Japan's POV:
I awaken from the memory possibility, feeling sick to my stomach. That gruesome scene. Everyone massacred. Everyone but myself and Itary-kun. It was the most horrible bloodbath I've ever seen. And I've been around for over two millennia. I feel like screaming and clawing at my eyes and ears... To get rid of the blood and screams that still haunts my mind. I shudder hard. In all my years...
Chuugoku-san, who's already awake, sees my rapidly paling face, reads the warning signs, and immediately lunges for the nearby wastebasket, pushing it to me just in time for me to empty the contents of my stomach into it. I haven't thrown up like this since the end of World War II.
"Japan?" China asks me quietly, when I'm done, rubbing my back to help calm me down. I'm physically shaking. I feel cold and hot at the same time, but I also feel immeasurably better now that I've finished with the wastebasket.
I look around, finally able to observe my surroundings. I'm only the third—or fourth, if Germany-san saw something this time—to wake up. As it is, China, Germany, Russia, and myself are the only ones awake so far. Odd. Itary-kun is usually awake by this point...
Something feels wrong. A sinking feeling in my stomach that has nothing to do with what I saw. "Japan? Are you okay, aru?" China asks again. Oh, how unlike me. To zone out like that...
"H-hai... arigatou... I just saw... A terrible blood-bath..." I whisper to him, the scene flashing behind my eyelids. I fight the urge to dry-heave again.
I notice that China-san also looks greatly disturbed and pale. "Are you okay?" I ask him.
"Not really, aru... But I'll be fine..." I nod my head, knowing not to push it. Now that I'm looking, I notice that everyone who's woken up is pale and shaking. I see I'm not the only one who saw something horrible... Perhaps Itary-kun was right... Perhaps we shouldn't have broken this clock... Perhaps it was one too many...
One by one, everyone starts to wake up in varying states of distress. England wakes up with a jolt, tears running down his face as he chokes back a sob. America wakes up lunging for England, sobbing into his shirt, and Canada wakes up pale and shaking and unnaturally still, a haunted look in his eyes. Prussia wakes up grasping his chest, as if in pain, panting and sweating with a look of absolute horror, as he clings to his little brother for reassurance. France wakes up with a yelp, falling to his side, as he grips his arm, hyperventilating, grabbing at it frantically, as if to make sure that it's still there. China and I have to talk him through his panic attack to get him to breathe normally again. Spain wakes up next, yelling something about Romano. Then Romano wakes up in a flurry of panic, frantically searching for his brother, only calming once he sees Itary-kun still sitting in the clock-induced trance.
That's when I see something wrong. While the others are talking about how strange it is that Itary-kun hasn't woken up yet, I see Itary-kun's face scrunching up in pain, though it's hard to see, it's becoming more noticeable by the second.
"Everyone..." I say quietly, catching their attention. "Something's terribly wrong." I say as they follow my gaze to Itary-kun.
"Oi! Fratellino?!" Romano cries out, about ready to try to shake him awake, when Itary-kun wakes up himself.
I'll never be able to forget Itary-kun's soul-piercing, agonized, tortured scream. He screams so loudly that blood starts trickling out of his mouth, as tears start streaming from his eyes. I notice, vaguely, that the tears coming from his left eye are slightly pinkish, but I push the thought back. Now was not the time.
Abruptly, his screams stop; he goes very still and dead quiet. The silence in the room rings in everyone's ears. Something's wrong. Something's terribly, terribly wrong!
Itary-kun then collapses, snapping all of us out of our stupor. Immediately, China-san and I—the two nations here with the most medical knowledge—rush to his side. Straight away, we notice that his chest is still. Far too still. He's not breathing!
China immediately puts his ear to Italy's chest, his eyes widening. Immediately, he starts CPR. He starts giving him chest compressions. I know what this means. His heart's stopped. Italy has gone into sudden cardiac arrest.
Unknown to most nations, I do know a little bit of magic. Just a bit. But in this moment, it seems I've been given my magic for this specific situation. The other nations stare in shock, unable to comprehend what's going on. As China moves to breathe air into Itary-kun's lungs, I quickly unbutton his shirt so I can defibrillate him if needed. I force myself to not fully register the horrible bruising of his chest, or the bandages wrapped around his midsection.
"H-hey! Stop it! You're hurting him! C-can't you see his bruised chest?!" Romano yells at us, Spain holding him back. The Italian looks so lost and unsure. The situation hasn't registered.
Something in me snaps. "Your brother has gone into cardiac arrest. Do you know what that means? His heart has stopped beating! He's dying. If you want him to live, or wake up ever again, you will let us treat him!" I snarl at him, not taking my eyes of China and Italy. I start charging up the magic in my hands, making sure to use just the right amount of electricity.
"Now!" China commands, moving his hands out of the way. I place my hands flat on his bare chest, and concentrate, transferring the electrical flow straight into his heart. His body arches up off the floor before falling back down with a thump. China listens, before continuing the CPR. I charge up the magic again. It takes us three defibrillations before Itary-kun's heart starts beating again.
"He's alive." China finally says, lifting his head off Itary-kun's now moving chest. Thank God...
Now that Itary-kun is, indeed, alive, China and I let out breaths that we hadn't realized we were holding. My shoulders sag with relief and my body shakes with fear at how close I just came to losing my best friend. Everyone's shaken.
"Wha...what...?" Romano can't get out a full sentence. That's when China-san and I notice that Itary-kun still isn't responding to any stimuli. China gives me a look, carefully moving Itary-kun to a sitting position, as I give him a quick chop to the pressure point in his neck, forcing his body to relax and rest.
"Hey! What're you doing?!" America shouts out, just coming out of his stupor.
"Itary-kun is catatonic right now. He's still in shock about whatever he saw. His body needs rest, and this is the only way to make sure he gets it right now." I explain, tired and weary from the whole ordeal.
China asks Russia to carefully move Itary-kun to his bed, so he can properly rest, and so China-san and I can look him over. Somehow, he appears to have gotten even more injuries since we looked at him yesterday.
Now that he's lying on the bed, pale and bruised with his midsection wrapped in hastily self-done bandages, Itary-kun looks so... young. So small and weak and tired. So, so tired.
Kami-sama, whatever this burden that Itary-kun carries within him, please... let me help him. I need to help him... I can't watch him suffer from afar like this anymore. He's killing himself. And I don't even know why. Or how... But he's grown so much stronger... So much braver... And so much darker... He's drowning in the shadows of his despair, and he knows it. He's hiding it to keep us from worrying. Why? Doesn't he trust us? He's making himself go through all this suffering alone. But for what reason? I so dearly wish to help him, but I don't know how. I've tried reaching out to him, but I can only touch the shadows. Onegai, Kami-sama... Please... Onegai... let me help him. Help me pull him from this darkness that threatens to swallow him, and bring him back into the sun.
"Japan, look at this, aru." China-san pulls me from my thoughts. He gestures to Itary-kun's side, which is now void of bandages. I gasp. That, most certainly, was not there yesterday. I note. There's a deep slash mark, as if caused by a large jagged blade. Did somebody cut him? No, nobody here would do that... So is there someone else in this mansion? Perhaps one of the Things? There are different shapes, so why not different kinds? It would only make sense... So one with blades... Oh, Itary-kun...
"It's burned, aru."
"Nani?!" I look closer. Sure enough, there are electrical burns around the wound. I then notice something else. "China-san, look." I point to his muscles twitching beneath his skin. A sign of strong electrical shock—much stronger than my defibrillations earlier.
"Aiyaa..." China breathes, as the full extent of his injuries hit us. "No wonder he slept so late... He must've been in absolute agony. Look at his hands, they're burnt nearly black, aru." He says, holding up Itary-kun's palms for the room to see. My eyes widen, as I reach for his nearby sword. I realize that the hilt has been wrapped in bandages. Undoing them, the distinct smell of burnt flesh assaults my nostrils. How could we have missed this?! The handle has handprints seared into it. And the blade! I draw the sword, revealing the blade to be incredibly warped. Strong electrical currents, indeed. He shouldn't have survived something like this... If the electrical current was strong enough to cause his blade this much damage, then Itary-kun should've died. It's no wonder...
"It's no wonder he went into cardiac arrest, aru." China-san finishes my thoughts.
"What happed to my fratellino...?" Romano asks, looking absolutely terrified.
"It would appear..." China-san starts, not sure quite how much information the group of traumatized nations behind us can take. "It seems as if Italy, at some point last night, snuck out of the Safe Room for something. He fought a type of Thing that we haven't seen yet, one with a jagged blade, and possibly electric abilities. Somehow, he managed to fight it and survive, but through his sword, he was electrocuted badly."
"How badly?" Prussia asks, scared.
"He shouldn't be alive." China says bluntly. "The amount of electricity needed to warp his sword this much is staggering. His heart shouldn't have been able to take it. He must've been in excruciating pain when he woke up this morning, so it's no wonder why he slept so long. It's a miracle he woke up at all. After that, his heart was probably already erratic. Any little shock would've sent him into cardiac arrest. It was a matter of when, not if. But whatever he saw in the clock possibilities must've been horrific, if that scream was anything to go by." China shivers, along with the rest of us. His scream still rings in my ears... "It was more than enough to put him into cardiac arrest... He should live, but I'm not sure how deep the damage of his electrocution is... I won't be able to tell until he wakes up. If he wakes up."
"What the hell do you mean, if he wakes up?!" Romano demands.
"Please, Romano-san, calm down. Itary-kun—"
"Calm down?! CALM DOWN?! I AM FUCKING CALM, GODDAMNIT!" He yells.
"Listen, aru!" China demands, quieting him down. "He probably will wake up. Physically, he'll be fine." Internally, I insert the 'I hope' that China doesn't say aloud. "Mentally, though, I can't be sure. He'll only wake up when he wants to wake up. He could have massive mental trauma due to not only the electrical current from last night, but also whatever he saw. He could have a plethora of problems, like amnesia. I'm telling you this so you might be prepared if it does happen. When he wakes up, there's a very real possibility that he won't remember any of us. We'll hope for the best, but it's always a good idea to prepare for the worst as well." China surveys the somber mood of the room. "I will take the first watch, aru. There's no way to move him like this. We'll have to stay here a little longer, aru. His condition is stable, now, but he still needs to be watched, just in case. Japan will take the next watch. Everyone else, get some rest. Doctor's orders, aru." China orders. There are a few grumbles of complaint, but eventually we all comply.
After all, we've all had an exhausting day. Between the stress of the possibilities that we've been shown, and Itary-kun's episode earlier, I know that I'm ready to sleep for about a decade. Luckily, China-san knows how to wake me up on the rare occasions that I actually manage to fall into a deeper sleep. I have a feeling I'll do so tonight. Oyasuminasai, Itary-kun... Onegai... Wake up all right...