12 noon, Elysium
Alfred checked his ornate watch every other second. The blonde boy struck him as someone who would show, whether from curiosity or need for the food he had to offer. Alfred had brought a regular picnic lunch to share with the Dystopian, hoping to open him up. But that involved his new ally to show up first. It was past noon. Maybe he had forgotten? It seemed too important a thing to forget. Maybe they told time differently in Dystopia? No, the original Dystopians knew what Utopian time was. Then where was he?
It was almost one when he caught sight of the boy. He had climbed thru the ceiling and was walking like an acrobat along the rusting beams of the factory. All the factories over on the east side were scheduled to be demolished and were pretty dangerous. But the Dystopian ran across them with practised ease, the beams never making a sound under his weight. He jumped down from beams to ladders to ledges and finally to the floor.
Alfred beamed and waved, earning a raised eyebrow. "Why are you so late? You said noon!" The man shrugged, his gorgeous emerald eyes flitting from side to side like he was looking for something. "I had to make sure you had come alone. I'm still not positive but I smelled something wonderful and decided that if this was a trap I may as well die full."
Alfred laughed, surprised the man had said do much in one sentence. "It's ok. I don't expect you to blindly trust me." "Then you aren't as idiotic as you come off." Alfred smiled and pulled out a plate of chicken wings, fresh baked rolls, and his mother's homemade apple pie. "I noticed you liked the apples yesterday, so I brought apple pie." The man slowly sat down across from Alfred. "Hey... wait, I still don't know your name!"
The man smiled softly and shook his head. "No names for you. I still don't trust you completely. No one thinks about Dystopia by choice. There must be something very wrong with you." Alfred pouted. "Then what should I call you?" His guest seemed to think about it for awhile and eventually smiled, a little cruelly. "How about Governor." Alfred laughed again. It surprised him how easily the Unnecessary could make him laugh.
"Alright gov'na. Eat. We need to get some meat on those bones." Governor raised his bushy eyebrows again. "We? There is no 'we' in this. I tell you what you want to know and then I'm getting the bloody hell out of Dodge." Alfred raised his eyes at the strange statement but pulled out food for Governor all the same. "Here. I brought chicken, salad, bread, and a little wine I pinched from the party last night." Governor stared at the food, then grabbed the entire basket and took off running.
"Hey! Wait! That's not the food for you to take back!" He was already half way up to the ceiling, but he stopped at the words. Slowly he turned to look at Alfred, disbelief written on his face. Alfred smiled and went over to one of the old storage racks, revealing another basket full of fruits, breads and meats. It was enough to make Governor scramble back down, though still a bit wary.
"Why offer more to me when I was so willing to break our deal for just this?" Alfred shrugged and sat back down, motioning for Governor to follow. He slowly sat down as Alfred responded. "You need as much food as you can get. So eat the meal you just tried to steal from me," Governor scowled as he dropped the basket in poorly hidden embarrassment, "and when you answered all my questions you can have the rest."
Alfred smirked in triumph as he started into one of the rolls he had brought. This feeling was short lived though, as Governor simply stared at the food, a mix of awe and sadness on his face. "... Eat, It's ok." The boy bit his lip, looked like he was trying to decide something, and then shook his head. "That wouldn't be fair." Alfred looked at him as him with confusion. "What do you mean?" Governor shook his head and said, "I can't eat without them. It wouldn't be fair for me to get more."
Alfred saw an opening in this statement, a start into the life of the Dystopian. "Who is them?" Governor seemed to struggle with whether he should talk or not, but eventually heaved a sigh and started talking. "My brothers. All five of them." Alfred choked on the wine he was sipping. "Five brothers?! That's insane! Your parents must have been crazy!" Governor laughed quietly and shook his head. "No no, they aren't all my actual brothers." Alfred gestured for more information.
"I'm not giving names, so don't ask. Only one of the boys is related to me, the second son of the family where I am the fourth. So yes, my parents still didn't exactly think things thru. So I grew up in the same house as my older brother, along with... another boy. He was really small and sick all the time and had just run from his abusive Dystopian family. We took him in after we left our old house, and were slowly joined by a crazy little Italian boy, an obnoxious albino, and a happy Spanish man. And they became my family."
Alfred smiled slightly at the sounds of the boy talking so animatedly about his life. How bad could it be out there if they all lived together in such close families? "So you won't eat because they won't get any of it?" Governor shook his head and leaned back against the wall. Alfred saw his ribs thru his shirt and his skin was too pale. "Will you still answer my questions?" Governor's eyes were closed but his smile grew a little at the question. "I still don't quite understand why you want to know anything about us. You were lucky. You live in the city. Why would you purposely torture yourself with this knowledge?"
Alfred decided he loved Governor's voice. It was so proper and seemed out of place with his appearance. "Please just answer me." Governor shrugged and gestured for him to ask anything. Alfred sighed deeply. "Do you know someone by the name of Matthew Jones?" He saw Governor tense, if only slightly. His teeth clenched as he responded. "No. I don't know anyone by that name." Alfred sighed sadly. "Ok. Just wondering." He thought he saw a flash of guilt on the blonde's face but it was gone as quickly as it came.
"Ok. What is it really like out there?" Governor opened his huge green eyes. "Do you really want to know? You are so safe and so naive here in your little paradise." His voice was venomous again. "Once you know what I have to tell you, you can't go back." Alfred met the Unnecessary directly in the eye as he said, "Yes."
Governor smiled. "Alright then. You better listen close. You can believe me or you can think I'm a liar. I don't really care. As long as I get my food." Governor sat forward, legs crossed and hands clasped. "Dystopia is hell on earth." Alfred's eyes widened. "There is no police, no money, no food. Four to eight starving people live in every house, and the homes are so close you can hear the neighbors thru the walls. People fight, steal and even kill for as much as a scrap of food."
Alfred couldn't speak. It sounded too bad to be true. "Now for my own life. I am the third oldest in the house, and my older brother isn't the most responsible person you could find, and neither is that Prussian bastard." He smiled as he said this thought, showing he didn't really mean it. "So I come to Elysium and steal. On the nights I don't come here I'm getting in reward fights." Alfred looked about to ask a question but a pale hand stopped him. "Reward fights are organized matches. If you win, you get paid. Anyway, my brother has the only legal in the house and one of the other boys cheat at poker to make money, the Italian cooks whatever food we can bring home, and Anton- um the Spaniard is very good at conning people out of their money."
Alfred counted the boys in his head. "And the other boy? The one that ran from his family?" Governor winced. "He comes with me here when he isn't too sick. Almost all the money we get goes towards herbal remedies." Alfred frowns. "What does he have? Why don't you steal some medicine?" "Hospitals are a lot harder to break into than parties, Lucky. Besides, there isn't a doctor to tell us what's wrong with him. Giving him the wrong medicine could be worse than simple herbs and tea."
"What did you think Dystopia was like?" Governor was looking at Alfred questioningly. Alfred bit his lip before responding. "Well the teachers here always told us it wasn't the best place. It's used as a punishment for the parents that break the law, so they couldn't make it like the cities. But I've never heard anything like what you're saying." Governor was chuckling darkly. "Punishment for the parents? Are they the ones starving and freezing, fighting and stealing for their next meal? Dystopia punishes the kids whose parents made a mistake. Sound fair?"
"That's... wow. I never even thought..." Alfred wasn't sure he believed Governor. It seemed to ridiculous. "Did you get your answers? Can I go now?" Governor obviously knew Alfred didn't believe him. "I really need to get this food back to the boys or they'll get worried that I fell into a trap." He smiled crookedly. Alfred stared at the roll in his hands, suddenly guilty for asking anything in return for giving this unlucky patchwork family food. They needed it more than he did. "Yeah. Thank you." Governor got up and grabbed the second basket, leaving the one Alfred had given him first. And then Alfred spoke.
"One more thing." Governor turned around and raised an eyebrow, face expressionless. "I want to see it. Dystopia." The blonde said nothing for a moment before responding, "You are out of your mind. There is no way in hell." "Please. You don't have to help me, I already have a way out. All I need is clothes, a way to disguise myself and three friends." Governor rolled his eyes. "It's hard enough to get clothes for myself. How could I get any for you and three strangers? It's too dangerous for city boys anyway. Dystopia will tear you apart."
Alfred narrowed his eyes. "I'm going with or without your help. We already have a plan. Please. I'll bring more food." Governor shook his head. "Not in your life Lucky. Thanks for the food but I'm done dealing with you and your crazy schemes. If you want to go over the Wall and get yourself killed, be my guest. But I'm not helping you get it done." And then he was gone. Up into the rafter and to the roof before Alfred could even blink. He cursed himself for not convincing the Dystopian to help. Now they would really have to come up with rags on their own...
2 pm- Dystopia
Arthur ran back to Dystopia faster even than the night of the governor's party. He knew that if he slowed and thought about it he would turn back to help Alfred, promise to bring clothes, tell him his name. And he couldn't risk doing that. It would not only put the boys back home in danger, but Alfred and his friends as well. And for whatever reason, he didn't want to see Alfred in trouble. No, it was better that the Elysiums stayed in paradise, where they didn't have to face the world outside.
A block from home, Arthur slowed down. Alfred and his friends... wanted to come to Dystopia? No one ever chose to come there, not if they had a choice. Gilbert knew he had to give up his life in paradise to give his brother a chance at a good life. That didn't mean if a city official knocked on their door to say that he could come back to Elysium that Gilbert wouldn't jump at the offer. Any of them would. No one wanted to live in hell. So why did Alfred?
Why had Arthur lied about knowing Matthew? Arthur didn't trust Alfred yet. He didn't want him to know that Matthew was so close, closer than he could ever know. Mattie shouldn't have to see his brother if the guy turned out to be an arse (though he didn't seem to so far, though he was a little idiotic) and Alfred certainly didn't deserve to see his saint of a brother until Arthur was sure Mattie wouldn't get hurt. What would the lucky twin do if he found out his brother was the one that was sick beyond a cure? It had surprised Arthur that Alfred knew about Matthew at all. Many parents don't tell their kids about a twin on the outside. It surprised him even more that he was so sad when told Arthur didn't know Matthew.
Arthur spotted a clothesline in a neighbors yard. One shirt certainly wouldn't go amiss. And it looked big enough for one particular blue eyed Lucky...
Same night- 2 hours later
"And that's what happened." The boys had cooked up a few pieces of meat from the basket Arthur had brought back, the smell of cooking meat filling the small house. That night they ate like kings and listened to Arthur's new tale. "So are you going to help them?" Matthew was smiling slightly and laughed at Arthur's indignant scowl. "Help them commit suicide? I don't think so!" Antonio giggled and grabbed another apple slice. "Come on amigo. How can you pass up an opportunity to take a bunch of Luckies on the guilt trip of a life time?" "If I get caught-" Gilbert laughed. "You? Get caught? You've been sneaking in to Elysium for years and not once have you been caught. Well, except for last night..."
"Gil's right Arty. And this time ya won't even be taking anythin out. You'd be bringing something in." Seamus sipped at his wine, wincing at the unfamiliar taste. "Like you said. It's suicide. If they want to get themselves killed then why not help 'em? This Alfred seemed pretty adamant on doing this one way or another." Arthur sat back against the wall in their little shack, thinking over what everyone had said and deciding whether or not to help the idiotic Luckies or not.
Five days later - 5 pm, Elysium
Alfred waited every day for the boy he knew only as Governor to return. He had a feeling that thru the harsh outside, he was a kind person, one that would recognize that Alfred would be going to Dystopia with or without his help. Eventually he told Romano, Francis, and Kiku about meeting the boy from Dystopia at the governor's birthday.
"You met someone from Dystopia... and didn't tell us!?" They were all excited (though Romano pretended not to be) about the prospect of really going to the other side of the Wall. So they waited at the fabric factory every day with Alfred, hoping for a mess of blonde hair to show up with Dystopian clothes. Francis waited when he could but he was in medical school during the day, though he hadn't been allowed near the medicine in six months because he was 'on probation', which was ending the following week. Kiku finished the drug and told them they could head out within the week if they had disguises.
Alfred told them of what Governor had said of Dystopia. Ludwig and Romano seemed skeptical, but Kiku was nodding. "It would make sense that the place has fallen into disarray. There are so many people out there and certainly not enough food. I never thought it would be as bad as he says, but what reason would he have to lie about the circumstances he lives in?" "Maybe to get more food, moron." Romano was a rather pessimistic person. "Possibly. I suppose we'll see." No one said what they were thinking though; what if what Governor said was true? What if it was that bad?
Days passed and no sign of Governor appeared. Alfred began to worry that he had been wrong; that the boy had been serious that he wouldn't help him. At one point Romano got very worked up about all the waiting and hoping, storming off into the city. "He really wants to meet Feliciano, Alfred. He doesn't mean it when he calls you a lying jerk of a bastard." Alfred smiled tiredly at Kiku. That day would be the last they would wait. They were losing time and every day they waited the more likely Kiku would be caught with the stolen drugs.
As they left the warehouse something caught Alfred's eye. A now familiar shock of bleach blonde hair. Eyes wide, Alfred raced to the sight to find nothing- nothing but a pile of rags, enough for ten men, under a rock. A single piece of paper lay on the pile, brittle and old. Written on it in what appeared to be charcoal were the words, "Best I could do. Good luck. -Governor." Alfred smiled at Kiku, who had run up behind him, followed closely by Ludwig. He held up the clothes. "Who's ready to go to Dystopia?"
