This is my second Hetalia fanfic, which turned out to be a crime/horror fic based on a few manga and books I've read. As the typical And-then-there-were-none-fics, I'm going to kill off the characters one by one… Feel free to guess who the murderer is. :)

I apologize for any grammatical errors and out of character-ness. Fic rated because of bizarre crime scenes and language. Reviews are appreciated~


[Chapter 1 –America's Great Idea]

He had never been the type to worry much about his life. The boy was surrounded by friends who he loved a lot, and even though problems could ruin his happy moments from time to time, everything always turned out okay in the end.

But not this time.

Enveloped in darkness, he listened to the hard drum of his heart. He couldn't stop shivering as he sat there with his back against the wall. It wasn't the cold which made his teeth chatter and body tense in terrible anticipation of what that was about to happen. The wires binding his wrists and ankles were tormenting him. No matter how hard he struggled, he couldn't get them off.

I have to run… Run… Escape… Hide…

Somewhere…

Far away…

These were the only things he thought about right now. If only he could… If only… His train of thoughts was interrupted when he heard the creaking sound of a door swing open, and footsteps against the wooden floor which came closer and closer…

No…

The young male raised his head and looked around wildly, trying in vain to see past the blindfold as he crouched himself in the corner as far away from the other presence as possible.

No…

"I-I haven't done anything…! S-So please don't… …" It was like his voice didn't want to leave his throat – He couldn't say it. This was the first time he had ever felt like this… So helpless… Such strong feeling of… Fear. "Don't… Please…"

A gloved hand brushed down the victim's cheek before the fingers were tangled into his hair, dragging his head back.

"N-No…"

A sharp pain of cut prickled his throat. He parted his lips and wanted to let out a scream, but another gloved hand covered the young man's mouth, preventing him from making any sounds. Slowly, as the pain continued, he listened to the sound of his lifeblood dripping down on the wooden floor below him…

Drip…

Drip…

Drip…

"I have an idea~!" The American shouted and pointed a finger at the rest who sat there in the room. For some reasons, he sounded more hyper today – which was a bad thing, because many of the others were tired and wanted to leave the meeting as soon as possible.

"Not again," Arthur looked through his papers and tried to ignore the idiot. "Just shut up already." He wasn't in the mood to listen more to the loud nation's random talk; it gave him headaches.

"No, no, listen to me!" Alfred tugged the Brit's sleeve. "Since we all are NATO-members, why don't we get to know each other better, ha?" He looked at the other blonde man with a You-know-you-want-to~-look and didn't care about the hateful glares which were sent back at him.

"Don't be ridiculous!" England took his arm back from the American and frowned. "This is serious business, not some kind of random club where you can make friends. If this is what you really want, why don't you go to a bar or something?"

North Italy smiled and twirled a finger around a lock of his hair. He didn't really mind these meetings at all; actually, he really liked to listen to the hero. "Making friends is nice, vee~"

"WHAT THE FUCK?" Prussia suddenly shouted, and startled everyone; Especially the Italian, who thought it was wrong of him to say it was nice to make friends.

"Bruder, don't fall asleep and be that noisy because of some weird dream you had - You're embarrassing me…" Germany muttered, but loud enough for his sibling's ears. The silver-haired man yawned and laid his head back down on the table. Gilbert really hated these stupid meetings because he always ended up falling asleep.

And this was a NATO-meeting, what was he doing here anyway? Oh, because West didn't like the fact that his older brother always stayed at home and played video games, wrote on his blog or listened to music. It wasn't good for him, he said… But it is indeed awesome! Because who would have liked a boring life as West's anyway?

"America, if we aren't going to talk about anything important, I would like to leave," the wurst-loving nation said. Actually, Germany just didn't want to be there, after his brother's sudden outburst. He regretted the fact that he had brought Prussia here; the guy never took these stuffs seriously.

"HA? You're no fun!" The American was very disappointed. He had expected everyone to accept his idea with open arms, but it didn't turn out that way; No one seemed to even care.

"…I agree with Germany," Norway, who hadn't said anything since he arrived, finally spoke. "…Many of us have better things to do than to sit here and listen to you."

"Oh come on, think about it!" Alfred pouted and looked for someone to back him up. "CANADA, you support me, right? Right?"

"B-Brother, I'm not sure if this is a good idea," Matthew said shyly, with a voice which was only above whisper. "Besides, I don't think we really have time for a break…"

"I've already chosen a place," The hero didn't even listen to what the Canadian had said, and continued with what he was doing. "My plan for this is very cool, I tell ya! So let's go!"

"Oh! What is your cool plan anyway?" Denmark leaned back on his chair and crossed his arms, grinning widely. "If it sounds good, I might join."

"I just bought a holiday hut the other day, and thought we could go there together!" Alfred was happy that at least someone had finally shown interest in his idea.

"Not bad, not bad at all," Turkey said while he tried to stick a pencil in the mouth of a certain sleeping Grecian, without waking him up from cat-land or wherever he was right now.

"Sounds nice!" Spain was the social-type of person, and loved trips like these. "I don't get why the others don't want to go."

"If I can get the chance to get closer to the rest of you, I don't mind~" France smiled his charming smile. "Let's go, or else, I'll give my love to you all~ Well, I would have done that anyway, but still…~"

"Awesome, let's go!" Gilbert finally got interested in this trip; His bad buddies were coming, so why not? "West, you'll be coming too!" Right now, Germany had another reason to regret he had brought his brother with him to this meeting…

England did not like this at all and tried to stop them before they decided to carry out this idea. "W-Wait, let's just not-"

"DEMOCRACY!" America shouted and interrupted the Brit. "Those who agree that we should go; Hands up!"

Denmark, Italy, Prussia, Spain, France, Turkey, and himself, put up a hand. The American was overjoyed at the sight of his side being in majority and gave thumbs-up. "Yoooosh! Let's go~"

"I refuse!" Arthur stood up and walked quickly towards the door. "Meeting dismissed!" Those who didn't like America's idea stood up as well and prepared to leave.

"STOP THEEEM!" The American shouted and jumped on England to prevent him from leaving. France hugged Canada from behind. "Not so quick, my dear~" He whispered in the other's ear, making him shiver a bit. Italy clung to Germany's leg while Prussia put an arm around his brother's neck and locked him in a headlock.

Spain sat there and smiled while Turkey didn't have to do anything because Greece was asleep. He was sure the Grecian man would want to join anyway. Denmark was the only one who got some problems.

The Dane reached out his arms to catch his friend in a hug. "Norge~" The Norwegian responded by hitting Den's face with his elbow. "…Don't touch me."

"Ah~ But Nor-" Another hit. "…I told you not to touch me."

"Come on, let's g-"Punch."…You never get it, do you…?"

"Haha~!" "…Don't laugh."

The others stared at them as a drop of sweat trickled down their temple. "T-That's harsh~" Right now America - and everyone else - was happy they weren't Denmark, because that must have hurt quite a lot.

"Don't be like that, Nor!" Prussia said, still clinging to the German. "Everyone has to join! Or else, it won't be fun."

The Norwegian brushed invisible dust or whatever he could have gotten from the Dane off his sailor shirt. "I never said anything about notjoining…"

"Eh?" They all blinked in surprise.

Norway fixed the cross barrette in his hair and turned to look at the rest. "…This trip might get interesting after all…"

They all had gone home and packed their things. After a few hours, they met again and drove to where America had his holiday house which lied by a beautiful lake, right in front of a dark wood. The sun shone so brightly, not a cloud could be seen on the light-blue sky, and everything seemed to be so perfect.

Prussia was the first person who entered the hut. It was not too big, but there was enough space for them all. This is going to be awesome!He thought.

"Not bad, not bad at all…" Turkey said and looked around.

"Right? Right? I'm the hero!" America posed. Even England changed his mind completely when they arrived to this place. He had to admit thatthis was quite a place to spend the holiday.

The house was nice with many furniture and other random things which caught the others' attentions. The wooden floor kept America's cabin warm, even during cold winters. It was summer right now, but during the night, the temperature could get quite low.

In the room which could be called the living room, there was a fireplace, a dinner table with many chairs and a few book shelves stood in a corner. There was a nice kitchen with all the equipments they needed to make a fantastic meal.

Aside from the main rooms, toilets and showers, there were also places for them to spend the night. In those four bedrooms, there were two bunk beds, but since they were twelve people, only three of them were used; four people in each room.

"Let's go to the beach~!" America suggested after they had put away their luggage.

"The first guy who arrives down at the shore is the most awesome guy in the whole history!" Prussia shouted and started to run; He really didn't want to lose. Last time he lost the swimming competition with Alfred was just a fluke.

"Hey, wait! That's cheating!" The American followed after the silver-haired man as he removed his shirt and threw it on the ground.

England sat right outside the cabin and drank tea with Norway and Germany. France and Canada had also made some desserts, which went perfectly with it. They preferred a quiet evening than too much ruckus, unlike most of the others. Greece lied on the ground beside them, with his back against a tree; Asleep, as always.

Italy and Spain sat on the sand covered shore and tried to make a sandcastle while Turkey lied there and sunbathed. As if his skin didn't already have a beautiful tan. Denmark joined the other arrogant guys who splashed water on each other.

Yes, this was the start of a great holiday, they all thought. And before the sun had set and the night drew closer, everyone had to admit that maybe it really was possible for the stupid American to come with good ideas after all.

"Oh, Gworge," Denmark said with his mouth full of food. "Why dwidn't you brwing Iswand? Arwen't you gwuys lwike prwetty clwose?" He continued to talk, as if that was a normal thing to do.

Norway took his time to swallow his food before replying. "Don't talk with your mouth full." The Norwegian male paused and thought for a short moment. "Island has a cold. It's not too serious, though, so he keeps telling me there's no need to worry and that he can take care of himself."

"Come to think of it, some of the other NATO-members aren't here, nor did they come to our meeting. Maybe they were busy or had their own problems?" Canada said with his soft voice, but unlike most of the time, most of them heard him.

"Yeah," England replied. "But we shouldn't care too much – They all are independent nations after all, and we should just enjoy our stay here."

"Lwess pweople, mwore to weat~!" Alfred dug in the delicious food France had made, as everyone else did.

After the nice and tasteful dinner, Spain light up the fireplace and everyone sat around it. "Alfie, this is such a nice house~" The Spanish guy said with a smile as always. "Was it expensive?"

"No, not at all!" America flailed his arms in the air and almost hit the Canadian who was trying to hand him some hot chocolate. "I was the only one who bid on this beautiful cabin! Can you believe it?" He took the cup with the dark, brown liquid and chugged it down, burning his mouth in the process.

"Isn't it a bit weird? I mean, it's a good holiday hut with fantastic surroundings. Why wouldn't others bid for it?" Even the Dane had to question the fact how Alfred could get his hands on this place.

America almost choked on his drink. With all the suspicious stared fixed at him, he knew he had to tell them even thought they might not like it at all. With a heavy sigh, the blonde started his talk. "W-Well, the truth is; I was afraid something would happen if I stayed here alone, so I thought… It would be better if… Y-You guys were here too, ehe… b-but let's not mind the details, shall w—!"

England grabbed the hero's shirt collar and imitated his voice. "Since we all are NATO-members, why don't we get to know each other better- THE HELL!" Arthur snarled and shook the other guy. "So this was what the whole thing was about – YOUR FRIGHT FOR GHOSTS?"

"W-What's wrong, Artie? B-Being that upset… Just admit that you're scared too~" Alfred tried to change the topic, but failed hard and ended up getting strangled.

"So… What happened here?" The Turkish man behind the white mask asked. "You know about it, don't you?" He rested his chin on the palm of his hand and smirked slightly. He seemed to enjoy creepy stories.

"A-Ah, well," America said after England had let go of him. "I heard that the previous owners of this cabin were two brothers. They both loved each other a lot and got along pretty well."

"Sounds like you and Is, Nor," Denmark interrupted and looked at his friend. "Hush…!" The others hushed at him to make him stay quiet and let Alfred continue.

"As time passed, the older one got too attached to his younger sibling; it even turned to romantic feelings, but his little brother didn't feel the same – The younger male didn't even know about this."

"Wohoo~!" Denmark interrupted once again and grinned at his best friend like a maniac.

HIT.

The King of Northern Europe rubbed his cheek in pain while the rest was slightly thankful Norway had made sure the Dane would shut up for a short time.

America cleared his throat and carried on with the story. "The younger sibling brought home a lover, and of course, this made the older guy jealous. In the end, he killed the other two and threw the bodies in that lake we were at earlier today… Then, he drowned himself too. A-And since that time, everyone who stayed at this house would end up drowning or killing themselves and each other…"

"W-We were bathing where a guy drowned himself?" The Dane had to ask; His face looking pale.

"N-Not exactly. The only reason how people found the dead bodies was because those people were thrown or threw themselves in the more swallow part of the lake… In the story I just told you guys, only two corpses were found; They couldn't find the murderer's body, so they just assumed he had drowned himself. M-Maybe he's still alive, I don't know…" Alfred looked unsurely at the rest and shifted his glance to the wooden floor.

Turkey and Greece stayed quiet, but even Heracles, the nation who usually slept while people talked, was quite interested in this.

"Why didn't they… Dive down there and look for the murderer's body…? Just… To make sure… That he was dead…" France asked, sounding slightly worried.

"It's because that lake is bottom-less. Or so they say… The greenish-blue water is so dark that you can't see the end… If you ever decide to commit suicide at the deeper areas of the lake, then no one will ever be able find you…"

"V-Ve… Scary," Italy turned away from the talking American and clung to Germany. "I want to go home…!" Ludwig didn't know what to do and just patted his back comfortingly, holding him close.

Canada snuggled closer to the rest. "S-So there hasn't been only one suicide case? People have come here after that incident would get killed, throw themselves in the lake or something, r-right?"

"Y-Yes," Alfred replied and looked warily around, as if he wanted to check that no one else would hear it. "T-They say a curse will be put on those who stay here…" The crackling fire casted an orange-ish streak of light over the dark room and made creepy shadows on the wooden walls – It was as if they were moving… As if they were… Alive

"A curse? What the fuck?" Prussia interrupted the silence with a frown on his face. "Curses and ghosts don't exist. Stop fooling around, already!" He said determined and ignored Arthur's comments about how real curses and magic were.

The Prussian man stared at the others' anxious faces. "What's wrong with you guys?" Gilbert continued and sounded quite brave where he sat, with his arms crossed. "It's not like anything would happen anyway!"

"But what if it does?" France's face expression was difficult to read, but there was no doubt about it; he was serious. "I suggest we should leave before something bad happens. Who knows if the murderer still walks around here?"

"I agree with Francis. The crime scene of an unsolved case like this… is dangerous," Arthur said. Even though they both had different taste and often thought differently, trouble was something none of them wanted. "It's too dark outside right now. We'll leave tomorrow after breakfast."

"Maaa~ Whatever, I'm going to bed. Night!" Gilbert stood up and walked out of the room. He didn't get why they made such a big fuss out of this. The murderer must have been dead by now, and even if he was alive, why would he wander around in the woods? And what kind of crazy fucker would fall in love with his own brother anyway? The whole thing was just stupid.

The silver-haired man let out a yawn and crawled into the bed positioned under Germany's. All the bathing, splashing and running had made him so tired. His eyes closed… Prussia fell into a deep sleep and dreamt about pirates…

That morning, Gilbert was brought back to reality by some rays of sunlight. When he opened his eyes, he was lying on the floor. The albino let out a yawn as he stood up and scratched the back of his head. Where's everyone? He wondered. It seemed like his roommates; that would be Germany, Italy and Turkey (who couldn't stand to be in the same room as Greece) had already woken up.

The silver-haired guy thought about what America had told them and his eyebrows furrowed. They were all sissies! Unlike the others, he wasn't afraid of some kind of psycho murderer, because if they were talking about psychos, no one could beat Russia – and since he had survived with Ivan, then he could survive with anyone.

The Prussian looked out of the window and saw Italy splash water on Germany, who was – as usual – telling him to stop. "Hah, serves you right, West. You should learn to have fun," he said with a grin plastered on his face.

Prussia covered his mouth in another yawn as he walked out of the room and outside in the sun. This place was just as beautiful as yesterday, and it didn't seem like anyone cared about the creepy story Alfred told them last night. Thank goodness. At least he didn't have to listen to the others babble about how scared they were.

Greece was sleeping; But this time, behind a bush. Even the awesome nation couldn't sleep that much. Prussia wondered how that guy could take it… – No, it wasn't envy. Not at all. Gilbert was the most awesome guy ever anyway.

Turkey lied on a towel and sun bathed while Spain and America swam around and enjoyed the coolness of the water against their skin.

England and Norway were sitting by the house and drank tea, just like yesterday. They seemed to be pretty close somehow, Gilbert thought. Matthew poured drink in their cups and stood by Arthur's side, listening to what the other two were talking about. They all looked so serious.

Meh, the Prussian thought. Why are most of the North-West European countries so uptight? That included his Bruder too. The awesome man didn't get them. Then he shrugged and didn't care to think more about it – His mind was too awesome to be filled with such crap.

The cyan colored sky stretched to every direction above him, and the air was quite hot. The Prussian ran topless down to the lake to join Italy and his Bruder. Green grass felt soft under his bare feet and a light breeze blew in his already messy hair.

As Prussia came down the small path which led down to the waters, his eyes caught something moving between the trees. He stopped and looked into the dark wood which was filled with shadows. Only a few sunrays came through the tree branches.

Gilbert could see something move. Realization struck him, which made him blink and rub his eyes. Everything seemed to be normal now, but he had definitely seen something move in the darkness. Someone had been there until just now… Watching them… But who could it have been…?

When night fell and they had finished dinner, everyone sat around the fireplace again – Except for two people who still hadn't gotten inside the hut yet. Greece had curled himself up on the floor just like a cat and fallen asleep. England and France were sitting in the corner and planned their trip home the next morning. Somehow, they all had so much fun and before they had realized it, it had gotten dark so they ended up staying here one more night.

Norway was staring blankly into the fire. Denmark tried to hook an arm around his shoulder from time to time, but his hand kept getting slapped away by the Norwegian male.

Suddenly, one of the people who weren't there came running into the room, panting. "Has anyone seen Italy? I can't find him," Germany's gaze flew around in the room. He looked worried.

"What, weren't Ita-chan with you the whole time?" The Prussian quirked an eyebrow at him. His Bruder couldn't have lost their cute friend, right? It was dark outside and a killer might have been lurking around there. God knows what could have happened.

"We should go and look for him then. Let's split up and search," the Brit suggested as he stood up. The others didn't say much, but decided to give the German a hand too. Only Turkey decided to stay behind with the Grecian man, who was still asleep. "We don't really get along, but Heracles was once under my control – He's my responsibility. Kind of. Almost," the Turkish man said and smiled his mysterious smile.

It was dark, so they brought their flashlights and headed outside. The beam of lights guided their paths and calls to Feliciano could be heard. Gilbert almost slipped several times because he, unlike the others, didn't follow any path. On the other hand, he tried to make his own by walking deeper into the woods. Maybe Ita-chan got lost around here, he thought.

But then, he heard Spain voice. "I-I think I've found Ita-chan!" Damn it, Antonio found Italy before me. I'm still fucking awesome, though.The Prussian tried to head back the way he came from, but his foot got stuck and he fell over. Damn it.

When the silver-haired man finally got out of the dark forest, he came running over to the rest who were standing by the lake. "Oi, what's u- HOLY SHIT!" He stared with widened eyes at the thing in front of him.

Something, or more like someone was lying lifeless on the dark, green moose. His clothes were covered in blood – It was a mess. They could see the tears in the corners of his half opened, glazed eyes. He must have begged and cried until his death. Ludwig dropped to his knees beside the body. "I… I-Italia…"

Pale flesh. The deep cut on the other's neck. The dark blood splatters. His sad expression. This… This was just too much. Gilbert winced at the sight. Even though he wasn't the one who was lying there, it was painful enough just by looking.

Germany wasn't the emotional type, but right now, he was covering his face with one gloved hand as droplets of glinting tears fell down on the moose-covered ground. The Prussian had never seen his Bruder this crushed before… He must have loved Feliciano a lot without really realizing it himself…

"W-Who could have done this?" Canada covered his mouth in shock and America felt like all the tasty food he had eaten wanted to find its way up his throat again. England stared at Italy's dead body and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Bloody hell, looks like we couldn't avoid it." Prussia stayed quiet and gave side glances from one nation to another. Could any of these people have been the murderer…?

Francis looked horrified where he was standing, but stepped closer. His trembling hands turned Feliciano's head and started to check on him. "The throat was cut. He's cold. No pulse." The French man's fingers went over the other's wrists. "His hands were bound."

"This is terrible…" Spain wanted to turn away, but just couldn't. Denmark's face was almost as pale as the corpse. Norway- … Norway looked quite calm. It was like he was in deep thoughts or something… He wasn't even staring at the body like everyone else did. Could it have been him…?Gilbert wondered.

At this moment, they all knew that even though Italy was the first person who got killed, he was not the last one. Before this nightmare ended, they all were trapped here and would get killed… It was no longer a question of if, but when


[End of Chapter 1]