NOTE: This is loosely based on the world of Naughty Dog's amazing game, The Last of Us. You don't need to play the game to know just how this AU works. There will be some significant differences with the relationships that were in the game and this story. Also... Hetalia isn't mine.
Rated T - M for graphic violence, touches of sexuality, and a ton of angst.
Other than that, welcome on board Towards Eden!
Für Dich
"The older I grow, the more I find myself alone." Alberto Giacometti (Swiss sculptor, 1901 - 1966)
He arrived home late that evening. Roderich was on the phone.
"Rod... Roderich, listen to me. I can't give up this job. I can't lose this job. We'll talk about this in the morning, okay? Good night," he said, hanging up the phone. She was asleep on the couch. Huh.
He nudged her awake. "Lilli, wake up. What are you doing up late? You should be in bed, you have work tomorrow."
"Bruder, I have something for you," she announced, rubbing her eyes and restraining a yawn. "I hoped you might like it."
"What? Why?" he asked. "It's late already."
She glanced at the cuckoo clock. It was a quarter before twelve.
"But it's still today," she said in a dignified tone.
"What's the occasion? You really shouldn't be spending money on me on a random day, you know—"
"Why, it's your birthday, silly! And it really is no trouble. I worked extra hours for Matthias and you work even harder than me. You deserve it!" she said, eagerly handing him a wrapped box.
"This really shouldn't be expensive, you really didn't have to—"
"Just open it, Bruder. Don't let my work be for naught," she pouted.
"If you say so, but really, spend on yourself," he said,unwrapping the small box. He carefully removed the lid, Lilli smiling at the whole ordeal. His eyes widened with surprise.
"Schwester, you really didn't have to do this," he said, holding up the brown leather Swatch.
"But I really wanted to give you something useful, and besides, you kept complaining about your broken watch and I know you aren't going to get it repaired, cheap as you are... so I figured, you know... You like it?" she asked sheepishly, taking the watch from his hand and wrapping it around his wrist. She smiled as he adjusted the clock's hands and admired the particular model. He had his tastes.
"You really shouldn't feel obligated to give me anything. I didn't do anything special today for my birthday," he said. "But... I'll definitely treasure this. Danke, Schwester."
It was around 2 am when Lilli was woken by the phone ringing. Groggily, she picked it up.
"Zwingli. Who is this?" she answered.
"Roderich. Is Vash there, Lilli?" a worried voice said over the phone.
"Roderich, what time is it?" she asked.
"I need to talk to Vash now, there's some—"
The line went dead.
"Roderich?"
The phone beeped. Roderich was gone.
She put the phone down and got up from her bed. She opened her bedroom door.
"Vash?" she called out. The house answered with silence.
She walked towards the bathroom and knocked on the door. Vash didn't appear to be in the bathroom. She entered the bathroom. A newspaper lay on the sink. The headline read "Admittance Spikes in Area Hospitals! — Increase due to Mysterious Infection". She put down the newspaper without reading the article.
She walked to her brother's room, the door slightly ajar. He rarely left the door open, and when he did, he wasn't usually in.
"Vash?" she called again before she entered. The bed was unmade, the television left on.
"Sehr seltsam für ihn..." she muttered. She walked towards the window, the dark skyline crowned by Zurich's city lights and tall, imposing mountains. She heard an explosion in the distance, perhaps somewhere among the city lights. She closed the curtains, as if they would provide any security.
The television appeared to have been left on the news. She walked past Vash's treadmill and sat down upon the bed to watch the news.
"...it seems that total violence has taken the city. It appears that what we initially reported as riots seem to be somehow connected to the nationwide pandemic. People are rushing to flee, fleeing from loved ones who have been infected."
"What is going on?" she muttered.
"Vienna has fallen, total anarchy taking Lugano in a mater of hours. We've received reports that victims afflicted with the infection show signs of increased aggression and—" the report said, showing scenes live from Zurich. The streets were crowded and a total panic has overtaken the city.
"That's nearby..." Lilli said, trembling.
"We can only hope that the disease is slowed down by our isolation, but there is fear that we are in fact trapped. There is some commotion coming from behind—"
"Get out of here!" yelled a cop from the background. "Get the hell out of here! There's a gas leak—"
There was a flash, and the feed went dead. Lilli switched off the television, somewhat shaken from seeing images of what appeared to be a destroyed Zurich.
She got up from the bed and walked down the stairs. She entered the kitchen, though it seemed that Vash was not there.
"Bruder, have you gone out?" she asked again, making her way to the kitchen counter. Vash's phone was upon the counter. There were 8 missed calls, all from Roderich. She felt a chill from this, especially with the tone of Roderich's voice from their telephone conversation. She took a look at Vash's messages. Like his phone calls, all from Roderich.
"'Where the hell are you? Call me!' 'On my way'... This doesn't sound like Roderich..." she said, biting her lip. She put down the phone and took a kitchen knife out of the drawer, just in case something really was the matter. She slowly walked into the living room.
"Bruder, I hope you are here," she thought, her hands trembling. She walked towards the living room'sglass door, knife in hand.
"Wait... isn't that Matthias—"
"Schwester, get back!" she heard as Matthias crashed through the glass doors. She shrieked, jumping backwards and watching as a rain of bullets overtook Matthias. She choked back a sob for her poor boss.
"B-bruder, warum war Matthias... why?" she asked, turning towards her brother, who walked out of the shadows with one of his rifles. "You... you shot him!"
"Lilli."
"I saw him this morning. He was perfectly fine. He handed me my check to buy you your watch..."
"Listen to me, Lilli, there is something bad going on. We need to get out of here. Do you understand?" he said, strapping the rifle back onto his person. Lilli looked at the corpse who was once her generous employer in the village bakery. there was a glazed look in his eyes. One that suggested removed humanity. She had to agree on that, at least. That didn't stop her from feeling horrible with the fact a dear friend was shot dead. Her eyes glazed with tears, but she held her sobs. Vash's tone meant business.
"Vash, Roderich called earlier. He seemed as if he was in deep trouble. Can we go search for Roderich?" she asked.
"Of course," Vash said, putting on his newsboy cap. He took Lilli by the hand and lead her outside. A black truck rushed into the driveway, just a hair away from the siblings.
"Roderich, you dummkopf. You'll kill us with your reckless driving instead of one of those infected." Vash scolded.
"I admit I'm thankful for your help, but Vash, commenting on my driving can wait until we get ourselves to Tirol," Roderich said, pushing up his glasses.
"Lilli, get in the car," Vash said, opening the back door for her. She did as she was told. The air felt heavier to breath. She shut the door behind her and sat in the middle, buckling her seat belt securely. Vash sat in the front, arguing with Roderich as usual. She couldn't quite catch what either was saying, with the drowsiness starting to overtake her.
"Can we hear what's on the radio?" she asked quietly.
"Sure," Roderich said, turning the knob. None of the stations appeared to be working.
"No cell phone, no radio. Amazing," Vash said.
"Minutes ago, the newsman wouldn't stop talking," Roderich said.
"Did they say anything about where to go?" Vash asked.
"He said that the Army's putting up roadblocks on the Bahn. We can't drive into Germany anymore," Roderich said.
"That means we really need to get the hell out of here," Vash said.
She watched the window, watched as they drove towards Zurich. Their little village was close enough to Zurich that it was almost considered a piece of it. The road was unusually busy.
"Please help us!" two people were yelling at the side of the road, waving their arms wildly. Both Roderich and Vash turned a blind eye from this, completely ignoring the two people.
It was after they had passed the people that Lilli asked "Bruder, Roderich? Why can't we help them?" She received no answer, only mutterings about today's news reports.
"Great. This is just fantastic,Vash. Everyone seems to have had the same idea of 'Let's Get Out of this Country.' Why did I ever leave Austria?" Roderich complained.
"Go in from the left lane, then," Vash remarked "You'll get us through Zurich and out the other end tonight, I swear—"
A driver got out of his car to complain about the incoming traffic. He was easily overtaken by an infected, who had come out of another car.
"Holy shit, Vash!" Roderich yelled.
"Oh my..." Lilli said, covering her eyes.
"Turn us around, Roderich!" Vash yelled, grabbing towards the wheel.
"I will, I will!" Roderich said, hurriedly turning the wheel in such a panic. A thump hit the side back window. The face of an infected looked back at Lilli's widened eyes.
"V-vash, please turn quickly," she stuttered, covering her eyes with her sleeve as they brushed the infected off their car.
The drive into the city was a blur for Lilli. The two best friends bickered as always. The end of life as they knew it or not, Roderich and Vash had their qualms to deal with. They did somehow reach the center, Lilli nervously glancing out the window in tow. Violence really had taken over the city, anarchy dancing among the flames. Zurichers were fleeing their city by the dozen, panic rampant on the streets.
"Roderich, drive faster!" Vash commanded. "Drive like it's the end of the world, because it is."
"I can't run over these people, Vash, even if I had the heart to—" Roderich protested as a car slammed right into the truck, flipping it over. Lilli covered her head as glass rained from Roderich's truck.
"Schwester, liebe... are you okay?" Vash asked, recomposing himself.
"I-I believe my leg is injured, but other than that, I'm fine," Lilli answered. "Perhaps only a bruise..."
Far from a bruise, but alive. Most certainly, and importantly, alive.
"Roderich, are you alright?" Vash asked as he freed himself from the wreckage.
"Yes, but I have no clue how long we can stay alright," he said.
"Bruder?" Lilli said.
"I'm here, Schätzli, I am here. Come, give me your hand," Vash said, reaching his hand out. She grabbed it as he began to gently pull her out of the wreckage. She stumbled out of the truck.
"What is it?" Vash asked, patting away the dust from her shoulders.
"My leg hurts," she said. "Bruder... I don't believe I can walk."
Vash looked more worried for her than she did. She winced from he pain that came from her leg being pinned down at an uncomfortable angle by the seat, but she made no cry of it.
"Roderich, take my rifle and cover us," Vash commanded, pushing the heavy weapon to Roderich. "And don't play weak on me today— you know how to use it."
Roderich hesitated as he took the weapon from Vash, but nodded. More than capable. Vash took hold of Lilli, cradling her in safe arms.
"Are you comfortable, liebe?" he asked.
"This is okay. I just hope I don't slow you down too much," she said, holding tightly against his chest. She felt fear from all the chaos occurring around her, the burning buildings, the occasional looks in some of their eyes, almost like Matthias's eyes. Infected. His eyes were beautiful and warm once, but now all I see is the cold.
"Just hold on tight, liebe," he said as they began to run.
"I'm scared, Vash..." she said.
Vash and Roderich ran through the street against the current of fleeing people. Uninfected, most of them, persumably. Lilli clutched onto her brother more tightly, afraid of what was to come.
I'm sorry for slowing you down, lieber Bruder.
In theory, it probably would have been a better idea to have Vash holding the gun and Roderich carrying Lilli. Vash was a much better shot. Vash perhaps was much too worried. And besides, Roderich was a bit slow to boot. And he seemed to waste bullets.
They ran into an alley, Roderich shooting at the infected who were attempting to climb over the fence. Lilli held her screams: She saw people she once served at the bakery attempting to come over the fence, whose faces contorted with insatiable hunger. Not for bread, as it seemed.
They ran left, running to the other side of the building. Roderich panted as he reloaded the rifle.
"There are too many of them, Vash. Where are you planning to run off to, since the truck is gone?" Roderich asked.
"We should go into that building," Lilli said, pointing at a bar by the name Copacabana. "Maybe we can take shelter there."
Vash nodded at the suggestion, continuing on towards the bar's back door.
"Vash, I believe we need to hurry— more are coming up behind us," Roderich said, the two men breaking off into a sprint.
Vash slammed open the doors of the Copacabana, and Roderich struggled to close them.
"They're getting closer, Vash. I don't believe we could stay here for very long," Roderich said. Lilli pursed her lips, holding back her displeasure with this development.
"What are you planning to do, Vash? I don't like the fact that our original plan is gone in the flames. Frankly, I didn't think it got this bad in the city," Roderich asked, pacing about the room.
"All I know is we can't stay here long by the looks of those outside the window," Vash said, creasing his eyebrows "But I think we should go in the direction of the military. They're evacuating people, aren't they?"
"Then please hurry," Roderich said, eyeing the door they came through. "I see we will have company very soon."
The doors burst open, three infected storming in.
"Vash. I recommend you take Lilli and run. Now," Roderich commanded, gripping onto the rifle tightly. "I'll last long enough."
"But Roderich—" Lilli said.
"Go."
The two siblings were out the door, leaving Roderich at the mercy of the creatures.
"I'll hold them off for as long as I can. I'll meet you down there," Roderich muttered, loading the rifle.
"I hope Roderich will be alright, Bruder," Lilli said.
"He will, liebe... just trust me. We'll get you help, you'll walk again... don't be afraid, Schwester," Vash said, slowing down his running speed in hopes of comforting her. There seemed to be no infected running about here on the backroads. Or the military.
The two ran on, holding their breaths, hoping the infected had stayed in the city, hoping tha their dear friend wouldn't join their ranks.
"Do you see the light, Vash?" Lilli asked. "Do you see it?"
Vash squinted his eyes. A thin ribbon of it slashed through the night.
"B-bruder, schneller! There's some behind us!" Lilli exclaimed, jolting Vash to run.
"We're going to make it and get you help, I swear..." he muttered under his breath, almost jumping as he heard shots come towards them, hitting the two infected behind them. Lilli muffled a scream, whimpering into his shirt in response.
"It's okay, liebe. We're safe... we're safe," he said, sroking her golden locks. He turned towards the source of the light "Hey! We need help."
"Halt!" the soldier yelled, holding up his gun.
"Bitte... it's my sister... I believe her leg is broken," he said with pleading eyes. "We're not... sick."
The soldier picked up his radio. "Got a couple of civilians in the outer perimeter. Please advise."
"Bruder, what about Roderich?" Lilli asked, worry still written upon her face for their friend.
"We're going to get you to safety and go back for him, okay? He's not that easy to get rid of."
The soldier's face contorted with its own apprehension.
"But sir, there's a girl... but... yes, sir," he said.
"Listen, we've just gone through hell. We just need—"
The soldier raised his rifle, aiming it, ready to shoot point blank.
"Scheiße," Vash said. The soldier fired, the siblings falling down the hill. The soldier followed, ready to finish the job.
"B-bitte nicht," Vash said, raising a hand. Lilli had fallen out of his grasp. The soldier raised his gun again, only to be stopped by a rain of bulets. Vash turned around, to see Roderich alive and well. Roderich nodded at Vash.
"Oh dear..." Roderich said, lowering his rifle. Lilli was sobbing quietly.
"Lilli! Move your hands, Schwester..." he yelled, running towards her pain crumpled body. There was a spot, just below her left lung. She whimpered as he pressed the wound.
"Listen to me, Lilli, I know this hurts. You're going to be okay, Schwester. Stay with me," Vash said, holding her hand and stroking her hair. "You're going to be okay. You're a fighter."
Roderich took the rifle off his shoulder and set it down, bowing his head.
"I'm going to pick you up. I know, liebe, I know it hurts. Come on, Schätzli, bitte. I know, liebe, I know," he said, using what felt like the rest of his strength to hoist her into his arms. She let warm sticky tears run down her face as she buried them into Vash's shirt.
"Es tut mir leid, lieber Bruder..."
She grew heavy in his arms.
"Lilli..." Vash said, looking at her in disbelief.
"Vash..." Roderich said.
The man fell to his knees, laying her down gently.
"Liebe... Don't do this to me, Schätzli. Don't do this to me, liebe Schwester..." he said, his voice trembling as he gentlynudged her. "Come on... No... nein... Oh no, no, no... Bitte. Oh Gott. Bitte, bitte, don't do this. Bitte, Gott..."
I'm sorry, my dear brother. Auf wiedersehen.
Notes
Location of this chapter is Zurich, Switzerland. Zurich is located in northern Switzerland.
Schwester (German for sister)
Schätzli (Swiss German endearment, High German equivalent would be Schatz, which roughly translates to "treasure")
liebe/lieber (German for dear, derived from Liebe, which means love. So, you can use the terms "dear" and "love")
Sehr seltsam für ihn... (German for "Very strange for him...")
Scheiße (German for shit)
Bitte nicht (German for please no)
Es tut mir leid, lieber Bruder (German for "I'm sorry, dear brother." Meant to be a strong "I'm sorry.", as opposed to "Entschuldigung")
Auf wiedersehen (German for goodbye. Meant to be a sort of final farewell kind of goodbye, as opposed to "Tschüss")
Thanks for reading! This will be a long journey, but I hope you'll continue it with me until the end!