amazing chapter one ! this was originally a oneshot but its kinda long for a oneshot so im splitting it into chapters to make it easier to read! the prompt was 'erratic'. i hope you enjoy it!
"Agent Jones, straighten up!" A stern voice exclaimed. "No slacking!" It of course, belonged to a short and youthful Chinese man. He was dressed in some kind of casual wear, just a letterman jacket, baggy slacks, and canvas shoes. Despite his casual and lazy appearance, he was in fact the boss of the agency. And, no one knew his real age. There were rumors here and there that he was over a thousand, or more. One theory included something about a top-secret 'fountain of youth' project.
Alfred tensed, holding his breath. It was rare that the boss came to talk to any of the employees here, nonetheless the newbies. Ah, but they were short of willing members for this project! So, naturally, the new agents were signed up without consent, essentially lab rats and test guinea pigs until they proved their worth in the industry. "My apologies, Sir!" The American shouted quickly, staring forward with wide eyes.
"Ah, so it's a pair of half-brothers this time." The boss mused. "I imagine you two, Jones and Williams, already know me. Just in case, my name is Wang Yao." He stated, giving the usual spiel for new agents that would be going on their first mission.
The room they had been summoned to was small, the walls painted bright red and yellow. Alfred's eye caught on a few peonies painted to one corner of the room. Perhaps done by the boss himself, as there was a set of paints to one side of the desk. Ah, the desk! It was the centerpiece of the room, and about anything you could name could be located amongst the junk. Various knick-knacks (mainly cute cat trinkets), computer parts and gadgets, blueprints and novels – everything was there, even loose change.
"Yes, sir." Alfred's brother piped up, arms tight against his sides. The Canadian had obviously spent his time preparing this morning. His slightly curly blond locks were silky, falling short just above his shoulder. Despite how much he'd tried to comb it down, one errant curl remained, sticking out from where his hair was parted. He was dressed neatly, in a proper suit, like Alfred. Despite having a similar face to the man beside him, Matthew and Alfred differed greatly in personality and what they enjoyed.
"Please, you don't need to say 'sir'- aru. Just 'Yao' is fine." Yao laughed softly, putting his shoes up on the desk and leaning back in his chair. "You two are here for your first mission, I see. This is something experimental, so I can't ensure your safety." He stated a touch more seriously now, dark eyes narrowing.
"We understand, Yao." The American answered simply. "We were told about how dangerous and stuff the job'll be back at initiation." He gave a nervous laugh, tugging gently at his tie. He felt about for his pistol in his pocket, just making sure that he had it for when he actually got to the assignment.
"Good. I think I should be giving you these, then." The boss cooed, putting his feet back down on the floor, and rummaging about the inner draws of his desk. He gave a little smile as he found what he was searching for. He picked them out, and showed them to the blonde pair.
Yao held out two small devices in his palm, much to the wonderment of the brothers. They were slick, silver, and resembled simple watches. On the side of the little clock-faces, there were adjustable dials.
"Here you have them, universe-jumping watches." The Chinese man whispered, motioning for the pair to take one each. "Still very experimental technology. There's no guarantee if it'll even work. If you break it, you'll be in debt forever, so I suggest you be careful."
Alfred stared at the small device in his hands, giving it another glance over before trying to put it on around his wrist. This earned a quiet laugh from Yao.
"The clock-face isn't for telling you the time of day, Jones." He pointed out. "The band stretches. It's for around your neck, aru."
He flushed in embarrassment, using both hands to stretch out the band, and then attach it around his neck. With a sideways glance, he noticed that his brother was doing the same. Yao got to his feet, heaving out of his chair, and shuffling over to the pair. "I hope you two are ready to go, right now." He stated. "From the few tests we've been able to do, it works better when the vic-.. the test subject isn't expecting it." Yao mused, stepping over to Matthew first.
The Canadian gulped and nodded slowly. He hadn't been expecting this when he signed up, that was for sure. "So, by the name, I'm guessing that this goes between universes?" The man asked meekly, hands growing sweaty with nervousness, the band of the device loosely attached around his neck.
The boss dipped his head, looking up to the taller men. "It may either be time, or universe, or both." He said softly, raising a brow. "Test results differ, aru. There's no way of telling. Utterly unpredictable."
"I wish you two the best of luck." He sighed, running a hand through his long hair, flicking it a bit. Alfred and Matthew just exchanged a glance, before pulling one another into a tight hug.
"See you when I get back, Mattie." Alfred boasted, giving a confident smile before releasing his brother and turning back to face Yao.
Matthew let a tiny smile crease his lips; he wasn't as certain about this as Alfred was. "See you."
And without a moment's more warning, Yao pressed at both of the devices' dials at the same time. It took less than half a second for the brothers to fade into the air, disappearing.
When Alfred awoke, it was with a boot pressing down on his chest. He blinked his eyes open. He was laying down, a quarter-buried in a haystack. The man tried to sit up, but he was just pushed back down.
"Explain yourself." The words were sour, and so English that it was almost painful. "You appear out of nowhere, pass out, and fall in my associate's haystack, dressed like some kind of alien." Now that his eyes had refocused, Alfred could get a good look at the man. He was of small stature, with piercing green eyes, and barley-blond hair with a texture that resembled straw. To his side stood a burly man, his longer locks a shade of champagne-yellow. A tattered sun hat shaded that one's face. They were both dressed in odd clothes that Alfred had seen in typical medieval paintings. The scruffier one's face reminded him of something, but he just couldn't remember what.
Alfred panicked a little, not knowing what to say or do. This hadn't been in training.
"Erm, I was drunk? I had a bit too much wine ?" He tried, pursing his lips. The pair just glanced to each other, faces worried. After a second of thought, Arthur lifted his foot. "And these clothes, I just bought this from the formalwear store down the road-"
He cut himself off as he glanced about more. He was outside; he could tell by the sounds of birds, and the bright sun beating against his back. There were no normal roads to speak of, actually. The paths amongst tall and healthy grass were cobblestone at best, if not that, gravel or just dirt.
Alfred stood up and dusted himself off, creasing his brow. Perhaps the device around his neck had worked after all.
"The only store down the road is The Swillhouse, and that's a bloody woeful pub." The Briton sighed, receiving a little chuckle from his companion.
"Are you going to share your name, stranger? I am Arthur Kirkland, son of Rosa and Oliver Kirkland, knight of the first guard." The man bowed a little, putting his hands behind him.
The agent was a little puzzled at such a formal introduction, but he shrugged it off and tried to follow suit. "I'm Alfred F. Jones, son of some drunkard asshole and my sweet mom." He scoffed, burying his hands in his pockets. "'Scuse me, Arthur, did you say it was, what year is it?"
Alfred was shocked when Arthur answered the same year that he was in back in his own world. Really? He glanced around again, cringing. "You sure?" murmured Alfred, brushing his hair out of his eyes and adjusting his crooked glasses. For such a respectively primitive looking land, hearing this was quite shocking.
Arthur nodded.