[A/N: Hey!! Hope you guys are ready :)
Just to clear up any confusion, no, this isn't the last chapter of the entire fanfic. I've just divided the story into three parts and this chapter will be the final one for Part 1. Part 2 will focus more on the 2ps, and many more of them will be introduced in that part of the story.
Not only are my finals are coming up next week, summer is just around the corner and I'll definitely be using that time to write. I'm going to take a break starting today, and when I return in September or October I'll do my best to update more on a regular basis. There'll be no more major chapters until then, but maybe I'll return in July with a short story and some art of my own.
Thanks for understanding <3 Have a lovely rest of your day and please don't come after me if I -hypothetically- end this chapter with a cliffhanger lol ;)]
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"We must accept the end of something in order to build something new."
-Unknown
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|Italy's POV|
"Just a little longer, England. It's okay, you're going to be okay."
Adjusting myself so I could continue carrying his weight, England's side presses into mine. In response to my optimistic statement, all he could come up with was a light smile.
That amused smile stood out from his distressed facial features. His wrinkled forehead, chapped lips and the uneven rising and falling of his chest worried me; but what was really terrifying was how pale he looked.
And I know you're thinking, hey of course he's pale, he's literally a British man. However, I'm pretty sure he shouldn't be the sickly shade he was now. Perspiration dribbled down his cheeks, but he couldn't stop shaking. He could barely lift his legs, and yet his grip on me was as strong as ever.
Something was wrong, and I was determined to get him to (Name).
Speaking of her, the girl came running toward us. She waved, then began to hurry when she saw me supporting England.
Time stopped. First, her legs were moving, and then they weren't.
England screamed. Bones cracked and blood splattered.
The desperate call of her name sent a shiver down my spine. A shadow towered over us, too large to be any human's.
From beneath the rubble, her lips formed a single word.
'Go.'
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|Luciano's POV|
The smooth feeling of wood beneath my fingers was surreal. It was a long time since I've fully experienced any of my senses, which meant that I was out of (Name)'s consciousness.
And that wasn't a good thing.
Getting to my feet, I spotted the other 2ps lying down around me. Logically, I kicked Flavio until he woke up, groaned and didn't move. I then stepped on a part of his scarf, and after he shrieked like a little baby, the others began to wake up.
"Finally. Took you long enough, fratello." I crossed my arms and let out a sigh. "We've got a problem."
My brother rolled over, took one look at my face and stood up. "Yes?" He nodded to Gilen, who quietly joined us. "We're listening."
"The girl's mindscape wasn't able to inhabit all of us, which means that something bad has happened to her and she isn't able to even think." Pacing across the hallway, I spilled my thoughts onto the two. "A few seconds ago I tried to contact her, but all I heard was static. We exited her consciousness and now we're able to interact with our environment, through ourselves and not through her anymore."
"So...that's a good thing. We can continue with our plans." Flavio stated.
"Actually..." I trailed off, grumbling to myself.
Gilen grabbed my arm, stopping me from pacing. "What is it?" He asked.
"The plan..just doesn't make sense anymore. It's too risky. I've already gained her trust. Plus, there's some sort of other force that's working against us. It's not just us and the 1ps anymore." I explained.
"Then what do you want to do?" Gilen's gaze leveled with mine. "You are our leader, after all."
"Whatever shall we do? We worked so hard to control ourselves around (Name), and now that poor dear is hurt somewhere in this mansion!"
When I didn't answer, Gilen glanced at me and sighed. "Luciano. Anything?"
I gulped. For once in my damn life, I didn't know what I wanted. Betray her trust? Blindly search for her and get nothing in return? Pursue our plan to get revenge on the 1ps?
"Nevermind, it's fine, I've got an idea." Gilen walked over to Lutz and Kuro, who were slumped against the wall, still unconscious. "Flavio stays with these two while you and I search for (Name)."
Huffing, my diva brother adjusted his blue scarf and frowned. "Why does it have to be me?"
"Because I don't want to deal with these idiots when they wake up. They'll just yell at me and go on another killing spree." Bending his knees, he flicked his finger against his brother's head. "Your annoying, stubborn attitude is better than my indifference and hatred of confrontation."
Flavio blinked and said, "I don't know whether to feel insulted or flattered."
"You'll figure it out." Gilen rolled his eyes and began to walk. "You coming, boss?"
"...Yeah."
—-
|Reader's POV|
I awoke to the aching, hollow sound of nothingness.
Everything was a blinding white. I squinted and anxiously looked around. My panic did not rise solely due to the fact that I was unable to see anything at all, it was that my eyes felt incredibly irritated-the absence of color made them itching to recognize something beyond the vast emptiness surrounding me.
It was then that darkness pierced my vision.
Long, ebony hair billowed behind her straight back, tossing its flawless waves of pitch black into messy perfection. She reminded me of a knight without the armor; her posture was precise, her shoulders broad and she was well-built but lean at the same time. Her stern gaze cut through the monochrome like a paint brush against a blank canvas, leaving me absolutely breathless.
"Who are you?"
"I am but a shadow...yours, actually." The girl replied swiftly and without hesitation.
As she circled me, she let out soft giggles and smiled icily. Her every movement was airy and effortless, as if she were a fleeting ghost.
"That's how I shall unfortunately remain..."
A tense stillness fell upon her lips, echoing through the chilling, murky atmosphere between us.
"For now."
If alarms could sound in real life, this would be the time.
I'm joking, obviously, but in the moment I was honestly terrified. She couldn't be one of the countries, so then she isn't a 2p. I would've assumed she's a 2p, but unlike everyone else, she doesn't impulsively react with physical violence.
Instead, all of the malice and hostility resides in her actions and expressions. Her stone cold, unwavering dark eyes and the tone of her spiteful voice triggers every fight or flight reaction in my body, but with nowhere to run, I'm forced to sit still and gain as much information as I can.
"I see you've gained a lot of your memories, and I suppose I shall congratulate you for that." She gave two dramatic slow claps and stopped with a grin. "Have you ever wondered where the rest are?"
The question caught me off guard. My face twisted in surprise, but I was quick to banish it. However she was even quicker and, of course, took note of this.
"Yes, I know, dear. You feel as if something's missing, a final piece of the puzzle. There is. Right in here." As serious as ever, she lifted her pointer finger and gave her own head a tap.
"Wha-"
"But nevermind that."
I opened my mouth to speak, but her gaze snapped to me and I mechanically shut my jaw. It was impossible to explain how I felt in that situation, but helpless is a good place to start. The frustration pent up inside me over her not elaborating and me not knowing where the heck I was was great.
My breathing grew shallow as her words began to sink in. She was right, even after I got certain memories back when the clocks we found in some rooms were smashed, I felt incomplete. No one would give me the answers I so desperately craved. Not Italy, not that voice that visits me sometimes when I'm unconscious-no one.
"Where your memories are doesn't matter, what's really important is the answers to your questions. You think that you have to go solo to do this, that you can't trust anyone." She said, voicing my exact thoughts.
"You are never alone."
Without even thinking, a surge of hope filled me. Maybe...just maybe...
"I could help you. Things are confusing, I understand." Her hand caressed my head, the other resting on my shoulder. "You are looking for what you need, right?"
"..Yes."
"Then listen to me." She whipped in front of me and tightened her grip. "Just hear me out. I'm the only one that knows where you are right now. I'm the only one that knows the life you lived before this wretched place. Don't you want to know, (Name)?"
"H-How do you know my name?"
"Why wouldn't I know the name of my own sister?"
"You?" I smacked her hand away. "How dare you say that? I know who my sister is. Her name was Alexandra. I loved her, and she loved me. Who are you to say something like that?"
"Ahaha, yes. I almost forgot about that." She only smiled sadly and looked off into the distance. "Your replacement sister. The girl that found you after you barely escaped that god forsaken demon."
"Replacement? Demon?" I whispered in bewilderment.
She said nothing, only hovering her hands over mine. A moment passed and a clock appeared in front of me, ticking away. Each sound echoes off the invisible walls and irritates me to no end.
"You know what you need to do."
I nodded, staring blankly at the second hand as I watched it move. She was right. I wanted my memories-I needed them.
Raising it over my head, I held my breath and gaped as the clock came crashing down. Vivid images immediately flooded my head, one after the other.
I was running away. Someone stopped me. The next thing I knew, a knife zoomed past my face and cut my neck, leaving the longest, most prominent scar along my collarbone. After escaping death, I continued to run, and run until I was in another person's arms.
Experiencing those memories reminded me of how intense an orchestra gets when it leads up to the climax. The conductor's arms are thrashing and waving, and the bows fly rapidly along the strings. When the knife met my neck, the blood that trickled down my skin in that moment felt like a dream.
Then all of a sudden it all...stopped.
Seconds after my heart began wildly thumping against my chest from the eerie silence, a firm hand grasped my shoulder. I jumped, my head snapping in her direction. A flicker of amusement crossed her previously emotionless expression, and a smirk rose from her pursed lips.
"It's alright, it's alright." Her arms wrapped around my head and she cradled me in her chest. No matter how much she shushed me and caressed my hair, the bile in my throat was only building up.
She seemed entertained at how much I trembled, how the space I was in suddenly felt so small, how the air was much too suffocating. My vision blurred and tears rushed down my face.
It was a mistake, everything was a mistake. Why did I trust her?
Why did I trust him?
"Who hurt you? Do you know now?"
"Vargas." I spat out. Every word was seething in poison and pain.
"It was....it was Luciano."
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A whisper...no.
A warning.
"fOoLiSh, fOoLiSh NaTiOnS.
ThErE iS OnLy oNe wAy To FiNd yOuR PrOtECtOr oF fLaMeS.
SeEk tHe DeMoN oF iCe.
CoMe AnD pLaY A HaRmLeSs gAmE oF HiDe AnD SeEk WiTh Me...
bEfOrE YoUr LiTtLe SaViOr'S FiRe DiEs OuT."
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||END OF THE GUIDE TO THE PROTECTOR, PART 1 OF THE PROTECTOR'S TRILOGY||
||PART 2, THE PROTECTOR AND HER DEMONS, WILL RETURN SHORTLY||