Shinigami-cat: Hey there everyone! I hope you all like this chapter… I OWN NOTHING!
Back at the Pub
After much struggling on Arthur's part, Alfred managed to get them both back to the pub. Ludwig was nice enough to provide a bed for Arthur while he calmed down. Alfred on the other hand was down at the bar nursing a pint of beer.
The pub was closed at the moment so no one was there. Alfred had to settle for the company of Matthew. The blue eyed man had just finished telling Matthew about what he and Arthur had found out. "Madder than mad this Arthur fellow is. After he started freaking out he kept babbling on about a girl called Mary and how he should have saved her." Muttered Alfred. "Still carrying on about her when I brought him over here."
Matthew sighed a little as he drank his tea. "Why do you follow that man around if he's so mad?"
"Why do you stay with Gilbert?" Shot back Alfred. "You know he's insane and going to wake up dead one morning. Why do you stay with him?"
The blond blushed a little and looked deep into his tea cup. "I fell in love with him long before he became completely insane. I'll stay with him no matter what. That's why I stay with him. Why do you stay with Arthur?"
Alfred chuckled a little. "Because he's fun and makes things entertaining. You should have seen him screaming and shaking that corpse like it was a real person."
"It was a real person." Corrected Matthew. "But she was burnt… How could she have been burnt to death if nothing around her was burnt too?"
"Simple." Said Alfred. "The body was burned in one location and set up in a different one… and we all know the guy that kills like that."
Matthew shuddered a little. "Why would the people that did that to Gilbert go after the leader of the Checkers? What do they have to gain?"
Alfred chuckled a little. "I'm working on a theory… to confirm this I need to check out everywhere else. Do you have any knowledge of the Duke and Dutches of Chess?"
Matthew hesitated a little. "They… From what I heard they are no longer… They can't be considered Duke or Dutches of Chess… From those that have managed to escape, they are known as the Duke and Dutches of Death… And between their disgusting eating habits and the dreadful working conditions they are all dying horribly."
"Shame." Muttered Alfred. "Poor unlucky bastards."
"Toris and Felix are still there." Said Matthew. "You should save them. They are your friends."
Alfred sighed a little and looked over at Matthew. "Are you lying to me or are they still there?"
"What do I have to gain from lying to you?" Asked Matthew calmly. He put down his tea cup and stood up. "Now if you excuse me, I have to check up on Gilbert…" He calmly walked upstairs and away from Alfred.
When Alfred was alone again he took a quick swing from his pint and chuckled a little. "Arthur… I wonder what's going on inside your head… Who is this Mary girl you keep screaming about?" He hummed a little and started to talk to himself in a sing-song voice. "Is she a sister or a lover? Your mother or your daughter? You poor sweet innocent thing, just a lamb lead to slaughter…"
XoXoXo page brake oXoXoX
Mary smiled happily as she dragged Arthur along the winding hallway. "Come on lad." She cooed. "You're just so slow today. We need to be quick of we are going to get that short bread before the others."
"Mama said we're not allowed to get it until tomorrow…" Muttered Arthur. "She's get upset with us and scold us."
Mary rolled her eyes and let go of Arthur's hand. "If I'd known you were going to be this chicken I would have left you in your bed and gotten one of the others to come with me. You're not brave enough."
"I am too!" Whined Arthur. "I am brave! I can do it!"
The red head beamed at him and patted his head. "Good lad, let's go." She turned and quickly moved down the hall to the kitchen. Arthur quickly started to follow her, but he didn't seem to be able to keep up with her.
"W-wait up, Mary!" He called.
"Such a slow poke." Cooed the girl. He voice slowly started to become distorted and twisted. "Keep up and stay quiet. Mama and papa will scold us if they catch us." Arthur gulped a little and ran after her, reaching out to her, but she was always too far away for him to really catch.
As he continued to run after Mary he found it harder to breathe. He stopped running and stopped to splutter and cough. He stopped moving to catch his breath. He breathed deeply and started to hack horribly. His lungs and throat were burning. Something was wrong.
'What the hell is all this?' Though Arthur in a panic. He had felt this sensation a once before and it almost killed him. Fire. His eyes widened in fear. 'No… Mary's running right towards the fire!'
XoXoXo page brake oXoXoX
Arthur's eyes snapped open as he quickly jolted up and gasped for air. He coughed a few times before quickly looking around the room he was in. He had no memory of getting there, but he did remember his sister Mary.
"That's right…" He muttered quietly. "Mary went to try and wake mother… They burned to death together… Damn it. I need my pills." He reached into his pocket to grab the second bottle of Alpha pills he managed to buy earlier. All he got was a bloodied and from broken glass and a note.
Hello there Arthur! I managed to spot you while that American shot a few Steam Droids. That guy seriously needs some shooting lessons. Anyway, being the cruel devil that I am I went through your pockets. I guess you fell over or something because you smashed a whole bottle of Alpha pills in here. Hope you didn't need them for anything important. If you want to meet up again I'll be hanging around Chess territory. Catch me if you can.
With love, White Rabbit
That note made Arthur's blood boil. "Bloody fantastic." He muttered in frustration. "Not only do I have to get more bloody pills, but now that psychopath is leaving me creepy notes. Damn him."
He carefully took the broken glass out of his pocket and put them into a waste basket near the bed he was currently sitting on. Once that was done he decided it would be best to figure out where the heck he was. He would have to worry about his memories and that infuriating rabbit later on..
Arthur cautiously got up and slowly walked towards the door. He slipped his hand under his clothes, relieved to find that he still had his vorpal blade, and clutched the knife's handle.
He slowly pushed open the door and frowned a little. He had an idea about where he was if the smell of alcohol meant anything, but he couldn't be too sure. He was looking down a darkened hallway that lead to a set of steps.
'… Well if White Rabbit has kidnapped me he is piss poor at security. Then again it's more likely Alfred dragged me here.' He sighed a little and cautiously started to walk towards his escape.
He was almost there too, when suddenly a door opened and he got pulled inside. He landed on the ground with a thump, hitting his head against the ground. "Blast… what the hell?"
Standing above him was Gilbert. He didn't look right in the head, than again he didn't look all that well adjusted the last time he saw him anyway. "You're back…" Muttered Gilbert quietly, almost whispering.
"Yes I am…" Muttered Arthur. "What do you want?"
"You saw her didn't you?" He asked slowly. "The Leader of the Checkers? Did you find my notes?"
"… Your what?"
"My notes." Said Gilbert a little more firmly. "The people… the bastards that tried to kill me fucking gave my notes to them to manufacture Alpha and Omega by the fucking truck load. I want them back."
Arthur frowned a little, wondering what on earth the man was talking about. "Do you mean those badly translated German notes? I didn't even understand them. I thought they were just rubbish. I don't have them."
"RUBBISH?" Screamed Gilbert, spit started to fly from his mouth as he quickly got worked up into a rage. "THAT'S THREE FUCKING GENERATIONS OF WORK YOU FUCKER! MY VATER AND HIS VATER BEFORE HIM WERE ALL WORKING ON IT YOU LITTLE FUCK! YOU CAN NOT HAVE JUST LEFT THEM THERE FOR THE GREEDY HANDS OF THIEVES!"
"They were impossible to read!" Snapped Arthur. He quickly got to his feet, he did not want to be around this mad man a second longer.
Gilbert was absolutely shaking in anger now. "Those bastards…" He whispered. "They take the life's work of three people and split it up… letting everyone take a fucking piece of it for themselves… That bitch should just fucking die for taking it all away from me!"
Arthur frowned and pulled his vorpal blade out from his pocket. "Well she is dead. Her corpse was char grilled and propped up in a chair. She's not going to do anything and neither will her servants. They are all dead."
"Dead?" Muttered Gilbert slowly. "All dead… dead… dead… dead… So unfortunate… too unfortunate… That bitch deserved to be but in storage like the rest of the livestock at the Dunk and Dutches' home…" He sighed sadly and leaned against the wall. "Well I guess all I can do is burn the place to the ground to stop anyone else from touching my work. I'll never let anyone else use it for anything other than its true purpose…"
Arthur frowned slightly as he slowly edged towards the door. "What was their true purpose? Why was Alpha and Omega created?"
"To help people with PTSD." Muttered Gilbert. "Just think about it… a world where people don't have to have the horrible memories of killing people that they never knew… all the trouble that could be saved…" His eyes went dark and he punched the wall. "BUT THEN! THEN THE MONSTERS FUCKING FOUND OUT! PERVERTS GOT THEIR FUCKING HANDS ON IT AND WIPED THE MINDS OF THE ABUSED, THE LAW MAKERS TO FIX COURT CASES AND THE PEADOPHILES TO RAPE AND PROSTITUTE CHILDREN!"
'Okay, he's lost it. He's ranting.' Thought Arthur bitterly. 'If he keeps going on like this I'll probably just knock him out and get going…'
"EVERYONE OF THOSE BASTARDS SHOULD JUST DIE!" Screamed Gilbert. "EVERY LAST BLOODY ONE OF THEM! I HATE THEM ALL!"
Suddenly the door opened and Matthew walked in. He sighed a little and walked over to Gilbert. "Calm down Gil." He said quietly. "You look tired, let's get you into bed." He easily directed the albino back to bed and covered the man in a blanket. Gilbert didn't seem too thrilled about it, but he obeyed Matthew without hesitation. Once he was all settled in, Matthew grabbed Arthur by the arm and pulled him out of the room.
"Let go of me!" Snapped Arthur.
Matthew rolled his eyes and quickly made sure that the door was locked. "Why were you in there with him?"
"He pulled me in there!" Cried Arthur. "Then he started screaming and carrying on like a child! I have no idea what he's been going on about half the time!"
"What was he screaming about this time?" Asked Matthew sadly. "What did you say to set him off again?"
"He set himself off." Grumbled Arthur. "So I guess I was right in assuming I'm back at the pub?"
Matthew nodded. "Yeah… Alfred's waiting for you downstairs. He told me what happened there… I'm glad you're alright."
Arthur frowned a little. "Thanks… I guess." He turned and walked down to the pub floor. Ludwig was sweeping up some broken glass up in the corner of the room. Looking down at the actual bar though Alfred was sitting on a bar stool, drinking a beer. He sighed a little and walked over to the American. "Hey…"
Alfred looked up at Arthur and grinned happily. "Hey there Arthur. Sleep well?"
"Sleep well?" Muttered Arthur bitterly. "My mind has just been full of nothing but nightmares. I hate it."
"Were they about Mary?"
"How do you know about Mary?" Snapped Arthur.
"You wouldn't shut the hell up about her." Said Alfred simply. He took a small sip of his drink and sighed. "You kept screaming about how you should have saved her and how it was all your fault and how they all died because of you… So who was she? What was she to you?"
A shiver ran up Arthurs spine. "She was… I think she was my sister… I think she's part of the reason I take Omega pills. We need to pick up some more before we go to Chess territory."
"We can pick some up while we're there." Said Alfred with a grin. "They have a small chemist there, but they stock up on all kinds of things…" His grin faltered a little. "Besides we need to get there soon. Some of my friends didn't make it out before it became impossible to get in and out of."
"More thieves like yourself?" Asked Arthur. He didn't want to meet anymore criminals than he had to.
Arthur shook his head and quickly finished off his drink. "No way… Well okay Toris and Feliks were people smugglers and helped people get over the border. Mainly woman and children who were escaping their abusive lifestyles. That's what they say anyway."
"And you believed them?"
"Why wouldn't I?" Asked Alfred. "They have given me no reason to not trust them."
"I guess…" Muttered Arthur. He sighed as he ran his fingers through his hair. "Well, let's get going then. I don't want to waste any more time here than I have to."
Alfred chuckled and stood up. "Okay then. Let's get going. Later Ludwig, thanks for the pint."
Ludwig looked up at the pair and nodded. "No problem. Come back whenever you like. We'll always be here."
With that, Alfred pulled Arthur back out onto the streets on Under London with a silly grin on his face. Arthur just sighed a little. 'Always be here? In a hundred years no one will even remember we even existed… Only the lucky and unlucky few are remembered through time.' He shook his head, frowning. 'My mind is just doing nothing but thinking morbid thoughts these days.'
TBC
Shinigami-cat: Well I hoped you all liked this chapter. Please review.
