CHAPTER 11

Step 11: Fallacies

Lies are made to give and take.

Lies are made to change and fake.

Lies are for the fruitless tries.

Lies are for the prying eyes.

Lies are what we do in need.

Lies are what we hear and heed.

"I'm fine, man!" Prussia exclaimed. "Quit bothering me! Seriously, what's up with you?"

Spain poked his friend again. "I don't know, you just seem off, Prussia." His brow was furrowed and his mouth set in a serious line. "And you look tired. And you haven't been as loud. You're always loud. And annoying, but that's not the issue right now. If something's up, just tell me!"

Prussia stared incredulously at Spain for a few seconds. "…You think I'm annoying?"

"Is that all you got from that?" Spain groaned and threw his hands up. "Fine. If you don't want to talk to me, whatever. I'm gonna go find Romano."

"Well then." The albino huffed. "The awesome me does not require your company anyway."

Spain laughed as he left. For now he'd ignore the dark lines under Prussia's eyes and the general odd behavior. "Glad to see you're back to normal, Prussia."

Romano was right outside the door when he left. As Spain exited Prussia's room, the Italian greeted him. "Hey asshole. What'd the potato bastard want?"

Still smiling, Spain answered. "Oh nothing; I just wanted to make sure he was alright."

"Potato fucker still seems as idiotic as ever."

"You know, Prussia's not that bad, Romano." Spain put his hands in his pockets as he began walking. Romano followed behind him, and neither met each other's eyes as they conversed.

Romano scoffed at his statement. "Go on, I implore you. No really. Tell me all about how Prussia 'is not that bad.'" He made air quotes as he spoke.

A laugh was elicited from the Spaniard. "I think you're just unwilling to accept that anyone in this world is a good person." And then his voice became serious again. "Although, in our current situation, I can see why you would be like that." Spain stared ahead with blank eyes. A sigh released itself from his lips and his shoulders sagged.

There was a quiet minute of silence before Romano reacted. He punched Spain lightly in the arm and frowned. "Hey, quit getting all dreary and crap. The day you become a downer is the day I quit cursing. I don't seriously hate the world, and I don't necessarily hate the people I yell at." He turned away from Spain, a slight blush on his cheeks. "I'm sure things'll turn out fine in the end."

"Yeah Romano. I'm sure things will be just fine."

And Spain pretended not to notice the similar lines under Romano's eyes that indicated a lack of sleep. And he didn't acknowledge that he didn't believe Romano at all.

…

"Bitches love me."

"Now is neither the time nor place for that, Denmark."

"Come on, man, you know it's true. They're all over me like Asian's to eggrolls."

"That was not only extremely offensive, but incredibly inaccurate."

"…How the hell did we get to this topic again?"

China casually sipped his tea. "I honestly have no idea, Norway." He stared pointedly at the third member of the conversation. "I don't know how you Nordics operate." Then he meticulously scanned the room. His sight swept over each conversation and individual.

Norway didn't respond, but carefully watched China's movements. The trio was silent for a moment. Norway didn't reply when Denmark started on another random tangent. Instead, the blonde stood and made a move to leave. China didn't acknowledge him as he left and Denmark just continued rambling. As he walked away, he looked back at the two. Somehow, the Asian had stopped sulking and struck up a conversation with the Dane.

Norway rolled his eyes. Those two could whine about their miserable lives with each other. One small smirk found itself on his face. He had a plan.

Now was the time to be prepared. He wasn't ready to die just yet.

…

A white mask sat on a small table, casting a funny shadow with the sunlight. In one movement, two gloved fingers picked it up and placed it on its owner's face. Turkey stretched out of bed far later than he normally would have.

In a few, quick motions, he pulled himself up and towards the door. Egypt was long gone; probably to do some more exploring that would prove futile. Turkey thought that the African nation was too introverted. It never killed anyone to open up and talk to someone.

He closed the door on his way out and started down the hall. He passed by a few people as he walked, and he didn't bother to stop to talk to them. He wasn't always loud, but he didn't like being quiet. A tune found its way to his lips and he hummed a tune to a song he didn't remember the title of. He nonchalantly put his hands in his pockets. It was somewhat peaceful during the day, when none of the nations had to be around each other. No one really got along that well. That was an understatement. Turkey hardly got along well with any of the other nations.

Silently he cursed Greece. His brain had suddenly started him onto the topic of Japan's disappearance. The innocent guy had thought it would be smart to sneak off and find the killer himself. Turkey was certain that Greece had influenced Japan. Never trust Grecians.

He passed by two more people. One was chatting animatedly and ignored him, but the other stared at him as he walked. New Zealand flashed him a smile and Belgium continued talking. Turkey silently noted their close bond. The pair had never even met before. So why were they so close?

He sped up his pace as he caught sight of a sleeping brunette through an open door to a room.

…

"Well what do you think of him?" Belgium glared at nothing while leaning on a door frame.

"I dunno. He doesn't seem especially suspicious, but Turkey's never had that great relations with everyone." A smaller, androgynous figure stood next to the Belgian girl. New Zealand brushed a piece of his/her bangs off to the side. His/her hair needed to be cut. The blonde would have to try something later. He/She looked at Belgium. "England. I don't trust him."

Belgium snorted. "I think you're a bit spiteful. As much of a jerk he is, I don't think England's done anything. Not Russia either. He's just too innocent to. Besides, he's more of a sadist than a straight up killer. I thought it might be someone we'd never expect. Someone innocent. But then I can't go anywhere with that. Liechtenstein would never kill her brother." Belgium's green eyes narrowed as she looked out of the corner of her eye. "And you'd never kill yours."

New Zealand shifted noticeably and responded with the same words.. "And you'd never kill yours." Then the nation sighed. "Let's see…what about Romano. You said you didn't trust him."

"It's not that I don't trust him," The girl looked away. "But he had something, something! It was a key, I think. It was tiny, and I saw him take it. A window on the second floor. There was some kind of hidden compartment. I only saw him for a second, but I saw him. And he didn't see me." She jerked suddenly. "Someone's coming."

Almost immediately, New Zealand shifted his/her stance, and looked at Belgium. "I'll say it now, Belgium: I want revenge and so do you. So we're going to find who did this, and we're going to put them through hell."

And the two began a conversation about each other's cultures as Poland walked by with Lithuania.

…

"Ugh, Liet, England wanted to, like, cook this morning, and it took three of us just to get him away from the stove." Poland waved one delicate hand in the air as they passed by two people. "Seriously, I don't know he's in denial or what, because he totes sucks at cooking." The blonde male sighed dramatically. "Thank God China was there to make us food. France was a really good cook."

Lithuania disregarded the topic of the deceased and tried to bring Poland to a new subject. "So uh, do you have any ideas about anything?"

"What do you mean, Liet." Poland's eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Um, sorry, I didn't mean to—" Lithuania stuttered and tried to apologize.

Poland just waved it off. "Relax, Liet. If you really wanna know, I've got nothing. I haven't the slightest clue who this silly serial murderer could be." He paused. "Wow, it sounds, like, really weird to call it that. I know my life's in danger and crap, but I feel fine." But his expression read something different. Poland's head was slightly tilted away from his companion's to hide his calculating gaze.

Lithuania sighed in relief. "Well alright. I'm glad you're not freaking out or anything." He looked ahead, not catching Poland's subtle glances.

"Yeah, I am like, this giant pillar of calmness, you know. Like, I am just so fine I don't even know." Poland laughed. "I'm fine, don't worry yourself over me. What about you though? You doin' alright?" Poland asked with genuine concern.

Lithuania looked troubled. The brunette avoided Poland's eyes. "I'm fine." A smile crossed over his face. As they came to the entrance to the main hall, Lithuania turned to his friend. "Hey I'm just going to go find Belarus now, you want to come?"

Poland chuckled. "To see that bitch? Heck no."

Lithuania scowled at his statement, but said nothing.

Poland didn't quite hate Belarus, she was pretty enough, but he hated it when Lithuania chased after him and she always shot him down. The smile on Poland's face was replaced by look of distaste as Lithuania walked away. He thought that his friend could do better. Lithuania deserved someone better. And there was nothing that Poland despised more than when his silly Lithuanian companion told him all about that stupid beautiful Belarusian girl.

But Poland had decided a while ago that if by some chance, Belarus and Lithuania ever got together, he'd be supportive.

He turned in the opposite direction that Lithuania had scampered off to, and walked.

He headed towards the library, having no intention to read, but just to find a place of solitude. They were nice places. Libraries. Even if he read little, and he wasn't the brightest, he liked little quaint things like libraries sometimes. Not that anyone else knew. Though Lithuania had found him a few times in a library.

When he reached the room, though, he experienced a mild shock. There was one other person in there, and she had her nose in a book about Russian geography.

Poland scowled at Belarus and moved to the other side of the library. Hadn't Lithuania been looking for her? The platinum-haired girl noticed him come in and glanced at him. For as much as Poland hated her, he still shied away when she looked at him. She glared across the room and he turned away.

Silently, he scanned the shelves, his eyes glazing over the names of the books. He finally pulled down a thin novel after a minute of consideration. But as he sat down into a comfy chair, he couldn't concentrate.

She kept looking at him. Belarus. She kept a wary notice on him the entire time. He sank deeper into the chair until her constant glances became unbearable.

"Hey? Russia's sister. Do you, like, have a problem with me or something?"

When Belarus looked at him this time, she glared with such ferocity that he flinched. She stayed quiet for a few moments, but she eventually broke the silence.

Speaking low, she asked him, "What do you have to do with Liechtenstein?"

Poland racked his brain for any connection Belarus had with Liechtenstein, but came up with none. So why was she curious? He himself had no personal connection to Liechtenstein, though the day previous she had been afraid of him. Or it had at least seemed that way. As Poland thought deeply, Belarus grew impatient. She pulled a dagger from the folds of her dress and he realized she'd been waiting.

"What's it to you?" He replied pathetically. He kept an eye on her knife, not her face. He figured it was wiser to do that.

Confirming his earlier suspicions, Belarus answered smoothly, "She's terrified of you," The girl took a few steps towards Poland, causing him to squirm. "And I want to know why."

…

"You're not to trust him, Lithuania." Estonia calmly said. He clasped his hands in his lap and leaned back in his chair.

Lithuania was sitting next to him, and objected immediately. "Estonia, you don't understand, Poland wouldn't do anything like that!" He looked to the third member of the conversation for help. But Latvia shook his head.

"No Lithuania, you don't understand. We're doing this together, and we can't trust him. I know he's your friend, but so are we. We are a trio. We cannot be divided." Latvia looked at him with sympathy. "You desperately want to include him in everything you do, and he's far too innocent. He doesn't take any of this seriously. Either that or he's an excellent liar." With that, the short male stood up and moved to the exit of the room. Latvia paused at the door. "You think it's unfair. That he's perfectly trustworthy. Because you've known him forever. Let me tell you that it's very easy for someone to go insane in a short period of time. The Poland you know may not be the one that you see now. You can't trust everyone who doesn't treat you like shit." It suddenly became noticeable that the boy was shaking. "You can't just trust everyone who treats you like a human being. Because people lie." Before leaving, he turned to glare one last time at the two others. "We need to trust only each other."

He closed the door on his way out, and Lithuania and Estonia were left with bitter silence.

"I get Latvia, I know why he acts the way he does, but I can't just break my trust in someone like Poland. It shouldn't be such a difficult decision to trust him." Lithuania spoke, but he wasn't looking at Estonia.

The blonde replied, though he was also looking at the empty space Latvia left. "You don't have to cease talking to him or trusting him, Lithuania. You just have to trust us more. And watch your back." Then he twisted to look at the brunette. "Latvia understands some things better than you. Sometimes the liar is the one you least expect."

The two fell then fell into a silence so icy, an atmosphere so tense that it fell heavily on both of them, and Estonia finally left without another word.

With both gone, Lithuania clenched his fists and tightened his jaw. He did not move from his position, but he trembled slightly.

And they all fell apart.

…

A knife was wrenched out of Denmark's back without a sound.

And he fell, never getting a glance at his daytime killer.

And he fell.

…

Norway did not realize he was crying. There was an unfamiliar substance rolling down his cheeks, and he didn't bother to acknowledge it. Denmark was gone, with a wound in his back and his face in the carpet. The number ten was written on the wall in the same red color as the rest of them.

Norway helped them move the body. At this point, the office where they first found Bulgaria's body had become the depository for the corpses. It was pathetic, Norway realized as he looked down at the row of bodies. Bulgaria. South Korea. Australia. Austria. Seychelles. Monaco. Netherlands. Canada. France. Switzerland. And Denmark. One by one, each of them fell.

No progress had been made on finding an exit, or in finding the killer.

And it was incredibly frustrating.

For each one that was killed, for each day they made without progress, another body filled the room. Another bloody number appeared on the walls.

The blonde left the room as soon as they had dropped the body. He didn't want to look at it. He didn't want to feel guilty for something he couldn't have stopped. So he left. The tears were long dried, and there was no sign of sadness on his face. He walked away. He walked past America, Prussia, Iceland, Sweden, Finland, and everyone else. Because they simply wouldn't understand why he felt guilty. Amongst all the harsh words and the scolding and the violence, Denmark had been his friend.

Suddenly Norway was not sure where he was going. His feet were carrying him in an unknown direction, and he wasn't sure what to think of it. He let them carry him, and he realized then where he was going. He was looking for answers.

They didn't stop when they reached China's room. They continued walking into the room, where the short man was standing inside.

"Oh hello, Norway! What are you doing here?" His voice was light and high, and he was smiling kindly.

In a voice that did not sound like his own, Norway answered. "Why? Why do I feel guilty?"

China was fully aware of the situation, and in his long life, he'd been asked the same question by many people. Like every other time, he responded with a question. "Why are you asking me?"

"Well, I…I don't know. I thought you would have some wisdom for me or something. Because you're so old."

China sighed. "I can't answer for you, Norway. You're old too, you know. We all are. You are perfectly capable of figuring it out yourself."

Norway gritted his teeth. "I fucking can't, alright? I can't fucking figure it out!"

"Do you know how easy it is for one to succumb to insanity, Norway? How quickly it happens? Perhaps you just haven't experienced enough loss in life, eh? You're guilty because you think you could've stopped it if you had been there, isn't that right? Or is it because you refused to treat him like a friend? Every single time he tried to talk to you, or tried to be your friend, you responded with harshness or indifference. Is that it? In the small amount of time we've been here, I've learned a lot. You knew he would be killed off eventually, but you did not prepare. Did you? How much longer until your own brother is stabbed, shot, or hung?" China took a step towards him. "How much longer will it be until you have to understand?"

Norway lost his façade. China was purposefully goading him, purposefully taunting him.

And it got to him.

China didn't react when Norway pulled a knife from his pocket.

"You always keep that with you, do you?" The elder nation turned around. "What are you going to do with it?"

"How long did you say it took for a person to become insane, China? How long?" He took a step towards the brunette.

"Stop it."

Norway was surprised, to say the least. Belarus stood in the doorway, with her cold eyes locked on China's back.

She spoke to Norway, but continued looking at China. "Get out."

When he didn't move, her arm jerked. Something glinted in the air and a knife embedded itself in the wall behind Norway.

She stared at him. "Get the fuck out. Now."

Norway scrambled to leave before she went psycho on him.

…

"So you're here."

"You've been spending too much time with him."

"We're not even friends. We're just allies."

"I don't like it."

"You're only doing this because you can get away with it here."

"They might figure out it was me, but what do I care? You are in the way of me and my brother."

China laughed. "Your brother will never be able to reciprocate your love, Belarus."

She drew her knife. "It doesn't matter. I just want to be with him forever."

And China didn't move when she did, and he barely reacted when she stabbed him. Four thousand years was a long time to live.

And he fell.

…

"Papa?"

Sweden looked down at Sealand, walking next to him.

"Don't you'd think that everyone would've noticed a bunch of missing nations by now? Why hasn't anyone found us?"

Sweden sighed. "I don't know," And in truth he had no idea. Surely people would have come looking by now. Along in the hallway, he leaned over and picked the boy up. "I just don't know, Sealand."

"That's okay. I'm sure they'll come eventually."

A/N: Sorry, I had to put it on hiatus cause life was asdfghjkl;

yeah. And this is up unedited, so it's probably shit, but kjahf. yeah. I'm sorry. Plus I had to rewrite the other chapters and crap. Nobody had any objections to making New Zealand a guy, right?

Awesome. Sorry it's late and it sucks but I sfj and I haven't been writing enough poetry recently.

Nyeh.

Oh and no, Belarus is not the killer. That would be far too predictable. But she may get to kill a few more people before she's killed. I don't know. I had a bunch of notes and shit, but they got jacked by some random fuckass.