Chrome Shelled Hetalia

Chapter 12: Cedere

"Shhh!" Feli immediately shushed him. "We can't talk here; it's too dangerous. We need to get back to the lab. Now."

"But there are several—"

"I know." Feli pulled back the side of his jacket to show a hastily wrapped injury, which was now bleeding profusely through the makeshift bandages due to the earlier elbow to the gut. "I got attacked earlier. All the more reason to get somewhere safe. That really hurt, you know." Feli held his gut tenderly as he quickly set his busted nose with a wince.

"Sorry... but it's really your fault for sneaking up on me." Matthew shrugged.

"Cold, man." America winced.

"I'm Canada. Cold is kinda my thing."

"Well... I suppose I did have it coming..." Feli admitted with a wince.

"You okay?" Matthew asked, looking at Feli's bleeding side.

"Yeah, just a gunshot wound..." Feli paused, tilting his head. "Actually... I can't really feel my nation. This could be a problem."

"You what?!" Matthew choked. "What the hell do you mean you can't feel your nation?!"

"Oh, um... I don't really know how to explain this... Let's just say I've got some connection issues and leave it at that for now."

"Connection issues? You're not a smartphone."

"A... oh yeah... that's a thing." Feli chuckled a bit, before wincing and clutching his side a bit more. "Okay. No laughing."

"We need to get that tended to..."

"No time. We have to get out of here before—"

"Leaving so soon?" A woman's voice echoed from the shadows of the building, causing Feli and Matthew to whirl around in surprise.

"Shit. They've found us." Feli cursed under his breath.

"Indeed we have, Feliciano Vargas. You're quite the hard man to track down." She stepped into the light, revealing a young woman in her mid to late twenties with dark red hair, yellow eyes, and pale skin.

"How do you know me?" Feli's eyes narrowed into golden slits.

"Oh, we have our ways... You won't stop us. Time may be on your side, but we've got the power of the gods on ours."

"The... gods?" Matthew echoed, confused.

"Allow me to demonstrate." She smirked, approaching the two at a leisurely pace. Feliciano made to draw his gun, but the woman shook her head, her eerie yellow eyes twinkling with amusement. "Oh, I wouldn't move too fast, if I were you."

Matthew stiffened when he noticed movement on the roof next to them. A sniper.

"We've got you surrounded. One wrong move, and this rooftop will be covered in your brain matter." She walked right up to the edge of the building, before gesturing down at the crowd of people. "See that? Look at all the people down there. Why, it would be a shame if someone were to... say... open fire on them."

"You wouldn't!" Matthew growled.

"Oh, we would." She smirked, raising her left hand into the air. She made a signal, and several rounds were released into the crowd. The panicked screams of hundreds made the nations cringe.

"We are gods, here." The woman smirked. With a flick of her wrist, the gunshots ceased. A twist of her hand signaled one man. He stood from the rooftop, holding out a hand before him, before releasing a concentrated blast of Kei energy into the crowd, killing dozens instantly.