[APH/Warehouse 13 fanfiction] Artifact
Title: Artifact
Fandom: Axis Powers Hetalia/Warehouse 13
Characters: Claudia, Artie; America
Rating: PG
Warnings:
Summary: While doing inventory in the Warehouse, Claudia comes across a box that doesn't seem to be recorded anywhere. It looks less like an Artifact and more like the contents of someone's junk drawer.
Notes: Oh come on, it had to be done! Artie even calls the Warehouse "America's attic".
Posted to hetalia.
~*~
"Hey, Artie?"
Artie turned away from his desk, blinking at Claudia standing uncertainly behind him. "Yes? What can I do for you?"
"Well..." She frowned, obviously thinking hard about something. She'd apparently just been doing inventory, her headphones were still hanging around her neck and Artie could faintly hear the music still blaring from them, even halfway across the room. "I found something weird."
"My dear, this is the Warehouse."
"Okay point, but weirder than normal. I found a box, and I don't think there's any Artifacts in it. Nothing I could find in the records, anyway."
Artie blinked, trying to remember what section of the Warehouse she'd been working in that day. "What was in it? Even our records aren't complete, Claudia, that's why you do inventory."
"Well duh," Claudia sighed, fingering a lock of her hair. "It just... didn't feel like the stuff in the rest of the Warehouse. There were some toys, and a bunch of old uniforms and stuff."
Oh.
Artie stood and stretched. "I'd been hoping for a break anyway. Can you show me this box?"
It wasn't very far from the entrance, as Artie knew it wouldn't be. Claudia stepped over to pull the lid open. "Here, see?"
Inside was a set of old wooden toy soldiers, each face hand painted and unique. There was an old top hat, one that looked like it had definitely seen better days. In fact, there was a bullet hole punched clean through it. Beside that, an old book that Artie knew from experience was a very old copy of Taketori Monogatari with cherry blossoms and chrysanthemums pressed between nearly every page. A carefully constructed glass case protected a small and incredibly antique Fabergé egg. There was also a small stuffed polar bear that looked almost handmade, and a pile of military uniforms.
The uniforms were undoubtedly the most puzzling things in the box. There was a uniform from every single war America had ever participated in, from Operation Desert Storm all the way back to the Revolutionary War. All the branches of the military were represented; Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard. The ranks were all different. But all of them that had name patches all bore the same name: A.F.Jones.
"See?" Claudia leaned over to get a better look in the box. "None of it looks Artifact-y to me, except maybe the egg. And lemme guess, Abraham Lincoln's hat?"
Artie shook his head, amused. "You'd be surprised. No Claudia, I know exactly who this belongs to. In fact, he called me last week to see if he could drop by today." He reached over to close the box gently, wondering at the coincidence of Claudia coming across this box today.
"What, really?" Claudia grinned. "All this stuff belongs to one guy?"
"Oh yes," Artie led the way back into the office and glanced at his watch. "In fact-"
Sure enough, he was interrupted by a knock on the door. Before either of them had a chance to call out, the door opened and a young man walked in, grinning widely and looking as though he owned the place.
Claudia knew she was staring and couldn't bring herself to care. He looked maybe about her own age, with bright blond hair and blue eyes behind flattering square-framed glasses. He stood confidently, feet apart and his hands on his hips, wearing worn jeans and a brown leather bomber jacket over a plain white t-shirt. He studied her in open curiosity, absently adjusting the bag over his shoulder. "Hey Artie, is this one of the new agents?"
"No," Artie shook his head, smiling slightly. "This is Claudia. The agents that got transferred here are Myka Bering and Pete Lattimer."
The young man frowned for a minute, thinking, then his smile was back. "Oh right, I've met them once or twice. Nice guys." He glanced over at Claudia again, as though unsure whether or not to say something.
Artie chuckled, putting a hand on Claudia's shoulder. "Claudia, may I present Alfred F. Jones, the United States of America."
Claudia stared for a moment longer, then blinked. "Since when is that a title?"
"Since 1776." Alfred grinned at her, then turned his attention to Artie, swinging the bag off his shoulder. "I've got something else for my box, Art."
"Hm? Oh, Claudia can take it. She had the pleasure of coming across your box earlier today. What is it?" He gestured at the bag.
Alfred sighed in regret, running a hand through his hair. "My uniform from Afganistan. I got killed again last week." Claudia nearly dropped the bag, though Artie didn't look surprised. Alfred continued talking as though that wasn't anything unusual. "Hurt like hell and I was lucky no one in my unit took too close of a look. Damnit, that means I can't enlist again for another ten years."
"Can't you just enlist under a false name?" Claudia was beginning to get her momentum back. After some of the things that she'd encountered, finding out that a country could be a person wasn't terribly shocking after all. "I mean, if you can get false papers enough to exist, I'm sure you can fake them well enough to get into the military."
"Eh, yes and no," Alfred shrugged. "The Pres and VP and some of the other high ranking guys in Washington know who I am, so I probably could. But that'd be lying." He shook his head. "If I'm going to fight for my people, I want to do it under my own name."
Claudia thought back to all those uniforms lying in the box, and found herself nodding.
"Claudia, go put that uniform with the others," Artie said, and Claudia frowned. She hated being shooed, especially when something so interesting was happening right here. It wasn't very often you got to talk to a country. But she put the bag over her shoulder and nodded.
"Nice to meet you, Mr. Jones,"
"You too," he flashed her another of those winning grins, reaching out to clasp her hand. "I like this place, it has a lot of memories for all of us. Take care of it, okay?"
She was halfway down the steps before it dawned on her who he must have meant by 'all of us'.
She wondered if she'd ever get to meet the rest of the World.
~*~
Notes:
America's 16th President, Abraham Lincoln, was known for his distinctive tall stove pipe hat. During the American Civil War, there were several assassination attempts that were all thwarted in one way or another. According to legend, one such attempt happened while Lincoln was on horseback, riding between cities. An assassin tried to shoot him and missed, instead shooting the hat off his head.
Taketori Monogatari is a classical Japanese novel detailing the story of Kaguya-hime, the princess of a moon kingdom (no, not that Moon Kingdom) who flees to Earth and is raised by a human bamboo cutter. She is later returned to her extraterrestrial family via a flying saucer, and is considered one of the very earliest works of science fiction. It was written in the 10th century. Personally, I think Alfred would find it fascinating.
Cherry blossoms are, of course, a symbol of Japan. Chrysanthemums are the symbol of the Japanese emperor. The Japanese word for chrysanthemum is "kiku". Coincidence? I think not.
Fabergé eggs were made from 1885 - 1917 by the Russian jewelers of the Fabergé family. Larger ones were created for the Russian royal family, but many smaller ones were sold to the general public and were meant to be worn on a chain around the neck.
Fandom: Axis Powers Hetalia/Warehouse 13
Characters: Claudia, Artie; America
Rating: PG
Warnings:
Summary: While doing inventory in the Warehouse, Claudia comes across a box that doesn't seem to be recorded anywhere. It looks less like an Artifact and more like the contents of someone's junk drawer.
Notes: Oh come on, it had to be done! Artie even calls the Warehouse "America's attic".
Posted to hetalia.
~*~
"Hey, Artie?"
Artie turned away from his desk, blinking at Claudia standing uncertainly behind him. "Yes? What can I do for you?"
"Well..." She frowned, obviously thinking hard about something. She'd apparently just been doing inventory, her headphones were still hanging around her neck and Artie could faintly hear the music still blaring from them, even halfway across the room. "I found something weird."
"My dear, this is the Warehouse."
"Okay point, but weirder than normal. I found a box, and I don't think there's any Artifacts in it. Nothing I could find in the records, anyway."
Artie blinked, trying to remember what section of the Warehouse she'd been working in that day. "What was in it? Even our records aren't complete, Claudia, that's why you do inventory."
"Well duh," Claudia sighed, fingering a lock of her hair. "It just... didn't feel like the stuff in the rest of the Warehouse. There were some toys, and a bunch of old uniforms and stuff."
Oh.
Artie stood and stretched. "I'd been hoping for a break anyway. Can you show me this box?"
It wasn't very far from the entrance, as Artie knew it wouldn't be. Claudia stepped over to pull the lid open. "Here, see?"
Inside was a set of old wooden toy soldiers, each face hand painted and unique. There was an old top hat, one that looked like it had definitely seen better days. In fact, there was a bullet hole punched clean through it. Beside that, an old book that Artie knew from experience was a very old copy of Taketori Monogatari with cherry blossoms and chrysanthemums pressed between nearly every page. A carefully constructed glass case protected a small and incredibly antique Fabergé egg. There was also a small stuffed polar bear that looked almost handmade, and a pile of military uniforms.
The uniforms were undoubtedly the most puzzling things in the box. There was a uniform from every single war America had ever participated in, from Operation Desert Storm all the way back to the Revolutionary War. All the branches of the military were represented; Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard. The ranks were all different. But all of them that had name patches all bore the same name: A.F.Jones.
"See?" Claudia leaned over to get a better look in the box. "None of it looks Artifact-y to me, except maybe the egg. And lemme guess, Abraham Lincoln's hat?"
Artie shook his head, amused. "You'd be surprised. No Claudia, I know exactly who this belongs to. In fact, he called me last week to see if he could drop by today." He reached over to close the box gently, wondering at the coincidence of Claudia coming across this box today.
"What, really?" Claudia grinned. "All this stuff belongs to one guy?"
"Oh yes," Artie led the way back into the office and glanced at his watch. "In fact-"
Sure enough, he was interrupted by a knock on the door. Before either of them had a chance to call out, the door opened and a young man walked in, grinning widely and looking as though he owned the place.
Claudia knew she was staring and couldn't bring herself to care. He looked maybe about her own age, with bright blond hair and blue eyes behind flattering square-framed glasses. He stood confidently, feet apart and his hands on his hips, wearing worn jeans and a brown leather bomber jacket over a plain white t-shirt. He studied her in open curiosity, absently adjusting the bag over his shoulder. "Hey Artie, is this one of the new agents?"
"No," Artie shook his head, smiling slightly. "This is Claudia. The agents that got transferred here are Myka Bering and Pete Lattimer."
The young man frowned for a minute, thinking, then his smile was back. "Oh right, I've met them once or twice. Nice guys." He glanced over at Claudia again, as though unsure whether or not to say something.
Artie chuckled, putting a hand on Claudia's shoulder. "Claudia, may I present Alfred F. Jones, the United States of America."
Claudia stared for a moment longer, then blinked. "Since when is that a title?"
"Since 1776." Alfred grinned at her, then turned his attention to Artie, swinging the bag off his shoulder. "I've got something else for my box, Art."
"Hm? Oh, Claudia can take it. She had the pleasure of coming across your box earlier today. What is it?" He gestured at the bag.
Alfred sighed in regret, running a hand through his hair. "My uniform from Afganistan. I got killed again last week." Claudia nearly dropped the bag, though Artie didn't look surprised. Alfred continued talking as though that wasn't anything unusual. "Hurt like hell and I was lucky no one in my unit took too close of a look. Damnit, that means I can't enlist again for another ten years."
"Can't you just enlist under a false name?" Claudia was beginning to get her momentum back. After some of the things that she'd encountered, finding out that a country could be a person wasn't terribly shocking after all. "I mean, if you can get false papers enough to exist, I'm sure you can fake them well enough to get into the military."
"Eh, yes and no," Alfred shrugged. "The Pres and VP and some of the other high ranking guys in Washington know who I am, so I probably could. But that'd be lying." He shook his head. "If I'm going to fight for my people, I want to do it under my own name."
Claudia thought back to all those uniforms lying in the box, and found herself nodding.
"Claudia, go put that uniform with the others," Artie said, and Claudia frowned. She hated being shooed, especially when something so interesting was happening right here. It wasn't very often you got to talk to a country. But she put the bag over her shoulder and nodded.
"Nice to meet you, Mr. Jones,"
"You too," he flashed her another of those winning grins, reaching out to clasp her hand. "I like this place, it has a lot of memories for all of us. Take care of it, okay?"
She was halfway down the steps before it dawned on her who he must have meant by 'all of us'.
She wondered if she'd ever get to meet the rest of the World.
~*~
Notes:
America's 16th President, Abraham Lincoln, was known for his distinctive tall stove pipe hat. During the American Civil War, there were several assassination attempts that were all thwarted in one way or another. According to legend, one such attempt happened while Lincoln was on horseback, riding between cities. An assassin tried to shoot him and missed, instead shooting the hat off his head.
Taketori Monogatari is a classical Japanese novel detailing the story of Kaguya-hime, the princess of a moon kingdom (no, not that Moon Kingdom) who flees to Earth and is raised by a human bamboo cutter. She is later returned to her extraterrestrial family via a flying saucer, and is considered one of the very earliest works of science fiction. It was written in the 10th century. Personally, I think Alfred would find it fascinating.
Cherry blossoms are, of course, a symbol of Japan. Chrysanthemums are the symbol of the Japanese emperor. The Japanese word for chrysanthemum is "kiku". Coincidence? I think not.
Fabergé eggs were made from 1885 - 1917 by the Russian jewelers of the Fabergé family. Larger ones were created for the Russian royal family, but many smaller ones were sold to the general public and were meant to be worn on a chain around the neck.