Hetalia - The Cold of War
Chapter 20 and boy is this a chapter and a half. Probably my favourite chapter so far of this series, I hope you survive until the end.
Question time!
Secret Paradox 25 asks: Is Arthur an Angel? Does that mean he's a hybrid?
Yes, Arthur is a hybrid of born his angelic mother and his human father; Gisil Kirkland. Both species that were born from the Goddess Gaia. I cannot wait to tell the story of how he came to be, it's quite the tale.
NihonBara asks: What kind of feedback do you want?
Hey NihonBara, as I have stated in the past I always adore hearing feedback from you about my work. Honestly I am happy with whatever feedback you are willing to give, be it purely positive or otherwise. If there is a glaring issue that you see in my style, punctuation or grammar, I'd much prefer you to point it out to me so that I may improve on it rather then keep fuddling away like a novice. Every artist wants to improve and I am no different. If you can suggest ways to help me improve, great! please tell me and I'll take it into stride as I work to better my skills and hopeful make the content you read all the more enjoyable.
And finally, a general comment on the overwhelmingly positive feedback on the last few fight scenes:
Ha! Thank you all so much for your support, your encouragement and reviews are the reason I continue to write.
And now, the next chapter
Enjoy...
The Nordic Kingdom, The Royal Palace, Entrance Courtyard
With the distant clashing noises of Allistor and Long John's brawl, the rebel youth Alfred Jones writhed as his neck was slowly crushed. The Angel's hand clamped overpoweringly around his windpipe and rose as the being climbed to its feet, it's mouth pulled into a vicious snarl. Alfred whimpered and statically jerked to free himself, painful tears pricking his eyes as he gasped for air.
"Arthur…please" Alfred wheezed as Arthur bore down upon him with eyes that burnt of malice.. No words but undisguised raw rage directed onto the undeserving Alfred. The deathly grip only tightened as the rebel tried to reason with the unreasonable. Alfred spluttered and gasped as blackening blots began to take over his hazy vision, his oxygen deprived brain beginning to shut down.
With the last of his draining strength, Alfred reached out and delicately cupped Arthur's cheek with a trembling hand "Arthur…" He breathed out as his hand fell and his eyes rolled up into his head as Alfred Jones faded into darkness. The American slumped in the Angel's smothering grip, his head lolled back as his whole body fell limp like a rag doll.
Something connected inside the being as it held the sandy haired human, a stirring disturbance from deep within it's mindscape that stayed it's hand from snapping the human's spine. The being stared at the human's damaged face, strangely feeling its own face soften as the view filled it with some warm glow that did it not understand. But the sentimental moment could not last as the Angel remembered itself and flung the human's body away from it, faintly hearing it heavily bounce and skid away across the ice coated yard. The human did not get up. The Angel turned it's blazing eyes to the fight ahead and watched with slight interest as the crimson haired one danced around the giant.
Allistor Kirkland cursed as he narrowly avoided Long John's grab with a rough duck, the beefy hand breezing against his dark green cloak. The Deadman smirked as Allistor fell for the faint, the sorcerer crying out he felt the forgotten Vlad telepathically push him back into Long John's range. Allistor didn't have time to dodge when Long John threw his forehead forward and crunched it against his nose, as he had formerly done to Vlad. Allistor's head snapped back from the force, too dazed to dodge the follow up punch that pounded him to the ground. With his healing factor buzzing to repair the damage, Allistor felt the wind be knocked out of him as his exposed abdomen was unforgivably stomped on. Long John sneering as he dung his heel into Allistor's soft exposed stomach, the Scot winded and pinned.
"Now where was that fighting spirit I saw before? Honestly, how disappointing. It seems the legends of the Kirklands were just exaggerated fables" Long John taunted as he applied further pressure, drawing out an extended groan of pain. Through clenched teeth, Allistor glared at Long John and pooled his salvia to spit at the former sorcerer, the shot accurately hitting its target square between the eyes. Long John roared and raised his weighty fist to bring it crashing down when something hurtled into his side and dragged him down with it as they rolled away. He felt his back smack down against the hard earth as something crouched above him, something with mighty wings that stretched for the skies. The being glowered down at the Deadman, its fingers daggers as it drove them down, aimed for the heart. Long John threw his hands up and caught the Angel's waists, completely entrapping them and halting the incoming lethal blow. The two pushed against each other, locked in a toiling battle of strength. Shifting his hips, Long John pulled the being down and used the movement to roll himself on top; the Angel now beneath scowling up at him. Enthralled by his victory Long John forced its waists down on either side of it's golden head, leaning up and down its body with a twisted look of admiration.
"Look at you. Ain't you impressive, I can see why he would be so desperate to have you" The Deadman hummed as his graze raked down the struggling Angel as it glared daggers back. Long John tightened his hold and was about to begin pulling when he was forced to threw himself sideways to avoid the axe swing that would of taken his head. Allistor Kirkland charged over the angelic being, twirled his axe to his opposite hand and slashed up; barely managing to nick the skin off his target's chest.
The Deadman growled as he moved to dart away, aiming his telepathic push for Allistor's legs when he felt a hand snap out and catch his wounded leg. He snarled as pain rippled up his limb, Allistor grinning as he now had a stationary easy target. As he rushed for another cut, Long John lent out the way and, in the same movement, spun and snatched the being's waist off his foot. He twisted his body and catapulted the Angel into Allistor, the Scot dashing right to avoid being hit by his brother's flailing wings. The thrown Angel skimmed across the ice before it rightened itself and, with the agility of a cat, swerved onto all fours as it slid away. As it slowed to a stop, the being tensed its leg muscles and sprang itself back into the fray.
The Deadman sensed his end approaching as the Angel and Allistor charged at him, dual murderous intent drumming from their fiery intense auras. As the Angel approached, Long John ducked to avoid its crushing hands, and his heart hammered as he saw Allistor shoot towards him with his axe raised to lob off his injured leg. Long John was cornered, these two were going to slaughter him like a wounded animal with their tag team act. But, the Deadman promised himself, the hell if he wasn't going without a fight. With difficulty, Long John hopped out of Allistor's direction and readied to punch the sorcerer when he was within range; hoping to at least knock the cocky bastard's teeth out.
But it was Allistor's turn to use a trick as he ran his hand along the the yard's slippery surface while he glided, the pinching ice melting to water at his touch. He slammed his heel down, using the leverage to sharply pivot himself as he whipped the melted water up with his arm.
When Arthur had used the spell, he had transformed the water droplets into tiny bullet like projectiles to fire at the enemy. As Allistor invoked the same spell, he bound the water molecules in the crude shape of a lance as he spun and slugged the magically formed weapon at the Deadman. The ice lance shrilled as it was propelled into Long John's damaged leg, the hulk screamed and fell to one knee as the sharp tip buried into bone. The beast nearly downed, the Angel with a powerful downward flap of it's wings, propelled itself onto Long John's huge back. It clambered up so that it rode upon the hulk's wide shoulders, clamping it's knees on either side of the base of the thick neck. Long John snarled and shook in a frenzy in attempts to dislodge the winged being, but to no avail as the divine grabbed his head with clawing hands and yanked it back so their eyes met.
Now Allistor felt no love for these former men, despised them even. But what Allistor saw haunted him long after as he saw the reason why his father warned him to never allow Arthur's Grace to awaken. No one, not even the Emperor himself, deserved the cruel fate that befell Long John Silver.
The last thing the damned man would ever see was the blinding face of the Angel-Human hybrid. The angelic being bore it's eyes lit with holy light into Long John's as it slowly opened its mouth; an identical light building inside. Against his will, the Deadman found his own mouth was now gaping wide as though in a terrified silent scream. The air between them cracked with the primeval zenith of an Angel's Grace as the being unleashed it's omnipotent force. It burst out in the form of blistering white beams from the Angel's flaming mouth and eyes, radiating down Long John's throat. The Grace incinerated the human from the inside out; it's divine brilliance obliterating all organic matter. Not even the most sacred and pure element of a child of Gaia, the Soul, survived the sanctified obliteration.
For a second too long the total executed of the Deadman lasted, the silence persisted long after the body lifelessly collapsed and the Angel sluggishly pushed itself off; the glow that shone from it's skin flickering as it staggered away from the burnt corpse. It wobbled and stumbled as it gave its wings a few weak flaps to balance itself. Flecks of dirt, blood and snow dirtied the pure white feathers.
Shakily, Allistor Kirkland took a step toward his brother with his arms held out in caution "Arthur? Artie?…Brother?" He tried as he hesitantly drew closer. The being swung it's head around to face the human that dared approach it and tried to draw itself up to it's full height, spreading it's wings threateningly to appear larger. But the weak display was almost immediately dropped as the Angel's glow flashed a final time before it vanished. Arthur's lids closed over their shining eyes as their light dimmed and faded. Arthur hobbled one last time before slumping forward facedown, the fresh snow crunching as he fell the ground; his wings spread out over him like a shelter. In an instant, Allistor rushed forward to help his brother, relief and fear flooding his mind as he raced towards Arthur. From roughly a metre away, Allistor invoked his magic and softly began chanting a reviving spell, so focused that he did not sense the thrown metal binding net until it was already upon him. The hefty snare enclosed and wrapped around Allistor, it's crushing weight dragging the Scot skidding past the unconscious Angel. Allistor growled as he struggled under the magically bound trap, unable to move and unable to reach his distant magic. His furious eyes snapped to the one that had thrown the net, narrowing on Vlad those hands were held out unsteadily. Natasha stood triumphantly by his side with a new squadron of Imperial soldiers from their ship by her side.
"Well done Vlad. I didn't think you had it in you," Natasha mused as her smile curled, playfully walking her fingers across Vlad's quivering shoulders before turning to her new troops "Restrain the Angel and place it inside the hull. We withdraw immediately". Five troops moved forward on command, one carrying a long length of chain which was used to bind the Arthur's waists and wings. A sleigh pulled by reindeer was brought forth and the five Imperials heaved and strapped the limp body onto it.
As he helplessly watched his brother be taken away, Allistor jerked and bucked and redoubled his efforts of resistance "Vlad. Do not do this," Allistor threatened in a quiet rage "See this through an' there will be no dark corner on this Earth that will hide you from me". Shame and guilt contorted Vlad's face as he failed to meet the sorcerer's eyes, hanging his strawberry blonde head.
"Allistor… you have to know that I never wanted any of this. I never wanted to betray you, anyone. He made me, Allistor, you don't understand!," Vlad blurted out as his panic began to seize in his voice, the confession spilling uncontrollably from his mouth as he sobbed "He took it, he took my Name".
Allistor's mouth fell open, a unexpected wave of sickened pity and horror surged inside him for Vlad Popescu; the man only moments ago he had yearned to kill. Everyone, without exception, was born with two or more names; one being the given name that is bestowed at birth by fellow humans and the other being the person's true Name, their Name of power. The Name was them, it defined their very self: their nature, their strengths and even their flaws. It was something that most would blissfully never know throughout their lives, with only the exceptional being able to discover it. Allistor felt his lips turn dry as he thought of the idea of someone knowing his own Name, and the horror of it chilled him to the core. It was too repulsive to even consider it could ever become a reality. So much worse then violating a person's open consciousness, for to know another's Name, was to have total domination over that person in heart, mind and body. To learn that the Emperor had the means to unwillingly extract one's Name, that if he held that power and Arthur was delivered to his feet… Allistor froze and shook with terror at the vision. He raised his wavering eyes to the sight of his brother disappearing out of sight in the clutches of the enemy, and he painfully bit the inside of his cheek to stop the tears that threatened to spill.
"Ma'am, the prisoner has been successively boarded. Your orders?" A deep voice echoed from across the seemingly empty yard, the voice belonging to a Imperial soldier as Allistor returned his eyes back to Natasha; the bitch had began to walk toward him with a smug smile across her pink-blue lips. She stopped and crouched down to one knee, pitifully observing Allistor like the caged animal he was.
"You know, it was never a question of whether you could keep him from us, but of how long," Natasha whispered to Allistor with the softness of a mother speaking to her child "My Brother will not be denied anything in this world, for it his to take…Farewell first born son of Kirkland, take comfort in the knowledge that your departure from this life will be a swift one". And with those parting words, Natasha reached down for Allistor's befallen axe; her fingers tightening around the helve as she raised it high above her head. A pregnant pause held the air was Natasha gave Allistor one last look before she brought the axe down to his head.
Allistor, you fought well.
Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed this chapter. If this story series is to your liking and you wish for it to long continue, then please take the time to leave a review telling me your thoughts, opinions and questions. I suspect there will be a few raised questions after this. Once again, thank you for reading and as always,
Until next time folks...