ciao everyone! whoa, this is the longest chapter i have ever written, 7000+ words! O_O *groan* i do not like long chapters! well, i hope it doesn't bother you...! first, look at the title of this chapter. done? good. continue reading now. i have too many mixed feelings about this chapter, you will find out...
please, sit back und ENJOY...
They spent most of the day sleeping, not everyone at the same time, though. Someone always was awake, and guarding their safe corner of the factory, rifle resting in his hands.
However, luckily, nothing happened(as Feliciano pointed out, there were no Nightmares around), so they could take a breath and rest. Feliciano realized this was the real life after the Disaster. The Rock had always been an exception. The Rock had functioned as their home. They had had beds, water, food, and even couches and tables.
Now it was all gone. No beds. They had blankets, but no mattresses, or pillows. No oil lamps, like in that mountain. No oven. No field to water or plough. No dark cave to wash yourself in. And their feeling of being safe, all together, without any worry… it already had become a memory. They couldn't go back. They'd have to roam around, finding temporary shelters, hoping to find enough food, or that the gasoline they had would last long enough. Until they died, or found another perfect shelter like the Rock had been.
Feliciano sighed, remembering nostalgically the mountain and its caves. The Rock seemed such a diminutive, of what it had actually meant for them. Their home.
He warmed his hands by the still warm ashes of the fire they had made that morning. He rubbed them together, and then snuggled against the wall under his blanket. Then he closed his eyes. Maybe he would be able to sleep until the night came… then it'd be the most useful time for him to be awake.
Ludwig saw the Italian close his eyes, and smiled faintly. He patted Feliciano softly on his head, and Feliciano smiled in his already half-sleeping state. Ludwig's hand however was immediately batted away by the Italian's pissed off brother. Romano glared at him angrily, daring him to touch Feliciano again, but not saying a word. Ludwig raised his hand, showing he wouldn't do it again, also not saying a word. Feliciano was already sleeping.
...Not so far away...
Antonio didn't like the light. It didn't hurt him like it did to the Nightmares, but he didn't like it. And certainly not in a desert. That's why he was waiting under a rock. Impatiently so.
He had been searching all night, and finally, at dawn, he had discovered some fresh tracks. Antonio had never seen trails like that. Small, rectangular cavities one after the other. Bizarre. And they were flanked by 'normal' car tracks.
Antonio had smelled the air, as the sun slowly turned the desert's colours on again, transforming them from muddy-brown to bright orange. He had inhaled deeply, and felt light-headed, as he smelled more than a dozen different humans. Enough to make his mouth start watering, almost.
He had gotten on all fours, and started following the tracks. However, as the day slowly proceeded, the light got too much for him, so he had to shelter under a rock for a couple of hours.
So there he was.
He had to wait. He had to be patient, even if he was overly-excited about the many humans. His hunger would soon be satisfied. Even if it was scratching the inside of his chest like a caged animal of some sort.
As the sun started going lower down the sky, he got out of his hiding place and started following the tracks swiftly again.
As the sun finally went down, he was in a city. The tracks had disappeared, obviously not able to be left on concrete and rubble, but he didn't need those anymore. He just had to lift up his chin, and smell the air, for the delicious scent of scared humans still lingering there.
He had to be quick. Other Nightmares might go and take them before he did…!
He growled. No one was going to stand between him and his meal.
As he crawled, climbed an leaped from twisted lamppost to buildings and to concrete rubble, he smelled he was getting closer. His stomach grumbled hungrily, reminding him of his emptiness.
All of the sudden, a strange building came into his view. Strange because it was still standing straight, even if it wasn't that tall. But the most interesting thing was…the humans' smell came from right there.
Antonio chuckled. He had lost the ability to smile long ago, so the only thing he could do to express delight was that one. His pace increased, nearing the abandoned factory.
Following the scent trail, he got to a gaping opening of some sort. They were right inside. His feral instincts that hadn't already kicked in, did it right there and then.
Be the most silent and deadly predator.
He crept inside, swiftly and without any noise. The clicking of his armour was reduced to a minimum, and his good eyesight in the dark guaranteed him safe trading even there.
He found himself in a tall corridor, that took a sharp turn almost immediately to the right. Antonio looked up. Pillars and beams held up the high ceiling. Perfect.
He gripped a concrete pillar, and started climbing, silently and quickly. Small cracks in the cement were all he needed to grip on to. At the height where the pillar connected to the ceiling, there were the beams. They were connected to each other, to the ceiling, and to the other pillars, creating a web-like pavement suspended in the air. Once it had been organized, but many had rusted away and fallen. However…this was almost too easy.
He swiftly got onto all fours again, and crawled down onto one beam after the other, following the corridor's turn and being careful not to make any noise. He found himself looking down at a very long hallway, and at the end of it…
…Food.
They still hadn't noticed him. Of course. It was night, the humans had one only light source, the reddening ashes of a dying fire, and the beams he was crawling on were pretty high up. No one would notice him in the dark.
He got closer. Closer. As silent as a cat.
Closer. Closer.
He was above them. Oh, they smelled so wonderful. He had to use all his willpower not to jump down right there and now. But he wasn't stupid. And he had to admit, he definitely had not expected more than fifteen humans.
Fifteen…! Not in his wildest dreams would he ever had imagined more than a dozen humans surviving in these areas...! So much to eat…
But there was the down side. They were too many. If he acted recklessly, he would be killed. Half or so of them were sleeping, but still…
He had to lower their numbers, somehow. So that he didn't have to deal with the whole of them…even two or three would do…to satisfy his burning hunger.
What could he do…?
He crouched on one of the beams, looking down. He loomed over the humans. He vaguely resembled some kind of odd gargoyle, perched like that. He cocked his head to one side. Then he observed the ceiling, half a meter above his head. Hm, all those rusty beams gave him an idea…
Suddenly, a human under him gasped awake, exclaiming something that made Antonio scowl.
"…RED!"
Feliciano grimaced in his dreams. In his nightmares. It was that nightmare again, the one of him falling over and over again. He kind of had become used of it, but still, it wasn't exactly what you would call…pleasant.
Slowly, a warm feeling started building up in his abdomen, but at first he didn't even notice it. Only when it started burning and churning, he finally realized what it was, and at last bolted awake. He was covered in sweat, and he panted one single word, looking wide-eyed up above him.
"…RED!"
He saw a pair of glowing green eyes looking down angrily at him from the dark ceiling. However, after he blinked once, they disappeared.
Everyone was awake immediately, even if groggily. "Whuzzap, Feli?" Alfred grunted, rubbing his eyes. Francis, Gilbert and Lukas had stiffened, inhaling sharply at Feliciano's statement, gripping their weapons. "Antonio…!"
Ludwig immediately was at his side. "Feliciano…!"
Feliciano didn't even notice the German. His gaze was locked to the ceiling, desperately searching for where the RED would be. "He's up there…!" he said. Why had he fallen asleep on the worst of all moments…! If only he had been awake…!
Everyone looked up, and fell silent. And they all heard something metallic snap. And then, a loud creaking noise.
"WATCH OUT!" Gilbert yelled, tackling Ludwig and Feliciano down, as a metal beam came crashing down. Lukas also pushed Mathias and Emil out of the way, right before they would be crushed.
Ludwig pushed his brother away in annoyance, but then realized what had happened. "Oh, sheiße…"
Without any warning, many metallic snaps, and metallic screeches and creaks. Rusty bolts and screws started falling, clattering on the hard ground. More creaking. And then, many beams at once started crashing down, with screeching metal noises and clattering thuds.
"The bastard is making the whole thing come crashing down…!" Emil shouted, climbing into the tank.
"You idiot, you'll die in there!" Lukas shouted, going after his brother, and dragging him out from the vehicle. Everyone started running away, in pure self-preserving instinct, from the small corner they were in, dodging the falling and deadly iron beams.
Suddenly, an ominous deep creak could be heard. It was not a metallic sound. It was more a rocky-like sound. The factory shuddered wholly.
Silence fell, as everyone stopped dead on his tracks. They all looked up to the slowly falling dust, listening, and waiting, for the worst.
"…Please, tell me that was not the fucking ceiling…" Romano whispered. And then, right on cue, a ton of bricks and concrete came crashing down on them as well.
Panic surged through all of them. Chunks of the ceiling were dropping at an alarming speed, separating them all and thudding hard, even sinking in the pavement.
Alfred felt a horrifying déjà-vu as he saw Matthew moments from being crushed under a boulder of cement. Adrenaline pumped through his system, as he dashed and pushed him out of the way just in time. Others had the same reactions too, and the hallway was filled with yells of names, dominating the rumble of crashing ceiling.
Feliciano lost his balance several times because of the earthquake caused by the boulders and the queasiness caused by the RED, but was always caught just in time by Ludwig. They were running God knows where, and after a while they faced a wall of fallen rubble.
Ludwig's blood ran cold, as he heard a boulder crash behind them. They were trapped…!
"Ludwig! Over here!" he heard Francis call out to him, from a hole in the wall of debris. Ludwig bolted to it, supporting the Italian so he wouldn't trip again. As they hauled themselves through the hole, the passage was closed shut with a loud 'BOOM' of the umpteeth boulder falling.
After another couple of seconds, the deep rumble of crumbling died away, and the dust started clearing. Some small rocky chinks still fell, but for the rest it was completely silent. The path to the other side of the hallway had been completely sealed, however.
Kiku coughed. "Is everyone-" cough "-alright?"
"I-It would seem so…" Arthur wheezed, a hand over his chest, breathing heavily.
Feliciano looked around him. They were at the turn of the corridor, just mere metres from the entrance.
Francis stood up, starting a headcount. "Oh, merde…there's people missing."
Everyone started looking four their closest friends or relatives.
"Wh're's T'no…?" Berwald grumbled, eyes darting around to see if he could spot him.
"Yao isn't here…" Kiku murmured.
Arthur looked up. "Alfred, where's your brother?" He asked to the American.
"…I'm Matthew…" it turned out it wasn't Alfred. Who actually popped out of nowhere two milliseconds later. "Dude! I'm totally here, how could you mistake my bro for me?!"
"You're twins, you twat."
Feliciano frantically looked around. He gripped Ludwig's shoulders, tears on the rim of his eyes. "Dov'è Romano?!" he squeaked.
Ludwig frowned, he didn't need to know Italian to understand what Feliciano was asking. "I don't know…and I don't see Bella either…"
Everyone turned to look back at the wall of rubble behind them.
"…And Antonio's still there." Gilbert grimaced.
Feliciano threw himself at the rock wall, banging his fists against the rubble. "Romano! Romano!" he started trying to get some rocks away, but was gently pushed aside by Ludwig.
"Don't, Feliciano, you'll just hurt yourself."
"But-!"
"Hey Mathias! Get your lazy ass over here and help me!" The German grunted, beginning to push a boulder out of the way. The Dane joined him, as did a certain Swede and an German albino. Soon, they were all working out their way to the others.
Antonio liked how they ran around like scared rats. Ah, but he shouldn't be playing with food…
He glanced down from one of the beams he hadn't chomped down on. He saw a brown head running for cover, and a curl…
Wait, hadn't he said the 'mistake' had a curl…? Shouldn't he go after him, and retrieve him?
His first rational thought in days was soon shattered when his stomach grumbled.
That was food. He blinked slowly, observing the human. He looked in shape…not too thin, not too burly…perfect. He would do just perfectly.
When the ceiling came crumbling down, he climbed calmly through the holes in the ceiling, so that he was standing on the floor of the room above it. There'd be safer. After the whole floor had caved in, and everything had calmed down, he spotted the human he had set his eyes onto. He was coughing, down below.
He licked his teeth, and started crawling through the darkness.
Romano coughed. It felt as if he had swallowed a hole damn desert. His lungs ached, his ears were ringing, his head spinning and…well, to make long things short, he felt like shit.
He coughed again, trying to see through the dust and debris and whatnot. He had been lucky, he hadn't been hit by the falling boulders. The whole fucking ceiling had come off, and it looked like there was another room above them, only this time with windows that weren't sealed shut. Some moonlight was leaking inside, creating malformed blotches of light on the debris.
Then it struck him. "Feliciano!" he cried out, standing up. His blood ran cold when he didn't hear an answer from his brother. No answer from anyone, for that matter. He started to panic. Where were all the others?! Certainly they didn't die?! "Hey, is anyone here?!" still no answer. "Is anyone fucking here!?" Heck, he'd be happy to hear any response by now, even from the Potato head, or his annoying albino brother…
Something shifted beside him, and he turned, filled with hope. A cough, and then a jet-black haired head popped out from the debris. More coughs.
"Ahyah! I think I got even shorter…!" Yao coughed, complaining.
Romano sighed, disappointed. It wasn't his brother or Bella, but at least someone had survived…
More things shifting, and more coughs. Romano felt his hopes rise as he heard a feminine voice.
"Sodeju…!" the Belgian 'cursed', wiping her face from the dirt.
"Bella!"
The girl groggily stood up, balance a bit awkward. "Romano…! And who's there…?"
"Moi moi…"
Bella jumped and hugged the Fin, knocking the wind out of him. "Tino! You're alive!"
"Okay, yay, we're alive. Whoop-de-fucking-doo. Bella, release the guy or you'll choke him. Someone else here that survived all of this shit?" Romano asked.
Yao also stood up, arching his back. "Ahyah, my back hurts like crazy, aru. I think we got separated…I saw Kiku get-" he pointed to the back of the hallway, but they all saw it was blocked by a massive wall of boulders. "…over there." His voice fell.
"Shit."
"I think they're all there…" Tino murmured. "I saw Lukas and Emil get there too…and I think I glimpsed the others as well…"
"Where the fuck is Feliciano?! If he died, I'm going to kill him!" Romano snarled running to the wall of debris, as if it could answer to him.
Bella facepalmed. "Romano, if he died, you wouldn't kill him…"
They all moved towards the sealed part of the hallway.
"Guys? I have the feeling we are forgetting something…" Yao said, looking around uncomfortably as he followed the others to the wall.
A distorted chuckle echoed through the mayhem of cement and bricks, and they all stiffened.
Romano's face distorted into a terrified grimace, and he pressed his back to the wall, arms spread. Bella's face mirrored Romano's perfectly. Tino and Yao were worried too, but they looked less terrified than the other two…they hadn't seen Antonio yet. Not like this.
All of the sudden, Romano noticed two familiar green orbs shine in the dark, behind the Belgian.
"BEL-!" he shouted, reaching a hand out to her, trying to warn her. But it was too late. Antonio snatched her from behind, and she cried out, before they both disappeared in the shadows.
"Bella!" Tino yelled, reaching for his gun and pointing in the dark. But where could he possibly shoot…?
Romano was hyperventilating. Shitshitshitshitshitshitshitshitshit! He was completely frozen, not even able to think. He was clearly terrified. His hand shook, as he reached for his gun also. His sword had been buried under who-knows-how-much fucking debris.
He heard the Belgian struggle against the iron grip of the Spaniard, until they all heard a gunshot and a distorted snarl. Had Bella managed to get her gun out, and free herself…?
Suddenly, the two appeared under the occasional patches of moonlight. Antonio was staggering backwards, clutching his hip that had been grazed by a bullet. Bella was regaining her balance, after having been released by the Spaniard.
Under the light, they could all have a good look at him.
His messy chocolate brown hair was even messier than it would usually be, and under dark bangs a pair of emerald green eyes shone. But they didn't shine with the usual carefree light. Oh no. They were glinting with madness and rage. And something else Romano didn't really want to place. Hunger.
The lower half of Antonio's face was covered with the crimson skull-like mask, an impressive row of sharp teeth going from ear to ear. Romano knew for a fact that the mask was now a part of his face now…there weren't lips or cheeks under it. The mask had become his mouth, doubling the breadth of it.
Furthermore, the armour completely covered the upper half of his body: the neck, shoulders, arms, hands, and chest. On his back, his backbone was covered with blunted ridges. Antonio's abdomen wasn't protected by any armour, exposing the clothes. Finally, his legs were also armoured, ending with his clawed feet.
Bella spun around, intending to run back to the wall and the others. But turning her back to Antonio turned out to be the worst choice. He lunged forward, scratching her back in an upward motioned slash. As the Belgian fell down on her knees screaming, he looked down delighted on his prey.
"You bastard!" Yao yelled, running to them. Romano noticed he didn't have any weapon on him, let it be a gun or a knife.
"You moron! You'll get yourself killed!" Romano shouted, still trembling. Antonio looked up at the Chinese approaching quickly, and retreated in the shadows, unimpressed. Romano swallowed drily. He heard the Sentient's words echo in his head, from more than a year earlier… "Such beautiful cowardice…"
It was true. He was a coward. But he couldn't do anything about it. His knees were trembling that hard he had to lean onto the wall fully to keep standing. He was scared shitless. The Antonio he knew wouldn't do such things. But then again, it wasn't Antonio anymore, right? No, that red-clad demon couldn't be his friend. It just couldn't be.
He and Tino looked around frantically, trying to spot the RED. Where had he disappeared to…?
Yao took a martial arts stance of some sort, and closed his eyes. Romano felt the greatest urge to hit him. He was a sitting duck already, and he was closing his eyes, too?! People could be so stupid…!
But Yao seemed to know what he was doing, when his eyes snapped open and he jumped into the darkness. His leg was charging a kick, directed seemingly to nothing but thin air.
"Ah-YAH!" The Chinese yelled, as he hit Antonio's shoulder, knocking him off-balance and out of the shadows. Antonio growled, before recovering his balance and striking back. The two started a deadly hand-to-hand fight.
"The fuck…?" Romano frowned. How had he known he was there? "Probably some dumb martial sense shit or something like that…" he muttered to himself.
Yao seemed to be able to keep up with the enraged RED. That is, as long as said RED was standing on two feet. Because at a certain point, Antonio decided to drop on all fours, and strike like that, moving like some sort of animal.
That, Yao definitely did not expect. The attacks came from a lower angle, and even faster. So he actually wasn't surprised, when he felt talons sink deep into his chest. He cried out, hard, before being tossed aside by the Spaniard without a further glance.
Antonio straightened up, and started walking towards them, eyes ablaze with madness still. He was approaching Romano, who still felt frozen in place. His heart was beating like crazy against his ribcage, he felt it would explode if it didn't calm down. Tino jumped between the Spaniard and him, gun ready to shoot.
"A-Antonio! That's your name, right? Stop, please!" The Fin shouted, too kind for his own good, before shooting. Antonio hunched over, ready to strike, when another kick came out of the darkness and shoved him aside. Antonio snarled, landing on all fours, facing the Chinese who was still standing.
Yao huffed, flipping some hair from his face back. Blood was staining the front of his clothes. "Don't underestimate me, even if I'm an old man, aru!" he said, getting into battle stance again. Antonio crouched growling, crossing his arms in front of them. Yao frowned. What was he up to…? The RED paused a couple of seconds like that, eyes narrowing as if in concentration. Then suddenly sprang up, spinning on the balls of his feet, stretching out his arms. Yao was at a safe distance from the spinning claws, so didn't move. However, he found himself ducking when from the fingertips of the Spaniard appeared flames. The flames stretched outwards, the Spaniard still spinning, and they all had to crouch to avoid the fire.
That was only a warning of what the RED had in store. Antonio stopped spinning, and raised his hands upwards. Flames erupted from the cracks in the pavement and between the boulders, bathing everything in the room in an unsettling orange gloom. Most shadows disappeared in the light, but the remaining ones contrasted hard with the bright orange. Antonio cackled, halting for a second, and then launched himself towards Yao again.
Romano turned to the Fin, who still was holding the gun in his hands. "What the fuck are you waiting for?! Shoot him!" He ignored the fact that he was himself, in fact, holding another gun.
Tino shook his head, lowering the weapon. "…I can't…! I could hit Yao…! And Bella is still there somewhere in the dark! What if I hit her…?"
Romano snarled, knees not shaking anymore. He decided to take matters in his own hands. He raised his own gun, and pointed it to the two battling figures.
Antonio was still crouching and ducking in an animalistic way, and with each lash of his claws, an arch of fire would appear. Luckily, Yao was able to avoid every single one of them. The room was slowly filling with orange flames and smoke, however, adding effect to the already sinister and terrifying situation.
Romano grimaced. He wouldn't be able to hit him. Tino was right. They were fighting too close to each other. He lowered the gun, and then saw a figure, trying to stand up, surrounded by a circle of flames.
It was Bella, and she was trapped.
"Imbecille!" Romano shouted, running past the Fin and towards her. She was coughing, the claw wound on her back bleeding and impeding any movement. Romano jumped over the flames into the circle, and scooped her up as best as he could, trying not to hurt her back.
Suddenly he heard Yao yelp, a snap, and then a satisfied snarl.
Shit.
Antonio appeared just outside the circle, the flames illuminating him up from below. He looked like some kind of demon, crimson tainting his already red jaws, and the yellow and orange glow of the fire only added emphasis on his terrifying appearance. But he didn't step into the circle. He was waiting for him to get out. He could wait.
Romano coughed, the heat making him sweat. "Like hell, you asshole…". He stepped back, Bella still in his arms.
The RED slowly stretched out a hand to him through the fire, as if wanting to…help.
Romano's gaze locked onto those madness filled eyes, but he noticed that those green orbs almost softened, for the fraction of a second…
And Romano nearly fell for it.
Luckily, Tino interrupted that moment, throwing a rock – a big-sized one, for that matter – at the RED, who was forced to jump backwards to avoid it. He landed crouching again, and snarled angrily at the Fin, his opportunity lost.
Tino hoisted up another boulder twice the size of him, and threw it at Antonio again. The Spaniard swiftly dodged, however the Fin had as much ammunition as he wanted. Why didn't he use the gun, like any normal person would do?!
Romano stared wide-eyed at him. "How the fuck are you so strong…?!"
Tino smiled nervously, as if embarrassed. "Eh, I work out…?"
He had the greatest urge to facepalm, but he had more pressing matters to attend to. For instance, getting Bella and his own ass out of the blazing circle.
Luckily, he could still jump over it, Bella had not been able to get out because of her injury. He looked around for Yao, and he found him slumped against the boulder wall. His chest was bleeding badly, the fabric of the clothes torn, and he had a wound to the head too. His leg was lying in a strange angle, as if…no, not as if. It was broken, and no doubt Antonio's teeth were the culprits. The Chinese looked unconscious, if not already dead.
Romano felt his heart sink, when he didn't hear Bella cough anymore. She had also fallen unconscious. Tears started pooling in his eyes, but he forced them back angrily. He wouldn't cry. Not now. He would not be a pansy like his idiotic brother. He slowly put down Bella, and retrieved her gun. He toyed with the now two guns, as sweat fell from his brow because of the increasing heat coming from the raging fire. The room was becoming a fucking furnace, and they were trapped with a rampaging RED.
Well, shit.
"Ohyaaaaaaah!"
Romano's head snapped up, as he saw a dark silhouette against the orange light of the blazing flames flying through the air. Tino landed against a boulder with a thud, and he heard something crack. He flinched, not knowing if it was an arm, a leg or…his neck or skull.
No. The Fin was still moving, apparently unharmed however clutching his arm. He was looking up at the approaching RED. "Hitto vie…paholainen…" he murmured in his native tongue.
Antonio neared the Fin, and flexed one claw up in the air. Apparently, the rock throwing had caused some damage, because his forehead was bleeding, and his back too. Fire created itself between his fingers, rendering the already deadly claws even deadlier. Romano felt helpless. What could he do?! What!? He started running, not even remembering he had two guns.
The Spaniard hissed one single word, before throwing the attack.
"…Muere."
"NO!"
Romano tackled Antonio down, the fiery attack swaying to one side and missing the Fin by a centimetre. They both crashed down onto the hot ground, and Romano rolled as far away as he could before jumping on his feet again.
Antonio groggily stood up, arms hanging limp to his sides like a rag doll's. He looked at him, head cocked to one side.
Romano didn't even realize he had started crying.
"Antonio…! You damn bastard, snap out of it!" he shouted, trying to keep himself together. But it was no use, the tears were rolling down his cheeks without any restraint.
The Spaniard didn't give any sign of hearing him. Instead, he licked his teeth, and crouched. Again, he said a single word, but this one was growled, almost purred.
"…Comida."
Romano flinched. He did not need to know Spanish to understand what he had said. "Shit-!" He dodged sideways, avoiding the Spaniard by mere centimetres.
He trained his gun on him, and shot a few rounds. However, Antonio managed to block them all with his armoured body or evade them by jumping sideways.
"Cazzo!" He tossed his gun away, got out Bella's, and shot again. "Sta fermo, stronzo!" This time he managed to hit the upper half of his abdomen, near the grazed wound Bella had caused before. Antonio arched his back, and then hunched over himself, covering the now double wound with a hand. His head then snapped up, and he straightened his back, the armoured spine clicking ominously. The faint sound could be heard even over the raging fire, somehow. The Spaniard raised both arms up, roaring in rage. More fire erupted from cracks the ground, not unlike the eruption of a volcano. The cracks splintered by the sheer force of the flames, and opened up the pavement even more.
Romano lost his balance because of the earthquake that was created. Antonio took advantage of it, he leapt forward, maw open.
Time seemed to slow down, as Romano was falling backwards, and Antonio was floating above him. The Spaniard's wide jaws were wide open, and…
And snapped closed on the crook of his neck.
Romano felt the razor sharp teeth pierce through his flesh, breaking sinews and tearing muscles. The brutal force of the jaws had tore almost completely through his joint, and the teeth were scraping against bone. The side of his neck had also been added to the feast, and Romano almost immediately tasted something metallic. He looked sideways, only to see the face of his… his friend twisting with enjoyment. He even saw droplets of his own blood float in the air, creating a small trajectory of their fall. Then the time slow motion ended, and finally the pain surged through his whole body. He screamed at the top of his lungs, when they both fell to the ground, and his vision blurred.
Antonio jumped, and went for his prey, after he had lost his balance. The perfect leap, he was floating over him, and then…!
Finally. He bit down on his shoulder and neck. Blood filled his mouth almost instantly, and he savoured the flavour. He hadn't been wrong. This human had been a good choice. He tasted wonderful.
They both fell, and the human screamed under him. He struggled weakly, trying to push him away, but his teeth were embedded too deeply into the flesh of the other. If the human pushed too hard, he would be tearing away his own shoulder.
Antonio loosened the grip of his bite for an instant, only to chomp down harder. More flesh was torn open, and the human screamed again, yelling something over and over again. He was hitting his chest with his fists.
"…Onio!"
Antonio released the bite again a little, only to chomp more sideways, towards the neck. The blows got weaker.
"…Ntonio…!"
He savoured the metallic liquid. Finally, he would not be hungry for a while…!
The human stopped struggling, and slowly fell still. Oh, already? Even better. He felt the human's ragged and laboured breaths, and his body become limp, being held up a little only because his teeth were sunken into the crook of his neck. Antonio got onto his knees, wrapped an arm around the body so it wouldn't fall, and then released the bite.
He licked his teeth from the blood, looking down at the human. His head had hunched over, dark brown hair covering his eyes. Blood was oozing from the wound, flesh all torn up. Strangely enough, the curl was still up and wayward, despite the fight, the smoke and the fire. Antonio chuckled, leaning the body against the side of a boulder. It had been almost too easy…!
But then he saw something glint through the strands of hair. It glinted gold. Antonio's eyes widened. Gold? He crouched, nearing the human.
Gold! Yes, gold! He pulled aside the hair with one clawed finger.
Gold! Wait, but that were his eyes…
A sudden headache struck him. His hunger was all but forgotten, but somehow shifted on the background. He grimaced, holding his head. His mind overflowed with memories, as he slowly grasped sanity again.
Gold, yes, but golden eyes…
Golden eyes…a curl…
Sudden realisation struck him harder than a truck riding downhill at full speed.
Romano.
His eyes widened, as he looked down at his hands. He covered his face with one of them. Oh God, what had he done…? He had struck Bella, too…
He fell on his knees again, and scuttled near the huma- Romano.
"Oh, Dios…"
He slowly reached out a hand for the hunched figure. The crook of Romano's neck was deeply wounded, and blood kept steadily oozing out, staining the clothes and the floor. It was so much blood… the flames roaring around them only added to the already unsettling colour of the vital liquid pooling under them. The flesh of the crook of the Italian's neck was completely torn open.
"…¡Dios mío…!" Antonio repeated, touching the Italian's cheek as softly as he could, as if it could shatter any moment. The Italian's head was still bowed down. "…¿Romano…?" he whispered.
Antonio didn't even realize he started crying. "Romano…¡Roma…! ¡Roma!"
He called out for him, expecting him to raise his head and start swearing at him. But nothing happened. Antonio dropped his hand, and stared at the floor, fists closed tightly.
"Romano…¡Per…Perdoname…!" Tears were rolling as streams down his cheeks. "¡Oh Dios, perdoname…! Yo no…Yo…¡Mirame…! ¡Abre tus ojos, Romano, por favor…!"
He dared to reach out for the Italian again, cupping his cheek.
"…¿Roma…?" he lifted up Romano's head, and his gaze met a pair of golden orbs, glittering even more brightly because of the fire. But…they were out of focus. They didn't see him, through the half-lidded lashes.
…
They were dead.
Antonio started wailing in despair, embracing the limp body.
Feliciano was the first to go through the hole in the wall they had managed to make, mostly because he was one of the smallest there. He frantically looked around, searching for the missing people.
The first thing he noticed, however, was that someone was singing. It wasn't a happy song. In fact, the person was sobbing.
"…A-a la nanita nana, nanita ella, n-nanita ella…"
Huh? Who was singing? Wait, was the voice…distorted…? He looked around, holding up a sleeve to his nose. Somehow, the dark place had filled up with smoke. All stones looked black and scorched, and tiny little flames danced here and there on the ground. What had happened there?
"…Mi niño t-tiene sueño… bendito sea, bendito sea…"
Feliciano felt the RED was nearby. He looked around while searching the others, and noticed that obviously there had been a battle. He got worried. What if the RED had…? However, he finally saw a hunched figure leaning on the flank of a boulder. His chest swelled with hope, as he ran towards it. When he got closer, he had to admit he was a little disappointed it wasn't his brother, but nonetheless he was happy.
"…A la nanita nana, n-nanita ella, nanita ella…
Mi n-niño tiene sueño… bendito sea, bendito sea…"
"…Tino!" He whispered-shouted, crouching near the Fin. He was gripping his left arm tightly, even if the jacket wasn't stained with blood or anything.
Tino's head snapped up. "Feli…!" he smiled weakly.
"Tino, what happened here?" Feliciano asked.
The Fin's expression darkened. "…The RED got rid of us all…first Bella, then Yao, and then me…" he paused. "I do not know what happened to Romano, I think I was unconscious for a couple of minutes. When I got by again, the flames were gone and…"
"…Fuentecita que corre… clara y s-sonora…
Ruiseñor que e-en la selva cantando llora…"
"…this started." Tino raised his chin, looking to his left. Where the glum voice was coming from. Feliciano gulped. Flames? So that's why the boulders were black, and there were tiny little flames here and there. However, he had a bad feeling about this. "How are you? You don't look wounded…"
Tino shook his head slowly. "No major things, except…well, I think my arm is broken. Yao and Bella are worse…where are the others?"
Feliciano pointed behind him with his head. "They're coming. Don't worry." He then stood up, going for the source of the song.
"…Calla mientras la cuna se b-balansea…
A la nanita n-n-nana, nanita e-ella…"
The voice was definitely a distorted one. Feliciano frowned, as he took a step, but was stopped by the Fin tugging his sleeve. "Wait…! Be careful, Feli…!" He warned. Feliciano gulped again, and then nodded. Tino let go of his sleeve, and went for the RED that was singing. Why was he singing? Why did he sound so sad? The words of the song were often interrupted by sobs or hiccups. Feliciano became deeply worried. What if something bad had happened…? Like, really really bad…?
He walked around the boulders towards the source of the singing, ash floating in the air with every single step. After another turn, he finally saw somebody.
"…A la nanita nana, nanita ella, nanita ella…"
It was the RED. Antonio. He was kneeling, while hugging softly a limp body. He was cradling it back and forth, while singing the song. Tears flowed from the RED's eyes, falling on a very pale face. Antonio didn't give any sign of noticing him standing some metres away-
"…Mi niño tiene sueño… bendito sea, bendito sea…"
Feliciano felt his heart sink, when he recognized his brother, leaning limply in the RED's arms. He wasn't moving. He wasn't cursing. Feliciano saw the horrible wound that had his flesh all torn open, in the area around his neck and right shoulder.
He simply didn't believe it. He couldn't. He didn't want to believe it. He slowly took a trembling step, and then another. He walked towards the two figures, but didn't quite feel there. He felt like he was walking in a dream. Or rather, a nightmare.
Antonio stopped singing abruptly, and lifted his head up. The silvery light of the moon enhanced every single tear he had shed or that were still in his eyes. There was genuine sorrow in those forest green orbs. His mask, his teeth, was covered in blood. When he opened his mouth, Feliciano winced. However, Antonio did not move. He whispered something.
"…Do it."
Feliciano was startled at the words. Do what? He looked down at the motionless body, and then up again at the Spaniard. Antonio raised his chin, exposing his neck and chest. He was still crying.
"Please…j-just do it."
Feliciano was unsure at first, not knowing what to do. He simply couldn't think, with his brother lying like there…his own 'death' of more than a year earlier must not have been too different. He felt tears rolling down his own eyes, and then reached out his right hand towards the Spaniard. As soon as he touched his chest, the armour cracked, black liquid pouring out. The hand glowed brightly from under the bandages, and the warm feeling spread through his hand, all up to his elbow.
Antonio's shoulders shook once, and then he fell sideways, eyes closed. His grip loosened on Romano's body, and he too fell, beside Antonio.
Feliciano felt the world crumble around him as he fell onto his knees, not even noticing he hadn't fainted. Somewhere behind him, he heard the others finally had also gotten through the wall.
But he didn't care anymore.
Somewhere, far away, a black Rook was toppled on a chess board.
...I think I will go and hide in a ditch somewhere.
Sheiße : (german) shit
Merde : (french) shit
Dov'è Romano?! : (italian) where's Romano?!
Sodeju! : (dutch-flemish) darn it! (courteus way of saying it)
Imbecille! : (italian) imbecile!
Hitto vie…paholainen... : (finnish) damn it...demon...
Muere : (spanish) die
Comida : (spanish) food
Cazzo! : (italian) shit! (lit. 'dick')
Sta fermo, stronzo! : (italian) stay still, asshole!
Oh, Dios... : (spanish) oh, God...
¡Perdoname...! : (spanish) forgive me!
Yo no…Yo… : (spanish) I don't...I...
¡Mirame…! : (spanish) look at me!
¡Abre tus ojos, Romano, por favor…! : (spanish) open your eyes, Romano, please!
...
Youtube link: /watch?v=pxlcMlnFapA
A la nanita nana, nanita ella, nanita ella (Come, let's sing a little lullaby, come let's sing a little)
Mi niño tiene sueño, bendito sea, bendito sea (My baby boy is sleepy, blessed be, blessed be)
Fuentecita que corre clara y sonora (Little spring running clear and loud)
Ruiseñor que en la selva cantando llora (Nightingale that in the forest sings and weeps)
Calla mientras la cuna se balansea (Hush, while the cradle rocks)
A la nanita nana, nanita ella (Come, let's sing a little lullaby, come lets sing a little)