Hetalia: Axis Powers is entirely the creation and work of Hidekaz Himaruya.
-=+=–=+=–=+=–=+=-
"There's just no end to them!" Arthur roared, firing off shots at another pair that sought to ambush the youngin.
"Pirate-Sama! Duck!" Sakura cried.
Hitting the deck as it were, from the corner of his eye he saw the child swing her Katana in a wide slashing arch, brick cracking and windows shattering as the will behind her attack rent the air and slew a pack that had just risen from the shadowy alleyways that littered the downtown core of their city.
This was getting them nowhere, now the abominations were even climbing out of the shadows cast by humanity's handiwork. He hadn't ever seen a convergence this bad since...no use to think about that now, no now was the time to fight. Watching just how nimble the girl was on his feet an idea quickly formed for how to get to the heart of this mess.
"Poppet!" Arthur called out, booting the nearest abomination back and lazily tossing another cannonball down its gullet.
"Pirate-Sama?" Sakura answered after she had taken care of her own foe.
"Forget about this cannon fodder, go do what ye came here to do! I'll handle these scallywags and deck rats!" Arthur bellowed over the firing of his flintlocks.
A nod and a flicker of her passage was the only answer he got and the only one he needed. With the youngin's out of the way he could let loose a little as he hadn't in years. Even still a sense of worry and dread that had been plaguing him since the morn ate away at his gut, leaving him in a bad mood ever since breakfast. The only good thing about it all was that there were plenty of volunteers lining up for him to take it out on.
"Have at ye!"
Feeling his blood rise in answer, the bloodlust of his cursed ancestors that met their end down in Davey Jones Locker or hanging from the Gallows as a crows feast, he spotted just the place he'd make his stand. Showing he was no slouch himself, in the flicker and blink of an eye he was gone. The abominations roared in reply, already on the hunt for him having forgotten the youngin'.
From his new vantage hanging from the struts and beams of the broadcast tower atop one of the taller buildings he saw them coming. Drawing his sabre once more he saluted them, the mindless brutes playing right into his hand.
"Hope the lot o' ye have yer sea legs, things are about to get rough! Hoist the Roger!" Arthur barked, laughing loudly as behind him a flag was raised up that broadcast tower bear a grin that matched his own.
This trick was taxing but he had to buy the girl time to do what had to be done, and with so many beasties littering the streets they'd never make it in time. Gritting his teeth and hissing a breath, bending his will over something so large as an entire building was something that would have been child's play back when he was still in his prime and fighting fit. Panes of glass shattered and from them cannons lined the walls of the building.
The explosion of so many guns firing at once echoed through the city for blocks, the black powder smoke casting a cloud and haze that blocked out the sky. When the wind finally cut a swath through the smoke, Arthur saw not a beastie left standing. Cracking a smile as the last of his strength left him, the visage of the Dread Pirate Kirkland vanished to leave behind a tired father of two orphans.
"Have at them Sakura, I leave the rest to you." Arthur croaked, digging in his jacket for the one little thing he and the Dread Pirate shared a liking for, a flask of rum.
Having a swig and raising it in silent toast to the girl, it was about time the new generation showed up. It didn't surprise him at all to see her out there, there was always something special about her, the same spark he'd seen years ago when he and his lover had opened their hearts up to welcome the two that turned their house into a home.
"God speed, little cherry blossom."
-=+=–=+=–=+=–=+=–=+=-
The explosion startled her, windows rattling as she raced through the streets. She fought against the urge to turn back and see what had just happened, but that was be a slight to the trust Pirate-Sama had placed in her. Landing alight atop a street lamp, she looked around to see the streets empty. It didn't mean it was safe yet, no, the power of this convergence was beyond any she had seen before.
Gripping the hilt of her sword tighter and drawing strength from the memories of all those ancestors who had wielded it before her, she took a breath to steel herself for the task ahead. Flexing and readying to leap back into the sky, the sudden screech of car tires had her pause and look down the street. A car was hurtling headlong with thunder following it, the shattering of asphalt and concrete echoing through the crystalline canyon built up of so many business towers.
An abomination looking like the twisted mockery of a dog made up of blackness and brick followed after the car, yet as it neared she saw that it was not just any car but one she knew. One that had given her a lift home on rainy days when she had been walking down the streets with just her umbrella to protect her from the elements, Alfred's car.
"Baka!" Sakura spat.
She just couldn't get away from him, now here he was in danger and in need of saving himself. Twisting from her place and flexing once more, she leapt off with the speed that still astonished her as the world seemed to slow down in her flight. Gliding over top of the car, a beat up old Volkswagon convertible, she saw the steely determination in her crushes eyes that had her believe he could really be a hero. His knuckles were white on the wheel and the stick, the tachometer in the red as he coaxed all the horsepower he could out of the used car. Ludwig was beside him holding tight to whatever grips he had, his icy blue eyes caught in indecision of those instincts of Fight or Flight.
Landing behind the car and breathing in exhaust, the world resumed its normal flow, the car tearing off away from her as the lumbering brute rushed on. Gripping her sword in both hands and digging deep into the memory of her ancestors, her feet found a new stance while the hilt grew long with her grip wielding a Katana no more but now a Naginata.
The abomination charged and as her blade bit its twisted flesh, she felt the weight of the thing press down on her. Looking on it as it slobbered full of lust for the hunt, its weight was nothing compared to her own Destiny. Standing firm, she gritted her teeth and the road beneath her buckled and cracked but she did not budge one inch back. Light pierced the back of the beast and with a roar she cleaved it in twain, the darkness dispelled and the threads of shadows rushing off to their owners.
Twisting on her heel and stalking after the car that had come to a stop ahead, wielding her Naginata with one hand she slashed through the air and it fell back to being the Katana she was so used to wielding. Both Alfred and Ludwig where staring on her in a mix of shock and awe, her crush leaping out of the car to rush up to her. She had sharp words on her tongue ready to lash at him for all his stupidity, but they faltered as she was taken up in a sudden hug that caught her off guard.
"Holy shit Sakura, that was bad ass!" Alfred cheered.
"B, Baka! Let go!" Sakura sputtered, her cheeks burning in blush at the closeness of the touch.
Twice more she was spun around, each revolution showing Ludwig stepping closer until his hand gripped the enthused American to stop him. Finally released and finding her legs, Sakura caught the worry in his eyes as he looked on her.
"What are you two doing here?" Sakura asked more to Ludwig, knowing Alfred as the only person who would run against the stream of fleeing people and the sound of explosions.
"Looking for you and Maddie of course." Alfred answered.
"Madeline-chan?" Sakura asked, feeling a knot of worry for her friend.
"She went looking for you along with the rest of us. She's not answering her phone." Ludwig explained, his jaw working as he gritted his teeth.
"What the hells going on Sakura? You never told me anime was real!" Alfred asked, full of dark accusation at her keeping this from him.
Ludwig joined her as she rolled her eyes, another oath of his idiocy was on her lips when a savage roar ripped through the air louder than even the explosion before. A thunderous crash was heard, followed by another and another that eerily followed the timing of the falling of feet. The ground shook and as another crash was heard cars were seen tumbling like toys down the street ahead.
"What the..." Alfred asked, swallowing hard and unable to finish his question as a large hand gripped the nearby building some six stories high.
"Scheiße!" Ludwig swore as the head of the monstrosity looked past the building still another two stories higher.
"Run!" Sakura screamed, the only chance of retreat for her friends the car that stood between them and the towering abomination.
Racing to the car and hoping to out pace it before it took real notice of them, they came to a skittering halt as it turned the corner and crushed the old volkswagon beneath its foot. Without needing to be told, Alfred and Ludwig took her up by the arms in a hasty about face and raced on despite her indignant screams to put her down.
"The alley!" Alfred called, Ludwig following him.
"No!" Sakura cried, the fools not knowing the dangers that lurked down those shadowy valleys hidden behind storefronts and shops.
Struggling against them, from the darkness of dumpsters and hidden doorways a fresh wave of abominations clawed out of the black. Trying to find her footing, it was a hard task with the two taller boys rushing on. She didn't want to hurt either, but if she wasn't put down soon she wouldn't be able to protect them from the advancing pack.
"Put. Me. Down!" Sakura yelled.
Both boys came to a halt and let her go, yet it wasn't for the reason she hoped for as she spared a glance behind to see they were surrounded on all sides. The quarters were too cramped and with them there she couldn't just flee to the safety of the rooftops. Suddenly time seemed to slow for her, senses honed by her battles thus far picking up the fluttering of satin and silk that defied all logic. As fast as she was, seconds becoming minutes as she pushed herself into that realm between the hands of the clock, in the blink of an eye one faster than her was gliding through the air offering her a rakish, flirting smile.
First Pirate-Sama, now she found herself in the company of what could only be a Musketeer. She dared not blink, but it could not be denied, and in that one moment he was gone while in his wake all the advancing abominations roared in pain and fell. Turning sharply amidst the statues that were Alfred and Ludwig, the same fate had fallen the others that had them trapped, the way now clear.
"Mademoiselle."
Her hand was taken up for a kiss, the Musketeer now standing over her looking a dashing sight that the movies she had ever watched failed to do justice. Golden tresses fell under his hat and a long plume fluttered on the breeze as she let herself relax and time resume its normal flow.
"Where the hell did he come from! Yo bud, hands off!" Alfred bellowed, bulling his way up to snatch the hand back.
"He has no shadow." Ludwig pointed out in the moment of quiet that followed.
Glancing below even though she knew there was no way he would have one, the Musketeer laughed in a way that was so familiar to her. Her eyes widening in shock, with a flourish the man took off his hat and gave a bow, Francis Bonnefoy standing before her. She wasn't alone in being stunned to silence, the adoptive father of both Alfred and Madeline alike looking to take a bit of pleasure out of their gaping mouths.
Alfred looked to be struggling for words to ask the multitude of questions he had on his mind just then, yet as the ground shook once more they all remembered just what it was they were really running from then. At the very end of the alleyway the giant abomination loomed, looking on them with dull dark eyes. Only one looked utterly unflappable at the turn of events, Francis taking the long, elegant musket that was slung across his back and taking aim.
"Petit, are you any good at archery?" Francis asked in a melodic voice accented by his native French.
Her ancestors answered the question, her sword becoming a yumi and the light of her soul the bowstring. Taking a few steps to clear her friends, she stood next to the Musketeer and drew. Letting the arrow fly that had been forged by her will, the crack of gunpowder igniting had a tremendous light join hers to pierce the belly of the beast. The death cry of the horror shook the ground, its flesh fading under the harsh daylight as the shadows were freed of its twisted hold.
"Can someone tell me what the hell is going on?!" Alfred shouted.
"Now be not the time for those questions, later enfant. Right now we need to find Madeline and save the poor soul trapped in that." Francis said cooly, giving a nod to the column of twisted light that could just be seen over the rooftops that loomed above them.
As in over their heads as they were, all it took was the mention of Madeline to have the boys focus on what was important to them for different reasons, a brother's love and a look Sakura had seen all too often in Ludwig's eyes when he looked on her friend, one she understood herself with the feelings she felt for Alfred.
"I'll hold you to that Franny." Al barked, following after the pair with Ludwig in tow.
"Just once, would it kill you to call me Papa like your sister?" Francis asked, even if he already knew the answer.
"Stuff it Frog." Alfred snapped back.
"Merde, such an ungrateful child, you and my dear Angleterre deserve one another." Francis quipped back with a light laugh.
-=+=–=+=–=+=–=+=-
She didn't know how she had gotten here, one moment she was out in the field behind school stumbling over a sword of all things, now here she was Downtown in the eerily abandoned streets looking straight out of those zombie movies Alfred loved to be scared silly by. Gripping the hilt of the sword tighter and holding it to her chest, Madeline felt the warmth and sense of safety it offered her.
Now and again loud noises startled her, explosions or the roaring of lions or something worse. Lost as she was, the only thing that stood out was the towering light that rose out of the street ahead of her. Putting one foot after another, she kept on walking towards it and hoping to find out just what was going on. As she drew closer to the light, her shadow stretched on behind her down the path she had come. If she had thought to look, she would have noticed how it no longer mirrored her trembling, timid self.
The shadow behind her took on the silhouette of a woman she had seen out in the field and in a dream, yet instead of the dress of golden honey she had the sharp angles of armour adorning her. Even still in the ever unfurling length of one girls shadow marched an army rallied by their beautiful martyr, and behind that army stood a nation.
-=+=–=+=–=+=–=+=–=+=-
The nearer they got to the light the more of those things emerged that Sakura and Franny called Abominations. Feeling helpless in a way he never wanted to remember, he watched as the two fought the horrors that just kept coming. Time and again one would slip through the ranks, and in those moments both he and Ludwig found the will to fight with broken lengths of metal they had found from the street.
Up in that light that was littered with dark patches, he could now see the silhouette of a body hanging there, the Soul that both Sakura and Francis were trying to save. There was just one soul he wanted to save himself and he didn't have the strength for the task, helpless as he was against the horde to go off and find his sister.
"Dammit!" Alfred roared, swinging wildy at a monster that just wouldn't stay down.
He was supposed to be the Hero, he was the one that was supposed to save the day! That was the promise he'd made Madeline that first night at the orphanage, that he'd always keep her safe. That's what Big Brothers were for!
"Alfred!" Ludwig yelled.
Realizing he was battering empty asphalt, the abomination defeated at last, he looked down to his bloodied hands and let the makeshift club clatter to the street so he could clench his fists. Breathing deep, as he looked to his friend though he found he wasn't looking at his frantic actions but behind him. Following his gaze, Alfred stared in awe at what he found there, not his own familiar shadow but the silhouette of a Gunslinger from the Wild West born during America's era of Manifest Destiny.
Feeling a weight at his hips that was a welcome burden, twin holsters rested there with two gleaming revolvers shining so bright they glowed. Slipping his hands over the sandalwood grips, as he drew them he swore he had never felt anything feel so right in his life. Levelling one at Ludwig and staring beyond him, his friend's shock turned to understanding as he hit the dirt. The report of the gunshot mingled with the horrible cry of the withering beast.
"Danke." Ludwig coughed as he got to his feet.
"Hey Luddy?" Alfred asked.
"Ja?" Ludwig asked.
"Nice sword."
In the shadow cast by the German, there stood now the silhouette of a warrior of those Germanic Tribes that had fought against the Roman Empire itself. In his hand Ludwig held a Gladius, his makeshift club still laying at his feet where he'd taken cover moments before. Meeting eyes, the boys didn't have to exchange anything as paltry as words, but then again Alfred was never comfortable with such quiet moments.
"Lets go find Maddie!"
Racing off and following their hearts, the battle was joined.
-=+=–=+=–=+=–=+=–=+=-