::A/N:: Yadda yadda, I don't own the AWESOMENESS that is Hetalia.
But look at this! I updated rather quickly this time around! I'm not sure what you'll think... but enjoy!
Xi = Hong Kong
Im Yong = Korea
Gilbert POV
Somewhere to my left, Lovino revs his engine into the cloud-laden night air, and Tonio speeds up beside him, flashing him that signature smile. I swivel to glance behind me instead, not so hot with the idea of seeing gay flirting. No offense to my bro. Just, too much information, ya know? I'll let Liz be obsessed with that stuff.
Three more cycles drone behind us. In the seats sit the men from earlier, the foreigners.
I could only assume when they sauntered up to Liz, Tonio, Lovi and myself that Vash had sent them there. Awesomely enough, it turned out to be true. Liz thought that perhaps they were the "friends" Vash had discussed when we were in his office. I just scoffed at her because that's my job, but she was probably right. The she-man usually is (keep that a secret). The mens' names constantly escape my awesomeness, however. It's like Arnold, Aaron, and something else. Matt-something or other. Whatever. All I know is they're brothers, but one's Canadian, one's American, and one's English. And they have a little short one that tags along and claims to be from "Sealand" (well he's not that short, he's a teenager). It's hilarious. Especially because he told me (in his English accent) that Sealand's basically just a lump of metal in the middle of the ocean (off of England of course. That's where the accent comes from, stupid). Then he got pissed when I phrased it as such and kicked me in the shin. Only because I made sure he missed my sensitive areas. Little dick. He still gets added to my List of Awesome, though.
He's not on this mission. I'm not sure why his brothers are either, but whatever. They left some Japanese guy back at base with the kid, Peter, I think it was. See, if you're awesome, I'll remember your name! Well, let me re-phrase that. I only remember Vash's name because I have to. And Liz's old boyfriend's name because she never shut up about him. He was the world's biggest arschloch. So I definitely didn't remember him because of his "awesome". I only remembered him because of Liz. Not that she's that awesome of anything! (Gott, stop judging).
The green tinted motorcycle to my right is Liz's. I can't see her angular face, nor her forest eyes, nor her long brown hair. She pulled it into a bun or something.
I think she's pissed at me.
She hasn't spoken to me since I showed up in her room half naked. Maybe I shouldn't have done that. ...Oh well... I realize I annoy the shit out of her (something I find awesome), but she doesn't hate me... I don't think...
"Gilbo.. it's... a... miles... ready..." The voice belongs to Francis, but the words don't make an ounce of sense. For one thing he didn't say the word "l'amour"... Just kidding. Nein, it's the static making it nearly impossible to hear anything. Probably because of the freaking rain.
Wiping the water from my visor, I take a sharp left, and attempt to answer. "I can't hear a thing you're saying, Franny!"
"How about now, mon chere?"
"Better." One of the Western punks behind me swerves like a moron, cutting me off. He's fucking lucky I didn't crash! If I were a normal person, and not one with awesome driving abilities, I would be a pile of metal. I growl low in my throat. The arschloch has no clue where the fuck we're going, anyway!
"Gilbo?"
Maybe I said something out loud. "Nothing. Say that again, Franny."
"The warehouse is in two miles, get ready. Take the left at the next intersection."
"Ja, sounds good." I switch gears and slip past Liza in order to cut off the hot-shot. She moves slightly, giving me just enough room to maneuver by her, but not enough to let any other idiots pass us. I nod slightly in her direction. She ignores me.
I shake it off and rev past Toni and Lovino. Catching on to my plan, they both flank me appreciatively. When I get closer, I make him out. The arschloch is the American. Toni speeds to one side, Lovi to the other, while I flip him the bird and take the lead.
My head set crackles again. "Hey, man! The fuck?" His accent is painfully American.
"Sorry Arnold-"
"Alfred!"
"Ja, whatever, you're not the Terminator and you don't know where the fuck you're going, so kill the guns."
"Did you just compare me with Arnold-"
"Ja, but not really."
"SWEET! DUDE, doesn't he kick-"
I switch off my radio in exasperation. Idiot. Alfred falls behind, while Toni, Lovino, and Liz move parallel to my bike.
"What did you mean by Terminator?"
Never mind, Toni's a bigger idiot than Alfred. "Nothing Tonio."
"I think Alfred's hilarious," Liz laughs. It's nice to hear her talking to me again, but I think I hate the words coming out of her mouth.
"Fucking bastard is a complete idiot." Lovino, who else?
"We have to cooperate with him for the rest of this mission," Liz reminds us.
"Fan-fucking-tastic," Lovi snarls, and I hear his connection die. A man of few, choice words, that Lovino.
"Personally I can't wait to fight with him," Liza announces, before switching her own connection dead.
"Tough break, amigo," Toni sighs.
"What the hell is that supposed-"
"Never mind, you really are an idiot, Gilbo."
Sometimes I wonder if we're actually just a page behind Toni. Maybe that's the answer to why he never makes sense.
"Er.. Toni-"
My ears crackle with static. "Bruder!"
"LUDZ!" I cry.
"...Ow."
"Oh, sorry, Bruder, I forget I can't yell at you in these things~"
"Dummkopf."
"Heh... heh..."
"Anyway, what are you doing? You can't play race cars down a public street!"
"Sorry, Ludwig," Tonio says, "but Alfred was being an idiot."
"I have told Kirkland to control him-"
"Danke Gott. Ja, well, bye now Luddy!"
"...Bye Bruder. Don't die."
"Ja, ja!"
I switch him off. What's he so worried about? I'll be fine! I'm too awesome to crash my motorcycle, jeez!
Out of the corner of my eye, I see the an almost imperceptible shake of Liz's head. She didn't hear that whole thing, did she? And why the fuck was she talking to Luddy earlier anyway? It looked like he was warning her in advance that she was gonna get raped, or something. NOT THAT THE AWESOME ME WOULD LET THAT HAPPEN! Hahaha, nein! Well... unless the guy was really- Nein, nein I would rescue Lizzie no matter what! JA!
Suddenly a pole appears out of nowhere, and I'm swerving dangerously close to Liz's bike to avoid it. I just manage to pull up centimeters from her, but it causes her to veer off course. Suddenly, I'm watching, horrified, as her bike loses control, sending her down a side alley. I break immediately.
It's some sort of fucking irony that I got distracted while thinking of saving the very girl I just side-swept.
"Bruder! BRUDER! What just happened? Answer me Bru-"
I yank off my helmet, severing the communication wires in half, and run for the alley, leaving my bike with the others.
"Amigo! We'll wait here," Toni hollers after me.
"DUDE! DUDE! You just killed her!"
I don't turn around when I answer, "Shut the fuck up, Alfred."
I hear a faint "GIT!" as I get deeper into the alley, but the sounds of the others just echo off of the dark walls.
"LIZ! ELIZAVETA! Please answer me, liebe!"
Nothing. I finally see her bike, the distance from the road much greater than I would have hoped. "ELIZA-"
"Shut. Up," she hisses, pulling herself out from under the bike.
"You're not dead, she-man!" I cry, flinging myself at her.
"Nem," she grumbles, muffled by my chest, "I'm not dead."
I don't let her go, even when she pushes weakly against me. "I'm sorry, liebe."
"Don't call me that," she whispers, finally shoving her head into open air. "And it wasn't your fault. I got blinded by something coming from the opposite alley. It was some sort of reflection or something. It wasn't you at all. I saw you coming."
"Good. I could have sworn I didn't hit you. You're not hurt, right?"
"Nem. I'm not hurt. Just bruised. I'll be fine for tonight. Don't worry, okay?"
"Ja, sure, but I'm still going to look out for you." I pull away from her, finally, to fix her sopping hair and help her up. A nervous fluttering comes to my stomach when she looks at me, surprise written all over her pale face. "Well, it'll be a story to tell Alice later, ja?"
It just comes out. I meant it as a stupid joke, but- but- I wince at the unawesomeness of it... but it's too late now. Her eyes widen before hardening, that iron wall being built back up.
"Igen, I guess so," she mutters softly, turning away. She brushes past me and rights the bike on her own. I watch, suddenly leaden, as she revs the engine into the rainy night like nothing has happened, and speeds off.
But why do I not want her to go?
Lily POV
When Peter appears from around the island bar, I grin shyly at him. He just beams.
"S'up, Lily?"
"Um... "s'up"?"
"Yeah, like 'what's up'?"
"... The ceiling...?"
Peter's eyes widen before mirth explodes from his chest, sending him rolling about on the floor.
"WHAT?" I snap.
"N-nothing," he chortles, "It's just, weird, you know?" he finally says, sitting up. A hand runs through the sandy hair, while he holds my gaze. "Whenever I travel with my brothers, which is rare let me tell you," he grumbles. "We never stay in one place long enough for me to do this."
"Do what?"
"Talk with somebody like you. I've played the occasional game of street soccer in Argentina, or met a guy over a new manga in Japan, or found a bunch of kids in Maine picking blueberries, but I've never gotten past 'Konnichiwa! Watashi no namae wa Peter-desu', you know?"
"Oh, well, I never travel, Peter. I just know people from all over the world," I sigh content, leaning back against the wall. "I would love to do what you speak of, though. Going somewhere and meeting children. What is it like, to be the foreigner?"
Peter settles beside me, and our shoulders brush. "It's incredible. Suddenly, you're out of your own world and thrust into a new one, just like a storybook, and you have to blend in. It forces you to just be yourself. And you meet them and learn them on a a whole new level, because often, you don't know their language. So suddenly, you know this friend, but you've hardly passed a conversation between you. So there's nothing to lie about. I may have met those children for a day or two, but I got to know them better than my friends back home, or for me, back on the internet. Then you leave, and it is like the whole thing happened in a dream or in a story. It's just... it's different, Lily."
"It sounds beautiful."
Elizaveta POV
The warehouse looms on the horizon, a dark monster hulking amidst the innocent surroundings. Gilbert accelerates through the barren strip of street separating our party from the bastards. I flow behind him, forming into a line with Toni and Lovi. The new guys catch on, and we snake our way into the lot that lazes before our target, as if to say "Right this way, ladies and gents".
Gilbert and Alfred are the first to dismount their mechanical steeds. I slip off after. Lovi looks stricken. Tonio murmurs softly into his tanned ears, grasping both hands. Slowly, a dead-set expression delves its way into his eyes. He nods sharply and pushes past Tonio into the group.
Finally we're all assembled. Ludwig's crackling voice echoes in my skull.
"Eliza, Gil severed connection-"
"I know, I'm sorry, Ludwig. I'm fine, it was just a freak accident."
"Something blinded you, ja?"
"...Ja."
"There was a car idling in the alley across from yours. Gil's lapse in concentration was just that, but your crash, that was not your fault."
"It was sabotage?"
"Or just idiots. The car hasn't moved since you passed it."
"Okay, köszönöm, Ludwig. We're going in."
"Ja, good luck," comes his assent.
I sever communication with unease.
"Was that Ludwig, Elizaveta?"
I turn to meet Arthur's curious green gaze, while slipping my mobile phone into the compartment of my bike. Losing that isn't an option. "Igen, Arthur. It was nothing, we're clear to go."
"Brilliant."
Mei POV
"... Yao?" I murmur.
"Mm?"
"Why are we merging with them?"
"It is the right choice to make, aru."
"I see."
"Very well, Mei. Goodnight, aru."
"Goodnight."
When his oaken study door shuts with a soft thump, I cannot help but wonder if Xi or Im Yong will return home tonight.
Lily POV
"Nein, Peter, that's weird."
"How is that username weird?"
"...TinkleBlond16? Nein, danke."
"Okay, well... how about-"
A melodious ringing fills the air with tinny notes. I automatically snatch my cell phone from its place on the floor and flip open the screen, although it takes my mind a few minutes to realize what's happened.
From Bruder:
TO ALL CONTACTS
SOS, shut down job. Nein exceptions.
I scan the six words four more times, becoming more and more stiff with shock.
"Lily? What's wrong?"
"The mission..."
"What about it?"
"It's being compromised."
Elizaveta POV
Gil bangs repeatedly on the door, sending hollow reverberations through the whole building. "Open the fuck up," he mutters when it fails to yield to him. "Must be a fucking lock, or something," he grimaces.
"Excuse me, but is there any-"
The soft voice of Matthew is cut off when a sharp squeaking shatters through the night.
Slowly, the rotting wood swings inward.
"Um... never mind?" Gil says weakly.
"Artie... I don't really think this is a good idea...," Alfred whines into Arthur's jacket.
"Don't be a git, you git! And do not say that you think there are sodding ghosts in there."
"Can we just go, you fucking moronic bastards?" Lovino snaps, pushing between the two bickering brothers and into the dark abyss of the warehouse.
"LOVI! Be careful!" Tonio shouts, leaping after his auburn-headed lover.
"I'll be fucking fine, bastard," comes the muffled reply. "...Just don't leave me."
"Never, mi Lov-" The sounds of the two is severed as the dark swallows them up.
"You ready partner?"
I raise my gaze to Gil's expectant hand.
"Sure. Lets go, ja?" I say, walking ahead of Gil into the maw. I feel fingers grasp at my arm. "Don't touch me, Gilbert."
"Why not, she-man?"
"Don't touch me."
All I get in response is silence. I wrap my arms around myself, trying to squash the miserable feelings from my heart.
"HEY! Tonio! Antonio! Lovi! Lovino!" Gilbert hollers. "Where the fuck did you guys go?"
"A francba," I hiss. "Gilbert, this is bad-"
"You think I don't know that?" he yells, rounding on me.
"Don't get that way, I was just trying-"
"To do what you always do! Tell me I'm a fucking moron. I got it, danke."
"What? Nem! That's not-"
"Save it, Liza."
"Nem! Gil, don't think that-"
"OR WHAT? I'm a idiotic moron for saying something like that?"
"N-nem!"
"Because that's all I ever get from you."
"It's not... You're my friend..."
"Ja, and that's it, if you can even call this friendship."
I gasp, feeling all the air rush out of my lungs.
"How about we just split up, Liza?" Gil whispers, tiredly. "I'll take the left side."
"I-igen. Sounds good," I agree faintly. With dead feet I turn away from my oldest friend and make my way around crates and boxes... looking for something. But right now, I can barely concentrate on anything but Gil's relentlessly echoing words, "can even call this friendship".
Am I that horrible to him? N-nem, it's equal... he's that way to me...
A door materializes in front of my face. With mechanical hands, I wrench it open and shout something into the stillness. I cross several feet over the threshold. Only silence meets me. Like expected. I begin to turn.
A figure drops from the ceiling in front of my path.
The suffocating quiet is murdered by a ear piercing scream.
::A/N::
Okay, lots of Gil/Liz angst in this. I felt I had to build up their relationship a bit more.
QUESTION! Any requests for POVs? I will do almost any character, just PM me or review!
Well... I'm dragging this out, aren't I? XD sorry, but it's easier for me, and I felt that you would want me to update at least once more before school starts. Luckily for you, I won't be able to drag anything more out next chapter, so you'll get your action and angst and plot twisters. Unless it gets too long... then you'll get plot twisters and angst the chappy after that~
Did you like the constantly changing POVs? I like writing them, so tell me if you like reading them~ ^.^
And last, but DEFINITELY not least: Please review! Ich liebe dich~!
Translations:
Arschloch (German) = asshole
Dummkopf (German) = idiot
Liebe (German) = love
Konnichiwa! Watashi no namae wa Peter-desu (Japanese) = Hello! My name is Peter-desu.
Köszönöm (Hungarian) = thank you
A francba (Hungarian) = Oh hell/let the Devil take it