Dro: This plot just keeps getting better and better. Wrote Chapter 6 today. Love it. Anyway, have at it. And please review!

Chapter Summary: Matthew and Ivan both wake up where Yao has imprisoned them. Alfred runs into an unexpected someone.

Warnings: Violence, Language

Disclaimer: Dro still doesn't own APH, people! It's only been a day since I last said that. My status will not change in a day unless I win the lottery.

Matthew blinked several times. His eyelids felt heavy and his mind felt fuzzy, and he found he struggled to think clearly. His languid eyes moved around slowly, taking in the room. It was dark and dreary and had no windows. It looked like some kind of cell. There was a massive metal door on one side that Matthew instinctively knew would be locked. A cell. Definitely. Now, why was he in a cell again? His breath hitched as he remembered. Yao. China had kidnapped him. Where was he? He tried to sit up but promptly fell back down. He'd been drugged with something, and his body didn't want to respond properly. He sighed.

Ivan! He thought with alarm. What had Yao done with Ivan? Was he in a similar cell somewhere? He tried his best to find a reason that Yao would want to kidnap him. What had he ever done to Yao? Then again, he was Alfred's brother, and Yao and Alfred weren't exactly on the best terms at the moment. Maybe Yao had snapped and decided to use him to bend Al to his will? It seemed so out of character, so reckless, for Yao to do. Yao wasn't a fool. Surely he must have known the implications of kidnapping another nation.

As if on cue, the heavy metal door creaked open, revealing a regally dressed Yao standing on the other side. Yao flicked up an eyebrow at Matthew's semi-awake form. He entered the room like a wisp of smoke, fluid and graceful in the air. He stopped in front of Matthew's bed.

"How are you feeling? I imagine the trip was rough."

Matthew grunted in response. He didn't feel like talking. He wasn't even sure he could. Yao smirked.

"Ah, I imagine the drugs still haven't gotten out of your system. My apologies for that. You started to wake at an inopportune time, so my hand was forced. Do not take it personally. I do not intend to harm you in any way. As soon as Alfred complies with my demands, I intend to release you, no strings attached."

As soon as Alfred complied to what? Apparently, Yao could read the question in his eyes.

"Ah, do you know where you are?"

Matthew shook his head slowly.

"Of course not. Well, I do not want to alarm you, but you are in my world now."

"…world?" He mumbled.

Yao nodded. "You know, I'm sure, of the parallel world your brother went to?"

Alarm shot through Matthew' veins. He was…in another world? So, wait…then this wasn't their Yao? This was the parallel Yao? Who was a part of the USSR? Of course…he thought. He berated himself for not realizing it sooner. His own world's Yao would not have done something like this. The Yao in front of him, however…Apparently, they were very different people. Matthew found himself experiencing a deep sense of fear that he hadn't before. It was one thing to be kidnapped by a fellow nation, but he was in a parallel dimension. How could he possibly escape? It wasn't as simple as getting out of the building and making an emergency phone call. He couldn't phone his home world.

"I can see you are scared now. Do not be. I will not harm you. I only wish for you to remain here until your brother fulfills my wishes."

What wishes? Matthew wanted to ask. But he found that his throat had constricted, and he was shocked to realize he was crying. Why was he crying? He didn't want to cry. Yao bent over and patted his hair gently.

"Calm yourself, Matthew. I will do you no harm. I promise."

Matthew wasn't very reassured, but nonetheless, Yao rose back up and swept his regal form back out of the room, the guards locking the door behind him. Left alone again, Matthew curled up on the bed and pressed his face into the pillow, his eyes burning. He didn't want to cry. But he couldn't control his own body. He was too weak, too weary, too tired. And so, he fell into a fitful sleep.

When Ivan awoke, he found his body heavy and sluggish. He immediately remembered Yao's betrayal. He'd been sedated with a tranquilizer dart, and he could feel the presence of additional drugs in his body. Yao wasn't taking any chances. He knew Ivan's strength, and he wasn't willing to tempt it. And for good reason. Ivan was beyond furious. He didn't know what had compelled Yao to do something this foolish, and personally, he didn't care. Yao had betrayed his trust, and if he had dared to hurt Matvey, Ivan was going to return the favor tenfold.

The door to wherever he was being kept swung open on rusty hinges, and a nearly silent lithe form that Ivan recognized as Yao stood in the doorway. He was yelling in harsh Chinese at the guards around him, slipping into English every now and then.

"Fools! I told you to prepare it properly! Now what am I going to use for the body? Huh?" He pushed one of them furiously and swore in angry Chinese. "Where in the world am I going to get…?" He paused, slowly turning around to hone in on Ivan. "On second thought…your mistake may not have been so bad after all. I believe I might have a better idea. Go get Arthur and bring him to my room. We need to talk." The guards silently nodded and bowed, walking off down the hallway.

Yao finally entered his cell. Ivan didn't bother trying to move. His body wasn't up for it yet. He needed to plan his escape carefully. Which would involve patience. Granted, he would much rather just pummel the hell out of Yao's face, but since he was not America and thus, not rash and stupid and reckless, he would refrain. Yao hovered over him for several moments, surveying his drugged body. Then he smiled, catching Ivan's angry gaze.

"I apologize for the inconvenience, Ivan, but you must understand why this is necessary. Please allow me to explain." Right, because Ivan had any other choice in the matter. Yao continued without hesitation. "First off, you must understand that I am not your Yao. I am the Yao from the parallel world that your America and Germany were sent to. Which is where you are currently are."

Ivan's eyes widened. He had been taken…where? To that place that America had described to him four years ago? That world where he was a ruthless monster who had hurt and killed countless nations? His stomach churned uneasily.

"Again, I apologize for kidnapping you. Unfortunately, you happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. My original intention was just to take Canada."

"Why…?" He managed to mumble.

"Because I need America's compliance in order to reach my goal. And there are very few ways to get America to obey anyone. So I had to resort to some…unfortunate methods."

Like hurting Matvey. Ivan thought bitterly. Yao apparently saw the rage in his eyes.

"Canada is fine. I assure you of that. He is right down the hall resting. I promise. Perhaps I will let him come by later to prove it to you? Would that satiate your anger, Ivan?"

Ivan nodded slowly, lying. It would not make him less angry, but it would certainly relieve him of some of his fear.

Yao smiled again. "Good. I will arrange that as soon as he feels better. He is still suffering some of the effects from the drugs. Deeply sorry I had to resort to that, but I was sure it would have turned into a bloody struggle otherwise." He shrugged. "Anyway, as soon as America gives into my demands, I will release Canada."

Combined with Yao's words at the door, Ivan was immediately suspicious. "And me?" He growled out.

Yao's sly smile told him everything he needed to know. "Unfortunately, I have recently found myself requiring you to stay longer. Please do not blame me, however. My men made a crucial mistake, and I am not sure of any other way to remedy it. I assure you, however, that whatever I do to you will not cause you no harm."

Ivan was not reassured in the least.

Alfred sat in a small café—newly built, like everything in this London—and sipped on an already cold cup of coffee. He'd spent the entire night searching for the others, only to come up with nothing. Now he was exhausted on top of being worried, and he knew he should just get a hotel room and rest, but he just couldn't. What if something had happened to Arthur and the others? What if they were scattered around the Earth? Or worse, what if they never made it at all? What if they were stuck somewhere between dimensions, trapped there forever? He'd spent the night with these thoughts clinging to his brain, and he couldn't make them stop recurring.

He looked up once more, staring tiredly out at the bleary London day.

Matt was walking down the sidewalk.

He tore out of his chair, sending it crashing to the floor, and sped out the door, not caring about the panic that had just erupted behind him. Matt turned a street corner, and Alfred almost fell over rushing after him.

"Matt!" He called out.

The young man stopped and turned around, surprise written on his face. "Al?" He said as Alfred slowed down and stopped in front of him, panting for air. "What are you doing here? I thought your flight wasn't scheduled to land until this afternoon."

Flight?

He smacked himself in the head, groaning. Of course. It was the other Matt. He froze. Feelings from four years ago washed over him again, and he felt a blush rise to his cheeks. "Ah, well…you see…" What was he supposed to say? He didn't want to get this Matt involved. His own Matt had already been kidnapped. "Uh…"

Matt's phone rang. "Oh. Hold on." He dug it out his pocket and looked at the caller id, his brows suddenly furrowing in confusion. Oh God, Alfred thought, don't tell me. He answered it. Matt's face went from mild confusion to utter horror in about two seconds. Alfred just stood very still, completely unsure of how to react. He'd blown it.

"I'm going to have you call you back later, Al, okay? I just ran into an old friend. Yes, I'm fine. It's fine. No, it's no one you know. Bye." He hung up and stared open-mouthed at Alfred, who swallowed nervously. "What are you doing here?" He asked, exasperated.

"I…" Did he lie? Did he tell the truth? What was he supposed to do? He couldn't think of anything to say that could have hidden the truth. So he was forced to explain. He spoke quickly, watching Matt's face as the fear sparked into his violet eyes and traveled down his entire body.

"Al…Oh God, I'm so sorry."

Alfred nodded. "Me too." He ran a hand through his hair. "I don't want to get you involved—"

Matthew frowned. "Too bad. If Yao is up to this, then all the nations are involved. So deal with it. Come on, I'll take you back to my hotel." He numbly let Matt lead him along. He was so tired and confused and now he was with Matt and he was emotionally messed up and…He really needed to sleep. Thirty minutes and a cab ride later they pulled up in front of a fancy hotel, complete with conference rooms. Of course. They were having a world meeting. Just the same as Alfred's own world had been. Just in England instead of Canada.

Matt swiped his card in the door and led Alfred to his bed. "You look exhausted. Rest." Alfred didn't want to listen. He wanted to be stubborn about it. But Matt's voice soothed him, and he let the man remove his shoes and jacket and cover him with a blanket. A few minutes later he was out like a light, and Matthew sat down in a nearby chair and watched him.

Matthew had never expected to see this Alfred again. He'd thought the bridge between their worlds had been closed forever. He had never imagined that Italy was hiding there. The world had been searching itself twice over for the missing Italy, and no one had managed to find him. Matt now knew they hadn't even been searching the right universe. But now…apparently, Italy was back, along with the other Italy, the other Arthur, and the other Germany. Arthur.

He took out his cell phone and dialed Arthur's number. He hadn't heard from Arthur since a brief phone call the week before. He'd hoped to have more time to talk him during the meeting week. Now it seemed there would be no time to talk at all. At least, not about the things that Matthew wanted to talk about. The phone rang and rang and rang, and eventually, it went to voice mail. That was strange. Arthur usually had his phone on him at all times.

He took another looked at Al, who was dead asleep. He picked up a piece of hotel-complimentary stationary and scribbled a note on it. If Arthur wasn't answering, then Matthew would just have to head over to his house. It was probably best to tell him about the situation in person anyway. Twenty minutes later, he hopped off a bus and started walking his way the rest of the few blocks to Arthur's house. Before he even turned the corner that led to Arthur's street, he knew something was wrong.

There was a man in a black suit standing across the street, apparently surveying the area. Matthew spotted several more of them in strategic locations. Government agents? What were they doing here? The muscles in his stomach clenched. He whipped around the corner to run to Arthur's house, only to find its charred remains staring him in the face.

Arthur's new home.

Gone.

And if his home was gone, then where was he?

His phone rang again, and he picked up frantically, almost dropping it. "Al?"

"Yeah? What's up? I was just calling to let you know I'm going to be a few minutes late. You okay? You sound—"

"No, I'm not okay!" He quickly explained the entire situation, feeling the tears pooling at the corner of his eyes. He made sure to keep moving, however. The last thing he wanted was British government agents seeing him as a suspicious person. After he finished, breathless, he listened to Alfred's silence anxiously. He was almost about to ask if Al was even still there, but then he finally started talking.

"Do exactly what I say, Matt. Go back to the hotel. Lock the door. Let no one in until I get there."

"But Al—"

"Do it, Matt! If Yao kidnapped the other Matt and Russia, then he's probably has Arthur too. And if has all of them, then he can most certainly get you. So go back to the hotel and…"

Matthew didn't hear what else his brother had to say. His cell phone was knocked out of his hand by a violent blow, and he turned to see a black-clad assailant behind him. His eyes trailed back down the road to where the government agents had been. They were gone. And Matthew was sure it had not been of their own accord. He tried to make a run for it, swiping his phone off the ground and taking off. But he only made it a few feet before another man jumped over the wall that lined the sidewalk and landed right on top of him. He went down hard, the blow knocking the wind out of his lungs.

He could hear Alfred's panicked voice still ringing loudly from his phone, but he couldn't concentrate. His vision swam, and he realized he'd hit his head when he'd fallen. "Ah…" The man pulled out a cloth, and Matthew knew what was coming next. He closed in eyes, preparing to be dragged away and imprisoned. But the next moment, the weight on top of him was gone, and he was hauled into someone's arms. His eyes snapped open to reveal Alfred. "Al…"

"Sh. Keep quiet. You're hurt." He was running full speed down the street, and Matthew realized he had both their bags on his back. "Those guys were hanging around outside around the hotel too. I figure they work for Yao. He's obviously not acting alone. Knew he had to have henchmen of some kind. Anyway, they were staring up at the window to your room, and then they took off after getting some kind of call. Good thing I decided to follow, huh?"

Matthew nodded silently. Alfred looked fatigued, but he was still pushing himself. Matthew felt guilty. After what he'd been through, he should've better than this. He had been a true fighter during the war, and now he'd let his guard down, let himself become weak again. Damn it…God damn it all…

Dro: Aw...so angsty all around. Just the tip of the ice berg, and the Titanic has yet to to hit it.

Next Chapter: Parallel Alfred, on a plane to London, worries about Matthew, who he thinks has been taken by Yao. Meanwhile, Arthur awakens in a rather odd place.