(Reader, drawn by me. You can see here the scars on Reader's neck that she typically hides with her scarf, and a few expressions she makes!)
You walked a pace behind Prussia and Japan, watching the small space between them left for you to catch up. Instead of doing so, you watched their tense backs as they looked around and walked ahead.
I will protect you, you thought again as you stared at the duo, trying to wish the promise into a tangible existence, hoping to convince yourself that this time, it would ring true.
Despite your years of experience, doubt pierced your stomach. You had seen each one of your new allies die so many times- how could you make any difference? Would your determination and drive be enough?
You forced your shaking legs to move faster to catch up with them with them. Just as you did, you caught sight of Germany and Italy waiting down the hall, Germany leaning cooly against the while wall and Italy stood rigidly beside him. Both men straightened when your trio approached.
"Vhat happened?" Germany asked, his eyes flickering to you once before darting between Prussia and Japan.
"Nozhing important. Let's talk about it later," Prussia suggested. His expression was solemn, which seemed uncharacteristic of him. His seriousness seemed to make everyone serious as well. "Now let's head directly to that exit Japan found."
"Right." Germany still seemed curious, but let it go.
"Okay," Italy said, more unwilling. He glanced at you from the corner of his eyes.
When your eyes met, you tried to smile at him, hoping- but for what exactly, you weren't sure. The resulting smile was awkward, but genuine. You felt a rush of embarrassment at how childish and silly you felt, and yet waited tentatively to see how he'd react.
Seeing that he had been caught staring, a sheepish smile pulled at his lips. His face had colored a warm, endearing shade of pink and his hand lifted to brush back his hair while he looked down self-consciously.
Like usual, the response seemed forged, but still your heart raced beyond control.
Embarrassment, bashfulness, insecurity, elation. How strange. It was like you were experiencing emotions for the first time all over again. This had been happening a lot recently, only since you joined the other men's group- had it only been hours? To say it was overwhelming would be an understatement.
It's not bad though,you thought with care. Just new.
After a second, he made himself look at you again. The color had not yet left his cheeks. "W-will you be okay-a?" Italy asked. After a brief pause, he clarified, "I mean-a, since you just woke up."
Everyone's eyes turned to you. Your body automatically shrunk under the weight of their stares and your hands reached to pull at the bottom of your scarf as an anxious habit before you stood tall again, and nodded. You lifted two thumbs ups in hopes of further convincing their doubtful expressions.
Prussia chuckled. He then told Japan to show the way, which he did. You all trailed after him, silent for a moment.
"So," Prussia began after minute right as you walked into another room. You turned to him, hearing the strange note in his tone. It was obvious that he was talking to you. "If jou're mute, do jou know sign language?"
You thought about that. What defined sign language? You could hand-signal what you wanted in a way that most people could interpret most of the time, but it wasn't exactly a defined language. It was something you just made up for yourself over the years, your own personal language, and everyone who you had befriended after your accident learned a bit of it over time so you could communicate. You parents had not taught you sign language since your lack of voice was caused by the accident that ended them.
A shiver ran through your body at the last thought and you had to force the darkness off of your face before you responded.
You turned so that you were facing him so that he could read your lips. Italy and Japan watched too, while Germany ventured away from the group to explore the room. "Not exactly. I..." Your hand shook from side to side, a common gesture that most people understood as "kind of, sort of". Then you hesitated and lowered your hand. It was hard to say longer sentences- it made the chances of them being able to understand decrease exponentially. But you tried: "I can gesture," you waved your hands around "but I don't know an official language."
Prussia exchanged glances with Italy and Japan. "I... didn't get zhat last part," He admitted reluctantly, a frown on his lips. Then, noting your change in expression, he added, "I guess this happens a lot?"
"Yes." You shrugged good-naturedly, and smiled so he wouldn't think you were offended. The expression came easier this time, more naturally. It surprised you.
"Hmmm."
You felt the subject drop as you entered another door into a colder, dark, stone-lined hallway. Now there were more important things at hand.
Everyone cringed at the putrid odor of the room- it stank of mold and something damp. Germany and Prussia automatically covered their noses in disgust and Japan's and Italy's faces scrunched up. Your expression remained the same.
A wave of nostalgia washed over you. You remembered this room. Bits of memories flicked behind your eyes before the constructed scene collapsed completely apart in your head, leaving you disarmed and confused.
I need to tread cautiously here- my knowledge wont help me now.
Unknown to you, Japan was also deep in thought, thinking about his visions and what Prussia and he had talked about. Since I've glimpsed at so many possibilities... I'm sure the Thing has got stronger. With an enemy that grows progressively stronger...What can I possibly do...?
"Aah, we can finally escape! At long last..." Prussia exclaimed.
"...Yeah." Japan didn't sound very thrilled. You glanced at him from the corner of your eyes.
"You're too slow. I'll just go ahead." Germany said impatiently. You perked up at this, worry washing over your chest. You trailed after him automatically, not wanting anyone to be on their own.
Something about this feels way too familiar, you thought as you walked. Prussia and Japan were right. I need to be on my guard.
"Oh! Germa-" Japan called out. You heard the twinge of fear in his voice and turned around to see his face. As you did, Germany continued down the hall and around the corner, out of sight. You turned around to find him already gone.
Shoot! You ran to catch up to him.
There's no time left. I can't call out to him, nor can I physically stop him. I'm sure our enemy is stronger, too...., Japan thought to himself. Hm? Wait a minute. Our enemy is definitely stronger. Whenever I glimpsed a memory, its strength and speed had increased greatly. He stopped walking. A realization dawned on him.But it wasn't... just the enemy...
"Aaargh!" Germany cried, and you understood, for the terror was right in front of you too.
You grabbed his wrist to yank him back next to you. His wide, horrified eyes met yours slowly, and you felt a stab of fresh fear at his fear. Fear for the men you needed to protect, and fear that you might not be able to.
"Germany!" Italy screamed in panic. You heard his fast footsteps getting closer before he ran right into you, almost knocking you out of balance. He grabbed your arm that wasn't holding on to Germany's to steady you and to pull you back like you had done to Germany.
Italy's frightened gaze found yours like Germany's had, and this time you felt a wave of protectiveness at the familiar expression. It overpowered the fear.
This time, you all won't die. This time, I'l protect you.
You shook off Italy's arm and let go of Germany, and pulled out and raised your weapon threateningly in one swift motion.
It tilted its head at you, its enormous eyes boring into your soul. Though not very expressive, you thought the creature seemed unimpressed.
Prussia and Japan were still around the corner near the door, unaware of what was happening. "Vhat happened? Did jou fall over?" Prussia called out.
"Come here quickly! We're in-a trouble! The rope is burnt and too high-a up now-a!" Italy's voice was strained higher than usual and thick with terror.
"Let's go!" Japan said to Prussia, shooting him a knowing look.
Maybe Prussia was trying to say is that-
Having enough of waiting, you gritted your teeth and ran at the monster, weapon still raised and ready to spill blood.
"Bella(1), no!"
You swung with all your strength down at its abdomen. In retaliation, it scraped its claws downwards toward your body. Down, you told yourself as you rolled to the left and down, out of its way. Now successfully out of its arms' reach, you slashed at its legs causing it to release a horrible cry that sounded like a animal being tortured. It bent down to grab you, but you ran and half-jumped up so that you were behind it and went for a backside attack. It let out another scream and turned around, claws raised. You ducked this time, swiping your head down and to the right before kicking the back of its knees. It fell but got up quickly.
It was clear that the monster had gotten stronger over the years, but so did you. As a child, you were taught that stealth and speed were your biggest advantages, and that you needed to hone them. Now you were extremely agile and quick-thinking, gliding and bounding out of the way of danger with ease. Your weapon was used carefully and sparingly if defense wasn't your focus. Now you were on the offense, and you used to opportunity to release all your hatred and frustration on the creature.
Remember, (Name), you heard your mother's voice say inside your head. It was clearer than it should have been after all these years. You knew it was because she had told you this many times. More than strength, agility, and speed, your brains are your most important weapon. Use them. Focus.
You couldn't count the number of times you had been given this speech on the fingers. (Mother's Name) was a strict mother, stern and usually a bit cold. You weren't sure if she had always been that way or if living in the mansion had changed her. She would give you instructions, and you would have to follow them to a T lest you be punished. It was obviously out of love and concern, but it always hurt you little you deep down inside.
It was funny, though. You would take all the yelling if she could be here today.
For a minute, you saw her and your father in your mind. Your mom's disposition was distant and hard to read, while your dad's was smiling, and reaching out to you. Neither had a face. You pictured yourself raising your arm, reaching for them-
But you couldn't think about that now.
I will, you finally replied, and tucked the pain away.
As the creature was getting up, you smashed your (weapon) down on its head with all your strength. This was the wrong move, as you had thrown out your whole body weight to do that, causing you to lose your balance and fall when it tried to swipe you again. You skidded a bit on the uneven stone floor and felt the dull pain on your legs that was sure to leave a bruise and some scrapes there tomorrow.
Falling on the floor like that made you vulnerable to attack, so you were glad when Germany finally stepped in- only a few seconds had passed- hitting the monster on the shoulder with a thick leather whip, making it release a small shrill shriek. Soon Japan and Prussia showed up behind him and backed him up, attacking It with their swords, causing it to walk backwards in your direction.
Suddenly you jumped, feeling a presence behind you. Someone placed their hands down on your shoulders, hooked their fingers under your arms and dragged you out of the way until your back pressed up against one of the damp walls, a few feet from the battle.
You looked up to see Italy. He wasn't looking at you but instead at the fight, ready to step in.
You grabbed his sleeve, causing him to flinch and look down. Your hand was extended to him, asking for help up.
You didn't know why you asked- you didn't really need the help. But asking had come naturally, as if you unwittingly relied on him to help you. This surprised you, and from the look on his face, it surprised him as well. He only paused a second before pulling you up.
He smiled at you when you stood, more genuinely than he had minutes before, but became abruptly serious when you both turned around again. Together, side by side, you rejoined the fight with his friends.
"Hahah! I see now." You were startled to hear Prussia laugh sardonically. "Zhis is vhat he meant..."
Germany huffed as he threw his arm out again. "It's- it's pretty strong." Another blow. "I can hold it off. Everyone, just run-"
Italy's eyes burned with determination. He shook his head. "All together! That's it! If we-a run, we can still-a make it- all of us-a!"
"J-ja(2)." Germany agreed after a pause. He clearly didn't want to fight it alone after all.
Our enemy maybe tough, but I'm still faster. I can't do this alone. However...
"Japan!" Prussia called, pulling him out of his thoughts. "Come on! And Italy, take (Name) and let's go!"
Italy grabbed your hand before you could swing again. You stared at him wide eyed and he looked at you with a soft sadness and a fierce emotion that you couldn't quite place glowing bright in his eyes. "Come on! Now-a!"
With Prussia distracting the creature, you and Italy were able to maneuver around It. As you both passed him, Italy reached out and pulled him along too. Together you all ran down the hall.
Now, Japan thought, a deep dread encasing him from head to toe.
You stuttered to a halt as you noticed that Germany had fallen behind and tripped on a root- and an old memory dawned on you. This is what Japan and Prussia had been referring to. Germany died before in the past, in those visions, here. Some of the others probably have, too.
As you moved to help him, you noticed Italy's hand holding yours tightly and refusing to let go. You glanced up at him to see what his problem was, when you saw the tortured look on his face.
He wasn't holding you back- he was frozen with fear.
Taken aback, you hesitated.
"Prussia-kun(3)! Wait! Germany-san(4) tripped over a rock!" Japan's sharp voice broke you from your reverie.
"Vest!"
"Sh—! Not in zhis place-" Germany choked in his words as he struggled. "Go! I can't get zhis vine off!"
"Germany!"
Prussia ran down the hall. You finally pulled your hand free and ran after him. Italy's arm automatically reached for you, but you were soon too far away.
You and Prussia were breathing hard as you braced yourselves between Germany and the monster. The albino threw you a bewildered glance, and then grinned.
"Japan!" He shouted. "Have you got your answer yet?!"
You stared at him in shock. What's that about?
Then he turned back to you. "Let's fight, (Name)." You nodded at him and together you ran at the monster, weapons raised yet again.
"Preußen(5)!" Germany whispers. "Vhy?!"
"Hey, Vest! Is zhis really zhe time to wipe zhe floor?"
You laughed along with Prussia, feeling a new sense of camaraderie. The danger wasn't over yet, but you weren't as unmatched as you once thought.
Maybe I- we- can do this after all, you thought. Through the thorns of despair encasing your mind, a bit of light shone through- microscopic and weak as it was.
It was as if your head had broke the surface of water, and you could finally breathe again. Relief mingled with the ever-present pain. There was no hope yet, but you thought you could see it somewhere in the future, not completely out of sight anymore.
Italy ran back to Germany and began to try and help free him from what had trapped his foot. His expression was ashamed. "...I'm sorry," He whispered. "Are you okay, Germany?"
"Italy..."
Ahh, I see. My mistake was to solve everything on my own. And the reason why we kept being defeated was my narrow-mindedness. I didn't observe anyone but the enemy.Japan ran over to the Prussia and (Name), his eyes alight with this newfound understanding.
"This is my answer! The enemy is stronger but so are we. If we arr join forces, we can defeat It!"
A smirk hinted at Prussia's lips. "Hah. Vell done!"
"Jou idiots! Vhy did jou come back?!" Germany yelled, glaring in Prussia's, Japan's and your direction.
"Jou vant to know vhy I came back? Because... I can't zhink of a reason vhy I vouldn't help mein kleiner bruder(6)!"
"YoU...WOn't...ESc...aPe..." The monster hissed over and over. And yet, quickly, the situation had changed in a way that most people wouldn't have been able to recognize.
You knew the signs. It began to grow sluggish and be able to defend itself less and less to your trio's attacks. You took a spur-of-the-moment risk and got closer to it to deliver a final big blow- a large vertical slice that threw out your whole body weight again.
It retaliated quicker than you thought it would, as if in reflex, and you regretted the risk you had taken. It could've been much worse, especially since you weren't fighting alone this time. One of its razor-sharp claws grazed your shoulder. Prussia pulled you out of the way two seconds too late.
You recoiled at the pain. More than that, you felt irritated that you had managed to get hurt at all with more people on your side now. Japan and Prussia both shot you worried glances, to which you waved them off calmly with your good arm.
Just then, Prussia seemed to have a burst of energy and went ballistic on the creature. He swung several times in only a few seconds- you were impressed- dealing major damage.
Finally, it had enough. It began to edge away.
Yes! Japan thought triumphantly. It recoiled a little!
As you were about to go at it again, Prussia's hand on your arm stopped you. He said, "Let's just get out of here! Ve can't physically defeat it!"
Your reluctance was clear. You shook your head in protest. But we cornered it! And together we can-
"Italy?" Germany had finally been freed from the vine on his foot. Italy had helped him up and steadied him, and only now did he catch the expression on Italy's face. The brunet wouldn't meet his gaze and instead kept glancing anxiously toward the dwindling fight. "Jou look pale. Are jou all right?"
Italy blinked rapidly, and made himself turn away from your form. He worried that you would go back into battle if he took his eyes off of you.
"Ehehehe!" He forced out, finally turning to meet Germany's eyes. "I'm fine-a. C'mon, let's-a go back." He turned toward the exit, but could not make himself walk towards it. His feet were frozen in wait.
Thank God! I can't feel completely relieved, but this is still something!Japan thought.
Prussia's eyes were unyielding as he continued to stare you down. "No, jou're hurt, and ve're not winning. Right now ve need to retreat. Alright?"
Though you were relentlessly stubborn, his eyes somehow persuaded you. Your eyes flickered back to the creature, just staring at you menacingly now, before you turned back to him and nodded.
You grabbed Prussia's and Japan's hands and ran after Italy and Germany, who start running as well when they saw your decision to retreat. The five of you burst out of the door into the hall.
In the next hall down was Russia. He raised his eyebrows in confusion when he saw that you had been running. He glanced down toward your and Prussia's and Japan's joined hands with rapt curiosity.
"Oh, you're back. What's the matter?"
Japan was still breathing rapidly. "We can't use that exit! It's been burnt out! We have to run now!"
"I see. Good thing you found me. Let's hurry. The others should be back soon now."
Russia ran with your group further down the hall. You let go of Prussia and Japan's hands when you realized it wasn't very efficient in running. You all ran into France standing further down the hall. Japan quickly restated what he told Russia to France.
France's mouth pulled downward at the new information. His violet eyes were deeply troubled. "Oh, so we can't use it anymore? Too bad. Let's just get away now..."
France led your group out of the hall and into the room with the large table. You caught sight of China at the left side of the table by the door. Italy told him the situation this time. China had a similar reaction to Russia. As Italy explained, Prussia and Japan tried the room's other door.
"It won't open." Japan frowned. "Ret's find some other door!"
"Yes, let's hurry!" China agreed. Then he noticed you and his eyes went wide. He quickly made his way over and touched your shoulder. His hand came away dark with blood. He sucked in a breath and took a step back, muttering something in Chinese under his breath. "I suppose It got you, aru. I will try to patch you up later, okay?"
He seemed to be waiting for you to say something. You nodded at him, and noted the odd twist of his expression. "I'm fine," you finally mouthed after a few seconds, perplexed at his odd response. Your body shifted uncomfortably under his stare.
"Okay," He said eventually, still looking unconvinced. His eyes left you then to help look around the room, much to your relief.
You really didn't mind the pain very much. Your pain tolerance has grown a lot over the years; while you could feel the pain clearly now, it was very manageable. There had been worse injuries, that was for sure. For now the adrenaline helped to keep your mind off the pain.
"Zhis one!" Prussia called as he opened another door. You all quickly filed out the door, running right into a surprised Canada. His eyes were quickly to find yours before darting back to Japan who began to speak.
After another round of explanations from Japan, and Canada was caught up.
His iridescent eyes dulled disappointingly. "I... I see. That's too bad. Anyway, let's hurry. America and England are in that room over there." You all followed behind him to that room.
Japan explained for the last time the current situation to America and England, who seemed to be mid-conversation when you walked into the room. Finally, you and your new allies were all reunited.
Allies, you thought again with a shaky, incredulous shake of your head. It didn't feel real.
The moment Prussia finished explaining, England exclaimed, "You can't be serious! Just when we thought we were finally going to get out..." He couldn't finish his sentence, and instead turned his eyes downward to scowl at the floor. His pale hands were clenched into tight fists.
Just then, China's head jerked up to look back past you at the door. "Lock the door!"
"Oh!"
Somehow, in your haste, in your exhilaration, you had forgotten. You quickly stalked to the door and locked it. The resulting click was loud in the brief silence. You turned to face them.
They were all staring at you, before they exchanged looks between each other. You didn't notice it then, but Italy's eyes didn't leave you.
"Wow,"America began slowly. "So, now we're all assembled in this tiny room."
Japan, abruptly overwhelmed with feeling, nearly collapsed to the ground entirely. Thank God... thank God! Oh, dear... For a moment there, I really feared we weren't going to make it.
But unlike Japan and you, everyone seemed to be preoccupied with their own displeasure at the turn of events.
"Damn it!" You startled at Germany's angry voice, loud and clear and harsh in the bittersweet atmosphere. "Even zhough ve're all together here, our situation hasn't got any better! Now ve're locked up in here and zhat f---ing monster is after our a---es!"
His words made you blood turn into ice. They were too familiar. Your eyes darted to Japan, seeing if he noticed.
Prussia's expression was disapproving. "Vest, don't be so pessimistic. Vhat matters is zhat ve're alive. Besides with so many nations gone, maybe someone vill come to rescue us."
The word nations confused you but you couldn't focus it on it long. Your eyes swept the room again and again, checking for any signs of danger.
How odd I... I feel as though I'm forgetting something important... Japan felt the familiar dread return.
China piped up. "Besides, we still need to connect the time we spend here with the time in the outside world. We have to keep breaking the clocks."
Russia hummed in agreement. "Da(7), that's the best short-cut. Except we'll need our strength somehow..." He glanced at you from the corner of his eyes. "You'll probably agree with me, but...we're quite tired. Not from fighting the enemy, but running away all the time. (Name) especially needs to rest."
You had no time to be irritated, yet felt your eye twitch as he mentioned you.
China stepped forward. "She's also injured. If I don't treat her, she might get an infection."
Infection? you wondered. That was a new word. You pushed that thought aside as you remained on your guard.
"Injured?" England asked, his voice higher with surprise. He walked toward you, looking you over until he noticed the stained red of your shirt near your shoulder. "Sh-." He covered his mouth before he could finish the word- whether in response to his open cursing or in shock, you couldn't tell. "How did that happen?"
He reached one hand out to you and unwillingly, though distracted as you were, you let him. He gently pressed on the area, and you winced but didn't attempt to reply. His eyes were wide when his hand came away damp with a small amount of blood.
Canada and Italy gasped. America exclaimed, "Whoa! Sit down, dude!"
You shook your head and instead opted to reach out to the nearest thing for support which, now, was England. His reaction escaped your notice; you were determined to not lose focus.
"Sit, (Name)," England insisted, quieter than the initial demand on America's part since he stood closer to you. It did not good, however, as your eyes continued to shift uneasily around the room. He followed your gaze, but understood nothing from it, as he could tell you weren't looking at any particular thing or person. "Love? Can you hear me?" He reached out again, this time placing a gentle hand on your good shoulder. "What is it?"
Your eyes shifted reluctantly to his face once you realized that he wouldn't leave you alone. You fought for composure as you looked into his endless emerald eyes that were tight with concern.
"Monster," you finally mustered up, and broke free from his intense gaze.
His eyes widened. All the hairs on his arms stood up. His hand that had touched your shoulder fell to his side.
We're in danger again, he thought.
"(Name) thinks we're in danger." England abruptly became your spokesperson, and turned around so that he could face everyone. "I think we need to leave this room."
"But... we outran it, aru. That can't be right. And we're here together..." China argued. He crossed his arms and cocked his head to the side as he continued. "If It comes, we can fight it easily, I think."
"I just- I have this bad feeling," England admitted, looking over at you again. He could see now the panic in your eyes, the pain, the fear. He didn't know how he had missed it. You weren't like this earlier. "Something's wrong."
"I... don't know." Prussia hesitated. He was clearly conflicted as he followed England's gaze to you. "I feel like we have a chance now that we're reunited with everyone. There aren't any signs that this location is insecure... maybe we should wait it out."
"I agree with China and Prussia," Russia said, more firm than the men he mentioned. "We are all very strong, da(6)? We can win together."
"I also..." Canada piped up, eyes dropping to the floor as everyone turned to him. His voice got even quieter, and his hands wrung together near his waist. "I also have a sinking feeling. I- I don't know what it is." Then, with slightly more authority, he raised his chin and added, "I agree with England and (Name)."
"Hmm," France hummed, swiveling his head around to see everyone's reactions to what was unraveling. He ran his hand over the stubble on his chin. "Shall we vote, then?"
"Yes, that's a good idea," Germany said in a deep, sure voice. "The vote will be a yes or no to leaving this location. I will start- my vote is no."
You shuddered. No. Time, we're running out of time-
"I vote no. This locations seems far enough from where we started." Despite his confident statement, uncertainty flicker briefly in Prussia's ruby eyes.
"I vote no, too. We can take 'em!" America was supremely confident.
"My vote is yes, for the reasons I've said," Canada whispered, looking wary and unhappy. His hands twitched at his waist, involuntarily longing for the comfort of holding something. He felt as if he were missing something in his hands, but he couldn't remember what it was.
"Like I said, I say no." China.
"Same as China- my vote is no." Russia.
"I think it's better safe than sorry. I say yes." France looked thoughtful as he said the words.
"I... agree with you-a, big brother France. We should-a find another location. I say-a yes." Though you weren't looking at him, you recognized Italy's voice, though it was a bit deeper than usual.
You sighed aloud, fear and annoyance mixing into frustration. I never can win, can I?
Japan was analyzing you as his turn came along. Your fear was palpable, and he felt like he, in some inexplicable way, understood you, despite not knowing your intentions or what you were thinking. He related to look of private terror in your eyes that couldn't be easily explained- he had felt it mere moments ago. He wondered if the reason you didn't try to speak to them about it was because of your disability or because you were paralyzed by the fear. Either way, he could empathize.
"I vote yes," His voice was smaller than he intended. He cleared his throat, and added with more volume, "For all the reasons that everyone else mentioned, I mean."
"It's five-to-five," Prussia grimaced. "I guess (Name) can be the tiebreaker."
Everyone nodded and shifted their eyes to you, waiting for your response. Seconds passed.
"What do you think, (Name)-chan(8)? I guess you want to reave the room because you think we're in danger?" Japan prompted after you didn't immediately respond.
You forced your eyes to look right at him and hold his gaze, but couldn't really see him as your emotions and thoughts sped wildly out of control. "Yes."
England and Canada exhaled quietly in relief. Those who had opposed leaving made disgruntled faces, but didn't otherwise protest. The vote was fair.
"Very well," Germany muttered, arms crossed. "Let's go."
Deliberately, everyone started moving. Some muttered to each other as they headed for the door beside you. Many peeked at you as they passed, curious or concerned.
Your muscles remained locked in place. England lingered at your side, taking your weight as you leaned on his arm. He was watching you closely, waiting for you to move.
Everyone is safe, you told yourself. We're leaving now- the situation was diverted. Everything is fine.
The words may have been true, but you only heard lies.
"I'll carry you, dude!" America sped over to you and offered you his arms before Russia could. Eyes blinking rapidly, you glanced at him, still disoriented with panic. You stared, unsure.
America's smiling face was kind and open. There were no poor or concealed intentions hidden in his eyes like you were use to. Perhaps it was a bit overconfident, but it didn't bother you. Instead, it confused you.
Slowly, your thoughts quieted. Your shoulders slumped as they relaxed, and the muscles in your face and the rest of your body loosened deliberately with effort.
Maybe it would be okay, now that you have proved yourself in battle that you were stronger working together with these people. Maybe, just maybe, together, you all had a fighting chance.
You nodded at him, and smiled slightly, trying, though not quite succeeding, to reciprocate his warmth. His grin widened in response. "Sweet. Hop on, dude"
You hesitated too long in climbing on his back, causing him to yank your legs up before you could place them yourself. It made your breath catch in shock, but he didn't seem to notice. Soon you were on his back with his arms under your knees and your arms around his shoulders and neck. He adjusted his hold on you easily, and you had an odd feeling that your weight was no problem for him to carry. Though you couldn't see it, his smile turned smug as he turned to face Russia.
He winked at him.
Russia's face darkened, and his eyes flashed with deep annoyance. The large nation muttered something unintelligible under his breath, causing America to laugh. You looked down at him curiously, not understanding the joke.
Being carried by America felt better than how it was with Russia; you wondered if it was because of how effortless his offer and accompanying smile was, or it was because you preferred America to Russia. Risking a quick glance at Russia's dark expression, you were quick to jump to the latter conclusion.
"Comfortable?" America asked, glancing up at you. You jolted a bit when you saw how close his face was.
For some reason, you felt embarrassed. Your lips unconsciously pressed together as you nodded and quickly looked away, making it look as if you were grimacing. You missed America's grin at the change in your countenance.
"Be careful," England ordered. You looked up to see him glaring at the American. His extreme irritation seemed unwarranted, and so you figured that this was because of their already established relationship with each other. Rivarly, maybe? "Don't drop her."
"I got it! Geez, I'm not stupid."
"That's debatable," England muttered quietly. You just barely caught the words. Though you didn't agree, there was something about his irked expression that was funny to you. You suppressed a smile as the three of you filed out of the room after the others.
Germany was saying something to Japan, Italy, and Prussia. His urgent tone caught your attention.
"Escape..." The four men were too far away for you to hear everything. Bits of the conversation escaped your ears. "impossible... and now... eaten one by one... zhe Thing!"
You winced. Maybe your ease was gratuitous, foolish- you felt your heart sink again. You listened hard to catch more of their exchange.
Japan, for what seemed to be the hundereth time that day, tensed. That's right. Germany said that and Prussia got mad at him... and then what? Perhaps things will be different since the setting has changed...?
Prussia's response was louder than Germany's, easier to hear. "Zhat's enough, Vest! Ve only lost one way out! Zhere are still many other vays!"
What is it? What am I forgetting? Is it important now? Maybe it's different now?
You saw Germany's broad shoulders slump. His voice lowered. Thankfully, America had walked closer to him as he talked with Canada. "...I'm sorry." Germany mumbled. "Und, danke(9)...for vhat jou did with the frau(10) earlier. Zhis time, I intend to make it up to jou for saving me. I'm sorry I vas a burden."
Regret again- Japan's mind was swimming. He felt the incoming danger, but couldn't determine if it was real or in his head. Their conversation was too similar to before for comfort.
"Germany. But, Germany, it's-a okay-"
Italy's words made every other noise turn to static. Your heart moved double-time, while your fists clenched automatically around America's jacket. The blood left your face. The sinking, sick feeling returned to your stomach.
You would scream if you could. Rather, you froze in place, unable to alert anyone to the impending terror.
"No," Germany responded, suddenly fierce. "If I can't protect my allies vhen I have zhe chance, zhen my training vas pointless. At zhe very least, I shouldn't be such a burden to jou." He drew in a breath, and then turned his body to face Italy.
"I'm... sorry to you, too. Jou've been fighting vell, vithout running away. I really appreciate it."
Italy's eyes grew wide, his mouth parting in surprise. He stopped walking. "What?... Oh, um. Grazie(11)..."
All of the men were tuned in to the conversation now. Everyone lingered in the hallway beside a new room's entrance, and slowly entered it as England held the door open again. You had walked a decent distance from the original room at this point, and no-one seemed to be wary of the location anymore.
France spoke as he glanced around the familiar room. You noticed that he, Russia, and you and America lingered closer to the door, while the other men fanned out across the room. "But you know, I zhink we can definitely get out now. You see, zhis is zhe first time zhat-"
Italy shook his head vehemently. His voice turned pleading, jumping up an octave in stress. "Please-a..." He whispered. "Please, if you-a get out-a, just keep running. No matter what, don't look-a back, don't forget about me-a, don't blame me-a, don't cry, and time-"
"Er... you're shaking..." Canada pointed out in a gentle voice, concerned.
Time... After that line... Japan felt a spasm of fear. "Itary-kun(3)!"
The monster barged into the unlocked door behind Italy, looming tall and dark behind him.
Your nightmare had come true, despite your caution, and redirecting of the situation. Yes, despite everything that you did, this situation had happened again. Shame, hideous and overpowering, filled you.
Maybe if I did something different, remembered more clearly what had happened, didn't get overconfident, we wouldn't end up this way- Italy wouldn't-
You struggled to regather and refocus your scattered thoughts that shouted in your head. No, I can't be distracted. Italy- I- I have to protect Italy! You were terrified that you were too late. Squirming, you tried to extract yourself from America's grip.
To your surprise, he didn't let go. His hold tightened. You wanted to shout at him, to hit him until he let you go, but he wasn't looking at you. You saw a look of intense concentration pass over his face.
"Wha-?" England began.
"Itary-kun(3)!"
Italy didn't flinch. He didn't even look behind him. A watery smile lifted the corners of his lips as tears crashed down his flushed cheeks.
"...It was scary, but... but... it was fun."
"Italy!"
It all happened quickly then. Before you could process what the look in his eyes meant, America suddenly grabbed your arm and threw you off of him.
Before you could process it, the back of your head crashed against something solid and unyielding. Everything went dark for a moment before the light was visible again.
America strength surpassed your wildest expectations- you had sailed several feet away where you had been before on his back. Somehow he had thrown you clear across the room.
Your (e/c) eyes were slow to adjust to scene before you. You couldn't even feel outraged or confused- you were too shocked.
Body limp against the wall, dark spots invaded your vision, and your lungs struggled to inhale new air. Your hand twitched up to cup the back of your head- no blood, thankfully. Just pain.
Someone shouted your name. You shut one eye, cringing away from the loud sound, and searched with the other eye for the source.
No-one was looking at you anymore. You followed your gaze to where the chaos was.
America was now between the creature and Italy. He gripped his shoulder, his body hunching in pain.
This revived you some, as you remembered what happened. There was a reason he threw you. What-
Italy. Of course, how could've you forgotten? You needed to protect him, and the others. You squinted to see through the fading black spots and moved to get to your feet.
Instead of standing like you had meant your legs to do, halfway to standing you collapsed back on the ground chest-first, unable to maintain any semblance of balance. The spots came back again, and you lost all control of your body. You could only lie half-spread out on the floor, immobile, vulnerable.
It was a struggle to remain conscious. Your body warred against you, wanting to shut down. Each limb felt weighed down by bricks.
This wasn't your first time in this situation. It was only the experience of similar circumstances that helped you not to lose yourself to panic- well, at least not completely. You let your body stop moving, but willed your exhausted mind into attentiveness.
It was like fighting against gravity. Every heartbeat worsened the heaviness of your eyelids, of each limb. You thanked some higher power that you had inherited your (mother/father)'s unfailing stubbornness.
As you laid on the ground, your ears caught things that you couldn't process. You fought with the spinning of your head while the darkness threatening along the edges of your restricted vision, eager to swallow you.
"-Wait!" Was that Russia? You thought it was. His voice was low and menacing. "You'd better not move!" Your pupils moved around rapidly, trying to understand what was happening
America's words made even less sense. His usually cheerful tone was twisted in anger. You almost didn't recognize his voice at all. "Sorry dude, but Italy is my atmosphere-searching partner. You'll have to settle with eating an iron pipe!"
"America!" Canada's soft voice was louder than usual. "In front of you! Dodge!"
"England!" America yelled.
Despite the extreme circumstance, you heard the hint of a laugh in the Englishman's response." Yeah! That really bought some time!"
You heard a rush of air push through the room. Though you barely managed to lift your head, it was easy to see the blue-green light flood the room, centered around England. The bright light hurt your eyes, causing you to wince back down into the ground.
In a haunted voice, England shouted, "Impedimenta!"
As you struggled to lift your head again, you watched as four glowing circles surrounded the monster. It shrieked horrifically, evidently trapped.
You shook your head again as you tried to expel the sound from your ears. Shaking violently, you lumbered into a raised position with your knees and hands on the ground beneath you. You painfully leaned your weight back onto your knees so your head was raised higher than before to see more of the situation before you.
"It can't-a be..." Italy whispered, his face still stained with tears. He staggered back toward the door and was leaning against it, his eyes wide and his complexion pale with shock.
"Let's go!" America cheered. He raised his good arm up to the air, his hand balled into a triumphant fist.
Germany rushed over to Italy, grabbing him and pulling him away from American and the Thing. They both stumbled as they moved, and Germany caught Italy by the arm before he could fall to the ground. "Italy! Are jou alright?!"
The other nations surged forward all together, ready to go. "Get jour weapons!" Prussia barked. "Let's all attack together!"
"I'm ready to go any time, aru!" China said as he took a spot beside Prussia.
England fell to his knees, but his arms were still raised, and his body was still glowing. His pupils were dilated and his eyes stretched wide, but his body shook as he gasped for breath. He looked on the verge of collapse.
"England! You did a great job! You can stop now!" America said, walking close to him so that he now stood between him and the trapped monster.
England nodded shakily once, lowered his arms before falling forward to the ground, eyes closing. America grabbed his shoulders before his face could hit the floor.
"Sorry..." He murmured tiredly, eyelids fluttering as America lowered him to the ground. "You take it... from here..." His eyes closed as unconsciousness took him.
The other nations, beside Italy, Germany, and England, entered a battle with the Thing.
You reached a quivering hand out to them, before losing your balance again and face-planting into the hard floor. With that last blow, your body finally gave into unconsciousness.
--
Your eyelids fluttered, slow at first, then more rapidly. Bright yellow-tinted light pierced through your mostly closed eyes. A (s/c) hand, as if in instinct, raised to block the beam. It took a moment to understand that the hand was your own.
There was something blue above you, with thin wisps of white floating in its sea. As you watched, curious, both the blue and the white moved, the movement so slow that you wouldn't have noticed had you not be so intently focused on it. The pace was slower than any creature you knew to compare it to.
Your breathing slowed as you watched the blue sky above.
This place was more familiar than you would think. The grass comfortably tickled at your now-exposed arms and calves in a familiar embrace. The light, heavenly-scented breeze shifted your hair, trying to carry it off with it. When you tore your eyes away from the sky's blue depths, you turned your head and were immediately met with that of two small white flowers with a circle of yellow in the middle, right beside your head.
You smiled. Hello there, little flowers. You reached out to touch them.
As you moved, you saw that you were surrounded by flowers- not only the pretty white ones, but also vibrant pink ones. There were hundreds of them, taking up small spaces between patches of lush, lively green grass.
You raised up into a sitting position as your gaze swiveled around, awestruck by the beauty of the meadow. It was considerably small, only a few dozens of feet wide, with green-leaved trees lining the fringes. Your hand pressed down against the dry earth to stabilize yourself, only to meet something soft as the flower petals, but larger. Your (e/c) eyes glanced down to see yourself wearing a ruffled pure white dress with thin, but layered translucent fabric, ending right below your knees and cutting off a few inches down your arms in puffed sleeves..
The dress was beautiful. Everything here was beautiful- heavenly, amazing- you couldn't think of the right word to describe how perfect it was. It was what you had dreamed of for so long, but your dreams never did it justice. Yet, it also was nostalgic for some reason you couldn't- and didn't care to- place.
Slowly, slowly, all your worries melted away. You smiled and closed your eyes, eager to lie back down and relish the peace of the moment.
But as you moved to reclaim your bed of flowers, a voice stopped you.
"(Name)."
This voice didn't scare you. In fact, it seemed to fit perfectly with the perfect meadow, a voice of familiarity and ease. Automatically, a smile lifted your lips and your eyes brightened. You turned to greet them.
The dream ended abruptly, leaving you with no warning or afterthought. Suddenly you weren't in the meadow but in total darkness. The change happened so soon that you couldn't quite process it. You could feel the pain of the absence leaning in, rearing its ugly head, and then-
Voices. Familiar voices you could name cut through the silence and echoed in the void. England. Canada. Japan. Prussia. America. China. Even France and Russia. The voices of your new group, your new allies, calling out to you.
Your consciousness automatically grasped onto these voices, desperate to feel their presence again. The impossible beauty of the meadow was already long forgotten.
A force pulled your body up through a vertical tunnel, until you could see a bright white light. You reached for it with both hands...
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foreign words A/N (please correct me if I'm wrong!):
-bella(1) = beautiful (Italian)
-ja(2) = yes (German)
—kun(3) = a friendly honorific that can be attached to the end of someone's name; it is often used when talking to males that are usually younger than you (Japanese)
—san(4) = a polite honorific that can be attached to the end of someone's name; it is often viewed as a way of saying "Ms", "Mr", or "Mrs", but can be used on anyone's name to show them respect (Japanesse)
-Preußen(5) = Prussia (German)
-mein kleiner bruder(6) = my little brother (German)
-da(7) = yes (Russian)
—chan(8) = a friendly honorific that can be attached to the end of someone's name; it is often used when talking to children or (usually) younger family (usually girls), or between girls that are friends (Japanese)
-und, danke(9) = and, thanks (German)
-frau(10) = woman (German)
-grazie(11) = thanks/thank you (Italian)