Reach Out (6/?)
anonymous
December 4 2009, 05:34:09 UTC
It took Ivan longer than he'd like to get to the end of the maze. It made him feel somewhat foolish. He knew the major events in American history. Alfred's media made sure everyone knew everything about them. He thought his own military intelligence would fill in the blanks. There was so much he had never considered, though. No textbook in his country would care about something like Bleeding Kansas or a failed assassination of a President.
He found himself walking into many dead ends, and he was surprised to find it bothered him. He had always assumed that Alfred was always happy and carefree. It had made him angry to know that he knew nothing of what hardship was like, and yet he was so sure he could solve everyone's problems; so sure he could be their hero.
This place made him realize he knew nothing about Alfred at all.
He took a breath and pushed open the door when he reached it, hoping he had found the right place. When he got there, Alfred was yelling, firing wildly into the fog. At the same time, he was laughing, but there was a darkness to it that Ivan had never heard before.
"How long are you going to keep deluding yourself? Screw the world! You're sick of all their bullshit anyway! You know they hate you, and yet you always run to the rescue. You know you want to just let them die! See how much they really need you!"
Ivan looked beyond Alfred to find another Alfred, but this one was different. Gone was the bomber jacket he loved so much. In its place were military fatigues. Rather than the standard earth tones, however, this Alfred was wearing different shades of red. Most haunting were his eyes. No longer that deep, clear blue, they were a sickening gold.
Alfred had brought his hands to his temples, shaking his head as he held it. "No...No! That's not true! They're my friends! Of course I want to help them!" Ivan shuddered as the other him laughed.
"You put on a good show of being happy-go-lucky. Everyone's hero! Nothing gets you down, ever! You'll save anyone, even your worst enemies! You have to be at the center of everything! And why? Because you're a fucking coward. You're terrified of being alone." The other Alfred laughed as Alfred dropped his gun, still shaking his head. "Hahaha! Why so panicked? I thought I was just spouting bullshit! Or maybe...you know it's all the truth! Because I AM you!"
Ivan readied his pipe as he came up behind Alfred. As he did, he barely caught the low whisper that broke through the laughter filling the room.
"No...what are you? Who are you?" The other him stopped laughing and grinned.
"I already told you. I am you. Your shadow. The true self!" More laughter filled the air, and yet another Alfred moved it's bare arms around the red-clad version.
"Ah, ah, ah. We all know I am the true self." He pushed off the red Alfred and Ivan watched as he started to move towards Alfred. He was wearing blue pants, but that was all. His glasses, rather than being like Alfred's, were a blue-tinted pair of round glasses. Before he could get close, however, something small and red jumped on his shoulder. It was followed by another small green thing on his other shoulder. Ivan squinted a bit and realized, they also looked like Alfred.
"No, I'm the true self!" "No, me! Me!"
Alfred straightened and pointed to the group of them. "None of you! You! Are not! Me!" The other Alfreds stopped their squabbling and looked over at him, grinning. Ivan could tell they had been waiting for this. The room filled with a nearly black fog and all that was left in the room was their laughter, echoing in the darkness.
Reach Out (7/?)
anonymous
December 4 2009, 20:09:48 UTC
Sorry! It was really late and I had work early~ Here's more.
Before the fog even cleared away, a long metal tube came swinging out of it, catching Alfred's side and sending him into the wall across the room. Ivan noticed it was similar to the cannon on a tank. The tube swung again, causing the fog to vanish. Where the other Alfreds had been, now a strange monster stood in their place. A shadow, something in the back of his mind supplanted.
The shadow vaguely reminded Ivan of some of the superheroes from Alfred's diagrams for his ridiculous plans. It was were akin to the giant robots he was obsessed with. It stood on four legs, from an animal Ivan couldn't quite place looking at them. Perhaps it was one of the bison native in Alfred's lands. The tank cannon was protruding from its torso, and it rotated back and forth with ease. Instead of arms, it had what looked like wings. Were they metal? It's head was an eagle, which seemed somewhat appropriate to Ivan. Was this twisted monstrosity what Ivan was supposed to save Alfred from? Was this Alfred?
He stood, holding his pipe in front of him defensively as he took slow sidesteps towards Alfred. It seemed the force of the blow had knocked him unconscious. Ivan was mildly surprised at this. He didn't think anything would ever hit his hard head with enough force to do it. Before he could reach him, the shadow screeched, turning in his direction. The pipe in his hand suddenly felt useless, and Ivan was at a loss for what to do.
I am thou. Ivan's eyes widened as nausea swept over him. It was that voice again.
Thou art I. Ivan brought a hand to his forehead, clenching his eyes closed and stumbling back.
The time has come! Open thine eyes and call forth what is within. Ivan swallowed the bile as he felt it creep up the back of his throat. What did it mean? Within him? He was far worse than this monstrosity that claimed it was the true Alfred. Would it be enough? Could he control it? Could he admit that it was inside him?
He opened his eyes and glanced over at Alfred, who was regaining consciousness. The shadow was rushing toward him. Ivan didn't have a choice. He'd have to accept himself, or they would both die here. He stood straight, pulling his hands from his head, willing the nausea away. He blinked, feeling something in his hand. A card. He flipped it over and his eyes widened as it suddenly began to radiate power. He grinned a bit. This was his power? But how could he use it? The voice came to mind, beckoning him to call on it; giving him the answer.
"Persona." He crushed the card in his hand and yelled in pain. It felt as though he was being split in two. In front of him, his own shadow appeared. It wore a dark cloak and hood, and a mask hid it's face. The only color was the red scarf around it's neck. In one hand, it carried a long sword. The fingers of his other hand danced, controlling the strings of a marionette. Ivan watched in awe as it attacked Alfred's shadow, destroying it with ease, and then stumbled back as it disappeared, returning to where it was hidden deep inside him. As it returned, it whispered its name, Rasputin.
Reach Out (7b/?)
anonymous
December 4 2009, 20:10:22 UTC
Shaking his head, he ran to Alfred's side and helped him stand. Alfred looked beyond him to where the other Alfred's were standing silently and sighed.
"I never know who I am. My people can't make up their minds. I always feel like I'm being pulled in so many different directions. I try so hard to be the hero, just so I can hold onto something constant. People like consistency, right? No one wants to be friends with someone who's unreliable." Ivan listened, watching as Alfred gave a weak laugh and let his head hang. "I guess that means that they're all me, huh?"
As soon as he acknowledged the shadows, they faded, merging together. In their place stood a statute. Ivan was certain he had seen something like it before. It had multiple animal heads stacked on top of each other. At the top was an eagle's head, with wings outstretched. A totem pole, he believed it was called. As soon as it appeared, it disappeared. Alfred closed his eyes, leaning against Ivan's shoulder and whispered lightly.
"Odoodem."
Ivan nodded a bit and shifted, moving Alfred so he could carry him on his back. He looked around the room one last time before walking out into the hall. He stopped as he looked in the corner. He hadn't noticed the television there before. He sighed as he walked over to it. If that was how they got there, it's likely that it would lead them out as well.
He made sure Alfred was secure on his back, and jumped in.
I went with Rasputin for Ivan because he's kinda ambiguous historically. It's hard to say if he was evil or just misunderstood, or made out to be bad by his enemies...like Russia!
Totems poles were used for storytelling by the Pacific Northwest tribes in WA, OR, and AL (and canada). Totem is derived from "Odoodem," the word used to describe them.
Reach Out (8/?)
anonymous
December 20 2009, 06:23:10 UTC
A month later found Ivan sitting in a stuffy conference room in the UK. It was raining here, and he wondered if the Midnight Channel would be on. It had been a while since it rained last. He looked across the table at Alfred, who was leaning with his chin in his hand, bored as he listened to Arthur addressing the other nations. He must have felt Ivan watching him, because he looked over and smiled weakly.
After they returned from the strange world in the television, they had sat and talked until they had to leave the hotel: about what happened to Alfred, what happened to Ivan, and just about each other. Ivan had let Alfred take the glasses. He said that he wanted to try making a copy of them for himself. Ivan had no plans on returning to that strange place, so he did not mind. He would not need them.
Alfred pulled his gaze back to the front of the room reluctantly as Arthur finished speaking, and Ivan mimicked the motion. Roderich was walking up to talk about the investigation into the deaths of Antonio and Lovino. He spoke in quiet tones, and Ivan felt it matched the somber mood of the meeting. He wasn't really listening. He knew they hadn't learned anything. They wouldn't have waited for the meeting if they did.
He looked around the table at the other nations. Ludwig was rubbing Feliciano's back, as the other had started crying when Roderich took the podium. Gilbert was similarly trying to cheer up Francis, who had been distraught since the day the other member of their trio died. Elizabeta didn't have her camera out as she usually did. Katyusha was sitting beside her, watching everyone. Kiku and Yao were speaking quietly amongst themselves while Matthew hovered, unnoticed, in the background.
There was a tap on his shoulder and he looked up, smiling a bit when Alfred was standing there, sticking his hands in his pockets. Roderich must have finished speaking. He hadn't even noticed. Alfred jerked his head towards the door.
"Lunch?" Ivan smiled a bit more and nodded, standing. They walked out of the room quietly, ignoring the disbelieving stares that followed them out.
"Have you been well?" Ivan looked at Alfred as they walked down the hall. He had lost count of how many times he had picked up the phone and set it down before he finished dialing Alfred's number.
"Yeah...yeah, I've been a lot better, actually. My economy has doing a lot better, too, since we started pulling aid out of places that don't really need it." Ivan nodded as pushed open the door to the cafeteria.
"That is good to hear. It is better to be the hero when one is needed than all the time." They fell into a comfortable silence as they worked through the line, getting their lunch. It wasn't until halfway through their meal that Alfred set down his burger and looked at him.
"It's going to rain through the night. Let's watch the Midnight Channel together. I'll come to your room." Ivan looked at him for a moment, wondering why they had to watch it together. Not that he minded, of course. He was the one that had been covering his television with a bed sheet. Knowing what he did about Alfred now, he imagined that he regarded it the same way since his own encounter with the television.
"Da. That sounds like a good idea. You can sleep on the floor then." Alfred smiled and went back to eating again. Ivan glanced to door as the others started filing in. He wondered which one of them would be on the Midnight Channel tonight.
Re: Reach Out (8/?)
anonymous
December 20 2009, 18:20:59 UTC
Eee~ Crossovers with Hetalia and Persona 4 it is like the best idea ever! Totally didn't expect this to have Persona 4 in it, but I'm glad to have read this all the same. Aaah, lovely how this story is progressing so far. Keep up the good work!
Reach Out (9/?)
anonymous
December 21 2009, 05:12:06 UTC
It was only 9:30 when the knock came at his door. Ivan blinked as he looked up from reading the meeting documents. He hadn't realized that Alfred would want to spend time hanging out before the Midnight Channel came on. Did he want to be friends? He shook his head as he got up, walking over to the door. If the other nations, his sisters aside, talked to him, it was out of fear or a desire to try and keep him sane. They didn't want to be his friend. Especially not the United States of America. He answered the door and blinked again.
Alfred was standing at the door in a t-shirt and boxers. He hadn't even bothered to throw on a pair of socks. He had a pillow and blanket shoved under one arm, and an overnight bag on his shoulder.
"Hey! Took you long enough! I brought a movie to kill time." He didn't give Ivan time to reply before he slid past him into the room, dropping his stuff on the floor by Ivan's bed. "Man, that meeting was boring, wasn't it?" Ivan closed the door and walked back to his seat.
"You are here earlier than I expected." He sat down, picking the document he was reading up again. Just as soon as he picked it up, it was snatched out of his hands. He looked up at Alfred, raising a brow.
"That's because I want to hang out! Come on! Take a break from work. Just for a few hours? Here, you get ready for bed, and I'll get the movie set up, okay?" He didn't give room for a reply as he tossed the document aside and went to his bag, digging through it. Ivan sighed and got up, pulling his own nightwear from his suitcase, and went into the bathroom to change. He would never get used to Alfred's impetuous behavior.
It was nearly midnight when the movie ended. It was a decent movie, Ivan supposed. Most people had not seen the horrors that he had encountered in his life, so something such as this 'Saw 8' would be terrifying to them. Speaking of such people, he lifted his blanket, looking down at where Alfred was cowering beside him.
"Why would you choose a movie like this, if you knew you would spend most of it hiding behind me?" Alfred sat up and grinned, and Ivan resisted the urge to roll his eyes.
"Because they're so awesome! How about that part where he just ripped that girl's jaw out? Man, wasn't that so gross?" Ivan sighed, tossing the blanket back over the idiot's head as he got up, pouring himself a shot of vodka as he turned off the television.
"Da, but I still do not see why you had to jump on my bed, clinging to me like a scared little girl. I thought you were a hero?" Alfred pouted as he pulled the blanket off his head, leaving his hair tousled. It was a shame Ivan did not have a camera to keepsake the cute moment. He paused, leaving the vodka to pour all over the table. Did he just think the obnoxious boy sitting on his bed was cute?
"Oh hey! Hey! It's almost midnight! Hurry up, will you?" No. He must have been mistaken. He hurriedly mopped up the spilled vodka and downed his shot, turning to look at Alfred, who had not yet fixed his hair.
"You are quite annoying, da?" He set the shot glass down and walked back over to his bed, sitting down. As he did, the television began to flicker. Alfred leaned over his shoulder, squinting as a fuzzy silhouette appeared on the screen.
"That looks familiar. Where have I seen...oh God. Oh God, no. No!" Ivan blinked as he looked at Alfred, and frowned slightly. He looked as shaken as he had inside the television world.
"What? Do you know who it is?" Alfred swallowed and reached over Ivan, fumbling for his cell phone.
"It's Iggy! I-it...that's Arthur. He's...but Antonio and Lovino were on and they..." Even though Alfred could not finish orating his thoughts, Ivan knew why he was in such a panic. One of Alfred's best friends was going to die, if he had not been killed already. He watched silently as Alfred bungled his way through dialing the number, waiting impatiently for an answer on the other end. Ivan winced as the answer came.
Reach Out (9b/?)
anonymous
December 21 2009, 05:13:57 UTC
"YOU BLOODY IDIOT! Do you have any idea what time it is?! Some of us take the meetings seriously and would like to get some sleep!" Before Alfred could reply, Ivan heard the call disconnect. It seemed to be enough to calm Alfred, though.
"He is fine, da? But he's right. We should go to bed." Alfred nodded, setting his phone back and sliding off the bed to his own makeshift set up on the floor.
"Right. Bed. And he'll be at the meeting tomorrow." Ivan nodded and turned off the light, rolling over to sleep.
He wasn't sure when it happened and wasn't going to ask, but when he woke up in the morning, it was to a faceful of Alfred's hair with his arms trapped in his vice-like grip. He should have known he'd have nightmares.
Re: Reach Out (9b/?)
anonymous
December 22 2009, 17:52:30 UTC
Anon, I must say that your shadows and Personas are just effing perfects. Russia makes a great protagonist! Basic weapon: Faucet Pipe. Can you put the attributes of Russia's and America's Personas? (is Alfred's basic weapon a gun? can't wait!) And The question is how will be on the party! 6 nations more yet to see! Praise you'll be Anon, this is, indeed, awesome!
writernon
anonymous
December 23 2009, 04:35:10 UTC
Oh wow, I'm so glad you like it. I feel bad it's taking me so long to get to the OP's request for Germany but I have a grand plan in my mind that is taking too long to get through. >.>
I haven't actually thought out the attributes of the personas. I'll include them in an author's note in the next chapter though, since I can't think of a feasible way to work something like that into the fic. I'm kinda playing fast and loose with the P4 storyline to make it fit with Hetalia.
Reach Out (10/?)
anonymous
December 31 2009, 21:06:17 UTC
If anyone was surprised to see Alfred and Ivan arrive at the meeting at the same time, and together, they opted not to say anything about it. This was just fine with Ivan. It had been awkward enough when Alfred woke up and realized he had been practically molesting Ivan in his sleep. They didn’t need to try to explain their sudden friendship either. Could they call it that? He wasn’t sure yet. He supposed they must be if he hadn’t thrown Alfred out of bed upon discovering him there.
As soon as they walked in, Alfred ran over to the table, pulling Arthur out of his seat and into a bear hug.
"You're here! Oh, Iggy! I've never been so happy to see you before!" Ivan chuckled a bit as Arthur sputtered and flailed about before he finally managed to shove Alfred off of him.
"What's gotten into you? Have you gone mad?" Alfred just grinned and ruffled Arthur's hair.
"What? I can't be happy to see you?" Arthur crossed his arms with a raised brow. Ivan found himself once again marveling over the fact he could raise those large things at all.
“Not that happy! Between that call last night and this, you’ve verified that you’ve gone mad, git! This is neither the time nor the place for such behavior!” Alfred sighed happily, pulling Arthur into another bear hug.
“Oh, Iggy! Promise me you’ll never change!” Arthur’s only response was a strangled yell as he once again tried to break away. Ivan sighed and walked over, tapping Alfred’s shoulder. To his surprise, along with everyone else’s, the younger nation quickly let go of Arthur and turned to look at him, smiling. “Sorry! I was just so relieved to see him!” Ivan rolled his eyes, not deeming Alfred’s idiocy worthy of a reply as he went to his seat, sitting down.
A moment later, Alfred was occupying what was usually Yao’s seat beside him. He raised a brow as he looked at Alfred, who was still grinning like an idiot. Was he still acting like this because he saved him? No. He hadn’t done this yesterday. Perhaps because Ivan had ‘protected’ him from whatever supernatural beings he conjured up in his mind last night? It was the only plausible explanation.
“Perhaps you should be returning to your seat, da?” Ivan glanced over at Alfred’s usual seat beside Arthur to add to the unsubtle hint and blanched. No sooner had Alfred taken Yao’s seat than Francis had taken his.
“Ah, Angleterre! You are so grumpy today! How about we go get drinks later? It will be courtesy of moi.” Arthur flushed a bit as he crossed his arms, but gave a slight nod all the same.
“It better not be any of that disgusting wine of yours, frog.” Francis just chuckled and ruffled Arthur’s hair. Ivan sighed in defeat and looked around the table for anywhere else he could direct Alfred to go. Yao had not missed a beat when he walked in, taking the empty seat near Kiku and Roderich to discuss their investigation. No one dared to take either of the seats that would have been Lovino and Antonio’s. He thought he saw an empty seat, but a moment later realized that Matthew was there. He sighed again and looked over at Alfred, who pouted slightly.
Reach Out (10b/?)
anonymous
December 31 2009, 21:07:22 UTC
“What? You don’t want to sit with me? I thought we were friends now!” Ivan looked at him for a moment. His bottom lip was jutting out slightly and the light red made the blue of his eyes stand out more. The glare of the lights reflecting off his glasses was somewhat distracting. Ivan recalled that he mentioned they represented one of his states, but he wondered if he really needed them to see. He’d look so-- “Hello? Did you hear me? Are we friends or not?” A hand dropped in his face, fingers snapping a few times. Ivan blinked a few times. Had he gotten distracted staring at Alfred again? He glanced around the table to make sure no one else noticed, but they were too busy listening to Arthur, who had the floor again. He nodded quickly.
“Da, we are friends now.” He looked down at his notes and quickly busied himself with adding doodles of sunflowers to the corners. Didn’t America have a lot of sunflowers? He flipped over his page and started drawing a larger picture idly. By the time he finished, the other nations were starting to leave the room. Alfred nudged his shoulder.
“Hey, meeting’s over! Let’s go get lunch. There’s a restaurant near here that actually serves edible food!” Ivan sighed as he got up, putting his notes away.
“Would that happen to be a McDonald’s?” Alfred blinked a few times as he looked at him, then grinned.
“Wow, how did you know? Do you read minds now?” Ivan shook his head. He didn’t feel like mentioning how predictable Alfred was, especially since he had been using his free time to learn more about him. On the other side of the room, Arthur and Francis grabbed their attention when they started arguing.
“But that pub serves the worst food! There’s a lovely restaurant just down the street from it that serves better food and better drinks, non?” Arthur scowled as he stalked out of the room.
“I’m not going to a French restaurant for drinks! It’s the pub or nothing!” Francis sighed as he followed him out. Ivan frowned slightly as he recalled the image on the Midnight Channel the night before. Alfred must have been thinking the same thing.
“He’ll be fine. I mean, he’s going out with Francis, right?” Ivan nodded a bit, and the two finally left the room. “Oh, I have your glasses to give back to you. Tony made a cloned pair for me. Oh! And he modified them a bit by adding this nifty scanner. We used my persona as a test subject, and it’s really cool!” Ivan raised a brow as he followed him. He didn’t actually want to go back to that strange world, did he?
He found himself walking into many dead ends, and he was surprised to find it bothered him. He had always assumed that Alfred was always happy and carefree. It had made him angry to know that he knew nothing of what hardship was like, and yet he was so sure he could solve everyone's problems; so sure he could be their hero.
This place made him realize he knew nothing about Alfred at all.
He took a breath and pushed open the door when he reached it, hoping he had found the right place. When he got there, Alfred was yelling, firing wildly into the fog. At the same time, he was laughing, but there was a darkness to it that Ivan had never heard before.
"How long are you going to keep deluding yourself? Screw the world! You're sick of all their bullshit anyway! You know they hate you, and yet you always run to the rescue. You know you want to just let them die! See how much they really need you!"
Ivan looked beyond Alfred to find another Alfred, but this one was different. Gone was the bomber jacket he loved so much. In its place were military fatigues. Rather than the standard earth tones, however, this Alfred was wearing different shades of red. Most haunting were his eyes. No longer that deep, clear blue, they were a sickening gold.
Alfred had brought his hands to his temples, shaking his head as he held it. "No...No! That's not true! They're my friends! Of course I want to help them!" Ivan shuddered as the other him laughed.
"You put on a good show of being happy-go-lucky. Everyone's hero! Nothing gets you down, ever! You'll save anyone, even your worst enemies! You have to be at the center of everything! And why? Because you're a fucking coward. You're terrified of being alone." The other Alfred laughed as Alfred dropped his gun, still shaking his head. "Hahaha! Why so panicked? I thought I was just spouting bullshit! Or maybe...you know it's all the truth! Because I AM you!"
Ivan readied his pipe as he came up behind Alfred. As he did, he barely caught the low whisper that broke through the laughter filling the room.
"No...what are you? Who are you?" The other him stopped laughing and grinned.
"I already told you. I am you. Your shadow. The true self!" More laughter filled the air, and yet another Alfred moved it's bare arms around the red-clad version.
"Ah, ah, ah. We all know I am the true self." He pushed off the red Alfred and Ivan watched as he started to move towards Alfred. He was wearing blue pants, but that was all. His glasses, rather than being like Alfred's, were a blue-tinted pair of round glasses. Before he could get close, however, something small and red jumped on his shoulder. It was followed by another small green thing on his other shoulder. Ivan squinted a bit and realized, they also looked like Alfred.
"No, I'm the true self!"
"No, me! Me!"
Alfred straightened and pointed to the group of them. "None of you! You! Are not! Me!" The other Alfreds stopped their squabbling and looked over at him, grinning. Ivan could tell they had been waiting for this. The room filled with a nearly black fog and all that was left in the room was their laughter, echoing in the darkness.
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Before the fog even cleared away, a long metal tube came swinging out of it, catching Alfred's side and sending him into the wall across the room. Ivan noticed it was similar to the cannon on a tank. The tube swung again, causing the fog to vanish. Where the other Alfreds had been, now a strange monster stood in their place. A shadow, something in the back of his mind supplanted.
The shadow vaguely reminded Ivan of some of the superheroes from Alfred's diagrams for his ridiculous plans. It was were akin to the giant robots he was obsessed with. It stood on four legs, from an animal Ivan couldn't quite place looking at them. Perhaps it was one of the bison native in Alfred's lands. The tank cannon was protruding from its torso, and it rotated back and forth with ease. Instead of arms, it had what looked like wings. Were they metal? It's head was an eagle, which seemed somewhat appropriate to Ivan. Was this twisted monstrosity what Ivan was supposed to save Alfred from? Was this Alfred?
He stood, holding his pipe in front of him defensively as he took slow sidesteps towards Alfred. It seemed the force of the blow had knocked him unconscious. Ivan was mildly surprised at this. He didn't think anything would ever hit his hard head with enough force to do it. Before he could reach him, the shadow screeched, turning in his direction. The pipe in his hand suddenly felt useless, and Ivan was at a loss for what to do.
I am thou. Ivan's eyes widened as nausea swept over him. It was that voice again.
Thou art I. Ivan brought a hand to his forehead, clenching his eyes closed and stumbling back.
The time has come! Open thine eyes and call forth what is within. Ivan swallowed the bile as he felt it creep up the back of his throat. What did it mean? Within him? He was far worse than this monstrosity that claimed it was the true Alfred. Would it be enough? Could he control it? Could he admit that it was inside him?
He opened his eyes and glanced over at Alfred, who was regaining consciousness. The shadow was rushing toward him. Ivan didn't have a choice. He'd have to accept himself, or they would both die here. He stood straight, pulling his hands from his head, willing the nausea away. He blinked, feeling something in his hand. A card. He flipped it over and his eyes widened as it suddenly began to radiate power. He grinned a bit. This was his power? But how could he use it? The voice came to mind, beckoning him to call on it; giving him the answer.
"Persona." He crushed the card in his hand and yelled in pain. It felt as though he was being split in two. In front of him, his own shadow appeared. It wore a dark cloak and hood, and a mask hid it's face. The only color was the red scarf around it's neck. In one hand, it carried a long sword. The fingers of his other hand danced, controlling the strings of a marionette. Ivan watched in awe as it attacked Alfred's shadow, destroying it with ease, and then stumbled back as it disappeared, returning to where it was hidden deep inside him. As it returned, it whispered its name, Rasputin.
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"I never know who I am. My people can't make up their minds. I always feel like I'm being pulled in so many different directions. I try so hard to be the hero, just so I can hold onto something constant. People like consistency, right? No one wants to be friends with someone who's unreliable." Ivan listened, watching as Alfred gave a weak laugh and let his head hang. "I guess that means that they're all me, huh?"
As soon as he acknowledged the shadows, they faded, merging together. In their place stood a statute. Ivan was certain he had seen something like it before. It had multiple animal heads stacked on top of each other. At the top was an eagle's head, with wings outstretched. A totem pole, he believed it was called. As soon as it appeared, it disappeared. Alfred closed his eyes, leaning against Ivan's shoulder and whispered lightly.
"Odoodem."
Ivan nodded a bit and shifted, moving Alfred so he could carry him on his back. He looked around the room one last time before walking out into the hall. He stopped as he looked in the corner. He hadn't noticed the television there before. He sighed as he walked over to it. If that was how they got there, it's likely that it would lead them out as well.
He made sure Alfred was secure on his back, and jumped in.
I went with Rasputin for Ivan because he's kinda ambiguous historically. It's hard to say if he was evil or just misunderstood, or made out to be bad by his enemies...like Russia!
Totems poles were used for storytelling by the Pacific Northwest tribes in WA, OR, and AL (and canada). Totem is derived from "Odoodem," the word used to describe them.
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Thank you, writer!anon. I really like this so far ♥
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After they returned from the strange world in the television, they had sat and talked until they had to leave the hotel: about what happened to Alfred, what happened to Ivan, and just about each other. Ivan had let Alfred take the glasses. He said that he wanted to try making a copy of them for himself. Ivan had no plans on returning to that strange place, so he did not mind. He would not need them.
Alfred pulled his gaze back to the front of the room reluctantly as Arthur finished speaking, and Ivan mimicked the motion. Roderich was walking up to talk about the investigation into the deaths of Antonio and Lovino. He spoke in quiet tones, and Ivan felt it matched the somber mood of the meeting. He wasn't really listening. He knew they hadn't learned anything. They wouldn't have waited for the meeting if they did.
He looked around the table at the other nations. Ludwig was rubbing Feliciano's back, as the other had started crying when Roderich took the podium. Gilbert was similarly trying to cheer up Francis, who had been distraught since the day the other member of their trio died. Elizabeta didn't have her camera out as she usually did. Katyusha was sitting beside her, watching everyone. Kiku and Yao were speaking quietly amongst themselves while Matthew hovered, unnoticed, in the background.
There was a tap on his shoulder and he looked up, smiling a bit when Alfred was standing there, sticking his hands in his pockets. Roderich must have finished speaking. He hadn't even noticed. Alfred jerked his head towards the door.
"Lunch?" Ivan smiled a bit more and nodded, standing. They walked out of the room quietly, ignoring the disbelieving stares that followed them out.
"Have you been well?" Ivan looked at Alfred as they walked down the hall. He had lost count of how many times he had picked up the phone and set it down before he finished dialing Alfred's number.
"Yeah...yeah, I've been a lot better, actually. My economy has doing a lot better, too, since we started pulling aid out of places that don't really need it." Ivan nodded as pushed open the door to the cafeteria.
"That is good to hear. It is better to be the hero when one is needed than all the time." They fell into a comfortable silence as they worked through the line, getting their lunch. It wasn't until halfway through their meal that Alfred set down his burger and looked at him.
"It's going to rain through the night. Let's watch the Midnight Channel together. I'll come to your room." Ivan looked at him for a moment, wondering why they had to watch it together. Not that he minded, of course. He was the one that had been covering his television with a bed sheet. Knowing what he did about Alfred now, he imagined that he regarded it the same way since his own encounter with the television.
"Da. That sounds like a good idea. You can sleep on the floor then." Alfred smiled and went back to eating again. Ivan glanced to door as the others started filing in. He wondered which one of them would be on the Midnight Channel tonight.
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Alfred was standing at the door in a t-shirt and boxers. He hadn't even bothered to throw on a pair of socks. He had a pillow and blanket shoved under one arm, and an overnight bag on his shoulder.
"Hey! Took you long enough! I brought a movie to kill time." He didn't give Ivan time to reply before he slid past him into the room, dropping his stuff on the floor by Ivan's bed. "Man, that meeting was boring, wasn't it?" Ivan closed the door and walked back to his seat.
"You are here earlier than I expected." He sat down, picking the document he was reading up again. Just as soon as he picked it up, it was snatched out of his hands. He looked up at Alfred, raising a brow.
"That's because I want to hang out! Come on! Take a break from work. Just for a few hours? Here, you get ready for bed, and I'll get the movie set up, okay?" He didn't give room for a reply as he tossed the document aside and went to his bag, digging through it. Ivan sighed and got up, pulling his own nightwear from his suitcase, and went into the bathroom to change. He would never get used to Alfred's impetuous behavior.
It was nearly midnight when the movie ended. It was a decent movie, Ivan supposed. Most people had not seen the horrors that he had encountered in his life, so something such as this 'Saw 8' would be terrifying to them. Speaking of such people, he lifted his blanket, looking down at where Alfred was cowering beside him.
"Why would you choose a movie like this, if you knew you would spend most of it hiding behind me?" Alfred sat up and grinned, and Ivan resisted the urge to roll his eyes.
"Because they're so awesome! How about that part where he just ripped that girl's jaw out? Man, wasn't that so gross?" Ivan sighed, tossing the blanket back over the idiot's head as he got up, pouring himself a shot of vodka as he turned off the television.
"Da, but I still do not see why you had to jump on my bed, clinging to me like a scared little girl. I thought you were a hero?" Alfred pouted as he pulled the blanket off his head, leaving his hair tousled. It was a shame Ivan did not have a camera to keepsake the cute moment. He paused, leaving the vodka to pour all over the table. Did he just think the obnoxious boy sitting on his bed was cute?
"Oh hey! Hey! It's almost midnight! Hurry up, will you?" No. He must have been mistaken. He hurriedly mopped up the spilled vodka and downed his shot, turning to look at Alfred, who had not yet fixed his hair.
"You are quite annoying, da?" He set the shot glass down and walked back over to his bed, sitting down. As he did, the television began to flicker. Alfred leaned over his shoulder, squinting as a fuzzy silhouette appeared on the screen.
"That looks familiar. Where have I seen...oh God. Oh God, no. No!" Ivan blinked as he looked at Alfred, and frowned slightly. He looked as shaken as he had inside the television world.
"What? Do you know who it is?" Alfred swallowed and reached over Ivan, fumbling for his cell phone.
"It's Iggy! I-it...that's Arthur. He's...but Antonio and Lovino were on and they..." Even though Alfred could not finish orating his thoughts, Ivan knew why he was in such a panic. One of Alfred's best friends was going to die, if he had not been killed already. He watched silently as Alfred bungled his way through dialing the number, waiting impatiently for an answer on the other end. Ivan winced as the answer came.
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"He is fine, da? But he's right. We should go to bed." Alfred nodded, setting his phone back and sliding off the bed to his own makeshift set up on the floor.
"Right. Bed. And he'll be at the meeting tomorrow." Ivan nodded and turned off the light, rolling over to sleep.
He wasn't sure when it happened and wasn't going to ask, but when he woke up in the morning, it was to a faceful of Alfred's hair with his arms trapped in his vice-like grip. He should have known he'd have nightmares.
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Can you put the attributes of Russia's and America's Personas? (is Alfred's basic weapon a gun? can't wait!) And The question is how will be on the party! 6 nations more yet to see!
Praise you'll be Anon, this is, indeed, awesome!
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I haven't actually thought out the attributes of the personas. I'll include them in an author's note in the next chapter though, since I can't think of a feasible way to work something like that into the fic. I'm kinda playing fast and loose with the P4 storyline to make it fit with Hetalia.
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I love how well you've portrayed the personas and shadows so far! and I love you Russia! keep going! :D
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As soon as they walked in, Alfred ran over to the table, pulling Arthur out of his seat and into a bear hug.
"You're here! Oh, Iggy! I've never been so happy to see you before!" Ivan chuckled a bit as Arthur sputtered and flailed about before he finally managed to shove Alfred off of him.
"What's gotten into you? Have you gone mad?" Alfred just grinned and ruffled Arthur's hair.
"What? I can't be happy to see you?" Arthur crossed his arms with a raised brow. Ivan found himself once again marveling over the fact he could raise those large things at all.
“Not that happy! Between that call last night and this, you’ve verified that you’ve gone mad, git! This is neither the time nor the place for such behavior!” Alfred sighed happily, pulling Arthur into another bear hug.
“Oh, Iggy! Promise me you’ll never change!” Arthur’s only response was a strangled yell as he once again tried to break away. Ivan sighed and walked over, tapping Alfred’s shoulder. To his surprise, along with everyone else’s, the younger nation quickly let go of Arthur and turned to look at him, smiling. “Sorry! I was just so relieved to see him!” Ivan rolled his eyes, not deeming Alfred’s idiocy worthy of a reply as he went to his seat, sitting down.
A moment later, Alfred was occupying what was usually Yao’s seat beside him. He raised a brow as he looked at Alfred, who was still grinning like an idiot. Was he still acting like this because he saved him? No. He hadn’t done this yesterday. Perhaps because Ivan had ‘protected’ him from whatever supernatural beings he conjured up in his mind last night? It was the only plausible explanation.
“Perhaps you should be returning to your seat, da?” Ivan glanced over at Alfred’s usual seat beside Arthur to add to the unsubtle hint and blanched. No sooner had Alfred taken Yao’s seat than Francis had taken his.
“Ah, Angleterre! You are so grumpy today! How about we go get drinks later? It will be courtesy of moi.” Arthur flushed a bit as he crossed his arms, but gave a slight nod all the same.
“It better not be any of that disgusting wine of yours, frog.” Francis just chuckled and ruffled Arthur’s hair. Ivan sighed in defeat and looked around the table for anywhere else he could direct Alfred to go. Yao had not missed a beat when he walked in, taking the empty seat near Kiku and Roderich to discuss their investigation. No one dared to take either of the seats that would have been Lovino and Antonio’s. He thought he saw an empty seat, but a moment later realized that Matthew was there. He sighed again and looked over at Alfred, who pouted slightly.
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“Da, we are friends now.” He looked down at his notes and quickly busied himself with adding doodles of sunflowers to the corners. Didn’t America have a lot of sunflowers? He flipped over his page and started drawing a larger picture idly. By the time he finished, the other nations were starting to leave the room. Alfred nudged his shoulder.
“Hey, meeting’s over! Let’s go get lunch. There’s a restaurant near here that actually serves edible food!” Ivan sighed as he got up, putting his notes away.
“Would that happen to be a McDonald’s?” Alfred blinked a few times as he looked at him, then grinned.
“Wow, how did you know? Do you read minds now?” Ivan shook his head. He didn’t feel like mentioning how predictable Alfred was, especially since he had been using his free time to learn more about him. On the other side of the room, Arthur and Francis grabbed their attention when they started arguing.
“But that pub serves the worst food! There’s a lovely restaurant just down the street from it that serves better food and better drinks, non?” Arthur scowled as he stalked out of the room.
“I’m not going to a French restaurant for drinks! It’s the pub or nothing!” Francis sighed as he followed him out. Ivan frowned slightly as he recalled the image on the Midnight Channel the night before. Alfred must have been thinking the same thing.
“He’ll be fine. I mean, he’s going out with Francis, right?” Ivan nodded a bit, and the two finally left the room. “Oh, I have your glasses to give back to you. Tony made a cloned pair for me. Oh! And he modified them a bit by adding this nifty scanner. We used my persona as a test subject, and it’s really cool!” Ivan raised a brow as he followed him. He didn’t actually want to go back to that strange world, did he?
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