Alfred knew though, as soon as Arthur and Francis split from them, that they were all going to die. They had gotten Ivan... And they had gotten Matthew. His own brother. Alfred felt sick. He literally wanted to lay down and just close his eyes forever, but he knew he couldn't do that. He was the hero after all.
In the American's blue eyes, he could see his brave brother, fighting until his last breath, and his last drop of blood. The creature viciously ripped apart his body, not caring who saw. Of course, it had to be Alfred who stood in the doorway and watched the thing rip apart his brother.
His stomach wrenched. It hurt thinking about it. Pushing that thought from his mind, he continued on with who he had left. Kiku on one side, Feli in the back with Ludwig, Yao hanging by Kiku's side, and a brave Gilbert and Elizabeth in the middle of the group...
Alfred was angry at Francis. He didn't know why though... Maybe he knew it was because he loved Arthur and he took the boy from him, slowly but surely. Each day, the Frenchman would make sure to touch Arthur, or give him a little hint that he liked him. What did Alfred do? He stood by and let it happen. Oh... How he wanted to kill him. In this place, Alfred was willing to.
Giving a little smirk, Alfred stopped running, causing the rest of his group to pause and turn around, waving their arms frantically for him to follow, at the same time, being deathly silent, afraid to call attention to themselves.
"No... Go on ahead, bro's. I'll catch up later," With that, Alfred spun around and took off running towards the direction Francis and Arthur went, eyes heavy and bloodshot; or at least he thought so. Alfred didn't know. He hadn't had the chance to hold a mirror since before they got in here. Giving a quiet snort, Alfred glanced around, trying to keep himself calm. He would not die without finding his Arthur.
Door after door he went through, seeing nothing but the darkness that consumed the entire building. Rubbing his tired eyes, Alfred managed to find the one door which held his brother, body mangled on the floor, face torn to pieces, hair matted and tangled, curl missing. But Alfred smiled, because that mess on the floor that he was seeing wasn't his brother. No. He saw a figure before him... A young man with curly blonde hair, one stupid curl hanging down in front of his eyes... A huge winter jacket on even though it was boiling outside... And a large bear in his hands that couldn't remember his name to save its life.
That bloody mess on the ground was no longer there... No... Instead, Matthew was by his side, that obnoxious grin on his face.
"Matty~!" Alfred cheered, hugging the body he thought to be there. He didn't realize that he was hugging himself in the middle of an empty room, besides, of course, the body of his dead brother.
"I saw that monster kill you, but you're still kicking, bro!" He said with a laugh. The hallucination in front of him merely continued smiling, not saying a word.
"Dude! Come on! Help me find England, bro! We are totally going to get out of here!"
Silently, he went through to the next room, still seeing absolutely nothing but the blackness of the mansion. Alfred would have been scared... If he wouldn't have lost his mind already.
Alfred had played with his fear, and it had consumed him. Seeing his own brother's body being hacked up was enough to snap his mind. Now... Everything was perfect. Just the way it should be... To him, at least.
Groaning, Alfred stretched a bit, "Man... My back really hu-..." Matthew was gone. Alfred felt the tears sting his eyes as he circled around, stumbling back into the room to see Matty still standing in one place, grinning.
"Matthew, come on, bro! If we don't leave, we die, man! Come on!"
And then Alfred tried to touch him. His hand slowly reached out and aimed for his arm, wanting to grab it, to feel his soft skin. Matthew always did comfort Alfred, no matter how many times Alfred would deny it. Instead of feeling that warmth, Alfred's hand went through the arm, as if... It wasn't there. Alfred tried again, and again. And again.
As soon as he realized that Matthew wasn't real, the hallucination disappeared and the grotesque image of his body flooded his mind. The smell was unbearable.. The blood, the flesh... Alfred knelt down and pressed a hand to Matthew's real arm. He wanted that warmth... One last time. It was ice cold.
Standing up quickly and running out of the room, Alfred broke down, burying his face into his hands as he leaned back against a wall, not caring who heard him or saw him. He needed to grieve... What the hell was going on with him, though? Was his mind playing tricks on him?
Sniffling and pulling himself together, Alfred stood up straight and walked towards the next room, the sound of movement filling his ears. As he wiped away his remaining tears, he stepped inside to see a dark nightmare waiting for him.
Francis was on the floor, right next to Arthur, blood covering the two of them. Dashing over to Arthur, Alfred frantically lifted his body so he could see into his pale green eyes.
"Arthur... Arthur no! What the hell did he do to you? No, no... No..." Alfred pulled him closer, not caring that his blood was staining his jacket. He could feel the warmth of his body still... Arthur must have just gotten here with Francis.
Arthur pulled open his eyes and Alfred breathed a sigh of relief, hardly paying any attention to the bullet wound in his head, causing more blood to pour down his face.
Of course, Alfred didn't realize that Arthur was indeed dead. His hallucinations were catching up with him... Making him see those beautiful things that he wanted back. Oh, how he wanted Arthur back so badly...
Cradling the boy in his arms, Alfred sobbed against his chest.
The two bodies remained on the ground, but Alfred didn't seem to notice as he hugged the air, cradling the invisible, fragile body. "Oh Arthur... God damn it... You're bleeding everywhere... Did the creatures get you? Who shot you? What happened?" No question seemed good enough when it left his mouth. Alfred was in too much of a panic to think rationally, so he quickly pressed a kiss against the boy's lips, in reality, kissing his own hand.
"You don't know how long I've wanted to tell you that... I was scared...you wouldn't feel the same way..."
Alfred had begun shivering, sobbing again. This was the boy who took care of him for so many years, who had rocked him to sleep, and who had sung him lullaby's. This was the boy who changed his life. He made Alfred a better person and he wouldn't let him die here!
Growling over at Francis's body, the poor, dead Frenchman, Alfred felt another presence creep up behind him. Down in his arms, Arthur looked so peaceful... And that's all he wanted.
Alfred wanted to do everything in his power to protect that boy. He would save him!
Cradling him for just a moment longer, feeling that warmth that his mind produced, Alfred finally laid the invisible body back down, sniffling and regaining his posture, standing up and turning around. It was the creature...
Alfred merely smirked, his eyes red and puffy, arms stretched out and he shook his head and narrowed his eyes.
"If you hurt Arthur... I swear...I'll kill you,"
Alfred could almost see the confusion of the thing's face, but it didn't back down. Instead, more of them appeared, surrounding Alfred. He was done for, but he wouldn't go down without a fight. He would protect Arthur until his last breath.
First, he turned to Francis, "How dare you die... How dare you let this happen! Why would you let yourself die before him?" Spinning back around, Alfred grabbed out his gun and shot one of the creatures in the head, attempting to find an escape. But he was done for... Dropping back to the ground for just a second more, Alfred took in a deep breath, violently shaking as he leaned down and kissed Arthur a few more times, trying to build up his courage to fight.
His lips felt colder than the last time he had kissed him... Alfred's lips were now covered in blood from where he had kissed the actual body of Arthur, who was, in fact, dead.
Alfred jumped up, holding back his tears, "I hope all of you fear me... Because I'm the hero." The sounds that emitted from the room weren't heard by another occupant of the mansion, and now Alfred lay beside his two companions, forever asleep next to the man he loved.
