Chapter 6

LIAHN:

Liahn looked down at the snowy ground as he was walking away from the meeting. Both Russia and Greece had stayed behind to help lock America up so he couldn't get away before the two weeks were up. It felt weird locking up another country though he couldn't exactly complain. Because of America everyone could have been in danger of waging a very bad war. This was actually helping a lot. But it still felt so weird to him.

He sighed and looked up at the cloudy sky as a strong wind blew past. He winced from the blade like cold but continued to walk. He wasn't normally cold like this, especially with the three layers of clothes he had on.

He continued to walk silently toward his home when a soft, almost inaudible, sound reached his ears. Looking up he tried to find the sound but there was nothing but snow around him. He shook his head and continued walking but at a quicker pace. Again the sound reached him and he froze, scanning the area around him. Still nothing. He grit his teeth and called out. "Who's there?" He waited a moment but there was no reply. "Am I hearing things?" He chuckled and then continued walking.

He had made it about a yard away when he stopped and cried out in pain. He turned and looked down at the source of his pain. His leg was badly wounded and bleeding almost non-stop. He bent down on one knee and grabbed at the wound trying to stop its bleeding. It didn't work and only cause him more pain. He looked around frantically, regretting now that he had decided to leave on his own from the meeting.

"Is anybody there?" he shouted into the wind and waited a few minutes. When no reply came he shouted again but louder and more panicked than before. "Anybody? Please! I need help! Can anybody hear me?" He blinked furiously as his vision began to blur. Who had done this? He felt all of his strength draining from his body slowly as the blood spilled onto the clean snow. "Anybody…." He murmured weakly.

He cursed his weakness as the pain and blood loss finally caused him to fall to the ground completely. He might be physically stronger than any normal country but his mutated side made him much more susceptible to wounds such as this. He was barely able to pump enough blood for himself and now with this wound…

His breathing was shallow and rapid after only a few minutes. He felt sick and everything was black at the edge of his vision. He heard laughing from somewhere nearby. Who's there? He wanted to shout it but didn't have the strength. He felt his tail curl around him and finally he blacked out. As he had slipped into unconsciousness the laughing had grown louder and much more menacing. He felt a shiver go up his spine.

CANADA:

Matthew winced as he walked through the snow. "Why am I walking in the snow? Why does my head hurt? What is this?" He held up a small sheet of paper he was holding in his hand and noticed bandages wrapped all the way up to his elbow. "What the- what is" He touched the bandages lightly and winced as his head began to throb with pain. "OW!" He placed his palm tenderly on his head and found more bandages wrapping around it.

What was with all of the pain and bandages? And why couldn't he remember much from right before this. Maybe on this paper? He held the paper up and un-crumpled it until it was readable. "Two weeks and it's at the peak. One week is gone already, now comes the tragedy." He recited the words out loud twice before fully understanding their meaning. His eyes widened and he looked around frantically. "Alfred…" he whispered "they're going to kill Alfred! No…" he stared at the words that had him worrying the most. "One week has gone by already? That can't be! We just had the conference!" his shout lowered to a whisper as he said the next thing. "Didn't it?"

What had happened that he couldn't remember what had happened in an entire week? And what was with the bandages? He racked his brain trying to think but it only caused the throbbing in his head to worsen. Why couldn't he remember? What had happened? He groaned and thought harder.

He remembered leaving the conference sadly alongside Arthur and Francis and then being on his own. He had walked alone until he had reached the very edge of France. There he had seen- Matthew's eyes widened as parts of his memory came back to him.

China? Russia? What were they doing over by France's house? Who was that third person behind them? Matthew thought about going up to them and just barely realized his feet had begun walking toward them. There was arguing and shouting and then Russia had stalked off angrily. He watched as Russia headed to his home leaving China and the stranger behind. Now it was just those two arguing. He continued walking toward them but stopped dead when he saw something hit China and then promptly fall to the ground. The stranger looked up and walked toward Matthew. He knew he should run but his feet wouldn't move.

The person reached him but stayed in the shadows. He turned to flee but his vision blackened as something hard hit him on the head.

He shuddered at the memory and ran his fingers lightly over the bandages over his head.

He had been in this cell of his for who knew how long. He was tied up and gagged but in much better condition than the person in the opposite side of the small cell. But who was it? He had only seen China hadn't he? This person looked nothing like Yao. He had short, messy black hair, first of all, and was also beaten and bruised to an extreme point. His hands were tied behind him and he had a blindfold on which he was currently trying to remove by dragging the cloth over the rocky ground.

It took only a bit for it to move just enough for the person to see through one eye. Matthew's eyes widened when he saw the soft brown eye that reflected all the fear and panic that person felt. "M-Matthew?" The person's voice was raspy and foreign sounding but he recognized it immediately.

China? That was him? All of his hair- Both turned to stare at the cell door as it creaked open and their attacker came in. He kept to the shadows so his face couldn't be seen but they could both see his malicious eyes. He walked over to China and pulled his blindfold back into place and kicked him hard in the stomach causing Yao to cry out in pain. He then continued to walk over to Matthew, revealing his face. His eyes widened further as he recognized who it was. It was-

Matthew winced and finally fell to his knees as the pain intensified so much that his mind was reeling and everything started to spin. He knew who it was! But he couldn't remember… He stumbled to his feet and tried to go toward the nearest house. But where was he? Who was closest? He winced and fell once more only to be caught by somebody. He looked up and saw Russia but in the back he swore he could hear England and France. Had they come to try and convince Russia of Alfred's innocence?

"Matthew!" He heard one of the two cry out as Russia pulled him up into his arms and began to walk. He heard bits and pieces of the things they tried to tell him. "…The Hospital…what happened…hurt…disappeared…one week…" He tried to stay awake but the throbbing in his head was still horrible. He shut his eyes and finally fell asleep. Maybe dreaming would help him remember what exactly had happened and who was the real culprit.

JAPAN:

Japan paced wildly about the small cell in which America had been confined in. He received curious glances from the imprisoned nation but didn't speak nor did he want to. He was nervous. IN fact, he had been more nervous than ever this past week. He hadn't been able to get into contact with China and his leader said he hadn't seen Yao for the entire week. Also, recently there had started to be a string of mass murders amongst China's people that was dangerously close to his own people as well.

"What are you freaking out about Japan?" America had spoken as if he hadn't been accused and even hit by all the nations, including himself, or as if he were locked in a cell with him as his guard. It was as if they were in a room chatting nicely to each other. Japan gave him a deadly glare but shook his head in response. As if he were about to reveal any troubles he was having! He would die before that. America cocked his head to the side in confusion knowing that there was indeed something wrong. "Has something further happened?"

"Shut up!" He shocked himself with his little outburst but continued. "Since when have prisoners been allowed to talk?! Just sit there and stay quiet!" He turned around furiously as the iron door opened and Venecciano stepped inside. He was slightly startled to see such a look in the country's eyes and he walked up to Japan and made sure he was in view of America. He gave them both sad and pitying looks.

"I-I have some bad news…" he looked away sadly.

"What is it? Tell me!" Japan's voice had gone back to being soft and restrained. He managed to coax Venecciano into looking back at them.

"Well," he looked to America, pity clear in his eyes. "Canada…was found by England and France and Russia…" America wore a confused look on his face. Japan as well was wondering what exactly he meant to say. "He looked pretty bad, with a lot of bandages and under them a lot of bruises…and cuts," he murmured softly. As he'd spoken Japan noticed that his voice had gotten softer and softer. His eyes widened as the news finally sunk in and he immediately turned to America whose face had gone deathly pale and his eyes abnormally wide.

"Matthew…" was the only word that came from Alfred's mouth after the news. He looked up pleadingly at them both. They knew exactly what he was asking. Japan shook his head and Venecciano followed suit. Even if it were for his brother, they couldn't let him out. Both watched as his face fell with disappointment. Japan felt a pang of guilt when he saw that face.

"Also," Japan looked back at Venecciano. More bad news? "China is…" Now he was interested. Did he have news on where China could be? Venecciano hesitated before continuing with his news. "Well, he's, he's… missing first of all." The way Venecciano had started to look away made his heart sink. Something was wrong! Where was Yao? What had happened to him? HE had been about to voice his questions aloud when he continued to speak. "We think he's dead! There was blood found on his territory and we believe it is his! And it is a lot of blood too! I'm sorry Nihon!!" Venecciano blurted out before he could even get a word in.

He stuttered, suddenly not able to find a breath. China was… he could be… "NO!" He hadn't realized he'd screamed the word aloud but now he could hardly care less. He felt his eyes fill to the brim with tears and even some spill over. He shook his head and gripped his arms tightly. "no, no, no, no," he murmured quietly to himself, shutting his eyes tightly. "It's a lie!" Venecciano tried to grab him, comfort him, but Japan simply pushed him away while America stared incredulously at the normally composed nation. "It HAS to be a lie! It has to- I, I don't want to lose-" His voice broke now and he fell to his knees, hands gripping his head and sobbing loudly as more tears streamed down his cheeks. "Not Yao! You can't leave me here! Please don't leave me here alone!" His shouting died down until he was whispering. He had somehow gotten himself by the bars of Alfred's cell and both he and Venecciano were trying to calm him down. "brother… h-he was l-like my b-brother…"

He found himself calling Yao the one thing he never thought he would. He was calling him his brother… His hysterics were calmed after several minutes and he just sat there being stroked by both Alfred and Venecciano. He sat there sobbing pitifully in front of them both having no idea where his dignity had gone. All he could think about were his "brother", Yao, and how he didn't want to be left all alone here. He had already lost almost all of his family all those years ago. Yao was all he had left and he didn't think he could take it if he lost him. He was the only thing holding Japan together all these years. If he were gone…what would he do? He had so much grief in his heart and it was currently too much to bear. That was apparent to him now.

SPAIN:

Antonio and Romano were running back to the house Prussia had built for all him and Venecciano. They had been running some errands and had gotten distracted and he was most likely late for dinner. They had decided earlier that, if they had to go out, they would go out together from now on even if that meant disobeying Prussia's orders not to see Venecciano's brother. Ever since news of China's disappearance and Canada being found in that horrible state everyone had been on edge. Nobody wanted to be alone and everyone stuck closely to his allies. IN this case, for Antonio, he'd stayed close to Prussia (and Romano when he could) since he and Venecciano had been taken. But it wasn't all bad. At least now neither he nor his people were starving and in fact, they were even prospering once more.

They made it to Prussia's house just as Venecciano arrived as well. Antonio hesitated as he saw the angry glares Romano was giving his brother. "HI Venecciano!" He smiled pleasantly and waved but, for once, Venecciano didn't smile back. "Pasa algo? Is something wrong?" He asked caringly but received no answer once again.

"Hey, it's rude to not-"Romano shouted but stopped when they heard a sniffle from him. They looked at each other and then back at the sniffling country. They watched him wipe his face with the back of his sleeve and then smile brightly with his eyes closed as he used to.

"Nope! Nothing is wrong! I'm just fine!" He walked inside the house leaving the two of them standing there with confused expressions. What had just happened there? Before Spain was able to voice his question they heard a horrible high-pitched scream come from inside the house. Both ran in with lightning quick speed and stopped dead when they came to where Venecciano stood in the doorway of the living room. Romano let out a small squeak and held onto Antonio while Venecciano collapsed to his knees, whimpering and tears falling down his ghostly pale face.

"Dios mio…" he murmured under his breath as he felt tears start to form on the edges of his own eyes. "Who would do this? Who…quien…" he couldn't finish his thoughts as he switched from his native Spanish to English as he spoke. They also couldn't tear their eyes away from the scene in front of them.

Right on the couch was Prussia, just lying there as he always did when they came home but with one exception this time. First of all was the horrible splatter of blood all over the couch and over the front of his uniform. Second was the way his wide eyes stared blankly at them as if to accuse them of this horrible crime. His chest was clearly torn open, most likely by a blade of sorts, and still gushing fresh blood. It seemed as if this had been done only minutes before their arrival. His uniform was in tatters and he was even missing an arm. Looking to the floor and by the kitchen he found the severed limb still clutching a small pistol as if it were about to shoot on its own.

Antonio shut his eyes before he could see any more of the gruesome detail but he opened them once more as he heard the two brothers crying and felt them shaking with fear. It was up to him to be the brave one here. He grabbed first Romano and then Venecciano and yanked them to their feet. He pushed them toward the main door "Go out and see if the people are okay." They nodded and headed off together. At least that would give them something a lot less scary to deal with. He on the other hand probably had the worst job of all to do. He walked toward Prussia's corpse and closed its eyes so they weren't staring so blankly up at him.

He gulped and moved to the kitchen where there was yet more blood to be seen. It was sticky now and most of it stuck to the walls and counters and the floor but some still ran down as if it were a blood race. He hesitated before going inside; lightly stepping over Prussia's severed limb and trying his best not to step on too much blood. A piece of the kitchen caught his eye and he turned to see a place on the wall that had been wiped clean and had a single sheet of paper with elegant handwriting on it. He pulled it off and read. "Freedom is sweet, now's your time to retreat." His eyes widened with more fear than this scene could ever have caused him.

The sheet of paper had the same handwriting described to all the countries by the ones who'd received the small rhymes. That meant it was that same person who had done this; the one who'd killed Prussia so gruesomely and left this stupid little note. That meant Alfred wasn't the culprit! That was great! But then…. Spain's face paled further and he held a shaking hand up to his mouth. "then, the guilty person, the killer now, is still out and about! No…" his voice shook and he collapsed to his knees. He had to tell somebody.

He shakily got to his knees and made his way through more blood to the small bedroom where the only phone in the entire house resided. He picked it up and was about to dial but he couldn't think of any numbers to call. He looked back to where he knew Prussia's corpse was and knew what number to dial. He waited a few rings and finally the call was answered.

"Hello?" came the voice over the phone. "Who is this?"

"Hola? Ludwig, it's Antonio! Please you have to come here, something terrible has happened and, and Prussia…" he cut off, not being able to tell Germany who had once been so close to Prussia. There were a few minutes of silence and heavy breathing before Ludwig's answer came.

"I'll be right over, just stay outside!" With that the dial tone came on as Ludwig ended the call. Antonio made his way numbly over to the front door. What was happening? Why was all of this happening so suddenly? He couldn't find the strength to do anything but be a zombie at the moment. He just couldn't seem to register everything that was going on right now. He stepped outside and found both Romano and Venecciano waiting for him as they sat on the grass by a tree. He joined them but none spoke except to report what he'd told them to find out.

"Everyone seems fine. Nobody but…." Venecciano cut off and Romano continued for him.

"B-but you know who was hurt." Antonio nodded and informed them of Germany coming over. After all was said, they simply waited in silence all of them wanting to erase the image permanently burned into their minds. Things had begun harmlessly but were becoming very violent, very fast.