(A/N): Okay... Last Chapter. Final showdown. Only the Epilogue left after this.
[WARNING] Language and character death. Like I said.. Not exactly a happy ending.
Maria smiled as she carried the silent Austrian in her arms easily. Cradling him in her scarred arms, she peered into his face as mother would with her child. Her weary red eyes watched his motionless face and his chest rising and falling at a much slower pace than when he was truly alive.
A grey hue hung upon him, clinging to his pale cheeks and cracked lips. He was so close to death, it seemed to be just waiting for her to deliver the finally blow. And she would. Because people that hurt her and her family deserved to be punished. Maria looked up, away from Roderiech, and walked forward toward the dock. Not everyone could be punished, but this man could and would be.
Lying him down on the wet wood, Maria hoisted the large anchor that kept the ship in place. Her eyes flitted back to him. What if…? Every execution had an audience. She'd invited the whole theater to come watch her masterpiece. And ever masterpiece was a little spontaneous.
A different kind of smile pulled at her white lips. Change. She could change.
X~X~X
They were only a few minutes away. Antonio was holding his breath, he needed to be there. Now. His green gaze moved to Sophie once more and he saw that she was quiet as well, her face pale.
"Sophia, listen to me." His voice was strong but with a little echo in it that he'd never heard before, "When we get there…" Antonio swallowed. He had no idea what kind of hell Maria had planned, but he did know one thing.
"No matter what happens, I need you to stay strong." He met her eyes for just a moment, "Your brother has to live." He took a deep breath, "Whatever happens, make sure your brother gets out alive. Make sure Roderiech lives."
A sharp breath came from his right but he didn't look over at her. He didn't need to see or hear her objections right now. He needed to be with Roderiech.
"Sophia, promise me."
"Ja.." She nodded, looking straight ahead of her out of the dashboard, not really seeing the road as her face grew paler. "Ja, I promise."
Antonio screeched to a halt, unbuckling quickly and opening the door, "We're here. Come on."
"Where?!" Sophie shouted, fumbling with the buckle as she looked around. It was a dock of some sort, but much larger. A marina.
"This is where my ships were," he spoke, his eyes darting back and forth along the waterfront. "They're all gone now. Expect one." His gaze lit on the large ship and he broke out into a sprint, "The one Bello was on when he fell."
Rounding a corner, Antonio's mind with filled with horrifying images. Roderiech bound and gagged. Roderiech's eyes pleading with him. Roderiech's blood smeared all along the wood. Ice water filled his veins. Roderiech's body, limp and lifeless with dull eyes staring back at him. Nothing he could do. He was too late.
"Ahhh…" An amused female voice caught his attention.
His head whipped around. There she was, lounging against the mast on his ship. Maria looked up, grinning at him with a wicked look in those fiery red jewels. Her white skin shone in the moonlight—the scars standing out in the dark.
"Maria!" His voice rang through the shipyard, allowing Sophie to find him. The footsteps echoed behind him and he heard her squeak of confusion and fear.
He took a deep breath, his eyes fixed on the albino and his voice grew low, "Remember. Your brother lives."
Sophie nodded, balling up her fists in fury. "You. Maria. You're… You're supposed to be dead."
"So they keep telling me!" Maria chuckled, a hollow sound that filled the air with depression, "But.. Here I am." She pushed away from mast, half smiling as she pushed something dark and obscured off the side of the ship. It was an anchor. The bone chilling black water splashed up the wood. "And someone else is here to die in my place."
Antonio face went pale. Tied to the anchor was his love, neck deep in the frigid water with dried blood caked on his temple. His bright violet eyes were closed, his dark lashes lying on white, almost blue skin. Duct tape was stuck across his full lips and his hair was matted to his forehead with an upsetting mixture of water and blood.
"What have you done to him..?" His voice was barely a whisper, but it carried all the way to the crazed woman dangling his soul mate into death.
Her crimson eyes narrowed, "Not as much as I will."
X~X~X
They had to be here. Somewhere. Gilbert's frantic eyes searched his surroundings.
"Gil.. Please. They're not here." Eliza swallowed, trying to reason with him, "Bitte, can we go?"
"Nein!" He whipped around to look at her, not seeing through the tears in his eyes. "Maria is here. I know it."
Her heart broke, over and over again every time she saw him like this. It cut her deep inside. "Liebe…" Her fingers brushed against his face lightly, wiping away the tears. "She's not."
His head fell forward on her shoulder, "She is! I can feel her! And she's.." Gilbert pulled her close, holding her tightly, "She's not well. She's sick. Sicker than me."
Eliza nodded, kissing his white hair. "J-Ja.. Ja. Do you want to look some more..?"
"Ja." His shoulders shook. He could feel her. Maria was so close. Something flashed in his mind's eye and Gilbert's head snapped up. He saw a face, Antonio, and smelt salt.
He pushed Eliza off harder than he meant to, "I know! I know where she is!"
X~X~X
"He needs to…" Maria spoke, watching Antonio carefully as her fingers caressed the crank that would lower the anchor even more. "He needs to die."
"Why?!"
She could hear the desperation in the Spaniard's voice. "I-I.." Why? Why was she doing this? "Because of.. of.. you!" An accusing finger pointed at him as her grip tightened on the lever. She needed this to be about Antonio. "Because of you two! You hurt my brother! He loves.." Maria looked down at Roderiech with disgust, kicking his face with her boot, "this piece of filth. He loves and trusts too easily. Like I used to." Her red eyes shot up to Antonio.
Maria needed this to be about Roderiech and Antonio. It needed to be about them and their betrayal. But it wasn't.
"I used to trust too. But.." Maria's face grew even whiter and her eyes got distant, "But I don't anymore. Fifty seven years can do that to a person. But not once.." She zeroed in on Antonio she lowered Roderiech but an inch, his chin almost touching the water. "Not once did I lose hope. Fifty seven years thinking that someone was trying! Trying to help me! But no.." In her other hand she picked up a large pipe that she'd found on the ship and pointed it at the man. "Nein! People think I'm dead! Well, I'm alive as fuck now!" She lowered Roderiech another inch.
"Stop!" Antonio cried, tensed to run and stop her himself, "Please! He's… You'll kill him!"
"Kill him?!" Maria shouted, a sneer on her scarred face, "Like he tried to kill me?! Every day for fifty seven years!" No. This was never about Roderiech, no matter how much she wanted it to be. It had always been about Ivan.
Antonio shook his head, "Maria.. Please." He was begging her, "Please listen. Ivan can't hurt you anymore. You don't need to do this. Bel—Roderiech would just want to help you. He's the most kind, compassionate person I know. He would just want to help…"
She stiffened when he said his name. Ivan. "Shut up!" She screamed, her learned Russian accent growing thicker, "You don't know what you're talking about! He dies! He has to die! It's the only way I'll ever be free! Everyone must die!"
Her glowing red eyes danced in the dark, fiery embers of an insane, broken woman. The anchor lowered another inch.
"MARIA!"
Maria's head jerked up from her concentrated staring contest with Antonio and was met by the one face that she'd wanted to see all these years. Years spent just hoping, waiting, wishing, wanting for him to help her.
"Gilbert.." Her voice was weak and shocked. Gilbert's face lit up, tears forming in his eyes. A grin broke out over his face and he ran to her, leaving the Hungarian behind him.
Maria's breath picked up. Gilbert. Her brother. She couldn't believe it. She was finally home again, back with her twin. Her other half. Her grip loosened on the crank the held Roderiech up as she moved toward him, pipe still in hand. "It's you…"
Then everything changed in a single second.
X~X~X
There was one moment. One moment when Eliza saw her and knew that Gilbert had been right all along. Maria was alive. She was alive and thriving.
Elizabeta didn't see the scars or the pain. She didn't notice the sick, twisted, desperate look in the girl's red eyes. All she saw was her. Alive. Breathing. Still alive.
"D-Daniel.." The name fell from her lips before she could stop it, broken. Her emerald, doe eyes widened as she stared at Maria. "Tell me... Where is Daniel..?"
That's when all hell broke loose.
X~X~X
Antonio had heard Gilbert arrive. He had heard the Prussian's frantic voice. He had seen the look of panic and relief on Maria's face. Any other day he would have been touched by the reunion. But now all he could think of was his love's body being lowered slowly into the ocean.
His keen eyes watched Maria carefully. Her hand moved from the crank that controlled the anchor and Antonio saw his chance. Slowly, he crept toward her, eyes fixed on her still figure.
"It's you.." She whispered, lips turning up in a small smile as she stared at her twin.
He crept forward, uneasy. She was dangerously unstable and upset, but even the threat of Maria was nothing compared to the sick feeling it gave him to see Roderiech in the water. Antonio inched toward her. He watched her hands, one barely on the crank and one still clutching the pipe tightly, and leaned in toward the Austrian he loved so dearly.
"Bello.." He whispered, kneeling in front of him. Antonio wiped Roderiech's face, his heart breaking at the sight of him. Tears sprung to his eyes, "Oh Dios... Please. Please just live."
"D-Daniel.." It was Eliza's voice. "Tell me... Where is Daniel..?"
Then everything went black. The very last image burned into his eyes was his love. The very last thought in his mind was to save him. But he never got to. It was too late.
Dark, cold, unforgiving darkness. Then light.
X~X~X
Maria smiled. Her brother. She felt a relieved sob gathering in her chest as she looked into the identical expression of her twin.
"D-Daniel..."
Her red gaze shot up to the woman she hadn't noticed, being so focused on the other half of Prussia. Eliza. Hungary. The other half of that little boy she'd watched die. Daniel's older sister, the person she'd promised that she'd keep him safe. She'd given her word.
Maria stared at her, wide eyed. It was unreal, seeing the woman again. Like there was a fog in her mind, a haze preventing clear thought. Her blood red eyes met the crystal clear emerald ones. The albino could almost hear the little boy's voice, almost see his hopeful face.
"Sing to me..?"
"Tell me..." Eliza's voice broke yet again, "Where is Daniel..?"
And then the fog lifted. Maria was able to see and react to things in miniscule amounts of time, but she wasn't able to process them. A whisper caught her attention, distracting her from Eliza momentarily. Her sharp eyes glanced down. Antonio was kneeling in front of the Austrian, begging him and cupping his face gently.
Maria swung to pipe with one swift movement. A sickening crack split the air as it connected with Antonio's skull, sending him spinning into unconsciousness and the water. The skilled swimmer couldn't do a thing. He sunk like a stone into the deep black abyss. But Maria didn't even watch him long enough to see him disappear. All she did was release the crank and send Roderiech into the water after his lover.
They had to die. Everyone did. First Antonio. Then Roderiech. Then Eliza. Then Gilbert. Then Sophie. Then Daniel. She barely faltered at the thought, her body tensing to attack. Daniel was already dead, he couldn't die twice. She had Eliza pinned to the ground as her brother pulled at her desperately, trying to pry her off. He wasn't who needed to die. It was the man she'd run away from. The man she was too weak to face. He needed to die. He was responsible.
"Ivan." She said through her concentrated anger, her hands around Eliza's neck. The woman was clawing at her arms, trying to breathe. Her eyes were wide with fear, pleading with Maria. Those green, pure, innocent eyes. The words echoed in her head.
"Sing to me, Maria..?"
"Schlaf, Kindlein, schlaf…"
X~X~X
A scream escaped her throat as Sophie saw the two topple into the ocean together. The bubbles rose to the top, disturbing the surface ripples from the splashes they'd made. Her body folded in on itself. Both of them. She cried out for help again, but it fell on deaf ears. Eliza was struggling on the ground, her life being smothered slowly, and Gilbert was doing everything he could to save her.
And Sophie was just standing there. Paralyzed with fear. Nothing but cold numbness filled her body. How could she do this? Save them. Her eyes shut tight with fear, blocking out everything.
"No matter what happens, I need you to stay strong."
Her eyes flew open. "S-Strong.." Sophie straightened out, "I have to b-be strong." Her eyes went down to Antonio. He'd been thrown into the water, but he wasn't swimming out. He was perhaps the best swimmer she'd ever met; there was no way he would stay under this long unless… The black fear crept into her veins once more. Roderiech was attached to an anchor, but Antonio was lost under the water.
"Your brother has to live."
Sophie stood her head, crying out again, "Gilbert! Eliza! Help!" But it was no use. It was only her. She was only one person. She could only save one.
"Whatever happens, make sure your brother gets out alive. Make sure Roderiech lives."
Of course. Tears stung her eyes as she ran to the ship, turning her back on Antonio. Of course it had to be her brother. Jumping onto the deck, Sophia heaved the crank, but it was stuck.
"Sophia, promise me."
Her stomach churned as she pushed harder. "I promise.. I promise." The crank finally started to move and with all her strength, she lifted the anchor from the water. As soon as Roderiech's upper body was exposed, Sophie leapt off the ship and down to her brother.
"Breathe!" She pleaded, shaking him. Grimacing as she put her lips to his, Sophie pushed air into his lungs. It only took moments, but it felt like years as she praying to anything that he would breathe. Just breathe.
Roderiech coughed up water before taking a shaky breath, his head lulling to the side. A strangled, joyful sob escaped her lips.
"You're going to be fine…" Her small hands lifted his face to look at him. He was pale, closer to death than she'd ever seen. But he was Nation. They were hard to kill like this. They couldn't die unless there was absolutely no way to survive. He would live.
Quickly she began to untie him, making surprisingly quick work of the rope and tape. As she lay him down on the dock, the color began to return to his cheeks. Behind her, Sophie heard Maria sobbing.
"I'm s-sorry! I'm so, so, so sorry..!"
Her broken words wouldn't right the wrongs she'd done or bring back the life ended. Sophie felt sick as she thought about the body in the water. The sunken Spaniard.
"Nngghh.."
Sophie's violet eyes widened as Roderiech stirred. "Roderiech.. Shhh.. You need your rest."
The man, as stubborn as his sister, shook his head. "Nein… I-I.." He opened his eyes, but didn't see much, only fuzzy shapes. "An-Anton..?"
She bit her lip, swallowing. "Ja.. Ja. He saved you. Antonio saved you."
"Gut.." Roderiech smiled, "He'll always save me.."
Sophie nodded, "J-Ja… Always."
He sighed, his breath ragged. "Tell him that.. He's in my thoughts. My dreams.." Roderiech drifted off into a natural sleep, mumbling, "Tell him.. I'm thinking of him."
(A/N): I hope you guys aren't too disappointed with how it turned out.. I'll try to finish the Epilogue soon.