A/N: It's 9/11 again…and this is my Hetalia tribute. I hope you guys enjoy it.
The Day We All Stood Still
September 10, 2001 10:08 P.M. New York City, New York
Matthew's POV
"Mattie! Hey, Mattie! Come here! I wanna show you something!" Alfred hollered from the balcony of the apartment. I sighed and left my pancakes, deciding they would be safe for a little while. I walked out on the balcony to find my brother leaning against the railing, his eyes on the lit up city of New York.
"What is it, Al?" I asked standing beside him. He smiled, his blue eyes sparkling in the false lights.
"Look," He said pointing out across the horizon. I followed his finger with my eyes and saw that he was pointing at the World Trade Center. "It's beautiful, isn't it?" I nodded. The World Trade Center did look quite amazing all lit up like that.
"Yeah," I said leaning against the railing like he was. "It's an amazing symbol." Alfred grinned. He'd always been proud of the World Trade Center. Honestly, I was proud of it too, even though I am Canada. Suddenly, the smell of burnt food filled my nostrils and the fire alarm sounded.
"Oh no! My pancakes!" I shrieked, running into the kitchen. Alfred came in behind me laughing. I turned off the stupid fire alarm and got my now burnt pancakes off the stove. I glared at the two burnt round crisps that had been my favorite meal. Alfred stood giggling behind me.
"I've never seen you burn pancakes before!" He said around his giggle fit. I pouted and crossed my arms.
"Well it's your fault," I said scraping the ruined food into the garbage can. I sighed and put the skillet back onto the stove. I decided to give it one more shot and made two perfect stacks of pancakes. I know it was late, but Alfred had practically forced me to check out some new gaming system that had come out. I don't even remember what it's called. I'm not sure how long he stayed up playing it, but I fell asleep on the couch while he played. It had been a fun night.
September 11, 2001 8:26 A.M. Southern Manhattan, New York City, New York
Alfred's POV
I had taken a cab from my apartment down to Manhattan, but the streets were so clogged when I got there I decided it'd be better if I walked. I had some business the sort out at the World Trade Center that my boss had almost forgotten to tell me about. I stopped at a coffee shop to get a latte because I'd promised Mattie that I wouldn't ruin the breakfast he'd made by buying a bunch of hamburgers. I was kinda regretting that, because I was craving a hamburger really bad right now. The girl behind the counter smiled at me when I came in. She looked really pretty, with her dark brown hair in low pigtails and her big round brown eyes sparkling. She couldn't have been a day over eighteen.
"Good morning, sir. What can I do for you?" She asked me folding her hands in front of her on the counter. I grinned.
"Can I have a caramel latte?" I asked her. I remembered someone saying that they were extremely good, but I had no clue who it was now. She giggled.
"Of course," She said before turning to her coworker and telling him what I wanted. I was out of there in about ten minutes. I sipped the warm beverage, deciding that it was pretty good. I was about ten blocks away from the World Trade Center when I heard a plane fly overhead. I looked up and saw the plane. It was too low. Far too low. A sinking feeling made its way into my stomach and quickly spread throughout my body.
Everything slowed. The plane, me, the people around me-everything in slow motion. I wasn't the only one looking up either. Everything was on mute. The only thing I could hear was my heartbeat thumping so loudly in my ears. The plane zoomed towards the World Trade Center. I prayed I was wrong.
It hit.
Everything started rushing around me. People screaming, the loud explosion, the fire, the smoke. It was all so loud. I felt my heart stop and I ran. I dropped the drink I'd bought and ran with everything I had towards the World Trade Center. I saw people falling from the highest floors. I could hear their bodies hit the ground and it made me sick.
Someone grabbed me, yanking me back so that I couldn't reach the building. "Stay back or you'll get hit!" He says urgently. I don't care. I yank my arm out of his grip and keep running. I have to do something.
8:47 A.M. Alfred's Apartment, New York City, New York
Matthew's POV
I was packing to go back to Canada, the TV on with the volume down low, when the broadcast started. I wasn't sure what was going on until I saw the footage of the World Trade Center. The shirt I'd been folding slipped from my hands and fell forgotten to the floor. I grabbed my cell phone and dialed Alfred's number. It rang three times and went straight to voicemail.
I panicked and ran out of the apartment, taking the stairs instead of the elevator. I didn't have the patience for it. I ran out the front door and grabbed the nearest Taxi, ordered the driver to take me to the World Trade Center. He looked back at me like I was crazy.
"Dude, you do know what's going on right?" He asked me with a raised eyebrow. I glared at him as hard as I could.
"My brother is there you dipshit!" I screamed. "Go already!" He stared at me with wide eyes for about half a second before deciding to start driving towards Manhattan. I jumped out of the cab without paying when he stopped. I don't think the driver even cared at the time. I looked at my watch and saw that it hadn't taken too long to get here. But the sound of a plane overhead made me look up…just in time to see it crash into the South Tower. I stumbled and fell. I hadn't seen the curb. A dark hand was thrust into my view and I looked up.
A man with dark skin and cornrows was bent down, offering his hand to me. I took it graciously and allowed him to help me up. "You alright, man?" He asked as I dusted myself off. I nodded.
"Yes, I'm just in a really big hurry," I said. "My brother went to the World Trade Center this morning, and he's not answering his cell phone…" The man nodded in understanding.
"Come on," He said starting to run in a different direction. "It's quicker this way!" He called over his shoulder. I quickly started after him.
9:10 A.M. World Trade Center, New York City, New York
Alfred's POV
I ran into the North Tower and up the stairs, ignoring the shouts that it was dangerous. I had to do something! The South Tower had just been hit some minutes ago. The police department was evacuating people and getting them to safety. I found a young intern on the 97th floor. She was shaking and scared. The skin on her leg was burnt to a black crust and one of her arms had no skin at all.
"It's going to be okay," I told her, kneeling down beside her and carefully picking her up. She wrapped her arms around my neck and I stood. I looked around and saw that there was an elderly man just sitting in a desk chair. I went over to him. "Can you walk?" I asked. He looked up at me.
"Don't worry about me, son," He said with a sad smile. "Just get her out of here." I shook my head.
"I'm sorry, sir, but I'm not taking no for an answer," I said. The woman in my arms tightened her grip when the flames roared. The old man looked at her and then at me before standing. I got about three more people before going back out. The firefighters and police tried to stop me from going back in once I'd gotten them to safety.
"Boy, you've done good," The chief of police said grabbing my shoulder. "Let us handle the rest. We don't need you getting hurt too." I frowned.
"I'm going back in," I insisted. Before he could say anything I ran into the South Tower. I don't know how long I ran in and out of the buildings. It seemed to last forever. I felt my cell phone vibrating in my pocket when I ran back into the South Tower for more survivors. I stopped and dug it out. 'Mattie' flashed on the screen. I answered it as quickly as I could.
"Mattie!" I exclaimed.
"Oh, thank God! Alfred! Where are you?" He asked. He was out of breath and I could hear the worry in his voice. I grinned. My brother the worrier.
"I'm in the South Tower," I said. "I have to get more people out." I started running again, looking for more people. I felt the tremors before I heard them. I heard Mattie gasp on the line. "Mattie? What's wrong?"
"ALFRED, GET OUT OF THERE!" He screamed. I heard the building groan and looked up.
The ceiling came down.
9:59 A.M. The World Trade Center, New York City, New York
Matthew's POV
"ALFRED!" I screamed as the South Tower came down. The line on the phone went dead. My vision blurred and I stumbled, falling to my knees. No…this couldn't have happened. Alfred was America! He couldn't be dead…could he? No! Not possible! I felt the tears coming down my cheeks. I was sobbing, I realized. A hand landed on my shoulder. I looked up and saw the man who'd gotten me here. Devin was his name.
"Dude, come on! The debris's fallin' all over the place!" He screamed, grabbing my arm and yanking me away from the building. We barreled into a small coffee shop and Devin slammed the door shut just before the giant smoke cloud came past, shaking the windows. A young woman with pigtails came up to me, recognition and confusion in her big brown eyes.
"Excuse me sir, but did you come in this morning?" She asked me. I shook my head.
"No…I think that was my…" I gulped and let out a shuddered breath, "my brother." She put her small hand over her mouth.
"Oh…I'm so sorry," She said softly, tears brimming in her eyes. I bit my lip, trying to hold back my own tears. "I'm sure he's okay," She reassured me. I didn't know. I really didn't know. I knew Alfred was a country, but the whole building had collapsed on top of him! I collapsed into a chair and pulled out my cell phone. I had to talk to someone who knew us.
September 11, 2001 5:15 P.M. (French Time Zone) Paris, France
Francis's POV
I was just starting dinner when my phone rang. It was curious because not many people ever call me. It might've been Antonio, or maybe Gilbert. I wiped my hands off on a towel and went to answer the phone.
"Bon jour," I answered.
"Francis?" The voice was quiet and sad. Matthieu.
"Matthieu, are you alright?" I asked worriedly. I'd never heard him so sad before. I heard a small sniffle. He was crying! "Has Alfred been hitting you with the baseballs again?" I asked crossing my arms. I swear if that dumb American has been hurting my little Matthieu I'm gonna-.
"Alfred's trapped under a collapsed building," Matthieu said quietly. I froze. What?
"How did that happen?" I asked, falling into a nearby chair.
"Two…two planes crashed into the World Trade Center," He explained. He was crying fresh tear. I could hear them in his voice. "Alfred was trying to get people out when the South Tower, the one he was in, collapsed. I don't know if he's alive, or hurt, or…" He sobbed. Dead. The unspoken word hung in the air around me. No. Alfred was not dead. I was sure. I had to be sure.
"Oh, mon Dieu," I breathed, running my fingers through my hair. "Matthieu, I'm sure he's going to be okay."
"Okay…I just…I needed to…to talk to someone," Matthieu explained. "It's so horrible! I've never seen anything like this, Frère Aînè." My breath hitched. I don't think Matthieu has ever called me that before.
"Don't worry, Matthieu petit," I said. "Everything's-."
"Oh, my God!" Matthieu's shriek mingled with many other voices. I could hear the loud rumbling and my heart skipped a beat and practically stopped.
"Matthieu! What's happening?" I asked.
"The North Tower just went down…"
10:29 A.M. New York City, New York
Alfred's POV
The shaking of the ground woke me up. I looked around and found that I was trapped under the rubble of the South Tower. I couldn't believe this was happening. The World Trade Center was built to never fall! It was indestructible! It couldn't fall!
But it had…
I pushed the rubble off of me and stood. The ground still rumbled and I looked up to see the North Tower fall. The dust and smoke engulfed me and I shut my eyes to keep the stinging particles from getting into them. I ducked down and shielded myself from the flying debris. The sound was so loud that I could hear nothing. The silence was so deafening that it hurt.
I screamed.
I screamed as loud as I possibly could. Even my own scream was swallowed by the deadly silence. Something wet fell down my cheeks. Tears. I was crying. I ached all over. I could feel the North Tower as it fell, as if some part of me was being ripped away. And it was. I was America…and an important part of me was being destroyed…all around me.
I heard a distant voice calling out my name. I looked around but I couldn't see anything through the dust cloud. I heard the voice again. I knew it was male, but I couldn't recognize it through the distance.
"Alfred!" They screamed. Then it clicked. Mattie! Mattie was here! Oh no! What if he was hurt?! What if he'd been crushed by the collapse?! What if-?!
"MATTHEW!"
10:34 A.M. New York City, New York
Mathew's POV
"MATTHEW!" I heard Alfred yell from somewhere to my right. I quickly turned around and started in that direction. It wasn't long before I found him crouched on the ground. I crouched down and hugged him with all the strength I had in me. Alfred hugged me back.
"I thought you were dead," I admitted softly. Alfred chuckled sadly.
"I can't die, Mattie," He said looking at me with a sad smile. "I'm the hero, remember?" I smiled sadly.
"I remember," I said. I helped him up from the rubble and looked around. "Oh, Alfred…I'm so sorry." Alfred nodded sadly. I didn't know what to say…my brother had just lost something that had been so dear to him. He looked around us and I could see fresh tears coming to his eyes.
"I never thought…that something like this could happen again," He whispered. "And this time…It's not even because of a war!" I wrapped my arms around him and felt his body wracking sobs rip through him and me. As Alfred sobbed I pulled out my cell phone and called my boss.
"Hello, this is Matthew Williams," I said when they answered. "Halt all aircraft departures until further notice."
"Yes, sir." They hung up. I put my phone away and found that Alfred was staring at me. I looked down at my feet.
"Come on," I said starting to walk. "We should away from here before we suffocate." Alfred just nodded and followed me out of the rubble. When we came out of the destruction I looked around and saw Devin and the girl from the coffee shop standing in the doorway of the coffee shop. We walked into the coffee shop and sat down.
"Man, you scared the shit outta me!" Devin exclaimed, slapping me on the back. I yelped and chuckled.
"Sorry…I didn't mean to scare anyone," I said picking at the ragged hem of my shirt. Devin turned to Alfred.
"Are you Alfred?" He asked. Alfred nodded. Devin grinned. "I'm Devin. You're brother's quite the hero. He went in there and when he couldn't find you he brought as many people as he could out until he did." I blushed and looked down at my lap. Alfred smiled.
"Yeah, he really is a hero," He said grinning at me. I shook my head, about to argue but he stopped me. "Well, at least to me anyway. Thanks Mattie." I smiled.
"No problem, Al."
September 12, 2001 7:10 A.M. Washington D.C.
Alfred's POV
"We have reason to believe that it was Osama Bin Laden who organized the attack on the World Trade Center," President Bush told me. I nodded. "We are going to do all that we can to capture him." I nodded again.
"Do all you can, Mr. President," I said standing. "Good day." I shook his hand and left. Little did I know that the decision that had just been made would cause grief for so many for over a decade…