He felt like he was floating.

Peacefully floating.

In water…

No!

It was thicker than mere water and yet he was floating.

And there were hundreds if not thousands of stabbing pains all over his… he tried to think of the word… he knew that he had heard that word somewhere before. Maybe it was mentioned before he had been made to float in this godforsaken substance. BODY! That's right. There were hundreds of stabbing pains all over his body.

Though their focus points were thin as needles… It didn't make sense.

There was a long tube running through his mouth and down the back of his throat. But then he lost sense of it from there. Left to wonder where it had gone.

He wanted to open his eyes. To oh so desperately open his eyes. He wanted to see where he was.

He knew that he had to think to open his eyes. Something to do with his nervous system. He thought and thought and thought. He thought so hard that he thought his brain would explode. But nothing happened.

For awhile at least. But the he felt something twitch. A muscle agitated a part of his body and he twitched.

When it twitched it brushed another part of his body and his brain went haywire as the brief touched ignited thousands of nerves throughout his body.

It was his right index finger that had twitched.

But now he could move his fingers. He flexed his hands, his toes and arched his neck a bit. He still couldn't open his eyes, but that didn't matter. He could move and slowly gain confidence as he moved. Finally, he stretched his body, ignoring the needle points of pain that attacked his body. His feet touched a solid metal floor but his hands met a gel like barrier.

From thought it felt like he was in a giant bubble. But that didn't make sense… Why would he be in a giant bubble, floating in a foreign substance with needles and tubes sticking out of his body?

It ignited his emotions and fear sped to the climax of these emotions. He began struggling to break out of this bubble and he heard noises, dulled by the liquid and outside the bubble. Then there was a great ripping noise and he was being sucked out.

The next thing he knew, he was lying on the cold metal floor, feeling the gel like substance that had surrounded him seeping away under him through a grate.

The needles were being ripped out of his body and the tube was pulled out of his throat. There was a great choking pain in his lungs and he gagged as fingers were shoved down his throat, trying to dig something out. Not to mention that there were hands all over his body.

His throat constricted and pushed it out with the help of these stranger's fingers and there was a noise of metal landing on metal and then a metallic rolling sound.

He began coughing and felt the liquid gush out of him, splashing onto the floor.

Soon that the pain in his lungs was relieved as he drew in oxygen desperately.

Then someone rested a hand on his forehead and used their thumb to pull his eyelid up.

Light flooded his vision and he wanted nothing more than to snap his eye back shut. But this person held it open, and the light moved from side to side, back and forth.

Finally the light disappeared and he was allowed to close his eye when the same thing happened but with his other eye. He winced and tried to roll over, but there was something in the way. Stopping him from lying on his back. He frowned and felt the people around him move away slightly, as if there job was done. He opened his eyes of his own accord now and looked around, seeing nothing but a dark metal wall with control panels and flashing buttons.

He heard a racket behind him and he felt the urge to turn and see what was making the noise.

He pressed the palms of his hands to the cold metal floor and pushed himself up slightly so he was on the verge of kneeling. And then he looked to the other side and his eyes widened.

There was one huge long row that he was at the end of. And it was a row of egg shaped sacks supported by a metal stand underneath them.

And in those eggs were people. But they were all very strange in appearance. And the racket being caused was by men in white coats repeating the process they had done with him to another male. He was thrashing about however, trying to get away from them.

And the oddest thing was that there were two large black leathery wings half unfurled and tangled on his back. Coming out of the base of his spine was a long black leathery tail, like the avatar tails, with a spear head on the end. His nails were slightly pointed and he tore into one of the men in white coat's arms, spilling blood every where.

The man stood and hurried off, clutching his arm and the rest tried to calm him down. He continued thrashing about until his gaze met his own and he saw a fear like his own mirrored in the blood red eyes. His skin was snowy pale and when he stopped fighting the men in white, he saw that this male was trembling slightly. To complete the 'demons' appearance, his hair was messy and snowy white, albeit slick and wet from the weird wet substance that was inside the eggs.

As soon as he was calm, the men in white moved to the next egg and cut it with a knife and a man with blonde hair. His body was covered in strange glowing silver-white runes and when one of the men in white put their fingers in his mouth, he coughed up a metal ball with holes in it and it fell to the floor, rolling away. After the ball, he began gagging and coughed up the liquid like the watching male had. But it was liquid as opposed to a slimy substance that oozed more than gushed.

The 'demon' man cried out and when he saw the man with the glowing runes and tried to get up to go to him but slipped and crash landed next to him. The men in white were already to the next egg.

Curios as to see what he looked like, he struggled to his feet, something throwing him way off balance, and stumbled to a glass panel to see his reflection. No one bothered to stop him or anything, but they just left him to his own devices like all they had to do was let him out of the egg and make sure he was alive and then their job was done.

He shocked himself when he saw his reflection. Nothing much had changed since he had last seen himself. Though his hair was a little shaggier and messier. But his general appearance was still the same. Blonde hair, emerald eyes and two thick eye brows shadowing his eyes.

And now to add to that list, two giant feathery wings protruding from between his shoulder blades. He was afraid of them, even though he could feel them as if he'd had them all his life, and he wanted to freak out and break free.

But then he shook his head and calmed himself. This is what he had signed up for. Well… sort of…

/

He was an aviator. For the army. Or… well… at least he had been… until his jet had been gunned down.

He'd taken a small piece of shrapnel to his right eye, damaging it to the extent that he was blind in that eye.

Flying was all the nineteen year old had. One of the youngest recruits conscripted to the army when WWIII had struck up.

But being blind in one eye meant he couldn't fly anymore. They simply wouldn't allow it. And so he settled for cleaning and fixing the jets. Twenty one years old and he missed flying horribly, but he was justly content to stand by and watch them and work with them on the ground.

The war seemed to be reaching its climax, nukes dropping in every major capital of the world and then suddenly… on a whim… everyone had had enough. All countries dropped their guns. Peace was declared. That meant everyone in the army was out of the job. Including him. He could no longer fix and clean the jets.

They told him to live a normal life. So he'd returned home to London under repair. Moved back in with his parents and got a job with a steady income. He bought his own flat. But his life was listless. He'd been watching the news, drinking his last beer and he been prepared to hang himself.

But just as he was about kick the chair out from under his feet, a new broadcast came on that caught his attention.

Some scientist in Tunguska, Russia, was asking for people between twenty and twenty-five who were willing to be part of the latest scientific discovery. They had to have no family and no loved ones. There was a warning that it was life threatening. But basically it depicted them as offering to be lab rats. It was for the army… apparently, even though most people didn't know that the army was out of action for a long time to come. They also said that if any were the veterans of WWIII then they would have a better chance of getting in. Especially people with hand eye coordination skills like Aviators.

Heck, he was half blind, but he didn't care. The thought of getting back into the army sent a chill down his spine. Whether he died or not it brought him that much closer to flying again.

Tunguska… The very place his jet had been gunned down. How ironic… he thought.

So he'd quit his job, fare welled his parent's graves, as they had died of a recent disease surge, bought the plane ticket to Tunguska and was soon standing inside a laboratory lobby. Sterile and white.

The scientist they had showed on the television walked up to him and said that he was the fourth to arrive. He asked if he would see the other candidates, but the scientist shook his head and smiled kindly and said all in good time.

He talked to him abit, asked his name.

"Arthur Kirkland."

He had replied bluntly. As he did with all questions.

And them the scientist asked if he was ailed with anything that prevented him from doing something.

He hesitated before explaining how he had been an aviator and how he was blind in one eye.

The scientist merely clapped his hands together like a cheery old man and deemed it excellent.

Before he had been taken through… he did meet one of the candidates by chance. The Scientist beamed and said that it was his son.

"Ivan Braginsky." The man nodded politely and smiled. The scientist scolded him for leaving the room he was confined to and the large intimidating man left.

The scientist then explained that his son and two daughters were the first to volunteer. Their cousin had wanted to be a part of it too as he was orphaned and living with the scientist, but he was only sixteen and not allowed to participate. Instead he would study to work among the scientists when he was older and pass the knowledge down through his children to take over the lab when this kindly old scientist died. But he was still furious.

Confused, he had asked how long the tests and such were to carry on.

The scientist thought for a minute and smiled, saying however long it takes.

Then he'd been led to a small white room and that he would be confined there until they had all the subjects they needed had arrived.

He stayed in the room for about a week before the scientist returned. He had mused over his story and taken him to an operation room. He was requested to lie on the metal slap covered only via a thin sheet.

They explained that it was genetic mutations they would be working on and he was the first.

He didn't panic.

He didn't ask to back out.

He just nodded blankly.

And then they pulled out a large needle full of a black liquid that was apparently a chemical solution they had been producing for the past five years.

He ignored all the details, keen for it to be over with. And then they injected the needle into the main artery in his neck.

Nothing happened and he frowned. He was about to ask what was going to happen when a fire engorged his neck. It traveled through his veins and all his organs and finally his heart. It seemed to compact to a tiny size in such a painfully way before suddenly growing back to its normal size in the blink of a normal eye.

He collapsed; limp on the table and on the brink of unconsciousness. He watched through half lidded eyes as they began stripping him down and putting many needles and tubes into his body with care.

He was limp but still groaned slightly as they supported his head and neck and a tube was fed through his mouth and down his throat. He felt it move through his esophagus.

The scientist apologized for the discomfort and then explained that as the solution traveled through his body and mutated it, he would have to stay in a new kind of form of suspended animation that would let the mutations take over his body. They didn't know what these mutations would be like but they explain that the needles and tubes were there to supply his body with nutrients and monitor him as he slept.

He would be asleep for an unknown amount of time and that everyone he knew would most likely be dead when he woke up.

They kept feeding the tube through his throat and he fainted, asleep to the rest of the world.

/

All twenty of them were now out of their capsules. All steadily gaining their feet and inspecting themselves in the glass. Towels had been given to them and they dried and covered their naked selves with them.

The scientists had instructed them to sit in front of their capsules and wait for the head scientist to arrive. He was also a General of sorts.

They did as they were told and the scientists left.

And then a tall man came in. He had grey hair and an unkind glint to his eye. He wore a white coat and carried a clip board and pen.

At his side was a boy of about eighteen years of age. He held a box and an odd little machine.

"Right. You lot came here a good thousand years ago…" The tall man finally addressed them, but everyone began murmuring. Did they hear him right…? A thousand years…? He waited until they fell silent. "You may remember the man who did this to you. My great something or other Uncle. You were brought here for the army. And now you couldn't come to us all too soon now. We are in the middle if World War VII (7)."

More murmurs struck up but only briefly as everyone wanted to and needed to hear more from this man.

"You are super human warriors. The elite. And I am your General. You may address me as General Winter. You will have a week to rest and then three weeks to train. Because in one month you will be out there fighting for your lives, assigned to special missions according to whatever abilities you may posses.

You will hear more about that during the next month. For now you will come up when called one by one and be given clothes and we will record you down to be scanned into our systems."

He grinned as everyone took it in.

"Alright… you there with the white wings."

He stood up slowly and made his way over to the General.

'Name…?"

"Arthur Kirkland."

"Age…?"

"21"

"Where are you from?"

"England."

"Right… alright get your clothes and get dressed."

Out of the box, the boy pulled out a pair of camouflage cargo pants and a grey t-shirt. The tags were labeled with his name and the shirt had a large hole in the back, made especially to accommodate his wings, which was a concept he was still getting used to.

He was to stand back in front of his empty capsule and he got the clothes on.

The next person was called up.

"Name…?"

"Gilbert Weilderschmidt."

"Age…?"

"21."

"Where are you from?"

"Germany."

The 'demon' took his clothes and dressed. His shirt identical to Arthur's with the hole in the back, but his pants had a hole near the top hem line to accommodate to the albino's tail.

And then the next person was called up.

Ludwig Weilderschmidt. 20. Germany. His eyes were light blue, but the color so icy that they were almost white.

Ivan Braginsky. 21. Russia. He had silver hair, purple eyes, and a dominating appearance. But his body didn't appear to be severely mutated in any way.

Natalia Braginsky. 20. Belarus. Same in appearance as he brother, though her elbows were tipped with little curved like blades that stuck out like knives. Her nails were silver and curved and tipped like claws.

Katja Braginsky. 23. Ukraine. Same in appearance as her brother and sister, her hair cropped. She had no visible change in appearance either.

Lovino Vargas. 20. Italy. He had dark brown hair with chocolate eyes and slightly tanned skin. There were red tattoo patterns over his left shoulder and a curved tip came over his right eye.

Feliciano Vargas. 20. Italy. Copper hair, chocolate eyes and his skin slightly paler than his twin's. There were thick blue band markings up his arms and legs. From his wrists to his shoulders and ankles to mid thighs.

Antonio Fernandez Carreido. 21. Spain. He had chocolate hair and emerald eyes. His skin was a deep tan. There was a gold pattern across his forehead and the same bands as Feliciano except in gold.

Francis Bonnefroy. 21. France. He had azure eyes, light wavy blond hair, and a little stubble. Where his ribs were placed, there were slits like gills and there were aquamarine patterns tattooed on his forearms and back.

Yao Wang. 22. China. He had long black hair that hid most of his face and golden honey colored eyes. His eyes had slits instead of round human pupils and tiger patterns adorned his body in black, orange and gold. He also had fangs and his nails slightly clawed and a tiger's tail beginning at the base of his spine.

Alfred F. Jones. 20. America. He had blonde hair and bright blue eyes. He squinted a bit which meant he needed glasses, which he received with the clothes. There were no obvious changes to his body.

Mathew Williams. 20. Canada. He had blonde, wavy shoulder length hair and violet eyes. There was a small silver mark in the center of his chest and he received a pair of glasses with his clothes as well.

Sadiq. Last name unknown. 23. Turkey. He had short scruffy brown hair and brown eyes. His skin was dark with tan. There was no visible mutation apart from his pupils being bright white.

Heracles Karpusi. 21. Greece. He had scruffy brown hair as well, though slightly longer and two bangs ran down the sides of his face. He had bluish green eyes. Instead of human ears he had cat ears. His finger nails were clawed and he had slight fangs. His pupils were slits and he had long cat's tail.

Tino. Last name unknown. 20. Finland. He had white blond hair and looked younger than he was. He smiled nervously as he was given his clothes. No visible mutation.

Berwald. Last name unknown. 24. Sweden. He also had white blond hair and dark blue eyes. His accent was thick and he looked to be a silent brooding man. There were silver rings on the edges of his irises and he was given glasses with his clothes.

Roderich Edelstein. 22. Austria. He had dark brunette hair and deep violet eyes that looked to be full of thought and contemplation. There was a beauty spot on the left side of his chin. There was no visible mutation. He was also given glasses.

Vash Zwingli. 22. Switzerland. Light blonde cropped hair and piercing blue eyes. He scowled as he was handed his clothes. There was no visible mutation but he looked to have a keen eye as though he would never miss a shot if he fired at a target.

And finally there was Kiku Honda. 20. Japan. He had raven black hair and two bangs resting on the sides of his face. His eyes were dead and black and his skin snowy white. His body seemed to be covered in black technology glyphs and patterns like the inside of a computer chip. But they only covered his arms, legs and back. A small symbol over his eye left eye. And Arthur couldn't help but stare at him in particular. Why so dead and devoid of emotion?

When all twenty of them were dressed in the items they had been given, the grey shirt and camouflage cargo pants did the General speak up to them all again.

"You may think we lie when we say a thousand years have passed and it is World War VII. But we tell you nothing but the truth. And you could possibly find that easy to believe. Especially since you see the changes that you under went. Jason here will lead you to the bus outside. When you're gone, we will follow on our own bus and this place with self destruct. You shall then be taken to a small air force runway and be flown to Utah, America. There is a small base in the middle of the desert where you will be kept safe for the next month, whence you shall be called to London and given your first orders. And feel free to form close friendships and the like between yourselves. We do not want to separate you as we'd prefer to keep you as a large group. Trust me… you'll be better off that way."

General Winter turned on his heel and left, scanning the page he had recorded all their details on. The boy, Jason, was left looking at them all now, swallowing in fear. Their appearances frightened him.

The 'demon', Gilbert saw this and grinned, deciding to have some fun.

"So… Jason? Aren't you meant to be taking us to a bus or something…?" Gilbert smiled and moved his newly acquainted tail up to scratch the boy's cheek with the tip of the spear head.

"Leave him alone Bruder." Ludwig said and the albino sighed, moving away from a terrified Jason and moving back to his brother.

"C'mon West~ I've been asleep for a thousand years. I'm bored." Gilbert whined and looked around when someone caught his eye. He left Ludwig and dashed over to them, grinning. "Hey~ you're pretty cute~"

Mathew blushed darkly and then the oddest thing happened. He disappeared!

"Whoa! Shit! Mattie… Where'd ya go…?" Alfred whined.

"…um… I'm here…" Slowly but surely he reappeared and Alfred sighed in relief.

"Whoa… cool trick." Gilbert grinned.

"Hey! Leave my brother alone!" Alfred said and pointed his finger accusingly at the albino.

"Why…? Old man stiffness said we should form close friendships. Can't help it if I wanna make friends~"

"Oui, Oui…!' Francis piped up.

"Si, Si~!" Antonio laughed and got slapped on the back of his head by Lovino.

"Hahaha~! I like you two!" Gilbert proclaimed and they gathered in a little trio.

"Join in then Mon aime~!" Francis smiled.

"Ja, Ja~!" Gilbert smiled and they had a mini group huddle.

"… U-um… if you'd please… I must take you to the bus now…" Jason spoke up and everyone shut up instantly and turned to him like a pack of dogs that spotted a squirrel.

"If you wouldn't mind, da…" Ivan smiled and Jason cowered more from the large Russian, who was edging away with a sweat drop from Natalia who was staring up at him, muttering something in Russian over and over again like a death chant.

And so they were led out of the room they hadn't been led out of for one thousand years.

They were taken up out from the underground laboratory and outside where there was a blizzard. Jason was deemed lucky enough to have a jacket and shoes, but they were only privileged to the clothes that they were given. They came to a silver bus with metal grated windows. The most peculiar thing that it had wheels but the weren't made of rubber and they were glowing red.

Alfred held his hand near one when he smiled and realized it was a heater wheel of some sort. As if to stop the wheels from freezing.

The opened and they filed onto it. Ivan was failing horribly at avoiding his sister when a kind nation saw his discomfort and panic and pulled him by the hand to sit next to them. He looked over and saw Alfred give a sunshine smile.

"You don't like your sister do you…?" The blonde asked.

"Nyet. I love my sister. But as a sister. She wants more and that is…" he shuddered at the thought and Alfred nodded, understanding immediately.

Natalia scowled as her 'betrothed' sat beside the American and she went and sat next to her sister.

At the head of the bus, when everyone was seated and arguing profusely, Jason shuddered. But not without a smile. These people had never met before. They had all just been mutated and yet none were fazed by it and they were all talking and arguing like long lost friends and relatives.

I guess they were meant to go through this together, Jason thought. He smiled and left the bus. He would be riding with General winter. His father.

/

The bus ride was a pain in the ass. It was noisy and took forever. The Bus driver almost lost it when some guy with FUCKING LEATHER WINGS! Started going on about being awesome and hissing '5 meters!' at people.

Then there was some kid with blue marks on his arms who started going on about pasta and singing and sleeping and beautiful women and then he started hugging everybody!

It was a nightmare. A complete and total nightmare. The bus driver, Kenny, almost died of relief when they were guided out of his bus at the airport.

/

"This isn't an airport…" Sadiq stated as they filed off the bus. Everyone nodded in agreement as they looked up at what used to be a giant prison fortress with marksmen at the top, patrolling back and forth. Apart from the runway at the side, there was no indication that they were entering an airport terminal.

Once they were inside they were approached by General Winter again and he addressed them once more.

"From here you will be taking a non stop flight to Utah. In your time it is not possible but these days it is so bear with me. We will be taking a similar course, but instead be landing in Iowa. You'll be sent there once the month is up to take a flight to London. There are a few others like yourselves, never mind that you are the first, who will fill you in on the details I care not to. On the plane once you are securely in the air, Jason who by the way shall fly with you and keep and eye on you lot, will give you each a duffel bag full of all the personal belongings that you brought with you when you first arrived at the facility.

Now piss off. I don't want to see you for the next month. I have a war to take care of."

Once again he turned on his heel and left them alone with Jason who looked scared shitless again.

/

If the bus ride had been hell for Kenny the bus driver, imagine just how completely horrible it was for Carl the pilot and his co-pilot and single attendant who was all too happy to be given permission to shoot them if they tried anything.

As promised, Jason delivered 20 black duffle bags to their owners. It was hard because no one was sitting still as requested and the man with the angel wings looked like a kid in a candy store as he walked around the airplane. But the poor teen managed to do it… with the help of the scary blond man with the runes in his body.

He stood up and shouted loudly at everyone to shut up and pay attention. And of course, who wouldn't snap to attention when an angry German with unknown mutations starts gnashing his teeth at you in what appears to be a way to say, look at my shiny white macho teeth! So shiny and white I'm a macho man!

Once they all had their duffel bags, Jason thought that they would all start going psycho and hyper once again, but to his relief they sat in one big circle on the floor, (There are no seats an the walls are covered in the weird green netting because it is a military transport jet).

Jason felt relieved and went to sit in his own little corner and record in his journal about the journey as his father had asked him to do.

While he did that, the group of 20 started to go through their bags. They all found the photos and the Weilderschmidt brothers each found a Nazi crucifix that they put around their necks. Ludwig found a second one and gave it to Feliciano who smiled and thanked him with a big hug.

"… So what's the story with you lot…?" Alfred asked as the large blonde blushed.

"Hmmm…" Gilbert looked up. "… West and I are bruders obviously. But I was friends with Antonio and Francis. Antonio dated Lovino and that's sort of how West met Feli. When WWIII came round the trio split and Lovi and Feli went back to Italy. I joined the foot soldiers and West became a fighter pilot. We didn't see each other at all after that. But when the war was over he wanted to go back and find Feli and we did. Of course Lovi was with him and I met up with Antonio again through him. The two of us dug Francis out of a Dumpster in Paris and we all got a flat together. Which is kinda hilarious but it's all we could afford and like hell the army was gonna support us because we needed it. They were out of action permanently. Well… until WW4. But we didn't know about that. We ended up getting kicked out and all six of us lived on the streets for… what four months… when we heard from the TV in a TV store that they needed people to do laboratory tests in. Lab rats get paid well so we thought we'd do it to get some extra cash." He shrugged and grinned before pulling out a photo and he went psycho and jumped to his feet, showing every one the photo. "Ist Mien Baby Bruder!"

Ludwig's face went a deep red as Feliciano cooed at how cute he had been. He cleared his throat and addressed Alfred. "So… um, what about you…?"

"Huh…? Oh… I and Mattie are twins. But we got different names coz our parents separated us. I loved with our Mom in New York and got the spoilt rich kid treatment whereas Mattie lived in Canada in a little log cabin and Dad taught him how to shoot and stuff. When I heard he joined the army in WW3 I thought I should join too coz I'm the Hero!

I was a pilot too coz then I could fly around like a Hero and stuff but I quit when I saw a plane get shot down in Tunguska. The kid was alright but he was an unrecognizable when I helped a few other pilots to get him out. He was covered in blood.

About a month later he was back on his feet but apparently they wouldn't let him back in because he was blind in one eye or something like that. He got to hang around the planes and clean 'em and fix 'em and stuff but I didn't think it was fair that he wasn't allowed to fly again. So I quit. As much as I love flying I didn't want to be up in the sky when someone else wasn't allowed to.

I moved back to New York and lived there for a while. But then it was nuked. Because it's a major city it was one of the targets. I was one of the survivors but Mom was dead. And then the war ended.

Mattie came home and we left New York to live with Dad. He was like a deranged hermit man and killed himself. When I heard about the experiments in Tunguska, I was all for it. I thought that the kid who got shot down would have the same idea and go there as well so I wanted to go to meet him. Matt thought he'd come along to coz it was either become a lab rat or become an emo. Our lives sucked so this was better than naught.

I guess the kid never showed up though."

Arthur wasn't listening. He was too busy making sure all his stuff was in his duffel bag.

"Did you say that his plane went down in Tunguska…?" Ivan asked, tilting his head like a curious child.

"Uh… Yeah… Why…?" Alfred asked, curious. "Has it got something to do with your story…?"

"… Da… My sisters and I each share a different mother. That is why each of us comes from a different nation. When the war came… My sister's were sent to Tunguska to the laboratory fro their safety and to help with the research for the mutation solute. I was sent to work in our Government to spy on our leaders for the military. I heard a rumor that they would be bombing some of the small towns in the countryside. I panicked and stole a fighter jet and flew back to Tunguska. I saw a small a jet flying over Tunguska and I panicked for my sisters. I had a brief knowledge of the jet as that was what I had originally trained for, and launched a missile at the other jet. I only saw that it was one of the aid jets from London just before it was hit.

I brought my own jet round and landed. I radioed for help and went to get the boy out of the jet. He was unconscious but thankfully alive. A few more jets came and their pilots helped, I vaguely remember seeing you there Alfred, and a few locals from the village helped to get the boy out, contain the blaze and get him to the hospital.

I felt so horrible for what I'd done. I went back to the government. They had been planning to bomb towns and such. I didn't realize this until after the main cities were hit. They weren't going for small towns it seemed. The war looked to be getting worse when…" He smiled chillingly… "… An unfortunate incident brought about the death of all the world leaders… one at a time… I was caught killing the last… how could I not be caught. I was charged and sentenced to death. I didn't care. Maybe that would atone for the mistake of shooting that boy out of the sky.

Without any leaders, the war ended. Peace was made as new leaders were elected. The day before my execution, my father, the scientist you may all remember, came in and said I was horribly sick. Mentally. They looked at me and for some odd reason had no trouble believing his words were true. Two weeks of trials and I was deemed crazy. They sent me to my father's Laboratory to be a test subject by force as my father had convinced them that he wanted to find the cure for insanity of every sort. They agreed… but my father had another experiment on his mind and started advertising for volunteers all over the world. He wanted to mutate life and make individual human weapons. I had no choice but to go through with this. It was either mutation or death but lethal injection. My sisters volunteered to join me and our father all too readily agreed. About a week before I was taken into the laboratory to have the solute injected in my blood, I left my confined room to wonder around and I met Arthur here. He was the first real volunteer." Ivan beamed at him. "I can't help but think that you look a little familiar Arthur… Have we met someplace else…?" The Russian asked.

The Englishman jumped slightly, still going through his duffel bag and he hadn't been paying any attention.

"Eh… um… I don't think so… Except for when I came to the laboratory."

"Well then… What's your story…?" Gilbert asked in an over inquisitive way.

"Um…" Everyone looked at him. "I was a pilot also. I was taken down outside Tunguska and couldn't fly anymore. I was left to fix and clean planes. When the war ended I move back to London and eventually ended up at the lab…"

Now everyone was really staring at him…

"…What… What did I say…?"

The next minute he was tackled to the ground by a happy American and a sobbing Russian.

"I'm very sorry Comrade…" Ivan said and basically squeezed the crap out of his ribs.

"I've found ya at last~!" Alfred cried out with a whoop of joy, splintering his ribs as well.

"Ah…! Get off of me you faggots…" Alfred giggled and got off immediately. Ivan got off too, but slightly slower. He looked the Englishman in the eye and smiled.

"To make up for what I did… I'm going to protect you now, da?"

"You don't have to make up for that you twat. It's just silly nonsense."

"But I have to~" Ivan whined.

"But I'm not hurt or anything so it's alright. Now bugger off!"

Ivan giggled and went back to his spot. "Alright comrade. But I'm still going to look out for you, da."

Arthur rolled his eyes. It was just a stupid hug for crying out loud.

Alfred's eyes went wide with childish wonder.

"Can you watch my back too Ivan!?" He asked and when Ivan nodded he glomped him. "AW Thank you~! Because the Hero needs someone to watch their back~!" Ivan nodded and simply said,"Da."

"Alright, alright, alright!" Gilbert said. "I'm happy you two now have some freaky shit goin on but I wanna hear everyone else's stories. They sound fucking interesting and I'm bored."

Everyone did shut up and they agreed. Hearing everyone's stories sounded like a great way to get to know one another. Arthur went back to his duffel bag, over in the corner, Jason was keeping a wary eye on these strange people, warming up to them as he watched their actions and listened to their stories.

The only nation that really stayed silent was Kiku, who analyzed everyone. He had a feeling about the mutations… that what their mutation was… reflected them in a way… So if Gilbert was a 'demon'… what was this strange quite Englishman with the wings of an angel who stayed silent, sorting through his belongings over and over again?

Why did he have to look like the man that his sister said would help him…?

/

It was, literally, just before the war started. Kiku walked through his garden when his sister, Mei, walked up to him with a soft smile.

"You're so lonely… Maybe it's time you found someone… to… you know… share your bed with…"

"W-what…?" The Japanese man sputtered. He did not want to be hearing this from his sister. I was bad enough when his stepbrother Yao and half brother, Im Yong Su went on about it.

"Well… I'm just saying that you shouldn't be so refined. Go out… talk to more people. Maybe you'll meet someone."

"I think you're wrong… Besides… I am quite content to stay here all my life and converse with you sister."

"But what about when I'm married and off having a family…? What will you do then…?"

"… I… I will remain here if ever you need me…"

She pouted, making him laugh.

"Don't laugh! Even my pen pal from Hungary says that everyone should settle down… and she asked me ever so politely to take photos of you and your boyfriend."

"Boyfriend…!" Kiku was shocked. "Mei… I'm man… If I ever do get into a relationship, it shall be with a woman, as is proper."

"Uh… but Elizavetta said that… that when two boys get together that it's really cute and I want to see brother all cute… She even saw a photo of you and said you would be an adorable Uke…"

"… Oh she did, did she…?" Kiku glowered with an irritated twitching grin.

"… Yes… she said that you were very beautiful because I sent the photo of you in the special black kimono by the apple blossoms on the lake… The one in black and white in… And she said you were very sad… so that is why you should find someone."

"… Beautiful…?"He sighed. "But Mei… even if someone were to wish to be with me… woman or man… then I have no idea who it would be… I don't even know what kind of person I am interested in…"

Mei giggled and held her brother's hand briefly, before getting inspiration from the pattern in his kimono.

"… He will not be from Japan or Asia but from somewhere far away…" He rolled his eyes as again she said 'he'. She smiled when she saw the garden reflected in his black eyes. "His eyes with be an emerald green." She saw a loose thread on his kimono and pulled the golden line out holding it in front of Kiku. "His hair shall be more gold than the threads woven into your garb." Her brother liked cute fuzzy things so she smiled out of silliness. "And he'll have fuzzy eyebrows." Kiku giggled. Mei was so silly. "He shall be quiet like you but a little more spoken to speak out for you. And because I know you think someone like this couldn't possibly exist… We'll say that he's you angel and he'll have two swans wings on his back."

"… But Mei…"

She held a finger to his lips.

"I want you to no more complain of this… He will be you savior and the Great Mei has declared it."

Kiku giggled again and sighed. "The Great Mei" Was the title Mei gave herself to lighten the mood but still get her point across to him. He still doubted it but he smiled and nodded, accepting it.

"Would 'The Great Mei' be willing to make us some tea…?"

She nodded and walked off. "He'll like tea more than you too~!" She called out.

Kiku smiled as he watched her. But then his smile froze for an instant before falling completely.

Something warm and wet splashed across his face and Mei fell to the ground covered in blood. He saw the bullet wound and a single tear fell out of the corner of his eye. He was too shocked to do anything else before he broke into a run.

He'd seen a soldier. It was a sneak attack from the Russians. More tears fell as he ran and his kimono fell away to reveal his bullet proof vest and loose black pants. He was barefoot with only those two items of clothing, but he snatched up his katana and fled from his house. He worked in the government and they had been expecting something like this.

He managed to warn his Prime Minister and they spread the news to the world. WWIII broke out and Kiku joined the army for Mei.

He was a mere foot soldier. Forced to camp wherever the large group slept. And it was on one late night, about two years after he saw his sister die, that he had a dream.

He dreamt that someone was touching him. He liked it. He wanted more. He knew it was a man, but he had long since given up caring about that. His hands were warm and explored his body. He knew he loved this man and that this man loved him.

His lips were covered with the others and he was staring into two bright green eyes. His hair was a dark golden color and behind him he could see coming from his back, two angel wings like those of a swan.

"I love you Kiku…" The man's voice was warmer than a summer's day. Kiku went to reply but something moved in him and he moaned. He wanted more…

But then he woke up. He had broken out in a cold sweat and was panting heavily. He could not be dreaming about this…? It didn't make sense. He had forgotten of this angel his sister had created for him until now.

And he felt a sense of longing. He wanted the dream back. He wanted that man to be real. He wanted to be held by him and move for him. He wanted him in him…

The same dream plagued Kiku every night from that night forth. Some times it advanced and graced him with more but it always left him wanting gratification.

When the war ended he moved back to his house. He visited Mei's grave and found a strange woman standing there.

She turned and faced him.

"I've been waiting for you Mr. Honda." She said and smiled. Her Japanese was horribly broken and she had an accent. He replied in English and a grateful look befell her at the language change.

"Who are you?" He asked.

"I am Elizavetta… I wrote to your sister. I found out she passed and I came to pay my homage. I never met her in person… but I miss her greatly Mr. Honda."

"You… You were the one that put the ideas in her head. You are the reason she sought to create someone to love me…?"He glared at her.

"You have been having strange dreams… haven't you…?" She said… "About a man with gold hair and green eyes…?"

"And angel wings…" He said, frowning abit more. "How did you know?"

She shrugged. "Just before the war started I was signing young men up into the army. There was this one young man who looked thrilled to be flying the jets.

The last letter I sent to your sister was the one describing how you needed a partner but I also described this man to her. I told her if we worked together that we could get you two to meet because you'd look adorable together."

"… So… this man… he is real…?"

"Yes. And I assume your sister meant 'wings' because he wanted to fly… Last I heard of him he was shot down outside of Tunguska… He survived… But he is blind in one eye… Kiku… Your angel has lost his wings…"

A tear rolled down Kiku's cheek. His angel could not lose his wings.

"Where can I find him…?"

"I work in a laboratory now… in Tunguska. He signed up to under go genetic mutation… I'll say this to you and only you… he'll be in a one thousand year coma, under going a process to make him immortal. A super human being. There are eighteen others including my ex-husband and ex- boyfriend and your elder stepbrother, Yao Wang. My boss sent me to find the last person for these mutations. I told him I knew of one that I thought would say yes…"

"And so you came to me…?"

"Yes… It's your last chance to stay with your angel or he will be leaving you behind for another time Kiku…"

Kiku frowned and turned. "I don't make deals with the devil…" He began walking away… angry tears falling down his face.

"… Arthur Kirkland! 21! He comes from London, England!"

Kiku stopped and looked at her like she was mad.

"All he had was flying… Now he has nothing… Your angel was going to kill himself Kiku… He became a test subject because we advertised it for the army… He thinks he's doing this to get his wings back… Look… I lost the two men I loved… and now they're leaving me behind to see the glorious future and live forever… This is your last chance to find your angel…"

There was a moment of silence as she waited for his reply.

"… Alright… I will do it…"

"Thank you Kiku Honda… You will not regret this, I promise."

"I only make a deal with the devil now to save the angel…" He said. But Elizavetta smiled and clapped anyway.

"Wonderful~! Meet me here this afternoon with your personal belongings and I'll take you to Tunguska."

Kiku nodded, preparing to walk away once more. But there was one more thing he wanted to ask.

"How… How did you know I was dreaming about him…?"

She smiled knowingly.

"You look exhausted and depraved of more than just sleep." She winked and the walked off, leaving Kiku in a daze… Maybe it was just the heat… but he would be meeting his angel soon. He looked up to the sky, holding his hand above his face to shield his eyes from the sun. He cared naught for this Hungarian woman. This was all his sister's doing.

"Thank you… Mei."

/\\\

Wow… I didn't think I would actually do something like this with an actual twist through everyone's story…

I read a really cool story about Britannia Angel in a way and it sort of inspired this. And then don't ask me how… but I have been listening to "One People" By the Black Eyed Peas and it made me wanna type and this is what came out.

And then I wanted to do a really visual story to gets fan arts from. PLz~!

INSPIRATION

The egg capsules ~ from the movie "the Island" With Scarlet Johanson and the guy who plays Obi Wan Kenobi in it.

Prussia's tail ~ from the movie, "Avatar"

China's general appearance ~ again from the movie "Avatar'

Kiku's vest ~ "Blade trinity"

Kiku's pants ~ "Dynasty Warriors 5" Ps2 game

Kiku's Kimono ~ "Memoirs of a Geisha"

Kiku's garden ~ "Eon Flux" Sort of inspired his outfit too.

Prussia's general morph ~ "Hell Boy"

Lovino's tattoo ~ "God of War" Ps2 game. It's not the same but similar.

All character designs were original but I can't draw for crap so it there is a particular character you want to draw and detail for then just ask but I want all info and links to these things. If you are not on deviant art or even Rp on face book, for I will put them in an album there and putting a link on to the album at the end of the story, then just email the pictures to me. Just ask for my email.

Before you do draw it however if you do then I will give you a fully detailed description of the character if their appearance has been mutated and anything else you feel you may need. Descriptions also include details of the clothing, as they will not always remain in the standard clothes they are in now, and any weapons they may posses. But then again… It does depend on what chapter you'll be drawing them for.

I'm not only asking for character details, but I would love scene art as well and environment art, i.e. the room with the egg capsules on it or Kiku's garden.

I just think it would be super wonderful and uber if everyone one decided to work together and there will be a whole heap of wonderful art to go with this story. I've always wanted to work together with someone in this way And it's kinda like drawing details and stuffs for a game layout or animated movie.

Loving you forever~

Prussian Mongrel~