Beyond the Illusion Part 2/?
Title: Beyond the Illusion
Characters/Pairings: America, England, France, Japan, Canada, various others
Word Count: 1,176
Rating: PG
Summary: When a nation feels stressed, overworked, and backed into a corner, he has the option to let it all go for awhile. Start a new life as a human, with no memories of the past. It happens automatically, as if by magic. But nobody knew this could happen until one day, America mysteriously disappeared after running out of a meeting. After two and a half weeks of searching the country, they finally found the right Alfred F. Jones in the form of a 10 year old boy. But how can they get him to remember that he was once the United States of America? How will they change him back? And, more importantly, does he even want to be changed back?
Part 1:
There was a slight breeze coming in through the window; Alfred could feel it blowing on his cheek. Not wanting to get up just yet, he pulled the cover over his head and stretched out a little bit. However, this time, instead of having lots of space, like he was used to, his foot hit something hard and metal. Was that the wall? Alfred frowned. This wasn’t his room. Though he wasn’t a particularly observant little boy, he did know enough to figure out that he was definitely not in his room. In his room, he had a huge, comfy bed, with a plush comforter that his mom had bought him for Christmas. Here, he was covered by a single, scratchy, rough blanket, and he could feel the metal springs through the thin mattress, poking at his ribcage. In his room, he was never near one of the walls… and he was pretty sure that he just banged his foot into some sort of wall, even though most walls weren’t made of metal. Also, in his room, he had a nice little ceiling fan to keep him cool at night when it was hot outside. And in here? It was really stuffy in here; apart from the slight breeze coming in through the window.
But where was here? More importantly, why was he here and not in his room? With a great deal of effort, he tried thinking back to the last thing he remembered… but he couldn’t remember anything after the dodge ball game… ‘Because I passed out,’ he thought to himself. ‘Oh yeah…’ Remembering that helped a little bit, but it still didn’t explain where he was, and why he wasn’t at home. ‘Maybe I’m in the hospital,’ he reasoned. He really hoped he wasn’t though… he hated hospitals. They were so depressing and scary. Still, he wanted to know if he was right, so there was only one way to find out. Slowly, he opened his eyes and peeked out from under the cover. There was one window, which was cracked open slightly, and the whole interior of the room was grey. Except… it wasn’t a room; it was a van. He was lying on a cot in the back of a van. He had no idea who was driving, but from at a glance, it didn’t look like anybody he knew. Suddenly, this space seemed very small. He felt trapped as he looked at the 3 walls that boxed him in. There were no side doors, just a back door, but for some reason, he couldn’t bring himself to move, even though he knew he should try and escape. His eyes darted around the van once more, until they finally came to rest on the two people up front. He figured he should probably find out who his captors were before he just ran off. After all, what if they had already put a tracking device on him somewhere? It happened all the time in the movies, anyway. So, with as much bravery as he could manage at the moment, he spoke up.
“H-helllo? Who’s up there?” The man in the driver’s seat turned around to look back at Alfred and smiled. Then he turned to the man in the passenger’s seat and gave him a small nudge.
“Arthur… Arthur, wake up… he’s awake.”
“Hmm?”
“The boy is awake, and I think he’s a bit frightened… why don’t you go talk to him?”
“Oh- yes- of course.” Arthur stood up and walked to the back, where he knelt down beside Alfred’s bed. “Hi, Alfred,” he said gently. “How are you feeling?” Alfred’s eyes widened in shock, as he took in the appearance of the man. He had seen him before.
“You’re… you’re that- that guy who was following me,” he stuttered.
“Yes; I’m sorry if that made you feel uncomfortable, Alfred.”
“How do you know my name?” Arthur froze.
“Well, I-“
“Where are you taking me?! You won’t get away with this! My parents are gonna notice that I’m gone, and they’re not gonna stop till they find
me!!”
“Actually, no one is looking for you…”
“What?! Why?!” There was a hint of fear in Alfred’s angry, demanding voice, which was even more noticeable when his voice cracked.
“Arthur, stop scaring him! Honestly, you’re not doing a very good job at this whole comforting thing… maybe I should come back there…”
“Thank you, Francis, but I’ll handle it.”
“You mean just like you “handled” blending in at the school?” Arthur’s face flushed a deep shade of red.
“Shut up, Frog! I told you I can bloody handle it, so I will!!” He then turned his attention back to Alfred.
“Everyone thinks you’re deathly ill with a highly contagious disease and are being quarantined… You not though,” he added, when he saw the look of concern on Alfred’s face. “We just needed an excuse to not have anyone come looking for you until we get everything fixed.” Alfred cocked his head to the side in confusion.
“Fix what?”
“Still not doing a very good job, Angleterre…” said Francis, shaking his head. Arthur glared silently at Francis for a moment before answering Alfred’s question.
“…I can’t tell you right now… I’ll explain everything when we get to where we’re going. We should be there in a minute or two.”
“Where are we?”
“Washington DC.”
“But why-”
“We’re here,” announced Francis, as the van came to a stop.
“Oh thank god,” said Arthur with a sigh of relief. He opened up the back door and then bent down again to pick Alfred up.
“What are you doing? I can walk!”
“Can you?” Alfred paused. Using all his arm strength, he forced himself into a sitting position. Then, he tried to stand, but his legs felt all wobbly, and he fell back onto the bed.
“What did you do to me?” he asked weakly.
“Well, that drug I had to slip into your milk may have had something to do with it… It’s a very powerful drug with some intense side effects. It causes dizziness, fainting, increased heart rate, and overall fatigue that can last for hours. France- err Francis- developed it… God only knows what he uses it for…”
“You drugged me?!”
“Yes, and I’m not proud of it, but I had to do it, so please cooperate for just a little while longer, and everything will make sense; I promise.” Alfred was silent, so Arthur took that as an ok and then proceeded to scoop the boy up in his arms. With his limbs dangling practically useless, Alfred was completely at Arthur’s mercy. Arthur couldn’t help but smile- it had been years and years since Alfred had depended on him like this. He had to say, it felt… odd. Nevertheless, he stepped out of the van with the child in his arms and made his way towards the entrance. Immediately upon seeing where they were, Alfred’s eyes lit up.
“Whoooa! We’re at the White House?!” Arthur sighed.
“That’s the Capitol Building, Alfred.”
Characters/Pairings: America, England, France, Japan, Canada, various others
Word Count: 1,176
Rating: PG
Summary: When a nation feels stressed, overworked, and backed into a corner, he has the option to let it all go for awhile. Start a new life as a human, with no memories of the past. It happens automatically, as if by magic. But nobody knew this could happen until one day, America mysteriously disappeared after running out of a meeting. After two and a half weeks of searching the country, they finally found the right Alfred F. Jones in the form of a 10 year old boy. But how can they get him to remember that he was once the United States of America? How will they change him back? And, more importantly, does he even want to be changed back?
Part 1:
There was a slight breeze coming in through the window; Alfred could feel it blowing on his cheek. Not wanting to get up just yet, he pulled the cover over his head and stretched out a little bit. However, this time, instead of having lots of space, like he was used to, his foot hit something hard and metal. Was that the wall? Alfred frowned. This wasn’t his room. Though he wasn’t a particularly observant little boy, he did know enough to figure out that he was definitely not in his room. In his room, he had a huge, comfy bed, with a plush comforter that his mom had bought him for Christmas. Here, he was covered by a single, scratchy, rough blanket, and he could feel the metal springs through the thin mattress, poking at his ribcage. In his room, he was never near one of the walls… and he was pretty sure that he just banged his foot into some sort of wall, even though most walls weren’t made of metal. Also, in his room, he had a nice little ceiling fan to keep him cool at night when it was hot outside. And in here? It was really stuffy in here; apart from the slight breeze coming in through the window.
But where was here? More importantly, why was he here and not in his room? With a great deal of effort, he tried thinking back to the last thing he remembered… but he couldn’t remember anything after the dodge ball game… ‘Because I passed out,’ he thought to himself. ‘Oh yeah…’ Remembering that helped a little bit, but it still didn’t explain where he was, and why he wasn’t at home. ‘Maybe I’m in the hospital,’ he reasoned. He really hoped he wasn’t though… he hated hospitals. They were so depressing and scary. Still, he wanted to know if he was right, so there was only one way to find out. Slowly, he opened his eyes and peeked out from under the cover. There was one window, which was cracked open slightly, and the whole interior of the room was grey. Except… it wasn’t a room; it was a van. He was lying on a cot in the back of a van. He had no idea who was driving, but from at a glance, it didn’t look like anybody he knew. Suddenly, this space seemed very small. He felt trapped as he looked at the 3 walls that boxed him in. There were no side doors, just a back door, but for some reason, he couldn’t bring himself to move, even though he knew he should try and escape. His eyes darted around the van once more, until they finally came to rest on the two people up front. He figured he should probably find out who his captors were before he just ran off. After all, what if they had already put a tracking device on him somewhere? It happened all the time in the movies, anyway. So, with as much bravery as he could manage at the moment, he spoke up.
“H-helllo? Who’s up there?” The man in the driver’s seat turned around to look back at Alfred and smiled. Then he turned to the man in the passenger’s seat and gave him a small nudge.
“Arthur… Arthur, wake up… he’s awake.”
“Hmm?”
“The boy is awake, and I think he’s a bit frightened… why don’t you go talk to him?”
“Oh- yes- of course.” Arthur stood up and walked to the back, where he knelt down beside Alfred’s bed. “Hi, Alfred,” he said gently. “How are you feeling?” Alfred’s eyes widened in shock, as he took in the appearance of the man. He had seen him before.
“You’re… you’re that- that guy who was following me,” he stuttered.
“Yes; I’m sorry if that made you feel uncomfortable, Alfred.”
“How do you know my name?” Arthur froze.
“Well, I-“
“Where are you taking me?! You won’t get away with this! My parents are gonna notice that I’m gone, and they’re not gonna stop till they find
me!!”
“Actually, no one is looking for you…”
“What?! Why?!” There was a hint of fear in Alfred’s angry, demanding voice, which was even more noticeable when his voice cracked.
“Arthur, stop scaring him! Honestly, you’re not doing a very good job at this whole comforting thing… maybe I should come back there…”
“Thank you, Francis, but I’ll handle it.”
“You mean just like you “handled” blending in at the school?” Arthur’s face flushed a deep shade of red.
“Shut up, Frog! I told you I can bloody handle it, so I will!!” He then turned his attention back to Alfred.
“Everyone thinks you’re deathly ill with a highly contagious disease and are being quarantined… You not though,” he added, when he saw the look of concern on Alfred’s face. “We just needed an excuse to not have anyone come looking for you until we get everything fixed.” Alfred cocked his head to the side in confusion.
“Fix what?”
“Still not doing a very good job, Angleterre…” said Francis, shaking his head. Arthur glared silently at Francis for a moment before answering Alfred’s question.
“…I can’t tell you right now… I’ll explain everything when we get to where we’re going. We should be there in a minute or two.”
“Where are we?”
“Washington DC.”
“But why-”
“We’re here,” announced Francis, as the van came to a stop.
“Oh thank god,” said Arthur with a sigh of relief. He opened up the back door and then bent down again to pick Alfred up.
“What are you doing? I can walk!”
“Can you?” Alfred paused. Using all his arm strength, he forced himself into a sitting position. Then, he tried to stand, but his legs felt all wobbly, and he fell back onto the bed.
“What did you do to me?” he asked weakly.
“Well, that drug I had to slip into your milk may have had something to do with it… It’s a very powerful drug with some intense side effects. It causes dizziness, fainting, increased heart rate, and overall fatigue that can last for hours. France- err Francis- developed it… God only knows what he uses it for…”
“You drugged me?!”
“Yes, and I’m not proud of it, but I had to do it, so please cooperate for just a little while longer, and everything will make sense; I promise.” Alfred was silent, so Arthur took that as an ok and then proceeded to scoop the boy up in his arms. With his limbs dangling practically useless, Alfred was completely at Arthur’s mercy. Arthur couldn’t help but smile- it had been years and years since Alfred had depended on him like this. He had to say, it felt… odd. Nevertheless, he stepped out of the van with the child in his arms and made his way towards the entrance. Immediately upon seeing where they were, Alfred’s eyes lit up.
“Whoooa! We’re at the White House?!” Arthur sighed.
“That’s the Capitol Building, Alfred.”