Germany was used to odd and unusual World Meetings, but this- this was a whole different league.
Who knew that in one day, more than nine different nations- with almost all of the G8, excluding Germany himself- could suddenly change eye colors overnight?
Personality wise, they didn't seem all too different- America was just as loud and Russia was just as creepy and France was just as flamboyant as always, but... something else seemed off, and Germany couldn't put his finger on exactly what.
It all started when Germany had awaken- for the first time, actually- to not his own alarm, but to the ringing of his phone and the screaming and cursing of a certain South Italian who seemed to hate him a lot. Germany, honestly, couldn't understand why he did, but that wasn't the point.
Anyway.
If he remembered right, it was at about quarter to five that morning, and Germany had fallen asleep earlier, just the evening before at about eight after preparing for his speech for the World Meeting that day. He had to admit- he was quite proud of his work, and he couldn't help but feel a little bit upset at the fact that probably no one would even pay attention to his speech- perhaps save Italy, who sometimes did, if he weren't eating or sleeping or petting some kind of animal he managed to sneak into the room- and even then he probably wouldn't have understood, anyway.
Oh, well. He could just yell at everyone to shut the hell up before he started to get their attentions.
So on that little happy note the blond nation went to bed, thinking that the World Meeting would go as it did every time, with all of the nations bickering and screaming at one another, and, for some reason, it gave him peace. Well, peace that lasted only throughout the night, until he was suddenly jerked out of a peaceful, dreamless sleep of his into the dark, silentness of his hotel room- save for that phone of his, which was ringing with that weird, peppy song his elder brother Prussia had insisted on making his ringtone.
Blinking rapidly several times, almost taken back by surprise, Germany heaved himself up into a sitting position, rubbing his head tiredly as he picked up his phone with his other hand, squinting at the bright light as he tried to focus on the tiny lights that spelled out the caller ID.
Feliciano Vargas.
Italy. But- why was he calling at such an early time? It was odd- especially considering the fact that Germany himself had to call the little pasta-loving Italian to wake him up from whatever siestas he had the night before. Nevertheless, Germany, in his sleep-addled mind, brushed this aside as irrelevant and answered.
"Hallo-"
"You bastard! You potato-loving bastard!" To his surprise, it wasn't Italy Veneziano, despite what the caller ID had said. From the first insult, Germany recognized the voice immediately- it was Veneziano's older brother, Italy Romano. "The hell did you do to my brother?!"
Germany had to recollect himself after a few moments of alarm, his eyes wide, before he said, "I don't know what you're talking about-"
"Shut up!" Romano snapped, sounding angrier than Germany had ever heard him- even angrier than when he had first confronted him, after being introduced to one another by Italy. "Stupid German bastard! You did something to him yesterday, didn't you?! That stupid idiota met up with you at that park to discuss whatever for that stupid meeting, but that wasn't what it was about, was it?! Of course it wasn't, he's all crazy now and it's all your fault! What did you do?!"
Germany, unfazed by the Italian's threats, narrowed his eyes slightly. "What are you talking about? I didn't do anything at all; we just discussed- just like you said. And what do you mean by, 'he's crazy now'? There isn't possibly anything that I could've done to make him-"
"Liar!" Romano snarled, and Germany had to bite back an irritated retort, allowing him to continue. "Only you could've done somethin' like this, I know it! He-he's not himself anymore, dammit!" Germany could almost hear the tears behind his word, and the blond softened a bit.
"Okay." Germany softened his voice in an attempt to calm Romano, and, to his surprise, he quieted down. "Romano... will you tell me, exactly, how your brother is different?"
When Romano spoke again, his voice had calmed down, albeit only a little, and his hostility hadn't completely disappeared, his voice still a bit rough. "Well..." there was a sharp intake of breath, and in a much more controlled and thoughtful voice he said, "His eyes…"
The blond's eyebrows furrowed. "...what about his eyes?" He was getting a little irritated at the fact he had to draw out all of this information.
"Don't interrupt me!" was the snapped answer, then a moment of hesitation. "...they were blue. Like- ocean blue. Like yours." Ah- that may have been why the South Italian had blamed the blond.
"It's not normal," Romano continued, "goddamnit! And- and there are some weird-ass stars in them!"
Wait- what?
"I don't even know anymore." He sounded exhausted. "What the hell happened?!"
"How am I supposed to know?" Germany began to sound irritated, though he couldn't help but feel concerned. "Do you want me to come over and-"
"Sure, you stupid potato bastard." Romano cut him off. "He's still here. You-you go and do your shit and I'll be off."
"You're leaving him?" Germany couldn't help but feel a little surprised.
"Of course I am!" the Italian snapped. "I don't even think he even is my brother anymore…" he huffed, and cutting off any other comment from Germany he continued, his voice dropping to a somewhat irritated and weary growl, "You-you just take 'im. I need the time to myself. He was talkin' all about you, yesterday, anyway; though, he isn't doing it anymore- at all- ever since this fucking weird eye-color change of his, but whatever. You know where our room is, si?"
"Well, ye-"
"Good." Romano seemed to slightly enjoy cutting of Germany (who was getting a bit irritated), and a small huff of amusement puffed from his nose before his joy dropped again. "I'll give this thing back to him and I'll be gone. Ciao." And, before Germany could even reply he heard the click and Romano was gone.
Germany listened to the silent static through the speaker of his phone for just a moment longer before dropping his hand, the phone falling on his bedside as his thought whirled.
Italy… different? Romano could lie, he was fully capable of it, but- Germany was usually able to tell, and he could tell Romano wasn't- there was no reason to, and Italy's elder brother seemed genuinely concerned, despite his more tough exterior and brigade of insults.
But- what would've happened to cause this? And, how, exactly, was Italy different? Romano had mentioned eye color- weren't they blue now?- but that seemed to be it, other than what Romano claimed, and Germany blamed it just on the instincts that came from being an older brother. Oddly enough, though- Romano had also mentioned Italy not talking about Germany whatsoever ever since the… eye change he talked about. And what on Earth was that supposed to mean? Was it contacts- or something else?
Germany was confused- but he was confused in a sleep-addled mind, which wasn't a rare occurrence; he figured out that once he was wide awake and moving it wouldn't be so weird and confusing and everything would make sense and the day would just run on smoothly like it always had.
Oh- how wrong he was.
So Germany got up and out of bed, took a brief shower, quickly changed into his suit, snatched up a bagel for an on-the-breakfast, took his keys and went out the door, well on his way.
After a short trip up several flights of stairs (Germany found no need in using the elevator, since the Italians' room was just two floors above his) and winding through several hallways, he found himself hesitating, standing just inches before the hotel room. The weight of the facts had just gotten to him; Italy, according to Romano, was different, somehow, and not even the elder brother could, exactly, pick out exactly what.
Should he be cautious? What was it really?
Should he even open the door in the first place?
Germany eventually came to the conclusion that it was probably best to just check it out for himself instead of stalling uselessly before the door, and with his heart picking up ever so slightly, he lifted a hand, and, with a held breath, quickly knocked the door.
On the third knock the door suddenly swung backwards, and standing there, as happy and cheerful as ever- was Italy Veneziano, beaming.
Germany almost flinched.
Italy was Italy- but… but were those his eyes?
They were wide open, for one thing- the little Italian was known for almost always having them closed, or at least one closed- but they were both wide and sparkling- literally.
They were blue. But- it was a blue Germany had never seen before. Romano described them as an ocean blue- but when seeing it with his very own eyes, he could tell they were more than just that. They were ocean blue, yes- but they seemed so deep, so alive, so ancient- Germany had to suck in a breath.
That wasn't the only thing about his eyes. They had stars in them. It was hard to describe, exactly, how that looked, but they were there, sparkling and giving this weird, almost alien, look to the usually normal(ish) Italy Veneziano.
They stared at one another for a long moment, Germany a bit uncomfortable and Italy just grinning as if nothing had happened, and Germany considered calling Romano and just leaving him to take care of his weird brother (that just somehow got weirder?) when Italy suddenly said, "Hi, Germany!"
Germany flinched again. "G-guten morgen, Italy."
Italy beamed again. "I'm so excited for today- aren't you?! For the World Meeting! Hey- are ya gonna bring me? Romano told me you would."
Okay. So far, nothing really was different- other than the wide-open eyes that seemed like some child's and that they were a vastly different color from what they were originally, but his speech patterns… it felt different. His voice still held that hyperactivity within it, though something was off. Was it the tone, or…?
But Germany was getting tired of this, so he ignored it and turned back to Italy and told him, "Yes. That's what your older brother told me."
"Older brother?" echoed Italy, almost sounding confused for a moment, then broke into another grin as he laughed (albit somewhat nervously, though it was practically undetectable) and said, "Oh, yeah! Sorry. Haha, my mind's kinda on other things, like animals and space and my photo album and…" his voice trailed off for a moment, then he looked up at the German again before Germany could even open his mouth to question what the hell that even meant.
"What are you waiting for? Hey, c'mon; let's go! I'm ready! Super excited!"
Wow. Yeah- there was something off. But it was confusing and his head was beginning to hurt, so Germany just sighed and said, "Well, I suppose so…"
"Okay, perfect!" Italy winked, then said, "I'll go get ready real quick and get my stuff and we'll be off." And with that he shut the door, and Germany was left alone in the hallway, silence enveloping around him.
The German hesitated, and wondered if he should just leave the Italian to his own devices, or maybe call Romano (he did have his number) to tell him that it was his brother and that it was his responsibility to take care of him, even if he (and Germany himself) wasn't so sure if he even was his brother. But before he could do either the door swung open, and there stood Italy, looking one-hundred percent ready.
Wait- what? That- that never happened! Italy always took forever, 'taking his time' as he practically limped around his duties. But- nevertheless here he stood, literally just minutes later, more than ready to go.
Germany raised an eyebrow. Maybe there was something really weird about this-
"C'mon, Germany!" chirped Italy, quickly and suddenly, as he snapped forwards and grabbed Germany's wrist before tugging and dragging him through the hallways, down the stairs, through several more hallways and out the door into the great outdoors, the German practically screaming in outrage and confusion (mostly in his head, though) all through the way as Italy just laughed and laughed and laughed.
Germany eventually managed to tear the Italian's grip from his wrist, and with a sigh he turned on his heel and to the left, digging his keys from his pocket, about to unlock the car when suddenly Italy offered, "Hey- oh! Can I drive?"
Germany froze.
"You… wait, what?"
"I want to drive!" said Italy again, slowly, as if the German hadn't heard him right. But- oh, how he heard him right; he just wasn't willing to believe it.
"I know that," said Germany, somewhat irritably, "but I thought-"
"Ha!" Italy winked again (he seemed to be doing that rather often). "I know I'm not the best at driving- but just give me a chance, please? I promise that I won't, er- crash into anyone. Sorry about all of that, by the way."
Germany was skeptical; of course he was- who wouldn't be? Everyone knew that Italy was the worst behind the wheel, and the only one who didn't seem aware of that was Italy himself. However- now it seemed as if the tables had turned. Italy was completely and one hundred percent knowledgeable of the fact, and, not only that- he was apologizing, and was promising to never do it again…?
Yeah, Germany's head was beginning to throb. But- he was sure that if he refused Italy's request he would insist even more, and Germany was sure he didn't want to go to that point. So he sighed, "Sure, sure. Just- make sure you keep your promise, ja?"
"Of course!" said Italy with a laugh, "I won't let you down!" And before Germany could even reply Italy had taken the keys from his hand and rushed towards the car in a jog, a slight skip to his step, and Germany followed after him wearily, another sigh escaping from his lips.
As the Italian quickly unlocked the car with a familiar beep and jumped into the driver's seat, sticking the keys into ignition, Germany couldn't help but cringe. The car was expensive; a model from his own county, it was highly prized by Germany, who polished it on a regular basis. If Italy scratched anything, then oh was he in for a-
"Germany!" called out Italy. "Are ya comin'?"
"...of course," muttered Germany, walking over and getting into the passenger's seat. "Italy," he warned, "if you mess up anything I will personally-"
"I won't." Italy looked at him incredulously, and Germany couldn't help but flinch. "Didn't I promise you that I wouldn't?"
"Well," began Germany slowly, "yes, but-"
"So don't worry about a thing!" Italy grinned, and with a laugh he pulled out of the hotel parking lot and into the main road.
He actually wasn't that bad- Germany had to give him that. Everything- and I mean everything- was right to the point of America's traffic laws- and Italy didn't even speed once. He followed all of the traffic rules and signs as if it were second nature, and he wasn't blabbering about pasta and pizza, which usually distracted him from the road- instead, Italy was actually focused, his eyes (that were still open) locked on the road, humming a song (Germany recognized it as that song that Japan sometimes sang, though he noted that the lyrics were a little different- "Draw an oblate spheroid, there's the Earth"?) as a finger tapped on the steering wheel. Italy- for once- was calm and collected behind the wheel, looking completely content.
And Germany?- he was terrified.
He was sure- he was one hundred percent sure something was up, something was wrong. He was staring at Italy with his eyes bugging out of his sockets, his breath absolutely taken away. What the hell? Italy? Driving calmly? Looking completely collected? Actually not blabbering on about useless things? Yes- Germany knew that the Italian did have those moments (though they were rather rare) but- this was a whole different league.
So they both sat there in silence (mostly), Italy still humming and singing softly with Germany just staring at him incredulously, paralyzed and mute. Once Germany managed to collect himself (it took a while) he stammered out, "I-Italy, what-"
Either ignoring or just not hearing him -usually it was the latter, but Germany was having serious doubts about it (not to mention his life and existence, too)- Italy suddenly said, "We're here!"
For a moment Germany thought he was just making it up to cut off all conversation, but then he tore his gaze from the Italian and turned to see that he was right- the tall glass building loomed before them, almost looking intimidating, and without another word Italy pulled into the parking lot with an expert hand, quickly getting into the empty parking spot (he even remembered to park into Germany's- not to mention having no accidents with the car that was parked before them whatsoever!) and shifting the car into park.
With an excited skip to his step, Italy tossed the keys to Germany, jumped out of the driver's seat, and rushed into the building, leaving Germany standing there idely and confused, completely lost at to what to do. After a moment of hesitation, he sighed again- he seemed to be doing that rather often today- locking the car as he stuffed his keys into his pocket, walking to the building with a shake of his head.
By the time Germany walked into the meeting room, Italy was already at his place at the table, a seat empty beside him- obviously, by the way he was motioning wildly and calling Germany's name at least several hundred times, it was for the German.
Germany hesitated again, unsure if he should sit next to him. But before he could reach a conclusion, he suddenly found himself facing South Italy, the Italian crossing his arms rather crossly, his cheek puffed out.
"So," said Romano, "you're seeing what I mean, right?" Germany noted how he seemed less than enthusiastic talking to his favorite German nation, but he could tell that South Italy felt that it was necessary- he was the only person, other than himself, who knew about this weird change of the North Italian.
"Ja- I do." Germany shifted uncomfortably, a hand coming up to his neck as he rubbed it. "What- what happened? Do you know?"
"Of course not, you idiot!" snapped Romano. "Do you think I did?! If I did, I'd change him back immediately! Potato bastard."
Germany frowned at the (un)affectionate little nickname Romano had assigned him several decades ago, but he figured arguing about it wouldn't do any good. "So… you don't know what to do? At all?"
"No." For the first time since the beginning of their conversation, Romano sulked. "I have no idea what the hell I should do." Gaze shifting over to Italy, frowning again, he continued: "You go over and sit with him. I don't even care about you bein' with him anymore 'cause he's isn't even my fucking brother anymore- at least, I don't think so." Romano sighed.
"You go over there, okay? Maybe, since you two are so close-" here, Germany heard the slightest hint of bitter resentment- "you'll be able to figure out what the hell is going on. Capisci?"
"C-capi-" Germany stumbled over his words rather clumsily, and Romano rolled his eyes and cut him off with a, "Just say you understand. Jesus. Now- you're wasting fucking time, so go over there. I'm going to sit with the tomato bastard, since he's so insistent on it." He rolled his eyes, muttered a "Ciao" and promptly left Germany.
The blond stood there for a moment, his thoughts whirling, and wondered if he should help out. He didn't want to sit next to Italy now- he was so different, so weird- but… he was his friend, so he supposed that he should at least help.
So Germany sighed and made his way over to the other, far side of the table, shaking his head to himself. With a sigh he plopped down on the chair and promptly began to massage his forehead, praying for anything to help him, right there and then.
Italy beamed up at him. "Hey, Germany!"
"H-hello," said Germany, averting his eyes slightly, before he began to silently chide himself, cringing. Acting like this wouldn't do any good; maybe he should-
"Stupid! Just absolutely stupid!"
Germany turned around to face the door where he saw England walk in, swearing profoundly to himself. To Germany's surprise, he saw that the Englishman's eye color had changed, too- instead of the deep forest green they had been before, they were now a bright fiery yellow, with the same stars Italy's eyes had.
Immediately Germany felt the said Italian nation stiffen at the sight of England beside him, and the German automatically lay a hand on his shoulder, trying his best to comfort him.
At least this is somewhat normal behavior... Germany thought, then aloud he said softly, in the most comforting way possible, "Now, Italy, calm down. This is a normal, peaceful, World Meeting, and England will not-"
Then- the unexpected happened.
Instead of screaming and running the other direction- which was what Germany wholeheartedly expected of the little Italian- Italy stood up, grinned wider than Germany could possibly even imagine, and ran towards England with wide open arms.
As Germany's jaw hung open, completely and utterly flabbergasted beyond comprehension, Italy practically tackled England as they both fell to the floor, his face streaming with tears.
"Oh, V-chan! I can't believe you're here, too! I'm not alone anymore!" sobbed Italy, squeezing England in a deathly bear hug. "I've missed you so much!"
England stared at Italy, completely flustered, trying his best to get up and catch his breath before his whole face lit up in recognition and shock. "E-Earth?! Is-is that you?!"
Italy grinned back at him, springing up to his feet like some kangaroo.
"Oh, I knew you would recognize me, sis! Even if I looked different!" chirped the brunet, pulling England back up to his feet before hugging him even tighter and ignoring (or not noticing) how everybody's eyebrows shot up when he mentioned England being his 'sis'- especially Romano, who was fuming, his face redder than it had ever been before. Italy looked back up at England, beaming. "And- oh, look!- you're a man now!"
England's face flushed red as he tried to pull Italy off of him. "Don't remind me, you idiot!" he hissed between his teeth. "It's bad enough as it is, especially if that redhead finds out-"
Suddenly the doors of the meeting room burst open wide, and all heads turned to see America there, grinning broadly. His eyes were wide open and sparkling, but, like Italy and England, his eyes had changed, now a starry, bright, coppery-red that practically sparkled.
England immediately paled at the sight of the American, and Italy threw his hands into the air, releasing England (who fell forward and flat onto his face) as he rushed forwards to hug America.
"Mars!" both Italy and England shrieked, Italy out of excitement and joy and England out of horror and exasperation.
"Ohmygosh- Earth, dude, is that you?!" America exclaimed, holding Italy at arms' length before he suddenly laughed. "It is! I can recognize those eyes anywhere! Man, you don't know how happy I am right now! I seriously thought I was all alone in this, and now with Earth I know-"
"V-chan, too!" Italy interrupted, smiling, and America widened his eyes as England groaned, attempting to hide himself.
"Seriously?!" shrieked America, and, with a nod, Italy motioned wildly towards the direction of the blond. For a moment, America looked at the Englishman with knitted eyebrows, but after a glance at his yellow eyes the American beamed (and, rather brightly, one had to note), releasing Italy and grabbing England by the shoulders.
Ignoring England's protests as the Brit screamed, "Let go of me! Dammit, Mars, you idiot!", America shook him and yelled, "Oh, Venus, I can't believe it's actually you, dude! And I always knew you were a guy, despite what you all said, isn't that cool?!" -here England interjected with a snarl of "How is that supposed to be cool?! I-I've been stripped of my manliness, Mars!" as he struggled to squirm out of the American's tight grip- "Hey, and it fits your personality, too! And- and I'm actually taller than you and E-chan! Man, you don't know how it feels to be shorter than almost the rest of the Solar System for eons and eons and eons and eons and then one day being able to actually see what's over the top of your heads, not to mention being so awesomely strong! And Phobos isn't stalking me anymore! It's the coolest thing in the Universe!"
As America continued to squeeze England as the Englishman sputtered out profanities while Italy just watched the whole ordeal with a faraway look in his blue eyes, all of the other nations who had assembled there stared at the odd trio with wide eyes and slacked jaws.
Germany himself was staring mostly at Italy, dumbfounded beyond belief. In the century of knowing the Italian ever since he first encountered him in World War I, he thought none of Italy's shenanigans could surprise him anymore.
But, as it was now demonstrated, that last statement was no longer true- though, unfortunately, it was only going to get worse for Germany- as well as the rest of the nations- for at that moment, France burst into the room, his now gleaming golden eyes glossy with fresh tears, lugging China- of all people- by the arm.
"My precious V-chan!" France gasped- dropping China and causing the smaller man to fall flat on his face- running over to England's feet and falling onto his knees, and, for some reason, crying and clawing at the floor.
"My precious V-chan," wailed France again, with England looking disgusted, and Italy and America looked rather excited to see the blond, "why have you become so hideous?!"
"Hideous?!" echoed England, and he seemed as if he were on the verge of either screaming or just standing there in mute shock and fainting, but the Frenchman continued before the Englishman could react either way.
"Your beautiful golden hair is gone, replaced by that dirty blond mop! And what in the holy Universe are those… things on your face?!" Obviously, he was referring to England's eyebrows. "They look like hideous hairy caterpillars!"
"What?!" demanded the dirty-haired blond- still struggling, to his unfortunance- "Are-are you saying I'm ugly?! And that you only care about my looks?! Why, I'd-!"
"Sol!" exclaimed China, squeezing his eyes as he lifted his head to scream, "what the hell?! You just drop me here like this random piece of space junk you treat me as? You know I'm in a more sour mood than usual 'cause I'm still so goddamned short!" He opened his eyes- now a copper-amber like color, now with those… star-things in them- just like France, America, England, and Italy.
"And why do I still look feminine?!" he demanded, continuing on with his rant rather passionately- something extremely out of character for the usually more patient old Chinese nation whose temper flared only rarely and temporarily. "You'd think that randomly switching bodies would get rid of all of that, but no! I'm still practically the same! And what is it with my voice?!- I sound like a woman! If that stupid moon of Earth's- Luna, wasn't it?!- found me now she'd probably think I was cuter! I'm manly as hell, damn it! Why does stupid fate think otherwise?!"
"Mercury," began England, still trying to speak between gasps as he was beginning to be squeezed to death by the rather clingy Frenchman (who still cried and cried and cried and cried), "d-don't you think there are m-more important matters t-than your manliness-?!"
He was cut off as both America and Italy screamed, "Sol!" and practically tackled France, ripping him from his grip on England, leaving the Brit leaning with his hands on his knees and gasping for breath with hot and tired tears in his (now yellow) eyes while America, Italy, and France lay in a happy(?) heap of embrace and hugs on the floor, not seeming to mind how dirty and unhygienic it probably was.
France, for the briefest of moments, looked confused as he looked between the two (and not noticing- or ignoring- how China screamed, "Sol?! Sol! Don't ignore me! I'm not that whosit-person-whatever whose name I just forgot living even farther than that blue-haired guy and his brother!") before suddenly breaking into (another) smile as (more) tears practically burst from his eyes as he gasped, "Mars?! E-chan?! Is that you?!"
Before either nation could respond, however, the Frenchman attacked the two with a bear hug and exclaimed, "Great Universe, it is! Come to your beautiful big brother and let 'im give you a big hug!" before the three rolled into a heap of crying and tears of joy with England looking pissed off beyond compare and China looking redder than ever.
The two younger nations seemed to comply, and as the air around them was filled with "Aw!" and "Big brother!" and "You were always kinda annoying Mars but that doesn't matter now!", accompanied by several more hugs (and more tears), China still splayed out on the ground as he sputtered out curses that were slightly muffled due to his face still plastered flat on the floor, England slowly stumbling back to his feet after his recent attack from France, Japan suddenly waltzed into the room with… Russia?
Oddly enough, Japan's companion wasn't the oddest thing about his sudden appearance; apart from the fact that he (and Russia, too) had different colored eyes, with the eye-stars in them- Japan's usually dull brown eyes now a silver (that, not really surprisingly, were just as dull- if not even duller) and Russia's a crimson red that seemed even scarier than his usual soft violet irises- and that the short raven-haired man's face was completely devoid of any expression at all, Japan was… holding… an… inner tube… around his waist…?
Unlike the rest of the World Meeting (as well as the nations who had the sudden eye-color and relationship change, who wasn't paying attention and didn't even seem to notice the two entering the room), Russia seemed completely unfazed by this particular fact, hovering by the Japanese man in a rather friendly and almost protective gesture. He waved at the others presently assembled in the room and said, "So- this is the 'World Meeting' E-chan speaks about all the time, yes? I thought I should visit!"
Japan said, in a completely monotonic voice, just as empty as his expression, his blank eyes flickering to the surprised faces of everyone sitting around the table, "I apologize for the inner tube. I missed the rings I so painstakingly cared for eons upon eons, and this was the only alternative available. I hope no one minds."
"And you have black hair," added Russia with a smile and a chuckle, "and not your usual sparkly silver white!"
"I know." Japan looked a little disappointed at the fact.
"And," continued on the tall Russian, as if Japan hadn't even commented at all, "you're small!- just like Mer-chan." Russia's gaze slowly shifted to China, a bigger smile beginning to stretch across his features.
China involuntarily flinched at this, his head jerking up and exclaiming, "Eh? What?" before turning around and locking gazes with Russia. The moment he saw the pair of piercing crimson eyes he paled, the blood draining from his face- and screamed.
"J-Jupiter!" he gasped, springing to his feet and scrambling several feet back, immediately going into a defencive position as he held up his long sleeved arms before his body in protection, "w-what are you doing here?! You-you've got thrown into this, too?! A-and Saturn?!"
"Yes!" was Russia's optimistic cheer, the Japanese man responding with a less than enthusiastic and rather dull, "Yes…"
"What?!" burst China, "I thought the only good thing to come from this was you not stalking me everywhere and callin' me this-this moon of yours, but then you just show up! I-"
"Oh, Mercury," sang Russia, "you know you miss me! If you didn't live so far away you know you would be my moon!"
"S-shut up!"
England looked at Japan, trying his best to ignore Russia's and China's growing argument, China's own voice climbing to a high, hysterical shriek. "Seriously?" he said, "An inner tube?"
"There was nothing else." There was a shrug of his shoulders. "And I miss my rings. I like my rings. And I like having my pretty flotation device around my waist. So I found this." Japan wiggled it slightly. "Don't you like the cats- the nekos," he suddenly corrected, "I apologize- with the little maid outfits and polka dots on it? I think it's rather cute."
England sweatdropped, visibly uncomfortable and having a severe case of second-hand embarrassment, not knowing what to say. "W-well, uh-"
"Jupiter?!" A new, somewhat hysterical voice, shrieked out, and Russia, China, England, and Japan flinched at the sudden scream and turned around. Standing there, straight and tall in horror and surprise, was America, his eyes wide with an accusing finger jabbing in Russia's direction.
"Jupiter?!" America screamed again, "Dude?! What the hell are you doing here?!" So, apparently, this... 'Jupiter' they believed Russia to be had quite a lot of enemies- or, at least, adversaries.
"Oh!" Russia's smile stretched even wider. "You- Mars, yes? You are here, too?"
"What do you think?" America's voice dropped, taking upon itself a rather darker tone that seemed to be tainted and burdened with some old, old grudge- a grudge that seemed so old and so deep, it seemed older than even China himself. "Yeah, I am."
"Hm." Russia's tone tuned into a light hum, tilting his head slightly skywards as his own eyes darkened, the tension between the two thickening significantly- and, surprisingly enough, America seemed completely and utterly aware of it- against his usual nature of being unable to 'read the mood', not to mention actually being the one to change the mood in the first place. "I can see you've grown from your little… almost moon like status, yes?" continued the Russian. "Yet- you still can't help but still be shorter than I am."
"Oh, shut up!" America snapped, his voice cracking high. "You know it was all your fault! I could've grown taller, but you took that chance from me! You stole what I could've used!"
"Well," began Russia, shaking off America's undertone of a possible threat with a casual shrug, "it isn't my fault it's so easy to take advantage of you. What is it that you and E-chan say?- oh!- 'like taking candy from a baby'." The Russian smiled pleasantly, as if he had said some kind of joke.
"'Like taking candy from a baby'?!" echoed America, enraged, his face heating up with his words. "What?! Are you saying that-?!"
"Jupiter!" exclaimed France suddenly, jumping to his feet with Italy to his side, the Italian looking somewhat confused with a tilted head and closed eyes. Rushing to the Russian with wide open arms, ready for an embrace, France continued again with, "Jupiter! You're here, too?! Come here to your big brother! Even if I've become shorter than you!"
Instead of coming into his embrace Russia just blinked and said, "Sol? You are here, too?"
"Yes!" France opened his gleaming golden eyes and dropped his arms. "So many of us are! Mer-chan-"
"Now you look at me," huffed China, crossing his arms and looking annoyed.
"-V-chan!-"
"Will you shut it with that?!" demanded England.
"-E-chan-"
"Hello!" Italy waved happily at Russia, though he shrunk back slightly in fear at the sight of him.
"-Mars-"
"What?" America looked at the others. "Where's my '-chan'? That's Japanese or somethin', right? Wait- aren't I '-kun' or something of the sort, aren't I? I don't remember-"
"-and, as you can see," continued on France as if he hadn't been interrupted more than a handful of times already, "you- Jupiter- and Saturn, too!"
"Hi." Japan raised a single hand in greeting, his expression not even wavering.
"It's practically all of the Solar System!" finished France with a miniature flourish of his own, throwing his hands into the air in pure joy. "Can you believe it?!"
"Well," interrupted Italy suddenly, jumping into the conversation, "not everyone is here."
"What? Really?" China looked confused. "I don't remember."
"You just mentioned them earlier," muttered England under his breath, "how can't you? You always forget everything-"
"Oh!" America's face lit up in recognition. "I know who you're talking about!"
"I do, too." Japan nodded slowly, his eyes getting a bit of a faraway look. "Uranus, yes? And his brother…"
"Neptune." Russia creased his eyebrows. "Yes- I know who you are talking about. I wonder- where could they be-?"
"Right here." They all turned at the sudden voice to see Norway walk through the doors, lugging a sputtering and stuttering Iceland (oddly enough, with his weird little puffin nowhere to be seen) by the arm. Both Norway's and Iceland's eyes were different, too; instead of their usual dull blue and purple, Norway's were a light, almost green-like, blue, and Iceland's were a deep bright cerulean, both sparkling with their newfound stars.
Norway looked over at Sol, completely unaware (or ignoring) his brother's yells of protest to release him. "I'm sorry we're late," said he, and, to everyone's surprise, it was even more empty of emotion than Japan's new voice and even Norway himself. "My little brother and I-"
"Stop calling me that!" snapped Iceland, squirming.
"-found out about it together this morning when we woke up together. In the same room." He sighed, almost wistfully. "I haven't done that with my little brother in forever."
"And I'd like to keep it that way, Uranus." Iceland looked at Norway with a deep frown.
"Shut it, Neptune," said Norway with the slightest chiding tone, "you should learn more from Iceland and Norway. Anyway," he drawled on, ignoring how a flustered Iceland sputtered out several more profanities, "I wasn't surprised to find out you all were here, too."
"What? Really?" China spoke up, crossing his arms. "Why not?"
"Because." Norway locked his gaze dead with China's. "I could feel it."
The shorter man widened his eyes and he stammered, "W-what the hell is that supposed to mean-?!"
"We're still all not here, though," said Italy again, his voice dropping to a thoughtful murmur. "I'm sure of it. We're missing someone."
"The heck are you talking about?" England whipped to face Italy, who flinched but didn't pull back. "There's only us, right? One stupid, idiotic, ditzy star and the eight main planets?"
"W-well," began Italy, "y-yeah, but-"
"I still don't remember anyone," said China bluntly (again).
"Maybe he's small than Mer-chan!" offered America excitedly, jumping to his feet. "And we can't see him 'cause of that! And maybe-" he widened his eyes, and his voice gained that dark undertone again as he turned accusingly to Russia- "maybe he's so small he's almost like a comet and Jupiter crushed him, just like Shoemaker-Levy 9 and the couple other comets he destroyed?! I wouldn't doubt that! He'd do that sort of cruel thing, I swear!"
"Nope!" Russia smiled pleasantly again, and the temperature around him dropped several degrees. "No recent crashes since him…"
"What about the little cold one, at the end of the solar system?" burst France. "I think I remember him! He kinda looks like me, that little cutie! Neptune-" he turned to Iceland, who looked surprised at the sudden attention. "Don't you have a neighbor?"
"What?" Iceland blinked, then said, "I don't know what you're talking about- oh. Oh." He paused, thinking. "...oh. I know what- who- you're talking about. I, uh- think I did have a neighbor. A couple of years back…? Lived a bit farther than I did. Sometimes he'd move a little ahead, but… ah, I don't remember."
Italy seemed to pale at this in realization, muttered, "He probably will never forgive me," with a small chuckle under his breath, then said louder, "Well, uh, it doesn't matter now, does it? I think that-"
"ITALY!" boomed Germany suddenly, snapping up from where he sat, his blue eyes practically burning. As Italy screamed in response (well, at least that was kinda normal- but Germany was no longer counting or caring), the nations with the weird eyes around him flinching in surprise, Germany marched his way over to the Italian- who was trembling harder than a leaf in a storm- grabbed him by the collar, and yelled, spit flying everywhere, "What the hell is wrong with you?!"
Italy, his breath going ragged and his heart rate increasing dramatically, sputtered, "W-what are you talking about-"
"You know what I'm talking about! You- a-and the rest of the G8- excluding myself and including Norway and Iceland- just-just changed, for no reason! You- you have those weird eyes, and you called England your sister!" He looked up for a brief moment, glaring daggers at the others around him. France looked rather offended, reacting rather humorously, completely taken aback as he jumped backwards; America widened his eyes, his mouth slack; England just returned the stare, looking irritated; China looked offended, too, but he didn't react as dramatically as France, his face flushing red; Russia didn't seem to mind, staring back at him with those red eyes of his, looking completely innocent; and Japan, Norway, and Iceland didn't seem to mind (or care or notice) whatsoever, Japan still admiring his inner tube, Norway not even noticing at all, and Iceland huffing and rolling his eyes, turning away.
"W-what? Y-yeah, I knew that." Italy's voice significantly calmed down. "You mean- you don't know?"
"...know what?"
"I'm not Italy," said Italy simply.
"...what?!"
"I thought you already knew!" Italy blabbered on, "I could tell! You know- I'm so old and looked and studied people for so long I can't help but notice stuff like this, you know? Being a couple million years old can get really really boring after a while, you know?"
Germany's mind was spinning and spinning. My God, he thought, what is he even talking about-?!
"At least you have something on your planet to entertain you," accused England with a roll of his eyes. "Your freaking probes burn up the moment they even come close to my surface."
The hell?!
"I'm just a star," exclaimed France excitedly, "so of course I don't have anything on my surface except plasma! Hahaha!"
What-
"Anyway," continued on Italy, "I've studied a bit of psychology and stuff before. Even though it's kinda outdated- by a couple of decades?- it's good enough, huh? So- yeah! I could tell you were suspicious, but I was surprised you didn't speak up about it. Hey- why didn't you?"
Choosing to ignore his question, Germany instead chose counter him with another question:
"If you're not Italy- than who are you?"
"Wait- you don't know that either?" Italy tilted his head. "The others said it several times. Well- I'm Earth."
"...Earth? As in-"
"Yeah! Planet Earth! The big- well, not really that big- ol'- and really not that old- blue and green and brown and white sphere floating in space- though I'm not really floating, or else y'all be dead because there'd be no sun-"
"I'd never be able to live without you, E-chan!" exclaimed France in a shrill voice, rather dramatically. "You little cutie! What would I do without my little habitable sibling living in my neighborhood?!"
"-but, yeah, I'm actually orbiting." Italy grinned. "So- hey, the name's E-chan, like how my friends call me! Friendly habitable planet living in Sol's neighborhood with a couple other friendly planets, dwarf planets, moons, and comets!"
Germany was struggling to keep his sanity. "T-then who are the others?"
"I thought you'd know by now," muttered England, "by the way these idiots kept bantering them around carelessly-"
"The rest of the Solar System!" Italy said. "I'd thought you know that, too, but it's okay! France is Sol- our sun- and China is Mercury and and England is Venus- hey, did you know she's normally a girl? I bet she hates this a lot-!"
"I do!" was his snapped answer. "A lot, you don't even know-!"
"-and you know I'm Earth and America is Mars and Russia is Jupiter and Japan is Saturn and Norway is Uranus and Iceland is Neptune and there's someone else but I forgot but whatever, hahaha! Isn't that-"
"S-so-" Germany swallowed loudly, his voice getting angry. "W-why didn't you just tell me? Or Romano? Instead of just-just letting us guess everything?!"
"Oh! That." Italy laughed nervously. "I-I've never been to a World Meeting before. It's crazy, you know?! I'm the planet, as well as the personification of anything and everything here- including all your people- so you'd think I'd be able to at least sneak some kind of peek, right? But the UN leader doesn't let me 'cause he thinks you all are going to go insane if you found out."
Insane, all right. "And- what about-?"
"How I got here? How the others got here, too?" Italy shrugged it off as if it were nothing and irrelevant. "I dunno. I just woke up one morning, and it wasn't my lion gnawing on my head as usual-"
The hell?!
"You actually still do that, Earth?" England narrowed his eyes at him. "I thought I told you that it was dangerous!"
"Well, it isn't! I've survived several centuries with it, you know?- so I'm not gonna get hurt with a couple more! Anyway- so when I woke up and saw South Italy going all berserk on me with my eye color-" here he ignored how the said South Italian began to spit out profanities at a speed only matched by light itself- "and I think that's also when he called you, am I right?- anyway, I kinda looked at myself in the bathroom and I got so excited 'cause I knew about the meeting today- of course I would, as the Earth I can't help but follow my international politics and whatnot- and I'd be able to get in! Haha- well, sorry about that, impersonating him and all."
"And- and where is Italy? And the others-?"
"I'm guessing," butted in China suddenly, "they're back in our bodies. We were having a Solar System meeting too, today- what a coincidence. Don't you think-"
But Germany wasn't listening. For the weight of everything had finally gotten to him- Earth's personification! The guy was a couple billion years old! Venus' and Mars' and a bunch of other planets' personifications! The sun's personification! And just those weird ass stars- it was too much for the German nation's brain to handle all at once, and his grip released off of Italy's collar as he fell to the floor and passed out cold.
Fortunately (or not fortunately?) for him, everyone had managed to move on with their lives, for the only ones to have heard the exchange at the end were the planets, the star, Germany, and Romano, and the other nations had eventually forgotten about the handful of nations' change of character, already too caught up in their own problems and personal grudges with one another. Eventually the planets decided to leave, coming to the conclusion that the entire ordeal was too boring and similar to their own shenanigans, leaving Germany still passed out on the floor and the entire Meeting Room to what it was originally before they even arrived- save for Romano, though he was too distracted by Spain (who was hurling his affection at him) to even notice.
The planets didn't even notice Canada, who stood off to the side, and whose entrance was completely unnoticed by everyone.
He stared at the bear, who hung from his arms. How odd it was, but nevertheless it felt a bit… normal. "They forgot me again," said he, "even when I'm in another body. It's a bit inevitable, ha- don't you think?"
"Who are you?" said Kumajirou, this time more genuinely. He had no idea whatsoever who this man was- despite looking similar to the guy who normally took care of him, his eyes were very different.
Canada flinched at his words. What an odd question- well, it really wasn't that odd, since he had heard it several times from his fellow planets (usually Mercury and Neptune)- but it was weird, coming from a bear. Yeah- Earth's place really was weird.
"I'm Pluto," he said.
"Who are you?" said Kumajirou again. To him, that wasn't a satisfactory answer.
Canada just sighed, and chose to ignore the weird bear. "I wish Charon was here…"
"Why the bloody hell am I a woman?!"
"Mon Dieu! I look absolutely stunning! This hair is absolutely wonderful- oh! Hahaha, Angleterre, is that you?"
"O-of course, you bloody frog!"
"Mmm? China? Where are you?"
"R-Russia! I-"
"Oh, look- look at so much smaller you have become! And how much taller I am now! Isn't that wonderful?"
"What?! N-no it isn't! I-"
"FRANCE, YOU BASTARD!"
Mars looked at Venus, Sol, Jupiter, and Mercury with creased eyebrows, then looked to his left where Earth was sobbing and calling out to "Germany" as Saturn loomed over him rather awkwardly, looking uncomfortable and unsure of what to do with his rings. Uranus was chiding Neptune with a firm grip on his younger brother's wrist, Neptune trying to squirm away as Uranus chanted "Big brother big brother big brother big brother" over and over and over again. And- Mars wasn't so sure, but he thought he saw a purple/white haired guy hovering around their area, calling out softly, "Kuma? Kuma, where are you?" but, meh- he just shrugged it off. Whatever.
The redhead looked down at the green alien who sat next to him, who reminded him very much of Tony- besides the fact that he didn't speak- at all- and that he didn't curse or seemed to hate anyone. In fact- he (it? Mars had no idea) actually looked a bit shy.
"Is this normal for you guys?"
The green alien- oh, was it Marty? Mars thought so, though he had no idea how he knew that- nodded.
"...you know who we really are, right?"
Another nod.
"Ah." Mars paused. "...so there really are planet personifications?"
Marty looked up at him incredulously as if he were stupid, then nodded again.
Not even noticing the alien's look, or how the chaos in the room they were in- and they were in space, on another planet, with no need for oxygen, how cool was that?!- increased dramatically and to the point where one would begin to worry someone would accidentally get murdered (he was one not to really sense the mood very well, I'll give you that), Mars just nodded thoughtfully.
"Ooooh," he said, "cool."