A/n: Based on the events of Chernobyl. In my head-cannon I believe Ukraine would regret it very much, because while she was not directly responsbile they were her people and they did not follow everything that should have been done during testing. So she goes there every so often, knowing the risks of radiation poisoning, but she cannot stop, because she can't ever forget the lives lost nor the memories which were created. Bitter sweet? Maybe. Enjoy.

Disclaimer: I own and claim nothing!

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Twenty-five years to the day and still she could feel the pain of death, the pain of skin being seared by the toxic air that scorched her lands, by the fires and the poison which had her ill for days. Twenty-five years to the day when her beloved sister and brother were effected from an explosion that her own people caused. When she heard of the events leading up to it she felt anger, annoyance and a severe -almost closely linked to her brother's "kol kol" mode- filled her. Then like that it melted into sadness. Not even she, the nation of Ukraine, was allowed and yet here she was walking the streets in which the natural Earth of trees and plants now took to, where animals now roamed. Air, heavy and poisonous, filled her lungs. A feel of hands grabbing, tugging, pulling at her arms, her legs. Suffocating. She was suffocating under the guilt and sadness and sobbed, breaking down completely in the middle of the street. Twenty-five years and she could not handle stepping into the area. Surely she was strong enough now; yet as it was back then she could not handle it.

…...

Rusted gates, moth eaten stuff animals, abandoned, silent stalls. Where laughter would have been abundant there was none. Where children should have been seen running freely, tugging their parents arms to take them here or there there were none. Nothing. Abandoned. Desolate. She was to bring her siblings here, to spend time with them. They were to have fun as normal people, not as nations.

"I promised them and now I cannot keep that promise."

The words, when spoken, sounded so loud to her ears even though whispered. Even here she could feel the silence that enveloped her town. Against a cloudy sky the plant stood painted like an ominous cloud. Foreboding in its own fashion. She could only imagine now what fun they would have had, instead of remembering the fun they did have, because those memories which should have been created were not. Nor would they ever be.

…...

Standing in the very spot where the core once stood, Ukraine knew then that the area would never be safe to live in. She walked the desolate plant gray-blue eyes hazy. Here, where the radio-active air was most poisonous is where she felt the most. Pale, gentle hands held pieces of graphite, letting the material stain her hands. How foolish were they to make some of this building with this matieral, to know that it could easily be combustible? Anger, like a fiery passion that could be rivaled to that of lust glared at the area. Her foolish people.

"..."

She wanted to scream in frustration, throwing the piece to the ground. If only...if only they realized what had gone wrong, they wouldn't have misjudged. Yet they are people, and she could not truly fault them. Her lungs burned as she coughed. She should really leave, but it was here she felt most connected with her people, her /children/.

Irina fell asleep against an old piece of equipment.