Magitalia

Chapter Thirty Four- Blazing Impulse

Everyone, it seems, was growing hopelessly restless. Or at least, everyone in Alfred's car; Ludwig couldn't speak for the rest of the group that'd "borrowed" Gilbert's.

Once more, almost without thinking, Ludwig asked the designated navigator how far they were, trying not to feel like a whining child with the question.

Matthew's response didn't help with that. "Well, unlike the last fifty times you asked, I can say with some confidence that we're getting pretty close!", he confirmed.

"Oh?" Those words filled him with a vague dread. And a vague hope, but that was fainter. He'd been going over and over what they could do for so long, but the fact remained that if they faltered even the slightest bit, Feliciano and Lovino would both die.

"We should get the plan straight, right?", Alfred questioned, stealing the words Ludwig's nerves blocked from him.

Taking a deep breath, Ludwig pulled out the notebook he'd scribbled down a few ideas in. "Well, I have some-"

"So here's the plan!", Alfred exclaimed loudly.

Ludwig sighed a bit. "Did we agree to let you make the plans?"

He paused for a moment, like he needed time to think it over. "Well, no, but I have one."

"This should be good," Gilbert muttered, but for the life of him, Ludwig couldn't tell if it was sarcastic or not. He truly hoped it was, though, because if not, then he could be certain he'd truly lost it.

"Okay, so you know how craptasticly not well us splitting up worked last time?", he started. "Well, I'm thinking we don't do that."

Silence followed. "Is that all?", Matthew finally questioned, and Alfred gave a nod.

"Yes, spectacular plan," Ludwig muttered. "What else is involved, breathing in and out?"

"Actually, that's kind of a terrible plan," Gilbert countered.

Terrible? But if anything, it was the smartest thing Alfred had said all day! "How so?", he questioned.

"Look, we don't know how big that place is gonna be, and we only have so much time to get Feli out before we get caught," Gilbert explained. "So, if we all move together, that reduces the odds of us finding him and getting out unscathed."

In all honesty, Ludwig was considering telling his brother that he had a valid point. Wryly, he wondered when the last time that happened was. Or, at least he did until he remembered the last two valid points he'd made had been the suggestion Francis was involved and the suggestion that he and Feliciano might have a chance together.

So perhaps he should swallow his pride once more. "You have a point, I suppose," he muttered.

"Well, yeah but if we go alone, then we won't have any way to call for backup if we get caught!", America protested. "And even if we do find Ita- er, Feli alone, then we're still doomed 'cause chances are they'll be guards."

"Not to mention that if he's half dead, it's likely we'll have to carry him out," Matthew added. "If we do that, we won't be able to get out as fast or fight back as easily."

Wow, it seemed for once everyone was being perfectly reasonable and intelligent about this! There wasn't even much more that he'd thought of himself! If it wasn't for the circumstances, he'd be ecstatic. "Perhaps we break up into a few smaller groups, then?", Ludwig suggested. "That way, we'll have both mobility and support."

"Yeah, that's a good idea…" Alfred muttered as if distracted by something. "But like, how big are we talking?"

"We- we can discuss with the others when we get there," Ludwig directed.

Thankfully, as indicated by a few emoticon-ridden texts sent by Antonio, that seemed to be very close now, so Ludwig bit his tongue and silently prayed that he could not screw this single thing in his life up until they finally stopped at a place that seemed to be an abandoned, graffiti-ridden building.

"So much cooler than the random thing in the woods," Alfred muttered as they got out.

Matthew glanced down at his phone once more. "Feliks sent me an article about it. Seems this place was called the 'Monade Building'," he reported. "It was supposed to be some sort of office complex, but construction was abandoned. Now it's one of those places teenagers tell their friends are haunted and dare each other to spend the night in."

"Seems a bit public for a secret base, doesn't it?", a low mutter questioned, which upon turning around appeared to be Berwald.

"But that's what makes it perfect!", Feliks countered enthusiastically. "'Cause stupid kids think it's haunted, no one would actually believe all the crap that goes on in there!"

To be fair, that had a certain kind of perverse logic behind it. "No matter, we need to go over our plan," Ludwig directed. "We decided it would be best to split into smaller groups."

Sealand counted off on his fingers before nodding. "There's nine of us, but one of us would probably need to stay behind."

"And why is that?"

"Well, you can't really just leave a comatose superpowered whatever we are alone without any way to defend himself," Antonio explained, pointing at the car where Lovino was undoubtedly "asleep" in the back. "I can stay with him, if that works."

Gilbert sort of chuckled at this and muttered "I was kind of hoping for Feliks…" under his breath.

"I heard that!", Feliks protested. "And besides, I like, totally need to keep an eye out for Toris in there!"

Alfred assumed an odd grin and then exclaimed "Let's go teams of four then! Me, Gil, Mattie, and Ludi can be a team!"

Ludwig sighed at this. "For one, don't call me that."

"Aw, but everyone else calls you Ludi!", he protested.

"Yes, with 'everyone else' being my older brother and two people I've been friends with for several years," Ludwig countered. "And another thing, why that team specifically? Our powers don't have much synergy to speak of and-"

"Simple: our initials would make us Team GLAM!", Alfred explained. "And that's the best team name I could come up with other than Team FLAP, so we're going with that."

Wow, and just when he thought Alfred might have grown a brain. "So that makes us Team, er, BEFS?", Sealand questioned.

"I was thinking Team BEFP, but that works too!"

Erika gave a mutter of "Wow, my fate's been decided on what initial combination sounds best…", but other than that, no one really dissented.

"Well, I can think of worse ways to decide," Gilbert conceided. "So, Team GLAM, do we just go in, or…"

Sealand looked around for a moment and then transformed into his Flying Mint Bunny form. "There should be a switch somewhere!", he reported. "I'll go look!"

A few moments later, a great click pierced the air as a panel in the ground seemed to open up and reveal a staircase. "Wow, no ladder this time?", Alfred said rather softly before adding in a borderline cheer "This day just keeps getting better and better!"

Without another word, they all started down, and flashes of light signaled each person's transformation. This base seemed distinctly less cold than the prior one, with light fixtures along the stairwell and then along the hallway it eventually gave way to. With grey walls and tiled floors, it seemed distinctly more like a building than the other underground base.

But, like the other one, there soon came a fork in the hall, with it ending in two paths going opposite directions. This is where they parted, and they did so with only the briefest exchange.

"Be careful."

"Take care."

And the now four of them continued until a door made them falter. Voices were coming from behind the door. Vaguely familiar, vaguely infuriating ones. None of their words could be distinguished, but Ludwig was half-certain of who they belonged to.

Alfred pressed an ear against the door, and as an obnoxious laugh came from it, his face fell as if to confirm his suspicions. "That- that's Arthur and Francis!", he quietly exclaimed.

The idiot jiggled the doorknob for a moment, only to chuckle. "It's unlocked!", he whispered in a singsongy voice.

"We… need to talk to them, right?", Matthew suddenly declared. "This might be our best shot at figuring out why they're doing this!"

That was logical, that was a priority, but there was something else that was more pressing at hand. Still, judging by the broken-up looks the twins bore, there wouldn't be any stopping them, and he wouldn't try to halt Gilbert from getting an explanation from his best friend either. "I'm going ahead, then. I wish you luck with that."

He turned and started along, not thinking of why this was rash and foolish until his brother called out in a stage whisper. "Come on, Ludi, that's not funny! And besides, you said it yourself, you won't be any help to him on your own."

Turning back around, Ludwig considered it for a moment. He wanted to force Arthur to say why he'd betrayed them and especially make him pay or at least apologize for leading Kiku and Feliciano astray. And yes, there was a chance they might be able to tell them where they were, but no, he knew he wouldn't be able to remain calm. "Yes, but I would hurt your chances of getting anything out of them," he finally stated. "If you get anything that would help us save Feliciano or anyone else, send me and the other group text and we'll see what we can do with it."

"Actually, send it to me," Gilbert countered, turning towards Ludwig. "And make sure to tell Bonnefoy how much he sucks for me, alright?"

Guilt and relief filled Ludwig in equal measure. He wanted to apologize, but all that would come out was a faint "...thanks."

"We'll get what we can, Gil!", Alfred exclaimed, and his brother added "Just be careful, alright?"

The morbid streak Gilbert assumed when under stress seemed to be showing, as he started rattling off rather unnerving but practical instructions. "Look, I'm gonna be honest here: there is a very good chance that one of us will die. I'm doubting it will be either of you, unless Francis is a lot further gone than we think, but if either you or your brother do, don't try to take the body. It'll just slow down your escape, and don't hesitate to escape. Antonio is in the car, so you'll be safe there."

Matthew took a few steps closer to Gilbert and took a deep breath as if he was going to say something. "Gilbert, I-"

He was cut off by another quick burst of directions. "And if I die, someone will have to make sure Ludwig is taken care of, given he survives. We don't have any living relations, and I have to admit, I'm not entirely certain how it works, but he'll be eighteen in a year or so and-"

"Gilbert, please." Matthew attempted to start whatever he was going to say again, but was once more cut off.

"The kid will probably take care of my birds, but make sure he does. Oh, and don't feel like you need to bother with a funeral, but if you have to, I like tulips and those blue flowers with a bunch of petals."

"Gilbert!"

"Yeah, guess that doesn't matter. And if Ludwig dies too, make-"

His directions were cut off by a sudden motion from Matthew's end. For a second, Ludwig was sure he'd headbutted Gilbert or something, but upon closer inspection, it was something a lot less… violent. Rather, it seemed Matthew had silenced his words with a kiss.

When they broke, it left the two with oddly reversed expression. While Matthew now looked deadly determined, Gilbert was blushing and stammering. "You listen to me! None of us are going to die, got it?"

That determination faltered as Gilbert nodded and continued to stutter out chains of nonsense, and Matthew turned as red as him. "Oh god, I- I'm really sorry, I don't know what came over me. I just panicked and-"

"No, i-i-i-it's good," Gilbert assured him, looking just about as confused as he had in that affair with Roderich years ago. "I- um, well, just didn't expect that… N-not that I didn't like it!"

"What, really?"

Gilbert laughed and then swallowed hard. "Yeah, totally! I just, well, uh, why me?"

Matthew cast a darting glance at the floor for a moment before looking back at Gilbert, the franticness of his apology all but gone and replaced with a calm smile. "Honestly, what I've been trying to say is, well, that you're important to me in a way I can't begin to explain. We've haven't known each other long, and I doubt these feelings are anything more than a result of this panic I've been feeling, but I truly appreciate all the kindness you've given me in spite of the circumstances. And I can't stand to hear you talking like that, because as selfish as it may be, I don't want to go through this without you."

The odd look that flashed in his brother's eyes was something Ludwig recognized vaguely. It had flitted into Feliciano's gaze when he'd kissed him in the forest. "Well, I'm not about to make you, Mattie!", Gilbert proclaimed. "Now you get in there and talk some sense into Francy Pants and Asshole Eyebrows, got it?"

"And you go save your friend from certain death, alright?", Matthew replied with a wink.

After a few more rather painful seconds of staring at each other, Gilbert finally turned back around to Ludwig and began walking in the same direction. "Yeah, let's do this, alright?"

Ludwig began to walk beside him, and would have ignored the odd giggles coming from his brother had they not been so detrimental to the task at hand. "Please remember we're trying to be stealthy," he muttered after a moment too long of this.

"What, you were like this all day after you asked Feli out," Gilbert countered. "Can't I be happy too?"

The swell of emotion he'd felt what felt like ages ago replayed in his mind. A numb feeling he'd cast upon himself fell away and a rush of adrenaline took its place. The one he was fighting for was close enough to touch, and whatever stood in his way, he would cut it down.

"We need to hurry," Ludwig muttered, and something about that seemed to silence his brother, who simply gave a nod and drew his blade.


AN- Good news! No more Parallel Chapters for a while! No, we're just going to finally get down to Operation Save Italy Before He Dies A Terrible Death. Also, if anyone gets why I named the building what I did, huge kudos to you because I am actually lowkey proud of that joke and really hope it won't be lost on everyone. Oh, and PruCan. That totally happened. Sorry, all two of you who told me not to PruCan, but I like the pairing and if the fourteen reviews on the chapter I asked about it are anything to go by, so do most of you.

Also, I was flattered and astonished and a ton of other name of Pokemon moves by how many people offered to help me with plot ideas! I went with A Broken Imagi-NATION, and I am immensely grateful for their help (and will be repaying them with a Poketalia oneshot), but huge thanks to everyone else who offered as well. I'm a lot happier with where this is going now, and I truly hope the rest of you will like/despise me for where it's going. So, thanks for reading! -Twilight Joltik

PS, I think I'm officially out of color chapter names.