Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia.
Chapter 42
"So, let me get this straight," Alistair said. "You, Arthur and Vlad are the actual jewels, and the rocks that you were out hunting were just the remains of the last guys that had this position?"
Lukas could only nod. Even though he had some time to get used to the idea, it still sounded absurd, and having Alistair repeat it back only added to that.
"It would explain the part about it being a cycle," Patrick muttered. "The cycle is essentially reincarnation, except instead of a soul, it's a power."
"Alfred said that we're technically the Jewels of the World," Lukas said. "And that this power existed long before Nemthys started to exploit it."
"…And that's what he's going to do to Arthur and Vlad," Alistair said.
"I don't think he can actually start without me. But Alfred warned that Nemthys is going to use Vlad and Arthur to try to get me, and that it's going to be painful for them."
"Not nearly as bad as getting your lifeforce drained, I'm sure. So then, as long as he doesn't have you, Artie's not going to die. That gives us some time."
"We're definitely not going to leave Arthur alone," Patrick said. "It's going to be dangerous, but he's our brother. And we've already had to bury Dylan."
Lukas swallowed the lump in his throat.
"…We also buried Emil and Berwald earlier today," he rasped.
"…What happened?"
"We were hoping to use our boat to get the last jewel – or what we thought was the jewel. It was in the middle of the ocean. And when we got to my hometown… It was a massacre. Buildings burnt, bodies everywhere… My house, strangely enough, was relatively intact, but Emil and Berwald were killed. It was Tino that did it. They wanted to get to us. A few days ago, they kidnapped Vlad with the intention of breaking us. But Vlad managed to access the Jewel's power, and they kind of regretted it."
The image of the charred body of Raj reared itself in his mind's eye, and he revelled in the memory for a moment.
"So, if Vlad managed to access that power…" Alistair said.
"He had no control over it," Lukas said. "Even Tino said that he was essentially a berserker, and when we got to him… It didn't look like Vlad at all. And it took a while for him to get better. He also doesn't seem to remember what happened to him during that time."
"…Okay. And here I was hoping that it could be used as a weapon."
Lukas glared at Alistair, who raised his hands. The idea of any of them being used as a 'weapon' did not sit well with Lukas. That was essentially what Nemthys was trying to do with them.
"So, if we're going to rescue Arthur, we're going to need a plan," Patrick said. "And we need to know where to get them. I don't think it would be very smart to wander around."
"Alfred showed me a vision," Lukas said. "Gupta is a prisoner in Loadei Mountain. He'll know how to get to Nemthys's lair, and more importantly, how to get in and out of it. He's done it before."
"Seriously?" Alistair asked. "But, Loadei Mountain is a week's ride away. We can't leave Arthur alone for so long."
Lukas frowned. He was in full agreement. The last thing they wanted was to give Nemthys the time to do what he wanted with Arthur and Vlad.
"I wonder if it would be possible to use the same way I got here to get there," Lukas said. "I think I remember how I did it, but… I need rest."
"No kidding," Patrick said. "You're as pale as a corpse. And we'll need some time to gather supplies, I take it. But what's our plan if we run into any of Nemthys's followers? We can't kill them, remember?"
"Alfred taught me how to access the power of the Ocean Soul. My normal magic is drained, but the jewel's magic is still strong. I don't have a lot of experience with it, but if I can do to them what Vlad did to Raj…"
"And what is it going to do to you?" Alistair asked.
"I have no idea. But it's better than nothing. And it looked like Raj was pretty hurt."
"…Then let's hope that it would be enough. Anyway, for now, I think you should get some sleep, and Pat and I will try to make preparations. Call if you need anything."
"Thank you." In truth, Lukas was fighting a losing battle against fatigue. The bit of sleep that he'd gotten when he was unconscious was nowhere near what he needed. "Sorry for using your bed."
"It's fine," Alistair said. "I'm sorry I don't have more room. But the only people that ever visit would be my brothers, and it's not safe for us to stay under the same roof for too long."
"But we've been staying together since… Since we came back," Patrick said. "We haven't even had the heart to go back to Dylan's house. And we've only gone by to Arthur's house to do a little dusting."
Lukas swallowed. If he had to be honest, then he would have preferred to spend the night in Arthur's home. But how would he even be able to say that to Arthur's brothers? And what would their reactions be to the news?
He was too tired to think about it.
"We'll leave you to get some rest," Alistair said. "It was obviously a long day."
"Thank you," Lukas said. He watched them leave, before he lay down on the pillow. After sleeping beside Arthur and Vlad for so long, the room felt too empty. "I promise, I'll get the two of you back."
…
Vlad opened his eyes, a relieved smile threatening to break on his face. He couldn't afford to smile. Not with Nemthys and his followers nearby.
But at least he knew that Lukas was safe. Lukas felt warm and secure and tired. But he was safe. Vlad didn't know how it happened, but Lukas had managed to escape. And as long as he remained safe, then Vlad couldn't find a reason to complain.
"Master, forgive me."
Vlad jumped. He recognised that voice. He shared a look with Arthur before they both turned to look at the man kneeling before Nemthys's throne. Roderich was back without Lukas. Vlad almost felt sorry for Roderich. Almost.
"What happened?" Nemthys growled.
"Lukas somehow escaped," Roderich said. "He was already gone when I arrived on that island, and I searched the surrounding areas. I could find no trace of him. I fear that he might be…"
Nemthys looked over towards Vlad and Arthur, who quickly looked away. Vlad swallowed the fear, and he was glad that he was the one that could sense their emotions, and not Lukas. He didn't want Lukas to feel what he was feeling.
"No, he's not dead," Nemthys said. "The two of them do not show any indication that he is gone."
Footsteps approached them, and Vlad tried not to tremble as Nemthys stopped in front of him. He flinched when Nemthys grabbed his head.
Pain. Vlad had never known pain such as that which assaulted his skull. He screamed, a sound that was painful to his own ears. He could have sworn he heard Arthur saying something, but he could not make out the words. Visions flitted through his mind, faster than he could even comprehend. He could see a night sky, the ocean in front of him, then…
Blue. That was all he could see for a while.
Nemthys released his head, and Vlad whimpered as the pain faded. He couldn't see the figure in front of him, the tears obscuring his vision.
"What did you do to him?" Arthur shouted.
"Something happened," Nemthys said, ignoring Arthur. "Vlad's ability to sense Lukas is very limited, from a certain point. All I know is that Lukas is alive, and he thinks he's safe. He's sleeping, it would seem."
Vlad trembled as Nemthys walked away. He couldn't even dry his tears, and he slumped against the chair.
"We will try again once Lukas is awake," Nemthys said. "For now, I want you all to search the area of his hometown. There might be a clue there. He shouldn't know how to travel great distances with magic."
"There are books in his house," Tino said. "He might have gone to retrieve some of those."
"Then see if there are any missing. I want all of you to find him. Use any means necessary. I cannot find him on the orb. Something is blocking my power. Roderich, do you want to avoid punishment?"
"Y-yes, Master?" Roderich asked.
"I want you to pay a visit to Arthur's brothers. Kill them."
"No!" Arthur shouted, struggling in his bonds.
"They should not have any other allies. Get rid of them."
"It will be done," Roderich said.
Arthur slumped in his seat, trembling. Vlad could sense his anguish, and he wanted nothing more than to take Arthur into his arms to comfort him. He glared at the restraints. If not for these, then he would have done so. He wondered if it would be possible to unleash that power he'd used a few days ago, if only he knew how to do that.
A shuffling sound caused him to look up. Entering the room was a figure that was almost completely black, and Vlad felt a sick thrill when he realised that it was Raj. Raj's gaze flickered towards them, but he continued to shuffle towards his master. Despite their immortality and their ability to heal, it would seem that Vlad had done a lot of damage.
"Ah, I see that you're at least able to walk around," Nemthys said. "However, you're nowhere near ready to go out on an assignment."
"Forgive me, Master," Raj rasped. Even his voice was damaged.
"We only need one more. But come along. I will speed up your healing."
Vlad tensed when Nemthys stopped in front of him. He flinched when Nemthys stroked his cheek, before slashing it with one of his claws. Compared to the pain he felt earlier, this was considerably better. Vlad watched as Nemthys took his bloody claw and brought it to Raj, who licked the blood off of Nemthys's claw. Bile rushed up Vlad's throat when he saw that.
"Thank you, Master," Raj rasped.
"Now, go and rest," Nemthys said. "Let the blood of the one that injured you rejuvenate you."
Raj shuffled out of there, and Nemthys turned back to Vlad and Arthur.
"Once Lukas joins us, I can regain my strength," Nemthys said. "So, speak among yourselves all you like. You won't have the time when your life drains away."
"Monster," Arthur spat.
Nemthys chuckled.
"Soon enough, you will be screaming in beautiful agony," Nemthys said. "Enjoy your feeble attempts to insult me as much as you want. I won't even punish you. Do you know why?"
"…Because what you're going to do to us will be punishment enough," Vlad muttered.
"Exactly. And with you three giving me the most trouble out of all your previous incarnations, this time will be especially enjoyable."
Nemthys turned around and left. Vlad idly wondered if Nemthys had to sleep too. Because exhaustion pulled at Vlad, but he was too afraid to even attempt to sleep.
"Well, we managed to get something out of that," Arthur muttered.
"And that is?" Vlad asked.
"Nemthys is in a weakened state. And I'm sure that the time they wasted trying to get us isn't helping him."
"And what does that even matter?"
"I get the feeling that he can't drain our power unless he also has Lukas. If we can somehow get out of here before that… By the way, do you have any idea what Lukas is feeling right now?"
"He's relaxed. He feels safe, wherever he is."
Arthur sighed.
"That's at least one good thing," he said. "But he doesn't know what's going on. He might do something stupid in an attempt to rescue us. Or worse, he might go willingly with Nemthys's followers if it means he can be with us again."
"Do you think he'll do that?" Vlad asked.
"He said he's in love with us. I think that it's very possible. Thinking about the stupid things my brothers did for the people they fell in love with…" Arthur winced. "I'm worried about him. By the way, what exactly did Nemthys do to you earlier? It sounded painful."
"It was. I saw visions. I don't know what exactly he was doing, but everything ended in blue."
"…Could it be that he was trying to use you to find Lukas? You know, since you can sense our emotions, maybe you could…"
"I guess he might have thought about it. I just… I don't know. I don't like this at all."
"I agree. But what can we do? We're trapped here, and we're not likely to get any allies here."
Vlad bit his lip. Arthur was right. This was just like his first days as a slave. He recalled the desperation when he tried to find someone who would act as a friend, only to be disappointed at every turn. At best, he would just be ignored, and at worst, he would be beaten. Vlad had learned early on that it would be better to keep his head low and keep to himself.
He didn't want to go back to those days, even if it meant keeping Arthur or Lukas safe. But just as before, there was no way out for him, and he knew that he would never escape from this place alive. He whimpered, and he wanted nothing more than to have Arthur reach out to him and tell him that things would be alright. But he could tell that Arthur needed comfort just as much as he needed it. Perhaps more.
…
He looked over towards the other two figures slumped in the chairs similar to his own. They were given a brief respite while Nemthys went to rest. In a few hours, they would suffer again.
"Are you okay?" It was Gilbert that asked it, and he could do nothing but nod, even if it was a lie. "Great. Just keep your chin up."
"We can't do this for much longer," Toris said. "I can feel my life slipping away." His voice sounded so scared, so unsteady. "A-and no one will miss us. M-my brothers, my friend…"
"At least your brother isn't a traitor."
"And I have no idea what happened to Matthew," he said. "I hope he managed to escape."
They all looked up when they heard a shuffling sound, but even if they weren't restrained, they couldn't do anything about it. He used to be muscular, but now he was small. He felt like a child of fourteen again, and he hated feeling so weak.
A figure emerged from the darkness, and it took him a long time to recognise the figure. But instead of feeling happy, he felt cold dread. What was he doing there? Did he betray him, just as Gilbert's brother betrayed him? And when he saw the second figure walking behind the first, he tensed further.
Matthew ran over towards him, concern in his blue eyes as he took his face into his hands.
"Alfred!" Matthew whispered. His voice was normally quiet, but this time, it was a clear whisper. "Gods, what did he do to you?"
"Why are you here?" Alfred asked.
"I came to save you, of course." Matthew looked around at Toris and Gilbert. "I'm here to help all three of you."
"No. You shouldn't be here. You're in danger."
"He is asleep," the other person said. "And the others usually stay out of here if He's not here. But we need to hurry."
Alfred narrowed his eyes.
"Why would you even help us?" Alfred asked. "You're one of them."
"Not of my own volition."
"Gupta is trying to help," Matthew said. "Please, Al. We can trust him."
"…Something happened between you," Gilbert said. "…I think we can trust them."
Gupta moved to undo the restraints while Alfred glared at him.
Lukas's eyes snapped open. Somehow, he had watched Alfred's memory of the day he and the others escaped from Nemthys. He recognised the look that Gupta had in his eyes when he was close to Matthew. The two of them were in love with each other, but obviously, Matthew had died a long time ago. He wondered if he could convince Gupta to tell him the story.
But thoughts of that would have to wait. Something had stirred him from his sleep. He could sense a presence in that house that did not belong. He forced himself up, before he stood. It was dark, but he could somehow see everything clearly. He wondered if it had anything to do with the jewel's power. As quietly as he could, he made his way to the door, but before he could open it, someone else did. The two stared at each other for a few seconds in shock as each tried to absorb what they were seeing.
"You?" Roderich whispered.
Lukas snapped out of his shock, before he sent a blast of ice towards Roderich, pushing him back. Roderich made a loud noise when he collided with the opposite wall, and ice soon encased his body. Lukas kept his gaze firmly on Roderich as he approached. He knew that Alistair and Patrick would come to investigate, so he only needed to focus on his enemy.
Roderich shook his head, before he looked down at the ice that encased him. He glared up at Lukas, only for his eyes to widen as he seemed to actually see Lukas.
"How did you…?" he asked. "Your eyes…"
Lukas knew that his eyes were glowing, and he relished the fear that his enemy showed him.
"I know that I'm the Ocean Soul," Lukas said. "And I know how to use that power."
