((This isn't taking me as long as I thought it would. ^^

Be glad, people! I'm updating fast! This chapter will be a bit of a filler, but it's still EXTREMELY vital to the story, so read on.

Hetalia isn't mine!))

When Norway had told the fairy he was bringing backup, he didn't expect this kind of backup.

The Nordic 5, once packed, armed and ready, Norway led them from the house and into the dense woodland that lined the courtyards of their property. Norway hadn't even said a word since they left, as he was much too busy trying to plan a good excuse to give the queens of the magic realm when he brought the dorks along. Sure, some of them were Vikings, but this was obviously going to be much tougher than he imagined it would be.

"So Norge," said Denmark, axe over his shoulder, "Where exactly are we headed to?"

No answer. Norway only gave a small mumble before stopping in his tracks completely.

"Norge?"

"Hold on." Norway shrugged off his pack and pulled out his wand, pointing it at a random tree. He mumbled something the other Nordics couldn't hear, and then there was a blinding flash.

The four covered their eyes from the light. When it cleared, they were faced with a large blue set of doors, shining with an unearthly aura they had never felt before.

"Whoa…" Denmark breathed.

"So you weren't joking," Finland mumbled.

"I see it, but I can't believe it," Iceland said, eyes widened.

"Believe it anyway," Norway said pointedly. He stepped up to the doors and grabbed the golden handles, thrusting them open. Inside the doors was nothing but bright blue light.

"Are you coming?" Norway asked finally. "I can take care of this myself. You don't need to come. In fact, I'd rather you didn't."

The Nordics stared at the portal before them, then at Norway. What should they do? If this was real, and Norway wasn't kidding about danger, then...what?

After a minute of thoughtful, sullen silence, Denmark spoke up. "We're coming."

Sweden, Iceland, and Finland looked up at him, eyes inquisitive.

Denmark smirked. "Come on. Are we gonna let ol' Norgie go off on his own to save the day? We have to get a piece of that."

Finland smiled. "I'll go. I wanna help!"

"I'll go, too," said Sweden. He'd go anywhere Finland would go.

Everyone turned to Iceland, who was fidgeting.

"What?" he asked, an edge in his voice. "Quit looking at me like that."

"Are you coming or not?" Denmark asked.

Iceland's eyes darted from one face to another, unable to speak. "Well...I have no weapons, I don't know magic, I don't see why I should…"

Iceland felt a hand grip his shoulder. "If you're worried about being useless, you're mistaken," Norway said coolly. "If the others are coming, you might as well."

"Come on, Icy," Denmark said. "You'll be fine with us around!"

"'Sides, we're the Nordic 5!" Finland added. "We can't be 5 without you." Sweden nodded in agreement.

Iceland gave Norway a brief look. "OK, fine."

Norway gave a ghost of a smile. "OK. All of you, follow me." With that, he stepped through the doors and into the bright light.

Denmark gripped his axe, grinned, and stepped in after him. Finland smiled with excitement and followed, with Sweden tagging in. Iceland went in with a sigh.

In the magic realm…

At first, it seemed like the light was endless. It was so bright they couldn't even see themselves, and it went on and on forever around them. However, after a few minutes of blind walking, they found themselves coming out of the light and into somewhere else entirely.

They had stepped out onto a cliff overlooking a city. The city was vast and full of bronze and gold, sparkling under the great blue sky above. Banners depicting different symbols billowed in the calm breeze, and a stunning crystal castle stood at the very edge of it all.

"Holy…" Denmark gasped.

"Yep," said Norway indifferently. No surprise, he had been here before.

"This is amazing!" Finland exclaimed, eyes sparkling with pure awe. Even Sweden and Iceland looked astounded.

Denmark turned to Norway. "So...what are we doing?"

"The castle over there," Norway directed, pointing towards the crystal castle at the city's edge. "The rulers will tell what's going on there. I don't really know what's up myself, so that'll be our first stop."

"Cool!" Denmark was already racing down the path to the bottom of cliff. "Last one down's a smelly dragon!"

"Wait for me!" Finland raced after him, with Sweden in hot pursuit. Norway and Iceland looked at each other, nodded, and took off, the playful group scrambling down the rocky dirt road to the bottom of the cliffs. After the cliffs, there was forests, where the group took a small breather and commenced their race through all the tall evergreens. Once they had descended to the city's level, they stopped and took a rest next to a tree with low branches.

Denmark climbed up on one of them and gasped, "That was awesome!"

"You lost, though," Norway pointed out, a hint of humor in his voice.

"Uh...shouldn't we be getting to that castle?" Iceland inquired, the only one who wasn't as tired.

Norway stood up, smirking slightly. "Yeah. Come on, you idiots, we have a mission to complete." He turned and started off in the direction of the castle, with the other four trailing behind.

It was a rather long walk. The five decided to go through the more sparce parts of the city, as Norway said it would be the quickest route to the entrance. They were mostly silent during the trip, as they were all too absorbed by the surroundings of both normal and magical people surrounding them, going about their daily business. It was truly a marvel to them, even if it was more-or-less commonplace to Norway.

Soon enough, they were walking up the road to the gigantuan palace. "There are four queens that rule here," Norway explained as they came up to the place. "Soli, Stella, Terra, and Selene. They represent the sun, stars, Earth, and moon, as you might guess. They're all very just rulers, and they were the ones that helped me with my magic in the first place. They're immortal like us, too."

"Figures," Denmark joked heartily as Norway came into the courtyard.

"Halt!"

The five nations looked up towards the gate, where a pair of guards dressed in royal blue were. "What is your business?"

"Lukas Bondevik," Norway deadpanned. "I was called for a mission by the queens. I have brought backup." He gestured to the other Nordics.

The guards looked at each other briefly, before calling, "Very well, then." They opened the grand gold gates, and the group scuttled inside.

The castle was just as beautiful on the inside as it was on the outside. Different colors of quartz and crystal lined the walls and formed the ceiling, making a rainbow of light circle the large throne room. The Nordics were utterly hypnotized by it all.

"Ah, here they come," Norway said, breaking the others out of their trances.

Four women strided into the room. One woman was tall, sweet-looking, and her hair was a vivid lemon yellow; another was smaller and much paler, with sparkling silver hair that was whiter than Iceland's; the third was in the middle, with darker skin, green eyes, and braided brown hair with a flower crown; and the last was the palest and the shortest, with flowing midnight hair that had stars glittering in it.

"Welcome to our castle," said the queens.

((AND OUR JOURNEY HAS BEGUN.

Next chapter: the answers to the following questions: "What is the evil plot?" "Who is Dracona?" "Why did she need to be sealed?" and "What can the Nordics do?"

Stay tuned!))