(A/N) Chapter 8 is here, and quicker than expected, woo! And... it's the longest chapter I have written, as well as the longest piece of writing I have done... woo? Anyway, if anyone has read my profile, you'll know that I have decided to stick to a schedule, and chapters for this story were going to be posted once a month on the 21st. Hehe, well as you can see, at the time of posting this chapter, it's August 7th and I posted the last chapter, roughly, 2 weeks and 3 days ago; I know, I checked.
So, why are you posting the chapter now, then? You ask; well, the answer is simple. I'm going to be moving house soon, so as you can possibly tell, it's going to mess with this new schedule I set up, as well as updates. So for now, I'm not going to be sticking to a schedule, and will just post chapters when I finish them.
On the topic of the actual story, this chapter was quick to get ideas for, they all rushed to me, which I'm really happy about. Writing certain parts of the chapter were difficult however, as you can tell by the descriptive "action" scenes. I hope you enjoy this chapter, as a lot of work went into it, as you can tell by its length.
No flames please, if you hate it, keep it to yourself. However, if you think it could be better, recommend improvements, as well as what was good, and what was bad. I sometimes wonder why I still put this...
Man, this has gone on long enough, time for the disclaimer!
DISCLAIMER - I do not own Hetalia, or its characters; it belongs to Hidekaz Himaruya
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Chapter 8: Entering The Prison Building
The storm outside was fierce, much worse than America had anticipated; the rain was relentless, each drop making his clothes cling to his skin and his bomber jacket feel heavier. His hair was starting to stick to his forehead, and his vision was blurry, as a result of him taking his glasses off due to the raindrops obscuring the lenses. A thick sheet of dark clouds were in the sky, making the lighting outside quite dark, and as a result of that, when lightning flashed it could not only be seen in the sky as clear as day, but it also lit up the entire area, from the prison building itself to the main building. It would go from brief, to lingering a little longer, and would sometimes be as temporarily blinding as a flash grenade. The rumbling of the thunder was unusually loud, louder than America was used to, and for some reason, reminded him of the days when Italy would visit his house.
The visit would then turn into a sleepover if a thunder storm started, because the auburn haired nation was scared of them. He remembered them making a den out of blankets and pillows, then bringing a lot of snacks and hot chocolate in there with them. They would stay in that den of theirs until the storm had gone away, because in that den of theirs nothing could get to them, and they were protected. If the sound of thunder was unexpectedly loud, they would wrap up in one of the blankets they placed in the den and hug each other tightly until Italy had calmed down a little. Although it was scary for the Italian, he would always appear to enjoy himself.
Kicking himself out of his memories of the past, the blonde set his mind on the objective at hand, which was to save Italy. The thought of Italy being on his own, terrified in a cold cell with tears running down his cheeks, with nobody there to hold him if he was scared was saddening. But unbeknownst to his Italian friend, he was coming to get him; he was going to save him and be his knight in shining armour. Then he was going to take him back to his place, and they would get comfortable and watch a movie with some hot chocolate, heck, they would even add making a den into that plan if that was what the Italian wanted.
Concentrating as hard as he could on his surroundings through blurry eyes, the American could make out searchlights, and a lot of them, as well as a big black blob in the distance, which the blonde assumed was their destination, the prison building.
Looking to his new ally, he asked, "So, how are we going to do this?"
Luciano looked to be scanning the area, his brows furrowed in concentration. "If it is not obvious enough, we are going to be discrete. However, the only issue we have are the searchlights, which is why having a silencer on your gun would have been useful."
"Oh, sorry about that."
"Don't worry about it, I have a plan to get past them," Luciano pulled a small device out of his breast pocket and presented it in the palm of his hand.
"What's that?" America asked, squinting, but could only make out a small purple dot.
"This is the Farfalla Viola, something that I developed quite recently," Luciano stated proudly. "It is a small gadget, yes, but it is the most effective."
"What does it even do?"
"Well, how do I explain this in a way that you would understand? You play video games, yes?"
"Yeah."
"And you know in games that involve human enemies you can stun them with flash grenades, yes?"
"Yeah, and in some other games you can use your fists, shoot them in the head and -"
"Quiet," Luciano hissed. "Right, where was I? This works in a similar way to a flash grenade, except this works on some forms of technology instead, such as security cameras and searchlights. In this little gadget contains a material I like to call Aqua, which is sort of like ice, except it does not melt in high temperatures; it only melts when it comes into contact with electrical and battery signals, the reason for this I don't know. As you are seeing right now, it is also resilient to water and other liquids, too."
"Um, I can't see actually."
"Don't interrupt me, Jones. What this device does is that it makes the electricity, or batteries, inside them go haywire, so they malfunction, however, the effect is only temporary, so we would still have to be quick to get out of the camera and searchlights' line of vision. I have eleven on my person, so we have to make them count, although, I only aim to use at least one."
"Why?" America asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Because, not only can they be useful outside, but they can be useful inside as well," Luciano said, as he took his knife from its holster and turned to the blonde with a look of determination on his face. "Follow my lead."
"Hold on a minute, I told you I can't see, man!"
"And why is -" he paused mid question, and looked at America quizzically. "Why don't you have your glasses on?"
"Because, all the rain gets on the lenses and I can't see through them."
"So, what are we going to do now, then? Do you expect me to hold your hand?"
"That would be nice."
"I cannot do that, as I have the Farfalla Viola in one hand, and my knife in the other. You are going to have to try your best to keep up and see where you are going. You can make me out fine?"
"Yeah, but -"
"OK, you will be fine, follow me."
With a small sigh, America followed Luciano who ducked behind a big, rusted green bin, which oddly smelt of decay, however, the blonde decided not to mention it, not really wanting to know why. He could make out Luciano taking a peak around the corner, and then heard him whisper, "I'm going to throw this now. On my call, I want you to stay focused and bolt to what I'm going to assume you think is a big blob, ok."
"Sure."
Luciano performed a throwing action, which was soon followed by a bright white light engulfing the entire area. "Run!" he heard Luciano order, as they both made a run for the building.
As he ran, America could feel the discomfort caused by his soaked clothing, and could see the searchlights flickering on and off, fixed in one direction. He oddly heard voices yelling, "What the hell was that?!" and, "Intruders! Over there!"
'This isn't good!'
"Shit!" Luciano cursed under his breath, as he started to sprint faster, but out of nowhere, he was tackled to the ground, emitting a yelp when it happened. America went to help him, but then he heard a cocking of a gun behind him.
"Don't move blondie," he heard a gruff voice order, as Luciano could be heard struggling against, what the American had assumed to be, a man in the background. Two footsteps could be heard approaching, and the blonde nation had just remembered the knife Luciano had given him was still in his hands.
He didn't like the thought of killing these guys, he saw enough dead men in the wars he had fought in the past, however, they were stopping him from accomplishing his objective and that was a problem. No, there was another way besides killing them. He could incapacitate them, he was strong enough.
Without a moment of hesitation, he elbowed the man behind him in the head, instantly knocking him out, and then proceeded to kick the man off Luciano, who finished the man off with a kick to the head.
Standing up, the Italian turned to the remaining two men, who stood expressionless with guns pointed at the duo. As he edged closer to them, they seemed to back away slightly, faces now filled with fear.
"Is that...?" one of the men trembled, lowering his gun slightly. "Luciano Vargas?"
"No, it can't be!" the second man replied. "He was banished for not approving of our boss's ideals!"
"But it -"
"Yes, it is me," Luciano interrupted, his voice filled with amusement, as he raised his knife. "In the flesh."
"No, shit," the second man gasped, backing away with the other man. "You are him, but how...?"
"Sneaking into this dump was not very difficult, actually. Security is as terrible as always."
"But, you're supppsed to be locked up and set to be executed."
"What?!" Luciano asked, sounding impatient and furious, which made the men whimper and back further away.
"Yeah, in that building," the first man said, nervousness present in his voice, as he pointed to the prison building. "We were supposed to be making sure you didn't get out, but now I'm confused."
"No," America whispered in shock, and he thought he heard fear in his own voice too. "They're not talking about Italy, are they?!"
It appeared that Luciano had realised the possibility too, because his magenta orbs glowed, which America had gathered only happened when he was seriously angry, and although the blonde couldn't see this, a vein was popping out of his head. Marching towards the pair of men, the Italian used the handle of his knife to violently jab the second man in the stomach, which resulted in a pained gasp as he fell to the ground.
"Please," the man begged, as he struggled to breathe; every time he did so, it came out as a choking sound. Luciano responded with an amused sigh, as he finished the man off with a kick to the head, knocking the man out.
Through the corner of his eye, the Italian could see the last man, quivering whilst backing away. If he wanted to know where his counterpart was being held, which, in his opinion, was much easier than expected, then he couldn't let him get away.
Sending eye-daggers his way, Luciano growled, "Don't move."
However, the man didn't listen, and instead bolted away. Without a second thought, the Italian gave chaise, and unlike Italy, who was only fast when running away, Luciano appeared to possess that speed, not only when running away, but at all times; this security guard didn't stand a chance. When he got close to the man, Luciano grabbed his shoulders and performed a flip, hands still on this man's shoulders; and once getting to his feet, he flipped the man on the ground, hands pinned above his head.
"Where am I supposedly being contained?!" he practically screamed, breathlessness, surprisingly, not showing in his voice; what he did to get the man on the ground, combined with the speed that he ran, would leave anyone breathless, but not this guy it seems.
"Cell 302," the man cried. "Please, don't hurt me!"
"Thank you," Luciano said, unusually sing-song like, as he then hit the man with the handle of his knife, knocking him out, too. He then stood up, and jogged back to America, who was stood in awe. Despite his vision being blurry, he still saw roughly what had happened. "Let's go, quickly!" the Italian ordered, as he started to sprint past the blonde and towards the prison building.
Once they finally got outside the building, Luciano unlocked the door with his keys, and guided America inside, locking the door behind him. After taking some time to catch their breath, the Italian sighed and leaned against the wall.
"Luciano?" America asked, fear still present in his voice, as he put his glasses back on. "Where are they keeping Italy? Did he tell you?"
"Yes, he did," Luciano replied. "He said Feliciano is in Cell 302, which if it isn't obvious enough, is the second cell on the third floor."
"OK, let's get him!"
"Wait!" Luciano yelled suddenly, yanking America back to him by his sleeve.
"What's up?"
"Something isn't right, security doesn't look as tight as it should do."
"And that's a bad thing, because...?"
"I'm sorry to do this early, Jones, but we are going to have to part ways," Luciano told the American, turning towards a red door on the right.
"What?! Why?!"
He couldn't believe this was happening!
Turning back to face the American, Luciano approached him, and said, "I need to check up on something quickly." He then held out a yellow key card. "Take this, it's the key to get Feliciano out of his cell."
America complied and took it, looking down sadly. He couldn't believe he wasn't going to get help... wait... he's a hero, he'll be fine!
"Also, you may need this," Luciano handed him a map of the building. "I'll tell you again, Feliciano is in Cell 302, so that is the second cell on the third floor, you got that?"
"Yeah, I'll save him as fast as possible. Good luck with what you're doing, Lu-Lu."
"Lu-Lu...?" Luciano's brow twitched, as that was a nickname his older brother had given him, and he hated it. Despite how angry he was, he decided to not make a scene, just in case it drew attention; it was better to be safe than sorry, so instead, he sighed. "I'm not going to say anything, however, just to let you know, I'm not too fond of nicknames. Farewell, Jones, we shall meet again outside this building. I should have a means of escape ready. Please, don't fuck this up."
And with that, he left through the door, leaving America on his own.
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Alfie is on his own... poor bugger. Anyway, sorry if this chapter felt off, or rushed, but I assure you it wasn't... I think I feel it's bad because of the length, and, to me anyway, the ending felt abrupt. Okay, writing the next chapter might be a fun journey... yay! Stay tuned for that! Man, I'm hyped up today! So... improvements are appreciated, please tell me what I did right, wrong and how I can improve. If you would like, you could also favourite and follow this fic, as well as suggest ideas for future chapters. R&R and thanks for reading!
