whooooh! another chapter!
it's very short, though.. i promise next chapters will be longer!

(oh, and i'd like to remind you this is NOT a romanoXbelgium fic, but it will be romanoXspain!)

huh...that's all, i think...

ah! i made a picture of the Sentient Nightmare of the previous chapter! (whose identity you almost all guessed, dang it. am i that ovious?! XD) it's here on deviantart, if you are interested:

/art/I-am-the-one-hiding-under-your-bed-361300302

anyway

ENJOY!

The following week passed without anything important happening.

Kiku started training Feliciano in close combat (the Italian refused to come near any gun) with his weapon of choice : … a stick. Or rather, a wooden staff.

"B-but why this?" asked the Japanese.

"I don't want to hurt anyone badly!" was the answer. Ludwig, who had been watching the scene, facepalmed. "Feliciano, you are supposed to actually hurt those things…"

Feliciano smiled more. "Ve! But I'm clumsy, so I do not want to hurt others accidentally! And look! If I get a white cloth and knot it here and there I get a white flag!"

Now it was Kiku's turn to facepalm.

Anyway, they started training, and so did Bella and Romano. Romano was quite skilled using his sword (which he had retrieved from his previous hiding place) and Bella used an axe (smaller than Mathias', though), and they both were good in using rifles.

Berwald and Mathias went out to find something in the city twice, but always came home empty-handed.

Every evening Romano or Feliciano would cook, and then they would play cards. Sometimes the two started cheating and so the game finished in chaos, much to the Italians' amusement.

Feliciano still had not told Arthur about his 'death', but he was going to, soon enough.

Then one day Arthur came back from outside with something new. And it was resting in his arms.

"Ve, Arthur! Where did you get that kitty?" Feliciano asked, skipping over happily.

Ludwig sighed. "Really, Feliciano? A cat? That can't be…" following the Italian to meet Arthur.

Yet it really was a cat, resting in the Englishman's arms.

"Oh." Said the German. "I take it back."

"Meow" purred the cat weakly. It was a small beige cat, with some darker spots on the back and head and (oddly enough) a small curl on the side of the head.

"Ve! È adorabile!" chirped the Italian, already petting the cat.

Arthur frowned. "Something is not right about this cat…could you please come with me, Feliciano? I want to check on him."

The Italian nodded, his curl bouncing up and down, and skipping to the Brit's medical room. Ludwig stayed behind.

When the two got in the room, Arthur closed the curtain and put the cat on the table. Feliciano observed him closer. Its fur was caked together in some places, by a black sticky substance… and the cat did not look tiptop either.

"What happened to him, Arthur?" Feliciano asked, petting the cat's head again.

Arthur frowned. "I do not know exactly. But let me tell you what I saw… I went to the black nauseating remains of the Nightmare again, just to observe if it was still there. And I found it stuck in the grime."

Feliciano gasped and hugged the kitten. "Oh my gosh! Poor little kitty!"

The Brit coughed. "Ah-hem, I don't think you got the point, Feli."
The Italian looked up. "Huh?"

"The cat was stuck IN the grime completely. Look closer, not only its paws are dirty, but the whole body. And what would a cat be doing in the middle of a desert…?"

Feliciano still did not het the point. Arthur sighed.

"The cat was the Nightmare, Feliciano."

...
What.

"What? That can't be! It…it died a week ago! And…and it died, Arthur! And it can't be this cat! It's adorable! I think he just fell in that puddle, right, kitty?" Feliciano started ranting, talking to the cat.

"Feliciano! Don't you see what I mean? If what I say is right (and it is, so don't argue) you just… cured a Nightmare." Arthur excitedly put a hand on the Italian's shoulder.

He was confused. "But…that can't be, right? It's impossible…?"

Arthur started walking around the room again. "Alright, let's think this through. Take a Nightmare, kill it, it dies – bam – and falls. See, what usually happens is that it rots, like any living being. But this Nightmare started melting and became a puddle of nauseating goo. It stayed a puddle for a week, and then in the goo I found this cat. The only difference between a 'normally' killed Nightmare and the one here outside was that you hit it with your right hand. Feliciano…" he suddenly became serious again, "…you cured that Nightmare. I am sure of it."

Feliciano did not really believe him. "Do you really think that this…" he held his right hand up "…cured a monster?"

"I really do. By the way, let's take a look at it, hm?"

Feliciano unwrapped the bandages and turned the hand in front of his eyes. His burns had already healed, he did not have blisters anymore. The thing on his hand had grown again though, he noticed. It was glowing faintly a white light, and had emerged a little.

Arthur started inspecting it. "It has grown a little, huh?"

Feliciano shifted uncomfortably. "H-hey, Arthur?"

"Yes?"

"I need to tell you something."

He told what his brother had told him the night before. All of it: him with Romano, him dying, the Sentient Nightmare screaming when its hand began to smoke.

When he finished, Arthur had a pensive look on his face, and was rubbing his chin with one hand. "What the hell…it doesn't make any sense…"
"I-I know, but it's true! I have a scar to prove it!" Feliciano pulled up his shirt to show the circular faded scar in the middle of his chest.

Arthur shook his head. Then he began pacing around the room again. "So, this Sentient Nightmare wanted to turn your brother into a RED. You jumped in front of him and took the blow instead. It should have infected you, but it didn't, because apparently you did not have the requirement: a sin. Then it should have killed you, but obviously it didn't. So what happened? You're still alive, and have something that resembles what Nightmares have. But it's almost as if you're toxic to them. Also to that Sentient Nightmare, back then." Arthur stopped walking around. "You definitely are an 'anti-Nightmare'."

Feliciano stared at his glowing hand. Then to the cat, who had fallen asleep. "So, what do we do?"

The Brit shrugged. "I don't know. The safest thing to do now is wait, so…we'll wait."

The Italian nodded. "Ok! Uh…" he looked at the cat again. "Shouldn't we clean him up?"

Arthur smiled. "Yes, sure. Let's go."

…Meanwhile, in some other place…

Three shadows sat in the dark, motionless. Waiting.

A fourth shadow approached them.

One of the motionless shadows suddenly sprang up. "What happened?"

The fourth shadow shrugged. "I don't know."

The second stood up. "So, what did he say?"

"Nothing."
"What do you mean, nothing?!" the first shadow argued.

"He's angry."

All shadows stiffened.

"…And, do you know why?" the second shadow asked.

The fourth shook its head. "He kept grumbling about a stupid mistake."

"What does that even mean?!" the first repeated.

"I don't KNOW!"

"Aah, so noisy…" a fifth shadow appeared.
"M-Master! We're sorry!" the first, second and fourth shadow said.

"Hush, hush…" the last shadow whispered. "I need you to do a job for me…"

"Yes, master." The three shadows said in unison.

The fifth shadow talked a while, and then "All clear? Now, go."

"Yes, master." The three shadows left swiftly.

The fifth shadow, referred to as 'Master', glanced towards the shadow that was still sitting. "You too, Antonio."

The shadow named Antonio slowly stood up. It snapped his jaws shut, glaring at the other shadow. "Yes, master." And then left.

The 'master' simply chuckled to himself.

yes, yes, it's a short chapter. i know!

anyway, until next chapter! and OMG THANKS FOR ALL THE REVIEWS! *faints*

and I am SO SORRY for doing that to antonio! really! please forgive me! *hides*

È adorabile! : (italian) It's adorable!