I'm going to leave my explanations for the end of the story, because I don't want you to wait.

Poland stared, open-mouthed in bewilderment, at the radio in front of him – unable to form a coherent sentence with the shock that had left him reeling. Beside him, Lithuania's throat had constricted tightly, being in an equal amount of amazement as the blond beside him. The person on the other end of the receiver seemed to pick up on their astonishment and fell silent for a moment - before awkwardly coughing.

"I seem to have made you speechless."

That voice, it stirred a memory deep down in Poland but, irritatingly, he could not put his finger on it. It was so tantalizingly familiar yet he couldn't remember where on Earth he had encountered it. Lithuania, upon seeing Poland's speechlessness, took over.

"Who is this?!" He demanded, though his voice was weak and held no menace.

From the receiver came a dry chuckle, "have you both forgotten me already? Your memories aren't very reliable, it seems, it's only been two months. Nevertheless, it would be unwise for me to introduce myself where others may hear. I want you to listen very carefully now, Toris..."

"So we're just going to trust a random stranger over a radio?!" England demanded as Poland stuffed the last of his torn, ragged shirts into a small duffel bag. The Pole looked up, sighing irritably.

"We've already been through this," he snapped, "the person on the other end wasn't just a stranger! He knew who Liet and I were, so that means he's, like, one of us. I don't know how much more you need to know, but if he's a country than I am totally fine with checking it out. It's not like he can hurt any of us, we'll outnumber him anyway."

England just scowled, muttering something under his breath about taking unnecessary risks as he walked off. Poland shook his head, rolling his eyes and turning towards America - who was standing on his own at the far end of the room. "Hey, Alfred!" He called, making the blond look up sharply. "You definitely know the way?"

A forced smile worked its way onto the American's face. "Of course, no one knows the American land like I do! I could find my way blindfolded!" He boasted, though his voice didn't quite contain the energy it used to. Poland nodded, though he couldn't help the sad frown that crept on his face. America had lost many dear to him, and he had been forced to do things that were horrific even to the nations that had been through countless wars. Poland knew that what they had done - murdering innocent pe- well, those who used to be people - was necessary in order to survive, but he couldn't help wonder whether they would ever be the same after this was all over. Or maybe it would never end, and they were doomed to a life of slaughtering and fighting every day to survive. The blond would never admit it, but he was scared. He was scared that they would never survive to see the end, or even the easing, of this plague and that they would die full of fear, suspicion and hatred. He was scared that his precious Liet would die before him, and that he would end up alone. But most of all, he was scared that the world would change him so drastically that he himself would end up hurting the others.
As if he could read minds, Lithuania appeared beside Poland and took his hand - gently squeezing it in a reassuring manner while casting the Pole a small smile. Poland grinned, grateful to have someone like Lithuania to keep him sane, and squeezed back in response.

"You ready?" The brunet questioned.

"Of course," Poland replied, "I was born ready."

"This is it?!" Switzerland demanded as the group pulled up their vehicles beside a seemingly abandoned house that was tightly surrounded by large fences. It all seemed a bit cliche to him - were they going to be ambushed when they walked inside by a mysterious Mafia-esque group next?

"I... I suppose it is..." England replied, unfastening his seatbelt and climbing out of the car. He addressed the rest of the group as they did the same. "Right, everyone keep their weapons close. We don't know who we're dealing with as of now so stay alert."

"I can see you're all very alert." Came a voice from behind them and, with a yelp of surprise, England whirled around - however, losing his footing as he did so and falling to the ground. A high-pitched giggle that did not belong to any member of the group followed this and, furious, England looked up. However, as he did so, all of his previous anger dissipated and his mouth fell slack - rendering him only able to stare at the source of the noise. The rest of the group followed his gaze and lay their eyes upon the four people that stood behind them.

"Roderich!" Switzerland was the first of them to speak, and to the surprise of everyone watching he stepped forward and pulled the brunet into a tight hug. Austria himself blinked in surprise for a moment, before a happy smile graced his lips and he patted his old friend gently on the back. Switzerland suddenly stiffened and hastened to pull away, turning slightly red. "I apologise," he said stiffly. "I'm just glad that you are alright."

"The feeling is mutual, Vash," Austria nodded in attempt to ease the blond's embarrassment.
As the turn of events started to sink in, the others also headed forwards to embrace their friends and allies - their weary, nervous expressions being replaced by beams as they were reunited after so long. People started to laugh and cry, and the once sombre mood was now one of elation and relief.

"What's all this noise?! I'm trying to take a Siesta, bastards!" Came a loud complaint as the last of the group, the fiery redhead, slipped through the half-open gate. Romano rubbed his half-open, heavy eyes and finally looked up from the ground. He scanned the group as if not even surprised to see them, a grimace evident on his features. He opened his mouth to speak, but before he could someone pushed through the crowd and came face to face with the Italian, and all previous thoughts clouded in his brain. His mouth closed, and he swallowed audibly.

"B-bastardo..." He said, but his voice cracked and he scrunched up his face, as if trying not to cry. Spain stepped forwards, with the same expression on his face - however it all of a sudden contorted into fury and he started running towards Romano with clenched fists. As he reached the smaller man he started to hit him feebly on the chest, much to the Italian's surprise. "You... complete... bastard!" Spain cried, his fists thumping onto Romano's chest, "I've been worried sick! I thought you were... I thought you were dead!" At that word Spain's eyes shifted to where Estonia was standing with a hint of confusion and anger, but his attention soon reverted back to Romano. "Have you any idea of what I've been through?!"

Romano's hands enclosed around the Spaniards fists and he glared back. "How do you think I've felt as well, jerk?! I... I..." He seemed unable to continue, and Spain's face softened. He pulled the brunet into his arms and hugged him close, planting feather-light kisses everywhere he could reach. Romano squirmed, but he did not protest - secretly ecstatic to be back in the arms of the man he had missed so desperately. They stayed in each other's arms for what seemed like hours, with Spain whispering sweet nothings and his relief into the other's ear and sobbing uncontrollably, but eventually the two parted. Romano allowed Spain to take his hand - just this once - and searched through the crowd. He appeared confused, and tilted his head to the side.

"I don't understand," he said, his voice higher than usual, and the larger group knew immediately what was about to be asked, "where's my stupid fratello?!"

I am soooooooooo sorry, all of you. This chapter is way overdue and it should have been posted ages ago. I've just been going through a massive writer's block and this chapter has been really hard. I'm still not happy with this and it's quite forced, but I thought a rubbish, short chapter was better than none. Right now I don't feel like trying to fiddle with this, so it'll probably be tomorrow that I get around to editing it because I've probably made a huge heap of errors and repetitions, not to mention it probably doesn't flow or anything. I hope you understand, I promise I will improve this when I feel able and I'll try and continue this next Saturday, as right now it's half-term so I have a lot of time to consider what I want to happen next. Thanks for reading and being patient, guys.