Ivan was impatient. He leaned against a window, tapping his arm impatiently. He stared at the door, as if willing the people inside to come out. After Alfred collapsed, and when no one at the base was willing to actually look Alfred over since he was The Dictator, they didn't have a choice but to come back to the Detainment Center. Ivan was eventually able to find Alfred's heartbeat, which was a relief, but no one else seemed as relieved as him. After a lot of phone calls, they got, apparently, the only doctor willing to even get close to The Dictator. Since Alfred couldn't exactly leave the Detainment Center, they were inside of Alfred's usual cell now.

Ivan, on the other hand, had to stay outside. For space reasons. And he was impatient. It was night time now and Ivan had been just sitting around for hours, waiting for some kind of news. But Alfred, the doctor, and Arthur had been inside for hours. Maybe trying to figure out what they could about Dark Magic. But that definitely meant that Alfred hadn't woken up yet…

"Are you still waiting?" Matthew asked. Ivan glanced over. Matthew had been around at first, but he obviously hadn't been happy about it. More like he'd been forced to come. He was a part of Alfred's family line, which meant he was kind of required to care about his well-being. But Ivan certainly cared about Alfred a lot more than him.

"Yes," Ivan said simply. "Are you?"

"I've been waiting on him since I got here," Matthew muttered. "Been waiting for him to finish this so he can go back to being frozen." Ivan sighed heavily, looking at the door. Alfred was technically Matthew's responsibility. As head of the William's family, he took the brunt of the responsibility for Alfred. Most of the time, it was just in the past. Matthew had the tough luck of being the head of the family when Alfred woke up after a thousand years.

Matthew licked is lips before speaking again. "Did Gilbert really take his immortality?"

"As far as I can tell, yes," Ivan said.

"He's gonna wake up," Matthew said. "Whether we want him to or not. Seems to be a talent of his."

Finally, the door opened and Arthur and Dr. Edelstein walked out. Ivan straightened, about to ask questions, but Arthur already apparently knew what he would ask.

"He's fine," Arthur said. "Just sleeping like he usually does."

"Then what happened?" Ivan pressed.

"His soul was very well attached to it," Dr. Edelstein said. "I never would have thought that immortality would take a physical form or anything like that. Whatever it was, it had a thousand years to attach to his soul. And it was just ripped out of him. That amount of pain would cause anyone to faint."

"When do you think he'll wake up?" Ivan asked.

"That's anyone's guess," Dr. Edelstein said with a shrug. "If you want to go inside and check on him, you can."

"When he does wake up," Arthur interjected before Ivan could even move, "tell him we need to know that plan he has in mind. For Ludwig's sake, it better be fast."

Ivan nodded before ducking into the room and he was surprised to find that Matthew walked in with him as well. Ivan raised a brow, but Matthew just looked at Alfred, who looked as sound asleep as ever.

"I thought you didn't care," Ivan said.

"I don't owe him anything," Matthew said stiffly. "I owe this to Amelia."

"I thought you said you didn't know about her," Ivan said, raising a brow in confusion.

"As far as he's concerned, I don't," Matthew said.

"Why not?" Ivan snapped. "Do you know anything about her? He's been trying to find something about her since he started waking up."

"Started?" Matthew asked.

"Do you even realize how much he cares about her?" Ivan asked, quickly jumping away from that subject. "If you know anything about her, he deserves to know."

"He is a criminal," Matthew retorted. "He tried to take over the world. He doesn't deserve anything except to be frozen or dead. Amelia deserved a lot better than him."

Ivan opened his mouth, but closed it shortly after. Ivan could make as many cases as he wanted about Alfred. But he didn't know anything about Amelia. It looked like that was, perhaps, Matthew's area of expertise.

"Alfred is doing everything he can to make sure Gilbert doesn't cause any more trouble," Ivan said.

"Are you going to tell me the same bullshit?" Matthew scoffed. "About how he wants the best for the world or something like that? Don't make excuses for him. He used Dark Magic, he's still using it, he's killed thousands of people himself, not just with the use of armies. You know about all the statistics, you're a good student, aren't you? How can you let yourself be blinded just because he showed you a pretty face and some good qualities?"

"That's not-"

"No, I've seen the way you look at him, act around him," Matthew pressed. "You can decide what you want to do yourself. It's really not my place to judge someone who would want a relationship with The Dictator." Ivan wasn't sure what to say, staying quiet. "I'm not going to tell anyone, but if you get more obvious, that won't really help." He turned to leave. "I just had to make sure he really was still breathing. For her."

Matthew glanced one more time at Alfred before quickly leaving the room. Ivan groaned and sat down on the couch, looking at Alfred's sleeping form. He really needed to understand Alfred's plan. Alfred had told Ivan, specifically, to let Gilbert take what he wanted. Not just to let him take Ludwig, but also anything else he wanted. And that included Alfred's immortality. He knew Gilbert would take it. Why would he willingly give him something that would cause so many problems for so many people?

This did give them one advantage, as long as Ivan's assumption was correct. Alfred had talked about some of the negative effects of immortality. He had to eat a lot and he had to sleep twelve hours a day. With Alfred's immortality gone, he was able to sleep whenever he wanted to and sleep for less time. Gilbert, on the other hand, would have to keep to a new schedule. This meant that Ludwig and the rest of their world would be safe from him for at least twelve hours a day.

The only thing they needed in order to take advantage of that would be Alfred actually waking up.

Ivan wasn't sure when he'd fallen asleep, but he was woken up by his phone buzzing in his pocket. He jumped slightly, sitting upright on the couch. He glanced at Alfred, who was still asleep, before answering his phone. He didn't bother checking who it was, he had a pretty good guess anyway.

"Hello?" Ivan asked, absolutely sure he sounded just as tired as he felt.

"You aren't at home," Natalia's voice said simply. Ivan smiled. She'd tried to check on him. "Does this have something to do with what happened at the military base?"

"Yes," Ivan said. "What do you know about it? What was the news able to get out?"

"The Dictator and Gilbert were fighting again," Natalia said stiffly. "Why didn't you tell me that the other person using Dark Magic was a member of the board?"

"I'm on a contract," Ivan said. "I couldn't have told you if I wanted to. I would have told you about Alfred before this happened as well."

"Should I be worried about him?" Natalia asked.

"He's probably the safest place to be right now." Ivan sighed. "Natalia, I need you to promise me not to get involved with any of this. What is the news telling you?"

"School's been cancelled, so a lot of students are planning a lot of stupid things," Natalia muttered darkly. "I've heard of some plans to storm the Detainment Center to get to The Dictator, but I doubt that's going to work. And I do know when I've been out-matched. I'm mostly worried about you since you seem to be almost directly involved in everything that's going on."

"I'm…okay," Ivan said. He looked at the ground. "Things are getting kind of complicated. Gilbert has…well, he's a lot more dangerous now. As far as I can tell, Alfred has it under control."

"From what you can tell?" Natalia asked impatiently.

"I know he's hard to trust," Ivan said carefully, "but I'm sure this is going to turn out fine."

"You don't exactly sound sure," Natalia said. "I trust you, more than anything. So if you trust him, I will, too. But if he hurts you…"

"What do you intend to do?" Ivan asked amusedly.

"I guess she could try to stab me," Alfred offered and Ivan immediately looked up. Alfred have a small smile and wave from where he sat on the bed. "Again."

"Natalia, I need to go," Ivan blurted out.

"Call me when you can," Natalia said. "I need to make sure you're safe. You should probably call sister, too."

"Of course," Ivan said before hanging up.

"Don't let me interrupt your conversation," Alfred said, but his voice sounded tired.

"Do you realize how long you've been asleep?" Ivan demanded.

"Uh, no," Alfred said, clearing his throat. "That went a little…differently than planned."

"Then what did you plan?" Ivan asked.

"Well, uh…" Alfred said slowly. "I didn't expect it to hurt that much, damn…Wow. It's a bit jarring, too, when it's the first pain you've felt for months so…"

"Is this really all a part of your plan?" Ivan asked. "Just…giving him his immortality?"

"No one was gonna approve of the plan," Alfred said. "Giving him my immortality is an incredibly stupid move. I just wanted to avoid the fights and just get it over with."

"Why?" Ivan asked.

"We need something to snap Gilbert back," Alfred stated. "His brother's not gonna work. He needs a…really vicious snap to the system. And this will work just fucking fine, believe me."

"You…gave him immortality, just to take it back?" Ivan asked, just to make sure he had the right idea in his mind as well. Alfred nodded.

"I know it's stupid, but it's the best idea I had," Alfred said. "And it was better than spit balling with people that don't know anything about Dark Magic. And the fastest thing we can do before he causes real problems. Not to mention we now have the advantage he used to have on us. He's going to sleep every twelve hours while I don't. Which is going to be fucking fantastic."

"Arthur wants to talk to you," Ivan offered. "But before we do that…you promised to tell me."

"Yeah, I, uh…I did." Alfred rubbed the back of his head. "Would you believe me if I said I was too tired for it?"

"Alfred," Ivan pressed. Alfred looked at him like a kid that had just been scolded by their parents. "Please, I want to understand and if you really want me to help you in any way with Gilbert, I should understand Dark Magic."

"And what if I told you that you really don't want answers to your questions?" Alfred offered. Ivan just stared at him. "Okay, okay, jeez, calm down. What…what do you want to know first? We can just start there, I guess."

Ivan thought for a moment, to the one thing that had been irritating him this whole time. "You always seem to just naturally know things. You knew about the people that know the spell to freeze you were coming together. You knew it was me and Arthur. You knew that not all of them were in the city. You knew where Ludwig was as well as the fact that he was Gilbert's target."

Alfred laughed weakly. "You know…that was the question I was hoping you wouldn't bring up." He met Ivan's eyes for a short while, as if judging how Ivan would react to this news. "Okay, well, this is going to sound completely crazy, but let's roll with it…Uh…okay, so, I told you before about Dark Magic and how it's kind of like a being all on its own."

"Yes," Ivan said, nodding.

"So…to go along with that," Alfred hesitated again, "I sound crazy, but whatever. It…well, it doesn't exactly talk, more like it makes sure that I can hear it."

"What?" Ivan asked.

"The goal of Dark Magic is to get stronger," Alfred explained. "That's…the whole point. That's why everyone that uses it does. To get stronger. And so…I don't know why, but it comes with very handy, uh, tips, when it comes to how to get stronger. And it doesn't necessarily talk, it's more like a voice that exists only in my head. It…tells me how to get stronger. By any means necessary."

"And what does that mean?" Ivan asked.

"The reason why Gilbert is acting this way isn't necessarily his own decision," Alfred said. "It's more of that he doesn't have the ability to not listen to the Dark Magic's instructions. That's part of what comes with having it for so long. When I hear it talk, it's more like...background noise to me. To Gilbert, it's how to get strong and there's not a lot of ways to ignore it. That's what happens to pretty much everyone when they first use it. It's really hard to ignore."

"What instructions does it give you?" Ivan asked. Alfred shrugged, looking away from him now.

"To kill people," Alfred said and Ivan froze. "To destroy things, to keep using magic. I mean…sometimes the stuff it tells me is useful. Like how to get through a situation without getting hurt, helpful tips about running an army. At first, it's really useful and nice. It's like you don't have to even think and you're just…strong." Alfred laughed humorlessly. "But there's a major drawback to that. I mean, there's a lot, but this one is the worst, by far.

"Dark Magic is meant to make you strong," Alfred said. "Because of that, it hates weakness. I don't like saying it like that…That implies it has emotions or that it's a living thing. It's not, really. It's just…power. I don't know. Anyway, when it detects weakness, it almost demands that I destroy it. It's a way more powerful demand than just getting strong. So, like, for example…when I see someone I really care about or it knows I'm going to care about, it tells me to kill them. 'Tells' is not the best word, I guess. It's like…every thought I have about that person is to kill them, wipe them out, that way I'll be…I'll be, uh, stronger."

Ivan blinked slowly while Alfred stared at the ground. He'd never expected something like that was going through his head. Was that what he was talking to after his fight with Gilbert at the parade? What did that mean for Ivan?

"I would never kill you," Alfred said clearly. "I swear. Like I've said, I've gotten used to it and I can ignore it very easily. I mean…I got years worth of practice with Amelia…"

"Do you still hear it when you're not using it?" Ivan asked. "You said you can force it out, right?"

Alfred shook his head. "That was just the best wording I could come up with. It's more like there's two different ways to use Dark Magic. It's like…right now, I've got like ninety percent control of my thoughts and my movements. And then there are times when I let it have, say, fifty percent of the control. That's usually when my eyes will go black. That part's easy, it's making me stronger. The really hard part is getting back to me having more control, because that's technically making me weaker. Dark Magic will never go away and I'll never have full control of my thoughts ever again after using it."

The way he said that last sentence…it was like he'd given up hope, almost depressingly.

"How can you be sure?" Ivan asked.

"Dark Magic has never been wrong," Alfred said. "Every single bit of information it's given me has been a hundred percent correct. I've always been able to count on it. It's not living, it doesn't have any reason to lie to me. Once you let it into your mind, it's never coming out. And that's something Gilbert is going to have to live with, too."

"Do you think Gilbert can get to where you are?" Ivan asked. "With your relationship with Dark Magic?"

"The kid just needs practice," Alfred said. "And a big thing to snap him out of it. Right now he's letting Dark Magic take almost complete control of his body. He's listening to everything it says. I'm relying on the fact that he's still got a little control of himself. That's what's going to keep Ludwig safe from him. And I'm hoping Gilbert won't do something he'll regret. With a big enough shock to his system, he'll take almost complete control back. The pain I felt was enough to completely pull me back after I let it take a lot of control from me. Pulling out the immortality will shock his system and he'll take control. And then we can work on not listening to it and all of that jazz. You know, if I'm allowed to stay awake after that."

Ivan paused, thinking for a moment, digesting this information. It was a lot to learn about Alfred and he probably put a lot of effort into hiding it from everyone at risk of them not trusting him. With Dark Magic consistently in the back of his head telling him to kill people…

"When you take the immortality from him," Ivan said, "will you put it back into your system?"

"That's the question," Alfred said, running a hand through his hair. He finally looked back up at Ivan, his eyes tired and more telling now that Ivan knew what to look for. "If I take immortality back, I'm gonna be frozen again. And when I wake up, you'll be dead. And I'll have to take losing two people I've loved in, for me, about a month. But if I dispose of it…they'll just kill me. Either way, I'm still leaving you alone. But this way I don't have to feel that guilt or pain. But…I guess, that doesn't really depend on my position. If Dark Magic is controlling me, I won't have a choice. Immortality is strength and I put a lot of effort into making it."

"But if you had the choice," Ivan said. "If you had enough control to decide, what would you do?"

"I don't know," Alfred said, his voice tight. "I honestly don't know."

Ivan took a deep breath, matching Alfred's gaze until the other looked at the ground again.

"If you're up for it, you should talk to Arthur about your plan," Ivan said. "It's a…change of subject for you, at least."

"Yeah, nothing's better than lying to some business jerks." Alfred smirked. "If you're…uncomfortable…with how this works, I, uh…I get it."

"If you didn't even make me suspicious that you had something in you that wanted to kill me when I didn't know what was going through your head," Ivan said, "then I think I can still trust you after the fact." Ivan paused as Alfred stood up. "How long have those thoughts been in your head?"

"It's the same exact thing that happened with Amelia." Alfred shrugged. "It started the second I saw you."

"I feel like I should be honored," Ivan offered, laughing slightly. Alfred smiled before standing up.

"Who knows," Alfred said. "I think I would be."

Ivan stood up, texting Arthur, who he knew was already in the building. Well, hopefully. He couldn't exactly leave without being bombarded with the press who were consistently outside. If anyone left, they would have to use a cloaking spell to hope to get through.

Arthur responded almost immediately. Francis was apparently also still in the center, along with Matthew, and they would meet with a handful of other board members in the usual meeting room.

This was a lot longer than I assumed it would be! I wanted another scene in here, but that's just gonna have to wait until next chapter! But we got a shit ton of stuff on Alfred and Gilbert. That was a lot of information and I hope it all came across the way I wanted it to. Later, there is going to be a backstory on Alfred. And that will explain things better, I hope.

Anyway, until next time!