I am soooo sorry.
I don't really have an excuse, I got stuck writing something, thought that I should leave it a bi then come back to it as I was getting frustrated and forgot...
I am soooo sorry.
This will be pretty anticlimactic considering how long you had to wait for this.
Right Rosey is having trouble with her internet so she hasn't checked this, this is just my sucky grammar. sorry
Oh I gave the chapters names just so I know what happens in which chapter, tell me if you think of a name to call some of them, not that keen on some of them
I hope you enjoy it anyway.
I don't own Hetalia
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"Run."
The word seemed to echo despite there being nothing for the sound waves to bounce off. It was chilling.
The voice sounded like Arthur, yet entirely different at the same time. It was as if dozens of different voices were fighting for dominance over the Englishman's voice, his just barely breaking though. It was a voice that caused the others present to freeze.
"You should have listened to him whilst he had some control". The shadow England growled, though it sounded nothing like the Englishman. The trace of his voice that the others heard earlier, was gone.
They didn't get much time to ponder the causes because as soon as the words left the shadow's lips, it lunged forward.
Reacting quickly enough, Rome grabbed hold of Wales, whom was the closest to the lunging shadow and moved him out of the shadow's way. Unfortunately, he himself wasn't quick enough to avoid the attack.
Both Prussia and Wales gasped as the shadow England flipped over the Roman's head, grabbing hold of the brunette's shoulders at the peak of the flip. Using the momentum of the flip, the Shadow threw the ancient nation to the ground, robbing Rome of his breath.
Whilst Rome was floored, the Shadow took full advantage of the fact. The Shadow grinned manically as it leant over the Roman, holding a claymore above his head ready to bring it down. Seeing the oncoming threat, Rome attempted to get up, only to be stopped by a knee on the throat.
Slowly the shadow pressed down onto the nation's throat as he knelt down. It leant in closer to the Roman's ear, its blade hovering just above the space between Rome's eyes.
"Down with the Empire." The shadow's purr was barely acknowledged by the Roman, who at this point was hardly breathing. The manic grin of the Shadow grew even wider, it could feel the life slip away.
Both Prussia and Wales were stunned, neither knowing what to do. Gilbert found himself able to react though as soon as he saw the sword the English shadow was holding, come racing down.
It came down at too quick a speed for Gilbert to stop the strike, but he didn't need to. At the last second, the Shadows' blade changed its course, cutting the Roman's cheek open rather than stabbing the brain.
"Mein gott! He is still in there!" The albino exclaimed. The Prussian dived at the Englishman without thinking, knocking him off the Roman and pinning him to the ground. This action was enough to snap Wales back to the present, he dashed to the Roman's side, finger on his ear asking New Zealand to put him through to Ireland.
"You need to put him back in his own body!" The Roman's shout caused the Welshman to focus on him, momentarily becoming oblivious to the Irish nation's shouts.
"What?"
"Dylan, what is going on?"
"Don't question it, just do it."
Although he wanted to quiz the ancient nation on what he meant, Wales decided to do as asked, only for Prussia to do so for him.
The albino and the Shadow were in the middle of a brawl, the Shadow grinning as he toyed the Prussian. The grin was wiped off its face as soon as Prussia tackled the Shadow, causing them both to disappear from Japan's mind.
"Make sure that he stops the last missile. Me and Gilbert will stall Arturo, but just the both of us won't be enough. If you get hit with that missile it will affect your fratello as well, if he gets attacked now, we could lose him. The strike will only hurt Arturo and not the Shadow, as it is not yet linked to his country."
With that said, Rome vanished just like Prussia, leaving behind a terrified Wales. Swallowing thickly, the Welsh nation returned his attention to Ireland.
"Did you get that brawd?"
"...Aye..." The Irish nation's voice was shaky and it wasn't because he had recently been bombed. The ginger nation was thinking back to the time where England tried to bring their mother back and almost died. It was happening again and yet again he failed to protect him. He was the eldest, yet was useless to defend his younger brother.
"I want you to explain everything, but first let me get James to connect us all."
Dylan found himself nodding even though the other couldn't see it, and left Japan's mind.
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"Uncle Dylan, what's going on eh?!" The usual quiet nation's voice was loud and shrill to the Brit's ear, yet he couldn't blame him.
On the ground by the Canadian's feet was England, but in the same state that he was in Japan's mind. A quick glance to 'Fritz' told Wales that all the other ghosts had vanished as soon as the Shadow took over England.
"I'm sorting it out now, wake Leon and tell him to inform Kiku what happened about the missiles and stop the attack."
The Welsh nation felt a bit bad for talking in such a brash manor to Canada, but he had no time to explain. To his relief, Frederick calmly led Matthew away from Arthur and over to Leon.
"I have an idea about what is happening Canada, I will explain it to you while you wake Hong Kong here.
"Go, I wish you luck." The old ghost nodded to the Briton, which was returned. Casting a glance to the Canadian, Wales felt himself cringing at the look the other was giving him. Lilac eyes screamed with worry and fear. If it wasn't for the circumstances, Wales would try to comfort the other, but now was not the time.
He offered Canada a strained smile before he marched to his brother's side. Kneeling down, Wales hovered his right hand over England's heart, to feel for the type of magic that was taking hold.
"An Bhreatain Bheag(Wales), explain what happened while Alban is still conscious.""Oi, fuck ye, I be fine."
"Alban, you can barely keep your eyes open. You were bombed less than an hour ago."
"Fuck faces, shut the fuck up! Dylan called us about Artie and I want to find out why."
"Shit head."
"Arsehole."
"Arthur's dark side has taken over completely, I feel disconnected to him in some way."
...
"Whot?"
Wales pitched the bridge of nose, bouncing slightly on the balls of his feet, anxious to help England. First of all he had to deal with his brothers, they had the right to know and could be of possible help.
"Arthur was struggling with the 'trials' that Napoleon had set in place, his angel form helped ease it. He was so tired, what with Alba getting hit and healing the both of us, he barely had the energy to fight back.
"When we freed Japan, the wisps took hold. He is now just a walking shadow, even his voice is not his own.
"You were right Connor about the magic from the blade being the same as that as Brawd has when he loses his temper. I could feel it. It's so strong, it feels so heavy."
Wales was on the verge of tears, there was a serious chance that he was going to lose his brother and that terrified him. Yes, he was normally the laid back one in the family, but how could he at a time like this?
He was older than England by a couple of years, the older brother, yet now he felt like a defenceless child. All of the things he knew, the power which he had was useless. He wanted his brothers, but all of them were too weak to travel.
"Sheep shagger, calm down. We are going tae help ye as best as we can. Ye need tae tell us as much as ye can about wee bunny."
Scotland's voice was strained, one would normally think he was just tired, but in truth he was struggling to remain calm enough to think straight. He knew that Dylan must be finding it extremely difficult as he was on his own, but they couldn't actually do anything from where they were.
Not like that was going to stop them from trying.
While Dylan described how Arthur looked in detail and the exact feeling of the magic that radiated from him, Matthew had succeeded in waking Leon.
The Brunette was quick in understanding what was needed from him, and promptly woke Japan using an ancient Chinese secret he had learnt from China. It was thanks to this secret, that Japan woke up fully alert and immediately asked Hong Kong what he needed to do. Having seen everything that happened within his mind, Japan didn't need to be told how important this was.
Leon quickly explained what Japan needed to do, his usual calm demeanour had been replaced with a frantic one. He dragged Japan to the desk which had everything set out ready for him.
Japan's hazel eyes scanned the screen in front of him, speedily gaging what exactly he needed to do, he got to work. His fingers danced over the keys at lightning speed. Watching from a respectable distance; as Japan didn't like to be touched, Hong Kong bit his lip.
He really wished that China wasn't speaking to Japan's boss, even if the old man couldn't really do anything in the situation. All he knew was that there was something wrong with his 'Dad' and no one present that could provide any comfort and knew what was going on. Wales, under normal circumstances would help, but he looked like he needed it more than Hong Kong.
Right now, Leon could do nothing but watch from the side and hold his breath. One that he only released when Japan looked away from his work, a glimpse of relief shining in his eyes.
"Uncle Dylan, the missiles are disabled."
"Hia, they have detonated overseas, no one was injured. They were very close, they were just above the channel."
Japan stepped back from the desk, his shoulders slumping. A sigh escaped him as he looked behind him for a chair, this was not good for his blood pressure. He really needed to cut down on the salted salmon.
Canada rested his back against the wall, kumajiro by his side letting his owner hold his paw. "Jesus" Leon nodded in agreement, his heart was still drumming against his chest.
"Thank you. James will stay in contact with you, Alistair has a pretty good idea what that is (gestures to England) and Patrick thinks he knows how to destroy it. It's thanks to Jack actually. We are going to need you to stand by."
With that said, Wales laid down beside his brother, his soul leaving his body once again and entered England's body.
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'Clang'
Prussia held his sword firmly above his head catching the blade that was aiming to behead him. He felt the muscles in his arm strain under the force of the strike. He gritted his teeth as he focused on his strength. He really wished Wales would stop taking his sweet time and help.
This thing was fighting two former Empire nations, single headedly. Although they were no longer Empires, or nations, they still processed the strength they had to become Empires. They had to be strong enough to take over country in the first place. Still, the Shadow had an insane grin as it danced around their strikes.
Whilst its sword was interlocked with Prussia's, the Shadow ducked under the Roman's attack and elbowed him in the gut. A rush of air escaped the Roman, just as the Shadow used its new position to its advantaged and twisted its blade in such a way, that it broke Prussia's guard.
"Fick" Gilbert swore lowly under his breath. Instincts saved him as he threw his body backwards and dropped his sword. The move that the Shadow had just performed would have snapped his wrist if he didn't let go. Just as his weapon was about to drop to the ground, Prussia caught the hilt with his foot and kicked it back up into his other hand.
Normally, he would have smirked at such a move, as it often caught his opponents off guard. The Shadow wasn't impressed, he doubted normal England would be, or many nations that fought before guns were used in battle.
Prussia cursed to himself again as the Shadow fired a shot pass his head. The albino gulped as the Shadow laughed manically and leaped back.
The sound of boots clunking on a wooden surface echoed around them. Taking the opportunity to catch their breath, both Prussia and Rome hunch forward a bit and watched the scene unfold in front of them.
The Shadow strolled a fair distance from them, although the jaunt looked casual enough, it screamed authority. Every step it took, the echoes grew louder. Its form changed slightly, its escaping wisps laced together to become solid, forming what appeared to be a cloak and hat. Every step it took, the black shape below it grew in size, becoming wider and higher.
When the footsteps halted, Prussia let out a string of curses. In front of him was a pirate ship coated in black wisps, sailing on non-existent waves. The sails fluttered even though there was no breeze and gentle rocked up and down.
Standing at the helm was England as he was during his time as a privateer, except it was the Shadow. It smirked, one of which Prussia knew all too well.
"Felt like we wasn't being as good hosts as the other minds you invaded. Thought we should show you some fun, after all, this was a time when we had lots of fun."
It laughed again, it seemed to rumble the very ground, but it rumbled due to something else.
With a sudden jolt, both Prussia and Rome shot upward. The sudden force caused them to lose their balance and land on their backsides. Gilbert ran his hand over the flat surface which suddenly formed under them. It was cold, as if it sucked all the warmth it came into contact with.
Looking towards the ancient nation, Prussia looked to see if Rome had a better idea as to what was going on. Unfortunately for the albino, the brunette was too stunned from the sudden change in circumstances, so much so, that he didn't even notice his bleeding side.
Shakily getting to his feet, the Prussian took a few cautious steps forward. He groaned internally when he figured out what he was standing on.
This Shadow wanted to play pirates with them. The ship that both Rome and himself were standing on was almost identical to the Shadow's, except theirs was bigger.
An icy laugh caused crimson orbs to divert from the black ship to the Shadow. Standing on the edge of its ship, holding a rope, the Shadow smiled lazily at the Prussian.
"It's rude to start playing without all the players, you should also look the part." The fake England purred, leaning heavily on the rope.
"Was?" Gilbert raised an eyebrow in confusion before he felt a mild burning sensation spread throughout his body. Frightened as to what was happening, Prussia looked towards Rome. The ancient nation body was glowing faintly which began to subside as Prussia watched, revealing a Rome in a stereotypical pirate outfit.
Despite the situation they were in, Prussia couldn't help but snort at the image. Rome was standing in front of him, looking confused, wearing a blue and white stripped top and an eye patch. He also had a red bandana on his head with matching sash around his waist.
Gilbert found himself looking down at his on clothes and swore. He was currently wearing his blue coat with white trimmings and a pair white trousers and mid-calf high black boots. On his head was a blue hat the same colour as his coat, with a large red feather.
He was wearing his uniform from his imperial days, he wasn't sure if the Shadow was taking the piss or not. Going by the situation, he would say that it was and that this arschloch was going to get its arse handed to it. Still he couldn't help but admire his uniform, he did look awesome in it.
The albino's eyes lingered on his new attire longer than he should and only looked away due to being called. Spinning round on his foot, Prussia was faced with frazzled looking pirate England. It took the Prussian a few seconds to realise that it was actually Wales.
The Welshman's thick blonde locks were tied up in a short ponytail with a green ribbon. He wasn't wearing a cloak, but a simple lose fitting off white shirt. Tight brown trousers hugged his legs, matching colour boots came halfway up his calf. He had a few gold looped earrings in his left ear and a tiny dagger hanging from his right. Just like Rome, he also wore a sash except his was green.
Dylan appeared to pay little to no attention to what he was wearing and instead run up to the two 'deceased' nations. Although Gilbert knew that the situation was dire, his mind couldn't help but wonder if he sometimes he fought Dylan when he thought he was fighting Arthur. He did hear stories from people having crossed paths with England in different parts of the world, but with little amount of time between the encounters.
"My brawds are on standby to help destroy what has taken over Arthur. James, Jack, Leon, Matthew and Joa are ready to act as pools of energy for them and channel the spell. Antonio did offer to help but he doesn't have any sort of tie to Arthur, magic wise."
Seeing the confused look on the Prussian's face, Wales elaborated further though hated the fact he was wasting time.
"The boys used to be a part of the British Empire so have a link to us, we can use them to get energy to cast a spell that requires a lot of energy. The spell to connect to them isn't tiring, just complicated. Forgot we could do it actually until Jack mentioning a time where Arthur asked if he could do it before.
"We can use Jao as he always wears a necklace which brawd gave him, finding Arthur's magical signature is easy. Once an item has been given to another; holding some sort of magical properties, they have been tagged. As long as you can find the source of magic and are able to follow it, you can perform a spell on them, if they still have the item. It can be used to help others or curse them.
"Brawd gave Francis an arrow head when he was younger which he said was so he could curse him. He never has and as far as I know, Francis still carries it around, it was a charm on a bracelet last time I saw it."
"That was a lot to take in but I think I get it. Why isn't Francey pants helping then?"
"James said that he was no longer wearing the ear piece. The other were already in contact, Jack is with my Brawds and Jao always stays in contact until the task is complete, even if it looks like he is not needed any more."
"Don't worry, we know that when meeting up with someone, you need to catch up, please don't mind us."
The trio froze momentarily at the sound of the Shadow's voice, they slowly turned their heads to the side to look at the source of the sound. The Shadow was sitting on the railing of the ship, one leg pulled to its chest, the other swinging lazily. It smiled sweetly and cocked its head to the side.
"Gott, I keep forgetting that it is actually Birdie in there." Wales nodded in agreement whereas Rome looked puzzled, he sort of avoided England during his Empire phase, but he did know a lot of his characteristics.
"Danke for being so understanding, just carrying on looking insane while we talk about how to destroy you." He couldn't help it, Gilbert had to give some sort of remark when faced with that look. A lot of England's most memorable lines were from battle, apparently the adrenaline just fuels his wit.
"This look is a gift, which will take others years to even attempt to replicate it. And by all means take your time, we are in no rush to kill you, you are rather amusing to watch actually."
"Yeah, well I am awesome so will therefore be awesome to watch."
"As awesome as you claim to be, you seem to fail to provide anything to back up your claim. We do quite like your hat though, it hides pretty well how big headed you are."
"The awesome me is a genius and will need a big head to hold my big brain."
"Quantity is not the same as quality. You may have a brain, but does it actually contain anything of use?"
"Nein, nothing up here, but I will stop you anyway, cause I'm that awesome. What does that make you?"
"Bored, we will give you a minute to chat before we decide to kill our boredom." The dark figure promptly laid down on the railing placing its hat over its face, with its arms behind its head.
Prussia watched the dark figure for a few seconds, a scowl on his face before he turned to Wales. The blonde was looking pass the albino and scrutinizing what was his brother. He had to stop that thing, destroy it, but how? He needed to free Arthur, but didn't really know how, his brothers said to trust Rome. He hoped that he could.
The ancient nation stood beside Dylan, his focus mainly on the dark object in his grasp. He skilfully twirled it in his hands, before suddenly coming to a halt and sighing heavily.
"You need to stab him in the heart with this." Rome held his hands out flat in front of him, a black dagger laid innocently on his open palms. There was intricate details engraved on the blade, it looked Celtic in some way, but also not.
Wales looked at the weapon in alarm before examining the brunette with a disbelieving expression. The Roman wasn't serious, right?
"I know, but you have to believe me, his is the only way to free your fratello. This dagger is the opposite to the ones that the ghosts have been using to fully merge with a nation, it separates them. If we place this into Arthur's heart, it will draw out this thing that has taken hold of him and then we can destroy it."
The Roman spoke slowly, there was an unease in his voice which didn't sit well with the Welshman. There was something that Roman didn't want to say. He would tell them as he had to, but the fact that Rome was reluctant to do so made Wales nervous.
The large nation's shoulders slumped, a sigh escaping him before he spoke again. When he did, there was pain evident in his eyes, Dylan really didn't like where this was heading.
"It will hurt Arturo a lot, it would be too much to handle for a human, they would die from it. Arturo is a nation, he will survive, but I don't know what state he will be left in. He is already injured, it could leave him in a coma."
"Was?! How long for?"
"I don't know, a part of him is being ripped away, it will be like losing a colony due to war, but worse. Arturo has had this thing part of him since he was a bambino, the pain will be more than when America left."
"Fick! He'll live though, he won't die?"
"Si, he will live."
Prussia ran a hand through his snowy hair, struggling to see the positive side of this. Why was it never easy?
Wales informed his brothers what Rome had just told him, his voice void of any emotion. He honestly believed that he had none left due to everything that had happened. He had used them all up, exhausted his brain. It was either sit in a ball on the floor and wallow in his emotions, or get the job done. Not as easy a choice as one would assume.
"Let's work as a team, everyone try to get in close to brawd. One of us will have the dagger and will...stab him, while the other two try and create an opening. We can switch who has the blade if needed. Rome, you go first."
Instantly the trio took on an offensive stance, turning to face the threat that was laying leisurely on the boat. Feeling the stares on it, the Shadow used its pointing finger to shift its hat, its blazing eyes shifted to its side to see what was happening.
Upon seeing that the others were now eager to fight, an animalistic grin spread across its face as it swung itself upright. In one fluid movement, the Shadow was standing on the rail, twirling a pistol in its hand.
"Ready?" It practically purred, the excitement for a fight evident in its voice. It waved its left hand to the side, its palm facing the floor. Black smoke spilled from its finger tips and crawled along the floor before climbing over the side of the boat and swam across the water. It then clawed up the side of the trio's boat and engulfed the deck.
The three nation's eyed each other, clearly anxious. Automatically both Prussia and Wales directed their attention to the smoke, leaving Rome to keep an eye on the source of it.
The smoke started to settle, which did not ease the anxiousness in the trio at all, especially when it started to shift and take shape of people. Both Gilbert and Dylan raised their weapon's at the 'shadow clones', they were much like the ones Gilbert had faced inside Alfred's mind, ready to destroy them at the first sign of hostility.
They didn't do anything though, just stared blankly. Crimson eyes slid to the side to meet emerald, both expressing confusion, before slowly looking towards the Roman. He too looked at lost as he stared at the Shadow on the other ship with a crew behind it.
"Thought that we should make things more realistic. 4 people between 2 ships doesn't seem quite right, does it? This makes things more fun." The shadow laughed darkly, its voice vibrating around them, making everything seem cold.
The laugher stopped suddenly and was instantly followed by the sound of a gunshot. A shadowed figure dropped to the floor, only black wisps was left behind. Prussia looked down at his fallen 'crew member' before turning his attention the killer. The Shadow's pistol was still smoking from the recent shot, it then looked to the weapon, faking a look of surprise.
"Our hand slipped, guess that means we start." The grin across the dark figure's face spread even wider, if possible. It twirled its pistol once more, then fired again causing its 'crew' to spring into action.
Swearing under his breath, Gilbert shot the first clone that tried to swing over to their ship by rope. The Prussian carried on cursing throughout his entire sprint fending off the upcoming threats, and continued throughout the fight.
He didn't really do it as much with Arthur due to the banter they had, but during a battle, the albino swore like there was no tomorrow. Most of the time they didn't make much sense and wasn't actually aimed at anyone, but he cursed anyway.
Wales started to hum a tune, he was now on a sugar rush, so eating snacks will do nothing for him now. The song didn't really have a set tune as it constantly changed as the Welshman fought.
Rome was busy fighting a hoard of clones that managed to bridge the gap between the ship surprisingly quickly. The gap between the ships had shrunk at an unnatural speed, which caught the Roman off guard.
Swords were coming at him from all angles, some just catching his skin as he weaved in and out of the attacks. The furious offensive had forced him to take on a mainly defensive role, making it almost impossible to gain any ground.
Flaming green eyes appeared bored by the Roman's lack of ground he had taken, so decided to lift some of the strain. It didn't want this to end too quickly, it was disappointed that the Ex-Empire was struggling, but then the majority of the clones had decided to target him for some reason.
The clones on the old nation's side, started to attack those on top of him. Some of them started to help the other two, although they didn't need as much as Rome did. It was only when the brunette freed himself from the clones and charged at the Shadow, did it clock on as to why he was a favourite for the clones.
A low growl rumbled in the Shadow's chest at the sight of the dagger, that thing could ruin everything. The clones were drawn to it, so of course they went after Rome, the Shadow could feel a tug to it. This wasn't a game anymore.
The shadow ran along the railing of its ship and jumped off once by the mast, then started climbing it at an amazing speed. Once at the top, it sprinted along the beam and dived at the other ships sails, a sword facing downwards.
Upon nearing the bottom of the sail, the Shadow launched itself off of it and landed with feline grace behind Rome. The Roman had little time to react to the blade that slashed at him.
He managed to move at the last second, to avoid the brunt of the attack, but not fully. Blood started to trickle down the right side of his face, mixing into his hair. The blow was enough to disorientate him for a second, which was enough for the Shadow, as it brought its knee up into his gut.
Out of the corner of his eye, Romulus saw Dylan's fast approach and threw the dagger to him without hesitation. The Welshman caught the weapon with little difficulty, only having to barge one clone out of the way to do so.
The Shadow sneered at the blonde before bringing its elbow down on the back of Rome's neck, forcing him to the ground. With a snap of its fingers, the clones jumped to life and started to swarm the ancient nation.
Green flames met with emerald eyes that burned with such ferocity, that they too could burst into flames at any moment. The Shadow couldn't help but wonder if it should have tried taking over this nation instead.
Arthur, when he was angry was scary largely due to itself, Dylan was scary without it. Then again, Arthur tried not to allow himself to truly get angry because of it, and when Arthur got to a certain level of anger, it took over, so it was hard to tell what a purely angry Arthur was actually like.
Of course the Shadow couldn't dwell on the matter, as there was a battle with a highly pissed off Welshman to face. It was not going back to spending eternity in the dark, that life was too boring.
The Shadow raised its blade and swiped at the Welshman's stomach, catching it just as Wales pulled back. It was nothing more than a scratched and Dylan knew that, as he bounced off the foot he just landed on and front kicked the Shadow in the chest.
The Shadow staggered back a step, before righting its position and began an onslaught of strikes, each and every one was blocked by the blonde. Growing frustrated, the Shadow increased its speed, smirking when seeing Wales struggling to keep up, despite his sugar rush.
Still, the shadow seized to gain any ground. Getting annoyed, it commanded its clones to strike at the Welshman, only for them to fall to the ground with knives embedded in their skulls.
There was a laugh that the Shadow recognised, no this body recognised, that caused it to inwardly groan. That fucking Prussian. The white haired ghost had found a vantage point and had succeeded in whittling down the number of clones considerably. He cut down any that was close with his sword, but took others out from a distance with knives in between attacks.
Prussia cackled again, throwing multiple daggers, making a pathway for himself. He then dashed towards the Shadow, blades between his knuckles of his left hand, a cutlass in the right.
The Shadow's eyes stayed on the Prussian longer than it should have, thus was not able to prevent Wales' strike. The Welshman, upper cupped the Shadow's jaw, knocking its head back, making an opening.
Dylan took his opportunity to bring the black dagger down, aiming for the heart. The Shadow managed to turn its body to the side, causing the dagger to miss its heart, but hitting its lung instead.
A feral growl escaped the creature at the sight of the wound. It grabbed hold of the hilt of the weapon extruding from its side and pulled. Dark smoke oozed from the wound and gravitated to the floor, blood also spilled.
Dylan froze momentarily once he realised that the blood was that of his brother and not the thing possessing him. He had hurt his brother, he wasn't sure if he was going to be able to do this.
He had to though.
"Dylan!"
Wales snapped out of his ravine just in time to see the tip of black race at him. He managed to mentally prepare himself for the pain that was about to receive.
It never came.
There was a clang noise that rang out around them, as Rome materialised before Wales. The ancient nation's body was littered in scratched and bruises and was almost covered from head to toe in blood.
Still, the nation managed to block the attack. This seemed to enrage the Shadow as it roared. The wisps from earlier shot out from the ground and wrapped around the Rome's waist before whipping him off the boat. He slammed into the side of the other ship with a loud thump, then fell into the 'water'.
Wales; having managed to grab hold of the dagger again, had little time to prepare before the wisps latched onto him and coiled around his entire body. A gasp escaped the blonde his bonds began to squeeze the air out of him
The rest of the clones started to mob the Prussian who was fighting to get to Wales' aid, their plan of attack had gone completely out the window. He had no idea what had happened to Rome and Wales was having the life crushed out of him. He couldn't summon any weapon to himself either, it had to be something from this era.
He was worried.
The feeling eased by a fraction once Rome reappeared by the far side of the boat completely drenched. Although the blood had been washed away, the fury the Roman felt hadn't, if anything, it had grown immensely. The brunette growled before he charged forward, bulldozing any clones that dared to get in the way of the Prussian.
Blinking away the shock, Gilbert dove at the Shadow, pistol raised. A black spear shot at the albino, which he dodged by sliding underneath it, firing multiple shots at the shadow. The dark figure flinched as the bullets were absorbed into its form, causing is hold on Wales to increase.
No noise escaped the Welshman as his bonds tightened, there was no air left in his lungs. Alarmed at the lack of sound, Prussia brought down his sword on the wisps strangling the blonde. The wisps hissed and broke away, dropping the Welshman who fell to his knees gasping.
Rome provided the Welshman with some cover as he regained his breath. Without looking, Dylan tossed Gilbert the blade. The Welshman was shakily getting to his feet by the time Prussia sped past him, dagger in one hand, cutlass in the other.
"We'll deal with the clones, you take the other basdun (bastard). We'll help you however we can." The blonde spoke in between pants, before taking a deep breath and throwing himself back into the fray.
The two injured nations held their own well against the clones, occasionally firing bullets at the Shadow in hopes to distract it. Although Prussia wasn't injured thus far, he was still slower and not as powerful as the shadowy figure.
The albino was fast enough to dodge the majority of the attacks, but some were unavoidable. Various gashes were developing all over his body, yet he was left unable to even scratch his opponent. It was stronger than before Wales entered. He hoped that is was due to it summoning the last of its inner strength to stop the others, as he hated the idea that it was because England was getting weaker.
A blade swung at Prussia from his right, he ducked just in time to miss the strike, but it left him wide open to the sneaky attack. Using a dagger that the Shadow wielded in its right hand, it drove the blade into the Prussian's left side, just under his ribs.
Swears poured from the Prussian's mouth, but he carried on with his attack. He slammed the hill of his foot down on the calf of the shadow, causing it to buckle, creating an opening. Acting quickly, Prussia moved in a little closer and brought the dagger downwards, above the Shadow's heart.
Not even a second passed when there was a loud thump that echoed through the air. Gasps were heard from three mouths and laughter from the fourth.
Pinned against the wall of the Captain's quarters, was a Prussia held by black spears. On the floor were Wales and Rome in a similar position, both having less energy to fight against their restraints due to their wounds, than the Prussian.
The Shadow leered at the trapped ghost, the dagger that Prussia was previously holding was twirling in its hand. Halting the twirling, fiery eyes examined the blade before it traced the weapon down Prussia's throat.
It smirked as it pressed harder, leaving a light line of crimson down Gilbert's throat, causing the albino to swallow thickly. A low laugh escaped the Shadow when it pulled the dagger back. The laughter turned insane as it brought the dagger down.
Prussia heard Wales yell his name, but he ignored it as the Shadow suddenly froze, halting its attack. Bewildered, Gilbert studied the thing in front of him, trying to gauge what exactly it was doing.
It looked shocked.
The Shadow looked nothing but confused, which morphed into terror as the dagger rotated in its hand. The tip of the blade was aiming at the creature's heart. The Shadow looked up from its chest and up at Gilbert, its flames smaller than they were previously.
"Birdie?"
"DuCKie." England's voice fought through the many, still sounded far away and disconnected, but it was still his voice. The Prussian almost laughed in relief at the sound of it, that was until England stabbed himself in the heart.
The back smoke that cover the Englishman screeched as it was ripped away from him and channelled into the dagger. It stubbornly clung onto the Englishman, but couldn't stop the dagger peeling it away from its host. The wisps that surrounded them hissed and dissolved into the air. The ship started to crumble, leaving them in a white void.
Having the darkness ripped away from him, England had passed out from the pain. He managed to stand for a few seconds before his legs gave way. Being closest, Prussia caught the blonde before he hit the ground.
The albino gently lowered him to the ground and knelt down carefully next to him. Mindful of the dagger still in his side, Prussia slowly laid out flat next to England. It was only when he looked to his side did Prussia notice that England was actually still conscious, though his eyes looked clouded over in pain. Prussia highly doubted that England was actually able to think clearly, let alone talk.
"Go." Wales contacted those on standby, ready to destroy the Darkness that had taken control of England while they could. A cloud of smoke was situated in the centre of the room, the dagger trapped in the middle of it. It would only be immobile for a short amount of time, after that, it would be free to try and take over anybody.
"Gotcha mate." Dylan felt himself relax at the sound of Jack's voice. It was so full of energy, something which Wales didn't have at the moment. Even chanting the simple spell needed to connect the others, was harder than it needed to be.
A few seconds passed when a flicker of light appeared near the smoke. A few more seconds and another appeared, shortly followed by more, all of them different colours and growing in size.
Soon there were five figures made of light that surrounded the dark smoke. The light versions of Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Portugal and New Zealand held each other's hands, reciting the spell that they had been instructed to say. With each word that was said, they grew brighter and louder.
Although their voices grew louder, it was not loud enough to drown out the screams of the wisps. Its high pitched screeches were deafening, made insides turns and shivers to run down spines. At the peak of the spell, the screams sounded inhuman and then they suddenly silenced.
The lights died down, leaving behind only the five figures and a burning white hot dagger that hovered in the centre. A second passed when the blade suddenly fell and shattered on the ground, the figments turned into ash and were swept away by a breeze.
The five figures then turned and positioned themselves into a line; some looking more pleased with themselves than others. Once again they began to chant, this time only glowing mildly. The room around them started to appear brighter, cleaner, before the nations made of light disappeared.
A sigh of relief left Wales, it was over. The world was safe for the most part, ghosts were no longer the problem. His brother was free, Arthur no longer had to be scared about losing his temper...as much. He was still a Kirkland after all and all of them were scary when mad.
Feeling a weight lift off his shoulders, Dylan found that he could breathe easier. He turned his head to the side to find that Rome had already left England's mind and concluded that he should do the same.
Keseseseseseseseesesesesseesesesesesessseseesseessseseseseseseesessesesesesesesssseesesseseseseseseessesesesesesesese
Upon opening his eyes, Dylan was met with five others staring back at him, relief shining through them. Frederick held his hand out for the Welshman to grab and pulled the nation into an upright position.
Now upright, Dylan was able to see Gilbert sitting next to his brother, breathing harshly with Rome besides him, the ancient nation had moved away once he saw that Arthur was fine. The albino was favouring one side more than the other, pain evident on his face, yet he was smiling.
Japan was now content knowing that the others were OK and decided that he should talk to his boss. He went to the corner of the room and made a call, not really wanting to leave everyone. Although he knew the jist of everything that had happed from when Napoleon was occupying his mind, he still wanted to clarify exactly what had happened.
Hong Kong and Canada were worn out from the magic they had just preformed, due to not normally be able to do so; it was a huge strain on the body even with the Kirkland brothers help. Still they managed to care for their uncle, making sure he was OK, before tending to their 'Dad'.
Prussia looked down on the Brit laying next to him, he knew that England was currently in control of his body as his eyes were barely open, but he wasn't going to disturb him. Like himself, England was breathing was laboured, a clear sign he was in pain, not really in the state for idle chit chat.
Yet the Englishman was full of surprises when he managed to smile at the Prussian. Surprised, yet overjoyed, Prussia returned the gesture in full force, even managing a snigger. "Looks like we're done now Birdie. You and Bo Peep, I did most of it, did it. Keseseses, nothing left for the awesome me to do."
The Prussia spoke the words with so much joy, that he failed to recognise the flash of horror in the Englishman's eyes before sleep finally took over. Rome swore and went to grab hold of the Prussian, only for his hand to go straight through.
Gilbert's entire form began to glow softly until parts of him started to drift away in small balls of light. The room fell into silence as the Prussian faded before them.
Tears cascaded down almost everyone's faces, the exception being Rome, who had ran out the room. The brunette had said something before he left, but was never heard, all the rest could do was stare. Stare at the now empty spot in the once happy room, a feeling that was torn away as quickly as it came. It was a short lived feeling, that was now overcome by grief.
"D-Did he...?" Leon couldn't bring himself to finish his question. The teen surveyed the others around him, finding that their expressions were answers enough. He couldn't believe it though, he just wouldn't accept it.
Dylan reached out towards the now warm spot were Gilbert once was. He retracted his hand, bringing it to his chest, his eyes fell upon his brother. He was no longer an angel, his brother was not going to get any help in coping with his pain. Even though a tear trailed down the Englishman's cheek, he would not change due to the amount of magic his body used earlier. It was either carry on using magic and lose something in return, or don't use magic and keep everything.
Dylan wasn't sure if it was a good or bad thing as he watched the other Brit. He found himself swallowing thickly, struggling to accept what had happend. Prussia had just given him a nickname that the Prussia was confident with as well.
The elder Kirkland looked up, examining the other faces present and released a ragged breath. "He has passed over."
Kesesesesesesesesesesesesesesesesesesesesesesesesesesesesesesesesesesesesesesesese
The End
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Just kidding, had you though right?
Rome went off somewhere for a reason so remember that.
The KESESESE is because the insert line thing disapeared and I couldn't be bothered too figure out how to get it.
Sorry there isn't that many jokes, couldn't really fit them in, but Australia made a brief appearance.
Hopefully the next one wont be that long.
Review and stuff if you want.