[Fanfiction] Project Pandora's Box (8/30)

[merlin-star.livejournal.com]

...OMFG WOW. I got this up WAY earlier than I said I would. O_o

Title: Project Pandora's Box (8/30) [Tentative cap]
Series: Hetalia
Rating: T
Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot.
Warnings: Language, violence, AU, boy love, POV shifts
Pairings: US x UK (primary), France x Canada, Germany x Italy (implied, for the most part)
Summary: Alfred is really worried about what the siren tried to tell them. To get his mind off of things, he goes on a solo mission. Unfortunately, Veneziano had mislabled the mission. What happened to Alfred? Will the three agents be able to get him back? TWO BONUS SHORTS FOR YOUR VIEWING PLEASURE~!
America: Please…too…tired…
Me: Can’t stop. Bored.
England: *walks in* You two look like hell.

Chapter 1: http://community.livejournal.com/usxuk/93422.html
Chapter 2: http://community.livejournal.com/usxuk/95507.html
Chapter 3: http://community.livejournal.com/usxuk/98146.html
Chapter 4: http://community.livejournal.com/usxuk/99866.html
Chapter 5: http://community.livejournal.com/usxuk/102179.html
Chapter 6: http://community.livejournal.com/usxuk/103131.html
Chapter 7: http://community.livejournal.com/usxuk/105069.html

~*~*~*
Episode 8: Who’s Got the Agent? (Part 2)
~*~*~*

A crowd was starting to gather. Considering that an exploding car wasn’t a usual occurrence, the three agents weren’t surprised that people were coming to see the destruction that had been caused. Still, being interrogated by the police not only sucked and was boring, but it was pretty annoying and time consuming. Arthur sighed and massaged his temples, feeling a headache coming on. He casually glanced at the crowd, wondering if the bomber had decided to stick around.

Damn it. When I find that bloody git, I’ll… Arthur was spared from completing that thought when he felt something tug on his sleeve. He looked down and saw a small boy, who was looking at the Briton with innocent curiosity in his eyes. Arthur smiled and kneeled down to the boy’s level. The blond Briton had a soft spot for children.

The child smiled back.

“Some guy wanted me to give this to you!” he said to the agent, holding out an envelope. Arthur hesitated before taking the letter.

“Well…thank you. You’d best run along now before you worry your family,” Arthur commented, patting the young boy’s head. The child giggled before running off into the crowd.

Matthew and Francis stood to either side of the blond Briton, watching him open the letter. It was made of parchment and the script was flowing, old-style cursive written in emerald green ink. It was hard for the Canadian and Frenchman to decipher the words, but Arthur understood it just fine (some of his colleagues had similar handwriting).

“It says, ‘Bring The Fool to the Bridge at midnight, the time when the full moon bathes the water in silver light,’” Arthur read aloud before snorting, “How direct.”

“And obviously a trap,” Francis commented with a disapproving frown. Matthew sighed dejectedly.

“Trap or no, do we really have a choice? We have no other leads but this one,” the young Canadian pointed out. His fellow agents agreed. What other choice did they have? They had to get Alfred back, no matter what. True, two of the agents barely knew him, but somewhere along the way, the foreign agents had become very attached to the loud American.

***

He wasn’t sure where he was, but it was a place filled with a warm light. His eyes were closed, he was positive of that, yet he saw white all around. Was he dead? He couldn’t remember, didn’t want to remember.

His heart hurt.

***

“Five minutes till midnight,” Francis murmured to his companions. Matthew was fidgeting and Arthur…well, he was trying his damnedest to remain calm. The blond Briton felt as though they were running out of time to save Alfred.

Hell, who’s to say we aren’t?

The minutes crept along at a slow pace. Arthur drummed his fingers against his crossed arms, trying not to have a panic attack. Midnight came, but nothing happened immediately. It took a few seconds before the air seemed to…well, shimmer. The three held their breaths as they watched silvery wisps dance across the water. The wisps rose up and seemed to caress the moon lovingly before shifting and twisting away. That routine was repeated a couple more times, the intricate dance ending when the wisps came together.

A silver light blinded the three agents, causing them to look away. Floating above the water was the boy from before. There was something different about him, though. He seemed to change his age from time to time. At first he was a boy, and then at other times he became a young man. The only thing that remained the same was his flowing, white robe, fiery red hair, and bright green eyes.

The man tilted his head, looking at the three with blank eyes. Arthur shivered, sensing the sheer power hidden beneath the young exterior, although the Briton had the feeling that the…man was suppressing his power. He tentatively tried to open a connection with the man, trying to get a feel for what he was, but for some reason, Arthur couldn’t use his telepathy. As an experiment, Arthur tried to read the minds of his companions, but he couldn’t do that, either.

What the bloody hell…?

“Your powers do not work in the presence of a celestial being,” came a chuckle. The three looked around, but there was nobody there. In fact, the only person there was the levitating young man. Their eyes focused on him and he chuckled again.

“Were you the one who left The Fool in our friend’s car, and then rig the bomb to go off after we had the card in hand?” Arthur asked, barely repressing his anger. The so-called “celestial being” tilted his head, a soft smile on his face.

“Yes. A man as pure as that one is hard to come by, and should be cherished. Mortal beauty…is such a fragile thing. He had physical beauty, but his spiritual beauty was more precious. I only meant to protect him from what is to come,” he tilted his head in the other direction, the smile replaced by a frown, “Things have changed. He has so many connections with people, powerful people. His determination is…astounding. He makes me believe that you mortals have a small chance of survival.”

“So, you will give our pretty American back, then?” Francis inquired with a small smile. The being paused as he sincerely considered the question.

“There is a price for everything. Are you willing to pay the price for your friend’s freedom?” There was no need to ask, for all three had simultaneously nodded their heads without a second’s worth of thought. He smiled serenely at them. “So be it. You will know when the price has been paid. All I ask…is for you to stop what is to come.”

In a flash of silver light, he was gone and a person was lying in the middle of the road on the Golden Gate Bridge. The three rushed over to the fallen man and gave sighs of relief. It was Alfred, peacefully asleep.

***

Since both planes were at San Francisco, the three decided to just take both of them back by dividing themselves up. Much to Matthew’s horror, he was going to ride with Francis while Arthur rode with Alfred.

The blond Briton dozed off after a while, only to be awakened when he sensed his companion stirring. Arthur watched Alfred slowly open his eyes, blinking away the sleep. The young American looked at his surroundings in confusion before his eyes landed on Arthur.

Damn he’s got beautiful eyes. Arthur thought absently.

“That’s the last time you’re going out on a solo mission,” the Briton said sternly, glaring at the American. Alfred chuckled weakly and scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. “Still, what in the bloody hell was that?”

“Uh…Oh! Um…Sorry, brain fuzzy, let me think for a minute,” Alfred replied, looking way too damn adorable when he got that serious thinking look, “I really only got a feeling of what it was. It felt like…the past and the future represented by one being. I guess you could say that he was a god, but an old one.”

They were silent for a while. It was starting to get awkward, but Alfred was just trying to stay awake and probably hadn’t noticed. Arthur felt like he could forgive the young American for being unable to read the atmosphere that one time. The blond Briton sighed, catching Alfred’s attention.

“I’m glad you’re safe,” Arthur said. Afterward, he refused to speak until the morning.

***

BONUS SHORT #1

Kiku was busy running a sample of some substance for another branch when Alfred walked into the room. He glanced up from his work and bowed his head politely to his boss. The American grinned.

“Kiku~! I have a new lab assistant for you! He just flew in today, so take it easy on him,” Alfred then pushed forward a young Chinese man. His long, raven locks were put up into a low ponytail, and his chocolate brown eyes were sparkling with kindness and warmth. The Chinese man smiled serenely at Kiku, causing the Japanese man to blush a little. “Kiku, meet Wang Yao. Yao, meet Honda Kiku.”

The two bowed to each other, Kiku expertly hiding a small smile. Alfred had a thing about introducing new people to Kiku by saying his or her last name first. Now, if only the loud American would use the honorifics while addressing the Japanese man.

Can’t be perfect. Alfred should have taught you that.

“Anyway! Yao, I all ready told you Kiku’s ability. So, Kiku, Yao has the ability to summon and commune with spirits,” Alfred said with a grin and a barely suppressed shiver. The Japanese man smiled a little, knowing his boss’ fear of ghosts. He then left the two alone in Kiku’s lab.

***

BONUS SHORT #2

Veneziano had been sleeping peacefully when the phone rang. He sighed sadly and answered it.

“H-Hi, this is Toris. Um…is…is Alfred there?” Toris, who was a Lithuanian in the Russian Paranormal Investigative Unit, asked. Veneziano would recognize the young man’s voice (and accent) anywhere.

“Yup! Well, he’s in his office right now, so…can I take a message?” the young Italian replied as he played with the phone cord. Ludwig glanced over and sighed. Sometimes the German wished they had wireless phones, although Veneziano couldn’t figure out why.

“Y-Yeah, that’s fine. W-Would you please tell him that…”

The rest of the sentence was whispered lowly, but Veneziano miraculously heard the key words needed to understand what was being said. His eyes widened and he rushed out a phrase before hanging up. The young Italian then bolted for Alfred’s office and barged into the room.

“’Sup?” Alfred asked after a moment of silence. The Italian had interrupted something between him and the other three agents, but he really wasn’t curious right then. There was a bigger issue at the moment.

“Uh…Toris just called and…um…left a message for you,” Veneziano stuttered, which was new for the others. The American tilted his head.

“Okay…so…what did Toris say?” he prompted when he saw that his Italian receptionist wasn’t going to go on. Veneziano fidgeted.

“…Ivan’s visiting.”

There was a deafening silence. Alfred still had that pleasant smile on his face as he rose from his chair.

“I think my hearing’s going. What did you say? ‘Cause I thought you said that Ivan was visiting,” more fidgeting came from the young Italian.

“Th-That’s what I said. Ivan is coming to visit. Tomorrow,” with that said, Veneziano fled the room.

X-posted to hetalia.