Chapter 8. The Fall.
Alfred was a little worried, actually. He walked with sure steps and didn't allow his face to betray any of the feelings threatening to stir inside of him. He was walking to the king. He had failed him on a mission, he just hoped that he would be able to reconcile for forcing the man to put forth so many resources to find him. He walked up to the door all too soon, though when it opened he was rather pleased to see the king again. It hadn't been long since he had last seen him, but it was good to see him again.
Alfred walked halfway up to the throne as usual before kneeling in front of the king.
"I am sorry, Your Majesty," Alfred apologized sincerely. "I should not have-"
"Alfred," Ivan stopped him short and Alfred obediently closed his mouth. "It is good to see you again."
"You as well, Your Majesty," Alfred said, remaining perfectly still.
"Come with me," Ivan said simply and Alfred blinked in surprise, though he wasted no time in standing, already finding the king walking to another door in the room. "This is not the place to talk to you about these matters."
"Of course, Your Majesty," Alfred nodded and followed him, three steps behind exactly. He remembered the day he noticed, with great pride, that his own stride could finally match up to Ivan's. It still did. They walked briskly through a hallway Alfred was unfamiliar with, though Ivan was perfectly relaxed, so he allowed himself to slip into idle observation. Just enough on edge to react quickly if someone attempted anything on the king.
Eventually, they stopped in front of a door guarded by Toris and Ravis. Alfred nodded to the two, who nodded to him after bowing to the king. They opened the door, which lead into a room with a table that was connected to the floor and Alfred guessed that it was a large computer that he and Ivan could use together. Ivan wordlessly entered and Alfred followed. The door closed heavily as Ivan motioned to the chair across from where he was taking his seat. Alfred obeyed the silent order, sitting across from him.
Ivan sighed heavily once before looking right at Alfred, who was startled by the action, though he didn't show it. "You were taken by revolutionaries, correct?"
"Yes, I am lead to believe that the group that kidnapped me is a part of the revolutionary army that seems to evade capture," Alfred said. Ivan was being informal, he did not want to be referred to as highly as he deserved and Alfred was more than willing to cooperate with his wishes.
"Tell me about this group," Ivan said simply and Alfred obeyed easily. He explained everything with his perfect memory. On the computer ingrained in the table between them, Alfred was able to create digital copies of the people he had seen that were important, giving names and as much information as he could think of to assist in perhaps finding them. He explained their abilities, as far as he knew them, and their location, though he had no doubt that they had moved by then. Arthur was smarter than that.
"Do you believe they are a danger?" Ivan asked sincerely after Alfred finished. Alfred glanced up from the picture of Arthur that he had finished creating just moments ago.
"They might be," Alfred nodded modestly. "From what I can tell, Antonio is an extremely accomplished sniper, making any movements we will make around him restrained. As I told you, Francis seems to be very good with technology, as evident by the device I gave you," Alfred motioned to the device Ivan was currently holding. He had told Alfred that they would find a way to improve his prosthetics. Alfred told him he could easily withstand the searing pain that would come along with changing prosthetics once again. "Feliciano and Lovino were able to sneak up to me and managed to get me down without my own notice. Ludwig was very skilled in his combat from the small amount of time I sparred with him."
"And this leader of theirs?" Ivan asked in interest.
"He seems capable, though slightly naïve about the world," Alfred reported. "He seemed to think he was capable of…changing my mind about what side I am on. I would never betray you, Your Majesty. He was the hardest to read out of all of them and he is a foreigner, though I don't know which country, so I cannot tell what skills he would have been born with. I did not see him fight truly. There was one incident, which I told you about with the rioters, where my abilities outmatched him, though it did not appear as though he was trying. Everyone else was rather easy to understand, he, however, was troublesome."
"I see," Ivan mused, looking at the image. It wasn't a complete likeness, Alfred was still not very accomplished at programs like this, but he did his absolute best, especially for the king. "We will keep an eye out for them, there is no doubt that they have moved."
"Of course," Alfred nodded his head in agreement.
Ivan sighed, shaking his head. "In other news," Ivan swiped his hand on the computer and Alfred leaned away from it. Ivan eventually made it so that it showed a map of the continent. "I have a new assignment for you, though it will be completely unlike the others."
"I will do anything you ask of me," Alfred said.
"Naturally," Ivan gave a weak smile. He was stressed out about something, but Alfred wouldn't press him to find anything out. "You and two members of your team will be under the guise of diplomats, the other three will stay here in case of any other assignments we will need and to look out for the revolutionaries. You will go to the countries of Merkatus, Prulamuck, and Eltrack, in that order. It has…come to my attention recently that there is a chance of activities against this country going on and we need you to ensure that this country really is safe. I, sadly cannot leave with the state of the country being as it is due to the revolutionary army, otherwise I would do this myself. You will depart in a few days and return about a week afterwards to the capital and resume as usual."
"I would be honored to accept this assignment," Alfred said honestly.
"Who do you wish to take with you?" Ivan asked.
"Matthew," Alfred said and quickly thought about his other options. On a mission like this, Roderich would have been preferable, though he then considered Gilbert's odd behavior. He would have to keep a close eye on him, "and Gilbert."
Ivan seemed interested by this choice, though he didn't say anything about it. "As both you and Matthew will be gone for quite some time, who would you prefer to stand in as leader? I would prefer for you to appoint who you think is most capable."
"Kiku," Alfred said simply. It made sense that he would be chosen anyway, seeing as he had been a part of the team longer than the rest. Though Ivan was trusting Alfred's judgment. Alfred wasn't going to let him down.
"Very good," Ivan said simply and stood up. Alfred followed him. "I believe that is all. It truly is good to see you alive and well, Alfred."
"I will always return to you, no matter the circumstances, Your Majesty," Alfred bowed to him as the king left with another heavy sigh. Alfred glanced back to the map. Diplomats…that was a rather odd assignment indeed, but Alfred was never going to question Ivan, no matter what decision he made. He would have a week to prepare, which would be more than enough time. He would have to ask prior to his departure if he had permission to kill anyone he found guilty of any crime against the king.
"You asked for a lot, I hope you realize that," Elizabeta huffed from her position leaning back on her desk chair in her room. She glanced back at Alfred, who shrugged shyly from where he stood in her doorway. She chuckled and motioned for him to come closer. Alfred quickly crossed the room, looking at the desk computer lying on her desk. "I looked up any matches pertaining to these people as possible. I started by looking through the databases for anyone registered with their weights and heights. Then I focused on hair and eye color. Then I narrowed it down to their names, just to make it easier. Ready?"
"You're fantastic, Elizabeta," Alfred let out a small laugh as Elizabeta lightly waved her hand at him. She pressed a button on the keyboard and images of Feliciano and Lovino came up first.
"First off, they're brothers, but I figured you already knew that. Lovino was drafted during the war scare a few years ago. Feliciano shortly after he came of age. Lovino deserted the military and Feliciano disappeared a few weeks later. Neither of them have been found since. Assumed dead." Next, Ludwig appeared. "Ludwig's parents were killed by rogue soldiers. Ran away with his brother, neither of them have been seen since then."
"Brother?" Alfred asked. He didn't remember anyone like that around the little group.
"That's the concerning part," Elizabeta nodded gravely, checking to ensure her door was closed. "His brother's name was Gilbert, no picture or information available aside from the name. Like he never existed before."
"Just like us, huh?" Alfred mused. Everyone in their group didn't exist. It was different from Arthur's group, apparently. Arthur's group just ceased to exist, disappeared. Alfred's group never existed. If they did, any and all trace of their existence was wiped thanks to the king. Alfred had never been more thankful that he had decided to bring Gilbert with him to the other countries. "Keep going."
"Antonio," Elizabeta sighed, pulling up the next picture. "Grew up in the same town as Feliciano and Lovino, treated them like family according to sightings of him. He was a good military man, particularly devoted. One day, he ran. There were a few sightings, but after a year, all sightings stopped. Francis next," his picture came up, "he was a nobleman, a little like Roderich, I guess. His father died and he took up after him, keeping up a dead business for old computers. Took a particular interest in electronics. One night, there was a party full of dignitaries, no one saw him afterwards."
"And Arthur?" Alfred asked.
"Arthur Kirkland," Elizabeta sighed heavily, pulling up the last picture. "Never existed. No records, no name. Nothing like Gilbert or any of us. Reminds me of you, if I didn't know any better. As a foreigner, you would expect some kind of identification or way into the country, but there's absolutely nothing. He matches no person in records for this country, or what I stole from our neighbors."
"Guess he wasn't lying," Alfred muttered, leaning closer. The other images were pictures gained from public records, though they were obviously out of date. Arthur's picture was still Alfred's computer generated image. "Thanks, Elizabeta. You really did a great job."
"Took me three days to do it," Elizabeta stretched. "Roddie's a little pissed I haven't been spending much time with him, but that's fine. You still preparing for your mission?"
"Yup," Alfred nodded. "On the bright side, while we're gone, you've at least got this information to help you find them.
"I'm afraid we won't be able to do much with two of our best fighters out of the way," Elizabeta sighed heavily. "From what you've said, they're at least capable."
"In a fair fight that doesn't involve my prosthetics, I think at the very least, Kiku could handle them," Alfred shrugged. "With back-up from you and Roderich. He still needs to improve his fighting skills anyway. Maybe you could help him with that while we're away. You'll need him more than ever."
"Did you get a reason for your huge mission?" Elizabeta asked curiously, finally standing from her desk and walking towards the door.
"I don't need a reason," Alfred shrugged. "But…apparently there's a scare that they could be aligned with the revolutionaries and the king wants us to at least check on the rumors. We have permission to kill whoever we need to, as long as it cannot be traced to him or us and we are left unharmed."
"Did you see the fucking covers he gave us?" Gilbert groaned loudly the second the door opened. He was leaning in the door of Alfred and Matthew's shared room (Alfred kicked his ass pretty well last time he actually entered their room), holding up a tablet with a massive slouch in his back. Matthew was poking his head out of the shared room.
"I don't see a problem with them," Matthew laughed slightly.
"Lovers quarrel," Elizabeta hummed happily as she walked by, towards the kitchen. Alfred grumbled meaningless words under his breath as he rolled his eyes, walking towards them.
"What the hell are you complaining about this time?" Alfred asked. He looked at Gilbert carefully. He looked like he always did, but maybe if Alfred was looking closer, he'd see something as evidence that he really was against them. All Alfred had was speculation and a few facts that he could stretch to try to convict Gilbert. And then there was what would happen to Matthew. Yes, he was a strong man, maybe stronger than Alfred, but there was a close tie between Gilbert and Matthew, no matter how much Alfred wanted to deny it. There was no telling what his betrayal would do to Matthew.
"Our fucking names," Gilbert rolled his eyes. "As dignitaries or whatever. They're ridiculous."
"Do you prefer your last name that doesn't exist?" Alfred raised an eyebrow.
"I used to have one, unlike you," Gilbert scoffed.
"I didn't have one either," Matthew snickered.
"That is a fault in you that I am more than willing to forgive," Gilbert sighed. "But these names, I swear, there's like, zero creativity in them."
"The king's job isn't to be creative, it's to run a country," Alfred rolled his eyes. "Let me see these names if they're so bad."
"Yours is fine," Gilbert grumbled, handing the tablet to Alfred, who glanced at the names. He saw no problem with any of them. "Birdie's is pretty cool, too. But mine? What the hell?"
"What name would you prefer?" Alfred asked, handing the device half-heartedly to Gilbert, who snatched it back quickly.
"Something awesome like my first name, the only thing I was actually allowed to keep…" Gilbert grumbled. He usually complained about his life being erased, which Alfred considered normal. Roderich had a hard time with it his first year. Luckily, Alfred, Matthew, and Kiku didn't have to worry about that sort of thing. Elizabeta seemed fine with it. Gilbert was fighting it, but Alfred had to quell his suspicion. He couldn't let himself think Gilbert was a traitor just because of a few things here and there and just because he hated him. Alfred just had to act like nothing was wrong, observe Gilbert, and the second he found anything incriminating, he would tell the King.
"Hey, Matt," Alfred shook his head, turning to Matthew. "You wanna spar with me?" There was this small building that had to be evacuated due to the unsound structure just a small distance away and Matthew and Alfred generally found time to spar in that building to build up strength. Alfred had also sparred Kiku there, Matthew too, and they found it was a very good space. There was a large space without any obstacles and the fact that there were no mats made the spar seem more real. Made them train all the more harder to avoid getting hurt very bad. None of them knew the meaning of holding back.
"Sure," Matthew nodded with a smile. They hadn't had much of a chance to just be alone together in quite some time. It would be good for both of them. "Good luck getting used to your name, Gil, I'm sorry." Matthew patted Gilbert's shoulder pityingly before joining Alfred in walking to the exit. "Maybe you'll win this time."
"We're still tied for number of wins," Alfred laughed. "And I'm sure I'm gonna pull ahead this time for sure!"
Alfred has returned and been in a rather informal situation with Ivan, how interesting. I'm hoping Ivan's perspective changed your mind at least a little bit about all of his interactions with everyone in Alfred's team. We also got to learn extremely brief backstories of everyone. Except Arthur. Which, I've been dropping some hints everywhere about his backstory, which will be fully explained probably all at once some time in the future. The backstories of everyone in Alfred's team will be revealed as well, not to worry. Just give it time. I've decided that, if I don't get around to giving an explicit backstory to these characters, I'll make entire prose out of their backstories, which I will either post on a different story or just as separate chapters in this one. I will probably do the latter, but only when you all have enough information on all of them.
Anywho, I'm done talking too much, I haven't been able to write much this week and you can probably tell with how much I'm willing to type right now. You have no idea how good it feels to type…Anyway! Please review! It's fantastic and awesome and keeps me going!