"Japan, you made a Time Turner? Why didn't you tell me first!" America called from across the room as he made his way over, interrupting Japan's conversation with Greece.
"America-san, I was in the middle of a conversation." Japan pointed out to the pouting man.
"Sorry, I just…thought we were friends." America wore a doleful expression as he looked at the ground, hands behind his back.
Japan sighed, rubbing his temples.
"I am sorry that you felt left out." Japan shot Greece an apologetic look as he turned to face the American fully. "It is similar to a Time Turner, but is controlled by a remote."
"Way cool, man! Kind of like in Back to the Future? When can I try it out!"
"Eto…ano…" Japan mumbled, clearly conflicted.
"Hahaha it's okay, I understand! With great power comes great responsibility, right? There's that whole butterfly thing, right? Gotta be careful… Whelp, I'll let you get back to your conversation then. We can chat later!" America smiled brightly and started backing away, leaving a confused Japan behind.
"All…right."
Japan turned back to his friend and they started their conversation back up. Greece had been telling him about a god of time named Chronos.
It was as he saw a change come over Greece's face - he lost some of the perpetual sleepiness that appeared to hang about him constantly - that he felt it. A change in the air around his pocket - the pocket where he had slipped the remote absentmindedly as he'd gotten caught up in their conversation.
He whirled around in time to see America's back as he run off, the remote clutched in his arms like a football.
"America-san!" He yelled (which wasn't very loud - he was too quiet of a person).
"Sorry Japan, I promise I'll bring it back!" America called back, laughing triumphantly.
The thing was, was that for all the times America had called Japan the home of ninja and samurai, it was in times like these that he forgot that Japan was as much his people as his people were him, and Japan had been around long enough to have been both.
Before America could escape out the door of the conference room, Japan flitted across the room and collided feet first onto the bigger man's back, sending him clattering forward onto the floor with a startled yelp. Before he could get his bearings and use the strength that he was so well known for, Japan jabbed at the American's side until the man shifted enough for Japan to slip a hand underneath him, where the remote was safely clutched.
"Japaaan!" The American whined, trying to squirm away, headless of the dirt he was probably getting on his suit.
Then two things happened at once.
Japan's fingers made contact with the remote and America's fingers, and with a click, America pressed the button.
The last thing they heard were the shouts of the other nations as they disappeared as if they'd never existed there in the first place.
The demon possessing Sophia stepped onto the first magic hexagon and closed its eyes in concentration.
As the magic accumulated in her palms, demons materialized into existence. Three rage demons hovered near the Veil.
"Get ready!"
Alistair got into a fighting stance and prepared to draw their attention to himself. Wynne remained in the back, with Levi staying off to the side out of the way, while Morrigan took a step closer and called up a ball of frost. Mahariel stayed behind Alistair, ready to dart in and lay into his first opponent.
"Whoah!" A shout from behind startled them all, and they jerked around almost comically to look behind them.
Where they hadn't been before, two men were sprawled out on the floor. The first was a blond-haired man lying stomach first. The other was a dark-haired man sitting on his back. They were both wearing strange clothing.
The two groups stared at each other with equally wide eyes before they were interrupted by the eerie voice of Sophia seemingly talking to herself as she worked on sealing the Veil.
"Yes, yes. Veil so frail. See what I offer."
The demons were closing in, the one on the far right straying too close to Sophia.
"Right guys, let's take care of the demons and worry about where those guys came from later!" Alistair called out.
The group focused back on their enemies, taking them down one by one until they were all gone. That was, until Sophia stepped onto the next hexagon and more appeared, this time four greater shades.
"The gap between here and home. It must be…closed."
From behind them, the two strange men had stood up and were watching the proceedings with wide, excited eyes in the case of the blond, and calm curiosity in the case of the dark-haired man's.
"This is AWESOME!"
Unfortunately, the shout drew the attention of one of the shades on the man's right, and a demonic fist slammed into his side.
"Oof!" The blond huffed, but he seemed mostly unfazed by the blow - except for when he had to block another blow with his arm - where a strange device was held until it was knocked out of his hand, sliding across the floor.
A Winter's Grasp froze the enemy in place, and then it was taken down by the two mages. The two strange men stared at each other and seemed to come to the same idea, as they both darted towards the device at the same time.
Just then, 'Sophia' moved onto the third hexagon, and once more demons appeared in a cluster. The blond let out a frustrated huff as a demon blocked his way to the device.
"It's rude to get in people's way." The blond proceeded to cup his fists together and slam it over the demon's head, stunning it. The dark-haired man took the chance to dart forward and grab the device.
"More are coming. Soon, very soon."
The party dispatched the demons, and the dark-haired man started fiddling with the device as Sophia headed to the last hexagon.
There was still one demon left, one of the strongest types - a desire demon.
"Whoa, what is that? The blond's squawk caught the other man's attention. They stared at the demon as if they'd never seen the like before. Neither had any weapons, so perhaps they weren't fighters and didn't have cause to fight demons.
The desire demon wasn't much harder than the others, but it did take more to bring down, especially because of the curses it cast.
"The last…stretch. Much energy. Be wary."
Just as Alistair struck the final blow, the smaller man grabbed the blond's hair and lead him into a bow (awkwardly on the blond's part).
"Sumimasen, we are sorry for our intrusion." The former said in a strange accent.
"Uh-huh, what he said!" The blond said so fast that he was barely understandable. "Japaaan, can't we stay for just a bit, ple—" He was cut off as the other man did something with the device in his hand.
Then the two were gone, leaving dead silence behind.
"I think… I need to get my eyes checked…" Alistair muttered, rubbing his eyes frantically.
"Interesting…" Morrigan drawled, hand holding her elbow up and fingers on her lips, wearing a calculating expression.
"It's nothing but excitement traveling with you." Wynne stated, dusting off her robes.
"That raven-haired one might have been a rogue. He was fast." Mahariel mused.
"And it is done. Your Veil is strong." 'Sophia' said as if nothing had happened.
"America-san, if you ever try that again, I will take you to the place where I tested it out with and leave you there." Japan threatened, arms crossed. Even when he got angry, he didn't show it, but the expression on his face was irritated enough to border on angry.
"Was it anything like where we just came from?" America bounced on the balls of his feet excitedly.
"There was another demon called Abaddon. Only it was a lot bigger and it had horns. It probably could have crushed even you."
"Wow, cool!" America exclaimed, completely missing the point.
Japan sighed as he headed for the door. They had appeared outside the conference building, as he didn't want them to be set upon by the other nations the second they got back.
He had a feeling that he would be going back to the hotel with a big headache.
Sumimasen: Excuse me
Title comes from: The cure for boredom is curiosity. There is no cure for curiosity. ~ Dorothy Parke