Author's Notes: I just want to apologize for the terrible editing in the last chapter. I went back and fixed most of it.
If you're not going to reread it (it's really not necessary) then you should know that when I wrote "Canadian Province of Canada" I meant "Canadian Province of Quebec".
Disclaimer: Don't own Axis Powers: Hetalia.
Ohio (who is mentioned briefly) belongs to Sesshy's Girl 00.
Italics = dreaming!
Alfred was running. He didn't know where exactly but he knew he had to run. Just keep moving forward. There was something there, just out of his grasp.
Without warning his foot caught on something and he fell, slamming down onto the hot pavement. It was so hot out. He looked around at his surroundings. He had been running down a long, highway. There were no cars and he was seemingly surrounded by desert.
Then he saw it.
It was what he had been chasing after this whole time. A giant, delicious hamburger. For some reason it had arms and legs but no head. It waved at him…did the hamburger just…giggle? What kind of burger giggled?
He jumped off the ground and ran towards the hamburger. No matter how close he got it was always the same distance away from him. He reached his hands forward, grasping at air.
Suddenly the burger changed form; now it was his Gulf States. They were all covered in oil; save for the few clean streaks on their faces formed by the tears that continually ran from their eyes.
"Help us Daddy! Please! Help me!" screamed Florida as the oil burned her skin. She extended her arm, begging him to take hold of her hand.
He ran and ran but he was so tired and they continued to get farther and farther away. He gritted his teeth and poured what was left of his energy into reaching them. He sped forward, finally reaching the point where they were standing.
Just when he was about to grasp Florida's hand, they all disappeared. He was too late for them.
He was always too late.
Alfred snuck a glance at his surroundings, glad he had shut his curtains the night before. His room was dim yet it seemed off in some way. He shut his eyes again, not ready to be awake yet. His throat was sore and dry and his body ached as if he had slept on the floor the whole night. He wondered if he had fallen asleep in his reading chair again. The American wasn't normally a big reader but Ohio loved to write little short stories and he was more than happy to read them. The girl certainly had a way with words.
He sat up, still keeping his blue eyes shut. He leaned back but instead of feeling the back of his chair he felt cold, hard wall. So he had fallen asleep on the floor. Although it was spring he was surprised by how cool the wall felt. Alfred adjusted himself, and tried to stretch out his arm, hoping the action would pop his back and relieve some of the pain. Oddly enough, he couldn't move his arm. Something was wrong here.
America's eyes popped open as he truly took in his surroundings. He was definitely not in his room. The walls surrounding him were made of some metal with a dull grey color. Ten feet above him was a small window with bars. A few stray bands of sunlight filtered in, providing the room with some light. He looked down and his arms and noticed they were in what appeared to be handcuffs. They were much thicker than normal handcuffs and instead of being held together by a thin, metal chain they were fused together by a heavy bar.
Although the situation looked grim, Alfred smirked. Whoever had set this up clearly didn't know about his monstrous strength. He began to move his right arm up while keeping his left hand completely still in an attempt to bend the bar.
"I would give up if I were you." said a quiet voice from the corner.
Alfred looked up is surprise. He hadn't noticed someone else was in the room with him. Standing in the corner closest to the door was a person. They wore dark, loose fitting clothing and a dark ski cap over their face.
"You obviously don't realize what I can do here!" he replied smugly.
"Oh no, Mr. Jones. You'll find I know exactly what you can do. In fact, I know quite a lot about you." The stranger respond, a haughty smile growing on his lips, accentuating his hard to place accent.
Alfred gaped at the stranger before his twisted in anger.
"Then you know I'll be able to break out of these no problem!" he growled out, his voice rising in volume.
"As I said earlier, I know much more about you than you think. Those restraints are made out of one of the strongest metals known to mankind. It's Inconel 625."
"But that…that's what we…what we use for…" he couldn't continue. The metal around his wrists was not only incredibly strong but it was also very expensive. It was very hard to get your hands on. Whoever he was dealing with here was obviously extremely rich and also had good connections.
"That's right Mr. Jones. It's what you use in your spaceships. What purpose does it serve on the spacecrafts?
"You…you use it as a high strength fastener on the critical joints of a spaceship." Alfred mumbled out, dumbfounded by how this person had managed to get a hold on such a valuable metal.
"And why would you use this particular metal?"
"Because it is resistant to force and temperature. Once it hardens it is very hard to shape or melt."
"Very good! It seems you aren't as stupid as you look."
Alfred only glared at the stranger. Anger was coursing through his body. He wasn't used to feeling this hopeless. He was Alfred F. Jones, the United States of America, he didn't do helpless situations. He was the hero.
"Now I'm sure you're wondering about how you got here" the stranger continued, "so I'll tell you. You have been kidnapped. For what purpose I am not sure but I know the boss has something good planned for you."
"Wait? You're not the one in charge here?"
"Me? Oh heavens no! I'm just an underling. Mind you, I'm more important than some of the other guys. After all, I was allowed the honor of talking to you."
Alfred snorted. He considered the situation. He had been kidnapped by an unknown party. Said party was not working alone and clearly had many people working under them. He wasn't sure as to how he had gotten in the small room. Judging by his sore throat he suspected chloroform. It would explain how he had been transported to this cell without waking up. Alfred was a heavy sleeper but even he would wake up if someone started manhandling him. The motive for all this was still unclear.
"As I was saying. We have transported you out of the United States. I can not reveal exactly where you are but I can assure you it is far from your beloved country. Quiz time! What happens to the personification of a country if he is away from his country for too long?"
"The personification…he'll get weak. His country will suffer from his absence. You're not…you can't really be planning on doing that! It can take months before you'll see those affects!" he exclaimed.
This person couldn't be another country. It was an unwritten law that no personification be gone from his country for more than three months. It was painful on the personification and the country. If they were away for too long wars could break out within their country. If there was one thing that they all respected, it was that fact.
"Correct! And I can't say if that is or isn't what we're planning. As I said before, I'm only an underling. I don't get told everything that is to come."
Alfred bit his lip, fighting off tears. He wasn't worried for himself as much as he was for his states. Although they wouldn't feel any physical pain from his absence they would have to deal with the trouble that came from it. They were still young. If he was away for too long they would start to fight with each other over everything. Having to deal with him missing would not help this situation.
"I thought you were the hero. Is the hero that afraid of the pain?" gloated the stranger.
"I have never feared pain." he snarled.
"Then why the tears? Are you worried about you states? I would be, if I were you."
"Why are you doing this?" Alfred choked out.
It's all a matter of power." the man taunted in his odd accent.
Alfred watched in horror as the stranger exited the room through the door. It slammed shut with a bang and was followed by the audible sound of a bolt being locked. A slit opened in the middle of the door. Before Alfred could get a peek at what lay beyond his small room he saw the man's eyes.
"Oh, and by the way, don't try to break down the doors or walls either. They're made of the same metal that makes up your restraints."
The eyes disappeared and were replaced with what looked like a water bottle. It was forced through the slit, trailed by a couple apples.
Alfred cursed and stood up from his spot. He swung his joined arms at the door as hard as he could. They hit with a satisfying smash but unfortunately left little more than a scratch to prove any damage had been done at all. He continued to wave his arms around, crashing into whatever was in their path. It did nothing though.
He dropped to the floor, panting from the sudden exertion of energy. He reached for the bottle, uncapping it and gulping down as much water he could get down his dry throat. After finishing off the water he demolished the apples, not realizing how hungry he had been. The two red fruits didn't fill the void in his stomach but they helped.
Alfred lay on his back, staring up at the grim ceiling above him. It was now that he realized he didn't have his glasses. He had taken them off and thrown them on the floor somewhere before rolling into bed the night before. Well, he assumed it was the night before. He had no idea how much time had passed since he had gotten here.
He was scared. His states would have no idea what was going on and he knew what was coming their way. Chaos and confusion. They may not actually be his children but he saw them as just that. They all had something special about them. His eyes felt heavy and they slowly shut. There must have been something in the water, he had just been waking up and now…now he was slipping away again. He focused on his states, sending wishes for their protection before the blackness took over his mind.
AN: So I got the stuff about Inconel 625 off the internet. Sorry if it's incorrect.
Big clue in this chapter as to who has kidnapped Al. Can you find it?
Any guesses about who it is? It may or may not be a country that hasn't been personified yet. ;) I'm not going to tell you for a few more chapters.
BTW, constructive criticism is much appreciated. Anything you can tell me about my writing style or how I can improve would be really helpful.