Well here's ch 4 0w0

Chapter 4

It had been a few days since the horrible incident with Spain. Lovino felt sick to his stomach. He was glad Spain had become busy since then, meaning he couldn t get to him. Still, he was curious as to just what he was doing that he spent so much time with. How did this bastard spend his time? Maybe if he was lucky he could find out. Just as long as he didn t get caught. Who knew what would happen if Spain caught him. He didn t really want to follow, but he was curious. And the conquistador had just set foot outside. He could easily stay hidden long enough just to find out where he was going.
He snuck out the door, watching as Spain walked down the dirt road. Lovino followed at a safe distance, even though Antonio hadn't walked very far. He was still on his own property, walking up to a tower that he recognized. Before Spain had done all that new world business, he told him never to go in there and always kept it locked. Lovino could never break in no matter how hard he tried. And he did in fact try. Many times. So this is where he went so often? What kind of secrets did he have hidden inside that made him go to lengths to prevent the Italian from entering?

Lovino started to follow the Spaniard at a closer distance as he approached the door, curiousity replacing fear. He was so close now, so close to finally finding out what was inside the tower that had been shut up tightly for as long as he could remember. He watched as he started to unlock the door, the Italian's eyes glued to the frame's edge, Spain suddenly removing the key from the lock without turning it. He quickly turned around and glared directly in Lovino s direction. The younger country hadn t noticed he'd let himself out in the open.

"Get over here, Romano!" He yelled brutishly.

The Italian stood there until Spain more firmly yelled "Now!" He soon shuffled over as fast as he could.

Spain wasted no time when his ward arrived and punched him directly in the jaw. Lovino reeled back from the conquistador's strong blow, glaring back at the sadistic man who was even more furious than he was. Still, he couldn't control when the words slipped from his mouth. Habits die hard.

"What the fuck, Spain?" His natural response was always to yell profanities at an assailant then often run away after. Although with Spain he used to be able to hold his ground. Times change and he had already learned the hard way. But no matter how much he wanted to run right now, he couldn t get his legs to go.

Spain raced up to him again, latching onto his shoulders and kneeing him in the stomach, hard. Lovino coughed harshly, choking on his own air, and doubled over from the bastard s brutal advances. His eyes glazed over, and he vomited on the ground. Still glaring, he looked back once more at the abusive asshole.

"How many times will it take to get it through that idiotic thick skull of yours that you are NEVER to follow me and you are NEVER to talk to me like that. How much punishment are you really willing to let yourself receive? Hmm?" Spain was in his face now, grasping the collar of his shirt and starting to pull him up. "I still don t think this was enough." He growled, jerking him up the rest of the way. He dragged the younger country all the way back home.

Lovino stumbled a lot along the way. His body was still shaken from being kneed so hard in the stomach. Spain threw him to the floor the moment they set foot through the door, the younger country sitting up quickly and glaring back once more, but soon eyes widening in terror as he watched Spain take a candelabra from a table, spilling out the candles. He slowly walked up to the young man, grinning casually. He knew that there was nowhere the Italian could go now. Spain's arm raised, his grin becoming more maniacal by the second. The last moment Lovino could remember before he passed out was the Spaniard's terrible, sadistic grin as he slowly left consciousness.

xXxXxXx

Lovino had no idea how long he d been out for, but it seemed like a lot of time had passed before he had finally opened his eyes again. He sat up stiffly, noticing the chill of the hard stone floor beneath him, which was causing his back to ache. He was completely naked, to make matters worse. Vaguely he looked around for his clothes, which were nowhere in sight. It was a useless attempt in itself. He stood up, shaking and wincing, hurting nearly everywhere. He staggered, feeling somewhat dizzy. The wound on his head hurt, a lot. He reached up to feel the swollen area, grimacing. Hugging himself for comfort, he made his way up the stairs. He knew the reason for his condition, there were no questions, and the pain in his ass made that very clear. He felt utterly dirty, so he made his way into the washroom to take a bath. He lit as many candles as he could before letting himself slide into the wooden tub. At this point he noticed his worn reflection in the water. He looked fearful and badly beaten; there were even bruises about his face. He slashed the water and forced himself to look away. That wasn't him, that couldn t be him. He was a sullen young country who was well taken care of and had good friends...lies. He knew better, he knew better than to believe in what he once was believe in what Spain used to be. Tears formed in his eyes as he grabbed a washcloth and desperately began to scrub at his skin.

No matter how hard he tried, he couldn t get rid of the feeling of being something trashed. He cried harder and scrubbed until his skin went raw. His breathing raced as his anxiety took over, he just couldn t get clean enough.

His body jolted as the door slowly creaked open. Spain slowly walked through it, smiling. It was the closest Lovino had seen him appear to his old self in a long time. It was somewhat cynical but rather joyous. As the Spaniard approached, Lovino cringed, backing to the rear of the tub. He watched fearfully as he leaned against the opposite edge of it.

"Hello, Lovino," He said in the sweet tone the Italian was no longer familiar with. "I have some fascinating news for you." He was looking down at the water, smirking, casually stirring his finger around in it. Quietly, Lovino set his gaze on Spain, who was grinning at him again. He detected some malice in that smile. He leaned in a little closer to him, but still clutched the wooden tub.

"I've received word that your brother is coming over to visit us tomorrow. Isn't that great? Dear Feliciano wants to know how we are doing~" His mouth twitched a little as his smile became more artificial.

Lovino started to worry. The way Spain was acting really disturbed him. He opened his mouth to say something, but right before he could get the words out, Antonio rapidly changed his position. The older country took him by the shoulders with a vice-like grip and pushed him under the water, only giving him the chance to have a glimpse of his face before being driven under the water. It was that of pure rage.

The conquistador watched uncaringly as Lovino flailed under the water. His hands were grasping and clawing at the sides of the tub, frantic to raise him up to get some air. It was a useless attempt against Spain, who had his ward firmly pinned under the water. After letting the boy suffer for about a minute or so, he finally let him up.

Lovino coughed and gasped for air. He hung over the edge, wheezing, relieved that he could finally breathe again. Spain stood up behind him, but leaned over, once again taking hold of the medallion that had flipped over Romano s shoulder when he emerged.

"Behave when your brother gets here or I will do worse than that," He informed bluntly. He exited immediately after, leaving the young Italian to sit there in a depressed manner. It seemed to Lovino there was just no way out.

xXxXxXx

Feliciano arrived early the next morning, a hyperactive ball of stupidity and joy, just as he always was. He didn't bother with knocking or anything of the sort, entering the house with a loud "Ciao!~" He even came up and managed to find Lovino, who was still fast asleep in his room. He pounced on him, hugging and cooing in excitement.

"Ve~ Fratello!~" Feliciano smiled at his still drowsy older brother.

Lovino winced from his brother s weight on him. He was on a few bruises and it hurt. He meekly glanced up at Feliciano, wishing he had glared instead, but he felt like if he were to do that Spain would beat him at a later time. He breathed out a sigh, which his brother caught onto very quickly.

"What s the matter, Romano?" He asked, tilting his head, "Are you not happy to see me?"

Lovino tensed. He could not tell him what had been going on since Spain's return. It was embarrassing and he was ashamed of himself for letting all of it happen. Still, he wasn't sure if he could really have stopped him if he had tried. He was a powerful country now, and one without a soul. No one with a real soul could do such things to another person, especially one they once cared about. He bit his lip and looked away from Feliciano.

Feliciano's face contorted into a dismayed frown. Peering down at his sibling, tears forming in his eyes, he whined, "You really don't want to see me! It took a lot for me to get some time off to visit you and big brother Spain!" Lovino flinched when his brother said the monster s name, still with the same pet name as always attached like it has always been. He peered back at him, face now stern.

"I'm not upset that you're here," he growled.

"Then why are you acting like this? Is- -"

"I think he's just tired, Feliciano," an all too familiar voice announced from the doorway in a cheery manner. It was Spain. He was standing in the door, smiling at the two siblings. Lovino turned his sights to a wall as Feliciano leapt off him and bounded to the Spaniard. He was apparently still under the impression that Spain could be kind. He bit his lip as he heard him calling to the conquistador happily.

"Big brother Spain!~ How was your trip home?" Feliciano enthusiastically questioned.

"Oh, it was the same as always. It feels nice to finally be back, though," Spain informed with fake enthusiasm.

"So, Lovi is just tired? He doesn't hate me?" The youngest of the three countries smiled, glancing back at his brother.

"Of course. Let s all go back downstairs since a bedroom isn't a proper place for a visit," Spain responded, walking out.

"Come on, Fratello~" Feliciano was waiting for Lovino impatiently.

Lovino sluggishly left his bed, walking awkwardly up to his brother. Damn Spanish bastard just had to get him while he was knocked out. He wasn't sure when the pain was going to go away, either. He tried not to show his discomfort to Feliciano, though. If he knew...he shook his head, trying not to think about what would happen if his careless little brother found out. He was sure he would be very disappointed, although concerned. That was all he needed. The idiot might get himself killed if he stood up to Spain. As much as he annoyed him he would still rather not have him be murdered over him. He was his brother after all.

"Ve why are you walking so funny, Romano?" Of course the observant idiot had noticed how oddly he was walking. It was a good thing he couldn't read the atmosphere.

Glaring at the floor he muttered a simple "It's nothing, Veneziano."

"But you look like you're in pain, and is that a bruise on your face?" Feliciano gaped in concern. "Why are you so beat up? What happened?"

Lovino clenched his teeth, grumbling. He was trying his hardest to keep his temper down, lest Spain beat him more. He silently continued to walk down the hall toward the stairs.

"Lovi, I couldn't hear you," Feliciano whined once more. He was beginning to panic.

"I said stop asking fucking questions! What happens to me is none of your business!" Lovino had finally blew a fuse. He panted slightly from a mixture of fear and his little yelling fit, glaring at his startled younger brother.

"But I wanna know what's wrong! Why won't you tell me?" Feliciano was desperate to know.

Lovino had not listened to his brother this time. Instead he was looking wide eyed at the stairs in dismay. His fists bunched up at his sides and he gulped. Spain must have heard him yell. He knew he looked noticeably scared. Other than his fists clenched, his body froze in place, but shook fearfully. Noticing how scared stiff Lovino was, Feliciano raced to his side, wrapping his arms around his brother.

"What s wrong? Fratello, what's so scary? Is it something here? Please tell me," Feliciano shook his scared brother some but got no reaction out of him. He only continued to stare blindly at the stairs. There was a loud stomping of feet. The younger Italian soon zoomed behind Romano, becoming scared as well, mirroring his brother out of having no idea of what was coming up those steps.

Thankfully the only thing that came up the stairs was Spain. He glared at both Italians with his fierce green eyes, the brothers shrinking back from such a glare. Feliciano had never seen Antonio with an expression like that in his entire life. It was one that easily struck fear into anyone who caught such a gaze. He bit back a pang of sympathy.

"Feliciano!" He snarled, causing the northern part of Italy jump. His tone soon turned dark and to a quiet rumble, "It s time for you to go home."

"Go home? But I only just got here! I didn t get to visit at all!" Feliciano droned, pouting.

Spain didn't even bother with an answer. He just came up to the boy, grabbed him by his shirt, and started to drag him off. The younger of the two siblings was utterly confused. Why couldn't he stay any longer? He was now extremely worried for his brother. Something was really, really wrong. Between the lack of his brother's bitching and whining and the lack of Spain's kind personality, he was beyond confused. What was going on?

Lovino listened to his brother whining on his trip down the stairs. He was trying to talk Antonio out of making him leave, but it was a feeble attempt. He could hear as Spain opened up the door, his brother s voice fading. He assumed the Spaniard locked the door this time, to keep the pest out.

Lovino almost began to cry as he listened to Spain s footsteps. They were quicker, almost at a run. He made his way up to him in no time. Romano began to back up as he approached closer. Out of the corners of his eyes he could tell he'd become cornered.

"I told you to behave!" the monster yelled, grabbing the younger country by his hair, throwing him swiftly to the ground.

"I was behaving!" Lovino, still being Lovino, managed to get his rebellious side out once more. It was just a bad habit of his.

Spain's face contorted into a vicious, angry snarl. "Shut the fuck up!" It was really the first time Lovino had heard him say that word.

Spain came up to his ward and kicked him as he tried to get up. When Romano was down he proceeded by kicking him in the stomach and various other places. He only stopped when he heard the clock chime a few times. He looked annoyed now.

"Damn Heretics," He mumbled, leaving Lovino on his spot on the floor. He was gone, and Romano knew exactly where he was going. That tower. That damn fucking secret tower of his.

Lovino glared at the small puddle of his own blood on the floor. He couldn't let himself waste away like this. He needed to know what was going on and why Spain had become a monster. The secrets of how he had become that way had to be deeply confined in the tower. Even if he were to get caught or this was his final act, Lovino was going to go there. He would learn why there was no longer a sweet Antonio to cuddle him. Standing up, he wiped the blood off his face, and staggered down the stairs.