TOO…MANY…SHADOWS…IN…ONE…DAY…hell, it makes up the filler :D
/= "Turbulent VS Boss Theme ~ Passion ~ Single Sweep" by RomaHeta =/
"This is Antonio's Shadow…" Matthew let down Kumajiro. "I didn't even think that he even had a problem…"
"The ones with the biggest smiles hold the most scars." Li Xiao repeated. "Antonio does nothing but smile…"
["I am a Shadow...the true self…"] The Shadow flexed his muscles. ["Ah…it feels great to finally allow myself to release all my anger out on something…I hope you're ready!"]
"…crap, he's talking about us, isn't he?"
"Yeah…" Alfred lifted up his guns. "Sorry."
"DAAAMMMMIIIIITTT!"
Charice jumped into the sky as the demon slashed a huge hole in the ground, scaring the crap out of the poor American. Lovino stared at the Shadow in shock as he raged around attacking basically everyone in the premise (which took about a good hour or two…I guess…of rage-abusing items and just raging in general).
Antonio…I never knew…
"OK, that's it! Rage-cheating, that's the only way to go!" Charice waved her hands around. "Phoenix! Flame him, now!"
"Yatagarasu, come!"
How long have you suffered about something as stupid yet important as this…?
"That's it! Gunfire Rampage!"
"His shell is hard to break…we need another plan!"
That's it. I'm pounding your head in…cause god dammit you deserve it. "Sandalphon! Fly!"
The angel swarmed over Lovino's head, glowing through the mists of Madrid. With a flip of its wrists, a huge circle appeared underneath the Shadow, keeping it in place. Charice saw as Lovino jumped into the air, Sandalphon fusing with it. For a minute, it looked like he had armor.
"Agneyastra!"
The blade struck him hard, causing the Shadow to reel over and for the light to seep into its wounds. The monster sank down into the depths of the darkness, leaving behind the body of Antonio's body.
/= "Who Am I?" by Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days =/
"Wow…that was oddly easy."
"That's only because Lovino had the Shadow's weakness."
"Don't rub it in, Li Xiao."
Lovino walked up towards the Shadow and stared at the bruises that he had given it. Charice walked forward to join him, of course startling the poor Italian but nonetheless allowing him to collect his thoughts of the situation.
"I never thought that Antonio would be like this, you know?"
"Well…he is a Catholic. I'm not surprised that he had some form of guilt." She turned back to him. "But…I never thought it'd be this much."
He was about to say something when Charice felt something in her hand. It was a card…more importantly, the Emperor Arcana. Oddly enough, it was upside down in her fingertips. It erupted in a soft glow, engulfing the world around them.
/= "When We Die" by Bowling for Soup =/
The whole world was getting stronger around him.
At his feet, Antonio stared at the two Italian nations that were playing before him. They looked so cute, so innocent, so…vulnerable to the taking. Nonetheless, there're going to be wars around them…just for their territory. He had been hearing rumors that Roderich and Francis were starting to fight over them…
He'll have to get stronger…somehow…
"Geez, can this bastard get any sappier?"
"EH? Lovino! You're here too?"
"Why the hell not? You dragged me into this!"
"But…this is Antonio's past…I thought I was going to be the only one watching this!"
"Fine, whatever. Let it run."
He had to have lost the war. He wasn't strong enough. His powers were able to keep Lovino in his grasp, but just barely. Roderich had taken Feliciano…the boy that he secretly wanted for his own. Then again, he wanted the both of them in his house.
"Che…I'm not surprised."
But he is a kingdom. He is the Kingdom of Spain, for crying out loud! He must be stronger in order to make sure Lovino stays in his grasp, and even then he must gain power to take Feliciano into his house. They must stay together…for this was for Lovino's sake.
"Stop! Leave us alone!"
"Please! Don't hurt us!"
Their cries were echoing in his ears, but he forced them out of his mind. These were only mere colonies, nations that had no power compared to him. Their screams were nothing like flies in his ears. They meant nothing. They were nothing. It was just nations of young men and women. They had nothing against his armada and army. Nothing…
Except one small nation.
He remembered that explorer Magellan, going out to the world to explore everything that the planet can give him. The news that the place that killed him was a nation out of all things…a weak nation in the Asian continent, out of all places! He remember darting to his feet to the survivor.
"What place is this?"
"I-I don't know! It's just that their leader, Lapu Lapu…he killed our leader, sire!"
"…tell me the coordinates of this place. I must have this land."
And take he did.
There was no way that this was possible. The nation that had fought off a small Spanish army was a little girl barely past the age of six? What kind of lady was this? And when he finally touched the shores to take the land for himself, to see this girl standing at the edge of the beach, WAITING for them…
"And you are…?" He remember asking, his voice tough.
"The very thing that you're seeking." She stated quite blandly. "I should know, for Bathala told me."
"Bathala?" He looked confused.
"The ever-knowing God above us. Bathala told me that you would come."
"…you do know that you worship a false god. For there is only one true god, and that comes from where I walk from."
"Only one true god?" She seemed interested, a face that reminded him of Feliciano.
"Yes. His teachings and his words have been given to me to give to the lands I bless." He grinned, obviously getting her attention. "Would you like me to tell you His words?"
She nodded with interest, and after a few years he could still hardly believe it. He had won over a nation into his side not by swords, but by Bibles. Now he was getting powerful if he had a hand in the ever-powerful Asian lands.
She had every right to be scared of him. He owned her: every inch, every tree, every pore in her body was his. She never looked at him in the eye, she never addressed him off of anything passed sir or sire, and even then she had grown into quite a young lady if he would say so himself. If it hadn't been for Lovino, he would definitely have some room back at home for her. But again, nothing can surpass dear Lovi~
"Che…what a bastard."
Still, he had to be a nation. He must carry out his duties as one. He is, of course, the ruler, she his servant. She is only a piece of his power, a power that will help him protect Lovino and perhaps take his revenge over the world. So why does it that whenever he sees her, he sees Feliciano?
And what the hell is up with that other kid, anyway?
It was a young boy that she had failed so many times to hide. He didn't even have a name, but he clearly hated him with a passion. Perhaps the girl is rebelling and she doesn't even know it? How is it that a nation is forming from an already existing nation? Perhaps he is a parasite, waiting to kill her?
"Who the hell is he talking about?"
"…he's talking about my brother."
"So…you're going to fight a war with me?"
"I've been fighting you for years, Antonio. You just haven't realized it."
"Rizal…"
"So now what? You're a nation now. You do realized that you just killed your sister, right? Two nations can't exist on the same lands."
What a lie. If he knew anything, it was more than possible. Take Feliciano and Lovino for instance.
"Yes, they can…as a nation, I will make it my upmost duty to protect her from everyone who hurts her…especially you. Here I thought you were a man…you're just a manipulative bitch, aren't you? Don't you care about anything in your life?"
"What do you take me for, a man? I am a nation."
"So am I. At least I have someone to care for. You're just wasting your time running around the world forcing someone to care for your every needs just so you can take more power. Once their job is done, they're discarded away like you didn't even know they exist."
"…"
"Oh, now I hit a nerve? I thought all good Catholics had a heart. You don't have the means to care for anything and yet you say to carry His words!" The boy, barely thirteen, spat in his face. His eyes were blood red. "They're all just small pieces of one big puzzle that you just can't help but shape up to your own liking…"
What is he…?
"You never cared. I've seen smiles on people before…they were genuine, they were real. You've never truly smiled like that, and you never will." He pointed a sword to his face. "You never cared for anyone…not even yourself."
/= [END FLASHBACK] =/
The world sank back into the Shadow Madrid, as both Antonios rose from the ground. Charice turned her head around to see a worried Matthew head toward her, Kumajiro coming in from the back.
"Are you OK? You just disappeared, and-"
"Yeah, I'm fine…" She looked at the card in her hand. "I just…saw something…interesting."
She turned her head back to Lovino, who was now walking toward the real Antonio. He always had that confused look on his face like he didn't know shit, but the confusion on his face clearly translated that he didn't know anything about himself anymore. Who would, after these chain of events?
"I saw everything…why didn't you tell me anything, bastard?"
He sat in silence.
"So what, you never cared about me whenever you showered me with pedo love and taught me just how freakin' awesome tomatoes were? You never cared for me whenever you stalk me in the hallways to shower me with more of whatever the hell it is you do?" Lovino sighed. "If that isn't caring, then I hate to see what the hell you do when you actually do."
Antonio seemed extremely conflicted, but nonetheless his words were touching him. Charice knew that the only way to solve his problems was to talk to him. She knelt down to him.
"You did treat me like dirt, and yes you did make my brother mad…a lot of things you did back then did make you look like a heartless man, but…" She tapped her lips, trying to find words. "You're regretting them now, aren't you? He who has no soul or goodness has no guilt, remember? You taught me that…in some weird way that you did."
He blinked.
"I don't know anything about what Rizal thinks right now, but…I forgive you."
He looked like he was on the verge of crying, but decided not to. Slowly he stood up and walked up to the Shadow that was now wobbling up to its feet, a familiar smile on his face.
"You're right, you know. Back then, I've done so much and achieved everything that I could just to be on par with my fellow nations that I…I forgot how to stay true to what I was deep inside: a man with a desire to protect what my soul has attached itself to: my friends, my dear Lovi…"
He turned to Charice.
"My daughter."
She stared in shock.
"A true Catholic, just like how I raised them. They were children when I found them, and yet I've raised them in two completely different ways. How, then, did they end up the same way…? Maybe I have done something right, even if not to me." Antonio nodded. "If you are me…which I know now that you are…then you know exactly what I mean. After running for so long, I am now ready to repent for my sins and take my punishment…and I need you to help me."
The Shadow nodded and hovered in the air, changing into a man with white armor and a long sword as it sank into his body. At the same time, Charice noticed that the card in her hand had turned silver as it sank finally in her arm. Antonio turned around with a small smile on his face.
"Is Gilbert suffering the same way as I did?"
"Yes." Charice answered. "Depending on the problem, it might be even worse."
"…if there is anything I can do to save him…tell me."
"…you're doing it right now, being here." She answered. "Can you walk?"
"I can do so much more than that."
"Good. Let's go."
/=+=/
Okuninushi is a Kunitsugami and former ruler of Izumo until Ninigi took over. While that might suck for him, he was made ruler of the unseen realm. He's said to be the God of Nation-Building, business, and medicine. Seems good for Antonio, doesn't it? [Antonio Hernandez Corriedo - Emperor]
Wow…that took a long time to type up. I mean, I had a hard time trying to figure out the Spanish relationship with the Philippines in general! DAMN YOU, Wikipedia for potentially lying to me AGAIN!
