Rating: PG-15 – for Blood and gore, violence, some small language that may be bleeped out, the usual stereotypical Hetalia countries we all know and love, and mild references to implied pairings (if you squint).
Chapter One:
To say it was darker than usual outside that evening would have been an understatement. The sky—which should have remained blue with an edge of red and orange from the setting sun—was already starting to turn to a darker shade of the hue. Arthur inwardly cursed, wishing he had brought a flashlight from his storage compartment in his vehicle with him. And he already had enough problems as it was, including a trembling American wrapped around his arm—which wasn't suiting well with him. He growled in irritation, tossing Alfred off of him.
"If you don't let go of me, I swear I'll drag us all back to where I parked my car and drive us back to the hotel! You're the one who wanted to come out here, so stop acting like a bloody baby!"
Alfred had waltzed into the World Meeting earlier that day eager as ever, to everyone else's displeasure. He had started yapping away about this new "swag-tastic haunted house" that this stranger had told him about a few days ago. And he wanted to bring the whole "crew" with him out in the god-forsaken dark forest in the middle of nowhere, to an old abandoned and desolate house.
Joy.
"I'm sorry, dude! It's s-s-spooky out here…" Alfred was shivering like a leaf, hugging his arms to his chest. The others—Francis, Ivan, Yao, Ludwig, Kiku, Feliciano, Lovino, Matthew, and Antonio—were behind the two, glancing around the opaque surroundings with curiosity. Vash, Lili, Roderich, and the others all decided to go back to their own homes (except for Gilbert, he wanted to come but Ludwig wouldn't let him, so he was still resting at—or destroying—his and Ludwig's apartment that resided in New York City, where they had met for the meeting earlier).
"You do know vhere ve are going…?" Ludwig asked with a seriously irritated expression –whether from being practically dragged out in the middle of nowhere or from Feliciano stuck to his side like glue, Arthur wasn't sure.
Alfred ultimately still smiled, even with his fear, and let out a loud chuckle.
"Of course I know where I'm going, man! This is my homeland, after all!
"Pain. Agony. He'd wished he'd never started this.
Rain falling, hitting his face like ice.
It was his Mark.
Why did he not tell him?
Why did he let this happen?
Why couldn't he take it all back now?
The pain. It hurt. So much…
They arrived at the house not too long after that. It wasn't that hard to find. There happened to be a well-defined trail that led to the home. Kiku and Ludwig had left a few broken twigs along their way, though, so when they left they could find their way back to Arthur's parked car back at the entrance of the forest.
Arthur had found it quite ridiculous, really. He could hardly believe that beside all those city lights and honking traffic that an underlying forest dwelled on the outskirts of New York. He thought the whole place was an overly run-down and obnoxiously loud city all together. Instead, here rested a small wooded area.
And far into the woods, they found the old abandoned house.
To Arthur, it looked like something that would be resting on the outskirts of his country. It was definitely older-looking, possibly from the late 1800's. This also left the blonde-headed nation so confused.
Who also would have thought a late eighteen-hundred house resided here on the outskirts of New York? Was Alfred even sure they were still in the same state? Maybe they had moved on over to Ontario or Quebec, or maybe even one of the southern-bordered states, such as New Jersey or Pennsylvania.
Either way, it sure looked like being out in the middle of nowhere. Like where Arthur used to roam back when he was a small lad. Just exploring his new territory and befriending the dwelling fairies and other friendly creatures back then had made him happy as a child. It was a point in his childhood he dreamed about. That was, until that French idiot Francis found him and tried to "befriend" him as a bordering country. Then, his childhood of fantasy and imagination were ruined, especially when years passed and his country began to colonize and become a real country full of people and the forest was being torn down to place homes and castles.
But enough of Arthur's past.
"Well, is this the place, Alfred?" Arthur asked, glancing over at his American "friend", seeing the energetic nation grinning with wide blue eyes as he took in the whole house. Or more like mansion. It was monumental on the outside. It was probably even more superior once you entered the actual building.
Hopefully there weren't any soft spots or cracks in the floor of the building that could break loose and fall from the slightest touch. Arthur didn't really feel like watching the other countries fall to their "death" when the floorboards fell out from under their feet. Not that they could die from something like that. They were countries, after all.
But still.
"Yup! It looks even better in person! That weirdo guy must have been on some kind of drugs! He said it was 'dangerous'." Alfred let out another fit of laughter, "It looks perfectly fine to me!"
"Maybe that's because you're the only one around here who can pick up a car and not worry, aru…" Yao interrupted, pushing forward to get a good look at the mansion-like building.
The place sure appeared spacious. And really old. The walls of the building were molded and were colored a variety of gray, depending on the shade and location. It appeared to be about three stories tall, but in width, it wasn't too large. The bottom floor had to have no more than four rooms all together.
Though, with the shingles falling off and with the caution tape over the wooden door, Yao could tell this wasn't a place to just be entering light-heartedly. He was getting a horrible vibe.
"This place looks like a dump, aru. I'm not going in there." He huffed, crossing his arms over his chest. He closed his eyes. Why didn't that idiot American understand that they weren't all superhumanly strong like he was? Alfred could probably fall through a hole in the roof and land on his feet at the bottom without a care or injury. Yao knew if the same happened to him, he wouldn't die. But that didn't mean he would come out of it unscathed.
"Don't worry, my man! I'm sure the place is just fine! Besides," Yao didn't think the American's grin could get any wider, "If anything happens, I'll just save you all! I am the hero, remember?" Everyone let out a loud sigh. Of course…leave it to Alfred to "save them from despair and be the hero".
"Werr, it's starting to get even darker. I suggest going in…" Kiku murmured, running the palms of his hands across his pant-legs. He tried to keep his voice steady, but the lack of courage resulted in a more forced-like whimper to escape his lips. Yao gave him a concerned glance but thought nothing of it.
Kiku was glad he didn't ask. He really didn't like the vibe this house was giving him. And it wasn't just because he was accustomed to haunted houses and how they appeared.
He had this…sense. And it wasn't good. It felt like pressure and tension were trying to suffocate him on the spot. He wasn't sure if it was his paranoia that escalated the "voices" in his head, or whether they were from his conscious telling him to not go near the lot.
Either way, he was freaking out. But he didn't want the others to know, especially his friend, Alfred. Alfred seemed overly thrilled about the place.
Maybe once they entered the home and looked around a few moments, Alfred would get spooked from a strange noise out of place or the wind blowing against the window and beg to be taken back home. Kiku also pleaded that it be soon.
"I agree with Kiku! Let's bust in this bad boy!" Alfred sneered, running forward and taking the steps of the porch two at a time. He landed in front of the door with cat-like reflexes and started to tug the caution tape off. By the time the rest of the countries made it to the porch and up to where Alfred was standing, the American had already pried the door open, his hand resting on the rusted-over handle.
"After you, bros!"
Lovino looked over Antonio's shoulder to get a glimpse of inside the house. To him, it was pitch black. Darker than the night, even. Which made Lovino scowl and turn his head.
"I-a don't want to go into a Hell hole like this!" He snarled, taking a step back from the entrance. Feliciano took a break from latching onto his German friend to give his older brother a wide smile.
"Don't-a worry, Fratello! It's just-a house! What could it do to-a hurt us, huh?" Lovino just rolled his green eyes and followed as Antonio took the lead into the house, Francis, Ludwig, and Feliciano behind him. Yao stayed near the entrance, giving the dark atmosphere of the inside a quick check.
"There is no way—"
"Oh, come on, comrade Yao. This should be fun, da?" Ivan placed his hand on the small Chinese man's shoulder, which made a cold shiver spiral up his spine. Yao started to stutter, the larger Russian brut giving him worse fears than the house itself.
Eventually, he just sighed and brushed Ivan's hand away.
"Ai-yah…" He muttered, walking inside, into the obscurity.
Arthur stopped before the door, glancing over at Alfred.
"Are you not coming in as well, idiot?" he muttered, narrowing his emerald eyes at the taller nation. Alfred smirked at him, but it was evident to Arthur that the smirk had a hesitance. And a small quiver.
"O-of course! Why wouldn't I?" Arthur rolled his eyes.
"Bloody wanker…"
The two finally walked inside the building, the wooden door closing behind them with an echoing slam.
"Why don't you go ahead and check the top floor," Antonio asked his friend, Francis, as the group walked on throughout the hallways, "We could always go into more groups and check out the place. It would be much quicker, yeah?"
Ludwig had found a few matches resting on a small table in the front room, which resembled a living-room—with a few sofas circling the room around a small wooden table, and a fireplace opposite of the door, as well as an unknown key. So, the group was now wondering the first floor's hallway, investigating the building. It was evident that the place hadn't been used in quite some time. Dust covered mostly everything, and the lanterns were broken and out of use. Thankfully, the matches Ludwig had found gave the comfort of a light as they continued to search.
What they were searching for? Even they had no clue.
Possibly what door the "unknown key" opened.
"But zhat vould split zha group, mon ami," Francis lightly chuckled, placing his arm around his Spanish friend's shoulders, "Better to not get lost, qui?"
"Nobody leave this group!" Arthur barked, "We need to stay together and make sure that no one gets lost!" Alfred chuckled quietly, and then thought of the possibility of getting lost in this dark mansion by his self. He then tended to stick near Arthur's side after that.
After a few minutes (which felt like an hour to the nomadic countries), the still silence continued to ebb away the "fun" Alfred had once felt bubble into his being before stepping foot here, being overturned by a sense of dread. Why wasn't anyone speaking? And why was the house so quiet…
Creak.
Creak.
Bang!
Nevermind.
"W-w-w-what was th-th-that?" Alfred mumbled, quickly checking each corner of the room they had just entered. The space was small, with one solid bed, a wardrobe, and a small vanity-table. He was certain this at one time had belonged to a woman that lived in the house. Or was a guest room, maybe?
"I'm sure it was nothing. These floorboards are so old; I'm quite surprised they haven't fallen through yet." Arthur said, walking back out of the room. With another quick examination of the room, Alfred followed, along with the rest of the group.
As the last person exited, a shadow seemed to linger over the door. In the blink of an eye, a dark hand reached out of the previous room's dimness, covering the unsuspected victim's mouth and dragging him back into the room. The door shut quietly, unnoticed by the others.
And the group became silent once again. No one suspected that the "crew" had already been cut short one member.
They continued on.
"Dude…this is getting creepy. I want to leave now…" Alfred shook, shutting his eyes as another creak and bang echoed throughout the ancient mansion. Antonio made a noise of amusement in the back of his throat, while Arthur gave a small sigh of irritation.
"Fine…this was all your idea anyway." He glanced back at the others. Something felt…off, but he ignored the feeling. It was probably just the tension filled atmosphere from everyone in the room. Nothing to worry about.
They all started to exit, Ivan closing the door behind him as they headed away from the mansion. The night had gotten more gloomy, the trees barely visible through the moonlight. A few bats could be heard overhead, and the crickets sang out a mysterious lullaby that resonated throughout the forest. It wasn't exactly a pleasant environment.
Ludwig and Kiku took the lead to follow the tracks they had left. Twigs were broken here and there, and a few scratches on the barks of the lining trees shown them the way that led back to Arthur's car. Though, it seemed to be lasting forever. It took less time getting into the forest.
"Dudes, what's takin' so long?" Alfred whined, hands in his bomber jacket's pocket as he looked over the surrounding trees. It was weirding him out. Usually, he could spot the city lights through the trees, especially the ones of New York. They were always so bright and seemed to sparkle everywhere. You could probably spot them miles away.
But here, he couldn't even catch a glimpse of light. The whole night was overwhelming, like a blanket had decided to cover them in a dome. Even the moon had been covered by trespassing clouds—not a light in sight.
"I'm not sure. Me and Rudwig had praced twigs exactry from the entrance, I'm sure." Kiku murmured, eyeballing the continuous path. He was certain that it would come out, eventually. But, it never would. The path would always just ebb on and on. There hadn't even been an indication that they were close to the road. Which scared him, just a little.
"I'm certain we are close. It's just the murky atmosphere, chaps. The road shouldn't be far from here." Arthur chuckled nervously, letting the light of the match cast shadows over the group, a new breeze blowing it to make the shadows flicker.
Suddenly, the trees started to thin out ahead of them. With a leap of excitement, Alfred ran ahead, away from the light of the match. But, a gasp could quickly be heard from him.
"Alfred? What's wrong?" Arthur asked as they moved closer. It was only until Arthur noticed the large familiar structure that he felt a wave of nausea and fear flow over him.
Standing before them, was the same mansion. The same haunted house that Alfred had led them to earlier, that they had just left from.
How is it possible that they arrived back here?
"T-this is impossibre…" Kiku said, hesitance in his voice. He was staring up at the house with large, wide brown eyes.
"Yeah…there is no way we could have come back here." Ludwig replied, gaining the attention of the others, "We followed the path that Kiku and I had left behind. We should have come back to the road, not the house again."
"Are you sure we didn't offset the path and went around in a circle?" Lovino asked, quite agitated.
"No…" Alfred whispered, half dazed, and then ran behind them, back towards the path. Arthur tried to grab onto Alfred's shirt, but it was no use. The American had already escaped away into the dark forest.
"Alfred! Get back here!"
A few seconds later, rustling in the woods in front of them could be heard, near the backside of the house. Arthur showed the light in front of the group, trying to find out what it could be. The yellow fire flickered against the trees, casting a dark shadow over them all and the trees around. Feliciano cowered into Ludwig's arms, and Ivan readied his pipe. Though, what jumped out confused them.
And frightened them further.
"You've got to be kidding me!" Alfred cried running back to them. Arthur couldn't stop staring at the place Alfred had just left. Hadn't Alfred run back…?
"How…?" Arthur tried to ask, when Kiku stepped up.
"I've heard of this before…" He whispered, eyeing the house. He then turned to Arthur, his black locks hiding his face. "In a story I once read. It was a horror story about a group of peopre warking through a forest at night, trying to rocate the next camping spot. Once they praced camp, they stayed overnight, but the next morning, when they tried to reave, they continued to come back to the same spot they had originarry camped out. It was armost rike…a time roop, or a rooped dimension. They couldn't reave, and communication outside wourdn't work." Arthur considered this idea.
"Of course…I've heard of a time dimension loop as well. But, I never would have thought…"
"Dudes, what's going on? I'm freaking out here!" Arthur turned to Alfred.
"We're stuck here. In a looped vertex in time. And I'm not certain how we can get out of here." Alfred sucked in a breath. No…this couldn't be happening! How were they going to get back home now?
"That must be why I haven't seen the city lights yet…" Antonio muttered, while Lovino was behind him stomping at the ground and cursing in Italian.
"Just-a great! Now we're –a all stuck out here and for who-knows-how long-a! I told you, you-a dumb, stupid tomato bast—"
"Wait…" All eyes turned to the new speaker. Ivan was glancing around, violet eyes holding a concerned glint. He was constantly searching through the area, eyes wandering over the trees and the people in the group.
"What is it, Ivan?" Arthur asked, placing the match over to where it radiated off of the Russian. Ivan looked quite creepy with the light hitting his face, shadows balancing out the white-silver of his hair and making his bright eyes even brighter. They shined with a strange emotion Arthur and the others had never seen before—unease. With a few more glances around the surrounding environment, violet orbs met emerald ones.
"Where's comrade Yao?"