Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia.

Chapter 14

"Dude, you definitely have the 'creepy butler' bit down," Alfred said. He didn't want to admit that Arthur's appearance had caused his heartbeat to spike the way it did.

Arthur narrowed his eyes. Apparently, he didn't like that observation.

"Why are you in master Romulus's study?" Arthur demanded.

"The house brought us here," Marcello explained. "We were trying to go to the library. It… usually doesn't send us this astray."

Arthur nodded.

"I have noticed that there is something different as well," he said.

"What happened here?" Lovino asked. "We know that Feliciano got mad earlier, and now our father isn't in his study. I'm guessing it's not a coincidence."

Arthur's gaze flickered towards Alfred and Jason and he sighed.

"How much do they know?" Arthur asked.

"They know everything," Lovino said. "Including the name and appearance of the servant."

"I see…"

"…You tried to chase us away," Jason said. "But once you saw Matt, you changed your mind."

"Yes. Someone who looks and sounds just like him, and who even has the same name… I knew that it was significant."

"And Feliciano found him, and he's been with him the whole night," Lovino said. "You said that this would be an interesting night. What did you expect to happen?"

Arthur sighed.

"I hoped that he would be the key," Arthur said. "I hoped that master Feliciano would be satisfied, and the darkness that keeps us here would fade, and we can all find our peace."

"And if it doesn't happen?" Alfred asked. "I mean, our Mattie is not the other Matthew. Just because they look and sound the same doesn't mean they are the same. And if Feliciano figures it out, what then? He ends up killing Mattie so that he can become his lover's replacement?"

"If that is what's necessary, then I can be satisfied with that."

"Why, you…"

"Let's get back to what happened here earlier," Marcello interrupted. "Arthur, Alfred and Jason are trying to find out what happened to the servant on that night. Did you know that there was an auction here that night?"

Arthur flinched and closed his eyes.

"I suspected," Arthur said. "When master Romulus ordered a lightening of the physical punishments, I started to suspect. He was quite beautiful, and for some people, it can increase his value. Then, when master Romulus's business associates came to his study that night, and he ordered me to keep others away, I knew. I just couldn't do anything to stop it."

"You know that your boss was a bad guy," Alfred said. "So, why did you stick around?"

"Ironically, he asked me the same question all those years ago." It took Alfred a while to understand that Arthur was referring to the other Matthew. "I used to have a son. My wife died when he was a baby, and when my son was ten, he was murdered. It was easy enough to learn who had done it, but… due to a miscarriage of justice, they walked free. Years later, it came out that the judge had no problem taking bribes. And so, I sought someone else that could help."

"Why do I get serious mobster vibes?" Jason asked.

"You know of at least some of my father's business," Lovino asked. "Is it any surprise that he would do something like this?"

"Fair point."

"So, after you went to my father for help, you owed him a 'favour'," Lovino continued, turning to Arthur. "Am I right?"

"I had to work as his butler," Arthur said. "I wasn't the same as the other servants, but I also couldn't resign. If I ever did… Romulus Vargas had protection. I did not. It would be too easy for him to 'discover' that I had something to do with the… disappearance of those men. It would be an easy conclusion, given what happened to my son."

"…If Feliciano attacks you with the darkness, does it hurt?" Alfred asked.

"Extremely," Lovino said.

"Good. Because I'm starting to think that your dad deserves every bad thing that could possibly happen to him."

"He avoided justice in life," Arthur said. "And someone that he hurt managed to punish him in death. And it happens to be a son. For someone who values the family name, it's ideal."

"…So, what did you do that night, before the other Matthew was discovered? I'm not saying the butler did it, but I just want to know what you were up to."

"After the… auction, I stayed close to Romulus. It was custom for me to stay close to him during social events. As horrible as Romulus Vargas is, I can confirm that at the very least, he didn't kill his son's lover."

"Do you know anything about Mathias Kohler?" Jason asked.

Arthur's face darkened.

"I assume you know about his history with that man?" Arthur asked.

"Yao told us," Alfred said. "He also told us that you helped keep him away from the other Matthew."

"I tried, at least. But Kohler… I think he developed an obsession. He was rich, like all of Romulus's associates. And he was also very much like a child."

"In other words, he doesn't like being told that he can't have something," Marcello said. "And if he was denied access to a servant, who he would consider to be beneath him…"

"He didn't take it well. I know for a fact that several times when he was here, he actively went looking for the boy."

"So, after he lost the auction, it wouldn't be too weird for him to find out where Francis took the other Matthew…"

"Francis? As in, Francis Bonnefoy? That lecherous, shameless…"

"It turns out that the servant was Francis Bonnefoy's son, who was kidnapped as a toddler," Marcello interrupted. "He only became part of my father's circle in order to look for him. He found out that the kidnapper sold his son into slavery."

Arthur blinked, and all the insults he had for Francis died on his lips.

"Are… are you serious?" Arthur asked. "I… I hadn't even realised he had a son. I heard that his family had a tragedy, but I never heard the details… I just thought that he was this infuriating…" Arthur's eyes widened. "For his safety, I always made sure that he was out of sight when Romulus's associates would come for a visit. Not only Kohler, but… most that I knew had a reputation of not keeping their hands to themselves. If Bonnefoy were to see him years earlier…"

"Then a lot of this could have been avoided," Lovino said. "Shit."

"I don't get it," Alfred said.

"It's simple," Marcello said. "Francis could have seen the servant and recognised him as his son years before the party. He could have then tried to get him, either by exposing their relation to my father, or buying him. And he and Feliciano wouldn't have been caught. Depending on when he and Feliciano started their relationship, they could have worked around it. Francis was clear that he didn't have a problem with them being together. And if it happened before Kohler saw him…"

"No, I started to keep him away after his encounter with Kohler," Arthur interrupted.

"Okay, so maybe not before Kohler saw him. But if he wasn't a servant here, and if the auction didn't happen…"

"Then the other Matthew wouldn't have been killed, and then Feliciano wouldn't have killed everyone else," Alfred finished.

"We were trying to get to the library to speak to Kohler's friends," Lovino said.

"Are you sure it's wise?" Arthur asked. "After all, some of the others who stay in the library do not handle the living so well. And the Adoum siblings are also there, the last time I checked. They especially wouldn't be happy to see anyone living, or that you're with them."

"You're right. That's not going to go well."

"Are they more friends of your father?" Jason asked.

"No. Remember when we said that there were other living people that came to the manor? Well, they were two of them. A brother and sister, running away from an abusive family together. The brother is huge, while the sister is tiny. Anyway, they got caught up in all of this, and Feliciano told them to figure out what happened. But during their investigations, they ended up dying."

"How did they die?" Alfred asked.

"Remember our warnings. They weren't lucky enough to have an angry Feliciano to scare someone who went unhinged. Now they're stuck here, like the rest of us, resentful because their lives ended when they were finally on the path to make a positive change."

Alfred grimaced.

"Any idea where we can find Kohler?" Marcello asked.

"He was outside, the last time I saw him," Arthur said. "That was a while ago, though."

"So, let's look for him outside," Alfred said.

"That's not going to be so easy. The estate is large, and Kohler has a habit of wandering around."

"Then we'll just have to get lucky. The tricky part is going to be to get him to admit that he killed the other Matthew."

"You're sure it's him?"

"All of the clues point in his direction. And he had an obsession with the other Matthew, right?"

"Yes, I suppose you could say that."

"Come on. Let's see if we can find the guy."

Alfred turned around and stalked towards the door. He opened it, hoping to see the outside, and froze.

"Um, this is outside, but can we try our luck again?" Alfred asked.

"If it leads outside, why would you want to try your luck again?" Lovino asked.

"…It's the graveyard, isn't it?" Jason asked.

Alfred nodded. Outside the door was the graveyard. It was night on the other side of the door, but there was no hint of the rain. Instead, fog rolled over the graveyard. He wondered if the house or whatever it was that did all of this decided to be extra creepy about it.

"Looks like we're going to the graveyard," Marcello said. "Everything will be fine."

"…Next time, we're staying in the car," Alfred said.

"We've spent the whole night with ghosts," Jason said. "It's just a bunch of rocks. Get over it."

"Just a bunch of…?" Arthur muttered.

"Al, the graveyard can't hurt you, and the ghosts are relatively harmless, and don't look spookier than normal people. Let's just find that asshole and finish this."

Alfred took a deep breath and nodded. He knew that Jason had a point, but that didn't change the fact that he needed to go into a graveyard.

"Alright," he said. He turned to Lovino and Marcello. "Are you two coming?"

"Of course," Marcello said. "You'd be lost without us."

"We were waiting for you to get your shit together," Lovino muttered.

Alfred winced. He knew that Lovino had a point, and he knew that they were all right about the graveyard. It was just that some things were hard to get over. Alfred took a deep breath, before he stepped outside.

…

Matthew groaned, before he opened his eyes. He stared at the ceiling for a long time. Two people's memories coalesced in his mind. He remembered that he was Matthew Jones, and that he and his brothers had sought shelter in the Vargas Manor during a storm. But he also remembered the life of Matthew Williams, a servant who fell in love with his best friend and was punished for it.

It was as though he was looking at one, stencilled on top of the other. He couldn't quite tell where one ended and the other began. And there was another thing he realised: the two of them had the exact same age.

Matthew wasn't one to believe in fate, but he didn't think that it was a coincidence that he and his brothers ended up outside the Vargas Manor on this of all nights. It was as though it was destiny for them to have found this place. But that also brought a few other concerns, namely, what would happen if he reached the hour of Matthew Williams's death?

"You're awake! Thank goodness!"

The voice caused a pang in Matthew's chest, though he wasn't sure which Matthew it was. He turned towards Feliciano, who was watching him with teary eyes. Instinctively, Matthew reached out to wipe the tears away.

"How long was I out?" Matthew asked.

"A while," Feliciano said. "Time can get a bit uncertain when the house is like this."

Matthew remembered what happened with Romulus, and he could remember that Feliciano caught them. What happened after that was a blank.

"Where's your father?" Matthew asked.

"He won't hurt you for the rest of the night," Feliciano said. "I heard what you said to that… monster. About how he threatened my Matteo."

Matthew nodded.

"He didn't kill him," Matthew said. "I… I got his memories. You two used to play chess a lot. And you both would purposely try to lose so that the other could win."

Feliciano smiled.

"Yes," he said. "It took a while for Matteo to learn the game, but once he did, he was better at it than me. But I still had my victories."

Matthew's mouth twitched in a small smile.

"He really loved you," Matthew said. "And I could tell that you really loved him." Matthew lowered his head. "Feli…"

"Oh, I almost forgot!" Feliciano exclaimed. "Do you need water? That's what they give people after they fainted, right?"

"Um, no, I'm fine. Feliciano… About that night…"

All emotion drained from Feliciano's face. Matthew swallowed. He knew that Feliciano had been waiting for the last hundred years to hear this information. And he knew that it was going to set Feliciano over the edge again.

But Feliciano deserved to know what really happened to the person that he loved. And so Matthew told him everything. He told him about the auction, and about the conversation with Francis Bonnefoy. Feliciano was surprised to hear that Francis was the other Matthew's father, who had been searching for his son for years. He was also sad to hear that they had a plan that could have brought them together again. It was a lot like the plan they discussed before they were discovered and separated.

And then Matthew told him about what happened after Francis left.

…

"It's cold, right?" Alfred asked with a shudder. "It's not just because this place is creepy."

"No, it's cold," Jason said. "Is it normal?"

"This place is always cold," Lovino said. He stared blankly at one of the tombstones. "You know, this popped up after we died. The graves were empty, but our tombstones were chosen for us. And our bodies were just lying there. We each ended up burying ourselves. Feliciano said that it was no less than we deserved."

Alfred stepped closer. It was hard to see in the dark, but Alfred could clearly see an L on the tombstone. It wasn't hard to imagine that this could have been Lovino's.

"Did the other Matthew have a tombstone too?" Jason asked.

"Right next to Feliciano's," Marcello said. "In the end, their bodies were the only parts of them that could be together."

Alfred was about to say how messed up it was, but something distracted him. It was the sound of something breaking. The others tensed when they heard it, and after a few seconds, they ran in the direction where the sound was coming from. The four of them stopped the moment they saw someone attacking the tombstones.

"What the hell are you doing?" Alfred demanded.

The man turned around. Just like Antonio, he carried an axe in his hands, and he looked just as deranged.

"What's the problem?" the man asked. "These things are going to fix themselves anyway. And I need to blow off some steam."

From the looks of things, he had been blowing off steam for a while. Several tombstones were shattered, with chunks of rock scattered around the area. The man turned towards them and cocked his head to the side.

"You're alive," he said. "Funny. I saw someone else who's alive too. He reminded me of someone."

Alfred's stomach dropped. The man could only be referring to Matthew. Somehow, the idea that he even saw his brother made him angry. It could have had something to do with what this man was doing to the tombstones.

"This is him," Lovino hissed. "This is Mathias Kohler."

Alfred's eyes widened. The man smirked and leaned against his axe. Alfred noted that it wasn't an axe that one would use for chopping wood. No, this was an axe used for war.

"Oh, were you looking for me?" Mathias Kohler asked. "Should I be flattered, or…?"

"What did you do to Mattie that night?" Alfred spat.

"…'Mattie'? What are you… Wait. Are you referring to that slave? Is there any reason why you would refer to him by that nickname?"

Alfred wanted to kick himself. The other Matthew looked like his brother, and according to Marcello and Lovino, sounded like him as well, and had a similar demeanour. And Alfred knew exactly what this man tried to do to the other Matthew. It was easy for him to merge the two Matthews into one, and he felt angry at it all.

"Anyway, why would it even matter?" Mathias asked. "He was just a slave."

Alfred's blood boiled. He'd heard enough of the horrible treatment that the other Matthew had gone through, and to hear the excuses to justify it all…

"A slave that you had an obsession with," Lovino said. "You were desperate to buy him at the auction, but Francis bid higher than you were willing to. And we also know that you went looking for him whenever you came here."

"I don't like it if people deny me things," Mathias said. "But it didn't matter, in the end. I got what I wanted."

Alfred grew cold at the implication. The others realised it as well. But before anyone else could say something, the thunder cracked again, and a harsh wind rose. Mathias's grin faltered as he took a step back. When Alfred looked towards the house, he saw clouds and lightning similar to earlier, when Feliciano got angry. But this time, it was much, much worse.

"KOHLER!"

The Adoum siblings are Cameroon and Seychelles. I wanted them to have an actual scene in the story to hammer it in that not every ghost was killed on the same night, and not every ghost was involved with what happened, but I couldn't find a place to put them in. So they only get a mention.