I thought I'd write this to reflect the bright happy mood I'm in right now….yeah, that was sarcasm. I'll be over it soon, so enjoy anyway.

This has a few facts to back it up, but the numbers are a little out of order.

Disclaimer: see the big legal disclaimer on my page for all that.

"NO!"

They had had this talk before, and each time it didn't get any easier.

"Belarus, listen to me!"

"Not when you keep saying the same things over and over again!" Belarus snapped.

"Natalia!"

It wasn't often that Belarus was called by her human name. And to add to that, whenever Ukraine got mad enough that her voice lost its girlish lilt, there wasn't any room for argument.

Still, she was going to try a few words in.

"How is it going to help him if we abandon him? It's not like you're going to be much better off! It wasn't that long ago! (1)"

Ukraine crossed her arms. "That has nothing to do with this, and we're NOT abandoning him!"

"Then why do we have to leave?"

"Think about it, what do you think is really going to happen if we stay?"

Belarus went silent for a moment. Her eyes fell as the tears started pouring down her face.

"But…if we go, he won't have anybody… (3)"

"Natalia…"Ukraine said, softening her tone "…this is to protect him just as much as us. Don't you remember how he got after the Bolshevik Revolution?"

Belarus furiously tried to wipe her eyes. "Well can you blame him? The only one who was left was the kitchen boy (4)."

Ukraine started tearing up too. "That was painful to watch wasn't it? And both of us know that he probably won't be able to handle something like that again. It's for best that we stay out the way."

Belarus was quiet again as she mentally surrendered. If it were up to her, she would never leave. She would find a way to be with her brother forever. Her thoughts were then interrupted by Ukraine wrapping her arms around her.

"It's not going to be easy, but it's not going to be forever either."

Belarus started to wonder if Ukraine was trying to convince her, or herself.

"But…I love him…" She tried to weakly argue.

Ukraine sighed. "I love him too…"

Not like I do, Belarus quietly thought as she buried her head into her sister's shoulder.

Russia quietly took a step back from the door he had been eavesdropping from behind. He hated to admit it but his sister was right. He wouldn't be able to live with himself if they were hurt because of him, especially with the coup that had just almost happened (2). That had been the last straw.

He walked quietly down the hall and slipped into the adjacent one that led to his room. As hard as he tried to be quiet, every step he made he heard echo over the empty space. It was now Russia who felt his eyes start to water, but unlike his sisters he didn't try to stop them. He turned around one last time before entering his room and saw and heard nothing…nobody. He would have to get used to it, he thought to himself, it was for the best.

Facts that back it up:

1 Ukraine declared independence in 1991, 5 years after the Chernobyl disaster.

2 Members from the Communist party tried to take control over the Soviet Government from the then president Mikhail Gorbachev from August 19-21, 1991. Ukraine declared independence 3 days later and Belarus 4 days later.

3 Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Georgia had already declared their independence from the Soviet Union.

4 The Romanov family (Nicholas II and his family) along with their doctor, lady in waiting, cook and valet were all executed after the Bolshevik Revolution. The kitchen boy had been called out of the house earlier and thus, his life was spared.