Author's Note: We check in on Germany tonight. So, he is awake and what happens now? How are Gilbert and Feliciano going to take this? Well, Ludwig is pretty messed up because of Lydia Harel. I doubt her poison is really done with him either. I will come back to this in the season. I was struggling for a bit this week but I pulled it off. I know what we are doing next week. That should be interesting. For now, enjoy this week's match.


Match Five: Verboten:

He just sits there silent in his bed. Gilbert can't check him out of the hospital yet. Ludwig hadn't shown much improvement since he woke up. Feliciano didn't know how to handle it.

"What's the matter with Ludwig?" he whimpered to the doctor. The older man took off his glasses and shook his head.

"I don't know what to tell you," the doctor said. "He doesn't respond to anything around him. We ran the tests and everything comes up normal." Feliciano started trembling.

"Isn't there anything you can do?" he asked.

"We don't know," the doctor told him. "We will keep him for observation." The Italian man's heart sank.

It's happening again.

Feliciano put his hand to his chest and wandered down the hall.

"Do you think he'll be okay?" a nurse asked as she walked out of Ludwig's room. The doctor put his hand on her shoulder.

"No," he said. "I have seen that look before. They never do get over it so easily. That one definitely won't." Meanwhile, Ludwig sat in his bed, motionless. He could hear everything outside his door.


Gilbert sat alone in his kitchen. He sighed and rubbed his forehead.

"I don't understand it," the Prussian man complained. Ludwig was doing so much better when he woke up. Now, he won't respond. He didn't look like he recognized anyone at all. The doctors couldn't figure it out.

"I thought he was better," Gilbert complained. "Why is he like this?"

"He is still trapped," an old woman answered. The Prussian man looked up. That old lady stood in the doorway of the kitchen.

"What do you mean?" he asked. The old mystical woman walked into the kitchen and took a seat in front of him.

"I did free him," she said. "But his soul is still trapped in Limbo."

"How did that happen? Why did this happen? Can't you get him out?" Gilbert asked. The old lady shook her head.

"I can't get him out," she said. "He will have to get out himself."

"Why? How did he get stuck in Limbo? Why did he get stuck there?" he asked. She took him by the hands.

"There are many reasons why he is trapped," the old lady said. "I am still trying pin down Ludwig's exact reason. Whoever trapped him in that coma put a strong curse on him."

"A curse?" the Prussian man asked as the color drained from his face.

"I'm so sorry, dear," the old woman said.

"No…" Gilbert murmured. His hands started to tremble.


Feliciano would not let up. He came by to visit Ludwig.

"Hello, Germany!" the Italian man would greet him. No response. He walked over to the bed. Ludwig stared out the window. It's been two weeks since he first woke up. Gilbert was the one who called him up.

"He's awake!" he said. Feliciano opened his eyes.

"What?!" he asked. "When did this happen?!"

"This morning," Gilbert said. That was all it took for the Italian man to run out the door. He had been waiting for months for this news to come. But hope turned into disappointment when he made it to the hospital.

Feliciano sat down on the bed. The German man's eyes had no soul in them. Nobody could reach him. He started to look as bad a Kiku. The Italian mand grabbed his hand.

"Germany! Please speak to me!" he pleaded. "Germany! Germany!" All of the shaking didn't help. Feliciano felt like crying again. It would usually take a nurse or a doctor to pull him away.

"Come on, you have to go," they would say. "Let him rest." Let him rest? How long would Ludwig stay like this?

"Can't you do anything?!" the Italian man said. The doctor sighed.

"We are trying our best," he said. That phrase can only last for so long. Yesterday, it hurt to hear that again. Feliciano spent the ride home, crying. Even Lovino tried to comfort him.

"You might have to let him go," the older Italian man told him last night. Feliciano stared at him with teary eyes. He didn't want to think about that.

"I can't take this anymore," Feliciano said over the phone this morning. "I can't snap him out of it."

"I know," Gilbert said on the other line. "We will have to wait until he comes back."

"But when will that be?" the Italian man asked.

"I don't know," the Prussian man said. Those words alone stung. Feliciano shook his head.

"No…" he murmured.

"I am so sorry," Gilbert said. The Italian man sank to his knees, crying. Why does my heart hurt so much? The tears wouldn't stop flowing.


So cold.

Ludwig's eyes looked around. Darkness felt crushing. He could barely breathe. The German man looked over to his left. Howling sent a shiver up his spine. He tried to reach out for anyone, anything to latch onto. Nothing.

Where… Where am I?

The howling made his ears burn. Ludwig quickly covered them. His eyes began to water. A pair tiny hands pushed him on his back. The German man lost his balance and tumbled over. It felt like knives going into his back. He tried to scream in pain but no sound came out. The howling turned into laughter. Ludwig kept falling into the endless black. His body felt so cold.

Please let me go. Please let me go! I want to go home.

And where is that?

Ludwig looked up. I… I… I don't know. He huddled up into a ball as he fell further. Howling started going round and round. The German man's body numb as he kept reaching the bottom.

Then it all stopped.

Ludwig opened his dull blue eyes. A pale white hand reached out to him. The red nails made him panic. He quickly shook his head.

No. No. Stay away! No!

Don't you want to go back?

The German man went silent. The nails were inches away from him now. The tips made his skin turn cold. Ludwig didn't try to move.

It's okay. Don't be afraid. Let me take you. I will take you home.

Why would you do that? Who are you? Where are we? He would never get his answers. The nails tapped him on the arm. His vision turned white. The howling started to die down. Ludwig found himself at peace. Every thought in his head went quiet. And then, his body faded away.


Back at the hospital, Ludwig's right pinky finger started to twitch. Feliciano looked down and noticed his dear friend's hand.

"Germany? Germany?" he asked. The Italian man ran to the door.

"Nurse! Nurse! Come quickly! He moved his finger! He moved his finger!" he yelled. Feliciano ran out of the room, failing his arms up and down.