemies could get stronger just as he had gained strength. All he had to do was beat him in this match and he could lower Feliciano's ego just a notch.

Romano saw the fist coming towards his face as if in slow motion. He grabbed the fist and held it in a solid iron grip. He kicked his leg out, his foot connecting with Feliciano's stomach. Feliciano doubled over ever so slightly. Just ever so slightly that Romano could knock him to the ground with an uppercut.

Romano stood up tall and stood triumphantly over Feliciano. "There is no fair play in war." he said smiling. He offered a hand. "Nice match."

Feliciano, and Romano too, were both panting hard. He smiled tiredly and accepted Romano's hand. "You too fratello. You will be a good fighter."

Romano smirked. "Between the two of us, I think we could easily beat our enemy without our allies help." Romano snickered.

"Perhaps so but our allies will only help us torture our enemy." Feliciano grinned deviously. When Romano tilted his head confused all Feliciano said was, "You'll understand soon."

Romano chuckled. "Keeping things exciting?" he asked. He didn't really understand why Feliciano wouldn't tell him about their allies.

"I prefer a bit of mystery." Feliciano smiled brushing off his clothing. "That and you wouldn't have much faith in our allies if I told you who they were. I believe I've already told you that they too are underestimated but like us, they are stronger than they let on."

"Speaking of which, I can't wait to get back at Ivan!" Romano hissed. He hoped his anger seemed legit enough. He was terrified seeing the Russian again. His face still hurt and he could tell his face didn't look so pretty. He still hasn't looked in the mirror; he wanted to put it off for as long as he could.

"Be patient brother. You'll get your chance." Feliciano smirked. He looked up at the sky. "Back to work. We still need to work on your sword and gun skills. If we have time we can work on knife to knife combat." Feliciano said.

They practiced until it was too dark. By the time they were done, Romano had improved much. Any improvement would have been a huge feat considering Romano didn't know which direction you point a gun. Feliciano was very pleased with his progress and for that Romano was happy.

He was convinced that Feliciano thought Romano was solely loyal to his fratello. Appearing to be loyal to Feliciano was easy when it was just the two of them. The hard part was when Antonio was around.

Romano found it hard to lie to Spain if he saw his big round eyes, teary at the thought of Romano being the enemy. As far as he knew, Antonio still didn't have his memory but Romano was the first person he bonded with ever since he lost his memory.

More than anything, Romano wanted to slap his head for thinking something so preposterous and tell him to stop being such an idiot. Of course, that would blow his cover so they would both have to suck it up and persevere.

"That's enough for today; we'll resume tomorrow. Let's go inside. Sally's cooking pasta." Feliciano said. Sally being Feliciano's personal cook. The two brothers walked side by side so close that their shoulders brushed each others. Both stood proudly and confidently, though the one was walking stiffly. Both were confident that their own goals would work out and both just glad to be with each other.

The Spaniards stomach did summer salts, twisting his gut into a knot. He was absolutely disgusted by this Russia person. He had hurt his Lovi, even after he had passed out. He could have killed him if no body had stopped him.

Spain shuttered at the thought of Romano dying in such a horrible way. His face had already been damaged. He knew there had been many deep scratches judging by the amount of crimson that decorated his face. His nose had been in a different angle than Antonio remembered. It was absolutely sickening.

Even if Romano was truly on Feliciano's side he didn't deserve that. Feliciano was his brother; arguably closer to him than anyone. Of course he would want to be with him.

Antonio found himself wondering where Romano's loyalty's truly lie. His words sounded legit enough and the idea that he and Feliciano shared similar thoughts seemed plausible but there was something in Romano's eyes that through him completely off.

Antonio knew first hand that it was easy to fake emotions with words. It was harder with facial expressions. The eyes were by far the hardest of all to fake. One can not mask over their emotions because every mask needed holes to see out of. No exceptions. It was as simple as black and white. If there were no holes, the mask bearer is unable to see out.

That's why when Romano looked at Antonio with big, round, almost apologetic eyes when he didn't think Feliciano was watching, Antonio knew Romano was trying to send him a message or at least tell him that he was still on their side.

It would be easier if Antonio had all his memories. He only had memories of Romano visiting him in the hospital. If he had been as close with him as he suspected than he might understand Romano's actions better.

Things were extremely confusing without his memory. Every face, every place was new. Even the other people whom he was traveling with were unfamiliar. An albino man had explained a few things to him about who he was and who the other people were that it was hard to remember even just their names. Even the lively albino man who had been the only one to offer any sort of explanation was just another nameless face in the sea of strangers.

Antonio just longed to see Romano. To just see one familiar face.

Back to the matter at hand, Antonio sent a deadly glare at the Russian who had so barbarically beat up his friend. The Russian didn't notice. He just walked beside the short Chinese man with a seemingly innocent smile on his face.

Masks surrounded Antonio everywhere. He was beginning to see how those around him used masks to benefit.

All around him were unfamiliar faces but yet they were all familiar by their masks for they wore the same masks that Romano wore - masks to hide grief, pain-both physical and mental- anger and fear. Everyone in the world wore masks. Some used them more than others and some for even more reasons.

The different variety of masks fascinated Antonio. It made everyone unique. He could practically see all the different colors, shapes and expressions worn but all the different people. He knew everyone needed kindness for every person needed the kindness of a person. Even if it was a strangers kindness rather than the kindness of a loved one.

Spain sighed. All this thinking was starting to confuse him. He just wanted this all the end. He desperately longed to have his memory back or to be able to hold Romano in his arms.

He knew he shouldn't be feeling or thinking the things he does towards another man but he found himself attracted to Romano and his mask. Like the mask at an ancient Greek play, Romano's mask was shaped in an exaggerated frown and was painted in deep blues and blanks.

Having raised Romano for most of the Italians adolescent life Antonio knew Romano better than anyone yet he still couldn't understand why Romano still wouldn't smile around the Spaniard. It was as if he still didn't trust him to stay with him.

Now it seemed as though Romano and Antonio were switching roles. Romano was the one who left Antonio though it wasn't the first time he left. Antonio had tried to stay patient with him. All Romano needed was love. Love could eventually help his Lovino to open up and become more comfortable.

Of course, that didn't happen and if anything Romano became more bitter. Antonio feared that Feliciano leaving had completely shattered any trust Romano had built up. Even though the Italian never would admit it, Antonio knew Romano loved him. He and Feliciano was everything to Romano. Dealing with the decision of who to be loyal to would be extremely hard on him.

Antonio found himself longing again for Romano. He wanted to hold him in his arms and tell him everything would be ok and that he would understand if he choose Feliciano and he would support him in whatever he did. Knowing Romano, he would listen to Antonio but he would yell at him and try to push the Spaniard off. It was one of the things Antonio loved the most about him.

Antonio sighed again. Sighing was becoming quite a habit for him...

"What's wrong, Antonio ?" the albino man asked.

"Nothing. I was just thinking." Antonio said.

"Don't worry about Romano. He's strong and he'll be just fine." the other man replied. He flashed Antonio a toothy grin. Antonio chuckled.

"Si. Gracias senior." he smiled. The German laughed gruffly and smirked.

"Anytime." he said. They walked back to the cars they had high jacked after picking Antonio up. Antonio got in a car with the Hungarian woman, the albino, the albinos brother and another German accented man who had raven hair.

The albino ran a pale hand through his silvery locks. "So what now ?" he asked.

"I honestly don't know, Gilbert." the raven haired man said. "What can we do ?"

"We can go back with an army and kick his arse!" Gilbert exclaimed.

The Hungarian sighed and slapped the back of the albinos head only half playfully. "Be realistic! Where are we going to get an army at?" she snapped.

Gilbert rubbed the back of his head tenderly. "How should I know ? You're all countries - not me." he said coldly. The Hungarian sighed.

"I'm sorry Gilbert. You know I didn't mean it that way." she said gently.

"Ja. I know you didn't Liz." Gilbert said looking out the window, finding something more interesting to look at.

"Can we get back on task ? What are we going to do ?" the raven haired man said. Antonio really wished he could remember all their names. He could only remember two which was only because they said it.

"We need to regroup and gather more ideas. Maybe it'd be a good idea to stay in Italy for now. We know where their hideout is and if he decides to move we'll just track them down." Elizabetha said.

"Not to sound like Ivan or anything but why don't we just bomb Italy ? They've given us enough reasons too and with Romano on their side now we don't have to worry about hurting him." Gilbert said. Both Antonio and Gilbert's brother stiffened.

"No!" they said in unison.

"Romano is still fighting for us! He's just spying!" Antonio exclaimed.

"Antonio, he was fighting against us today." Elizabetha pointed out gently.

"No! I mean, yeah he was but he is still on our side! Why else would he send us the directions to the base? They didn't kill any of us so it can only mean that Romano did it secretly!" Antonio said. There was a silence as the others considered this new idea.

"That could make sense..." Roderick said.

"And we're not positive so we can't hurt Romano just because of an assumption." Antonio added desperately. He knew he couldn't hurt Romano and he wasn't going to let anyone else hurt him if he could help it.

"Ok. Just chill dude. We're not making any set plans." Gilbert said. Both Antonio and Gilbert's brother sighed in relief.

"Let's go some place. I'm sure Russia would like to rest. That cut looked like it hurt." Roderick said.

Gilbert snorted, "Good. Serves him right." he grumbled.

Elizabetha elbowed his ribs and shot him a disapproving glare.

Antonio couldn't help but smile. He couldn't say he was upset by the Russians wounds. If anything, he wished he had caused them.

Soon enough he would see Romano again and he would know if he was alright. Hopefully by then he had regained his memories so he could tell Romano everything he remembered about him. He knew it would make the Italian happy and more than anything he just wanted to see the Italian smile.