Black or White 4
His visit to his supposed big brother, Scotland, had been awkward.
It was like visiting a unknown man and trying to feign emotions for him. He felt pity for Scotland but no more than a normal person seeing a stranger in hospital.
Wales, North Ireland and Ireland were there for most of the time. He had asked them questions about the red head. Mostly, they didn't have any problems, answering straight when he questioned them about how the two had gotten on, they seemed reluctant to answer; mostly saying that's it complex and he shouldn't worry about that for now.
It made him a little curious about their relationship.
However, Arthur was very curious about the bandage on the red head's cheek.
It was scarily similar in position and size to the one that was on his cheek.
When the others had left, due to visiting hours ending, he had stayed. He was going to live in the hospital for a while, meaning he could visit Scotland whenever - unlike the others.
He stared at the bandage on the cheek, partially covered by the breathing mask.
After a while, England slowly reached forward, tugging on the sticky white square. It came off with relative ease like his.
Underneath it was a crimson X; an exact copy of the wound he had.
His eyes widened and his mouth dropped.
Suddenly he heard the voice speak again.
"…corpses…. switched…"
"What does that mean?" He asked annoyed and out loud.
Nothing answered him though.
The echoing voice was becoming clearer every time he heard it.
He sighed heavily.
He was unnerved by the shared wound the brothers both suffered from, it was just too coincidental.
Curious to see if the other similar square bandages on his arms bore the same mark, he peeled each one off carefully and slowly.
Each time he gasped in shock.
It was the exact same knife wound over and over again. The same bright red X! All over his arms, on his cheek and on England's cheek.
When he finished, the pale muscly arms were just covered in more than 8 identical Xs. England gaped, unsure of what this meant.
"… corpses… be switched…" The blonde gripped his head, suddenly feeling tired.
The voice was scaring him now as it became less muffled and louder.
He felt haunted by it, by his missing past and most of all by his red haired brother who shared his cheek wound.
It had been a long day despite the fact he didn't actually do much about from answer and asking questions.
He quickly left the room, feeling trapped and the need to escape. However, even when he left the ICU ward and back to his room, he still felt trapped.
He was surrounded by white.
It pressed into him and the feeling bothered him.
Another thing that bothered England was Scotland's appearance.
The one that he had imagined for himself before seeing himself, what he really looked like, in a mirror was exactly like Scotland. Tall, red haired and a bit pale. It was freaky.
The blonde flopped onto his bed slightly freaked out and exhausted.
Hopefully a good night sleep will help reveal some answers to his hidden past, the mumbling voice he could sometimes hear and Scotland whose wounds are too similar to be coincidence.
It was sunny with a slightly chilling breeze.
It felt good as he walked down the oddly familiar street; a rolled up news paper under one arm while the other held a closed umbrella, using it like a walking cane. England looked around trying to remember where this was and why he was walking in this direction.
It felt like London.
Yes, London. He wasn't sure what or where that was, but it felt like there.
London.
It felt familiar; even though the name was weird. He felt slightly relieved at the familiarness.
He didn't seem to have much control over his actions which startled him greatly; especially when his body suddenly walked down a secluded street without a single soul.
Where was he going? Where was everyone else? He thought panicked.
Luckily his mind answered him.
Secret shortcut.
So he was taking a shortcut but to where?
His subconscious mind didn't answered this time.
Instead he just continued forward. He wondered as he went if this was a memory or a clue to his past.
A couple of low, thudding bangs went off close by, slightly muted by the distance.
He blinked in confusion, recognising the sounds but not identifying it.
The world suddenly shifted out of focus making him dizzy. Everything warped around him.
What was happening?
3 blurry people appeared, completely dressed in black, and moving very quickly as if sped up unnaturally. They were moving about him in sudden, quirky movements as his body twisted away from them against his will. He felt little slashes of pain, unsure what was happening.
It was painful though.
Was he being attacked by these people?
The world was speeding up more. Everything began to move faster and faster.
A flash of crimson came as a fourth man entered. He moved around the black blurs.
Everything was moving too quirky now and it hurt. It hurt so much.
Especially his head and chest which suddenly bursted with pain. It was too much! He screamed loudly, bellowing as loud as he could and straining his lungs. His voice protested to the scream.
The world faded to a blinding white before fading to the deepest of blacks.
The pain increased and the voice finally spoke again.
This time though it was slow, precise and crystal clear.
"The corpses shall be switched."
'What?' He thought frantically trying to erase the pulsing pain in his mind.
"The corpses shall be switched."
He screamed a second time, waking up and sitting up just as a nurse entered his room.
"Mr Kirkand!" She rushed to his bedside, trying to soothe the panicking blonde. He breathed raspy swallow breathes, looking around at the four white walls.
"Breath slowly and deeply. That's it. Just calm down." The nurse cooed softly and Arthur quickly found himself responding. He sighed as he felt himself relax more.
It had been a nightmare.
A simple nightmare.
"I'm sorry miss, it was a nightmare. Sorry." He apologised profusely, feeling suddenly very ashamed for a fully grown man to be screaming from a simple nightmare like a child.
The nurse nodded, before quickly checking the equipment and leaving to attend to other patients.
Arthur laid back in his bed, quickly noticing he was now wearing PJs instead of the suit. He paid it no heed though.
He tried to shake off the remains of the nightmare, assuring himself it was just a dream.
Or a memory…
He gulped slightly touching his cheek.
What if it was a memory?…
He shifted nervously, trying to coax himself back into a uneasy sleep.
(A/N - Someone has guessed the answer to 'Which Vocaloid song is this based on?' but to keep some of the mystery, I will still not state the name of the song.
There are lots of amazing guesses. An anon called 'anon' was boasting and sticking out his/her tongue because he/she thinks he/she has figured it out. Has anyone not suspected or doubted that I would try to make one story line seem obvious then suddenly reveal that that was not what was happening the entire time? I'm not going to say if anon was right or not but please consider that a good mystery will be just as misleading or it is mysterious.
Favourite guess so far - Arenarceus and his insistence that an evil organisation MUST exist. That may or may not be true though. However I love the dedication to theory of the organisation of evil-doers being behind this whether it is correct or not.
I want to hear more theories! I hope this stirs up some contrasting theories. Most of them seem to be basically the same as each other so I'm taking this as I am not being mysterious enough. I was hoping for lots of different ideas or something...
EDIT - Thanks to Arenarceus for pointing out a spelling mistake. I don't mind grammar nazis 'cause they are a big help for me.
I always end up rereading my chapters for mistakes before uploading because I don't have a BETA (Scottish pride dictates that I can do this by myself!) but I always miss a bunch. (Surprisingly I have dyslexia but I don't let that stop me! I just work harder! It bugs me off when people use that as an excuse for having lousy English skills. That never stopped me or my mum. It's just a matter of determination to over come that obstacle.)
Then after I upload my new chapter - I notice all the mistakes I missed! Of course, I'm too lazy to change them all unless someone points them out. However - I had missed that pealed/peeled one completely! Thanks again!
REVIEW PLEASE!)