Hey guys! So, um, here's this chapter... hope you like it? Don't really know what else to say. ^.^
The mist swirled around, taking on various vague shapes and colors before solidifying.
Matthew walked alone down a white and beige hallway, towards Arthur's office.
He had been summoned to this secret underground military base by Commander Arthur Kirkland, who just so happened to be his adoptive big brother.
Apparently, Arthur had a potential mission for him that was so top secret he couldn't even hint at what it was over the super secure phone line they were using. It certainly was intriguing.
That, coupled with the fact that Matthew's twin brother, Alfred, was currently residing at the base had given him enough incentive to get up at four in the morning to catch his flight from his cozy little home in Québec to the outskirts of a small town in rural New York. Speaking of which, where was Alfred? Matthew had told him he was coming today...
As if on cue, Alfred suddenly burst out of an unmarked door on Matthew's left, and tackled him into an enormous hug.
"Mattie!" He exclaimed. "Long time no see! I missed you, bro!"
"H-hey Al. How have you been?" gasped Matthew, struggling to breathe. Alfred's hugs were suffocatingly strong.
"I've been awesome! I get to hang out with Artie every day now!"
"That's great-" started Matthew in his soft voice before he was cut off.
"Oh, right, you need to go see him! Come on!" And Alfred started off down the hallway, dragging Matthew along with him.
They stopped in front of a plain white door that blended in with the white of the wall yet still somehow managed to look distinguished. It was labeled 'Commander Arthur Kirkland'. Without stopping to knock, Alfred turned the handle and threw open the door. It hit the wall with a resounding bang. Arthur, who had been working at his desk inside, jolted with surprise. Alfred strolled into the office to stand in front of the desk, Matthew following to stand next to him.
"What do you want, you git? I told you not to bother me until Matthew got here!" Arthur snapped irritably. Matthew sighed inwardly. Not again.
"Artieee! Mattie's right here!" Alfred cried, gesturing at Matthew wildly. Arthur stared for a minute, puzzled, before realization washed over his features.
"Oh! I'm sorry, Matthew, I didn't see you there. Forgive me," he said apologetically.
"It's fine," said Matthew, dismissing the topic. Arthur not seeing him was nothing new. It had been like that ever since he was a small child; Matthew doubted it would change now. He was used to it, anyway. It wasn't just Arthur; he was invisible to almost everyone. The only people who ever saw him were Alfred and his big brother-in-law, Francis. Francis and Arthur had gotten married a year ago after growing up together. It had taken quite a while for Arthur to accept that he was in love with Francis, but he had, and they were now happily married. Matthew liked Francis in part because he noticed him just as much as Alfred did, almost all the time. Still, having only two people out of the entire world notice you was kind of depressing, but Matthew figured he could deal with it. He was an assassin for God's sake! He didn't have time for stupid emotions like that.
"You needed to see me?" asked Matthew.
"Ah, yes," Arthur said. "Alfred, leave."
"What?! Artie, you can't just kick me out-"
"Go, Alfred. We need to discuss this in private. If Matthew accepts the mission, he can tell you about it later."
"But Mattie-"
"Alfred." It was Matthew that spoke this time. He knew Alfred wanted to stay with him for support, but Matthew wasn't as weak as he once was. He could take care of himself.
Alfred simply looked at Matthew for a minute before nodding. "Alright bro. Later then." He walked out of the room, shutting the door behind him.
"Now, Matthew, I assume you've heard of General Gilbert Beilschmidt?" And indeed he had. There were very few people that hadn't; he was quite infamous.
Matthew nodded. "Yes."
"Then you'll know that he has become ...a bit of a problem for us. The higher-ups have decided that he needs to be, uh, taken care of.
"This is a very important mission, lad, which is why I thought of you. This will likely be a dangerous, difficult mission, but I believe that should you accept it, you will succeed. Do you accept this mission?" Arthur looked up at Matthew expectantly.
Matthew thought for a moment. He had no reason not to, and quite a few for the affirmative. If he accepted he could avenge all the soldiers killed by Beilschmidt's armies, prevent more people from dying, and maybe, he thought with a hint of a smile and a spark of hope, people might finally notice him.
"I'm in." He stated determinedly.
"You're quite sure?" asked Arthur.
"Yes."
"Brilliant." Arthur said with a small smile. "We will discuss the details later. You are dismissed."
As Matthew walked back down the hallway, he was once again assaulted with a giant hug by Alfred.
"Mattie! What did Artie say?"
"I've been assigned a mission to kill General Gilbert Beilschmidt," Matthew replied.
"What?! Mattie, you can't do that! It's too dangerous, that guy's insane!"
"Alfred-"
"No! How could Arthur tell you to do that? What if you went and he caught you?!"
"But Alfred, I'm perfectly capable of-"
"No!" Alfred said again. "Come on Mattie, I'm gonna go talk to Arthur."
"But- ahh!" And Matthew was dragged away down the hall.
"Arthur! What the hell do you think you're doing, sending Mattie on a dangerous mission like that?!" yelled Alfred as he burst into Arthur's office.
Arthur looked up from the papers he had been working on, startled. "Bloody hell Alfred, he's not a child. Matthew is a fully trained assassin, one of the best in the world. What on earth makes you think he can't handle this?"
"This Beilschmidt guy is dangerous! I'm the hero; I can't let him hurt Mattie, and the only way I can protect him is if he's here! So he's staying!" Alfred yelled, frantic.
"Alfred, it's already been decided. He's going. Now stop bothering me, you bloody wanker." Arthur said crossly.
"No, Arthur-"
"Yes, Alfred."
"No!"
"Matthew, would you go wait in the hall for a minute?" Arthur asked, standing up.
"Uh... of course," Matthew replied, confused. He stepped out through the door into the hallway.
"Thank you," said Arthur as he shut the door.
"He. Is. Going. You. Bloody. Twit!" Matthew heard Arthur yell through the door, each word punctuated by the sound of a book hitting Alfred's head, and Alfred's loud protests.
After another minute or so of shouting and Arthur whacking Alfred with various dictionaries and encyclopedias, the yelling died down to soft whispers that Matthew couldn't make out from his side of the door.
A few seconds later, the door opened and Arthur stepped out of his office, looking triumphant.
"It's been settled. You're going." He smirked. "Right Al?"
Alfred scowled. "Yeah, whatever."
Matthew sighed. He wondered what having a normal family was like...
And then the mist swirled around again, dissolving the scene and depositing Matthew back into the present.
He was vaguely aware of the feeling of being carried. He opened his eyes. It was still dark, so Matthew assumed he hadn't been out long. He also discovered that the man he now knew was Beilschmidt was carrying him bridal-style away from the woods. His head hurt. He groaned in pain.
Beilschmidt looked down at him in slight surprise.
"Awake already? Kesesese. That was fast. Anyway, you can't be awake yet. Back to sleep with you."
Matthew started to struggle, but Beilschmidt hit him over the head again with the heel of his gun, and the darkness engulfed his once again.
So nce again, that's that. In case it wasn't clear, that was a memory in a dream. Sorry if you were expecting this to be the scene where Mattie and Gil meet officially, without Gil knocking him on the head with his gun every two seconds, but this is what came out of my head, so... sorry. Please don't kill me!
Later, mein leiblings!
~Potter-chan 3