A/n: Well, I guess I'll work on this for a while… My flashdrive, where I kept all my stories and such, broke yesterday. So I lost everything I've ever written. Near complete 8th chapter of "Undefeated", nearly complete 3rd chapter of "Single Mistake", various unfinished stories that I planned on posting… Yeah, it sucks. And I've been itching to write.
So to alleviate my writing withdrawals, I figured to just start on something new. This story is not an AU (surprisingly), and is centered on World War III. It varies from character to character, but will mainly involve Nordic Europe, Eastern Europe, and Central Europe. Other nations like France, China, ect. Will be used; just not as extensively.
There are going to be quite a few pairing throughout this story. Just to list a few; RusFin, DenNor, SuEst, LietPol… Enjoy them, along with the other pairings that will appear.
I plan on each chapter being named in order of the songs on Breaking Benjamin's album "Phobia". This first chapter, "Intro" just sets as an introduction to the story to get it kicked off. "Intro" on the "Phobia" album is just an instrumental portion before the song "Diary of Jane" (which will be the title of the second chapter). Each chapter will partially relate to the lyrics of the song. And since there are thirteen songs (including "Intro" and "Outro"), there will be thirteen chapters.
Without further ado, here is the first chapter of "Phobia", titled "Intro".
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Finland knew the calm before the storm. He knew it was only a matter of days before a war was going to start up. He could sense it. No, he wasn't some sort of magician or anything; he just knew the atmosphere of pre-war. Most nations who had been through more than a few wars recognized the feeling.
It always happened when everything seemed to recover from wars of the past. When things were finally calm and collected. Finland knew how this war was going to start, even. A few nations had alliances due to new leaders being elected. He had noticed a change in a few different nations' personalities; Denmark was becoming extremely xenophobic and had closed his borders to all foreigners ever since his new leader, Stetson Kamper, had seized power. Even Norway couldn't go inside Danish boundaries. Rumors supposed that the Danish military was maximizing its size and powers, making deals with another changing nation for weaponry and supplies.
That other changing nation was Russia. A new leader, a sure-handed Communist named Vyacheslav Koptev, had taken over and had practically brainwashed the Russian people. Vyacheslav had told them, and the world, that a new Russia was coming. A powerful Russia; a dangerous Russia. Finland had visited the nation just once while Koptev was in power, to see the other representation.
As he walked into the office of the other man, he noticed how everything around him on the walls and desks had some sort of Communist symbol on it. Even a large painting of a Soviet sickle and hammer was hung towards the side of the room. It made Finland's heart beat a bit quicker as memories of World War II suddenly rushed back to him.
"Good morning, Tino." Russia greeted from behind his large wooden desk.
"Moi, Ivan… I can see your office has changed quite a bit." Finland replied, sitting in one of the two chairs in front of the desk.
"Da, it has. Koptev has done quite a bit of redecorating of the Russian buildings and such. Did you see the sculpture outside in the courtyard?"
Finland recalled the large bronze statue that had been the first thing to indicate the sudden change in the Russian nation.
"The one of Josef Stalin…?"
"Da."
"Then yes, I have. I question why he would put such a thing out there…"
"It is a symbol of how strong our nation will be. Tino, can't you see? Koptev is giving Russia new life. New pride."
"He's turning you back into what you were back in World War Two." Finland retorted. The Russian merely chuckled.
"I do not believe so. We pose no threat to anyone at this moment, Tino. In fact, we have confided in the people that we are not going to start a war or force our ways onto anyone else."
"Ivan… Please, you have to stop him before this gets out of hand. That man; he's no good to you or the rest of the world. Can't you see what he's doing to you? I haven't seen a Soviet symbol on your person since the 1990s. Forty years later, I see you with a medal upon your chest with that god damned insignia on it? Ivan, think of your people. Think of World War Two. Think of all that you lost… You may have a large population and a large military as of now, but a war spurred on by Koptev will surely lead to failure."
"Ah, that is where you are wrong, Tino. A war brought on by my leader will not happen. Someone like you would have to start fighting us. We promised."
"Just… Just think before you let him take too much from you… I don't know if I can stand being here like this any longer than I already have been." Finland stood. "Please be careful, Ivan."
"You have my word."
With that, Finland exited.
And now, nearly a month after that visit, he pondered if what Russia had told him was actually true. That Vyacheslav would not start a war. But that didn't mean someone else wouldn't. Various political changes had occurred in many nations; China was a Republic, France was a Dictatorship, and England had turned back into a strict Monarchy.
But various things had happened to nations that had remained practically the same for years and years. America's economy was now thriving as Germany's bank system collapsed; Norway's petroleum industry was assailed by numerous mass strikes due to underpayment of workers, and the rest of the nations were stuck with the repercussions.
Sure, America's government was thriving, but he had become very extroverted. He welcomed everyone; everyone but the Hispanic. That brought upon heavy hostility from Spain, Mexico, and various other Hispanic nations. The Canadian government had also become hostile towards the Americans, deeming their ways racist.
But on the other side of the planet, it seemed that things were going right. The Asian nations, or at least the majority of them, had given up communist ways and were doing very well economically and politically. Military-wise, they were lacking. But no one took the time to analyze the possibilities of another big war.
Finland found himself sitting in his office, watching the news on a small television at the corner of the room. A young woman from Britain reported for the BBC, standing just outside of the Danish border. The chain-link fence that now signified the border was heavily guarded from the inside, as numerous soldiers could be seen. Finland listened as the woman spoke.
"Political unrest in Europe has skyrocketed, as Germany's bank system fails to recover. Experts question why the system collapsed, and how the Germans will recover from such a thing. Meanwhile, Danish patrols along their borders have nearly quadrupled over the past week. Tanks and such are displayed just behind the large chain link fence that surrounds the border of Denmark."
""It is a display of Militarism", says Swedish Prime Minister Gustaf Alsvik. "They're showing their power, and are preparing to thwart off any attempts at infiltration. They are cautious of the situations around them. The depression in Germany, the upbringing of Communism in Russia, the hostilities of America and the Hispanic regions. They are simply protecting themselves, and showing that they will not be invaded and taken control of like they were during World War Two.""
"Experts and citizens alike suspect that Denmark is preparing for war, as is Russia. But no one has confirmed the suspicions, and no one hopes to. I'm Millicent Bentley, BBC new-"
Finland switched off the television with a sigh. He glanced at his cell phone and chewed on his lip slightly. He would call Denmark, but he didn't know if the other nation would answer. Well, it was worth a shot.
He picked up his phone and went through his contacts, dialing the one labeled "Mathias". He held the phone to his ear and waited out the rings, before finally someone picked up.
"Mathias Køhler speaking." The Danish representations voice was hoarse and raspy, like he had been arguing and yelling for hours.
"Mathias, it's Tino… What's going on with your nation? I mean, are you really preparing for war?" Finland questioned.
"Yes, we are. Can't you sense that pre-war feeling? It's been around for a while, and my new dictator and I decided to shut down the borders. We don't want to end up like we did in World War Two. Twenty-four hours of resistance, my ass. We'll last forever now. No one will get past the borders without being blown to bits from our tanks."
"But isn't this a bit much? I mean, you're so different… I've never seen you like this, Mathias. I know you're paranoid of an upcoming war, and to be honest I am too, but you don't see me shutting everything down."
"That's because you're a pacifist, Tino."
"Pacifist? Seriously, Mathias?"
"Seriously. Just watch, you'll be one of the first nations to fall in the war. I won't be there to help you, either."
"What about Lukas? I heard that you denied him the right to visit you. Why can't he come into your borders?"
"He has his own problems to deal with. There is no need for him to come to Denmark when he's got those strikes to fix."
"For God's sake, Mathias. He just wanted to talk to you. No one's seen your face ever since Stetson Kamper came into power. Lukas loves you. Can you imagine what this is like for him? Can't you open up just a little bit to speak with the man who loves you?"
"It's for his own good that I denied him. I'm not going to let him blatantly ignore his workers."
"He isn't ignoring them!" Finland was getting frustrated with the Dane now. "He's trying so hard to work things out with his government, but it will take time. He needs your help, Mathias. He needs your care. With you being such a reclusive bastard… It makes things harder for not only him, but the rest of us as well."
"Tino, you know I can't change anything now. What's done is done. I'm not reopening my borders until things are safe."
"Mathias, think! God, you're just as brainwashed as Ivan is!"
"No one's brainwashed here-"
"Yes! Yes you are! Perkele, Mathias, can't you see? You've never been this way before! You've never been such a shut-in that you would deny your own lover the chance to see you! You've done everything for Lukas in the past; anything to see him smile, or see him at all!" Finland ignored the fact that his president had walked into his office.
"Please, Mathias, you have to stop this before you end up in a war. Europe doesn't need this… Nobody needs this. Please… Just ease your borders open for those who love and care about you; even if we're approaching a war, you've got military strength… You don't have to be so paranoid…"
"Tino, I have to go. If you want to continue your ranting, do it elsewhere. Or have the guts to illegally come into Denmark and say all this to my face. Goodbye."
Denmark hung up, and Finland shut his cell phone, gripping it angrily in his hand. He looked over to his president.
"I… I am so sorry you had to hear that, mister Aalto…" He apologized, looking down.
"It's alright, Tino. But I'm afraid we have a much larger problem on our hand than just Danish introversion." President Esa Aalto stated, walking around the side of Tino's desk and staring out the window behind the Finnish representation. Finland spun in his chair, staring at his president out of curiosity. What could possibly be more problematical than the Danes?
"What's the dilemma?"
"As of twenty minutes ago, France has invaded and declared war on Germany."
"What?" Finland exclaimed in shock. He knew a war had been coming, but the French invading Germany? That was just uncalled for!
"The French have already seized control over Saarbrücken. The Germans aren't giving much resistance."
"This is… This is just horrible. Do you have any clue how many alliances Ludwig has?"
"He has six."
"Six? I thought he only had five!"
"He has Austria, Poland, Belgium, Holland, and now us."
"What? We're getting involved? But this has nothing to do with us, Esa!"
"Do not worry, Tino. We are only sending supplies down to Germany. We are not sending any of our soldiers."
"But this isn't right! We shouldn't get involved like this! We'll have France and his allies against us!"
"France only has one alliance. It's with Canada. Now if I'm knowledgeable enough, I don't believe that Canadian troops can make it all the way across the ocean to France in just twenty minutes of war."
"Regardless, sir… We… We can't instigate like this. If the French find out about this… God knows that we'll be invaded like Germany is being as we speak."
"We have a strong military. We will be fine. Our allies will help us if needed."
"Our allies have enough problems as is. Denmark canceled his part of the treaty, Norway's got problems with his petroleum industry that he's trying to fix, and Sweden will undoubtedly try to stay neutral. And Iceland? He hardly has an army."
"The Nordic-Alliance Treaty can't be broken. It will result in a forceful demilitarization of the nation that refuses."
"Esa… You never told me about that part of the treaty."
"I didn't? Oh, well now you know. So if Sweden refuses to help out if we are invaded, he will be forced to undergo demilitarization. Denmark will inevitably resist any pleas for help, so he is out of the question. Norway simply will have to suck up his own problems and do something, regardless. As goes for Iceland. This treaty is meant to protect the Nordic nations. If Norway is invaded, we will send our help over there. If Sweden is invaded, then we will send our help there. But we're getting ahead of ourselves here, Tino. For now, we'll just have to watch Germany and his allies fall at the hands of the strongest French military the world has ever seen."
"That's it." Finland said, standing. "I'm leaving."
"To do what, might I ask?"
"I'm going to France."
"That's suicide, Tino. You know you'll escalate this war."
"I don't give a fuck. I can't just sit here and watch as the peace we've held for years and years is torn apart!" The representation snapped back, gathering up his things. It was December 2nd, 2034, and he was not going to let this be the day where everything fell apart for Europe once again.
As he slipped on his coat and exited his office, he disregarded the words that his ignorant President said.
He made his way down the streets of winter-chilled early morning Helsinki, hailing a taxi which took him to the nearest airport. Once at the airport, he got the first possible flight to Paris, which happened to be in a half hour.
As he sat at the gate with his ticket in hand, his mind raced. He tapped his foot out of anxiety, and his eyes focused off in the distance as he visualized in his mind the invasion of Germany by the hands of one of the strongest dictatorships to ever be made in Europe.
Ludwig, the suddenly distraught German representation, had to be devastated at this point. First his banks collapse, along with funding for his military and such, then he gets invaded by France? Finland wondered what kind of hell the man must be going through.
When he boarded the plane after a half hour of waiting, he was still anxious, nervous; unable to think of anything but stopping France from killing Germany. Finland had respect for Germany, and had respect for France, but was unable to channel his respect for the latter at this moment in time. Starting a war was not something France would normally do.
Three hours separated him from Paris. Three hours separated him from possibly making a difference. A flight attendant came over the speakers in the plane, saying words that Finland hated to hear.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we wish to caution you that the country of France is currently at war as of an hour ago. The restrictions of the dictatorship have doubled, and we warn you to be cautious in what you do in Paris. Please, do enjoy your flight though."
Finland sighed heavily and stared out the window at the scenery of the busy airport.
'Soon,' he pondered, 'All of Europe will be wrapped up in a war…'
When he arrived in Paris, it looked as if nothing had ever changed. The French people were still friendly and smiley; as if they had no clue that they were at war. Though when Finland looked a little closer, he noticed the soldiers hidden in dark alleyways, or standing on corners silently. They were watching everyone. Everything.
Finland reminded himself that France was now a dictatorship, and the government had seized full control of everything. He assumed that they had kept a lot of things the same and just boosted the military's power and political control.
"I have to get there and tell them to stop…" He muttered in an effort to motivate himself.
As he made his way to the French parliamentary building, he was caught off guard by a young boy grabbing his coat sleeve.
"I wouldn't step foot near the parliamentary building, sir. They're executing prisoners."
"E-Excuse me…?" Tino crouched down to hear what the boy had said. He wanted to be sure that he had heard right.
"The government has ordered the execution of all prisoners serving over twenty years." The boy repeated. Finland inhaled shakily.
"I don't have much of a choice but to go up there… It's my job."
"Don't say I didn't warn you, sir." With that, the boy left, running off into an alleyway. Finland took a few shaky breaths. Executions? In France? Ordered by the government? What kind of hell-hole was this?
He stood and continued is trek to the large white building. He knew Francis would be there. He knew the French representation had his office there. It was just a matter of getting past the security that Finland now came into view of. There was a tank sitting out front of the building, along with a few soldiers, along with Military police who were searching people going in and out of the building. Finland could hear gunshots coming from what he assumed was behind the building. He disregarded the tightness in his chest and walked towards the building.
He was stopped by military police.
"Quel est votre but d'être ici, monsieur?" One of the gruff-looking men asked. Finland went through the words in his head and found the correct ones to speak.
"Parle anglais, s'il vous plait. Je suis finlandais."
"Ah. What is your purpose of being here, sir?" The military policeman repeated.
"I am here to speak with Francis Bonnefoy. I am the representation of Finland, Tino Väinämöinen."
"We must pat you down before you enter; it's a policy, sir."
"Do what you must do."
"Very well. If you could please remove your coat, then spread your arms and legs."
Finland did as the man asked. He had been searched like this before, having been in and out of countries for years, and having been in and out of heavily-secured places quite a bit. It always felt so wrong though, to be patted down like this. He knew they were just following the policy, but it was a bit extensive here in the French capital.
They stuck their hands in his pockets and removed any of the contents, setting them aside. They made him remove his shoes even, to see if he had hidden any weapons or contraband in them or his socks. It was ridiculous, and humiliating. He swore they were on the borderline of harassing him when the military police patted his more sensitive areas, but he disregarded it the best he could. His focus was not on the violation he was currently feeling, but the French representation who had allowed his people to go to war.
Once the pat-down was complete, Finland slipped his coat back on and retrieved his things from the hands of the military police. He put his shoes back on, and headed inside the building, where he was put through yet another security measure. A few metal detectors and a more relaxed pat-down later, Finland finally made his way to France's office.
He knocked on the door with a sigh.
"Come in." The familiar French accent called. Finland opened the door and was welcomed by a very neat, clean office, with nice decorations and of course, Francis himself sitting behind a polished desk.
"Ah, bonjour, Finland! What a nice surprise." France said, smiling at the Finn as he took a seat in front of the desk.
"Hello, Francis." He replied, still trying to shake off the feeling of the military police's hands on him.
"I am surprised a man like you made it through security. I figured a man such as you would be enraged by my declaration of war and attempt to bring a gun in here to shoot me."
"The security was ridiculous. Two pat-downs and mass of metal detectors? This is worse than airport security, Francis. And this war is ridiculous as well. You've invaded Germany at the lowest of lows in his lifetime. He's deep in a depression, and then you decide to invade? You've got the strongest military out there, next to Denmark, Russia, and America of course. But regardless, I can't believe you would allow this all to happen."
"Mon copain, do you not remember all that Germany has done to me in the past? Both world wars practically ruined me."
"World War One, you got revenge through the Treaty of Versailles. World War Two you had the denazifications of Germany and Austria, the prosecution of Nazi criminals, all your land back, the United Nations… Various things came out of the Allied victory then. What revenge do you have left to take from Ludwig?"
"Personal revenge. I want him to feel what it's like to be invaded by the French instead of the other way around."
"Do you have any idea how many laws your government is breaking?"
"Oui, but Monsieur Broussard knows very well what he is getting into. Monsieur Broussard believes that the French people need further revenge on Germany, just like I do. Monsieur-"
"Fuck Paul Broussard! Francis, you've just allowed him to start the Third World War! Do you have any clue how many allies Ludwig has? You only have Canada, while Ludwig has six other nations who are mere hours away from where we are right now!"
"Six? Last time I was informed, he only had five."
Finland froze up.
"Don't tell me you have joined Germany, mon copain. I will have to have you arrested."
"It wasn't my choice. Esa Aalto made the decision without consulting me."
"Regardless, I will have to hold you captive. Guards!" France shouted.
"What? Francis, you bastard!" Finland soon found himself being half-dragged out of the room by French military police. France stood in the doorway of his office as Finland was taken down the hall.
"When you put him in a cell, treat him nicely. Leave him some good food and extra blankets. He wasn't aware of his crime."
Finland held back the urge to scoff at the French representation. Didn't know of his crime? Finland knew damn straight that he wasn't supposed to be there.
When he was tossed into the cell in a sort of secret prison inside the building, the guards tossed in a few blankets and set a plate of food out on a metal table towards the corner of the cell for him to eat. Once the door was shut and coked, Finland slammed a fist on the concrete wall.
"Damn it!" He growled in frustration. "President Aalto is going to have my head for this…"