Alfred was still very obviously tired once they'd made it to the Detainment Center, but he was certain he didn't need help to walk anymore. Despite that, he stumbled slowly. A few people that had apparently been watching the news shouted, some trying to use magic, but their group made it inside easily enough. Alfred stopped just inside of the doors to take a few breaths.
"Really took a lot out of you, huh?" Lovino asked, glancing outside. "Gotta say, that could have gone smoother."
"Hell, if you wanna try next time, be my guest," Alfred said between pants. "Were there any reports in the news about injuries? Casualties?"
"That's the first thing on your mind?" Antonio asked.
"Well?" Alfred asked.
"Nothing we could see," Feliciano shook his head. "The most I'd guess is some scrapes from people being knocked over from that bubble you created. That was quick thinking."
"Yeah, well, thanks," Alfred said before standing up straight. "Okay, let's keep going. Where do they want me? A cell?"
"Why a cell?" Antonio asked, laughing slightly. "You just saved the majority of the city!" They started walking towards the elevator.
"Yeah, but I know they're gonna complain about how I couldn't catch him." Alfred sighed. His panting was slowing now, he was getting his strength back slowly. But Ivan still hovered nearby, just in case. He was still concerned about what Alfred had been saying before…What, exactly, was he telling to shut up? "How many board guys are here now, by the way? I know the old man and Francis are either on their way or still downtown…"
Lovino shrugged. "Hell if I know."
"Our orders were to bring you guys back here and get you into the meeting room," Feliciano informed. The elevator opened for them and they all stepped inside. Alfred leaned against Ivan, looking on the verge of falling asleep. They were going to the top floor again.
"Any chance Gilbert will come back?" Ivan asked.
"Not today," Alfred said. "He's just as tired as I am. Well, I guess he's not quite at this level yet. But he needs to get his energy back together. That and he's probably rethinking his plan, whatever it was. I wasn't as easy to beat as he thought I was gonna be."
"So what do we do?" Antonio asked. "Do we just prepare and wait?"
"I'm sure that's what the board will want us to do," Alfred scoffed. "But I've gotten a little tired of that game."
"So what do you suggest?" Lovino asked. The doors opened and Alfred slowly pushed himself back to a stand and trudged forward until they reached what was usually their meeting room.
"A plan they're not gonna like," Alfred said. When the door opened in front of them, Ivan was surprised when it was empty. Alfred immediately slumped into one of the chairs, leaning back heavily and with a long sigh. He closed his eyes for just a few seconds before opening them again, leaning forward on the table.
"I've never been in here before," Feliciano said with wide eyes, happily walking in without a second thought. He sat down proudly on one of the swiveling chairs, turning in fast circles. Antonio laughed, joining him on the other side of the room. Alfred smiled faintly while Ivan sat down calmly, Lovino stood at the door, unamused.
"So, what's this plan of yours?" Antonio asked. "We could help. I'm tired of just waiting around and, as long as the rest of the world knows you're awake, it's not like we have anything else to do."
"I'll be honest," Alfred said carefully, "if you get involved, you'll only slow me down. Anyone without Dark Magic will only get hurt in this fight. That's why I had to separate us. There's not a lot anyone else can do."
"And what are you planning?" Lovino pressed.
"You said he's got a brother, right?" Alfred asked. Antonio nodded. "Then we'll start there. Gilbert's gonna start acting fast so, once I've got my strength back… The only downside is going to be my sleeping pattern. He might try something during that, when he knows he'll get away with anything."
"And now both of you have your faces everywhere," Lovino said. "There's no way you guys won't be spotted by someone now. You two will have the Center swarming with press in no time."
"Not my intention," Alfred said. "At least no one got hurt, that's all that should matter."
"Plus there's gonna be stuff going around about if you really are The Dictator," Antonio mused. "The board can go on and on about whether or not you are, but people are gonna talk."
"Let them know exactly who I am," Alfred said, narrowing his eyes. "I'm not hiding anything now that I don't need to. You guys might remember me as The Dictator but I know exactly what I stand for. I'm not about to let someone who just started meddling in Dark Magic bring chaos because he thinks it's fun. It'd be great if everyone else in the world knew that, too."
"At this rate, the whole world is definitely about to know you're awake," Arthur's voice said and Ivan stiffened, looking over. He almost expected more than just Arthur and Francis, but they were the only two in the doorway beside Lovino. "If they don't know already."
"Great," Alfred groaned. "Am I gonna get a big lecture now? About how I should've stayed secret? About how I should've captured him?"
"Of course not," Francis chuckled, going to sit down beside Antonio.
"The entire reason we let you out was for this purpose," Arthur said. "We just didn't expect it to go this badly." He stood beside the chair next to Francis, arms crossed over his chest.
"What did you expect?" Alfred asked. "Did you think he would just mindlessly trash the city? I know you guys don't think twice about shit like Dark Magic, but you underestimate it. Especially after I've told you more about it."
"Then how about you tell us more?" Arthur asked.
Alfred stiffened. "I've told you everything you need to know."
Arthur scoffed, glaring at the wall.
"We trust you," Francis said delicately. "And your decisions. For now. You haven't given us any reason not to."
"Consider me surprised," Alfred smirked.
"What do you have in mind for a plan?" Francis asked.
Alfred thought for a moment, staring at the table. He took a deep breath. "I don't have one. I guess we'll just have to wait and see what he does first."
"That's it?" Arthur snapped and Alfred shrugged. Ivan raised a brow but Alfred just smirked.
"All I got," Alfred said. "But, honestly, I'm fucking exhausted. Don't think I'm going anywhere tonight. Got a place for me to stay here?"
"Would you like your old room in the basement?" Arthur asked. Alfred just rolled his eyes.
"We can put you in a cell overnight," Francis said. "Once you're in better shape, you can try hiding out in Ivan's apartment until you get a plan or are ready to move. Are you certain you don't have a plan?"
"Nothing really comes to mind," Alfred said, standing up. "But thanks. No way I'm getting anywhere this tired." Ivan stood up, following him out of the room. "I think I'll be able to find an empty cell. My cell from last week still work?"
"Yes," Arthur said carefully.
Alfred just smiled as they left. They remained quiet until the doors of the elevator closed in front of them.
"You said you had a plan," Ivan said.
"I do," Alfred said, leaning against the wall this time. He still honestly looked about ready to pass out. "I don't want them getting in the way. They're not gonna like it."
"Then what is your plan?" Ivan asked. When Alfred stayed quiet, Ivan sighed heavily. "I'm not going to leave your side, especially with a plan like this. I'd appreciate it if you would tell me what I'm getting myself into."
"Bait," Alfred said carefully. "I need to use his brother as bait."
"What do you mean?" Ivan asked. The elevator doors opened on the floor of cells. Ivan had never thought much about the other criminals in the other cells, but now he wondered if they knew anything about what was going on, if anyone bothered to let them know that The Dictator had escaped.
"It's complicated," Alfred said, walking with Ivan until they reached a familiar door. This time, however, Ivan wouldn't have to use magic on it.
"We have plenty of time before you usually sleep," Ivan said. He wasn't about to let himself get pushed around or ignored. And he was getting a little tired of all these secrets.
"This isn't something you need to worry yourself over," Alfred shook his head.
"Try me," Ivan offered. Once inside the room, Alfred was quick to yawn and lay down on the little bed, but Ivan stayed standing, arms crossed over his chest. He looked at Alfred impatiently.
Alfred sighed, rubbing the back of his head. "It's not pretty, okay? And I'd prefer not to talk about it. It's just another perk that comes with Dark Magic. I've learned how to deal with it, but Gilbert hasn't. All you need to know is that Gilbert wants to kill his brother. The only reason he hasn't is because he probably doesn't know where he is. I'll make it easy on him by getting close to Ludwig. Then the plan gets…a lot harder."
"Tell me about it," Ivan pressed.
Alfred shook his head. "It's not something you're gonna like and you're gonna stop me. I can't do that. This is the only plan I can see working."
"Does it have something to do with that shock factor you were talking about?" Ivan asked curiously. Alfred nodded. "Fine." Ivan sat down on the couch. He wasn't done talking and Alfred could obviously tell, so he sat upright. "At least tell me about that fight. You keep talking about how you're more experienced than Gilbert. From the looks of it, it took everything you had not to lose."
"Yeah, well, putting up a shield that neither of us could break through took a lot out of me," Alfred said. "And I already told you before about how I've been holding back to make sure I don't do anything I'll regret. Right now he's got the luxury to go all out. I made that shield while he was underground and made sure he couldn't go under it. I was lucky I could even spot him. I don't really get it, but when Dark Magic goes underground, it's almost impossible to detect."
"And when you fought," Ivan said, leaning forward. This was something that genuinely had him interested, "you two moved almost too fast for me to follow. When I encountered Gilbert, he seemed to be able to freeze time. Is that another Dark Magic ability?"
"Yeah," Alfred said. "Dark Magic lets you do all kinds of things you can't with regular magic. Time manipulation is one of them, but it's usually pretty hard to get the hang of. Looks like Gilbert took that as a challenge. Normally, time manipulation puts me ahead of my opponent, but when someone else can use it, too, it gets a little hard to keep up."
"I'd say you did just fine," Ivan mused and Alfred chuckled.
"He's right, though." Alfred sighed, shaking his head. "I am going soft." Ivan opened his mouth to argue, but Alfred cut him off. "I can't fight him full-on like this. I have to protect people and make sure I can get back to normal."
"What did you do before?" Ivan asked. Alfred talks about fighting this way like it wasn't usual for him.
"You don't want to know the answer to that," Alfred said with a sad smile. "You guys seem to have your own opinions of me. I'd hate to change that. Especially you."
"I've gotten past being afraid of you," Ivan said simply.
"To be honest, I'd also like to forget about it," Alfred said. "Bad memories and all that shit." His smile widened. "Don't worry about it. Everything will sort itself out eventually."
"And when everything is sorted?" Ivan asked and Alfred blinked, his smile falling quickly.
"Well, we both know exactly what's gonna happen when my job is done," Alfred muttered. "I…go back to being frozen and…you get to watch your life go back to normal. Everything's where it should be, right?"
Ivan paused for a moment, thinking. "You don't really want to be frozen."
"Who would?" Alfred laughed dryly, his voice trembling slightly. "I mean…I don't even know who gets the better side of it. The people that get to actually follow the real timeline but never get to see me or…me. I get to wake up like nothing happened, like all of that time was just a second." He sounded…scared. He sounded almost terrified, reflecting back on it. "Honestly, I'd prefer it if you guys were able to find a way to kill me."
"I don't mean to be offensive," Ivan said carefully. "You were the one that created your own immortality, which means you didn't want to die."
"I already told you that thought process," Alfred said, looking up at the ceiling. "I couldn't do anything really worthwhile to the world if I was just going to die before I turned 40, or if I got stabbed. Or you could say I was afraid to die, but that sounds a lot more selfish." He smiled faintly. "But once you live long enough…death looks way better than living forever. Don't get me wrong, though, it's not like I'm suicidal. I'm not actively looking for a way to die. I just think death is better than sleeping for another thousand years and then waking up with everyone I knew long dead."
"I am sorry you had to go through that," Ivan apologized.
"Why do you think I was in your head for so long?" Alfred asked. "Even I'm not exactly immune to shit like heartbreak." Alfred yawned and Ivan sighed, leaning back on the couch.
"You can go to sleep if you're that tired," Ivan offered. "I'm sorry for keeping you up to talk about something like that."
"Hey, you're curious, can't count that against you," Alfred said. "If you weren't, I wouldn't even be awake right now. But, yeah, I'm definitely gonna pass out here soon. You've still got my back tomorrow? No matter what happens?"
"Well, you haven't been wrong yet," Ivan offered and Alfred laughed.
"That's the spirit," Alfred chimed. He stretched his arms over his head before lying back down on the bed. He stared at the ceiling for a while. "I'll tell you eventually, I promise. I mean, I told her, and you deserve to know as much as she did. Just…"
"Take as much time as you need," Ivan said.
Alfred sighed. "I don't think I have that much."
I guess this chapter is shorter than what they've been lately, but, hey there wasn't a lot to talk about anyway. We got some more in-depth stuff on Alfred and what's going through his head. Honestly, I'd be a little afraid of being frozen in time again, too. It's a very jarring experience, to be honest. And, surprisingly, Arthur and Francis are supporting Alfred to continue doing whatever he wants. And what is Alfred's plan? It's quite an interesting one.
See you next time!