Okay so... I'm back? I know I took an awfully long time to upload this but I got kind of lazy and there was this problem in the other computer in the house so everybody in the family had to use this one so you can imagine how long it took me to move my behind. I know it's not a great excuse, but I have nothing else under my sleeve. So forgive me please? And so not to keep you waiting, one with the new chapter!
Captive
He woke up thanks to a bucket of water on his face. Not one of the greatest ways to wake up, especially if that was followed by a hand over his mouth, stopping him from making any noise. Alfred couldn't really remember where he had woken up, but it surely wasn't on his room. After all, on his room he didn't have any trees to be tied up to and Matthew had never dared to wake him up in that way.
Breathing deeply, the dirty blond tried to remember where he was, or at least what had happened before he was out cold. He had gone into the forest in hopes of finding the Bunny Hybrid and had waited three days, until finally he caught sight of a Hybrid. Not the one he wanted but he followed him anyways, leading him to other Hybrids, one of which was his little Bunny. After that things got kind of blurry, but he believed he had been found and knocked out. He hoped that Gilbert would never know what had happened.
Blinking, Alfred tried to see the person who had woken him up. Everything was kind of blurry, and he could hardly distinguish anything in front of him. They took my glasses, he realized with stupor. Because of that, he couldn't see what was happening around him and that made him nervous. If he had been able to see, he could have assessed the situation easily and found an escape route. But now he couldn't and he was on the mercy of his captors.
"Good, you are awake now," whoever had woken him up said. Since he couldn't see very well, he had to count on his other senses to move around. The voice was quite soft but male, belonging to somebody quite young.
"Uhm, yeah." Alfred hesitated before continuing, but in the end decided to give it a shot. "Can I have my glasses back? I can't see right now."
"Your glasses?" While the blond couldn't see, he was ready to bet by the tone of the voice that whoever had woken him up had his head cocked to the side. "Oh! Wait here then."
He could hear the person leaving, but he could hardly listen to the footsteps. The person had to be light then or maybe simply cautious with how he walked.
He had waited for at most five minutes, but he was already getting impatient, before the person came back. His personalized wake up alarm stopped right in front of him, hesitated for some brief moments before moving. "Here," he mumbled, placing the glasses on Alfred's face, since the other couldn't move his arms.
When he could finally see, imagine his surprise when the person turned out to be no other then the little Bunny Hybrid from the last time. Corn blond hair as messy as ever, one of his ears turned towards Alfred while the other one rotated to listen whatever was behind him, the young Hybrid observed him with those penetrating green eyes.
"Why are you here?" the older blond asked softly, studying his visitor further. He wore a simple green tunic over him that reached to his knees and he was quite pale, but not in an unhealthy way. He looked frail and weak, but his eyes proved that he determinated and stubborn, somebody not easily broken.
"I was curious," the other had answered with a shrug. Alfred had to bite his lower lip to hide the smile forming. From what he remembered from the manual, it clearly stated that Bunny Hybrids were extremely curious creatures.
Maybe he should have paid closer attention to the manual Hans had given them the first day they started working under him. He had advised them to read it for it could be useful later on but neither Alfred nor Gilbert paid it any mind. They had read it swiftly to appease a raging Ludwig but hadn't gone any further and the German had already guessed he should consider himself lucky they had done anything at all. The manual was quite thick and held eveything humans knew about Hybrids. Most of the information they had came from the studies humans had done about animals over the centuries, since Hybrids seemed to have certain characteristics of the animal their DNA held. Thanks to that they were able to define the strengths and weaknesses of certain Hybrids which made it easier to capture them. It also talked about what scientists had been able to discover thanks to the Hybrids held in captivity for study purposes. Placed in more or less natural areas, they were able to study the habits and attitudes of Hybrids in certain situations.
Alfred didn't know what to do in this one. Should he fight his way out of here? It was worth a shot, since the only one who seemed present was the Bunny. He didn't know for sure how long he had been asleep, but it could be no more than a few hours, from what he could tell of the position of the sun. He supposed it was around late afternoon. Alfred looked more closely, searching for any Hybrid that could have hidden itself, but was quite surprised to see that nobody else was in sight. Surely they wouldn't have left the Bunny all alone with the captive? "Where are the others?"
"The other Hybrids?" the little Bunny looked at him for a while before he answered again. "Well, Adolf is sleeping right now, and he won't wake up until late at night. Lovino is sleeping through his afternoon siesta along with Feliciano somewhere and Francis is out hunting I think." The blond bunny kept on looking at him, hands crossed in front of him.
"You mean you are all alone?"
"Yeah. Normally that doesn't happen, because I'm the youngest of the pack and Adolf says I have to be watched at all times." The bunny's nose wrinkled as he said this. Obviously the fact that he was the baby in the family didn't please him. "I was waiting until everyone was away to wake you up."
"Now that you mention it, why did you wake me up?" Alfred asked. He was quite confident that if there was one thing everybody had told the younger blond was to stay as far away from him as possible and not wake him up.
"I was curious. I have never seen a real human up close. Normally the ones who see them are Francis and Adolf, and that's only when the hunters are after us and we have to face them or when we need some serious help. Feliciano also sees them from time to time, but only when he's hungry or there are pretty girls around. Except this one time, were he made friends with some human when he was younger but I don't know what happened after that. Lovino says he will never approach a 'disgusting' human but Feliciano once mentioned that he had been saved by one before we had to move." The Bunny didn't seem bothered on recounting Alfred about his family's history. In fact he seemed too easy-going and confident for a Bunny. From what Alfred dimly remembered from the manual, Rabbit Hybrids were usually very nervous and skittish, running at the first sign of danger. This one didn't seem scared and there was this spark in his eyes that could be nothing else but curiosity. "My name is Arthur by the way."
"Right," Alfred supposed that the only right thing to do was to present himself. Maybe if he gained the Rabbit's trust completely he could gain his freedom. "I'm Alfred F. Jones."
"Why are you here anyways? Hunters weren't supposed to come back until after a week which is when we are planning on leaving."
"Why are you telling me this?" Alfred couldn't believe that the little Bunny was practically telling him its whole life. Didn't its parents teach him not to talk to strangers? You just don't go around and tell everybody you meet the story of your life!
"Well..." Arthur placed his index finger against his lips, head tilted back deep in thought. Somewhere in the corners of his mind Alfred had to admit that Arthur looked utterly cute doing that. "Everybody says I'm a good judge of character and you don't scare me. I feel I can count on you. After all, you didn't tell anyone that you had seen me on the river, because if you had done so the forest would have been swarming with hunters by now. And I'm pretty sure you weren't out cold most of the time since Francis couldn't have hit you that hard."
"Francis?"
"He was the one who caught you sneaking on me. He says that you put up a fight but I don't believe him. Neither does Lovino and Adolf because we all know that Francis is more like the kind that avoids physical confrontation and attacks you from behind. I'm not mentioning Feliciano because he believes everything you tell him. He once believed that the sky was pink and the grass blue simply because Francis corrected him."
"Seriously?" That kind of reminded Alfred about Antonio, even if the Spaniard was a lot less gullible and just more... oblivous. "How can he believe that?"
Arthur simply shrugged his shoulders. "He's simply that trusting. I feel sorry for Lovino because he is the one who has to babysit Feliciano when Adolf isn't around."
"So who's the one tha-" He was going to ask who was the one that babysitted the Bunny had said Hybrid not covered his mouth with its hands.
"Shhhhhh," Arthur's ears had both done a 180° turn listening to something Alfred couldn't hear. A few seconds had passed before the older blond noticed how stiff the Rabbit Hybrid was against him. He noticed one of the ears twitching before Arthur's eyes grew on size. Those green orbs seemed to panic and before he could understand what was happening, the younger Hybrid had turned around and leaned against him. This is slightly uncomfortable, Alfred thought, feeling the heat from Arthur's body against his. He tried to move a little bit, searching for a more comfortable position, but he had no luck. One can't say that you had many positions to be comfortable while tied up to a tree..
"Mon lapin, qu'est ce que tu fais?" Alfred hadn't noticed the newcomer, but Arthur had clearly been expecting him, if his tiny growl was of any indication. Looking up, Alfred observed the Fox Hybrid he had seen before he had been knocked out. His blond hair was quite long, the blue eyed American noticed, tied up behind him in a ponytail, but shorter from up front. Those blue eyes were a few shades lighter than his own, reminding of the sky in a summer afternoon and held a spark of mischief that remided him a little bit of Gilbert, only his were more playfull than the Hybrid's. The tail and ears were dark orange, to the point that under certain light the colour seemed to change to red or brown, the tips black. All in all, the image he portrayed was elegant, even with the stubble on his chin and his dirty clothes.
"Francis," from the way Arthur said the name, one had to be like Antonio not to understand the contempt behind the voice. Sadly enough, Alfred was one of those people.
I wonder if they are close, was what passed through his head before things registered on his mind. "Hey! You are the one who attacked me from behind!"
"En effet, oui," and the French bastard (he was pretty sure he was French, because those weird sounds he made reminded him greatly about Mattie, who talked French fluently) had the mockery to bow in front of Alfred. "But zat is not ze question. Mon lapin what are you doing here? Didn't we tell you to stay away from ze 'unter?" As he said this he approached the other Hybrid, who looked quite tense.
"Shut up! I can be wherever I want to be!" Arthur looked as he was going through a panick attack. His breathing had accelerated; his whole body was trembling, ready to bolt at first notice; his eyes darted around, searching for an escape route and the accent that had been barely there grew stronger. Alfred hadn't paid it any mind, but now that it was clearly there he recognized it as British. So the little Bunny came from England?
"Now Arthur," Francis didn't seem to mind the younger blond's reaction, "you know zat zis is only for your own good, we are just looking after you mon cheri. Go play with Lovino and Feliciano, I'm sure zeir sieste is finished."
"I don't want to!" Arthur crossed his arms and pouted.
"Arthur, I'm serious. Go and play right now or..."
"That will be enough Francis. I can take care of this." a voice said from behind them. Looking up, they all were surprised to see the man that Alfred had seen before, and who he was quite sure was the leader of this little and... one of a kind family. Tall and imposing, he wasn't the type of man Alfred would have liked to face one-on-one in a fist fight. Even if he was a hero and heroes never loose, he didn't think that man was easy to handle. As he walked, one could feel the strength and power he emanated, even if he seemed relaxed, his tail moving from side to side in a leisure pace, Alfred believed that man was rarely unaware of his surroundings. With a simple gesture of his hands, Francis and Arthur moved to let him pass, the respect and trust in their eyes reminding Alfred of his own feelings towards Hans.
The man stopped right in front of him, practically towering over him (which was quite a feat, because few were those who were able to do that). His amber eyes watched him, giving the American the impression of being dissected on a lab table. Nobody said anything for a while, the only sounds coming from the forest around them and their own, soft breathing. The SA agent was starting to grow impatient and restless, so he opened his mouth to speak, but the tall man sensed it before he did.
"I believe I know why you are here," his voice was deep and with a husky quality on it. "What intrigues me is why you are here all alone. Do not bother telling me otherwise. Had you come with somebody they would have already sent a researching squad after us. What's more you don't carry your bracelet, which is something I believe that every Specialized Agent is supposed to have with them at all times. So I'm going to ask you the question only once: why did you come here alone?"
"Why should I tell you?" It wasn't in Alfred's nature to bow down to anybody's orders unless he wanted to. That was something Hans had painfully realized when he had sent his team to a neighboring city and placed them on the hands of a quite pompous General. He had thought that working with different types of people was something everybody should be capable of doing, but he didn't believe it when the whole team had to return two days later, after Alfred had refused to follow direct orders and fired along with Gilbert the General and his guards in his own house. Things hadn't been pretty for Hans after that, with the paperwork and the probation that had followed.
For his part, the man watched him for a few seconds before turning towards Francis and Arthur, who had stayed still until now. "Leave us." His voice left no room for arguments, and Francis was quick to obey. Arthur hesitated for a second or two before opening his mouth, surely in an attempt to change his leader's mind, but was effectively refuted by an amber eyed glare.
Slowly, the Bunny Hybrid followed Francis, looking back from time to time, bitting his bottom lip in worry. His eyes met those of Alfred for a second, letting him see the concern that was written in them. Alfred had never expected to see a Hybrid worry about a human, so he didn't know what to feel. On one side he was sort of glad to see that somebody worried about him, which was only natural since he was the hero, but on the other side he knew that such feelings had to be eliminated, for creating any sort of relationship with a Hybrid would be a stupid move from his part. His job was to destroy the whole race for God's sake! He just couldn't go around and start making friends with them.
"I'm Adolf," the man said once the other Hybrids were out of sight. He was watching him carefully, one could even say warily.
"I'm Alfred," he said as he glared. He tried to look intimidating, but he wasn't sure it worked out. Tied up to a tree and being towered by the person facing him just didn't help matters. But that didn't matter, for he was the hero!
"Why are you here alone Alfred?"
He had to grudgingly admit that this Adolf person was the type that one just felt compelled to follow and obey. That arua of power and respect he held reminded him a lot about Hans, but he wasn't Hans, so he wasn't about to obey him.
"Why should I tell you?" he repeated.
"I don't think I have to remind you that you are in a quite... vulnerable position. I could very easily kill you if you don't want to cooperate." As he said this Adolf started studying his claws, in a movement that looked too natural for it to be so. Even then, Alfred couldn't help noticing just how sharp they were. He remembered dimly something about Hybrid's claws. From what he had heard, those claws were capable of mass destruction, some being able to cut through stone as easily as a knife through melted butter. He didn't want to know just what this set was able to do.
"If you killed me, you would never have your answer and you can be sure that SA squads will be all around the place searching for me."
"Indeed. On the other hand, if I dispose myself of you, then the problem would be solved don't you think? and those squads you are talking about wouldn't arrive on time. We would be long gone by then."
"Why are you letting me live then? You just said that killing me would solve matters, so why haven't you?"
At this, Adolf raised an eyebrow. "Do you want to be killed? Because I can do it for you if you wish."
"No!" Alfred shouted, instantly regreting it. Why couldn't he keep his emotions under control, like Hans and Ludwig told him to? Showing emotions placed his captors on an advantage, since from there they were able to push your bottons until you cracked. "I just don't understand! Why are you keeping me alive? Why do you care if I came here alone?"
"The reasons are my own. If you really want to know, you are still alive because Arthur stopped us from disposing of you. For your other question... well, I suppose it couldn't hurt if I told you. What worries me is that you came alone to spy on us. A full research team wouldn't be as effective, for that's four times the noise and smell one single human being so we would be able to sense you easily. But one person... one trained agent could go right below our noses and could even infiltrate our pack. You already saw it with Arthur. He's young and has yet to fully understand the danger you represent. So why did you come here alone? Did your boss send you here?"
"I came here by my own free will. How do you even know I'm a SA agent?"
Adolf's eyebrow rose again. "You came here carrying a scouter, a few standard weapons and a net. Did you actually think we wouldn't check your camp site? What's more, you never denied making part of the SA and being a hunter, so from my point of view, you are from the SA. Am I wrong?"
"Whatever," Alfred muttered, struggling a little bit against the ropes. "If you have to know, nobody knows I came here okay? I was supposed to be on leave for a whole week after that nasty hit I received on the head. My boss thinks I'm home, while my brother thinks I'm in the borders."
"But why did you come? What reason did you have to come?"
"I was hoping I would find the Bunny Hybrid, Arthur, to take him with me." Alfred decided that telling the truth was the best option at this point. God knew that the Wolf Hybrid would simply detect his lies.
"Alone?" Adolf didn't seem to believe him. "Even if you have been able to modify your DNA and push your physical abilities to their limits, you have to be aware that you couldn't handle one Hybrid alone. It takes at least four to catch one, and even then it's arduous work."
Now it was Alfred's turn to raise an eyebrow. "It's only a Rabbit Hybrid. They can't be that hard to catch."
The older man smiled a sardonic smirk. "That's what you think. In any case, your presence here is dangerous for us. In any normal situation, I would have dealt with you but due to special reasons, you will stay here for the rest of the week. After that, we will let you go, for by the time you are able to contact the SA we will be long gone."
"You think you can untie me? Because it's kind of uncomfortable and it's getting dark and..." Alfred thanked the lab back home for his glasses with night vision. Now, instead of the usual black and green one saw with the night vision one could make out some colors. He didn't understand exactly how that worked, since he hadn't really listened when the lab crew had tried to explain things to him but thanks to this he could see in the dark. The colors weren't accurate, instead they were darker but at least he could tell the difference between green and red.
"I don't think so. I'm afraid that if I untie you you will try to get away and we can't have that, can we? But don't worry. I will stay up the whole night watching over you, so you can sleep safely."
All Alfred could do then was glare at him as the night fell around them.
Translations:
Mon lapin qu'est ce que tu fais?- My bunny what are you doing?
En effet oui- Yes indeed
Mon cheri- My dear
I want to thank everybody who has reviewed, added me on their list or just plain read this. Especial thanks go to Hippie Vampire, because she finds time to read my stories and help me out with errors here and there. I send you thousand of virtual hugs and kisses!