Hetalia - Down the Rabbit Hole

Chapter 6! Thank you to whose who reviewed, specially to Strawberry r Kitty who has reviewed on every single chapter. A huge thank you to you, and I'm glad you are enjoying the story! Without further ado,

Enjoy!

Terra City, Clover District, Zwingli's private Surgery

Doctor Ivan Braginsky sat with his head bowed beside his sister's bedside, listening to the quiet, rhythmic beats from the heart monitor. Natasha knelt next to him in the white tiled room, a wet trail of tears ran down her cheek as she gripped Maria's limp hand in her own.

'Who did this?' Ivan asked, his voice soft with disbelief. When the no answer, he shouted the question again. 'Who did this!'

'Columbia was sighted emerging from the box after she fell. We can only assume that he is to blame.' One of Ivan's subordinates reported from over by the door, and Ivan's jaw squared. Columbia, the young upstart that chased around after Britannia, broke both of Maria's legs and two of her ribs. By throwing a fucking metal door at her.

'I'll kill him,' Natasha snarled and she straightened up out of her kneel. 'I'll hunt him down myself and tear him limb from limb!'

'Miss, I'm afraid we simply do not—'

'Shut up! I don't fucking care! That little shit is dead!' She continued to scream in a rage.

Ivan's brows frowned as his patience ran out, and he stood up, his form towered over anyone. 'Enough, Natasha. Losing your temper will do nothing for sister Maria,' He commanded in a subzero chill, a hush fell over the room as he moved away from the steel bed to the window; the dawn's sun just peeking over the horizon, casting long red streaks into the sky.

'With Edelstein gone and agent Germania and his team arriving in the city, Britannia is now our only certified connection.'

'There is no way to find him brother, we both know this.' Natasha contradicted and Ivan sent her a small smile.

'But there is a way to draw him out,' He countered, before he looked to his subordinate at the door. 'Anderson, I want to modify and activate the hit placed on one Alfred Jones.'

'How so sir?'

'Instead of an asset, assign it to one of our Lucid operatives. Tell them that after they have completed the hit, I want Britannia by the end of the evening.'

Anderson bowed his head before he left, leaving Natasha alone to stare at her brother as she waited for him to explain his plan.

Terra City, Spades District, 221 Bakers Street

The morning sun was dazzling as Arthur Kirkland waited on the pavement outside his penthouse's building for his drive to school. His thick brows were furrowed as he thought. Over breakfast, Allistor had reported with regret that Doctor Edelstein had not been among the accounted for passengers on the S. , and thus had officially been labelled as the latest victim of the string of neuroscientist kidnappings.

The media was having a field day with the story, with headlines screaming about the falling standards of the Terra Police Department, criticising their overgenerous tolerance for the nightly vigilantes. There were articles that argued that vigilantes such as Britannia should no longer be allowed to go about unchecked, questioning how the city could feel safe when they didn't know who is defending them. The whole city was on edge, with the pressure only being slightly relieved once the Mayor gave a statement early in the morning that promised a large budget increase for the TPD, as well as a confirmation that the annual city-wide founding festival scheduling will be unaffected due to the recent events.

While it would be bad news for Britannia if the TPD decided to take up the tabloids demands and brand him an outlaw, it was the identity and motivations of the kidnapper herself that troubled Arthur the most; with he nor his brothers able to think of a reason why she would want to abduct him alongside Edelstein. She had proven herself to be an extremely capable opponent, easily overpowering both him and Columbia, and Arthur knew nothing about her to draw a connection upon. By taking Edelstein, Arthur's only option was to pray that whatever Edelstein's research was would be enough to point him in the right direction. He would have to move soon, before even that was lost to him.

Arthur was pulled out of his thoughts when the rumbling sound of a motor engine slowed to a stop on the pavement in front of him. Alfred Jones, wearing a navy hoodie and a white t-shirt, flashed Arthur a knee-weakening grin around the patisserie paper bag he bit between his perfect teeth.

'I brought breakfast! Hope you like blueberry muffins.' The American said as he freed his mouth and handed them to Arthur as he approached.

Arthur returned the easy smile. 'I love them.' He replied as he climbed onto the bike and wrapped his arm around Alfred's abdomen. With a kick, the bike's engine rumbled to life and soon they were weaving through traffic; the wind blowing Alfred's scents of soap, coffee and leather in Arthur's face.

Terra City, Spades District, The University of Gaia.

'Its rubbish! Why did it have to Bonnefoy of all the professors to take over my class?' Arthur grumbled as he and Alfred walked up the main entrance's stairs, half eaten blueberry muffins in hand. The corridors were packed, and as they navigated their way through, Arthur began to notice that they attracting attention from their fellow students.

'Why are people staring at us?' Arthur whispered and saw Alfred smirk before he shoved the last of his muffin into his chops, licking his fingers to savour every crumb.

'Dude. They're looking you.' The american snorted as though the answer were blindingly obvious.

Arthur scowled, confused. 'Why?' He asked, and Alfred looked at him in disbelief.

'Probably because they've never actually seen you with anyone before.' Alfred chuckled and pointedly to Arthur's muffin suggestively. Arthur rolled his eyes and handed it over with pretend reluctance.

'Why would they care who I speak to?' He thought aloud, not realising he had until Alfred answered, right after he had inhaled his muffin.

'Because you're Arthur Kirkland,' The exaggerated emphasis of his name was accompanied by theatrical jazz hands, 'mysterious English student. The guy those secrets everyone wants to know.' Alfred breezily replied with a playful nudge in his side. Arthur paused as he processed this information, and a new thought occurred to him.

'And you? Do you want to know my secrets?' Arthur asked curiously, cocking his head slight to the side as he watched carefully for his reaction. Alfred met his stare and pouted his lips as he thought.

'I'd rather get to know you first before we get to the juicy secrets.' He said with a wink, and Arthur averted his eyes, a pink blush flushed his cheeks as they turned the corner to walk into the university's library. Arthur much preferred this space to the hallways, there weren't as many eyes following him here. After dumping their bags on a table, Arthur pulled out a chair to sit, when an out of place, familiar face caught his eye. Lukas Bolshevik, otherwise also known as the vigilante 'North', stood leaning against a nearby bookshelf. When his eyes met Arthur's, he gave the slightest motion of his head for Arthur to follow.

'You all right?' Alfred asked when he noticed Arthur's distracted expression.

'Yes. Just excuse me for a minute.' He dazedly replied and walked over to the secluded corner where Lukas waited for him, a large yellow envelope in his hand. Arthur glanced from side to side as he approached, certain no one would be close enough to overhear. He raised a brow when Lukas said nothing but instead handed him the envelope, the man's face expressionless giving nothing away. He took it and reached inside.

Photographs, about twenty of them. Arthur scowled as he picked one of them out and examined it. It was a picture taken of a work of art; an oil painting of a young man silhouetted by the stars' celestial glow. His only distinct features: his glowing blonde hair that resembled a halo and brilliantly bright green eyes. A lump grew in his throat as the truth became increasingly and undeniably clear. They were all of him.

Arthur returned them to Lukas. 'What is this?' He hissed.

'What everyone Lucid is dreaming of.' Lukas quietly replied, his dark blue eyes troubled.

'What do you mean? How can everyone Lucid be dreaming of me?'

'Arthur, I don't understand what is happening either. No one knows, but it's all anyone can see, be it dreams or visions.'

'And everyone is experiencing this?' Arthur asked with a knotted stomach. 'Has anyone proposed any theories on why?'

Lukas nodded grimly. 'The most popular is that someone is broadcasting, trying to get your attention or find you.'

Arthur ran his hand down his face as he tried to understand what this meant. Everyone Lucid would know his face, which wouldn't be a problem except if they were in close proximity to him. The woman in white…She was in the city, and now she would know his face. Shit.

'You have to be careful Arthur,' Lukas warned. 'If anyone Lucid sees you, it's almost certain that they will approach you.'

'I will be.' Arthur reassured as Lukas tucked the envelope under his arm and touched his elbow as he made to pass.

'I'll be looking into this, Arthur. I will find out what this means.' Lukas promised with a squeeze. With an internal sigh of relief, Arthur gave him a grateful nod as he stepped away and headed back to the table where Alfred was at. A line formed between his brows when he saw who had joined him.

'You alright?' Alfred asked as he gave Arthur a concerned look up and down, the Brit staring off into the distance. He noticed that was a reoccurring with Arthur. He was a very spacey person, always seemingly staring at something Alfred could never see.

'Yes, Just excuse me for a minute.' Arthur mumbled before he set off towards the archaeology section. Alfred stared after him, confused as hell. What was his problem? He was just about to raise from his seat when three girls marched over to the table and sat themselves down promptly in front of him. Alfred recognised them as members of the cheerleading society; all of them the two dimensional blonde stereotypes, and all of them had tried to get with him when he had been on the football team.

'Spill Jones. What did you do to get on speaking terms with Arthur Kirkland?' Brittany McCall sneered as she slammed her perfectly manicured hand against the table, leaning forward into his personal space. Alfred privately sighed before he put on his sweetest smile.

'Bonnefoy paired us up. We went to the Mia Everson exhibition at Diamond's art museum,' He answered nonchalantly. 'We just got on. He's awesome.'

Blonde clone number 2 (Alfred thought her name was Ashely) sighed and fanned herself as she gazed over to where Arthur was talking to someone out of view, a scowl that could be considered semi permanent on his face. 'He sure is. I could just make love to that accent.' She swooned and the other two joined in ogling at him.

'He's such a gentleman. Y'know, I heard a rumour from Elena that he's secretly a relative of the Queen of England.'

'Yeah, but look at that shoulder to waist ratio! I could cut myself on those hips. Ah, I bet he has the cutest back dimples.'

'Wouldn't you like to know~' An accented voice purred and the girls each gave a short squeak of surprise as professor Francis Bonnefoy stepped from around the nearby bookshelf and perched himself on the table. Now Alfred hadn't exactly appreciated the girls drooling over Arthur like a piece of meat, but hearing those words from Bonnefoy struck a disagreeing nerve inside of him.

As the girls weakly mumbled excuses to leave, Alfred raised his brow at his professor, not sure whether he had been serious or not. 'You sure you can be saying things like that sir?'

'There's nothing wrong with admiring the view is there?' Francis waved away, though his gaze quite clearly ran up and down the length of Arthur's body. The green eyed monster stirred inside Alfred. Francis looked back to him when no response came, and chuckled. 'Oh please, Arthur and I have always had that kind of relationship.'

Red flooded Alfred's cheeks at the unwelcome mental image and Francis immediately laughed at the colour. 'Relax Alfred, I am only teasing.' He smirked, and led to Alfred narrow his eyes at him.

'Are you?' He accused suspiciously, and Francis only winked in response, not giving him a clear answer. At that point, Arthur broke away from whoever he had been talking to and frowned when he saw Francis at their table. The professor pushed off the table to launch himself at the Brit.

'Good morning, mon cher!' Francis sang as he swooped in for a kiss, only to be denied when Arthur grabbed the nearest book off the shelf and held it up as a shield.

'What's you want Frog?' Arthur scowled as he breezed past up to the table. He reached for his bag and when he turned around, Francis was close behind him, leaning in. Arthur shot out an arm for support as he was forced to lean back to keep the distance between them.

'Do I have to have a reason to be here other than to savour you?' Francis purred with rich seduction, his eyes smothering. Arthur's jaw squared.

'I'm not some platter, cheese breath.' He snappishly dismissed and the frenchman drew in closer, parting his lips ever so slightly.

'Quite right. You're the wine.' He agreed in a husky voice, and Alfred felt if the air was going to get any hotter, he was going to break into a sweat. He gave a very loud, very deliberate awkward clearing of his throat. Still uncomfortably leaning back over the table, Arthur blinked rapidly before remembering that Alfred was there, and blushed furiously as Francis pulled away; a smug, satisfied smirk pulling on his lips. As though nothing had even happened, Francis pivoted away with a flourish.

'Well then boys, I'll see you in the gymnasium for next period. Au revoir mes gâteaux à la crème~' He said and blew a kiss to the pair of them, disappearing out of sight around the shelves. There was a moment of pause before Arthur let out an angery huff and planted himself down. He grabbed a random book and practically wrenched it open to bury his crimson face inside. Alfred sat there for another moment, unsure how to feel about what he had just seen.

'So uh-,' He cleared his throat again, 'are you two, like sleeping together?'

Arthur slammed the book shut, his blush fading as he glared. 'Of course we bloody aren't!' He retorted, and Alfred looked at him from over his glasses.

'Seriously? Looked like to me he couldn't 'bloody' keep his hands off you.' Alfred riposted, poorly mimicking Arthur's accent with a cross of his arms. Arthur's glare turned acidic, and Alfred's brain recalled night when he had seen him bodyslam a grown man to the pavement with his thighs…

'Okay, I'm sorry. That was too far,' He apologised with a bowed head, wondering if Arthur was still glaring. Arguing wasn't the way to go when you wanted to be friends with a person. When he raised his eyes, Arthur had put the book aside and his frown was gone.

'I forgive you. Now, let's get that frog's lesson over and done with.' He smiled, and Alfred thought about how much younger it made him as he got up and they walked out of the library.

'Hey, what do you think Bonnefoy's lesson is gonna be about?' Alfred asked with a bounce as they left the English department and turned at the crossroads to head down towards the gymnasium.

'It's probably going to be ridiculous.' Arthur complained over the student traffic chatter, shuffling closer to Alfred to use as a shield when the current took particularly strong. Alfred silently chuckled at the display before his attention was drawn to the right of the hallway where Amelia Franklin stood waving a colourful banner; she was a cute girl, with bouncy ringlets of caramel and a button nose. She had been the first student to approach Alfred when he had moved to Terra, and although they weren't close anymore, Alfred still held a soft spot for her.

'The Superhero watch club is still accepting new members! Anyone is welcome! Oh, hey Alfred.' Amelia greeted halfheartedly as they drew near. Alfred raised a hand and waved.

'Hey Amelia, how's recruitment going?' He asked out of politeness, despite the answer being painfully clear from the high piles of leaflets on the table stand beside her.

Amelia sighed. 'Not great I'm afraid. I can't understand why though, we have lots of material to go over with what happened last night on the S. with Britannia, Columbia and Oz.'

Arthur pointed at her t-shirt that had a stylised logo of Britannia's gas mask on it. 'I take it you are a big fan then?' He remarked.

Amelia's eyes lit up as they turned to him. 'How could I not be a fan of our city's greatest defender! Blow what the news say! Britannia is an icon for Terra. He's so cool and amazing with his magic. I literally couldn't wait for him and Columbia to get together.'

An idiotically happy grin slapped itself onto Alfred's face; so overjoyed at the thought of someone other than him thought that he and Britannia were made for each other to notice Arthur's violent, explosive choking fit.

'W-why would you think that?! I mean, isn't Britannia more of a solo artist?' The Brit wheezed and Amelia waved away the comment with a hand.

'Puh-lease, it's so obvious that they're made for each other. They just don't know it.'

Alfred was still over the moon, mentally dancing and fist pumping the air to see Arthur press his lips into a tight line. Someone other than him that they were made for each other! Wait till he rubbed it in Matthew's face!

'No, no no. It's Oz and Columbia, Britannia clearly has no romantic interest for such a noob.' A new voice cried out from the crowd and Amelia's head snapped up like a meerkat who had spotted danger.

'No, they're just beautiful friends!' She shouted back as she set her banner and pulled her sleeves, and threw herself into the crowd. 'I will fight you!'

'Ha- hey. Hey, what do you think of Britannia?' Alfred laughed as he swiped a tear away, the gymnasiums double doors in sight. Arthur didn't look at him as he shoved them open; inside, a smaller crowd of students of Arthur's and Alfred's class combined stood before Francis.

'I think Britannia would rather focus on protecting the city.' He curtly stated.

'But do you think he likes Columbia?' Alfred persisted, and Arthur sighed as they joined the back of the muttering crowd.

'I…don't think he dislikes him.' He eventually relented and Alfred flashed him a quick smile before Bonnefoy clapped his hands to call for everyone's attention.

Spades District, University of Gaia, Gymnasium.

'As you know, the founding festival is drawing close and this year, our Mayor has put forward for the University of Gaia to participant. During this combined class, we will all be learning a waltz for the masquerade ball display that will take place in front of city hall.' He announced and almost immediately, the gym was echoing with the mutters of the students. A ball? A waltz?!

Francis clapped his hands again impatiently. 'Now, I want everyone to organise themselves into dance partners.'

There was a scuffling as everyone rushed to pair up when Arthur felt a touch on his shoulder. Alfred stood with a sheepish grin and his hands shoved into his pocket. 'Wanna partner?' He asked with adorable puppy dog eyes and Arthur opened his mouth to accept, when he felt an arm snake around his waist.

'M'accordez-vous cette danse?' May I have this dance? Francis hummed in ear, and before Arthur could think of an insult, the frenchman had already pulled him to the centre of the gymnasium. Unable to escape, Arthur restrained himself to glaring as Francis gave him a quick wink and turned back to address his audience.

'Now, myself and my partner will demonstrate how to properly hold each other before showing you the dance itself. First, I take his right into my left,' Francis instructed, his actions mirroring his words, 'and while his left hand rests on my shoulder, my right hand will rest on his waist.'

'Make sure you keep it there.' Arthur hissed under his breath, and ground his teeth when Francis smirked at him before abruptly pulling their hips closer together.

'Relax, mon Cher. You are in good hands.' He smiled as the opening beats of Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake began to play. Resisting the urge to vomit as he allowed himself to be led, Arthur moved his feet in time with Francis as they glided across the glossy boards. The steps came back to Arthur as easily as water, the gentle sway taking him back to the ballroom where he had first learnt; it had been his mother's hand in his back then, her voice guiding him with a smile. They had been in Russia, undercover protection work for the royal family.

'Awfully distracted, aren't we mon amour?' Francis' voice stirred him back into the present, and Arthur's pulse quickened when he realised just how close their faces were to one another. Pools of hypnotic indigo so close that they threatened to drown him in their depths. And perhaps they would have, had Arthur not been distinctly aware of another pair of eyes on them. Alfred's stare from among the space acted as his personal anchor, and Arthur stole a glance over to him before shooting Francis daggers.

'None of your business, Frog face.'

Francis feigned hurt. 'You are my partner, Arthur. All your attention should be on me.' He teased, and Arthur raised a thick eyebrow when he detected the near indivisible edge to his words. The corners of his lips felt an upwards pull.

'Jealous Bonnefoy?' He smirked wickedly, and a dangerous flash glinted across Francis' eyes that turned Arthur's bones soft. The frenchman spun him only to suddenly dip him; his back arched in an elegant curve with all his weight entrusted in Francis's hands. The dizziness made Arthur breathless as he stared up wide-eyed at the man gazed back with transparent lust.

'Que faire se je suis?' What if I am? He growled lowly, and to his horror, Arthur felt blood rush to his cheeks.

'Do you want us to learn that to?' Alfred's voice boomed from seemingly miles away and the gymnasium was filled with laughter. The blush deepened to crimson as Arthur remembered their audience and frantically untangled himself from Francis. The laughter died to chuckles, and with an amused smile, Francis opened his mouth to speak, when a shrill scream shattered the good-natured atmosphere of the air.

Hold onto your butts. Things are about to go from one to one hundred in the next chapter.

So, another chapter done! This one is mainly focusing on the development of Arthur and Alfred's relationship, characterisation, and romantic tension. One part I enjoyed was exploring how the vigilantes are seen by the public; whether they are admired, as seen by Amelia, or scorned upon by the media.

We are also introduced to another Lucid vigilante, North who works with leader King of the vigilante team, Nordic; the group compromising of operatives King, and their coordinators. I plan to go into detail of how Lucid powers function in the next chapter, but I will reveal that not all are exactly the same and North's powers are those of ice and snow.

In this chapter, we are given the first hint of Alfred holding a candle for our brushy browed Brit when he feels the sparks of jealousy when Francis flirts with him. Previously, even if he wasn't aware of it himself, Alfred had never encountered someone who could pose as competition to him, and so whatever feelings he may unknowingly have stayed dormant. I would also like to clarify that while Francis were completely that of a pervert, he does truly care about Arthur and finds get amusement in constantly teasing him.

Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed this chapter. If you are liking this story and want the faster update of chapters, please consider leaving a review telling me your thoughts, opinions and questions. Once again, thank you for reading and as always,

Until next time folks!