Chapter 3
Meanwhile,with the rescue team...
"UGH! Why did I hafta be leader? My legs hurt.",said Gilbert as he did a face-plant on purpose. Then he started roll around like he was trying to be some kind of human rolling pin and the little canary that always sat on his head-Gilbird-started to do the same. "I don't wanna be leader anymore! Let somebody else do it!",he whined.
He then sat up immediately and turned his head to his deputy. "BASCH! You can be leader!". "Wha-! Why me?",complained Basch. "Because your the deputy that's your job:To do what the leader tells you! Now,take the leader's sash,AND LEAD;NOW!",yelled Gilbert while pointing at the blond Swiss,Gilbird mocking him. "Fine! You're such a goddamn bastard sometimes,you know that right?"."Yea,yea whatever;just pick a deputy and get on with it. I'm just gonna chill out here till' the war is over.",said the albino German(or would that be Prussian...?).
"You're not even going to help your own brother!",said Alfred's girlfriend,Ireland. "That's just inhumane! How can you not be worried about your own brother? Do you even care about the fact that he could be dead right now!"questioned one of Ireland's best friends,Iraq(who,BTW,was Gilbert's girlfriend.). "Hey,my brother will be fine. There isn't any way in hell,that my brother is gonna die. He's like a rash that you can never get rid of."he said,sounding as if Iraq and Ireland had offended him in a way that really pissed him off. However,Gilbird,who had been silent up to this point,made a small little whistle then flew onto Iraq's head and sat there,in such a position that proved that he was not going to move anytime soon.
"Gilbird,"Gilbert chuckled while going over to where Gilbird sat on his girlfriend's head;"what're you doing?Get back over h-"he was interrupted by Gilbird,who gave a protestant squawk and pecked him. Hard. "OW!GILBIRD!WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR!",said Gilbert at the canary's unusual behavior. Then Gilbert must have realized why the bird wasn't budging; "Oh,so now you're taking up brother's side! Fine!See if I care,you stupid bird...and I thought you were 'my bird of awesomeness that would stay by my side no matter what'."he spat. The bird looked hurt at what his owner said so Iraq took him off her head and tried to console the bird as he sang a sad yet beautiful song. Then she looked Gilbert right in the eyes,and said "You can stay here and wait out the battle as much as you like,we are going to try and save our friend's life."Iraq said,her deep voice echoing off of the towering oak trees.
"Ok,"started Basch;"ummm...Ivan,you can be the deputy if you like."."That's perfectly fine with me."said the tan-haired Russian as he held up the faucet pipe that he used for a weapon(it's more effective than you think). "Okay,everyone. We have to start moving again if we want to be there in time to save Ludwig."announced Basch as they continued on. Gilbert,for a split second,had second thoughts;but he quickly pushed them away. His brother didn't need help,he'd be fine. But even still,in the back of his mind,doubt was forming,and no matter how hard he tried,that feeling wouldn't go away.
From Feliciano's view of things...
"Wow,usually I only run this fast when the British are coming! Doitsu would be so impressed!",I said trying to break the silence that surrounded us. But after a while,we started to hear faint sounds of gunshot and fighting from up ahead. "We're almost there Feliciano.",said Roderich,stating the obvious. We broke into the clearing and instantly started looking for Ludwig.
It wasn't hard for me to find him,and from the way things were going on with him,I wasn't really surprised that he sent for back up. He was in the middle of a clump of enemies,and every time he broke free,more would lunge at him from the sidelines. He was bleeding heavily,which worried me deeply. Maybe too much. Alright,I couldn't stand it anymore;"Doitsu!I'm coming Doitsu,hold on!",I yelled to the wounded German that was my crush. "Feliciano! Mein Gott,what the hell are you doing here?It's too dangerous!",he said while fighting off some of the enemies. He was too late though,I was already pelting myself towards him at a new record speed;even the bad guys looked stunned!
In seconds,I was by his side trying to summon up the courage to fight because I didn't want to come here and distract him;he was having a tough enough time just fighting the enemies that there was. Be brave Feliciano,fight to help the one you love!,I thought. That was enough to snap me into my battle mode (in which,up until this point,I never knew I had.);I took out my white flag,ripped the cloth off,and started swinging the stick wildly at a group of enemies. I took several of them out,but I kept on swinging,my eyes shut as tight as they could be."NO!I won't let you bad guys hurt us any more!",I yelled at them.
Finally,I stopped swinging the stick around and opened my eyes. Almost every single enemy was knocked out and lying on the ground. Roderich and Ludwig,who had stepped back out of the way of my aim,looked like they could tie for 'World's most stunned faces'."How the hell did he learn to fight like that? I never taught him that...",Ludwig was saying."I don't know,but thank your lucky stars that I brought him along with me.",Roderich said in reply. I giddily turned to Ludwig and said:"Doitsu! Did I do good?Did we beat them all?".He walked towards me,answering me as he went;"Yea,we beat them. And you did the best I have seen you do. You were the best help ever. Thank you for sucking it up and fighting to help me.",he said with the warmest(and cutest)smile that I had ever seen. I couldn't stop blushing,so I tried to act as normal as I could;"Does that mean we can have pasta for dinner?!",I asked excitedly. Still wearing the holy smile,he smiled wider and said-"Sure. You did save my ass after all.",the smile making me want to run up and kiss him,or something else that was really crazy.
Then things went as bad as they possibly could. Roderich was checking to make sure that the soldiers were all dead on the west side of the battle ground;he had not yet checked the east side. And,as luck would have it,there was one soldier who was still alive;barely,but alive,on the east side. And it was obvious that he wasn't going down without taking one of us with him."This'll teach ya not to mess wit' us.",he spat out,along with a mouthful of blood. Then,all happening at the same time,the enemy picked up a nearby pistol,aimed at me,and shot;Ludwig,who'd been a foot away from me at that point,reacted at once and stood in front of me,like a sheild. And the bullet,with a sickening thud,hit him point blanc in the chest.
Back with Kiku(a couple of minutes ago)...
Kiku was running swiftly through the forest,following the map that lead to where Ludwig would be. He stopped to catch his breath in a small clearing. He thought he was alone,so it startled him when he heard a voice from his right say "Yo,Kiku! Where's the fire?". He whirled around,ready to fight,but saw that it was only Gilbert."Yo dude. Chill out,it's just the awesome me.",said Gilbert nonchalantly."What the-Gilbert!What're you doing here!And where are the others!",he said franticly,remembering that he had made him leader of the group.
"Oh,them ," he said,sounding disgusted."I didn't feel like being leader,so I made Basch leader. They went on to help brother;I tried to tell them that he would be fine,but they wouldn't hear me out. Even Gilbird was on the traitors' side;and let me tell you,I have never been as pissed as I was then."he,explained.
I was about to reply,when we heard a gunshot come from a ways from here."That came from where Ludwig and the battlefield are!"I quickly indicated. Gilbert looked startled,but only for a second."It was probably just Basch arriving at the field and shooting an enemy."he said. I didn't believe him entirely;Basch would be firing a bullet for every second,not just one. And I didn't think that they could have already arrived at the destination that quickly. So,instead of wasting time trying to get Gilbert to come with me,I took off at full speed.
With the Rescue Team(a couple of minuets ago)...
"We're getting close." Basch said as they slowed down,as not to alert the enemies. Since they were near the field,the silence that surrounded the team was eerie and unsettling."Shouldn't there be sounds of fighting?" said Iraq;"Do you think we might be too late?."Nah,there'd be a chorus of victory rallies,not silence. Although maybe,by some miracle,Ludwig,Feliciano,and Roderich could have won;but I find that highly unlikely." Basch said uncertainly. We had been discussing this for no longer than a minute when,as if in reply,we heard a nearby gunshot that just about scared the crap out of the team,with the exception of Ivan."Come on guys we have to hurry!" said Basch,the team running after him.
Now we finally return to Feliciano and Ludwig!
By this time,Roderich had finished off the guy with the gun,but he was much too late."L-L-Lud-w-w-wig?" I studdered,"A-Are you okay?Lud?"."N-No. I got h-hit."he said to me. And with that,he crumpled to the ground."LUDWIG! No,oh no. Ludwig,stay with me,don't you die on me. Not here. Not now." I whimpered as I picked up his torso and held it in my lap,making sure to keep his head up. As of right now,I was vaguely aware of a group of people bursting out of the forest,but I could care less.
The tears kept on spilling over my eyes,no matter how much I willed them to stop. He was still breathing,but they were shallow breaths that were fast-paced. His eyes were already starting to glaze over,which,upon noticing,only made me cry more. He shuddered and looked at me and said,with a raggedy voice:"Feliciano? Are you crying? Please cheer up,I want to die seeing you smile;although I'm not going to die quite yet,I know my time is coming. At best,I have only a few minutes." he said with much effort."But,but,you're hurt. How c-can I smile when the guy I love is dying?"I stammered,realizing too late what I had just said.
He looked as shocked as he possibly could while dying,a slight blush tinting his pale face,turning the majority of it pink since his face was chalky white."You...love...me?"he said,his eyes wide open even though it probably pained him to do so."Yes,I really do. So much more than you love me,more than you know."I practically spilled out all my heart into those few words,I wanted him to know how much I really loved him before he died. He actually looked a little relieved."Huh,well I guess that's a good thing,because I...uh...love you too. I-I have for a...really long time."he said with difficulty,and I don't think it was because of the pain. Hearing him say that he loved me only made my heart break more. I buried my head in his chest and straight out broke down,saying "I love you so much;Doitsu,Doitsu..."and kept on weeping while repeating my nickname for him.
"M-maybe,if we hurry,a-and if we can wrap it up good now,then w-we can get you to a medical tent,t-then you can live."but even as I said it,I knew it was too late. He had lost too much blood,I doubted that he could even feel the pain anymore."Hey,it's gonna be okay,you have other friends that rely on you and vice versa,right?Like Kiku,Gilbert,Iraq,Alfred,and aren't you also good friends with Hokkaido and Ireland?I know that they all at least count on you,especially Hokkaido you know, because of-...ugh...it seems my time is drawing near."he said,a dreamy look on his face. Kiku then came running over to us."Oh no,first Hokkaido then this...are you in much pain Ludwig? Are you coping okay Feliciano?"he said,addressing the problems at hand and coming to sit next to me. I was both grateful that I didn't have to deal with this alone and curious,what happened to Hokkaido? I decided to ask later,right now,I had bigger problems.
"Nah,I can't feel a damned thing anymore,but one question:where is my immature brother?Is he on his way?"asked Ludwig. I'd kinda been wondering that too. It did strike me as odd that Gilbert wasn't here to help."He...thought you would be fine on your own. He didn't want to come."he said hesitantly,like he didn't want to hurt Ludwig's feelings. Ludwig looked sad "Oh,well...that is just like him though...tell him he was a hell of a brother to put up with."he sighed."I will. One more thing though,how did you manage to defeat all these enemies by yourself?" Kiku asked.
"I owe it all to Feli here,he went totally berserk with that flag shtick. They were mostly beat within 30 seconds."he said smiling. That kinda made me feel better,considering the circumstances."I need to check on the rescue team;if I'm not back before...you know...I want to say;Good-bye Ludwig,you were the best trainer ever. Thank you so much."said Kiku,tears welling up in his eyes,a single tear escaping as he ran off."Ugh!"Ludwig groaned,"My time is approaching..."he said,his breaths coming quicker,one after the other."Oh dear,why so quickly!I can't loose you yet!"I said,new tears spilling over."I have to at least do one more thing...urk!...before I go..."he said trembling. He used the rest of his power to lean forward;I realized what he was doing and did the same,so he wouldn't have to strain so much. He pressed his lips to mine in a gentle,soft kiss that lasted only a quick second. With the word 'smile' escaping his lips,I felt him go limp in my arms,and I started to shake."No..no no no no no...!"I wailed,loud enough that probably anyone within 100 miles heard me.
I didn't care.
I let out every last bit of sadness that I had stored up in my body into my tears and sobs as I cradled the lifeless body. I was acutely aware of every single person in the field on one knee with their heads bowed. Iraq looked like she wanted to punch somebody's guts out and cry at the same time,and Kiku eyes were overflowing with tears,which he tried not to show. Then I heard something that made my head snap right up and shut my trap for a few seconds. Everyone else saw me and were smart enough to shut their mouths too. Rustle,Rustle. There it was again. Very silent,but still there.
I gently laid Ludwig's body on the ground and stood up,revenge giving me a surge of power. I picked up the battle stick and stood;hatred,fury,and sadness powering me to the fullest extent. Then the under cover army lept out at us,the biggest mistake ever on their part. I felt the gold-caramel color seep from my eyes,blood-red taking it's place. I could feel the power radiating through my body,and even though an entire army came,they all stopped when they saw me. I must have looked pretty scary,by the looks on some of their faces. Then,with a voice that didn't sound anything like mine,I yelled:"I WILL HAVE JUSTICE FOR THIS MISDEED!YOU WILL NOT MAKE IT OUT OF THIS ARENA ALIVE!",and I charged,aiming right for the strong point of the army.
Now,for a quick look at Hokkaido...
"Hokkaido?Is something wrong?"said my friend Heidi. I was sitting bolt upright on the cot, ignoring the gnawing pain coming from my recently dressed wound. I'd had 13 stitches and a couple of shots so it wouldn't get infected."Something's not right. I can feel it. I think that-" but I was cut off by Heidi."You need to lie down! Whatever it is,I sure it is being taken care of." she said."But Heidi,you don't understand! I think Kiku and the rescue team are in trouble,and that includes Basch!" I said. I had some kind of sixth sense for this stuff.
Heidi looked a little more nervous but she shook her head."I'm sure you're just paranoid. It's all going to be okay."she said,trying to comfort me."Now wait here,I'm going to help Yao to make your favorite meal."
After she was gone,I reached over and grabbed a piece of paper and a pencil off of the stand next to the cot. It was there in case I wanted to draw,but instead I wrote a note on it. It read:
"Dear Heidi,
I'm sorry,but I have to go. I'm not paranoid,I'm 100% sure that everyone is in trouble. Basch,Kiku,Feliciano,and I think that there is something wrong with Ludwig,it's like I can't sense him any more. I have to go. I'm very sorry. Save that meal for when I get back. I'll be fine as long as I get there in time.
-Hokkaido"
I felt bad,but I knew I had to do this. I got up,ignoring the pain that ran through me,and put the note on the pillow. I grabbed my katana and was about to leave when I realized that all I had on besides my pants,was a cotton short-sleeve shirt with the bottom of it cut off. I looked around for my shirt and found it by the trash. I sighed and picked it up and put it on over the other shirt,but I only fastened the top few buttons,so that the gauze wrapped around the wound was showing. Then I stepped out onto the nearly empty battlefield. I had been smart enough to copy down the map before I left as well.
Then I went the quickest route that I could find:using my agility I leaped from tree to tree. The pain that had been coursing through me was replaced with adrenaline,I was going to save them or at least die trying.
I decided to take a quick break,so I stopped in a clearing below me. I was looking at the map and my surroundings,just to make sure I was on the right track,when I felt a presence sneaking up behind me and I immediately knew who it was, so here is was I said:"Gilbert,when are you going to learn that you can't scare me?";which just resulted in an annoyed groan from the Prussian."Damn you and your psychic abil-woah. What the hell happened to you?" he said,noticing the heavy gauze around my torso as I turned around."Tell you later,I'm trying to find the fie-waitwaitwait,WAIT...what are you doing way out here? Are you looking for the field?" I asked,finding it strange that he was all alone way out here. "Nah,I...actually,yea. I was,but I got lost. Do you have a map?"he said,and for a second,I thought I could see a spark of guilt tint his eyes a deeper shade of red ruby."Yeah,I do. Want to go together?" "Sure,we need to go this way though." he said pointing to the north side of the field. "How do you know that? I thought you got lost out here." I said. This was getting suspicious;what was Gilbert really doing out here?" I just took a look at the map that you have in you hands." he said,but I could see sweat building on his forehead.
I decided to save it for later, we needed to hurry. "Okay then,let's hurry."then I took off. I thought I heard him mutter "Ugh,not more running.",but he kept up with me. In no time flat,we could hear the battle,long before we got there. There was probably about 175 to 200 enemies,and about 20 of us."Hey Preußen?"I asked,using his German nickname."What?" he said,searching the crowd."Do me a favor,don't let Kiku know I'm here.""Okay,whatever"he said,pre-occupied. Okay,time to kick some ass.
Now,for once,from Iraq's point of view!
W.T.H. snapped in Feliciano's brain! He went from the cute little coward that he usually is to a demonic psychopath...wow. And how did he do that color-change thing with his eyes?That was just cool. And the whole,demonic-voice-and-crazed-serial-killer-look thing would have been really awesome,if he hadn't been so scary (and believe me,I know scary!). I mean,seriously;how in the world did he go from a petrified weakling who was more interested in pasta to the point where he was just plain cute, to a red-eyed demonic warrior with a stick for a weapon that could stop an army at a single glance,then take them all on. All 200 of them.
Then I heard the sound of someone running towards me,so I had the appropriate reaction:I whipped out one of my hidden knives and whirled around and said "RAGGLE FRAGGLE!".I was surprised to see that it was Gilbert,and wanted to ROTFL because of his face;it was an overjoyed-scared-WTF face that made me want to drop down right then and there. So I did. "OMFG,you should have TOTALLY seen ur face just now!" I said as I pre-maturely rolled around on the ground laughing right in the middle of a huge battle.
"Wait,WHY THE HELL ARE YOU HERE YOU LAZY ASSHOLE!"I said,practically strangling him."GHK!I will...tell...if...you...stop...choking...me!"he managed to say in between breaths."Grrrr...fine,but I don't like it!" I said as I released her hands from Gilbert's now-red throat. He sat down by my feet,gasping for air;which made me feel both pleased and sorry for him. "Look,I'm sorry,but seriously;you should know not to sneak up on me in the middle of a battle,and in this case,when you said that you'd stay back."
"Whatevz," he said as he got up "where's little-big brudder,I want to apologize to him and tell him why I wasn't here sooner." he said with a big smile. Oh no,I couldn't tell him. I refused to. So I told Roddy to do it. Roderich said he wouldn't do it unless I came with him. No way in Hell I was doing that. "You don't have to say anything,just come with us." I was about to decline again when I looked back over at Gil's happy,smiling face;completely unaware of what had happened. It almost broke my heart. "...Okay,I'll come." I went over to Gilbert and took his hand "This way,Gil." I barley even tried to hide the sadness in my voice. "Uh,okay." he said cluelessly.
We weaved our way through masses of people fighting,and at last,turned the last corner. Gilbert's eyes widened at the sight of his fallen brother. "Is...is that...Lud? Dear God,please tell me that that's not Lud!" he said,voice rising. "I-I'm afraid it is Gilbert." said Roderich. "No...oh no..no,no,no..Lud,Lud,...LUDWIG,NEIN! he wailed into the sky,which was darkening with rain clouds and with the falling sun behind them.
Gilbert ran clumsily over to his younger brother's body and collapsed. "Why,schaiszer! Why did I have to be such a lazy-assed bastard! I could have at least been here when he passed,instead I was pacing around in the middle of a fucking forest!" he paused his rant to sob,then to look down into his little brother's face"H-he...he musta gone insane in his last seconds...he died...smiling."
Now from Kiku's view,yet again...
What was that sound just now? It sounded almost like Gilbert yelling,but he was still out in the forest...wasn't he? Anyways,I don't know why so many of our small team were in groups just chatting away;just because Feliciano went wild with rage and grief doesn't mean that there aren't still enemies that need to be dealt with...although I'm sure if we let Feli,he could take every enemy out,I was just trying to make it easier for the poor guy.
True,I was not as close to Ludwig-kun as Feli-chan was,but we were still decently close. It still hurt a lot. He wasn't the only one,in fact,when Hokkaido hears about this,she'll probably cry too. She'll ask to see Feli-chan and she'll hug him and won't want to leave his side until he feels better. Neither will Lovino or Gilbert,or I for that matter. I hoped Hokkaido was okay. Suddenly I heard my name being called out,not by one person,but by several,I even saw Feli-chan out of the corner of my eye and saw his pupils shrunk with fear,reaching out to me and shrieking my name.
I looked in front of me,where a literal wave of enemy soldiers rose up in front of me. If I didn't get out of the way,I was going to be killed;but I was too paralyzed to move. Then I heard another shriek,this time,though,it sounded like a girl's. It was also so familiar,it made me stop breathing for about 5 seconds.
All I saw was a streak of black,white,and red jump in front of me;using themselves as a barrier to protect me. Before I could push her out of the way,the enemy roared onto us,and I blacked out,just from the force of the impact.
About a half an hour later...
I was aware that someone was shaking me,trying to wake me up. "Kiku,Kiku get up! I know you're not dead!" said a familiar voice. "Feliciano? What's-" then it all came back to me,what happened before I passed out. "Where's Hokkaido?" I said,immediately sitting up. Not a good idea;my head started to throb painfully,but I ignored it.
"That's what I was going to tell you! She took on the force of the wave all by herself;she's not dead,but if she doesn't get help soon..." his words drifted off after that. In a much softer,sadder voice,I asked "Where is she?" "Over there,by Greenland. Follow me." he said,and helped me get up. We walked for about a minute,and then came to a small group that was huddled over something,a body. This group was made up of Iraq,Gilbert,Ireland,Alfred,Greenland,and France.
Iraq looked back at the sound of footsteps,saw it was us,and scooted over so we could sit too. What I saw made me cover my mouth with both my hands,just so I wouldn't scream,and my eyes widen and shrink to the size of a needle head. I wanted to look away,but I was too horrified to do so.
Hokkaido's body was about 20 times worse than when I had last seen her. There wasn't an inch of skin that wasn't covered in scratches, cuts, burns, bruises, or blood. All of her scars,new and old, had opened up again, just adding to the gore. Her wound,the one her belly that needed stitches, had not only been ripped open again,but they had hacked off more chunks of flesh from around the wound and bits of bleeding, red chunks of her flesh were scattered around here and there; it was so gory and gross that it made me want to vomit.
I reached out with one of my hands and brushed away the strands of hair that were caked in her own blood that covered her face. Her normally beautiful face(she would kill me if she knew I said that, she's very humble) was now almost unrecognizable to anyone but me. To me,even now she was still pretty. I leaned down and kissed her forehead as lightly as I could,tears that I had been holding back slitted onto her face,and I covered my eyes with my arm and cried.
I took my arm down just in time to see her eyes twitch and open slightly. Her breaths were heavy, each one sounded more painful to take than the last. Even so, she looked at me and smiled. "Ki-kun," she said,using one of my nicknames that she had given to me "I-I'm sorry. I was sitting in the infirmary,a-and I sensed that something b-bad had happened. It f-felt like Ludwig's life force had just d-disappeared. I-I tried to tell Heidi that t-there was something wrong,but s-she wouldn't b-believe me." Her breathing was more rapid now. Tears were still streaming down my face,and were starting to form in hers. She reached for my hand,and I immediately took it in mine,gently squeezing it for reassurance. "It's okay,it's okay. I forgive you. As long as you don't die,I'll forgive you. Don't die,don't die..." I said,my voice fading out. Her eyes were already starting to drift,her eyelids drooping. "I'll try,I'll try if..it...makes you...happy..."she said before she blacked out once again.
"We need to cover up her wounds,so we can try to keep them from getting infected." said Iraq,who looked even more close to crying than when Ludwig-kun passed. "I-I'll carry her to the infirmary." I said,getting up and dusting myself off. "Are you sure? You got knocked out pretty bad,and it's a long walk back." stated Alfred. "I'm 100% sure." I slowly picked her up,trying my best not to move her too much. "...hold on a minuet Kiku,I'll be right back." said Feli-chan as he dashed off. A couple of minutes later,he came back...carrying Ludwig single-handedly. "Okay," said Feliciano "let's go."
We all walked back,me and Feli ahead of all the others,everyone behind us marching with their heads ,who was towards the end of the group,raised a flag. On one side,it had the pattern of the German flag,and on the other,the symbol of Hokkaido. Then the most unexpected thing happened: Italy started singing an American song.
"You take the breath right out of me! You left a hole where my heart should be!;"
I was one that I had heard before,and was fitting to our fates,so I sung along.
"You've got to fight just to make it through, cause I will be the death of you."
We kept repeating the chorus;and in no time, everyone was singing along. We all sang in unison,our voices coming together to make one,pure voice,so clear and loud that they could probably hear us at the infirmary.