Chapter 9

Author's notes: So Arthur, how does it feel to be betrayed by your own brother?

Arthur: Shut up! He didn't betray me!

Me: Then why'd he send people to capture you?

Arthur: Because he's Alfred! He does that a lot as a joke.

Me: Mhm. Just keep telling yourself that.

Arthur: If I wasn't tied up, I would kill you.

Me: Why does everyone want to kill me?!

Arthur: Excuse me? Who's the one tied up and at the mercy of vampires?

Me: Fair enough.

Arthur's POV

"Hey Arthur, long time no see!" Alfred yelled as he got out of his chair and came over to me. "Bet you didn't know I was the Alpha vampire." He grinned.

"How are you the head vampire? We're brothers, so wouldn't I have known you were one?"

"Okay dude, first of all, it's Alpha vampire, not head vampire. Get it right! Second, you didn't find out that I was your brother until three years ago, and that was because our "parents" happened to hook up. You knew nothing about me, aside from I'm American. Besides, we blend in very well with humans, so it's very hard to pick us out."

"You didn't notice that I was one, even when I went into your home" Felix quickly blurted out. His brother smacked him in the back of the head and gestured for him to be quiet.

Alfred glared at Felix and continued. "Exactly, and by the condition of your neck," he tilted my head and looked at my wound, "you didn't realize Ivan was one either until it was too late."

I turned my head back. "Don't do that."

He grinned and tilted my head again. "And why can't I? You can't stop me, and no one here will stop me. As long as you're tied up, we can do whatever we want. We own you, Arthur."

"Not according to Ivan. Until one of us dies, he "owns" me."

He grabbed me by my jaw and held it so tight it felt like it was about to break. "Just you wait. That contract is being broken tonight, one way or another." He let me go and pushed me back, causing me to fall hard onto the floor. He checked his watch. "In fact, you'll find out in about five minutes." He snapped his fingers, "Kiku!" The Asian who was holding me earlier came forward.

"Hai."

"Get the rope. The fabric doesn't look strong enough."

Kiku nodded, then left the room. He was gone only for a moment before returning with the rope. Alfred quickly had me tied up again, but this time, he had tied my wrists behind my back to my ankles. He forced me to kneel in that position with my head down, like child's pose, for what felt like hours, even though it had only been a few minutes. I heard a small beeping sound come from Alfred as he turned off the alarm on his watch. He looked down at me and grinned.

"Time's up."

Ivan's POV

The scent had led me to an old prison at the outskirts of town. When I went inside, it was very run down. It looked like no one had been there in years, but the scent said otherwise. I went into the cell rooms. The scent in there was still fairly strong, as if Arthur had only recently been moved. I looked around for a doorway or a secret hatch or anything that would lead underground. I finally found one next to the desk at the entrance. I opened it up and headed downstairs. And then I heard the scream.

"Arthur," I yelled as I ran down the passageway. I finally found the wooden door that lead to the meeting room. I forced it open and raced forward, hoping to separate Alfred from Arthur in time. Alfred let go and stared at me, a bloody smile on his face. "Hey, Ivan, glad you could make it. Arthur and I were just doing a little family bonding." He lifted Arthur by his hair. "Isn't that right?" Arthur was just barely holding onto consciousness, his neck was bleeding profusely, and he was ghostly pale. I didn't have much time before he would bleed out and die. Alfred dropped Arthur and watched as his head fell back to the floor, causing Arthur to wince slightly.

"So you finally decided to come back. You know, things just weren't the same after you left. By the way, love the new look. Where'd you get the scarf?"

"Save your breath. I'm only here for what's mine."

"You're no fun. But I don't see why you'd want him back, considering he'll be dead within the hour." Alfred grinned. "You always did pick the best slaves, even if they were weak. What was that first one you had? Was it Robert? That was a good one. Too bad you never tried him."

"Don't talk about him like that! And his name wasn't Robert, it was Ravias!"

"Close enough. I'm just saying you should've stopped treating him like your son and started using him for the only thing humans are good for. Blood."

That was it! I couldn't take it anymore. I tried to grab for Alfred, but he stepped away too fast. He snapped his fingers, "Feliciano! Lovino!" The Italian brothers jumped up and blocked me from reaching Alfred.

"Hey, Ivan, let us play too," Feliciano mocked as he pulled out a knife. Lovino also revealed a knife, although his was a little longer than his brother's. I dropped the book bag and drew out the pipe. It wouldn't kill them, but, hopefully, it would stun them long enough for me to get to Alfred. Lovino attacked first, attempting to stab me. I swung the pipe and landed a blow on the center of his forehead, causing him to crumple to the ground.

"FRATELLO," Feliciano yelled. His smile faded and turned into a look of rage. He charged forward and grabbed the knife from his brother, then continued towards me. He was fast, and none of my attacks were able to land. He rushed behind me and stabbed my back with his brother's knife, and used the other one to stab my chest.

I fell to the ground, coughing up blood. Feliciano stared at me, his mocking smile, once again, plastered on his face. He kneeled down and took the knife out of my chest. "Not so big now, are you Ivan?" 'Now's my chance.' I took the pipe and swung at his ankles, causing him to fall down. I then swung at his head, landing a hit on his temple. He wasn't unconscious like his brother, but at least he was dazed for a moment, just enough time to sit up and hit him again. This time he was knocked out.

I stood up with a little difficulty and looked at the wound in my chest. It's deep, but should only take about a month to heal. I wiped away the blood at my mouth and laughed. "Is that the best you've got?"

Alfred growled and snapped his fingers again. "Francis!"

Francis drew his sword and leapt over the tables. He laughed, "So you finally need my 'elp?" He turned to me and smirked. "Let's get this over with." He charged and tackled me, pressing the sword against my throat. "Those stupid Italians forgot 'ow to kill a vampire, 'ow pathetic. Now, shall we proceed," he smiled as he pressed the sword closer to my neck. I put my hands up to try and push him off, or at least keep him from cutting my neck. 'If he cuts too deep, I'll be dead for sure.' He laughed like a maniac as he continued to add pressure. It was getting to the point that I was having difficulty keeping him back. I mustered up enough strength to push him off for a minute, just enough time to grab my pipe and hit him on the head. He had a small stream of blood running from where I had hit him. I really didn't want to have to fight him again when he came to, so I grabbed his sword and stabbed it through his neck. It pierced with ease, and Francis stopped breathing after gurgling through the stream of blood. I tossed the sword to the side and stared at Francis's lifeless body.

"Papa!" Matthew rushed over to Francis's bloody corpse and shook him. "Get up! Please get up!" he looked up at me. "You killed him!" He held the corpse's hand and cried. "It's not too hard for you to join him, da~," I told him.

"Do you really think I'm that stupid? You think I'd just let you kill me?" He stood up and walked behind Alfred, right next to Arthur. He kneeled down, drew a knife from his pocket, and slit Arthur's throat. "An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth," he smiled as he licked the blood from his knife. I shrugged, "I wasn't here for him anyway," I picked up my pipe, "now are you going to fight me or what?" I couldn't give him the satisfaction of an easy victory, so I made it seem as though killing Arthur meant nothing. "B-but you said," he stared, shocked at my response. He paused before finishing, "Why should I fight? I already know how it'll end…" He looked at Francis, then back at me, as if to finish the sentence. He went back over to Francis and kneeled down, as if he would suddenly come back to life.

I looked back at Alfred. "We both know Rodreich isn't going to fight, and Matthew just had a nervous breakdown. You'll let me fight you now, da~?" Alfred smiled, "Not quite. Kiku!" He snapped his fingers.

Kiku lunged forward with his katana drawn. He was practically a ninja, with the speed of Feliciano and the skills of Francis. Unlike either, Kiku wasn't attacking me out of rage, but was simply following orders. Even with his amazing skills, it was obvious that he wasn't fighting full heartedly. If anything, he was just being a nuisance, and it was about time to get rid of this nuisance. I swung blindly, hoping that I could somehow hit him. I wasn't able to knock him out, but I eventually managed to knock the sword out of his hand. He grabbed his sword and was about to attack again, but I lowered my hand, trying to motion that the fight wasn't worth it. He lowered his sword and left the room.

"A rather unfulfilling fight. Now we can fight, da~?"

Alfred sighed, "Alright. Wasn't as cool as I thought it'd be, but I guess it's my turn." He drew a pistol in his right hand and a knife. "Let's end this." It was my turn to lunge forward, and it was also my turn to be stopped in the middle of my attack to a shot to the head, literally. I staggered back, hand over the bullet hole in my head. I leaned on one of the tables to try and stop my head from spinning. 'I can't die like this, not yet!' I threw my pipe at Alfred and hit him in the gut. While he was busy holding his gut and cussing, I raced over to him and knocked him down, then pinned him down. I pulled my knife from my pocket. He stared at me with a horrified look. "W-what are you doing?" His voice was shaking like a scared child. I glared at him and my eyes turned red. "Something I should've done years ago," I growled as I slit his throat.

I got off of Alfred and went over to Arthur. Even if there was a way to bring him back as a vampire, he still wouldn't be able to survive; Matthew had already slit his throat. I placed his head on my lap and stared at his lifeless face. Something about the look on his face was almost peaceful, and it reminded me vaguely of Ravias. I smiled, holding back the few tears that threatened to fall. "You never really were a good slave, always disobeying orders. I never said you could die."