Thud.
The air was heavy, thick, like a summer's day. Kiku panted, feeling like he had just run a marathon. A glance around showed Yao to his right and Ivan on his other side, all three with weapons up and breathing heavily. The others have to be safe.
"Everyone has escaped," Yao said softly, as if reading his mind. Kiku smiled slightly.
"Everyone except us," he replied, speaking softly as well. The creature before them seemed to make loud noises impossible, dragging at their bodies and minds. Kiku steadied his katana and shifted how he stood, falling into the traditional stance with an ease from years of practice.
"It's not often that the three of us get to do something together," Ivan said cheerily, spinning his pipe lazily. "This is going to be fun!"
Thud.
Kiku gritted his teeth, forcing his wavering hands to stop. How does it do that? The air vibrated, humming with a promise of violence and the memory of pain. "I wish we could work together a little more harmoniously," Kiku told Ivan, talking to stop the memories. Why is it just standing there?
The creature hadn't moved, staring at them with black eyes as they waited. How was it alive? Its skin was the color of rot and death.
Thud.
And then a step forwards, to find the three men bristling, weapons shifting to readiness. Yao let out a humorless laugh at their reaction.
"If you want us to be all chummy and smiley, I have a sinking feeling—"
Thud.
Another step. How close would it come before it attacked? Before they should? Before this presence took their minds and their ability to fight at all?
"I suppose you are right," Kiku admitted. "A union like this would be more fitting."
Thud.
"Japan, can't you just beat the Thing with that amazing technique you used before?" And there was Ivan, looking unconcerned. It belied his readiness, though. Kiku knew the Russian was dangerous in more ways than one.
"Well," Kiku started, his eyes returning to the creature. "You see, when I was under the impression that this was America's doing.." did it move or did I just think it did? "I got a little…annoyed at him." Is it moving? Should I attack? "It was the last straw, and that was the result."
Thud.
How could he have ever thought that was his heart beating? His pulse was racing, adrenaline entering his bloodstream so that he could fight. Kiku took a deep breath, trying to prevent himself from panicking. "Now that I know what is going on," he continued, talking to keep his concentration, his calm, "I can no longer do it. My anger has completely faded away." My fear, however…
Thud.
Attack! Attack? Kiku's hands wavered, taking a deep breath as he started to move forward and then pulled himself up short. How much time had passed? Five hours? Thirty seconds? Had there ever been a time he wasn't surrounded by this oppressive aura?
Yao broke him from his increasing panic, the other man taking a step forward to stand next to him. "When we get home, I'll treat you to your favorite Chinese dish. Until then, do your best!"
Thud.
Kiku relaxed his grip. Why hadn't it attacked yet? Was it going to? Was it going to wait for them to attack? And then there was a slight shift of what could, with a generous mind, be called the creature's hips. There!
"Let's go!" Kiku shouted, flicking his katana forward as the monster began its charge.
Thud.
His katana slid through the skin easily, parting it like fabric. Does it not feel pain? And there was Ivan, swinging and missing, the creature seeming to bend out of the way like no natural creature could. Kiku regained his balance and where the hell was it? Yao? Where did it go? But it turned out Ivan hadn't missed, a burst of energy hitting the monster and causing it to stumble. Black ichor dripped, each drop sounding loudly in the room.
Thud.
Kiku screamed, pain filling his body. How? He didn't think, can't think, it can hear thoughts can it is it in me and Yao hit it, spraying blood along the floor, screaming with Kiku.
Thud.
His katana found nothing but air, useless against a creature whose very presence pained him. Where was Ivan? Yao? Why does the air hurt?
Thud.
Gods, the chances they made it through this were slim. Kiku could feel blood seeping through the bandages on his arm. Ivan was bleeding, scratches down his face and side. Why had we thought we could fight? Yao grabbed his arm and jerked him to the side, a deadly grey arm swiping the air where he had been moments before.
Thud.
Ivan was screaming, hands clawing at his face. Kiku shouted incoherently, echoing the pain he felt. As Ivan fell to the ground Yao stepped forward, taking a hit meant for Ivan. Kiku swayed, not quite sure if his feet were actually on the ground or not.
Thud.
Everything hurt. We can't win, we can't. Kiku gasped for air, raising his katana shakily and thrusting at the creature. Can't hit it can't win can't.
Thud.
And then silence, broken by the ragged gasping of the three men. What had happened. Where had it gone? Where was it? Kiku glanced around wildly, praying that it truly was gone.
"We won't lose a second time," Yao promised, between gasps for breath. "It's…strange that it disappears like that. We can't tell whether we won or not."
Ivan began laughing, quickly dissolving into a groan of pain. He was on the floor and bleeding from several wounds. Kiku ran a hand through his hair, knowing he should help but not quite ready to move.
"At least it won't pollute the environment," he muttered, looking at his own wounds. Nothing new, not right now. His old wounds from previous attacks had reopened, blood showing through the bandages, and his head felt like someone had used it as an anvil.
"Not quite," Ivan said, raising himself to a sitting position. "Maybe this will never end and it'll keep appearing. It's getting really tiring…" He hissed, wiping at his wounds with a sleeve, before standing and moving around the room.
"Our opponent has grown stronger compared with before," Kiku observed, removing the old bandages to replace them. "I would have had no chance had I fought alone. Thank you very much for your help."
"Oh, by the way, why were those clothes smeared with tomato? I thought it was blood!"
Kiku laughed. "Well, you see, sometime this morning we encountered the creature. Italy had just woke up and was quite surprised, he began yelling and throwing tomatoes at it. He hit me instead, though." And wasted food. "After it left, the smell was bothering me. So I threw it into the fireplace.
"Oh. You had a change of clothes because you were staying at Germany's place before the meeting, right?" Yao asked. Kiku nodded, tying off the last bandage.
"Oh."
Kiku looked over to where Ivan had wandered. The man was going through drawers in the corner, ignoring his wounds. "What is the matter, Russia?"
"Ah, there was this clock that was moving like crazy…" the Russian replied, smiling sheepishly. "Sorry, it was too loud, so I broke it."
"A clock?" Kiku walked over to look at the pieces in Ivan's hands.
"I'm sorry if it was some kind of clue, but it really was so loud…" Ivan shrugged, not really seeming apologetic.
"A clock…" Kiku picked up one of the pieces and looked at it. "Now that you mention it, we can't tell what time it is in this place. Our watches are all out of sync."
"It's strange," Yao agreed, joining them by the shelves. "Even though we came here ahead of Japan's group, they've been here longer. Oh, and it's 11:42 according to my watch."
"Oh? Mine is showing the same time as yours, China," Ivan said, checking his own watch.
"What? That's not—" Kiku looked at his own watch, and frowned at the gold hands. "It's 11:42 on mine too. But it was six o'clock just a moment ago…"
"Do you think it's because I broke the clock?" Ivan asked. All three of them glanced at the mess of gears and wires in his hands.
"It's possible," Yao finally said. "At least in this room the time is right. Maybe…maybe we can get the flow of time back to normal if we break more clocks."
Kiku pondered this for a moment. Wouldn't be the strangest thing he had ever done. He nodded, reaching a conclusion. "Then we'll break the clocks in every single room we get into. If we do that, maybe—maybe we can help…Franc and…America, right?"
Ring-ring, ring-ring.
The three men stood in shock, looking at Ivan. The phone ring came again from within his jacket, cutting through the air.
"Russia, it's your cell phone," Yao said.
"Amazing!" Ivan said, reaching for his phone. "As soon as the time got right, the phone also began to work…or, not." He held the phone up so that the other men could see it. "The antenna isn't up."
Ring-ring, ring-ring.
"Anyway," Ivan continued, "I'm going to answer it. And I'll put it one speaker so that you both can hear it."
He pressed the buttons, and then raised the phone to his lips. "Who is it?"
A single note from a piano filled the air, and then the call shut off.
"Looks like it got cut off," Ivan said, shrugging and replacing the phone in his pocket.
"It's a bug!" Yao said, excited.
Kiku tilted his head at his brother, thinking. "I've never heard of a phone bug. What we heard was just a piano."
"A piano…" Ivan looked at the mess of parts in his hands for a moment before placing them back on the shelf. "Anyway, we have nothing else to do here, so let's get back to England."
"Indeed," Kiku agreed. "If all goes well, Germany and Italy should also be able to join us there."
The three quickly finished patching themselves up, hurriedly eating and cleaning their weapons. This room was no longer a safe place to be. Prepared and rested, they left the meeting room for the unknown danger of the halls.