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Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia.

Chapter 34

"What is going on with my fratello?" Marcello demanded.

Patrick sighed. He had been left alone with Marcello, and the Italian demanded an explanation for what had happened earlier. He had stopped them when they were about to chase after Lovino, and seeing as Marcello wouldn't let them go until he was given an answer, they had left Patrick there to try to explain as best as possible.

The only problem was, Patrick had no idea how to say it.

He was aware of the fact that Lovino might not complete the transformation, and if they managed to find a way to permanently stop this, Lovino would have to live with his family again. And a shadow would loom over their heads. The transformation wouldn't be easily forgotten. And since the family was Catholic, he knew what the worst-case scenario would be.

"Your brother is very sick," Patrick said. "We need to get him special treatment."

"I don't believe you," Marcello said. "Being sick doesn't make everything around you explode!"

Patrick flinched. How much did the boy see? Marcello stared at him for a moment before he sighed.

"I heard everything," Marcello said. "I heard you said that Matteo and Feliks killed people. And I heard something about a transformation. Please… tell me what's happening."

Patrick stared at the younger male for a while before he sighed, gesturing to the living room. Marcello understood, and he led the way, taking a seat on the sofa while Patrick sat on the armchair.

"You know about the bullying Lovino goes through, right?" Patrick asked.

"Of course," Marcello said.

"Well… it triggered something. It attracted dark forces towards your brother. And it's making him turn into a demon."

Marcello inhaled sharply, and Patrick decided to continue.

"We're trying to stop this from happening," Patrick said. "We're trying to prevent more deaths."

"Deaths?" Marcello asked, before his eyes widened. "A-are you telling me that L-Lovino is responsible for…"

"Some of them, yes," Patrick said.

Marcello shook his head.

"No," he said. "I don't believe you. It's impossible! Lovino can't…"

Patrick sighed. He knew that it would be impossible for someone to believe that his brother was capable of something like that. But he needed Marcello to understand that it wasn't Lovino's fault. And that there was a chance that they might be able to undo it.

Of course, he wouldn't mention that they were unsure if there was a way to undo it.

…

"How could we lose him?" Alistair asked.

"We need to find him soon," Ian said.

"You act as though you're expecting him to go and murder someone."

"I'm just thinking of the possibility. There's still…"

Ian slammed on the brake, and Alistair followed his father's gaze to see why. He widened his eyes when he saw what Ian saw.

Three figures were standing next to a motionless form. While they looked human enough, the two could sense that they were demons. Even Ian, who only had a small amount of magic to begin with.

One of the figures suddenly changed in appearance, before the three turned towards their direction, as though sensing that they were being watched. And in the next instant, the three were around the car, one blocking each of the front doors while the third was crouched on the car's bonnet.

The one that was crouched in front of them was Lovino, and they could see the changes had taken effect. His skin was a lot paler than it used to be, and his hair was much darker and longer, though tied in a ponytail. He wore a green suit with a black undershirt and lacking a tie, and with the fedora he brought the image of the mafia to mind. With formal black shoes, one couldn't say that there was anything wrong with him, if it weren't for his red eyes and red markings that looked like cracks on the left side of his face, going down his neck and disappearing beneath his clothes.

"Too late," Lovino said. "Always too late."

"We warned Arthur not to interfere," Feliks said. "Looks like he didn't listen. We need to punish him."

Ian quickly put the car in reverse and tried to reverse out of there, and while Feliks and Matthew stayed behind, Lovino remained in his position. This frightened the two Kirklands quite a bit.

"You didn't interfere when it would have mattered," Lovino said. "I say that deserves a bit of a warning."

They didn't understand what he meant, at least until Alistair started screaming in pain. Ian chanced a quick glance, but he could see nothing wrong.

"And on that note," Lovino said, "you can start calling me 'Rovino'."

He jumped off of the car, and Ian finally turned the car around in order to properly drive away, and they made their way back to Lovino's house. They would need to retrieve Patrick, and it wouldn't be a bad idea to fortify the house. They didn't know what 'Rovino' would be willing to do to his family.

After a while Alistair stopped screaming, though he was crying in pain. Ian hadn't seen his son cry like that in a long time.

"What did he do?" Ian asked.

Alistair didn't answer, but he let a choked sound escape his throat, looking away from Ian. He was looking in the mirror.

They arrived soon enough, and as soon as the car had stopped he turned to Alistair.

"What's wrong?" Ian asked.

Alistair sobbed, before he turned to face Ian. Ian gasped in surprise.

The right side of Alistair's face looked as though it had started to decompose. The skin was leathery and a greyish colour, and in some places the skin had peeled away, revealing the rotting flesh underneath.

"My god," Ian whispered.

"I guess this is the power of Decay," Alistair said. "Of Rovino."

Ian glanced to the front door, seeing Patrick and Marcello leaving the house. Ian sighed, before getting out of the car.

"Well?" Patrick asked.

"We were too late," Ian said. "Lovino has changed."

"No," Marcello said, shaking his head. "It's impossible."

"He knows?" Ian asked Patrick.

"I had to tell him," Patrick said.

"Lovino wouldn't kill anyone," Marcello said. "And this whole transformation thing…"

"If you don't believe us about the transformation," Ian said, "just look at Alistair."

Marcello frowned, before comprehending that it was his Chemistry teacher. He looked inside the car and gasped in horror, hand making its way to his mouth. Patrick cried out.

"L-Lovino did that?" Marcello asked.

"Unfortunately," Ian said. "We need to fortify this house."

"Why?"

"Because demons are immoral. There's no telling what he'd be willing to do to you."

…

Vlad was quiet during the car ride, and none of the Kirklands knew what to say. Arthur was fuming in rage, while his mother and brother were a little shaken after their encounter with the demonic Feliks.

Arthur was angry that Feliks had apparently tampered with Vlad's memories. It was a violation of the mind, one of the most precious things belonging to a person. The fact that Feliks was willing to do something like that showed how corrupt he's become, and how corrupt they could become.

Like Matthew threatening Arthur's family.

He felt guilty that he might have placed them in harm's way, but Will had encouraged him, and they didn't seem to blame him. There was a possibility that they would suffer regardless if the transformations were complete. Demons weren't famous for keeping their promises, unless there was a contract involved. And even then, they might twist the terms of the contract around.

The car came to a stop, and Alice sighed, before turning towards Vlad.

"Are you alright?" she asked.

Vlad shrugged wordlessly, and Arthur decided that it was time to speak up.

"His memories have been altered," Arthur said. "I think it best that we should restore them."

Vlad tensed, before he turned to regard Arthur. Arthur firmly stared at him.

"You need to restore your memories," Arthur said. "It's not safe to let them remain."

"I know," Vlad said. "I just… I can't believe that Feliks…"

"Feliks and Matthew. My father and other two elder brothers are fetching Lovino."

Vlad shook his head.

"It's too late for Lovino," Vlad said. "Blood just told me. Lovino didn't want to accept what your father and brothers had to say about Matthew and Feliks, so he stormed out of the house. After some time, he ran into Ivan and Natalia, who were torturing him."

"It's still not grounds for killing someone," Will said.

"Every time Lovino's killed, it was out of self-defence," Vlad said. "This time was no different. Ivan was strangling him, and he was losing blood from the places where Natalia stabbed him."

"All of this is what Blood told you?" Arthur asked, horrified.

"Da."

"What else does Blood tell you?" Will asked.

"He's not trying to influence me or anything. Regardless of whether or not I complete the transformation, he'll stay. He was born of my subconscious, after all."

"Can't we get rid of him?" Alice asked.

"No," Arthur said. "Not without causing serious damage to Vlad. Trying to get rid of a part of the mind has serious consequences."

"He's right," Will said.

"Alright," Alice said. "What about suppressing him?"

"That would only make me stop hearing him," Vlad said. "It won't stop the transformation."

Will sighed.

"We're way out of our league," he said.

…

Ian and Patrick were working on fortifying the Vargas residence against demons. Alistair was in too much shock over what had been done to him to be able to be of help, and Marcello had no magical experience, and was also freaked out about what had apparently happened to his brother. He still didn't want to accept it, though.

Patrick was the one who noticed someone walking closer, and he scowled when he saw the other.

"Hey," Mathias said, out of breath. "What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same question," Patrick said coldly.

"I came to see Lovino," Mathias explained. "I wanted to ask him something."

"Well, he's not here," Patrick snapped. "So, you can leave now."

Mathias groaned, before dropping to the ground.

"Oh, come on!" he exclaimed. "I already went to Vlad and Feliks's houses. No one's there. I don't want to walk anymore."

Patrick's scowl deepened.

"What did you want to 'ask' him?" Patrick asked.

"Well, Lukas said some pretty bizarre things," Mathias said. "I just wanted to know what he meant."

"And what makes you think that Lovino would know the answers?"

"It's just… some of the things Lukas said. Like… he asked me if it was all 'fun and games', and he said something along the lines of 'worse than dead'. And he referred to them, so…"

"And what did you think they would say?" Patrick asked harshly. "'Yes, you destroyed our lives, and now we're suffering a fate worse than death and became something less than human'?"

"Um…" Mathias said, looking at him with puzzled expression. "What do you mean, 'less than human'?"

"You better hope you don't find out. Now, get out of here."

"Wait, you didn't tell me why you…"

"Because I'm trying to clean up your mess!" Patrick snapped. "If I were you, I'd leave town right away. Thanks to you and your buddies, we have to deal with a giant mess."

"What mess?"

"You better hope you don't find out," Patrick repeated. "Now, get out of here."

Mathias made his way to his feet.

"Give me one good reason why I should do as you say," Mathias said.

Patrick raised his hand, focusing some of his magic into it, and Mathias yelped as he was suddenly suspended in the air.

"Is this a good enough reason for you?" Patrick asked.

"W-what's going on?!" Mathias demanded, frightened.

"There are forces beyond your comprehension involved," Patrick said. "And some of those forces want you dead."

"W-what? But… what did I do?"

"You created them."

And Patrick allowed Mathias to fall to the ground. The Dane yelped, before fixing his gaze on Patrick.

"H-how did I create them?" Mathias asked.

"Like I said," Patrick said, "you don't want to know. Now, get out of my sight."

And this time Mathias scrambled away, afraid of what Patrick might do to him. Patrick sighed, and he turned around when he heard footsteps behind him, seeing his father.

"We should have placed a protective charm on him," Ian said.

"After what he and the others did?" Patrick asked. "Lovino was the one who hurt Alistair, but Mathias and his friends were the ones that pushed them over the edge, allowing them to do those things in the first place."

"Pat," Ian sighed. "You can't pay evil unto evil."

"I don't care," Patrick said. "If those bastards hadn't done all those things to Lovino and his friends, then they wouldn't have turned into demons, and Alistair wouldn't…"

Ian stared at Patrick for a moment before he pulled him into a hug. Patrick clutched his father's shirt.

"Do you blame Lovino at all for what happened to Alistair?" Ian asked.

"Of course I do," Patrick said. "In a way. I know that it's not Lovino, but a demon that used to be Lovino. He's a demon. But, those guys… they were human. They didn't have the excuse. Everything they did… It was their own choice. They decided that they wanted to make the lives of others hell, and for what?"

"I've been asking myself that same question for more than a week."

"And do you know what's worse? The rest of us… we did nothing. We allowed it to continue. Some of us even found it amusing. Funny." Patrick swallowed thickly. "I did too."

Patrick knew that what he was feeling was guilt. He was one of the many students who could have put a stop to the bullying, but didn't. In fact, he often found the things they did hilarious. But… When Arthur had explained what was happening the previous night… how the catalyst had been their feelings of anger, frustration and desperation, he realised how much damage he'd done by not doing anything. If only people had stopped them earlier… If only people had spoken up… Then they wouldn't have turned into demons.

But there was still Vlad left.

"We can't let Vlad complete the transformation," Patrick said. "We need to keep him safe and happy. He's still new in town… He wouldn't be as desperate as the others."

"Perhaps," Ian said. "But he's seen some suffering as well."

…

"This is your room," Arthur said. "I hope you don't mind."

Vlad didn't bother to look around. The room was sparsely decorated, and instead of a bed, they had a couch. This was obviously not originally meant to be a bedroom.

"Right," Arthur said awkwardly. "We'll turn this into a proper room in no time. There are wards all over the house, which means that they can't reach you."

"But I'm a prisoner now," Vlad said.

"Don't think of it that way. You're here for your protection."

"No. Not my protection. Mathias is the last of the bullies – you're doing it for his protection."

"We're doing it for everyone's protection. As demons, you wouldn't stop at killing all of your bullies. Innocents had died as well."

"Name one."

"Toris! Toris Laurinaitis! His only crime was that he allowed Ivan to manipulate him into hurting Feliks."

Vlad bit his lip and averted his eyes. Arthur sighed.

"Rest now," Arthur said. "We'll work on restoring your lost memories later."

"What if I don't want them back?" Vlad asked.

"Vlad, you can't allow them to…"

"No, Arthur," Vlad said, looking at the other with a hurt expression. "They were there for me since the beginning. When we weren't watching movies together, or hanging out at the mall, or… or whenever we were having fun, we would comfort each other. In spite of their own hardships, they went out of their way to make me feel better about everything. Are you trying to tell me that those memories are fake?"

Arthur swallowed thickly.

"…I don't think those memories were tampered with," Arthur said. "I've seen you four together. I wish that I could have had friends like that."

"But how much of what I remember were lies?" Vlad asked. "How many of them fill the gap? What if they're gone and… And I've been alone all this time?"

"I can tell you now that you were never alone," Arthur said.

Vlad shook his head.

"I do have a memory of you and Lukas," Vlad said. "You were afraid of me. That hasn't changed. I find it hard to trust you. I saw what Feliks became, but… I know that he wouldn't hurt me. You… You and your family are afraid that I might do something. That's why you're keeping me here."

Arthur remained silent, and Vlad gave a bitter laugh.

"I know what you would do if you feel that there's no other way," Vlad said. "You'd do anything to prevent more demons."

"Vlad…"

"No, Arthur. I come from a magical family as well. I know how things work." He took a deep breath. "If you feel like there's no other way, then you're going to kill me. And my survival instincts would force me to kill whoever tries to do something to me."

"I promise you, that won't happen."

"You might promise that. But what about the rest of your family? And I know that suicide isn't an option."

"Of course it isn't," Arthur said. "We'll find a way to stop this, without resorting to drastic measures. And I… I don't want you to die. You shouldn't think that…"

"I think you misunderstood me," Vlad interrupted. "When I said that suicide isn't an option. Not if I want to stop any deaths. You see, Arthur… Suicide counts as a conscious decision to kill. After all, you kill yourself."

Rovino was chosen for multiple reasons. It's the actual word that Lovino's name comes from. I looked it up, and it means 'I ruin' in Italian. It also follows the theme of combining their names with a word in their languages that is associated with their demon alter-egos. And also: Romano, Lovino. This was just too perfect.

And Blood's been giving Vlad all of his information. He's just not giving the correct memories, since Vlad himself doesn't trust him to do that.