Dro: Yay, it's battle time!
Chapter Summary: Alfred's plan goes into full swing, and then, of course, awry. Good thing Russia and Japan are there to save the day.
Warnings: Language, Violence
Disclaimer: The usual 'don't own APH'.
Alfred glanced at the clock, the second hand ticking slowly back around again. If everything was going according to plan, Matt would already have left the base earlier in the morning. They needed to avoid any suspicion for their plan to work, so he'd decided it would be best if they left at different times. Five minutes more and he'd follow his brother. He checked his gun once more, hands steady despite the task he'd set for himself. This was by far the most dangerous thing he'd ever done, and if word got out about it, it would have the heftiest consequences.
Time to go. He hid his gun away in his coat and headed out, smiling normally as he passed people in the hallway. The guards at the door nodded as he went by. Alfred smiled ruefully to himself. Most of the people on the base still didn't know about the nations. The morning was cool despite the time of year. Alfred took in a cool breath and walked briskly toward the garage, pulling a set of keys he'd stolen the day prior from his pocket.
The guard at the garage door eyed him suspiciously until he produced a stamped piece of paper from his pocket. Nodding, the man let him by. Faking documents. I'm so going to get in trouble for this. He hopped into one of the army vehicles and started it up, trying to get himself comfortable. Just keep calm, Al. His started moving the jeep slowly at first but picked up speed as he headed for the base gates. He rounded a corner where no guards were on patrol and stopped, whistling three times.
From the lessening darkness, Alfred spotted a shape hop up from behind a trash bin and rush toward the car. The form jumped into the back of the jeep and covered itself with a tarp. Alfred started going again and didn't stop he pulled up to the gate and showed the men his paper. They scrutinized it for several seconds, but the man handed it back to him, signaling for the other guard to open the gate.
As soon as he was out of the gate and on the road away from the base, Alfred let out a deep sigh of relief. "You can get up now, Matt."
Matthew threw the tarp off, nervousness clearly still running through him. "We're going to get grilled for this when we get back." Realizing what he said, he bit his lip. "If we get back."
"We're not going to die, Matt." Alfred rolled his eyes, but he was unsure of himself. Dying was a possibility.
Matthew crawled over to the front seat, dropping the large case he'd had strapped to his back behind him where he'd hidden. "You're sure your information is correct now? One of them was spotted in Barcelona yesterday, right?"
"Yes. Definitely. There was a security camera picture and everything. He's definitely there. And seeing as they have a penchant for finding us, I doubt it will be too hard to draw him out."
Matthew sighed. He shouldn't have agreed to this and he knew it. But if he hadn't, who's to say Alfred wouldn't have tried it by himself?
Alfred noticed his brother's uneasiness and put a hand on his shoulder. "No worries, Matt. We can do this. You've got the hero on your side, remember?"
Matthew just rolled his eyes, keeping silent. The drive to Barcelona was about two hours, and by the time arrived, the day was already in full swing. The city appeared in the distance as they drove toward it. The first thing that was visible was the smoke. The second thing was the ruins. Amazingly, some of the city was still intact, but a large portion of it had been razed away by bombs and fire. A dull ache settled in Matthew's chest. Is that what my cities will look like soon?
He looked up toward the sky, noticing something dark hovering behind the clouds. He jumped. "Al, there's an airship!"
Alfred looked up, spotting the massive ship as it came into view. Black and gold painted with giant propellers, though no doubt it was powered by something beyond their understanding. It took up a large portion of the sky above Barcelona, threatening to bring the rest of the city tumbling to the ground.
Matthew's nerves were on edge now. It was unlikely that there was only one of them on the airship. They still didn't have any estimates on the enemy's forces. Besides the amount of planes they had used to combat Earth's fighter jets, there had been no other way to see how many people were actually aboard the airships. The numbers could be staggering. They could have an army in the millions for all anyone knew. There were certainly enough ships to hint at that many. Matthew found it odd that their only attacks thus far had been air bombings. Why no use of ground troops?
Alfred wound around destroyed vehicles and drove further into the city. He had no doubt the enemy would've spotted them by this point. He pulled to a stop next to a parking garage that was still standing. "I'm going to park in there to hide the jeep, okay?"
Matthew nodded as he got out of the jeep and grabbed his case. "I'll go set up." He started at a run toward some of the more stable-looking buildings, glancing up every now then at the looming airship.
Alfred turned off the jeep and stuffed the keys in the glove box. He didn't want to lose them in the middle of battle. He followed the direction that Matt had gone, walking at a leisurely pace. He stopped next to some sort of warehouse, leaning against a wall with graffiti on it, and closed his eyes. He wasn't sure how long he'd stood there before the distinct sound of footsteps caught his attention. He cracked open an eye and looked to his right, a dark-haired man with a white coat standing about ten feet from him.
"You're eith'r incr'dibly bold or incr'dibly st'pid." The man reached his sword, unsheathing it slowly.
"I take it you're Drovich, right?"
The man smirked. "So you've heard of me, th'n?
"Much." Alfred pushed himself off the wall and turned to face Drovich.
"And what? You thought you'd c'me and k'll me?"
"Something like that." Alfred braced himself, knowing the man would move any second.
"St'pid boy." Drovich took off, appearing in front of Alfred before he could blink. Alfred dodged the sword blow by blow, memorizing the way Dovich moved. We can take this guy. I know it. He jumped back, raising his fists. Drovich's look of confusion put Alfred in a great position. Drovich braced himself for a counterattack, but Alfred moved left at the last second, sending his fist into the flimsy concrete wall.
A huge slab of concrete collapsed on top of Dovich, who moved at the last second. The stoned slammed into the man's shoulder, earning a sharp hiss. He jumped backward, using his magic to appear several feet back.
"You…such str'ngth. And I was und'r the impr'ssion all of you were weak."
Alfred grinned. "Think again." He took off, running at Drovich full speed. Drovich dodged his punches, but he couldn't manage a counterstrike. Annoyed, he raised his hand and snapped his fingers, sending a pulse of energy toward Alfred. It hit Alfred in the chest, sending him though the hole he'd put in the wall. Alfred flipped himself back over and ran outside, lunging at Drovich.
Drovich wasn't taking any more chances. He sent his energy into the sword, the blade sparking. He struck out at Alfred, who dodged. Alfred's arm suddenly stung, and he looked down to see a shallow gash. But…it didn't hit me! He stumbled backward, dodging another blow. Or so he thought. Blood started gushing from his shoulder. Shit! He's using some kind of spell or something! He spotted the fluctuating field around Drovich's blade that extended nearly half a foot outward. If I can't get out range, he'll hit me every time.
He dashed further into the street. Time to get some help. Drovich followed him step for step. He turned to face the man, sending as many punches and kicks at him as he could manage. Drovich dodged them all, one of the kicks grazing the man's glasses and sending them flying from his face. Irritated, he struck Alfred's knee with his sword, knocking the boy off balance.
Alfred yelped as he hit the ground, pain shooting through his leg. He pushed himself off the ground just in time to see Drovich's sword coming straight for his face. Matt!
Drovich's knee exploded into blood. He screamed, reeling backward and landing on his back. He dropped his sword and grabbed his mutilated kneecap. How…? He looked to his right. Down the road, up five stories, and set up on the roof, he spotted the boy.
Matthew, over 2,000 meters away, grinned in victory as he looked up from his scope. Record holding sniper. Take that, you bastard! He glanced back into his scope to see Alfred up on his feet again, pulling his gun from his coat and aiming it at Drovich. Yes! We win! Now all they had to do was tie him up and drag him back to base. Alfred walked closer to Drovich, his gun never leaving sight of its target.
Matthew was a second away from pulling back when he saw it: a second man appeared behind Alfred, a scythe raised high and swinging down. Matthew screamed at the top of lungs.
Alfred jumped, hearing Matt screaming his name. Then he sensed it. He ducked and leapt to the left, just dodging the massive scythe blade that cut through the air right where his head had been. He tumbled to the ground, his gun sliding away from him. Alfred staggered to his feet, horror filling him. This guy…he remembered Denmark's story about the man with the white hair and scythe.
"You…Lucaster, right?"
The man grinned. "And you are the one called America?"
"That's right." This is really bad. Alfred backed up a few steps. It had taken Denmark and Netherlands to even scratch this guy, and he'd disappeared before they could even hope to actually defeat him.
"You are afraid of me. Wise choice." He swung the massive scythe around, letting it come to rest on his shoulder.
"Tch, I'm not afraid of anything, especially you."
Lucaster frowned. "You are an impudent child, aren't you?"
"I'm not a child."
"You are to me, boy."
A shot rang out, followed by the clink of a bullet on metal, the metal of Lucaster's scythe. Lucaster glanced at Matthew's place on the roof, annoyed. "Drovich, take the sniper boy out, will you? I need to have a discussion with little America here."
Drovich heaved himself to his feet, putting all his weight on one leg. "My pl'sure." He snapped his fingers and vanished, Alfred realizing with horror he was teleporting to Matt.
Matthew realized it too. He pulled his rifle off the ledge and swung around just as Drovich's sword came down on him. Metal grated on metal. He was forced backward, nearly stumbling over. Even with only one properly working leg, Drovich was a force to be reckoned with. These nations…how're they so strong?
Matthew dodged as another blow came his way. Before he could move, Drovich's magic-powered fist came up and punched him the gut. He flew backward, almost falling right over the edge of the roof. All his breath left him, and he coughed for air, gripping his searing stomach. He tried to bring himself back up but doubled over in pain.
A fist grabbed his hair and heaved him up, a cry breaking free from his lips. He cracked open his eyes to see Drovich standing over him, sword raised and pointing at his chest, mere inches from his beating heart.
"You l'ttle br't. How d're you shoot me l'ke th't." He tensed hand, thrusting the sword forward.
Matthew closed his eyes, waiting for the pain. It never came. He snapped his eyes open as Drovich's hand was torn free from his hair, the man barreling into the concrete of the outside of the stairwell. Matthew gaped in awe at the man's crumpled form before looking at his savior.
"I—Ivan?"
The Russian looked down at him, mild concern on his face. "Hello, Comrade Matvey."
Alfred dodged again, his breath heavy. Several lacerations dotted his arms and chest, his trademark jacket was in tatters. He retreated, desperately looking for anything that could help him. Then he spotted the overturned van. He dashed toward, hearing Lucaster following him close behind. He leapt over the car and landed on the other side, wrapped his arms around the van's roof and gripping by through the broken windows.
"What're doing, boy? Hiding isn't going to help you."
Alfred heaved the van into the air, smirking as he saw the shock on Lucaster's face. "Who's hiding?" He threw it, the van soaring through the air straight at the man. Lucaster dropped, the van missing him by inches before it crashed to the ground in a cacophony of metal grating on the concrete of the sidewalk before it slammed into a building.
Then Alfred was on him, swinging left and right and kicking for his weak points. Lucaster dodged him but didn't retaliate, interest whirring through the cogs in his brain. This boy is abnormally strong for a standard nation. Even with some of the sizes of this world's nations, he shouldn't be quite this strong. His hand shot out and caught Alfred's fist, swinging the stunned boy and forcing him into the wall so hard it cracked behind him.
Alfred coughed, breathless, as he felt his ribs cracking under the force of the blow. His legs gave out on him. Lucaster's hand shot out and grabbed his neck, holding him up. Alfred struggled to breathe, and he clawed at the man's hand to no avail. Lucaster watched the boy struggle, smirking. Alfred's vision began to go, his body losing its grasp on consciousness. Shit. This isn't good.
"You interest me, boy. I think I'll take you back to meet the boss." He couldn't help but think this boy could be of use to them. It was standard practice to make an offer to the strongest nation they came across in their escapades. How else would they rack up the power to conquer so many worlds?
Alfred's stomach dropped. What? Interest? What the hell does that mean? Shit. Got to get free. Got to…Got to…Shit…The world around him went black.
Lucaster hoisted the motionless boy over his shoulder, wondering if Drovich had completed his task. Cocky brat, Drovich. Too rash. Always getting himself hurt. He scoffed. He turned to see a distinct lack of action on the rooftop where the sniper boy had been. So he's either won or gotten himself killed.
"Put him down."
Lucaster paused at the voice. He turned around to see a dark-haired boy with a sword. "And you are…?"
"I am Japan. Now put Alfred-san down or I will attack you."
Lucaster rolled his eyes. "Here we go again."
Dro: Sorry I couldn't fit the entire battle scene in this chapter. I got to 2.5k and realized I'd made it too long for one chapter. So the last, like, third of it is in the next chapter.
Next Chapter: The battle concludes with an appearance from another foreign nation as well as interference by the one and only China!
