Ok, so first of all, I just want to say...
I love you guys! Every single one of you out there that is reading this fic. Whether you've just come across it or you've been a loyal reader, that doesn't matter. Just... thank you! For reading and staying with me and reviewing and just... reading! I've laughed while reading your reviews, cried while reading your reviews (well, get teary-eyed), and jumped for joy, too. You've helped me with my inspiration, raised my muse for writing, and prompted me to update as much as I can. And I love you all!
This chapter is longer than my usual ones, and it is in fact the second to last chapter of Darkness and Light! Just warning ya, the ending there has a huge cliffhanger. I just love my cliffhangers! My second fic, "What should have been", will be up when I finish with this one. And to all RomaLiech fans out there, I'm glad that I've chosen the right pairing ^^ So, enjoy this chapter!
XXV. Torture
Liechtenstein woke up to black walls all around her. She immediately leapt to her feet in panic, brushing her dirty blonde hair out of the way, and walked all around the room, her fingers trailing along the wall to find an exit. There were none.
Panicked and frightened, she pounded on the wall with her fists. "Help! Help me!" She called, her voice hoarse, painful coughs interrupting her pleas for help. "I-Is anyone out there?" She kept calling, but eventually realized that, to her dismay, there was no one there to help her. But she suddenly didn't feel so scared.
Lilli knew that she was now in Darkness' territory, and it must have captured her somehow. But she was the one that had begged to come, and so she wouldn't be afraid. It was almost as if in her heart, she knew that it would come down to this, and she wasn't ready at the least, but still willing to sacrifice herself.
Liechtenstein began pacing around the empty room, thinking hard. She'd never given much thought about the sacrifice, about her being the Light, none of that. But now that she was here, she was really facing the Darkness; she wasn't scared to give away herself. She knew that Austria had said that if she was converted to Darkness, everyone would be in danger, and so she wouldn't do that. She'd make a deal with the Darkness, to become one with it, to let it take her, to give up herself, but for it to leave everyone alone in return. She'd sacrifice herself.
A sudden fiery pain in her ankle made her gasp as she took the next step. Bending down to examine it, she concluded that it must have been sprained when she fell out of the helicopter. Crumpled up in a corner and clutching her foot, she worried for the others. Where were Italy, America, Romano and Japan? Were they alright?
"My lovely Liechtenstein."
Liechtenstein glanced up warily at the direction of the voice. She had gotten so used to it by now that it didn't frighten her as much as before. Even when the dark mass in the opposite corner of the room morphed into the shape of a young boy, she wasn't fazed, but only kept her piercing green gaze on it.
"Lovely Liechtenstein. We meet again." The boy said, walking toward her and caressing her face. She pushed him back defiantly.
"You were brave, you know, to disobey all orders to be here. Have you accepted me?"
Liechtenstein knew that although it had never been exchanged with words, the Darkness knew what she was here for, and she knew what it wanted. But she couldn't give herself to it, not yet.
"Where are my friends?" She asked, staring directly into the Darkness' lustful eyes. "I want to see them."
"What makes you think you can?" The boy chuckled, kneeling down beside her. "You are a brave one, my lovely Liechtenstein. What happened to the frightful, timid girl that I first met?"
Liechtenstein ignored it. "I want to see my friends. What have you done to them?" She pushed, trying to get some information out of the Darkness. Its red eyes lingered on her.
"You must despise me right now. For taking all your loved ones captive. For hurting them. But just become mine and I'll set them free."
And uncertain look passed in her eyes, but she didn't budge. She couldn't let this thing see all her worries and her anger. "I don't despise you, really." She told the boy, enjoying the confused look that fluttered by his eyes for a millisecond. "This is the way you live. I just feel sorry that you have to live this way. Always preying on others to survive." She took a deep breath to still her racing heart, watching the Darkness closely to see if it was listening. Although her voice trembled, she went on. "Hate is a bad thing. Not everyone has the same opinions, but we all do things for the same reason. To survive. Or at least, to help others survive." At this, her eyes hardened, and she stared at the Darkness. "I would like to make a deal with you."
"Oh? A deal?" Its voice was suddenly uncertain. "And what kind of deal is that?"
"I want to see my friends. And if they are all alive and well, then I shall offer myself to you. And then you will let them go and live in peace."
"What makes you think that you are better than the rest? That I would be satisfied with only you?" The boy in front of her sneered, but she could see that his eyes were shining with lust. She shivered inwardly, knowing the huge sacrifice she was about to make, but if it would help rescue everyone else, then it was worth it.
"I want you to accept the Darkness inside you, of course. Everyone has those insecure, hateful feelings that they want to let out, and I'm sure you are no different. But just because you accept the Darkness doesn't mean I'll let everyone else off the hook. You don't have enough power inside you to satisfy my needs." It chuckled slightly. "What makes you think you're worthy enough to be of sacrifice?"
Liechtenstein raised her head to look the boy straight in his eyes. "I am Light." She told him simply.
The Darkness jerked visibly. "O-Oh, right. I must have forgotten that. But now, what makes you think that I only need to feed on the Light to survive?"
Liechtenstein let out a brief laugh. "You are Darkness, and you feed off power. The Light is one of the purest forms of power you can have. And so, quite frankly, you need me." She swallowed, trying to keep up with the brave and indifferent facade of a heroine. "And if not, then why do you keep trying to weaken me?"
The Darkness gave a nervous chuckle. "You're a smart one, lovely Liechtenstein." It merely said.
Liechtenstein watched as the Darkness slowly started to fade away. A feeling of panic rose in her. "W-Wait! What about our deal?"
"Don't worry, I shall be back soon to accept your deal." That was the only thing she heard before the black mass faded away completely.
The Darkness reappeared outside of Liechtenstein's prison. Proud as it was, it couldn't help but admit that the little blonde girl had struck right at its weakness. It was true that Darkness, no matter how strong, needed power to survive. It needed to feel the satisfaction of others pain and desperation, and that was why the Darkness had been torturing, manipulating emotions for as long as it had been alive. It drowned in the feelings of helplessness and fear on many's faces and in their hearts. But for some reason, Liechtenstein wouldn't let it bring her over to the dark side. She had held onto the string of Light for so long.
And it was true that Light was the only thing in the world that could defeat the Darkness, and Darkness was the only thing that could defeat Light. Dealing with Liechtenstein, dealing with her Light, made the Darkness feel weak. All she knew was love, pure love, and her naivety made it impossible for it to trick her into despising darkness and bringing darkness upon her very own beating heart. And so, to become strong again, it had to embrace the Light, it had to weaken it and watch as it died away. The feeling of conquering Darkness' strongest enemy was more satisfying than the thousands of tortured souls out there.
So it had to have Liechtenstein.
It would accept her deal. It would take her and her only, vanquish her Light, and then it'd be strong again. And then after that, it wouldn't be too late to take over the rest of those weak and pitiful nations.
"Oh, did the lovely Liechtenstein think that I would go ahead with my deal and actually leave her so called 'friends' alone?" It spoke outloud. No, such a naive and young being might believe that he would fulfill their deal, but Darkness was more than that. Once it took her, it would take everyone, too.
A horrible chuckle filled the air. "Now, it's time to pay a visit to our newest captives, the Austrian aristocrat and the rest of his team. Oh, and let's not forget about our potty-mouthed Romano and quiet Japan. Oh yes, and that weak little Italy, and the shame of a hero- America."
With that, the dark mass separated into several smaller ones, each heading a different direction towards the closed off prisons of the rest of the nations.
America smashed his head against the wall over and over again.
He tried kicking it, he tried punching it, he even pushed against it with his back.
It wouldn't budge.
He had to find a way out of this horrible room. He had to... he had to find Liechtenstein and make sure she was okay. He remembered that he had been stupid enough to let her reach for that helicopter door by herself, and then he had failed when she had needed a hero. The thought was enough to make him slam everything he had against the wall once more. Damn that Darkness thing.
After that last hit against the wall, Alfred saw stars, and had to sit down momentarily to regain consciousness. Ever since he had woken up and realized that he was stuck inside the wretched room -which was about... an hour? A day ago? - he had found himself drifting in and out of consciousness. There was a strange feeling of dizziness he felt. Sometimes he was wide awake and feeling strong enough to butt through the wall, which hadn't happened yet, and sometimes he felt like being in a coma. He kept remembering the last minutes right before the helicopter crashed, and how he hadn't listened to Austria and led Liechtenstein to her death.
If she died, it would be all his fault. He had sworn to himself to always be her hero and protect her, and he had failed to do the only thing he could for her. He was a terrible person, a terrible friend, a terrible hero.
In the middle of cursing the Darkness with every single bad word he knew –had he become that influenced with Romano's style of speaking? - America saw a little black mark in a corner of the room. He was instantly confused, because all four walls of the room was painted white, and so what could that black thing be?
Pushing Texas up and fixing Nantucket, he crawled over to it for a closer look, discarding his dirty and ripped up bomber jacket at the spot where he had been. Upon nearing the black mark, he found that it was an entrance to the outside world and not just a mark.
America remembered that everything outside had been black and gray when he had passed out, and that must have been the reason why there was a beam of black light coming through that little crack in the wall. Suddenly hyped up with renewed energy, America plunged a finger through the black mark. It went right through, proving his suspicions.
"All right!" He cheered, rubbing his palms together and proceeded to punching, kicking, and butting the crack with his head until it started to widen. With growing excitement, he jabbed at the wall with his elbow and suddenly, the white walls began to fall apart.
They quickly crumbled to the ground, leaving America dodging all the debris that was falling down. Surprisingly, the white dust that made up the walls all but disintegrated as they touched the ground, and America found that he was finally free of those imprisoning walls at last.
Rising to his full height, he stared wide-eyed at his surroundings. There were many white rooms around the area, and he assumed that each nation was being imprisoned in one. He suddenly thought of his brother Canada, who was among the first nations to disappear, and wondered if he was doing alright after so many days. Did the Darkness ever offer food or water to those nations, or had they all... died already?
Just as he was thinking of Liechtenstein and where she could be among the dozens of white walls, he spotted a petite blonde figure and a pale boy making their way around the rooms. Curious, he dodged behind a room to try to hear what they were talking about.
"... So all I have to do now is drop these walls and show you how your friends are doing, and if they're all fine, then you'll come to me?" America didn't recognize the unfamiliar sinister voice, but he assumed that it was the Darkness speaking.
"Yes. Every single one of them has to be okay. And then you shall have me, and let them all go."
This time, America immediately recognized Liechtenstein's voice. It sounded different than usual, not cheery and kind like normal, but trembling and determined. What was Liechtenstein doing with the Darkness? What kind of deal were they making?
"Yes. And then I shall have you."
What?
H-Have Liechtenstein? As in... take her away? Was Lilli sacrificing herself for the rest? She couldn't! Not only did he worry about the fact that the Darkness wouldn't keep its promise, but he also worried about Liechtenstein. She would surely... perish.
"Who would you like me to show you first?" The Darkness said, its voice so sugary sweet all of a sudden that it made Alfred instantly alarmed. He peeked out from behind the wall, but couldn't see anything. It seemed like the Darkness and Liechtenstein had moved away. Determined to get to the root of the mystery, America followed them. He had to watch Liechtenstein, and if the Darkness dared do anything to her, he'd be there to rescue her. This time, he'd do it right.
"Switzerland." Liechtenstein said. "Show me my big bruder."
Immediately, the Darkness trailed over to a white walled room, Liechtenstein following suit. The walls seemed to shiver greatly, and then they all crumbled to the ground, to her amazement, and disintegrated. She could now see a crumpled up figure huddled on the ground.
"Big bruder!" She screamed, dashing forward and collapsing in a pile right next to Switzerland. She forgot about everything else: the brave act, the Darkness watching them, and caressed her brother's head. "Big bruder! Please wake up!"
Switzerland cracked open an eye and smiled weakly. "Liechtenstein." He muttered, trying to push himself up into a sitting position. Liechtenstein realized that Vash had been kept there for the longest of them all, and he must have been drained of all strength.
"Big bruder! It's okay. I'm here now." She told him, blinking back tears.
"W-What did the Darkness do to you?" Switzerland immediately asked, his chest tightening as he tried to stand up and get a look at the black mass behind her. "And how did you get here? I thought I told Austria to keep you safe at the HQ?"
Liechtenstein bowed her head. "I'm sorry big bruder. It was my fault. I wanted... to come here to save you."
Switzerland gaped at her. "Lilli!" He cried, scowling at the Darkness. "You have to try to get out of here. I'm sure Austria will come and rescue as all somehow." He suddenly coughed, bending over to clutch at his chest.
"Bruder!" Liechtenstein panicked, patting Vash's back lightly to keep the coughs from coming. Luckily, he stopped after a while, breathing hard.
"Bruder, Austria is here, too. Everyone has been captured." She said quietly.
Vash squinted his eyes at her. "But then why are you out here?" He asked, clearly confused.
Liechtenstein sighed softly. "Bruder, I made a deal with the Darkness. I'm going to let it take me, so everyone will be safe."
Switzerland instantly had a fit of rage. "Lilli! No! You can not do that!" He turned to the smirking boy behind her, whom he assumed was one of the Darkness' morphs. "Release her from the deal now. I order you!"
"This is your sister's deal and not your own. Anyway, what gives you the power to order me around?"
Switzerland fumed, getting to his feet shakily and took a step toward the Darkness. Instead of having the effect he wanted it to, he just collapsed by Lilli's side.
"Big bruder! Please don't. I will be okay, I promise you. I just want everyone to be safe. Besides, it's just my life against hundreds of other nations." She attempted a weak smile.
Switzerland glared at her and the Darkness. "How could you be so selfish! Haven't you thought about how I would be if anything were to happen to you? And wouldn't it be better if we all died together, or at least survive for a little while longer, if you held on to the light inside of you?'
"I want to save you from your suffering, big bruder." Liechtenstein said slowly, trying to reason with him. She knew he wouldn't like it, but she'd already agreed to the deal and she wouldn't back out.
Leaving Switzerland to recover from the shock of the news, Liechtenstein turned to the boy. "I want to see Italy." She told him.
"Alright." Once more, Liechtenstein watched as the walls crumbled down and she could see Italy holding himself on the ground.
"Mein bruder, wait here." She told her brother urgently, and then jumped to her feet and ran over to Italy.
"Italia... Italia..." She fell to her knees before him, her green eyes wide with fear. "Italy... I'm here. Wake up, please." She nudged him, putting out a shaking hand to stroke his hair.
Feliciano's body was curled up, but when he heard Liechtenstein's voice, his grip loosened and his head rolled to the side weakly. "Ve..." He managed, smiling weakly, his amber eyes losing all light.
"Italy!" Liechtenstein leaned down to hug him, but then noticed the red stained uniform. "Italy! W-What happened?"
He didn't answer. Liechtenstein bit her lip, and then pulled him into her arms. "D-Does it hurt?" She whispered against his shoulder.
Italy shook his head. "N-No, ve. I'll be okay. J-Just, while the Darkness is distracted, run away from here. Run as far as you can. I-It's terrible." Feliciano was beginning to sob. Liechtenstein pulled away from him, placing a hand on the wound and biting her lip hard when Italy flinched.
"I'm sorry." She told him, holding his hand in hers tightly. "If I had waited until Austria came along, this wouldn't have happened."
Suddenly, the little boy –the Darkness- came up behind her, snickering. "Is that reunion enough for you? Would you like to see anyone else before you offer yourself to me?"
Liechtenstein whipped her head around angrily, fixing her flashing green eyes on the Darkness. "What did you do to Italy?" She demanded, her arms wrapping instinctively around the shaking Italian.
"Oh, this and that."
Realizing anger wasn't going to take care of the problem, Liechtenstein turned back to Italy, her body shielding his bloody and bruised one in case the Darkness decided to hurt him once more. "I want to see America and China." She said, careful to keep her voice level.
The sound of crumbling started once more, and Liechtenstein turned away from Italy just in time to see China sitting against the falling wall with his head buried in his arms.
"Ch-China!" She called, heart pounding in worry when China finally lifted his head.
His eyes widened. "L-Liechtenstein! You're really here!" Wasting no time, China got to his feet and limped over to her and Italy.
Liechtenstein felt a smile tugging at her lips when she saw that China wasn't hurt. She reached out a hand to pull him down.
"Stop right there!" The Darkness screeched suddenly.
Before she knew what was happening, the Darkness had disappeared from its spot. It was slinking somewhere toward the middle of all the white prisons, and it seemed to be closing in on someone. Instantly alert, Liechtenstein told Italy to wait while she followed the boy, who was quickly returning to his shape of a black mass.
"H-Hey! Stop it! Haven't we got a deal to keep? You promised not to hurt anyone as long as I agreed to-"
"I promised that, but unfortunately, your part of the promise hadn't been kept too well, either. This idiot escaped from his room." The Darkness paused just long enough for Liechtenstein to see America standing wide-eyed in the midst of the darkness. "And now he's planning to become a wanna-be hero and save everyone."
America's eyes widened even more. "L-Liechtenstein! You're okay!" He managed, before starting to cough violently. The Darkness had closed in on him, and all Lilli could see was a black mass.
"S-Stop!" She yelled frantically, stepping forward and striking at the Darkness. Her hand just wavered in mid-air. She should have known not to do that; the Darkness wasn't something that could be touched.
"Stop it! R-Release everyone! Now!" She screamed, and suddenly, the Darkness shrank back into the shape of a little boy. It faced her, eyes locked on hers, but its hands wrapped tightly around Alfred's neck. America was starting to turn blue.
"Are you sure that's what you want?" It snickered. Without waiting for a response, the hundreds of white walls surrounding them crumbled and disintegrated into white dust, which rained freely around Liechtenstein.
The Darkness's hand had not moved away from Alfred's throat.
"Release America, too." She demanded, locking her piercing green gaze on the Darkness.
The boy's hand slowly loosened, as if he had to force himself to let go. The Darkness' flawless pale face twitched slightly.
"L-Liechtenstein! I can't move!" America suddenly said, and Liechtenstein's gaze snapped from the boy's face and turned to look at Alfred instead. He seemed to be straining, but an invisible force was keeping him from moving.
"H-Hey! Stop it! Release them all, like I s-said." Liechtenstein looked at the Darkness, but this time she was uncertain, and a touch of fear was beginning to creep into her eyes. What had it done to her friends?
The Darkness chuckled darkly. "Oh, I've released them from their prisons, but I've got to keep them in order. Would you prefer it if I let them all go and one of them tries to do something stupid? Like maybe, save you from me?" At this, America flinched visibly.
Liechtenstein stared at the Darkness, stunned, and then ran over to America. She reached for his hand, ignoring the Darkness' angry stare behind her. As soon as her fingers touched his, there was a strange, blinding light, and suddenly Liechtenstein felt America's fingers close around hers.
"I-I can move now!" America said quietly, his astonished blue eyes studying Liechtenstein. "How'd you do that?"
"I don't know." She told him, staring at her hands before turning back to the raging black mass before her. Sensing that it was about to make a move for America once more, she stepped right in front of him and held out her arms. She was going to make use of her new-found weapon while she could.
"Liechtenstein!" Suddenly, furious screams erupted from all around her, and Liechtenstein turned her head this way and that way furiously. Everywhere she looked, there was a nation being occupied by a black mass. The Darkness had divided itself and was now surrounding them all. If she didn't do something soon-
"Alfred, take care." She told America, squeezing his hand once before running furiously toward her brother, Italy and China.
"Big bruder!" She screamed. Vash didn't answer. An inky black figure lunged at her, but she dodged it. "Italy!" This time, the Darkness struck her and she fell to the ground, rolling helplessly. "China!" Heaving for breath, she pushed herself off the ground and took off in the direction of Italy.
"Stop it! Let him go!" Liechtenstein shoved the black mass to the side, but naturally, it did no harm to the Darkness.
"You remember that vision I showed you a while ago? Well, it's starting to come true." A chuckle escaped from the black mass.
Liechtenstein held Italy in her arms protectively. "Stop! Don't hurt him. Don't hurt anyone. Y-You can take now, but just leave everyone alone."
"Oh, is it time? Have you given up?" The Darkness tormented her with its mocking voice.
"Y-Yes! Just take me and leave our planet!"
"L-Liechtenstein! Don't! It's not going to keep its promise!" Italy tugged on her arm, his amber eyes begging to her. "Please don't give yourself up!"
"Shut up." The Darkness struck Italy so hard that he sprawled backwards to the ground, hands clutching his face. Without waiting for an invitation, it lashed out at Feliciano, and all Liechtenstein could see was a black blob circling Italy.
"W-Wait! Stop! Just take me!" She started sobbing, reaching out blindly. All around her, nations were collapsing, exhausted from fighting, and too tired to keep on defending themselves. "P-Please!" She pleaded, falling to her knees. She didn't care about the pain that she would feel when the Darkness took over her; she just wanted to save everyone from the terrible torture they were going through.
The black mass stopped, and the figure of the boy quickly appeared in front of her. "Alright then." It gave a horrible sneer, and held out its hand.
"Take it."
"Take my hand. And I'll let them live. Only you will die. Only you will lose your light, your soul, and everything that matters to you. I'll take you and only you. Just take my hand, and this will all be over. I'll leave the planet and your friends can live peacefully again, just like before."
"Just take my hand."
"Liechtenstein! Don't! I-It's lying to you!"
Liechtenstein's green eyes glazed over, as if she was in a trance. Slowly, she stepped toward the Darkness, her hand held poised before her. "Y-Yes." She told herself. "This is what I have to do."
She squeezed her eyes tightly, trying to bring the happy thoughts to the front of her mind. She was doing this for everyone else. Truth was, at that moment, she didn't care for herself anymore. She would give up, but only for the other nations. For her brother, for Italy, for China and America, for Iceland, for Japan, for Sealand, and Romano, and Prussia, and everyone else. For Hungary, and Belgium, and Seychelles, and Canada, and even Russia too. Everyone.
She touched her hand to the boy's tentatively, taking a deep breath and opening her eyes.
"You can have me."