Prologue

Alfred's echoing footsteps were accompanied with his heavy breaths. The checkered black and white ground seemed to stretch for miles. Urgency forced Alfred to continue running towards the seemingly non-existent end, despite his legs feeling heavier with every step. Was it because he was growing exhausted, or was it because of his fear that he would fall off the floating pathway? To think of it, Alfred was not sure why his heart was pounding, and why his senses were screaming at him to not falter and cease his dash. Either he was running away from an unknown danger steadily gaining on him or he was hurrying to reach the end.

In the far distance was a plain wooden door. Alfred pushed himself to run to the exit, ignoring the protests from his numb legs. The darkness began to engulf the path behind him, its coldness sending a chill down Alfred's back. If he could not outrun the shadows, it will surely consume him. Thundering heartbeats pounded in Alfred's ears as the door grew closer and closer.

Finally, Alfred arrived at the door. The shadows ceased its pursuit, allowing Alfred to catch his breath. As his shoulders rose and fell sharply with every loud gasp and exhale, the painful pulses in his cramping abdomen was slowly reduced to a slight twinge. Adjusting his glasses, Alfred grasped the bronze doorknob and twisted it, gently pushing the door open.

Upon stepping outside, he did not expect to be surrounded by the crumbled remains of the city he called home.

Skeletons of skyscrapers towered over Alfred as he climbed over the crumbled wreckage. The bare power line's thick wires flickered with weak sparks. Thunder rumbled through the dark sky, which was concentrated with gloomy grey clouds. A strong wind blew flakes of debris into the air. If it were not for his glasses, Alfred would have been blinded by the dust. Much to Alfred's astonishment, there was not a single human in sight, either alive or dead.

A sudden boom caused Alfred to duck towards the ground. Every muscle tensed as he anticipated a chunk of rubble to fly towards his direction. Eyes slowly opened and warily glanced around. A white and grey-clad figure zipping through the rows of ruined buildings caught Alfred's attention. His heart beginning to race again, Alfred began to hurriedly follow the person's way.

Arriving at what remained of the central main street, Alfred saw that the figure was a boy close to his age. The boy brushed his black bangs out of his brown eyes before taking a grand leap towards a monstrous entity, a being just as large as the highest building in the city. He pointed a military gun at the monster, his finger lightly resting on the trigger. Alfred could not figure what this monster was. It was garbed in an old-fashioned indigo dress with white frills, similar to those of creepy porcelain dolls displayed in thrift stores. The doll was strangely hanging upside-down. Crowned on its head was a matching jester's hat. Where its feet should be were clicking metal clock gears rotating in a clockwise direction. A supernatural aura surrounded it, hinting that it somehow has magical properties scientific logic could not thoroughly explain.

Rains of arrows flew down the street as the boy fired at the monsters. Despite receiving a fury of arrows, the monster barely flinched, countering with a fiery energy blast that knocked the boy directly into a building.

"There's no denying it." A voice next to Alfred spoke out, causing the blond to jump. The voice's source—a grey alien—stared back at Alfred with large bug-like red eyes. "He cannot win this battle on his own. Yet, here he is, fighting it with all his life."

"What?! Why?!" Alfred desperately scanned the building, hoping to catch a speck of white. "Dude, why does he have to fight on his own? This isn't fair!"

The side of the building crumbled to the ground with a bang. Much to Alfred's relief, the boy was atop one of the building's stories, shaken and bruised, but still conscious. The monster levitated towards the boy, looming over him with its twisted, eyeless grin.

"You are right. This isn't fair." The alien continued. "But, you have the power to assist him in this battle."

"What power?" Alfred asked.

The boy, struggling to get back, was looking back at Alfred. Judging from his wide eyes and his large, moving mouth, he seemed to be shouting for help. However, his voice could barely be heard from several street blocks and several stories away.

"The power to challenge and change his inevitable fate. It lies within you." The alien answered.

"Do I really have this power? The power to save him?" Alfred asked.

Another launched ball of flames created an explosion at the building's bottom, making the damaged structure crumble completely. The boy followed the plunging hunks of concrete and glass fragments to the cracked ground.

"Of course you do!" The alien confirmed. "So, make a contract with me and become a magical boy!"

Author's Notes: Yep, I officially sank my toes into this fandom.

After lurking around for years, I finally decided to contribute to this fandom with my own Hetalia story. I'm currently obsessed with Hetalia and Madoka Magica, so I thought, "What if Madoka Magica is retold with Hetalia characters?". There's a bit of Hetalia stories that do the same thing with movies, and I really liked reading them, so hopefully people share the same opinion.

The plot and themes are obviously gonna be based on Madoka Magica's, but there are still going to be some changes. I don't want to make the story entirely a copy-and-paste of all the episodes. With that being said, should this story use the witches depicted in Madoka Magica, or should I come up with new witches on my own?

Feel free to give critiques! I'll be more than happy to see suggestions on how I can improve! I'm already finished with the first two chapters, so if people really want to see them, follow and favorite the story! (Wow, I sound like a YouTuber...)

Hope to see you soon!

PS: I do not own Hetalia or Madoka Magica