Thanks to the ... 12 people who read this as of June 21, 2016 for those of us in the US... And things are going to get reaaaaaaaaaaaaally confusing. Badly. I own nothing! Also, sorry again if anyone's OOC, but remember that a very old friend has just been found alive and they're going to be at least a little serious, and I'm going to be using various terms, but not too many during alternate dialogue moments because that's the way Hetalia works...

Standard German

Early New High German

English

Thoughts

Italian


Carina whooped as she stuck her head out the window. Her mother was shooting down the empty road at least 20 miles over the speed limit. "MOM JUST BECAUSE YOU'RE FROM ITALY DOESN'T MEAN YOU HAVE TO DRIVE LIKE YOU ARE!" Liberty laughed at her daughter's words and sped the jeep up another 5 miles per hour.

"What was that?! I can't hear you!" Liberty yelled and began slowing down as they reached closer to the crowded area. "Get your head back in. I want you to still have your head when you meet the others. And remember, where are we from?" She asked as she slowed to a stop.

Carina gave her a confused look. "We're from the Pompeii area of Naples. Why?" Liberty sighed and entered the not so busy traffic. A few sports cars seemed to be going into the same area, but she ignored it.

"Because. It's very important to them. And if you get lost, find one of two men with large curls on the side of their head. Or anyone wearing glasses. But stay away from anyone else. Got it?" She said, peering into the rearview window.

"Uh, yeah, sure, mom," Carina said. "Should Henr-"

"Don't call him that either. Here, he is only Holy Rome. I would not recommend calling him anything else. But yes, keep him near you. If anything goes wrong, you need him near you at all costs, you hear me?" Carina nodded shakily. The only other times she got like this was when she skipped out on her history and language lessons. A home-schooling mother. Liberty took a small crash-landing into the tall business building parking lot and Henr- Holy Rome grunted. He had been silent for the majority of the trip, trying to survive the Italian woman's driving and quietly listening. Finding a parking spot, Liberty dove into it, nearly hitting an old English buggie of some kind. "Alright, everyone out," She grunted and hopped out like nothing happened.

"I want to get my keys back, Mom," Carina said, holding out her hand, but Liberty shook her head.

"You can have them when you come back out here in the next two millennia," She said, holding tightly to the small bits of metal.

"Remind me to never ride with an Italian ever again. I would like to live to see everyone else. May we go now?" Holy Rome asked as he stepped out of the car. His knees wobbled as he slammed the car door shut.

"You alright?" Carina asked, peeking around his side. Holy Rome squawked as he jumped into the air. He fell onto his bottom and growled.

"Don't do that!" He said, and Carina held out a hand, not at all trying to hide her smile. He sighed through his nose and took the hand, pulling himself up.

"Spoilsport..." She muttered, and he looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

"What?"

"Nothing!"

"Come on, you two, we have to get into the building sometime today. Not in the next century," Liberty said as she began pushing them into the complex.

"Whoa..." Carina said as she walked in. There were dozens and dozens of flags inside, lining the walls with replicas of many famous paintings from all over the world. Liberty smiled at her daughter's antics and looked at their guest. Or rather, where he was supposed to be, as he had stopped a short distance ago. "Holy Rome-"

"Italy painted this with me a long time ago. It seems like yesterday, but... I can't help but feel as though I have missed so much more..." He said, staring sadly at a painting of a fluffy pink bunny. Carina looked around the painting and her eyes settled on the lower right corner.

"Look, they never forgot. They signed it," She said, pointing at the small scribble near the bottom ledge. It was written in faded ink and read simply, 'Italy and Holy Rome'. "They care enough. Come on. Why not see them for yourself?"

He simply nodded and turned again so they continued on their way. There was an elevator at the end of the room and they all walked into it. The two stared at the vast amount of buttons that lined the wall and watched curiously as Liberty opened the emergency call box and pressed on a small button in the back. A small hmm started and she pressed the '19' button on the console. The elevator smoothly began the transition up, and Liberty removed her hand and closed the panel.

Everyone remained silent as the elevator rose, until the fourteenth floor. "Be calm, you two. Everything will be alright. And Holy Rome?" Liberty said, turning to him. He looked at her in question. She grinned impishly. "Don't freak out too much." Carina's eyes flew open in surprise, but she didn't have time to react.

The doors opened to quiet anticipation that could have been cut with knife.


There was a single, large set of double doors in a long hallway, and several people were chatting, although a great deal of noise came from within the room. A set of four strangers caught her eye and one of them approached. The redhead had a shocking resemblance to she and her mother and blinked as he approached. "H-Holy Rome? Is-a that really you?" He asked in a thick Italian accent. His resemblance to her mother- and herself- was startling as she hid behind her parent.

Holy Rome looked at him with large eyes. "I-Italy? I-I thought you w-were a-a-"

Italy laughed, "Ah, those-a were the days, si?" He said. Carina took a silent breath in when she saw the tears falling down in thick clumps down the man's cheeks. A man that could have easily been his brother put a hand on the auburn-haired man's shoulder and pushed him lightly towards Holy Rome. The two reunited friends began sharing introductions after a few hundred years and they were a bit teary, so the other five gave them some space.

"Take-a care of him, you-a undead bastard," He said in an equally Italian accent. He took notice of the two ladies watching the exchanges with lowered heads. "Ciao, Ragazza, ciao...?" He asked in question, and shook hands with Liberty and then held his hand out to her daughter.

Carina blinked at the man who stared at her with a gentle smile. "I-uh, am Carina(1), nice to meet you," She said, taking his hand in a careful handshake. She blushed when he reached down and ghosted his lips across her knuckles.

"Beloved(1)? It-a fits such a beautiful lady such as yourself," He said. Carina giggled, but Liberty stepped forward.

"Romano, back off my daughter," She growled. Romano's eyes grew wide and he drew backwards.

"Wait, she's yo-" He said and instantly began sweating nervously. "What the hell, Ragazza! You never told us you had a damn daughter. Or is this-"

"Romano, shut it. And yes, she's my lucky star. And one of yours," She said with a knowing glint in her eye.

Romano blinked, blushed ever so faintly, before he grinned. "R-Really? Well, Bella, what-a city, then? If you're-a from Roma, then-"

Carina looked down and grabbed her arm. "I-I'm from the Pompeii area of Naples."

Romano froze and looked down. "Oh."

Carina panicked and began spouting, "Oh, no, I'm sorry. I don't know what the hell I did, but I'm such an idiot sometimes and need to learn to shut my fuc-" Her tongue sometimes 'slipped' when she got nervous and when she doesn't watch it.

Romano snorted, "Bella, shut-a the hell up. It's-a fine, I just had a bit of-a breathing problem before and-a after. And she sure is-a one of mine," He said, looking at Liberty. "She has-a the language down, alright, Ragazza."

Liberty snorted and the two began laughing. Carina looked between the two confused, and another voice jumped in. "Hello there, Miss...?"

Carina turned towards the German voice, "Carina, it's nice to meet you..." She in turn asked, holding out her hand. The tall blonde man blinked in surprise at her knowledge of his language, but let it slide.

"Ludwig, but most call me Germany. It's so odd to see y-"

"Germany," Her mother said, looking over her shoulder and at the offending man. Romano didn't look pleased to have his chat buddy taken away by the blonde man.

Germany dipped his head, "My apologizes, I forgot." Liberty looked back and began chatting with Romano again.

Carina gave him an odd look, one that screamed confusion, "What was that?"

A Japanese voice answered, but she couldn't tell what he said. "I'm sorry, I don't speak-"

The shorter man nodded, "My greatest apologizes, but your mother is only simply trying to protect you. That is all," He said in a very thick accent. "I am Japan, but some call me Kiku Honda, it is a pleasure to meet you," He said bowing.

Carina nodded, and followed the motion, "Likewise. And thank you for speaking English. My mom hasn't taught me Japanese yet. She said she was going to," She said.

Japan lightly smiled. "That is good for a parent to take such interest in their child's studies. And do not worry, I'm sure you'll learn it sooner than later."

Carina nodded, "Mom takes that to a whole new level. She's had me learn five other languages (3) and made sure I keep up with my studies in History."

Germany looked at her confused. "I thought Italians went to school for sixteen years. You look older than..."

Carina nodded, understanding what he was trying to say, "Most do, but that's if they just wanted to finish their secondary education when they're nineteen. Mom has me trying to remain on top of remembering World History for some reason..." Japan and Germany nodded in understanding.

"Carina! It's time, come on!" Liberty said, and propped her harm on her taller daughter. Holy Rome and Italy were standing side by side and Italy was gripping the other man's arm rather tightly, and Romano stood off to the side. Liberty's other arm was slung through his. Carina raised a brow at her mother and looked quickly at the touching limbs. Liberty nodded, and leaned in, loosening Romano a little bit. "It's customary for a country, if they're male and their guests are female, to guide them in this way, a sign on protection. It's tradition. Go on Romano's other side. You'll be fine. He won't let anything happen to you," She said and pushed the girl around.

"Good luck, bella," Romano whispered into her ear as he ruffled her curly hair and took her arm in his. The seven walked into the conference room and things instantly got quiet.


Well then. Alright. Yeah. This is done. There's chapter two. Someone tell me to stop stalling. Please. I'm begging you. But three quick notes:

(1) I don't know if I've mentioned this, but Carina's name is Carina Amalia Brewster. Carina means "Little darling, beloved, etc. etc." in Italian. Amalia, and the root, Amal, is Germanic and a bunch of other stuff, for 'Work'. And finally, Brewster is a last name of a man on the Mayflower and essentially means "To Brew" And to those of you who might be catching on what's going on, because I'm dropping hints here and there, DON'T SAY ANYTHING, but that leads me to my second point...

(2) READ AND REVIEW PLEASE!

(3) Carina is twenty years old and speaks: Italian, English, French, Spanish, German, and Chinese.