HOLY CRAP! O_O
I'm so sorry I couldn't upload yesterday! But hey, it was not my fault this time! I'm currently on a holiday in south Italy (XD) but the town doesn't have, like, ANY internet! It's in the middle of nowhere and there is ONE internet point. I went there yesterday all like 'Lalalaaaaa' but then I saw the sign "CLOSED ON FRIDAY AFTERNOON" and I was all like 'WHAT!? YOU CAN'T DO THIS TO ME!'. So yeah, I was pissed as hell because I worked so hard on this chapter and I really wanted to upload this X( and hey, I promised it to you all!
ANYWAY! Here it is, finally! And boy, is it LOOOOOONG!
And for all of you lazy arseholes who didn't look up the song "Buonanotte Fiorellino", go now, please! Yes, thank you! You'll need it! Youtube link: /watch?v=wWJvhU2WOfY
Oh, and did you notice I changed the image of the story? I coloured the REDs! Yay for me! Deviantart link: /?q=hetalia+nightmare+apocalypse#/art/REDs-III-Coloured-380823364?_sid=1783b573
...And it is the last chapter. ;_; Yes people, this is the last chapter. There will be an Epilogue, but indeed... Oh God, now I'm depressed.
I would like to remind everyone that there is a POLL on my profile for the next story I'm going to write! I will close it on the end of August, so yeah.
Oh, and I would also love to know how you Americans spend the 4th of July! Is there, like, a party or something?
Anyway,
Please sit back,
und ENJOY.
(PS. Look at the title. The daisy and the cornflower are respectively Italy's and Germany's national flowers.)
Alfred couldn't believe his eyes.
But he could never mistake that face for another.
Heck, those eyes alone should have been a direct giveaway of the Nightmare's identity. Alfred had never known anyone else with that particular violet shade in his dark blue eyes, that almost made them seem purple.
But now that he saw his face… that shape, that hair, that nose…even that creepy signature smile.
His…his former boss was the Sentient.
As well as his long lost friend.
Braginski.
Ivan Braginski.
Ivan fucking Braginski.
"This can't be…" He murmured. Then, "…you died!" he exclaimed, eyes wide, pointing an accusing finger at the kneeling man. "You died!" he repeated, trying to convince himself that this man was an impostor.
"Alfred-kun, you know this man?" Kiku panted, at which Alfred slowly nodded, kind of unsure himself.
"Oh, really? They said I died…?" 'Ivan' said, getting on one knee, huffing. "How unoriginal." Alfred shuddered. He had heard that voice before, but knowing now that it belonged to his friend… it was kind of disturbing.
"Th-this can't be you! You're not Ivan! You can't be!" He repeated.
The Sentient didn't seem to like the mention of his name, because for the fraction of a second, his smile faltered. "I beg to differ." He looked at his REDs, who also weren't moving. "Who ever told you to stop?!" he snapped at them.
The REDs jumped, and then immediately resumed attacking the humans. Ludwig took advantage of the Sentient's distraction to jump sideways over to help Feliciano up. The Italian was curled in a foetal position, holding his now clawed and fuming hands close to his chest.
"Feliciano…!" Ludwig whispered urgently, touching his shoulder. Feliciano winced, and unfolded himself, quickly scuttling away from the German. Ludwig stared, surprised, at the copious tears that were falling from Feliciano's eyes. And he saw something else, filling them up like said tears.
Guilt.
Why was he feeling guilty? Ludwig had heard most of the Nightmare's horrible speech, about how Feliciano was a RED and had supposedly betrayed all of them. About how he was the one responsible of them all transforming into REDs, and of Bella and the others dying… He believed only a part of it. Maybe, maybe it was true that Feliciano had triggered it all, that he had the ability to do it. But he knew that the Italian would never do anything that would hurt them, at least not on purpose. And that was precisely it. Feliciano had been manoeuvred as a puppet on strings, like they all had been. He wasn't guilty of anything!
He slowly offered a hand, even if he knew it was clawed now. He wanted to comfort him, even if he didn't quite know himself how yet.
But Feliciano scuttled backwards even more, shaking his head furiously. "N-no, Ludwig…! D-d-d-d-don't…" he managed to utter between his sobs. Ludwig frowned. What had he done wrong?
Then, suddenly, "WATCH OUT!"
Ludwig didn't even have time to turn around, as one powerful black arm was draped around his neck, while the other completed the headlock. Ludwig choked, and clawed at the arm closing his windpipe. He started kicking and headbutting also, and felt something was weird with his head. Was something weighting it down…?
"Ah, Ludwig. You are a little problematic. You are too strong, you need to be restrained." The Nightmare grunted in his ear. Ludwig snarled, doing everything he could think of to break free. "Leave him alone!" Feliciano screamed, getting on his feet and dashing towards them.
"Stop right there." The Nightmare commanded. Feliciano almost immediately stopped dead on his tracks, his face contorted in a frown. Ludwig blinked. Why did he stop? He understood after a couple of seconds. Of course. Feliciano was a RED…
Then, however, as if it took an enormous amount of energy, Feliciano took a painfully slow and trembling step forward. Sweat dripped from his brow, and a small smirk of victory appeared on his face.
"I said: Stop." The Sentient repeated, slight worry in his voice. But Feliciano instead took another step, and it seemed faster than the one prior to it. Ludwig smiled. He was disobeying the Nightmare!
Feliciano's eyes narrowed, as he glared at the Sentient. "Leave him. Alone." He hissed.
He took yet another step. The Sentient started taking steps backwards, dragging Ludwig with him.
"Stop!" his voice… was the Nightmare panicking?
Now also Ludwig was getting a little scared. The look in Feliciano's eyes…it was one of pure hate, mixed with regret and guilt… What had the Sentient done!? What had he showed him, in those minutes they were staring into each other's eyes!? Now he himself was getting angry as well. Whatever the Sentient had done to Feliciano, it must not have been a party, if the Italian was feeling guilty and angry, and crying at the same time. The anger he had boiling inside was building up in his chest, and he had to let it out, somehow. If not, he was surely going to explode…!
Something then crashed into them from their side, and they both fell down. The Sentient lost his footing and his grip on Ludwig, who hit the ground with his head, and yet again felt something was wrong with it. It felt heavier, somehow. He felt with his hands around his temples and his eyes widened in shock. A pair of…of horns. He had a pair of bull horns on his head, each one about thirty centimetres long. He touched his face, and grimaced, discovering that his jaw was framed by the pointed teeth of the skull mask, not too unlike Lukas'.
He shook his head. He had to concentrate. He looked to see who had crashed into them. It was Alfred, who was now struggling with the Sentient. The right half of the American's face was covered in lead-grey scales, as were his chest and arms. Him and the Sentient were both rolling on the floor, punching, scratching, kicking, snarling.
They would be busy for some time. Somehow, Ludwig noticed the Sentient didn't even bother trying to order them around. Maybe he could only do that when they would become completely REDs. If so, their time was quickly running out, as was the time of the ones who were poisoned by the infection and would surely die.
He got on one knee, and saw Feliciano running towards him. "Ludwig! Ludd!"
Ludwig stood up, and straightened his spine. "Feliciano…" He brought up his hand to dry one of the many tears of the Italian, but Feliciano winced and stepped sideways. Didn't he want to be touched…? Ludwig knew he didn't look exactly good…scratch that, he probably looked horrible, with those horns on his head. "What happened…? What horrible lies did he tell you…?"
Feliciano shook his head, mixed emotions running loose behind his brown eyes. "Ludwig, it doesn't matter! Not now! There is a Nightmare heading for this place! And it's fast!"
"What?!"
"Ah, finally they are coming." The Sentient managed to grunt, satisfied, during his fight with the American. The two were rolling on the floor, their bodies a mess of tangled limbs. "However, only one? Really? They're slacking off."
Alfred snarled, exasperated, rolling on top of the Sentient, their forearms locked in a bizarre position.. "Ivan! Ivan! Don't you recognize me!? It's me! Alfred! Alfred Jones! Fredka!"
"Of course I recognize you. How could I forget." Ivan spat. "After all, you are the one who ruined my life."
The American was taken aback. "…What?" His surprise caused him to lower his guard for one second, and Ivan took advantage of it, and rolled on top. He pressed his forearm on Alfred's throat, closing his windpipe a little. Alfred coughed, and stared in his eyes, cerulean locked on violet. Ivan's eyes were filled with anger, and he wasn't smiling anymore. If it was even possible, this was even more terrifying than the smile itself. "You. You are the cause of all of this. You! You just had to take a holiday back then, didn't you, Alfred?!" he snarled.
"What are you talking abou-" Alfred choked, when the Sentient pressed down on his throat even more.
Ludwig dashed to help the American, but then tripped and fell, the hammer falling from his grasp and clattering on the ground. He looked back in confusion, and saw his legs were entirely wrapped by those black tendrils. He snarled, and started prying them off. But it would take time. And Feliciano was still standing there confused, angry, sad… he was completely immobilized now, not moving but with his eyes darting left and right, not knowing what to do. Then suddenly he started staring onto nothingness, his expression blank. Ludwig suddenly realized he was in shock. He didn't know why it had just happened, but he needed to snap him back to reality, otherwise they'd be doomed for sure. Feliciano was their only last hope. He concentrated all his efforts on the black tendrils, doing so as fast as he could. He was also getting slightly scared, because with every word the Nightmare spoke, he would feel a slight shiver run down his spine, and the begin of a headache. He was running out of time…
Alfred was slowly starting to feel the need of air. "I-Ivan-" he gasped, not able to move.
"Shut up!" Ivan suddenly slammed him against the floor, knocking some precious air out of him. "Why, why did you leave?! You were in charge of the cooling system, together with her! But you left! You left! And then the power shut down, and we both know she couldn't handle the problem alone! But she tried to stop the disaster anyway! You know how she is! It's your fault! It's YOUR fault! That I'm! Like! This!" With every word, Ivan would slam the American's frame against the marble floor. Alfred's eyes widened. The Nightmare was somehow gone, the one talking now was really Ivan. And he was angry. And an angry Ivan was not one of those people you would like to encounter while taking a stroll, Nightmare or not.
"W-what!?" he choked, breathing a little again. "I-I didn't have anything to do with all of that! It was an accident! W-what does Katyusha have to do with all of this!?"
Ivan's face contorted into a snarl. "Don't you dare say her name. You don't deserve that honour! She was everything for me! Of course I'd run back and save her!"
Alfred frowned, not understanding. He tried to swallow. Obviously, something he didn't know of had happened to Ivan and Katyusha on that dreadful night of the Disaster. But Ivan didn't seem to care to explain it to him.
The cool demeanour of the Sentient was gone. The one holding him pinned down on the floor was a broken man, not a Nightmare. Ivan was trembling with pent-up rage, but took a shaky deep breath, regaining composure and lessening the pressure on his throat. The smile slowly but steadily reappeared. The Nightmare was slowly returning already. "Don't worry, Fredka. I already forgave you. But it hurt. It still hurts. But I forgave you. I forgive you. I'm helping. Yes. Helping. I'm helping you all. Yes. Yes. Helping. It hurt, but I'm helping."
Alfred blinked. Ivan was off on a rant that resembled the one of a madman, eyes looking at him but unseeing. He grimaced, and took advantage of his lower guard, rolling again. Ivan grunted when his shoulders slammed against the floor, blinked, and then snarled, kneeing him in the stomach. They started fighting again, no breath spared for talking.
Ludwig finally managed to free himself from the tendrils, and looked around the room, feeling his heart sink lower in his chest.
Mathias, Berwald and Romano were fighting against Antonio and Lukas, the humans shouting their friends' names, trying to make them remember who they were. But it was useless.
Kiku, now aided by Yao and Arthur, was fighting against Francis and Gilbert, but Ludwig saw that the Japanese was starting to move sluggishly. Both of his arms were armoured now, and the skull mask framed his face like some kind of helmet. His RED state looked more advanced than any of the others, like himself, so it was another sign of their time running out. Also, the people still in their binds weren't screaming anymore. Tino, Matthew, Emil, Bella. They still moved and jerked weakly, but they were silent.
Ludwig turned to Feliciano, who was hugging tightly his own frame, eyes still lost somewhere in space. He neared his side quickly, and shook his shoulders vigorously.
"Feliciano!"
The Italian blinked, and looked up at him, eyes watery. "The…the Nightmare..."
"What...? What are you talking about...?" Ludwig frowned, his head starting to hurt.
"It's here…!"
Ludwig heard a distorted roar echo through the halls of the old city hall, and something heavy galloping, albeit there were no hooves sounds. Both of them turned towards the entrance, and something both terrifying and strange appeared.
An Animal Nightmare barrelled in the hall, skidding on the marble floor before stopping. Its form resembled that of a lion, and it was as big as a 7-seat car. Its eyes were the colour of gold, and it didn't have any weak spot in sight.
The strange thing was, in the lion's mouth there were some rudimentary reins, and on its back there were two people. Two women!?
The reins of the tamed(?) Nightmare were being held by a woman with long pale blond hair, not too unlike Ivan's, however her eyes were as cold as ice, and her face was emotionless. The woman behind her looked much like her. Even the hair colour was exactly the same, although much shorter and held back with some clips. This second woman looked older than the first one, and also much more emotional. In fact, she was looking frightened of the beast she was riding on, tears were hanging at the rim of her eyes and she was gripping the first woman's chest tightly as if she were her only anchor, her only salvation. Ludwig couldn't help but notice also the very generous breasts of the second woman.
While the chaos created by the REDs carried on, Alfred, Ivan, Feliciano and Ludwig froze.
"K-Kat?" Alfred choked, pinned down yet again by Ivan.
The first woman, the emotionless looking one, clicked her tongue at the lion, tugging the reins. The lion whined a little, and then let his belly rest on the floor. At once, the woman discarded the reins, and jumped off the beast.
What kind of terrifying woman is she, if she could actually tame that beast!? Ludwig found himself thinking, looking at the sharp features and the glacial eyes of the woman.
The woman nonchalantly dusted her skirt off – yes, she was wearing a long skirt - ignoring the mayhem around her caused by the REDs.
Alfred noticed Ivan was shivering.
"Big brother!" The woman exclaimed, her voice excited but her face still emotionless. "Is it really you?! We finally found you!"
Ivan fell off of Alfred's chest, and scuttled backwards, covering his face. "Hет…No…Go away..."
Feliciano frowned, confused. Was the Sentient scared of them?
"Vanya...?" The big-breasted woman asked, clumsily getting off the lion. She glanced around, a bit scared of the fighting going on around her, but still heading for Ivan. "V-Vanya! What are you doing…? A-Alfred? Is that you…?"
Feliciano heard the muffled murmurs of Ivan, who was still desperately trying to cover his face. "No…not like this…нет, not now…go away…"
The Sentient wasn't scared. He was…ashamed. Feliciano blinked.
Ludwig suddenly felt his head throb painfully, hit by a powerful headache.
"Big brother…!" The woman with the icy eyes cried, her lips betraying the slightest of emotions.
Feliciano saw Ivan freeze, and then "GO AWAY!" he shouted, scrambling on his feet, marble floor shattering around him.
Katyusha didn't understand. She didn't understand anything of it! Was that Ivan?! Was he the boss of the Nightmares?! Ivan?! Seriously?! She honestly couldn't believe it. Ivan wouldn't do such things, not her Ivan, not Vanya. Her little brother who had cried over a dead sunflower.
But... she remembered that dreadful night, years before… when everything changed. Maybe... maybe that night indeed had changed her little brother.
A Nightmare had broken their front door, and had tried to bite her little sister. Natalya, however, had been pushed away by Ivan just in time.
Ivan had been behaving strangely those last few months, ever since his quarantine. As soon as he had gotten out of the facility he had bought gloves, and he would never remove them, not even for sleeping. He didn't want to touch anything, she had noticed that. If he had to touch something, he did so only with his fingertips and in the fastest way possible. He would often look at the walls or the doorknobs, or even the chairs, a disgusted expression washing over his face for the slightest of moments. Also, he had become much more quieter, but she had caught him several times, when he thought he was alone, muttering unintelligible words to himself.
But that night, he had been her Ivan again. Her nice, big-hearted little brother. Just like when he had run back to save her from the nuclear plant sealing itself shut, he had shoved Natalya away from the monster's jaws in spite of his own wellbeing. But then the monster hadn't spared him a glance, even if they both were lying on the ground, vulnerable. Instead, it had focused on her.
She remembered it all too well. The Nightmare had been about to attack her with its horrible claws, but then a voice had bellowed in the room.
"NO! STOP!"
The Nightmare had stopped immediately. She had looked around to find the source of the voice of her saviour. She only found a kneeling Ivan, with eyes wide, both hands wrapped around his own throat. She couldn't believe it. That hadn't been his voice…right? The voice had been distorted…
She had seen his brother cough a few times, and then fall on all fours, his body racked by the coughs. His head was bowed down, but she had seen that he was coughing up something dark, that splattered on the wooden floorboards. She had immediately thought it was blood, but it had been too dark to be that. It had been as black as ink.
Ivan's head had snapped up, and one hand had gone to cover his mouth. He had looked horrified at the Nightmare, which was still standing motionless.
Nobody had dared to move.
Ivan had coughed again, holding his hand firmly on his mouth, but she had seen again that black liquid, dripping between his fingers. Natalya had put her hand hesitantly on his shoulder, wanting to help him, but he had shrugged it off. He then had taken a sharp breath, as if he had suddenly realized something important. He had gingerly stood up and removed the hand. From his mouth small black streaks of unknown substance went down his chin and neck, until they stained his precious scarf.
Ivan had frowned and grimaced, and then taken a deep breath. He had been about to say something, and looked first at Natalya, who was still on the ground behind him, and then at her. His eyes had wanted to tell her something…but she had never quite understood what.
"Get out."
What…? No, it had not been directed to her. The Nightmare's lifted claw had trembled a little.
"Get out.Now."
Ivan had watched as the monster went past them, and then outside the broken frame of the door,
"…Brother…!" she had exclaimed, wanting to hug her brother because he had saved them. But Ivan had turned around to face her, shaking his head and taking a step back, towards the outside.
"V-Vanya, what's wrong…?"
Natalya had stood up beside her, also with worried eyes while looking at her older brother.
Ivan had simply shaken his head. She had blinked, when she had seen something black creeping up from his brother's neck and up to his jaw. Are those scales…? Indeed, they were, and they were spreading fast.
"…I…I-I'm sorry."
He had smiled as warmly as he could to both of them, and then he had left.
The world had been in chaos ever since that night. Nightmares were swarming everywhere, but somehow, they had managed to survive through all of the chaos. She and Natalya had abandoned their home and travelled around, until they had found an abandoned farm somewhere in the countryside. They had started living there, far away from the cities and with plains all around for kilometres. They had always known they were being watched by Nightmares, but they didn't think it was important. It was normal for Nightmares to snoop around the plains, and normally they wouldn't even look at the farm, and if they did…well, Natalya was good with guns. And knives. Actually, pretty much anything would become a weapon in her little sister's hands. That was, honestly, kind of terrifying.
But one night, after years, Natalya had made her notice that there were two Nightmares, always the same ones, watching them from far away. Natalya had taken out one of them, and had forced the other one, which vaguely resembled a lion, to bring them to their master. Natalya was getting sick of being watched all day and wanted to make the creeper stop. But... neither of them would never have guessed that said creeper would turn out to be their brother...!
And there she was now, staring at the man clad in back who used to be her brother. He was ashamed to have been caught, she could see that, because he was desperately trying to cover his face. He was also muttering something she couldn't understand, but then-
"GO AWAY!"
Feliciano saw the black zigzagging tendrils shoot up from the ground, shattering the marble floor, and wrap themselves around the two women.
"Ivan!" Alfred shouted, scrambling onto his feet again. Ivan made black coils wrap themselves around the American's legs, so he tripped, falling face-first.
"Don't worry. I will not harm you." He said, talking to the two women.
The woman with short hair, whom Alfred had called 'Kat', tried to talk. But immediately, Ivan covered both women's mouths with those black coils. "After all, you are still my sisters, I could never hurt you. But your arrival is highly unfortunate right now." Ivan's sisters were struggling in midair, trying to free themselves and shouting words that resulted muffled because of the tendrils. He slowly and carefully lowered them to the ground, without harming them.
"You." Ivan talked to the lion Nightmare now. He nodded towards the exit. "Go and get the others."
The lion snarled as it got up to its feet again, freeing himself from the reins, and dashed for the door, heading towards the outside. To call upon other Nightmares.
Feliciano was despairing right now. He felt his friends become more and more like REDs with every passing second, and every hope seemed lost. Especially Ludwig seemed almost completely a RED, along with Kiku…
He had to stop the Sentient, whatever the cost! He shook his head to free himself from any hesitation, and ran for the Sentient. He wrapped his arms tightly around the big man's frame, immediately feeling himself burn. His hands, his arms, his shoulders, his chest, his face. But he didn't scream, he had to be strong. He gritted his teeth, tightening the grip, smelling already the smoke caused by the contact with the Sentient. The Nightmare instead started screaming, arching his back, and yelled something. A name. Feliciano didn't hear said name, he was too concentrated on not losing his grip on the Sentient and not start screaming to notice.
A pair of clawed hands took hold of his shoulders, and yanked him away from the Nightmare. Feliciano yelped as he hit the ground, his arms and torso fuming. He shook his head, a little disoriented, and fixed his gaze upon his attacker. He knew it was a RED, he felt it. But when he saw his attacker's face…in that exact moment, he felt the world crumble around him.
It was Ludwig.
The black skull mask covered his right eye, and a pointed row of teeth framed his jaw from ear to ear. Two horns emerged from the German's blond hair, and his body was armoured, clad almost wholly in black. His face was emotionless, lips set in a straight line. His piercing blue eyes were looking at him, but they were…absent, empty, in some kind of way.
He had become a RED.
"Ludwig-san!" Kiku exclaimed, through the battle with the REDs.
"Potato head! Don't you dare lay a fucking finger on my little brother!" Romano yelled, before ducking to evade one of Lukas' icy claws.
"Ludwig…!" Feliciano gasped, wide-eyed. No, this couldn't be happening!
"Ah, finally, the big German brute is under my control. It seems you don't obey my orders anymore, Feliciano. If that is true, then you are of no more use to me. It is sad, really. I hoped we could work together again, like old times! But-"
The Sentient was interrupted by Alfred, who tackled him down yet again. "Ivan, stop this madness!" He had to find something that would hit Ivan. "Can't you see you're hurting them!? You're hurting your own sisters, for fuck's sake!" he tried saying, pointing at the two women, who were now lying on the ground. Indeed, the black coils were getting tighter, apparently without the Sentient's notice.
"Can't you see I'm helping you all!?" Ivan retorted, struggling under the American.
"Helping? Helping?! Seriously, Ivan?! Have you become completely insane!?"
"You couldn't possibly understand, Alfred, not with that small peabrain of yours." The Sentient spat. "You are only delaying what's already been decided by Fate itself!"
Alfred grimaced. "…You are a madman."
Ivan smiled. "I'm afraid I cannot deny that. I think craziness…suits me."
At that, Alfred frowned, but then they resumed their struggle, throwing punches and kicking, rolling on the ground.
Feliciano furiously shook his head, as he stared at the German's now emotionless face. "L-Ludwig! It's me, Feliciano!" he put a hand on his chest as if to emphasize the fact.
The blond didn't seem to recognize him, as he walked towards him with long strides.
"Ludwig! I'm fairly interested in what your ability is. Please have some fun playing with the Italian, дa? So I can have some entertainment as well."
Feliciano saw the Sentient standing up straight, one foot on the American's back. Alfred seemed temporarily knocked out, his face down in the dirt.
He shook his head furiously again, staring at the blond in front of him again. "No, Ludwig! Don't listen to him!" He honestly didn't know if he would be able to cure him right there and then. His hands were trembling, both his arms were covered in blue armour now, and his gut hurt a lot because of the Sentient and the increasing presence of the REDs. His head was spinning, still trying to record everything that was happening and trying to accept everything that had happened before. In a few words, he was a mess.
Ludwig apparently didn't hear him, and raised his foot a little. He then brought it down with so much force the marble floor cracked yet again, making the whole pavement and building shudder. An earthquake. The walls shook and cracked, some chunks even fell, making a bit of orange light seep in from the setting sun. It would be night soon, the time of the Nightmares.
"Ooh, earth! Marvellous!" The Sentient broadly smiled, looking around at the trembling building. Some dust fell around him from the ceiling. Then he fixed his gaze on Feliciano again. "Finish him."
"No!" Arthur shouted.
"Feliciano!" Mathias, Yao and Romano yelled.
Ludwig brought his other foot down, and yet again an earthquake made them all shake. Feliciano couldn't maintain his balance, and fell back on his rear, trying to scuttle away from the German. He was so terribly scared. He kept shouting the German's name, but Ludwig didn't give any sign of recognizing him.
Suddenly, big chunks of stone and marble erupted from the floor, trying to hit or crush the Italian, or close him in as if he were a sandwich. Feliciano scrambled as fast as he could on his feet, and narrowly evaded the falling boulder. He started zigzagging here and there, trying to evade those attacks. Ludwig didn't move a single step from his position, the only things moving were his eyes, as cold as ice, darting left and right to follow the Italian's movements. The Sentient appeared by his side.
"Amazing work, Ludwig. I'll leave to you the honour of ripping his beating heart out." He purred.
At that, the corner of the German's mouth twitched. His eyes did too, while still following Feliciano's running about. Ludwig brought up his foot again, and stomped on the floor, cracking the pavement even further. There was no earthquake, but the floor under his and Ivan's feet shuddered. The cracks in the marble spread out in a web-like pattern around the German's feet. It was highly probable that the floor couldn't take much anymore.
"What did you-" the Sentient started, before, indeed, the ground around them started crumbling.
Feliciano stopped dead on his tracks, when he saw a chunk of the pavement disappear down below, leaving only a gaping dark hole. "Wha…?"
He briefly saw Ivan and Ludwig fall through the floor, before he felt the ground under his feet disappear. And the three of them fell down, as did half of the marble and stone pavement.
"Felicianoooooooo!" Romano shouted.
But no response came from the black hole.
Feliciano coughed, the dust of the crumbled floor having settled in his lungs. He shook his head, momentarily a little confused of what had happened. Where was he again? Some light came from up above, while he was in a dark place…was he dead?
He heard two other voices cough, both distorted, and he snapped back to reality, clearing his head. Now he remembered. No, he definitely wasn't dead. He had fallen down with Ivan, and…a-and Ludwig.
"You complete imbecile! You tried to kill me!" the Sentient snarled, outraged, emerging from under a boulder.
He saw Ludwig not too far away, clutching his head with one hand and grimacing. "…Get out of my HEAD!" the German yelled, his voice now distorted as well. Two rocks emerged beside the Sentient feet in a clam-like fashion, obviously wanting to crush him.
"Rebellious, are we? Well, this will be fun." Ivan purred, and right after that, Ludwig screamed, clutching his head now with both hands, while he staggered backwards. The two rocks heavily fell sideways, not doing any harm to the Sentient.
Feliciano's nostrils flared, as a little bit of hope sparked in his chest. Ludwig was still there, and he was fighting the Nightmare! But Ivan was now focusing especially on the German, so he probably would not last any longer…
"Leave him alone!" Feliciano screamed, running towards the Sentient. He put himself between Ivan and Ludwig, arms spread, trying to protect his friend. He didn't want that anyone else got hurt anymore. Even if he had been a traitor, he wanted this to stop. Right now. He wanted to end it all! "It's me you wanted, right? Right!? You monster, leave him alone and take me instead!" he panted, breathing heavily.
The Sentient shook his head. "Oh, Feliciano, acting yet again like this…how brave you are. I have to admit, I do admire you. But what did this bravery give to you, when you saved your brother? What did you gain? Nothing. Instead, it made you a RED. Saving someone doesn't always guarantee a happy ending, you know?" Ivan looked up at the orange hued hole up above their heads, and Feliciano got a feeling he was…referring to himself…? "You can't keep thinking you can save everyone, Feliciano. Because obviously…"
The Sentient paused, looking now at something behind him.
"…you can't even save yourself."
That's when he felt something pierce through his chest from behind. Bones cracked, and muscles ripped, his chest burned. His eyes widened as he glanced down. He saw black clawed fingertips emerging from his chest, right in the middle, where his heart should be. Blood stained those black fingers, while the same dark red liquid was steadily being pumped from the wound.
He coughed once, blood already in his mouth and trickling down his lips and chin. He finally felt the pain, the horrible pain, but it was drowned out by another realisation. His head was spinning, and his vision was already blurring. He chocked out one single word, before his knees buckled under him.
"L-Lud…wig…"
The German behind him blinked once, as realisation struck him. It hit slowly, and it felt surreal to him. He stared horrified at his hand, and then at Feliciano who was now lying at his feet.
"FELICIANOOOO!" he screamed, falling on his knees beside the Italian.
"…Lud…" Feliciano barely managed to whisper, his eyes half-lidded. He tried to move up one hand, but he couldn't see very good anymore. He wanted to tell Ludwig something, anything…that he didn't blame him…that it wasn't his fault… but he didn't see him. His vision was clouded, and he was getting weaker and weaker…
Was it getting darker…?
…Colder…?
…Arthur…
…Kiku…
…Romano…
…Everyone…
…
…Ludwig…
He let out a shaky breath, and then stopped moving altogether, every force in him leaving him. And he slowly got swallowed up by the darkness, the light leaving his eyes.
Tears were rolling down from Ludwig's wide blue eyes. "No, no, no, no, no! No! No!" He furiously stood up again, glaring at the Sentient, voice shaking with anger and grief. "You. You! You will pay for this!"
The Sentient merely laughed, which angered the German even more.
"Hahahahahaha! Oh, Ludwig, can't you see? I already won. You can't make me pay! If I was able to make you murder your own friend, then I can obviously order you whatever I like! Hahaha! Sit, mutt."
Ludwig bared his teeth, as more and more tears fell from his eyes, realizing he was powerless. So simply, utterly powerless. Those invisible strings pulled at his being again, and he fell down on his knees, obeying the Nightmare's order. He couldn't believe this…! He…he…!
He scuttled closer to Feliciano's mangled body. The Italian's hazel eyes were still open, glassy and wet with tears. His were parted, frozen while murmuring his killer's name.
Ludwig's vision blurred, and even the Sentient's laugh died away in the background. He couldn't believe it… Feliciano, the so lively Feliciano, lied frozen and motionless on the ground, in a pool of his own blood, killed by his best friend attacking him behind his back.
Ludwig cupped the Italian's cheek with a shaking hand, coated in the Italian's own blood. He choked on his own tears, and couldn't stand to look at his ashen face anymore. He shook and bowed his head, roaring in anger and despair while kneeling beside the body. He screamed, screamed, and screamed, for God knows how long. Seconds, minutes, hours… it seemed like years to Ludwig. Until a black clawed hand weighed down his shoulder.
"Now, now, Ludwig. You should stop mourning already. Feliciano-"
"Don't you dare say his name!" Ludwig snarled, up on his feet again, glaring at the Sentient, who looked taken aback.
Ivan was about to say something, with that damn smile plastered on his face again. Ludwig was so angry, so deeply enraged, all he craved for was to rip that smile away from that face and crush it under his feet. He howled like a wounded beast, lunging for the Nightmare, who simply kept smiling.
It was so dark. So cold.
Dark.
Cold.
Black.
Black all around.
Black as ink.
And he felt so incredibly tired…
He couldn't save them… he had failed them…
A spark.
What…?
A small, tiny firefly floated in front of him.
It was calling for him. It was saying his name.
He hesitantly brought forward his hands, and wrapped his fingers around the small light as carefully as he could. It felt warm, in his hands. He brought it to his chest.
It felt warm. Alive.
Alive.
The warmth of the small light suddenly spread through his whole body, igniting like a fire.
Live!
Somehow, Ivan's smile suddenly disappeared, the Sentient's gaze locked on something behind the German, violet eyes wide open. Ludwig at first thought it could be a trick, but stopped nonetheless, and then he turned.
And froze immediately at the sight.
Feliciano was on his knees, slowly standing up. His head was bowed down, and his right hand was shining with so much brightness it almost hurt his eyes.
"F…Feli…?" Ludwig managed to utter.
Feliciano's head snapped up, and his irises were shining with the same brightness of his hand. The Italian opened up his mouth to speak.
"…Ludwig. Don't worry. Everything will be alright."
A shiver went down the German's spine. Feliciano's voice had become distorted as well, but in a different way, in comparison to the Nightmare or the REDs.
Feliciano slowly turned towards Ivan, who was frozen in place, not believing his eyes.
"…Ivan. You were wrong. The infection corrupted your mind, driving you crazy and clouding your judgement. It is not your fault, I can help you."
The light of Feliciano's hand seemed to spread under his skin in a vein-like pattern, as if it was his blood that was shining. Indeed, in a matter of moments, even the wound on his chest and the blood on his chin started to glow. The light peaked for the smallest of moments, and the blue scales and armour that had been covering the Italian's arms shattered instantly, becoming dust that fell around their feet.
The Nightmare seemed to have finally found his voice back again. "Impossible! You should be dead! Ludwig, get him! Get him!" he ordered, panic seeping into his voice.
Ludwig tensed up, expecting his body to obey the horrible order. However, to his surprise, nothing came. No psychic attack striking his mind like a sharp blade, no invisible strings pulling him and making him do whatever he was ordered to do, no strange hazy mist clouding his vision…
"What is this!? Obey me, German!" Ivan shouted, taking a step back shaking his head.
"You cannot taint the mind of the others anymore, Ivan. I'm making sure of that." Feliciano stated, slowly walking towards the Sentient. The light coming from his hand was shining brighter every second that passed, and it somehow pulsed as if it were alive. "You have done that too many times already. Causing psychic pain to others, ordering them to attack their own family, erasing their memories… You toyed with minds as if you owned them. I'm putting an end to that."
He slowly raised a hand towards the Sentient, still coming closer.
"What are you!? Th-the innocence…?! But it can't be! How can you be alive!?"
Feliciano stopped for one second, maybe two. Then, he shrugged. "Honestly, I don't know either."
The Nightmare started panicking, sending towards the Italian his black tendrils in a last hope they could stop him, even if such an act would result in hurting himself. However, the tendrils seemed all to stop at one meter radius from Feliciano, as if an invisible protective bubble was around him. And whenever the tendrils touched that bubble, they would shatter, first becoming white as if contaminated by the white light, and then crumbling to black dust.
"Why won't you die already?! Die! Die!"
More and more tendrils were shot in the direction of the Italian, but they all ended up in the same way. The Nightmare tried to change angles, attacking from above, from under, from one side and then the other, and behind. Nothing changed, Feliciano was still advancing, unstoppable.
Ludwig got hypnotized by the mere sight of that clash. It looked like some kind of epic battle that could have come from a typically predictable fantasy book. It all resembled a clash between two deities, between light and darkness, between good and evil. Even Feliciano's face looked like one of a god. Stoic, emotionless, shining with bright pure light while bringing justice onto the dark wicked.
Between the light and the darkness, the light was obviously having the upper hand at the moment.
"No! Heт! Stay away from me!"
"Don't be afraid, Ivan. I'm helping you."
"Don't touch me!" Ivan shrieked, as the black tendrils wrapped themselves around the Sentient, lifting him up towards the floor they had fallen from, back to the surface.
Ludwig blinked and snapped back to reality again as he saw the Sentient flee. "You're not going anywhere, Ivan!" he snarled, jumping onto the tendrils and holding on for dear life as he was brought up together with the Nightmare.
Feliciano was still acting calmly, as if he had everything under control. He paused a little, watching Ivan as he ascended, and then he also gripped the tendrils tightly with one hand. Strangely enough, these didn't shatter at his touch or at that strange protective bubble around him, so Ivan tried attacking him again with them while they got up. However, the ones the Sentient sent as offensive would shatter around that bubble again. The Nightmare roared in exasperation, while Feliciano's demeanour was as calm as ever.
It was so calm, in fact, that it kind of frightened Ludwig. This couldn't be Feliciano…right? No. Feliciano was not an emotionless stone-faced deity of some sort. Feliciano was the Italian boy who cheated for the fun of messing things up while playing cards.
They finally got over the edge of the hole, and Ludwig and Feliciano released the tendrils, landing smoothly on both feet. Ivan landed a bit more farther from them, and was met with an outstanding - and, for the Nightmare, unsettling - sight.
Nobody was fighting anymore. Antonio, Gilbert, Lukas and Francis simply stood beside their friends, glaring at him.
"What's this?! REDs, resume attacking at once!" Ivan barked, pointing at Feliciano. "Get him!"
Silence followed, and nobody moved. Gilbert, Lukas, Mathias and Berwald bared their teeth, scowling at him, while all the others glared. Antonio growled softly. Romano was growling and scowling as well, but his eyes widened as he saw his brother, shining brighter than a pine tree on Christmas eve.
"F…Feli…? What the fuck's happening!?"
"…Don't worry, Romano. Everything's going to be fine. As I said earlier, you can't taint the minds of the others anymore, Ivan. You don't have any power over them anymore." Feliciano's flat voice stated, walking towards Ivan yet again.
Ivan took steps backwards shaking his head, powerless, seeing that everything was lost. "Think about this, Feliciano! Okay, you cure me. The big bad guy is gone. Yay, party! And then what!? My Nightmares are surrounding this city, probably already this very building, as we speak! You can't possibly think of coming out of here alive!"
"…I know that. I feel them, they are indeed around this building. They will probably barge in any moment now. But do you remember what you said before, Ivan?…That I couldn't possibly save everyone? You were wrong… because I can."
Ivan scoffed at this. "As if I'd believe such nonsense. Shining like a disco-ball obviously did not improve your intelligence."
Feliciano continued talking as if he hadn't heard him. "…As for the coming out alive part…I think I'll have to agree with you." The last part was muttered, almost whispered.
Everyone took a sharp breath at this.
"WHAT!?" Romano roared.
"No…!" Others murmured in unison.
"You're kidding, right?!" Mathias tried.
Ludwig looked at Feliciano, not believing his ears. "No…"
Feliciano turned around to face him. He looked like a stranger, with that calm demeanour. The real Feliciano would spazz out at the mere sight of a spider, not face death with a straight face. And all that white, shining in random places, only added to the 'stranger' effect: his hand, his chest, his mouth, the irises and the light pulsing under his skin. Ludwig desperately tried to find something that would remind him of his old Feliciano. And he found it in his eyes. His eyes…even if the irises where shining white, Ludwig still saw some hazel in it, and it was all he needed to know that the person in front of him was really still Feliciano. He then saw one single tear roll down his cheek, the tear shining with white light also. "I-it's okay, Ludwig. I…I remember everything now. Even the things before the Disaster." Feliciano's gaze momentarily wandered around, as images flashed in front of his eyes. "The cities, the animals, the food, that wonderful food, the sweets…the people. My grandpa. I remember Europe, and all its countries. I saw Paris, London, Madrid, and even Oslo. That's far away, you know? And boy, if it's cold up there! Oh, and I saw Berlin too…it's such a nice city. And of course, my dear Italy with all its monuments… Trieste, Milan, Pisa, Rome, Naples, Sicily, Sardinia…Oh, and Florence, and Venice, of course! Have you ever seen Venice, Ludwig?"
The German, tried to swallow, but his throat was too dry. The strange god-calmness was gone, this was his Feliciano again, the silly boy that loved cats and pasta. The boy he had grown to be so fond of. He shook his head. "It doesn't matter right now, Feli, listen-"
"Too bad, Venice is a wonderful city, even with all the tourists…It's so…It's so sad that everything and everyone's just gone. But if I had the chance of giving that wonderful world back to you…to all of you…then I'd gladly do it."
"No, Feliciano! You…you're accepting your death?! You shouldn't be like this! So serene, in the face of death itself! A-an old man lying in his bed could say that, not you!" Ludwig shouted, grabbing both of Feliciano's shoulders and shaking them, trying to knock some sense into him. The Italian felt burning hot under his palms and his eyes hurt because of the brightness, but he didn't let go.
Feliciano smiled, shaking his head. More white tears were running down his cheeks now, shining brightly.
Many others joined the rant, trying to convince the Italian not to do whatever he was planning to do. They started running to him, but they crashed into that invisible wall of Feliciano's bubble, which somehow had expanded until a ten meter radius, leaving Ludwig, Feliciano and Ivan inside. Many exclaimed in surprise at the sudden strange apparition, but then they resumed yelling the Italian's name, trying to convince him to stop.
"Feliciano-kun, don't! Please!" Kiku tried reasoning, pressing his palms against the wall.
"Stop, Feli! Whatever it is you are planning to do, stop!" Antonio exclaimed, shaking his head furiously, eyes wide.
"Feliciano, stop this at once!" Lukas yelled, his pokerface gone completely.
"Feli, don't do anything stupid! That is my job!" Mathias shouted, banging his fists against the wall.
"Yeah, mine too! So don't go around and steal our awesome jobs as if you owned the place! Lutz, say something!" Gilbert joined the Dane.
"Dude! You're stealing my job as well! I-I-I-I'm supposed to be the hero!" Alfred cried with a failed attempt at humour.
"Would you let me live rather than your own brother, Alfred!?" Feliciano suddenly exclaimed. "Matthew is dying there, or have you already forgotten about him again?!"
Alfred fell silent, looking sideways with wide eyes at his twin, as did Lukas, glancing towards Emil. Berwald worriedly looked over at Tino, and Antonio and Romano at Bella.
"And just look at yourselves! You are all becoming REDs with every passing second! But… I can stop this, a-and I will."
"Feliciano…" Arthur, Yao and Berwald murmured, placing their hands against the wall.
"…You…you don't have to do this…" Francis murmured, the ghost of a smile on his face.
"Feliciano! You fucking asshole! D-don't you dare…Don't you dare leave me alone again!" Romano snarled, hitting the wall harder than any of the others, but he was also crying more than anyone else.
Feliciano smiled weakly, more and more tears falling. He tried to keep a straight face while smiling through the tears, but his lips trembled. "I-I'm so glad…that with m-my small sacrifice, you will all be ok."
"Are you even listening to me?! To us!?" Ludwig yelled, shaking him even more. Feliciano freed himself from his grip, showing he was much more stronger than he appeared to be, and took a few steps back, towards Ivan. The Sentient was standing with his back against the wall, trapped.
"It's been fun knowing you all. Really! You all made me s-so h-happy…that I couldn't possibly be able to express it all in words…!"
"Feliciano, no!" Ludwig tried again to stop him by gripping his shoulders, and again the Italian freed himself apparently without any effort, shaking his head.
"You don't understand, Ludwig! With my small sacrifice, thousands more will be saved! Would you rather let them die, or let them all stay like Nightmares or REDs, because you want to save me?! Think about it! What would you choose?"
Ludwig grimaced, feeling the tears rolling down his cheeks. "I…I-I don't want to choose! Not you, Feliciano! Don't do it!" Oh God, he sounded like a spoiled child. Was he being selfish, not wanting for Feliciano to die so thousands of others could be saved? It did sound like it.
"Ludd, promise me you'll go and see Venice, okay? It's always been my favourite city."
Ludwig's vision was blurred because of the tears he couldn't restrain anymore. "I-I…" he croaked.
"Promise me." Feliciano insisted, their eyes locked with a bond that almost seemed electric.
Ludwig bowed his head, finally accepting he couldn't do anything to stop him anymore. "J-ja…"
Feliciano smiled broadly, beaming as if he had just received the most wonderful gift on the morning of his birthday.
He looked at everyone there. Ivan's sisters, whom he barely knew, lying on the ground and looking confused. Matthew, Emil, Bella and Tino, moments from being consumed by the infection. And then all the others. He took a moment to have a good look at them. Their faces were all covered in dirt, dust, sweat and blood. Their hair was a mess, their glasses were broken or askew on their faces, not counting the fact that most of them had a RED mask, or scales starting to form it. And what about their clothes? Dirty, tattered, burnt and grimy. Alfred, Gilbert, Francis, Lukas, Mathias, Berwald, Arthur, Yao, Antonio, Kiku, and, of course, his big brother Romano, standing outside the bubble. He was shouting incoherent words and curses, still desperately banging his fists against the wall and crying. It would be more difficult for him, to lose a brother yet again. Feliciano now knew himself how it felt to lose a brother, after the night on which Antonio attacked, even if Romano later had turned out not to be dead. He really didn't want to hurt his brother anymore like that. But he had to do this. And…and he knew that his big brother was strong. He would pull through.
And then of course, Ludwig, not able to speak coherently anymore, begging him with his eyes not to do it. He weakly smiled, hoping that he would understand everything was going to be alright. He hoped everyone would understand, with that single glance.
He didn't dare to talk anymore, because he knew his voice would probably break if he did. So he smiled. Everything would be alright. Then he turned around, walking yet again towards Ivan.
Ivan scowled, as the Italian approached him. He pressed himself more and more against the wall, as if he could simply merge with it and disappear. "Oh, how very touching. Do you even know what you're about to do? How are you supposed to save everyone here by simply getting me, huh?!" he spat, head turned sideways but looking at the Italian.
Feliciano raised his right hand while stepping closer. The white on his right hand was so bright it almost hurt to look at it. He did his best not to make his voice break. "…Honestly, I do not know how. But what I do know is… it will work."
He smiled again.
The Sentient tried to say something else to delay his downfall, but before he could say anything, Feliciano's hand made contact with his chest, and if possible, the light shone even brighter.
The chest armour cracked, letting the light seep in. Every joint in the armour shone with light coming from within, and Ivan's eyes also started to shine, as did his mouth and nostrils. He started screaming, first distortedly, and then more and more with a normal voice. The black armour cracked further and further, light seeping through from the cracks, showing what was destroying it from within. Finally, the light came to its climax, and the black armour shattered, disintegrating into shining dust. There was an explosion of light, and small white shards flew everywhere. These shards sped towards the people in the room, embedding themselves in their foreheads or chests, and instantly whatever scale or armour that had been on their body disintegrated into shiny dust as well. Ludwig was hit in his chest, and his armour shattered instantly. The shard was warm, and that warmth spread through his whole body. He felt lighter, warmer…happier…
Everyone else in the room was experiencing the same thing. The black coils still present disintegrated as soon as Ivan's armour was gone, and Katyusha and Natalya were freed along with Matthew, Tino, Bella and Emil. These last four were also hit each by a shard, and suddenly they all could breathe again, the poison in their system disappearing.
"Feliciano…" Tino whispered, breathless, warmth blooming into him.
Everyone was staring at the source of the bright light in the room. Ivan was still standing, still with that brightness shining from his eyes and mouth. After another handful of seconds, the light in him disappeared, and his knees buckled under him, eyes rolling back into his skull and the big frame of the Russian crumpling to the floor.
There was a white column of light now where Feliciano had been standing earlier, the Italian's silhouette barely visible through the brightness. The column's light pulsed once and reached the ceiling, breaking through it creating a hole. The column could now reach for the outside, the white light contrasting with the orange sky of the setting sun. A deep rumbling noise filled their ears and heads, but nothing was crumbling. It was the noise produced by the sheer amount of energy in that column, which was so much that the floor cracked for the umpteenth time. The top of said column grew until it reached over the ceiling of the room, outside. Then it exploded like some kind of firework, and hundreds, no, thousands of shiny bright shards flew as fast as bullets in every direction.
The pillar of light pulsed again, and again a firework, and again thousands of shards flying in every direction. In the meantime, at the base of the column, a powerful whirlwind brushed past the people in the room, making most of them fall. The pillar pulsed four other times, and with every pulse the number of light shards would decrease steadily, while the whirlwinds' force remained unchanged.
Ludwig finally recollected himself, and ran against the whirlwinds and towards the base of the column, feeling the warmth and the energy originating from it.
"FELICIANO!" he shouted over the rumbling noise and whirling wind that that sheer amount of energy produced. He could still barely see the Italian's silhouette at the base, but he could not get closer.
In the meantime, the Nightmares around the old town hall were startled by the sudden bright appearance. There was an explosion that resembled that of a firework, which echoed through the city. Then, thousands of tiny shards flew in every direction. Dozens flew towards the Nightmares surrounding the building and occupying the city. As if warned by some kind of instinct, the black monsters hurried away, looking for some place to hide, scared of those strange flying objects. But the shards were as fast as bullets, and not a single one of them missed the target. All of those shards embedded themselves right between the eyes of the Nightmares or in their chests, the light escalating in brightness in a matter of moments and then shattering the black armour instantly. Each Nightmare revealed something new. A bird, a dog, a mouse, a horse, a squirrel, a man or a woman. Even the lion Nightmare that had been 'tamed' by Natalya blinked, stunned. The animals were mostly shaking their heads, looking confused and disoriented, but nonetheless feeling good again. Dogs started wagging their tails, birds started chirping and flying about, horses flared their nostrils, whinnied and jumped with their powerful legs. The humans were first staring at their hands and at each other unbelieving, and then at the bright white pillar which exploded yet again, sending more and more shards to the world.
Finally, the column pulsed one last time, triggering the last firework and sending the last few shards flying to God knows where, and the light slowly but steadily started decreasing. Then, everything abruptly disappeared. The light pillar, the rumbling nose, the wind… leaving Feliciano, floating with the tip of his feet a few centimetres above the ground.
Ludwig ran towards him, catching him just in time before that strange anti-gravity effect wore off. He caught him bridal style, but he was so exhausted he couldn't keep standing, falling painfully on his knees and losing the grip on the lower half of the Italian's body. He had one arm draped around Feliciano's back, sustaining his upper body, while the other hand went to cup his chin.
"Feliciano…" he barely managed to utter. The Italian felt so warm, too warm, as if he had all that energy still in him…
He gasped as Feliciano looked up at him through half-lidded eyes. His hazel orbs looked right into his icy blue ones. They were that wonderful brown and golden colour again, they weren't altered by that blinding light…He was alive…! They both smiled, tears yet again rolling down their cheeks. Ludwig felt the strangest urge to laugh. Laugh at it all, because it was finally over. They had won! He didn't die…!
But the hope already blooming in Ludwig's chest that it all could be over, was trampled over like a newborn flower. The tears streaking Feliciano's face were still bright and shining white, even if his eyes weren't.
Realisation struck him harder than anything he thought possible. It wasn't over. Not yet. "…No…nonononono…" He sobbed, hugging him closer, not ever wanting to let go. "No, no… don't go! No!"
He felt Feliciano smile in his tattered shirt. "Ve…It's…it's okay Ludd…take care, okay?…We'll see each other in V-Venice again, right?" his hand grabbed tightly the fabric of the German's shirt.
"No, don't-" Ludwig croaked.
Feliciano pushed him away a little, so he could look at his face. The small Italian smiled.
"…Right?"
Feliciano's body stiffened. Then, suddenly, it shone white all over, and shattered between his arms, turning into a hundred more shards. The shiny shards flew up towards the orange sky through the hole, and flew in every direction, like all the others prior to them.
Ludwig was staring at those shards, and when they were gone, he kept staring at the slowly darkening sky. He sat there frozen, not physically or mentally able to move. He didn't even care about the others anymore. He had heard some cheering, and then crying. Someone was shouting something. Other people were sobbing. And did he hear more cheers, coming from outside and echoing through the corridor? Were those barks, and birds chirping and tweeting?
He didn't care anymore. Another tear rolled down his right cheek.
He suddenly felt something soft in his hand. He frowned and slowly, slowly moved his head down to look at the little object resting in his palm.
A small daisy.
Was he imagining things, or was one of the petals all curled up…?
Someone fell heavily beside him, startling him a little.
It was Romano. His eyes were puffy and red, and he was still crying. He hiccupped and sniffed, and slowly brought a hand down on his palm, covering the daisy and being careful not to crush any of its petals.
Ludwig didn't protest or move away. He was too shocked to even think straight.
Romano took a deep shaky breath, and started singing. It wasn't sung perfectly, as the song was often interrupted by sobs or hiccups, but it was nonetheless a beautiful song. And even if Ludwig didn't know any Italian, he knew Romano wasn't singing it because of pure chance.
"B-buonanotte, buonanotte amore mio.
Buonanotte tra il t-telefono e il cielo.
Ti ringrazio per avermi stupito,
per avermi giurato che è v-vero.
Il granturco nei campi è maturo,
ed ho tanto bisogno di te.
La coperta è gelata e l'estate è finita…
B-buonanotte, questa notte è per te.
.
Buonanotte, buonanotte fiorellino.
Buonanotte tra le stelle e la stanza.
Per sognarti devo averti v-vicino,
e vicino non…è ancora abbastanza…
Ora un raggio di sole si è fermato,
proprio sopra il mio biglietto scaduto…
Tra i tuoi fiocchi di neve…e le tue f-f-foglie di tè…
Buonanotte… questa notte è…per te.
.
Buonanotte…buonanotte…m-monetina…
Buonanotte tra il mare…e-e la pioggia.
L-la tristezza…passerà…domattina…
e l'anello…resterà s-sulla spiaggia…!
Gli uccellini…nel vento…non si fanno m-mai m-male…
hanno a-ali…più grandi…d-d-di me…
E-e dall'alba…al tramonto…sono soli…nel sole…
Buonanotte…
q-questa notte è-è… p-per te."
As soon as Romano had finished the song, everyone was standing around the two of them, silent. Some were crying openly, others were sobbing but keeping a straight face, others somehow had managed not to cry. There were also people Ludwig had never seen before in his life, which were kind of looking confused. But he couldn't care less at the moment. The sun, somewhere, finally sunk behind the horizon, the night finally enveloping the sky.
"T-take care of my f-f-f-fucking little brother, y-you hear me…?!" Romano scowled between the tears. The older Italian tried to swallow, failed, and closed with both hands the German's fingers tenderly around the daisy. "B-buonanotte, fratellino."
That was too much for him to take. Ludwig's self-control shattered. He collapsed. He vaguely heard himself screaming, but it felt far away, as if it were a dream.
The only thing that filled his mind that moment was one, single, simple image. Feliciano smiling, offering him a daisy.
All around the world, cheers and parties erupted through the survivors of humanity and the newly saved people. Victory cries and amazed shouts filled the air up until the stars. Families and friends embraced each other, crying out of joy. Hypnotized, people listened to the tunes sung by daily birds that filled the night. Music could be heard in many places, played by experienced and calloused hands or fuelled by powerful lungs, the wind carrying the notes for kilometres over the plains until it echoed through the concrete walls of the cities.
That night, many had felt the energy in the air shaking their bones. Everyone had seen the shards flying through the sky. Many had even whispered wishes, thinking they were shooting stars. Others said it had been a miracle. Everyone had seen the end of the black monsters.
But only a selected few actually knew what those shining white shards truly were.
Nonetheless, everyone stared at the sky that night. Many bonfires were lit, and people danced around them, laughing and singing.
The Apocalypse of the Nightmares had ended. Or, as many already were calling it, the Nightmare Apocalypse.
And they had survived.
That night was a new night, and it was the dawn of a new world.
Goodnight, everybody.
Buonanotte, fratellino : (italian) Goodnight, little brother.
...
Buonanotte, buonanotte, amore mio. (Goodnight, goodnight, my love)
Buonanotte tra il telefono e il cielo. (Goodnight between the phone and the sky)
Ti ringrazio per avermi stupito, (Thank you for having amazed me)
per avermi giurato che è vero. (For having sweared it was true)
Il granturco nei campi è maturo, (The sweet corn in the fields is ripe)
ed ho tanto bisogno di te. (And i really need you)
La coperta è gelata e l'estate è finita… (The blanket is cold and the summer is over)
Buonanotte, questa notte è per te. (Goodnight, this night is for you)
Buonanotte, buonanotte, fiorellino. (Goodnight, goodnight little flower)
Buonanotte tra le stelle e la stanza. (Goodnight between the stars and the room)
Per sognarti devo averti vicino, (To dream of you I need you close)
e vicino non è ancora abbastanza. (And close is still not enough)
Ora un raggio di sole si è fermato, (Now a sun ray has stopped)
proprio sopra il mio biglietto scaduto. (Right on my expired ticket)
Tra i tuoi fiocchi di neve e le tue foglie di tè… (Between your snowflakes and your tealeaves)
Buonanotte, questa notte è per te. (Goodnight, this night is for you)
Buonanotte, buonanotte, monetina. (Goodnight, goodnight, little coin)
Buonanotte tra il mare e la pioggia. (Goodnight between the sea and the rain)
La tristezza passerà domattina, (The sadness will be over tomorrow morning)
e l'anello resterà sulla spiaggia…! (And the ring will rest on the beach)
Gli uccellini nel vento non si fanno mai male, (Little birds never hurt themselves in the wind)
hanno ali più grandi di me…! (They have wings bigger than me)
E dall'alba al tramonto sono soli nel sole… (And from the dawn to the sunset they are alone in the sun)
Buonanotte,
questa notte è per te. (Goodnight, this night is for you)