Hetalia – Of Magic and Might
Chapter 34! Important Announcemnt Time. This will be the last chapter of this fanfiction. This does not mean that I am dropping this story I've created. It means that it's part one of the series! Woo! An actual series, with arcs and ways to continue after the over arcing plot! I would be so grateful if once you have finished this chapter, you put me on your Author Alert subscription. This way once I post the continuation, you'll among the first to know :) I'll leave the ending, but not the last, chapter here
Enjoy!
Whale-Tail Island, The Resistance's Base, The Underground Hangar of Aircrafts
After grabbing his pre-packed gear (consisting of his winter clothes, his water skin, and his polished elder wood bow and quiver) Arthur Kirkland, with his spell book strapped to his hip and his favourite dark green cloak around his shoulders, had followed Alfred to the underground hangar. Arthur hadn't known what he had been expecting from the hangar to be honest. To him, he had thought that the company would travel to the air ship crossing and board there. He had been so wrong. He and Alfred had gotten into a rusty elevator and transcended into the bowls of the earth, the ride cramped and uncomfortable as Alfred's pack was ridiculously large. In Arthur's opinion he looked rather like a turtle carrying its home everywhere it went. After they had reached the bottom, Arthur had squeezed past Alfred to get out and gasped in awe at his surroundings.
The Underground Hangar was vast and cavernous. It was alive with activity and its air was filled with the sounds of loud chatter from the men and groaning metal. On the far wall to Arthur were deflated airship balloons and beside them was a kind of vault structure that contained armoured hulls that would be attached to its matching ballon and inflated to complete the ship. There was a gaping natural hole in the rocky surface that was covered by a thick rising metal cover. At the centre suspended by wood structures were two large warships . Their rudy red reinforced Zeppelin shaped balloons were already fully inflated. Men scampered across the metal and wood decks, tightening ropes and dragging supplies below into the brig. Fellow rebels with large rucksacks and carrying handfuls of crated weapons slowly boarded onto the levitated ships, the ship's promised rail guns and heavy artillery cannons stood loaded and buffered.
Below beside the boarding station, Gilbert tensely stood with a clipboard and took down names of boarding rebels before pointing at which ship they should board. Arthur and Alfred began pushing their way through the crowd towards Gilbert, Alfred gripping Arthur's cloak so he wouldn't lose him in the swaying masses. Huffing the duo finally broke free and ran over to the impatient soon-to-be-leader.
"Names?" Gilbert asked mischievously as he feigned arrogance , his winking red eyes pretended to look down and scan the names of lists.
"Shut up Gil, you know who we are" Alfred snapped over the bustling crowd, already irritated at having to rise so early in the morning. Alfred required at least nine hours of sleep to function properly.
"Nope, can't say I do. Names?" Gilbert teased as he continued his little game, standing taking names was terribly boring and he wanted a little fun before his brother turned up.
"Arthur Kirkland and Alfred Jones, shall we board before Ludwig gets here? It won't just be us who gets punished if we aren't on that ship before he is" Arthur smoothly persuaded as he played his best card, smiling with satisfaction at Gilbert's grumbling face as he reluctantly ticked off their names.
"When you get on board you'll have roles to carry out as part of the crew. Jones you're on guns, hope you read the manual. Kirkland, Honda told Ludwig about how you can handle the helm. So you're pilot. You'll have Shard as your copilot, he's at the helm now. You two will alternate to give the other a break" Gilbert instructed pointing to Alfred and Arthur respectively, their eyebrows raised.
"Woah That's a lot of trust to put in a newbie," Alfred whistled through his teeth as he fiddled with his ridiculously large pack "No offence dude".
"Yeah, it's a gesture of trust. He wants you to know he trusts you so you should trust him. Part of his plan or whatever. Now get up there!" Gilbert said as he proceeded to push Arthur to climb the wooden board onto the ship. Alfred was about to join him when he was stopped by the strong grip on his arm.
"I see how you look at him. I- just watch your backs okay?. It's weird but people say if you love something you have to let it go…," Gilbert paused and he and Alfred looked towards the elevators where Ludwig and Feliciano exited. Alfred stole a glance at Gilbert and saw an expression of deep longing and heartbreak on his pale face as he watched his brother and his lover. No way, Alfred thought in shock as Gilbert turned back to him. "Don't let go Alfred. Don't let go until there isn't even a ember of a chance. It will always be your biggest regret" Gilbert finished with his voice cracking on his last three words, true pain and sorrow resonating in his advice.
"I won't. I don't give up easily. I wish you luck, you'll be a great leader. So long Gilbert, old friend" Alfred smiled as he extended his hand in mutual platonic affection, his respect for Gilbert grew as he returned the handshake with equal firmness. In that moment the two men were singularly bound by understanding for each other, it was a pure undefinable moment of clarity that could and would never be achieved again. The men unclasped each other's hands and Alfred gave Gilbert a salute as he climbed the board over to where Arthur was leaning against the raised ledge bordering the deck.
Arthur watched as Ludwig and Feliciano walked hand in hand towards the ship he stood on. Ludwig was wearing a thick padded navy vest with black fur lining and had heavy dark brown combat boots, and despite his battle hard gear his hand softly held Feliciano's. Arthur heard Alfred settle beside him and together they watched as their leader spoke quietly with his brother, the pair hugged and when they pulled away both pairs of eyes were clouded with emotion.
Finally Ludwig turned back to Feliciano and seemed a loss for words as he simply looked at his other half, like a blind man seeing the sun for the first time. Feliciano understood ,went to him and with feather soft tenderness placed his lips upon Ludwig's. The kiss delicate and lingering, not so much passion but trusting with a sense of completeness. Two halves of a better whole. The crowd let up cheers and multiple wolf whistles when Ludwig reluctantly pulled away and placed a quick kiss on Feliciano's forehead before jogging over and boarding the ship. As soon as he stepped onto the deck, the engine began to whir and the ship rose up, it's twin likewise. The men who weren't manning the controls waved wildly to their brethren as the ship glided forward towards the now opened cavern entrance.
The howling wind whipped into the hangar and sent loose clothing snapping back and forth with its bellowing gusts. Arthur pulled his cloak tighter as he watched the hangar move further away from him, the ship now outside of the cavern and Arthur could see the rocky side of the floating island. The twin ship followed swiftly behind them and back in the hangar, the metal protection cover was being lowered as its ships left the dock. The cold starry night wind made Arthur's eyes water, the airship began to ascend and soon Arthur could see most of Whale-Tail Island. He looked for the brightest light on the island, for Lord Antonio's manor where Francis resided with Arthur's letter. Alone.
"Forgive me Francis" Arthur whispered, his grieved words stolen away by the harsh wind. He felt a hand gently touch his shoulder and felt himself being pulled into an endearing embrace by Alfred. Alfred rested his head on top of Arthur's, no words spoken. "Thank you" Arthur whispered as he relaxed into the warmth, waiting a second longer before he pulled away and dried his eyes with the edge of his sleeve. Alfred grinned and pretended to slowly punch Arthur's chin, Arthur rolled his face with the punch and laughed as he leaned back against the ledge with a thoughtful expression.
Small white flakes fell from the grey clouds above, snowflakes dancing as they fell down to earth. Arthur and Alfred stood side by side and looked out to the world.
"It's snowing" Alfred stated feeling ,despite its frozen beauty, grim for reasons he did not understand. With everything that had happened in the last month, the two men reflected in the events that led them to the situation they were in now. The snow seemed ominous, like a ill omen of events to come. It was the snow that signified the end of autumn, autumn and everything that happened during it was over. Autumn had arrived at its conclusion and Winter had taken its place. The merciless season that shrouded the land in pitch darkness and snuffed out life's brief candle. Survival of the fittest. Beside Alfred Arthur breathed out, his breath came out in a short puff of cloud as he spoke.
"Winter has come"
End of Part 1.
Our heroes have set off on their journey that will decide the fate of the kingdom. This is only the beginning.
This chapter is really set up for the next part while establishing some character relationships and development, and looking back on how far they were come.
Just some quick little notes regarding our characters interactions. Firstly I love the conversation Gilbert and Alfred have about love. We find out that Alfred definitely has romantic feelings for Arthur and we also learn that there was a time when Gilbert loved Feliciano. Aw I loved it when I wrote about these two bonding over their unrequited love. Alfred with hope and Gilbert full of regret and heart ache. It's an odd moment of clarity and understanding between these two. Gilbert doesn't want Alfred to suffer the same fate , so he gives him the best advice he could. Stay strong Gilbert, the rebellion is resting on your shoulders as well.
Thank you so much for picking up this story. I cannot describe how amazing it has been that so many people have read and reviewed this story. Without all of you reviewing, I would of never kept updating and continuing to create this content for you. This story is only the beginning for our heroes. I have so many ideas too explore and I can't wait to start the second part of this series.
The sequel is called 'Hetalia - The Cold of War' and while I'll post it soon, I'd advise adding me onto your Author Alerts so you'll know immediately when it is up. Once again thank you to everyone who has posted and motivated me to write these chapters. I can't wait to post my next story and for you to all read it.
I'll see you in the next one folks!