The next day had been just as pleasant as the last. Dr. Edelstein came in with that nurse again to do more tests, but everything as coming back perfectly fine. Nothing was wrong with Ivan that they could tell. And Ivan refused to tell them anything about Gilbert and what could have caused it. Thankfully, Natalia wasn't asking questions about the Dark Magic user on the loose, which was good. Ivan couldn't exactly confirm or deny that had anything to do with The Dictator, though he expected that was what Natalia thought. After all, as far as the public knew, no one was stupid enough to attempt Dark Magic now. That was just stupid…
Ivan was pleasantly surprised just as Dr. Edelstein finished drawing more blood by a soft knock on the door, which was already open. When he looked up, he was happy to see that his elder sister, Katyusha, was peering inside. She was as small as ever, but far from shy. She smiled sweetly at Ivan, who immediately smiled back.
"Took you long enough." Natalia sniffed on the visitor's couch. Ivan glanced at her and she looked down at her hands. "Sorry."
"It's nice to see you, sister," Ivan smiled happily, waving at her once his arm was free.
"You can leave anytime you want now." Dr. Edelstein nodded. "We've taken all we can for tests and we'll get back to you if we find anything strange."
Ivan nodded. "Of course, thank you." Dr. Edelstein and the nurse left without another word, just nodding at the new person.
"I brought those spare clothes you asked for," Katyusha said happily, holding out the items in her hands. "I would hate for you to have to wear those dirty clothes from when you fell asleep."
"Where have you been staying?" Ivan asked, gratefully taking them. He could wait a few minutes to change, however. It wasn't often he got to see his sister, especially after he'd moved to the capital for school.
"With me," Natalia said proudly.
"I can't stay for long, though," Katyusha said apologetically. "I just wanted to make sure you're okay, but it sounds like they aren't finding anything wrong. Do you think it could have something to do with your magic?"
"Might be," Ivan said. He didn't want to worry her with anything that was going on. She had enough on her plate as it was, what with two jobs that helped her get through her online university. She held hardly any magic, surprisingly considering their family, but she did try her best. The hardest thing Ivan had to do in his life was leave her, but she insisted he do his best at the best university in the country. Though Ivan doubted that she knew just what he was doing now…
"There have been stories about people with too much magic not letting it out often enough," Natalia offered. "I guess you're just not using it enough, must have been some kind of internal thing."
"Nothing to worry about." Ivan smiled. "I would love to at least be with you while you're here, but I've gotten an email from work. They need me back at the Center as soon as I'm able."
"It's more than enough that I could see you," Katyusha said, pulling Ivan into a hug as tightly as she could muster. Ivan laughed, hugging her tightly back, but not with all of his strength. He didn't want to hurt her, after all. "It's good to see you working so hard, and doing so well! You, too, Natalia."
"Thanks." The corner of Natalia's mouth twitched up into a smile.
Ivan darted into the bathroom built into his hospital room to put on his clothes, but by the time he was out, both of his sisters had gone. Katyusha had probably convinced Natalia to leave so Ivan could get to work as quickly as possible. Well, he could talk with Natalia later, make sure she didn't have any dangerous questions in her mind about Dark Magic users.
Ivan made quick work of paper work to let himself out and boarded the bus. He was just as inconspicuous as ever, no longer the center of attention like at the hospital. It was a miracle he was awake, or something like that. But Ivan knew it was far from a miracle and it had everything to do with Dark Magic. Gilbert was experimenting on him so that he could cast these spells on himself. He no doubt knew that he'd been successful, nothing was stopping him from trying it on other people.
Troublingly, there was no news about Gilbert anywhere. No violence, no more accidents, everything was as normal. It was all so confusing to Ivan… He ran a hand through is hair. Not only did he have this to worry about, but there was also his studies. He sounded so stupid, worrying over stupid things like grades in a time like this, but that was supposed to be his priority going into this job. Not only that but…every other student in the world had the simple worries about grades and friendships. Hardly anyone knew about the two Dark Magic users awake and dangerously ready to fight.
In maybe fifteen minutes, he was off the bus and walking towards the Detainment Center. He didn't know what they had in mind, but it most likely had something to do with his condition. Matthew had been there, but he hadn't seen Gilbert. He didn't know anything that was happening. Ivan had to tell them, regardless of if he still worked with them. They needed to act soon or Gilbert was going to act first.
Ivan checked his phone as he entered the Center. Arthur had emailed him, strangely. Didn't give any reasons as to what, exactly, they needed him for. Just that they knew he was awake and he had to return to the Detainment Center as soon as possible. There were some times as well, along with where Arthur would be in the Center at that time. Right now, there was apparently a meeting on the top floor, no other description involved.
Ivan shifted on his feet in the elevator. What, exactly, was he going to say? That he saw Gilbert, Gilbert basically challenged Alfred to a fight, and he's testing out how well he can freeze someone in time and make someone immortal…Perfect, just the news everyone wants to hear.
Once the door opened, he blinked in surprise to see Lovino and Antonio standing in front of the door to the meeting room, as guards. When they looked over, they both seemed equally surprised, but had entirely different reactions.
"About damn time you woke up."
"Wow, you're awake, awesome. What happened?"
Ivan smiled faintly. He was happy to be able to see some of his friends from work, even after he thought he wouldn't get to see them very often anymore…
"It's a long story." Ivan sighed, not sure if he wanted to go through the telling twice in just a few minutes.
"That Williams prick seemed pretty fucking scared when he came here to tell us about it," Lovino mused. "You just fainted, out of nowhere?"
"Hey, hey, calm down, we've got time," Antonio assured him before turning to Ivan. "We can just listen through the door. You've missed a lot here. Alfred's still not cooperating well since you…you know…"
"Since I was fired," Ivan said bluntly. "You just…listen through the door?"
"Well, not everyone's lucky enough to get to go inside," Lovino said. He nodded his head towards the door." Go ahead, you won't hear much other than Alfred and Arthur arguing and Francis trying to play ref."
Ivan thought for a moment, staring at the door. He should just go inside. Then again…he wanted to know what had happened while he was gone. The second he stepped inside, they would focus only on Gilbert, only on the future. Ivan had to know what he'd missed. His curiosity got the better of him once again.
He rested his head against the door, listening carefully. The voices were muffled, but he could hear well enough.
"-don't see what's so hard about it." Alfred's voice. "If you can get 50 people together on short notice from across the world, you can get an army."
"An army serves no purpose other than to make everyone scared!" Arthur protested. "We don't need more mindless killing."
"At least I'm giving ideas," Alfred snorted. "That's what you've been asking of me this whole time. Hell, I don't care, get a few giants in here and Gilbert will run away scared."
"Giants have been extinct for centuries," Francis offered.
"Are you fucking serious?" Alfred groaned. "I disappear for a few years and you go and make an entire species go extinct?"
"A few, actually, yes, it's a curse of time, people die," Arthur said pointedly.
"Well, at least with me in charge, I would have made sure that entire species didn't die out," Alfred spat. "And you guys don't even give a damn! It's no fucking wonder they died out. The only things that matter in this world are humans and elves, right? That's all that fucking matters."
"We shouldn't even be wasting our time talking about this," Arthur stated. "We need to focus on-"
"Yeah, well, I'm not doing shit," Alfred said. "If you're so fucking intent on making sure Ivan got fired when it was my stupidity that led to that mess and now you're not even telling me if he's awake or not!"
"That should not even be any of your concern," Arthur argued. Ivan couldn't help but smile slightly. Alfred was concerned…how did he know that Ivan had fallen asleep, though? That in itself was curious.
"And yet it is," Alfred said pointedly. "Unless you say anything, I ain't saying anything, either."
"You'd rather this world die at the hands of Gilbert?" Arthur scoffed. "You are no better than the dictator you were."
"I'm still the same fucking person," Alfred stated.
"You need to learn when to act maturely," Arthur said. "You are acting like a child."
"Hey, news flash here," Alfred said. "I'm fucking nineteen, jackass. By your standards, that means I am, exactly, a child."
Well, that solved the mystery of Alfred's age. It was odd to think of him as just a nineteen-year-old, though. He seemed…older, wiser. Or maybe that was just the thought that he was technically 1,019 years old…Ivan sighed, pulling back. He wasn't learning much, he should just go inside, at least end their argument for now…
"Good luck," Antonio offered. "Alfred's been trying to get your job back for days, maybe he'll actually win out this time."
"I doubt it," Ivan shook his head, but opened the door anyway, certainly noticing the fact that the room fell into complete silence once he'd walked inside. Most of the Board was present, Matthew as well, who had recently been holding his head in his hand. Alfred smiled as he stood up, more than happy to see Ivan again.
"You're awake," Alfred breathed. "I-I should've noticed when you came in, I was-"
"Busy trying to make my life Hell," Arthur grumbled. "Thank you for coming, Ivan. I'm glad you're awake and safe."
Ivan nodded, sitting down beside Alfred again.
"What happened?" Alfred blurted. 'It was Gilbert, right?"
"You didn't say you knew who it was," Arthur protested and Alfred just shook his head, not looking away from Ivan.
"Yes, it was," Ivan nodded and the room seemed to get even stiffer. "He…He was able to freeze time and he talked to me. He plans on attacking soon. It's not safe to bide our time anymore."
"How did he make you faint like that?" Francis asked.
"He froze me in time," Ivan said simply. He watched Alfred's expression turn unreadable. "Like Alfred, but I feel like he was just testing it out, seeing if he could do it. On top of that…I think he was able to copy Alfred's immortality, but only temporarily. He wanted to make sure no one could figure out what he did, made sure no one could run tests on me. Once I woke up, he lifted it."
Ivan watched as nearly everyone's gaze moved towards Alfred, like he would have the answer to this problem. He thought for a few moments longer.
"He's figuring this all out so fast," Alfred muttered. "That shouldn't be possible, normally…I guess he's…" He took a deep breath. "He's dangerous and unstable right now if he's getting this far this quick. I…I doubt there's a lot of left of who he was before."
"What does that mean?" Francis asked carefully. "Does this mean you can't bring him back?"
"It's going to be harder than I thought," Alfred said, staring at the table. "He's deep in it. Deeper than I've ever gone…I'll do what I can, but there's no guarantee that I can get him back."
"So this entire plan was a waste of time." Arthur scoffed, shaking his head.
"I didn't say that," Alfred snapped. "No…I can…I can do this. He's just…I-I can get him back. I can."
"You don't sound sure," Matthew said pointedly and Alfred glared up at him.
"What the hell even is your problem with me?" Alfred asked. "At least I'm trying! At least, the best I can when I'm allowed to leave this fucking place."
"I have a lot of problems with you," Matthew said. "Just like every sane person on this planet."
Alfred sighed heavily, leaning back in his chair. "Fair…" he muttered. He turned to Ivan. "What was he like? Gilbert, I mean."
"Angry," Ivan said. "He called you…weak, or something like that. He said you've been holding back."
Alfred nodded. "Yeah, I have." Ivan couldn't help but tense at the thought. Alfred was holding back, and yet he could more than easily overpower the magic of everyone in the room, singlehanded. "But that's for a damn good reason."
"So you'll let Gilbert overpower you?" a member of the Board asked.
"Well, I'd prefer that over Dark Magic." Alfred shrugged. "Or do you really want two of us on a rampage?"
"What do you mean?" Ivan asked curiously.
"Dark Magic is like its own living thing," Alfred explained. "I make sure every time I use it that I can get back to normal. If I give it total control of my body, yes I'll be probably the most powerful man on the planet, but I'm not in control anymore. And I've never played that way. That's what makes Gilbert so dangerous, he's letting it have all of the power."
"That's why you said it will be hard to get him back," Francis mused.
"I've seen him, albeit once," Alfred said. "He's strong but…it's going to be hard. I'll need…some kind of leverage, something that would give him a good enough shock factor to snap him out of it."
"What about Ludwig?" another member of the Board offered.
"Who?" Alfred asked.
"Gilbert's brother," Arthur supplied. "What do you suggest we even do with him?"
"I doubt that will be enough, but we can try," Alfred said. "We'd have to use powerful emotions to get him to think at all clearly. But just that isn't all we need. He needs to be strong enough to push out the Dark Magic. That I can't help with. Speaking from experience, it's one of the hardest experiences I've ever been through, forcing it out."
"So we just show him his brother and hope that makes him grow his conscience again?" Arthur scoffed. "Perfect plan."
"Well, it's not like anyone's coming up with anything better," Alfred said. "If he's getting ready to move, it's not like we have much of a choice. If we don't act soon, Gilbert's going to do something we all regret."
"We'll dismiss the meeting for now," Arthur said suddenly standing up. Alfred glowered at him. "We'll consider it."
"If you keep waiting, more people are going to die," Alfred growled. "I have experience with strategizing and fighting. All you can do is take a few days to decide on what we can't do. I already told you if you keep sitting around doing nothing, I'll go out on my own."
"Surely we can wait a few days," Arthur said simply and with a surprising amount of patience.
"And how are you going to stop me if I go?" Alfred asked with a smirk. "You can't."
"Wait an hour," Francis said. "Then decide what you're going to do."
"One hour." Alfred sniffed. "Fine." He stood up and Ivan noticed for the first time that he was no longer bound. He figured that everyone had finally guessed that there was no point in trying to hold him back.
"Ivan, stay just a while longer," Arthur ordered as Alfred was the first to leave, looking back curiously as Antonio and Lovino lead him away. Then the remaining members of the Board left, leaving Ivan alone with Arthur and Francis. The door closed, but they all stayed silent.
Ivan was the first one brave enough to speak.
"I thought I had been fired," Ivan said simply.
"You were," Arthur said.
"But now we have a new…proposition for you," Francis said. "We were going to offer it to you the day you fainted, but now it's become an even more pressing matter. As much as Arthur hates to admit it, Alfred is right. We've reached an impasse, there's not much more we can do."
"We're relying on Alfred's strength already and as long as we stay involved, we have to ensure he doesn't use his power," Arthur said.
"What does this have to do with me?" Ivan asked. Arthur sighed heavily as he sat back down, massaging his temples.
"It's risking the lives of everyone in this city, but it's necessary, especially now that we know more about Gilbert," Arthur said.
"We have to let Alfred loose," Francis continued for him. "In order for him to react to anything quickly, we need him outside of the Center, but no one can know that he's out. As far as we can tell, due to his reaction of you getting fired, you are the only one that can even remotely control him."
"I don't like the idea of forcing you into this situation," Arthur said. "This, alone, risks your life."
"What do you mean, I'm the only one that can control him?" Ivan asked.
"I'm not going to ask you questions about your bond," Francis said, "but as long as you are around, he cooperates. This meeting was the most he's talked in the week you've been gone. He even told us that he refused to talk unless you were here."
"So you want me to watch over him?" Ivan asked.
"In a way," Arthur said. "I don't support this decision, but this would be the second time I've lost in a vote. Alfred can no longer be any of our business, but you've been fired. We'll pass him off to you and it will still be your job to guard him and make sure he doesn't do anything dangerous. His job is to fight Gilbert and…after that, it's also still your job to use that spell on him with the other 49 magic users that know the spell."
"Of course, you don't have to accept this," Francis said, though a little hesitantly. It was obvious that Ivan was pretty much their only choice. For whatever reason, Alfred had taken a liking to him, and apparently only felt like following orders with Ivan around. Ivan was the only one that could possibly 'control' him, though Ivan knew all too well that no one could control him.
"So you want him loose on the world with me acting as his conscience?" Ivan asked carefully. That was a huge burden in itself. On top of that, he was still, essentially, fired. Meaning that this wasn't something he would be paid for. Then again…this was a matter of saving the world, it seemed. It was almost like he was obligated to do it…
"I still don't like the idea," Arthur mumbled under his breath and Ivan noticed Francis just give him a cheeky grin.
"I'll do it." Ivan nodded. After all, he had already taken Alfred outside of the Center already. And with no fear of Alfred actually hurting him. He could afford to do it again.
Arthur nodded back to him. "Don't let him leave your side."
"Of course," Ivan said, but he couldn't ignore the twist in his stomach. He was nervous, he was admittedly a little scared. Now if anything happened with Alfred, it would be Ivan's responsibility.
Okay, finally this happened. The Board is making some interesting decisions as of late. Huehuehue. And Alfred should be pleasantly surprised by all of this. This means that everything he decides to do will be his decision, so he doesn't have to wait on everyone else. Something he's used to.
Anyway, see you next time!