Day One

The Bloodbath

Twenty-four nations stared in awe at the huge arena that would soon be the death site for twenty-three of them. Some were worried and scared; others looked at their opponents with blood-thirsty eyes. This was no longer a game of luck, but one of survival, power, and instinct.

Romano stood on his platform, green eyes searching for two nations in particular; Spain and Sicily. He needed to know how close they were so he could get to them quickly if he needed to. He knew Sicily wouldn't last one minute in the bloodbath that was sure to start for supplies once the gong, signaling their minute was up and the games started, rang.

Romano quickly located Sicily. She was six nations away on his left. Spain was the closest one of them to her. Catching Spain's gaze, he nodded to Sicily. Spain, glancing at Sicily for a heartbeat, gave a tiny nod, silently agreeing to get her out of the bloodbath. With that settled, Romano returned his attention to his first destination; the cornucopia. He was fast, so he knew he could easily get in to get supplies and then meet Spain and Sicily a safe distance from the cornucopia and the bloodbath.

The gong went off, deactivating the bombs that would've blown anyone who stepped on them to bits, and every nation jumped into action. Romano made a mad dash for the cornucopia and the treasures it held, not checking to see where Spain and Sicily went. He was content knowing they would be running to get to a safe spot in the woods.

Since he was one of the first few nations to the cornucopia, Romano held and advantage. He could grab a weapon and take out a few nations or defend himself. But battle wasn't the first thing on his mind. He needed supplies. Spain and Sicily were counting on him to get the necessary supplies that the game-makers would provide for them. With that thought in his mind, he quickly grabbed a few backpacks, as well as some throwing knives, a sword, and bow and arrows.

By the time Romano had gotten those few supplies, the area around the cornucopia had become complete and utter hell. Nations were fighting over supplies and already two bodies lay on the ground; Taiwan and Monaco. He was about to head out to find Spain and Sicily, but someone called his name and he froze. He turned to look, eye widening.

Italy was running towards his, honey-brown eyes wide in fear. Of all times to not run away, Italy chose now.

"Fratello!" Italy wailed, dodging attacks. He had a cut on his cheek, but other than that he was okay.

"Damn it, Italy!" Romano growled, olive-green eyes narrowed. "Why the hell didn't you run when the gong sounded?" 'Or at least hide behind that potato bastard…' He added to himself, quickly looking around for the German.

"Ve~ Fratello, I tried to run but Russia cut me off and I thought he was going to kill me and I couldn't find Doitsu so when I saw you I thought that maybe you would let me go with you, Spagna, and Si-Si!" Italy rambled, eyes still wide as he looked around.

Narrowing his eyes a bit more, Romano glared at Italy before quickly looking around the cornucopia. England was dead and from what he could tell, Canada would be dead soon. Denmark was brutally beating the smaller nation and the only thing Romano could imagine was Italy in Canada's position. He winced.

"Alright." He snapped, returning his glare to his brother. "You can come with us."

Something caught Romano's eye at that moment and he nearly screamed, lunging foreword.

"Italy! Look out!" Romano cried as Italy turned his head, eyes widening as the spear flew through the air towards him.

Romano tried to knock Italy out of the way, but it was too late and the spear stabbed Italy just below the chest. The smaller Italian fell to the ground, coughing up blood and revealing the culprit; Prussia. Quickly drawing the sword he picked up earlier, Romano threw it at the older nation, wincing slightly when it made a dull thud when it connected with the Prussian's body. Prussia fell to the ground, dead, but Romano wasn't paying attention to him anymore. His little brother lay by his feet, bleeding and slowly dying.

Kneeling down next to his brother, Romano set one hand on Italy's shoulder. "I'm sorry, Italy…" He whispered, a single tear falling.

Italy looked up at his brother with foggy and pained eyes. He weakly reached up and wiped the tear away, leaving a smear of blood on Romano's cheek. "Don't be…" Italy sighed, closing his eyes briefly. "We all… knew it would happen…" Letting out one more final sigh, Italy closed his eyes and his chest stilled.

Getting to his feet, Romano stepped back and noticed that the bloodbath had settled down a bit. He knew he had to get out of there. Just as he was heading towards the forest, he whimpered, noticing a body on the ground.

"Seborga…" Romano whispered, looking down at his other dead brother. He quickly shook his head, chasing away his grief. "No… I've got to go to Spain and Sicily… I still have them…" He ran into the woods, looking desperately for Spain and Sicily.

Romano knew it was best that he didn't yell for it would attract attention to him. That was something no one wanted in these games.

A sudden boom made Romano jump, heart racing and eyes scanning the forest before he realized what it was. It was the cannons that were letting the other competitors know how many nations died in the bloodbath. The cannon went off six more times and Romano listed the dead.

"Canada, Seborga, England, Prussia, Italy, Monaco, and Taiwan…" Romano whispered, leaning against a tree. "Seven dead and I'm completely lost..."

Heart racing from fear, he continued on, wishing he looked to see which direction Sicily and Spain went. A twig cracked nearby and Romano squeaked, looking around with wide and terrified eyes. He saw someone deeper in the woods and Romano stepped behind a tree, pulling out a pocket knife and peeking around the tree. They were still there. He couldn't tell if it was Spain but it definitely wasn't Sicily. Romano decided to do something very risky.

"Spain…?" He called, peeking out from behind the tree. Whoever it was turned to look in his general direction. There was a bud of hope in his chest as the person walked closer before it turned to horror. That wasn't Spain.

Of course, it had to be Russia he called to.

"SHIT!" He cursed, jumping onto the lowest branch of the tree and climbing up a bit higher. "Not Spain! Not Spain!" Romano's gaze scanned the forest floor, looking for a way to escape. Seeing a nice route, he quickly jumped down from the tree and ran, dodging trees and other obstacles. He looked over his shoulder and shuddered when he saw that Russia was still chasing him.

Romano felt himself trip and when he hit the ground, it knocked the breath out of him. He lay coughing on the ground, trying to catch his breath. Romano painfully coughed again when Russia kicked him in the ribs. Russia leaned over and picked him up by his throat, shoving him against a tree. Romano winced, closing his eyes his eyes tightly as he struggled to breath.

"Hello, there." Russia said in his falsely cheerful voice. "It seems I have caught a pet… Maybe I'll have to tame it."

Romano growled, opening his eyes and glaring at the creepy Russian. "What do you want with me…?" He wheezed, struggling against Russia's tight grasp.

Russia gave one of his creepy ass smiles. "You know the games. I want to kill you."

Closing his eyes again, Romano pleaded that it would all be over soon. "Make it quick, you communist bastard." He growled.

"Why would I do that, little kitten?" Russia smiled, "I would rather kill you as slowly and painfully as possible. Then maybe your little friends could happen upon your body before the game-makers take it away… Or they'll hear your screams."

Romano decided to, once again, try something risky. He relaxed, letting Russia think that he gave up. Luckily, the Russian fell for it and when Romano lashed out, he broke free and also managed to scratch Russia's cheek. He ran madly, not looking back and to scared to see how close Russia would be if he did turn-

"Romano!"

The Italian skidded to a halt, looking, stunned, at Spain with wide eyes. He quickly looked behind him and noted that Russia was no longer following him.

"Spain!" Romano cried, wrapping his arms around Spain and shivering. "Seborga and Italy are dead! Russia was going to kill me and- Where the hell is Sicily?!"

Spain looked horrified for a moment. Then he blinked, looking over his shoulder. "She is in a cave. I made sure she is okay. Si-Si is a bit shaken, though. She nearly got killed in the bloodbath."

Shuddering slightly, Romano gave a small nod and fixed the two backpacks he had. "Take me to the cave. I need to check out the contents of these backpacks. There might be some food in them. And I need to sit down for a bit. The games have been harsh so far…"

Spain gave a small nod and turned, leading the way to the cave where Sicily was hiding. On their way to the cave, they heard the cannon again. It only went off once. Spain and Romano looked around.

"I wonder who that was." Spain said, still walking. He glanced back at Romano, concern in his green eyes. "Do you know who all died in the bloodbath?"

"It was Italy, Seborga, Canada, Taiwan, Monaco, Prussia, and England." Romano responded, staring straight ahead with a slightly haunted look in his eyes. "I killed Prussia after he killed Italy."

His gaze shifted to the ground, eyes still haunted. "These games are turning us all into murderers… What do we do if it comes down to me, you, and Sicily?"

Spain sighed, shaking his head. "We all know that won't happen, love. Chances are that only one of us will make it to the final five."

"Don't call me "love"." Romano growled, gaze still on the ground. Then he sighed, wiping a tear from his cheek. "I just can't believe that Italy and Seborga are dead."

Spain glanced at Romano again and stopped. "Come here, love." Romano obeyed, oblivious to the fact that Spain called him "love" again. Spain hugged the smaller man. "I would say it will be okay, but I can't guarantee that."

"Spain." Romano said, pulling back. "Promise me something."

"Yes?"

"Don't let Sicily die. She will win. I won't let her die here." Romano looked up at him, green eyes pleading. "She doesn't deserve to die here."

By the end of that day, only one more person had been killed. Spain, Romano, and Sicily had a fair amount of supplies, shelter, and weapons. The three nations looked up in the sky that night to see who died after the bloodbath. Romano had somehow convinced Spain to let Sicily watch, because she would find out who died sooner or later. She needed a lot of comfort when she found out that Italy and Seborga were dead, but she recovered pretty quickly.

It turns out that Lichtenstein and Belgium had been killed after the bloodbath. It was no surprise that Lichtenstein hadn't lasted very long and Romano and Spain were sad to know that Belgium had been killed.

This was just day one of the Games. Already, nine nations were dead. Some were injured, some were left without supplies, but more and more dangers will emerge as the games go on.

The List of the Dead:

-Canada

-Seborga

-England

-Prussia

-Italy

-Taiwan

-Monaco

-Belgium

-Lichtenstein