(1/16/11) I'M SO SORRY! I had this up earlier, but realized I had omitted the -real- cliffhanger, the original ending of the chapter. So I took the chapter down and got back to writing. I AM SOOOOO SORRY FOR THE INCONVENIENCE! IT'S ALL MY FAULT! *sobs* I'm so, so sorry...

AND THEN, after I had it all typed out, I decided to take EVEN LONGER and change like half of the chapter to 1st person cuz I thought it'd be "more effective that way" for whatever reason.

People seem to like this (TWO REVIEWS ON ONE CHAPTER, WITHOUT ANY OTHER ONES! NOT EVEN HNBC GOT REVIEWS THAT FAST!), so I thought, "Why not upload for MLK Day? Sure, it's not a super-major holiday or anything, but it's of great importance in America (kinda like Thanksgiving, Fourth of July, 9/11, etc.) so... why not?"

(6/13/11) I noticed a few errors that I felt needed to be fixed, so I thought to myself, "Why not? I hope to post the next chapter in a few days anyway, so I might as well go ahead and fix the errors, post that, then post chapter 2 (although the site considers it chapter three...)."

So! Free look into my head, hope y'all liked that. Just the disclaimer and my typical send off, then you can freely read the story!

Disclaimer: XionAmmy does not own, nor does she claim to own, the rights to Hetalia and/or characters from the aforementioned anime/manga series used in this FanFiction, no matter how much she may love them. She is not, nor does she claim to be, an expert on Greek Mythology in any way, shape, or form even if many of her friends seem to regard her as a walking encyclopedia on the subject, despite how much she loves reading it and how annoying she finds it when someone messes up the family tree of a god, goddess, hero, or other important mythological figure. The only things involved that XionAmmy can rightfully lay claim to are the plot, all liberties taken in the story, and all artistic liscences found in the stories. Thank you.

Enjoy~!

-~Fallen Angel Chapter I: Shortcuts and Discoveries~-

"East... Gil... Gilbert... Gilbert! Hey! You in there?" the blonde teenager asked, waving his hand in front of the teenager he was addressing. Getting no response from the albino, Ludwig Beilschmidt sighed and shook the boy's shoulder gently.

Gilbert Beilschmidt blinked, forcing his brain to stop spacing out and pay attention. "Huh? What's up, West? Is class over already?"

Ludwig rolled his eyes, not at all surprised by his (adoptive) brother's actions. "Yes, East, class ended. It's time to go," he replied irritably. "Remember, the next class is our last one. Assuming you don't somehow manage to get a detention, we can go home afterwards."

Gilbert grinned at his brother, groaning internally as he realized he had completely missed the teacher's boring-but-quite-possibly-important lecture once again. Grabbing his bag, he followed his brother out of the room.

-~Fallen Angel~-

Falling... Falling through the air. It was the oddest sensation ever for Kiku. Why was he falling, again...? He couldn't remember.

Not that it mattered at that point. He was falling, that was that. Nothing could change it. Closing his eyes, he slowly allowed himself to drift off while listening to the wind whistling past his ear, rushing through his hair, as he subconciously braced himself for his inevitable crash with the ground...

-~Fallen Angel~-

"Oi, West, why don't we take a shortcut?" Gilbert asked, grabbing his brother's arm as they approached an alleyway. The younger of the two glanced down the alley.

"I don't know, bruder, it doesn't look too safe," Ludwig murmured.

"Don't worry! I'm way too awesome for us to get attacked!" Gilbert replied with a grin, dragging his brother to the entrance of the alley.

Ludwig pulled himself free. "Fine!" he cried, exasperated. "We can take the damn shortcut, just stop dragging me!"

Gilbert's grin widened. Turning on his heel, he entered the alley. Ludwig, pinching the bridge of his nose and muttering something along the lines of "my bruder is such an idiot," followed him into the alleyway. He didn't expect Gilbert to stop for no apparent reason, so when he did, Ludwig collided with him without warning.

"East, what's wrong? Why'd you stop?" he asked, irritated by his brother's actions

"Call nine-one-one," Gilbert replied, completely ignoring his brother's question.

Ludwig blinked, not entirely understanding Gilbert's request. "Was? What's going on?" he asked, trying to see around his (slightly shorter) brother.

"Call nine-one-one, West! Get an ambulance down here!" Gilbert replied, his voice rising in panic with each passing moment as he rushed forward. Ludwig's eyes widened as he saw the cause of his brother's panic.

Lying on the pavement in the middle of the alley was a prone figure. Ludwig dug through his pockets, searching desperately for his cell phone.

-~Fallen Angel~- ~Kiku's POV~

I was awoken by... voices? Yes, a pair of male voices with... German accents, maybe? One was staying a ways back, he sounded somewhat confused. The other sounded panicked, moving towards me. Footsteps accompanied the second voice.

"Hey, um, my bruder and I just found a person in this alleyway between campus and the Hermes's Gyros* restaurant; he looks like he needs medical attention. We need an ambulance," the first voice said, his voice having lost its confusion and gained a note of panic. Not as heavy as the second voice's panic, but still there. "... How long? ... What? We're only like two blocks from the hospital! ... Gott verdammt! He could die if you don't hurry, get that through your... Fine! Just... just hurry!" Listening to him was confusing; it sounded as though he were talking to himself, or maybe I was only hearing one side of the conversation.

"Hey, kid, you okay?" the second voice asked, sounding like it was right above me.

Opening my eyes slowly, I found myself face-to-face with someone with snow-white hair, paper-white skin, and blood-red eyes. I tried to nod, but couldn't help but wince at the attempt.

"No, no, don't move! Just... um... Verdammt! Wie sollte ich das tun...? Oh! Blink once for yes, blink twice for no, okay?"

I blinked once to show I understood. I closed my eyes and tried to take a deep breath. I winced, feeling as if someone had stabbed me in the chest multiple times, then ran an electrical current through me. Opening my eyes once more, I blinked twice to answer his original question.

The person above me looked away, looking in the direction of the other voice. "West! Did you call the ambulance?"

"Of course!" the other voice, apparently this 'West' person, replied. "It's gonna take the ambulance a while to get here, though!"

The guy above him scowled. "How long?" he asked, sounding frustrated.

"I don't know, East! I'd guess... three minutes by now, maybe longer?" 'West' replied.

'East' scowled again, glancing at his watch. I swallowed, wanting to know what was going on.

"Wh-who are you?" I managed to choke out weakly, my throat tightening a little more with each word. "Where... where am I?"

East's attention swiftly returned to me. "I'm Gilbert, that guy over there is my brother Ludwig, and we're in an alleyway in New York." I opened my mouth to ask another question, but Gilbert cut me off quickly. "No, don't talk, just be patient. Everything will be fine, you can ask more questions later. For now, just lay still and try to relax."

I blinked once to show him I understood. I felt his fingers on my neck, applying gentle pressure to my pulse. I smiled weakly, trying to thank him silently for his kindness. He smiled in return, but it seemed... almost as if he wasn't sure if I would be okay. His smiling face was the last thing I saw, the world fading to black around me.

~Fallen Angel~

Slowly, I opened my eyes. The only sound to be heard was this slight beeping noise. Next to me, Gilbert appeared to have fallen asleep on an uncomfortable-looking plastic chair. The walls, ceiling, and plain tiled floor were white, as were the thin sheets on the bed. The entire room seemed to be pure white.

Hospital room, my brain supplied. I'm in a hospital room. How I knew that was beyond me.

I sat up slowly and turned to stare at the heart monitor. For some odd reason, I felt as if... as if it shouldn't be beeping, as if my heart shouldn't have been beating. As I contemplated the odd thought, an unfamiliar "memory" flashed through my mind...

"He's not responding!"

"Try again, damnit! I'm not letting this poor kid die!"

A harsh, flat trill filled my ears...

I blinked, shaking my head rapidly, just before realizing that the trill hadn't just been my imagination. On the contrary, it was very real indeed. The heart monitor wasn't registering my heartbeat anymore.

I could only stare at the machine, shocked and confused. What the heck is going on?

*Hermes's Gyros is a restaurant name I made up. If that happens to be the name of an actual restaurant or restaurant chain, I had no idea. Therefore, it has zero connection to any real restaurant/restaurant chain. Kiku landed in the alley between it and the college Gilbert and Ludwig attend because of the name of a Greek god in the restaurant's name and its proximity to where the two Germans were when he was dropped to earth, naturally.
I still need a name for Gilbert and Ludwig's college, though, so feel free to contribute. =D

Translations (*PLEASE NOTE* All translations are from Google Translate. It's not my fault if they're wrong. ):

Verdammt! Wie sollte ich das tun...? - Dammit! How should I do this...?
Gott verdammt! - God dammit!
Bruder - brother

Till next time...
~XionAmmy out!