"Oh wow! That was fast!" Quoted from my own mind. I'm actually very surprised that it's up this early, but I was in a writing mood today, and this story really makes me interested. So I just had to write! Spur of the moment thing, you see ^^

Anyway, I hope that my old readers, as long as my new ones, will enjoy this fic as much as the last. And without further ado...

Warning: None. Except for Romano's potty mouth. But it isn't in this chapter. Oh, yes, Romano shall appear in the next chapter, you'll see.

Disclaimer: I realized that I never did a disclaimer for "Darkness and Light". Oh well, here it is now... I own Hetalia. Oh, yes, in my dreams. And in my dreams, I've also met all the Hetalians. And become superior to everyone... Eh heh *day dreaming*

What should have been

I. Life-changing mistakes

Rain pounded on the windowsill, and Liechtenstein listened to the sound of gunshots firing through the air.

Her big brother was out on his shooting range again, once more insisting that he needed the practice to protect her. He had said "Liechtenstein, I feel a war coming on, and I need to be well-practiced if I'm to protect us both."

And she'd wondered if he was a psychic.

But really, she worried for her brother. And she knew that she was nothing more than a nuisance to him. She didn't have her own army, and she didn't live in her own place, although she had more than enough money to. She was totally dependent of her brother. And she couldn't do anything to help him.

It was pouring outside.

She still remembered the fateful day that he had found her starved and close to death out in the rain. She had done all she could after that, cutting her hair, taking care of the house, and she'd even practiced with him on the range to make him happy, to show him that she was grateful. But it wasn't enough.

Liechtenstein knew that money was an incredibly important thing to Switzerland, and her living situation with him was only causing him to lose more money. Of course, she wasn't thinking of running away or anything wild like that. She just wondered... maybe if she could find a job working for another nation, just for a while, so she could be of some use to her big brother. She could always return to being Austria's maid, but Switzerland would become enraged if that ever happened. They hated each other. She could also work for Russia along with Lithuania, Estonia, and Latvia, but truthfully, Russia scared her a lot. She could try America, but she doubted the nation of freedom would take her in. Beside, he was also her friend, and that might prove to raise complications. Germany might work too, but Switzerland wasn't particularly fond of the German nation, either. Come to think of it, her big brother wasn't too fond of anyone, nation or whatnot.

Thunder grumbled in the sky, and Liechtenstein jumped. After taking a moment to calm herself down, she immediately leapt up again and rushed from her room down into the front hall. The rain was coming down harder than ever, and Switzerland was still out on that shooting range. What could he possibly want to achieve in such weather? Pulling on a raincoat, grabbing an umbrella and then slipping into her rubber rain boots, Liechtenstein waddled toward the door and pushed it open.

Rain instantly sprayed in her face, but luckily her blonde hair was protected behind all the heavy coverage. She ducked her head and rounded around the house, careful not to step in any puddles, and continued down the path toward big brother's shooting range.

"Big bruder!" She shouted, but the howling wind carried her voice away. Water sloshed around her boots as she waddled through the large puddles of rainwater. "Big bruder!" She tried once more, stretching on her toes and cupping a hand over her mouth.

Splash!

Liechtenstein barely had time to notice what was happening before she slipped on her own clumsy feet and fell face first into the puddle with a huge splash.

"Nein!" She exclaimed, putting a hand on the muddy ground to push herself up. The other hand clutched tightly at the umbrella. "B-Big bruder! Help me!" She called in distress.

Right after the words left her mouth, strong hands were there to pull her up. Liechtenstein turned slightly to see Switzerland behind her, supporting her weight and taking the umbrella in his own hands. He frowned at her disapprovingly, but she could see the slightest hint of worry in his green eyes.

"Liechtenstein! What are you doing out here in this weather?" Switzerland scolded, setting her upright and opening the umbrella over the both of them. He led her home.

"I could ask you the same thing, big bruder." She giggled, green eyes sparkling.

As expected, Switzerland gave her a stern look. "This is no time for jokes, Liechtenstein. I was just on my way back home. Why did you have to come out here in the rain? You're all wet now!"

A sigh escaped her lips. "I'm sorry big bruder." She looked down in shame at her empty hands. Switzerland had taken hold of the umbrella and he had his heavy guns strapped to his back as well, and she was just walking empty-handed. "I was just worried about you. I wanted to see if you were doing alright." She shook out her hair, which had been drenched when she fell into the puddle.

Switzerland also gave a massive sigh. "I'm always going to be fine, Liechtenstein. You don't need to worry about me. And what were you thinking going out in this rain just to find me?"

Liechtenstein avoided looking directly at Switzerland, concentrating on making it back to the house without tripping over her own feet instead. She also avoided his question. "Big bruder, you're wet, too. Even more than me. You've been out here for a very long time."

"Well, Liechtenstein. Sometimes practicing in the rain is just another way to challenge yourself." Her brother ended his sentence with a sneeze.

"Big bruder, are you coming down with a cold?"

He shook his head furiously. "Nein! That'll never happen..." Liechtenstein laughed quietly in response.

"Anyway... here we are." He unlocked the door using her key and then led her into the hallway. "I hate September rain." He mumbled under his breath.

"Rain makes the plants grow, Switzerland." She told him, adding an extra smart tease to her voice, and as expected, he cracked a smile and ruffled her hair. And then he made a face.

"Liechtenstein, go shower. You're as wet as a drain pipe rat. And after that, get some sleep, okay? It's late."

"Ja, big bruder!" She set the umbrella near the door to dry, unbuttoned her raincoat, pulled off her boots, and skipped back upstairs into her room. It was still raining cats and dogs, and Liechtenstein felt immediate relaxation as she slipped into her bathtub and dunked her head under the water. The warmth of the water was a definite relief after falling into a dirty puddle of cold rainwater.

After putting on her pink pajamas and bidding goodnight to her brother (who had finished showering before her- no surprise there), Liechtenstein climbed into her bed. And thinking back to her clumsiness out in the rain before, she knew that she should start looking for a job the next day. She would be a nuisance no more.

It was also raining at Austria's house.

But he didn't care, for he was pouring his soul into his music. And frankly, rain kinda made piano music sound better.

Sliding his hands over the keys professionally and closing his eyes in concentration, Austria created beautiful, soothing music. And he was indulged in deep thoughts and about to end his newest composition with a flourish when the door was hurled open.

Slam!

"Austria! I need to talk to you! Stop the music!"

Squeezing his eyes tightly, Austria tried to keep going. But he had already played a wrong note, and his left hand was starting to drag behind. Damn that intruder.

"Austria! Now!" The irritating voice was drawing closer to him. It wasn't Hungary. And Austria was trying to ignore it as much as he could. Where was Hungary, and mainly, her frying pan, when he needed them?

"Austria! I mean it! Stop!" A hand stuck right in front of his face and waved a few sheets of paper back and forth. Finally, Austria could take it no more. He had been playing in the wrong octave, anyway, and now his music was turning into a horrible ear sore.

Lifting his fingers up delicately, he set them down again neatly on his lap and then slowly turned, making a point to give the death glare to the person standing beside him.

"I have something important to tell you." England replied, oblivious to the stare. Instead, he slammed the piano cover down, making Austria wince, and then spread out his sheets of paper on it.

"Who let you in? Surely Hungary couldn't have." Austria kept on glaring, although his eyes were growing tired and it didn't seem to have any effect on England.

"Actually, she did." His British accent sounded smug. "I told her that this had something to do with her precious Chibitalia, who is, in fact, just Italy now. And I also said that you had something to do with it. So naturally, she let me in." He smirked.

"Italy? Oh yes, he's grown up now. He is no longer of my concern, so why am I even involved with him anyway?" Austria stared at the papers. They were making pencil marks on his precious piano.

Thunder rumbled outside.

"Shut up and listen to me." England shoved a paper in front of his face. "Before I explain anything, I want you to understand that there are many alternate universes out there, and I'm going to talk to you about two of them today."

England seemed to be speaking in gibberish. "What?" Austria asked him, wondering if he heard correctly. Universes? What did that have to do with him? And was it important enough to be taking away his valuable time with the piano?

"Just stay with me here, please." England pointed to the paper. "This has something to do with what happened a long time ago. If I do recall correctly, you were in ownership of Chibitalia, Chibi Romano, and Liechtenstein, right?"

"Yes..." Austria narrowed his eyes. "But I let them all go. They belong to others now." He said carefully.

"That is our problem! That was a big mistake you made, mate-y!" England jabbed at the paper, drawing Austria's attention to it. "Study this carefully. This is what should have been if you hadn't let them go."

Austria stared. On the paper was a complicated chart that he couldn't make out. Luckily, England guided him through.

"If you hadn't handed them over to Spain, Germany and Switzerland-"

"Italy joined Germany willingly, England." Austria told the blonde. "Spain took Romano away because he wanted someone to help around the house, but they are equals now. And Liechtenstein was my prized possession, really. She was a princess. But because of the bad economy, she drew away from me and Switzerland found her. So it wasn't like I had any say on that."

"I think we both understand that by now. I'm just saying, if you had kept all three of them... this is what should have happened." He pointed to the first picture. "The three of them would have become close friends. And then they would have broken away from you to gain independence. And Italy..." He pointed to Chibitalia. "... would have felt affection for Liechtenstein, and she would have felt the same. Therefore, the three of them would unite and form a peace treaty."

"W-Wait! Why are you telling me all this? This has nothing to do with me. And how do you even know these things?"

"Black magic." England chuckled. "And keep listening. You'll understand soon enough." He shoved the other paper in front of his face and slammed his hand down on the piano. Another wince from Austria.

"That was the alternate universe. The better one. And this is ours." He pointed to Liechtenstein. "Because you gave Chibi Romano to Spain, Italy isn't as close to his brother as the first universe. And while you had Liechtenstein and Chibitalia at the same time, they never interacted much, Chibitalia being the maid and Liechtenstein being treated like a princess. And when they both left... they hardly even know each other. And Italy isn't even united with his own brother, let alone Liechtenstein. And so... this creates war between the two countries."

"But wait, Liechtenstein's a pretty small country. She wouldn't try to provoke wars. And wars happen often anyway. What is there to really worry about?"

England fumed. "Keep listening!" He pointed at a different picture. "They may be small countries, but they are close to bigger ones. And when they go to war against each other, each will bring out allies from their own sides, thus dividing the world into two. And that would be a big problem, wouldn't it?"

Austria stared at England skeptically. "Don't you think you're overreacting, Britain?" He asked.

"No! Black magic knows all!" He insisted, and shook the papers at Austria.

"Well, if you're correct..." He decided to humor England. "What can I do to keep this from happening?"

England cleared his throat and his eyes darted around the room. "Well, I haven't decided that yet, but I figured you should know about this, since it had been your decision that changed everything."

"So if I can't do anything... why are you even here?" He said irrediculously, staring at England.

"Actually, there is a way to fix it. And I need you to help me. We..." England paused dramatically. "We have to bring the three of them together. Help them became closer to each other, form the treaty, unite, and our work is done!"

"You can't possibly be saying..."

"Yes, yes I am! And I know the perfect opportunity for this! You see, Romano recently hit his head on the pavement in an accident, and Spain is looking for someone to take care of him whenever he has to be away. And..." England raised his eyebrows. "Do you get what I'm saying?"

"Oh." Austria stared into the distance. Could England possibly be right about all this?

"We're gonna right the wrongs, Austria." England nodded at him, and then crossed his arms, leaning against the piano. "Now let's hear that piece you were playing before, eh?"

"Just because I'm helping you, doesn't mean I tolerate your interruption when I'm playing piano. So... get out!" With those final words, Austria got up from his piano bench, shoved England out the door and called for Hungary to escort him to the front exit. He slammed the door behind himself.

Dealing with England wasn't a good way to fend of stress. His music was the only way. And so, indulging himself in calming thoughts, Austria once more put his hands on the piano. All the plans and everything... they could wait until tomorrow. Or maybe... forever.

How was that? Does England's explanation sound clear enough to you? I'm really anxious to see what you have to say about this one...