Immortal by Seven

Chapter 2

The Voice

It had taken a few moments for Feliciano to actually calm down. He was now in his older brother's arms, eyes closed and taking a few, slow breaths. It... It was... just a hallucination. Their mother would never really say that to him. She loved them both too much to ever say such things. "Feliciano... What happened?" He heard Lovino ask him after a moment. The younger brother blinks a bit, having to think of something quickly. After another moment of silence, he looks up at the other, blinking a bit before laughing nervously.

"Ah... Mi dispiace, fratello. I guess I was just having another one of my night terrors," he lies before giving him a hug. "I'm ok, really." The elder sibling sighs softly before nodding a bit in understanding. He wraps his arms around him a bit tighter before gently rubbing his back.

"Alright, if you're sure..." He replies slowly. He then presses a soft kiss to his forehead in reassurance. "Well, it's close to nine, come have breakfast then you're free to go out if you want to. Just be careful, don't forget your cell glasses, and call if you need anything."

"I will, don't worry about me."

Being outside was better for the young Italian, more or less. At least he had a chance to walk around and try to clear his mind. That was honestly not something that happened often though. Feliciano closed his eyes a moment, his hands in his pockets. He couldn't help thinking about this morning and his hallucination. He tried to think a bit before, if he had had any dreams. Sometimes his dreams could influence a hallucination a bit. Like, when he was really upset one night, he had dreamt about his mother comforting him. When he awoke that morning, his hallucination was warm and kind; his mother continuing to comfort and support him. Had he dreamt of her being cruel? He couldn't even imagine that now, his mother had always been a warm and kind-hearted person. It was just her nature. He tried thinking about it a bit more. Had he dreamt of anything that would have threatened his life? He didn't think he had. Maybe it was because of how he had felt yesterday, on his birthday. He wasn't happy then and felt like he shouldn't even be there. Ding, ding ding. We have a winner.

That would definitely explain his hallucination this morning. It was because he had felt so terrible that he was still alive that day, more than usual, that it happened. Normally he would just decide not to do that again, but he really couldn't make that decision. He would always feel like he didn't belong here on Earth. He should have died. Yet he seemed cursed to continue to live with one less person he held dear to him at his side. It just wasn't fair. Why was it that his loved ones seemed to keep being ripped away from him? It's because you were meant to be alone, a voice in his head immediately answered. What? Who had said that? The Italian glances around the area. No one. Not many people were up and about too early, and if they were, they were in the more central, city area. He was in the park right now, near the forest and just easy rolling plains. There was a sidewalk pathway for people to walk on, or use their hover boards to go around. He was fairly certain this path led towards Great Britain and Europe. Would take longer on foot to just walk there, then he'd have to pay to go further anyway. Then again, it was also cheaper that way, than if he took a teleporter to one of the countries in the central area. Welcome to America. Lovino had thought it be better to stay in America and stay closer to the hospital for him. His older brother was always so worried about him. He has every right to worry. You're losing your mind. But he doesn't know that, does he? There was that voice again. Was it really in his head? Oh, God… Was he really hearing voices? He had just figured he was imagining it, or someone around him was talking. It looks like there was no way to make an excuse for it now. He figured he wasn't going to be able to just ignore this. 'Ok, Voice. What are you doing here…?' he asks in his mind, glancing around the area. He decided to turn around and start heading back. He hadn't gone far, after all.

Isn't it obvious? I'm your inner self. Telling you what you already know, came the voice's cheeky answer, obviously amused by the whole thing. His inner self? There was no way that could be. But…

'If you're my 'inner self', why are you mocking me?' he questions himself. He felt like he could easily hear that horrible cackle of laughter as if it were surrounding him. It made his heart begin to pound hard against his chest and glance around nervously. It felt all too real.

Because you are so weak and pathetic, his so called inner self replied smoothly. Think about it. Who knows you best now? Your inner self, of course. I know your every fear, every conflict, everything you've been through. I know what you like, and what you hate. I have all of your memories and thoughts. I am, sadly, you, you little weakling. The young Italian's heart seemed to drop when he hears all of this, shutting his eyes tightly. No! He wasn't weak!

'Lies. All you say are lies!' he argues. That only brought another round of laughter. God, why wouldn't this voice stop laughing and mocking him?!

Is that what you keep telling yourself? Look at you. You're arguing with yourself. A voice in your head. Want to keep telling yourself you aren't crazy? He hated to admit it… But in a way, that voice was right. Maybe he really was losing it. It was terrifying to think about though. He shook his head.

'N-No. No! I refuse to believe you!' he argued. He then ran off, covering his ears in a futile attempt to block out the voice's jeers. He couldn't just run away from this problem, and he couldn't just ignore it. He was stuck with it.

Before long, he someone managed to get to the more city like area once more. He didn't even notice, still trying to tune out the voice. It just wouldn't stop! Continuous remarks of how weak he was, how he couldn't handle anything, and how he should be dead. It was becoming so overwhelming that all of his other sense seemed to shut down. He didn't hear anything but that voice, everything around him turning into a blur. He felt a cold numbness despite how warm the temperature it was. He couldn't even smell anything. It was like all of his other sense just stopped, became nonexistent. Had that not happened he would have realized he was walking in the middle of traffic, a mix of floating cars, hover boards, and a few cars still on the ground. He wasn't paying attention. He didn't hear the horns going off around him, didn't see the cars as they came closer, trying to alert him to move out of the way, or smell the bit of exhaust from the ground bound cars. The only reason he realized something was happening and that he was obviously in the middle of the road was when a strong hand grabbed the back of his shirt and yanked him to the sidewalk. That was when the voice stopped and reality seemed to crash down around him. He could hear all of the horns till going off some, a few angry shouts, and others of concern. He could now feel that he was on his butt on the sidewalk, having cut his hands a bit from the impact. Now the cars went by, now clearly visible. He blinks in confusion. When had he gotten to town again? Suddenly, there was a voice right near he was. "What the hell did you think you were doing?! Just walking into the middle of traffic, you could have died!" the now completely physical voice was scolding, but was more worried than angry. Huh? The copper haired one looks up, now seeing a young boy, clearly about his age, more or less. He had slicked back blond hair and light blue eyes, showing a mixture of concern and bewilderment. He obviously had no idea what was going on with the other. Then again, did Feliciano even know what was going on with himself? He laughs nervously, slowly standing up.

"S-Sorry… I… I guess I was just… distracted?" he suggests, grinning sheepishly. The larger man shakes his head, clearly not understanding that.

"How does someone not realize when they are walking in the middle of the road?" he questions, his voice having a distinct accent. German, the other was certain.

"Ah… G-Good question?" he replies once more, laughing nervously once more. "I'm Feliciano! What's your name?" Way to completely change the subject to be irrelevant. Even his savior seemed confused by it, but also slightly amused.

"Ludwig. Ludwig Beilschmidt."

Author's Notes: Sorry for late night update! I was watching kids and cleaning all day today, and so I did it tonight. I'm going to try to update this every Saturday.

Translations: Mi dispiace- I'm sorry.

fratello- brother.