So victim #3 is taken, ladies and gents. Ready to see his world? Bet you are! By the way, video game character mentions galore.
/= "Ghost Blood" by Pandora Hearts =/
The minute her feet touched the floor, she heard the sound of heels touching marble. She looked up and saw that she had landed in a marble castle, staring at a portrait that somewhat scared her just a little bit. Her eyes went down to her uniform and realized it was not much different from her usual attire: her red jacket was now shortened to just below her (lack of) breasts, and had arm and shoulder pads on the belts all over her arms. Her skirt was now tan and extremely short, but fortunately the black tights stayed and the combat boots turned white.
Wow…I look like a video game character.
She turned her head around to see that the others had fallen in as well. Alfred seemed similar to Tidus in Final Fantasy, Arthur looked like Faize from Star Ocean, Kiku had the appearance of an Organization XIII member, little Matthew donned the Link look, and Li Xiao looked like Soren from Fire Emblem. Why in the world did they look so hot?
"Um…why the hell do we look like this?" Charice asked them.
"I dunno…" Alfred blinked. "But it's awesome!"
"God, that's what we're thinking about?" Li Xiao rolled his eyes. "It just happens."
"It doesn't 'just happen', Li Xiao. There's a meaning behind this." Arthur stated. "With these costumes, we are immersed in this world. And when we are immersed, we are able to see through the fog that covers the land."
"…um…" Charice turned her head. "What fog? All I see is a marble palace and the fact that we're in cosplay outfits."
"Yes, indeed…at least we can pull them off." Kiku stated (obviously rubbing it in Alfred's face).
"Oh, actually…when we were in Arthur's world, I keep thinking how is it that you guys could run around a ship so perfectly when I could barely see past my hands." Alfred stated. "After seeing Jackson so clearly and getting that weird pirate outfit, it was like someone just aired out the entire place."
"So there is a fog in this world…" Matthew mumbled, holding Kumajiro tightly. "No wonder this place is always cold…"
"Which brings up question #2: why can we see through the fog with these costumes?" Charice pointed out. "It's obvious that when we jumped in, people who've been in here before can see through it, but ordinary people can't."
"It's a basic psychology statement: if you take the fog away from your eyes, you see the world in a different light." Arthur stated, sounding like an old man in a very interesting way. "Those who have faced their inner demons and taken off the masks to hide them can then see the masks that hide the others."
"…what?"
"It basically means that if you don't have anything troubling you, you can focus on the problems of other people."
"Oh…why couldn't you say that before?"
"Cause you're too oblivious to figure that out, bloody git!"
And thus begins the lover's spat. Charice rubbed her chin. Battle number...something something…
"C-can I bring up another question?" Matthew blinked. "If only we can see through the fog, what about Antonio and Lovino? Would that mean that they get lost?"
"Um…" Alfred turned around. "Speaking of which…where are they?"
…
"FUCKING SHIT MACE!" Charice screamed. "Don't tell me they ran off ahead!"
"Well…Antonio is a close friend of Gilbert…" Kiku stated. "And Lovino always has to make sure that Antonio doesn't do something stupid-"
["Did someone call for the awesome me?"]
They turned and froze at the random vendetta-like person that sat on top of the marble staircase. It was most definitely Gilbert's shadow, for he donned an anti-hero look with a strange-looking hat and a mask over his face. Then again, the fact that he was a freakin' albino and that his eyes were the creepiest of reds made it easy to identify him.
"Gilbert…" Charice blinked.
["Hm…you're a strange girl…though you're not the one I seek."] He stood up. ["One day, I will be avenged. For I…am an avenger!"]
Oh god, he's going into Sasuke mode. Someone shoot him now before he brings up six seasons worth of angst and useless brain filler.
"An avenger?" Li Xiao blinked. "Avenging…what?"
["What I do is on my own terms…for I am an avenger and hence I do whatever I want!"] He chirped. ["But no matter…for what I seek is here and when I find it, I will have my vengeance."]
And just like that, he vanished in a puff of smoke…like a typical avenger. Charice turned to the confuzzled looks on everyone's faces before concluding that yes, they don't have a freakin' clue what the heck Gilbert was talking about. Maybe he was talking about Ivan and that whole World War II fiasco that Charice had to read in a text book? Hm…
"So…yeah, we should start walking." She blinked.
"Where?" Li Xiao turned his head. "Look around. There're no doors or windows. The fake windows up there just show the wall paint."
"...oh WHAT THE HELL?" She grumbled. "Man, what a way to start this freakin' rescue mission! Can someone just blow up a wall or something, please?"
"That won't be necessary."
She turned toward Arthur, who had closed his eyes and placed a hand on his chest. Suddenly a figure appeared behind him, dressed in black and having mechanical wings on its arms. It spread itself wide as a strange aura erupted before them, creating a doorway before them. The figure instantly vanished, scaring Charice out of her rocker.
"There's the door." Arthur grinned. "Hopefully, it'll lead us to the other two."
"Personally, I would wait until a sign came out, but seeing as how there're two people out there…" Li Xiao sighed. "We should go."
/=+=/
"OK, guys~! Where do we go from-"
Charice turned her head around and realized that she was alone. The palace was gone from behind her, instead creating nothing more than a misty forest in the middle of the night. Not only that, but there was no one around. That obviously annoyed the hell out of her, but seeing as how there was nothing behind her she was forced to keep going.
Maybe they're up ahead…
She kept walking closer, feeling her nerves tingling as she could've sworn that there was another presence in the area. After a few minutes, she was able to find a clearing that seemed to remind her of Matthew's world and a familiar figure standing in the middle like a statue.
"Hey! Lovi-chan! Lovi-chan, are you OK?"
He didn't say anything, continuing to stare into the night sky. She blinked, wondering if there was something that he was trying to figure out. Then again, what would he be listening to?
-"There are so many things that I have done to be who I am today."-
"A-Antonio…?"
-"I've done everything for him…built up my kingdom, took over so many lands and hurt so many people…just to protect him…"-
She turned her head to Lovino, who still did not move a muscle.
-"How much more can I sacrifice to keep him safe? How much more of myself can I let go…?"-
She walked closer to Lovino, as she heard him mumble something in Italian, hence she had no idea what he was saying. Charice didn't want to get any closer, but she clearly knew that he was obviously shocked at what was going on. Is this still Gilbert's world? Or did I fall into Antonio's? Or did they fuse? God, if only Arthur was here.
"…and here I thought he was an idiot." Lovino finally spat out loud. "All of that territory conquering was for me?"
["Oh, what bullshit. He's obviously talking about Feliciano!"]
The both of them froze as another figure appeared from the mists. She didn't have to see his face to know what it was: Lovino's shadow, holding a smug grin on his face and a shine in his now golden eyes. Nonetheless, the actual Lovino was terrified at the image.
["Antonio's addicted to that man. All he's been doing this entire time was coo over that little piss shit. Shower him with love, hold him like a baby, hell he wanted to trade me for that bastard!"] The shadow continued. ["Hell, it's not just him! Every single person that I've ever MET babies that sissy. I could jump off a cliff or shoot all the brains out of my head and no one would give a crap!"]
"…no…"
["Oh wait a minute, there's no longer a North and South Italy anymore, isn't there? Only one of us is supposed to exist, right? And if there was a choice, they'd choose him in a heartbeat! No one loves me…no one even gave a shit!"]
"Dammit, shut the hell up…"
["That murderer sure has a horrible choice of victims. Why did he choose an idiot like Gilbert? Despite the fact that he's SUCH an asshole and related to one as well, at least people cared for him in their own stupid way. Sometimes, I wish he chose me instead…he'd be doing the world a favor."]
"I don't think like that…"
["I'm totally useless. I'm nothing like my idiot brother. I can't cook, I can't sing, I can't draw, all I do is curse out the entire world. Antonio used me as a silver medal, France uses me as a freakin' object while caring for Feliciano, hell my own grandfather left me to rot while caring for that unethical jackass of a brother!"]
"You…bastard…"
["Let's face it…I'm better off dead."]
Charice was in shock the entire time. Lovino was three years older than Feliciano, and he felt like this the entire time? What was worse was that she had to categorize herself in what the shadow was saying: Feliciano was so much cuter than Lovino in his own little way and had loved to shower him with everything that she had. If only everyone else was here…
"Shut the hell up, you bastard! Why the hell are you saying that you're me?" He spat. "YOU'RE NOT ME!"
The Shadow started laughing out loud as the clouds started to surround him and shoot him up in the air, knocking Lovino out cold. Charice ran in front of his body to see that Lovino's shadow had turned into a bleeding monster hidden inside a cage. She could see the tears coming from its eyes. And she had to fight this alone?
…
"FUCKING SHIT MACE!"
/=+=/
Hermes is the messenger of the Greek gods, the offspring of Zeus and maia. He's recognized as the patron of travelers, commerce, athletics, literature and poets…and even of healing, invention and thieves. He can enter the Underworld and leave without any problems. [Arthur Kirkland - Magician]
Oh hey, I just looked up and realized something: the voice of Lovino and Feliciano (Daisuke Namikawa) is also the voice of the protagonist in Persona 4 :D