Hetalia - Down the Rabbit Hole
Chapter 13! And oh boy is this a cookie. A big thank you to the awesome wolfy16 who reviewed last chapter, really grateful for it, as always. With that out of the way, let's get stuck in.
Enjoy!
Terra City, Spades District, N.O.V.A Labs
Had you told Alfred when he had first donned the Columbia persona, that two months later he would be laying on his stomach beside the legendary Britannia Angel waiting to break into a high security research lab, he wouldn't of believed you. It was a surreal experience, and Alfred constantly caught his gaze drifting over to the British vigilante whenever he wasn't concentrating.
The grass they lay on was cold and from about five metres away, the tall concrete walls that bordered N.O.V.A's white complex building stood. The sounds of the city, with it's car horns, pulsating electro music and blaring trains, were faint. Alfred breathed in a deep, cleansing breath as he turned his gaze up to the night's sky that was bright with moon and star light.
'The stars are beautiful.' He observed with an inclination upward. Britannia shot him a look before he followed his stare. God, Alfred wasn't sure if he'd ever get used to being in casual proximity to his idol.
'It is a clear night.' Britannia agreed with nonchalance, and Alfred screwed his courage to the sticking place as he leant in closer.
'You know what else is beautiful?' He asked coyly before he heard the loud static crackle of his comm opening.
'Columbia,' Matthew's voice hissed in his ear. 'we're not in radio silence yet, remember?'
Blood rushed to Alfred's cheeks at the image of Allistor, Seamus and Dylan listening in on his flirting, and he started when Britannia spoke up again. 'I don't know. What else is beautiful?' Britannia asked with a sarcastic droll.
Alfred panicked. 'Uh- the Sun.' He floundered, internally screaming as Britannia stared at him with an indivisibly raised eyebrow.
'Please tell me you haven't been staring at the Sun, Columbia.' The Brit deadpanned, and before Alfred could open his mouth to defend himself, Allistor -as Britannia's coordinator, Saxony- spoke up in the shared channel.
'Alright ladies, showtime. Dylan is in the security mainframe and ready to loop the security camera streams on my signal. Once the loop is initiated, you'll have thirty seconds to vault the wall and get into the roof's ventilation opening that'll take you to the central elevator shaft.
Until then, it's radio silence on the comms until you can find an electric maintenance port. Get that done, and we can guide you to Edelstein's office.'
'Copy that Saxony.' Britannia confirmed, Alfred bracing to sprint alongside him as Allistor initiated the countdown until the cameras were looped. On 'One!', Alfred sprang forward and belted for the wall, Britannia hot on his heels. He reached it first, pivoted with his knees bent, fingers locked together; ready. No hesitance whatsoever, Britannia ran at him full force, leapt, both feet swung out to land solidly in Alfred's hold and was launched; Alfred tensing to absorb the converted force.
With the poised grace and balance of a feline, Britannia landed silently on top of the ledge, and squeaked when Alfred crouched and power jumped up beside him. 'Since when could you jump like that?' The Brit exclaimed with a comical look of disbelief back down from their great height.
Alfred just clicked his tongue with a wink, and instead went for the ventilation opening that Allistor had directed them to. He knelt and gripped the metal grid covering before he easily ripped it off it's securing bolts.
'Ladies first.' Alfred quipped with a nod of his head down into the vent, and chuckled when he could practically see the scowl behind the gas mask.
'Wanker.' Britannia backhanded as he got down into the vent on all fours and began to crawl. Alfred got in after him, carefully replacing the cover as it had been.
The air in the vent was surprisingly clean, though it gradually dissolved to a stuffier quality the farther in they crawled. Speaking of crawling…Alfred had an extremely pleasing view as he did; and was grateful that the video feed of his goggles, along with it's audio, had been disconnected. He knew what Matthew would say about his helpless staring at the adorably tight butt in front of him.
After what Alfred guessed had been about two minutes, Britannia slowed and carefully eased himself out of the cramped vent into a larger square one. The Brit held his arm out to caution Alfred as he slid out to join him on the thin ledge that lined the rattling elevator shaft; the two thick steel cables acting as the pulley system for the unseen elevator. Alfred had just manually triggered his goggles' night vision when he felt a tap of his shoulder, and followed the line of Britannia's pointed index to the shaft's ceiling. Britannia followed up with a motion for space, and when Alfred gave it him, unslung the compound bow from over his shoulder, nocked a grappling arrow and fired. The arrowhead stuck and held strong when Britannia tested the nylon rope that fell down after it.
'Come on.' He said with an extension of his hand after he replaced his bow on his back. Alfred looked at it, and then back up to Britannia dubiously.
'Dude. Seriously?'
'What? The rope will hold.' Britannia innocently reassured.
'It's not the rope.' Alfred clarified, and then looked pointedly at Britannia's hand that dropped when it's owner finally caught on.
'Oh really! I'm not going to drop you.' The Brit objected, his voice elevating to a higher octave in offence. However, the suspicious arch of Alfred's fair brow didn't drop.
'I'm packing some pretty heavy duty guns here B. Nothing against you, okay, but maybe I should be the one doing the lifting.' He justified, held his breath when Britannia stiffened, thought on it, and then passed the rope over. As Alfred secured his grip on it, Britannia stepped close to hook his arms around the back of Alfred's neck; chest against chest, hips to hips.
Never before, had Alfred been so desperate not to react as he had in that moment then; trying to think of anything but how Britannia has pressed right up against him, their faces inches apart, so, so close…Noooo! Nopeity, nope nope nope!
'Ready?' He croaked, not trusting himself to look him in the eye, and heard Britannia awkwardly clear his throat and then give him a clipped smack upside the head.
'Just waiting on you, Mr Gun Show.' Came his reply with dry sarcasm, and Alfred gave him a quick nod before securing his arm around Britannia's slim waist, and stepped off the ledge.
His hand grew hot as the rope slipped through his grip as they steadily descended, the friction of fabric against rope creating a high whistle noise as they sped. It was the same as last night: Britannia was incredibly light in his arms, and Alfred immensely relieved, if so what mystified, that he had showed signs of a complete recovery that morning. His healing magic must be something else, because when Allistor had taken off his bandages, there had been only light scarring.
'So, uh- what do you think we'll find?' Alfred asked to break the silence that was turning awkward as they zipped, his voice reverberating and refracting back off the cold metal walls.
Britannia wiggled uncomfortably in his grasp. 'I couldn't say. All we know is that whatever it is, Edelstein was desperate enough to lock it in Clover Bank to keep it out of the hands of the White woman. But to kidnap so many neuroscientists…'
'Matthew and I have a theory,' Alfred lied, recalling the information Germania had told him about the White woman/Queen. 'We think there could be another party involved, a client of sorts.'
Britannia's head snapped back up to him from previously peering down. 'A client? You think the White woman has been commissioned?'
'Yeah, but like I said, just a theory. But, what if this mystery client needs the missing neuroscientists for something? Some kind of shady evil project like in the movies.'
'We are hardly on a film set, Columbia. Fictional characters acting to some script.' Britannia jibed.
'Yeah, but if we were, I'd totally be the hero.' Alfred proclaimed with puffed up chest.
'Oh really?,' Britannia chuckled with droll sarcasm. 'and what would that make me?'
Alfred smirked, and hitched his grip on Britannia's waist. 'The princess, obviously.'
That got him another smack up the head. 'Watch it buster- Wait! There's a maintenance port!' Britannia exclaimed, and Alfred looked around to spy the electric console built into the side of the wall adjacent to a set of elevator doors; the blue light of it's screen like a flare in his sensitive green night vision.
'Okay, lemme get us some swing.' He muttered after switching it off, and swung out his legs to begin building up momentum. At the proper moment, Alfred released his grip on the rope and shot out his free hand to pull him and Britannia to safety, hugging the wall whilst balancing on a similarly small ledge they had before. Britannia unhooked himself from around Alfred and shuffled over to to tap the back of his glove against the console screen. There was a satisfying 'bleep!', before the familiar burst of comm static popped.
'Columbia, Britannia. You both online?' Matthew's voice came, and Alfred smiled; glad to have his coordinator watching his back again.
'New phone, who dis?' He teased with mock ignorance, and there were a mixture of follow up groans and chuckles.
'Hilarious, Columbia. Britannia, any issues getting in?' Allistor questioned with his usual commanding authority.
Britannia shook his head. 'No issues, Saxony. Awaiting further direction to proceed to Edelstein's office.'
'Excellent. Right now, you and Columbia are on the third floor. Edelstein's office is on the floor below where the elevator is currently stalled. You two are going to need to drop down and enter it through the emergency hatch.' Allistor directed.
Britannia nodded, and without a word, leapt off the ledge to zipped down the elevator's cable, leaving Alfred in his dust. By the time Alfred's boots hit the top of the elevator, Britannia had already gotten the hatch open and dropped down into the inside.
'Saxony tells me there's two armed guards on the other side of these doors,' Britannia said after he climbed in behind him, Matthew activating his goggle's heat lens to confirm the fact.
'Okay, sweet. I get the one on the left, you get the one on the right.' Alfred proposed, but Britannia shook his head.
'No, the corridor's too long. You'll be shot before you can get close.' He disagreed before he took out his bow and nocked a blunt arrow. Alfred raised an eyebrow.
'Well what's your plan then, Churchill?'
Britannia cocked his head mischievously. 'Why, I so glad you asked Columbia.'
Clang!
Brian Jenkins jumped and fumbled with his gun to point it at the end of the corridor. He and his colleague, Mark, shared a look, before he motioned for him to go check it out. Brian gulped, and silently padded towards the elevator doors. He stopped to listen, and when he heard nothing, he tapped the call button to have the doors slide open.
One step forward was all it took. Brian cried out as he felt himself be pulled in and be wrapped into an unbreakable chokehold. He panicked, gasping for air that would not come, and through his furry vision, saw a second assailant step out from cover. As black spots swallowed him up, the last things Brian heard were 'Sorry 'bout this buddy.', and the heavy thud of a body hitting the ground.
When he felt the struggling body finally go limp, Alfred carefully propped the unfortunate guy he'd been forced to choke out up against the elevator wall; pushing down the guilt as he flopped about boneless. They had a job to do, and Britannia's plan to take out the guards had been a good one, but it was still hard when you knew that they were just doing their jobs.
'Nice Columbia, now onto the door.' Matthew encouraged, and Alfred turned for his jaw to go slack when he saw the last obstacle between them and their lead.
Allistor had not emphasised just how freaking monstrous the vault door was. It was made of interlocking plates of steel from ceiling to floor, with a simple touchscreen at the centre of it and rubber tooth grips along the bottom. It was colossal, and it looked like terrifying.
'Two tonnes, yeah?' He asked aloud, hating the nervous quiver that could be heard but not helped. This was the moment that his training had been amounting to. Everyone was depending on him, the entire plan hinged on it.
'You are ready for this Columbia. You've lifted twice that in weight training.' Allistor urged with Seamus and Dylan in the background calling out, 'You can do it! Lift with your knees!'.
The coiled knot of his stomach writhed, the air getting harder and harder to breathe as his breathing swallowed. He- he, everyone was waiting on him, Allistor had said that he could do this- but, but what if he couldn't? What if his strength gave out, or his grip slipped and he dropped it whilst Britannia was inside, or worse, under it. What-
All nightmarish thoughts evaporated when he felt a touch on his arm. Britannia looked up to him, his hand gentle and warm; centring him back to Earth.
'On the beach, remember?' He reminded, and Alfred felt his inner trembling cord settle, strong again. Britannia's meaning was clear: I trust you. Britannia believed in him, and Alfred's confidence blossomed under the radiance those words gave him; cementing over the cracks that had formed in the foundation.
'I remember,' Alfred returned with a grateful smile, wishing not for the first time that he could see the blond's expression. He broke away, strode up to the door, got his grip and braced. 'You can do this, you can do this, you can do this.' He swore to himself and flexed.
At first, nothing…
And then.
The metal shrieked deafeningly as the two tonne construction of metal was forced upwards, slowly at first, and then smoothly as Alfred got a better hold, raising past it his hips, then shoulders, and then head.
It was heavy, but no way near the weights that Allistor had had on him. Yeah the door was heavy, but it was bearable in comparison to the weights that had made him want to collapse.
'Holy shit.' Matthew breathed, and Alfred resisted the hysteria giggle that rose up in his chest.
'B, honey,' He gritted through his teeth instead to the seemingly mesmerised man. 'Could we hurry it up please?'
Britannia rapidly shook his head as though to clear it and darted under, locking with Alfred's gaze for a split second that seemed suspended in a single tangible moment. 'The door will trigger it's alarm if it's open for too long.' Allistor pressed. Alfred took the hint and carefully lowered the door back down to the floor.
Edelstein's office looked as though it hadn't been touched since the last time the doctor had been in it. Papers and yellow files were scattered about on the desks and stuffed into glass shelves. The decor was stylishly minimalistic, and the curved walls were made of glass to offer a picturesque view of the lit up red and blue bridge that connected Spades and Hearts; tiny car headlights running over it like little ants against the backdrop of the luminescent city skyline.
In the corner of his eye, Alfred saw Britannia beeline for the desktop and tap the back of his glove against the screen like he had done with the maintenance console. As the desktop whirred to life, Britannia lowly muttering into his comm, Alfred wandered over to a set of drawers where a collection of trinkets sat on top; paperweights, that weird waterbird that every office had, and-
Alfred froze, and picked up the framed photograph of three faces that he knew. Doctor Braginsky smiled at him between the two women that he recognised as the Winter Syndicate agents- No, Hungaria's words rang in his mind- the sisters' of the Winter Syndicate's leader, General Winter…
Hadn't- hadn't Britannia also told him that Edelstein was the Syndicate's scientist? Could…Doctor Braginsky be General Winter? His features were near identical to that of the sisters, and it would explain Edelstein's reason for having a photograph of him in his office.
Alfred's blood chilled. That night at Diamonds, Braginsky had been insistent that he and Arthur leave together. He had said that they'd already met, though Arthur had denied it. And Britannia had told him that he and the Syndicate had had bad history… Did Braginsky know that Arthur was involved with him? Had that been the reason he'd wanted him alone?
Germania had revealed that Braginsky had left Terra for now, but the doctor still held a respectable reputation within the city, and if all he had hypothesised was true, then there was no guarantee that Braginsky would leave Arthur alone.
Alfred shivered. No. He and Britannia would never let Arthur be taken.
'Oi, Columbia!' Britannia's voice jolted him out of his chaotic thoughts, and Alfred nearly dropped the frame in shock.
'Uh- Yeah, yeah! I was listening,' He attempted to recover with a big smile. He held up the picture frame. 'Just looking for clues!'
Britannia's body language stiffened before he pointed to the frame. 'What is that on the back?' He demanded, and Alfred flipped the object over to see a black USB stuck on the back with a strip of sellotape.
'Duuudddeee~,' Alfred ogled as he peeled off the data stick, turning it this way and that to examine it. 'Twenty dollars says that this is the super secret research Edelstein took back from Clover bank.'
'Let's hope so. Saxony, how's the download progress on Edelstein's hard drive?' Britannia asked into his comm.
'Done, and did I just hear the words 'super secret research'?'
'Yes. Columbia found a hidden memory stick. Nothing confirmed, but odds are good if Edelstein felt the need to hide it.'
'Fantastic. Get back as soon as you can so we can take a look at that stick. Good work lads. This is Saxony, over and out.' Allistor signed off with a crackle of static, and Alfred fist pumped the air.
'Aw yeah! Flawless victory! Man, we make such a kick-ass team!' He gushed, and felt his smile falter when Britannia folded his arms with a scoff.
'Oh please. This was hardly difficult,' He waved off with a throw away gesture as he made for door. However, when he came shoulder to shoulder with Alfred, he looked up to meet Alfred's hurt stare.
'Though I do admit. We do make a good team.' He confessed with an audible smile in his voice, and the whole way back, Alfred could not stop smiling the world's biggest, most ridiculously happy grin.
Woo hoo!
Wow, this was a super fun chapter to write. Sorry to blow my own trumpet a bit here, but I felt the characterisation and chemistry between Britannia and Columbia/Alfred really all came together in this one. Both characters had serious moments, moments of intelligence, flirtation, humour etc etc. The natural development of their relationship so far, from chilly beginnings has felt quite wholesome, and most importantly, believable to me and hopefully to all of you to.
Playing around with comedy in this chapter was blast as well. My favourite being the fourth wall break when Britannia says 'We are hardly on a film set… Fictional characters acting to some script.'. It's hardly Deadpool level wall breaks, but I thought it was pretty funny :D
Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as I did. If you are liking this story, please consider leaving a review telling me your thoughts, opinions and questions. They are always appreciated and help get these chapters out faster to you. Once again, thank you for reading and as always,
Until next time!