TW: Drowning (Just in case, keep safe!)
Chapter 25
Someone save him
Anything, anything sharp would do. Emil fought against the ropes while he looked for something to cut it with. He felt himself shudder, the cool wind blew past them as the stolen boat went further and further away from shore. A sudden wave caused the boat to bounce and Emil was thrown down onto the floor. He hit his head and for a moment he only saw stars. Something warm and wet ran down his temple and it didn't take him long to figure out that it was blood. "Ow…"
"Don't worry, you won't feel it for long" He glanced at Shade that was steering the boat with a focused stare. Emil sat up and groaned as his head spun.
"Why are you doing this?" He tried to breathe normally but it was hard as he was terrified.
"I already told you; to get revenge, to wake the others and-"
"I mean, why won't you let me go?" Shade stared down at him with a smile.
"You're a threat."
"How? I'm weak, I can't fight. You overpowered me easily." Emil felt embarrassed to admit it but it was his only hope. If he could only reason with him then maybe he'll change his mind. After all, Emil would rather be a prisoner than…
"Hmm. I guess it wouldn't hurt explaining." Emil felt like his heart would jump out of his chest as the boat slowed down and eventually stopped. Shade sighed and sat down next to him before he started. "Let's say it like this, you could hear Antonio. Do you know why?" Emil shook his head and tried to move as far away as possible. Shade looked thoughtful for a moment. "There's very few people able to do that, especially in the time we're living in now." He leaned back and looked up at the sky "I was planning on taking care of the three that would be able too but, since Alfred failed, it didn't work out"
"What do you mean?"
"You don't get it?" Shade grinned and leaned in closely to whisper in his ear. "The only ones able to hear Antonio are mages. Arthur, Vladimir, Lukas and apparently you." He leaned back again and stood up. "I'll get rid of you before you've learned how to use it, then I'll take care of your weakened brother, Arthur shouldn't be a problem if he's alone and the same goes for Vladimir" He chuckled before he added "Then there will be no one with the power to stop me."
"Leave Lukas alone!" Emil took a deep breath, he hadn't realised that he had been holding it. Now he was only angry, he'd forgotten all about what was about to happen. Shade frowned and walked up to him, grabbed him by his shirt and lifted him in the air.
"You don't have the power to tell me what to do, you said it yourself, you're weak. You're nothing." He moved to the edge of the boat and held Emil above the water. Emil only stared at him, his anger bigger than it ever had been. He felt like he was boiling from the inside.
"It doesn't matter what you do to me. You will not win. My brother will stop you, Mathias will stop you, Arthur will, they all will. There's nothing you can do to win!" At the last word, Emil felt his anger reach its peak and the heath filled him completely. He saw chock in Shades eyes as he took a startled step backwards and dropped Emil back into the boat.
"Damn you" Shade stared at his right hand for a moment before he once again turned to Emil. He walked over and lifted him with one hand. "If you had just behaved, you would've been one of few who lived. I liked you. I would keep you for myself, but now…"
"Stop" As he was let go of, Emil took a deep breath.
"You're too much trouble" They cold water almost knocked the air out of his lungs and he struggled to reach the surface again. Something pulled at his feet, dragging him deeper into the ocean, and when he looked down he could see the boats anchor tied to his feet. He didn't know when it had gotten there, but didn't matter. If he didn't escape, he wouldn't be able to warn anyone. But the rope wouldn't loosen and he couldn't hold his breath much longer. Finally, the panic caught up with him and he couldn't think anymore. He struggled even more and felt his energy focus on his tied up parts. Suddenly, it was gone. The ropes weren't there anymore. He didn't stop to wonder how he got free, instead he focused on getting up since he had lost all his air while panicking. He tried to move his arms and legs to swim upwards.
They wouldn't move.
Emil tried again but he was like paralysed. Even though he was free from the anchor, he kept sinking while still unable to move and he felt his consciousness drift away. He saw a black shape coming towards him and soon the darkness swallowed him up completely.
.
"Is this it?" Feliciano looked back at Berwald that nodded. They were standing in front of a big, very old, factory.
"Great…Just…wait…" Ludwig was leaning against a tree and tried to regain his breath.
"I told you it would be easier to run if we chased you-"
"I don't want to be chased!" Ludwig frowned while Feliciano chuckled and let Berwald down on the ground. He walked over to Ludwig and patted his head.
"You just got to get used to it!" He smiled brightly. "My body just works that way!"
"Let's just move on" He waved dismissively with his hand. They walked up to the big door while carefully looking around for either Emil or dangers. "Do you think it's locked?"
"Let's check!" Feliciano reached out a hand to pull down the handle but as he did, a shock was sent through his body and he was thrown back.
"Feliciano!" The two of them hurried over and crouched down next to him. It only took him a minute before he regained his consciousness.
"Ow, Is this heaven?" He sat up and located himself again. "Oh right, I'm here"
"Are you all right?" Feliciano nodded and stood up again, still a bit unsteady.
"Well…" They looked down at Berwald. "Now we know that something is in there." He picked up a rock and threw it at the door. It met a similar faith as Feliciano had and bounced off with an electrified buzz. "Now we just have to find a way in."
.
"Damn it! Damn it all! This fucking hurts!" Shade sat down in the boat that was now laying docked at the harbor. It didn't matter what healing spell he tried, his right hand was still just as burnt as it had gotten when Emil had his outburst. He tried putting it down in the water and sighed in relief as it cooled down. Maybe it would heal if he just treated it like a normal wound. He tried to ignore Antonio that had been crying and screaming at him ever since they dropped Emil off.
"How could you do this? You just… Why?! I'll never…" Shade stood up and managed to climb out with one hand but changed his mind and climbed back in. After a bit of searching he found a first aid kit carefully secured under a seat. He had had years of watching Antonio treat both his own and others wounds so this shouldn't be too hard. It took a great deal of struggling, and time, but he managed to treat the burn and wrap it in a clean bandage.
"I think that's right" He shrugged and got out the boat again. He wasn't used to injury or fatigue, nor was he used to feeling tired or hungry. Shade made his way back to the car a bit carelessly but there wasn't anyone nearby at this time. His hand stung as he walked and he sighed in relief. It had been right to get rid of Emil. If he had gotten to develop his powers he would have become just as big of a threat as the other three. Maybe even bigger. Magic was always more powerful when they were younger and would only grow weaker as you grew older. A cool wind blew through the car as he opened the door and got in. He gripped the steering wheel without thinking and flinched when the pain spread from his hand through his arm for a moment. "Ow, damn it!" He gritted his teeth and started the car, it was about half an hour drive back to where Lovino was hidden and he had to get back and make up a plan before the rest of the nations woke up.
.
"Hey, Antoni-"
"Wait" Ivan held up a hand to Elizabeta that quickly quieted down. "Something is wrong" They hovered in the air just above the treetops and watched as Antonio climbed out of the boat. He had just finished up wrapping his hand in a bandage and looked completely lost in thought as he made his way towards a shed. "Why would he be here?"
"Let's just go ask him?" Ivan reached out a hand to stop her and made a quick decision.
"No, you go find the others. I'll follow him." Elizabeta frowned, she didn't like getting ordered around, but nodded and flew off towards the town. Ivan quickly made his way through the air and followed as Antonio made his way around the shed. He finally noticed what was wrong. Antonios face was filled with rage and it looked like his eyes were burning, it was an expression he had never seen on his face before. Instinctively, Ivan quickly made his way over as he opened the door. A strong, cold, wind blew him right inside and he was lucky enough to not get noticed.
"Ow, damn it!" Ivan heard Antonio groan as he placed himself behind the driver seat where he wouldn't get noticed. The car started and they drove off, Ivan flinched as Antonio started speaking. "Stop crying! I didn't have much choice!" Ivan sighed as he realised he hadn't gotten noticed, though he was quite confused about who he could be talking to. Antonio started mumbling to himself. "Now I'll go check on Lovino, then I'll lure Arthur out to meet me alone and he'll be out of the way. Taking out Lukas shouldn't be a problem considering his current state. Then it's only Vladimir left." Ivan held his breath as Antonio repeated it over and over again until he suddenly stopped to shout "Antonio! Shut up!"
"What?" Ivan couldn't help but whisper. Luckily, the sound from the engine drowned his words and he wasn't noticed. Get people out of the way? Screaming at himself? The crazy look and the burning eyes, nothing was like the Antonio he knew. Ivan clenched his fists, he didn't like not being able to do anything. If this would have been any other day he wouldn't have had to hide and he would easily have gotten the answers he needed. He realised that if this would've been any other day he wouldn't have been in this situation in the first place. Antonio suddenly stepped on the brakes and stooped the car. He turned around and stared into the backseat.
"If you don't shut up I'll hurt more people than only those three" He looked around for a moment before he smiled. "Good Antonio, you listened for once." That's when Ivan saw it. In the backseat, Antonios shadow was projected holding his hands over his mouth while it shook as if to keep himself from screaming out loud. "You should be happy you know, you're the only one I can't touch" Ivan could almost hear the smile that spread across "Antonios" face. "Though, I can still hurt you." Ivan shook his head. How could Antonio have let this happen? He held on to the seat as the car drove through the forest towards an unknown destination.
.
"We're almost back at the hotel!"
"We'll just go another way then"
"There's no use! He could be anywhere!"
"Now, now. Let's calm down" Tino tried to turn their focus back on the search but they were all tired and easily annoyed. They had been walking in a circle to search through the most unused roads and alleyways in town. Now they had ended up in a parking lot not far from the hotel, there wasn't any people around and only a few cars stood parked. The wind had started picking up and a chill ran through the group as they felt the cool air.
"It's pretty cold here" Francis rubbed his bare arms and damned this spell for not letting him wear something warmer. Just as that thought passed his mind, the edges of his rags started glowing. It grew and shaped itself until it also covered his arms, giving him something like a long sleeved tunic. The others stared while Francis just looked at it. It was, according to him, still just as ugly as before. He blinked and looked up. "You know what, I'm way too tired to react right now"
"Well, at least it's warmer right?" Tino chuckled and was soon joined by Yao. Francis rolled his eyes and picked up Matthew from the ground. Suddenly, Tino felt something pull at his hair. "What are you-"
"It'll only get in the way like that. There we go." Yao backed away and nodded, pleased with his work.
"Oh! I can see again!" Tino moved his hand to feel the short ponytail and sighed. He hadn't even noticed how bothered he'd been by the hair blowing in his face. "Thank you! Now I can-"
"Wait a minute! Where's Kiku?" Tino was interrupted by Francis that looked around.
"He was here a minute ago!" Yao turned to scan the parking lot and it didn't take long before he found him. "Oh, he's over there."
"Why did he stop?" Tino only got shrugs for answers and they jogged over to him. As they closed in, they could hear him speaking to someone but they couldn't see who since he was standing behind a pickup truck.
"It sure sounds like them but, are you sure?" Kiku seemed to be looking down at the ground. "Okay, where did they go?"
"What are you doing?" Yao was the first one to reach him. As he turned the corner he sighed as he couldn't see anyone there. "I see, you have finally lost your mind"
"I have not! He said he had some information so I stopped. And what do you mean by finally?" Yao was just about to answer as a crow jumped out from behind the wheel.
.
"kas!"
Huh? What was that?
"ukas!"
Gilbert turned around. He didn't understand how a voice could be heard underwater and decided that he might just be going mad. After all, he had been swimming for hours and had barely slept at all. He shrugged and kept going but just as he did, he heard another sound. The sound of an engine starting. Quickly, he followed the sound. If he followed the boat he would soon be back on land right? He had gotten quite good at swimming like this and it only took him a few minutes before he saw the boat that had just started moving. He smiled, finally he would find land again! Just as he started swimming towards the boat, something else caught his eye. For a moment he didn't dare to turn around. When he did, it only took him a second before he was next to the boy floating unconsciously in the water.
"Emil…?"