"Hey, wake up!" Ivan jolted awake when someone shook him. He gasped for breath, but when he looked over, Alfred just offered his usual, lopsided smile. "Sleepy head. You must've been exhausted by that shit yesterday, too!"

"Sorry," Ivan mumbled, sitting up slowly.

"Listen," Alfred said, kneeling down beside the couch. "We need to get moving now, before Gilbert does. If he somehow finds Ludwig first, then we're fucked. But I can't use Dark Magic yet, I need to get some other things done before Gilbert comes after us. So you mind doing that cool camouflaging spell again to get us where we need to go?"

"Um, sure," Ivan nodded slowly. "Do you know where Ludwig even is?"

"One of the perks of being around some of the most influential people of the city." Alfred winked. "I get access to their heads. Gilbert doesn't get that luck." Alfred stood up, stretching his arms over his head. "Like before, I didn't take any personal shit, just Ludwig's location. We got lucky. He's stationed at the base near the city. Usually, he's a lot further away. Hell, he just got back from something in another country. You good to go?"

"You don't think they're gonna try to stop you?" Ivan asked, standing up.

"Counting on it," Alfred nodded. "I got my required hours of sleep early, meaning its way earlier than usual. They might have placed some tracking magic on us, but no one's gonna be able to follow the trail this fast this early. We'll have just enough time to do what I need."

"I guess I trust you," Ivan said slowly. He walked out of the cell with Alfred and noticed with a start that it was still early enough that the sun hadn't risen.

"Here's a promise, big guy," Alfred said. "Once this stage is done…I'll spill my guts for ya. I'll tell you about all my darkest secrets. After that, you can decide if you really wanna stick around that bad." He placed a quick peck on Ivan's cheek, standing on the tips of his toes as he did so. Ivan felt himself blush, nodding in understanding.

"How do you expect to get there this early?" Ivan asked, trying to ignore his flipping stomach. Sure, Alfred had been the one to kiss him this time…and the last time…but that didn't mean he wasn't still thinking about Amelia…Ivan would let Alfred guide this relationship or whatever he wanted it to be. "The buses won't be running."

"We can get there pretty quickly," Alfred said happily. "Well, relatively. It'll be quite a walk, but we can get there in just a few seconds." Ivan raised a brow. "Put that cloaking spell on us so that no one sees anything mysterious before we can get where we need to go. Just in case." Ivan did as he was told, Alfred quickly taking hold of his hand before he lost sight of him. "Now, this spell shouldn't fall, but just in case, this spell does something else that I don't think you know about."

"Yes?" Ivan asked.

"It cloaks magic," Alfred said. "It's pretty badass, but it means no one on the outside can figure out someone under it is using magic. Dark Magic, too, but after a while it'll start leaking. This is mostly on assumption, but I don't think Gilbert will be able to tell if I use magic with you doing this. On top of that, I'm going to use that spell to stop time, meaning he shouldn't be able to sense me using it, either. And with you holding on, you'll get to move through time with me. That plan making sense to you so far?"

"Yes," Ivan said carefully.

"Good, now we're gonna walk all the way to that base," Alfred said. "It's a bit of a ways, but hey, we can keep each other company, right?"

"I guess so," Ivan mused.

"Great, now let's get going!" Alfred chimed, walking towards not the elevator, but the stairs. Ivan watched as the world around them turned to monochrome and he swallowed thickly, following Alfred closely, his hand tightening on Alfred's. Alfred pushed open the door carefully, closing it behind them. Ivan figured that it would have just looked like the door stayed close to anyone that could have actually been around.

Before long, they made it to the bottom level, walking through the people frozen in the lobby. There weren't many, but it was still interesting to look at. Once outside, Alfred immediately started across the road in front of them. Some cars had been moving across the street, but they were stopped now. Everything was eerily quiet.

"Sooo…" Alfred mused, breaking the silence. "Any cool childhood stories? I mean, at least with your sister, you've gotta have some nice stories. All the stories I've got are about, like, dysentery and raiders."

"I doubt I'm that interesting," Ivan said sheepishly.

"Please," Alfred scoffed. "You guys are allowed to have cute childhood stories. At least give me a few! I bet you were fucking adorable as a kid."

Ivan took a deep breath, looking up at the sky to see some birds frozen in the air.

"Well…" Ivan sighed. "I guess there was that time I was rejected by a hamster."

"You were what?" Alfred howled in laughter and Ivan blushed. He knew he shouldn't have gone with that stupid story first…

"So, wait, was she okay?" Alfred asked, genuinely concerned about the fate of a girl that had tried to give Ivan a confession note when he was twelve. Needless to say, Natalia intercepted the note first.

"She might have been hospitalized," Ivan mused. "Honestly, there have been so many incidents like that, it's hard to keep track of them."

"Yeah, well, remind me to never let Natalia know we kissed," Alfred mused. "Like ever."

"I'm sure she'll find out." Ivan laughed. "I'm sure you can handle her, Mr. Dictator. Besides, she means the best. She just wants to protect me from someone who would hurt me."

"You so sure I won't hurt you?" Alfred raised a brow. He meant it teasingly, so they both allowed themselves to take it light-heartedly.

"Well, I'm hoping," Ivan said. He looked ahead and found that, at the end of this oddly long road, was what looked like a military checkpoint. There was already a car there getting its credentials checked by some guards. It had taken a few hours to get here and, honestly, Ivan's feet hurt, but it hadn't been entirely unpleasant. Alfred had been completely invested in every one of Ivan's embarrassing stories.

"Finally," Alfred groaned and started moving faster. Ivan chuckled slightly, but couldn't ignore the pit that was now forming in his stomach as they jogged past the frozen military men. This was a part of Alfred's plan. Gilbert would be involved. They were using Ludwig as bait. This could very easily go wrong, especially when Ivan didn't know what the plan was.

"What do you need me to do?" Ivan asked.

"Other than look pretty?" Alfred smirked. Ivan glared at him. "Well…I need you to work on making sure no one gets hurt. I can't keep holding back trying to protect everyone. I'm gonna try but…there's gonna be a point when I won't be able to. You'll know when, promise. When that time comes…let Gilbert take him. Let Gilbert take whatever he wants." Well, that certainly didn't help the pit in his stomach. "And let him go. If anyone tries to stop him, they'll only get hurt. So I guess, hold people back. No matter what happens. And you'll know when to do this."

"Fine," Ivan said tightly. He was sure his hands were shaking, but for now he could ignore it. He had to stay strong and focused. Alfred was serious, this whole thing was serious. A matter of the safety of the world, it seemed.

Alfred took a deep breath. "Alright!" He started running, looking around the place as best he could. Finally, he pulled Ivan into a space between what looked like barracks where no one was around. "Go ahead and drop your spell."

Ivan obeyed and he could see the black leave Alfred's eyes as he dropped his own spell.

"Now we find Ludwig," Alfred said. "Gilbert probably won't be able to find us until I use Dark Magic again. But our friends from the Center should already be finding out about our little disappearing act. We have to move fast."

Ivan nodded, following back into the open. Despite being just early enough for the sun to rise, the military base was bustling with movement. Soldiers marched in teams, some looks like they were moving boxes, others rushing to give orders. Some drill sergeants were shouting at some new recruits. Ivan wasn't exactly comfortable in a place like this, so he stuck close to Alfred, who seemed perfectly at ease. He had been a military leader of sorts. This place must have been the closest to home he'd felt his whole time in this time period.

Already, a few people were giving them strange looks, wondering if they were really supposed to be there, but Alfred just blew right past them. He was on a mission and nothing was apparently going to stop him. Ivan guessed they had just a few minutes before someone tried to make them leave.

"There he is," Alfred muttered under his breath. Ivan blinked, following his line of sight. Based on Ivan's base research when he was first hired by the Detainment Center, he could definitely recognize that it was Ludwig. He hardly stood out in the crowd, but his hair was longer than most of the newer recruits, even if it was slicked back. He stood in the same military outfit as the rest, but he had some added medals that showed his rank. Alfred immediately started towards him.

Ludwig was looking over a small screen in his hand, maybe doing inventory or something similar to it.

"You're Ludwig, right?" Alfred asked immediately once he was close enough. Ludwig turned around, a confused expression on his face. Ivan sighed with relief. Even if the televised fiasco of Freedom Day got out, it seemed like the military was perhaps too busy to see it.

"And who are you?" Ludwig asked suspiciously.

"Let's just say I know your brother," Alfred said and Ludwig tensed, glancing around.

"What do you know about him?" Ludwig asked, even more tense than before.

"Are they seriously not even telling you anything?" Alfred asked.

"All I know was he went missing," Ludwig said. "Do you know something about him? I came back to this city to get answers, but they haven't told me anything."

"He's made some bad decisions," Alfred explained carefully. "And he's about to make a few more."

"Hey!" Someone shouted. "Unauthorized personnel not allowed past the entry without proper-"

"They're with me," Ludwig interrupted him. "At ease."

"You trust me?" Alfred asked as the few people that had turned their attention towards them started going about their own business.

"For now, benefit of the doubt," Ludwig said. "For now." He made it very clear with his body language and small glare that anything suspicious would change his mind. Well, it wasn't like anyone could overpower Alfred, especially when it came to getting what he wanted.

"Great, we don't have a lot of time," Alfred said. "You…really haven't seen the news from yesterday?"

"I've been busy," Ludwig said carefully. "How do you know about-"

"It's nothing, just seems like the kind of thing that people would be making a big deal about," Alfred said. "Figures the Detainment Center would be keeping a good hold on this for now."

"What are you talking about?" Ludwig asked.

Alfred glanced around, guiding them under a pavilion of sorts, Ivan following closely and keeping an eye around to make sure Gilbert wasn't there yet.

"Your brother is using Dark Magic," Alfred said bluntly and Ludwig blinked in surprise. Obviously, he had nothing to say to that, so Alfred kept going. "And I know what his next move is going to be. First he tried to attack the Freedom Parade, which honestly had a surprising lack of military intervention, but whatever. Next, he's coming here and he's going to go after you."

"How do you know this?" Ludwig asked.

"Let's just say my specialty is in understanding Dark Magic," Alfred said. "There's a lot of stuff that I don't really have to explain to you, but I need you to cooperate with me. I can figure out a way to save your brother, but you're really not gonna like this plan."

Ivan looked over his shoulder and noticed that a familiar car, the one that had picked them up just the day before, was coming closer to them.

"Alfred," Ivan said.

"I know," Alfred said. "Gilbert's coming, too. I expected him to be faster."

"What do you need me to do?" Ludwig asked, obviously aware of the fact that he wasn't going to get very good explanations anytime soon about what was actually happening.

"You really won't like it," Alfred warned.

"If what you said about my brother is true, I'm willing to do anything to make sure he ends up okay," Ludwig said. "I don't want him killed or treated like The Dictator."

"We'll see," Alfred said. "I'm going to need you to do…nothing."

"Nothing?" Ludwig asked.

Alfred nodded. "Absolutely nothing. Don't talk to him, don't move unless he says so, don't look at him. Just don't do anything."

"Why?" Ludwig asked.

"Doing something will only make him want to kill you faster," Alfred said. "Right now, he's going to be undecided."

"Alfred!" Arthur's voice snapped, but Alfred kept going. Ivan turned around and saw Arthur storming towards them, Francis following quickly behind, but he looked a bit more amused with the situation.

"If you do anything to convince him not to kill you or to try to get him back to normal, he's going to kill you," Alfred said. "On the spot. Don't do anything and…and you'll survive longer."

"That's all you need me to do?" Ludwig snapped.

"You need to trust me and this plan," Alfred said carefully. "I said you wouldn't like it."

"Alfred," Arthur huffed, quickly walking up to them and turning Alfred around. "For someone who said they don't have a plan, you're moving awfully fast."

"I slept on it." Alfred shrugged. He turned back towards Ludwig. "You can go against this if you want to, I just want to make sure Gilbert won't do anything he'll regret."

Ludwig clenched his jaw, looking away. His hands were balled into fists, like he was trying to figure out what to do.

"Wow." Gilbert's voice chuckled and Ivan froze, looking around. He couldn't find out where the voice was coming from. Alfred got tense, looking around, while Francis and Arthur stood still. Ludwig looked at Alfred, who was already looking away. "You must be a special kind of stupid."

Something dropped off of the top of the pavilion and, when Ivan turned around to look at it, he wasn't exactly shocked to see Gilbert standing there. His black and red eyes looked just as intimidating as the last time Ivan had seen them. By the time Ivan turned to look at Alfred, his eyes had turned black as well and Ivan's stomach dropped.

Let Gilbert take what he wants…

"Unless this is really your plan to make me see the error of my ways," Gilbert said, quickly advancing on them. Arthur and Francis were quick to retreat back a few steps and Gilbert smirked. Ludwig stood still, looking over him in shock, as if unbelieving of what he was actually seeing. "Have you really been eating that propaganda they've been feeding you, Dictator? Guess you are just as week as I thought."

Alfred was quick to step in front of Ludwig and Ivan raised a brow. Well, it did have to look like he was protecting Ludwig, didn't it? Ivan stayed back, ready to do what he had to do. Don't let Gilbert hurt anyone else, but let him take what he wanted…It was a little tricky to see the balance, but Ivan had to figure that out as it went along.

"You really don't like talking, huh?" Gilbert snickered. "Makes my life easy. Now, out of my way."

Alfred acted first this time, his arm moving faster than humanly possible as he sent a shockwave that blasted Gilbert back and into a storehouse.

"Don't stick too close," Alfred warned, running forward as Gilbert starting flinging debris towards him. Alfred was able to duck out of the way and Ivan, with the help of Ludwig, Arthur, and Francis, was able to make a barrier that placed the debris harmlessly on the ground. But the two were quick to cause even more damage just a second later.

"Don't do anything stupid," Ivan said to Ludwig, hoping Alfred's plan was really going to work. After this, Alfred was going to tell him about everything, so Ivan just had to wait until then. He would know the whole plan and why it was so necessary for Gilbert to actually kidnap Ludwig. Ivan ran forward, looking around for anybody that could possibly get in the way that wasn't already evacuating. A few soldiers decided it was a good idea to start shooting at them, not like it was doing any harm. The bullets just ricocheted off of Alfred's skin and Gilbert looked like he was able to heal faster than they could actually hurt him.

Gilbert moved a hand towards them and Ivan saw the ground beneath their feet begin to move. Ivan had to act fast but, sadly, he didn't have the luxury to use magic that could actually control people like Alfred and Gilbert could. He shoved forward a barrier, as big as he could make it, shoving all of the soldiers quite a few feet to the side before Gilbert could cause them any harm. But Ivan couldn't help but feel like he wasn't doing enough. Like he wasn't strong enough.

When Gilbert started to turn his attention to Ivan, Alfred didn't hesitate to punch him square in the face, causing him to go reeling. They were talking, but they were too far away for Ivan to hear. Most likely, it was just Gilbert trying to get Alfred to react to something he was saying. Maybe trying to get them to team up, if he decided Alfred was strong enough, that is. Just the idea of that happening sent a shiver up Ivan's spine. He was vaguely aware of... something in the back of his head. Maybe it was a sense of dread, but for some reason, it just made him think even more about just how... weak he was. He needed to get stronger, but he didn't know how.

Before long, they were moving towards the barracks in their fight and Ivan ran right past Ludwig, who was shouting orders for an evacuation. Soldiers marched away, some craning their necks in an effort to see the fight. There was no explanation, but it seemed like everyone had the same idea going through their heads. Hell, they were using magic no one else could even try to use. Healing was something that was rumored to only exist in Dark Magic. Not to mention Alfred's obvious immortality after being shot at.

Arthur and Francis seemed almost too afraid to move, but Ivan had no problem stopping a cave-in of a barracks, allowing some soldiers to run out. When they aimed their guns at Alfred and Gilbert, Ivan just shouted at them.

"Don't waste your time!" Ivan snapped. "Get out before they actually try to kill you!"

The soldiers hesitated, but eventually pointed their guns down and started obeying orders. Ivan struggled to keep the structure up so long before he let it collapse. He wasn't strong enough.

It didn't take long for the population of the military base to be close to zero. Ludwig was going along with Alfred's plan…for some reason, that wasn't very reassuring. Francis and Arthur were a fair distance away on their phones, most likely for back up, but it seemed like a silent agreement between everyone that Alfred was the only one that could handle this. Watching the fight the first two times had already left Ivan speechless. Now that there was nothing to do but watch, Ivan couldn't help but feel the same again.

He couldn't help but feel powerless at this intense display of Dark Magic, abilities he would never have. Then again... all it would take to get it was just a willingness...

Ivan shook his head. No. He would never do that, why had the thought even popped into his head?

Ivan flinched, beginning to stumble away, when the two crashed relatively close to him, seeming to be in a fist fight as they rolled in the ground. Before long, they both got to their feet, but neither looked like they were getting tired yet or that they were even injured in the first place.

"You know, I'm getting tired of this," Gilbert said with a smirk before shooting his hand forward. He gripped hard onto Alfred's face, his other hand gripping his shoulder. "Let's see how correct that voice really is, huh?" The hand on Alfred's face started…pulling, like he was going to pull away a layer of…something.

Surprisingly, a green shine appeared under his hand, moving away from Alfred's face. Alfred started screaming and Ivan almost moved forward, but kept his feet planted on the ground. Let Gilbert take what he wants…But what was he taking?

Alfred kicked and screamed, trying to grip onto Gilbert's arms to make him stop. Finally, the green seemed to snap off of Alfred's face, morphing into a ball in the palm of Gilbert's hand. Alfred fell limp and Gilbert didn't even try to hold him up, letting him crumple onto the ground, passed out. Ivan stared in awe. Alfred wasn't awake anymore, no one could stop Gilbert…unless someone else used Dark Magic…

But, wait…Alfred said to let Gilbert take what he wants. Did that mean he would just take Ludwig and then leave? Without causing anymore damage?

"So this is what it looks like?" Gilbert mused, looking at the ball in his hand with intense interest. He snapped his eyes up to Ivan, who tensed. "He's been holding out on you!" Gilbert laughed, happily stomping into Alfred's stomach. He laughed even harder when Alfred didn't react, completely passed out. "He knew how to create immortality and, Hell, he could probably make more! I never would've thought it was something physical like this!" Gilbert howled with laughter as he looked at the green, glowing ball. Was that…really…his immortality?

Was Gilbert really taking it?

"Let's see how well this works," Gilbert said, putting the ball to his head. It took a new form, snapping onto his face before slowly vanishing. Gilbert stared at his hands, laughing even more. "Shit!" Gilbert cackled. "It was right! This is way better than anything I could make on my own!"

"Did you…" Ivan breathed. Gilbert just kept laughing, kicking Alfred harsh enough to make him roll over and slide a fair distance.

"His immortality is mine now, tell him I said thanks." In a second, Gilbert appeared at Ludwig's side. He pressed a slim finger to Ludwig's forehead and the man fainted, falling into Gilbert's arms. The next second, he vanished.

"Alfred!" Ivan shouted before he could stop himself, running to Alfred's unconscious form. He knelt beside Alfred, cradling his head. Alfred's face was peaceful, but startlingly pale. And it didn't look like he was breathing. "Alfred…Alfred, please…"

"What did he just do?!" Arthur snapped, running up to them. Ivan felt himself shaking as he tried to maybe even shake Alfred awake, but it wasn't working.

"What did he take from Alfred?" Francis asked.

"His…his immortality…" Ivan said carefully. He put his ear close to Alfred's mouth, trying to listen to his breath.

"No," Arthur muttered, shaking his head.

"There has to be some kind of medic nearby!" Ivan snapped. "A military medic?! Something! I…I can't tell if he's breathing…"

"He can't possibly be dead," Arthur said, looking off to see if he could spot anything. "That's not possible. He's too stubborn to be dead from something like this."

"He seemed to have been in a lot of pain," Ivan muttered. Arthur was right. Alfred was fine…Gilbert just did…something. He could have been lying, too. Maybe it wasn't Alfred's immortality, maybe he really was just fine…Ivan hoped.

Let's just…casually…end this here. And we're gonna see more with some explanations next time! That sounds fun, right? This is fun, and we didn't exactly get a lot of Gilbert, but I mean what he did say was super important so, hey we can roll with this. And what, exactly, is the other half of Alfred's plan? Well, we get to find out later. You know, hopefully.

Anyway, until next time!