A/N: I literally have no excuse. I apologize. Feel free to rage at me.

Chapter 19: Come, Little Children

Exiting the Juice Bar felt something akin to having ice water poured over a body suit that one was wearing. Arthur shivered as he stood at the front of his pack and glanced around taking in everything. The dark fog had lightened only a smidge –most likely due to Lukas's temporary banishment of the dæmon - but it was a matter of time before it would descend upon them again. A chilly breeze ran through the trees and everyone paused to listen to the sound. It made Arthur think of ocean waves crashing on the shore. He concentrated and actually listened to the wind. Faint whispers of warnings touched his ears but it was nothing he didn't already know. The dæmon was non-corporeal at the time but Arthur had a general idea of where it would coagulate at. As far as he knew it had no idea where they were going.

He looked back at his friends and started moving forward again. They shuffled along behind him with tense bodies gripping their weapons of choice. Feliciano kept fidgeting with his charm before occasionally clenching it in a trembling fist. He was closer to the middle of the pack. The stronger fighters –Vash, Alfred, Ludwig, Ivan, and Elizaveta- were closer to the outside. Lukas and Vladimir flanked the group. Arthur thought and felt rather silly for not having a weapon in his hands but knew he needed his hands free for any spur-of-the-moment spells.

"Arthur." Kiku called and scooted up to be closer to the front of the group. He kept his voice low as if afraid of being overheard by the nature around him. Arthur didn't look at him and Kiku took it as his cue to continue, "Arthur, are you sure it's safe to leave the building?" Arthur did look at him this time and then back at his friends. He could see the doubt lingering in their faces. Some of them even looked back at the Juice Bar reluctantly. Self-preservation told them to go back to physical safety. Arthur had forgotten about such an instinct; he had become so reliant on magick to protect him. Only their trust in him (and perhaps the pack mentality of not wanting to be alone in a strange situation) made them follow him.

Lukas caught his eye. His face gave away nothing but a shift in his aura alerted Arthur to his question. We're taking them to the Circle?

Arthur nodded back and answered Kiku, "The Juice Bar can be destroyed by nearby trees and we could be crushed. Where I'm taking you the dæmon can't enter."

"There's nothing back here, though." Elizaveta said.

"That you know of."

"Matt and I explored practically everywhere around here, Artie." Alfred said, "We know every place and there aren't any more buildings further back than this. It's all dense woods."

"You're right; there aren't any buildings." Arthur agreed and didn't say more. He looked around nervously and tried to hide it. The fear in his friends was starting to affect him. He forced himself not to keep a grip on their auras. It was dangerous to his emotional sanity. He needed to keep a sound mind that was clear. He instead took in his surroundings. Glancing up through the trees towards the sky was a trippy experience. It was the middle of the day still and on one plane he could the blue sky, clouds, bright sunlight -a normal winter day. But on another plane that only one with an open third eye could see, it was muggy and disgusting. The usually bright and other-worldly look of the place (that often looked quite different from this world and often reminded him of how he imagined Narnia to look if it was brightened and the colours were different) looked as if an acidic fog had rolled in. If he concentrated fully on only that vision, he wouldn't be able to see anything. It wouldn't be a good idea to peek anymore into it anyhow. The border between that world and this one was blending and confusing him enough without him not even focusing on what was in front of him. He could almost feel the evil aura inside of his lungs with every breath he took. He felt dirty. If it wasn't for his flared aura, he would feel like he was drowning. In this case he was jealous of his friends and their inability to see the whole of the world.

The foliage became thicker and more wild as they went along. A couple of curses were heard as the boys and girls had to pull their caught clothing from bare branches that had fallen. Other than that, they were quiet. Somehow it was even more unnerving. Nobody wanted to speak. Arthur checked on them again and Alfred met his eyes. Arthur looked away.

"Question." Vash suddenly spoke up. "How did you know the dæmon would be here?"

"I didn't. I lured it here." Arthur said.

"Why?" Elizaveta asked horrified at the thought.

Arthur looked down at the ground and hesitated for a moment. The truth would come out eventually. Should he tell them now and get it over with? Perhaps it would be wiser to not. He needed their trust. He needed their cooperation. If they turned against him it would be disastrous. But they would find out. And if he didn't confide in them and they found out through the dæmon...He took a shaky breath and looked back up determined but facing away from them. He opened his mouth to confess everything -to explain about the deaths and take whatever they would throw at him- when there was a screech that had everyone freezing.

"What was that?" Feliciano cried.

"It sounded like a bird?" Kiku suggested, holding his weapon aloft and at ready. The boy was sensible. Arthur looked to the trees. He heard some of the others scrambling to ready their holy water as well. The noise came again except multiplied. Arthur looked to the trees and saw movement.

"Up there!" He warned and the others glanced up to see a murder of crows. There had to be dozens of them. They cawed and yelled at them, wings raised threateningly and flapping making a raucous that set Arthur's already frayed nerves on edge. The birds together took to the air. The group of friends formed a huddle with their backs to each other protecting the weaker ones. Arthur's heart was pounding so loudly he felt he would have a heart attack. For a crazed moment his mind wondered if crows would even be here at this time of year. The trees creaked and the branches scraped against each other in a gusting wind. The temperature seemed to drop further.

"Keep close!" Vladimir yelled over the din and that's when the birds swooped. It was a mass of black cutting through the tree branches and descending upon the group. Arthur didn't have time to worry about the others as all over his body was clawed, pecked, and battered by bodies and feathered wings. He cried out in pain as the claws scratched his face. He swiped at them with his arms but they just came back. He could hear his friends crying for help. His clothing was being ripped at. At one terrifying moment he was sure one of the crows went for his earring. He heard pained shrieks from the birds as well. Through the attack he thought he saw Alfred, Kiku, and Ivan swinging at the birds. Arthur felt useless. He needed to get these crows away.

"Arthur, your energy! Manifest it!" Jeanne called and Arthur heard her.

"LUKAS! VLADIMIR!" Arthur called and he tried to look through the writhing mass of bird bodies and the smokey atmosphere for his coven members. He couldn't see anything. He covered his head to protect it. He had to rely on other senses. His ears were useless. He grew angry. He concentrated on the fear, anger, and determination. "GET...OFF!" He screamed and suddenly his energy pushed out of him in a tidal wave. The edges became solid and all the birds within a five foot radius were punched backwards by the force. They squawked in agony and a couple fell dead. They took off. Arthur maintained the shield long enough to see it happening in two other places. His coven had heard him.

Arthur ran over to the nearest friends -Elizaveta who was covering Feliciano with her body- and brought them into his range. His brow beaded with sweat and the edges of exhaustion were sinking in quick. He couldn't maintain it for long. Elizaveta and Feliciano looked at him in awe as he stretched out his arms to try to physically hold the shield open. "Are you alright?" He asked them, straining. They only nodded at him. They could tell he needed to concentrate. He was relieved and looked around him. The crows were bashing against his shield. Some of the others were still swinging at the birds.

"Why won't they leave?!" He heard Alfred cry from somewhere.

"It's not enough!" He thought he heard Lukas yell back. A different sort of rustling was heard then. A shout of surprise came somewhere close on his left and Arthur was able to make out something large swinging back and forth. The birds were attacking less. Their fury was wearing down. Arthur's shield was breaking down but he pushed a little harder a little longer.

"Bruder!" Elizaveta and Feliciano's heads shot up at the sound of Ludwig's yelp.

"Duck!" Arthur's eyes widened. That was definitely Gilbert's voice. But why the sodden hell was he here?! And did that mean-? Arthur didn't have time to ponder it as the birds finally thinned enough. Through the gaps Arthur spotted both Gilbert and Matthew swinging back and forth large stick-covered tree branches. They whapped the birds hard and sent the demented beasts flying. The birds gave up on their attack and, leaving a few of their dead, fled.

"Gilbert!" Feliciano yelled and Gilbert spotted their tiny cluster and moved closer to them to sweep the rest of the birds away. Arthur finally dropped his shield and he fell to the snow panting.

"Are you alright-?" Gilbert began but yelped as a small murder of crows managed to take a dangerously large nip out of his neck.

"Gilbert!" Both Elizaveta and Feliciano cried and both ran to him as the boy fell to the ground. Elizaveta grabbed the branch and smacked the birds as Feliciano's trembling hands found the wound and covered it.

"Is everyone alright?" Matthew called and everyone regrouped. Arthur could see everyone was covered in scratches. Ivan had a rather nasty cut across his cheek and Kiku's hands were torn up. Arthur couldn't help but stare at the blood coating all of them. He was exhausted in every form. And this was still just the beginning. His friends were injured. Were they fatal injuries? Would they bleed out? Too much blood. The blood reminded him of Natalie's fresh corpse. The sound of the crunching resonated with the crunch of the snow. There's too much blood! Help help help help-

"Gilbert needs help!" Feliciano told the group, his face pale and his eyes watery. Arthur snapped out of his thoughts to turn to them.

"I'm fine!" Gilbert insisted although he helped press against the wound. Blood was seeping between their fingers. "The fuckers just nicked me too much!" He chuckled.

"You're not okay!" Elizaveta shrieked.

"Give him this." Ivan pulled off his jacket and then his vest before handing over the vest. Elizaveta took it and replaced Feliciano's hands with it. Ivan put the jacket back on.

"I'll be okay." Gilbert tried again to reassure. "What the fuck happened here?"

"Why are you here?!" Alfred demanded from his cousin. Matthew looked startled by Alfred's sudden anger.

"Ah, we were on a date-"

"You chose the worst fucking place!"

"What are you talking about-?"

"Arthur." Lukas grabbed Arthur's arm. The other boy looked almost as exhausted as Arthur felt. He helped the Briton to his feet. "The charms. They're here. They need the charms." He was babbling, just a bit. Arthur stared at him uncomprehending for a moment before suddenly things clicked. His hand flew into his rabbit sack

"Take these!" Arthur commanded, shoving a charm at both of the newcomers.

They looked at him baffled. "What the hell- is this one of those love charms?!" Gilbert asked.

"No, it's a protection charm."

"Why do we need this?" Matthew asked, looking over the charm.

"Is everyone alright?" Lili asked, looking around at everyone.

"A little worse for wear...but okay." Alfred admitted. "It's a good thing you did that trick, Vlad."

"It was Arthur's idea." Vladimir said.

"Because you need the protection!" Arthur told Matthew and Gilbert trying to talk around all the others.

"Clearly they don't work considering the neck wound." Gilbert said sarcastically as he didn't understand the severity of the situation. "Also, what the hell was up with those crows. What did you guys do?"

"Thank you for what you did." Ludwig told Lukas.

Lukas shook his head. "It was fine."

"It was amazing!" Alfred denied.

"What exactly happened?" Matthew asked.

"Just wear the damn charms!" Arthur yelled at him. His stress was reaching a breaking point. He didn't have time to deal with Gilbert and his arguments and his sarcasm. His friends were too loud. Their guard was too down. They were too exposed. They needed to leave. Arthur was losing control of his emotions.

Feliciano and Kiku seemed to be the only ones actually paying attention to Arthur. "A-Arthur, calm down. They don't understand!" Feliciano put his hands on Arthur's chest in an effort to placate him.

"What's there to even understand?" Gilbert asked. "You're giving us these things to protect us from crow attacks?"

"No!" Arthur cried.

"They formed shields! With their minds or something! The birds couldn't get through!" Alfred told his cousin.

"Is there a way you can teach us that?" Vash asked.

"Not in time." Vlad replied wryly.

"I don't think people can do that, Alfred." Matthew rolled his eyes.

"No, Gilbert, you need to understand that-" Kiku tried to talk but Arthur cut him off.

"From more than crow attacks! How about possession for one?" Arthur was boiling. Gilbert laughed. "DON'T LAUGH AT ME!" Arthur finally screamed, losing it. His friends fell quiet realizing something else was happening.

Gilbert glared. "What the fuck is your problem?!"

"YOU'RE my problem right now! You and your bloody fucking attitude! We don't have time to stand around! We need to leave now! We need-!"

"STOP IT! Just STOP!" Feliciano yelled. "I can't take it anymore! Stop yelling!" Something snapped in the boy. He shook his head back and forth covering his ears. Arthur recognized he was panicking. His aura -so thin and weak- was fraying. The darkness was invading it. He was helpless. Alarmed, Arthur moved to touch and calm him but Feliciano flinched back from him with wide eyes. "I'm going to the Juice Bar f-for bandages!" He said and ran back the way they came.

"Feliciano, wait!" Ludwig yelled after him. "Don't!" The boy was already gone though. Ludwig looked at everyone once before he ran after him.

"Ludwig!" Vash called.

"Shit." Arthur cursed and turned to his friends. They couldn't all run back, could they? No, he needed them to stay here. They needed to get Ludwig and Feliciano back and travelling in such a huge group wouldn't work. They would need to split up. Arthur's stomach roiled at the very thought but he would need to trust them. They were strong people. And they were injured. There wasn't time to think this through. "I need a couple people with me. The rest stay here!" He looked directly at Vladimir and Lukas. They nodded.

"I'll come." Ivan said and grabbed the back of Arthur's coat. Arthur met Ivan's eyes and then glanced at the large dark purple aura swimming around him. He wasn't sure if he was imagining it but the whole of it looked distinctly darker. Was that normal? Ivan up until recent months had had a light purple aura...didn't he? Arthur couldn't remember.

No time. He told himself.

"Me too." Matthew said. "I don't know what's happening but I can patch people up. I wanna help." He looked down with a worried expression at Gilbert. Arthur felt a little relieved at that. Arthur would need to catch the boy up on the situation...even if he didn't believe him.

"Two should be fine."

"Wait!" Alfred made to protest. "I want to come too!"

"Me as well!" Elizaveta agreed.

"No." Arthur shook his head. "You all need to stay together. You'll be fine." He swallowed and his hand groped for his rabbit sack and pulled out a container of salt. "If necessary you can make a salt circle until we come back."

Gilbert scoffed. "What are you even talking about?" Lili and Elizaveta shushed him. He gave them offended and baffled looks.

"Artie-" Alfred tried again and grabbed Arthur's arm.

Arthur met his look and removed Alfred's hand, squeezing it. "We'll be right back." He promised.

"Be safe." Kiku said and accepted Arthur's container of salt. Arthur nodded and the three turned to go rush off when he noticed the bindings around the charm bag to keep it sealed were broken.

"Matthew, did you undo these?" Arthur grabbed the boy's wrist to hold up the bag to see.

"Oh." Matthew, sensing the serious atmosphere, seemed unnerved. "Yeah. S-Sorry, I was curious-"

Arthur ignored his excuses and pulled his extra bag out and replaced the ruined spell bag with the new one. He closed Matthew's hand around it and stared him in the eye. "Do not open this one. It's my only spare."

"What about you then?" Ivan asked.

"You're not going without protection!" Alfred yelled. Arthur winced at the yelling. His head was still throbbing from the manifesting his aura earlier. He noticed Vladimir and Lukas also wince.

"I am protected." Arthur moved his hair aside to reveal his dragon earcuff. "This piece is more powerful than all of your items combined. The dæmon can't touch me." He turned away and stroked the earcuff softly. "It's what has kept me alive all these years." He whispered. Dead silence greeted his statement. Images of his grandmother's blood flashed through his mind and her scream startled him from his thoughts. Ivan's hand was on his shoulder now.

"We need to hurry." The Russian said.

Arthur stared at him with wide eyes (his breathing had picked up severely. How long had he been in his memories?) before he shook himself and nodded with a thick swallow. "Y-yes." Arthur glanced back at his friends one more time before he, Ivan, and Matthew ran off back towards the Juice Bar.

The run there was even harder than the walking. Brambles pulled at their clothing and it almost seemed as if the trees themselves were trying to hold them back. Was the forest becoming thicker? Everything around him felt dangerous -he couldn't trust his senses to warn him if something was wrong. It was like there was a cloud disconnecting him from the natural state around him -the one he depended on to tell him if everything around him was right. He hadn't felt this helpless in a long time. His instincts were the only thing he could rely on and they were screaming at him to run away.

Neither Ivan nor Matthew tried to talk as the three of them tried their best to find Ludwig and Feliciano. Arthur didn't know if it was because they knew they needed to save their breaths or because they just automatically trusted Arthur to lead them in the right direction. Arthur thanked the gods that Matthew was the sensible cousin. The boy knew when to talk and when to just go with the flow. Bless Canadians.

After a good ten minutes of running -and still not seeing hide nor hair of either of the missing friends- they finally arrived back at the Juice Bar. Arthur spun in a circle looking for his friends while Matthew and Ivan went in through the back of the Bar to search for Ludwig and/or Feliciano. He could hear their voices calling for them. Arthur moved around towards the front and looked out towards the short path leading outwards to the playground. He could barely make out a couple candles. How strange was it that he couldn't hear any other human voices? It was the middle of the day, admittedly, but usually there were families in the park. Perhaps some instinct kept the other humans from the vicinity. Humans -for as disconnected from the world as they were- were still instinct-driven creatures. Even they could sense something would be wrong even if it was on a subconscious level. The fact that there were any animals left in the area was confusing and worrisome. The unnatural silence made Arthur feel as if they had all been transported to another world separate from the one they had just left.

"Arthur." Arthur glanced down and looked down at Jeanne. Her stone glittered softly in the sunlight reflecting from the snow. Arthur frowned. She had a crack in her that wasn't there before. Before he could even voice his concerns, she interrupted him, "I'm fine. Can you sense that?"

"Sense what?" Arthur thought to her and looked around him. He tried to search through the fog clouding his senses. It felt as thick as a bog. His energy was drained as it was and focusing it to try to find was Jeanne wanted was too difficult. Instead he took her off and held her chain between his fingers to let her swing freely. "Show me." He whispered and the pendulum responded immediately to his order. She swung in a circle for a moment to gather momentum before she began to swing pointedly at Arthur. Arthur understood she meant behind him and turned, taking small footsteps in the directions she led him. Moments later he spotted a dark spot on the ground and he clenched her in his hand before he hurried over to it.

He crouched and brushed some snow away -noting the footprints- and felt the blood drain from his face as he picked up a protection charm. Moving it unto his left hand, he took only a moment to grasp whose it was. He wasted no time in climbing to his feet and rushing to the back of the Bar to throw the door open. Almost instantly Ivan was out in the hallway with his metal pipe at ready and Matthew close behind carrying the first aid kit. "I found footprints!" He held up the charm, his body feeling somewhat numb as he added, "Feliciano is unprotected."

Ivan's eyes widened at the news. " дерьмо." He whispered. "Show us." He commanded and Arthur turned on his heel rushing outside as the other two followed.

"What does it mean if he's 'unprotected'?" Matthew gasped as Arthur led them back to the footprints and they began to follow it. Arthur opened his mouth to summarize why protection was needed when a scream pierced the sound of their footsteps. The three of them stumbled to a stop out of horror. The shriek echoed through Arthur's bones and he felt sick to realize he knew exactly what that sound was. It was animalistic in its terror. It had been Ludwig's voice. Ivan was the first one to recover enough to force his body to move. "W-What was that?" Matthew stuttered even as he and Arthur managed to get their limbs moving enough to hurry after.

Arthur didn't bother to respond. His body quickly shifted from worried to frantic and his pace sped up until he was desperately tripping over himself through the wood. "LUDWIG!" Arthur screamed and registered the metal tang of blood hitting his nose and tastebuds before they burst through a bush and onto the site of two boys in a gruesome situation. A noise ripped from Ivan and Matthew's throats as Matthew's hand flew to his mouth. Ludwig was on the ground, the snow dyed maroon and rust with the blood ripped from the gaping wounds to his face and neck and upper chest. His eyes were opened wide and facing them, blank of any life. Feliciano was crouched over his lover's corpse, blood painting his face, neck and hands. Even from where they were Arthur could see the flesh underneath the scrawny boy's nails. Bile rose to Arthur's throat as Feliciano's eyes lifted and ruby eyes floating in black sclera met theirs.

"Dear lord." Arthur said faintly even as he couldn't tear his eyes from the eyes of the dæmon. Some part of him recognized that the only way that Feliciano could've taken down Ludwig was due to the dæmon's unnatural strength. Arthur had seen it before.

Arthur's voice triggered something in the possessed Italian and Feliciano's eyes flickered before they returned to normal. He looked dazed and strangely childish as his body and mind was returned to him. Arthur couldn't help but think that was the cruelest part, especially as Feliciano's eyes alighted on what he had done and a scream tore from his throat. "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Beside Arthur Matthew fell to his knees as Feliciano vomited up a mixture of blood -dear god, he'd swallowed some- and Matthew joined him at the sight. Arthur wobbled and gripped the frozen Ivan's arm to steady himself even as Feliciano continued to screech. Bloody hands gripped the boy's hair as his entire body shook violently. Arthur stared at the thin shredded black membrane of the boy's aura.

"H-help. We have to help him." Arthur murmured and forced himself to take a step. Feliciano's screams filled his ears as Arthur could barely get himself to move. Feliciano's aura began to expand and wave erratically like torn silk in a hurricane. Arthur flinched where he was even as Ivan gave him a shove to keep him moving. Glancing back at him the Briton saw how terrified Ivan really was. No doubt he was remembering Natalia and Felix. Arthur's eyes clenched shut before they opened with determination.

"Feliciano!" Arthur called and hurried a bit faster to him. He fell to his knees -not caring about the blood soaking chillingly into his trousers- and made to grab the boy's shoulders when the black aura of his friend whipped Arthur's hand. Arthur hissed and jolted back away from it. His own aura quickly burned away any remnants of the darkness before it could penetrate deep.

"I-I-I-I didn't mean to!" Feliciano panted, wide eyes unable to look away from the slaughtered corpse of Ludwig. Arthur forced himself not to look too closely at the wounds. "I don't know what happened! It was so dark. I-I couldn't...I didn't...!"

"I know, Feliciano." Arthur tried to soothe, watching the tendrils of the black whips warily. He occasionally had to dodge. "I know. You were possessed. This isn't your fault." It wasn't Feliciano's fault. Arthur knew what it had felt like to be possessed. Or, better yet, he didn't know what it felt like. He had no memory of being possessed. He only had faint sensory images of blood, screaming, and a horribly cold feeling. Everything that happened in between he only knew the details of that were told to him. Arthur reached out to touch the boy again but this time Feliciano flinched away from him. Tears streamed in rivets down his face, turning red where it streaked through the gore. Arthur could see bits of tissue caught in the boy's teeth. Arthur shuddered.

"I couldn't stop myself. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. Ludwig. Ludwig!" Feliciano curled in on himself and began to scream again as his hand went to his throat. Arthur scrambled away as the aura flared again and became sinister. His hand flew into his bag as he heard Matthew scream, "Arthur watch out!" They could see the darkness too. Instead of running, Arthur pulled out his holy water and threw some at Feliciano. The Italian's scream changed this time into something deeper and animal.

"Shit!" Arthur fled from the boy's side and back to Ivan and Matthew's. "He's possessed again!" Did Arthur have a spell for that? Did he have a spell prepared for the possibility of one of his friend's being possessed? No, he hadn't even thought about it. He had been confident in his protection charms and he hadn't expected anybody but him, Lukas, and Vladimir to be in the trap. Could Arthur push the dæmon out? Normally yes but he was already weakened from earlier and hadn't had enough time to recover. He doubted in his current condition he could even get close to the Italian boy let alone free him from his possessed state.

Ivan moved in front of them with his metal weapon aloft. He looked fearful but determined. He was the only one with a physical weapon. Matthew didn't even look close to understanding what was happening but had enough sense to move behind Ivan for safety. He clutched the first aid kit to his chest like a life preserver.

"Arthur." Ivan glanced at Arthur. "What do we do?"

Arthur swallowed. "We defend ourselves."

"What about Feliciano?"

Arthur didn't respond.

It was then Feliciano started chuckling. The fine hairs on Arthur's body stood up and his legs weakened. He held his ground though. He may not be able to push the dæmon out, but he had the ability to fend him off. If he used Feliciano as a vessel for long enough, he may be able to recover enough energy to try to save him. Gods, if only he had thought to bring magickal back-up with him. He should've brought one of his club members with him.

"Oh Arthur." Feliciano crooned as he slowly climbed to his feet. Ivan stiffened beside Arthur. He'd recognized that taunting tone accent. "Can't you just taste little Feliciano's corrupted mind? He's practically insane, you know." The dæmon's eyes lifted -the sclera black but the irises a cold version of Feliciano's warm colour- and gazed giddily into Arthur's. "It's rather delicious." He licked bits of blood from his lips. Arthur swallowed back bile.

"What do you want with him?" Arthur demanded, trying to act haughty. "Surely you can do better than him?"

The dæmon's eyes flashed. "You're right, of course. It was just too tempting to ride this meatsack. You can't hear it but he's crying you know. His soul is so desperate. It's amazing what a death of a loved one can do to a person's mind."

Arthur growled. "You...You're the one who killed Natalia, yes?" Ivan demanded. His voice was tremulous but cold and angry. The dæmon shot him amused look. "Why? Why her?" Ivan cried.

The dæmon tilted its head a bit. "She was easy." It sounded positively bored. "Even if I wasn't exactly aiming for her." Its eyes found Arthur's again and the grin that split across those lips was demented. "Naughty naughty, Arthur. What a choice you made..."

Arthur flinched. "Shut UP!" He screamed and the dæmon's hand reached upwards to Feliciano's throat still grinning at them. Without another word -and before any of the boys could do anything- he began to claw and rip at its own throat. "NO!" Arthur, Ivan, and Matthew lurched forward together and Feliciano -his mind returned to him but not his body- screamed in agony as his own throat was torn to shreds by his own hands turned against him. In an instant all three boys were on their backs, whipped away by the darkness surrounding the Italian.

"HELP ME!" Feliciano shrieked and his screams began to gurgle as blood entered this trachea and spilled out over his hands blending with gore already covering them. Arthur tried to climb back to his feet but he felt so heavy. His body was shaking like crazy. He couldn't even get his limbs to work properly. Beside him his friends were having a similar issue. Matthew was crying out Feliciano's name. Tears were falling from his eyes as he desperately scrambled to get up.

I'm sorry. Arthur could only think. It repeated endlessly in his head as he helplessly watched as his friend killed himself in front of his eyes. I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry.

All at once it stopped. Feliciano's arms went limp and he slumped over. Matthew was the first to his feet as he rushed over. "Oh god oh god oh god!" He said under his breath as trembling hands went to Feliciano's throat to try to stop the bleeding. Arthur slowly got to his knees as Ivan joined the Canadian. "Stop the bleeding!" Matthew commanded and reached into the first aid kit to pull out a white towel to try to stem the flow of blood. Arthur could only watch the situation numbly. Feliciano's body was twitching faintly. Arthur already knew that he wouldn't survive. Just like Ludwig, too much damage had been done to the major arteries in his throat. Arthur blinked and registered the wetness of tears on his face but could only watch as, after a few more desperate moments, Matthew broke down over Feliciano's body. Ivan was gritting his teeth to bite back his own feelings. His eyes met Arthur's and then looked away. Arthur lowered his to Ludwig's face.

He felt so useless.

A/N: Again, I'm sorry for the lateness.