HetaOni: Time Marches On

Chapter 23: Time Limit

“Now that we have the book, let’s head back the others. Then we can see what all this fuss was over,” France suggested.

“Actually. I was thinking we could take a look down at that room Prussia crashed into,” Japan requested.

“A new room?!” Romano asked, “Why didn’t anyone tell me about it?!”

“Yes, that hole in the floor over there,” Japan gestured, “led into a new area. It may somehow lead to a way out, so I would like to take a look at it if we can.”

“I think that sounds fine... Italy? You’ve been a bit quiet. Are you feeling alright?” France asked picking up on Italy’s sullen expression.

Italy quickly looked up and flashed a grin, “I’m fine! I-I think I’d like to see this new place too.” He needed to snap out of it. His friends needed him to think clearly right now. One wrong step and all their hard work would be for nothing. And they had made it so far this time! Further than they had ever come before.

“Then let’s go take a quick look and get back to the others,” Japan headed over to the hole in the floor. He kept a close eye on Italy. He hadn’t noticed it until France had said something, but he was pretty certain now that there was something weighing on Italy’s chest that he didn’t want them to know. This would undoubtedly lead to catastrophe if he didn’t intervene in time.

The group, one by one lowered themselves into the short hallway. Japan moved some of the fallen debris away from the corner. Discovering, amongst the torn wallpaper, a door. Japan tried the door knob, “Ah, it appears to be locked.”

“Guess that leaves us only one way. It does kind of bother me though, that we’ve found so many locks, and very few keys,” France started walking down the hallway.

The hallway led into a small room, just a bit larger than the clock room. The walls and floor were almost completely bare. No furniture, no thing of any sort. The only thing that stood out, was a small drawer on the same wall as the hallway they just came through.

France was the first to notice the peculiar drawer in the barren room, “A single drawer in an empty room? You think it might have that key?" France opened the drawer before anyone could answer.

The group stumbled back in shock. Inside the drawer lay a crumpled black cloak, packed tightly in the small drawer it had been stuffed in. Beneath it, the tiny bones of a young child.

Unable to hold himself back any longer, Italy simply burst into tears, crumbling to the floor. He’d been trying to hold back too many tears. He couldn’t control them now.

“These are-” France held up the cloak from the cramped drawer.

“Veneziano!” Romano joined his brother’s side trying to comfort him as he sobbed uncontrollably.

A voice echoed distantly from the air around them, “Plea..se... Take... my body... wi..th... yo..u...”

 

<(Outside Nations)>

 

The sun sat fixated above the horizon, just before sunset. No longer daytime, not yet sunset. Time was still moving slowly here, but it was no longer frozen. The sun slowly made it’s decent as the small group wandered closer to the gates. The land had seemed to stretch, making the gates much further away from the front of the mansion than they had originally seemed.

Kugelmugel scrawled furiously across a blank canvas as he attempted to capture the sun beginning to set. It was as good as anything they could be doing. Quite frankly, Ladonia had labeled the “medic group” the “lazy group”. All they had done is head near the entrance and wait for these supposed reinforcements.