So Charice is stuck in repeat in Feliciano's dream. How is she going to break out of this? Will she break out of it? Stay tuned.

/= "Symphony 04" by HetaOni =/

"Man…is it just me, or is the fog here getting heavier?"

"I know…it's so thick around here. And it reeks of a battlefield."

"You want me to hold you, Lovino~?"

"Hell no, you freak!"

Matthew shook his head at the idocity of his friends before turning his head toward Charice. She was oddly quiet for some reason, holding her sides and looking downward. He was about to question it when she kicked him forward, barely missing a blade that swung behind him.

"Ah-!" He blinked. "Um…t-thank you…"

She nodded quietly before walking forward. That's when he noticed something: she was walking in a limp. Li Xiao quickly noticed this and grabbed her arms, pulling them forward. Everyone turned and saw it: her stomach was covered with cuts and bruises.

"What the…?" Lovino gasped.

"Stay right here, Charice. I'll get rid of this." Arthur knelt her down. "God, how in the world did you get these wounds…?"

She said nothing, her hands hanging limply by her side. Li Xiao leaned next to her and realized that her eyes had been glazed over. That was when he realized just what was going on.

"You've…seen this before."

Everyone stared at her for a few minutes before she slowly nodded. They barely noticed the streak of pain and confusion that slapped itself over Li Xiao's eyes. Antonio quickly knelt down to her level.

"You've seen all this happen before?"

She nodded again.

"How…how many times?"

Charice said nothing, lifting her hands and all ten fingers on them and then lowering only seven soon afterwards. She held her head in her hands and started to cry, quickly alerting Kiku to hold her and the others to swarm toward her location.

"…I…I've seen this so many times…burnt, stabbed, sliced in half, drowned…I don't…I don't want to see this anymore…"

"There's nothing to be afraid of anymore…" Kiku rubbed her back. "You told us now. We'll be more careful from now on."

"That's right, mi querida. No one is going to take down Papa Spain, OK?"

She looked up and nodded softly, smiling at everyone for a few minutes. That's when Ludwig noticed something out of the norm, something that ended with him grabbing her shoulders and pulling her up (much to everyone's surprise). She squeaked.

"Your eyes are gold…" He let her go. "Is…is Feliciano here?"

"…Feliciano…?" She finally said. "I…I don't know…I don't feel any different…"

"Actually, you were acting more like him recently…fearful of everything, not saying anything when scared…" Alfred rubbed his chin. "Maybe this is affecting you the most?"

"She's the Wild Card, so I won't be surprised." Arthur turned her. "Show us the Star Arcana."

She did just that, noticing that the card was shining brighter than what she was used too. Confused, she lifted up the Fool Arcana (her own), and realized that the card wasn't shining as it used to. It was as if she had changed Arcana types. Arthur rubbed his chin.

"What's going on…?" Matthew asked.

"I see…Feliciano really is affecting you in this space." He stated. "Has he told you anything personal recently?"

"…a nightmare." She answered. "About everyone dying and how he couldn't do anything."

"Ah. I get it." Arthur lifted up his finger. "In this space, we are living Feliciano's nightmare, and you have taken over the role of Feliciano."

"So she's my brother now?" Lovino spat.

"No, but her actual personality is being suppressed. The Charice that we know would at least tell one other person the second or third time that this happened, or at least be able to find out what's going on." Arthur turned to her. "You're the only one that can help him."

"…how?" She asked.

"You are Feliciano now. He has chosen you because he knows you are strong and that he is connected to you." He pointed out. "You have to overcome this yourself so that he can do it as well."

"Oh…"

Ludwig tested this out by lightly holding her hand, feeling her fingers pulse in shyness. Definitely Feliciano. Five seconds later, a roar echoed out and Charice clung onto Ludwig for support, sobbing in his cloak and trying her best to hide. Li Xiao turned his head.

"Protect her until she regains her senses." He lifted up his hands. "Something's coming."

Charice looked up shyly before seeing a huge claw rip through Arthur and Antonio, making her scream and cling onto Ludwig even more. She didn't dare move her head as more screams started echoing through the air, sobbing louder and louder until it was just the two of them. Ludwig turned his head and held her shoulders.

"Charice…Feliciano…whoever is in there…listen to me." They made eye contact. "This monster is only as strong as you want it to be. If you are strong, he will be weak."

"…Ludwig…"

"Be stronger. Don't be scared. This is like a Shadow. Stand up to it and fight it. Only then can you be free."

She stared deep into his eyes before seeing blood slip through his lips, and he hung limp in her arms. She didn't even find time to scream as she fell back into the clock room, holding her hands down and seeing the monster finally make his appearance.

This monster is only as strong as you want it to be…

/= "Mystery" by HetaOni =/

She looked up and went to her feet as she realized something: the monster was muttering something in Italian underneath his breath. Her fear was starting to recede, her actual personality coming through the influences. The Italian was suddenly becoming clearer.

["Why did he leave me…?"]

Feliciano? She blinked. Is this…his Shadow?

["Francis is such a liar…they all killed him…"]

Charice's mind snapped back into place and she gasped. The poleaxe faithfully returned to its master.

["You…you took him away from me!"]

She lifted up the Fool Arcana, seeing it hold its usual shine and smashed it. Maguimba took up its usual shine, throwing its water toward the monster. It was about to make a strike when she heard an echo of someone kicking it, and the monster fell down again.

What in the world?

Charice stood there in place, utterly confused, as the monster was battling unseen forces that were tearing it apart. Cards were being crushed, guns were firing…and for the first time, she didn't actually feel alone. She looked down in her hand and realized that there was a new card there, holding the globe on it.

The Arcana that symbolizes the small piece of the puzzle that the wielder is a part of…the World…

She crushed it in her hands, hearing Li Xiao screaming for some reason, and a bright light engulfed the room, taking the monster down with it. The Shadow's magic faded into the light, and she heard the final words.

["You…you must suffer like I did…wait a thousand years…wait for the rest of eternity…"]

And they faded into oblivion, returning it to the clock room.

/= "Even If You Feel Sad" by HetaOni =/

What's going on…? They…they should be coming back by now…

There were more minutes of silence before she realized something: the monster was not Feliciano's Shadow, he was the one that was looping time, and because he is now dead, none of them can return to life. They had all died here, trying to keep her alive and…

She didn't need to hold Feliciano's personality to drop to her knees and sob at her failure. Maybe it was because she spoke up that the cycle could be stopped. Maybe they would be with her when she goes to save Feliciano on her own. She can do it…right…?

A light slowly began to glow before her, and she felt warmth erupt from it. She stood up and watched as a shadow came through it, like someone was reaching out toward her. Without even thinking about it, she reached out to it as well, feeling a familiar warmth between her fingers. As she fell through it, she saw the hand reach out and wipe her tears.

…

…

…

…

"Ludwig…DAMMIT don't leave me like this!"

This was his punishment. He was going to die here and Prussia will take his place, forsaking his old title to one that will not make him lose his life. As Arthur concluded that was going to happen, he heard a light sob just a few feet away. He didn't have to turn his head, but a strange sense of guilt came through him. He didn't want him to see it. But he did.

Ludwig was dead.

And Feliciano saw everything.

…

…

…

…

"Charice? Are you all right?"

Her eyes opened to see Alfred staring back at her, the sky now a normal blue. She looked around and realized that she was sitting in a pool of some sort, the stream connected to a small tree sap in the middle of the platform. She turned her head again and saw the others waking up in their own pools.

"What's going on…?"

"I dunno. After we came outta that world, I woke up here." Alfred grinned. "Fortunately, the water's not blood~!"

"…healing properties?"

"Yeah. When you woke up, that tree started growing. Wish I knew why."

She knew it. As she walked up to the tree, she could feel a strange sense of hope erupting from it. She turned her head and saw everyone wiping away the sleep from their eyes, and then turned back to the tree that seemed to hold beautiful memories within it. As she rubbed it, she saw him with Holy Rome.

"Just keep remembering that there's hope, Feli-chan. Just keep remembering."

"Are you all right, Charice?" Kiku touched her back. "After all that…?"

"A little traumatized, but I'm still able to walk." She answered. "But we have bigger fish to fry. Like finding Feli-chan."

"Right. We've wasted too much time here." Ludwig turned his head. "We have to go."

/=+=/

Simple, but clean. The monster (Tony) is a representation of Feliciano's guilt of losing Holy Rome, morphing itself to something that he hates in order for him to reject it. I think all those monsters that are in HetaOni (with the exception of the main one) are the other nations that have died in their respective timelines, their guilt of something making that said monster. In other words, if all the nations both inside and outside the manor die…well, shit happens.

Just a theory I have. Don't mind me.