Monsters!

Chapter Two

Things Get Wierd

The journey back to Francis' house was a blur. Alfred's mind spun with everything that had happened so far. The power went out. The creepy giggling. The Howl. The growling. The wolf. The panic. The man. Arthur getting kidnapped.

And now Matthew had called him to say that Francis might die.

He walked as fast as he could - he couldn't run, he was far too exhausted from chasing the man that had taken Arthur - while replaying what happened in his head.

Over and over.

Too many things were happening at once. Something horrible was going to happen to Arthur, Alfred knew it. But with Matthew worried over Francis - who Alfred guessed was injured quite badly, if the "he might die!" line from Matthew was any indication - Alfred had to push his best friend's predicament to the back of his head for the time bieng. Matthew and Francis needed him.

Besides which, he had no idea where the man who'd taken him had gone to.

When he reached the house, he walked in, only to pause next to the broken door he was thrown into. He thought of Arthur again, and worried what would happen to him in the hands of someone so insanely strong. He shook his head. Matthew and Francis needed him more right now.

"Matthew?" He called, walking further down the hall, "I'm here, where are you?"

A door to a room at the back of the house flung open and a distressed Matthew tumbled out, his face flushed red and his eyes puffy. Alfred ran to his side immedeately.

"A-Alfred! Francis.. he's.." Alfred pulled his brother into a quick hug and reassured him that everything was going to be fine. Even though he felt that it probably wasn't. Matthew led Alfred into the room he'd stumbled out of, and, as he looked around the room, almost recoiled at what he saw.

When Matthew said Francis might die, he wasn't exaggerating.

The Frenchman was lying on the ground on his back, eyes closed and drenched in what Alfred knew was his own blood. He didn't have to stop and wonder what happened, he felt he knew it already. He walked forward, and knelt down beside Francis, trying to process the entire scene in his head.

"I've alr-ready called an amb-bulence, Alfred.." Matthew quietly sniffled behind him. Alfred stared hard at Francis for a moment before standing up and facing his upset brother.

"Mattie, you look like shit," He said bluntly, "I think you need to take some fresh air," He prompted, nudging his twin to the door and encouraging him out. Matthew hesitated a minute, his eyes flickering back and forth between his brother and Francis, before finally relenting and walking out of the room. When Alfred was satisfied he was far enough away, he turned to Francis again.

He was no doctor, but he was pretty sure Francis was already gone. Sighing and rubbing his eyes, telling himself he couldn't cry because he needed to be strong for Matthew, and then pulled off his bright orange jacket, placing it over Francis.

"I swear, Francis," He wispered, knowing that who he was speaking to wouldn't hear him, "If I find that wolf, I'll slaughter it,"

He stood again, closing his eyes and taking in everything that had happened a second time. Instead of despairing over it, Alfred felt challenged. Whoever it was that had the guts to take Alfred was stronger and faster than any normal man. Alfred couldn't stand up to him then, but now felt as though he could. He opened his eyes again. He knew what he wanted to do. What he was going to do.

He was going to find Arthur, and beat the everloving shit out of the bastard who dared take him.

He left the room - only pausing a moment to look back at Francis - and went to find Matthew. His twin was sitting in Francis' garden, sobbing softly to himself. Alfred carefully sat down next to him, and pulled him into a hug to comfort him.

"Mattie, Arthur was kidnapped," While he didn't have the guts to tell Matthew about Francis, he decided to be as blunt as possible when telling him about Arthur. No need to beat around the bush. Matthew pulled away slightly to look at Alfred, startled. He opened his mouth to reply, but Alfred beat him to it. "I'm gonna go find him,"

Matthew broke out of the hug completely and leaped to his feet, looking at Alfred with a look that seemed to plead for him not to do anything stupid. "A-Alfred, you need to call the police about that! T-they can handle that better-"

"The police fuck things up all the time, Mattie!" Alfred interrupted, getting to his feet himself, "I'm the only one who can save him!"

"B-but Alfred, you can't-"

"Matthew" Alfred's unusually harsh way of saying his twin's name silenced Matthew momentarily. The two looked at each other, Matthew looking upset and worried, with Alfred looking deadly serious. "The guy who took Arthur, the police won't ever catch him," He calmly said, not once taking his eyes off his brother, "He easily doubled, no tripled my running speed. He's insanely strong, you should see the door to the living room, Matt, that happened because the guy threw me into it!"

"But, Alfred..." Matthew was at a loss for words. He didn't think Alfred would be able to find Arthur - how could he? He was hardly the most perceptive person - but nothing he could say would stop him.

"I'm gonna go find him, Mattie, don't worry," And with that, Alfred turned to walk through the house and out the front door again, and, summoning the strength he seemed to regain after catching his breath at the house, ran down the street again, determined to find Arthur.

Matthew stared at where his brother once stood. He wanted to stop him, to tell him it was no use, but would Alfred had listened? No, he wouldn't. Matthew didn't have the physical strength to restrain him, either. He sighed, and stared at the paved area of the garden he stood on.

Alfred, you're an idiot, but... please, be careful

xoxox

Alfred glanced at his watch. 11pm. Twenty minutes since the wolf came. Probably fifteen since Arthur was taken. He sighed to himself in frustration.

They could be anywhere.

He did tell Matthew he'd find Arthur, and he fully believed that himself, but now, as he walked down the street - he had been running, but he quickly got tired again - he seriously began to doubt his own claims. His phone vibrated in his pocket again, but he ignored it. Matthew had tried calling him twice already, and, thinking his brother just wanted to rant at him for his stupidity, Alfred refused to answer.

Looking to his right, Alfred noticed a footpath leading into a wooded area. He'd been down that path before, with Arthur and Matthew, but not during the night. The trees, the gentle breeze and dim light of the streetlamps made the area look very creepy, and Alfred supressed a shiver. Yet, as he continued to stare, the desire to walk down that path grew stronger.

What is it with me and creepy places? He chastised himself, stopping in front of the path and looking down it. They scare the shit outta me, but I can't keep away from the damned places!

Alfred decided to go with his desire and begun walking down the path, the area getting progressively darker the further away he walked from the road. He kept looking back a few times, getting more nervous the further he walked. He thought about Matthew again, and seriously wondered wether he should have listened to him about calling the police. He sighed, placed his hands in his pockets, and looked to his feet.

What kind of hero am I...

"Why do you look so troubled, comrade?" Came a heavy, accented voice from nowhere, startling Alfred enough to make him jump slightly. "Oh! Excuse me, I did not mean to startle you," The voice giggled. Alfred looked up ahead of him, and could vaguely see someone standing on the path before him.

It was too dark to make out the person's features, but Alfred knew it was a man, from the tone of voice he used. He was very tall, taller than Alfred himself, and the American could fainlty see that he was wearing some sort of cape. He stared for a moment, unsure of what to do since the man's simple presense was making him shiver. The man, seemingly sensing Alfred's nervousness, gave a smile that Alfred barely saw and tried to look as harmless as he could.

"Do not worry, I only wish to help," Listening carefully, Alfred thought the man's accent sounded Russian, but then, he really couldn't be sure, since he was never good at guessing the origins of accents anyway. Forcing himself to relax slightly, he wondered wether the man could have seen Arthur's kidnapper.

"Um, well, y'see," He began, shuffling in place, "There was this dude, and he broke into my friend's house, and he totally kidnapped my best friend! So I'm trying to find them now,", Alfred looked to the man, who was still smiling to the point where it began to look creepy.

"I see. Tell me, comrade, what did this person look like?" He asked, tilting his head to side slightly.

"Uh, tall, not as tall as you, though, dark hair, looked like a creepy stalker," Alfred began to describe the man to the best of his knowledge, finding it difficult to really remember his image correctly.

"I see," the man replied. Despite his thoughts about if this man could help him or not, Alfred felt himself get very nervous. While the man sounded as if he wanted to help, the way he said it made Alfred feel uncomfortable. Apparently, the man noticed Alfred's nervousness, and gave a slight giggle and seemed to be smiling quite brightly again.

"There is no need to be nervous around me, " He reassured, though it really didn't help much, "If my anonymity is what is causing discomfort, then allow me to introduce myself. I am Ivan Braginsky,"

Suddenly, as if recieving Ivan's name was some sort of power in itself, Alfred felt slightly more relaxed. His doubts about the man started to fade, and he became more curious.

"Uh, hi, Ivan," He said carefully, not really knowing if using his first name was alright by him, "I'm Alfred F Jones," Alfred saw Ivan tilt his head slightly as he replied, and he wondered why he'd do that.

"Alfred F Jones," He repeated, saying the name as if it were some sort of enigma, "What does the F stand for?"

What does the F stand for? Now he was asking a too personal question! Alfred frowned, not even Arthur knew what the F stood for!

And no one ever WILL know, for as long as I live!

"None of your business!" He blurted before he thought, he stiffened at his own rudeness almost immedeately, and spoke up again, "Uh, but, I-ivan, can you really help me..?"

Alfred saw the man nod slightly, "Da, of course I can," he replied, before walking towards Alfred. Alfred kept himself in place with mixed feelings of curiousity and nervousness. He'd be able to see Ivan better once he got close enough, and then he could probably see why his presence was making him edgy.

When Ivan got close enough, Alfred immedeately took note of his height. He gathered that he was tall already, but he was still surprised by how tall. He hadn't met anyone that tall before, not even Iain was this big! He saw that his hair was pale in colour - it was too dark to make out colours accurately, but Alfred could see that it was lighter than his own hair - and it was cut short and kept tidy - tidier than Arthur's, even. Ivan also had a... unusal nose. Alfred somehow knew that it was probably not a good idea to bring it up. But there was something else much more interesting than the nose that Alfred noticed when Ivan finally stopped in front of him.

He had ears. Odd, rounded ears, covered in fur as light as his hair.

Alfred felt himself step back once, and he could not for the life of himself, take his eyes off Ivan's bizarre ears.

"W-what's.. up with your ears, dude?" He found himself saying, hardly believing the sight. Ivan giggled in amusement - as if he'd expected such a reaction - and smiled at him.

"They are mouse ears, Alfred," He stated as if it were blindingly obvious. Well, dude, I can see that! "Are you wondering why I have mouse ears, comrade?" Alfred nodded slightly, "It is because I am a spirit"

Alfred flew straight into panic mode on hearing the word "spirit". Spirit.. duude that's just another way of saying ghost! He backed up a bit, to Ivan's slight confusion, and tensed up.

"Y-you're a ghost..?" He squeaked. Ivan sighed to himself in amusement and smiled. Faster than Alfred could blink, Ivan moved forward to grab Alfred's wrist, taking him by suprise and causing him to gasp in fear. Ivan pulled the frightened American towards him and used his other hand to make Alfred look at his face.

"I suppose the media has been abusing the word Spirit quite a bit, da?" He stated, not once losing the smile on his face, "But worry not comrade, a Spirit is quite different from what you know as ghosts,"

One part of Alfred's mind reeled in panic still, while another slowly realised that what Ivan said was true, in a way. When Ivan's hand was pulled away from Alfred's face, he looked down at where Ivan's other hand was still grabbing his wrist. From what Alfred already understood of ghosts, it was that they couldn't physically touch anything, yet here Ivan was, freely grabbing him. His touch was also warm like a living bieng should be. The panic dissolved a lot more when Alfred realised Ivan's hands weren't exactly.. well, hands. They were paws, with fur the colour of Ivan's hair and ears, and tiny, barely noticeable claws sticking out of each "finger". Whatever a "Spirit" was, Alfred realised it was a whole lot different than ghosts.

"T-then," He began looking up at Ivan once again, "What exactly is a spirit?". Ivan let go of Alfred's wrist finally, and stood straight.

"A supernatural creature, put simply," He began, "There are two types of Spirit, house spirit - which is what I am - and nature spirit. House spirits are, basically, shapeshifters. What we turn into depends on the spirit, for example, I turn into a cute little mouse," He paused to let the information sink in, "Do not ask why we are called spirits, for I do not know that myself. You understand now?"

"Yeah.." If Alfred was honest with himself, he'd admit to bieng wierded out by his meeting with Ivan. Sure, he thouroughly believed in ghosts and aliens, but shapeshifters? That was on a whole new level. And the more he thought about it, the more worried he got about Arthur. The man who took him was not normal by a long shot. Was he also a supernatural creature like Ivan? "Ivan.. you said you'd help me find Arthur, how.. how are you gonna do that?"

"Oh, that is simple," Ivan smiled, and pointed to his.. large nose. "I have a powerfull sense of smell, I could probably find your friend this way,", Alfred's mouth almost twitched into a smile, but he stopped himself. Right.. sniff 'im out like a sniffer dog...

"Okay then," Alfred shrugged and told himself to go along with it, he had no time to be wierded out again. Ivan smiled again - He really likes to smile, - and turned around and began walking down the path. Alfred stared after him for a moment, briefly looking back towards the streets he had left behind, and back at Ivan again, who'd stopped to look back at Alfred.

"Come on, comrade, you want to find your friend, da?"

This time, Alfred genuinely smiled - I'll find you Arthur, - and began following Ivan.

Because I trust this guy to help me

xoxox

Out of everyone that was here, only Alfred had the mind to pick up his phone...

Matthew sat on the curb in front of Francis' house, left forgotten by the police who were investigating the disturbance, and Francis' death.

Francis..

Matthew had a feeling that Alfred knew their friend had gone, and wondered why his twin didn't tell him sooner. He was probably trying to protect me, with his stupid hero complex... He tried calling him numerous times, but grew more frustrated as his calls were ignored. Al, you idiot. The shy young man closed his eyes and wondered if he could have done anything different - anything - and if it could have saved Francis.

Maybe..

xoflashox

He darted as fast as his legs could carry him to the room next door, at the back of the house.

He barged in the room quite loudly, causing its occupants to jump in fright.

"Oy! Calm down, will you?" Came Iain's harsh voice, making Matthew wince slightly. The scotsman was knelt beside a couch upon which his younger half-sister Isabeal slept on - she'd drunk herself unconsious - while his other two younger half-brothers Geraint and Seanan stood nearby. Seanan looked slightly annoyed at Matthew, while Geraint seemed to be seeing the fright in his eyes.

"Matthew..? what's wrong..?" He asked worriedly, taking a few steps forward towards him.

"A very big dog just crashed through the window!" He exclaimed, keeping his voice from shaking as much as possible, "I-I'm not sure if we should be staying here, it looked pretty aggressive..". Iain grunted irritably, then scooped up Isabeal again before making his way to the door.

"I hope someone is keeping it busy, if I want to get this drunk little twit back to the dorms in one piece," He retorted, earning an exasperated "Don't talk about her like that!" from Seanan, who was following him very closely. The two left the room and exited the house through the back door, leaving Matthew alone with Geraint. Matthew looked at Geraint whose expression betrayed signs of worry.

"You should get going too," Matthew encouraged, walking to the door. Geraint hesitantly followed, but his mind was clearly on other things than getting away.

"What about Arthur?" He finally voiced, "He's still in the room.. right?"

"..Yeah," Matthew replied, walking up to the older man, "Don't worry about him, I'll get him, just go with Iain!", he started to encouragingly push Geraint out of the room, meeting very little resistance from the welshman, and as they neared the back door, they were met by Seanan, who immedeately grabbed Geraint's sleeve.

"Iain went through the woods behind the house, Geraint, I came back to get you!" He breathed, tugging on his older half brother's shirt.

"What? Why?" asked Geraint, looking down at Seanan.

"We went around the side of the house, but when we got to the front, Iain saw the front window was shattered, and we could hear the guys fighitng with the dog, and Iain didn't want to take any chances," The teenager explained, continuing to tug Geraint. "C'mon, Geraint, we need to catch up with Iain!"

Geraint gave a look to Matthew, one that told him that he was still worried about Arthur. Matthew said nothing, simply giving the man a determined stare. After a moment of silence and Seanan's "Let's go now, jeez", Geraint nodded at Matthew and followed Seanan out of the house. Matthew followed too, stopping when he reached the patio, to see them rush into the woodland that looked so ominous at this time of the night. Matthew supressed a shiver as he watched them, and silently wished them luck. Taking in a breath, he walked back into the house.

In the minor excitement of Arthur's brothers, Matthew didn't concentrate on his surroundings, which meant that he was surprised and slightly worried at the sudden silence that drifted through his friends' house. Becoming slightly more nervous than before, he creeped down the dark corridor, tracing his fingers across the wall to help him navigate, until he came across the doorway of what he thought was the front room - the one the dog crashed through. Despite it bieng very dark, the small amount of light that shone from the lamposts outside gave Matthew enough light to see that the door was, at least, very damaged. Bieng carefull not to cut himself on the wooden splinters, he pushed the wrecked door open carefully, peering into the now empty and deathly quiet room. He saw that the room was a huge mess, cans and bottles were everywhere, some of Francis' cushions were torn as was one of his couches, and glass littered the floor from where the window was smashed into.

Matthew was worried, where had everyone gone to? Where was the dog? Was it outside? If so, then Geraint and his ragtag family were in danger. He walked across the room and located his mobile phone - thankfully undamaged - and contemplated on what to do. He needed to find Arthur, Geraint was counting on him to do so. He also wanted to know if Alfred was alright, as well as Francis. Hell, he wanted to know if 'everyone' was alright. It didn't matter that most of them hardly noticed him or even barely remembered his name, he just wanted to know if they were safe.

After realising that everyone had accidentally left their phones behind - Matthew could not understand how - he walked back out into the hallway again, and began quietly calling out.

"Alfred?" He started with his brother, naturally, "Francis?". He crept along the hallway, walking towards the back of the house again, and was about to call Arthur's name, until he was interrupted.

By a series of terrified cries.

The noise was so sudden and loud that he simply froze in place. He couldn't even tell who was yelling, and that made him panic. Who's voice is it, and what the hell is happening to make them cry out like that? Telling himself that standing around like a terrified child wouldn't help at all, he began nervously creeping towards the source of the noise, which was the room opposite the one he and Arthur's siblings were in minutes before. The noises abruptly stopped, making Matthew stop as well. What did this mean? Did something... terrible happen? His thoughts were interrupted by some very familiar growling.

Oh God... the dog..

Matthew crouched down to the ground instinctively, and tried keeping as quiet as possible. He listened to sounds of it moving around the room, while wondering if anyone was actually in there with it. After a moment, the house became quiet again, though Matthew remained frozen in place. He stayed this way for a few minutes, unsure of what to do. Taking a deep breath and clenching his fists, he told himself to be brave, and rose to his feet once again. He inched slowly to the door, half afraid of seeing the dog once he opened it, but also half hoping it would be empty. He took the handle in his hand, and slowly opened the door.

To his relief, the room appeared empty. The window was in pieces, but the room was otherwise relatively untouched. He thought for a moment that maybe whoever was in here with the dog had got away safely, which gave him some sort of comfort, but it all flew out the window when he caught sight of something sprawled on the ground.

F.. Francis!

xoFlashox

Matthew checked the time on his phone to shake him out of his thoughts. 11:05. To think, so much happened within one hour. The police had made no sign of acknowledgement of Matthew's presence at all, and that, coupled with the fact that Alfred was clearly ignoring him, made Matthew decide that it would be better to return to his dorm.

He walked away from his late friend's house at a lesurely pace, coming up with ways of making Alfred feel guilty for ignoring him.

He was quite a distance from the house when he suddenly got the feeling he was bieng followed. The feeling was backed up by someone calling him.

"Mattieu?". Matthew froze. That accent.. And only one person ever pronounced his name that way. But that's...

He whirled around to look at his would-be stalker, and swore his heart almost stopped when he caught sight of him.

But.. no.. that's...

"F-francis!"

That's impossible!

Wheeeeey, I updated!

My sister: About bloody time.

Sooo, yeah. Francis died, but what's this? He's reappeared at the end of the chapter? Honhonhonhonhon~!

Also, Ivan. Yes, I made him a shapeshifting mouse. Why not? (My sister can't wrap her head around this, lol). Also, Spirits? Made 'em up.

So yeah, Alfred's employed the help of Ivan to find Arthur, and what's this? Maybe his kidnapper isn't even human! Suspense! Mystery! /sarcasm.

My sister reckons I write a good Ivan. Makes a change, she usually complains about when I get Alfred to accidentaly say something very British, huuuurrr. It helps to have a proof reader~.

Alright, sooo, I won't make any promises that ch3 won't take as long to finish at ch2 did, and I have a whole list of justifiable excuses to use, but none of them ring more true than I'm just veeeery lazy.

Just to tell you; I have eight chapters planned. I'm midway through planning the ninth chapter, which is when the adventure begins. Slow start! Also, I'm looking forward to writing ch4. lol I'm not saying why, spoilersssss~!

Also, please do tell me how well I write these characters, and your opinion of Arthur's dysfunctional family.

Also, in every Canada/Prussia fic I read, Prussia calls Canada "Birdie". Whyyyy? Not that I hate it, but I wanna know.

~KLFoxglove