Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia.

Chapter 2

Washington DC, USA

May 1, 2028

"Arthur, where were you for the past few days?"

Arthur ignored the question as he took a seat at an empty table, placing his books quietly on the surface in front of him so as not to disturb the other students scattered around the library. The precaution, though, was unnecessary because he had chosen to sit at the very back of the vast room, as an attempt to keep the distance between himself and everyone else.

"Why don't you answer me? You can tell me."

Arthur sighed as he watched his brown haired, blue eyed companion follow his lead and sit himself down in the vacant chair beside him, despite the presence of dozens of other empty chairs around the room. His wish for solitude would not be granted.

"I already told you, Alfred," Arthur replied as he tried to hide the irritation in his voice. "I was away working on a mission."

"Yeah, I know that." Alfred said, propping his feet up on the table. Arthur groaned and immediately pushed his books to the side before the American's dirt covered shoes could touch them. "I figured that's what you were up to, but where exactly were you? What were you working on?"

"As if I would tell you." Arthur muttered as he began to place the books back into the safety of his bag. If he wanted to avoid conversations like this, then remaining on campus was out of the question.

It wasn't that he disliked Alfred, it was just that his constant attempts at creating some sort of trusting friendship between them was not something Arthur wanted to agree to. While it was true that they both studied at the same college to hide their secret positions at the CIA, they had nothing else to do with each other, and Arthur wished to keep it that way. He was there to complete his mission, nothing more and nothing less.

"Hey, where are you going?"

Arthur didn't look up as he continued to put his books back into the bag. "Away. I'm not gonna stay here if all you're gonna do is nag me about the details of my mission."

"Oh, come on, Arthur. We're accomplices, sort of, friends even!"

Arthur froze as he was about to place the last book into the bag. "Friends?"

"Yeah, we're friends, right?"

Arthur stood up from his crouched position, the book still in his hands. Slowly, he turned to face Alfred who was still laying back in his chair.

"How does being my friend make you exempt?"

Arthur watched as Alfred looked away from him with a thoughtful expression on his face. "Well, friends are supposed to trust each other, aren't they? Since I'm your friend, you can trust me and tell me what your mission is." He paused and then added with a smirk, "I promise I'll tell you mine."

But Arthur did not care what Alfred's mission was. "Why do you want to know so badly, anyway?"

"Because you're my friend!"

Arthur sighed and dropped his remaining book back on the table despite his previous behavior of acting in a quiet fashion. Arthur knew they weren't in a professional setting at the moment, but Alfred's casual attitude was beginning to irritate him. They were spies, not friends. What part of that did Alfred not get?

Ever since he had met Alfred, Arthur had never been able to figure out why the man was so adamant on befriending him. Arthur was positive that there was nothing about his fake identity that could come off as friendly, as he had purposely gave his alias a cold and distant personality so he could avoid any unwanted company sticking their nose into his business.

There was no place for trust in Arthur's life, as he lived in the world of a dictatorship: a world where no one could be trusted. It was a world of secrets and lies because those were the only things that could keep that kind of world alive. Arthur knew that was the only way to complete his mission, and therefore he was willing to play by those rules.

"Alfred, you barely know anything about me." Arthur said as he reluctantly sat down again next to Alfred. "And everything you do know is just apart of my fake identity."

Alfred then suddenly moved his feet down from the table and sat up in his chair, signifying that he was taking this conversation seriously.

"I know, but you only know my fake identity too. But that doesn't matter because I don't want to be friends with Arthur the spy, I want to be friends with Arthur the person."

Alfred's reasoning did not seem to justify his actions according to Arthur. He still could not understand how his fellow spy could be so careless when it came to an issue of trust.

"Alfred, I think you're too generous." Arthur said while not missing the confused look Alfred gave him. "You credit people with being too good, despite knowing that the world is full of bad people. You shouldn't be so quick to throw your trust around so blindly like that. You never know what someone might do with it. For all you know, it could get you killed."

Alfred raised an eyebrow as he gazed at Arthur, trying to understand the meaning behind his strange words. "Are you trying to suggest that you're some dangerous person who will one day kill me?"

Arthur looked over at Alfred with an amused smile. The American might have won the award for the most annoying personality, but his wild imagination never ceased to entertain him.

"No. I'm just giving you a piece of advice, Alfred. I believe you call it, friendly advice?"

To Arthur's surprise, Alfred just laughed. "Oh, now I get it! You're just too paranoid, that's all. Like you think the world is out to get you or something. Seriously, dude, you need to chill out. How can we ever become true friends if you don't trust me?"

Because we don't have to become friends. Arthur thought to himself. That's not part of the mission.

"Look, can we just stop talking about this here?" Arthur asked, as his fear of someone overhearing them was growing bigger as the conversation continued. "We don't want anyone to hear us."

"Yeah, alright. Besides, Tino's coming this way."

Arthur quickly looked up to see Tino, one of their classmates, striding towards them. A wave of relief washed over him as he realized he had been able to stop the conversation just in time.

"Hey, Tino! What's up?" Alfred greeted the Finnish exchange student as he approached their table.

"Hello Alfred, Arthur." Tino said as he took a seat across from the two, much to Arthur's disappointment. "Have you two heard the news?"

Arthur's interest piqued just a bit as he continued to remain silent, allowing Alfred, the more charismatic of the two, to keep up the conversation with Tino.

"What news?"

"The German Federation just invaded Spain this morning." Tino replied.

"Again?!" Alfred asked, though Arthur didn't see the point of his question as Alfred already knew the answer.

It had only been six months since Spain had finally ended its war with the German Federation, which had been going on from the beginning of the third world war. They had managed to obtain the victory, despite only having the support of half the country, as Spanish opinion had been divided over the matter of joining the German Federation, as was the current state of most of the former independent nations of the European continent.

"I'm afraid it's true." Tino confirmed. "The wars just don't seem to end. Why does everyone want to keep fighting?"

Despite Alfred and Tino's surprised reactions, Arthur hadn't found the news that unbelievable. If anything, he expected it. And if not the German Federation, then surely some other power hungry, corrupted nation would have done the job.

"War is inevitable as long as there are corrupt leaders, Tino." Arthur said in a quiet voice. "All the dictators in this world, they're monsters that strive to obtain power as if it were their only source of oxygen. Power is the only thing that can keep their tyrannical governments alive."

Normally, Arthur wouldn't have voiced his political opinion so bluntly like he just had, but this time he had felt the need to. It was satisfying in a way, as he knew those spoken words wouldn't land him in any trouble here. He could say whatever he desired, and no foreign dictator from across the seas could stop him. It was an opportunity he just couldn't pass up.

"Geez, man, that's dark." Alfred commented, as he wasn't used to hearing this opinionated side of his comrade. "If you said that like in one of those countries, like England, you'd probably be executed by now."

Arthur couldn't help but smirk at the American's vivid imagination, though he knew it wasn't really that far from the truth. "Well, then it's a good thing I don't live there."

"Yup, sure is. I think it's crazy that they'd kill someone just because they disagree with them."

"But I still don't understand." Tino said, interrupting the lighter atmosphere of the conversation. "Why is the German Federation so adamant on taking Spain? They already pretty much have the whole continent! What does everyone want?"

"Exitium." Arthur said without a moment of hesitation.

The gravity of their former conversation suddenly returned, darkening the light atmosphere around them. He had just said one word, but it was enough to emphasize the seriousness of the matter.

"Exitium?" Tino asked, though he knew he already had a vague idea of what Arthur was referring too.

"It's the root of the world's problems." Arthur began to explain. "Its discovery five years ago is what started World War Three, after all."

"I know that." Tino said, and Arthur couldn't help but notice how Alfred kept quiet. "But why is Exitium so important? Why does everyone want it?"

"It can be used to stop nuclear missiles." Arthur answered. "Why wouldn't everyone want it?"

He would have never suspected that such a mere element would produce so much chaos amongst the nations of the world. At first, the scientific findings of Exitium brought a new kind of hope to the world, as it promised a better and brighter future. But instead, Exitium was now held accountable for throwing the world into turmoil, as everyone scrambled to lay claim to as much Exitium as they could, which had inevitably led to a war of mass destruction, and many more to follow.

"And I guess it doesn't help much that it's only found in certain places." Tino added. "Spain has a lot of Exitium, doesn't it?"

"Yes." Arthur said, though he didn't like where this conversation was going. "The Mediterranean countries have an abundance, which is why the German Federation is trying to take over as much as they can."

"England has, too." Alfred suddenly added. His tone was quite serious, and it felt a little unnatural to Arthur, but he supposed anyone could be serious about something if they really wanted to, even Alfred. "It's why they've isolated themselves. They don't want to share their Exitium."

Arthur couldn't pinpoint it, but it had almost sounded like Alfred blamed England for being selfish. Arthur had never really thought about his country's reasoning before, but it didn't really make a difference to him. Selfish or not, that monster of a leader had no right to take away his country's freedom from him.

England was his homeland and one of the only things that truly mattered to him. It pained him everyday that he was being forced to secure the walls of corruption that fortified his nation and blocked out its liberty. Arthur was slowly losing hope that one day this nightmare would end. He was starting to believe that it would last forever.

The sudden ringing of his phone then startled him and his troubled thoughts quickly got pushed aside as Arthur realigned himself back into reality. His hand brushed past the vibration coming from his left pocket, signaling that it was the phone of his second alias.

"Sorry," Arthur rushed to explain as he stood up from his seat. "but I have to go take this. I'll see you guys later."

Arthur didn't wait around for their goodbyes and quickly grabbed his belongings and left the room. As he hurried through the crowded hallways in search for a more private area, Arthur took out his phone and checked the caller id.

It was Francis Bonnefoy, one of his French partners at the DGSE. He found his way to an empty corner and then groaned at the prospect of having to answer the call.

"First I have to speak in an American accent and now I have to talk in bloody French?" Arthur muttered to himself as he put the phone to his ear. "This double life sucks. Bonjour?"

"Oliver?"

"Oui."

"It's Francis."

Arthur sighed as he listened to his comrade state the obvious. "Thank you for confirming that. I didn't trust the caller id."

"Oh?" Francis said. "You know, Oliver, you are a weird fellow."

Arthur closed his eyes as he sighed in annoyance once again. Would he ever find anyone else fluent in the language of sarcasm, or was it already on the path towards extinction?

"What are you calling about? I'm busy."

Arthur rolled his eyes as he heard the Frenchman sigh at his business like attitude. "Always so serious. Do you ever take a break?"

"Will you just get to the point already?" Arthur demanded, though he managed to keep his voice low enough to prevent any attention. "I know you didn't just call to chat."

"Very well, then." Francis said, not even bothering to hide the reluctance in his voice. "It seems like I could never win with you, Oliver. I'm calling on behalf of the DGSE. They want you to drop your mission."

Francis' words almost made Arthur drop his phone. "What?!"

"Relax, it's only temporary!" Francis said frantically. "They have something more important that needs to be dealt with."

"And what would that be?" Arthur asked as he tried his best to hide the desperation in his voice. He didn't want Francis seeing that his current mission meant a lot more to him than it should.

"I can't tell you that over the phone." Francis explained. "Meet me and Antonio tonight at eight o'clock by the abandoned warehouse on the corner of third and twenty-fifth street."

"Antonio's going to be there too?" Arthur asked, this time forgetting to keep his voice down. "Are you telling me this isn't a solo job? And when did you to get to America?"

"So many questions." Francis said. Arthur knew he was just trying to annoy him now. "Yes, you'll be working with Antonio and myself on this assignment and there's nothing you can do to get out of it. Whatever work you're doing now will be put on hold."

Arthur didn't like the sound of this at all, for it could ruin his real task at hand, but he remained quiet as Francis continued to answer his previous questions.

"And don't forget, Oliver," Francis said with amusement in his voice. "I have missions of my own too, so why is it so surprising that my work might have found its way to the US as well? As for Antonio, he's arriving some time this afternoon."

As much as he hated to admit it, Francis was right. It wasn't that impossible for Francis to be in the US working undercover.

"Fine, I'll be there."

"Good. We'll see you then." Francis said. "Au revior!"

Arthur hung up the phone as he walked back into the crowded hallways of the school campus. His mind was racing as he tried to think of ideas for what the DGSE could possibly find more important than trying to get rid of the American spy infiltrating their government, but he couldn't come up with anything logical. It seemed like he would just have to wait until meeting with Francis and Antonio.

"Hey, Arthur!"

Arthur froze in his tracks as he heard a familiar voice call his name from behind him. He quickly turned around to see Matthew Williams, his other partner at the CIA, hurrying towards him.

"I was looking all over for you." The Canadian said through his panting. "It's too crowded to talk to you here."

Arthur then watched with a confused expression as Matthew pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to him.

"Here, get rid of it when you're done."

Arthur stared at the folded paper in his hands and then looked up at Matthew for an explanation, but the secret agent had already disappeared.

Arthur sighed as he once again made his way to a less crowded area. Once he obtained some privacy, he unfolded the note and read through its contents.

Meeting at CIA headquarters with you, me, and Alfred. Some emergency mission or something. Be there at 4 pm.

Arthur read through it a second time just to see if he missed something, and after confirming he hadn't, he began to rip the paper into shreds as he wondered to himself why he ever became a spy in the first place.

Well this chapter got posted much earlier than expected, so I hope you liked it.

Thank you to everyone who reviewed, I greatly appreciate it! I apologize to the guest reviewers because I can't respond to you through PM, so I'll just do it here.

yuu: Thanks for your suggestions, they're really good, but I don't think I'll be able to use them as I pretty much planned out the whole storyline already. I appreciate your review though, and I hope you enjoy the rest of it!

Ana: Thank you for taking an interest in this and for leaving a review (even though I had to use Google Translate to see what you said), I hope you enjoy the rest of the story!

As for everyone else, thank you for reading and comments are always welcome!

-britishsconesahoy