A/N: I apologize for the extreme lateness of this chapter. I haven't been able to update any of my fics lately, because school has been murder and anything I wrote would've been crappy. I never abandon my fanfictions though, so don't worry! :)! Thanks for all your support guys, I really appreciate it! The next update will be sooner, because Finals are finally over!
Ludwig's POV
"Ugh... Wo bin ich?" I groaned, my sides felt as though one of my hounds had used them as a chew toy. I couldn't remember for a moment where I was, or what had happened to me. Then every ounce of blood drained from my face.
Fire...soldiers...women and children crying...the sound of explosions and gunshots. "VERDAMMT!"I yelled. Those bastards from the Wang! They weren't welcome in my country! Those parasites had invaded, and my countrymen were scattered. My heart raced, where were my men!? I had to-! I gasped as pain shot through me once more, and forced me back down to my knees.
"Oh! Careful there! Lay back, you'll tear your stitches!" A soft voiced exclaimed. An enemy-! I was on top of the speaker in an instant, pinning him to the ground, my leg in his gut. "Maple...leaf..." He gasped, the wind knocked out of him.
I blinked, my vision clearing and I got a better look at the speaker. I realized with shock he was younger than I was. His hair was slightly long, and wavy, a light blonde color. His eyes were clear violet-blue behind spectactles, and he stared up at me worriedly.
I registered now what he had said, not having realized it before. He was either Siensian, or a citizen of Regnoc, judging from the language. I managed to stutter out the words I needed. "Who...are you?" I asked carefully.
"Matthew Williams. I'm a healer from Regnoc. Please get off of me!" He said softly. I slowly got up and watched him warily as he pulled himself to a sitting position and placed a hand on his own ribs, wincing.
A healer from Regnoc? My muscles relaxed ever so slightly. He was from one of our Allies. So he wasn't an enemy. But looking at him now I began to wonder if how I had thought so in the first place, he looked as though he would never want to harm anyone. He had a gentle air to him, as though he couldn't possibly want to fight.
"Your wound was pretty deep, for awhile I was afraid you might bleed out. I don't think there's much chance of infection now, though. Those Wang certainly know how to tear someone up." Matthew murmured as he checked my bandages.
"Yes, Wang certainly does." I replied.
"What kind of weapon did he use? Along with being deep, the edges of your wound were burnt.
"It was himself. I don't know how he did it but his hands...they were like fire." I wasn't sure how I could describe it.
"That reminds me of some rumors that I heard..." Matthew trailed off. Then he blinked. "Did you say a Wang or Wang?" He suddenly asked.
"Wang himself." I growled.
The healer's face went white. "You faced Yao Wang, the emperor of the Wang Empire?" He repeated, as though he'd misheard.
"Ja, he's every bit as pyschotic as they say. He has a strange new weapon, magic, maybe? But it's nothing like any magic that I've ever seen. This weapon allowed him to change himself, and his soldiers to fire, then reappear as his original self unscathed."
Matthew closed his eyes as though pained. "That's bad...that's very bad..."
Then he looked up at me, suddenly his eyes were alight.
"We've got to get this information to Regnoc, King Arthur needs to know this! We need to warn them against any new advantages Yao Wang might have."
"We do need to do that, but it will be difficult to sneak through the border. Impossible for the two of us. But then again, I know someone who can get us across." I smirked slightly.
"Who?" Matthew asked.
"He is one of my lieutenant knights. I happen to be a general in the Reenson Republic's army." I pointedly tapped the Iron Cross signifying my rank. " But for two people inexperienced in the ways of the Wang, we would be spotted and sent to be executed the minute we tried anything near the border." I pinched the bridge of my nose tiredly.
"However, my lieutenant has spent the last three years undercover in the Wang Territories. He's gathered us valuable information, which is the reason we'd been able to prevent an invasion this long. However, our Chancellor decided that his testimony would be needed here to punish war criminals we'd captured in previous battles with the Wang. If it weren't for that, he'd still be there as an agent of espionage." I leaned back, pausing in my explanation.
"Along with being a master of disguise he could sneak us past the border at any moment. However, when my unit was ambushed when we were sent to reinforce the capital, he was captured. Knowing him he's probably biding his time in a prison camp somewhere, not letting on just what sort of knight he is. He's probably waiting for the right signal to escape, and then he'll start sniping his way through the prison gates."
"Well, this hiding place in the Faraday Caverns was getting boring anyway. You ought to be well enough to travel by now." Matthew smiled and brushed his pants off as he stood up.
"By the way, where are your men?" I questioned. Surely he hadn't come here alone. "We split up just as the last of the evacuees we got out were crossing the border. Soldiers of the Wang intercepted us, and I was caught in crossfire. My only choice was to run, and that's when I found you...we've been hiding for about 3 days..." He ran a hand over his face, before turning back to me. "What's the name of this lieutenant of yours?"
"Vash Zwingli."
Beside me, my new companion let out a deep breath shakily. It had been a close shave just finding out what prison camp Vash might be in, but this was the most likely. We lay silently on the hill and peered over at the prison camp. Already barb wire fences with snipers waiting at the watch towers for escapees had been built. I knew the only difference with the prison camps and the work camps was the fact that the work camps mainly had women and children. I swallowed quietly. It was more than I could stand to think of what the conditions must be like on the inside.
We snuck silently down the hill, the cover of darkness concealing us both. Matthew stuck close to me, silent and quick as a ghost. We ducked down behind the edge of one of the towers and waited. Soon we heard two voices and footsteps passing along the side. I couldn't catch what they were saying, my languages skills didn't reach that of the Wang.
They crossed the corner and we took our chance. I'd taken a strip of cloth away from my uniform and now used it to yank around one of the soldier's neck. As I did this, Matthew's hand shot out, hitting the other soldier squarely in the throat, stopping him from yelling, as the soldier doubled over, clutching his throat, he quickly jabbed his pressure point on the side of this neck. The soldier slumped over.
From the rope of cloth cutting off his ability to breath, the soldier I held soon loss consciousness. "Impressive." I murmured quietly as we stripped the soldiers of their uniforms, guns and swords.
"Just medical knowledge." I somehow knew Matthew had shrugged modestly.
We donned the Wang soldiers uniform and walked quietly through the gates. Inside was a maze of tents and poorly built barracks. It was silent in the night, except for 3 of the barracks. They were brightly lit and I could hear music coming from them. Matthew and I pulled the cowls of the stolen uniforms down over our faces. Now no one would see our faces.
I could hear the soldiers, laughing loudly, and to my insult, speaking my own native tongue. Matthew blinked at me in confusion, not understanding a word.
The soldiers leaned casually against bars and to my fury, drank Reensonian beer! My hands shook silently as we looked around.
"Hey! You should join us for a drink! These Reenson barbarians actually know how to make decent beer! Isn't that right?" The one addressing us smirked over his own glass. He glared down at a young boy, perhaps 10 years old at the most. I wondered what someone like him would be doing here. "Fill it up, you worthless thing." He spat. He scuffed dirt in the boy's face and he glared up defiantly. The boy, small, blonde hair, a childish face with blue eyes dropped the serving tray he'd been holding.
"No. And I have a name." He replied quietly.
"What did you say?" The soldier demanded, his nostrils flaring in an ugly manner.
"I said, no." The boy stated slowly and clearly.
"You little scut!" The soldier slugged the boy in the stomach, and he fell over, and the soldier stepped on his head, shoving his face into the dirt.
"Get this into your head, you pathetic dog, we own you now. Reenson is no more, just another trophy of our great Lord Yao Wang." The soldier whispered softly down at the boy.
The child was struggling not to cry, and now I snapped. I swiftly grabbed the man by the arm, barely restraining myself from breaking his wrist. "That's enough." On the inside I was a storm of fury, my hands were itching to grab the man's head and show him what it was like to be pushed painfully into the dirt. The boy stared up at me in amazement.
"What's the problem? You actually care about these worthless animals, perhaps you're really disloyal?" The soldier sneered.
"No, he is right, that is quite enough." We turned to see another soldier, in crisp white and blue robes, glaring at us. His face was expressionless and his eyes dark. His raven-hair was combed neatly.
The soldier gasped and quickly bowed to him. I awkwardly did the same, praying not to raise suspicion. "C-commander Honda! Please forgive me sir!" The soldier was stammering, and stuttering sounding like a brain-dead parrot.
"Enough. You are relieved of duty, and are confined to your barracks. You dishonor yourself." Honda stated simply.
"But sir-!"
"Are you testing me, subordinate?" Something flashed in those expressionless eyes.
"No! No, not at all! Good night sir! Thank you sir!"
Honda turned to me. "New additions, are you two? Before you cause any more trouble, go to tents 23 and 25, the prisoners there have been unruly. It would be best to watch them closely." We both bowed and rushed out.
"What were you thinking!? I didn't understand any of that in there, but you couldn't gotten us killed! Hoser!" Even when he was angry, it seemed Matthew was quiet.
"Well, can you blame me!?" I snapped. "Tents 23 and 25 we are supposed to check. I suppose we can start our search for Zwingli now..." I silently slid the tent open a moment and peered inside. What little food I'd eaten recently rebelled inside my stomach. The men...my countrymen and fellow soldiers, were all so thin. I could see their ribs poking out, and even in sleep their faces were masks of anxiety and horror. I could imagine what they had seen these past few weeks. I wanted desperately to free them right here and now, but I knew it was impossible.
But then to my shock, I spotted the one we'd been looking for. A mop of blonde hair was spread out on his pillow. Vash Zwingli was in the first tent we'd looked in. I pointed him out to Matthew, and he slipped inside shaking his shoulder. And for the second time that day, he ended up pinned, only this time, with a knife at his throat.
"Zwingli! Vash!" I cried hoarsely in the dark. His neutral expression didn't even changed as he caught sight of me. Vash didn't bother to offer Matthew a hand up, and marched outside to meet me.
"General Beilschmidt." He saluted me silently Matthew glaring at him grudingly. He took notice of my guns and smiled. "I suppose we go to work soon. But first you need to hear what I've learned in my time here, you wouldn't believe it."
"When I first learned, I scarcely believed it myself." Matthew and I jumped and stared in horror at the soldier from before-Honda appearing from the dark. The boy from earlier was with him as well. Vash sighed. "Must you be so melodramatic? General Beilschmidt, it's good to see you alive, I figured you would come for me if you were." Vash gestured to the Wang Soldier" Meet Honda Kiku. He's a member of the inner circles of Yao Wang. He's explained to me all the things that seemed impossible before the new 'weapon' appeared. But just so you know, it's not actually a weapon in the sense of ordinary magic or technology. It's worse."
The hair on the back of my neck stood up. I turned to Honda. "So you are a double agent? Good to know. Meet Matthew Williams, a healer from Regnoc. He saved my life and will act as the liaison to King Arthur to convince him what we say is true. Regnoc is preparing to enact a counter-measure very soon. It's important we cross the border quickly. But how did you know we were looking for Lieutenant Zwingli? That's why you sent us here, ja?"
"Your mannerisms made me guess who you were. I no longer believe in what Yao Wang stands for, so I go into battle against him. This is Peter. He is from Reenson as well. However, because he acted like a soldier, my subordinates thought it amusing to bring him to a prison camp instead of a work camp." The boy smiled brightly at me.
"Thanks a lot for helping me earlier!" He cried.
Sitting through Vash and Honda's explanation left Matthew and I breathless.
"Then...that old legend...This is insane..." Matthew whispered. I'd known Yao Wang was inhuman but this! This was-!
"Honda Kiku." A smug voice crept up from behind us. Vash and Peter had hidden back in the tent. Thanks to our disguises we went unnoticed. I ground my teeth irritably. It was the soldier from before. "What are you doing here? I ordered you to stay in your barracks!" Honda's expressionless face hid the anger that belied behind his eyes.
"Sorry, sir. Change of plans." I stifled a gasp when I realized several soldiers had surrounded us.
"Honda Kiku, by order of Emperor Yao Wang, we place you under arrest. You are to be taken back to the Capital of our glorious Empire where you will be placed on trial and executed. We're also under orders to execute the prisoners of the camps before escorting you to the Capital."
Matthew shot me a 'Oh Lord what do we do now' look with his eyes. Honda glanced back silently at me, before turning to the soldier and nodding. "I understand." He said. He held out his hands for the cuffs they placed upon him. Then they led Honda away.
The soldier shoved a gun into my hands. "You. Execute the prisoners of this tent once they're out in the yard." The other soldiers were dragging the men from tent after tent. Vash caught my eye as he passed.
Several of my countrymen stood silently including Vash. The Wang Soldiers stared at me expectantly. My heart pounded. I would not kill him. I would not kill any people of Reenson. I couldn't. But there was no way out! Honda was trapped, Matthew was trapped, Vash was trapped, I was trapped.
Scheiße, Bruder what would you do? I thought.
A/N: Le gasp! What's going to happen to Matthew and Ludwig now? Are Vash and Kiku really going to be executed? What was the new secret Yao Wang is using? You'll have to read my next chapter to figure it out, but I did drop a hint in this chapter and the last :D See you next chapter, hope this one wasn't sucky!
