Chapter 58: Unfamiliar Surroundings

"What the fuck did we just see?!" Romano whirled on me, desperate for answers.

"Obviously, I'm fine, fratello." I rolled my eyes.

"WHAT PART OF THIS IS FINE?!" He roared, gesturing to the blackness around us.

"Hmm... Oh, I don't know? Maybe the fact that I'm standing right in front of you?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Calm down, Ying. He's allowed to worry." Yang reminded me, placing a hand on my shoulder.

"Though I'll admit... that was certainly a bitch and a half." Luciano rubbed the back of his head.

"The Magick... its reaction was quite severe... What happened?" England asked, turning towards me.

"I daresay that it looked almost like it was reacting to another, equally strong Magick." Oliver put in his two cents.

"Equally... strong...?" Flavio looked towards Luciano with a questioning gaze.

"You're about to find out." Luciano answered as the memory faded in.

Feli suddenly found himself amidst the bustling town before the forest. "Was it... a glitch?" Feliciano looked around himself in confusion. "Everything seems normal..." His eyebrows furrowed. "But something feels... off somehow." He grasped his Journal tightly before looking down at it.

Feli nearly dropped the Journal in shock. "T-this isn't mine!" He realized, looking at the decidedly black cover.

His normal Journal was a dark reddish-brown color with black Celtic knots that formed a cross on the cover. This Journal, however was black with gold filigree. It was quieter, and less obvious than the Journal Feliciano had. It also had a lot fewer bloodstains.

He hesitated a moment before opening the cover. The name signed at the bottom made Feli gasp in shock. "No... why? L-Luciano Vargas?" He whispered aloud.

"There you are, Luciano! We've been wondering where you'd gotten off... to..." Memory Kuro came to a sudden stop before Feliciano. "Y... You're the 1P... Where's your 2P?" His red eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"Wait... 2P Japan?" Feli echoed, equally lost. "Wh-what are you doing in the 1P world?!"

"1P World? Take a look around yourself. This isn't your world... it's ours."

Feli's gaze wondered skyward where the telltale glare of the Dome told Feli that Kuro was right.

"How?" Feli shook his head softly, unable to handle such a sudden drastic change. "It's been the same for centuries... Millennia... why change? Why now?" He clutched the Journal tighter out of sheer habit.

"You're making no sense." Kuro crossed his arms irritably as Klaus and Lutz came over to see what the fuss was about.

"Wait... isn't that the 1P?" Lutz tilted his head, and Klaus nodded in agreement.

"I-I don't know what happened... one moment, I was in my world, and the next thing I know, I'm here!" Feli's eyes watered in confusion and fear. "I don't understand what happened!"

"We should probably get him to a mirror and get him back to his world." Kuro sighed. "At the very least, perhaps Luciano ended up in the same position as his 1P, here."

Feli's eyes widened in realization. "You mean we swapped...?"

"More than likely." Lutz agreed. The three 2Ps completely missed the flash of horror and understanding that lit up the brunette's eyes.

"Wait... We were supposed to meet the others at that haunted mansion, remember?" Klaus spoke up in a whispery voice. He sounded painfully unconfident, and shifted from foot to foot.

"Oh yeah... Those idiots would probably get worried if we didn't show up on time..." Kuro sighed. "Well... nothing we can do about it then. You, 1P. You're coming with us."

"I... I am?" Feli looked so shaken that he seemed to be processing Kuro's words about ten seconds too slowly.

"Yeah. Don't worry, if it actually happens to be haunted, we aren't gonna let you die. We need Luciano, after all." Kuro rolled his eyes with a huff.

"Gee, thanks." Feli deadpanned, before the meaning of the words caught up to him. "I mean, wait! We shouldn't go! That place is cursed!"

"Yeah. We know it's cursed. Why do you think we're going?" Lutz spoke up, raising an eyebrow.

"Huh?"

"It's our job to protect our citizens. If someone's killing people in there, or some monsters have found their way into the Dome, then we need to take care of them... quickly." Kuro explained as he started walking down the path.

"You don't know much about our world, do you?" Klaus asked quietly as he walked beside Feli.

"I know a little bit... That the Domes protect your people from the acidic air... and the monsters live out there, too... The Contaminated... and that you're all the rulers of your natio—er... Networks... That's what you call them, right?" Feli tilted his head, trying to recall the stories that Luci had told him long ago.

"Right. So from time to time, people complain about stuff to us. 'This place is haunted', or 'I saw a monster in my backyard'. Half the time it's people pulling pranks and the like... We usually send out people to deal with the situation or verify the authenticity of the claim. But Luciano got a report about a nearby mansion that was haunted, and several people have mysteriously vanished in the area as well. Some 'survivors' claimed that monsters unlike any they'd seen lived there. Since we were in the area, we all decided to take a look and deal with it ourselves." Klaus shrugged. "Besides... with so many of us there, it'll be a quick in-and-out case. I doubt it'll be more than a mild inconvenience."

Feli shivered. "Yang... are you there? Time, I can't believe I'm actually asking for your fugly voice."

"Aww, Ying~ Did ya miss me?"

"No, just making sure that I'm actually awake and this crazy shit is happening."

"Oh, it's happening all right. You should see your group's reaction to Luciano! Ha! Priceless!"

"My... oh, no..."

"Oh, yes. You two have swapped Mansions! This is amazing! Oh, I can't wait to see you fail miserably!" Yang cackled, causing Feli to twitch in irritation.

"Woah, you look almost like Luciano, with that scowl on your face." Klaus joked half-heartedly.

"Well, we do have the same face." Feli retorted without much thought.

"People could say the same for Kiku and I, but I beg to differ." Kuro flashed Feli a wicked grin. "I got all the looks."

"Say that to my face, you bastard." Japan muttered to his 2P, who burst out laughing.

"So? What're ya gonna do, now?" Memory Yang spoke up, causing Feli to falter for a moment.

"You ask the silliest things, Yang. There's only one thing I can do." Feli's smirk seemed somewhat vicious, though the memory 2Ps missed it. "I'm going to survive."

A/N: All right! So today, August 24, is the day that Feliciano and Luciano escaped their respective Mansions!! WHOOO! So to celebrate, I have this little chapter for you guys.

Sorry I haven't been writing much. I just got a promotion at work, so I've been getting more hours! ^^ Great for my wallet, not so great for my downtime.

Ah, and I digress... I've been reading Harry Potter fanfic again. Whoops~

But I hope you've all enjoyed this little chappie, and look forward to the next~! We have finally reached the Feli/Luci swaps~ YAY~

Please remember, if you can, vote or star or like this chapter/story (for the Smol one!)

Words: 1,115

Pages: 3

Posted: Aug 24, 2019