Oliver had to sit down when he entered Francis' house. To say that his siblings "weren't doing so well" would be the understatement of the century.
William* was the first one he saw when he walked in. A knife was still sticking out of his broad back, blood staining his clothes. Just a few feet further in were the twins, Eire** and Liam***. They had been holding hands, and each of them had suffered a gunshot wound. Just one each.
Looking around, Oliver didn't see Alistair****.
"Francis," Oliver choked, pressing two fingers under Eire's chin, hoping that maybe she was alive. She wasn't. "Where's Scotty?"
Francis pointed towards the kitchen. A faint groan could be heard, and they both rushed over. Alistair was sitting upright, back to the cabinet. He was holding a hand to his stomach, trying in vain to stop the blood pouring from his torso. It looked he had been shot twice more, once in the shoulder and once in the leg.
"Scotty!"
Oliver ran over to him and took off his backpack, rummaging through it for something, anything to staunch it, just until he could do something better. He noted in horror that the blood was almost the same color as his brother's hair.
"Ollie," Alistair managed to groan out, turning his head painfully to look at him. "Ollie, it's too late for me."
"Don't talk like that! I can help!"
Alistair moved his hand and set it on Oliver's backpack, trying to close it.
"I cannae be helped, and I won't spend my last moments as a country watching my little brother try to do the impossible! Got it?"
Oliver stared down at his now bloody backpack, not moving, and trying to hold back the tears that were sliding down his cheeks anyway. Scotty had always been so strong- it hurt to see him like this.
"Ollie."
"I- I understand," he replied, using his sleeve to wipe the blurriness away.
"Good. Now," he coughed violently, blood leaking from his mouth, "I want you to do some things for me."
Oliver sniffed. "Anything."
"I want you to get Iggy back."
"I was going to do that, anyway."
"And I want you to forgive ol' Francis here. It wasn't his fault."
"O- Okay," his voice cracked, and he cleared his throat. "Yeah."
Scotty thought for a moment, rubbing a palm down his cheek and smearing blood.
"Ah! And I want you to tell that pretty friend of ours that I'll see her when it comes her time. Tell her that I'll be waiting, and that she better not come before her time is up just because she's dying to see me." Alistair winked briefly.
Oliver deadpanned.
"Flirting with Freja until the very end," he muttered.
Alistair laughed, but it came out more like a raspy cough.
"Got it, Ollie?"
Oliver nodded. "I will. Promise."
Scotty suddenly squinted his eyes, like he was looking at something bright.
"See ya, Ollie."
And then there was nothing.
Oliver found that he wasn't crying anymore. He looked down at Scotty, then reached into his backpack and pulled out a filled syringe with an attached needle.
He shoved Francis against the wall and pointed the needle at his throat.
"You are going to explain to me, very carefully, exactly what happened here, or I'll inject you with this deadly poison."
Francis gulped.
"M-Mathieu*."
Oliver narrowed his eyes.
"What about him? How did you survive when the rest of them didn't?"
"Mathieu came over... he knocked on my door and told me that he had changed. Decided that he didn't want to be evil anymore. He asked me to forgive him for all he had done."
"And you believed him?"
"Oui. Mathieu is my son. If you had someone close to you ask you to forgive them, would you turn them away just because they had done something bad?"
Oliver sighed and reluctantly responded. "No."
"Exactly. So he came in, and we talked. It was fun while it lasted. But there was a knock at the door- your siblings- and he knocked me out from behind. When I came to, I was in a closet, and everyone else... you know the rest."
A moment of silence passed.
Stepping back, Oliver ejected the contents of the needle onto the floor. He grabbed his backpack, closed it, slung it over his shoulder, and walked out of the small house.
"Oliver, wait!"
He turned around to look at Francis.
"I'm sorry."
"... I know."
1- William Kirkland, or Wales
2- Eire Kirkland, or Ireland
3- Liam Kirkland, or North Ireland
4- Alistair Kirkland, or Scotland
*- Mathieu/Matthew Williams, or Canada