Homeless (a Hetalia Fanfic, Book Three)

Chapter 42~!

Why?

Whyyyy?

"Arrrrgh...! Come on, this is so weird, dudes! Why isn't Mattie waking up?" Alfred asked when he paid a visit to the medical ward the day after our mission to Egypt.

Oh, speaking of Egypt, he also had yet to awaken, but he was asleep in the next room over. His condition was just as much a mystery as Matthew's.

The time for celebration wasn't quite upon us, even though we had, in one way or another, recovered everyone who had been captured by W.O.R.L.D. I knew Alfred had gotten it into his head that we needed a party now, but he didn't want to host one until Matthew was conscious and could attend it. 'That's sweet of him... But when is Matthew going to wake up? The kids miss him so much...'

It was cruel, really. They'd been waiting so long for their dad to come back, and now he was as close as could be and simultaneously still so far away. 'Why couldn't I have had good news to give to them?' I asked myself over and over. 'This is so gonna make Tael and Milo hate me even more...'

Boy, was I in for a surprise. But more on that later. Alfred and I were in the medical ward again, and he was talking to Vale about different options for waking him up.

"Dad, it's not really a good idea to force it on him," Vale was saying to her father. "After what he went through, and how close to dying he was before I got to him, it really is best to let him sleep for now."

"But you don't know why he's asleep like this," Alfred interjected. "What if it's a bad reason that he's unconscious?"

"I'm doing what I can to figure that out," Vale said sharply, trying to get him to lay off on the matter. "But it's not gonna be instantaneous, okay?"

Alfred sucked in a breath, let it out, and apologized. "You're right, sweetie. Sorry, I'm just really worried for him."

Vale stepped forward and hugged him around his middle; their height difference made it hard for her to hug anywhere else. He returned the embrace, of course. "It's alright, I know what you meant. And I'll do my best to wake him up the right way. Who knows? Maybe what I find out will help wake Egypt up as well."

"Ha! That would be awesome!" he agreed. "Then I would totally say that you were the hero this time."

"Aw, thanks," she laughed. After stepping back and stretching, Vale sighed. "I think I'm done for now, though. I need to rest."

I'd been all but silent up until then, leaning against the wall next to the open doorway. Honestly, I had no idea why I had been summoned there in the first place.

"So... Why am I here, then?" I asked her after she'd said she was finished for the time being.

"Oh, right!" she yelped, looking at me quickly. "Sorry, I almost forgot you were here. My bad~" Vale grabbed my hands and dragged me off of the wall, then pushed my back until I was standing right next to Matthew's bed.

"I wanted to try something really quickly. I have a hunch that it just might work, since you and Mattie have such a close bond." I was a little surprised when she shooed America out the door and closed it behind him.

"Uh, why did he have to leave?" I asked. "What are we even doing?"

Vale held up her hands to stave off my questions so she could begin to explain. "Alright, I know you don't have magic anymore, Alice. You don't have to tell me that. But what I do know is that even if you don't have magic, you still have the capacity for it-- the only difference between now and before your battle was that you suddenly can't generate the magic yourself.