Lafayette's mind was going a mile a minute. How could Laurens have been so foolish?! We've all abandoned our petit lion because of this moron!
"Alex!" Laurens and Burr shouted.
"Alexander!" Mulligan shouted.
"Petit lion! Answer us! Please!"
"Come on, Hamilton! We need you to answer us!" Aaron shouted, his voice growing more and more desperate.
Aaron ran into another room, where he had concurred where the explosion had taken place.
"Alexander!"
And he was correct. Alex and Purple were in fact in the room, protectively held close to Washington behind a toppled table.
"Alexander! Are you alright?!" Aaron asked as Washington helped the two boys up.
"At ease, Burr. We're quite alright." Washington said, still holding Alexander close.
"Good. The explosions had us worried a bit."
"They're worrying us all. None of us are sure what keeps causing them, but it's making the rift unstable. The worse it gets, the harder it will be for Purple and the others to survive the trip home." Alexander explained.
"Fuck. So what we're saying is as long as the explosions keep happening, the lower the chances of survival are for us?" Purple said.
"Basically."
Another explosion. Washington, on instinct, grabbed Alexander and Purple. Laurens, Mulligan, Burr, and Lafayette ducked under tables.
Suddenly, shots rang out.
"Shit! We've been found!" Laurens shouted over the gunfire.
"Merde! Que savons-nous?!" Lafayette screamed, reverting back to his native tongue.
The native tongue they all knew Alexander could understand.
"We're gonna get out of here. That's what we're going to do." He said.
Lafayette and the others silently shuffled towards the door, stopped by more gunfire.
"Damn it! Stop shooting them!" A voice shouted. Purple's eyes widened.
"Why?!"
"That's General Washington, you idiot!"
"Lilac, what the hell are you doing here!?" Purple shouted.
Another explosion.
Lilac's vision was blurry.
Her ears were ringing, and it was fucking loud.
"Ow...What...happened?"
A redcoat was in the room, holding someone at gunpoint.
She couldn't figure out who it was. Her vision was far too blurred to realize who it was.
Something else confirmed one of her fears for her.
"Let my son go, NOW!" King's angry, protective, and fearful voice echoed across the room.
Shit.
They had Purple at gunpoint.
"No." The redcoat said simply.
Purple tried kicking him, and Lilac winced alongside him. She'd been given the rundown. Purple had been grazed by a bullet when he was captured, and the only thing keeping it from getting worse was his torn and bloody sweater around his waist.
"Let...Let him go!" Lilac shouted, finding the strength and courage to speak. She was still dizzy and lightheaded, but she didn't give a shit.
That was her best friend being held by a British soldier, a gun pressed to his head.
A gun with a trigger that was threatening them to go off and blow the kid's brains out.
"Why would I listen to a bunch of "future" kids?" The solider snapped.
"Because these "future" kids are going to kick your ass all the way into fucking 1800 if you don't put. Him. Down." Sage snapped back, the usual snark and sarcasm usually dripping from his voice now void.
He was pissed. Not a good thing.
The gun was pressed further into Purple's head. "You wouldn't dare."
Lilac noticed Alexander creeping up behind the British soldier. She grabbed a knife that had been discarded from earlier. "Just fucking watch me." She turned to where Alexander was, waiting to pounce on the soldier.
An unspoken plan passed between the two. "HAMILTON, NOW!" She screamed, diving for the soldier with the knife while Alexander dove for Purple. The two managed to accomplish the tasks.
Partially.
Alexander was able to get the gun out of his hands and Purple away from the soldier, but wasn't able to get past the soldier. Lilac shoved the knife deep into the redcoat's stomach.
Reaching for Hamilton for balance, he managed a smirk through his obvious pain. "We've still got the right hand man, Georgie."
A gunshot, and then an explosion.
Washington screamed for Alexander, and Lilac's vision went black again.
Purple finally found the strength to regain his consciousness.
It was smokey, and bright, and it fucking sucked, but he was still in the warehouse.
Held captive by the British.
God, the entire thing had felt like a fever dream. He was running off of pure adrenaline, that he was highly unsure of what had actually happened.
The burst of pain from his side gave way to all the memories rushing back to him.
Purple's back made contact with hard and pokey ground below him.
"Ow! Fuck!"
Well, at least his bag was safe. He quickly opened it to make sure everything was intact.
All of his papers and everything were safe, and his phone was still intact.
"Oh, thank Becker you still work!" He said to himself, scrambling to open his messages app.
Only then did he realize that he had no signal.
"Oh for the love of-!"
"Mama?"
Purple blinked. "Hello?"
Purple took in his surrounding area. A forest, and clearly in a colder month. If he had to guess, it would have to be between early-December and mid-March, because it was freezing cold.
"Hello? Anyone...here?"
"Mama? Dad?"
A little kid...? But, it's freezing out here? Who in hell is that irresponsible with their child?
"Hello?"
The little kid in question came into view. He was wearing a very over-sized blue coat, and Purple instantly recognized it as a better-made army coat he and King had worked together on making for his history project.
He had long, curly red hair reaching his shoulders, and he looked to be maybe five or six. Four, even.
"Hey, little guy," He said, mustering up the gentlest voice he could muster. He felt like a mix between his mother's behavior after his father fought him, or King and his gentle approach towards Purple. "What's your name?"
The little boy looked at him, fearfully. "A-Alexander Hamilton.."
Purple blinked.
"Okay, Purple, get it together. Okay, how the fuck can I get it together?! I'm in 1777 with a child version of George Washington's right hand man, Alexander Hamilton, in the middle of the woods with almost no idea what the fuck I'm doing. Doubled with no reception, and I can feel what seems like thirty messages from King weighing on what battery my phone has left of it! God dammit, why does this happen to me?!"
Purple was really starting to question where the earthquake had even come from. They couldn't be anywhere near tectonic plates or fault lines that could cause an earthquake, so where the fuck had it come from?
"Okay, think. You have a child with you."
"Where we going?" Alexander asked.
"Shoot, uhm...right now, we're trying to find a roof to sleep under." Purple made the shape of a roof with his arms.
"Okeh!" Alexander smiled brightly.
Purple couldn't help but return it. As bad as he knew Alexander's past probably was, the boy in front of him was still so happy, despite his older counterparts situation.
Purple caught a glance of someone walking in his direction. Purple knew who he was. British Admiral Howe.
"Get behind me." He whispered to Alex, who scurried behind him, grabbing the hem of his jacket.
He had no weapons, meaning all he could do was either protect the five year old behind him, or fight with his fists.
The former was an easier task, and in his head, it meant running. The latter meant instant death.
"Okay. Breathe. You can do this."
He noticed the object Howe had in his hands.
A gun.
Fuck.
Yet, what he did next confused Purple. In a silent but swift motion, Howe aimed it at the trees, and fired.
Purple automatically assumed something was wrong with him, thinking he was drunk, and wanted to shout something, but kept his mouth shut.
One wrong move and he was deader than Washington's army during the Battle of Long Island.
Something snapped above him, and Purple's heart sunk.
A branch.
"Alex, run!" Purple shouted, grabbing his hand and running away from the falling branch. Another shot fired, and Purple barely had any time to react before something grazed his side, and Alexander tripped.
Shit, they were screwed.
Purple automatically wanted to go back into the sweet release of sleep as soon as he was awake.
His side burst out with pain, the first thing he felt after the pounding in his head. Hell, his entire body ached from running for his life after that Admiral bitch chased him.
Good God, he hated it out here.
Struggling to sit up, Purple placed his hand towards the pain, breathing a large sigh of relied when he didn't feel a gaping hole in his side.
His worries didn't ease when his hand came back bloody.
"Making it clear: I fucking hate 1777." He hissed to himself, sparing a glance at the still sleeping Alexander.
Purple was surprised at how they had treated the boy. They had replaced his oversized clothes that Purple had used to make some clothes that could keep Alex at least sheltered from the elements. Instead, he was wearing a cream colored undershirt with a brown coat, light tan pants, and black boots.
His red curls were left alone, sprawling out in front of his face as he slept.
Purple thought it was cute, and glanced at the discarded clothes in the corner of the cell. Alexander's old clothes.
He still had his bag, thank god, and his hoodie. His mind started forming a plan. He could use the hoodie to pressure the wound and hopefully slow the bleeding, and use what he had in his bag to get them out of there.
Jumping for his hoodie, he quickly tied the sleeves together across the wound, and winced at the pain. Purple knew damn well King would probably end up shooting the bastard who'd shot him. He would kill to see that.
He grabbed his bag, making sure everything was in there. Everything was still there and intact.
He still had no signal, which sucked, but his phone thankfully still worked.
All he had to do now was think of a plan that could get him and a five year old out of a British encampment alive.
Wincing at the sting of his wound, Purple took another glance at the cell. It felt like prison, an experience Purple knew sucked but had never personally went through, and he hated it.
Murky, old, rotting walls that gave off a horrific stench, it made Purple wonder how Alex was sleeping so peacefully with the smell of the place.
Yep, seems like a perfect place to be when it came to a war.
Alex stirred, making Purple flinch. Christ, this whole thing had his nerves on edge.
"Ma...mama?" Alex's tiny voice said sleepily.
Fuck.
"Hey, Alex...you, uh, remember me?" Of course he didn't. Poor innocent Alex had barely recognized that a stranger was helping him.
"Your that...purple guy..." Alex said, blinking drowsiness out of his eyes.
Purple smiled softly, moving red curls put of his face. "Yep, that's me. And we're kind of in a bad situation, so you have got to stick with me and try not to do something that'll get us in big trouble. Okay?"
Alex's eyes widened. "Oh no...did father find out about the glass I broke? I swear I didn't mean to! I swear on it!"
Purples heart dropped at the mention of Alex's father. Most of the research he had done in earlier project ideas revealed that his father left after learning that Alex may not have been his biological son, and his mother Rachel was still married to her first husband when she met him.
Purple hated how similar their backstories were.
"Hey, at least you weren't born out of wedlock." King said, wrapping an arm around Purple's shoulders after they had researched Hamilton's history.
"That could still be true, not like I care."
"Fair argument. But still! You guys are exactly carbon copies when it comes to your backstories!" King reassured. "Did your cousin kill themselves after your mom?"
"No, and I also wasn't taken in by a cousin. My whole family went in complete different directions after my dad left."
King's arm tightened, wrapped around him comfortingly. "Hey, it's okay. You have me and the others now."
Purple returned a small smile.
"Come on, King. It can't take you that long to rescue your kid. Lilac, I swear to God, if you didn't tell him."
"Purple? Okey?"
Shit. Right. He was protecting a five year old boy.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm alright. Let's just...find a way out, okay?"
"Oki!"
God, Purple missed having a happy childhood.
Purple was beginning to sense someone was watching them, and his thoughts were only confirmed when Alex tugged on his arm.
"There's a man in a blue coat watching us." Alex said, his voice wavering.
Purple whipped his head around, jumping at the sight of a person in the small window he'd barely made any notice to.
Noticing it could be opened a little, he grabbed at the latch and pulled the small opening open.
"Who are you?"
"Aaron Burr, my good sir."
"Okay, so let me get this straight." Aaron said, staring at the teenager with a sweater tied tightly around his waste. The five year old he now knew was his best friend was sitting in the boys lap, watching him with wide, curious eyes.
"Your from another timeline way in the distant future, and you fell through a hole made from an earthquake, and you ended up here, found a child version of Alexander, got shot at by Admiral Howe, and now your stuck in here."
"Well, was shot," The boy gestured to the blood spot on his sweater. Aaron watched him wince at the pain it clearly brought him.
"Yikes. If we get out of here, I'll get you some help. We have a tent."
The boy gave a smile.
Alexander looked up at Aaron. "Who are you?"
Aaron smiled. "I'm Aaron. And who are you two?"
"Oh, I'm Alex! And that's Purple!"
"Huh. Interesting name for a child. Even though you technically are...purple."
"Eh, it's fine. I'm a stick figure, so whatever my name is, I'm stuck with it."
"Sounds more like you were created than born." Aaron said.
Purple patted Alex's head. "I was born. Then I started jumping all over the place and everyone who came across me just assumed that I was created."
"I'm probably going to regret asking this question, but...didn't you have parents to keep a lookout for you?"
Purple visibly winced, and Aaron knew damn well he was going to regret asking the question.
"I did. Then my dad left when I was seven, and my mom died a couple of years later. Went all over the place for about three years before met my now adoptive father."
"You were seven and your dad left you? Wow. That's a shit parent."
"Yeah...he was."
"Sorry..that was pretty stupid of a question."
"Been asked worse."
"And you had no other family to go to?"
"Nope. They all split up after my dad left, then my mom died, and then years after that, my cousin whose been trying to justify my dad's actions tried to kill me."
"I'm starting to think that your dad was...how you say, a bitch."
"If throwing an already injured seven year old kid into a wall isn't a bitch move, I'm not sure what would've been."
"...Christ."
"Yeah."
Aaron didn't know what to say to the poor kid. He looked maybe fourteen or fifteen, and he had already been through so much.
"How shitty was your family?" Purple asked, staring down at Alex's curly hair.
"They weren't really that bad. They both died, leaving me their legacy, and here I am now."
"Best friends with Alex and a soldier fighting for freedom?"
"Yeah...how did he even...become a child...if you know?"
"I don't. I woke up in the forest and he was calling out for his mom and dad. He's been using the blue coat that I worked around with, but they gave him some clothes."
Aaron felt a huge weight leave his shoulders. So the clothes he'd found in the forest weren't from something worse.
But now he had to get two teenagers out of a British camp and explain to General Washington how his right hand man became a five year old.
"Good God, how am I going to explain this to Washington?"
"My dad's probably worried sick."
Both of then shared a look.
"Adoptive dad?"
"Yeah. Quite overprotective at times, but a better parent than I had in years. He's probably worrying himself to death because I've gone off the face of the planet."
"Hey, don't worry. As soon as we get you patched up, we'll figure out how to get you back to the future...if it's even possible. We don't really have technology that could be of use to you."
"If the British are the reason I'm here, then I think it's best for us to find a way out here and find the tech we need." Purple explained.
Shouts from outside cut off Aaron's statement of agreement, and both shared a glance that meant listen.
Aaron edged closer to the door, having Pu rple stay back, mainly because Alex seemed comfortable in Purple's lap, and because Purple's injury was clearly not fun. The fabric of his sweater was not going to last with whatever they had to do.
"So your telling me those Americans have MORE random people from the future in their camp?!"
"From the Intel they have gathered, there are four teenagers, and two adults. One seems to have authority type positions, and the other is a clearly overprotective parent."
Purple flinched. King and the others had to have tried to follow him.
They were trying to rescue him.
Purple couldn't wait to see King again. He just had to be worried sick if he had jumped into a time hole just to rescue him.
"Think they're connected to one of the people we have downstairs? Or maybe that five year old and teenager Admiral Howe shot yesterday?"
"I'm not sure."
Aaron's hand reached for his pistol. If they were going to mess with these kids, they were going through him.
"What do we do?" Purple whispered, moving to his feet and pushing Alex behind him, grasping his hand.
"Can you run? I know your injured and all, but..."
"I'll be able to run. Don't worry. I've been in worse condition."
Aaron gave him a questionable look, but dropped the subject. He held a stance against the wall, his gun held tight in his hand.
Here the fuck we go.
Aaron's plan surprisingly worked.
The British had come to the cell to check on the two kids, and were greeted with a pistol whip and a gunshot.
Purple grabbed his bag, threw it over his shoulder, and herded Alex out of the room and behind him. The scared youngster hugged his arms around Purple's waist while Aaron shot at British soldiers running towards them.
Aaron's plan, while not having been thought through, had worked a hell of a lot better than Purple had anticipated.
Aaron finally finished taking the British out, and sent the kids running in an opposite direction. Even with the still fresh wound, he was surprised at how Purple was able to get Alexander out of the area faster than he had anticipated.
Kid had willpower, and it impressed him. H e had more willpower than the soldiers who had made it through the harshest part of the winter they were still coming out of.
"There's gotta be a way out of here," Aaron said. "Do you think you can get a hold of one of your friends?"
"I doubt it," Purple said simply. "Even if I had signal, the years between me and one of then would certainly be a large barrier, and I don't think I can get past it."
"Shit. Okay, well, do you think...we can get a hold of one of the prisoners from your time?"
"Wherever their being held."
A quick sweep of the warehouse uncovered the basement, which was beginning to be stocked up with technology Purple had recognized.
The city had been plagued with robberies from labs in the week of the earthquake, and Purple could clearly recognize most of the technology being set on the tables.
"How long have these guys been robbing you guys?" Aaron asked, looking at the technology in the near table.
"Presumably the entire week. The most recent robbery was Wednesday, and there were a crap ton earlier than that."
"So there's been a rift longer than you've been here?"
"Possibly."
"Wait...what if we could find a signal so you could get a hold of your friends?"
"You think we could get a signal from the rift?"
"It might work. It's a high doubt, but it could be possible."
Giving Aaron a skeptical glance, Purple pulled out his phone. Squinting at the bars next to his lowering battery life, his eyes widened.
It wasn't much, but it was a bar of signal.
"Holy shit."
"Did it work?" Aaron asked.
"I don't think we're even near a rift, and I have a small amount of signal!" Purple exclaimed, unlocking the device and heading straight for the messages app.
Opening King's number, Purple sent a rushed text to him, and prayed that it went through.
Purple: I got signal somehow but who the hell knows if this will work. Me, Aaron Burr, and Alexander Hamilton are being held in a British camp about ten miles west of the camp Washington is at. Numerous people from Stick city are here too.
"Please fucking work.." He pleaded silently, pressing send.
The message just had to send everything to shit.
Just as Purple had hit send and shoved his phone back in his pocket, Aaron had started opening fire. British soldiers had followed them into the basement and discovered them.
Purple got Alex behind a table, and the two hid there while Aaron fought for their protection.
"Are we gonna die?" Alex asked. His eyes looked up at Purple with terror.
Poor kid. Hurry up, Washington.
"No. Aaron won't let that happen. I promise." Purple answered, running a hand through Alex's curls.
It wasn't much, but it was the least he could do. He wasn't even sure if they would get out of the base alive.
"GET DOWN!" Aaron screamed. Alex on instinct clung to Purple, and Purple looked around to find out what was happening.
A soldier had fell onto a ray, that Purple knew had to just be a model of the real deal, and it had turned on.
Fuck.
Guess they had taken the real deal.
"Alex...DUCK!" Purple shielded Alex and himself as best he could.
He didn't remember much after that.
Purple groaned, squinting at the brightness of the area.
What the fuck just happened?
"Oww...Alex? Alex! Aaron! What happened?!"
Nothing. No sign of Aaron or Alex.
Jesus Christ, where the fuck was he? Where were Alex and Aaron?
What the fuck happened?
"...Alex?" Dear God, please let the boy live. He was five, and he was the army's only shot at winning the revolution.
Washington was probably worried sick, now that he thought about it.
"Alex! Alexander!" Purple shouted again. Nothing.
"God fucking damn it, I hate the British." He thought to himself.
"Come on, James! Don't leave!" A voice shouted from behind him. The desperation in the woman's face made him flinch.
"And why shouldn't I, Rachel!?" The voice Purple had identified as James, shouted back. "Do you realize what you've done to this family?! You've ruined it by fucking another man! Alexander is not my son!"
"Does that matter?! That was years ago! Alexander is still your son, as long as you decide to let it go! We weren't married, it does not matter! Just stay, and we'll put this behind us!"
"No! I refuse to raise a whoreson with a whore! What do you take me for, a sympathetic for the weak?!"
"James, please..."
A slap. "No. Not another word out of you. I refuse to raise a whoreson with a whore. I'm leaving."
"James, no!"
Purple flinched at the slamming door, watching as Rachel slumped to the floor, sobbing.
Purple flinched at the reminder of his own family. His own father left, his mother a mess.
Good God, it was almost a carbon copy. As if the heavens above set him up to be just like Alexander.
Another harsh slap filled the empty void.
Navy had thrown Purple off his mother and across the room into a wall, where he currently was, covered in blood and bruises.
"NAVY! WHAT THE HELL?! YOU COULD SERIOUSLY INJURE HIM!" Orchid suddenly screamed, gesturing to the young stick.
"Oh, relax, he's fine!"
"You could've killed him. Do you realize how fragile his bones are at this age?! He's only seven!"
"He's not that fragile!"
"You could've broken a rib, Navy! Do you have any care for your son whatsoever?!" Orchid screamed.
Navy slapped her so hard she fell to the ground.
"MOM!" Young Purple screamed, desperately trying to get to his feet.
"Why can't you just be happy with what you've got?! Purple doesn't need to be a fighter!"
"He needs to learn to be a fighter! Right now, he's learned that he's NOT GOOD ENOUGH!" Navy screamed.
"Purple's always gonna be good enough! If only you could realize that!" Orchid snapped.
"He's not good enough! How do you think he's going to do in life without these skills! My father did this exact same thing and I believed it! If you don't know how to fight, your not good enough!"
Orchid pushed Navy to the ground.
"Well then, your father obviously was just as big a piece of shit as you are," She said angrily. "I wish you could see how proud you'd be of Purple when he's older and living his life the way he wants to be."
Navy growled.
"You know what?! I'm done! I'm leaving! You can rot here with our stupid, useless, worthless son who will never be good enough for anyone in this world!"
Purple ran towards his father, grabbing him arm, ignoring the pain it brought him. No, that was not going to happen. His family was going to stay together.
Navy again threw him off of him.
"Dad! Stop it!"
"Navy, your going to hurt him!"
"SHUT UP, ORCHID! I DO WHAT I WANT!"
Purple was curled in the corner, tears and blood coating his face as his parents screamed at each other. It was really triggering for someone his age, especially when it happened again and again.
"Your trying to hurt him!"
"I'm teaching him how to be a man! How the real world works! Is that so much to-You know what? Forget this! You two can rot in here! I'm done!" Navy yelled, giving Purple one last hard kick to the stomach before marching out the door and slamming it shut.
It was quiet save for Orchid's sobbing.
There he went.
His only father figure.
Gone.
Forever.
"Dad...DAD! DAD, COME BACK! PLEASE! I PROMISE I'LL BE BETTER! PLEASE! COME BACK!"
"Jesus Christ..." Purple whispered to himself, looking away from the younger version of himself.
Literally the worst thing he could ever think about. The stupid void.
A strangled sob sent him out of his thoughts.
"Alex!"
It was indeed Alexander, sobbing his heart out on the ground, surrounded by what Purple could only estimate were the darker parts of his thoughts.
"Alex!"
The small boy looked up, and Purple really starting feeling terrible. The poor kid.
"Alex, hey..."
"No! Stay away! They'll hurt you too!"
Purple flinched, pulling his arm back. What was he talking about?
"What are you..."
"They'll get you too! They'll take you and you'll be alone forever!"
Oh.
Oh.
That's what was going on.
"No, Alex, they won't. I promise. You can think that, but I promise you it isn't true."
"What makes you say that?! Your just like me! Alone forever!"
"Actually, no. Sure, I was alone for years, and we both went through mostly the same, but that doesn't mean anything. We both have people who care about us. I have my friends, and you have yours."
Alex blinked at him. "Friends?"
"Yeah! You know, John Laurens, Lafayette, Hercules Mulligan, Tallmadge, Aaron Burr, and Washington. Your his right hand man, remember? The king of insulting Congress?"
Alex giggled. Purple smiled. "We both have people who care about us. You just have to let them. Like I did."
Aaron was quick to open fire, knowing Alex didn't have his gun, and was far too busy keeping Purple from getting more injured then he already was.
Sure, he had only been grazed by the bullet earlier, but Alexander wasn't taking chances.
Frankly, neither was Burr.
"Alexander, get the boy out of here. I don't know where, but just away from here. Please."
Alexander nodded, before he and Purple ran.
The British kept coming, and it was chaos beyond even Alexander's standards.
"This way!" He shouted, pushing the boy into another room, before slamming and locking the door.
Alexander breathed a sigh of relief. "That was close."
"Too close, if you ask me." Purple said, readjusting his sweater and double checking his bag.
"Now what?"
"Hell if I know. We stay here until we're hopefully rescued."
"However long that'll be. Washington and the others are already here by now, but with the amount of soldiers here, it'll take them ages to get through the entire warehouse to find us."
There was a bang on the window. Both of them jumped, with Alexander pushing Purple behind him.
His eyes widened when he got a closer glimpse of the person on the other side.
"John?"
Purple opened the window. "Come on, get it here! I'm sure our absence will be noticed anytime soon!"
Laurens drew his pistol, watching out for any British soldiers hiding in the room.
Mulligan and Lafayette followed, immediately running to Alexander. "Alex! Are you alright?!"
"Good lord, mon ami. You had us worried sick! que s'est-il passé?!"
"I know, I know. I'm sorry. I was ambushed by the British and they tried taking me to their base. When I fought back, they threw me into a room and blasted me with something. And suddenly I wake up and Purple and Aaron are saying something about how I was turned into a child."
"Well you were." Purple said.
"Well, your alive, and we're grateful. Washington was worried himself into a six foot hole." Laurens said.
"Anyways," Alexander ignored the worry. "We've got to get out of here."
"With the amount of British that are crawling around?!" Mulligan snapped.
Gunshots filled the air.
"That's probably Washington and the others two."
Alex and Purple stared at them.
"Oh yeah. Purple's overprotective dad and his buddy got Washington to take them with." Mulligan said, shrugging his shoulders.
Purple's eyes widened. "King's here?!"
"Yep!"
Purple sighed with relief. "Thank God."
"Don't worry. We'll get you guys out of here."
It turned out to be a horrible idea. As soon as they had set foot, a British soldier set off an explosion, and the five of them were running in different directions in an attempt to escape.
Laurens tossed Alexander his spare pistol before shooting at the soldiers behind them. Alexander ran into another room, stopping in his tracks when he realized what was in there.
"Jesus Christ."
The rift between his and Purple's times had become common knowledge to them, but he hadn't expected to see it in real life.
At least, not right now.
And yet, there it stood. It looked eerily similar to a space wormhole, only in pink and blue and purple.
It shot his nerves up.
Purple ran in, a knife in his hand. "Alexander! What's goi-Holy shit."
Purple spotted the rift too.
"That...that's gotta be your way home, right?" Alexander asked.
"Presumably."
Soldiers opened fire, and the others ran in.
"GET DOWN!" Mulligan screamed, jumping under a table.
Alex and Purple jumped under a table, just as another explosion erupted.
Purple didn't need to make any assumptions. He knew something had happened. He had passed out, that was all he knew.
The pink, blue, and purple of the rift was gone, and Purple's face fell.
They didn't.
"...Alex...?"
"Purple! You okay?!" Alexander's hands were shaking his shoulders.
"What...what the hell happened?" Purple asked as Alexander dragged him out from underneath the table.
"The British set off another explosion, I think. I also believe they closed the rift."
All of them turned to look at the rift that was once in the farthest corner of the room, and sure enough, it was gone.
"Fuck."
They did.
Suddenly, he had been held at gunpoint by a British soldier.
Lilac and King were shouting at him.
Purple tried to fight, and failed.
Alexander pulled him away.
Gunshots and another explosion.
It all cascaded down on him.
"Holy shit..."
"Purple!"
Another voice.
This one Purple recognized.
"...King...?"
King was at his side in seconds, cupping his face and checking for injuries.
"Hey, Purple, baby, you okay?"
Purple's still in shock, recovering from the flashbacks cascading down on him. No, he wasn't okay! He's been put through literal hell, captured by the British, traveled back in time, almost gotten shot in the side(it was a graze, but it could've been worse, in his opinion), been held at gunpoint, and almost died at the hands of the British.
No, he was not okay. By this point, he was questioning how the fuck he was still alive.
"Purple...?"
King was still there, cupping his face in one hand. His eyes gave off so much worry, Purple felt he might drown in it.
"What...what the fuck happened?"
King's hand moved, this time hugging the poor child. "Oh, Purple...thank goodness."
"What happened?" Purple hugged him back, still wanting answers.
What the fuck had indeed happened?
"You were being held at gunpoint, and Alexander came up and attacked him, and then the gun set off, and another explosion happened, and...God, I was so worried."
King's grip tightens, and Purple feels really bad.
He'd been separated from King for God knows how long, barely realizing how much he missed being held by him.
The pain in his side is still there, but duller.
He'll get that checked out when they go back.
For now, he's safe where he is. Held by his adoptive father, and still alive.
"Alexander! Alex! Alexander, please! Answer!"
Washington's voice is desperate, begging, pleading, for a response he knows he's not going to get.
Alexander had somehow vanished into thin air, either hit by the explosion, or shot.
Both outcomes would have led to being stuck in the now closed rift.
The only way for King and his friends to return home.
"Please...Alex..."
He hated how desperate and broken he sounded. He was the General, for God's sake! They had a war to win, freedom to gain!
And suddenly, his right hand man was gone. Probably dead. Or floating in some random place between the two times.
He had no right hand man. Mulligan, Burr, Laurens, and Lafayette had lost their best friend.
King and Purple had lost their chance of returning home.
Alexander was floating.
It was a weird feeling, but one he had felt before.
The time between his re-aging and de-aging had been apparently spent in this weird void space.
Here he was.
Alone with his thoughts.
Alone with a reflection.
Alone with the realization that Washington had no right hand man.
That King and Purple had no way of returning home.
That he would never see Laurens or the others again.
It was officially one of the worst feelings he'd ever felt in his life. Next to the pain of losing his mother, his father, his brother, and his cousin. Almost dying in the hurricane.
Everything comes crashing down on him.
"Come on, James! Don't leave!" Rachel shouted, pleading with her husband to stay.
Alexander flinched.
Fuck.
"And why shouldn't I, Rachel!?" James shouted back. "Do you realize what you've done to this family?! You've ruined it by fucking another man! Alexander is not my son!"
"Does that matter?! That was years ago! Alexander is still your son, as long as you decide to let it go! We weren't married, it does not matter! Just stay, and we'll put this behind us!"
"No! I refuse to raise a whoreson with a whore! What do you take me for, a sympathetic for the weak?!"
"James, please..."
A slap. "No. Not another word out of you. I refuse to raise a whoreson with a whore. I'm leaving."
"James, no!"
"I never enjoy thinking about this, even from where I am now." A voice said from behind him.
Alexander's heart dropped from its familiarity.
"...Mother..?"
"Hello, my sweet Alexander."
"Mother!"
The next passed as a blur. All he could distinguish from reality was him in his mother's arms, crying his eyes out.
It reminded him too much of not too long ago, where he was clutching onto Washington for dear life.
Had he missed him that much?
"Mom..."
"Alexander...you have to go."
"What?! No! I just got here! I got to see you again!"
"And you will. But now is not the time. He needs you."
Alexander knew exactly who she was talking about.
Another bright light.
Purple was genuinely surprised that he hadn't straight gone blind with how many explosions and bright lights he'd been exposed to these past few days.
Nevertheless, another light shone, and King held him tighter. Closer.
Everyone else shielded their eyes from the inevitable, and Washington stared when it died down.
The limp body of Alexander freaking Hamilton fell to the ground.
Purple stared in shock, knowing what was wrong.
"...Alex..?" He asked quietly. King held him closer.
"Is...Is he..."
Washington found the strength to move.
"ALEXANDER!"
Racing to the boys unconscious(Dear God, please don't take him) body, he cradled the boy close.
"Alex...Alexander, please, wake up...Son, I need you to wake up for me. Can you do that? Please?"
They were empty pleas. He knew damn well Alexander wasn't going to wake up.
"Alexander..."
The body shifted. Washington froze.
Please, God, don't take him from me now.
"Alexander?"
The boy's eyes slowly blinked open.
"...Dad..?"
Washington honestly didn't care if he started crying. Sure, he was a general, but Alexander meant too much to not have tears shed for his sacrifices.
"Oh, Alex, thank the Lord...We thought you were..."
Alex blinked, before relaxing in Washington's embrace.
By the time the light faded dimmer, Purple was finally able to get a better glimpse of what had happened.
The bright light that had brought Alexander back was now the rift.
Their chance at getting home.
"Take that, British!" Lilac said.
Purple managed a smile.
Fucking finally.
"King, get Purple and the others to the hospital. I'll round up all of our people and take them back." Cornflower ordered.
The dull pain in his side settled back in.
Buzzing.
Lots of buzzing.
Purple's mind can only focus on the buzzing for right now.
There's too much of it.
Beeps fill the air.
Someone's holding his hand.
It's bright.
His head hurts.
Everything's fuzzy.
What the hell happened?
"Purple!"
Someone's calling his name.
Shit, where is he?
Is he back in the void?
Is he with Alexander still?
Did the wound finally catch up to him?
Is he dead?
Finally, he's able to gain enough strength to open his eyes. A bright light consumes his vision.
Yep, not dead.
Thank the damn Revolution.
"...Purple?"
Someone's calling his name again.
Now he can pinpoint it.
King?
The pain is his side has subsided, now replaced with a sore feeling.
And good God, he feels like shit.
"What...what happened..?"
King breathes a sigh of relief.
How long has he been out?
"Jesus, you scared me half to death. Thankfully, Howe didn't really get you too bad. Your sweater kept it from getting worse. It's still bad, but it could've been worse." King explained.
Oh.
Oh yeah.
Howe shot him.
"Lilac and the others are outside. They've been waiting almost two days to see you."
Holy shit.
He's been out for two days because he was grazed by a bullet.
Must have been the stress of everything else he was under.
"You did have a bad head injury, from numerous things. Exactly why you've been out longer than you should've."
Or that.
Now that he thinks about it, his head does hurt a little bit.
A small price to pay for helping a friend get home safe.
Lilac and the others clamor in, expressions of both so much relief and worry that it makes Purple flinch.
It's been far too long since people had cared about so much.
It felt nice.
"We both have people who care about us. You just have to let them. Like I did."
Yeah, it was time to start taking his own advice.