Past-Part Fills Post 1 -- CLOSED
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The two blonde nations dressed, compiled important documents, and were out the door by 9:43. America insisted that he drive, England, though he denied it, was still definitely in shock from the explosions earlier. Nothing had drastically changed regarding the London events- the news station believed that there were six different blasts, as injured and stunned passengers had staggered out of six different tube stations. The whole London underground had also been shut down, resulting in public busses and streets being packed with business people forced to find an alternate route to work.
After driving for only a few minutes, England cried out as he had that morning. America panicked but managed not to crash as they were still on rural streets rather than large, busy inner city streets. Alfred slammed on the breaks at Arthur’s cry and immediately pulled over to the shoulder of the road.
“Christ, England, you scared the hell outta’ me! Are you alright?” America asked, letting out a breath and slumping against his seat in relief.
When Arthur didn’t answer, Alfred turned his head to look at him and gasped. The older man did not look well at all. Arthur was pale and shaking once more, both hands placed over his chest and mouth open, panting and out of breath.
“England, England…Arthur! Are you okay?!” Alfred demanded, worry and anxiety increasing as the other refused to answer. Finally, England took a deep breath and managed a reply.
“Keep…keep going. There’s nothing y-you can so now. I-I’ve got to get to my boss. He should…know what’s happening… “Arthur’s panting did not cease; he sounded as if he has just run a marathon. Alfred glanced at him skeptically before Arthur snapped at his driver.
“Alfred, go!” this time the younger blonde obeyed, switching back into ‘drive’ and continuing on to the G8 meeting at the Gleneagles Hotel. He only prayed that Arthur knew what he was doing, and hoped that they didn’t encounter any more of those episodes.
~*~
Good lord, that was a lot to write in one sitting x_x I hadn’t meant for it to be this long, but it just went on and on when I started. Actually, Alfred and Arthur’s segment isn’t even finished yet. I’ve still got a few parts to write. They’ll hopefully be up by Monday, as I have band things to do after that.
Notes-
The 7/7 bombings occurred on July 7th, 2005. The first three went off within 50 seconds of each other at 8:50AM. After the explosions, commuters were forced to take busses or walk to their work place or home, resulting in all the busses being packed. This made the 4th bombing even worse as it exploded on a packed bus with many people on the sidewalks around it. The 4th explosion took place at 9:47AM. London was a target due to the 31st G8 meeting being held in Scotland. Many security forces were focused in Scotland, making London more vulnerable.
Originally Scotland Yard thought the explosions were caused by power outages. Also, some news stations believed that there were 6 different blasts because people in the tunnels walked both ways away from each blast, resulting in injured citizens coming out of 6 stations, not just 3. These bombings have been the 2nd deadliest attack on London since the WW2 bombings in the 1940s. In the 7/7 bombings, 52 civilians were killed and over 700 injured.
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can't wait for more.
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~*~
The rest of the day, Alfred decided, went by in an incomprehensible blur of colors, sounds, and cameras as he followed Arthur along to where ever the injured Nation needed to go. When the two arrived at the allotted hotel, the first thing they encountered in the lobby was their fellow Nations firing questions at them, mainly in regards to Arthur.
“Ve~ You’re not hurt, are you England? Germany and I saw the news this morning and it looked horrible!”
“Arthur-san, are you sure you should be here today? Your boss and the rest of the G8 would surely grant you a day of rest.”
“There you are, Angleterre. I’ve been worried sick about you. Are you injured in any way?”
Before Arthur could even begin to answer these questions his boss appeared from around a corner, flanked by several security guards and personal assistants. The Nations stepped away from England and let the small entourage through. Arthur’s boss walked straight up to him and grabbed his arm.
“I’ve already given a short press conference on the issue, we’re both excused from today’s G8 meeting and our Foreign Secretary is filling in for us. We’re flying to London, now.” The Prime Minister said, a no nonsense look on his features.
“What?” Was all England could reply in disbelief. His boss simply said “Come.”, and began to drag Arthur along behind him.
“Wait!” Alfred shouted, catching up with the two, “I’m coming with you.”
“Absolutely not-” England’s boss began.
“Yes he is.” Arthur interrupted resolutely, engaging in a short stare down with the Prime Minister.
“…fine.” Alfred grinned as he joined the group exiting the hotel.
“Hey Japan, tell my boss I’m leaving, ‘kay?” America called out over his shoulder, flashing a smile to the smaller Nation. Japan simply nodded, bemused by Alfred’s straightforward tactics.
~*~
Within minutes of leaving the grandiose hotel, the Prime Minister and two Nations were on a helicopter destined for London. Several military jets flanked all sides of the copter; the whole country was obviously already on high alert. The English government had also thought ahead for Arthur- a private doctor was ready and waiting in London should the sandy blonde require a checkup. Arthur declined, explaining that any available doctors should be sent towards healing and caring for the injured, as there would obviously be many from the incident. During the beginning of the ride Arthur was constantly asking his boss questions on every angle of the disaster; however, the Prime minister was forced to often shake his head in a silence. Even he did not know much other than what had been reported by news casters. Alfred wasn’t really paying attention the majority of the time; he was content to simply stare into space and remember, bitterly, when he had been in this position just four years ago.
The remainder of the helicopter ride was bathed in silence, all three men staring out the windows as they passed the English countryside below. Every once in a while the Prime Minister would receive a call on his cell phone, though few ever held any useful or new bits of information.
~*~
The sleek, black chopper landed smoothly on a private helipad in London a few hours later. Several government personnel exited the helicopter first, hurrying off into a nearby building to secure plans for press conferences and such for the Prime Minister. The three men exited the helicopter one by one and were greeted by winds procured from the spinning blades of the machine. Once safely inside the building, the Prime Minister was swarmed by English officials briefing him for the statements he was about to make in regards to the tragedy. Arthur lagged behind with Alfred, a million thoughts swimming in his head as to what would happen next, if his people were alright, how many were hurt… 'What if,' he worried ‘we don’t even get to go see the citizens? Are we just going to stay holed up in some room discussing matters with officials?’
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Following the short press conference, in which Arthur and Alfred stood behind the English leader, the men were led out to a black limo, no doubt one of their most secure vehicles for this time of disaster. Arthur questioned his boss on their destination.
“We’re going to Tavistock Square; a packed double decker bus was blown up there. It’s not confirmed, but some believe the culprit to be a suicide bomber.”
Time stopped for England when he heard those words. An icy feeling wormed it’s way throughout his whole body and he couldn’t even bring himself to blink. Suicide bombers… that meant…he had been right. This had not been a mistake- it had been a deliberate attack on Britain. His stomach started doing flips at the shock so he gripped his middle and leant over his knees. It was almost too horrible of a thought to bear. ‘Who would do this? Who would-’ But England was cut off from his thoughts when he felt warm hands rubbing his back soothingly. Alfred was leaned over near him, whispering softly in his ear.
“Arthur, I’m so sorry…”
And then it hit England like a ton of bricks. America. America had his happen to him before. Those people had been from-
“Oh, good lord. I can’t believe this. This can’t be happening…” Arthur began shaking his head, trying to hold back the tears. The Nation felt another hand, this time on his shoulder.
“I know, Arthur,” his boss sounded stunned. “I’ve been blindsided by this. I can only imagine the turmoil you must be experiencing.”
His boss was right, it wasn’t even a sharp or extreme pain anymore, just an overwhelming, full body ache. He, England’s personification, could feel them all clearly, all of his people’s emotions. He felt them crying and sobbing as bloodied bodies were carried out on stretchers from the depths of a tunnel. He felt the injured limping through crowded hospitals and medical tents, to shocked to show any emotion. And the dead, oh the dead, he could feel their cold skin and see their blank eyes, their features forever twisted in agony as it was the last emotion they experienced. He felt like throwing up, and Arthur probably would of if the car had not stopped and the door opened. Brought back to reality by the stench of burned metal and smoldering electric wiring, the blonde man stepped out of the car and was horrified at the scene that met his eyes.
Directly in front of him was what was once a two-story bus; however, the top part of the bus was completely gone, only the melted ends of metal a testament to the fact that it had been there in the first place. Many of the windows of the bottom were either blown out or only fragments remained. The back of the bus looked akin to an opened box- the side panels of the bus were splayed out more than 90 degrees like the panel flaps on a cardboard box. He was looking at the bus from the back, but if Arthur glanced beyond he could see another panel, easily over three meters long, that lay beyond the bus, completely blown off by the blast.
Policemen in reflective yellow jackets stood around speaking to each other while a few news reporters walked around the devastated vehicle snapping pictures. Debris were all over the ground, from shattered glass to grotesquely twisted metal rods, and England thought he might have even seen a slightly burnt woman’s purse lying about the wreckage. Luckily, by the time he arrived the scene, there were no injured or dead in the area; however, that dark spot peeking out from under the metal scraps may or may not have been a dried pool of blood. He decided not to focus on it.
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The only feeling that brought Arthur back down to Earth was the feeling of a warm, soft hand touching he cheek and trying to wipe his tears away; but to no avail as they were quickly replaced by more salty droplets. Soon the hand gave up and Arthur felt strong arms looping under his own, pulling him up to a standing position, turning him around, and pressing him to a chest already shaking with unshed tears and sobs.
“It’s a-alright Arthur… You’ll recover. I promise…I promise…” Alfred’s voice trailed off as he held on tighter to his love, pressing his nose into Arthur’s hair.
As the second round of shock wore off, sounds began to fade back into England’s world. The ‘click’ of flashing cameras, the worried chatter of relief workers, glass crunching under people’s feet. As the present bled back into his mind, he threw his arms around Alfred and buried his head into that old, familiar bomber jacket for all he was worth before letting out a huge, held in sob. Within half a minute his small, slouched shoulders were shaking as sobs racked his body and tears poured down his face. He felt Alfred bury his nose in his hair, and eventually the taller man began placing tiny butterfly kisses on Arthur’s cheeks, not caring that they were in public anymore.
The bus continued to smolder behind them and England, the country, grieved.
~*~
“Earlier today in London a series of four explosions went off around 8:50 and 9:47 AM. The first three, all going off at about the same time, detonated in three separate underground tube trains during the early morning rush. An hour later, a fourth bomb went off in a packed bus as it passed though Tavistock Square. The number of injuries has topped 700 this evening and the death count is expected to be in the dozens, though there are no official reports yet. It has been confirmed that all four of these bombs were the result of suicide bombers; obviously the four of them planned this attack. Many believe it corresponded with the 31st G8 meeting in Scotland as some London police forces were drawn to serve up there, leaving London weakened.”
“The British Prime Minister left the summit for most of the day today, taking a helicopter ride with the personifications of England and America to London a few hours after the attacks. After a press conference he and the two nations were able to see firsthand the damage done to the bus that blew up in Tavistock Square.”
“Just minutes after arriving at the scene Arthur Kirkland, England’s personification, collapsed into tears, only to be picked up and embraced by Alfred Jones, America’s personification. While it was a heart wrenching moment that many other Britons experienced today, many skeptics believe this is finally evidence that the two Nations are in a romantic relationship as Jones seemed to be kissing Kirkland on the cheek. However, no one can know for sure as there is a long, deep history between the two countries and perhaps America was simply trying to comfort England. Regardless of any of this, we all send our greatest condolences to all Britons tonight, especially the ones who lost family members in the blasts.”
~*~
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The beginning of this was really difficult to write for some reason. But then when I got to the limo scene, it got ten time easier to write.why am I so comfortable writing sad scenes? ;_; I used a reference pic for the blown up bus, found here-http://tinyurl.com/mdkegg
Anyway, the updates are going to start coming a lot more infrequently now. I have band things for the next three days, a few days off, and then 2 weeks of band camp. But none of the events are all day, so I’ll have time to write, just a little less than I normally do. :)
So…What do you guys think of France proposing to Canada? Hopefully I have more than three readers, so please take your time to just write a little message because I really want to know everyone’s opinion on this. I’m not sure if I want to include it in the plot…
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I'm not exactly fond of US/UK, but gahhh! T__T
As for France proposing to Canada...that would be interesting, given their history in the last few decades and the fact that in France, same-sex marriage is still illegal. If you go with France proposing, you might want to address this. ^^;
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ohh, france and canada next! I hope its just as delicious! have fun at camp ad band!^^
(and fyi, I'm also a reader of this, and I'll be commenting alot from now on jsut to get more story.^^)
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Once again, I love that you work in relatively current events into your fill and seamlessly fit the Nations in. This part was just so sad, but I did have to roll my eyes...you wrote the media well. In the midst of disaster, they still look for "scandals." The media...so insensitive *sigh*
I would love to see France proposing to Canada, but if you don't think it'll fit in with the plot, don't include it :)
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To all me readers-
Thank you for all the quick reviews! I didn't expect that many so fast ._.;; Also I hope I didn't sound needy, I almost didn't want to ask for reviews but I needed the opinions. Thank you everyone again! i'll take your opinions into consideration.
And don't feel bad about lurking...I do it all the time to, haha.*needs to delurk more often*
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That was... painfully powerful, yet I am going to keep coming back for more.
And I am for France/Canada^^
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