DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN HETALIA OR ANYTHING HETALIA-RELATED.
500 years ago, in the city of Maragoa, there lived four foster brothers.
Gilbert Beilschmitd, Francis Bonnefoy, Matthieu Williams, and Alfred Jones.
These were no ordinary brothers.
Alfred Jones possessed the strength of a hundred men.
Matthieu Williams could send a dagger flying toward an enemy's chest with a single thought.
Gilbert Beilschmitd was the master of time.
Francis Bonnefoy could fly at supersonic speeds across the ground propelled by nothing but his feet.
These four brothers were Maragoa's protectors. They allowed no crime to be overlooked and let no bad deed go unpunished. As such, the city of Maragoa flourished. The streets, once overrun with refuse, became paved in gold. The despairing homeless became exuberant shopkeeers and all were welcome in Maragoa, so long as their hears were pure and intentions innocent. Many tried to exploit the riches of Maragoa, but the four brothers would not allow it, sensing and throwing the wrongdoer our of their beautiful city.
But there was one who wanted more than just the riches of Maragoa. He wanted the sources of the four brother's powers, known as the Meridian Items.
Alfred's Meridian was an armband carved of ancient wood and imbued with many strength-enhancing spells.
Matthieu wore a circlet of burnished gold with a ruby in the centre, serving as a focal point for his immense mental prowess.
Gilbert kept a triangular locket of silver close to his heart, where the flow of time coursed through him.
Francis's right ankle was adorned by a softly glowing anklet made of an unknown material.
The origins of the Meridians and who made them are unclear, but whoever wears the Meridian shall inherit the power written on the item.
The evil man who wanted the Meridians went by the name of Dmitri Michaelis.
Dmitri was a bitter man, one who the four brothers had thrown out of Maragoa when they first acquired the Meridians. Dmitri had wanted the Meridians ever since word of their existence first reached his wrenched ears, and he had devoted more than half of his lifespan tracking down these objects. He had been so close to achieving his detestable goal, close enough to witness the four brothers put on the Meridians and receive their vast power.
Years passed, and Dmitri's hatred, spite, and resent for the four brothers grew and fermented until it could no longer be contained in his fragile human body. Out from his skin his corrupted soul burst forth, bringing with it excess hatred and anger. Dmitri's soul flew over the city of Maragoa, raining down those poisonous feeling upon each and every resident of the city. They awoke from their peaceful slumbers, brimming with fury and bloodlust for the four brothers. Enraged and united by a common hatred, they stormed the lace where the four brothers slept.
Faced with no choice other than to flee, the four brothers sprinted from their shared bedroom and toward their secret exit, fearful of the city's wrath.
But when they flung open their trap door, they were met with a terrible sight.
The rotted, blackened, hate-filled soul of Dmitri Michaelis.
Before any of the brothers could move the soul struck, splitting itself into four and diving into each brother, tearing apart their pure, untouched souls and replacing them with its own evil.
But it was too late.
The Meridian Items, sensing the danger to their purity, had disappeared and returned to where they had lie for the past thousand years before the four brothers had discovered them, waiting for their next masters...
~Present day~
"Ow! Amelia, that hurt!" Complained Maddy, rubbing the spot where the tree branch had struck. Her sister laughed obnoxiously, forging further into the shrubbery.
"Can we take a break? My feet are killing me." Groaned Fauntina, stopping to lean against a tree. Maria smacked her shoulder, causing the blonde French teen to glare at her.
"C'mon Fauntina. The cave shouldn't be that far away." The silverette said, bounding up to where Amelia was waiting. Maddy and Fauntina exchanged a look of mutual discomfort, each slowly walking up a hill to where the others stood.
"Man... That is a beautiful view. I love my country." Sighed Amelia, looking out to the forest. Maria rolled her eyes.
"Admire the view later. We've gotta hurry, or else we'll have to set up camp in the woods again."
"Remind me, why did I chose to leave my comfy home to traipse around these detestable woods with you three?" Asked Fauntina, rubbing her calve.
"Because I'm amazing and you wanted to help me find this supposed 'Cave of Meridians?'" Suggested Amelia, scanning the area.
"I'm regretting that now." Fauntina muttered darkly.
"Hey, the sun should be going down soon. Do we want to try finding a better spot and set up camp there, or just stay here?" Amelia asked.
Maddy groaned.
"Amelia, do you even know where we're going? You said this trip would take two to three days. We've been out here for almost a week. Don't you think that maybe, just maybe, this 'Cave of Meridians' doesn't exist?"
Amelia laughed. "Yeah, I did."
"And yet, we're still out in the middle of nowhere?"
"Yeah! What else could you be doing?"
"Playing hockey, reading, making pancakes, giving Kumamarie a bath,-"
"Will you two quit arguing? Sheesh." Maria broke in, setting down her giant backpack and pulling out her tent.
"I don't know about you three, but I'm beat. I'm going to sleep, and if we can't find this Cave of Merid-whatevers by tomorrow, we'll turn around and leave. Ok?" The violet-eyed teen snapped.
Maddy and Fauntina remained silent, pulling out their own tents and setting them up.
"But Maria! I'm su-"
"AMELIA. Take out your goddamn tent, set it up, and GO. TO. SLEEP."
"Hmph. You're no fun."
~The middle of that night~
"Maria!" Someone hissed. The nineteen-year-old groaned, turning onto her side.
"Maria!" The person hissed again. Maria pulled her blanket over her head. "Go away, Monika." She muttered.
"For God's sake... MARIA! GET UP! THERE'S FREE WURST OUT HERE!"
"Where?!" The Prussian teen exclaimed, stumbling out of her tent.
"Nice to see you awake. There is no free wurst." Fauntina said, standing next to Maddy. Both were dressed for hiking.
"Then why the hell did you drag me out of bed in the middle of the night?" Demanded Maria, brushing her hip-length silver hair from her eyes.
"Amelia is missing. We've gotta go look for her." Maddy said, pulling her hair into its' signature pigtails.
"For fuck's sake... Really?" Maria muttered, disappearing into her tent. She reemerged a minute later in jeans and a sweater, armed with a flashlight.
"Do you know which way she went?" Maria asked, bending down to tighten her bootlaces. Maddy nodded.
"There's a bunch of broken ferns over there. She probably went that way." The Canadian teen replied, aiming her own flashlight bean to the right. Fauntina snorted.
"Typical Amelia."
~Who I used to Be~
"Maddy, I hate to say it, but we've been out here for an hour. Do you think we should turn around?"
"No! We have to find Amelia!"
"Mon cherie, we've been searching for almost a half hour. The trail ended a few feet from the campsite. We've passed this log four times, and this is the second time you've tripped over it. It's time to call it a night and head back to our site."
Maddy picked herself off the ground, her glare visible from the full moon.
"You two can turn around. My sister is out there doing God-knows-what, and I can tell you right now that if I don't find her, she's as good as dead!"
"Who is?"
"AMELIA IS! Ugh, just never mind!" Growled Maddy, turning her back to the three teens.
"Why's she so mad?" Whispered Amelia. Fauntina jumped, startled. Maria snorted.
"You really are something else, Amelia. Where did you disappear to?"
"That's what I came to tell you guys! You weren't in your tents, but then I heard Fauntina trip over something and followed your voices."
Amelia finally noticed that Maddy wasn't with them. Instead, she was fighting her way through an especially thick patch of undergrowth.
"You're going the wrong way, Mad. The Cave is this way." She called. Maddy stopped, slowly turning to her sister with ice in her indigo eyes.
"You..." She muttered, stomping her way over, stopping a foot from Amelia, "HAD ME WORRIED SICK! Do you have any idea what went through my head when I saw you weren't in our tent? I thought you had went to the bathroom, but when you didn't come back, I thought you had gone off to do something like search for that stupid Cave by yourself in the middle of the night!-"
Amelia laughed sheepishly, rubbing the back of her neck.
"Yeah, that was pretty dumb of me. But at least I found it!"
"Amelia, you... You... YOU HOSER!"
"So, you guys wanna see it? It's a bit of a hike, but WORTH." Amelia exclaimed, totally ignoring her sister's explosion.
"Might as well. We're all up anyways." Maria said, shrugging.
"Awesome! This way!" Amelia yelled, jumping into the darkness.
"Amelia! Wait up!" The left-behind teens yelled, charging after the exuberant blonde.
~Who I used to Be~
"Wow..." Maddy murmured, staring into the mouth of the Cave. Amelia laughed obnoxiously.
"I told you- A bit of a hike, but totally worth. But that's not the best part. Come inside!"
The four girls walked into the Cave, coughing from the thick layer of dust over... Well, everything. Other than that, none of the girls spoke until-
"Hey!" Maddy exclaimed from the front, her flashlight suddenly going dead. She banged it against her palm, but it was useless.
"Well, that sucks." Amelia sighed.
"Here, use mine." Fauntina said, tossing her flashlight. But when it was a foot away from its target, it too went dead.
Oh, thought Maddy.
"Maria! Catch!" the blonde called, throwing the flashlights. The silverette's hands whipped up, catching the flashlights with ease.
Just as I thought.
"Now throw them back." The Canuk instructed, stepping forward. Maria gave her a strange look but complied, tossing the two flashlights. Maddy put one down where she stood, its beam hitting the opposing wall and pooling there.
"Uh, Maddy? What're you doing?" Amelia slowly asked, giving her twin a curious stare.
"There's a barrier here." Maddy replied, slowly inching backward.
"... And what are you doing with the flashlights?" Questioned Fauntina.
"Finding where the barrier is, exactly. And it's right here!" Maddy exclaimed in satisfaction as the remaining flashlight went out. She rubbed a line into the dirt, explaining that this is where the barrier lie.
"And...?" Asked Maria, sounding impatient.
"Electronics won't work past this point. Which means no cell phones. Which means..."
"No way to call for help." Fauntina finished somberly.
Silence.
"Guys. I've been down there, and trust me- it's safe." Amelia finally said, breaking the stifling silence.
"Down?" Maria asked.
"Yeah. There's a set of stairs a minute or so in."
"Amelia... Are you sure this is safe?" Fauntina asked cautiously. Amelia turned, sky-blue eyes flashing angrily.
"Really? Are you really going to turn around NOW, after all this exploring? Then what was the point of you even coming on this adventure? You said it yourself- you wanted to have fun, to do something daring and dangerous. This is it! Now, let's go!" She yelled, grabbing hold of Fauntina and dragging her deeper into the cave.
"Looks like we don't have a choice." Maria sighed, walking behind the fighting pair with Maddy.
"Amelia, let her go!" Maddy snapped, tearing Fauntina out of the American's grasp. The French teen huffed angrily, dusting herself indignantly.
"Obsolete American..." She muttered angrily.
The four girls walked in silence, unease growing with every step.
"Amelia, didn't you say there was a set of stairs a minute in?" Maddy asked, voice echoing loudly in the coal-black tunnel.
"There is."
"It's been more than a minute."
"I was running at the time, Maddy."
"... You were running in a dark tunnel with no idea where you were going or any idea of what was ahead?"
"..."
"Amelia... And you wonder why we worry about you."
"You guys worry about me? How touching!"
"UGH. You! Are! Imposs-AH!"
"Did you find the stairs?"
"... Yeah..."
"See! I told you there were stairs!"
"Hey, Amelia, what is that?" Maria interrupted.
"What is what, Maria?"
"The light up there? Y'know, that gold light way up there?"
"Oh! I don't know. I'll go check it out!" Amelia said, pushing past her sister. The sounds of her running footfalls filled the air, creating a cacophony of noise in the echo-y tunnel.
"We have to go after her!" Yelled Maddy, clamping her hands over her ears and sprinting after her sibling.
"For Gott's sake... Wait up, you two!" Maria screamed, bolting after the two. Fauntina sniffed haughtily.
"I refuse to run." She declared to herself, setting off at a stately pace. I am descended from royalty, she thought. I shall not be reduced to something as common a- OH MON DIEU, WHAT WAS THAT!?
"GUYS! DON'T LEAVE ME ALONE!" Fauntina wailed, running frantically to catch up.
Finally, panting and sweaty despite the frigid tunnel air, they group arrived in a cavern.
"Whoa." Whispered Maddy.
"Whoa indeed." Breathed Fauntina.
The cavern walls arched high above them, stretching too high to be seen. In each crystalline wall there were four large indentations lined with a shimmering, pulsing material, which was the source of the golden glow. Inside each indentation was a floating multi-coloured orb, about a foot in diameter.
Almost as if in a trance, each girl slowly walked toward an orb, eyes glossing over with each step.
"I could almost touch it." Each teen muttered, reaching a hand out reverently to touch their respective orb, some hesitant, others eager.
SLAM!
This is actually a re-upload, since something went crazy and put in some weird, WEIRD things everywhere in the story, stuff like 'Maragin-page-mark-29832985-/-=9fjeuhvgnjfjhbgde'. It goes without saying that this made the story EXTREMELY hard to read, which is no bueno. So to make a long A/N short, the next chapter will have frequently switching points of view between the four main characters, so be aware! Each change will be clearly marked, but still. Be careful.
That's it for me. Maihai~
- Ziayre Michaelis