The Hetalia Global Warming Crisis; Get Out Alive

Arc #3: The Basement

22— The Truth

~Spain~

Spain looked up as Alfred padded back to the crowd. He had an air of complete misery around him, but the Spaniard ignored that and patted the American on the back.

"Don't worry about anything, amigo," he said cheerfully. "Russia and France will take care of Canada just fine."

Alfred didn't reply, but he shot him a sour look as he passed. Antonio backed away, inwardly sighing. Even his cheerful charm wasn't working!

The American wordlessly dragged a chair next to the couch and leaned over Arthur, letting out a mournful sigh. Kumajiro climbed into his lap, but the young American didn't react. China sensed the change in his mood and quickly shooed the others away. Antonio, Lovino, Feliciano, Kiku, Gilbert, and Ludwig made their way into the kitchen and gathered around the dining table. They stood staring at each other for a few moments. Suddenly, Prussia broke the silence.

"So what's our plan?"

"We don't plan on staying with the old Allies, do we?" Lovino added skeptically. Japan, Germany, and Prussia shook their heads decisively.

"We're going to take the battle to the front," growled Ludwig. The others murmured in agreement. "Canada stopped us once, but now's our chance."

"What about America and England?" Feliciano whimpered.

"China can take care of them," Kiku answered quietly.

"Our plan?" Gilbert prompted.

"We get as much information out of America as we can," answered Ludwig, acknowledging the Prussian's impatience with a tilt of his head. "Then, the next time we get into an argument, we'll leave. I doubt America or China will try to stop us."

"So once we're out there, what do we do, potato bastard?" Lovino snarled, mostly to hide his reluctance and fear.

"We track them down using the information obtained from America," the German replied steadily. "It's us against those two humans. What chance do they have?"

That managed to bring some confidence into the Italy brothers, and Spain smiled at Lovino's scared but determined expression. But deep inside, the Spaniard felt a nagging doubt. If it was simply just two humans they were up against, how had these people been able to inflict so much damage on two of the most powerful nations? He shook his doubts away. If Germany wasn't afraid, then neither was he!

"Don't worry about it," Kiku added softly. "We fought together before, and we can do it again. Besides," he smiled warmly, but his dark eyes flickered dangerously, "it's been a while since I've been at war."

~America~

Antonio stood behind Alfred, who was still seated and bent over Arthur. Wang had relieved himself from watching them after Antonio convinced him to rest. The two men were silent as they stared at the sleeping Englishman.

"You hated him, didn't you?" Alfred asked after a while. He didn't look up.

Antonio was silent. What could he say? It was obvious, wasn't it?

"When I was with England, he was always going off to wars and coming back injured," Alfred went on, voice unusually monotone. "It wasn't just France. He was fighting you, wasn't he?"

"He never told you?" the Spaniard asked in surprise. "Yes, those battles were with me. And yes, I hated him. I still do, especially after what he did to me."

Antonio moved closer to Alfred until he stood beside him. He bent over Arthur and brushed his hand gently over the bandaged wounds.

"But, I guess, when I see him like this, I can't help but feel a bit sorry," he murmured. "I know he's a gentleman and all, but deep inside, he's still that arrogant beast of a pirate I knew. And I know that no pirate wants to die like this. They want to be killed in battle; die heroically while fighting for their crew. Defending what they treasure most. Not trapped in a building."

Alfred twitched. Heroically? He couldn't imagine Arthur being any more of a hero than a rock. Then again, Spain seemed to know the Englishman's past far better than he did. And England did save him…

"He can be a hero here too," Alfred whispered. "He saved me, even though I couldn't save him."

Antonio looked at the American, surprised to hear the sincerity in his voice that was never there before. For the first time, he truly wondered what had happened to America and England in the building.

"You never told us about what happened," Spain pointed out gently, forcing some cheerfulness into his voice. "Why don't you tell me?"

America let out a shaky sigh, and Antonio was worried he wouldn't say anything. When he spoke, Antonio had to strain his ears to listen.

"We were escaping from the enemies," Alfred muttered, trying to hide the fear in his voice. "Suddenly this creature comes out of nowhere… I think it was some kind of mutated wolf. It attacked us, and while it was going to kill me, England stepped in and took the blow. He saved my life, but ended up like this." He buried his face in his hands. "This is entirely my fault."

"Don't say that," Antonio said awkwardly, patting the young man's shoulder. "It wasn't you that attacked England."

"No, you don't understand," Alfred cried. "I should never have held the meeting here! I should have known this was going to happen."

Antonio stiffened. "What are you talking about?"

Alfred didn't reply as he looked at the floor in guilt. The Spaniard forced Alfred to look up into his intense green eyes. He saw the young man's bright blue eyes widen in shock. No one had seen Spain look so serious before. His green eyes were on fire, and his lips set in a tense, straight line.

"Is there something you're not telling us?" the Spaniard demanded.

"This place was a banquet hall and business building," Alfred gasped, the words tumbling out like a runaway train. The way Spain looked was so unlike Spain and it startled him into submission. "All the rich people who worked in the building would come to the hall for parties. One night, they were having a party when something went terribly wrong. People started to go missing, and then they were found in rooms, shackled in chains and killed. After that, this place was abandoned, but I couldn't find an available hall large enough to fit two hundred countries, so I had to use this one." He took a deep breath to calm himself. "Now whatever happened to those people who worked here is happening to us. I think the same people behind all that are the ones hunting us now."

"This better not be some kind of story you're making up," Antonio growled. His eyes blazed with anger and worry. He knew he looked like the pirate he used to be, and he didn't mind. If he had to scare the information out of Alfred, so be it.

"I swear it's not!" whimpered Alfred. "It's a true story!"

Antonio whipped around and paced the room in agitation. If it was true, would it change the plans for the Axis?

"Stay here. I'm going to tell the others about this," he growled as he reached the threshold to the kitchen. He looked back at Alfred with a frustrated expression. "You should have told us from the start. From now on, we can't keep things from each other. It will kill us all."

"Wait, Spain," Alfred called softly. "There's one more thing you should know, and tell the others, too."

"What is it?"

"Australia is alive…"

Antonio raised an eyebrow; Alfred looked more scared than happy at the news.

"That's a good thing right?" the Spaniard smiled. "Where is he then?"

"No, wait, let me finish," continued the American. "Australia is alive, but he's not on our side anymore."

"You mean…" Spain's smile faded as the words slowly began to register.

"Australia is on the enemy's side," Alfred concluded bluntly. "We've been betrayed."

Hetalia belongs to Hidekaz Himaruya

Thanks for all the help and all the reviews everyone! I really appreciate all the support! Thank you so much for reading!

I'm feeling sentimental at the moment. I'll post two chapters today. My exams are coming up though, so it will be a few weeks until I can get up more chapters. Just to let you know. :)

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