Last One Standing
Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia or their characters
Summary: Alfred finds himself to be one of the last humans on Earth, with no memory of his past he travels with a group of survivors who search for others. Along the way, he realizes he's not like the rest...and he may be the last of his kind.
Chapter 1: Lost and restless
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Alfred regularly thought about who he used to be and wondered what kind of man he was. Was he the sporty type? Did he play in the football fields he sometimes caught a glimpse of as he and his friends passed through a new town? Was he a car fanatic? Probably not.
A chef? No. A computer nerd? Well, no way to find out now. A construction worker? Probably not, he's only nineteen. An English major? Nah, he said, "Dude," way too much to be a linguistic enthusiast. He wasn't even sure if he graduated college. All he had to his name was a drivers license. On it is a picture of him smiling while shooting finger guns and his birthday.
He found it on the day he woke up.
Laying on an open field where the grass had been burnt to a crisp he had open his eyes for what felt like the first time. Trees were naked and singed for miles and the sky was impossible to see through the thick impenetrable fog that had blanketed the forest. As he stood, eyes squinting through the darkness and cracked glasses, his mind tried to make sense of everything he was seeing. He felt several things at once. Panic, fear, and confusion.
But, he had made it out, and now he stayed with a group of survivors who had explained everything.
War had broken out a year ago. A war between every single country. Even those on neutral terms had to join the fight. Advancements in science mixed with military weapons had made it hard for countries to hide their concern. Most felt their safety had been threatened and demanded that production ceased immediately. The larger countries ignored them. So, it became all-out war. At first, it was small, countries arguing while preparing their troops. Before the war of the people could even begin the machines had made the first move.
A man named Wesley Palo, creator of the machines, had decided to take over. Before there could even be a retaliation his machines had taken over almost every corner of the earth, killing anything in its sight. Mass genocide had taken place but before it could finish what it started the machines suddenly shut down.
Alfred had awoken to the aftermath. The machines now littered the earth like lifeless animals. Shaped like humans they were primarily named the Alphas. From what Alfred was told they moved fast, like cobras, and killed without mercy. Seeing them creeped him out. They had long metallic tails that came to a sharp point. He was glad to have never met an alive one, he didn't want to see what would it feel like to be on the pointy end.
When he had first laid eyes on them he wasn't sure what to make of them. He poked, prodded, and even slapped one but it never gave a response. After weeks of seeing their corpses littering the streets while searching for life, he finally stumbled upon a group of people.
A couple in their twenties named Maria and Wallace. Maria, despite possibly being one of the last humans on earth, was sweet and patient. Wallace was quiet and solemn but extremely protective of his pregnant fiancee. Tagging along with them was an elderly woman named Gladys and her ten-year-old grandson Louis. They had survived in a bunker Gladys built in the sixties during the Cold War. She had designed it to blend with the landscape and then waited. Last but not least was Naomi. The teenager with the haunted look in her eyes. She was quiet for the most part but was never afraid to give her opinion. Rarely she would have light in her eyes and almost always did she disappear into herself.
"Alfred….Alfred!"
Alfred looked up, the fire blazing behind the skinny African American boy who demanded his attention. "Yeah, Kiddo?"
"Look what I found!" In his hand, he produced what looked like an old DS.
Alfred's eyes widened, "Whoa!" He gently took the DS into his hand and looked it over with amazement in his eyes, "Where did you find this?"
Shame took over the child's features, "In some guys pockets…"
Alfred knew what he meant. The corpses of the Alpha's weren't the only kind they ran into on a day to day basis.
"Louis!" His grandmother snapped sharply, her old voice still retaining an intimidating edge. "You know you're not supposed to steal from the dead. It's disrespectful! Now, put that back where you found it or so help me-"
"It's not like he'll need it!" Louis argued.
Before the argument could further escalate Alfred intervened, "Louis, she's right." He said with his fake stern voice. Louis recognized it immediately, "You need to listen to your grandmother and put it back where you found it."
He moved to place it in his palm but secretly pushed it into the sleeve of his bomber jacket. Louis pretended to pocket it and nodded with a big smile, "Okay, Alfred!" He quickly ran off to "return" the DS.
Gladys shot him a glare and Alfred looked at her innocently. He held up his hands defensively, "What?"
"Time to eat," Maria said as she inspected the soup cooking over the fire. She was about seven months pregnant and as round as a beach ball.
"Here, I'll help," Wallace volunteered as he gathered the bowls and plates.
"Smells delicious," Alfred complimented as he caught a whiff of the delicious heated up soup they had found in a nearby grocery store.
"Thanks," She said with an awkward smile, "But I didn't make this. I may have added a few spices but I can't take credit for this."
"Still," Wallace handed him a metal bowl filled with soup, "Smells good, thanks for jazzing it up for us."
Naomi scoffed, "Who says, 'jazzing' anymore?" She asked bitterly, her gaze never left from her fiddling fingers.
"Well, no one now since we can't seem to find anyone else." Alfred smirked, "So, I'm starting a trend."
"Right…" Her voice trailed off and once again Naomi had left the conversation.
"Alfred, Alfred!" Louis had returned, jumping up and down in excitement. "You gotta come see this!"
"Eat your food first, Louis." Gladys scolded, "You're not going anywhere on an empty stomach so eat."
Louis knew better than to argue so he quickly ate. He was the second to finish, first was Alfred of course, and once he was done he was back on his feet. He tugged on the sleeve of Alfred's bomber jacket and pulled him towards the woods, "I found something amazing!" He said with pure wonder in his eyes.
Alfred walked with him, taking short strides so he didn't accidentally knock Louis off balance. "What is it?" He asked the kids enthusiasm was contagious. He couldn't help but feel himself getting just as excited.
As they waded through the fading glow of the sunlight and trudged past a wall of trees they stepped into a field with lush green grass that brushed his knees. Louis pulled harder and began to zoom through the green. Alfred matched his pace until what they came for rose into view.
"Whoa," Was the only word he found himself able to say.
"Isn't it cool?!" Louis asked as he gestured to the American brand fighter pilot plane.
"This is a…" He ran his fingers over the wing, vines had wrapped around it as if trapping it to the Earth, "F6F Hellcat." He whispered under his breath. He closed his eyes and caressed the metal under his fingertips.
"America, come in, America, do you copy, over." A British voice spoke into his ear."This is he, over." America radioed back, rising higher into the air as he mentally prepared to attack."You were not cleared for an attack, over." The British voice was strained, even over the radio, he was unable to hide his pain. That made him even angrier."You focus on yourself, Britain, over." America's voice was tight, he was practically seeing red."You idiot! You're going to get yourself killed!" He was practically begging him but he found himself unable to listen. Then again not listening to Britain was something he was good at.
"No, I won't." He said with confidence in his voice as he readied himself for a one on one attack. He saw them, a line of German/Japanese fighter planes heading his way. "Because now I'm in the fight." His eyes hardened, "And I'm not backing down.""Alfred?"
Shaken out of his dreamlike trance Alfred opened his eyes to realize he was now sitting on the plane. Strapped in and his hands wrapped tightly around the wheel as if his life depended on it.
"Are you okay?" Louis asked, looking up at Alfred with a look of concern in his eyes, "You're kind of sweaty and you look scared…"
The American reached up and wiped a couple droplets of sweat away from his forehead, "I am…right...uhh, sorry." He unbuckled himself and quickly pushed himself up from the pilot's seat. "Didn't mean to scare ya."
"Do you think it could work?" Louis asked suddenly, making him pause for a moment.
The blond thought about it, could it work? Yeah, it had been sitting there for a while, probably for more than a year but that didn't mean it at least couldn't start. "I dunno, bud, I think it might be out of fuel…" He tapped on the gauge.
"Oh…" He looked down in disappointment and pouted.
Alfred happened to notice a pair of keys in the ignition and he sighed, "Alright, stand back. I'm gonna start it up."
Louis perked up and smiled, "Okay!" He quickly jogged back a few feet. "Here?"
"Uhh…" He didn't want to think what would happen to him if Louis had gotten hurt on his watch. For one, Gladys would beat him within an inch of his life and then some. "Back!"
He ran back a little bit further, "Here?"
"Further!" He waved his hand and Louis obediently ran back even more until he was at least seventy feet away.
"Now!?" He shouted loudly so Alfred could hear him.
Alfred gave him a thumbs up and took a deep breath. He turned to the panel and he rubbed his hands together for good luck. He reached out, turned the key and-
"You could have died!""I didn't though, did I?""Oh! You are so infuriating! You are so lucky those Germans didn't get to you before I did! What were you thinking!?""You!" A moment of thick tense silence.
"ALFRED!"