Thanks to Shattering Colors, TwistDart, Zaaze, Tossing-stone, Olivia Kirkland, Alllans, Bibi02846 and ScandinavianTrash for reviewing.

Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia.

Chapter 35

Arthur sighed as he entered the kitchen, where Alice was making lunch and Will was watching her. The two elder Kirklands turned to regard the younger.

"Vlad's asleep," Arthur said. "But he doesn't seem to want his memories restored. He's afraid of the possibility that the good memories with them were fake."

"Well, it is his choice," Alice said. "We can't force him."

"Trying to force him would only cause him to distrust us," Will said. "And I get the feeling he's already lacking trust."

"It just makes me so mad," Arthur said. "If Feliks had completed the transformation… why stick around? Why alter Vlad's memories?"

"Kinship," Will said. "The four of them were bullied, weren't they? How many other friends did they have?"

Arthur flinched.

"None, to be honest," Arthur said. "Lovino had his brothers, but I don't think they were close. And Alfred, as we know, made Matthew's life miserable. And any potential friends they made… They were scared off, or decided that it wasn't worth it to be around targets. And Vlad… Asides from the three of them, he had Lukas and I, but it was mostly through the club. And after the other day, when we reacted to him in fear… I think we ruined any chances we had with him."

"I think it's not just about Vlad," Alice said. "I think that you want a friend as well, and after you broke off your friendship with Jones, you've been rather lonely, haven't you?"

Arthur blinked at his mother's words and averted his eyes, nodding his head.

"Lukas was there as well," Arthur said, "but he's a loner. We're not close enough to be considered friends. But Vlad… He's friendly, he's enthusiastic, and despite the bullying, he's been looking on the bright side. I just…"

"You want to be his friend," Will said. "And there we have the problem. It comes back to what I was trying to say earlier. The other three have suffered for a long time, and the only ones that they had to comfort them was each other. Then Vlad came, and they started to make a new friend. A friend who is equally bullied, and therefore would want the support of those that were familiar with what they go through. But they still had the constant fear that they would lose that new friend. That's why they consider you a threat, isn't it? It's why they told you firstly to stay away from Vlad, and secondly not to interfere."

Arthur flinched, looking away.

"Are demons even capable of friendship?" Arthur asked.

"Remember, they're not just demons," Will said. "They're a trio of bullied teenagers, who've been on the receiving end of many cruel tricks, and they were desperate to make it end. Tell me, if they didn't have each other and they still had to go through all of that, what would have happened?"

"Suicide, most likely," Alice sighed. "I've seen their scars."

"Scars?" Arthur repeated.

"Lovino and Matthew have on their arms, while Feliks has on his hips."

Arthur was horrified to hear this, and Will sighed.

"When going through something like this, it's always good to know that you're not alone," Will said. "To have someone there for you to remind you that everything would be alright, and someone that knows what you're going through. It's that kinship that they're after. Vlad became a part of them as human. Now they want him as demons."

Arthur shook his head.

"And then what?" Arthur asked. "What will they do if Vlad does become a demon? And what are they willing to do to achieve those goals?"

"Let's hope we never find out," Alice said. "It's going to be tricky. Demons are relentless when it comes to getting what they want."

"And we need to protect Vlad from them," Will said. "Like Arthur said, we have no idea what would happen if all four of them do become demons."

…

Mathias arrived at Matthew's house, completely tired from all the walking. He really hoped that the Canadian was home, and that he would give him answers.

And water. He was really thirsty by now.

He started to knock on the door, but after the first knock the door swung open. Feeling the hair at the back of his neck stand up, Mathias decided to do what he came there to do.

"Hello?" he called out as he entered. "Is anyone here? Matt?"

The house was quiet, and Mathias swallowed nervously. Something about this just didn't seem right. He had been there many times before, visiting Alfred (and torturing Matthew), which meant the house was familiar to him, but…

It was just wrong.

He jumped when the door slammed shut behind him, and he felt as though he was in a horror movie. All that was needed was the ghost.

"Hello, Mathias."

…Like that.

Mathias spun around, and in the archway leading to the living room stood Matthew, only… he was different. He radiated an air of confidence, almost like Alfred's, except Alfred's was mostly arrogance. Matthew seemed confident and… dangerous. He wasn't wearing his glasses, and for once, he was wearing a short-sleeved shirt, allowing Mathias to see the red lines on the pale skin.

Matthew seemed to notice where he was looking, for he casually looked towards his left arm and shrugged.

"You know, you're the reason why I have this one," Matthew said, pointing to a line. "That was when you bumped into me, sending me to the ground, and then you pretended as though you forgot something, just so you could step on me. Both my upper and lower back. You were quite heavy. And then you paused, taking out your cell phone to text someone."

Mathias frowned, not remembering something like that. He probably did do it, but amongst all the other things he did to Matthew and his friends, that one didn't stick out.

He also realised what exactly those red lines were on Matthew's arms.

"Those aren't my fault," Mathias said. "You did that to yourself. Really pathetic, Mattie."

Matthew glared at him, and Mathias took an automatic step back.

"I came to ask you a few questions," Mathias said.

"And what do you expect me to say?" Matthew asked. "'Yes, you destroyed our lives, and now we're suffering a fate worse than death and became something less than human'. Isn't that what Patrick said?"

Mathias felt his stomach drop. It was word-for-word what Patrick had said. But how did Matthew know about it?

Matthew smirked, seeing the look on Mathias's face.

"He was right about the first part, you know," Matthew said. "You did destroy our lives. You, Alfred, and all of the others."

"How exactly do you figure that?" Mathias asked.

Before Matthias realised it, Matthew was in front of him, hand wrapped around his throat. Matthias's eyes widened, not expecting it from Matthew, and the other had a tight grip without choking him.

It was controlled.

"Do you know what it's like to be treated as though you don't exist?" Matthew sneered. "You're stripped of your personality. In another person's eyes, you mean nothing, and you start to believe the same thing. Did you know, there's a poem that explicitly mentions that the worst pains in life are not to die, but to be ignored or forgotten? And when you're not ignored, you're treated as though you're garbage. As though you're a bug. Nothing. You lose yourself, because someone else is so pathetic that they feel the need to treat you as though you're beneath them. They don't treat you like a human."

Matthew released Mathias's throat and stepped back. Mathias rubbed his sore throat and glared.

"You stripped each of us of our humanity," Matthew said. "And for what? Because it's fun."

"Yeah, it was," Mathias said. "And you are beneath me."

Matthew's lips curled.

"That brings me to the part where Patrick is incorrect," Matthew said. "A fate worse than death. We were already suffering one, thanks to you. Like I said, being ignored and forgotten is one of them. Being hated by your own family. Being treated like a punching bag, or a toy, and having everything about you stripped away and ripped apart, until you're left with nothing. That's a fate worse than death. What we're going through now…" Matthew chuckled. "It's far better than life."

"And what are you going through now?" Mathias asked.

"The second part of Patrick's mistake. We're not beneath humans. We're above you."

And in the next instant, the person standing in front of him didn't look like Matthew, but someone completely different. Mathias took another step back, almost entering the dining room.

"What the hell?" Mathias asked in shock.

He was lifted into the air, a hand wrapped around his throat, or that was how it felt. Matthew hadn't moved.

"You made our lives hell," Matthew said. "But hell likes us, and wanted to make us residents. VIP."

Mathias was thrown towards the stairs, and he groaned in pain as a step dug into his ribs, while another hit his pelvic bone.

"You did that to me. Don't complain about it."

Mathias looked up to see Feliks and Lovino standing on either side of Matthew, and he could see that they had changed as well. They looked… dangerous.

"You know, almost two weeks ago, Alfred pushed me down these very stairs," Matthew said. "He simply walked away. He almost killed me. But I was already becoming something other than human. Would you have wanted him to be successful?"

Mathias didn't answer, recognising the trick question. If he answered 'yes', he would incur their wrath, since right now, they were more prone to anger than their usual sadness, and they were actually a threat now. But if he answered 'no', he would be called out on the lie.

"It's the vampire's fault, isn't it?" Mathias asked.

"Vlad provided us with the last thing we needed," Matthew said. "Someone to use magic. All the other things – desperation, anger, sorrow, hatred, fear – those are things that the twelve of you gave us."

"It's your fault we're like this," Lovino said.

"We didn't want it," Feliks said. "But we're not going back."

"And you were right," Matthew said. "We were the ones that killed all the others. I killed Carlos by ripping out his heart. And I killed Gilbert by reaching into his chest and crushing his heart without even breaking skin. I did the same thing to kill Natalia. And I killed Alfred by manipulating him into killing himself. He was a little puppet, unable to do or say anything without my express permission, but aware of every moment. The last thing he saw was my face in the mirror as I told him that he brought it on himself."

"I killed Allen," Feliks said. "I twisted his neck without even touching him."

"I killed Kyo, Antonio and Ivan," Lovino said. "All three of them were turned into dust while still alive. They decomposed at a rapid pace before they were even corpses, and felt everything."

"And without his control," Matthew said, "Vlad tore out Sadiq's heart and gave Elizaveta that aneurysm. Now, he still needs to kill one more person, with full control of his body and mind."

"And that's where you come in," Feliks said. "Demons usually need sacrifices."

Mathias scowled.

"Should have known you'd resort to devil worshipping," Mathias said. "Like the freaks you are."

"Oh, you misunderstand," Feliks said. "We are the demons."

Their eyes glowed red, and Mathias moved back in shock.

"You're monsters," Mathias whispered.

"This wasn't through anything that we did," Matthew said. "You and the others did this to us. And you're the ones paying the price."

"This is what you did," Lovino said. "And you need to pay the price for destroying us."

And Mathias thought he could understand what Lukas had meant.

…

Vlad woke up from his nap, feeling as though he was being watched. He turned his head to see a pair of blue eyes watching him intently.

The blue eyes blinked, and the boy cocked his head to the side.

"You look a lot like a vampire," the boy said.

"So I've been told," Vlad said dryly.

"I think it's cool."

Vlad looked the boy up and down. He didn't have the same green eyes as Arthur, Alice, Alistair or Will, but he did have Ian's blue eyes.

"Who are you?" Vlad asked.

"I'm Peter," the boy said. "I'm the youngest Kirkland right now. Well, we have our cousins in Australia. One of them is a year younger than me."

"So, you're Arthur's little brother?" Vlad asked, before he smiled. "You know, I have a little brother too, but I think he's younger than you. He's eight."

"I'm twelve," Peter said. "What does your brother look like?"

Vlad was tempted to show a picture, before he remembered that he didn't have his phone with him. So he sighed, trying to recall what his brother looked like.

"His eyes are the same colour as mine," Vlad said. "But his hair is a dark brown. There are two locks on either side of his head that stand on end."

"Does he look like a vampire too?" Peter asked.

"Da… I guess he does."

"That's so cool. What's he like?"

"He really loves sweets. He's calm and patient, and it's really hard to upset him. He also loves scary stories."

Peter snickered.

"I'd like to meet him some day," Peter said.

"Peter, what the bloody hell are you doing here?"

The two turned to see Arthur standing at the door, looking between the two of them with a frown on his face. Peter stuck out his tongue.

"I can do whatever I want!" Peter exclaimed.

"Whatever," Arthur sighed. "Get out. I need to talk with Vlad."

Peter pouted, before he stormed out, but not without waving to Vlad. Vlad smiled, before he turned to Arthur with a frown.

"I wouldn't have hurt him," Vlad said. "I'm not desperate or anything."

"I know," Arthur sighed. "I was more worried about him annoying you. Anyway, we need to talk about your memories."

"Why do you want me to restore them so badly?"

"Because I… I was hoping that we could be friends. And I don't want you to get hurt or anything."

Vlad stared in surprise as Arthur averted his gaze, blush on his face.

"We're not at that level yet," Vlad said. "Tell me honestly: what did you do to stop the bullying? And before you found out about what's happening to us."

Arthur flinched.

"I ended my friendship with Alfred," Arthur said. "And gave him a lecture. And… I tried to stop them when they came over to your house. The syrup incident. But I couldn't."

Vlad winced when he recalled the syrup incident, but there wasn't enough. Arthur avoided Vlad's eyes.

"I'm sorry," Arthur said. "I know I said I want to be your friend, but… I've done nothing to help you. I'm really pitiful, aren't I?"

Vlad stared at Arthur for a moment before he averted his own gaze.

"You can't expect me to replace the friends who were actually there for me with someone that did the bare minimum," Vlad said.

"Then let me make up for it!" Arthur said.

"You just want to keep me from becoming a demon. From hurting anyone else."

"I'm also worried about you. Didn't you say that you would like to see your family again? It's still a few months until Christmas."

Vlad was surprised. He had no memory of sharing that information with Arthur, but for Arthur to know something like that…

"Please," Arthur whispered. "Let me make up for everything I did, and didn't do."

Vlad sighed.

"You know that I'm not the only one you needed to make up to?" Vlad asked. "The others have suffered for far longer. I think Matthew especially, considering the fact that you were friends with his brother, who made all our lives hell."

Arthur flinched.

"And unfortunately, there's no way to make it up to them anymore," Arthur said. "Not a way that's safe, at least."

…

Katyusha sighed as she drove home. She had to have a long talk with the school board about her 'lack of control' regarding her siblings. It was strange. They never cared about the bullying before. The principal, Mr Jebb, knew about it, after all, having given a few punishments in the past.

She supposed that it was because the police had gotten involved.

She squinted, seeing something on the sidewalk near their house. As she moved closer, she realised that it was a figure, and it wasn't much longer after that that she noticed the pale blond hair.

"Natalia?" she questioned, coming to a stop and climbing out of the car.

She ran over to her sister, noticing how pale she looked. She placed her hand on the other's forehead, noticing how cold it was, and she moved her hand to Natalia's pulse.

Nothing.

"Nat!" she shouted, trying to shake the other awake. "Ivan! Where are you?! Anyone!"

…

Francis groaned, opening his eyes. What happened? He remembered seeing a twisted version of Feliks, and the other saying something to him – perhaps a greeting? – but then…

What happened?

"Good morning, Sleeping Beauty."

Francis jumped, turning to the side. He saw what appeared to be Lovino, Matthew and Feliks, but they looked wrong. They looked scary. But Francis recognised Lovino's voice.

"What's going on?" Francis asked nervously.

"Tell me, were you serious about feeling sorry for what you did?" Feliks asked.

"Oui. Of course."

"Then why did you only try to make it up to Vlad?" Lovino asked. "You only went for the one you've known for the shortest time. You didn't bother with the ones you've been torturing for months."

Francis licked his lips.

"Because I knew you wouldn't accept my apology," Francis said. "Vlad didn't, and as you said, he's the one I… tortured the least."

"Well then," Matthew said. "What if we told you that there is a way for you to make it up to us?"

Sorry, this hasn't been proofread. I'm a little pressed for time. So if there are mistakes, forgive me.