Relations
Another lazy day home-alone, perfect conditions to start taking-in all of this, infomation. I have another father who's sole purpose here is to make my life harder, using a potentially dangerous counter-drug to help himself in doing so. I also learnt much more about, well, myself. I mean, I get that we all have feelings but, I didn't know how difficult Matt's childhood was...
I let out a quiet sigh, switching my body's position to face the inside of the patent sofa, tracing every individual marking of the leather in front of me. It's something to do, I shrugged. I'll at least prevent myself from dying of boredom. Or heatstroke.
It is the middle of June, so what could I expect? Even with the AC on full-blast, the heat is getting unbearable. Getting used to the summer takes a lot if you've spent nearly your whole life in a logcabin nestled in a snowy, freezing cold-climate mountain.
Arthur had flown-off to Francis' place for some "alone time", so I thought I'd stay over at America's place for a change.
"Probly' your stupidest idea yet." Matt predicted my thoughts, but I was too hot and way too bored to respond. I don't know how Al handles this weather, especially for hours at a time! He said he was just going out to buy groceries. He must've found out McDonalds had released a new hamburger, I mused sarcastically.
Sweat plastered my bangs to my forehead, my lips starting to crack. I knew licking them wouldn't help. I fumbled with the sleeves of my light pullover, attempting to sluggishly pull it off. After several minutes, I huffed, annoyed that my tries were getting me nowhere, letting my upper-body slump back onto the couch, defeated.
Just before I could close my slitted eyes, there was a hesitant knock at the door. Ugh, finally he decides to show up!
Streching for longer than necessary, I ambled to the door. But who I met at the door wasn't Alfred, let alone an American.
A girl no older than Maddie stood with her weigh shifted to one side, wearing what appeared to be a purple, battered tailcoat. Her white shirt and cravat were stained a brownish ocher with dirt, her skirt appered otherwise fine apart from a nasty looking blood splatter.
Her features intrigued me the most. Her wild, tangled snow hair draped over her slender shoulders, and her crimson-violet eyes stared straight ahead. Was she blind, or was the heat slowing her reflexes? Apart from an ugly-looking scar that raced along her left cheek, her fair skin could be compaired to porcelain.
"Uh, are you lost?" I asked, unsure if she was deft or mute. Or both. She slowly inclined her head and looked up at me.
"Could I — come in?" She mumbled coldly, almost inaudible. I nodded slowly, and helped her through the doorway as she staggared into Al's over-heated flat. I was surprised when Maddie almost jumped out of her skin once she saw the girl.
"H-Hey, it's me, Madeline! D-Don't you remember?" My counterpart had her hands on the girl's shoulders, her nails starting to slightly dig into the girl's skin. She knows her? But, Maddie has never said anything about...
The girl tilted her head to the side, confusion swept over her European features. She seemed to have an extreamly vague idea of Maddie, but then simply looked down at her feet.
Maddie's hope-filled eyes breifly glazed over with bereave, and loosened her grip. Not letting the situation get the better of her, she guided her apparent friend over to a nearby armchair, just placed beside my temporary bed.
Once we were all seated, Maddie started conveying infomation to the girl, trying desperatly to get some recognition out of her, "Your name is Julchen, you are a Fem Country...just like me. D-Do you remember? Anything at all?" Maddie rested a hand on the girl's forearm, being mindful to control her force.
The girl flinched at her name, and narrowed her eyes, before her quiet demeanor changed drastically, "Of course I know mein own name!" She shook off Maddie's hand and stood up, pointing her thumb at herself as she spoke, "It's ze least an awesome country like me can know!"
Even through the sudden outbreak, a hint of relief glinted in Maddie's eyes. The girl apparently called 'Julchen' huffed, before she started pacing, "Grr...Efen so, I shtill can't remember anysing else! Verdammt, vhy me? Shtupid amnesia!" She spat more words through gritted teeth, though I didn't know more than the basics of German. And, it seemed, neither did Matt or Maddie.
I stroked my chin in though, "Did anything happen to you before you came here?"
Julchen's eyes flicked to me, before fixating on her scuffed, knee-high boots, "All I remember? Hm, I know zat I vhas lying on zee ground, vith some blasted man shtraddling me... Zee next sing I knew, he vhas injecting me vith some kind of white, milky liquid and everysing vhent black! Und after I voke up, I found myself outside zis apartment complex, in zee 1P!World."
Matt gave me an uneasy look, and I quietly reassured him that what he was thinking wasn't true...at least I hoped to God that he was wrong.
Francois...no, no there must be some mistake here!
But I knew deep down that there was a possibility that the mad Frenchman had attacked Julchen. Only asking would hold the answer, "Do you remember what the man looked like?"
Julchen sucked in a breath, "I vhas in zee heat of zee moment, and I vhas quite veak at zee time. He must've ambushed me! My fision vhas blurry, but I know for zee record he had short, russet hair...und dark sunglasses."
It was enough information to calm my nerves down, but Matt still had a spooked expression on his face. I was going to ask why, but Julchen spoke first, "Anyvhey, I do remember somesing else...but I must only speak vith you, you...und Gilbert Beilschmidt." Julchen had pointed to me and to Matt, and also included Gil. But why? I though.
~•~
Gilbert was still confused and alarmed by the presence of Julchen. Once he had arrived, she simply blurted out that she was his female counterpart. Which didn't surprise me as much, I mean, their looks explain it perfectly.
"Vait, vait, vait...you are saying zhat zhere iz a 2P of me?!" He exclaimed after Julchen had explained why she was looking for our apartment.
Apparently, word had gotten to Julchen and Gil's 2P that Matt and I were having trouble with Francois, so Julchen was sent to find us and bring us to the German 2P. But, on the way, Julchen was attacked by an unknown country, and wound up in the 1P!World.
Julchen said she didn't know which world she was in at the time of the attack, but it was somewhere quite unlike any world she had seen before.
Matt hesitated to speak, as he took a drag on a fresh cigarette, making an effort to blow the smoke away from us, "You said the stuff you were injected with was white and milky, eh?"
Julchen nodded slowly, and Matt continued, taking another lenghty drag mid-sentence, "Given your amnesia, I think your attacker has injected you with a certain drug from the 2P!World — they call it a Forgetter. With every shot, the drug nulifies any memories you had before the drug entered your bloodstream, causing amnesia. Depending on the color of the drug, the longer the time you will have amnesia for."
"Thankfully, the bastard only injected you with a white dosage. Which means you've had amnesia for the last...two or three months. You should be starting to remember more by now."
"Maybe the attacker knew what you're goal was, and was trying to stop you...though he didn't want to go as far as killing you on the spot." I added. The three countries nodded in agreement.
"Either vhay, I need to bring you guys vith me," As she padded to the door of the apartment, she cracked a smile at Gil, "Und I'm sure zat you vould like to finally meet your 2P, ja?"
With an enthusiastic nod, Gilbert fell into step behind Julchen as she walked out, leaving Matt and I to file along behind her.
~•~
The journey from the Kirkland household to the 2P!World wasn't nearly as bumpy as my first run, though my brain still felt like mush. Though it didn't take me long to figure out we weren't in the forestland of England like last time.
Julchen easily found her barings and headed north-east, not taking a moment's rest. I stumbled after the others as they followed on without me. Hm, it's strange that I'm really the only one who is affected by the universe travelling...
"Oh trust me, you're definatly not the only one!" Matt thought telepathically, a rather dry note of humor stung his sentence.
Panting as I sluggishly jogged to catch up with the others, I noticed only then that Matt was nervously smiling to himself. Nervously. Smiling. To himself. And, the worst part about it was that I just couldn't put my finger on the reason why.
My vision lingered on Matt, until he finally noticed that he was being watched and tried to compose himself, his ruby eyes silently cursing me. I simply smiled back at him and refocused on the scenery.
The serene atmosphere made the whole trek worthwhile. Hilly countrysides and quaint natural gardens gave off an unattural sence of peace, especially for the fact that this is the 2P!World I'm talking about!
Splosh...
My train of thought stopped short at the noise. That's funny, why would there be water around? When we first crash-landed here, the only lake I saw was off in the distance some five miles away. I slowly looked down and my stoumach dropped.
I had stepped in a puddle of a blood-water mixture, inches-deep, next to a rotting corpse. I lurched back, praying that I would keep my lunch down. The frozen look of horror and excruciation on the corpse's face store blankly at the large, open wound on his torso. After a few seconds to recover, I sat down on my haunches and studied the body.
From his Iron Cross, I knew staight away that he was a German soldier, an elite. But from his uniform adorned with rusted medals of bravery and strength, this body should've finished decomposing in the 16th Century.
"Time differs from universe to universe. Here, history's bloodiest fights are shtill preserved und days go past normally, like nosing iz wrong." Was Julchen's grave answer, as she closed the eyes of another soldier a few paces away from me, putting the poor man finally at rest.
Out of us four, Gilbert was the most quiet and most shaken by the macabre scene. But he wasn't staring at the soldiers. Something far worse lay infront of us, and Gil was utterly horrified.
About ten meters away, a formidable wall towered over us, and Julchen's expression became hardened and unreadable. And for the first time, I saw it in real life, not out of a history book.
The Berlin Wall.
I saw my partner's hands ball into fists, his knuckles turning white. But he stood absolutely still, Julchen's eyes bore into the back of her counterpart's skull. I kept myself silent, a big part of me didn't want to adgitate Gil.
But an even bigger part of me wanted to avoid the likelihood of an outburst. I got up from off the ground and cleared my throat quietly.
Halfway through my first sentence, I had to almost shout to stop my self from mumbling, "—'s wrong? A-Are you—"
"Halt einfach die Schnauze, Matthew!" he snapped back, whirling around so I could see his face. Tears clouded up his usually controlled blazing eyes, which now gave the impression of an out-of-control inferno.
Hesitating momentarily now that he had just openly yelled at me, his love, he turned to Julchen, lifting her by her shirt. She still kept her serious poker face, and refused to flinch as he yelled into her face.
"Vhy, Julchen, vhy?! You are me, you should know zat zis iz my biggest repressed memory since zee beginning of our war days!" I could hear his voice tremble and crack as he touched on the subject of his past.
She sneered down at Gil, her red-violet eyes strained into a cold stare, "Just let it go, Gil. You kan't hold on to zee past forever."
Gil gritted his teeth, "Answer zee goddamn question."
"Gil, stop this right now!"
I flinched, my mouth had a mind of it's own. Gilbert glanced over at me, his glare hard, but his eyes softened slightly as the message got through his head. Reluctantly, he lowered Julchen back to the ground and let go of her with a shove, and she stumbled into a tree.
He made his way over to me, and sheepishly refused to make much eye-contact, "Matt I," He sighed, defeated by his feelings, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have gone off at you like that."
I repressed a sigh, "Me too."
Julchen got up unaided, and dusted her jacket off, "Vhell, if you two hafe finished making amends, we've shtill got a lot of ground to cover."
Hand-in-hand, Gil and I followed behind, simply enjoying each-other's company. Even if the air was filled with awkwardness from the outbreak, it seemed to roll off Gil's back. But not entirely off mine.
~•~
Up a stony pathway that hadn't been tended to in what looked like months and past moss-covered headstones from the Middle Ages. After climbing an extra five steps and we were there. This was where Prussia's 2P lived. Julchen and the other three of us stood before a door twice my own height. The door to a Germanic cathedral.
"Oi! Anyvone home?!" Julchen banged on the door like she had the intentions of breaking it down. While she didn't cease to stop the racket she was making, I took the chance to look around some more.
"Uh, I'm just goin' to look around some more...?" I mumbled to myself, not waiting for an answer.
Julchen was too induced in fighting the door to hear me, "Just don't get yourself in trouble, 'kay?" Matt called after me, leaning up against a pillar at the entrance, staying as still as ever.
I found my way to a garden path, barely etched into the overgrown plantation to the west of the structure. Headstones upon headstones covered almost every square-meter of the surrounding terrain, a lost and forgotten graveyard.
Walking past a row, I read what hadn't been long lost, some names I could barely make out. But one name I stopped short at, the strength in my stride gone. After brushing away a few bugs and spiderwebs, I read what I could understand, for the writing was all in German.
Here lies Frederick II, King of Prussia,
Beloved husband and father,
24 January 1712 - 17 August 1786.
Rest in Peace.
"I beg your pardon, sir, but these are prifate grounds. No trespassers allowed." A voice knocked me out of my concentration. It was monotonous, like something I've never heard of before. I slowly inclined my head to scan the premises, and it didn't take me long to find who spoke.
Matching the voice to the face confused me a little, I didn't know such a combination was possible. The man had long, messy dark blonde hair that was barely contained in a low ponytail. His eyes were a crystal blue that had seen all too much bloodshed over the painfully long years in this world. His pale-skinned face had been scarred from battles both triumphant and unsuccessful. The whole of his right arm was encased in metal, rusting and dinted from years of use.
"Oh, zis? Not for show, no. I losht mein real arm in zee Seven Year's War, zis old sing iz vhat I've used since." The man gave a chuckle with no humor.
My brain finally regaining the ability to speak, I blurted out the first thing that came to mind about my presence, "I-I'm here with a few friends, I didn't mean to pry."
"Ah, zen you musht be zat North American fellow I sent Julchen to find. Matthew, vhas it?" It was reassuring to know that 2Ps don't forget easily, I wonder if they can teach that to the rest of the Allies that.
"Y-Yes, that's right. By the way, where are the others?"
"Already inside. Come, it vill get quite chilly if you shtay out any longer." And so, I followed the man inside, despite the heavy weight of the headstone's presence.
What was so important about it? I guess I'll never know.
The man had to slow his pace down so he wouldn't lose me, as I was in awe of the building's insides. Grand tapestries flanked the stone walls, brightly lit up by wax-candle chandeliers and sconces. Every footstep echoed down the grand hall, the only sound escaping the sheer silence. I noticed a kind of reoccuring theme in the tapestries; the man himself, as well as Gilbert and Ludwig. I asked the man about them.
"These tapestries tell a tale as old as time itself, you know? From zee days of zee Teutonic Knights, Prussia's birth; to zee day it all fell apart. Though Prussia still lives on, in zee minds of many beliefers, all ofer zee world." His voice hinting graveness, but his face remained as stony as a statues'.
I wouldn't blame him. Knowing that you were dissolved, killed, long ago and yet you continue to live, never to be at peace so long as you are remembered, would be terrifyingly harsh on your mental wellbeing.
Sorrow panged in my chest when I remembered Gilbert. He would be feeling the same, wouldn't he, I mused, my forehead crinkled as I continued to mull over the thought.
"Everyone is in here," The man stood next to a ordinary door, something I wasn't used to in a peculiar world. A gold-plaqued sign jutted out from the wall, the word 'Study' printed in black italics.
Sure enough, everyone was there, relief struck only on Gil's face; the other two only expressed annoyance.
"Vhere vere you? You vere getting zee awesome Prussia all worried!" Gilbert asked, a nervous laugh making his voice waver.
"Yeah, Matthew. Where were you?" Matt exclaimed, not in the same relieved-but-nervous tone Gil used, but in more of a you-worried-me-sick-and-stuffed-us-around kind of voice.
"I told you, I went looking around..." I replied sheepishly, a small childish whine thrown in as well.
Matt wasn't impressed, and he didn't have to tell me that. Slitted eyes, and his mouth curved into a scowl; disapproval was practically written all over him.
"Must vee continue vith zis childish banter?" The man's thunderous voice cut through our not so airy convocation, silencing us.
Julchen was the first to speak up to clear away the quietness, "Gil, Matt, Matthew...this is Gilen Beilschmidt. He is the Prussia of this world.
"Hold your applause." Gilen snorted dryly.
From behind him, Gilen pulled out a scroll that looked at least a few centuries old, yet the writing was fully intact, no words short of fading.
"Recently, a little bird told me zat a posse of rouge 2P Countries were breaching zee age-old laws of drug-trafficing, inhumane attacking, und universal-travel." He gestured to the scroll, "I've been doing my research, und I've found out zere are three main offenders here, two of zem are working for zee one true madman."
His tone faltered, "One of zem, iz mein own bruder." For a moment, his serious face crumpled, and I could see the emotional pain that he was battling whithin.
Shaking him out of his milisecond of gloom, his face as hard as sandstone rebuilt itself and was now back in its emotionless state. But I knew that what I had just witnessed would not go unseen.
"Zat iz all I've been able to get in my current state, zat iz vhy I summoned you three here, for zee same little bird told me that you, Matthew, have been having some trouble vith one of zee offenders."
I gulped, and Matt started kicking something on the ground, but stopped short when Gilen gave him a warning look.
Somehow, all of these people have to be linked to one main goal, and that goal has to have something in common with all the different offences that have been going on. There are so many things that we have to consider, that it's tearing my mind apart. Or am I just experiencing a terrible headache?
"Und now, until vee can find a shtrong lead, you guys are gonna hafe to shtay here vith us und help vith some...field-testing."
The last words she said sent a thousand volts of electricity down my spine. Field-testing, gods, what have I gotten myself into?
But it's the only thing we can do if we want to get a lead on all of this madness.
"Whatever, I'm in."
This decision will play a part in how difficult my plight will be made for me. If I bail out now, I'll lose everything I've worked for in these past short months.
"Ja, me too! Zee great Prussia never runs from a challenge!"
And I will never give up on my promise that I swore to myself.
"I'll do whatever it takes to get my—" I looked Matt straight in the eye and corrected myself, "our father back, so I'm in as well."
And even though Matt snorted at my pledge, he didn't hesitate to hide the glint of pride in his auburn eyes.
Translations:
• Ja = Yes
• mein = my, mine, etc.
• Verdammt = Damn, Damn it, F *^!... Whichever one you think fits the context most :/
• Und = And
• Bruder = Brother
• Halt einfach die Schnauz = Just shut up
Thanks for reading!