Bonus Chapter 1: The 2014 Sochi Olympics - Opening Ceremonies
~Girl's changing room~
"Oh boy! I'm so excited! I've always wanted to go to the Olympics in person and be in The Parade of Nations!" Lia jumped up and down.
"Well, which country are you walking with? You have to choose one," Chloe said putting on the blue hat to go with Great Britain's uniform.
"Actually Chloe, I don't. I'm going to walk with all of them," Lia said.
"How is that possible? Spain and Italy are back-to-back. You could might be able to pull of the others but that won't work," Vicky chimed in.
"That's why Norway and Romania are going to help me," Lia replied, putting on the coat to Germany's opening ceremony outfit.
"Norway and Romania?" Linyang asked. "What're they gonna do?"
"Norway and Romania can do magic much like England, Blake, Chloe, and the other UK nations and Ireland. I asked and they said they'd be able to help me."
"You could've just walked with the Independent Olympic Participants. That would've been easier," Heike said, adjusting the German outfit. "Why did they decide to make this thing every color of the damn rainbow?"
"That wouldn't be as fun, though!" Lia laughed. "Plus, it'll be an experiment. We're gonna test something out."
"Test what out?" Iryna said.
"To see if I have magic capabilities like Dad. He can do magic but he prefers not to," Lia said. "Au revoir! I must go talk to those two!"
"God, that girl must've gone insane or something." Silvia sighed.
"Noooooooooooooo!" Rachelle somewhat yelled. "This outfit is so bland!"
"Yeah, khakis and a grey puffy blazer. At least the scarves have some color," Sarah said to her sister.
"Stop obsessing over fashion you, two! You should be honored that we're even here in the first place! How many kids our age get the honor of walking through the stadium during the Parade of Nations with all of the athletes?" Chloe scolded.
"Yeah, I guess you're right," Rachelle admitted.
"Come on guys!" Vicky said, smiling and walking through the door. "Me and my ugly Christmas sweater have 89 other countries to own!"
"In your dreams! My Team GB is gonna kick your sorry American arse!"
"No way! The country of love will win!"
"Western capitals are so immature."
"Hah! No way! The host is gonna win! Go Mother Russia!"
"Not in a million years! The original holders of the Olympics are gonna win 100%!"
~Boy's changing room~
"Wow," Blake sighed. "This is crazy. In only a couple of months I go from normal life at school to walking in the opening ceremonies."
"It is crazy," Makoto sighed. "I don't know how it happened, but it's pretty cool. How many kids our age get this chance?"
Blake was going to respond normally, but an ungodly sight stopped him in his tracks. "No you don't, Parker!" Parker was rocking out in his Team USA outfit. It was not good. Not good at all.
"You know better, Parker," England said behind the boy. "Be a bit more sane, even though you're American."
"Well, you guys have more time to relax," Blake said. "I'm on within the first 20 minutes!"
"That means you get to take more in, though," Japan said to Blake. "And I would know about that."
Meanwhile, across the room, a constant "Honhonhon~" was being heard. France then magically appeared.
"Stop it, Big Brother France!" Italy yelled out before Romano got some sense into Mr. Bonnefoy.
~Time skip to later at Fischt Stadium~
"Lia! Where have you been?" Italy asked the bouncing girl.
"Papa. Chill. I was talking to Norway and Romania." Lia replied happily.
"It looks like you'll be walking with the potato bastards then, huh?" Romano asked, looking at Lia's multi-colored outfit.
"Just wait, you still have my outfit right? I'll need it later." Lia said. "I have to go! Germany is going to be up soon! See ya later!" Lia ran off.
"Oh! Lia!" Blake called. Lia stopped and turned to him.
"What do you need, Blake?" Lia asked.
"Just to wish you good luck out there. Chloe told me your plan. I'll see you in the stands later!" Blake smiled.
"Best of luck to you and Chloe too! Have fun, Blakey!"
~Greece~
"I'm ready to go! And we get to go first!" Penelope said bouncing up and down.
"Yeah. Mama sure had the right idea." Greece said. He handed Penelope a small Greek flag.
"Alright! Let's show them what we're all about!" Penelope said.
The PA system boomed with the announcement of the countries. "Grèce! Greece! Греция!" The crowd cheered for the athletes from the birthplace of the Games. The Greek athletes walked out in light blue outfits and all smiled and waved their little Greek flags.
Penelope looked like she might explode from excitement. "This is the best!" She took video of the whole walk on her phone. Cheering filled the stadium as the Greeks turned into the next walkway. Penelope was bouncing practically the whole way. Eventually, they were seated at the part of the stadium reserved for the athletes. Greece and Penelope went to a special part of the stadium reserved for the countries though.
"Now to wait for the others!" Penelope said.
"Yeah," Greece agreed, then smiled.
~Great Britain~
Blake and Chloe smiled as they walked towards all the British athletes and their father along with Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland.
Blake and Chloe looked at each other and smiled. "This is a change from normal school life!" Blake exclaimed.
"No kidding, Manchester," Chloe responded. "It's a little crazy, but we'll live. How bad can Russia be?"
"Exactly!" Blake said. "They always put on good shows here. Team GB better do the same or Dad will be pissed till the summer, and probably after that too!"
"OK, kids!" England walked up to Blake and Chloe. "We're on in about 60 seconds!"
"Alright kids, ready to show the world what Team GB can do?" Scotland asked and pumped his fist into the air.
"Yeah!" both of them responded at the same time.
"Alright, you two," England said adjusting Chloe's hat, which was on crooked. "Stay close, but have fun! We can talk to the Olympians later if you want."
"Grande-Bretagne! Great Britain! Великобритания!" a voice boomed throughout the whole stadium. The crowd of 40,000 roared in excitement and acknowledgment.
Chloe and Blake smiled and waved their mini Union Jacks as they walked through the stadium with their family. They went in the opposite direction of the Macedonian team.
"You're filming this, right, Chloe?" Blake asked, looking at the video camera he held.
"Why wouldn't I? This is a once-in-a-lifetime experience!" Chloe smiled. Blake just smiled and laughed, walking alongside his sister, dad, and uncles.
"I'm here too!" a voice cheered behind England. The Kirklands turned around to see none other than…
"SEALAND!"
England, surprisingly, was not mad. "Let him enjoy it," he told the others. "This is his first Winter Games, just like you kids. I'm not mad at him for once."
~Germany~
Lia ran off again to where Germany's team was standing and tapped Heike on the shoulder. "I'm here, Heike. Let's get this party started!"
Heike nodded and smiled back. "Alrighty! Come on! Let's go to the front with Alex, Vater, and Prussia!"
"Hey, where have you two been?" Alexander said tapping his foot in impatience and nervousness.
"Oh! I was just getting my other uniforms ready for a quick change! Heike was waiting for me to help me get here," Lia said, rubbing the back of her head and smiling. "No need to worry, cuz!"
"Fine, we have to go now." Alexander pulled out his phone. "I'm going to film this for bragging rights!"
Lia and Heike followed suit. "You don't get to walk with five countries though Alex! That means four times the bragging rights you'll have!"
"Let's go you three. We need to go through this fast, we only have so much time before Hong Kong goes," Germany said. He held a small German flag in his hand.
"Ja! Let's show them the German awesomeness! Kesese~" Prussia exclaimed. "The Young Master fell over during his team's run, so don't mess up!" His white hair stuck out of the blue beanie the German men wore.
"Allemagne! Germany! Германия!" the voiceover said, drawing more cheers.
"Gehen wir!" Germany ordered. The five walked out with the German athletes.
The three teens all gasped and smiled, taking in the sights of Fischt Stadium.
"Wow!" Heike said. "This is the best thing ever!"
"I couldn't agree more! I feel like I'm one of the best in the world!" Alex smiled.
"You could say that again, Alex! I can't believe we get to this every two years!" Lia smiled and cheered. She began jumping up and down.
"Calm down! We haven't even gotten to watch the events yet!" Prussia said looking back at the three kids. Eventually, the Germans were seated but by that point Lia was already changing into her Spanish outfit and rushing over to where the Spaniards stood.
~Spain~
"Thanks, Norway and Romania! Get ready to do it fast this time!" Lia said.
"No problem. Just hurry or you might miss it," Romania said as the girl rushed away.
"¡Hola, Papi! Let's go!" Lia said smiling as she ran up to the brown haired man.
"Ah Lia! You look muy bonita!" Spain said putting the black hat that went with outfit on Lia's head.
"Gracias," Lia said nodding her head. "I was always told I looked good in yellow."
"Espagne! Spain! Испания!" the announcer said. The crowd cheered.
The Spaniards all smiled and walked out. Lia was still smiling and waved to all the people in the stands, hoping to see her friends.
"Alright Papi, I have to go. I'll see you soon!" Lia said before she was magically pulled to where Norway and Romania stood.
~Italy~
"I can't believe Lia went off with that Potato Bastard!" Romano huffed.
"Well, I'm here now!" Lia cheered. "I just changed out of my Team Spain uniform. And I have to say, these hoodies rock!"
"Italie! Italy! Италия!" the PA roared, drawing even more cheers.
"FOR THE PASTAAAA~" Veneziano yelled as the Italians walked out.
"Lia, let's go!" Silvia said pulling her sister along.
"Don't pull on my arm! I need to turn on my phone's camera!" Lia said, pulling the phone from her pocket.
"Well, I can't help it! We're here! At the Olympics in the Parade of Nations! It's amazing!" Silvia said.
"You're right," Lia replied as she put her phone up to capture the footage. "That's why I'm filming all of the nations I go with!"
Romano looked over to his daughters. "You two behave yourself!" Lia and Silvia just laughed and smiled.
"Don't worry, Romano. They'll be fine. They're just taking it all in," North cheered. "It doesn't matter if someone's doing it one time or five times. Let them be."
Romano sighed. "I guess you're right for once, Fratello."
Eventually, the Italians reached the stands. "I'll be back later! I have to go join Dad!" Lia smiled and waved good-bye to the Italies and Silvia while she ran towards the entrance hall.
~Canada~
Lia quickly used the weak magic she could muster up to change outfits quickly and reached Canada and his team.
"Hiya, Dad!" Lia said, adjusting her beanie.
"Hi Lia, how were the rest of your walks?" Canada asked.
"Great! Each one was the same view but each team had a different atmosphere!" Lia laughed.
"Alright then, you'll like Canada the most. We love the Winter Games!" Canada smiled.
"Yay!" Lia cheered. Kumajiro leapt onto her shoulders, clutching like a backpack, and didn't even ask who she was.
As Team Canada walked out, the announcement was made. "Canada! Canada! Канада!" The spectators applauded.
"Victory to Canada!" Canada yelled very loudly.
"How did you do that?" Lia asked.
"Magic," Canada simply stated. "And I'm not kidding."
"No way! You're just like when we play hockey! You become louder and more aggressive!"
"That, too, is magic."
"No! It's competitive drive!"
"Which is influenced by mag-"
"Who are you?" Both Canada and Lia facepalmed. Thankfully, the cameras weren't focused on them.
~China~
"Good luck, Teach!" Taiwan/Chinese Taipei yelled out before they went off.
"Ready, Linyang?" China asked his daughter, adjusting her outfit.
"I guess so," Linyang sighed. "Russia better not be mad."
"Eh, if he is, he is," China responded. "The ring mishap probably bent him out of shape already."
"True. Oh, wow, I think we're going now!"
"République Populaire de Chine! The People's Republic of China! Китайская Народная Республика!" the PA announced. China, Linyang, and the athletes walked out.
"Ivan didn't do the badly after all!" China exclaimed. "This is quite something!"
"No kidding!" Linyang replied. "Especially from this perspective!"
"Western nations may be immature," China said, "but they know how to put on a show."
"Now the competitors need to do that, too."
"Yup. But I feel good about them this time around. We'll be just fine," China said confidently and smiled.
~New Zealand~
"How you doing, Miky?" New Zealand asked.
"Fine!" Mikayla said. "I just didn't realize that I'd be doing this every two years."
"Yeah, it takes some time to get used to it," New Zealand responded, "but it's still awesome every single time."
"Nouvelle-Zélande! New Zealand! Новая Зеландия!"
"It's time, than!" New Zealand eagerly announced. The delegation from the Pacific country walked out.
They followed the flag bearer dressed in white and black coats.
"This is amazing!" Mikayla said as she twirled around taking the sights of Fisht Stadium and smiling. "Let's show them what the Kiwis are made of!" Mikayla said laughing.
~United States~
"These ugly Christmas sweaters rock!" Parker exclaimed.
"I have to agree with him. These are pretty cool," Vicky said.
"Alright, Team USA! Let's do this!" America yelled getting, a cheer in response from the Americans. "It's our time to shine! Again!"
"Les États-Unis d'Amérique! The United States of America! Соединенные Штаты Америки!" The crowd cheered its loudest yet.
"Yeah!" America, Parker, and Vicky cheered all walking out with the American Olympians.
"This is the best thing ever!" Parker yelled.
"This is amazing! I never thought I would ever be walking among the Team USA Olympians!" Vicky smiled, but also dying a bit inside while watching other Olympians take selfies during the parade.
"You'll get used to it! This is always fun whether I'm with rookies or veterans!" America shouted, making a face into Vicky's camera.
"Dad! Stop it!" Vicky laughed and waved to her friends in the stands. "Let's just kick their non-American asses!"
"Don't worry," America said. "Hockey's going to be stressful enough. Damn hat and commies."
~France~
"Bonjour les filles, ready to walk on the world stage?" France asked seeing the girls.
"Bonjour Papa! Oui!" Rachelle called.
"Yeah Papa! Ready to own everyone else!" Sarah smiled and gave a thumbs up.
"You two sure are excited for these games. Let the French reign on the world stage!" France said, leading the two out into Fisht's main arena.
"France! France! Франция!" the PA said, drawing more cheers from the audience. All of the competitors waved their flags as the team paraded around the stadium.
"I will never forget this. Ever!" Sarah said as she recorded the walk on her phone.
"Me neither!" Rachelle chuckled.
"You never forget any Olympics no matter how many you've been to. I still remember 1896, the first modern summer games, 1924, the first modern winter games, and every single one after that!" France smiled.
~Japan~
"Wow! This is so amazing!" Makoto smiled and his eyes lit up in excitement.
"Yes, it really is amazing how much effort Russia-san has put into this event. We'll just have to do a good job planning for 2020 in your city, Makoto." Japan said back.
"That's right! 2020 is in Tokyo! I'll show the others what I can do!" Makoto cheered as he pulled at the sleeves on his white jacket nervously.
"Japon! Japan! Япония!" The announcement was heard and all the Japanese Olympians started walking out into Fisht's main area. They all waved Russian and Japanese flags to show friendly relations between the two countries. As they walked on, they heard extremely loud cheers to from the crowd, but they knew why.
~And last but not least, Russia~
"This is so exciting! The last time I've been to an Olympics was never!" Iryna grinned.
"My boss and I have put on quite the show, haven't we, sunflower?" Russia smiled and said back.
"Da! I love these coats too!" Iryna said. She wore the red variation of the coat and Russia wore the blue variation.
"Good."
"La Fédération de Russie! The Russian Federation! Русский Федерация!" The final announcement came. The crowd erupted in cheers as the host country and biggest team in Winter Games history came out.
"This is great! I'll never forget this moment in my life!" Iryna exclaimed, waving a mini Russian flag.
"I hope no one will ever forget my turn to host the games in Sochi!" Russia told his daughter. "Mine was much more culturally based than England's in 2012. Each ceremony is different and based on different things. No two ceremonies are ever the same. That's also why each team comes out of the heart of their lands into the stadium!" Russia grinned and followed his team up to the stands, where he took a detour to where the countries and other children were sitting.
"Hey Russia! Nice job on these ceremonies! I do have one question though." America said.
"Da, America?" Russia replied
"Why didn't the ring representing the Americas open up at the beginning?" America asked
"Oh, we had some technical difficulties. I'm sorry, comrade."
"Good. I was a bit worried…"
"I didn't have anything to do with the rings, so…"
"Let it rest, Alfred," England stepped in. "We came here to have a good time and to show off our best winter sports athletes."
"You will all like the next part of the ceremonies. The torch is very big this year," Russia said.
"I'm soooo tired," Lia sighed.
"It's your fault for wanting to walk five times, Li," Vicky said slightly laughing. "We told you. You should've just walked with one of the teams or with the Independent Athletes."
"Cut her some slack," Blake said, defending Lia. "She wanted to take a bit more in, I guess."
"Yeah! Remember, one year I dressed up as the Olympics for Halloween! And I have collectors' items! That's how much I love these Games! I always wanted to be in the Parade of Nations for as long as I could remember!" Lia smiled. "Now my wish was granted!"
The nations and children all settled down as the runners for the torch lighting came into Fisht Stadium. Every single one of them recognized the woman running the flame into the stadium - tennis great Maria Sharapova, who grew up in Sochi before she moved to America. Each runner was announced along with some of their accomplishments in French, English, and Russian.
As the relay came close to its end, Blake recognized the name of one of the two final runners - Vladislav Tretiak. He had read about him and knew that the Soviet government had banned him from playing in the NHL and that he was also regarded as one of the greatest goalies of all time.
The children and nations smiled as they saw the cast members cheer on Tretiak and figure skating legend Irina Rodina. As the two lit the Olympic Cauldron together, the stadium erupted in cheers, and a dazzling fireworks display began outside the stadium, drawing the spectacular opening ceremony to a close.
"That was great! I can't wait for Closing Ceremonies!" Chloe cheered. "But until then, we're gonna kick some international butt!"
"No way! We'll win!" Lia said.
"HASHTAG TEAM USA FOR THE WIN!" Parker yelled.
"Nu-uh! Mother Russia will win all!" Iryna butted in.
"No! China take all because he's the oldest!" Linyang yelled, pointing at her father.
"Nein! Deutschland will conquer!" Heike and Alexander yelled.
"TEAM GB!" all Kirklands present, except for Ireland, New Zealand, Mikayla, and Australia yelled out simultaneously, shutting everyone else up.
"I vote for Nihon!" Makoto cheered.
"I know my voice may be pathetic, but we're still going to kick your ass in hockey!" Canada got the last word in.
"Who are you?"
"I'm Canada! You should know that!"
"Oh. Right."
A/N:
Lilac/Lia: This started as a random idea I had and now it's an extra thing for y'all to read! I love the Olympics! And as a proud-ish American I can say #TeamUSA! I really want one of those ugly Christmas sweaters that Team USA was wearing now…
Blake: Yup! I really liked this idea as well. I have at least one more idea for a chapter before the closing…
The only term that I really need to go over is "Gehen wir!" which is "Let's go!" in German. The others should be fairly obvious.
Lilac/Lia: I have plenty more ideas so don't worry! What countries are you guys rooting for? I'm on Team USA! WOOOHOOOOOOO!
Blake: We also plan on doing similar things for the World Cup this summer and other major international sporting events. And maybe other stuff too. And yes, I'm pulling for #TeamUSA as well.
Thank you so much for reading this chapter! #exitstageleft
Lilac/Lia: Yeah! Now have a nice rest of your day everyone! Let's enjoy the next few weeks! Enjoy watching the Olympics!
-Lilac the Kitsune