Sorry for the delay. I lost internet this weekend and didn't get it back until this morning.
Note: I want to thank Canada Cowboy for their suggestions about Greece.
Chapter 2
"Pénte, déka, dekapénte…"
"Uau! This turned out much better than I expected!" Albania laughed as his ran his fingers through his now golden-blonde hair. "Greece! Don't I look awesome?"
"Your roots are still dark," Cyprus pointed out as he fixed his own collar.
"Oh, I know! But if I did a total dye-job it would look weird! But now I look really good!" Albania laughed to himself and rubbed his hands together. "I got second-place in our semi-final! I've never been this close to total victory before! Just wait…I'll have that bastard Serbia kneeling before me!"
"Pení̱nta, pení̱nta-pénte…" Greece looked slowly. "Hey, didn't Serbia get second-place in his semi-final, too?"
Albania flushed, but he covered it up with a haughty laugh. "But just wait until I get my outfit ready! I'm going to outshine everybody!"
"…Hmm." Greece turned back to his task. "Exí̱nta…"
Cyprus walked over to stand above him. "A-Are you counting drachma? It's been a while since I've seen those kinds of coins!"
"…I want to pull out of the Euro," Greece said plainly. "And I'm just seeing what the exchange rate would be."
"Pull out of the Euro? Why?"
"I'm bankrupt. I've been bankrupt for years. At least with the drachma I could change its rate. I can't change the Euro, and…"Greece yawned widely. "I'm in a mess."
"Ah…" Cyprus fidgeted slightly. "I see."
"I don't have the Euro," Albania chimed in. "But winning Eurovision would increase tourism in our borders, po?"
"That's true, but it would be expen—" Cyprus began.
"KAYBEDEN!" the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus rushed into the room. He wasted no time kicking his brother right in the shin. "I've got a message from Turkey! You don't have a chance!"
Cyprus grunted in pain. Northern Cyprus took the opportunity to run over to Greece and kick the leg of his chair, causing it to lose balance. Greece groped for the table to maintain balance but he lost it anyways, causing hundreds of drachma coins to spill all over the floor. "Eurovision will be in Istanbul next year! So you can all suck on that!"
"Diáole, come here!" Cyprus hollered, bolting after his little brother.
"Good luck tonight, Albania!" Northern Cyprus shouted as he ran out the door.
"Falë!" Albania called out cheerfully.
Greece looked at the drachma coins all over the floor, his sleepy expression strained. "…I lost count."
"Okay," Hungary said aloud, straightening her shoulders. "I'm next. I need to give it everything I've got!"
"You'll do well," Austria said reassuringly. "You have a strong song. I can't predict how my judge will vote, but I personally like the song."
"That means a lot to me." Hungary forced a smile at him and then looked towards the stage. "Well…here—"
"Elisabetha!"
Hungary stiffened, and Austria put a hand to his face. "Scheiße…"
"Poor Elisabetha, forced to go second at the start of the show!" Romania called out to them. He was leaning against Bulgaria's back and waving at Hungary and Austria obnoxiously. "While I am blessed with going fourteenth! The gods of good fortune shine upon me once again over you!"
"Be quiet!" Hungary hollered. Austria flinched from her shout, but managed to grab her arm before she advanced upon the other country. "You talk a big game, but at the end of the day you whine like a pathetic baby! Our bosses might be friends, but I will NEVER acknowledge you as one!"
"Whining?" Romania suddenly grinned toothily, exposing his fangs. "I seem to recall this incident in Treznea where you invaded the north of my body, made a detour to that town, and then randomly sho—"
"Ah, Hungary!" a stagehand ran over to them and interrupted Romania's story. "We're ready for you!"
"…Köszönöm," Hungary said shakily. She pulled her arm free of Austria's grip and forced a smile at him. "Well, here I go…"
Austria watched her take the stage warily. "I hope this didn't damper her mood…"
"That wasn't very nice of you to provoke her before her performance," Bulgaria said quietly.
Romania shrugged. "She'll get over it."
"Yay, Miss Hungary!" Italy cheered, clapping his hands as the nation herself took the stage.
Poland put his fingers in his mouth and whistled loudly for his longtime friend. "Węgry! Powodzenia!"
"—you're saying it's a lie?" America asked. He was turned in his seat facing China.
China looked like he had a headache. "Aiya, I've told you a thousand times! I don't have any super-powered ships for an apocalyptic flood, aru!"
"HA! I knew Roland Emmerich was lying his ass off!" America turned back around in his seat, smirking with satisfaction.
"Are you saying you have these ships?" Hong Kong asked slowly.
"Hell no! I don't have that kind of money!"
Australia leaned across the seat in front of him. "So, what'll happen then on December 21st?"
America barked out a laugh. "I'll ride a nuke waving a cowboy hat!"
"…Eh?" China asked.
"…Wasn't the end of the world supposed to happen on January 1, 2000?" Netherlands asked slowly.
"Or September 9, 1999," New Zealand said.
"Or June 6, 2006," Luxembourg said.
"…March 10, 1982," Canada added quietly.
"I faintly recall losing all of my money and possessions on January 1, 1000," France said idly.
"Well, this time is different because the Mayans predicted it," America said thoughtfully. "And the Mayans knew a lot of stuff."
Spain laughed lightly. "If the Mayans were so smart, then why didn't they predict my—"
"That's NOT something to gloat about, bastardo!" Romano hollered over his shoulder.
"But I treated you so well, didn't I?" Spain reached over to poke Romano in the cheek.
Before Romano could scream a reply, the arena darkened and music flooded from the stage. The stage lights came on slowly to reveal Hungary standing at the microphone in front of the band.
"The whole big world…is just one place," she sang softly. She looked like she was in a good mood. "You can say…it's all the same. You may feeeel…hatred is sown. We can show! It's no way to go…"
Hungary whipped her hair back and disconnected the microphone from the stand. "This is the sound of our hearts! If you listen—This is a zeal from above! And it can say it all! This is a fever—they can't take away!"
Japan felt a buzz in his pocket. He pulled out his cell phone and checked the text message sent to him. He quickly stood up. "Sumimasen, but I must excuse myself for the moment."
"But Hungary's in the middle of her performance," America pointed out.
"But that hasn't stopped you from talking through it," Romano muttered.
"Hai," Japan said uneasily. "But I really must excuse myself. I'll be right back."
"Different faiths! Different views!" Hungary sang as Japan hurried up the aisle. "All we can do is turn them in key!"
"WHOO!" Poland cheered, clapping his hands.
Latvia plugged his ears. "Ah…if you're this eager for Hungary, what's going to happen when Toris takes the stage?"
Excessively drunk, Prussia stumbled around the greenroom while gulping down a beer. He began singing loudly and obnoxiously. "Weine nicht wen der Regen fällt—DAM DAM! DAM DAM! Es gibt einen der zu dir halt—DAM DAM! DAM DA—"
His song was cut off when he slipped on Kugelmugel's still wet painting on the floor. He hit his head on the floor and knocked himself out.
"Gott sei Dank," Germany groaned, rubbing at his temple.
Kugelmugel slowly sat up, disregarding Prussia's unconscious body while looking at the smear on the floor. "…My painting's ruined, again."
"This is the sound of—the sound of—the sound of our hearts." The arena cheered as Hungary finished her song. She looked out of breath, but she shouted her thanks before rushing offstage.
"BRAWO!" Poland cheered. He jumped out of his seat and clapped his hands furiously.
"Yay, Miss Hungary!" Italy cheered as well.
France checked his watch and stood. "Merde, I go in a short amount of time. I must go and get ready!"
"But you still have ti—" Spain began.
"Sì, please get the fuck out of here!" Romano snapped.
Instead of being offended, France laughed. "How doux of you, Lovino, to want to hog Spain all to yourself!"
Romano turned purple. "Wha—"
"Perhaps I should go, then?" Portugal added playfully, standing up from his seat.
"You're all assholes," Romano snarled, forcefully turning back around.
"Ah," Latvia said, reading his phone to distract himself from the chaos. "I didn't score Hungary."
"W-We didn't either!" Italy cried out, reading his phone.
Finland checked his phone. "I didn't score her."
"Conserving your points for our fellow Nordics?" Ladonia asked.
Confusion amassed all around as countries checked their phones. None of them had scored Hungary. Poland looked at all of them in shock and rage. "Co do cholery? Not ONE of you scored her? At all? Her performance wasn't that bad!"
"Wow, this is just like with England," Australia said grimly.
"What's like with me?"
Everyone stiffened as England approached. He looked confused by everyone's attitude. "I didn't necessarily score Hungary myself, but I heard my name be mentioned. What's that about?"
China grinned slyly. "Oh, we were—"
"Your performance was magnifique!" France cut in hastily. He blew kisses at England.
England made a face as he moved to side beside America. "Stupid frog—"
"That's Japan's seat," America said.
"Ah, right." England moved to another empty seat. The other countries looked at each other apprehensively. Two countries had already gone, and they received appalling scores. What did that detail for the rest of the show?
"Entschuldigung," Austria said softly, ducking his head as Hungary came to his side. "My judge didn't score you."
"Oh, that's fine," Hungary said, waving a dismissive hand. "I had such a blast out there, that—"
"NU!"
Both of them were startled by Romania's shout. Romania was standing beside Bulgaria, gaping in horror at his phone. His young brother Moldova had come up to his side.
"Seven points?" Romania burst out. His hand clenched tightly around the cell phone. "How could my judge do this?"
"I gave her one point," Moldova said dully, looking at his own phone. A loud rumble suddenly filled the air and he groaned, grabbing at his stomach. "I'm so hungry…"
"…Well," Hungary said slowly, looking at Austria. "If they gave me points, then my chances should be good!"
Albania brushed out his dark blue clothes and grinned. "I look so awesome. I'm going to outshine EVERYONE tonight!"
"Don't forget we're competing in the finals, too," Cyprus said, yawning widely. He rubbed at his leg again. "Stupid little brother…"
Greece had a mountain of coins around him, nearly reaching the ceiling. His cats were asleep on the greenroom couch, obviously bored with what he was doing. "Pénte chiliádes éna , pénte chiliádes dýo , pénte chiliádes tría, pénte—"
"ALBANIA!"
The greenroom door suddenly slammed open and smacked the walls. The force of the slamming caused the walls to shake, and the pile of coins shook violently. "ÓCHI!" Greece hollered, trying to steady one of the towers. But that didn't stop one from toppling into another, which then knocked the rest down and sent drachma flying all across the floor.
"There you are!" Albania's boss marched into the room, not even noticing the sudden mess. He glared at his country. "You're needed onstage right now!"
"Oh, is it that time?" Albania asked. He checked his teeth in the mirror. "Just let me—ACK!"
"No time! You'll go on as is!" his boss grabbed him by his arm and proceed to drag him from the room.
"J-Just give me a minute!" Albania pleaded. As he reached the doorway though, he looked over his shoulder. "U pafshim!"
Cyprus slowly looked at Greece. The other country let go of the only two standing towers. They didn't shake, but it didn't make any difference. The cats on the couch woke up from the commotion. "Uh…" Cyprus gestured awkwardly. "Can I help in any way?"
"…Óchi," Greece said at length. His voice was very quiet. "Can you leave me alone for a moment?"
"N-Naí," Cyprus said hastily. He tripped over his own feet running out the greenroom door.
Greece picked up a drachma, but tossed it away. "Oipho," he groaned, shaking his head.
"Greece-san?"
Greece's head snapped up and he quickly turned towards the door. Japan stood in the doorway, eyeing the mess of coins. "Ah, what happened in here? Would you like me to help you clean up this mess?"
Somehow, just seeing Japan made him feel much better, even though he still had a huge mess to clean up before he went onstage. "I'm glad to see you," he said, managing a smile.
"Eh?" Japan saw the cats advance upon him and rub against his legs. He picked one up. "I-I'm glad to see you too."
"I gave Hungary two points," Serbia said idly, tucking his phone away.
"It's almost time," Herzegovina said. She began slow breathing exercises. "I'll give it my best."
"You'll do fine," Bosnia reassured her, sliding an arm around her shoulders. "You concentrate on singing, and I'll play the piano."
"This is exciting," Macedonia said, sitting cross-legged on the floor. He had a youthful eagerness in his face and voice. "This is the first time I've qualified in four years. I'm definitely aiming to win."
"Remember though," Serbia interjected. "That I was the runner-up in our semi-final."
"…We know," Bosnia said coldly.
"I have a question." Montenegro was sitting on a nearby couch, his hand raised. His dark hair fell into his face, but it was easy to see he had a calm expression. "Why is it that all of you ended up in the same semi-final, but I was all by myself? I might've advanced if I had a perfect score from one of you!"
"If that's your logic, then why didn't all of us advanced then?" Croatia asked. She gave a toss of her head. "Three points shy…I was three points shy of qualifying! When I think about it, it just me so…"
"Try being second-to-last in the semi-final," Slovenia said. He folded his arms over his chest and shook his head. "I sang my absolute heart out, and the only country other than you guys who voted for me was Germany!"
"At least you got more points than me in your semi-final," Montenegro said, shrugging. "This was supposed to be my comeback after being gone for two years, and it didn't."
"There's no use dwelling over such thing," Serbia said, raising his hands. "It's just the way that the voting system works. Do you know what they would say if all of us qualified? There's always next year."
"Easy for you to say," Slovenia muttered.
"But those of us who qualified have a great chance." Serbia looked at Macedonia, Bosnia, and Herzegovina. "And all we've got to do is—"
"QIJ JU, SERBISË!" Albania hollered as his boss quickly pulled him past the former Yugoslavian countries.
There was a long silence after this outburst. Bosnia looked he was trying very hard not to laugh. Then, Serbia coughed discreetly. "My point is we should all get in the top 10."
"Hi guys! What's happening?"
Sealand flushed as Wy hopped over the row to sit with them. She was smiling cutely. "E-Enjoying the show?" he squeaked at her.
Wy shrugged. "I've only seen two songs so far."
Ladonia suddenly screamed with laughter, holding his phone. "Kugelmugel just told me Prussia got knocked out cold backstage!"
Wy made a face. "Kugelmugel…he's so weird."
"I hope Prussia's okay," Finland said softly.
Greenland shrugged. "If he's drunk he'll be okay."
Albania took his place on the stage, grinning broadly. They'd already started the smoke machine, and it was slowly filling the stage. I'm gonna win this year, he told himself, raising his microphone. I'm gonna win and I'm gonna defeat Serbia. And when I host it, I'll lobby for Kosovo to join!
"Albania is next," Spain said.
Seborga snorted. "Considering how stingy you all are being, he's probably going to lose out too."
"What does that mean?" England asked.
"Hey look!" America cried out, shoving his cell phone into England's face. "I can play Minecraft on my iPhone!"
"You've got an iPhone, aru?" China asked, leaning over the seat. "But how can you buy an iPhone when you haven't paid me back any money?"
America went pale, and he laughed. "A-Ah, it was a birthday present!"
"But your birthday's in two months," Netherlands pointed out.
A beautiful piano melody floated from the stage, indicating the start of Albania's performance. Dim lights flooded the stage, and he was smiling as he raised his microphone. "Në këtë botë…dashuria s'jeton më. Koha më për ne…ska kohë, jooo. Jooo, ooh ohh ohh…"
"I'm going to win this year!" Russia said in a singsong voice, smiling at his reflection as he fixed his collar.
"Big Brother."
Russia yelped and a cold feeling filled his body as Belarus pressed herself against her back. "Big Brother…become one with me, dy?"
Russia screamed, and tore away from her. "G-Go away!"
From out in the hallway, Georgia was biting his fist to muffle his hysterical laughter. That's what you get for threatening Azerbaijan, Russia.
"Vec shpres pas shpres dhe marrëzi…" Albania continued to sing slowly. Suddenly, he thrust the microphone up. "MË LER NI TË QAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAJ!"
"HOLY SHIT!" America cried out, jumping violently in his seat. "That scared the hell outta me!"
"QAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAJ!" Albania sang with all his might. "QAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAJ!"
Finland felt a sudden chill, and rubbed at his arms.
"What's wrong, Papa-Finland?" Sealand shouted over the music, noticing this change in behavior.
"…Ei mikään," Finland said after a moment, forcing a smile at Sealand. "I'm okay."
"Va? Vad är det?" Åland asked.
"Ingenting, egentligen," Finland reassured her. But inside he felt anxiety. Is Su-san okay?
"Se këtë gjë mas…te miri di ta bëj tani… MË LER NI TË QAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAJ!" Albania's performance blasted over the loudspeakers backstage.
"Berwald, don't be difficult! Think about how important this is!"
Sweden glared at his boss. "I know how important it is. But I won't do it."
"You must!" his boss insisted. He picked up the object that caused Sweden his consternation. "Using this is full-proof! With this, and a body like yours, we're bound to win!"
"I want victory," Sweden said coldly. "But I want it without that."
"But the women will go galet if you—"
"I don't care about pleasing women."
"…Ah." His boss looked a little embarrassed, but he shoved the object forcefully into Sweden's hands. "Just please use this!"
"For the last time, I—"
"Premiärminister!" two representatives interrupted Sweden's fight with his boss and thrust somebody forward. "This individual was spying on us!"
Sweden eyed Denmark slowly. Denmark stared back at him with a strained smile. Suddenly, he burst out laughing and rubbed the back of his own head. "God aften, Sverige!"
Meanwhile, Albania finished his song to many cheers. He bowed and cheered himself, pumping his fists. I did it!
Romano flipped over his phone to check the score. "We gave him our perfect score."
Spain stiffened behind him. "I-Is that so?"
"B-But what about Germany?" Italy cried out.
"Albania's our naval ally now, idiota," Romano snapped, shoving his phone back into his pocket. "And I'm relieved our perfect score didn't go to that kraut-bastard!"
"M-Mio Dio!" San Marino cried out as he checked his phone. "I-I gave Albania MY perfect score, too!"
"W-WHAT?" Romano screamed. "You were supposed to give US your perfect score, stronzo!"
"O-Oh, dear…" San Marino wrung his hands a little. "I-I'd wanted to give Serbia my perfect score, b-but I gave it to a country he has horrible relations with!"
Seborga snorted. "Maybe it's because of the whole naval thing, and all."
Monaco shrugged. "Maybe Albania's song is just better than Serbia's?"
"Zero points," England read from his phone.
"I gave him one," Latvia read.
"Nothing," Netherlands said.
"I as well," Portugal said.
"Ten," Belgium said.
"Six," Finland read.
Serbia checked his phone. "…I gave him one point."
"Six," Bosnia checked.
"Ah…" Macedonia laughed loudly. "He just got my perfect score!"
Serbia glared at him, but Montenegro perked up. "I gave him ten points!"
"Three," Slovenia said.
"Five," Croatia shrugged. "He seems to have done well despite being third for the night."
"—wasn't I awesome?" Albania gushed into his cell phone as he hurried past. "Po, po, I'm about to check what Greece gave me, Kosovo!"
Serbia stiffened violently from the obviously punctuated name-drop, but Montenegro waved his hands. "Let's focus on Bosnia and Herzegovina's performance! They're next after Lithuania!"
"Nein, Italy, I'm not angry with you for giving Albania your perfect score—" Germany spoke reassuringly into his cell phone to the hysterical country on the other line. "I-I gave him six points myself—"
"What happened to Prussia?" Austria asked as Hungary and he re-entered the greenroom. Prussia was still sprawled unconscious on the floor.
Kugelmugel shrugged. "He ruined my painting."
"Well, it can't be helped," Hungary said. "This greenroom has a shower, right? I'll be right back." She walked towards said shower, stomping on Prussia along the way.
"Twelve points," Switzerland said dismissively in the nearby greenroom, snapping his phone shut.
"Bruder, why we go sit in the audience?" Liechtenstein asked him.
Switzerland sighed heavily and stood, swinging his rifle over his shoulder. "Ja, fine."
"Gerai…" Lithuania held the glittery blindfold in his hand and smiled at Estonia. "Once again I'm fourth to go this year, but I'm pretty confident."
Estonia shrugged. "Just sing to Poland again if you get nervous."
"E-Eduard!" Lithuania sputtered. "I-I-I didn't—"
"Lithuaniaaaaaa…" Lithuania cried out as Russia materialized beside him. "I caught you before you went onstage, da? I wanted to wish you good luck!"
"Ah—er—uh—um—ačiū," Lithuania stammered, the blood draining from his face.
"I go after Bosnia and Herzegovina," Russia continued, deliberately invading Lithuania's personal space. "But you will cheer for me, da? Like I will cheer for you?"
"Um—"
"Russia, please stop," Estonia said sharply, tugging on Lithuania's arm. "Look how stressed Toris is becoming!"
Russia looked confused. "How am I stressing him?"
"Big Brother." Belarus's voice floated over to them.
"Well, I must go!" Russia said hastily. He took off running without saying goodbye.
Estonia sighed shortly. "We dodged the bullet with that one…"
"Where is my Big Brother?" Belarus demanded, advancing upon Lithuania and Estonia.
Lithuania abruptly became cheerful again, and he hurried over to the other country. "Miss Belarus! How lovely to see—"
Without warning, Belarus swung her fist back and socked Lithuania right in his left eye, knocking him flat on his butt. "Brother!" she called out irritably, hurrying off. "Where are you?" Stagehands scattered out of her path.
"TORIS!" Estonia cried out. He knelt down beside his fellow Baltic. "Ah, mu Jumal! Are you all right?"
Lithuania laughed feebly, and hovered a hand over his left eye. "Ah…I seemed to have irritated Miss Belarus again!"
"How is a greeting irritating?" Estonia demanded. He saw Lithuania's eye swell shut. "Sitt! You can't go onstage like this! We've got to find your boss!"
"Ne!" Lithuania shouted. He waved a hand desperately. "I don't want to bring any more trouble to Miss Belarus! I'll just wear my blindfold for the whole performance! Afterwards, I'll just tell my boss I ran into the wall or something!"
"But—"
"I've got to go! Wish me luck!" Lithuania paused before he added. "And don't tell Feliks about this!"
"He's not going to believe you if you tell him you ran into the wall!" Estonia shouted after him. He sighed heavily and shook his head. "Wow…Poland really was right about Toris's obliviousness with Miss Belarus…"
"And Lithuania's next?" America read from the program. He idly looked over his shoulder. "Where the hell's Japan?"
"Toris!" Latvia cheered, clapping his hands.
"Zwycięstwo, Liet!" Poland shouted just as loudly.
"Ačiū, aš baudos," Lithuania reassured the stagehand who guided him to his spot onstage. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. His eyes hurt so badly, and it pulsated like a heart against the blindfold. But he had to make it through this performance. Even if thinking about Belarus gave him a severe headache.
I just have to learn to stop annoying her so much.
The jazzy-dance music started playing, and Lithuania forced himself to calm down. He tried not to focus on his sore eye, but he tried to think positively of Belarus. "When the day becomes the night…You know that I think of you. And I cannot control my heart—It's crying for you. Loneliness is killing me…I'm helpless without your love. Knowing when you touch someone else—I can't understand…"
"Wow," Latvia said, clapping his hands enthusiastically. "Toris is off to a good start!"
Poland, however, was frowning. "Something's, like, totally wrong."
"Eh?"
"There's totally a hitch in his voice." Poland's eyes narrowed. "Something happened."
"What did?" America asked. "He sounds fine to me."
"Love is blind! It's true," Lithuania continued. "Nobody is like you! My endless melody—I play for me and you! Love is blind! It's true! I'm on my knees for you!" he dropped down to his knees for emphasis. "I'd give it all I can! To have you back again! Love is blind!"
Lithuania began doing a number of awkward dance moves on the stage. Rather, they were supposed to be fluid, but having the blindfold on make it extremely difficult.
"Hey, wasn't he supposed to take that off?" Netherlands wondered aloud.
"Pierdol," Poland snapped. He stood up from his chair and took off running.
"W-Wait, WAIT!" Latvia cried out after him. "Don't leave me out here alone!"
"You should know deep down inside!" Lithuania continued to sing, still wearing the blindfold. "She didn't mean a thi—OOF!" he tripped over his own feet and fell.
Estonia rubbed at his brow painfully. "I should've known this would happen…"
Despite his black eye, and stumbling all over the place blind, Lithuania finished his performance without a hitch. However, he nearly fell off the edge of the stage trying to find the wings, and a stagehand had to rush out and assist him.
America, however, was laughing and clapping. "That was so entertaining! I can't stop laughing!"
"…It wasn't meant to be," Latvia said painfully, checking his phone. "Ah, four points."
"Seven," England read.
"…One," Netherlands said neutrally.
"I gave you three points," Estonia told Lithuania as he was helped backstage.
"Get me to the greenroom, please," Lithuania interjected suddenly.
"Eh?"
"I have this feeling that Feliks is coming back here. If he finds—"
"Liet!"
"…Too late," Estonia said as the country in question hurried over to them. "Hello again, Poland."
"Liet, take your blindfold off!" Poland commanded sharply. "Why did you, like, totally wear it for the entire performance? You're totally hiding something, aren't you?"
"…Feliks, please keep your voice down," Lithuania said painfully. It was with a lot of reluctance that he reached up to untie his blindfold. "I'll show you, but don't tell my boss about it, okay?"
Poland waved an impatient hand. "I can totally keep secrets, Liet. Now take the damn thing off and show much what you're hiding!"
"Gerai…" Lithuania finally slid the blindfold off. He knew once he couldn't open his left eye that the injury had to look as bad as it felt.
"Ah, I gave Lithuania my perfect score!" Georgia read from his phone.
"That was nice of you," Azerbaijan said, fixing her hair in the mirror.
"SKURWYSYN!" suddenly ripped through the entire backstage.
Azerbaijan jumped violently, and looked at Georgia. "W-Was that Poland?"
"It sure sounded like it." Georgia noticed that they were alone in their greenroom. "Where's Turkey?"
Azerbaijan shrugged. "He stepped out for a little bit."
"WHERE DID THAT SUKA GO? I'LL TOTALLY MAKE HER SORRY!"
"Feliks, stop overreacting!"
On a quiet couch in the backstage area, Belarus read her phone. "…I gave that guy eight points." She made a face and tucked away her phone. "Praklion."
Bosnia and Herzegovina moved to take position onstage. Bosnia kissed her on the hand before taking a seat at the piano, and Herzegovina went to stand at the microphone.
"Ak nē…" Latvia said in dismay, reading a text message he'd gotten from Estonia.
"Oi, Latvia!" Sealand called over to him. "Why are you so bummed out?"
"T-Toris had a black eye," Latvia said, closing his cell phone. "That's why he kept the blindfold on."
"Ouch, that sucks for him," America said, wincing.
"But who would hit him?" Monaco wondered.
"Probably Russia's crazy sister," Romano muttered.
Italy checked his watch and stood. "I want to visit Germany before we go onstage!"
"Idiota!" Romano shouted, grabbing his arm. "You're not visiting that stronzo! If anything, we're gonna go do some last-minute practicing before our performance!"
"But Fratello—"
"No buts!" he proceeded to drag Italy off, the latter crying and whining loudly.
"Buona fortuna!" San Marino called out to them, waving.
"Adiós, mi amor!" Spain added, blowing a kiss.
"Vaffanculo!" Romano hollered at him.
Greenland looked over his shoulder at the sight of the Italian brothers arguing. He scoffed. "This contest is useless this year."
"Shh!" Faroe scolded him. "Bosnia and Herzegovina are about to start!"
Finland smiled as he closed his phone. "Su-san is doing okay."
"Was there something wrong before?" Sealand asked.
"Oh, no, I was just checking up on him." But he forced a smile. "He's angry with Denmark, though. I guess he was trying to spy on Su-san."
Bosnia and Herzegovina's sweet melody played calmly over the loudspeakers. "Nemoj mi kvariti dan, nikad mi nije bilo teže…"
Norway snapped his phone shut and stood up. "Denmark was caught by Sweden's people and has created a nuisance. He's asking me for his help." He gritted his teeth and shook his head.
"Ignore him then, if it's a problem," Iceland said. He reclined back in his chair.
"I'll be right back. But don't leave this greenroom!"
"Whatever," Iceland sighed. He closed his eyes as Norway slammed the greenroom door behind him. "What a hassle…"
"Shouldn't you be practicing?" Mr. Puffin squawked, flapping his wings.
"My fingers are calloused from playing the violin so many times. Ugh…" he pressed the back of his hand over his eyes. "I'm already tired…"
The greenroom door opened suddenly, and closed just as quickly. Iceland opened his eyes as he heard the door lock. "That was qui—"
"İyi akşamlar, Bocchan," Turkey greeted, grinning as he leaned against the closed door.
"Oji-san?" Iceland stopped reclining in his chair and stood up. "What are you doing here?"
"Don't you want to see me?" Turkey countered playfully.
Iceland felt his cheeks burning, and looked away. "O-Of course. En, I thought you were going to stay away because of my bró—Norway," he quickly corrected himself.
Turkey laughed softly, and slowly moved away from the door. "Big Brother is very protective, but I wasn't going to pass up the chance of seeing you before you performed."
"T-Takk," Iceland stammered. He looked at Turkey briefly. "I'm a little nervous, but I've done this contest so many times that it seems ridiculous to have bad nerves."
Turkey shrugged. "It's not bad to be nervous. But you have a strong song and I think you'll do well. You're certainly dressed very handsomely."
"A-Ah…" Iceland was dressed in a white, long-sleeved turtleneck with loose black slacks. It made him feel self-conscious, but his boss insisted on it. "And y-you look good too, Oji-san."
"Sağ ol." Turkey was suddenly in front of him and took his hands. "Ah, Bocchan, your hands are shaking! Is this really stressed for you, then?"
Iceland shrugged, hoping his face wasn't too red. "I-I'll just have to try my best."
"Your fingers look terrible." Turkey caressed the calloused tips very carefully. "Playing the violin has its setbacks, hmm?"
"If I make the right impression, then I will hopefully do okay."
Turkey suddenly smiled. "Why don't I give you a good-luck charm to help calm you?"
"…Okay," Iceland said slowly. "What—ah!"
He was startled when Turkey suddenly raised his hands and kissed his knuckles! He couldn't help but gape as the older country made such intimate, yet innocent contact with his hands. His skin suddenly felt warm and he let out a sharp breath.
Turkey raised his head and smiled. "Did that help?"
"…Já," Iceland said, but it was mostly a lie. His heart was now pounding strongly, and he felt dizzy. "I—"
The greenroom door suddenly slammed open with violent force, startling them both. "Why was the door loc—"
"N-Norway!" Iceland burst out. He pulled his hands free and rounded upon his older brother. "W-W-Wha—"
"Bastard!" Norway hollered dangerously. Green fire exploded between his clenched fingers. "Get away from my brother!"
"Uh oh," Turkey said warily, taking a step back.
"Norway, enough!" Iceland insisted, planting himself between Norway and Turkey.
From the doorway, Denmark looked a little haggard but otherwise okay. But he looked at the scene in front of him with obvious heartbreak. "Oh Ice…to be so corrupted…"
"…Huh?" Prussia came back to consciousness slowly. "It—FICKEN!" he cried out in pain as he clutched at his head with both arms. "W-What happened to me? My head is killing me!"
"…At least you're sober now," Germany said grimly, checking his phone. "Ah, we didn't score Bosnia and Herzegovina."
"Servus," Kugelmugel said idly, heading for the door.
"Where are you going?" Hungary asked.
Kugelmugel shrugged. "My painting has been ruined. I will seek Ladonia out to see if he can find me a place where my art will not be ruined."
"Don't paint the FLOOR if you don't want your art ruined!" Austria shouted after him.
"…Autsch," Prussia whimpered.
…I'm sorry, but I didn't like Albania's song this year. I'm glad they did so well, but…it made my ears ring.
Now for some historical information:
- The Treznea Massacre happened on September 9, 1940. Several Hungarian soldiers on march through northern Romania decided to take an apparent unauthorized detour to the town of Treznea, where they began indiscriminately killing the populous. The exact number of people killed is unknown; the universal consensus is 93, but Romania claims as many as 263 people were murdered. At one point during the massacre the soldiers had rounded up 200 townspeople and forced them to stand at the edge of a cliff, ready to open fire upon them. Thankfully luck was on their side, as Romanian soldiers stationed at a nearby town arrived and drove the Hungarian soldiers off before more people were killed.
- Here's some fun facts about the end of the world dates:
- December 21, 2012 – this is the current most popular one because of the Mayan calendar, or something.
- January 1, 2000 – the Y2K scare. People thought computer systems wouldn't be able to comprehend the 2000 part of the year and would go haywire—almost like a SkyNet thing.
- September 9, 1999 – people thought the world was ending solely because the number in the date matched up (09/09/99).
- June 6, 2006 – people thought the world would end because the date matched the number of the devil (06/06/06).
- March 10, 1982 – all nine planets lined up on the exact same side of the sun. People thought this rare lineup would cause a gravitational imbalance on the Earth, namely the "Jupiter Effect" which supposedly would cause sea levels to rise monstrously.
- January 1, 1000 – the transition to 4-digit timeline. People were so certain that the End of Days was upon them that most sold all of their possessions and journeyed to Jerusalem because they wanted to be counted among the righteous allowed into Heaven.
So yeah, I think this end of the world stuff is bullshit and I don't expect anything to happen on December 21st other than the Winter Solstice…and possibly a lot of rioting from idiots who believe they're about to die.
- Spain's little quip about the Mayans and Romano was based off of Himaruya's notes about Spain. He put a lot of research in this "fun-loving" country, and was quite appalled at how horribly Spain treated his colonies. He was actually surprised to see the care that Spain gave to Southern Italy during his reign over him, and the lengths Spain had gone to hold onto this territory against the Ottoman Empire. Thus, the relationship between Spain and Romano came to fruition.
- Prussia is singing Marmorstein und Eisen bricht, which I think is a popular drinking song.
Here's the translation for Albania's song as can be found at Eurovision's official website:
In this world, love lives no more
Time has no time for us anymore, no
Noo, oh
Noo… oh…
Time has no time for us anymore
My airplane lands
On your souls's runway without lights.
They elbow their way and rise today,
Those who couldn't live yesterday.
But yesterdays have no importance
they were devoured by stormy seas.
Oh, tomorrows won't bring anything,
Only hope without hope and madness…
Let me cry… cry… cry…
Cause this is the best I can do now
Cause this is the best I can do now
Let me cry… cry… cry…
Cause this is the best I can do now
Cause this is the best I can do now
Let me cry… cry… cry…
Cause this is the best I can do now
Cause this is the best I can do now