Fanfiction: "In ThE eNd" (Hetalia - HetaOni)

“YoU wIlL nOt eScApE.”

Italy Veneziano froze in his tracks, a cold sweat of fear beginning to seep through his pores. Clutching the journal, his lifeline, to his uniform-clad chest, he could only manage one thought.

It’s over. I lost! I’ll have to leave everyone alone again, and this time England can’t…!

Not resigning himself to fate just yet, the nation slowly turned to face his adversary. He had seen and faced the Thing so many times now that the mere sight of it was not enough to frighten him any longer. Its hulking grey body filled nearly the entire hallway, making the stuffy annex about him seem small and un-daunting.

A shaky laugh tore past Italy’s throat – he knew he had to laugh or he would cry again, and the last thing he wanted to do was show weakness.

“Y-you found me,” he stated simply. The monster’s normally stoic face slowly curled up into a grotesquely calm smile-like expression.

“HeLlO, ItAlY. HoW aRe YoU dOiNg?”

Italy struggled to keep himself under control as he responded to the creature’s almost bizarre question.
“W-why…why do you c-care? N-no matter what answer I give, I-I’ll end up d-dead!”

The pseudo-smile stayed plastered on the Thing’s face as it answered, its voice reverberating through the room without it so much as opening its mouth. “NoT NeCeSsArIlY. I HaVe To KeEp TaBs On My PrEy…It HeLpS eAsE mY bOrEdOm.” 

“Boredom…?” Italy slowly took a step backward without thinking, but his back hit the locked door behind him. His breathing hitched in his chest, but he continued to speak. “So…y-you wait for people to come h-here…a-and you kill them for e-entertainment?!”

The once-timid nation could almost hear the rumble of a laugh in the Thing’s hollow chest. “SeEiNg AlL oF yOu In DeSpAiR aNd HoPeLeSsNeSs DaY aFtEr DaY iS eXtReMeLy EnTeRtAiNiNg.”

Italy thought of America, standing vigil over his brothers’ bodies – Scotland and Ireland, dying hand-in-hand in a swan’s song attack to defend their fallen brother – Japan, smiling even as his life ebbed away and stained the pure white room red – Prussia and Germany, his beloved Germany, drawing their final breaths together right before his waking eyes –

ENTERTAINING.

“All of this is a g-game to you…our fear and pain is y-your idea of good fun…!” Italy managed to choke out. He was still waiting for the creature’s deathblow to come at any time. Would it be slow and painful? Quick? Would the others be able to find him afterwards? How long would Germany and Romano and the other worry about him before…?

“YoU aRe So HiLaRiOuS aNd YoU dOn’T eVeN kNoW iT.”

 “Oh y-yeah? Then tell me how I’m so funny!”

The Thing took a slow stride forward and Italy instinctively pressed further into the door.

“YoU hAvE aLwAyS bEeN sO cHeErFuL, fUlL oF hOpE aNd OpTiMiSm…BeInG aBlE tO cRuSh ThAt HaPpY sPiRiT WiThIn YoU, sLoWlY, rEaLlY aMuSeS mE…!”

No! Italy didn’t want to be reminded of those feelings. He wasn’t alone anymore, he wasn’t alone…

I’m not alone!

“I…I-I’m sure you’ll be happy to know that you succeeded b-before…but not n-now!” Italy cried out with a new strength. “E-everyone’s behind me now, and I w-won’t give up until…we’re all s-safe and happy again…and away from h-here!”

As the Thing took another step forward, Italy couldn’t help but admit to himself that he was afraid now.

“ThAt’S sO aDmIrAbLe. YoU rEaLlY aRe HiLaRiOuS.”

The copper-haired Italian was shaking now; it was yet another step closer to him.

“BuT I’M nOt SpArInG yOuR lIfE fOr IdLe CoNvErSaTiOn. I hAvE tHrEe QuEsTiOnS fOr YoU, ItAlIa VeNeZiAnO, mY mOsT mEmOrAbLe ViCtIm…”

What the hell does it want to know from you…g-gah, Feliciano, get ahold of yourself, it’s a trick, it has to be!

“T-then go ahead…ask!” was what came out of his mouth before he could stop it. Some part deep within him was simply too curious to let the monster’s questions go unasked.

“WhAt ExAcTlY dRiVeS yOu? I tHoUgHt SuReLy YoU wOuLd HaVe GiVeN uP bY nOw, AnD yEt YoU, tHe CoWaRd Of ThE pAcK, pReSs On…WhO iS tHe PeRsOn Or PeOpLe WhO mOtIVaTeS yOu…?”

The question seemed to ignite a time bomb in the young Venetian, prompting an answer that had always been in his heart but was just now escaping his lips.

“A-all my friends…all of them!” he almost yelled. “B-being here has taught me t-that…even though we used to be enemies…w-we’re all nations! One world, standing together!”

“…ThAt’S vErY tOuChInG. aNd NoW fOr ThE sEcOnD qUeStIoN…”

With all the painful memories the first question had brought, Italy was beginning to regret giving the monster the go-ahead to ask.

“HoW wOuLd YoU rEaCt If I kIlLeD tHeM?”

Italy jerked, his breath stilling in his lungs once again. As he turned to look up at the Thing’s crystalline black eyes with a calm sort of rage, he intoned, “You already know! You’ve done it before! I-I’d be sad, and alone, and I’d cry for them…b-but I’d keep going back! N-no matter how many times it took to g-get everyone out alive…I-I’d do it!”

“Hm…InTeReStInG…I wOnDeR…”

Caro Dio, will this Thing ever STOP wondering?

“If It AfFeCtEd YoUr BrOtHeR sO bAdLy WhEn I kIlLeD yOu…HoW wOuLd YoU rEaCt To ThE bReAkInG oF sUcH a CoNnEcTiOn?”

A horrible truth seemed to come crashing directly into Italy’s chest, and he could have sworn his heard stopped for a split second. He panicked for a moment, but then calmed enough to stay in control of himself. Shaking even more violently, he gasped.

O-oh…I forgot…Romano…he wasn’t here any other time loop but now…!

“Don’t you dare touch my fratello!” Italy screamed at the monster. There was no doubt of the Thing’s evil intentions now. It seemed unfazed by Italy’s rage, the twisted grin on its face climbing higher.

“I’lL tHiNk AbOuT iT. bUt HoNeStLy, I’m CuRiOuS. cOmE nOw, ItAlY, iNdUlGe YoUr FeLlOw PlAyEr In ThIs GaMe ThIs OnE tImE.”

“I-I don’t know…!” Italy shook his head slowly, looking down at his neatly tied bootlaces. “I-I only remember…in a war one t-time…when fratello was h-hurt, I hurt too…”

“ThAt SoUnDs QuItE iNtErEsTiNg. HoWeVeR, yOuR bRoThEr Is TrApPeD iN tHe PaSt, So ThErE iS nOtHiNg YoU cAn Do To StOp Me FrOm DoInG wHaTeVeR I WiSh WiTh HiM.”

PANG. Another blow of hard truth to Italy’s chest nearly knocked his breath away.

“W-what?!” he cried. “Romano…i-in another loop?! B-but he…he wasn’t supposed to…!”

The Thing slowly lifted a monstrous hand to point towards the journal clutched against Italy’s chest, which he unconsciously held even tighter.

“ThAt JoUrNaL oF yOuRs SpReAd MoNsTeRs ThRoUgHoUt ThE tImE lOoPs – He WeNt BaCk WiTh SpAiN tO dEsTrOy ThEm.”

Italy sighed shakily, a sudden wave of relief washing over his panicking mind. “O-oh…he’s with big brother Spain, then…” Silently, Italy was thanking God and all the saints and angels, known and unknown, for his brother’s apparent safety. “Grazie, Dio! S-so there IS someone there to stop you after all!”

The creature remained eerily silent.

Too silent.

“Y-you were so talkative a moment ago,” Italy almost taunted shakily, beginning to worry. “W-what happened, ve?”

“NoT aNyMoRe.”

It took Italy a full ten seconds to process exactly what the Thing meant by the simple two words.

“A-antonio…?” The name came out as a whisper. “L-lovino…?”

The Thing made no response, and in that moment, Italy knew that his worst fear at the moment had come true.

“W-what did you do to them…?!” Italy wanted to scream the words, but all his voice would put out was a choking whisper.

“SpAiN iS bLeEdInG oUt EvEn As We SpEaK. yOur bRoThEr sEeMs QuItE aNgRy.”

Now trembling with both rage and disbelief, Italy managed a humorless laugh. “O-of course…my fratello a-always seems to be a-angry, ve…”

“AnGrY aT yOu, PeRhApS. AfTeR aLl, It’S uLtImAtElY yOuR fAuLt FoR tHiS wHolE sItUaTiOn, IsN’t It? No MaTtEr. YoU wOn’T hAvE tO dEaL wItH iT mUcH lOnGeR.”

“A-angry…at me…” The Venetian’s voice broke, a choked sob of anguish tearing from his throat. “O-of course…it was always me…e-even from the first time loop, i-it was always me…!”

Finally, he snapped. Italy fell forward from the sturdy shield of the heavy wooden door and sank to his knees, blindly crying out the only name he could process.

“R…ROMANO!”

‘Veneziano…Spagna…d-damn it, I-I can’t…die here…’

A brief strain of thought that wasn’t his own, a sense of familiarity, of wholeness, a voice he recognized all too well, was enough to pull Italy into the current of his own thought with a brief gasp, knowing who he would find there.

Connected by the bond of one nation, not even their thoughts were separable from the other’s.

Romano! R-Romano, a-are you safe?! What’s happening?!

‘H-huh…? Vene…Veneziano…? You’re…okay…’

Yes, fratellone, I'm alright! B-but...you're not...are you? And S-Spain…is...how...?

Somehow knowing his answer, Italy felt silent tears begin to stream down his cheeks in thin, hot lines.

‘…he’s…d-dead…a-and I…I’m sorry, fratellino…I can’t feel e-either of my legs…I’m sorry…’

N-no…NO! R-Romano, you can’t just…p-please…!

‘I-I’m sorry…! I always…let you down…d-don’t I…?’

Italy was suddenly aware of a few sudden shocks of nerves that were not his own body’s. A sensation of hot wetness rolling down his cheeks that weren’t his tears…was Romano crying…?

Italy, letting a heart-wrenching sob escape his throat, sent every ounce of love in his body towards his brother, his other half, his twin spirit. Anything to let him know the truth…

N-no...R-Romano, you d-don't! Y-you're...my precious fratellone...you c-could never!

‘Hehe…y-you finally…praised me…I guess that means…I did something right…f-for once…’

R-Romano...i-if anyone should be sorry, it's me! Y-you've never...R-Romano, p-please just d-don't leave me alone...I-I love you so much…!

‘I-I know…I didn’t t-tell you enough, but…significhi tutto per me, Veneziano…’

‘You mean everything to me, Veneziano.’

Romano…! Senza di te non sono niente, Romano!

Without you I am nothing, Romano!

‘T-that’s not true…ah-AAGH…! V-Vene, I d-don’t…want to l-leave you…!’

A sudden pain racked Italy’s body. R-Romano, NO! RESTA CON ME!

STAY WITH ME!

‘V-Veneziano…I…a-aah…can’t…b-but…per favore ricordati di me, fratellino…’

‘Please remember me, little brother…’

Italy was weeping openly now, not caring if Romano heard or the Thing saw.

O-Ora e sempre…mio p-preziosa fratellone…!

A-Always and forever…my p-precious big brother…!

‘T-ti…ti amo…Vene…ziano...’

‘I-I…I love you…Vene…ziano...’

And then nothing.

R-Roma…Romano…?!

Again, all that resounded in the depths of Italy’s thoughts was silence.

And then the pain began.

A sudden pang in his heart was all it took for Italy to be jerked back into the physical plane once again.

“A-AAAH!”

Clutching his chest, he doubled over onto one hand, still kneeling. A terrible burning, ripping sensation pulsed from his heart throughout his whole being, threatening to split him, shatter him…!

“I-IT HURTS…!”

But what followed made the previous pain seemed like nothing.

Half of his being, half of his soul, his heart, something that had been part of his integral being since time began was suddenly ripped from him, and was sent plummeting into an unreachable abyss. It didn’t take long at all for the truth of what had happened to permeate his mind.

“ROMANO!”

The shriek of anguish tore from Italy’s voice like a banshee’s mournful wail. He collapsed to the cold wooden floor, trembling in agony and searching his heart in vain for the second half of his being that would never return. Even in his pathetic state, Italy managed to find the strength to glare up at the Thing, standing stoically and patiently.

“W-why didn’t you just k-kill me…?!”

“YoUr ReAcTiOn WaS jUsT tOo GoOd To MiSs.”

He had tried so hard. Gotten so far. Fought for so long.

In the end, it hadn’t mattered, not one little bit. He had lost himself – how could he hope to save anyone else?

He was alone.

Alone!

“R-Romano…ROMANO!” he cried out again, tears openly spilling from his eyes and staining his uniform, darkening the page edges of his journal.

I-I  can’t handle this…!

Heavy footsteps advanced forward, each one adding more finality to his impending doom.

“BrOtHeRlY lOvE iS iNdEeD a BeAuTiFuL bOnD, bUt OnE sO eAsIlY sEvErEd…”

With a resounding thud, the Thing stopped directly over Italy’s quaking figure, helpless to fight to defend himself.

“ItAlIA RoMaNo AnD ItAlIA VeNeZiAnO wIlL sOoN bOtH bE bOuNd iN eTeRnAl SlEeP…wItH nO oThEr JoUrNaL mAsTeR tO tAkE tHeIr PlAcE. AlL hOpE iS lOsT.”

Italy closed his eyes.

He was so...tired.

It’s over.

“DeSpAiR aNd DiE!”

GaMe OvEr
Restart?
>Yes
>No