Ciao everybody! IT'S FUCKING FRIDAYYYY! Ah, another LONG chapter! Sorry it took longer than expected... ten days! WTH!
But you'll understand, it's over 7000 words...
Oh, and I finally got another drawing for you people! It's about the chapter when Romano swaps half of the deck with a shitload of jokers... XD As usual, you can find it on DeviantArt...
/art/Nightmare-Apocalypse-Playing-cards-377450974
And i totally love you all! It makes me so happy to read all your fantastic reviews! :'D They really all make my day!
Ah, and I also found a song that totally fits this fanfic! Well, it mostly fits the REDs and their conditions, so if you want to, please go and look it up! 'Injection', by Rise Against... Youtube link: /watch?v=2pPjG4arm70
Anyway, here's the chapter! Oh, and if you're feeling confused at the end of the chapter, rest assured, there will be explanations... (BTW, look at the title. Done? Alright!) Sit back und ENJOY.
...
…?…
...
He was happy. Why did he feel so happy? The feeling was somehow nostalgic. He felt…warm, inside…
"Brother, don't just stand there…! It's snowing, let's go make a snowman!"
He blinked and he saw his older sister looking at him with sparkling bright eyes. He could see her clearly, but her voice was distant, as if it were echoing through a tunnel. She was young, younger than he remembered her to be. And why was he so small as well…? Was he a child again?
"But сестра, you always make snow-women with big breasts…" he whined. Even his own voice sounded distant and it was high-pitched, too.
"Aw, come on…! I promise I won't this time! Please?"
He nodded, smiling, and took his sister's hand, and together, they were enveloped by the whiteness and the cold of the snowflakes falling outside.
…
"Big brother! Big brother!" someone called out. It was his little sister. The three of them were walking through the sunny countryside. It was summer, warm and peaceful.
He smiled, even if he occasionally got the creeps from her. Sometimes she just could be scary.
"What is it, Natalya?"
"I got you sunflowers! See? Your favorites!" she exclaimed, giving him one of her rare smiles as he gladly accepted the big yellow flowers. Indeed, they were his favorites.
"Cпасибо…" he said, burying his face in the sunflowers.
…
"Brother! Isn't it wonderful? We'll be working together!" his big sister beamed. He smiled, looking down at the letter he clutched between his fingers.
"Дa!"
"I wanna work with big brother too!" his smaller sister whined, tugging at his sleeve like a five-year old even though she was already of age.
He smiled a more awkward smile now. "Eheh, but you're too young still. You'll have to wait a couple of years, eh?" Inwardly, he actually felt relieved he wouldn't have to work with the smaller girl. She still creeped him out sometimes…
…
"How's the cooling system doing, Katyusha?" he asked, tapping a pen on his note pad. He was now one of the most important men in the plant, which meant he had much power and influence, but also many responsibilities. For instance, making sure everything was safe and going smoothly.
"Everything's working well, broth- I mean, boss!" his older sister said proudly, catching herself just in time. She could be his sister, but while working, he was one of the bosses there.
"And where did Jones run off to anyway? I told him I needed him here," he muttered, disappointed.
She whirled around, those enormous breasts of her almost ripping out the buttons of her work coat. "He said he would go back home for a week, boss, don't you remember? It's his time off."
…
Alarms and sirens blared loudly through the whole building. Red lights flashed everywhere as he ran through the dark corridors. Their power had turned off and their whole electronic security system had gone with it, as had the cooling system. And that was where the problem was: the generator was overheating.
"Attention! Attention! Abandon the building at once! Evacuation active! Preparing to engage operation 6-2-8. Attention, this is not a drill! Abandon the building at once! Attention! Attention…" a pre-registered voice kept repeating over the ringing sound of the alarms.
People ran past him in the opposite direction, towards the exits, bumping into him. His sister was still inside, trying to solve the problem. It was obviously too late, but she was kind of dense and when it came to the well-being of others, she would try to fix the problem on her own, despite the consequences. It was obviously a sweet feature of her, but foolish in situations like this.
"Attention! Attention! Abandon the building at once…"
He slammed the metal door open. "Katyusha!"
As he had predicted, she was desperately pulling levers and pressing buttons, trying to mend the irreparable mess.
She yelped as he yanked her away from the controls. "Kat, we have to get out of here!"
"But I can still stop this!"
"Hет! There's no time!"
She struggled in his grasp as he dragged her out of the room.
"Attention! Attention! Engaging operation 6-2-8! Evacuate immediately! Attention…"
A metal wall came out of the ceiling and sealed shut the area behind them.
"Run, Kat!" he cried, releasing her so they could both be faster. She finally understood that there was nothing she could do and started running beside him. They ran as fast as they could through the many hallways, skidding at each turn and hearing the lead seals shut behind them. Finally, after the umpteenth turn, he saw the emergency exit. He sprinted, and at last he was outside, together with other people in white coats who were still panting.
"Ah!" He heard someone fall behind him. He whirled around and saw his sister had tripped and fallen, still in the corridor. He noticed another lead wall close at the end of the hallway, far behind her, and the emergency exit started shutting down as well, if even more slowly.
He swore and ran back to help her. She had sprained her ankle and couldn't run anymore.
"Brother, get out of here! Please save yourself," she said as he helped her up.
"Hет! We'll get outside, together!" he said determined, but saw the emergency exit was already half-closed. The people outside were shouting at them to hurry up. He grimaced. They wouldn't both make it in time…
He pushed her with all the strength he could muster through the exit.
"NO!" She cried out, reaching for him as the metal door shut itself between them.
He remained inside and felt glad he had saved her. He smiled tiredly, closing his eyes and collapsing against the door. The next moment he felt himself burn. He screamed at the top of his lungs as he felt his body, no, his verybeing and soul burn, and then… everything went black.
…
He was alive. In a hospital, in quarantine, hurt, bandaged from head to toe, but alive.
Medics came to visit and treat him with special suits that made them look like some kind of astronauts. He felt pain, yes, but mostly because of his burns. Luckily, those were healing.
After two weeks he finally got to see his sisters. Behind a wall of glass, sure, but he saw them. He was so relieved they were well. He heard from them that he wasn't the only one in quarantine. That accident had scared many people throughout the world, and many countries sent their help to contain the radioactive contamination, but no radiation had been found, so they calmed down.
As the days passed, he began to feel better, albeit only physically. Because something else also started happening.
One morning he woke up with his hands completely covered in black, as if he had put them in a bucket of ink. Thick black liquid dripped from his fingers, and his blankets were completely smeared with it. The strange thing was, he obviously couldn't have dirtied them with anything; his quarantine space was spotless and disinfected.
He washed and scrubbed anxiously at his hands until they hurt, but the ink just didn't go away. After an hour or so, the medics noticed something was wrong and tied him down to the bed, shaking their heads and looking confused.
After that episode, he tried to hide that fact because, for some reason, no one else could see the black ink staining his hands.
…
"Big brother!" His smaller sister hugged him tightly as soon as he walked out of the metal and glass doors. His quarantine was over, everything seemed normal again. Apparently there had been no radioactive contamination, so everyone calmed down.
He staggered on his feet. His sister wasn't that small anymore. Sure, he was big, bigger than most people, but still, the quarantine had not exactly been what he could call a holiday. He smiled awkwardly and wanted to pat her on her light blonde head. However, he feared he would stain her with his black hands. Even if no one could see it, he still left black smears on everything he touched…
He restrained himself from touching her or his older sister who hugged them both two milliseconds later.
"Oh, brother! I was so worried!" She started crying and almost smothered him with her over-developed bosom, but he didn't blame her. Of course she would be worried. They probably had thought he was going to die because of radiation exposure.
"I'm okay, don't worry…"
They all headed home, and he noticed his big sister had a black smudge on her cheek. He nervously stuffed his hands in his pockets.
…
"Brother, I'm worried…" his big sister sighed, putting the groceries on the table.
"Huh? How so, Kat?" he asked, looking up from the book he was reading.
"The news says animals started behaving strangely around the plant…They are getting too aggressive. I think something is wrong…"
He shrugged. "It's probably nothing, Kat. They shut it down, and they didn't find any radiation, right? There's no need to worry."
He ignored his sister's worried glance at his perpetually gloved hands.
…
Everyone was freaking out because the animals had started mutating and attacking people. Something had gone very, very wrong.
His headaches had gotten worse day by day. The gloves weren't enough anymore, he was tainted all the way up to his elbows, and he also left black ink footprints wherever he went. Had the animals really been contaminated by that accident? So...could it have gotten him, as well? He had been inside the plant…
He felt as if he were going insane, but he never admitted it, not even to his sisters, who had noticed that he refrained as much as he could from touching anything.
Everything he touched would get tainted. He saw black ink everywhere, and it made him sick. On his pillow, on his sheets, on his clothes, on the taps at home, on his books, on his chess game, on the chairs, on the door handles, on his favourite scarf, on his own face…
He sat down on a chair, alone, and gripped his head tightly, even if he knew he would stain it black. He stared at the rays of sunlight that fell inside through the curtains. Was he really going insane…?
…
The monster broke through the wooden door of their house. It looked hideous, to say the least, and the moonlight only added to the frightening look. Pitch-black, insect like and with bright glowing green eyes.
"Natalya!" he yelled, shoving his little sister out of the way of the monster's jaws just in time.
The jaws snapped shut on thin air, but then it lost interest in the two of them, even if they were vulnerable. It locked its gaze onto his big sister, standing not so far away. She was so terrified she couldn't move, and tears of fear hung at the rims of her eyes.
He reached out a hand to her, as if he could save her with that single gesture. One single tear rolled down his cheek, as he saw her moments from being torn to shreds by the monster. He'd do anything, anything to save her…
"...NO! STOP!"
…"...NO! STOP!" the Sentient cried out. He blinked, and noticed his right arm and hand were stretched out, reaching for-…
He shook his head and composed himself, straightening his spine on the back of the chair. What a peculiar dream. It had a nostalgic feeling…
He shook his head again. He didn't have time for this…feeling. He had to focus on his plan.
He smiled, completely forgetting about the dream, intertwining his fingers and glancing at the chessboards. The white pieces were positioned in some sort of corridor created by the black pieces, which had only one way out. Soon, everything would be done.
…Somewhere else…
The Rock gang recombined itself together. Ludwig took care of Feliciano, who was still deep asleep, and the others also took care again of their wounded. Others who weren't doing anything cleared the jeep and the tank from any rubble (the jeep had miraculously not been crushed by the chunks of the ceiling, while the tank hadn't budged at all at the boulders). Also, they started clearing and widening the passage towards the outside.
Ludwig could tell from the silence that everyone was tense. Even Gilbert, Mathias and Alfred were silent and not rampaging around trying to piss someone off for fun.
The day crept by slowly, as they got ready for their leave. After they had gotten rid of most of the boulders so the tank could easily fit through the passage, they re-patched everyone up as best as they could, counted their ammunitions and their food and water reserves. Then, in the evening, they started distracting themselves with a card game, but it was played silently and gloomily.
Feliciano slept through almost the whole day, and woke up just after the sun set and after they had started 'playing' cards.
"Ve, why do you all look so tired?" He asked, glancing around. All of them facepalmed loudly at the denseness of the Italian.
So they spent the evening playing cards, and somehow, luckily, Feliciano managed to cheat and mess the game up. That made them start bickering, and soon everything was back to normal: Arthur was being pissed off by Francis and Alfred, Berwald and Lukas wanted to strangle Mathias, Tino and Emil were trying to restrain them, Romano was cursing and swearing at Antonio, Bella, Ludwig and Feliciano, Yao was trying to impress Kiku but horribly failing, Gilbert was trying to teach Matthew to speak 'more awesomely-louder'… ergo, it had become a hopeless chaos.
And it was wonderfully stupid. Feliciano smiled to himself, and Ludwig facepalmed, knowing all the mess had originated from him. Antonio, Gilbert and Francis really were best buddies now, and after a while they started targeting 'certain' people for pranks. Ergo, one of the trio chose a victim and the other two would follow suit. Of course, Francis targeted Arthur, Antonio Romano and Gilbert Ludwig and Matthew.
"Feliciano, you are such a dummkopf." He groaned after trying to ignore his idiotic brother.
However, the German then smiled. The Italian had done a wonderful job, distracting hem from their almost suicidal mission.
"Ve…why, Ludd?" Feliciano smiled cluelessly, flipping another card into the deck so it would be messed up again.
Ludwig sighed smiling. Geez, the boy was incorrigible. "…Nothing."
The next morning, they were all hyperactive, readying themselves to depart. And loud again, as well. And that was a good thing, because again, it meant that the gloom had disappeared and that there would be…chaos.
"YEEEOW! Dude, you just totally stepped on my foot there!" of course, that was Alfred.
"Whoops, sorry amigo." The cheerful Spaniard smiled apologetically.
"You damn bastard, get out of my fucking way!" Antonio was shoved aside by an obviously a bad-tempered Italian.
"Sourcils, I have to admit, your face is even worse than it usually is…" Francis commented smugly.
"Shut up, frog!" the Brit growled, trying to ignore the Frenchman.
"Berwald, put me down! I have a broken arm, not a leg!" Tino cried out, wiggling in the Swede's arms.
"Hn. D'n't care." Berwald grumbled smirking, tightening the grip.
"Oh good idea, Sve! Hey Norge, can I pick you up like that too?" Mathias pulled Lukas' sleeve excitedly like a five-years old.
"No." The Norwegian replied, elbowing the Dane violently in the face.
"Stay away from my big brother, you creep!" Emil shouted at Mathias, alarmed.
"Kiku, why don't you also call me 'big brother', aru? You only did it once since we were reunited!" was Yao's not so veiled hint while the Japanese sustained him while walking.
"…No." Kiku replied pokerfaced, at which the Chinese clutched his heart dramatically as if he had been stabbed.
"…Ow…" Matthew exclaimed/whispered, being pushed by somebody.
"Oh, I'm sorry Alf-…I mean Mattie!" Bella cried out at the Canadian, smiling.
"Lutz! Lutz! Can I drive the tank? Please? Please?!" Gilbert shouted waving his arms and with sparkling eyes.
"Nein. Only Emil can do that. You can drive the jeep if you want to, however…" Ludwig sighed. He'd have to look after the sleeping Feliciano. The Italian had yet again stayed up through the night to be alert for the Nightmares, and had fallen asleep at dawn. However, he didn't look as tired as the night before… that was a good sign, at least.
Finally, at last, they were all set in their vehicles. The most serious wounded, like Yao or Romano, were positioned in the tank for shelter.
Gilbert was at the wheel of the jeep, substituting Ludwig who was looking over the slumbering Feliciano.
The tank and the car came both to life with a low roar, and they both started moving towards the entrance of the factory.
The sun had just come up, and bathed everything in a soft orange light. Gilbert covered his eyes, staring at the horizon.
"Shit. So we're really doing this?"
The others in the car nodded slowly. Ludwig imagined something similar had happened in the tank as well. However, probably, the tank was more spacious. The car was overloaded, seriously. Gilbert was driving, Antonio was sitting beside him, Feliciano, Ludwig, Kiku and Bella shared the back seats while Francis and Alfred sat in the open trunk space.
"Oh well. Toni, where to?" The albino asked, turning to face the passenger seat beside him.
Antonio swallowed drily, and pointed towards their left.
"There…"
"Gut! Let's go, guys!" Gilbert exclaimed, and stepped down hard on the accelerator. The motor roared, and they all shot back in their seats. Everyone shouted in surprise, while the albino started cackling like a maniac, following the direction Antonio had pointed at. Soon the tank also started moving, following the jeep towards the Sentient's lair.
They rode for one hour without anything strange happening, until…
"VE!" Feliciano jumped awake in his seat, startling everyone, especially Ludwig who was sitting beside him.
"Whoa!" Gilbert exclaimed, the jeep swerving a little. "What the hell, Feli! You scared the awesome me!"
Feliciano looked worried and alert. "Th-there are Nightmares, right up ahead of us…!" He yelped. He felt it, the whole wall of the supposed 'corridor', they weren't that far away from the monsters anymore… he was kind of scared of it. What if it all went wrong? What if-
"Gut!" Gilbert grinned interrupting his thoughts and accelerating. Māomī could still keep up the pace with them, luckily.
Feliciano glanced around at the scenery. The rocky and bare ground had been replaced with short, yellowy grass, with some rocks dotting it here and there. The Italian saw something dark under the rocks right in front of them. He immediately realized those were the Nightmares he was feeling, and they were hiding as best as they could from the sun which was slowly rising towards the zenith.
"They are under the rocks!" He exclaimed, pointing at them.
"What? What is the point in making a trapping corridor if you don't even line the Nightmares up? Seriously." Alfred shook his head, sounding almost disappointed. "I had imagined something kind of like a bowling game! You know, we are the ball, the Nightmares the pins and…bang bang crash!"
"They probably don't expect us to come and charge right into them. The Sentient predicted we would stay far away from the Nightmares, not break through them. And by the way, the sunlight is working in our advantage. Otherwise I think they would be lined up…" Ludwig said.
The German tensed up as he said those words. He dearly hoped he was right and nothing would go wrong…
They quickly got nearer and nearer to the 'belt' of Nightmares.
Closer.
Closer…
Closer…!
Gilbert swiftly changed gears, and sped up even more. Feliciano shut his eyes close tightly, bracing himself for the worst…
And then, they had passed them. As if the Nightmares hadn't even been there. Right through the holes of a net.
"WOHOOO!" Gilbert and Alfred yelled in unison, throwing their hands in the air. However, seeing as Gilbert was driving, the jeep swerved and the albino quickly gripped the wheel again.
Feliciano exhaled, only now noticing he had been holding his breath. Then he cheered too with the others in the car, throwing his hands in the air and laughing. "Yaaaaaaaa-hahahaha-ay!"
They heard the metallic echoes of cheers behind them also, as the people inside Māomī cheered. Mathias popped up from the lid on top of the tank, and flipped the bird at the Nightmares behind them, still laughing. "So long, freaks!" He cried out. Someone then hastily pulled him back inside, closing the lid.
Feliciano thought that had been an unnecessary precaution. The Nightmares glared at them from under the rocks, but looked confused and hesitant. The sun had neared its zenith already and they didn't want to get out under the vertical and hot rays of it. He smiled broadly. They had made it!
"Ve! Ludd! We made it!" He beamed at the German. He was obviously relieved too, but didn't show it with such passion or excitement as the others did.
"Ja, Feliciano. We made it." He smiled, his tense shoulders relaxing against the seat.
"Now let's kick that motherfucker's ass before he can organize some other un-awesome shit!" Gilbert cackled, trying to go faster even if the motor was already at its limits. "Toni, we're still good, right?"
The Spaniard nodded, also smiling. "¡Sí!"
"Awesome!"
They continued riding towards the Sentient's lair. As they rode, the scenery slowly started changing. The short yellow grass became somewhat taller and greener, until it had gotten emerald green. The rocks weren't brown or orange anymore, but got a more grey-like colour, until far away, they saw the faint outlines of a city.
"Is that what I think it is…?" Ludwig asked glancing at the Spaniard. Antonio slowly nodded. "Yeah."
"Is it a city?" Alfred asked.
"…No, it's smaller, but still, not as small as a town…" Antonio frowned.
"Ve…" Feliciano blinked. He could feel the Sentient Nightmare being right there…he knew it was no ordinary Nightmare or a RED. The feeling he got from the Sentient was…different, somehow. If the Nightmares and REDs were like burning fires in the pit of his stomach, even if they burned with different intensity, they were still fire. The Sentient's presence felt more like slowly moving, sizzling-hot lava. "…Wouldn't it be better if we let the tank advance first…?"
Everyone in the car turned to look at him(even Gilbert, which resulted in the car swerving again and an angry scold from Ludwig).
"Whoa, Feli dude that's a good idea!" Alfred exclaimed, holding a hand up for a high-five.
As suggested by the Italian, they agreed to make Māomī advance first. They stopped for a couple of minutes so that Antonio could get inside the tank and show the way to Emil, and then they were riding again. In no time they were riding through the small city. They dramatically dropped the volume of their voices, because of the possibility that the Sentient might hear them. Even though the tank's caterpillars made much more noise, they didn't want to be any more detectable.
Feliciano glanced around, observing the city. It looked more like it had been abandoned instead of destroyed, unlike the other cities he had seen before. It was so…empty. There even wasn't any Nightmare around…! Actually, now that he thought about it, he didn't even remember how a proper city looked like…with all the buildings upright, the windows whole, the lampposts straight, and living people walking through it and not monsters…he could only imagine it. And it seemed so surreal to him…!
"Dudes, I'm getting the creeps from this place…you think it's haunted?" Alfred asked whispering while nervously looking around. He had the feeling the buildings' gaping windowsills vaguely resembled empty eyes, staring at them all.
"There's a Sentient in here and you are worrying about ghosts? Seriously?" Ludwig cocked an eyebrow. The American rubbed the back of his neck, grinning uncomfortably.
The tank's caterpillars still made clinking sounds that echoed through the concrete, though. That wasn't really all that stealthy. They had to hurry up. The huge vehicle took a few turns, until the were in one of the main streets. Said street was long and wide, and at the end of it stood a big building that looked like an old city hall. It was wide, and in the middle there had been constructed a short tower with a dome. Māomī seemed to head exactly in that direction.
"Is it in the city hall…?" Gilbert wondered, riding behind the tank. He frowned, trying to remember, albeit in vain. Francis was also trying to remember anything, but also unsuccessfully.
"Y-yes…I feel him…" Feliciano stammered, nervously fiddling with his hands. He did feel it, the Sentient was there. The scorching-hot lava in his gut told him so.
Ludwig noticed Māomī was speeding up. "Bruder…" he murmured.
"Ja, ja Lutz. I noticed." Gilbert rolled his eyes, but then gasped. "Wait, Emil is thinking of…?!"
The other passengers in the jeep all turned to look at the albino.
"Thinking of what?" Bella asked.
Gilbert bared his teeth. "…Of breaking through the wall."
"What?! Is he insane?!" Ludwig exclaimed, worried.
"That's what I would do." Gilbert shrugged, earning a glare from his brother.
"Well, if you think about it, what else should he do? Knock at the door? 'Knock knock, hello there Sentient Nightmare sir. We'd like to eliminate you now, could you please open up? We brought tea and cookies!' Like hell, dude." Alfred said, badly mimicking a British accent.
"But still, charging head on-" Ludwig started arguing, but was interrupted by one of the tank's cannons shooting.
Feliciano covered his ears wincing. "Wha…?"
"You see? At least Emil has more brains than you, Gil." Ludwig smugly stated. The Icelander had ordered to shoot through the wall of the building, before charging. Then, another shot, so the hole would be widened. The tank however lost speed because of the shots' recoils.
"Guys, get the guns ready. Or whatever weapon we have left." Gilbert growled.
"What…?"
The albino swiftly changed gears and…and surpassed the tank, heading at full speed towards the still fuming hole in the wall of the building.
"Are you completely insane?!" Alfred yelled. The tank was supposed to be their cover!
Ludwig realized too late that his brother was still thinking of making the Sentient pay. That idea of revenge had blinded him and his reason. He tried to reach forward to get to the wheel, to stop anything his brother was trying to do. "Bruder, don't…!"
But it was too late.
The rotations of the jeep's motor wound up as the wheels disconnected with the ground. The car remained in the air for a couple of seconds, and then landed roughly and swerving in the ample entrance hall of the building. There was a long staircase with wide steps at the end of the hall, and Gilbert took it.
With each step, resulting into a bump of the car, Feliciano felt his teeth clatter. "Ve-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e!" he also felt they were getting nearer to the Sentient. In fact, he was somewhere at the end of that staircase…! "Ve-e-e-e-e-e-EH!" the last step of the staircase somehow got a rougher bump than the others prior to it. They were now in a long hallway, with at the end of it, a broad wooden door. Feliciano didn't like this at all.
"Gilbert! Stop the car now!" Ludwig barked, struggling with his brother for the control of the wheel. The albino defended himself with an elbow. "Ow!" the blonde had been hit on the nose.
"Dudes, stop fighting like that coz otherwise it'll get-!" Alfred started, but it was too late. Ludwig snarled and managed to grip the wheel with one hand and pull it to the right roughly. The car swerved abruptly, and started skidding sideways, tires screeching on the marble floor of the old city hall.
"WhoaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAH!" They all screamed in unison as they neared the door at alarmingly fast speed. Finally, they crashed into it, or rather through it. Wooden splinters flew everywhere as they burst through the thick wooden doors with the car.
The crash had two positive effects, though. Firstly, it functioned as a break for them so they came finally to a halt after skidding some meters still. Secondly, one of the greatest splinters, roughly the size of a person, flew through the room. It hit three chess boards on small tables and a big, comfy-looking chair. Numerous chess pieces flew through the air at the impact, and the chair got hit and toppled over. The thing was, there was someone sitting in it. Someone clad completely in black. Feliciano froze, a chill running down his spine, something that contrasted heavily with the burning lava he had in his gut.
"Holy shit…" Alfred whispered, breathless. The car's occupants, Gilbert, Ludwig, Feliciano, Alfred, Bella, Kiku and Francis remained motionless, frozen in anticipation and fear. Nobody dared to move a single muscle. Gilbert blinked and inhaled sharply, realizing only now what he had done. "Oh, sheiße…"
The dust and the sawdust slowly fell around them in small flakes, as the silence grew heavier and heavier.
Feliciano didn't even dare to bat his eyelashes, in fear that something would happen in that millisecond that his eyes would be closed. Then, he heard something.
A laugh.
A thick, deep, amused and distorted laugh, even though it seemed controlled. As if he was trying to restrain himself.
"Hmfahahaha…!"
A dark figure slowly rose from behind the chair, and then turned around to face them. In that second, everyone pointed the weapons they had to the Sentient Nightmare. Gilbert took out his guns, as did Ludwig and Kiku. Alfred and Bella pointed their rifles, while Francis and Feliciano who didn't have any firearm clutched their sword and staff respectively.
The Sentient straightened his spine, putting his balled fists on his back so he could stretch it better. Feliciano noticed that he had a worn out old scarf draped around his neck and shoulders. It was filthy, in some places grimy and the ends were frayed.
"My, my, it seems we have some undesired guests." He said, a faint tone of amusement in his voice. "…The pieces cheated…" he purred, standing normal again. He glanced at his feet, at the fallen chess pieces and boards, and then started walking around the fallen chair.
Alfred growled. "Shut up, freak!" And he fired one shot with his rifle. He hit the Nightmare's arm, but the bulled simply bounced off of the pitch-black armour with a loud metallic sound.
"Hm? What's this? You come at my home uninvited, break down my door, ruin my chess games and shoot at me? Now that's just rude." The Sentient said shaking his head, disappointed.
Feliciano felt the lava in his gut churn, and each word the Sentient said made his bones tremble. He gripped his staff tightly to reassure himself. Needless to say, he was pretty much terrified of the Sentient. He remembered how Romano had described him months before, in his story about how he himself had 'died'… Focus, Feliciano. If you take him down, and you cure him, you'll be free. You won't have to worry anymore. You won't have to fight anymore… he repeated in his mind.
He glanced behind him as he heard the familiar metallic clinks echo in the marble corridor. Māomī was finally catching up to them, but the Italian knew the tank was still on the staircase…too far away…
"FIRE!" Ludwig barked, scaring him out of his thoughts. Every person who had a firearm started shooting their rounds at the Nightmares, who simply stood there. The Sentient obviously staggered at each bullet that hit him, and even stepped back a few times. However, not a single one of the bullets pierced through the black armour, which seemed harder than steel.
Shots echoed through the chamber, and bullet shells tinkled on the marble floor, until all Feliciano heard were empty repeated clicks. Oh God…the Italian shivered. They were out of bullets…!
The Sentient didn't even have a scratch, as far as Feliciano could see from his black hunched figure.
The Nightmare's head slowly moved up, violet eyes glowing behind the narrow splits of his plain black mask.
"I gave you your chance. Now it's my turn, дa?"
Feliciano felt a shiver run down his spine as he had the distinct feeling the Sentient was smiling right at him.
The pavement around the Sentient's feet suddenly cracked, and the cracks spread out in their direction, disappearing under the jeep. The car shuddered as it sunk some centimetres into the ground.
"Get out! Get out now!" Ludwig barked.
"I'm afraid I won't let you." The Nightmare said mockingly, as if he was talking to a bunch of naughty children. Actually, Feliciano thought, the Sentient himself was kind of acting like a child…a cruel one, for that matter. The kind of child that rips wings off of flies just for fun.
"What the fu-" Alfred managed to exclaim, before the car was lifted into the air (by what, Feliciano didn't know) and then toppled to the side, so they all smacked onto the cracked ground. And then Feliciano saw what had lifted them up.
They looked like tiny, zigzagging black tree branches, and they sprouted like some weird plants from the cracks in the pavement. That, or they vaguely resembled thunderbolts. And, following the cracks…they originated from the Sentient himself. Feliciano noticed he wasn't the only one staring at that strange apparition, the others had noticed it as well.
"R-RUN!" Alfred shouted, scrambling up as quickly as he could, soon followed by the others and running towards the door.
"Where to, I wonder?" The Sentient had straightened up his chair again and had sat down on it. "Surely not towards the exit? That is so obvious." Those tendrils of darkness – Feliciano had no idea of how to describe them otherwise - shot out in front of them, blocking the way out, however leaving some open spaces so he could see through. He heard some yelps and some thuds behind himself, but he didn't pay any notice to them. More importantly, he saw the tank, finally leaving the stairs behind itself.
"Emil!" He shouted through the black binds blocking the passage, not even knowing why. Could the tank possibly help them…? He dearly hoped so.
The tank fired at the black wall, but the tendrils did not budge. Feliciano coughed at the smoke originated from the shot, and then gulped. If not even a cannon shout could pierce trough them, then what could…?
The Sentient cocked his head to one side. "Oh. I almost forgot about them…!" More tendrils shot out past the Italian and enveloped the tank completely.
"…No!" Ludwig cried out, struggling beside him in his black binds.
Huh? Feliciano turned around, and only now noticed that everyone else was trapped and struggling, tied tightly in black coils and suspended one meter or two into the air. Feliciano looked around and at his feet. Nothing, he was completely free. Huh…?
Metallic creaks interrupted his thoughts. The tendrils were slowly crushing the tank, bending and scrapping the metal. Scared screams and yelps started to echo from inside.
The others started struggling desperately to get free, somehow. "Stop! Bastard! You'll kill them like that!" Gilbert snarled.
The Sentient 'smiled' creepily again. "You're my enemies. Why shouldn't I do that…?" he said, waving one finger as if directing an orchestra, while he listened to the screams coming from inside Māomī.
The albino swallowed, petrified under that violet gaze. Then, the Nightmare sighed, and the tendrils stopped tightening the tank. They suspended the vehicle in the air, turning it upside down, and then they opened the lid. They shook the tank up and down, and the humans fell out, one by one, like come kind of candy coming out of a package. Then, the black zigzagging coils picked them up, and brought them into the room.
"Hng! Let, me, go!" Arthur struggled, kicking the air. The others were all shouting incoherent sentences as well, while trying to wiggle free of their black bindings. Only Feliciano was still free to move as he pleased. But why…? The Sentient was staring right at him, he couldn't not have noticed him…not that he especially wanted to be noticed right now.
Feliciano shivered, slowly stepping back until he hit a wall with his back. He stared at the scene in front of him. Fifteen people were being held up in the air by those zigzagging thin tendrils… struggling desperately to get free, kicking the air and such. The Sentient was sitting in his chair, looking fairly amused and staring right at him. His violet gaze was boring holes into his soul, Feliciano could almost feel it. And he didn't like it. At all.
"H-hey, let th-them go!" He stammered, trying to sound brave. However, he was trembling from head to toe. What could he possibly do to help his friends…!? He was completely useless…!
The humans struggling were all shouting in their native languages, insulting or muttering or exclaiming still. That seemed to tick the Nightmare off.
"Silence!" he yelled, crashing them against the walls or the floor. Immediately, gasps and groans at the impact, but then they all shut up.
"Ah, that's much better, дa? Don't you agree, Feliciano?" The Sentient asked, smiling again. It was kind of terrifying how fast his emotions could switch. He slowly stood up and looked at him again.
"Huh…? N-no! L-let them go!" Feliciano didn't know what to say. He felt cornered. Their original plan had horribly failed, and all of his friends were trapped. And what did he want from him?!
The Nightmare shook his head, disappointed. "Ah, that's right. Such a shame…"
Feliciano was getting more and more confused by the minute. What was going on?!
"Ah, I see many familiar faces. For example…hello there, Gilbert. Francis. Lukas. Oh, and Antonio!" he smiled and waved at each person he mentioned, almost giggling. "It's good to see you all again…! Oh, and some other known faces. I know you, for instance! Привет, Romano." He waved at Romano, who was still muttering profanities and swearing, however with a terrified look on his face. "And I know you all as well! Mathias, Berwald, Tino… But there are many new people! Let's see, what are your names…ah. Hello Kiku, Yao, Arthur, Alfred, Matthew, Emil, Bella and Ludwig. And of course, little Feli here."
Everyone felt a shiver run down their spine as their names were mentioned. How could he even know them?!
The Sentient started walking slowly towards the smaller Italian, hands crossed behind his back. With each step, the pavement at his feet would crack, almost as if he weighed more than it looked like. Ludwig, who was one of the lucky ones that hit the ground and so wasn't suspended in the air anymore, tried to scramble up on his knees and block his path. "Stop! Don't make any step closer!" He barked, trying to stand up, but in vain. His arms were tied behind his back tightly by the black tendrils, and they didn't really help with his balance. The Sentient stopped to briefly glance at the blonde trying desperately to block him.
"…Or what?" he whispered, genuinely curious, his voice like a child's. Ludwig's eyes widened, before the tendrils brought him up in the air again and made him crash into the wall. The German groaned, as he felt blood drip down his brow. No…! He saw, down below, the Nightmare approaching Feliciano slowly, and the Italian was trapped.
"Stop!" he yelled, desperate. Whatever the Sentient had in mind, it couldn't be good…!
Feliciano started hyperventilating. The more the Nightmare came closer, the more the lava he had in his stomach would burn. It hurt him so much he couldn't even think straight anymore. The only thing he saw were those violet eyes, cast like shiny amethysts in a black silhouette, slowly approaching him…
Then the silhouette stopped walking. He blinked, and could see clearly again. Why did he stop…?
"You did a good job, Feliciano…" the Sentient 'smiled' again, cocking his head to one side.
"What…?" He managed to say.
The other trapped ones resumed talking, confused.
"The fuck are you talking about?!"
"Lemme go!"
"Feliciano, run!"
"Stop saying bullshit!"
"Feliciano!"
"What?!"
"Shut up!"
"What is-"
They were all interrupted by the black bindings making them crash against the walls or floor yet again.
"Naughty, naughty children. I told you to be quiet, didn't I? You'll never be as good as little Feli." The Sentient purred.
Feliciano shivered, scared out of his wits. The Sentient turned to look at him again. Feliciano swallowed drily, trying to get as far away from the Nightmare as possible, which meant plastering himself against the wall as much as he could. The Sentient bent down, startling Feliciano as he picked up an unidentified object from the ground.
"You did a wonderful job. After all, Feliciano, you're my…"
The Sentient paused for a couple of dreadful seconds. He held up the object in his black clawed hands, so everyone could see. The Nightmare 'smiled' creepily again, as he bowed to offer the object to him.
"…my most faithful RED."
It was a chess piece.
A Queen.
And under a thin layer of chalk, her true colour could be seen.
…
It was pitch black.
...Well, fuck.
Cестра : (russian) Sister (pron. 'Sestra')
Cпасибо : (russian) Thanks (pron. 'Spaseeba')
Дa : (russian) Yes
Hет : (russian) No
Dummkopf : (german) silly/idiot
Gut : (german) Good
Sheiße : (german) Shit
Привет : (russian) Hello (pron. 'Privyet')