Metamorphosis

xXx

Something was different… His eyes were no longer bright, having lost the light that was once held within them. A sullen expression was now washed over his features, and he was deadly quiet, the complete opposite of his usual self. Japan looked over to him out of concern. It scared him to see Italy in a state such as this.

Germany hadn't seemed to notice right away, probably enjoying the rarity of peace and quiet from the usually hyper nation. Japan had considered speaking to him about the subject, but the Asian country deemed it more appropriate to mention it later when they were alone. After all, they were in a world conference at the moment. There was no need in getting anyone else involved. Well… Romano was one person to consider, but Japan doubted he would be reasonable enough around Germany to cooperate in listening. Either way, Japan had to get the problem off of his chest and let Germany know what was going on...

;~;

Something had changed... Italy was not the same person he once was. One day, something strange had occurred. There was a voice to enter his head, a dark, sinister voice that put odd ideas into his mind. It remained there for a long few weeks, seeming to whisper into his ear and almost drive the country to the near brink of insanity. What could have happened for this voice to appear so suddenly? And just who was this person giving him such preposterous thoughts? The answer to this question was uncertain even to Italy himself. For the life of him, he could not come anywhere near to understanding what was happening to him mentally.

It had appeared suddenly, like a bad itch, and eventually morphed into a painful rash. It ran across his entire body, causing nothing but annoyance and painful scars. It was anything but possession. This voice "convinced" him, persuaded the nation into doing things he would never even consider. A prime example of this was when he went to pay Germany a visit.

Germany was Italy's stout and burly friend who pushed him further in anything they did. It was a good sort of push, even if the Italian did not realize it at the time. Germany just wanted his friend to become stronger despite his cowardly nature. Today was an exception for their routine. Germany welcomed him into his household, telling him that they were working on other things due to the harsh weather outside. Truthfully, there was almost a tycoon occurring on the other side of the walls, rain pelting down on the windowpanes and washing out grime from gutters that were neglected to be cleaned out recently. Italy was thankful for his friend's generosity on a day such as this, otherwise he felt he might die. It was not uncommon for Germany to push things past the breaking point, and the Italian desperately hoped not to be one of those things any time soon. Training on ordinary days was already enough for him, and being required to fulfill such demanding tasks today would have been murder.

"Today, I vant you to help me sort through boxes in ze basement. It vould also help you build muscle, so follow me." The blonde waved his hand in a motion for the brunette to walk after him and into the basement. Italy did as asked even if he did whine a little in protest. The old wooden stairs creaked as they ventured into the slightly damp cellar.

'This is your chance. Take it. You know what to do...'

Italy shook his head, attempting to shake the words off. He would not listen to them; he would not succumb to granting its disturbing wish. Why would he harm one of his best friends? This voice... it continued to push him to fulfilling that request. Why... he did not know.

"Ze boxes are over here." Germany brought him over to one of the corners where a large pile of boxes were carefully placed. "I just vant you to sort out books zhat have nothing to do vith military or country affairs. You're velcome to keep vhatever you find that you vould vant to read. Othervise, carry ze ones being thrown out upstairs. Understood?" Italy nodded with a smile and failed salute.

"Yes, sir!" This work was not very hard compared to that of what he usually was required to do. The only problem was the rain. With it storming outside and the quiet atmosphere, Italy was bound to fall asleep. He should have known better than to wear a sweater due to the cold weather. It was surprisingly warm in the German's basement, and it caused him to already start to yawn. Now if only Japan was here... then the work time would be cut down even further. Unfortunately for Italy, the Japanese man was having Britain over to his house today.

The brunette sighed as he began working, forming two stacks of books: one to keep and the other to throw away. This was going to take awhile... Germany had started his load over on the other side of the pile. It was then that both of them heard something overhead. Something was moving, but it was only the two of them inside the house. Italy gulped in slight fear as Germany stood up.

"D-D-Did you h-h-hear that?" stuttered the Italian, who began whimpering. Germany shushed him, placing his index finger against his own lips to tell the other to be quiet. The blonde walked over to the staircase, looking up at the door he had left open. "What is it...?" He held his hand up, telling the other to hold on for a few seconds more. The stomping grew closer and closer until a blonde mass leaped onto Germany in a matter of seconds. "Germany!" Italy jumped in surprise. It was a rather large animal that had jumped onto the man. It began to lick his face and eventually barked. The brunette then laughed. "Ve, it's just Aster~!" He ran up to the dog and started to pet his golden pelt.

Aster was Germany's playful golden retriever, who adored his master's friends and allies to death. Once he had caught sight of Italy, the dog leaped towards him to receive more affection. The Italian just laughed as the large dog proceeded in licking his face. Germany had stood up by then and went to wipe his face while grumbling about how Aster should not interrupt his work so much.

"Alright. Zat's enough; get back to vork. Aster, go back upstairs." He talked in a stern tone to the both of them and pointed for the dog to go back up the steps. Italy pouted as his temporary cuddle buddy had to leave. Whimpering could be heard as Germany closed the door once Aster had went out of the room. He looked at Italy and furrowed his brows. "Vork. NOW." The brunette only pouted more as he returned to his duties.

"Kill joy..." He whispered underneath his breath.

'That is exactly right. He ruins all of our fun.' Italy gasped slightly at the voice speaking again, his eyes widening even further in terror. 'Do you not hate how he treats you as if you know absolutely nothing, as if you were some child? He believes he has authority over us, but he's wrong. We can do whatever we want. However... If you get rid of him, he will no longer be in our way.' No! Be quiet! I would never do something like that to him! Germany is my friend! Veneziano clutched his temple. There was a headache already forming. 'Kill... Kill him... Kill him, Veneziano... KILL HIM! KILL HIM, VENEZIANO!'

"No!" Italy clutched both sides of his head in blind panic, accidentally swinging his arm through the pile of books beside him and nearly giving his ally a heart attack in the process.

"Italy, vhat's wrong!?" Germany rushed to his aid, quickly arriving at his side. He attempted to place a hand on the Italian's shoulder, but Italy only swatted it away.

"DON'T TOUCH ME!" He returned to clenching his teeth together and grabbing at his head. Through thin, tan fingers, Italy could be seen leaking tears from his golden eyes. His face was bright red, and he was panting in absolute fright. "Don't... touch me..." Germany said nothing as the brunette's eye lids began to droop and his mind went fuzzy. The blonde almost did not catch him as Italy slipped easily into unconsciousness.

"Italy...!"

;~;

It was like a heartbeat, a constant throbbing coursing throughout his brain. He groaned as he regained his vision and rubbed the searing pain at his temples. "Germany, are you here?" Italy looked around to see that he was in the upstairs bathroom, a good distance from the basement where they had recently been in. He shakily but carefully stood from the cold tile floor. Where it had once been a bright white, it was now smeared with rusty brown stains... Was it dirt? And... how had it come to being this disgusting? Germany would never allow such a thing in his house...! Something was not adding up, but... what could it be? Once he was upright, the world began to spin. He barely managed to catch himself on the sink when he noticed the same dark brown caking his arms and hands. Now that he saw himself in the mirror, his sweater and jeans were filthy as well. What was going on? What exactly happened after he passed out? "Germany? Please; answer me!" There was no reply in return.

Italy finally gained his footing, only sliding slightly on the slick floor. He had lost both his socks and shoes since he had first arrived at the house, making it even harder on the lower limbs that were stubborn to obey his wishes. The brunette grasped the door frame, the wall, whatever he could lean himself on to move forward. The house was silent all except for the throbbing. There was no sign of Aster barking or Germany moving about, like earlier that evening. Was he alone...? But where could they have gone... and in this weather at that? Rain was constantly beating on the windows with thunder booming over head. A streak of lightening flashed in the Italian's eyes but only for a second. That was when he saw it.

A horrific scream tore from his throat, his legs giving out from the sheer terror. Everything was dark except for the little light that traveled throughout the hallway from the bathroom. Everything else had been shrouded in darkness. Deep brown stained the carpet hinted with deep red. It appeared that it had been like this already for quite some time. What he thought had been dirt was actually... blood. The stains on his arms were from... blood...? It was everywhere, painting the walls, sprayed onto the coffee table. But where the majority of it rested was on the couch... underneath a heavy, now cold corpse...

Tears trailed from his eyes, and his chest heaved as it was racked with constant sobbing. He covered his mouth at the disbelief that still dwell deep in his heart... But he knew for certain that this was his own ill doing. That voice-that demon! ... It had possessed him! How dare he!? How dare he!?

Italy beat his free hand against the his own knee out of rage, enough so where a huge bruise had formed. But that conflicted pain was nonexistent, it was nothing compared to what now shredded his heart and feelings. He continued to cry out in misery, not able to face what had once been one of his best friends. It was his fault that this had happened! His! How could he ever stand to live with himself...? Germany had been his friend...

;~;

(A.N.) Inspired by "You did This to me (Italy's Poem)"by Leaves-from-the-Vine on Deviantart. I suppose you could call it a Snapped!Italy...

This will more than likely have a sequel! After all, I don't believe anyone wants it to end here; am I right? Tell me what you guys think about my horror writing! I love writing horror, even if I'm not very good at it... I feel that this plot was a tiny bit rushed, as if I didn't let it build up enough. Oh well... Oh, and sorry for all of the elipses! I thought it would give the feel of confusion.

~Ame-chan777