Warnings: Language, but I'm not upping the rating unless someone asks me to.
Alex looked between Lilith, his counterpart, and Elizabeta several times before the reality of the Hungarian's appearance really sunk in. Elizabeta straightened back up to her full height and flexed her grip on the skillet in her right hand while her left kept a careful hold on her saber's hilt. "Damn, Liz" he said, with a relieved smirk. "That's some nice timing." Neither women acknowledged his comment but the Boy Scout did give him a world-weary side-eye. As for Hungary and Lilith, they continued to trade grim stares like they were the only two beings in the universe.
Lilith spoke first. "I know you," she said, readjusting her glasses with the hand she had brought down from the back of her head. It left a rustic stain on the silver frame. "You're Hungary. You were there when Prussia—"
"Don't." Hungary lifted her frying pan and brandished it in the American's direction like she would a sword.
"I take it the two of you were close?" Elizabeta's face twisted into something dark, but she did not respond. Lilith sighed. "Then you should probably have this back." The blonde ducked one hand into her flight jacket and Hungary tensed. She turned the flat edge of the pan and angled it like a shield and stood ready to charge forward if she caught sight of a weapon. Rather than a gun though, Lilith instead brought out a silver-colored pendant and tossed it in Hungary's direction.
Elizabeta snatched it out of the air more by instinct than choice. The weight of the iron in her palm was familiar and she glanced down, just for a moment, to see what it was.
Prussia's Iron Cross.
Elizabeta's breath hitched and she clutched the medallion close to her chest. She looked up at Lilith, her eyes the slightest bit red around their rims. "You think this changes anything?"
Lilith returned the sardonic smirk she was getting with one of her own. "Of course, not." She swiped at the blood trickling from her nose and lifted her fists into a fighting stance.
Hungary huffed and flipped her skillet once before swinging and burying the cast iron pan into the glass wall at her side. There it remained and she instead reached down and drew the curved saber from her hip while her free hand looped Prussia's necklace over her head so that the iron cross rested against her chest.
They rushed each other without further delay.
Siegfried might as well have been on autopilot. His body was moving, he nodded and responded when either Ludwig or Ivan spoke to him, but he was otherwise completely adrift as far as emotional stability went. His two companions must have noticed this as well, for they had placed him in the center of their formation, with Ivan leading in the front and Ludwig bringing up the rear. He couldn't blame them.
He still couldn't believe it. Luciano.
"Japan, we've reached an intersection. Which way?" Siegfried blinked and refocused his attention to take in the t-intersection the three of them had come across.
"Left, Germany." Ludwig grunted his acknowledgment and Ivan turned to lead the way down the appointed hall. They marched in silence up until they neared a side hall and once again, Kiku spoke up.
"There is a group of four soldiers awaiting you on the right."
Ivan took the initiative and swung his water pipe just as they neared the mouth of the passage, catching a soldier under the chin. The blow nearly took the human's head off and instead sent him flying back into a second man who collapsed under his colleague's weight.
The last two were not so easily subdued however, and quickly backtracked and raised their weapons to fire at the oncoming nations. Ivan ducked and spun out of range against the wall, while Ludwig returned fire and tugged Siegfried to the opposite wall.
"Verdammt." Ludwig cursed and peered around the corner to take in the two American soldiers who were maintaining steady fire over their location. It seemed they were smart enough to keep their distance from the nations and not risk getting too close and caught by Ivan pipe. Ludwig glanced over the partition to meet Ivan's eyes. The Russian had a small pout on his face and frowned back.
"I am not liking this. It's no fun just sitting here, da?"
"Well that's hardly our most pressing concern, but ja we can't just sit here. We need to find the device before it's active." Ludwig turned to Siegfried. "Siegfried, I need you to cover me. I will make a charge and take out the humans."
Siegfried nodded and the pair moved in sync, Siegfried opened fire with a borrowed, drawing the attention of the two soldiers. Ludwig then took advantage of the distraction and moved through the opening of the hall and ran forward, gunning down both soldiers as he did so. The instant the second body hit the ground Siegfried lowered his weapon and his face slackened once again.
A hand landed on his shoulder.
"Good job." Siegfried blinked and his brain stalled at the odd little compliment by the Russian nation. He quirked a brow and without thinking scratched at the scars over his right forearm.
"Danke?" Had that been praise? Wow. Siegfried couldn't remember the last time anyone had ever praised his efforts. And to be honest his heart hadn't even been in the simple team effort he had just taken part in. Siegfried was not even sure why Ivan bothered with the compliment. It was not as though they had spoken much previously.
Ivan waltzed passed the dead humans with an odd little swing in his step, his water pipe echoing a low whistling sound as he spun it. His step didn't falter as he spoke up again.
"You should not be feeling so bad about little Luciano." Siegfried reacted with a full body flinch and a cold trickle of sweat made its way from the short hairs at the back of his neck down to his wife beater. No doubt staining the white shirt even further underneath his tan jacket. He could feel Ludwig's eyes burning into the back of his skull but it seemed his counterpart had chosen to remain silent as Ivan spoke. "You gave him everything you could and he turned his back. You owe him nothing more."
Siegfried's footsteps stuttered and came to a stop and Ludwig nearly collided with his back. "What?"
Ivan didn't stop to repeat himself. Instead he left Siegfried to ponder what had just been said.
"He's right, you know?" said Ludwig, still behind him. "More than likely Luciano will be there when we get to the device. You need to get your head on straight."
Siegfried didn't want to get his head on straight. Luciano was… Luciano. Luciano had been Siegfried's reason for being from his earliest memories and beyond. The one thing that meant the most to him in the world—save perhaps his brother.
But now Siegmund was dead.
And Luciano was working with the people who had killed him.
The two facts refused to reconcile in Siegfried's mind. He thought back to the few minutes on the plane to Kyoto, when Luciano had avoided his questions. Choosing to distract Siegfried instead of share his plans. He'd simply told Siegfried to do as he was told and forget everything else.
Just how long had Luciano been planning to leave him behind?
A hand landed on Siegfried's shoulder. "Could you, do it? If it comes down to it, could you stop Luciano?" Ludwig met and held Siegfried's gaze until the Otherworld nation shifted from his near constant slouch to a perfectly straight stand of attention. Ludwig waited for his answer.
"I won't kill him."
Ludwig level stare twisted in the corner just a bit, into an understanding half-smile. "I wouldn't have let you."
Siegfried laughed. "Right." He should have guessed that Ludwig would feel a similar kind of senseless devotion to Feliciano. A pang of something like jealousy tickled at Siegfried's heart. Feliciano was so affectionate, so adoring. He cared so free and openly. Siegfried wondered, a bit morose, if Luciano would have ever treated him like that if he had stayed Holy Rome and never lost his memory. "I would never take Feliciano from you like that."
"How much longer until everything is operational?" Luciano rolled his eyes as he observed the American President glare at the workers and technicians flitting back and forth between the different consoles and machinery around the room. He had no idea what any of it did, but he knew what it was built for. Seen its effects in the cold, dead bodies of Gilbert and Oliver.
Something so destructive was never simple, and Seth Walker was a fool if he thought rushing things would get him anywhere.
Most of the technicians went about their work without looking or speaking to world leader, but one did eventually stop and stutter out a reply that the device would be operational within two hours at the latest.
"Good."
Adamo came up to stand beside Luciano and they both turned to Seth. "And how long do you think until our dear Lilith finishes with the nations? We can't move forward without her here, yes?"
Seth didn't turn from the technicians and waved his hand in dismissal. "Who knows? She'll be here, though. Don't worry."
Adamo hummed. "Right. Would it not be prudent to send her some reinforcements though? She said her position was compromised. What if they overwhelm her?"
Luciano felt one of his eyebrows lift as Seth just shrugged. "Then we move forward without her. It's her own fault for drawing so much attention to herself. I'm not sacrificing the security of this device for anything."
Something in the human's tone prickled at the back of Luciano's neck and he felt his hand twitch toward the knives at his hip. "Isn't she your sister?" he asked. It went against his instincts, but Luciano found himself taking a challenging step forward towards the American. "Hasn't she given everything she has for you?" Seth turned to look at the half-nation, face blank. "Could you really turn your back on that kind of devotion? Isn't she the only family you have left?"
A smile twitched at the ends of Seth's lips. "Absolutely."
Hungary attacked first, swinging her curved Kilij in an arc towards Lilith. But the newly christened nation, as beaten and exhausted from her fight with Alfred and Alex as she was, still had all the force of the United States at her back, and dodged out of the way. Lilith sidestepped the sword and lunged inside of Hungary's range.
Hungary cursed and tried to lean away, but Lilith latched her hand onto Elizabeta's sword arm and took hold of her wrist. She moved to put the captured limb into an arm bar, but as she was being bent forward Hungary went with the motion. She dropped the sword and slid to the ground to take it back up with her left hand and swing at Lilith's exposed abdomen.
Lilith gasped and dropped Hungary's arm, jumping back and out of the way of the curved steel, but not fast enough to avoid a shallow slice across her stomach. She hissed and curled an arm around her wound while Elizabeta once again switched sword arms and transitioned from her slide into a defensive crouch.
Blood soaked through Lilith's flight jacket and dripped onto the ground at her feet. She swayed. "Should we help?" Elizabeta didn't turn her head to look at Alex, but she had to let herself smile a bit in satisfaction when she caught Alfred's reply.
"I think she's got this."
Both women straightened and moved to clash once again. This time, instead of avoiding the swing of Hungary's sword Lilith reached out and caught the blade in her hand. The steel cut deep into her palm and blood poured thick and easy down to the hilt, but Lilith kept hold. Elizabeta's eyes widened and her mouth fell open as Lilith tugged the sword down and brought up her knee. The metal snapped in two at the point of contact.
Distracted by the broken stump of her weapon, Hungary was caught off-guard as Lilith flipped her grip on the broken steel and swung it back in Elizabeta's direction like a knife. Hungary lunged out of the way, but received a shallow slash against her right cheek for her moment of hesitation.
"Szar," she cursed, brushing the blood away and raking her hand through the tangled lengths of hair that had plastered themselves to the side of her face. Lilith smirked and lunged again. Hungary brought up the broken stump of her weapon and parried the strike, but didn't catch sight of Lilith's fist until it was too late. With her left hand, Lilith struck the shorter brunette across the face. The force sent Hungary reeling back into a long table of computer monitors where she collided and sent several machines crashing to the ground.
Lilith was on her in a second, bringing down the blade tip like a knife. Elizabeta brought up her sword hilt, managing to catch the blade mere inches from her neck. The two female nations stayed locked together like that for several moments, Lilith grunting in frustration as her superior strength began to flag with exhaustion. Elizabeta too, was forcing quick breaths as she strove to hold off Lilith's attack.
After watching the sword point creep steadily forward, Hungary jerked her body to the right and let Lilith's blade fall. She bit back a cry of pain as the steel slid into her left shoulder, but better a shoulder than her neck. The sacrifice also freed her half of the weapon, and Elizabeta took the opportunity to stab the broken hilt into Lilith's exposed side. Lilith howled and leapt back with sword point in hand, giving Hungary space to stand.
Lilith dropped her half of the sword. Blood poured down her fingers to drip on the ground but the cut was already much shallower than it had been. The same could not be said for the wound in her side; and by the way she was now clutching her ribcage, Hungary could be sure she caught at least one rib in her strike too.
They circled each other for a moment until Lilith seemed to collect herself and straighten. As the American woman took a step towards Hungary, Elizabeta found herself retreating. They continued in this way until she had her back against the glass wall. She caught a glimpse of her skillet to her right.
Lilith raised a fist and went in for another blow and Hungary moved to snatch the exposed handle. She gripped the skillet with her left hand and let loose a fierce backhanded swing across her body, swatting away Lilith's strike with a furious battle cry. Lilith cried out as her arm made an audible cracking sound and Elizabeta moved forward, gripping the collar of Lilith's flight jacket with her right hand and crashed their foreheads together.
Lilith's head snapped backwards and when Elizabeta released her, she swayed and fell flat on her butt in a daze. Hungary chuckled a little, brown hair wild and half clinging to her sweat and blood-stained skin as the other half just barely held in her much-abused pony tail. She transitioned her frying pan to her right hand and swung again, striking Lilith across the face so she fell flat to the ground, curling up on her side as she fought to regain her breath and focus.
Hungary didn't give her the chance.
Still running off and adrenaline-fueled blood rage, she hauled Lilith up with her left hand and swung at her again. This time, sending the American woman flying back into her desk. The edge caught her in the lower back and Lilith groaned as her legs failed to hold her weight and she slid to the ground.
Hungary could feel Alfred and Alex's eyes on her, but she ignored them as she stalked across the room to her prey. Lilith was gripping the edge of the desk, trying to climb to her feet, but only made it about halfway before Elizabeta got to her. Hungary dropped her frying pan and instead took hold of the curly blonde hair at the back of Lilith's head. Digging her nails into the skin of the other woman's scalp, Hungary pulled her head back and slammed her face first into the surface of the wooden desk.
The wood buckled under the weight of the blow and when Hungary pulled Lilith's head back up to do it again, this time it cracked. Lilith's head was pulled up again and the blonde took in a stuttering, wheezing breath before reaching up her unbroken arm up to cling to Hungary's wrist. She tugged weakly at the hand in her hair and gave a broken cry of desperation and pain before being shoved down against the wooden desk once again. The splintered wood pricked the skin of her face and Lilith was lucky to have avoided a stick to the eye.
"Jesus, Hungary." Elizabeta registered America's horrified gasp but didn't let it stop her. After another two times shoving Lilith's face into her desk she pulled the nearly limp woman up again and this time hauled her away. Taking hold of Lilith's broken arm with her free hand and twisting it behind her back, Hungary took cruel satisfaction in hearing Lilith cry out in pain.
She half-dragged the bloodied world leader across the room to one of the glass walls overlooking a twenty-foot drop to the main floor and shoved her against it. Lilith let out broken sob of pain as she collapsed against the glass. Under her weight, it was cracking in a spider-webbed pattern like thin ice.
"Uh, Liz. Not to criticize you or anything but you might want to think about—oh, shit." Elizabeta ignored Alex the same way she did his counterpart and took a few steps away from Lilith before rushing forward and planting a kick right between Lilith's shoulder blades.
The glass wall shattered and Lilith was sent tumbling down to the concrete ground below. She screamed as she made contact, instinctively curling into a ball, a shuddering mess letting out little broken cries as she tried to suck in air. Hungary stared down from her high point, taking in Lilith's crumpled form as Alex and Alfred rushed to stand on either side of her.
"Fucking hell." Alex was openly gaping.
Elizabeta didn't respond other than to pull the loose hairs from her face and pull the gun from her thigh. She'd completely forgotten about it, in her anger. She'd wanted Lilith's blood under her fingernails. But now that she'd gotten that, it was time to end it.
She turned and headed for the staircase that would lead down to the ground floor as Alfred and Alex trailed after her in silence. When she came to a stop standing over Lilith, the blonde was still curled on her side, eyes sightless and wide in pain. Hungary grimaced and reached down to tug Lilith by the shoulder so she was flat on her back. She lifted the gun and aimed it at Lilith's head.
"Whoa, whoa, wait." Alex caught Elizabeta's hands and shoved them up so that her shot missed. Hungary rounded on the American with an enraged glare.
"What the hell!?" she roared. "I thought you wanted her dead!"
Alex lifted his hands in surrender. "I do! But then I just had a thought. I don't want to risk passing out for the rest of this like when Blondie over there was being kept under." He jerked a thumb over towards Alfred. "Leave her alive and incapacitated for now until we deal with the brother. Then you can kill her whatever way you want. I can even give you a few tips I picked up from Ollie to make it more interesting, if you want."
Hungary opened her mouth as if to argue but closed it as she listened to Lilith's quiet whimpers from beneath her. Looking down at the broken woman, she considered the gun in her hands.
"Tell me," she asked the other woman as she let the gun fall to her side. "Do you even regret it? Killing him? Prussia? Oliver? Sealand? Do you regret any of it?"
Lilith's gasps quieted and she focused her eyes and tilted her head up at Hungary. Even as bloodied, broken, and tear-stained as her face was Elizabeta could see that her expression was defiant, though blank in a way that was certainly very controlled.
"No."
Hungary's face twisted in disgust and she cursed in her native tongue before holstering the gun in her hands and turning away. "I hope you burn in hell."
Alex watched Elizabeta's retreat for a moment before looking over to Alfred. "Hey, you got a spare gun?" Alfred frowned but nodded and handed one of his Smith & Wesson's over. Alex gave a dark grin and set his bat down in favor of taking hold of the gun.
"I thought you said we weren't going to kill her yet," said Alfred.
Alex shrugged. "Yeah, well," Alex smiled wide and toothy, and Alfred shuddered as he was reminded that Alex, though he might not always look it, was Oliver's son. "Might as well make sure she can't follow us." With his teeth still gleaming in a cruel grin, Alex leveled the gun at Lilith and fired.
A bullet lodged in her left thigh and Lilith's head rolled back as she let out a scream of pain. Alex didn't stop, he fired again, this time in her right thigh. Again, Lilith screamed, and when that died down she was shaking with sobs, her eyes closed tight and tear tracks raking through her bloodied cheeks.
"And this one's for Ollie." He fired one last shot into Lilith's abdomen and then chucked the emptied gun into Alfred's hands. "Finish you later, bitch." He flipped the broken woman off and then turned his back to follow Hungary out of the room and back towards where Siegfried and the others had gone. That left Alfred alone with his Vice President.
"It didn't have to be like this," he said, quiet and perhaps not even loud enough for Lilith to hear. He left her there and caught up with the others as fast as he could.
Luciano felt something twisting and curling in his gut as he regarded Seth Walker. He didn't like Lilith. He knew Lilith wanted him dead. Had wanted him dead from the beginning. And he'd be the first to toast her death. But Lilith was the kind of person her understood. Seth was… Seth made his skin prickle with dread. He was the kind of ruthless that held no principle.
Even Oliver put his family above most everything else.
"Sir, it looks like we have nations approaching."
Seth rounded on the security personnel with a glare. "Still?"
Then man jumped at being addressed directly. "W-we still haven't been able to effectively counteract the nations who are working through our systems. They're hacking us faster than we can regain control."
Seth cursed and turned his back. Luciano watched the human technician duck his head and beat a hasty retreat fitting of one of Feliciano's people. "Damn it, where's Lilith when you need her. She should have dealt with this before going off to have her little fight."
Luciano peeked over one of the human's shoulders to take a quick glance over the work they were doing. "Ve~ this looks familiar. Is it Kuro and Kiku?"
The human looked up and nodded. "Yes, we were told it's the two Japans working from Auxiliary Control."
Luciano huffed and pushed the human aside. "Move. I know their work. I might not be as proficient as Flavio but I can stop Kuro." That caught the attention of Walker and Drago. The two world leaders converged on him and watched as he got to work.
"What about our Japan? Kiku?"
Luciano shrugged. "His work should be similar enough to Kuro's." He got to work, moving quickly to undermine the control of the two island nations. His mind drifted for a moment to his absent twin. Flavio wasn't there. None of the reports Adamo and Seth had received from Lilith had indicated that his brother or either of their counterparts were present. It made him bristle and he raised a hand to straighten his uniform where he sat.
"I have the security videos." Walker and Drago leaned in and Luciano opened a live feed on the monitor. On display, they could see dozens of small screens recording from different points in the building. Luciano took a moment to scan them before closing most of the images and leaving only a few open and enlarged and containing each of the three groups of nations attacking the compound.
"Why aren't our men engaging them?" asked Walker.
"Kiku and Kuro have control of containment doors. They are blocking off many of your soldiers' approaches."
"Can you take it back?"
"I think so." Luciano cracked his knuckles and got to work, systematically exploiting the weaknesses in Kuro's work that Flavio had pointed out one day during a bad hangover. It was something the bleach blond tended to do whenever he returned from a visit to Siegmund's. Flavio always returned from those nights completely drunk off his fruity cocktails and 'needing a win'. This either meant gossiping incessantly with Oliver's Canadian recluse of a first born or picking apart Kuro's technology. And occasionally, Luciano would sit in and observe.
Luciano worked for several minutes, working nonstop on circumventing Kuro's programming until finally he had wrested control away while the two island nations were occupied securing their communications.
"I have it."
Adamo seized control immediately. "Cut off their movement. Once the device is launched it won't matter where they are. We just need to keep them occupied until then."
Luciano moved to do just that when Seth grabbed his arm. "Wait."
Luciano jerked and his whole body bristled at the contact. Human contact. Siegfried would never—no he couldn't focus on that right that second. Siegfried wasn't there to act as his shield for the moment. Once he had a chance to speak with him—and Kuro—make the two of them understand the situation, then everything would go back to the way it was supposed to be. Siegfried would keep petty little humans like Seth Walker from getting anywhere near him. But for now, …
"What?" Luciano hissed, tugging his arm out of the human's grip and sending him a scathing look.
Seth ignored him and instead focused on the screens. "Cut them off from the main entrance and send open a path for our forces to subdue the two nations there. No point in giving them an out. But then I want you to let the others through to this room. It's not like they'll be able to do anything. And to be honest… I want to see their faces when they realize they are going to die."
Luciano turned and sent a disturbed look in the American's direction and behind him he could sense Adamo doing the same. Again, he was reminded of the chilling feeling he got from the younger Walker. Despite his sister's devotion, the man was unhinged, even by Otherworld standards. Luciano couldn't put his finger down on why he wanted the nations dead, but he was sure that it wasn't the same as Lilith's. He could acknowledge that the woman, at heart, was trying to help her people.
Seth Walker was… power hungry. That was the only way to describe it. The only reason why he would go so far as to have a nearly defenseless child nation killed just to have the Sealand eradication of under his belt. The only reason to take his one surviving relative and turn her into what she considered a monster just to have a weapon.
He wasn't sure what Walker's end goal was, but Luciano could use power hungry. Hunger for power made men impulsive, raw. He would act on instinct, and Luciano could easily manipulate that. Now, he just needed to get his allies together.
"I can do that." On screen, the three men turned and watched most of their forces start to make their way towards the main lobby.
Alex stepped quickly to catch up with Hungary and could hear the Boy Scout doing the same a few feet behind him. A frown was creeping onto his face at a steady pace the farther away they got from the America-wannabe. It was a thought niggling in the back of his head that he supposed hadn't fully registered until now.
"Hey, Liz." Hungary didn't stop her purposeful stride, but nodded her head and grunted to show that she had heard him. Alfred stepped up to his side and Alex could feet his counterpart's curious gaze. "Where's Matt? Didn't we leave the Maple Duo with you?"
Elizabeta's steps faltered for a moment and when she steadied, they had picked up speed. Alex and Alfred of course, lengthened their strides accordingly. "We're headed their way now."
"Are they okay?" Alfred asked, relieving Alex of the need to voice the same question. "I thought you said you were going to stay and help them?"
They came upon an intersection and Hungary looked both ways before siding on the right and following it. She glanced over her shoulder to be sure the Americans were following before speaking again. "I did. We beat them, but they were heavily armed. Matt… Matt took a hit and wasn't going anywhere soon. Canada stayed with him and told me to go help you."
Alex snarled and shoved his way to Elizabeta's side. "The fuck—Matt took a hit? What the fuck happened!?"
Elizabeta glared at the Otherworld nation and didn't answer than to stop the moment they turned a corner and point. "See for yourself." Alex did.
The sight was impressive to be sure. Matt's timid counterpart was braced against the hallway wall, tan parka speckled in human blood with Matt himself sprawled limp across his lap. Around them lay at least a dozen—maybe two—human soldiers dead and a few stray body parts littered near the still form of a large white polar bear.
"Mattie!?" As Alfred rushed to his twin's side, immediately taking the Canadian's face into his hands and scanning for injury, Alex followed in a fuming silence and bent over Matt's still body and pushed his fingers under the blond's jaw for a pulse.
"Alfred I'm fine. I'm fine." Matthew's reassurances were as indulgent as they were tired, and Alex could feel his brother's counterpart tighten the grip he had on Matt's flannel shirt when Alex jostled him. He sighed when he felt a steady thrum beneath his fingertips.
"Oh, thank fuck," he sighed, running a hand through his hair. "What happened?"
Matthew's eyes drifted from his brother, to Alex, to over Alex's shoulder to Kuma. "It was Kuma. We'd almost won, but one of the humans had a grenade left and was going to blow us up along with him. Matt was far enough away but I wasn't and he and Kuma dove in front of me. Matt protected me and got us out of the way, but Kuma took most of the blast. Then Matt just… dropped."
"Shit." Alex turned and dashed over to the limp polar bear. Indeed, Kuma looked as if someone had taken a hacksaw to his front and blood was everywhere. Alex didn't even need to check to tell that the bear wasn't breathing. An extension of a nation as strong as Matt or not, Kuma was still, to some degree, just a polar bear. Alex cursed and kicked one of the human corpses. "Fuck! Shit. Shit-fuck!" He turned to the two Canadians and bit his lip at Matt's pale complexion. "I'm gone for half an hour and you get yourself into this kind of shit."
"Will he be alright?" Hungary asked, not deigning to move closer to the volatile atmosphere that was surrounding the North American siblings.
"Dammit, yes. He'll recover. But not for a while. Kuma though... fuck!" Alex couldn't stop himself from swearing and continued to pace the small width of the hallway just to keep from using his recharging magic to explode every lightbulb in sight.
"Should we stay?" Alfred asked.
Matthew shook his head. "No. You guys go. I'll watch over him." He looked up to meet Alex's eyes and Alex stared back with a measuring look.
"As soon as the idiot is conscious," he said, pointing at Matt and then Matthew. "You get him out of here. Get back to Artie and Francis and make sure to stay safe."
Matt nodded. "Right."
Appeased, Alex turned to Alfred and Elizabeta and cleared his throat. "Alright campers, let's roll."
They jogged back the way they came for several minutes, angling back in the direction of Arthur and Francis from where they intended to catch up with Ludwig and the others.
"Should be just ahead," Alex called as he rounded a corner that would lead them to a last stretch of hallway, only to have a containment door slam down just inches from the tip of his nose.
"Watch it!" Elizabeta reached out and snatched the dark-haired American back by his bomber jacket. The three were left panting in shock as they stared, wide-eyed, at the door now blocking their way.
Alfred frowned and lifted a furious hand to his ear. "Kuro, what the fuck, man? You almost took my head off by dropping that door!"
"My apologies, Alexander-san." Alfred grunted as a way of acknowledgement and took a mental note that he was speaking to Kiku and not Kuro. To have not received even a monosyllabic retort meant that whatever the situation was, it was more than just a careless accident.
"What's going on, Kiku?"
"I am not sure. We had steady control of the containment doors and then suddenly, the humans started counteracting everything we threw at them. They're taking down our controls faster than we can reclaim them. They've taken back Containment Procedures."
Shit. That wasn't good. "You mean as of right now we're just the sad little rats they've got in their shit-hole maze?"
Kiku's voice, when he responded, came out more like a hopeless sigh. "Hai."
"Japan, what does that mean for the others?" asked Alfred.
"Germany-san and his group appear to be unhindered, but they've effectively cut both of your groups from England-san and France-san. They do appear to have left a path for you that will coincide with the others on their way to where the device is being prepared."
Alfred frowned. "You saying they want us to show up?"
Alex snorted. "Sounds like a trap to me." He turned to the containment door and gave it an experimental tap with his bat. "How long do you think it'd take to force our way back to the lobby?"
"Longer than we have, Alexander."
Alex blanched. "Kuro, buddy! Was that just a complete sentence!?"
"The device is prepped and the timer is set. They are going to release the airborne nanites in less than an hour."
All mirth was gone from Alex and his face paled along with Elizabeta and Alfred's. "Fuck me." He turned his back on the two nations with him and brought his hand back up to his ear. "Art. How are you and Franny doing? Tell me right now, do you need our help?"
The sound of semi-automatics and rapid gunfire flooded the radio before he heard the response he was waiting for.
"As much as I appreciate the sentiment, we don't really have time for—fuck!" There was more gunfire and some curse-infused grunting. "Francis, you call that cover fire? Stop worrying about your damn bloody hair and keep them off me! Alex, listen we can take care of a few pesky humans. You meet up with the others and finish this."
"For the love of fuck…" Alex turned from the containment door and started leading the way down the path the humans had left open for them. Then to Arthur in his ear, he said, "Fine, but next time we hang out… you and Mattie are coming to visit us in Otherworld. No more of your Earth-shit. Christ, I hate this world."
He was met with a static chuckle. "Looking forward to it."
Alex switched off his radio and picked up the pace.
"We believe the device is being held just ahead." From the head of the group, Ludwig grunted and held up a hand for Siegfried and Ivan to be still and checked the weapon in his hands. Once he'd reloaded with a fresh magazine he pressed his ear to the closed doorway and a hand to the handle. Siegfried nodded when his counterpart made eye contact and assumed Ivan did as well when Ludwig's gaze switched from him to something over his shoulder, and then back.
'On three,' his overly professional doppelganger mouthed silently. 'One. Two.' Before he could get to three the group turned and raised their weapons at the sound of approaching footsteps. As soon as a flash of dark hair rounded the corner Ivan took his water pipe and swung, knocking an unprepared Alex back several feet into the wall with a groan.
"Oh. Oops."
Siegfried frowned at the utter nonchalance coming from the Russian. But once he saw Alex getting back up to his feet and rubbing his likely bruised chest, he turned his attention instead to Elizabeta, who was looking like she'd walked through a meat grinder. She met his eyes and nodded, reaching to grip the swinging cross around her neck that matched the ones around himself and Ludwig both.
"Lilith?" he asked.
"It's done."
Siegfried nodded. "Good."
"How did you three catch up with us so quickly?" asked Ludwig, choosing that as the perfect time to get the group back on track. "Didn't you run into any resistance?"
Alfred shook his head and walked up to take up position beside Ludwig, gun raised ready to cover the German once they made their way inside. "None," he said. "They might as well be flashing a neon sign saying, 'This Way to a Trap' but the Japans say the device is in there," he nodded to the door Ludwig was about to open.
"Then we go in," said Siegfried. "We pull Luciano out of whatever he's gotten himself into, kill Walker and Drago, and stop their device from launching."
Alfred smiled and held a thumb up. "Sounds good to me." Turning to Ludwig, the American jerked his head towards the door. "You take the lead, I'll help cover you with the others."
Ludwig nodded, face solemn and grim with determination. "Understood." He began the countdown again and this time, when he got the three, threw open the door and rushed in with guns raised and give more armed and dangerous nations behind him.
Bursting inside the room marked as 'Lab 06' they were met with a large open floor with a vaulted retractable ceiling. Directly beneath, was a cylindrical device Siegfried could only assume was meant to launch the nation-killing nanites into the air. The room was emptied of all personnel save a handful of armed soldiers who had weapons trained on them and three people standing behind a computer monitor. Two he didn't quite recognize, but the third he'd know anywhere.
"Luciano." The slight Italian lurched forward a step, hands going instinctively to his sides to straighten his tan uniform.
Around him, Siegfried heard the other nations opening fire, save for Alexander and Ivan who held bat and pipe respectively and were on either side of him in a defensive posture. He heard Alfred curse and bite back a moan of pain as he brought down two of his own soldiers, and a quick glance revealed the blond American keeping his gun raised with one hand while the other was clamped over his mouth. The young superpower looked a bit green as he turned to look for any more immediate threats.
When there appeared to be none, the nations took up formation behind Siegfried and faced the last three men standing.
"Walker." Alfred stepped forward, swallowed down whatever pain the others could see in his face and fired at the American President. The bullet lodged itself inside a wall of thick, bullet-proof glass.
The nations' breath caught and Adamo and Seth laughed, while Luciano continued to stare, mouth agape, at Siegfried.
"What?" Adamo asked. "Did you think we'd let you walk right in and stop us? There's nothing you have in your arsenal that can get through that wall," he gestured to the barrier between them.
Alex seethed and pushed his way to the front, bat at his side and free hand raised, palm outward. "We'll see about that." His eyes flickered and started to glow a bright red. The room shook and a sound like thunder roared from his back. The glass wall shook and warped, but by the time Alex's eyes had dimmed to their normal ruby color all that had changed was a slender crack that split across the barrier's surface. Alex looked between the wall and his hand in dismay.
Seth Walker chuckled to himself. "Performance issues?" He stepped out from behind Luciano and gave the nations a small smile. "I really have to commend you for making it this far. I haven't seen Lilith this frustrated and upset in years. Though—I do have to say—my sister might be an easily manipulated, overzealous, overly trusting, naïve bitch." Siegfried frowned and caught sight of Alfred flinching at the President's description of his own flesh and blood. But neither said anything as Walker continued. "But she is extremely thorough. And she knows how to get the right people for the right job. Not even your so-called 'magic' can get through this. Even the nanites we release won't be able to get in." Now, why don't we sit back, relax, and get this party started."
Seth turned to Luciano and gave the Italian a pointed look. Luciano swallowed and forced himself to turn from Siegfried to open two separate security feeds on the monitors his side of the barrier. On either screen, the nations could see countless human soldiers making their way towards Auxiliary Control where Kiku, Kuro, and Yao were holed up, and towards the main lobby and Arthur and Francis.
"We haven't picked out the Canadian personifications yet. But whether we find them or our device activates first, the result will be the same." Alex and Alfred glared across the glass barrier at Seth and Adamo.
An automated voice echoed throughout the room. 'Beginning final checks. Weapons activation in 15:00.00 minutes.'
Siegfried jerked in shock and he could bet the others in the room were feeling the same swell of panic as he was. They had no exit, no back-up, nothing.
"What about Lilith?" Alfred finally shouted above the thundering of the nations' panicked heart beats. "She's like me. An American personification. You gonna kill her too? Because trust me, in the condition we left her, she's not going anywhere."
Seth looked unperturbed and shrugged. "She's dragging her feet a bit, I'll admit. But she'll get here."
Alex snorted. "Somehow I doubt that."
"We'll see." Above their heads a screen flickered to life, beginning to display a set of glowing read numbers steadily ticking their way down.
'12:00', '11:59', '11:58'.
Twelve minutes. They had twelve minutes left and nothing left up their sleeves.
"Verdammt." Ludwig cursed, followed swiftly by a good deal more swearing from everyone else.
Alfred brought up a hand to his ear. "Kiku, can either you or Kuro help us out? We need to get past this panel. Guys? China? Japan?"
There was no response for several seconds before Kuro's voice finally came on. 'Kiku is hit. Sorry Alfred, Yao and I are pinned down. There's nothing we can do."
Alfred swallowed and switched channels. "Artie? Francis? We need help and quick. Is there anything you can do?"
There was the sound of gunfire and Francis was the one to first respond. "What are we supposed to do Amerique? Ah—Angleterre! Get back here! Now is not the time to do something stupid. Do not exhaust yourself!" France disconnected the line and Alfred's hand fell back to his side in dismay.
Above their heads the timer continued.
'10:02.00'
'10:01.00'
'10:00.00'
A/N: Sorry this is a little late, my internet cut out last night and I couldn't update, but here it is. Hope you enjoyed. We'e getting really close to the end.
Next Time: The Countdown Continues. Also: Where's Louis Been?
