"Hurry Feliciano."

"I'm doing my best. Please don't rush me!"

"He's been unconscious for over an hour—"

"And he's going to be fine."

"I sure hope so."

Muffled voices bounced around Alfred's skull. Faces and memories floated aimlessly in front of him, dull colours melting in with the black that surrounded him. Blood pounded in his ears and his head ached.

"I tried to warn you. Why didn't you listen to me?"

That voice. The man from his dreams. Alfred tried to speak but nothing came out. When he tried again, he felt a lump in his throat blocking the words. Frustration surged through him.

"It's too late now." The voice continued. "I thought I could save you but it wasn't enough."

Alfred was bursting with questions. At last he could make out what the voice was saying. The downside was that he couldn't talk back. He had tried to warn him about Mathias, that much was obvious. How did he know though?

"I wish I could help you now but he is watching me."

Why hadn't he shown up when his dream method didn't work? More importantly, who was this guy? In all the times he'd talked to Alfred he'd never shown his face. It was one of the reasons he hadn't trusted the man at first. Alfred knew he wasn't a patient person but he felt like he could have burst with questions.

"I'm sorry."

Bright lights flooded his vision. Blinking rapidly as his eyes adjusted, he heard voices growing louder.

"He's awake!" An unfamiliar voice exclaimed.

"I noticed." The British man said.

Alfred blinked hard again and jolted when he saw the joyful face looming over him. A wide smile decorated the man's face and he noticed a single stray curl sticking out. Alfred tried to sit up but when he moved a sharp pain shot through him. Grunting, he laid back down.

"Oh, just wait one minute."

Alfred knew he wasn't in much of a position to argue so when the man leaned farther over him and placed one hand over his forehead, he didn't resist. His gaze wandered to the other two.

Ivan stood behind the man with the curl. Smiling politely, he held his hands behind his back and was discussing something with Arthur. He stood beside Ivan, arms crossed and scowling. It looked to Alfred like they were arguing.

"I told you not to go ahead. We agreed—"

Arthur was cut off when Ivan said,

"I waited once I got there. If you were not so late..."

"Like hell! It wasn't my fault that Feliciano fell asleep in the kitchen again." Arthur snapped, gesturing to the man beside Alfred. "I had to find him."

"You did not think to ask Ludwig?"

"He was busy."

As they argued Feliciano smiled at Alfred and said,

"Don't mind them. Those two fight all the time. Arthur fights with everybody. He fights with Ivan, with Francis, YaoLudwigGilbert, everybody!"

The cheerful man's words went in one ear and out the other.

"What– What's going on?" He groaned. "Who were those guys? Why were they here— wait, who are you? And what happened!"

Alfred thought his voice sounded strange, like he was hearing himself through a tunnel. The man's grin faded at the question. He took out a long bandage and bussied himself by wrapping up Alfred's wrist.

"What's your name?" He asked.

"Alfred."

"Well Alfred, when you tackled Lukas you touched his hands—or his wrists I guess—which wasn't a very smart move. Lukas only has to touch someone with his hands to put them to sleep. It's his regular power."

Regular power?

"Wha—where did they go?"

Alfred's hopes that the three villains had been defeated were crushed when Feliciano explained.

"Well, they got away. Ivan froze Tino's double but then the original Tino broke through the ice and started to attack—"

"Are they going to come back?" Alfred interrupted.

Feliciano but his lip and glanced at the open window behind him. "Maybe... Probably. Yes. But as soon as your fixed up we'll be safe because we're going back to our secret base."

The way he said it made it sound like it was his secret club house. Alfred loved it. His hazy mind was clearing and his cuts and bruises didn't stung so much.

"There we go." Feliciano muttered to himself. Then, to Alfred, he said with that cheerful smile back on his face,

"Where does it hurt the most?"

"My head." Alfred replied.

Although he felt better, his head still throbbed terribly. It was like someone was pounding hammers against his skull. Feliciano leaned over him again and placed his hand gingerly on Alfred's forehead. A tingling sensation seemed to flow from Feliciano's hand and into his head. It numbed the pain first from his head and then spread to his whole body.

Alfred let out a sigh. His entire body was numb of pain, as well as everything else, and it felt great. Feliciano kept his hand there for a few more seconds, humming a song that Alfred had never heard contently. When he took his hand away, everything came back and zapped Alfred out of his relaxed state. Jolting up, Alfred winced. He expected all the pain to come rushing back but it didn't.

Sitting all the way up, he glanced over his body. The burns on his ankles and arms were gone. So were the cuts from the glass and the bruises. His head didn't even hurt. He looked back at Feliciano, who was beaming as he put his bandages back in a purple backpack beside him.

"That feels better doesn't it."

Alfred nodded gratefully. "Oh yeah, thanks."

Feliciano broke into a grin and turned to Arthur and Ivan. They were still arguing over something.

"We're all ready to go."

As Feliciano slung his backpack on, Arthur went up to Alfred and offered his hand. Alfred accepted.

"Kiku should be here any minute now."

Alfred stole a look at the still smoking doorway and shuddered. As he stood up, he noticed that Arthur wore dark green gloves over both hands. He was about to ask about them when something caught his eye. Matthew.

His brothers old, stupid stuffed bear lay on the floor, completely untouched. How the hell that happened, Alfred couldn't imagine. He scanned the room and felt his stomach twist when he didn't see his brother.

"Where's Matthew?" He asked Arthur. "Where's my brother?"

Arthur didn't glance awkwardly at his shoes or try to hide the truth. He didn't offer Alfred condescending pity or fake sympathy.

"We don't know."

It was straight up, no beating around the bush. For that, Alfred was thankful. However, he was also furious.

"What do you mean you don't know? We need to find him. He's hurt really badly and he needs help now. Mathias could have taken him for all we know."

"Mathias does not have him I assure you." Ivan said.

Alfred frowned. "How do you know"

"Because Arthur threw him out of the window."

Alfred spun around and gaped at Arthur.

"You threw him out the window!"

Arthur nodded. Alfred couldn't help the grin that stretched across his face.

"Your brother has to be here somewhere." Feliciano said.

"You're right." Alfred nodded. "I need to find him."

An image of Matthew sprawled out across the floor, entered his mind. Carefully avoiding anything that was still smoking, Alfred walked around the room, peering under overturned furniture and scanning the room for his movement. Feliciano walked with him, encouraging and helping him to look. Arthur stood to the side, whispering with Ivan. Occasionally, Alfred noticed, he would glance his way. After several minutes of searching, Alfred approached Ivan and Arthur.

"How did you know where me and Mattie were?" He asked.

"I have the ability to sense where others with powers are." Ivan explained.

"Powers?" Alfred thought back to when he threw the desk off Matthew, and when his brother disappeared.

"You know," Arthur said. "You're taking this surprisingly well."

Alfred smiled. Despite the worry that was infecting him, he was excited as well. He was talking to a real life superhero! And he was a hero too, although he didn't know it before.

"If you can tell where heroes are, can't you feel where Matthew is?"

Ivan shook his head. "I'm afraid it's not too specific. It took me days to narrow down which house was yours."

Alfred's smile dropped and he looked down at his bare feet.

"He is here, somewhere." Ivan added. "He's still alive."

Alfred turned his gaze back up and was about to thank him when he was interrupted. A loud pop came from the far side of what was left of the room. It reminded Alfred of the time when he was little and blew too much air into a balloon. It broke and the loud pop made him and Matthew burst into tears. Alfred whipped around and saw someone standing in the corner of the room.

Beside him, Feliciano broke into a grin. Alfred watched him freeze when he realized that there was smoke billowing up from where the man appeared. His short black hair was singed and embers clung to his shirt. He coughed and fell to his knees. Ashes coated the ground around him. Feliciano dashed to him but tripped and skidded across the floor.

"Kiku!" Arthur exclaimed. Alfred was distracted when he noticed something flickering into view where Feliciano had fallen.