Chapter 15

Losing Control

"Emil" Mathias ran fast, faster than he ever had before. He didn't notice the trees pass by him because he was running in panic, running towards the scream he had heard moments ago. Somewhere along the way, he passed Tino that was also running but he didn't stop. He saw the house after what felt like a decade but was only a minute and he flew through the door.

"Let go!" He could hear a struggle from upstairs so he rushed there, taking three steps at a time. He was in the corridor and saw that Arthurs door was open. "Stop!" He heard a loud crash and a whine just before Berwald came flying through the door into the wall on the other side. Mathias was there within seconds but Berwald shook his head and pointed inside the room.

"Stop him" As he turned around he couldn't believe what he was seeing. Alfred sat on top of Arthur with his hands around his throat. Alfred had marks along his arms from Arthurs now weak attempts to break free and Mathias saw how Arthur slowly turned blue. He grabbed one of Alfreds arms and pulled hard, but there was no change. Arthurs arms fell to his sides as he fell unconscious and Mathias knew he had to hurry. He backed a few steps before he leapt and crashed into Alfred with full force which made them both fly through the room. Mathias was up on his feet in no time with his focus on the nation before him. At the corner of his eye he could see Emil standing up, he had apparently been thrown through the room when he tried to help earlier.

"Watch him, I'll help Arthur" Emil hurried off and Mathias saw how Alfred stood up again. This was not good. Even though he would never admit it, Mathias knew that he wasn't as strong as the much younger nation. Not anymore at least. Alfred looked at him and Mathias saw how his eyes were completely empty just before he threw the first punch. Mathias avoided it easily and when the next attack came he avoided that too. He felt confused, the attacks were too simple and too straightforward, and when a kick came flying towards him he managed to catch it and threw Alfred to the ground.

"What's wrong with you?" Alfred stood up again and turned his attention towards the bed where Emil was taking care of Arthur with help from Berwald. When he started walking towards them Mathias took a hold of his wrist and pulled him back which made him stumble and almost fall again. "You're not getting past me" Mathias felt how the energy in the room suddenly changed when Alfred once again charged towards him. This time it was different, this time Alfred seemed to have a plan. Mathias tried to avoid him but Alfred was fast and managed to hit him in the side and they all heard the crack when a few ribs broke. He gasped from the pain but kept himself together and countered with a knee in Alfreds stomach. He backed away without his facial expression changing at all, it stayed as blank as it had throughout the whole fight. Mathias heard how Emil let out a relieved sigh.

"He's breathing" Mathias could hear the panting breaths and unfortunately, so did Alfred. He threw himself towards the bed but Mathias tackled him midair causing them both to land hard on the floor. Alfred struggled to get up again while Mathias felt how pain radiated throughout his body from the damage on his ribs. His vision got blurry but he could still see Alfred getting up once again so he stood and ignored it. Quickly he placed himself between Alfred and the bed, ready for the next attack. Just as they were about to throw the next punch it was as if the air between them electrified and they both flew in different directions, crashing into the wall.

"Mathias, how many times have I told you not to fight in my house?" Lukas stood in the doorway looking more worn out than any of them with his hands stretched out in front of him.

.

"So, here's the deal" Gilbert was lost in thought and was thinking about how fun it would be to see Ludwigs expression when he saw this new body when the group finally had come to a conclusion. "You stay with us for one week to answer our questions and then one more week to lure… I mean call your friends here so we can talk to them too."

"No, you don't understand, I have to get home" It wasn't actually a lie, Ludwig was probably really worried about him. It was not because he was freaking out or anything that he had to get out of there, of course not. At least, that's what Gilbert told himself. He tried to look Michelle in her eyes since she seemed to be the only one against this plan but she was deliberately looking away. He saw how Simon shook his head.

"We can't do that, this is our big chance to get ourselves known" He stood up and walked dramatically through the room where he picked up a very familiar black case from the ground and brought it over. "This is very important to you, right? We could barely separate you from it when we found you"

"Yes" Gilbert looked at the case and reached out for it. He had forgotten that he had brought it to the beach, his flute that was very dear to him. He had gotten it from Old Fritz and it was one of the few physical memories he still had left of him. Simon pulled it away just before Gilbert could grab it. "Give it to me"

"I will, If you agree to stay" Gilbert sank lower into the tub and considered his options. He could either refuse and still be forced to stay or agree, get his flute back, and be forced to stay that way. He sighed and figured that if he actually didn't have any choice he might as well try to lighten the mood a bit.

"Fine, but something feels a bit fishy about this" He received clueless looks from around the room. "You know…A bit FISHY" It was almost like Gilbert could see a physical switch click in their heads as they realized.

"Oh" came in unison from the group and they were quiet for a moment before Sarah started giggling. The others soon joined her and their laughter grew louder. Gilbert relaxed as the tension in the room disappeared but after a while he grew more and more uncomfortable.

"Hey, guys" A few of them were laying on the ground holding their hands over their bellies as tears ran down their faces "It wasn't that funny" the rest leaned towards the walls and tried to get themselves under control but it didn't go well. "You're scaring me" As the laughter continued Gilbert thought back on his life. He had lived long and there had been a lot of weird things that happened to him and he had met all kinds of people but this, this must be the weirdest thing this far.

.

"Where am I?" Everything was dark around him but Lovino could still feel the ground underneath his feet. He started running, he didn't know why but it felt like he was in a hurry. The ground suddenly opened underneath his feet and he fell, he fell for eternity and for seconds, until he stopped and floated two feet above the ground and he suddenly realized. "It's a dream".

"Lovi!" He heard a voice to his right and turned towards it. He was in a forest and the trees stood high and dark around him, they looked threatening. "Lovi!" Antonio was running towards him through the forest and when he closed in Lovino could see that his eyes were filled with panic. "Lovi run!" Lovino stayed put and Antonio was soon right by his side.

"Run from what?" Antonio grabbed him and pulled him close before he grinned creepily and whispered.

"From me" He dissolved into a dark fog that surrounded Lovino that started running, he had to get away. The fog disappeared and he heard the cracking of twigs as someone came walking through the forest. He saw how Alfred slowly made his way towards him but something was weird. His eyes looked glazed and when he got closer, Lovino could see the black fog slowly following him.

"Go away!" He fell through nothing once again and this time when he landed he could hear waves and feel sand underneath his fingers. He stood up and awaited the next danger. It wasn't as dark anymore and he could see the ocean spreading out. Suddenly, there was a break in the water and a creature jumped before it gracefully twisted in the air and dove back into the water. Lovino walked closer to try and get a look of what it was and the next time the creature breached the water he saw what, and who, it was. Gilbert made a small spin in the air which made the scales on his tail glow in the soft light before he disappeared into the deep again. Something tugged at his pants and when he looked down he saw a small boy with glasses wearing a child sized dress from old times.

"It's time to wake up" The boys words echoed in his head as Lovino sat up in his bed and panted heavily. This time it took him a while to calm down, he couldn't figure out the dream at all.

"That's it" He stood up and went over to the window to look out "I'm just slowly going insane"

A/N Once again, thank you for reading this story!
Jasmin: I really enjoy reading your reviews and I'm really going to miss them while you're gone!
Marzue: The acronym took some time indeed but when I figured it out, I was really happy!