The Execution

Part 1

Alfred had told Prussia he'd be there in 15 minutes, despite the 20-minute drive. Jumping off of the bed, he silently thanked himself for sprawling out still completely clothed.

Apparently, Matthew had jumped on top of Francis and had literally started strangling him, to the point where Arthur had to pull him off and restrain him to get him to stop. As hard as it was to image, he was the second largest nation in the world, so there had to be some sort of brute strength behind that. As he pulled into the drive of the Canadians home, he made note of the time; 12:01. Well, he'd met his time goal, despite the several broken traffic laws. Pulling in, he also noted that Arthur's car was parked up the driveway, along with two others (who he could only assume were Francis's and Gilbert's, since he didn't really know their vehicles.) As he stepped out of the car, though, he noticed something rather... Strange. There didn't seem to be a single light on in the entire house. Momentarily, he though that Gilbert might have just been pulling his leg, that they were really all fast asleep by now, but then he remembered the scared tone of his voice and, without another thought, rang the doorbell.

He stood there, in silence, for what felt like an eternity. Impatiently, he rang the doorbell again, this time keeping it pressed in a little longer to drag out the obnoxious ringing sound.

Standing outside in the cold Canadian air was a great way to wake up just about anybody, that's for sure.

After another few minutes, just as he was about to ring again, the door swung open almost violently to reveal Matthew. There was a brief flash of anger in his eyes that seemed to melt away as he saw who it was.

"Al?" He said sweetly, smiling, "What're you doing here?"

Alfred was taken aback by his brother's strange behavior, but tried not to show it on his face. "Uh, I'm just, y'know, stopping by to check in on you..." He laughed nervously. For whatever reason, he was feeling very threatened, which was absurd; this was Matthew they were talking about. He was quiet, timid, and aggravatingly passive-aggressive- Definitely not someone who inspired fear just at a glance.

Matthew stepped aside, waving the American in, "Come on in, you'll get sick standing out there." Alfred trotted in obediently, attempting to ignore the eerie blackness of the house.

"Ah, sorry Matt, were you asleep? It's so dark in here..." He glanced behind him, knowing full well that Matthew would never go to bed in a pair of jeans and his favorite red hoodie, what he was wearing now.

"No, I think there have just been... Some problems with the wiring." He smiled again, closing the door. There was a distinctive 'click' sound, which Alfred immediately identified as the door locking.

It's fine, that door locks from the inside anyways. If I really need to get out, I'm sure there's a way to unlock it from in here without the key...

Gah, what the hell was he thinking? He wouldn't have to 'escape' from Matthew's house! He smacked himself on the forehead, shaking his head in an attempt to clear out the thoughts.

"Um... You okay, Al?" He glanced up to look at Matthew, who was now standing directly beside him. Outwardly, he looked rather calm, like the same usual Matthew. But no matter what he did, Alfred couldn't shake this feeling that something was wrong with him.

"Y-yeah. Yeah, I'm fine. Um... Where's everyone else?"

"Oh?"

"Um... Everyone else?"

"What makes you think I'm not home alone?" He smiled, but it wasn't a real smile. Actually, it was more threatening than anything else.

"I... I saw the cars, in the driveway. I recognized Arthur's, but not the other two..." Laughing nervously, me motioned back toward the door, even taking a step closer to it. "Hey, Matt, you haven't been hanging around with Russia again, have you?" The overall tone of innocent intimidation coming from his brother was reminding him of a certain enemy nation of his.

"Ivan? Nope, haven't seen him in a while..." Since Alfred had taken a step back, he was now about a foot behind Matthew, who hadn't even bothered to turn around to look when he replied. Something about the way he was standing, back to Alfred, hands folded neatly behind his back, just added to the overall creep-factor he was exuding.

"Oh, uh... Prussia is here too, right? You never answered me, where is everyone else?"

Suddenly, Matthew whipped around, a terrifyingly dark look taking over his face, "How did you know?"

Much to his own displeasure, a tiny squeak emanated from Alfred as he jumped a bit, scared by the sudden movement. He stumbled over his words for a second before spitting out a somewhat comprehendible sentence: "I, uh, car. License plate. I-it said awesome... Or something. I think. I-I just kinda figured... "

Matthew's eyes narrowed, the dark look on his face never leaving, as he seemed to scan Alfred. After a moment, though, he smiled and wheeled back around, "Oh, I guess that makes sense... I didn't notice that. That sounds like Gil, though~" He started off toward the kitchen, leaving Alfred standing dumbfounded in the entryway.

After a moment, he looked over his shoulder, "You're hungry, right? Follow me, I'll make you something."

Alfred was reluctant to follow, especially after whatever the hell he just witnessed, but he couldn't just leave without knowing where the others were and if they were even okay. Slowly, he trailed behind his brother, realizing with every step just why Gilbert sounded so terrified on the phone. Whatever had happened to Matthew had made him suddenly very imposing. Even Alfred, self-proclaimed hero and strongest man on earth, felt like Matthew could wheel around and break him two if he felt like it.

Which was absurd, of course, considering it was Matthew being discussed.

Alfred tried to keep reminding himself of that, but that suddenly seemed much less comforting. When they finally reached the kitchen, Matthew calmly went about pulling out various ingredients from the cupboards and fridge. Alfred watched dumbly for a moment before Matthew nonchalantly waved him towards the table. Obediently, Alfred wandered over to the table, choosing a seat were he was still facing the blonde scurrying around the kitchen. Alfred didn't feel safe having his back to him.

Thankfully, though it was dark, Alfred's eyes had adjusted enough where he could see the kitchen relatively well, and the small window above the sink let in enough moonlight to be a little assistance. Never letting his eyes leave Mathew, Alfred sat uncomfortably on the edge of his seat. He'd chosen the chair closest to the stairs, the one with the best view of the kitchen, also thinking that he could probably get upstairs and lock a door behind him faster then Matthew could if need be. Matthew kept himself busy, though. No more sudden movements, or outbursts, thankfully. As he watched him through the blackness, he slowly began to recognize the recipe he was preparing as pancakes, what he usually made when Alfred came to visit.

After a moment of nothing but scraping noises from Matthew trailing here and there in the kitchen, Alfred began to detect another noise. Were those footsteps? Yes, muffled footsteps, frantic and panicked. It seemed t be coming from upstairs somewhere, and it was so faint Alfred had to really concentrate to hear it. Matthew apparently heard it too, as he paused in the middle of stirring and let his eyes trail up the stairs. Their eyes met for a brief second before Matthew continued on with his task, now humming softly but obtrusively. Was he trying to cover up the sound?

Alfred did his best to act like he hadn't heard it, keeping his eyes fixed on Matthew and his cooking. After a few more minutes, as the smell of pancakes began to fill the air, Alfred stood up as normally as he could and stretched, trying to come off as unfazed.

"I gotta pee. Be right back." He turned and headed up the stairs, hoping that Matthew wouldn't try interfering. Thankfully, he got all the way upstairs, and Matthew hadn't said a word to him. Loudly, he stomped his way into the bathroom, then shut the door with him still standing on the outside. Then, as quietly as he could, he crept farther down the hall and listened for the noise again. Even listening as hard as he could, Alfred couldn't make out the noises again, so he instead just cracked open the first door he could find.

It was unbelievably dark inside, and because of that, it was hard to identify exactly which room he was in. He'd been in Matthew's house a lot over the years, and he did know it pretty well, but he really was only able to identify the bathroom in this darkness. Sliding inside, he shut the door behind him as silently as possible and felt around the wall for the light switch. He cringed back when a light actually flickered on, shielding his eyes with his hands.

So much for wiring issues.

Slowly, he allowed his eyes to adjust and scanned the room. It was Matthew's office, as tidy and organized as ever, with a nice, large oak desk sitting in the back of the room and a few bookshelves and filing cabinets against the walls. Everything seemed pretty normal, at first, so Alfred began turning to leave- But that's when something caught his eye. The closet, which was on the adjacent wall to the door he'd come in through, was open slightly. Sure, this was nothing too special, but the light from the room leaked passed the open door and highlighted something very notable- A face.

Author's Notes: WOW this part is so much longer than the others lol And it's so much more drama-ey! God, it's fun wirting all this creepy stuff. Is there something wrong with me? xD