I own nothing but Naktis. She is resigned to this fate. (Naktis: So you think.) (Ivan: Now, now, sestra, let's not waste our energy meddling in fool's business.) (Shii: Hey! *waves fist*)

Thanks to everyone who reviewed, by the way!

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"This is the story of my life
These are the lies that I've created
This is the story of my life
These are the lies that I've created."

-"The Story" by 30 Seconds to Mars

xXx

The year is 1941

The Reichsteig: Germany and Italy have officially declared war, alongside Japan, against America. The Axis have made their grave error in this movement, as described by later historians, as this gave America a chance to group together with the United Nations and the U.S.S.R., as well as China and France, forming the Allied Forces. During this year another nonaggression pact was signed by Russia, but with Japan, causing minor tension between Russia and the United Nations.

"Amerika, is this absolutely necessary?" Naktis asked exasperatedly. Her arms laden with papers, now did not seem to be the best time for Alfred to decide he needed needed needed NEEDED Naktis to help him move his alien pal's things into his house. What Naktis needed to do was finish her paperwork after joining the Allies. The stack in her study was a mile high- as was her brother's; he, however, had miraculously disappeared and left all the paperwork to his darling sister.

When she found the note she all but ripped the desk in two. Damn him. Damn him into the darkest, dankest, dreariest-

"Naktis, ya coming?" Alfred asked, already tugging on her sleeve, much to her annoyance. "We don't have all day!"

"Actually, you do. I don't. Go find someone else to pester into doing your work. I'm laden. And stop calling me 'Naktis'- call me Soviet."

"Only is you stop calling me 'Amerika'. You have, like, the worst accent. Anyway, come on and help me out! We're allies, right? Friends?"

"Not so much on the latter."

"The what?"

Naktis sighed. Really, wasn't English his first language? Hers was Russian, and she understood more English than he did half the time. "The latter. The second option listed. The former is the first. Here's an example: We are the former, not the latter."

"Oh." Alfred's eyes cleared up slightly. "So.. we're allies?"

"Yes."

"That means friends."

"Not necessarily."

"Since when?"

"Stop talking!"

"Naktis, pleeeease!"

"Don't call me 'Naktis' like we're close! Call me Soviet." She turned away, drowning out the pleas of her name coming from the useless blonde. Honestly. Even that idiot Italy would be less annoying because he'd be less persistent, if only because he would hopefully be scared shitless of her. (A/N: Ha, that'll be the day.) Then again, someone so completely useless like Italy would only cause her problems. Germany could deal with him for all she cared.

… Yes, she was still mad at Ludwig for jumping her and trumping her plan in one swift movement.

When Ivan finally found her asleep in his sunflower patch (much to his well-hidden annoyance), he had not been kind about his berating. She ended up with a bruise where he cuffed her for being a moron and missing the German's plans, which had taken forever to heal. The explanations had been torture- Natalia poked fun at her for screwing up royally, which only made it worse.

"Naktis," a voice said behind her. Assuming it was still Alfred she spun around, eyes lit with annoyance.

"Go away, I already said no."

"I haven't actually said a word yet," Arthur replied, looking mightily confused. Fuck. "Were you speaking to someone?"

"Amerika left..?" Again with the inability to pronounce his country title right. This means more hours of practice…

"Yes. He left the building several minutes ago."

"Oh. Idiot." Naktis muttered. "Uh. At any rate, what is it you needed?" She quickly busied herself with looking through her pockets for the keys to her study. Yes, she kept everything locked up, even when not in her own home.

"Right. I was wondering, have you seen Ivan around? I've been meaning to find him, but he hasn't shown up." Naktis' scowl deepened and Arthur immediately backtracked. "I- I mean, I meant to find both of you, but you were here, obviously, and he's not? I haven't seen him, I mean, so I was wondering if you knew where he might have wandered away to…"

"No idea, comrade. I'm afraid he left me a note and disappeared." He also left me his mountain of paperwork, she thought acidly. Which I still need to finish… "I haven't seen him since yesterday."

"Ah. Well, very good." Arthur turned to walk away before quickly spinning back to face her. "You wouldn't happen to have seen anyone new you don't recognize around here lately? I haven't been able to shake the feeling someone's been hanging around lately."

"Whatever do you mean?" Naktis asked. She knew everyone, for once. With a sudden burst of intuition, she realized who Arthur would be talking about. "By the way, Matthew's been meaning to speak with you as well. He said you weren't paying him any heed in meetings."

"Who..?"

"Matthew." At the blank stare Naktis sighed. Poor boy. "Matthew Williams. Canada."

"Huh. I can honestly say I've never heard of him. Now, about that eerie presence."

Mr. Face, meet Mr. Palm.

X

Burya nudged at Naktis' leg for the ninth time in the last hour. He whimpered and yelped to get the young nation's attention. "What, Burya? Do you want to go outside again?"

The dog scowled as much as a dog can scowl and looked out the window, fogged from the sleet falling in cascades outside. He growled softly and nudged her leg again. "Burya. I'm busy. Tiho." Zvezda rolled one eyes toward the two before stretching out on her blanket and yawning. "Take a nap with Zvezda. I need to finish this."

Burya, indignant, stood and flicked his tail, curling next to his counterpart. Naktis rolled her eyes and continued reading the fine print. Ten Euros says Alfred didn't read any of this. Lucky Ivan, escaping while he had the chance. Stupid gunshot wound, making me tired. Stupid, stupid, stupid Germany. Stupid me. Stupid nighttime. Stupid winter, making me even more tired.

Naktis set down the papers and pushed her chair backward from the desk, sighing heavily. "Been a day, hasn't it. I wonder where Ivan is. Probably off at a pub, wasting time." Naktis pulled a clip of papers toward herself, snatching the ink pen on top of them just before it hit the ground. "While I'm back here, filling out legal forms. Gah." Zvezda snored loudly. "Thanks, dog, I feel very loved. Now, more papers on… excuse me? That's incredibly insensitive and prying, Alfred F. Jones!"

Both dogs looked up at her outburst over the question. They turned to one another before laying down again, figuring it best not to question their mistress' outburst.

"Stupid America, asking me about my personal life. Totally inappropriate…" Naktis scrawled over the lines and flipped the page over to continue diminishing the mile-high stack of precariously positioned papers. She sighed again and continued reading. "Hmm…"

A knock sounded on the door. Naktis opened her eyes, blinking repeatedly, realizing she had fallen asleep over her papers. Sunlight streamed in and the dogs barked loudly, scrabbling at the wooden door. "Tiho, tiho. O-one moment. Tiho!" Both dogs jumped out of her way, noses in the air and tails wagging excitedly, obviously unhappy with not being able to attack the person who would dare knock on the door to their mistress' chambers.

"It's moi," Francis called. "Mon ami, are you awake yet?" Naktis rolled her eyes, giving herself a quick once-over before unlocking the door. She pushed the huskies back inside, locking the door behind her, much to their displeasure. "Ah! Mon ami, viens dans un café avec moi, d'accord?"

Naktis wasn't certain what half of Francis said meant, but figured it best to answer the way Arthur typically did to questions ending in "d'accord" or "s'il vous plaît":

"Non," she replied, attempting to appear composed as she dodged around the surprisingly tall male to escape into the hallway. At least here she had a better shot at escaping if he were to try anything… rash, or scandalous. "What time is it, France?"

"Sometime early morning. Hence I asked to have coffee with you, mon ange." He turned toward her, eyeing her chest a moment, earning a glare. "By the way, why do you refer to your allies by country titles, mon ange?

"Stop talking at me in French, if you would be so kind." Note to self: Learn to speak French.

"Fine, fine. You Russian types are never romantic. You lack my sense of l'amour." Francis said, taking yet another rose seemingly out of nowhere. Naktis rolled her eyes and continued walking, deciding to look for her darling brother before they found out the hard way Natalia had stalked them and found Ivan raped him. "Speaking of which-"

"I already told you, no," Naktis replied curtly. "But if you've seen Ivan, I would love to know that."

"Ah, him? If I say yes, will you come with me?"

"Probably not. But I would be grateful."

"Grateful enough to call me by name?"

"Please bother someone else, France. I need to find Ivan." Naktis wouldn't admit it, but she was starting to get a little (but only a little) worried about Ivan. He'd disappear for hours, sure, but never for an entire day, if not more.

"He was wandering around a park about a block away earlier. Now, about coffee…" Francis began, but Naktis had already blown past him and was headed toward the door.

"Thank you!" She called, slipping around Yao as she bolted down the stairs. The Chinese man looked at her retreating form, confused, before looking back at Francis.

"What just happened-aru?" He asked the blonde. Francis merely shrugged and half-waltzed off, probably to go find/molest Arthur. Yao sighed and put his hands in his pockets, withdrawing a note he had been given by Ivan. "Maybe I should go get Soviet-aru. I think this was for her-aru."

X

Ivan sat in the park nearby the meeting place of the Allies is America's home. The trees held few leaves, their branches rubbing elbows with the sky. His breathe fogged in front of his eyes as he stared at the clouds covering most of the sky. He had been here for hours, he assumed, judging by how Yao had reacted when he caught up to him. The two had sat here together for a little while before Yao said he ought to leave.

"It's been years since we've talked, hasn't it?" Ivan asked after a long and awkward silence between the two men. "I mean, for real- about things not related to World War II."

"It might have been-aru," Yao replied softly, fingering the edge of his shirt. "I… I guess we've been out of touch-aru."

"Da," Ivan replied and nodded, more to himself than for any other reason. He leaned back onto the park bench and sighed quietly. Yao looked at him a moment before standing.

"We should get going-aru. I think Soviet is worried about you-aru. You shouldn't make your sibling worry." Yao turned away until Ivan grabbed his wrist. The Chinese man turned to look back at the larger a moment, and noticed a flash of… something in the depths of the violet hues. "Ivan-aru..?"

"C-can you stay here just a little while?" He asked softly. Yao shook his head, and tensed his wrist in an attempt to free himself. Ivan easily loosed his captive and leaned back again on the bench. "Okay. Will you give this to Naktis then? If she's so worried." Ivan drew a small piece of parchment from his coat and placed it in Yao's outstretched hand.

"You're not coming-aru?" Yao asked quietly. Ivan shrugged as Yao walked off. He didn't want to be left alone anymore, but didn't want Yao to hate him like everyone else did. What they had of a relationship was too precious to put at stake… at least, it was to Ivan.

"Sobrat!" Naktis yelled, shocking him from his reverie. "Have you been out here all night?" Burya ran ahead and buried his nose in Ivan's pocket, huffing unhappily. The dog's blue-and-brown eyes rolled up toward the Russian as if to say Really? You were out here all night? I'm certain you weren't. In the most annoying way, the dog was like a nagging wife. Burya was more Ivan's dog than Naktis' half the time, he mused, and as such the dog knew his tendencies when he was alone. One of which would be taking to the bottle.

Which, though he wouldn't go into detail, was actually what he had been doing until around two in the morning.

"Naktis," Ivan said cheerfully. "You came to find me?"

"Of course," Naktis said with a confused look. "Why wouldn't I?"

Ivan simply smiled and stood, stiff from sitting so long. The wind picked up then and blew through both people. "Should we head back?" Naktis asked, reaching for his wrist. Ivan nodded and brushed past her, much to the younger's disappointment and annoyance. But she noted something else in his eyes before he turned his back on her.

He was hurting inside.

X

"Wh't'd I m'ss?" Alfred asked, doing a pretty damn good Berwald impression as he tiredly walked into the conference room. Arthur rolled his eyes and picked up his teacup. "Hey, wh'r's So'v't 'n R'ss'a?"

"They're coming-aru." Yao replied. "I think."

"Have you seen them?" Arthur asked. "I mean since yesterday."

"Yes," Francis replied. "Ivan is off somewhere else and Soviet has gone looking for him. I admire her devotion- if only her brother expressed the same level of l'amour."

"You like that word, don't you?" Naktis asked, slipping into the room, followed by her dogs and Ivan, who took his seat with his signature smile. Yao quietly (and as discreetly as an oaken chair can be) scooted away from the large Russian. "My apologies for being late, Comrade Kirkland. There was a.. domestic adventure this morning." Naktis continued, inclining her head to show an apology.

"Ah, well, at least you two have arrived. Shall we pick up where we left off yesterday? I think it best to work on destroying the Axis by planting a covert to destroy them from the inside. Learn their secrets, leak their plans, et cetera."

"I'll do it, I'm the hero!" Alfred said, suddenly wide awake. "What do I do?"

"Alfred. 'Covert' means we need someone that could easily be named their ally to fool them. As all three nations have declared war on you, it would be too painstakingly obvious we had sent you in." Arthur said. "I think we should send Soviet- she's the most accomplished in covert operation, correct? You seem to have the most knowledge on the subject."

"That's right! Hey, didn't you trick Germany into coming into your house to sign a non-aggression pact, meaning to take him down early?" Alfred asked, eyes sparkling like a kid discovering a closet full of chocolate. "That's so cool!"

Naktis felt her ears go red. "That was the plan, yes."

"So yeah, you're good at this kind of thing!" Alfred said. "All in favor, say 'aye'!"

"Nyet." Ivan said. "My sister is talented, da, however, I would rather we stay close. I don't wish to be separated from her."

"And Germany and I aren't on friendly terms. I, akin to Amerika-" damn inability to pronounce names- "would be too conspicuous."

"R-right." Arthur said. "Moving on, then. We could also try capturing Italy and using him as a decoy."

"That seems more fool-proof-aru." Yao nodded. "There's less margin for error-aru."

"That sounds like a good idea." Francis said.

"Da," Ivan nodded. "Smart thinking. He'll be the easiest to get rid of."

Naktis silently nodded, eyes flicking to Matthew in the corner, who seemed uneasy talking- well, in his case, thinking- about this kind of thing. "Matthew, have you an opinion?" She whispered as the others went into "planning" mode. Which, truth be told, was more "family feud" between France, England, and America.

"I-I don't want to be a burden, but I d-don't think I want to… kill anyone. And that's what this is starting to sound like." Matthew clutched Kumajiro closer, annoying the small white bear into squirming. Zvezda flicked one ear toward the bear, still staring ahead attentively. "It can't be helped though, I guess."

"Right now, I don't think we're killing. I believe- that is, my current understanding- is more of capturing and forcing their governments into surrender. Tying their hands, so to speak."

"…I guess." Matthew replied softly. Naktis shrugged and turned to the group, which, by this point, was utter chaos, resulting in Francis' storming out while Alfred and Arthur began verbally abusing one another. Ivan and Yao were up to their own thing, watching the fight evolve into madness (well, more than it already had).

"Is this going to happen every day?" Naktis asked Yao, who nodded. She sighed and stood. "I'll take my leave then. See you later this evening."

Ivan grabbed her wrist. Naktis immediately stiffened, a tremor crawling along her rigid spine. She suppressed it and turned slightly to her brother. "Stay," he ordered, but to anyone else it would sound like a request. She swallowed hard and slowly sat back down, blue eyes watching the violet hues a mere foot away for any sign of aggression or bad temperament she ought to be wary of. She may have been young, naïve, but she was not an idiot- Ivan was prone to fits of temper that one would have to watch for were they to become close to him. Years of failing at reading him had taught her to watch for any slight cue; cues she found in everyone but him. I chose tread dangerous water, she thought miserably, and I can't even tell when the tide switches each day.

Now, however, with that idiot Alfred having chosen now to bring up her immense failure in front of Ivan (who had been drinking that morning, resulting in their 'domestic adventure' and entertaining the people on the streets), Naktis was beginning to see the telltale signs of earning the brunt of Ivan's anger. That little.. "accident" had reflected badly on Russia, resulting in both increased arrogance from Germany and Naktis' now awful habit of doing her impression of the Baltics each time Ivan walked past.

"Don't run off all the time. You need to stand your ground, even when you dislike where something is going. I don't like when you run away."

Naktis nodded stiffly and tried to appear lax and avoid confrontation from anyone about their mini-transgression. Thankfully, Yao seemed wrapped up in avoiding painful head-fist contact via Alfred and Arthur. Matthew eyed her from across the table nervously, as if contemplating saying anything, but Naktis discreetly shook her head.

"Ha! Take that!" Arthur yelled from across the room, throwing an ink pen at Alfred.

"You wanna dance?" Alfred shouted hotly at his brother. "You're not the only person who can fight, you know! And not like you ever do!"

"Why, you- say that again to my face, you hopeless git!"

"That's more like it!"

"What are they doing?" Naktis asked.

"Fighting?" Yao asked, trying to be helpful.

"I highly doubt that."

"Releasing sexual tensions-aru?"

"Maybe." Naktis sighed and leaned back, withdrawing a book from her seemingly-bottomless pocket. "May as well get something done in this time."

"I would rather be making dinner-aru. Nothing personal, of course, Soviet-aru."

"Of course not." Naktis offered a small smile before delving into the well-loved world of Lolita. Maybe it had been banned in most countries, but it didn't change her enjoyment of good literature. At that moment, however, another ink pen was thrown that landed with expert marksmanship directly onto her page. Both Alfred and Arthur froze a moment before Arthur quickly and clearly stuttered a "meeting adjourned," and stiffly trotted out through the door, followed by Alfred.

"Permission to leave?" Naktis hissed to Ivan. "I would like to leave and complete the paperwork I have left."

"Da," Ivan nodded. "Do you need help?"

"Ah, no. But thank you for offering." Knowing you nothing would get accomplished. Agh.

"Alright, sestra. Would you like to have lunch first?" Ivan asked, maybe too hopefully.

Apparently, now was opportune time for Francis to reenter the room. "I second that notion, mon ami! May I tag along? Of course, only if mon ange comes with!" Francis draped himself over Naktis' shoulder and purred in her ear. "Peut-être après que nous pouvons faire un peu ceci et cela…" he leaned closer, way beyond Naktis' acceptance of proximity to another human being, provoking her into drawing her well-concealed machete and holding it threateningly to his neck. Francis yelped in surprise and leapt back, managing to lose a couple inches of hair from his left side as he narrowly escaped harm from the silvery lethal blade.

"Naktis, I don't think he meant any harm. Easy." Ivan scolded gently. His hand tightened around her wrist again and she obediently dropped the weapon. "Of course we'd like you to come along, da, Naktis?" A warning was held within the impossibly deep violet eyes.

"D-da."

"It's settled then!" Ivan said cheerfully, standing and walking ahead of the other two. Francis grinned at Naktis before trotting to catch up with Ivan's long strides. Naktis bored holes in his back as he followed the tall Russian.

"Come along, Burya, Zvezda." Naktis stood, her dogs flanking her again. "Let's go."

X

"Naktis, I want an explanation." Ivan told his sister in Russian once they were away from the rest of the group. "What did Comrade Francis do to deserve that sort of treatment?"

"You don't know what he said." Naktis replied.

"And you do?"

"French is now in my repertoire of skills." Naktis said loftily, but lying a little. She had begged Matthew to teach her the literal basics and now she understood a tiny bit of what the Frenchman would say to her, and her knowledge of English was able to fill in blanks and give her most of the literal bits. "He has been calling me 'his angel' since this morning and making crude gestures toward me." She glared at a spot on the floor. "I don't want to be treated like an object. I may not be a country, but I don't deserve to be pushed around by.. by assholes like him."

Ivan watched her a moment, as if deciding whether now was a good time to give her another bruise for her arrogance and incompetence. Naktis looked back at him a moment and sighed, looking away in resignation. "I am sorry. I'll try to watch my actions and keep my composure from now on."

"Good." Ivan replied. He awkwardly placed a hand on her shoulder in what was supposed to be a comforting gesture. He smiled sweetly and turned to go off to his study where a now filled-out stack of papers awaited him, courtesy of his dear sister.

Still. It was these times when Ivan would show his softer side that Naktis found it impossible to stay angry with her brother. It was those times she saw the truly kind person beneath the glamour and occasional shows of cruelty. The child that had followed his sister closely in the snows and had no thoughts of war to mar his now broken mind.

The child she wished she had known.

xXx

Alright. Slightly shorter than last time, but I think it managed okay. *I hope* I don't actually speak French and had to use a translator but think I got it right. If not please tell me. :) By the way, little translation details (provided I managed to translate correctly)

Mon ami, viens dans un café avec moi, d'accord? = My friend, have coffee with me, alright?

Peut-être après que nous pouvons faire un peu ceci et cela… = Perhaps after we can do a little this and a little that…

(Because I have actually been asked this) Privet and do svidaniya = hello and goodbye in Russian

Tiho = quiet (a simple command her dogs love to ignore)

Naktis Vechnyĭ: Night Eternal (Author is a sucker for romantic names)

Burya and Zvezda: (respectively) Storm and Star

Thanks again to MapleCrazyCanuck for beta-ing.

Do svidaniya!

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