Author's Note: Merry Christmas everyone! Welcome to the 2023 Christmas special! To be honest, I didn't know where I was going with this at one point. However, I managed to pull it off for the time being. I am going to have to see what I am going to do for the rest of the season. I have a vague idea but that is about it. I had an idea and I just went with it. I need to work more on soulless!Italty. I could do so much with him. (I know that some of you out there are shipping him with Germany already.) Anyway, I struggled with this but I made it work. This is going to be the match of 2023. Next week will be New Year's Day and we will bring in the New Year with the Korean Twins. For now, enjoy this Christmas and see you in 2024!
Match Twenty-Eight: Devil's Birthday:
There's another party coming. Feliciano is holding it at his house. Lately, he's been having some unsavory guests over at his house. Lovino doesn't know how to handle it. Feliciano gave him a dull look.
"What's wrong, brother? You don't like my friends?" he asked. There was nothing in his tone. The flat monotone made Lovino shiver.
"Uh… no, of course not," he lied.
"Why are you lying?" Feliciano asked. His brother froze. The younger Italian man stared at him. There was nothing in his face or eyes.
"I'm not," Lovino said. The younger Italian man said nothing. Instead, he turned and walked out of their room. His brother didn't dare to move. He didn't know how to deal with this strange evil man in his home. He had to go. Lovino just didn't know how to do it.
He was going to need help with this one.
Feliciano's new "friends" weren't going to be the only ones at this party. The other countries were coming too. Imagine their shock when they got the invitations.
"What is this?" Ludwig asked. He didn't know what to make of this. It would be good to see him again. But it wasn't really him. Ludwig is sure that the others feel the same way. But nobody talks about it. They know why. But they just won't say it.
A small bit of hope leaped in his chest. Maybe… Just maybe…
He shouldn't get his hopes up. Ludwig just couldn't help it. Feliciano sold his soul just to save him. That had to count for something, didn't it? Didn't it?
The party was at seven in the evening. Everyone was going to be all dressed up. Lovino looked down at his white suit. His black tie was crooked.
"Here, big brother," Feliciano said. He reached forward and straightened up the tie. His younger brother was smiling but his eyes weren't.
"There, much better," he said. The younger Italian man was dressed up in a fancy black and red pinstripe suit. Lovino looked him up and down.
"Where did you get that suit?" he asked. Feliciano looked down at his body.
"I got it from that new shop in town," he said. His brother gave him a puzzled look.
"Isn't that place expensive?" he asked. "How are you able to afford it?" The younger Italian man shrugged.
"I managed," he said with a wink. Suddenly, the doorbell rang.
"That will be the door," Feliciano said. He hummed to himself as he walked out of the room. Lovino followed behind uneasily.
Johann was the first guest to arrive.
"Doctor!" Feliciano said. "It's so good to see you!"
"Same to you too," Johann said. The men embraced and kissed each other on the cheeks. Lovino stood inches away from them. Something about the doctor looked so familiar…
Johann looked over Feliciano's shoulder.
"Hello Lovino," the German doctor said. the older Italian man looked away from him.
"Hello," he muttered. Johann looked around.
"Where is everyone?" he asked.
"Oh, you're here early," Feliciano said. "The others will be here soon."
"Good to know," the doctor said.
"Make yourself at home," the younger Italian man said. Johann bowed his head and walked into the dining room. Lovino turned to his brother. Feliciano was smiling but it didn't reach his eyes.
The guests started filing in. Feliciano greeted everyone at the door. That calm look on his face was unnerving. It wasn't just the countries. Clowns, demons, gothic people, and more unsavory people started showing up. His friends didn't know what to make of this.
"What is all of this?" Francis whispered. No one had an answer. The Frenchman turned his head. A pale clown with a long neck stared at him. Francis jumped back. The clown tilted his head to the side.
"Helloooo," it said in a low voice. Francis blinked at the long-necked clown.
"Uh… hi…" the French man said. The clown's makeup was running down its pale face. The face and neck looked like a cloth mask.
"How are youuuu?" the clown asked.
"Fine?" Francis asked.
"Francis! There you are!" a voice shouted. The French man turned to see Antonio jogging up to him. He put his arm around his shoulders. Francis breathed out. The long-necked clown looked at Antonio.
"Helloooo," it said again. Antonio nervously laughed.
"Uh… We're going to go over here," he said. The Spanish man took Francis with him. The clown didn't move. Instead, it stretched its neck from side to side.
"What kind of party is this?" Ju asked as she looked around. This did not look like a normal Christmas party. Yao stayed close to her. Both had the idea to quietly slip away. The question was when. They started scanning the room for exits. Ju already had her phone by her side.
There was one country missing. However, no one spoke her name. Still, there were small glances to the side. They didn't forget. Only Johann and Feliciano knew the truth. The Italian man took a sip of his red wine.
"You think she will show up?" he asked.
"I don't know," Faust said. "That will depend on them." Feliciano thought about that for a moment.
"I guess so," he said. He took another sip of his wine.
What kind of party was this? There weren't any Christmas decorations around. Black and red covered the living room. Something about the whole house didn't feel right. The lights looked so dim. There was no music playing in the background. Despite the guests everywhere, it felt like a tomb. Lovino sat off to one corner. He refused to participate.
"This is not my brother," he said to himself. Lovino tried not to pay attention to the presence next to him. He gritted his teeth. Another clown stood next to him, grinning. The older Italian man downed his drink. He wasn't drunk enough for this.
"Where's the music?" Alfred asked. "Where's the food?" Feliciano chuckled.
"Patience, Alfred," he said. "We're only getting started." He looked like he was looking for someone as he spoke. Meanwhile, Ju looked over at the front door.
So what was the point of this? Why were they doing this? The countries didn't have any answers. Some of them looked like they were ready to leave. Only a small section knew what the real deal was. Kuro decided to cut to the chase.
"Having fun?" Feliciano asked. The dark Japanese man gave him a stern look.
"Why are we here?" he asked. The Italian man raised his eyebrow.
"Whatever do you mean?" he asked.
"Come on," Kuro said. "Out with it. What are you up to?" Feliciano gave him a smirk with nothing in his eyes.
"Heh," was all he said.
"So what is it? What are you planning to do?" Kuro asked. The Italian man played with his glass in his hand.
"You'll see," he said. Kuro frowned as he stared at him.
"There you are, darling!" a woman's voice said. The Japanese man rolled his eyes as his wife cuddled up to his side.
"Ciao, Bella," Feliciano greeted her. "Are you enjoying yourself?"
"Uh-huh," she said. She looked so angelic with her smile. Kuro rolled his eyes. Only he knew her true nature.
There was still one guest not here yet. It wasn't like him to be late. Was he really going to stay away? Nah. That wasn't him. He would be showing up. After all, he did care about him and was really worried about him.
"Heh," Feliciano said to himself. He guessed that it was time for some music.
"Lovino, could you be a dear and turn on the music?" Feliciano asked. His brother's right eye twitched.
"Please?" the host asked. His older brother rolled his eyes.
"Fine," he grumbled. Lovino walked over to the stereo and turned it on. Dark-sounding Christmas music filled the room. Feliciano smiled over his drink.
"Much better," he said. The countries looked confused.
"Okay, this just keeps getting weird," Ju whispered.
"Are you ready to go?" Yao asked. His wife nodded.
"Okay, I will fake a call," he said. "You look for Feliciano and try to give him an excuse." The clan leader gave him a strange look.
"Why do I have to talk to him?" she asked. Yao sighed and dropped his head back.
"Fine, I'll talk to him," he said.
"Thank you," Ju said. She pulled out her phone and pretended to make a call. Her husband looked around for the host of this bizarre party.
They weren't the only ones wanting to leave.
"This is lame," Li Yin said. "Can we go home now?" Ivan said nothing. He kept his eyes on the front door. A demonic looking clown danced over to the couple. Li Yin turned away from the clown's teeth. He held up a sign saying, "Night Visions". Ivan turned and looked at the clown. The creepy creature laughed like a man who had smoked too many cigarettes. The teeth moved up and down.
"Oh come, Chuckles," a voice said behind them. "Leave them alone." The trio looked up. Feliciano seemed to dance over to them. The clown frowned and wandered off to do something else.
"Thank you for coming out tonight," Feliciano said. Ivan squeezed Li Yin's hand.
"My wife and I are about to leave early," he said. "Excuse us." The Italian man raised his eyebrow.
"Why do you want to leave so soon?" he asked. Something about his tone didn't sound right. Li Yin started to back away with big eyes.
"Damn it!" Gilbert screamed. Feliciano turned his attention to him.
"Something wrong?" he asked.
"Why is the door stuck?!" the Prussian man asked.
"Is it?" the Italian man asked. Gilbert whipped around with an irritated look on his face. The host walked over and put his arm around his shoulders.
"Why are you in such a hurry to leave?" he asked. "We're only getting started." Gilbert glared at him as he shoved him off. Feliciano gave him a little shrug. He wandered off back to mingle with his other guests. Now, everybody started to get worried. The host smiled to himself.
There was still one more guest to arrive. Ludwig stared at the invitation in front of him. His heart pounded against his chest when he read the cursive lettering. On the one hand, he wanted to see Feliciano again. He wanted to reach out to him. But something wasn't right. This all screamed trap to him. It wasn't just him invited to this party. Everyone was going.
At first, Ludwig didn't want to go. Instinct screamed at him not to. Something wasn't right about this. This wasn't his Feliciano. That Feliciano was gone. But it didn't have to be that way. He could still get his dear friend back. He didn't know how. Something in him told him that he had to try.
Meanwhile, the party was still going. Some of the clowns were drinking a thick red liquid in champagne flutes.
"How can they drink that?" Laura whispered. "What even is that?" Antonio didn't have an answer. Gilbert sulked over to them.
"I can't get the front door unstuck," he complained. "Why are we even here?" Belgium and Spain thought about that. That was a good questions. Feliciano had invited them over. But why?
"Anyone tried to make a call?" Gilbert asked. Antonio and Laura took out their phones.
"My battery's dead," the Spanish man said.
"Seriously?" Gilbert asked. "Why didn't you charge it before you left?"
"I don't know. I forgot, I guess," Antonio said. He laughed as he rubbed the back of his head. Geilbert gave him a strange look.
"You're joking, right?" he asked.
"Sorry," the Spanish man said.
"And what about you?" Gilbert asked Laura. She looked at her screen confused.
"I'm not getting a signal," she said.
"What do you mean?" the Prussian man asked. He looked at his own phone. He too became confused.
"When did I lose a signal?" Gilbert asked. The three countries stared at each other. They looked up when they heard someone humming. A pale woman in a long black dress waltzed over to them. She held a large glass of wine. That grin on her face looked so…
"Great party, huh?" she asked. Was it normal for teeth to be that white? Prussia, Spain, and Belgium didn't know how to answer. They looked at each other uncomfortably.
Meanwhile, Ju and Yao met up in the kitchen.
"The back door is locked too," Yao said. His wife gave him a puzzled look.
"What do you mean?" she asked.
"It wouldn't open," the Chinese man said. "I tried." Ju frowned.
"That can't be right. What's going on here?" she asked.
"Oh there you!" a familiar voice shouted. The couple looked up to see Vietnam running over to them.
"Vietnam," Ju said. Her sister-in-law took a pause.
"What is with this party?" she asked. "Everything seems so weird. How are you holding up?"
"Not so good…" Yao said. "We haven't been able to leave. I can't even get any signal on my phone." The women looked at him.
"You too?" Vietnam asked. Ju looked at her phone. A confused look came over her face.
"I'm not getting a signal either," she said. They all looked at each other. And then the doorbell rang.
Feliciano perked up in the living room.
"Great! He finally showed up," he said. The Italian man danced his way over to the door. Everyone looked up as he opened it wide. Feliciano smirked when he saw Ludwig standing outside.
"You made it," he said. "Come on in." The corrupt Italian man took a step back. His dear friend stared at him for a long second. It was too late to turn back now. He dropped his shoulders and followed him into the house. Feliciano clapped his hands together. He whistled aloud to get their attention. Everyone looked up. The Italian man stood up on the coffee table.
"Everyone!" he shouted. "Welcome to my party!" He threw up his arms in the air as he broke into a huge manic grin.
"And now we can really begin," Feliciano said. The soulless Italian man threw back his head and laughed long and loud.