'How long has it been since I last time had my gaze down in defeat, towards the snowy ground? When was the last time that I was held down on my knees on the ground against my will like this? When was the last time I was defeated like this?' Those were the questions running through the Russian man's mind while two soldiers in white army uniforms, the white colour helping them to hide better in the snow from the enemies' eyes only that they weren't much use now that the white snow was coloured with crimson, were holding him down on his knees by pushing from the shoulders with strong grips.
'Defeated?' The Russian man named Ivan Braginsky asked himself in his mind before smirking. 'No. That is not the case.'
Ivan slowly moved his eyes to look to his right, looking at the crimson snow and his fallen soldiers that were killed without mercy on the spot when they were seen. Some of his men were only shot once, with a good killing shot to the brain, and some had been shot to the back or chest, or even neck. The Russian could see two men that were shot to the face so many times that you wouldn't be able to recognize them anymore in any other way than reading their name tags on their uniforms. What used to be a group of Ivan Braginsky's breathing and well-trained soldiers was now a messy pile of dead flesh, bones and blood. Ivan turned his head a bit to the right so he would be able to see better to that direction, but by doing that he was reminded about the third soldier that was behind him that had now moved his gun's barrel so it was touching the Russian's head from behind, almost knocking the black peaked hat off of Ivan's head, which had silver seams and a red hat band with a golden, round cap badge on it, which had a red star on it.
'Right.' Ivan thought to himself. 'I am not allowed to move an inch. Wasn't that what they told me?' Ivan glanced at the man that was pointing at him with the gun behind him before turning his head back into the position where it had been before and smirked a bit wider. 'This is amusing to me.' He thought. He had seen how the man's hands were shaking a bit, not from the cold, but because of the fact that he had to be ready to shoot the Russian if needed, and he knew well who Ivan was. Oh, the soldier knew even too well.
'I still remember when he was a little boy. I almost scared him to death. It was so amusing back then. Forcing him to watch how I killed his family members one by one slowly and brutally. But look at him now. He's a grown man, a soldier ready to serve his country. But I suppose he still wasn't ready to face me, which, in a way, disappoints me. It would've been much more amusing to watch him try to kill me.'
When Ivan stopped thinking about that he only now noticed how silent it was. Of course the winter did it share, but the only things that could be heard were how the men around him were breathing. He could also hear his own breathing and also how his heart was beating. Ivan's heart was beating calmly, not showing any signs of nervousness, which the Russian didn't even have in situations like these, and even he found it odd himself. He didn't think about it much at all though, as it just made everything much more enjoyable for him.
If Ivan would listen carefully enough, he could've sworn that he could hear how the snow was slowly piling up as it was falling from the dark grey sky.
Ivan lifted his gaze just a little when he could hear a car coming to their direction, coming closer until it stopped not too far away from them. The driver's seat door opened, and a young man stepped outside from the car. The young man was wearing a uniform, which had a red jacket and black pants, with brown boots and a flat-brimmed Stetson hat on his head, and he was also holding a black crop in his black gloved hands.
'Finally. He's finally here.' Ivan thought and smirked when he could see the young man, who also was his number one enemy right now in this god damn war, walking closer towards the Russian.
'He really is a sight to see these days, when he was so quiet and shy before. No wonder no one was prepared for what he had in store for the world. And now it's too late for anyone to stop him. This… This is what I needed for all these years. This feeling of excitement when I look at someone who can bring me down to my knees and… Give me a new challenge. I want him to show me everything. Everything he has in store for me. I want him to show me everything that he can do to me and to the others. I want him to torture me until I'm almost having my last breath and I'm losing the last bits of my sanity that I have left, and then see those eyes that I have seen before many years ago. I really hope that he can show me that. No. I know that he can show that to me, without a doubt.'
The young man stopped in front of Ivan, smiling down at the Russian man, and then leaned in a bit, his right hand going behind his back and the crop in his right hand, moving it under Ivan's chin to lift the Russian's face so he could look him in the eye.
"Well hello there, Russia." The young man said with a smile of his own, his eyes drunken by the power he has gained during the war, but there was still that control that could keep that drunken state in check.
"Canada." Ivan simply answered, not hiding his excitement over this encounter in his voice.
"I expected you to have more blood on you than just a bit on your jaw. I'm a bit disappointed. I would've loved to see you covered in blood."
"Well life isn't fair. I believe you have already noticed that a long time ago, Williams."
"Ah, oui, I have. Life can be such a bitch sometimes."
Canada was about to say something else, but he was interrupted by a somewhat loud noise that came from inside the shack where Russia and his men had been just couple of minutes ago. It sounded like some men were fighting, or rather, some men were trying to keep a struggling person still and drag him outside from the shack, which they did. A little group of Matthew's men dragged out a badly wounded Finnish man outside from the shack, and then brought him next to the Russian to be on his knees also. Russia looked at the man that was next to him who was panting and still bleeding from his wounds. The Finn's head was slightly bleeding, and so were his injured left thigh and shoulder, which had been shot. But worst injury was his right arm, which almost seemed to be ripped off from the shoulder, making it just more painful.
"You just couldn't stay put, could you Финляндия?"
"Well which would you rather do? Come out and be killed by the enemy, or bleed to death beneath the floor boards like a rat?" Finland retorted back, his eyes as cold as winter and serious as he looked at the enemy who was standing in front of him now.
"You have a point." Ivan said before he was struck with the crop on his right cheek, and the same was done to Finland, only that the Finn was struck to the left cheek. The sudden sound of leather connecting with skin filled the silence of the winter for a second or two, and then echoed for a very short moment before wind took it away. While Tino let out a slight sound of pain, Ivan didn't let out any kind of sound and smiled again when he turned his head to look at Matthew. The pain took a moment to come, but when it came it was like you were hit with the crop again with a bit more force than was originally used, but without having to feel how the leather of the crop would make contact with the skin and make you turn your head to the side because of the force. Ivan's used to be pale, unmarked cheek was now branded with the red mark of the crop that was in Matthew's right hand. The mark wouldn't be there anymore the next day though, because countries healed from injuries quicker than humans. But that would of course depend on would Canada kill Russia today or not.
'Нет. He won't kill me today. Not yet. Not everyone in my country knows of his so called victory yet, so he can't kill me.' Ivan thought to himself.
"Did I give either of you a permission to speak?" The Canadian asked with a darker look in his eyes, looking at the two countries that were on their knees in front of him.
"No. We don't need permission for that. You're not our ruler." As soon as those words came out of Finland's mouth, he was again struck by Matthew's crop, but this time with more force, which was enough to make the Finn fall down to the snow. Finland let out a quiet groan of pain before turning his head so he could look at Matthew again, who moved closer to him and then grabbed the Finn's hair and pulled him to be on his knees again.
"I wouldn't be so sanguine if I were you." Canada said, still having a strong grip on Finland's hair.
"Well, you're not me, now are you?" Finland replied, now actually smiling a bit, and so showing his obstinacy through all of the pain he was feeling.
"I'll wipe that smile off of your face." Matthew said with a ghost of a smirk playing on his lips as he let go of Finland's hair and lifted the hand up and snapped his fingers.
The car's right back seat door opened and a short looking person came out of the car, carrying a small black plastic back, which seemed to contain something round, like some sort of ball. As the person walked closer and closer, until he was standing right next Matthew, both Ivan and Tino realized who the person was. It was Latvia. Raivis Galante in his own little Latvian army uniform, and his peaked hat on his head covering enough of his face so you wouldn't be able to see his eyes at all without moving to be on a lower level than him or removing the cap. Ivan noticed that something was different in the little Baltic nation. Something wasn't right, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.
"I have a little present for you, Finland. I hope you like it. Latvia, please show our present to our dear Finland." Matthew said with a voice as sweet as sugar, before turning it into a bit more commanding as he spoke to Latvia.
"Yes sir." Raivis said before opening the bag he had been carrying and grabbed that something that was inside the bag.
As Latvia spoke, Ivan realized what was different in the little country. The Latvian wasn't shaking, and his voice wasn't as quiet as before and it didn't quiver at all. Whenever Latvia had been in the same room as Ivan, the little Latvian shook like a leaf and his voice was quieter, but now Raivis showed no signs of such things. It was almost like meeting a complete different person who has the same face as someone you already know.
Latvia slowly lifted the "present" out of the bag, taking it out for everyone who was there to see. Even Ivan was shocked when he saw what was taken out of the plastic bag, but it was nothing compared to what Tino was feeling.
"B-Berwald..?" It almost nothing but a whisper as Finland said it, but Ivan still heard it and the Russian turned his head a bit to look at Finland. There were no signs of the smile that was there before on Tino's face, and his eyes were wide from shock. Ivan looked back at the decapitated head of Sweden, not almost believing it himself. He wasn't shocked about the decapitated head itself really, but because of who it used to belong to. Ivan hadn't ever seen someone decapitate a country before. The head looked to be in quite a good condition, which led Ivan to think that the decapitation had had to happen not so long ago.
"Do you like your present, Finland? It was a bit hard to do a clean cut, so I'm sorry, but I still hope that it won't bother you much." Matthew said, his voice still as sweet as sugar, as he took hold of Sweden's head himself and walked closer to Finland, before dropping it to the ground, right in front of Finland. Tino just stared at the head, not able to stop looking at it even though he didn't want to, but then Canada grabbed his hair and made him look at the Canadian, who was smirking down at the Finn.
"Don't worry, Tino. You'll join him soon. He was your dearest friend, right? So I believe you want to be with him again." Canada said before taking out a revolver from a pocket of his jacket, and then placed the end of the barrel against the centre of the Finn's forehead.
There was a quiet moment shared between Canada and Finland, before Tino's expression changed from a shocked, to more angry and defiant. The Finn gridded his teeth and narrowed his lavender eyes, looking right into the eyes of the Canadian, and then started speaking, or rather almost shouting at the Canadian. Ivan first thought that the language that Finland was using was Finnish, but as he listened more carefully, he noticed that it wasn't. It was a language that the Russian hadn't heard in a very long time, so Ivan had almost forgotten what it sounded like, even though some of his own people talk it. It was Northern Sami [1].
"… Latvia, do you know what is that nonsense that Finland is saying?" Canada asked, keeping his eyes on Finland.
"No sir. I do not know, sir." The little Latvian answered his voice still really stable.
"It's Northern Sami. I think he's putting a curse on you." Ivan said with a smile on his face, which he got back as he realized what Finland was saying, finding it somehow amusing.
"I see… As interesting as it is, I have to put an end to this. Farewell, Finland." And so, Matthew pulled the trigger, sending the bullet to Finland's head, and so, killing the Finnish man. The sound of the gun filled the silence, much like the sound of the crop hitting skin, but it echoed around the men much longer, slowly fading away until the silence took its place. Canada let go of Finland's hair, letting the dead body fall down to the snow, tinting the snow with crimson around the Finnish man's body.
"До свидания, Финляндия. See you on the other side." Russia said while he looked at the dead body of Finland, and then turned his gaze back to Canada, smiling once again.
"Now that that's dealt with, I can move to you." Matthew said and turned to Russia, smirking still, his eyes power hungry and filled with madness that was kept under control along with chaos.
"And what will you do to me, hmm? I'm really curious."
"Why won't we start with you saying your goodbyes to your Prime Minister? I think that would be most fitting for this situation. I would've said Prime Minister and President, but as the President is already dead I can't say that. Actually, Medvedev has called us so he could talk to you. So time saving, isn't it? Give me the phone, Latvia."
"Yes sir." Latvia replied before taking out a phone and giving it to Canada. Matthew took the phone and crouched down to the same level that Russian was on, moving to be next to the Russian. The Canadian then moved the phone next to Russia's ear, moving closer himself so he could hear the conversation completely too, before saying with a commanding voice: "Tell him to speak in English."
"Comrade Медведев." Ivan shortly said before adding: "Speak in English, or our the little Canadian here might lose his temper."
"Ah, Иван, it's good to hear your voice."
"As it is yours, comrade."
"I believe you have been captured, right?"
"Да. Матвей told me to say my goodbyes to you. What's your situation?"
"I'm in my house, in my room. I have barricaded the front and back door, but they won't hold for long, and then I'm a dead man."
"I see. … Before I say my goodbyes to you, I have one thing to say."
"What is it?" Medvedev asked, and Matthew moved closer, interested himself.
"No one will have Москва." After Ivan said that, there was a short moment of silence on the other end of the line before Medvedev spoke again.
"… Understood."
"До свидания, Дмитрий Анатольевич Медведев."
" До свидания, Россия, Иван." Medvedev hang up right after saying those words, and Matthew slowly stood up, closing the phone and giving it back to Latvia.
"What was that about?" Matthew asked, narrowing his eyes a bit as he looked at Russia.
"What was what about?" Ivan replied, looking at Matthew with a wide smile.
"What you said to Medvedev. What was that about?"
"Oh, that. Well. It is just like I said: No one will have Moscow. I believe there are a lot of your men in Moscow, yes?"
"Yes, there is. But what do you-" Canada paused as he realized what Ivan meant.
"I see you realized. I will miss her so much. Moscow. But as I already said twice: No one will have Moscow. До свидания, Москва." Ivan said with a large grin on his face, and as he said, a loud explosion was heard, and Ivan twisted in pain, coughing blood as he fell down to the snow, the large grin still in place.
Notes:
[1]: Sami, or Saami, is a general name for a group of Uralic languages spoken by the Sami people in northern Europe (in parts of northern Finland, Norway, Sweden and extreme north-western Russia), and Northern Sami is the most widely spoken of all Sami languages. Sami is frequently and erroneously believed to be a single language. Several names are used for the Sami languages: Saami, Sámi, Saame, Samic, Saamic, as well as the exonyms Lappish and Lappic. The last two are, along with the term Lapp, are now often considered derogatory.
(Source: Wikipedia)
Translations:
Oui (French) = Yes
Финляндия (Russian) = Finland
Нет (Russian) = No
До свидания (Russian) = Goodbye
Дмитрий Анатольевич Медведев = Dmitry AnatolyevichMedvedev (The Prime Minister of Russia)
Иван (Russian) = Ivan
Матвей (Russian) = Matthew
Москва (Russian) = Moscow
Россия (Russian) = Russia
Word count: 3124
AN: Man, I enjoyed writing this. Something a bit different from other things that I write at the moment, so it was refreshing.
Should I continue this? Reviews are loved~! I also need a better name for this...