CodeAndSand: We now present to you the chapter 3 of this story! Thanks for all the review, support, favorites, and follows! It really means something for us!
Characters:
2P!Italy= Luciano Vargas
2P!Romano= Flavio Vargas
2P!Germany= Lutz Beilschmidt
2P!Prussia= Klaus Beilschmidt
2P!Japan= Kuro Honda
2P!England= Oliver Kirkland
2P!America= Allen Jones
2P!Canada= James Williams
2P!France= Francois Bonnefoy
2P!Russia= Viktor Braginski
2P!China= Xiao Wang
2P!Austria= Roland Edelstein
2P!Hungary= Erzsébet Héderváry
2P!Norway= Loki Bondevik
2P!Romania= Vasska Popescu
2P!Belarus= Natasha Arlovskaya
2P!Spain= Andres Fernandez Carriedo
2P!Hungary= Erzsébet Héderváry
Chapter 3: Chances
"Are you kidding me?" Was the response of Roland after Gilbert asked his question, "Did you understand what I just told you or do you just not believe what I just said?"
Gilbert looked at him with seriousness. Most of the times the former nation might act like an idiot but there was no denying that Prussia was one of the greatest strategists in history especially when it came to wars. So there was no objection that Gilbert still retained the same intelligence after all those years. If not the same then there was more than before. Despite being an inactive personification he still tried to be updated on the changes happening in their world.
"I'm not joking here. I do believe you. Vati used to tell me about another world that mirrors ours. Vati also told me not to trust anyone from the other side of the mirror." Gilbert was about to say more but he moved the wrong way and agitated the wounded skin in the process. He gave a soft hiss of pain that Roland immediately caught onto.
Roland did not know the counterpart of Germania but if the theories were correct, about being opposites, then he could conclude that the 1P Germania was a cold and logical man compared to 2P Germania, who was a logical man also but usually wore his heart on his sleeve just like Klaus. Roland wanted to change Gilbert's mind but when the other Prussia started frowning from the pain the Italian brothers had caused, he stopped. Debating about the current topic could wait for later, right now he needed to wrap those wounds.
"I don't know what your Vati said about us but there is one thing that you should know. This is also one thing that you should believe." Roland looked straight into Gilbert's eyes with heavy honesty, "You can trust me. I will protect you. No one can lay a wrong hand on you. I will deal with the Italy brothers later. I promised you this will never happen again." He gently touched the hands of the other, "Let me tend to your wounds, okay?" He smiled with soft gentleness, "We don't want those to get infected and reduce your 'awesomeness', right?"
Some part of Gilbert was telling him not to trust the man before him. He had heard plenty of stories from Germania about the 2P world. At the same time though the aura of the Austria before him gave a vibe of warmth and protection, though somehow Gilbert also realized that it was a possessive type of protection. He knew he could not do anything for now. If this Austria was telling the truth about 'protecting' him then why not used it for his advantage. At least until he had a way to return home.
"Fine" Gilbert grumbled under his breath, "but only because I don't want my awesomeness to get lower!"
With this answer, Roland laughed. It was not a mocking laugh that Gilbert was used to receive. It was a laugh full of positive amusement.
"My name is Roland Edelstein by the way, I am the Personification of Austria in this world."
"I am the awesome Gilbert Beilschmidt! The..." at this his voice faltered. Would it make a difference in this world? From the information he gathered from the Italian brothers, this world's Prussia did not exist anymore also. Before he could entertain the idea further though he shoved it away from his mind and tried to retain his awesome facade, "I'm the awesome Prussia!" He ended with fake enthusiasm.
"Oh, Prussia..." Roland uttered with hidden sympathy, "let me get the first aid kit. It will only take me a few minutes."
And a few minutes was all it took. Actually, Prussia thought that it was literally only a minute. He didn't realized that there was a door near the bed where he was lying. He only saw it when Roland entered that door, it turned out that it leads to the bathroom. Roland once again sat beside Gilbert and started applying antiseptic on his wounds.
"Would you mind taking off your shirt?"
Gilbert made an amused sound before answering, "It's already in tatters anyway."
"You're right," Roland took the shirt and tossed it on the ground, "don't worry, I will get you new clothes after this."
Prussia stared at Roland. This man was seriously not the Austria he knew. Austria was a cheapskate, so much that once Roderich saw that shirt he would start bitching around while sewing it. Then Roderich would make Prussia to wear it again.
Roland was different though. This man did not act like the prissy aristocrat. In fact, Roland did not mind getting dirty while he was tending on Prussia's wounds. It also seemed like Roland had more stamina compared to Roderich.
On the other hand, Roland was contemplating on how he could convince Gilbert to stay in their world. He carefully wrapped the gauze on Gilbert's chest and shoulders as he tried to think of the possible options. That was when he remembered that Vasska recorded the events from before. The magic circle that the Romanian used was connected to Roland's own circle thus gave him a chance to tap on it and replayed what happened.
"Gilbert?" He wanted to get the attention of the albino, "I know you are still wary of us but please trust me that I am only going to show you the truth and nothing but the truth."
"What the hell are you talking about?"
But Roland didn't answer instead he brought his closed fists on his mouth and started muttering words that Gilbert could not understand. It was a language that the albino knew nothing about. Once Roland was finished chanting his spell he opened his closed fists and let the ball of white light flew in front of them.
The light then became like a circular TV screen showing the emergency meeting from earlier.
Gilbert was happy to see this. West was planning to save him! He knew he could count on his little brother! He was really proud of West.
But this hope was short lived when the albino saw what happened next once the meeting officially started.
They were dismissing the idea of finding Gilbert. They all readily accepted that he was finally dead.
To them he was an abnormality they didn't want to associate with.
A persona formed from war from the start.
A personification without a nation after everything happened.
An annoyance that no one wanted to deal with.
A dead weight for everyone.
Prussia was no more...Gilbert was no more for them.
They were all happy that they finally got rid of him.
He was all alone, right from the start until the end.
Why was West not saying anything? Why his little brother did not made any protest to contradict most of the assumptions of the other nations? Did West not love him anymore? Why? He gave everything to his precious little brother. Prussia defended Germany when he was still a child. Prussia did everything to keep Germany alive. Even if it meant that he was going to have nothing once the war was over.
Why could not Germany do the same thing for him? For his older brother?
Roland noticed how Gilbert clutched the blanket with enough force to tear it apart. He knew that it was cruel of him to show this to the fallen nation but Gilbert needed to understand that one of the purpose Roland and the others kidnapped him was to save him from those heartless imbeciles that he called family and friends. Those fools did not realize what they have. They didn't know how lucky they were to have their own Prussia still alive and walking side by side among them.
Some people always take things for granted.
Gilbert on the other hand was slowly having a mental breakdown. He could take the things happened in the past just like…things happened in the past. When he was a child he was burned alive, drowned, tortured in different ways, all of this happened to him but he didn't allow it to destroy his awesomeness. Gilbert knew that his albino appearance was one of the reasons why most of the nations, as well as some humans, looked down on him. But in time he managed to prove that he was strong just like any other empires. He managed to stand on his feet with pride hanging on his chest.
Gilbert knew the pain of love. He loved Fritz, his best friend and King. He loved Hungary. He loved Holy Roman Empire. He loved his Little Brother West…no…Germany. Everyone and everything he loved, he held dear inside his heart…it all ended for him giving up in misery.
To be displayed so proudly before his eyes on how people really felt about him…
This pain was worst compared to everything he ever had the luxury to experience. It burns his heart so much that all he wanted to do was to laugh it off.
Let him give in to the insanity of his mind.
The light had long ago dissipated and Roland let Gilbert to continue his manic laugh. The personification of Austria was about to envelope the other in a comforting hug when Gilbert gave him a harsh glare accompanied with an insane smirk that Roland was long ago accustomed to receive. Just not from someone who looked like Klaus.
"Hey, you told me you're going to show me all the truth, right?" Gilbert clutched his blanket with death grip. He wanted to tear something apart. He wanted to hurt someone with his bare hands.
"What else do you want to know?" Roland hated to do this but he had no choice but to treat Gilbert like a wild animal right now. Each movement must be calculated to prevent unnecessary attacks.
"Fuck, everything!" Gilbert screamed, he was smiling but he might as well be crying from the tone he could not conceal, "From what I've heard your Prussia is already dead! I'm right, right?! So, what am I supposed to be? A replacement? You said you wanted to save me from those bastards but you're just as cruel as them! Just kill me already!"
"Shut up!" Roland was horrified at what he heard. He needed to fix this or else Gilbert might be lost inside the maze of madness. He could not let that happen. He did not let it happened to Klaus and hell if he would allow Gilbert to wander on that dangerous road!
"Don't deny it! You just missed your own Prussia that's why you kidnapped me! No one really wants me! No one!"
"SHUT UP!" Roland engulfed him in a forceful hug which startled Gilbert from his self-loathing rants, "Please…don't say such things…" Roland whispered that made Gilbert to flinch a bit from surprise.
"Maybe you are right, maybe you are not." Roland continued to speak as he freed Gilbert from his embraced but firmly took hold of his shoulders, "I will not deny that I, as well as some of us, will see you as our Prussia. You two share the same soul making you the same person. But!" at this Roland looked at Gilbert with dead seriousness written in his eyes, "Some will also see you as who you are. I can also see you as who you are."
Roland released Gilbert's shoulders only to take hold of his cheeks, "I hate to admit this but…we were envious."
"Envious?"
"Ja, we were envious of your world. They had the chance to make some kinds of amends from dissolving you, they had the chance to ask for your forgiveness, and they had the chance to spend time with you. They had all the chances we did not have. They had all this chances that we wanted to have." Roland bowed his head until it made contact with Gilbert's chest. The next thing Gilbert knew the man before him was crying, "So why did they waste it? Why did they let their petty prides overwhelmed their judgments?" Roland circled his arms around the other's waist, "Klaus was ripped away from us. You were not ripped away from them. We wanted to laugh and cry and scream with Klaus. They left you alone with your loneliness. We wanted to share many memories with Klaus. You always celebrate everything alone. So…so why…"
Roland choked from his own tears as he desperately tried to make sense on Gilbert.
"Why they have all this chances and we don't?!" Roland looked at Gilbert with desperation, "I can't promise you that we will not treat you like Klaus. But I can promise you that we will take care of you. I will take care of you. We might be psychotic, I do admit it, but all the pains we inflict are only physical. We do not hurt our own kind in here," Roland pointed on Gilbert's chest, "and here," he tapped on Gilbert's head, "to the point that we can't repair it. For us, family and friends are important. We only fight because our people want it. So…please…please…Give us the chance to have you…"
All Gilbert could do was to return the embraced.
"What do you mean we will be on the second group?!" Luciano screamed when Roland said the details of their mission.
"It is just as simple as that," Roland explained with boredom, "We can't all just appear on the other side. It will upset the balance, which can kill us when it happens, and also they will detect us which in turn may foil our plans."
When Oliver and the others already prepared the portal that would be used, Roland suddenly made his presence known and started listing the groups that would go first. It was a relief for Oliver that Roland chose the former Allies, along with Spain, and Belarus. If Roland didn't chose James and Allen for the first group then all hell might break loose first before the mission could start.
Of course not everyone was happy.
"I told you Luci, Roland was not happy to what we've done to his boyfriend." Flavio pouted, he too was a little bit angered that he would not be in the first group.
"Shut up, Flavio. You want to do it also."
"Oh yeah…speaking of that," at this Roland's malicious aura seeped out from his body, "I've already planned out your punishments~"
"What did you two do this time?" Honestly, if the Italian brothers were the reason why the former Axis was not included in the first group then Japan would help Roland in punishing them.
"We painted his boyfriend's body using the knife!" Flavio said cheerfully.
"Why did you say that to them, stupid Fratello?!"
"But that's what really happened, right? Luci?"
Luciano repeated the words 'idiot brother' under his breath as he tried to cover his furious face using his hands.
"So!" Oliver tried to get the attention of everyone, "The first group will have: I, Allen, James, Francois, Viktor, Xiao, Andres, and Natasha?"
With this Roland nodded his head.
"The second group will include: Lutz, Luciano, Flavio, Kuro, Roland, and Erzsébet,…are you sure the rest of you don't want to join?"
"No need! We can always enter the dreams of our counterparts. It was just you guys who wanted to carry the verdict physically." Vasska answered for the rest of them.
"Well~ If that is what you want, loves~" Oliver giggled and completely opened the portal, "Shall the first group will go now?"
"Finally! I'm going to pound that hero-loving bastard into a pulp!"
"I need to knock some sense on my counterpart, don't you dare interrupt me Allen." James rest his hockey stick on his right shoulder.
"Very well! Let's go!" with that the first group entered the other world leaving the rest behind.
"Now…" Roland turned his attention towards the Italian brothers, "Let's talk about your punishments…"
The moment Allen stepped out of the portal he picked up the the scent. It wasn't difficult. Aside from the overwhelming stench of greasy food and pollution, it was also natural for a nation to be able to track their counterpart. It was like when a nation could feel when another nation was in their borders, but this one felt more familiar. Familiar in a completely alien way of course. Ugh, did he have to think of aliens now? He hadn't meant to, but now the thought of aliens reminded Allen of his idiot counterpart's fascination with space and his little alien friend. Immediately, he was surged with the need to hit one right to the guy's face.
Allen started to stalk away before anyone else had gotten their bearings. They had landed in the tight streets of a city and not a passerby had stopped to take notice. Sniffing the air, Allen knew they had landed in America - his home. Why did it smell so disgusting?
Allen held a grimace as he was made aware of a few following him as if he had taken some sort of lead. He thought about telling them to stop following him, lest they find a bat suddenly in their brains but remembered he had actually invited the group to watch his fight. He let out a sigh of frustration. Leave it to these dimwits to not understand that his invitation was actually an invitation to fuck off, but oh well. It wasn't as if he really cared if they watched, as long as they didn't get in his way.
That didn't mean he couldn't throw a few insults behind him at them. As he did so he spotted that there were two following him: Viktor and Xiao. Great; just what he needed. Allen hoped they would get bored soon and go wreck havoc in the streets or something.
When Allen turned back around he was greeted with a world of cotton candy blue and an unnaturally large grin. Normal people would have fallen back with a scream and an arm up to protect themselves. Allen wasn't normal in any variety of the term. Allen had grown up with the man in front of him after all.
"Oliver." Allen stopped and grumbled. "Get out of my way. I don't have time for your games."
"Allen dear, there's always time to spend with your loved ones." Oliver stepped backwards, put his hands behind his back, and balanced on his heels. "Won't you let a broken doll accompany you?"
"Let me rephrase it then." Allen's grip on his bat tightened. "I don't have the patience to deal with you." Allen pushed passed and Oliver continued to follow. Allen looked behind him and noticed the other two stragglers had bolted. Those two were smarter than he had thought.
"Of course. You are a very busy man. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. You should come with me to find a bakery! I'm so happy to show these new people my special recipe!"
"Hell no, fuckface. Leave me alone and go feed them cannibal cupcakes by yourself." Allen wasn't particularly fond of sweets because of this reason. Receiving pink-frosted cupcakes dyed red with human blood or ones with poison laced sprinkles had Allen experiencing a taste aversion for anything remotely sweet. He didn't know what Oliver's problem was; he never had and he never will. He could only hope to avoid him as much as he could. "Go bother James. I doubt he's doing anything other than checking this world's NHL brackets."
Oliver giggled. "Oh Allen, you and your brother are like two peas in a pod! You know each other so well!" Oliver was skipping as he followed. "James said that he'll kill this world's Canada if America is beating him~"
Allen snorted. "Probably with the kid's own hockey stick."
"Aw. I don't see why you fellas act like you hate each other. You know everything about one another; you're brothers after all. You love him. Just like you love me~"
Allen gagged. "No. Just no. Did I mention to fuck off, Oliver?"
Oliver nodded enthusiastically. "Yes, you sure did!"
Allen huffed, knowing that the pink-haired man wouldn't be shakeable until the man himself wanted to leave. Allen now started to ignore him.
James' heart dropped as he looked through the brackets of the current season of hockey in the National Hockey League. Anger bubbled up in his chest and James was ready to rip someone in half. And he knew exactly who's adorable fuckface it would be.
"I'll teach this kid a lesson. No one ruins hockey. No one loses my sport against America." A fire flashed in the normally dull eyes of the other Canada.
James' target didn't live too far away, being right next door to America and all, so James decided to walk. He had seen the cutesy face of his counterpart before. He looked like a child and he stayed too quiet when he had things to say. No one listened to him and no one even saw him. It disgusted James. How could a nation be so weak? So ignored? In their, world James most times talked about as much as this world's Canada. When he spoke up, though, you were damn certain you were going to listen to him. No one ignored James.
To be honest, James had no clue where any of the others were. He didn't give two shits about the others. James had his own business and they all did too. They could scurry off and do their own thing. No one was going to follow him.
No one had tried but James felt the glare he had given the group as he had parted had been an obvious hint. None were welcomed. This was James' personal business.
It took no time at all to arrive at the front door of his counterpart. He did not feel the chilly air of his home through his flannel, having gotten used to it long ago. James wouldn't bother knocking; it was a waste of his time. As soon he arrived at the door he planned to slam it open with his own boot, find the other's beloved hockey gear, and make Matthew's own hockey stick red with his blood. Red was the color of their flag after all; it is only suiting for the weaker counterpart to be covered in it.
Once James arrived at the door though, another sound emitted inside, one that made James stop for a moment before breaking down the door. Was that… yelling?
Rage boiled in James' gut then and without a second thought he slammed his heel into the door, practically breaking it off its hinges. If someone had gotten to his counterpart before he had gotten the chance, there would be hell to pay.
"Allen," Allen paused in surprise when he heard the soft, almost saddened voice of the nation following him, "Please, be careful."
Allen turned to the man who had stopped in his tracks to examine the ground. Allen rolled his eyes and tilted his head in a look that said Really, man?
"What is this about, Oliver? God, you're so bipolar!" Allen flung his arms in the air in exasperation and was even more surprised at the sternness in the voice of the reply.
"Allen, be nice." Oliver then melted into his sickly sweet manner again. "My other has sensed our crossing over. He's quite the smart cookie. He's looking for me right now, so I thought that I might make us some tea! I'll have to part with you now~" Oliver looked so happy. How did he do that? How could he act so damn happy all the time when Allen could never look that way? Sure, Allen smiled. It wasn't a real smile though. Happiness at someone else's misery wasn't really happiness. Why couldn't Allen ever smile unless he was causing pain and terror?
Allen shook his head. Because that's what a villain did, was it not? He wasn't like Alfred and his egotistic hero complex. He couldn't feel happy for other's joy, only for their pain. "Good riddance." Allen turned and started to stalk away.
Behind him he heard Oliver repeat what he had said before, "Be careful." And skipped away.
Allen didn't need anyone. No, he was going to go beat up the one person who ticked him off the most. It would be the most fun he'd have in ages - the happiest he would have been in a while.
Because Allen's happiness couldn't be found anywhere else than others' suffering.
Won't you let a broken doll accompany you?
Oliver knew that was all he was. A broken doll. Something to be played with until it lost an arm or an eye or its mind. Oliver really was broken. It was easier to not let people see it so easily though. It made people scared when they saw how broken he was and it made Oliver sad when they saw. It was just another part of his brokenness that had him do this though. Would he be so happy if he was normal? Could he find pleasure in twisting on a grin or making his special cupcakes like he always did if he wasn't a little broken doll? He loved doing those things… why should this doll be repaired then?
A doll was exactly what he looked like as he sat in one of the two high back chairs pushed up to the white tablecloth covered table, laden with a simple tea set and lovely desserts. A little music box was playing in the corner and Oliver was smiling sweetly as he added sugar to his tea.
"I do hope he arrives soon." Oliver spoke to the empty room then looked down into the teacup and whispered, "The darling's tea will get cold if he doesn't."
As if on cue, the door then burst open revealing the blonde shaggy hair and green eyes of Oliver's counterpart. Oliver wasn't looking toward the door though. He sat calmly, adding in spoonful after spoonful of sugar cubes to his cup. There was a moment of silence when Arthur realized his other self hadn't reacted to his entrance - that and the stunning fact that his counterpart did indeed have pink hair.
Clearing his throat, Arthur moved forward, "So, here you are. You've been hiding from me, have you? I don't blame you, but it was pointless. I can find you anywhere with my magic."
Finally Oliver looked up, having ceased adding in sugar and stirring the copious amounts into his steaming tea. "Oh," Oliver giggled, "I wasn't hiding. I made us tea; would you like some?"
Arthur looked at the man as if he had gone crazy. Oliver was used to these looks from people, but he never took it to heart. "Please, sit!" Oliver offered brightly and in a flash the opposite chair had moved on its own to scoop up the other inhabitant of the room. "Do you take milk or sugar? Or both! I do love a nice cuppa with milk and sugar."
Arthur looked towards the sugar bowl to find it completely full despite the ridiculous amounts Oliver had put in his own. It must have been enchanted… was everything here enchanted? And why was Oliver offering him tea?
Suddenly, Arthur had an idea. As Oliver passed him his own cup, full of plenty of milk and sugar despite Arthur not specifying how he would have actually liked it, Arthur cast a spell over the cup. Instantly, a blue liquid separated from the mixture and hovered above the cup.
"You tried to poison me!" Arthur accused, glaring at the other. The pink-haired man still had an endearing look on his face.
"Oh, do you not like it? I quite enjoy the taste though it does leave a horrid aftertaste. I also might be allergic to it because I feel a little nauseous after drinking my tea with it. It's too good to stop drinking it though! I'm sorry; I should have asked if you liked poison in yours before I assumed."
Arthur gawked at Oliver. Was he serious? Did this man actually drink poison? No, that would be absurd! He was trying to come up with an excuse for poisoning his drink! The bastard! Instead of yelling at Oliver though he decided on civil conversation. He didn't want anything to get ugly yet.
"So, I believe you are my counterpart. My name's Arthur," Arthur didn't offer his hand as he would normally do for introductions. Instead, he leaped straight into business, "Why have you and the others from your world come here?"
"I'm Oliver! It's so nice to meet you, Arthur! I've seen you through the mirror before, so it is so very interesting to meet you in person." Oliver held a tray of pink and blue frosted cupcakes and Arthur eyed them warily.
"Cupcake?" Oliver offered with a sparkle in his bright blue eyes.
The enraged screaming was not from a murderer inside the house. Neither was it from a frightened Canada fighting off some person that had broken into his home.
It was, in fact, the Canadian boy's infuriated yelling at the TV in his living room, set to a channel James knew all too well. Upon James' entry into the house, though, the yelling had come to a stop. Matthew was standing between his couch and coffee table, now staring openly in shock at the man who had broken into his house. It seemed as if all words had left him as well as the courage that could have rivaled no other that had just been directed at the losing hockey match on the screen.
"Oh, ugh, hi." James waved awkwardly and somewhat taken aback. That had been Matthew that had been yelling? But it had sounded so angry. He had never seen his counterpart act like that in the mirror…
Then James' eyes caught the score on the screen and rage flooded his system again. "We're losing?" His yell was almost as enraged as the other's, though this one sounded more like a barely controlled and deadly reaction. The other's face immediately changed as well.
"I know! Those hosers call this hockey? I don't think they even know how the hockey puck works! You hit it with the stick, moron!" Then an object was thrown at James and his instincts took over, catching whatever it was. At first he was on edge, but then he was plain confused. He was holding a brown bottle. A beer?
"You gonna watch the game?" Matthew asked him, intently keeping his eyes on the screen. This was no way the Canada James had seen before. Why was he letting a complete stranger into his house? Why wasn't he more concerned that he had just broken down his door and yelled at his TV?
The it hit him. He had been reading Matthew all wrong. Perhaps he was mad that this Canada was losing hockey to America but if he was mad, this Canada was furious. James smirked before popping open his beer and moving to see the screen next to Matthew. He wondered if Matthew could even sense something amiss about him yet…
Either way, James now knew this nation knew the true spirit of hockey.
"Do you really think you could punish us, Roland? You're more delusional than I thought!" Luciano's cackling was the response to Roland's threat and the man watching rolled his eyes.
"And do you, Luciano, really think I would let you get away with hurting Gilbert like that? You should know from before that there are serious consequences from laying a single finger on Prussia."
"I'd like to see you try to hurt us this time! Sure, you're protective of any Prussia you can find, but we both know the only Prussia you truly care for is long gone." Luciano felt a satisfaction through his bones as a dangerous fire burned in Roland's eyes. In an instant, Roland lunged for Luciano who cleverly dodged, whipping out his knife and standing in a fighting stance across the room. A wicked smile adorned his face.
"Come on, Roland. Is that all you've got?" Luciano ducked under the next attack and cut across the Austrian's abdomen. In a flash, Roland had him pinned against a wall, much to Luciano's amusement. The hand that was holding the knife was restrained by Roland's own.
"Oh, so this is where you get feisty. Can't have a real fight unless you're playing the knight in shining armor routine?" The challenge was greeted with a punch in the gut, knocking the wind out of the Italian. Despite this, Luciano didn't seem phased other than a slight abnormality in breathing.
Then Luciano flicked the wrist of the hand Roland had pinned down, throwing the knife which knicked Roland's ear in passing. Luciano let out an annoyed huff as his eyes followed the knife across the room. "That very well isn't the satisfactory amount of blood I was looking for." Roland grabbed Luciano by the hair and slammed his head hard against the wall, sending stars through his vision.
"This is what happens when you hurt Gilbert." A punch upside the chin threw his head back once again. "That's what you get for even touching him." A knee to an area that Luciano would have preferred gone off limits had him bending over in agony. "And that's what you get for daring to even look at him. Are you getting the message now?"
Roland had taken a single step back from the nation who was now bending over to protect himself from further damage. A smug grin adorned the Austrian's face until Luciano finally looked up.
He was laughing. Why was he laughing? "Idiot. You think laughing will do you any good now? I've won. Your punishment is over; you can leave and take your other oafs to terrorize the 1p world."
Luciano was still laughing when Roland looked around the room for the other Italian. He wasn't there. Damn bastard must have snuck out while he was dealing with Luciano!
"And tell your brother I'll get him next." Roland crossed his arms as he watched Luciano straighten up.
"Oh, I'll make sure to tell him that you still wish to punish him. I'm afraid, though, that he won't be the next to be punished." Luciano was now looking past Roland at the door. When Roland turned he saw what appeared to be the entirety of the second group. Lutz, Kuro, and Flavio front and center. The only one that seemed to be missing was Erzsébet. Where had she gone…
"You see, Roland, not all of us blindly follow your orders, especially when you've been MIA for so long. What was it you were doing again? Oh, that's right; moaning and groaning over the loss of your precious Klaus." Roland's eyes flamed again at hearing the name from Luciano's tainted mouth. "So when you came crawling back to the meetings, what sort of respect did you think you would get? Did you really believe we would all just accept to go get this other Prussia so readily?" Luciano laughed and strode across the room to retrieve his knife. "I'm tired of you, Roland. All of us are. Though I am glad that you finally rescued this poor dear Prussia from his world. Not only did this give us an excuse to invade that world and terrorize its people," Luciano paused to flip his knife in the air and catch it. Then the knife was at Roland's throat. "It also gave us something to hurt you with. To make you pay. You care about this Gilbert, so we're going to use that to our advantage."
Roland's stomach dropped. "You will not touch a hair on his head. You will not hurt Gilbert."
Luciano smiled maliciously. "I suppose we'll have to see about that." The red in his eyes gleamed. At that moment, Luciano was the most murderous Roland had seen in awhile.
And Roland was scared for it.
CodeAndSand: Tell us what you think about this chapter~
