Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia.

Chapter 39

"We should be able to see it soon," Lukas said. "I can't wait to see Emil and Berwald again. And I can't wait to show you my house."

"I'm sure it would be nice to get back home," Arthur said, a soft smile on his face. "I envy you, to be honest."

"We'll make sure to get back to your place when we're finished."

Days had passed since Vlad was kidnapped, and they made sure to remain close to Vlad to make sure that he was alright, or as alright as he could be under those circumstances. He was still a bit shaky, and they had to be careful not to come close to him suddenly from behind, but in general, he felt better. Currently, his fingers were laced between Lukas's. Vlad craved the closeness, and Lukas didn't mind.

Vlad came to a sudden stop, and Lukas turned back, a small smile ready to play on his face.

"What's that?" Vlad asked. His eyes were round, and he stared at the horizon.

"That, dear Vlad, is the ocean," Arthur said, a smirk lighting on his own face.

Vlad released Lukas's hand as he stumbled closer, his eyes sparkling. They showed more life than they had in days. Lukas knew that this was a good sign.

"It… It's so big!" Vlad exclaimed. "And… that's just water?"

"Indeed," Lukas said. "I can't wait to see you on the beach. I can just imagine you playing in the waves."

"That would be something to watch," Arthur said.

"Can we get closer?" Vlad asked.

"Of course," Lukas said. "If we're going to get the last jewel, then we're going to have to get on the ocean. I just hope the weather stays nice, and that there isn't too strong a wind."

"Won't we need a strong wind for the sail?" Arthur asked.

"Yes. But if it's too strong… let's just say, it takes a while to get used to it."

Vlad looked confused, but Arthur seemed to understand. He cleared his throat, before he pulled out the map. Slowly, images started to appear on the map, and he nodded.

"We should be arriving at your home in less than half an hour," Arthur said. "Let's get going, shall we?"

"Right," Lukas said. "I can't wait to see Berwald and Emil's faces. Well, Berwald might not show a lot of emotion, and Emil will try to hide his… Honestly, now that I think about it, Mathias would have been the best person to greet me after a long voyage."

Vlad smiled and took his hand again, squeezing it slightly. Of course, Vlad would be able to sense the sorrow that grabbed a hold of Lukas at the mention of his old friend. He got better, but it still hurt.

The three continued on, and within a few minutes, they could see the seaside town. And then they stopped. The wonder they'd experienced earlier was gone, replaced by cold horror.

"No," Lukas whispered.

Smoke rose to the sky – more smoke than should have come from chimneys – and the town was blacker than Lukas remembered. The buildings were also flatter. Lukas released Vlad's hand and started running. He could hear Arthur and Vlad running behind him, but all he cared about was the state of the town.

He stopped again when he got close enough, and his knees buckled. He could confirm that the town was black and smouldering. The fires had ended a while ago, but there was still smoke. He gagged as the scent reached him, and he pulled up his shirt to avoid inhaling the toxic air.

Arthur and Vlad stopped next to him. Vlad grabbed his hand again, while Arthur surveyed the area, a grim look on his face.

"This couldn't have happened more than a day ago," he said. "Of course, there's no telling how long it happened."

"Arthur, you're not helping," Vlad snapped.

"…It h-happened in the last f-five d-days," Lukas stammered. "After we saved Vlad."

Arthur said nothing, as though he had come to the same conclusion.

"I'm sorry," Vlad squeaked. "They c-couldn't finish with me, s-so…"

"No," Lukas said. "Not your fault. Not at all."

Lukas's eyes widened as a sudden thought struck him. Emil and Berwald! He started running again. He could hear his friends running behind him, but for now, he needed to focus on the two he had left of his childhood. They couldn't… Tino and his allies must have only captured them. They wanted to use them as bait. They wouldn't kill them.

As he ran through the town, it was clear to see that fire wasn't the only thing the townspeople had to defend themselves against. He saw a few people, and he saw a few parts. One of the more sickening examples was the hand of a small child still clutching their toy. That was all he could see of the child. Whatever had happened here… it was brutal.

Finally, he stopped in front of his old house. He took a few deep breaths, only to become dizzy. He couldn't breathe properly with the shirt covering the lower half of his face, and when he pulled it away, he devolved into a coughing fit as his lungs got more of the smoky air than he was supposed to get. Vlad and Arthur stopped next to him, and one of them placed his hand on Lukas's back. When Lukas looked, he saw that the hand belonged to Arthur, who had gone several shades paler as he stared at the door.

"What happened here…?" Arthur whispered.

"This is my house," Lukas gasped. "Emil should be here. Maybe Berwald. Maybe they…"

"Be careful."

Lukas closed his eyes and nodded. He hoped that the fact that his house was one of the few buildings in relatively good state was a good omen. He pushed himself upright and pushed the charred door open. He stepped inside, too scared to call for Emil or Berwald. If they were still alive, and Tino or his allies were using them as bait, then calling out would be a bad idea.

The scent of smoke wasn't as strong, and the building was relatively unscathed. And it was still very neat. It looked as it normally should have. A wave of nostalgia washed over him, trying to soothe the burning horror of seeing the rest of the town. Lukas swallowed, before he started to explore. He went towards the kitchen, then the living room. Everything remained untouched. He then went to Emil's room and sighed when he saw that it was also untouched. Everything looked normal there.

"Um, Lukas?" Arthur called.

Lukas turned towards Arthur, taking note of his pale face and wide eyes. The door that Arthur stood in front of… It was Lukas's room.

Vlad stayed close to Lukas, and Lukas grabbed Vlad's hand again. He was the one that needed comfort at the moment, and to feel the warmth of Vlad's hand… He never really noticed before, but Vlad had a few callouses, probably due to his work as a slave. Not that Lukas could really speak. His hands were also calloused due to his work on a boat. The only one among the three of them who had soft hands was Arthur. He didn't have to do nearly as much manual labour as they had.

Lukas stepped up next to Arthur, and a small cry escaped. He didn't think it was possible to make such a sound. The room was a mess, with book pages torn and scattered, glass shards everywhere, and contents staining everything. And then, on the bed propped against the far side of the room lay two figures. Berwald was wrapped around Emil, as though he had tried to protect him, while Emil's face was contorted in a scream. The sheets were completely red. On the wall above the bed was a question written in red.

Do you like my gift?

Lukas screamed, falling to his knees. He pulled Vlad along with him. He clutched his head and screamed, tears flowing freely. Vlad wrapped his arms around him and held him as he broke down.

"They're gone," Lukas moaned. "They're all gone. Mathias, Emil, Berwald… They're all gone. My childhood, my home, my brothers…"

"Arthur, I think you should check on your brothers too," Vlad said softly. "Just in case."

"I already did," Arthur said, before he crouched down next to Lukas. "I am so sorry you had to see something like this."

"It's because of me," Lukas sobbed. "They wouldn't have been targeted, if not for me."

"Lukas, don't blame yourself," Vlad said. "You wouldn't let me blame myself earlier, so the same applies to you, okay?"

"I agree with Vlad," Arthur said. "None of this is your fault. It's theirs. It's all because of Nemthys and his followers. And you know what, there's a way for you to get your revenge for what they did. We should find the last jewel, then go to Mount Alasbu and seal Nemthys away. And then, we hunt down his followers and imprison them somewhere they can't escape. We can use enough anti-magic wards on them, then lock them in an iron chest and drop them in the middle of the sea. How's that?"

Despite himself, Lukas couldn't help but chuckle at the mental image.

"Arthur, have you been dwelling long on that idea?" Vlad asked.

"It might have crossed my mind a few times after Dylan's death," Arthur said. "But we should certainly make sure that Nemthys's followers get their just desserts."

Lukas sniffed and nodded. With their help, he managed to stand up again. He looked sadly at his friend and brother. He should have checked to make sure that they would be safe. But, why were they in Lukas's room? It didn't look as though they had been placed there. And if they were, wouldn't it have been better to place them a different way?

Lukas took a step forward, but the sound of crunching paper made him look down. He bent to pick up the page.

"It was a protection spell," Lukas whispered. "I wonder if they were trying to find a way to protect themselves."

"Why wouldn't they run?" Arthur asked.

"What if they couldn't run?" Vlad asked. "Look at Berwald's leg."

Lukas did so, and he could see what Vlad meant. Some of the trousers' leg was ripped, revealing the red and blue skin underneath, as well as the white bone that stuck out. They didn't run because Berwald had a broken leg. Was it Tino as well?

"The boats!" Lukas exclaimed as a thought occurred to him. "We need to check to see if the boats are seaworthy. Or else…"

"Or else we wouldn't be able to get the jewel," Arthur finished for him. "Right. You know the way to the docks. We'll follow you."

"…Before we go, do we mind if we… If we give them a proper burial? I don't want to leave them here."

"Of course. But I think we need to use magic. I don't think we'll be able to carry Berwald, even if all three of us work together."

Arthur and Vlad ended up using levitation spells as Lukas guided them to the cemetery. He had to avoid looking around, for occasionally, he would see the face of someone that he'd known. In one case, it was only the face. Perhaps it would have been better if they'd only been burnt by the fire. At least that way, they wouldn't have had to suffer this… torture. Because there was no other reason for them to be in this state. They hadn't simply been killed. Tino and his allies wanted Lukas to see that the people had suffered.

The cemetery was just outside the town, and it was chilling to note that this place was undisturbed. Lukas, Vlad and Arthur navigated through the tombstones as Lukas searched for a good place where they could bury Berwald and Emil.

Near the end of the graves, Lukas saw a name that made him pause. It was a simple tombstone bearing the name 'Mathias Kohler'. The thought that his three childhood friends had to be buried so close to each other sent another wave of tears, and he hugged himself. He felt Arthur and Vlad's hands on his back, and he took a deep breath. At least he hadn't lost everyone yet, and he would make sure that he wouldn't lose them for at least a few decades.

"I think we've found a good spot," Arthur said. "Um, should we just bury them in the ground, or do you think we can find coffins?"

"The undertaker's shop is completely destroyed," Lukas said. "I saw it on the way here. We're not going to have any luck with the coffins. And there isn't any fabric that we can use as shrouds." Lukas clenched his fists. "Those bastards…"

"Just think about your revenge. So then, shall we use magic to dig two graves? I suspect that you might want to give them the respect they deserve, but we need to finish this as soon as possible. I don't like how vulnerable we are here."

Lukas knew that Arthur had a point, but he didn't like the fact that even the burial they could give Berwald and Emil wouldn't be proper. The three of them found an empty spot and used magic to dig two large holes. Then, Lukas went to Emil and Berwald. Their eyes remained open, and Lukas used his hand to close them, muttering a spell that would keep them closed, and he also replaced Berwald's broken spectacles. Then, they used their magic to place each of them in a grave, and the ground soon followed. Lukas picked up two large sticks and stabbed them into the ground. Arthur handed him a small knife, which Lukas used to carve 'Emil' and 'Berwald' into the wood.

"Would you like to say a few words?" Arthur asked.

"I don't know what to say," Lukas said. "But all I can say is… Mathias, Emil, Berwald… I will avenge you. I will get rid of Nemthys and his followers, and they will pay for what they did to you. They will pay for what they did to everyone. I'm sorry that I wasn't able to help you."

Vlad grabbed his hand again, and Lukas squeezed it appreciatively. The three of them left the cemetery, with Lukas only regretting that he couldn't do the same for the rest of the town. But he didn't think that he would be able to stomach all that carnage, and he didn't want to know how much of a toll it would take on his magic to have to dig all those graves. Or find all the body parts.

To his surprise, the dock appeared to be undamaged, but the few people that had gone there were not so lucky. Blood and body parts littered the area as well. At least the boats were all there.

"I don't get it," Vlad said. "Why wouldn't they destroy the boats?"

"Because they need us to get the jewels," Arthur said. "They must have known that we'd come here. And they didn't want to stop us from getting the last jewel, but they also wanted to…"

"They wanted to break me," Lukas said. "And they failed. If anything, they made me want to stop them even more."

"And we are in full agreement with you. So… Can the three of us man a boat on our own?"

"It's going to be difficult. Our boat is meant to be manned by five people. In theory, we could do it, but that's not going to be easy. And I don't like those dark clouds in the distance."

"More rain?" Vlad groaned.

"It's not the rain I'm worried about. It's the wind that might come with it. Come on. The sooner we can do this, the better."

Lukas guided them to the boat that he and his friends had used for years. Berwald and Emil had probably not done a lot of seafaring lately, since it was only the two of them. Lukas instructed the other two to get the ship ready, with a few explanations as well, and finally, they cast off.

"Is it supposed to feel so unstable?" Vlad asked.

"This is what a boat feels like, yes," Lukas said. "I suggest you try to make yourself as comfortable as possible. Might I suggest remaining low? It would be safer."

"Safer? Against what?"

"Seasickness. Arthur, could you help me if I ask for help?"

"I don't know how much help I would be," Arthur said. "I haven't really been on many boats in my life, especially not out in the ocean."

Lukas sighed. This was going to be a difficult voyage.

"And there they go," Tino remarked.

"This was fun," Bella giggled. "Thank you for bringing us with you."

"My pleasure. Now…"

"Now the four of you get to sit back," someone said behind them. "We'll take over from here."

The four spun around at the sound of the voice. Lars narrowed his eyes when he spotted them.

"What are you three doing here?" Lars asked. "We're supposed to get them."

"Actually, no," Dimitri said. "Master gave you the order to destroy the town and everyone in it. You did that. But after your past failures to retrieve them, Master entrusted them to us. The only ones that hadn't failed him yet."

"You've had your chances to get them, but you didn't," Bella spat. "Don't you speak to us about…"

"Oh, but we weren't trying to get them," Francis said. "We were only casting a few spells that would weaken them. It has been eating at their magic, leaving only enough for them not to notice the damage that's been done, and letting them think that the other distractions we gave them was the full extent of what we did."

"But it's no longer time for playing around," Roderich said. "This time, they are ours."