NOTE: The overarching plot of Homecoming has been drastically changed. Though the events of Episode 01 remain largely the same, some details have been changed or added to better suit the new direction of the story. Due to this, every chapter that has been posted so far will be reposted with these changes. Feel free to skip to Episode 02 if you don't wish to re-read Episode 01.


Episode 01: Welcome to the Future

Chapter 01

Shit, shit, shit! Sealand swore silently to himself, pressed up against the cold, stone wall as he was with Caliber-X's psi-blade at his throat. Try and reach as much as he wanted, his guns lay uselessly on the floor, and his knife was in his boot. If there was one good thing about the situation, it was that the death-hold clasping his shirt wasn't clasped around his neck.

Dammit, it wasn't supposed to go like this. England…

"Arthur, stop!" he shouted, though he had little hope it would do anything. Between England's amnesia and that monster's, Mrrlyn's, mind control magic, he'd have better luck growing a set of wings and flying away. He'd been lucky enough tonight that Mrrlyn hadn't arrived yet from Stonehenge, though doubtlessly, in the few minutes that his intrusion had been discovered, the creature was on its way. And when it arrived, when he would be made to kneel before it, the monster would surely kill him.

If his brother didn't kill him first, that was.

"How dare you steal away into my castle, attempt to assassinate me in my own chambers, and then make demands of a king! Now tell me, else I'll cut your throat: why do you address me in such a familiar manner?"

Face-to-face as they were, it gave Sea the golden opportunity to really study how much his brother had changed. Physically, England looked pretty much the same except that his hair was longer and he had a beard (it had always made him shiver just trying to imagine England with facial hair, but now that it was a reality it was just plain…wrong). Mentally, it was an entirely different picture. Looking into what should have been familiar emerald eyes was instead like staring at a stranger. Arthur didn't recognize him at all; he couldn't remember his own past, or even fathom the concept of a Nation, let alone know that he was one.

Not that England would recognize Sealand even if he could remember him; three hundred some years of surviving in a post-apocalyptic landscape had given Sea the look of a young man who had seen the world fall to pieces. Not to mention the stubble, and the fact that he now stood a few inches taller than his older brother (what should have been an ego boost had it not been for the blade at his throat).

Point being, there was little left of England in there to struggle against the created life that was King Arr'thuu, the ruler of New Camelot. It should have been the most defeated moment of his life, but somehow Sea was still able to cling to hope that his brother could be retrieved from within his own mind. Something about the way he had posed his question…like he was struggling for a memory that was just beyond his grasp.

"I'm your younger brother, Peter Kirkland, Sealand."

England, or rather Arr'thuu, narrowed his eyes. "I have no siblings."

"Yes, you do: three brothers by blood, sort of, and a sister, but you two never got along." Sea couldn't help but smirk slightly at a memory of Ireland smacking England over the head with an unexpected skillet. "Look, your name isn't Arr'thuu, it's Arthur Kirkland. You're the Nation England, and you practically ruled the world once, way before the Cataclysm that is. You like tea, and Shakespeare, embroidery, and watching football on the telly. You're irritating, cynical, grouchy, caring, protective, and a right stick-in-the-mud at parties." He paused for a breath, and noticed that Arr'thuu's expression had softened since the beginning of his impromptu speech. "You're my big brother, and I came here to rescue you."

For a long few seconds, it appeared that Arr'thuu couldn't make up his mind whether to believe him, or call him crazy. Any other individual would have disposed of Sea simply for being such a terrible liar after the shock of the incredulous story wore off (even though it was all completely true, England was the stick-in-the-mud at any festivity). So why had Arr'thuu let go of him, and backed away? And why was Caliber-X's psi-blade, an edge appearing to be made of light but which was in actuality made from the condensed psychic energy of the user, fading away to plain metal?

Then there was a fierce pounding on the heavy wooden door just before it shattered into splinters. In charged several Nexus knights in full plate armour meant to guard their king from harm. Before Sea could even think to grab his guns off the floor, they were rushing at him, swords in hand.

It wasn't supposed to be this way...he thought, bracing himself for the sharp pain of blades. The future was never supposed to be like this.