Note: Hello, this is my first Hetalia story. I do not own Hetalia or Bioshock Infiniate (which I was inspired to write this story). I hope you enjoy it!
Intro
Ludwig Beilschmidt's blue eyes couldn't help but stare up at the ceiling fan. With a small glass of whiskey in one hand he had been counting the number of rotations the ceiling fan completed. He didn't necessary know why he was doing it and was clueless as to how long he had been looking aimlessly at it. All he knew was that the fan had rotated about 123 times before he finally decided to sit back up properly in his cheap leather seat to scan over his organized desk.
Date: July 1st, 1958
Time: 4:00 P.M.
He grunted in indifference when he looked at his calendar and clock. A year had already passed since he had moved to the underwater city of Rapture. Business was same-two to one customer per month. He was glad that not many people needed the insistence of a detective. It meant that less people were in trouble in this newly found city-even if it meant he had days where he could only afford cheap whiskey. As he scanned over the old documents he had worked on in the past, his eyes stopped over a rusty picture frame of him and his brother. The detective chuckled to himself as he placed his whisky down on the desk before picking the picture up to his face. It was a black and white photo of him at the age of 6 and his older brother at the age of 11. The younger of the two brothers had a straight bowl cut while the taller boy had messy short hair. His older brother, Gilbert, had been born with a rare genetic mutation that caused him to be an albino. Gilbert had a big grin on his face and was resting his head on top of Ludwig's head while hugging him. Ludwig's younger self looked straight back at the detective with pure disgust. The photo gave Ludwig joy, yet he could also remember the times when his older brother was made fun of due to his unique physical appearance. Frowning at the unpleasant memories he had back in Germany, Ludwig gently placed the picture back on his desk before looking out the wide window in his office. Thousands of high-rise buildings could be seen under the sea with their bright neon lights promoting restaurants and manufactured products. Several fish and other aquatic sea creatures lazily swam back and forth. It was a peaceful and breathtaking image of the city of Rapture. Just before Ludwig was about to take another swing of his whisky, he heard someone knocking on his office door. Ludwig reluctantly replaced his whisky back on his desk before shouting,
"Come in!"
A few short seconds later a young couple entered the dark office. The first thing that caught Ludwig's eyes was the woman. She was absolutely stunning with long brown hair and bright green eyes. She had pulled her silky hair back with black pins and was wearing a grey trench coat. Her arms were linked to her lover, who was a tall and serious looking young man. Black glasses rested gently on his sharp nose. They both looked fairly handsome and strangely familiar. Ludwig then noticed a blonde teenage boy following closely behind them. He had red blood shot eyes and looked very stressed.
"Mr. Beilschmidt, I am Roderich Edelstein and this is my fiancé Elizabeta Hedervary. The young man over here is our son Basch."
Roderich Edelstein-Ludwig knew exactly who he was along with his young wife.
"The popular jazz pianist Roderich Edelstein?"
The standing man nodded,
"Yes, that is correct."
Roderich was infamous in Rapture due to his talent in Jazz. His beautiful wife was equally respected amongst the music industry due to her amazing singing voice. In fact, Ludwig even listed to some of their music!
"Well, where are my manners? Please, have a seat."
The three customers sat on the cheap black stools across from the German detective. Ludwig leaned forward,
"So, what can I do for you three?"
Immediately, everyone in the room turned stiff. Ludwig noted that Basch looked ready to burst into tears while Roderich bit his lower lip anxiously. Elizabeta quietly answered his question as she placed a small picture on the desk,
"Our daughter, Lily has been missing for two weeks."
The German detective looked down to see an image of a fairly young girl about the age of 11. She had short hair with cute little ribbons on the sides. She had a bright smile and was looking excitedly back at him.
"What have you been doing the past two weeks?"
Roderich answered,
"We have been looking for her. We posted missing posters, asked friends, everything! We thought that she would turn up within a week-since she stays over at her friends' house a few times. We tried asking other detectives for help since there are no police in this city-yet they all seem lost!"
Ludwig frowned. It was not the first time he heard of young girls going missing. Nobody knows where exactly the girls go to-yet many believe that they end up in human trafficking. Even Rapture, a city of dreams, was filled with sick people. Not only was there a high number of unemployment on the lower crust of society, yet vigor addicts were everywhere. Ludwig absolutely hated vigor addicts. These vigors-which are unique liquids that change the DNA structure in the user's body-allows the user extraordinary powers. Ludwig had seen users shoot fire or ice from their fingertips while others teleport before his very own eyes. Yet once a user uses vigors too often, they eventually turn insane and attack people. In fact, there were large rings of vigor addicts that roamed the abandoned areas of Rapture.
"Well, did you notice any signs of distress from Lily before she disappeared?"
Elizabeta slowly shook her head,
"No, she was perfectly fine. She left the apartment around one in the afternoon. She said she was going out to visit the Iceberg Bar."
Ludwig raised an eyebrow. The woman quickly added,
"There's a young boy about her age who works in the bar. His name is Peter. They are close friends."
"Don't you think allowing a young girl to wonder off on her own was dangerous?"
Elizabeta answered,
"We didn't. It's not the first time she went to visit her friend. In fact, quite a lot of children wonder the streets of Rapture. It's a safe place."
Ludwig couldn't believe what he was hearing. Maybe it was the fact that he was constantly dealing with shady figures. In fact, he had meet several dangerous people in the city of Rapture. Yet again he was talking to a couple that were fairly well off and lived in the better regions of the city. They probably would not have expected something horrible such as their daughter being kidnapped would happen to them.
"What was she wearing when she disappeared?"
Elizabeta immediately answered,
"A pink and white dress, a white cardigan, black shoes, a pair of dark green ribbons and a golden locket. The locket is heart shaped and has the letter 'L' carved on the front."
"Do you two perhaps have enemies who would go far as to kidnap Lily?"
Elizabeta glanced at Roderick and asked,
"Maybe Antonio?"
Roderick raised an eyebrow and shook his head,
"Of course not! That stupid Spaniard would never go that far."
Ludwig cleared his throat to get their attention. The frustrated pianist answered,
"I have a rival named Antonio Carriedo. He's a solo guitarist and we have been rivals ever since my family and I moved to Rapture. He plays at the Iceberg Bar on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays. Yet he is not the type who would do anything as extreme and horrible as kidnapping a child."
"You never know Mr. Edelstein. I have investigated some instances in the music industry and know that some people would do anything to become recognized. Surely even you understand this."
Roderich sighed, knowing that Ludwig was right. He himself did crazy things when he was just starting his career as a musician. As Ludwig jotted down short notes on a small piece of paper Basch asked,
"Is there anything we could do?"
Ludwig looked up to see a tired yet determined looking blonde boy staring intensely back at him.
"I'm afraid not much. It already seems that the three of you have been working quite a bit on trying to find Lily. All I can say is that you should wait patiently in your home. Of course, you should give me any information that you believe could help in my mission in finding you sister."
Basch's hands tightened into fists as he whispered,
"Answer me honestly-do you think my sister is dead?"
Elizabeta and Roderich both look at Basch with shocked eyes. Basch didn't seem to hesitate when asking the question. Ludwig honestly believed that the girl was either shipped back up to the surface or was dead. He had seen similar cases like this before and it hardly turned out well. His eyes drifted back to the picture of his younger self and Gilbert. He felt a sharp pain in his heart. Just imagining your sibling being ripped away from you was a horrible thought. In the end Ludwig forced a smile and simply stated,
"It's still a bit too early to know for sure."
The room fell quiet for a few minutes. Elizabeta was trying her best to hold back tears yet small tears began to slide down her rosy cheeks. Roderich remained silent-seemingly still shocked at the whole situation. Basch continued to stare intently at Ludwig-as if expecting him to say more things relating to his missing sister. Ludwig pushed back his blonde bangs before asking,
"Well, is there any other information that you would like to tell me?"
The couple shook their heads and stood up from their seats. Roderich stated,
"I believe that is all we have."
Once the family reached the door Elizabeta looked desperately into Ludwig's eyes,
"Please find our daughter, Detective Beilschmidt."
Ludwig simply nodded back,
"I will. Please, just ask or tell me anything if you remember something else."
Elizabeta nodded back as she placed a small slip of paper into his big hands,
"This is my phone number. Please call me if you find anything about Lily."
With that the beautiful woman turned and walked back into the crowded streets of Rapture with her family. Just before Ludwig lost sight of them, Basch looked back at him one last time. The tall detective simply waved at the boy. Something about Basch made Ludwig's heart sting. He wasn't sure-but maybe he saw something about himself in him.