CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

A Step Closer to Revenge

The Spaniard moved throughout the halls as swiftly and silently as he could muster. He couldn't dare chance the slightest squeak, he needed to remain undetected. Though with a majority of the house in madness that wasn't something exactly hard to muster. He could easily manage getting around as long as everyone else was stuck fighting one another.

Of course that was to assume he was alone. But with the addition of another that suddenly became much more difficult.

His intentions were simple, get Lovino out as soon as possible and as quickly as he could. The Italian was injured to the point of no return and if he didn't get to safety soon then he'd fall victim to an unnecessary passing. The only way to do that was to get him out and home. But in order to do that he'd need a distraction.

Something big, something major.

It had to draw attention of many if not all, and it would be what he needed to slip out undetected. Though he didn't exactly want to use his friend for such a purpose, he found it hard to determine another way.

This was his plan for the time being and he intended to stick with it.

Sebastian found his way down the hall where the bloody brawl between Lovino and his counterpart had undertaken. The blood stained the flooring and he stepped past it with an uneasiness setting in his gut. In the room not too far away he could hear a battle raging on, and knew that this was a very bad sign. However it only took a moment longer before he reached the door where the Prussian was locked up in, and it took roughly a moment before he pried the door open. He pushed it with a decent amount of force and stepped inside, finding the room dimly lit.

The blood soaked floor just under Lanzo's body made it obvious what actions had been taken out upon the poor, innocent soul of a man.

"Prusiano?" he asked upon entering the room. He walked slowly, anticipating a reaction from the wounded. When he received none, he asked again.

"Prusiano,' he started, this time speaking with much more of a firm tone. "Look at me." he ordered. Lanzo slowly lifted his head up with his eyes trailing from the ground. He hunched forward, his pain obvious but that didn't stop him from making eye contact.

"Sebastian, is that you?" he asked, voice hoarse and broken. The other gave a brief reply before coming closer at a faster pace.

"Listen, I need your help." he stated while testing out the bindings.

"What can I do to help you? I'm a worthless scumbag, remember." his argument was lacking, and Sebastian would have none of it. "Don't be so stupid," he spat with irritation very evident.

"You're worth more than you think, which is the reason why I need your assistance. Will you aid me or not? I'll free you either way." Sebastian started tugging at the restraints but the found the knots too tight and let out an irritated sigh. While Lanzo pondered his answer he pulled out his knife and started cutting the threads of rope. It was a slow and annoying process, but he knew it'd only take one before the rest would fall limp; powerless.

"What... what do you need my help for?" Lanzo asked with uneasiness notable in his tone.

"I need to escort someone out of the facility. Someone very... important. They're in grave danger at the point in time and if I don't help them they'll die in this dreadful place. The only problem is I can't sneak out unless I have a distraction. Sad to say I need your assistance for such a task. If you can just pull something, something that will distract nearly everyone, then I can get him to safety. Will you help?" he asked, finding that he'd cut through nearly half of the rope. Lanzo didn't hesitate much further, understanding that he had only one purpose upon gaining freedom and that was to help his friends.

"If that's what it takes then I'm willing to do so. But um... any ideas?" the Prussian asked once he felt the ropes loosen and fall to the ground. He'd never been so relieved in his life, the removal of that pressure was heavenly.

"Interrupt a fight is what I advise. There's plenty going all around, pick one and choose a side. If you do then the outcome will vary but it's worth a shot." Lanzo nodded in agreement and shakily got to his feet.

"I'm still a bit numb but I can handle it. For the sake of my companions." Sebastian nodded, fine with his bravery but wanting to make sure he was still cautious.

"Don't become too cocky, it might be the cause of your demise." The Spaniard warned before turning back around and heading out the room.

Lanzo followed him, but stopped upon entering the hall. He could hear everything now, and the sound of bloody brawls not too far away was heard with a stunning clarity. It froze his heart to think that his companions, some that once stood alongside each other to fight a common foe, were now facing against one another. Sebastian was now deemed a traitor, as was Kuro and himself.

Not to mention Oliver and Jean, who shouldn't even be a part of this mess in the first place. They were a group of friends, more or less, left in a stage of exile, only having each other and whatever relationships they managed to hold onto for dear life.

"Be wary of what lies ahead, I fear that even the great will find an end." the Spaniard said as a final statement before heading off in the other direction.

Lanzo didn't have a chance to reply, and only watched his fleeing back before turning on his heel and traveling down towards the room which held his companions.

"Here I come..." he muttered under his breath, stopping just outside the doorway.

It was time to unleash hell.

. . .

The screams were muffled, yet pained and agony filled. It shook his spine to the core despite the fact that many others seemed oblivious to the shrieks. He instantly found himself going down the same path where they had originated, a strained feeling in his gut telling him to do as such. He went down the path he found most suitable for reaching his destination, and was shaken when he found himself crossing the same one as that sociopathic maniac.

"Italian." he muttered with obvious disgust.

"Americano." Luciano spat in reply, before they walked past one another and neither dared look back. Then silence returned, until he rounded the corner and heard a pained whimpering. One belonging to someone in obvious discomfort.

"Who's there?" he asked but even then it was a faint whisper. He only heard another squeak in response, and when he moved closer there was no mistaking the flashy bow tie or the strawberry blonde hair.

"Oliver!" Allan cried, moving closer to his companion. He sat there, bloodied and battered, a knife stuck in his hand, crimson fluids seeping from the wound.

"Good lord... what happened!?" he asked with a threatening, intimidation filled tone. But even then his hands shook from outright shock. He was tempted to pull the knife out but figured that'd only make it worse. He needed to do something else, he needed to get someone's help.

"Who did this to you?" he asked after gaining no reply to his prior statement.

"L-Lu..." Oliver muttered between hiccups and intakes of air. It was so hard to speak, so hard to manage words. "L-Luciano..." he stated with tears in his eyes. At that instant you could see the murderous, deadly intentions that sprung upon Allan's expression, and it seemed rather evident that he was willing to rip the head off of that stupid, sick son of a bitch.

"I swear to God once I get my hands on that fucking bastard I'll-" he was stopped by Oliver, who let out a strained "No!" and drew the attention from his companion.

"Allan you can't, Luciano is too strong." Oliver pleaded, though his companion didn't seem to see his point.

"Tsk, yeah right. I can take him no-"

"Allan! Please, just listen to me. I need to tell you something." Oliver stated, this time his voice even more hoarse than it was before. Allan finally decided to shut up and listen, watching the Englishman with nervous eyes.

"You know how Kuro betrayed us? And how Luciano wanted you to set Kiku on fire, correct?" he asked, the American nodding.

"Yes I can recall."

"Well those all had purpose, had a reason. He put the bombs in that building for a reason, he lured our counterparts all the way out there for a reason, he had you burn Kiku for a reason.

"He wants to kill everyone, everyone!

"His intentions are to keep Feliciano, his other, alive. As long as the Italian lives so does he." Oliver said through shaky, broken lips with a break in his voice. Allan was still trying to register everything, taking it in piece by piece.

"But... I don't.." his sentence cut off, voice catching in his throat. He knew what the Englishman was getting at.

"Luciano understands everything, he understands us more than we do! When he kills off one of us... one version of us, whether it be a second or first player, it takes out both. The pair die together no matter what. Once one falls it's only so long until the second does as well. That's what he is planning. He wants to take out everyone! He wants to control the most land, gain the strength of the strongest countries.

"He just wants power... maybe to create a new Rome or something similar. I'm not sure what exactly he intends, if there's anything aside from world domination.

"Either way he wants us dead, and he tricked us into thinking the exact opposite! He made it seem like Kuro was the bad guy, the enemy, but... he's not. He's actually a good guy for once! And so are Jean and Lanzo..." his voice trailed off upon realizing he had revealed just about everything.

"Wait, you knew? All three of you!? And you didn't tell anyone!?" Allan yelled, but found his anger pointless. Oliver only nodded, sadly.

"Yes, yes we did. We couldn't tell anyone though. It was already dangerous as is... and once Lanzo got caught all thoughts of exposing the secret went down the drain. There are so many people on Luciano's side, it seemed impossible." Oliver said with a defeated sigh. Allan gave him a pat on the back, though then recalled the wound and realized he needed to do something about it.

"Shit!" he muttered, using his own hand to cover Oliver's in hopes of stopping the bleeding.

"I need to get you some help, come on get up." He hoisted the Englishman onto his feet, though even then he stumbled and Allan allowed the other to use him as a balance point.

"What do you intend to do with Luciano?" he asked whilst being moved.

"Oh, don't worry. I have a plan for that fucking bastard."

"You can stop following us now." the thick Scottish accent echoed along the street, annoyance being obvious in his voice. The sudden change in the environment startled both Elizabeta and Roderich, who stopped in their tracks.

"What?" she asked, though it was obvious what he was talking about. The two turned around, facing the Hungarian-Austrian trio with annoyance on their faces.

"We want you two to fuck off." Gilbert stated with a firm, stern tone and a poker face. Elizabeta obviously took that to offense and stood her ground.

"Well we're not just going to walk off! What the hell are you two doing anyway, wandering out of the house without telling anyone!" She spat, hand turning into a fist with her knuckles progressively becoming whiter and whiter. Gilbert only rolled his eyes, crossing his arms in irritation.

"It's personal, nothing that has to do with either of you." That didn't seem to be very convincing and neither Elizabeta or Roderich budged.

"I don't think you understand the predicament of the situation Arschloch." the Austrian replied, eying the rifle held under Ross' arm. The use of an insult was also unexpected, and drew everyone's attention.

"You sneak out, taking the rifle and bullets that come with it as well as going without speaking to anyone. if that doesn't come off as suspicious I don't know what is." Roderich ended it there, but his stature was still strong and he didn't back down when Gilbert walked up to him, standing mere inches away with obvious intentions of intimidation.

"I don't give a fuck about what you have to think Hure. I don't need this right now!" he snapped, but Ross put a hand on his shoulder and gave him a reassuring squeeze.

"Calm yourself mate. It isn't worth it." he said, glancing down briefly at Gilbert's closed fist which he had obvious intentions of throwing.

"Fine." He said with a groan, turning away.

"Do excuse 'im, it's just that time of th' month again, ye?" he said jokingly, earning a death glare from the Prussian.

"If you expect us to just leave you two alone at least explain to us what's going on first. Otherwise we can't guarantee a thing." Elizabeta commented, obviously feeling impatient about the situation. Ross and Gilbert looked at each other, exchanging a brief glance before turning back to the Hungarian.

"I only talk if he's fine with it." Ross stated, motioning his head in the direction of his companion.

"But, why? Is it that serious?" Roderich asked, though his question was disregarded nearly completely.

"Are you shitting me? My friend was tortured and you're asking me if it's fucking serious!?" Gilbert yelled, taking a step closer towards the Austrian. Ross placed an arm between the two making sure to keep them away from each other.

"Calm down, we don't need to have a fight right now!" though even then the comment was ignored.

"Really? I didn't know you even had friends Gilbert." Roderich stated without a hint of sarcasm in his voice. That only seemed to amp up the Prussian more and he pushed closer, trying to get past Ross.

"Stop egging 'im on!" the Scotsman spat, Elizabeta getting in between the two as well. Gilbert continued to push closer, barely managing to be held back.

"It's no wonder you're not a country anymore." That was it, that was the comment that broke him, that made him snap. Gilbert pushed down both arms in a quick, strong motion. Both Ross and Elizabeta lost their defenses in an instant and Gilbert charged Roderich. He raised a fist and threw a punch, though the Austrian managed to duck under it. That didn't put an end to it however, and a well placed elbow shot Roderich in the side of the head.

He stumbled and Gilbert took advantage of it, tackling his opponent to the ground. Ross and Elizabeta both ran over, trying to tug the Prussian off and out of his straddled position. He punched the Austrian once or twice, holding him by the collar of his shirt and knocking his glasses off of his face with ease.

Ross had to hit Gilbert with the butt of the rifle before he let up, falling off to the side in agony. Elizabeta pulled Roderich to the side before creating a division between the two along with the Scotsman.

"Both of you, stop!" they said in near sync. Gilbert and Roderich lay stunned, trying to figure out what in the hell had just happened.

He quickly found his glasses while the albino slowly stumbled back onto his feet.

"Ha ha! The awesome me never loses!" Gilbert cheered with a weak fist pump into the air, his personality returning though his companions found little humor in the statement.

"The 'awesome' you needs to learn some damn self control." Elzabeta spat in disgust. The Prussian only shrugged his shoulders and used his companion for brief support. Roderich also got up, though found his legs weak.

"Are you going to tell us what you two are doing out here or what?"

"Only if you promise us one thing." Ross started, taking command of the conversation.

"And what might that be?" Roderich asked whilst adjusting his glasses onto the bridge of his nose.

"That you leave afterwards. Go back to the base, go home. We don't want either of you getting yourselves killed, understand?" he said. The duo reluctantly nodded, finding that they wouldn't get answers otherwise.

"My friend, Lanzo, he was the one in the video. He was being tortured because of something I made him do and... I feel so damn guilty. We're going to rescue him, okay?" The news struck both as surprising and they froze.

"Are you mad?! Do you have any idea what kind of trouble you'll get into?!"

"I'll travel through the gates of Hell if it means I can save him. At this point in time I don't have much to lose, now do I?" Gilbert looked over at Roderich with obvious disgust, but the Austrian averted eye contact.

"As fer me, I'm just a good guy, right Gil?" Ross said with a chuckle, nudging his companion.

"Yeah, of course you are. Not as awesome as me though." The Prussian retorted with a smug look on his face. Elizabeta rolled her eyes once again, annoyed.

"Well if that's all then we'll leave you alone." Before Roderich could protest she was pulling him down the road, and sooner or later they were out of sight. Once Gilbert and Ross were convinced they were gone they turned back and continued on their path, the Scotsman apologizing for nearly breaking his companion's jaw with the blunt end of a rifle.

Meanwhile, Elizabeta and Roderich were having a conversation of their own.

"Are we really going to just let those two walk? Do you have any idea how bad that is?"

"Of course I do, which is why we're going to follow them."

"But won't they just catch us again?"

"Not if we play it smart."

"What do you intend?"

"Just follow my lead."

He ran into the room blindly.

Really he didn't know what to expect.

He only knew that something was up and he needed to get in the middle of it all. So when he entered he found himself in a situation with three separate fights. Two he lacked interest for, but when he saw Kasper pounding his best friend into the corner, he knew he had to be a part of it. After the betrayal he had faced with his brother he had little hesitance when it came to fighting him. Especially when he was putting Kuro in a broken, bloodied state.

His arrival was still unexpected, and Kasper didn't see him coming until a fist was flying at him faster than he could have expected. He brought his arms up to block and the blow went full force into the left, hitting hard and nearly breaking the bone.

"Scheiße!" He yelled, holding his arm while he stumbled back. Lanzo placed himself between his brother and Kuro, who was defenseless on the ground. His intervention seemed to be what saved the poor Japanese man.

"How did you get out?" Kasper spat, holding his arm in obvious agony. Lanzo didn't reply, only put his fists up in a defensive position and waited. His red ears burned holes into his brother, and the many scars scattered on his features only added to the rugged appearance.

"Fine then, if you want it to come to this then I won't hold back." Kasper yelled, putting himself in a similar stance with the knife in his right hand.

The two circled, Kuro watching from the side. He felt so helpless without a weapon. He needed to do something but, at this rate, there was a very slim chance of that actually happening. Lanzo didn't hesitate when it came to setting himself on the offensive. He began swinging punches left and right, leading the direction of which his brother traveled. Kasper couldn't manage getting out of his defensive state and was stuck blocking and dodging shots left and right; bobbing and weaving.

Lanzo wasn't going to stop either way and he wasn't reluctant the slightest to beat his brother down. After everything that had gone down he found it justified.

Lanzo dropped down when Kasper swung, knife in hand, but it was far too wild and loose to do anything. Simply put, the Prussian saw it coming. The younger swung back and forth with the knife, but it only took a moment longer until Lanzo caught his wrist and pulled him forward. The German basically walked into his knee at that rate, and was thrown back into the wall thereafter.

He was hunched over with the blow landing square in the gut and leaving him stunned.

It was at that moment that Lanzo capitalized on the opportunity and brought his metal hand down upon the back of his brother. He dropped to the ground instantly and a solid kick to the ribs made sure he remained in his agonized state for a bit longer.

Upon being convinced that Kasper was down Lanzo turned around to face his friend. His hair was matted with sweat and he dropped his shoulders, loosening his fists.

Kuro stared up at him and flinched when he saw the look in his best friend's eyes.

"Lanzo..." he stated through a pair of cracked lips. Their eyes met for the first time in a while, and the Prussian realized how broken Kuro appeared to be.

"Kuro? K-Kuro!" the Prussian replied in surprise, realizing that he'd been left staring. He ran over to his friend and checked his wounds, but found them much more serious than he first thought. He was covered in blood and his body; bruises. He had been beaten, it was obvious. The wound under his chin was said to be from a knife, though it thankfully had refrained from cutting out his tongue.

"Lanzo, help me up." he ordered while putting out a hand. The albino was hesitant, looking back and forth between the hand and his friend.

"Kuro, you're wounded. Bleeding and beaten, what would you gain from standing up?" he asked, though the other shook off his comment.

"I said help me up." he spat, his best friend reluctantly lifting him up.

"I need to find Luciano..." he added but that only caused Lanzo's grip on his hand to tighten.

"I'm not going to let you go and face that maniac, even with assistance." he stated firmly but Kuro wasn't going to listen.

"I don't care what you think is best at this point in time Lanzo, all do respect but this needs to end and it needs to end now."

"And how do you intend to do that? By getting yourself killed?!"

"I won't get myself killed, in fact I'll be the one doing the killing."

"Can you even be so sure? With Luciano's unpredictability..."

"Just trust me, that's all I ask of you."

"But..."

"Lanzo, please." The Prussian looked up at his companion with a weary expression but even then he saw the fire in his eyes that proved he was not about to back down. But before he could reply, or really even state his opinion, he heard someone getting up.

Glancing over his shoulder he saw his brother standing with his knife in a loose grip.

This wasn't the end of it, not even close.

"If that's what you really think it will take, if that's what you've decided to resort to, then I have no reason to go against you." Kuro smirked upon the answer, that was enough to convince him he was O.K. to continue with what he intended.

Lanzo turned around to face his brother while Kuro dashed out of the room and into the hallway. He found his katana where it had been left, just before the tussle started. He lifted it up, happy to have a weapon back in his hands. This was all he needed to guarantee that Luciano would fall, and by his hands.

Even if it killed him, it didn't matter. Luciano needed to die.

Speaking of the devil, Luciano had entered the dining/living area and found his brother awaiting his arrival.

"Ah, fratello!" the blonde started with a smile on his face. "You wish to see him?" he asked but that only earned him a confused, lost expression.

"What are you going on about idiota?" Now there were two confused Italians, questioning each other immensely.

"Sebastian said you requested my assistance." Leonardo responded with firmity in his voice. Luciano couldn't detect a lie and instantly believed his brother. Not that he had a reason to lie, to say the least.

"I did no such thing. I've been out back, taking care of some business for a majority of the time now. Are you sure he said to speak with me?" Leonardo nodded without the slightest hesitation, crossing his arms in question.

"Yes, he told me that you needed to speak with me. That was his excuse for stopping me from murdering Lovino. Which, not that I think about it..." he pondered, drawing Luciano's attention even further. "He also said that you wanted the little cagna alive. Is that true?" he asked but it was like he already knew the answer.

"Him? Alive!? I nearly blew him up! Why the hell would I want him alive?" Luciano snapped, though his irritation was obviously not towards his brother.

"So it seems like Sebastian wasn't being very truthful..." the blonde stated while gently gripping his revolver.

"How amusing. I never knew he had any major association... who would have known he was also blinded by Kuro's false intentions." Luciano stated playfully. Leonardo only nodded in agreement with his brother.

"Should we go take care of that?"

"Gladly."

"Are you ready?"

"Do we have another choice? We have a deadline to meet after all..."

"But still, are we even prepared for this?"

"I wish I could say we were. If only we had Lukas..."

"What do we do if this backfires? What will happen?"

"We can't be sure. There are numerous things that can result from casting this spell without meeting the requirements. We can only hope that it works in our favor..."

"But if it doesn't-"

"We can only hope it does Vladimir. If things become the worst than we will act as required."

"If you say so."

Prusiano = Prussian (Spanish)

Americano = American (Italian)

Arschloch = Asshole (German)

Scheiße = Shit (German)

Fratello = Brother (Italian)

Idiota = Idiot (Italian)

Cagna = Bitch (Italian)

A/N: Okay so I'm actually not dead or deceased or gone in any way, shape, or form. I've been here the entire time and have just been stuck with a combination of writer's block and countless school projects and essays. I never knew that this would be so hard, and I can't even imagine what High School is going to be like. Nonetheless I have earned the necessary boost to write this chapter which I can proudly say was finished within a period of two days. I think it was mainly due to the fact that a best friend of mine and I had a long chat about this story and helped motivate me to write more. That and aside the fact that this was a present for one of my closer friends, since their birthday is coming up really quickly and I'm a broke sack of shite so I was stuck with writing them a chapter to a story that was relatively discontinued for a couple of months.

Anyway things happened, progress is being made after what appeared to be multiple chapters left in one spot. Luciano is making enemies faster than he can make friends at this rate, and with Rescue Team pt. 2 coming in it's only so long until this whole mess crumbles under everyone's feet. We can only assume that things will go smoothly for the mass of wizards, otherwise prepare for a good bit of unleashed Hell.