A/N: Double-update woot!

Rewritten: 7/20/2015

CHAPTER FIVE
Second Player Theory

There was some wait before Alfred and Arthur showed up.

Ludwig was impatient, he had to admit. Idly, he tapped his foot, played with a pencil, counted the tiles on the ceiling. Anything to keep himself occupied before the next two showed up. He hated feeling useless, and in this situation that was all he felt. Everyone else was busy, even Lovino was doing some work. All he could do was sit and wait and until someone showed up and gave him something to do.

Ten minutes passed before there was a bustling in the hallway that alerted everyone.

At first they were concerned, maybe it was the kidnappers showing up to do some damage while they were understaffed. But the obnoxiously loud sounds of a certain American and Brit arguing in the hallway just reassured them that they were safe. For now, at least.

The doors opened in sync, revealing the two of them: bickering. No one wanted to ask what they were arguing about, because no one wanted to get involved. They'd rather go back to the silence, no matter how uncomfortable it might feel.

The duo only shut up when they walked up to Ludwig, who didn't even bother to hide how annoyed he was. With a nod of the head he led them over to Yao and Ivan, who had just finished reading the small but presumably confusing article.

The hope was that, if anyone, Arthur could give some insight.

He read it, word for word. The look on his face didn't give them any clear signs as to what he was thinking. His expression seemed to change with every line, and it was only when he straightened up and sighed that the rest of the team went investigating. He shook his head, took a deep breath, and composed himself. "I need to show you all something. I think it will help, give me a moment." He turned and left the room, leaving everyone else in wait.

Alfred was occupied with the article, reading it again and again. His eyes constantly went from the words to the picture and back, pulling out every detail. He didn't seem to understand it any more than the rest of them.

Arthur walked back into the room with a bag in hand. He placed it on the table before opening it up and pulling out a thick book. The title: "Research Journal." Everyone found a seat and watched attentively as Arthur thumbed through the pages. When he finally found what he was looking for, cluttered pages were revealed.

Seeing it on its own proved confusing, and the looks he was getting made that obvious. Quickly he cleared his throat and prepared to speak.

"Let me explain. A while ago I had this idea. An invention, if you will. Global warming was becoming a major topic, and it concerned me more than it seemed to concern a lot of people. I knew we needed an alternative power source, something that was easy to maintain but also safe. After weeks of debating and theories I came up with this idea: an artificial sun." He peeled one of the pictures off the page and showed it to everyone. It was a diagram of a red star.

"I decided that a smaller version of the sun would be best. Not nearly as powerful, but closer. Just strong enough to fuel solar power and provide a lot of energy. That way we could use less coal and oil, and lessen the pollution." It was an interesting idea, but everyone was confused on how this would be leading up to the kidnapping.

"Of course I didn't have all the kinks figured out. I mean, any star is dangerous and I wasn't sure how it would effect the gravitational pull in the solar system or the environment. But I was willing to try and find out. So... with some spells I tried to create one. A very small one, really just a model. Something that I could use for research. But it didn't work."

"I ended up contesting the laws of space and time, and in that I... cut into another universe. Something I deemed a 'second player' universe." The confused looks were expected, Arthur didn't hesitate to continue. "As I said, I broke into another world, essentially. I wasn't able to enter it, but maybe that's just because I didn't want to. The chances were too dangerous, and I only risked a glimpse at what was beyond the portal. What I saw... at the time I wasn't sure what to make of it.

"I call them 'second players' or 'two-ps.' They're basically us, but with a few changes. Appearances have some matching characteristics but the way they work is... different. It's like – it's like when you play a game. And you pick a character, and someone else picks the same character. Well you can't have two characters looking exactly the same, or else it would be confusing. So the appearances are changed. Except in our case some of the personality is also changed."

Arthur took a moment to pause, to let that sink it. It was a lot of information he knew, especially all at once. The confusion was something he predicted. But he caught the nervous looks that Kiku and Yao sent each other. The frown on Alfred's face. The way Lovino could only watch his feet. He didn't want to question it then and there, but a feeling in his gut told him that they knew something.

He would ask them later, in private maybe. Right now they had a matter to attend to. Ludwig spoke first. "So, you're telling me that the man I saw was Alfred's... second player?"

Arthur nodded. "Yes, or his 'two-p' or his 'counterpart.' Same difference." Arthur shrugged, glancing down at his book again. He started to flip through pages. "I'm not quite sure how they got into our world. That's something I need to look into. But our first course of action should be to get Feliciano back."

"Arthur-san," Kiku interrupted. The Brit met his eyes. "Do you think that Feliciano-kun's counterpart will... kill him?" Lovino shifted uncomfortably in his seat. Arthur shook his head.

"No, at least, I hope not. But I did come up with a theory that might just explain somethings. Keep in mind that this research mainly came from spell books but it seems reasonable for the occasion." He stopped on a page, cleared his throat, and with his best "reading voice" he began:

"If a first player and their second player are to cross paths, they are more than welcome to duel. If the first player is defeated by their counterpart, they will be removed from that realm and placed in another. If the second player is defeated by the first, then they will return to their home dimension. Neither first nor second player can kill the other. Only countries can kill other countries. A first player and a second player are two different faces to the same body. If either are killed, they will both die."

With that he shut the book, like a parent finishing a bedtime story.

There wasn't much relief in the matter. Feliciano's second player couldn't kill him, but he could send him to another dimension. They weren't sure which was a worse fate.

"So, you're saying that in order to get rid of them we have to... fight them?" Yao asked, a faint shake in his tone. There was a secret, but he wasn't going to let it slip just yet.

"I'm not sure. This is just a theory, and I haven't exactly been given a chance to prove it yet–" Alfred sent Kiku a glance, arguably a glare. "–but I think there might be another way to go about this. I need to do some research, but there might be a way to summon the force that brought them here and make it to take them back. You'll have to give me time, though."

Everyone nodded. It was better than nothing, and better than risking their lives.

Shortly afterwards, almost as if on cue, people were rushing off to work. Now there was a bit more motivation after this revelation. Hopefully, hopefully, this would draw them closer to some understanding, and to saving Feliciano.

. . .

Hours passed as they slaved away at their work. It was only when the sun shone bright through the windows that the realized what time it was.

Six in the morning.

Stomachs rumbled and groaned as people realized they had deprived themselves of much needed food.

Alfred was the first one to stand up. "What do you guys say we go and catch something to eat? Come on, I'm starving!" He was already out the door before anyone could respond. But there was no complaining. People were filing out of the room, one-by-one. The place emptied, all except for a single individual: Kiku. When questioned, he simply said that he thought he was onto something, and didn't want to ruin his streak.

Yao sent a glance over his shoulder at his brother. With a frown his eyes read:

Watch your back, little brother.

A/N: This chapter is 169 words shorter than the original. I'm starting to realize how much BS I forced into this chapter to make it longer. Also that I didn't give much of a chance for foreshadowing, like wtf. Younger me how dare you ruin the amazingness that is suggesting things but not giving it away IMMEDIATELY FUCKING AFTERWARDS.

On a bright side my problematic fav is in the next chapter. Yaas