A/N: This was originally a birthday gift for my friend iiAnarchyDuck of Gaia Online! I will be happy if even more fans read and enjoy this story!

Chapter 1: Captured

The high afternoon sun beat down upon the ground below. Feliciano Vargas, the young man who represented Italy, felt the sweat dropping off his brow as he marched along to a steady beat. It was very hot. It was now the middle of the summer, and he was still out practicing his drills!

Italy's throat felt dry. He just wanted to stop and have a nice drink of water, and maybe have a little rest under the shade of a tree. Taking a break like that wouldn't be an option though. Italy's leader hardly stopped for anything.

The other person who marched behind Italy was not faring much better. He went by the name of Kiku Honda, but to the nations of the world he was known as Japan. The dark-haired man was older than both Italy and Germany, so physical training like this was taxing on him. Often times, Kiku was considered to be a 'good example' compared to Italy, but today he was really feeling the burn.

It did not take long for their leader to notice that the two were lagging behind. Very quickly, he ordered a halt, making both Italy and Japan stop in their tracks. The tall, muscular man did an about face, looking at both his allies with his typical scowl. His sharp blue eyes managed to pierce into Kiku and Feliciano's souls, causing them to shift uneasily.

This was the typical face of Ludwig Beilschmidt, the strict, militaristic man who represented Germany. Right now, as always, he did not have a happy face. Some wondered (and even lost bets) on whether or not Ludwig truly had a smile to begin with.

"All right, Italy, Japan! Since you appear to be slacking, I will take a brief rest here! I still want your minds to be sharp though. I'm going to ask you a question. It's not a trick question either, so don't look for hidden meanings." Germany instructed, his deep voice bellowing out toward them.

"We understand, Germany-san." Japan replied patiently. He took a seat on the earth in front of him, with his hands neatly folded over his lap. "Ask us anything that you feel is important."

"I'll know the answer this time!" Italy exclaimed excitedly. He hadn't bothered to sit down. Standing still to rest was a lot better than marching.

"Italy! Always raise your hand so that you'll have permission to speak!" Germany exclaimed, correcting him.

Germany's voice had risen a little louder. Italy cringed. The other nation was so strong and helpful, but he could also be scary sometimes. Although Feliciano showered his undying adoration toward Ludwig, the Italian was unsure if his German really wanted it. Most signs pointed to 'no', but Italy had never really thought about that. He never really had to.

"Now that I have complete and total silence..." Germany paused for just one moment before he eyed Italy first, then Japan. "The question I have to ask you is this. What do you do when you are faced with the difficult situation of being captured by the enemy?"

"That's easy, sir!" Italy exclaimed, raising his hand up high. "I buy my time, of course! Like a true Italian I flirt, eat, sing and go to bed! Then I wait until reinforcements rescue me, sir!" He added hopefully.

"You fool!" Germany quickly scolded Italy for his answer. "Suppose back-up isn't an option here! Do you honestly believe that someone will always bail you out every time you step into trouble?"

"Um..." Japan raised his own hand, trying to stop any sort of argument between the westerners. "Germany-san, there is something we're always told to do, actually. You see, in my country, we must not live the shame of defeat, so we must use our sword and..."

"Japan!" Germany quickly interrupted the Asian before he could finish. "I realize that is a real practice in the east, but we are on western shores now. The rules are different here, so listen up!"

Japan didn't look like he was paying close attention. He was still staring at the ground, looking as if the option to "not live with dishonor" meant something truly awful. Italy tapped his shoulder. Kiku Honda practically jumped out of his skin when he was touched.

"I'm listening, Germany-san. What are the rules for those who are captured on western soil?" Japan asked in a hurried and flustered voice. Although Kiku was genuinely curious, he really just wanted to get his mind off what he was imagining right now.

"There is only one way to deal with the situation in the western world." Germany said frankly. He stepped closer to them, casting a serious gaze in either of his ally's directions. "That way is to never get caught, understood? If you never end up in enemy hands, you won't have to worry about what comes next."

"Ah, I will do my best to remember that, Germany-san." Japan said, with a respectful bow in his leader's direction.

"I'll remember too!" Italy said happily. Of course, he remembered everything that Germany said. It was hard to forget anything Ludwig said when he constantly raised his voice. Remembering his leader's advice was not the same as following, however. Italy had no idea just how important following would actually be today.

Fate had smiled on America, one of the younger and more daring members of the Allied Forces. The blond had been tailing Germany and his crew for quite some time, but he never thought he would see one of their training sessions. Germany's advice was pretty interesting too. "He thinks they could never get caught, huh? We'll see how his little pals stand up to a real American hero, but in all honesty, it's not even a contest!" he thought confidently.

Alfred F. Jones was so excited about his top-notch espionage that he nearly lost sight of the Axis Powers' march. He picked up his pace and managed to keep them in his sights though. America was close enough to hear their words, but far enough to where his enemies could not spot him. Back in his safe hiding place, he could not help but smile just a little.

"Those three have no idea that I set up a little surprise for them when they try to go back home." America thought menacingly as he looked down to the forest floor.

With enough leaves, dirt, and twigs, he was able to hide his trap perfectly within the scenery. When prey got in the middle though, it would snap all by itself.

"It's not about if they'll fall into it, but when." thought America. "I just wonder who's going to be gullible enough not to notice where it is!"

Something was wrong with the scenery. Something was definitely wrong. This dirt path that Ludwig and the others had taken before looked different somehow. Germany couldn't understand why, but it looked off. Unable to figure out exactly what bugged him, he held up the palm of his hand. Both Italy and Japan, who were marching behind him, came to a complete stop.

"What's wrong, Germany-san?" Japan wondered. "Is there something that we must do before we return to our base?"

"Something about our surroundings changed. I don't know what it is either! And now that I think of it, I've been hearing something in the trees the whole time we've been training! I didn't want to mention it earlier." Germany told him. He shook his head. "The last time I got alarmed over a noise; it was Italy's cat who escaped the house..."

"If it was just my cat, then we have nothing to worry about!" exclaimed Feliciano. The Italian stepped ahead of Germany and Japan, carefree as can be. "I'm sure she just got out again! She has to be missing me, and even you, Germany!"

"You idiot! I told you something was wrong with this place! Don't go further!" Germany yelled. He tried to reach forward and stop Feliciano, but he was much too late to grab his collar.

As Italy's feet moved, it sounded normal at first. It was Ludwig's hope that he was sensing some kind of false alarm. On the Italian's third step though, a click sounded. Italy seemed to pay it no mind. While Italy remained blissfully unaware of his circumstances, Germany suddenly gasped in panic. He knew exactly what was wrong now!

"Italy, it's a trap!" Germany shouted. "Get out of there!"

Before his friend could move, or even answer Ludwig's desperate cries, the German sprang forward. He shoved Italy in Japan's direction. The force of Germany's blow sent the Italian stumbling back a few feet, but he quickly recovered. Almost as soon as Feliciano had stumbled and regained his balance, a large, black net surrounded Ludwig, trapping him on all sides. There was no time for him to try and run to safety.

In mere second's time, the net shot high into the air. The ground below Germany shrank as the net latched itself onto a thick tree branch that was well above where his allies were standing.

"Germany!" Italy cried. He tried to speed toward the trap that was holding his comrade, but was stopped when Japan extended his right arm out in front of him.

"Italy-kun, we can't go any further. By the sounds of it, we're surrounded." Japan said grimly. His eyes traveled in all directions, as if trying to acknowledge all the enemy forces that were rustling around in the trees and bushes.

Drawing his trusty sword, Japan stood with his back to Italy. "I don't know how many there are, but we'll have to defeat them if we're going to help Germany-san."

Italy nodded nervously. "I know we have to fight. I'm ready, Japan." he responded. Feliciano had one hand on his pistol, but the other hand gripped the little white flag that was hidden away in his pocket. It was, of course, a last resort.

While his allies prepared for battle, Germany hung suspended in the air by the net. There was one advantage to this trap: he could see the field below from a bird's eye view. He could spot the enemy from above, letting Japan and Italy take them out on the ground. It would have been brilliant plan if the numbers added up in their favor.

The numbers weren't exactly right though. From where he dangled off the tree branch, Ludwig could easily spot at least a force of twenty-three Allied soldiers in different hiding places. Two against twenty-three did not look like good odds. There were likely reinforcements would replace any soldiers that Japan or Italy defeated. Ludwig shut his eyes, in a few seconds of quiet concentration. No matter how hard he thought, his mind could only come up with one outcome for this battle. There was only one thing he could do to prevent that.

"Japan! Can you hear me?" Ludwig shouted, sure that his voice reached his ally.

"Yes, Germany-san?" Japan answered him, looking upwards from where he took his battle-ready stance.

"I am giving you and Italy a new order!" Germany exclaimed. "Forget about me. I want you both to get out of here alive."

"But what about you, Germany?" Italy asked quickly. His voice grew so high-pitched that it was almost a squeak.

"I told you to retreat, Italy!" exclaimed Germany furiously. He tried to strain against the trap that held him, but it was to no avail. "I'll be fine! I'll find a way out."

"Italy-kun, orders are orders," said Japan. He sheathed his sword for now. "We must escape."

Italy nodded, very reluctantly agreeing with Japan's words. He hated the idea. He didn't want to run and hide while Germany was trapped, but they had no choice. Japan was strong, and even he was strong, but their leader wouldn't have ordered their escape unless their enemies could overwhelm them.

While the two of them were left wondering why Ludwig spoke the words they did, both Kiku Honda and Feliciano Vargas were soldiers to a T. They followed orders, even in times of doubt. Each of them nodded toward each other. They both took off toward the left, into a thicket of trees and bushes. America's forces expected a fight, not a retreat. They scrambled to try and pursue them.

The relief that Ludwig Beilschmidt had from seeing both his allies run was short-lived. All the sudden, he felt the world around him dance in a mixture of colors. The whites of the clouds, the blues of the skies and the green-brown of the dirt blended together as he felt himself get tossed around.

"Look what we have here." America said in a cheery, but very obnoxious voice. He had thrown Germany's net over his shoulder, as if he were carrying a heavy sack of groceries. "I expected Japan or Italy, but I'll totally be happy with catching Germany too!" he exclaimed in excitement.

"I'm not a 'catch' for you to make!" Germany protested. "What do you think I am, a fish?"

"No way, man. A fish would be much easier to catch than you." replied America quickly. He hopped from the tree branch he stood, giving a signal with one of his hands. "All right, guys. Cover me while I bring Germany back to our place! Make sure we don't get followed by his cronies."

"Yes, America sir!" one soldier exclaimed.

"Don't be rough with him on his first day, sir." said another.

"Yeah, yeah, don't worry. I'll be nice." America said, waving his subordinate off. "Just do your best, you hear? I bet if we got all of the Axis powers in one day, then England and France would be totally surprised! They would probably owe me some money too."

"Forget this!" exclaimed Germany. He reached into his pocket, drawing out a knife. Ludwig tried to chisel away at the trap that held him. "I'm not going to be your prisoner and I'm definitely not going to be your poker chip to win money off those two losers!"

"You can cut away all you want. It's not going to work," America told him frankly. "This thing's made out of metal! It's not the cheap kind either. I wouldn't be squirming as much as you are. It might leave some serious marks on your face."

"I'm going to put marks on your face when I get out of here!" Germany shouted in response. His cutting motions became more frantic and hurried. In his haste to try and escape, Ludwig lost grip of his knife. It flew out of one of the net's holes, striking the ground at America's feet.

Alfred sighed, rolling his eyes. "I tried to warn you, man. You can't blame me if things didn't work out." He stated bluntly. No amount of his captive's resistance could make his grip on the net even loosen. The American even began to whistle as he moved along toward his own camp.

Somewhere within the forest, Japan and Italy had lost their American pursuers. Kiku had been resourceful and brought his map along. He was trying to figure out how far they were from their base. While his Asian ally was busy, Italy hung his head low. He stared at the ground for a while. The once carefree, bubbly Italian didn't even try to say a word of encouragement to Kiku, who might have been going through the same worries as he was.

"He's gone… I can't believe they just took him from us…" Italy muttered sadly. "Germany…"

"Italy-kun, you have to get a hold of yourself! You can't be sulking like this!" exclaimed Japan. He tried to shout in a loud enough voice that would scare the Italian into listening to him, much like Ludwig's. "Germany-san gave himself up so that the two of us could escape. Why do you think he did such a thing?"

"I don't know!" Italy exclaimed. He cringed when Japan's voice grew louder. "I don't want to know why he would give himself up! I just want him to come back! I'm scared! I've heard a lot of bad things about getting captured by the enemy!" Italy cried, growing more hysterical as he continued to speak. "I heard that you might get fed England's food, or France might ask you to pose in suggestive ways while he takes scandalous photographs and publishes them for his next calendar!"

"Italy-kun, I understand how you must feel, and those ways of Western punishment are quite scary." Japan told him. Very reluctantly, he placed his hand on his shoulder. He hoped the Italian did not return that in the form of hugging him or doing something else very inappropriate for this serious moment. "But I'm certain of one thing. Germany-san wouldn't have got caught like that unless he could handle it."

"Japan, you're so calm right now. How can you be like that?" Italy asked with a hint of sadness still within his voice. He didn't even move when he felt the other nation's touch. "What if something awful is happening to Germany while we're safe and sound?"

"We can't be certain if Germany-san is in immediate danger." replied Japan. He took a step back, getting his distance between himself and Italy. "He will be fine though, Italy-kun. We must have faith in him, and we must get back to our own base. We cannot let his efforts go to waste, can we?"

"Yeah, you're right about that." Italy muttered, lifting his head to face his Asian ally. "We have to go home for now, and we have to get him back!"

"We're not that far from where we need to be." Japan said, pointing to a certain place on the map. "Let's go, Italy-kun. We should make it there by sunset and have plenty of time to make our strategy."

~ To be Continued