It is my dream to become known as that one author with the horrible username that writes a lot of obscure hetalia crossovers. It is not my dream to be known for my multitude of unfinished stories, so I promise I'll get right on those other fics, just not now. At least with this one I made sure to write a few chapters in advance so there's that.

As always, thanks to my friend FrickinGwaine for editing all of this when she should have been updating her OWN fanfics.


November 16th

"Hurry up, Al! The bell already rang!" Matthew huffed, crossing his arms in irritation and looking very much the part of the angst-ridden fourteen year old that he was (well, that he was trying to appear to be, because it was cool and he wanted to be cool, and he regrets it now but it's not like Alfred had been any better back then).

Alfred tsked. "Quit squirming, I don't want to burn you!" He poked the back of Matthew's head teasingly. "You could at least be grateful that I'm taking time out of my busy day to help you straighten your hair-"

"Your busy day," Matthew rolled his eyes as melodramatically as possible, making sure that Alfred could see it reflected in the mirror. "It's your fault we woke up so late this morning anyway, Mr. let's- marathon- Tim- Burton -until- 2-AM -even -though -we -have -a -biology -test -first- thing- in- the- morning!"

"If you're trying to imply that that was a bad decision, I don't think I can call you my brother anymore."

"Fine by me- hey!" Matthew protested when Alfred flicked his ear, swatting blindly over his shoulder to try and hit him back.

"Hey, stop it or I'll tell mom about the milk fic*!" Alfred threatened.

Matthew gasped in horror, glaring over his shoulder. "You wouldn't dare!"

"Seriously, bro, quit moving! Do you want me to finish this or not?"

Matthew sighed and crossed his arms mutinously. Neither said anything for a few moments, and Matthew figured it was a comfortable silence until he caught a glimpse of Alfred's more serious expression in the mirror. Startled, he asked, "Is something wrong? Sorry if I-"

"No," Alfred cut him off quickly, used to Matthew's excessive apologies. "It's not you. It's just..." There was a lengthy pause in which Alfred tried to find the right words. "Haven't you noticed that more and more kids aren't coming to school? And that there's more supervisors around all the time?"

Matthew frowned. "Well, now that you mention it, I guess." He hadn't noticed, actually, but he didn't doubt his brother. Alfred was a much more sociable person than Matthew and would likely have picked up on things like that way before he would have. "What, do you think there's a connection or something?"

Alfred shrugged casually, and when he spoke his tone was just a tad too bright. "Ah, maybe it's just flu season and I'm being paranoid."

Matthew opened his mouth to disagree when a chime came over the loudspeaker, followed by the principal's voice ordering,

"Attention staff and students, PSF soldiers will be rounding up each classroom and bringing them to one of the buses situated outside the school. Remain calm and keep to orderly single file lines."

Matthew and Alfred shared a confused glance through the mirror, all arguments momentarily forgotten.

"Soldiers?" Alfred set the hair straightener down on the sink. "Any guesses?"

Matthew shook his head just as a bang rang out through the hallway, followed by the sound of running feet and panicked shouts.

"Uhh-"

"I'm gonna go check what's happening." Alfred spun away from Matthew and hurried to the door.

Matthew only caught a glimpse of someone running past the bathroom before Alfred slammed the door shut again and leaned heavily against it, a panicked expression crossing his face.

"Mattie, we need to get out of here."

Matthew felt his blood run cold and his heart stutter to an abrupt stop.

"What do you mean?" he demanded, but it was really more of a frightened whisper. "What's going on?"

"I-I don't know," Alfred raked a hand through his pristinely-straightened hair and that's when the gravity of the situation really hit Matthew, because if his twin was so distressed about whatever he'd seen that he was willing to mess up his recently perfected hair, then they were in for a disaster.

Matthew didn't press Alfred to explain further and instead looked around the bathroom. "No windows," he said nervously. A metal latch at the top of the far wall caught his eye and he pointed. "There's a vent, but I don't know how we'd get it open."

The sounds of more yelling made their way into the bathroom, and Alfred cringed away from the door. "That's all we got? Alright, let's see." From where he stood, he craned his neck to see the duct that Matthew gestured to. "Ookaay, that's our best shot." With an anxious glance at the door, he stepped away from it and squared his shoulders. "You gotta get on my shoulders and try and get the screws out."

Despite the fact that the situation they were in was not funny at all, and that Matthew was still largely in the dark about what was happening in the halls outside the bathroom, and that the only emotion he was currently feeling was sheer anxiety, he couldn't suppress the bubble of laughter that escaped his throat. "This isn't a movie, Al, that's not going to work-"

"You got any better ideas?" Alfred snapped. His next words were said in one panicked breath, "I don't know what's happening out there Mattie but it's not good, I don't think we can get on those buses they have tasers and kids were being bound and we need to get out of here-"

Matthew stepped forward and grabbed Alfred's shoulders to steady him. "Okay, okay, I'm sorry, let's give it a shot."

Which is how four minutes later saw Matthew precariously balanced on his twin's shoulders, shakily trying to remove the screws from a vent with a stray pencil they'd found on the floor (unsanitary, Matthew's mind kept crying, but he had to push it down).

Another crash outside caught Alfred by surprise and he jerked around to make sure the door was still closed, causing Matthew to lurch dangerously and nearly drop the pencil he was working with.

Alfred swore. "Sorry! How's it going up there? You getting anywhere?"

"No," Matthew replied tersely, twisting the pencil into one of the nails as far as it could. "I don't think this is going to work."

"It's gotta!" Alfred insisted, a slight note of hysteria in his voice. "We don't have any other options here!"

"I know, I know, I'm sorry-"

More shrieks and shouts sounded outside the hall, and Matthew hit the vent in frustration because it was obvious they were getting nowhere with this plan.

Except that the moment he hit the plate, the metal tore backward with much more force than Matthew had exhibited and fell inside the duct with a clatter.

Below him, Alfred whistled appreciatively. "How hard did you hit that thing? Good job!"

Matthew didn't answer, because what in the world had just happened?

"Alright now, we better be quick, they'll probably check the bathrooms soon," Alfred continued, and stood on his tiptoes to allow Matthew better access to pull himself up into the vent.

Matthew didn't react immediately, still staring uncomprehendingly at the metal plate. He knew he wasn't strong enough to do something like that, and it certainly hadn't seemed weak enough to completely wreck. Unless the universe had just granted them a break, it almost seemed like he'd used the Force to knock it open, but that wouldn't make sense either, because, you know, Star Wars-

"Come on, what're you waiting for? Go!" Alfred insisted.

Shaking his head of the subject and promising himself to think about it again later, Matthew reached up and pulled himself into the vent.

Maneuvering around in the duct proved much more difficult than it should have been, but after a great deal of struggling Matthew was turned back around and facing Alfred and the bathroom. He reached down to try and help pull his twin up.

Alfred shot a glance towards the door. "Maybe I should see if we can help anyone else? I really don't like the idea of leaving them all out there…"

Matthew was stricken with the shame of not having thought of that until then. There was no way he would be able to live with himself if he was able to but didn't help one of those kids who would otherwise have gotten hurt.

"You're right," he said, stretching his arms out again to reach for Alfred's hands. "Help me down and let's go."

Alfred took a few steps away from him, making him completely unreachable. "No, no, you stay up there, it's safer. I'll be right back-"

A sudden mix of panic and frustration washed over Matthew. "Come on, don't be ridiculous, you don't have to protect me. I can help you!"

"I'll be right back," Alfred promised again, ignoring Matthew's protests. His voice was noticeably strained and he wouldn't meet Matthew's eyes, and Matthew wondered if he'd even be able to focus on his twin's next words with how frayed his nerves were. "But if I don't come back, you have to go."

Frustration now completely overridden by panic. "No- wait, you can't just leave me here!"

Alfred's smile was sad and apologetic. "Watch me."

And stuck in the vent with no safe way down, there was really nothing Matthew could do except exactly that. The sound of the door shutting behind Alfred echoed throughout the quiet bathroom, another reminder that Matthew was now completely alone.

Refusing to indulge in a much needed nervous breakdown, Matthew spent minutes fruitlessly trying to get himself down until he grudgingly came to the conclusion that there was nothing he could do unless he was willing to break a few bones in the process. Which he honestly considered until he realized that he would be no help to anybody that way and would only be a sitting duck for those "PSF soldiers" to catch him. To add insult to injury, the walls of the cramped vent reverberated with the muffled shouts and panicked footsteps outside, and it drove Matthew crazy knowing that he couldn't help anyone and that he didn't know if Alfred was safe or not.

Gah, why was his brother so blindly heroic? Did he not understand that the two of them together would be safer than separated, especially if he was going out there? And why did Alfred feel the need to keep Matthew safe when he was just as capable? It was honestly insulting.

Matthew rubbed at his eyes beneath his glasses and took a steadying breath. He would be able to reprimand Alfred later, when he came back. For now, all he could do was listen and wait.

Although, by the time five minutes had passed, Matthew was starting to grow impatient.

"Come on, Al," he muttered nervously to himself, "hurry up, hurry up…"

Not too long after that, the bathroom door flew open. Matthew jerked to try and sit up and ended up slamming his head into the top of the vent with a loud bang.

"Ah!" the intruder cried in surprise. Matthew couldn't see yet through his wince of pain, but he could tell by the voice that this definitely wasn't Alfred. In fact, it kind of sounded like... "Oh, are you a fellow escape artist? That's awesome!"

Yep, even before his vision cleared, Matthew recognized this boy. Despite their circumstances, he felt his face heat up, because if he wasn't mistaken, the new appearance was Gilbert Beilschmidt, and wasn't this a great way for his crush to notice him, sitting alone in a bathroom vent with only half-straightened hair!

Geez, was there anything worse than being fourteen?

"Uh, yeah," Matthew stammered. "Do you know what's going on out there?"

Gilbert's relieved expression tightened and he glanced uneasily at the door. "I have my suspicions," he said hesitantly, "but I'll fill you in later." He turned to look at Matthew again and his face suddenly lit up hopefully. "Hey, kid, what grade are you in? Have you seen my brother, Ludwig? He's a sophomore-"

Matthew cut him off with a shake of his head. "No sorry. I'm just a freshman."

Watching the hope drain from his face made Matthew feel terrible, but Gilbert spoke before he could say anything else. "That's fine, knowing him, he's probably okay anyway. Listen, we really need to get out of here. Anyone could've seen me come in here." He made his way over to Matthew and reached his hands up expectantly. "Uh, can you lend a hand?"

"Oh, uh, yeah, here." Matthew wiped his hands on his shirt before leaning down to help pull Gilbert up. When their hands touched Matthew briefly thought his heart was going to stop, but he miraculously survived and managed to help pull the junior up in front of him.

"Ah, it's pretty cramped in here," Gilbert complained, hunching his shoulders so that he had more room to move. "But I guess it'll have to do. Come on, let's get going."

Matthew tried to see behind Gilbert into the bathroom, but all he could catch a glimpse of was the far wall. "But my brother's supposed to be coming back and I have to wait for him."

Gilbert sighed and seemed to consider Matthew for a few seconds. Finally, he said carefully, "It's really not a good idea to stay here…"

"I have to wait for him!" Matthew insisted urgently. "I can't leave without him."

"Kid-"

"What if it was your brother?" Matthew demanded, only feeling slightly guilty when Gilbert flinched. "Would you be able to leave him behind?"

"Okay, okay," Gilbert said quickly. "I guess we can spare a few minutes yet."

Matthew let out a relieved breath. "He'll be back," he promised. "It shouldn't be too long now."

Gilbert ran a hand through his white hair. "Whatever you say, kid."

"Matthew," Matthew offered. At Gilbert's blank look, his face reddened and he looked away before clarifying, "my name is Matthew."

"Oh." Gilbert laughed then. "Probably should've asked that sooner, huh? I'm Gilbert."

"I know." Matthew wanted to kick himself with how stupid of a reply that was. Way to sound like a creepy freshman!

Fortunately, Gilbert just laughed again. "I suppose, I'm pretty awesome, it'd be weird if you hadn't known me!" Matthew laughed weakly, beyond grateful that Gilbert's arrogance had saved them an awkward encounter.

The relief was short-lived, however, as when Matthew shifted to get a better view outside the vent, he ended up banging their heads together.

"Ah!" Gilbert reeled and knocked the back of his head against the side of the vent, to which he hissed irritably. "Just stay still, will ya? I can see out there."

"Sorry!" Matthew rushed to say, and he wondered if his face would just constantly be red from embarrassment at this rate.

"Ugh, don't worry about it." Gilbert's voice took on a slightly kinder tone. "I get it. Kid like you must be spooked out of your mind, huh? I take it you haven't been seeing the news." When Matthew shook his head, Gilbert let out a long sigh. "Our families were told to keep it secret, but I'm awesome and found out on my own anyway."

A loud crash came from outside, followed by a sharp cry of pain. Whatever Gilbert had been about to explain to Matthew was lost in the sudden urgency of his expression. "Alright, that's it, we can't stay here anymore!" He grasped Matthew's shoulder in the midst of the latter's protests. "I know, I know you want to wait for your brother, Hell I wanna wait for mine too, but the longer we stay here the more danger we're in! If he hasn't come back yet he's probably already been caught-"

"Caught?" Matthew squeaked in alarm, straining once again to see over the older boy. "What does that mean?" He didn't wait for an answer. "Help me get back down! I'll find him, you can go on ahead-"

Gilbert let out a frustrated noise. "You think I'm just gonna let ya walk right on out there? Think again kiddo. Now, please, you better get moving or I will drag you behind me!"

Matthew pressed the palms of his hands against his eyes, trying to will himself to keep his composure and not start sobbing. "Why is this happening?" he finally asked weakly.

Gilbert sighed again, but this time he sounded more sympathetic. "I'll tell you what I know when we're safe, got it? But Jesus kid you gotta move; you're kinda blocking the way."

Matthew hesitated another moment before finally nodding reluctantly. He turned himself around (without knocking into Gilbert this time) and began the agonizingly slow crawl through the ventilation system. Behind him, he could hear Gilbert huffing out swears as the passage seemed to get narrower and he had to press himself flat against the bottom to avoid getting stuck (it was a blessing neither of them were especially claustrophobic). Asides from that, the unhappy groaning of the vent itself as it held their combined weight, and the muffled commotion outside, everything else was quiet.

As he continued to pull himself forward, Matthew decided to break the silence between them, so as not to be left to deal with the crippling fear and shame of abandoning his brother. "What did you mean by "caught"?"

Gilbert didn't say anything for a few moments, but Matthew assumed he was just struggling with the effort of dragging himself along through vents that were almost just slightly too small for him. "You've heard of Everhart's Disease?" he finally managed to say.

Matthew sucked in a harsh breath. Whatever he'd been expecting to hear, it hasn't been that. "Y-yeah. That's the one that killed all those kids, right?"

"Mhm," Gilbert agreed bleakly. "I guess it got a lot worse than we thought. And the kids who didn't die- the rest of us- didn't just survive."

"Wait, what are you talking about? We didn't even get any cases in this town; none of us were affected by it."

"See, that's where you're wrong. I'm a little surprised you haven't noticed how many students have been missing from your classes. Y'know they're all dead?"

Matthew almost halted altogether. It was like a hole had just opened up beneath him and he'd fallen straight through to the floor. "W-what? How do you know that?"

"I have a lot of friends, you know," Gilbert said pointedly. "I'd like to think I'd know when some of them die."

"But that doesn't make sense! Why would they lie about something so serious?"

"You clearly are not familiar with the government." Gilbert laughed humorlessly. "Anyway, Everhart's Disease is what all those dead kids had, but I guess the rest of us developed something else. It's crazy, but-"

"There's a grate here." Matthew hated to interrupt when he was just now starting to get some answers, but there was no way to keep going and he doubted his companion would appreciate sitting in the air vents long enough to finish everything he had to say. "It leads to the back entrance hall. I don't see anyone except-" he squinted, "-a soldier? She's down the hall, though."

"Just one? Alright, if we do this quickly we can probably make it." With difficulty, Gilbert reached past Matthew and slammed his hands down on the grate; similarly to what Matthew had done earlier, the plate flew off its hinges, but this time, instead of clattering to the ground in a way that would surely alert everyone in the vicinity to their presence, it just hung suspended in the air right in front of Matthew's eyes before it was gently lowered down without a sound.

Matthew whipped around and stared at Gilbert incredulously. "What was that?! What did you just do?!"

"Just go, damn it!" Gilbert shoved Matthew forward and didn't wait to hear anything else he had to say. Matthew gritted his teeth but complied, latching onto Gilbert's hand before he could fall unceremoniously to the floor.

His feet hadn't even touched the ground before the soldier down the hall noticed them with a surprised shout. "Hey, stop!" she cried, pulling a taser out of her belt and starting towards them.

Matthew's blood turned to ice and he pulled urgently on Gilbert's arm, trying to help him down as quickly as possible. Gilbert waved him off and leaned partially out of the vent to get a better view of the soldier. His eyes went to the taser in her grasp; they glowed blue when he abruptly jerked his hand up. As Matthew watched, the taser followed the movement, ripping out of the soldier's hands before being tossed carelessly behind her. She was so surprised she staggered, and when Gilbert once again threw his hand to the side she was yanked by an invisible force until the back of her head cracked against the wall and she crumpled like deadweight to the floor.

Matthew backed away so quickly he tripped and fell back against the wall. Doubling over, he was having a hard time drawing air into his lungs, and for a delirious moment he wondered if he was just having a very realistic dream, because if he wasn't dreaming, how in the world had he not suffered a heart attack yet?

"Kid- Matthew!" Matthew finally glanced up, realizing belatedly that Gilbert must've been calling to him for a few seconds. His eyes were back to their normal reddish brown, no sign of the eerie blue glow. "You gotta help me down!"

"You just-" Matthew broke off to choke in a shuddering breath. He gestured wildly at the incapacitated soldier. "I-I can't-"

Gilbert hit the side of the wall in frustration. "I won't have the chance to explain if we get caught!" He narrowed his eyes when Matthew made no sign of moving to help and his voice took on a more dangerous tone. "I can make you move, y'know, but I don't think either of us want that."

Matthew's breath hitched and he shook his head at himself for having the audacity to feel betrayed. Swallowing the sudden sickness in his throat, he stepped across the hall and grabbed onto Gilbert's waiting hands. Once the older boy was on the ground and standing in front of Matthew, Gilbert's eyes seemed to soften a bit. "I'm sorry-," he began, reaching to place a hand on Matthew's shoulder, but stopped short when Matthew flinched away from him. He cleared his throat and glanced up and down the hallway. "The coast's clear now, but we can't count on it staying that way. Let's get out of here." He took a few steps forward before pausing and tipping his head. "Are you with me?"

Matthew hesitated, but really, what choice did he have? It was either follow the boy he'd had a crush on since last year who'd also just knocked someone out without lifting a single finger and then threatened Matthew, or risk being caught by a different soldier to face an unknowable and dangerous fate all on his own. So he nodded faintly and forced his legs to carry him after Gilbert. The junior offered him a relieved and somewhat shaky smile before taking Matthew's hand in his own. "Alright then. Let's blow this popsicle stand."


I started writing this story before I saw the Darkest Minds movie, but when I finally did see it I added the whole "eye glowy" thing because it was cool. Also, there are some elements of the original Darkest Minds that I'm tweaking a bit, like everyone's ages, because I'm sorry but I didn't feel like writing a bunch of sad eleven year olds :)

Please let me know what you thought! I worked really hard on this. Comments are very much appreciated!