Shinigami-cat: Okay… next chapter… I OWN NOTHING!

Welcome to the bone room

News of Francis's disappearance spread quickly through the town. The news scared Arthur because that meant the only one even remotely close to his age that he could talk to was Matthew. There was no way in hell he wanted to talk to Matthew about anything at all. There was no way he would.

Arthur was sitting on a fallen log with his knees up against his chest. He felt completely detached from this world. 'Why are we all dying or disappearing? What did we ever do to deserve it?' His mind kept wandering back to his dream, Kiku desperately pleading with him to listen to him and to get Matthew's help with something. But he was bat shit crazy so he didn't even want to ask Matthew for help in anyway shape or form.

He looked up from where he was sitting and sighed. From where he was sitting he could look down a small sloping hill down to a small clearing… well it wasn't really that clear, there were weeds and tall grass everywhere. A flash of red and yellow quickly darted across the clearing and disappeared into the grass. Arthur stood up and strained his eyes to see what it was but he lost his footing and slipped, tumbling down the hill and into the long grass.

He cursed and stood up. He dusted himself off and quickly glanced around the long grass. He saw a pair of arms reaching up into the air and soft mutterings. "Does anyone wish that I were alive, so undesirable I am in this body? Why do you look at me like that? This face that is rotting. It's painful. It's painful and it can't be helped…"

Arthur moved the grass away and saw Matthew. His eyes seemed to be glazed over and he waved his fingers in the air. Arthur sighed. He knew he was going to regret asking. "What are you doing?"

Matthew sighed and lowered his arms. "I was trying to remember the words to the Vocaloid song 'Dark Woods Circus'. Kiku taught it to me years and years ago… that and I was catching the ashes on my fingers."

"Ashes?"

Matthew nodded. "Yes ashes. Can't you see them? There are so many…" He reached out and grabbed a handful of air and giggled. "So many ashes… so much burning… Why does everything I touch burn? Why does it all die? Why is this all so messed up?

Arthur shrugged. "I have no idea. I'm an outsider remember."

Matthew nodded. "Yeah you're right. You are an outsider. How could you know? How could you know anything? I've lost everything…" Tears started to flow from his eyes. "That's right. I've lost everything… Everyone I've cared about is now dead. Dead, dead, dead and there is nothing I can do about it!"

Arthur frowned. "I thought your motto was forget and move on."

Matthew threw back his head and laughed. "Come off it Arthur I can never forget all the stuff that's happened to everyone here. I can never… It's burned into my memory and I can never forget. I never will. It hurts so much!"

Arthur took a step back from the unstable teen. He looked like he was going to snap at any second. "Matthew… Were you and Kiku close?"

Matthew stopped laughing and tilted his head in confusion. "Kiku? Not really. He was more of Alfred's friend. I just spent some time with him every now and then." He giggled and started to rock back and forth. "It's only a matter of time before we are taken away. They're coming to take us away ha ha. They are coming to take us away ho ho hee hee ha ha. To that pretty kingdom in the middle of the forest where everyone is waiting-"

"What kingdom?" Asked Arthur. Did Matthew know about the fairy kingdom from his dream?"

Matthew looked at Arthur with a confused expression. "The fairy kingdom in the middle of the woods of course. That's where everyone has been taken to. Didn't you know?"

Arthur's eyes went wide and he took a step back. Was it possible that the fairy kingdom was a local legend he had read before and it just manifested it's self into a dream, or was it something more? "The fairy kingdom? Is it a local legend?"

Matthew shook his head. "No. How did you know about it? No one would have told you."

Arthur bit his lip. "Kiku told me… In a dream."

Matthew's eyes went wide and his jaw dropped. "Kiku told you about it? In your dream?" He quickly jumped up and started to pace around. "He told him. He told Arthur everything! Why did he do that? How could he do that? It's the towns secret! No one can know about it! Unless he thinks Arthur can help… Yes! That makes sense! Why else would he be killed? That's why we don't tell outsiders anything… I guess I have to show him. Show him everything."

Arthur started to back away slowly. "Um… you seem to be busy… I'll talk to you later."

"NO!" Cried Matthew. He launched himself Arthur, knocking him to the ground. "I have to tell you! I have to tell you before night fall when that thing comes out! I need to show you! Please you must know that the things going on here aren't human! They can't be! Pleas I want you to save us! You need to save us all please! PLEASE ARTHUR!" Matthew's eyes were desperate and full of pain. He couldn't say no.

He pushed Matthew away and sighed. "What the hell are you on about?"

"I'll show you." Whispered Matthew. He pulled Arthur to his feet and started to drag him back up the hill. "I'll show you everything. I'll show you the truth. I'll show you what's wrong with this town."

XoXoXo page brake oXoXoX

A few minutes later Arthur and Matthew were standing at the foot of a cave. Matthew was fidgeting nervously and holding onto a torch. Arthur on the other hand was wondering what he had gotten himself into. For all he knew Matthew was going to kill him. After all their track history together wasn't the best. Matthew had after all tried to rape him and was a freaking nut case.

Matthew looked over at Arthur and smiled. "Hey. I know this seems really odd but trust me you need to see this… It's really important." He turned on the torch and started to walk in. "This used to be a mine shaft but was closed off when people discovered where it led. Few know where it leads to today."

Arthur quickly followed behind him. "Where did it lead?"

Matthew chuckled darkly. "Kiku's family mausoleum."

Arthur froze. "What?"

Matthew looked over his shoulder and rolled his eyes. "Don't worry Arthur. It's not like we are going to be walking on anyone's grave. We are just going to walk around them." After about ten minutes of walking they came to a large steal door. Matthew sighed and pushed against it forcing the door to open just enough for them to slip through.

Arthur followed him inside and looked around. The mausoleum seemed too English to be hold what seemed like a very traditional Japanese family. "Why are we here?"

Matthew smiled and walked over to a stone coffin. "Because if you want to know the truth you have to see this… Help me move the lid off of this thing." He began to shove and push the cold stone lid. It hardly budged.

Arthur frowned. "What the hell? Do you have no respect for the dead? Don't open that!"

Matthew rolled his eyes and continued to push the lid. "Yeah, yeah, yeah… Don't disturb the dead. So on so forth." He grunted and yelped when the stone finally moved away. He almost fell into the coffin but he caught himself before he did. He shone the torch into the coffin and grinned. "Sweet. Have a look Arthur. Have a look!"

Arthur frowned and stepped back. "No thanks."

Matthew rolled his eyes and pulled Arthur towards it. "Come on! Have a look in here! Kiku won't mind. Have a look!" He shone the torch into the coffin and forced Arthur's head inside. Arthur held his breath and shut his eyes. He didn't want to be face to face with his friends rotting corps. "Open your eyes Arthur." Whispered Matthew. "Please look."

Arthur cautiously opened his eyes bracing himself for whatever horror would be there, but he saw something else that made his blood run cold. "Where is the body?"

Matthew nodded and walked over to the other side of the mausoleum. "Gone. Taken away. Come with me." He walked over to a metal door that was on the other side. He pushed against it and walked through to the Vargas mausoleum. Arthur followed him and walked over to another stone coffin where Matthew was standing. Matthew sighed sadly and pushed against the coffin lid. "Now you see there's only one newly placed coffin here. This one is Feliciano's because his brother and grandfather still haven't been found yet… Damn this is heavy."

Eventually the lid moved and Matthew was able to shine the torch in. Feliciano's body was missing. "Why are they gone?" Asked Arthur. "And why are all these mausoleums connected?"

Matthew shrugged and walked over to another metal door. "I guess the three great families were very close unless there was a more sinister reason for the mausoleums to be connected in such a way… Come. I have to show you two more graves."

They walked into the Belischmidt mausoleum. Ludwig and Gilbert's bodies were not in their graves. Arthur shook his head and leaned against the cold stone wall. "I don't understand Matthew. I don't know why you're showing me this. Are you saying everyone has become the undead? Zombies?"

Matthew shook his head. "No. Zombies have never walked here in this town. It's something much darker. Now come. I have to show you one more room. We need to go back to the Vargas mausoleum."

So that's what they did. They walked back to the Vargas mausoleum and Matthew walked right up to the back wall where there was a statue of an angel and started to push her to the side revealing a flight of stairs. He smiled and started to walk down them. Arthur had no choice but to follow him. The stairs seemed to go on forever.

"Matthew… how did you know about the missing bodies and this secret place?"

Matthew shrugged. "Well this place isn't really a secret. Everyone knew that the Vargas family was hiding some really big secrets. This was just one rumour that was thrown around. Along with the rumour that there is a bottomless pit at the back of one of the holding cells in their torture chamber. When in actual fact it's only about as deep as an eight story building is high."

"… How do you know that?" Asked Arthur.

Matthew giggled. "That would give away the ending Arthur. Isn't it more fun to go from start to finish without someone spoiling the ending?"

Arthur frowned. "Matthew… I really don't like where this is going…"

Matthew sighed. "Sorry… I tend to do stuff like that… Creep them out I mean. I don't mean to. What I think and what I say often get mixed up. So… sorry that I tried to rape you before… I just can't control my actions that much these days… So feel free to hit me in the back of the head with a rock to knock me out if I start acting like that again."

Arthur slowed down his pace and nodded. "Good to know…" He was starting to contemplate running back out of there but part of him wanted to keep following Matthew down into that darkness. Eventually they got to the bottom. They seemed to be standing in a huge underground cave that stretched for miles and miles around. "Wow."

Matthew giggled and nodded. "Yeah… I thought that too before I realized what this place was… Tell me Arthur what do you know about the first head of the Vargas house?"

Arthur shrugged. "Nothing much. I just know that he conducted some experiments on people that were less than legal."

Matthew nodded. "Yeah… This is where the bodies of his later victims were stored." He walked over to the wall and held up his torch. Arthur had to hold back a gasp of horror. The walls were covered in square dug out cells, bones and a few small trinkets were stored in the cells.

"Oh my god…"

Matthew nodded. "Yeah… this place is more than halfway full… come I need to show you something." He walked along the wall until he reached a set of bones next to empty cells. He picked up a skull and showed it to Arthur. "Say hi to Kiku."

Arthur's eyes went wide with horror. "That can't be Kiku… It can't be!"

Matthew shrugged and shone the torch on the cell where he got the skull from. There was a white kimono folded underneath the bones. "Kiku was buried in a white kimono Arthur. These are Kiku's bones." He placed Kiku's skull back and picked up a skull where the right side was caved in. "This is Lovino." He picked up a skull where there was no back to it. "This is Feliciano." He grabbed another skull and looked into its eye sockets sadly. "This is Gilbert…" He grabbed another skull. "Alfred." Another skull. "Antonio." Another one. "Ludwig." He picked up the final skull and sighed sadly. "And last but not least Francis… How sad his bones aren't even dry yet."

Arthur just looked at Matthew with wide eyes. "You knew they were all here… All of them… Did you kill them? Did you take their bodies?"

Matthew looked at Arthur with sad eyes. "No." He said. "How could I? I would never truly wish harm on anyone. I never really hung out with Kiku, Lovino, Feliciano or Ludwig that much but they were good people. Antonio and Francis were fun, if not a little crazy. Alfred was my brother and Gilbert… I loved him more than anything…" He sighed and walked over to a smaller skull. One that would have belonged to a small child and showed it to Arthur. "And here is Monica. Francis's step sister. How nice that you two finally got to meet."

Arthur gulped and took a step back. "Stop that."

Matthew sighed and put her skull back down. "Fine… I guess it isn't right to move the bones of the dearly departed without permission… So I guess I should show you this one." He bent down and grabbed another skull. He grinned and held it up to Arthur's face. "I bet you can't guess who this is." He said proudly.

Arthur took another step back and shook his head. "I haven't a clue."

Matthew giggled. "Well I guess it is a little hard to tell without the skin attached to it but... what about now?" He bent down and grabbed a pair of glasses that were with the body and held them over the skulls eye sockets. "Does he look familiar now? How about now?" He held the skull up next to his head and grinned wildly. "Do you see the resemblance now?"

Arthur's eyes went wide. The glasses with the skull were the same kind as Matthew's if not a little old. "Are you saying that, that is a relative of yours?"

Matthew pouted and rolled his eyes. "No silly. It's me. It's my skull."

Arthur's eyes went wide. "You can't seriously be saying that you're dead.

Matthew nodded. "Oh yes Arthur. I've been dead for a hell of a long time… A few years now in fact. I died the night I was attacked. No one could have survived those kinds of injuries. They ripped right through my spine!"

"What the hell are you?"

Matthew shrugged. "I guess I'm a ghost. But then again I don't know… My memory isn't what it used to be." He sighed and looked down at his skull. "Do you want to know what happened to me?"

Arthur nodded. "Yeah… Go ahead."

TBC

Shinigami-cat: MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Cliff hanger! Please review?