Chapter 30

Stop it

What was this?

"Someone stop them!"

Why couldn't he think clearly?

"Mathias! Tino! Back off!"

"No!" Mathias struggled as the other nations tried to restrain him and Tino. Berwald was already stopped and Lukas had fallen down on his knees. They had managed to get a few punches in but Antonio was still able to get up on his feet.

"Let go of me! Antonio has lost his mind so let me beat some sense into him!"

"Tino listen! That's not Antonio, there's more to this than you know!" Lovinos voice cut through the yelling but they didn't have much effect.

"Doesn't matter! Nothing matters! Just let me…Just…" Tinos voice faded away and was replaced by sobbing. Mathias was thrown back at the ground next to Lukas. All around him people were yelling at each other but the only thing he saw was how Antonio stood up and smiled at him. Then he was gone. The group fell silent within seconds.

"Where is he?"

"How did-"

"Teleportation is pretty tricky, drains plenty of energy too, but this short of a distance I can handle"

"Lovino!"

"No, no, I would advise you all to stay back" Antonio smiled at Mathias from his position behind Lovino. He was holding him tightly so it didn't matter how much he struggled to get loose. "I'm in control now" Even though he was smiling, it was obvious that Antonio was exhausted. He was breathing heavily and had to struggle to keep Lovino in check.

"Let go of me! You've lost already, give up!"

"Give up? There's no need to give up. I'm stronger than all of them combined, just a bit tired right now" He chuckled and turned Lovino so they were facing each other "I guess I just have to recharge"

"You wouldn't" Mathias turned his head as Arthur spoke up. He had gone completely pale. "That is very dangerous, you'll hurt him!"

"Why would that matter?" The smile was gone now. "I've never cared for him anyway"

"Stop!"

"Arthur, what will he do?" Before Feliciano could receive an answer, Antonio dragged Lovino close to him and kissed him forcefully. Lovinos eyes shot open in surprise and he did his best to push him away. Suddenly, a dark fog started to radiate from the two nations that spread and twirled around them. Mathias stood up and tried to reach them but was pushed back almost immediately. Some of the fog started swirling around Lovinos wrist and formed something similar to a chain that linked with Antonios wrist. They could only watch as Lovinos eyes went blank and his body turned limp right before Antonio pulled away. Both the fog and the chain disappeared within moments and Mathias gasped.

"Well, wasn't that fun?" Antonio seemed fully healed, it was as if he never had received any hits or was feeling any fatigue at all. He dropped the unconscious Lovino on the ground and took a few steps forward as Feliciano ran over to his brother. "I guess there's no point pretending to be Antonio now. There's no way he'd do that, isn't that right?" He looked down on the ground and smiled for a moment before he continued "Some of you probably know by now but, how about an introduction?" Mathias stood up again. He had figured that this wasn't Antonio already but now he'd finally find out just who this really is.

"Then, who are you? What did you actually do to Emil and how would you prefer to get beaten this time?"

.

"This was a really great idea Emil, you really ROCK!"

"Please stop it!"

"What? Aren't you glad we could LEAF that beach together?"

"I will leave you if you keep this up"

"I'm just really ROOTING for you!"

"You can't keep making puns of things you see while we're in a forest. It's annoying" Emil managed to keep up a fast paced jog despite pushing Gilbert in the shopping cart they had "borrowed" from a store next to the water.

"I'm just trying to lighten the mood!" Gilbert smiled at him but did actually shut up. Emil sighed, he knew that Gilbert meant well and it did actually help a bit. They couldn't move any faster than this either way so there was no point in worrying or overthinking right now. They would get there when they would get there. But Emil couldn't help it, his mind kept wandering to the others while wondering what was going on over there right now. Were they all okay? Had Shade managed to… They had to be safe. He could feel the cool air pass them as he ran but it didn't bother him at all.

"Hey Emil"

"Yes?"

"They'll be fine" Gilbert grinned at him and clenched his fist in the air "If not, I'll kick their asses for letting themselves get beaten" Emil surprised them both by chuckling.

"Just let me get in a hit too"

"Hey Emil"

"What now?"

"Isn't that tree just… TREEmendous?"

"I swear I'll push the cart down a cliff and-"

"Okay, okay! I get it"

.

"That's impossible! A shadow can't be alive and especially not take over any bodies!"

"And still you're looking at me. Living proof" Mathias had to focus so he wouldn't lose control as Shade chuckled at Arthur. All he could think about was Emil, it clouded his mind, but something told him to not just attack. Maybe it was some instinct that warned him that it was too dangerous or maybe he just wanted to know more before doing something drastic. Tino and Berwald were both being held back by the other nations but seemed to feel the same thing as Mathias. Shade suddenly turned towards both him and Lukas and smiled. "Emil sort of figured it out but he thought Antonio was still in control so he came to me to warn him. Unfortunately he found out."

"Don't you dare to speak of him" Shade only took a step towards them and chuckled.

"You know that time you came by our hotel room to search for him? If you only had been a bit more observant you might have noticed that your dear Emil was really close by"

"You're lying"

"No, it's true. At that moment I had him tied up on my bed unable to make a sound. He heard you come and he heard you leave. Can you imagine the hope he must have felt and the disappointment and fear that followed?" Mathias barely noticed the growl that grew in his throat as he crouched down to prepare for the leap. "You're finally losing it again? Come here so I can take care of you." Shade grinned widely at him "As I did with Emil"

"Mathias!" Tino shrieked as Mathias took the leap at Shade and threw the first punch. Still smiling, Shade moved to the side so fast it was impossible to follow with the naked eye. But Mathias was fast too and he didn't have to see him to know where his enemy was. His nose picked up the scent before Shade managed to get in a hit so Mathias avoided it. It continued the same way for a while but it didn't take long for Mathias to realise that he couldn't keep up for long. He could really feel the fatigue from the past few day. On the other hand, it seemed like Shade was full of energy without a single scratch on his body. Once again Mathias tried to avoid a kick but this time he couldn't. It hit him hard in his side and he was thrown down on the ground. That's when Mathias realised.

"All this time… You were aiming at the same spot."

"Well, we've fought before. Remember?" Shade walked over and sent him flying back to the group with another kick. "Though, technically, you we're fighting Alfred which I controlled" He smiled softly "I knew I broke some ribs that day so why not aim for the weak spot?"

"So it was you" Shade turned towards Yao that flinched and pointed at Alfred "That's what he wrote here" Alfred did not seem happy at all and took a step forward.

"Oh, That's right! I almost forgot, I don't have to keep your memories anymore!" Shade snapped his fingers and Alfred took a step back while covering his head with his hands. He seemed to be in pain for a moment before he suddenly tuned his gaze at Shade again. Shade smiled and made an inviting movement with his hand. "You want to fight me next? Despite how it went the last time?"

"Alfred wait! This is what he wants! We should gang up on him, not fight him one on-" Alfred interrupted Francis by throwing his jacket at him before giving them a look telling them all to back off.

"This is about revenge, he won't back down" The group turned towards Kiku that flinched at their annoyed stares and pointed at Matthew "That's what he said".

"Then it's decided" Shade crouched down to prepare for the attack and smiled "Come at me, I won't hold back" Alfred started off with a simple straight on punch which Shade easily avoided and then countered with a similar one. But instead of avoiding it, Alfred managed to grab onto his wrist and pulled him downwards while he at the same time lifted his elbow to hit him right in his cheek. Shade was quickly back on his feet and smiled for some reason. The smile was somehow provoking and Alfred roundhouse kicked towards his head and Shade quickly lifted his arm to protect him but shortly before impact, the kick changed direction and instead hit his unprotected side. Shade fell down on his knees and before he could recover, Alfred raised a knee and hit him underneath his chin which threw him onto his back.

"Alfred is… winning?" Francis sounded worried and the others felt the same. This was going too easy, they had all seen Shades power and even though they knew Alfred was strong, something was wrong. They saw how Shade got up again, still smiling, while Alfred circled around him. It was obvious that he was in pain but he took a deep breath and after only a moment, he seemed fine again.

"That's cheating! There won't be a fair game if you keep healing yourself!"

"I never said I'd play it fair, I said I wouldn't hold back." Shade turned towards Alfred "If you can stay alive until I run out of energy though, I won't be able to heal" He smiled even wider "But I think I've seen enough now" Alfred charged forward again but as he threw the punch, his wrist was grabbed and Shades elbow met his face. He stumbled back and saw a foot coming at his face so he put up an arm to block it but instead felt it hit the side of his body. He fell down on his knees and was hit underneath his chin so he was thrown onto his back. "Not a bad combo you got there" Alfred was quickly up on his feet again. It hurt but it wasn't something he couldn't manage.

"You copied him" Tino stared at the two of them "How could you copy him so perfectly?"

"Us shadows spend a lot of time observing, mostly because it's the only thing we can do. We learn to read people, the way they move, the way they think. It's really interesting." He smirked at them "It's useful while fighting since I'll get stronger and stronger as the fight continues, I'll see your next attack before you've even thought of it" Shade pointed at Mathias "That's how I got him, I fought him before. I've memorised the way he fights"

"We just have to beat you quickly then"

"I wish you luck. Just remember that if you go too far and actually kill me, Antonio will be gone too. I'll be reborn into another body while he'll disappear into heaven or hell or whatever. Every blow you deal will be to his body" He smiled as he saw the shock on their faces "Didn't think of that did you?"

"Then there's no way to defeat you"

"Good job! You figured it out! So, how about you all just give up and surrender to me?" The smirk on his face grew even wider as he saw the uncertainty on their faces. At least until Francis spoke up.

"It's pretty easy to check right?" He stepped to the side and looked down on the ground. "Hey Antonio! Give me a thumbs up if it's okay to go all out" For a moment there was complete silence and all of them looked at Antonio as the tension grew. With no hesitation at all he held up two thumbs in the air. Finally, it was Shades turn to get chocked.

"Y-You wouldn't"

"I guess that settles it" Elizabeta stepped forward while cracking her knuckles. "You're going down"