Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia.
Chapter 18
Arthur, Lukas and Vlad waited for Alistair and Berwald to catch up to them. Gupta had disappeared for a moment, only to reappear with one figure at his side and another in his arms. Arthur and Patrick cried out when they saw the figure in Gupta's arms.
"No," Arthur whispered, as tears welled up in his eyes.
Lukas went to the other person that came with Gupta. He checked Emil for injuries, finding his fair share. Emil still looked dazed, and it didn't seem as though he properly understood what was going on.
"I will retrieve your other friend as soon as I'm sure it's safe," Gupta said. "I don't really have any interest in running into my old comrades again, especially now that they know I'm here."
"You risked a lot to help us," Vlad said. "Thank you. But… I just want to know…"
"What made me betray Nemthys?" Gupta asked. Vlad nodded. "I told you about Bella and her brothers coercing people by harming their loved ones. I got close to one of the people they harmed. His brother was bonded to the Ocean Soul, but he was also special. He had a rare gift, and I hoped to exploit it for my master's benefit. But they had done too much damage. Speaking to him, listening to him, I realised how tired I was. A mental exhaustion like no other. In the end, I helped him infiltrate my master's castle, and we stole the jewels. I led him to Mount Alasbu, and we sealed Nemthys."
The others had been listening in. Lukas's jaw dropped.
"So, it wasn't just a simple betrayal," Lukas said. "You did something to Nemthys that seriously hurt him, and his followers…"
"And my punishment will be far worse than any he's given before," Gupta said. "That is inevitable. I don't know how long my punishment will last, but I know that he will not be kind and kill me. The worst punishment he's ever inflicted was to turn the person that angered him into a forest. Every single tree, completely aware of his fate. Unable to move, unable to speak, unable to stop whatever happens to him. He feels it every time a tree is cut down, and then whenever the tree is turned into timbre, and whenever that timbre is turned into a house, or a piece of furniture, and every time there is damage, he will feel it. For six hundred years, that has been his punishment."
Lukas shuddered.
"As a sailor, thinking about the damage inflicted to our boats from time to time, I suddenly feel very guilty," he said.
"That does not sound good," Vlad said.
"It's not," Gupta said. "His mind has gone a long time ago. Even if one were to return him to his human form, he will be unresponsive. The only reason to return his human form is to put him out of his misery."
They heard running footsteps. Everyone turned and tensed, before relaxing when they saw Alistair and Berwald. The two stopped and gathered their breath. They had spent a long time running.
"We tried… to get there…" Alistair panted. "Sorry… We're late."
"It doesn't matter now," Patrick said. He turned to Dylan, who he had placed against a tree. Alistair saw his brother and stumbled forward.
"No," he whispered.
"I'm sorry," Arthur said. "If not for me, then he wouldn't have…"
He cried out in pain when Alistair grabbed him by the hair. Vlad cried out, and he tried to rush to Arthur's aid, though Patrick stopped him.
"Don't you dare blame yourself for any of this!" Alistair snapped. "Do you understand? You did not kill Dylan. If anyone is to blame, it's the monsters that actually killed him."
"But, if not for me…" Arthur whimpered.
"No, you are not to blame, understand? We knew the risks, ever since they captured us and threatened to kill us. We knew that what you were doing was dangerous, and that they would use us to get to you. But we wanted to help you anyway. Do you know why?" Arthur shook his head. "Because you are our brother, and we love you. Ever since Mom and Dad died, it's just been the four of us. We practically raised you, even if you were a little shit." Alistair smirked. "I wonder which of us taught you that."
"…You're not the reason Henri killed him," Emil said. "We asked him… how he got involved, and Dylan said something about Henri feeling shame, and… He just lost it."
Patrick turned to Lukas.
"And don't think that you're the reason behind Mathias's death, either," Patrick said. "It was those monsters, not you."
Lukas flinched. Berwald placed his hand on his shoulder.
"If anyone is at fault, it should be me," Berwald said. "I knew Mathias was leaving and I didn't do anything. If I insisted that he stayed, then this wouldn't have happened."
"You should say your farewells here," Gupta interrupted. "You three must leave now, before Bella and her brothers find you. The longer you remain, the greater the risk."
"But what about our horses?" Vlad asked.
"Leave them. If you go back, they'll be waiting, and they will not let you slip through again. Besides, you'll be able to move better without the horses. Bandits will be less likely to target you, and you'll be able to slip away from the beaten track."
"But what about speed?" Patrick asked. "They'll be sacrificing that."
"But they gain something else that would be to their advantage. Their bond is very important, and a strong enough bond might even be too much for Nemthys to handle. While it's important to seal Nemthys, it's even more important that they remain hidden, and that their bonds are strong. More time to develop the bonds, and being smaller targets, will help them more than you might realise."
Arthur, Lukas and Vlad exchanged looks. Vlad could still feel Lukas's lips on his own, and while he doubted that that was what Gupta meant, it was still strange to hear Gupta referencing their bonds.
"I'm not sure about this," Alistair said.
"…He's right about us being able to follow safer paths," Arthur said. "And we'll be smaller targets. But what if they catch up to us?"
"I doubt Bella and her brothers would be able to follow you if you get far enough away," Gupta said. "Nemthys would want to have a word with them. And now that they know that I'm around, and that I'm helping you, some of them would most likely come after me."
"…And we should probably return home," Berwald said. "We have to arrange proper burials."
"I will use my magic to take you there."
"Can't you use your magic for Lukas and the others?" Emil asked.
"Unfortunately, no. This is a journey that they would need to complete on their own. From now on, they should avoid receiving help."
Vlad looked between Arthur and Lukas, then towards Dylan. He understood what they were thinking: none of them wanted anyone to die because they tried to help them. And so, one by one, the three of them nodded their heads.
"If you're going to leave," Patrick said, "then remember to take this." He handed a bag to Arthur. "It's the supplies we bought earlier. Would be a waste for you not to take it."
"Thank you," Arthur said, before he hugged Patrick. Alistair received a hug soon afterwards. Lukas made sure to hug Emil and Berwald. "We'll make sure that this all ends."
"Just make sure that you make it out of this alive," Alistair said. "And give those monsters hell if they try to bother you again."
"Make them pay for what they did to Dylan," Patrick said.
While Arthur and Lukas were saying their farewells, Vlad simply watched from the side with Gupta. His chest ached as he watched Arthur and Lukas say goodbye to their families. He didn't have a family of his own anymore. There was no one that cared for him, other than his two companions.
"It's a pain that can never go away," Gupta said. "Losing the people you care about, and who care about you. Watching other people with their loved ones cuts deep."
"How can you deal with this?" Vlad asked.
"You find someone else to care for. While they cannot replace the ones you loved, you can at least build new relationships. Of course, depending on the type of relationships, they would never be the same."
Vlad thought about his baby brother. If he hadn't been captured, then he would have died without experiencing the ache of loss. Vlad hugged himself.
"Why does it hurt so much?" Vlad asked. "It never hurt before."
"Because before, you didn't allow yourself to feel that pain," Gupta explained. "You were too consumed with the need to survive that you ignored all the feelings that didn't help with your survival. You never allowed yourself to properly mourn the ones you lost."
Vlad closed his eyes. He could remember being a small child and punished for looking back at the life that he used to live. If it was discovered that he was crying, then he would have been punished. Even though the scars had been healed, Vlad's back tingled at the reminder.
Finally, Lukas and Arthur withdrew from the others and walked towards Vlad. They each took his hand as they started to walk away from the others.
…
Nemthys glared down at his three followers. Lars, Bella and Henri knelt down in front of him, bowing their heads low. The three of them wore their fear clearly for everyone to see. And with every move that Nemthys made, the three tensed, expecting retribution. Even Lars, who was usually so stoic, had a mask of terror on his face.
"You three have failed me," Nemthys hissed.
All three of them flinched. They didn't offer any excuses, knowing that they would be useless. Nemthys drummed his fingers. There were many ways for this to play out, and part of their punishment was the uncertainty they felt.
"You had them in your grasp," Nemthys hissed. "Lars, you allowed mere mortals to steal them away from you."
"There were too many of them, and…" Lars started.
"Silence. You had Lukas in your grasp. He couldn't escape. You could have kept him safe from the other two as you did what you usually do. And Bella, while you managed to kill his friend, you didn't take advantage of it. You didn't keep the friend hostage. And you failed to seduce him to our side."
"Master, forgive me," Bella whimpered.
Nemthys ignored her as he turned to the youngest of the siblings.
"And you, Henri," he hissed. "Did you enjoy being their little captive? Tell me, what did you do that could be useful to me? You didn't even use the death you caused to your advantage. You let your emotions take control of you."
Henri didn't say anything. He just lowered his head even further.
"Perhaps you all have grown weak in my absence," Nemthys mused. "After all, eight of my followers failed to get the three of them. And all for idiotic reasons."
"Master, if I may…" Raj said, stepping forward.
Nemthys glared at him, and Raj shrank back. He was still suffering the effects of his punishment, and Nemthys was surprised that Raj had the courage to speak out. Perhaps he was hoping to rectify his own failure.
"What is it?" Nemthys asked.
"The three of them seem to have an abnormally high amount of luck," Raj said. "I-I looked into it, and… I-I found out that Vlad's family… His patron goddess is Lucania."
Nemthys narrowed his eyes.
"I thought his god abandoned him," Nemthys said.
"I-I thought so too," Raj said. "But, if she favours him…"
Nemthys raised his hand, and Raj grew silent. If Lucania, the goddess of luck, truly favoured Vlad, then they had a problem. If she truly wanted Vlad and the other two to remain safe, then she would wait until things were dire before she would turn things around. That was how it went. If there was too much good luck, then the resulting bad luck would be disastrous. But, if there was a lot of bad luck, then the good luck would be better.
Vlad had been captured as a slave. She could have used her luck to prevent that from happening, or she could have allowed his years of misfortune to build until he could have a few lucky escapes. Which raised two questions: How much luck did he have, and how much did Lucania know?
Nemthys had broken away from the other gods millennia ago, and he was pleased to know that they feared him. He had kept the true nature of his power a secret, but if any of them knew…
"If that is true," Nemthys said, "then we would have to ensure that Vlad's luck runs out. And, just to ensure that the other two don't interfere, I think it's time for the failures among you to redeem yourselves."
"Lord Nemthys?" Lars asked, raising his head.
"Oh, you three will still be punished. But it's time for the world to remember to fear me. Tell me, how much of the land do you think you can destroy before they reach their next destination?"
They all looked pleased at the prospect of wanton destruction. And while those that failed tended to the tasks assigned to them, Nemthys could send the others to deal with the three sorcerers.
"And one more thing," Nemthys said. "All would be forgiven for the person that can bring Gupta to me." He looked down at the siblings again. "You had to let him out of your grip as well?"
"We will not fail you," Lars said.
"Make sure you don't. I won't forgive any more failures." Nemthys turned towards his other followers, focusing on one in particular. "Did you find it?"
"Yes, Master," he said, stepping forward and handing a small box to Nemthys.
He smirked as he examined the box. He then turned towards his follower, trapped in a cell for centuries. He had spent his time wisely, though. Not many of the others could say the same.
"Well done," Nemthys said. "I have another assignment for you."
…
"I think we've gone far enough," Arthur said. He turned back to the other two. "How are you doing?"
Lukas only nodded, while Vlad slumped against a nearby tree. Arthur looked at the youngest of their trio and nodded in acknowledgement. They had been travelling for several hours, and Arthur assumed that it was safe to sleep for the night.
They didn't have any of their gear, so they took out some of their rations and started eating. Arthur considered making a fire, except he didn't have the energy to do that, and it would appear that the other two didn't either.
"My legs hurt," Vlad whined.
"I think we should try to get to sleep as soon as possible," Lukas said.
"We just need to set up wards to keep the wild animals away," Arthur said. "We don't want to wake up while being mauled by wolves."
Vlad shuddered and nodded his head. Lukas and Arthur stood up and went to set up the wards. Vlad was still learning the basics of magic, and so he couldn't help. Arthur turned back to see what Vlad was doing, seeing a small, faint light. He was doing the exercise they gave him for maintaining control.
Arthur smiled. He was pleased to see that Vlad was working on improving his skills. Although the raw power of primal magic was very helpful, it would not be to their advantage if Vlad lost control in a crowded place, especially when there was no danger. Of course, they would eventually have to teach Vlad offensive spells, just in case he was in danger and they weren't there.
Arthur felt his stomach drop as he thought about Lukas or Vlad being in danger again. Images of Raj dragging Vlad filled his mind, followed by the image of Lars restraining Lukas. He didn't want to see either of them in that position again, and he also didn't want to be in the position himself. He didn't want to be the reason for them to feel the way he just felt.
"Is something wrong?"
Arthur shook himself before turning to Lukas. He didn't realise that Lukas had approached.
"I was just lost in thought," Arthur said.
"Care to talk about it?" Lukas asked.
"…I was just a bit shaken when I saw Lars grab you like that. It made me remember Vlad with Raj. And I remember Ludwig. What if they become tired of trying to coerce us? I don't want to see either of you in danger like that."
Lukas was silent for a moment.
"I will admit, I was afraid," Lukas said. "But I was even more afraid of being used against the two of you. All I wanted was for you to get to safety."
Arthur chuckled.
"It's strange how shared experiences can bring people together like this," Arthur said. "But I can't imagine life without the two of you."
Lukas didn't answer, and Arthur wondered if Lukas was blushing. It was too dark to tell.
"We should probably finish up," Lukas said. "Any idea what time we should wake up tomorrow?"
"I suppose we should see how tired we are," Arthur said. "I'll finish up now."
Lukas nodded, before he went over to join Vlad. Arthur watched for a moment and sighed. Lukas would be helping Vlad until Arthur had finished setting up his wards. He shook his head, trying to focus.
He tensed when he heard the sound of a twig snapping. Arthur whipped his head around, searching for anything intruding upon their space. He hoped that it was only an animal. He took a deep breath and focused on the wards. He paused when he saw two glowing orbs that resembled eyes, but after blinking, there was nothing there.
