"Korea, wait!" China exclaimed as he struggled to run down the steps. It was a bit tight there, and the darkness isn't helping him.
"Catch me if you can, old man!" South Korea replied, his voice being all the way down. Aiyaa, why does he have to be like that? China thought. And why is there a tree with a secret passage in my garden? I don't remember having such a tree here...
"Hey, has anyone seen my flashlight?" Macau asked. "It was in my pocket a while ago." Everyone looked down at the steps. They could see flashes of light.
"Korea must've took them." Japan said. "Never mind. Let's keep going." Everyone carefully walk down the steps, following China closely. When they reached the bottom, South Korea was waving the flashlight around.
"Wow! This is so cool! A cave! I wonder if there's a mystery." He said, before looking around. While everyone was adjusting to the new environment, Macau was comforting Hong Kong who was slightly shaking. Apparently, he was afraid of the dark.
"Aiyaa! Give the flashlight back to Macau!" China said, as he tried to grab it from South Korea's hand. Unfortunately, South Korea was a lot faster than him and was able to slide away from China. He fell face first on the hard stone floor.
"China! Are you okay?" Macau hurriedly ran towards China who was rubbing his forehead.
"I'm fine, Macau. Just a bit of pain, that's all." He replied. As Macau was helping China to get up, South Korea was skipping to one of the walls.
"Guys, look! I found something!" South Korea exclaimed. Japan, Taiwan, and Hong Kong rushed towards South Korea and gasped. China looked up and saw what was so interesting to them. It was a huge stone ring, plastered on the wall. On the ring were patterns and ancient Chinese characters on it. There was also a small violet gem gleaming on the top of it.
"What is this?" Taiwan said. She walked up in front of the ring and examined the patterns on it. "China, can you read this?" She asked. "Since you're over 4000 years old..." She murmured.
"I can hear that, you know." China replied, as he went up to the ring and looked at the characters. "Luckily, I can. They're ancient Chinese characters. It says, 'Together, Love, Separate', and the words keep on repeating around the ring." China wondered what it meant. What if this is a tomb? Maybe we should get out...
"Woah, a gem!" South Korea said, as he jumped to reach the violet gem.
"Korea, no!" Everyone exclaimed. They ran to South Korea, but it was too late. He pressed the gem, and the ring started to glow. Suddenly, a bright purple beam flashed in the cave, and a strong force pushed the countries back until they hit their back upon the other side of the cave. A wave of purple smoke appeared, making everyone cough. China opened his eyes. Although he couldn't see much due to the smoke, he could see that everyone was alright. But he could hear more coughing on the other side. That's strange, he thought. Everyone is near me. Finally, the smoke cleared. China didn't expect to see what he had just saw.
1 boy and 5 girls were standing in front of the ring. They were looking around, surprised as to why they were here. China looked at them. They seemed to be Asian. He looked around. The other countries are also staring at the group of newcomers.
"Aiyaa! What happened here? Why are we all here?" One of them said. She had dark brown hair tied up in two buns and brown eyes. She was wearing a black uniform with gold accents and oversized sleeves, black slips, and a black newsboy cap with a red flower pinned on it.
"Relax, there's no need to panic. I'm sure there's an explanation." Another girl said. She had long, dark brown hair tied up in a ponytail, and golden eyes. A gambling card was stuck between the ponytail and her head. She wore a long-sleeved, green qipao with gold accents, and black slips.
"Maybe we should call the others." A girl said. She was shortest among them. She had short black hair in a bob hairstyle, and brown eyes that sparkled. She was wearing a pink and purple kimono, and had yellow flowers in her hair.
"Woah, what happened? I was just playing a video game in my room and then I end up here with you guys." An obnoxious voice said. It came from another girl. She had long, brown hair tied back in a braid with a large red bow. She wore a long, white and red hanbok with oversized sleeves, and black slips. "Of course, such sophisticated technology in order to bring players into a 3-D video game originated from me."
"It's not time to joke around. We need to know what's really going on." The boy said. He had short brown hair and brown eyes. He was wearing a red jacket with a white sun patched on top, a white shirt, and blue jeans. He also seemed to be carrying a brown sling bag on his shoulder.
"Well, why not we, like, ask them?" A girl said, pointing at the countries on the other side. She had hip-length brown hair, dark brown eyes, and a white flower in her hair. She wore a sleeveless crimson qipao with gold accents. She was also wearing thigh-high black stockings, and black, fingerless gloves extending to just below her shoulders on both arms. As soon as she said that, the group looked at where she was pointing and saw them. The countries quickly stood up and gathered around China. The girl with the black uniform stepped forward and looked at China.
"Nihao. I apologize if we're bothering you, but may we ask where we are?" She said. So, she's Chinese, China thought.
"We are in a cave under my garden. I'm not sure how, but my younger brother had touched something at that ring," he said, as he pointed at the stone ring. "And you all appeared." He finished. "And may I ask what are your names?" The girl thought for a while. She didn't know why, but she felt like she should tell the strangers their names. Finally, she looked up.
"My name is China." She pointed at the girl wearing the kimono. "She is Japan." She pointed at the girl wearing the green qipao. "Macau." She pointed at the girl wearing the hanbok. "South Korea." She pointed at the girl wearing the red qipao. "Hong Kong." And finally, she pointed at the boy wearing the red jacket. "Taiwan."
China and other countries gasped. It didn't make any sense! How could they be the Asian countries? Maybe it was a misunderstanding, China thought.
"Yes, yes. We're, like, already used to it." The female Hong Kong said.
"But it doesn't make any sense!" Taiwan spoke. "We are countries as well!"
"Oh, really?" The male Taiwan replied. "I've never seen you guys before. What countries do you guys represent?" China took a deep breath before replying.
"I am China." He pointed at himself.
"Taiwan!" She said, as she waved at the group.
"South Korea, da ze!" He said, as he striked a pose.
"Japan." He bowed.
"Macau." He said, as he smiled at them.
"Hong Kong." He said, his face showing no emotion.
"What?!" The group said in confusion. "That can't be! We are the Asian countries!"
"And so are we!" The countries replied. Then, they all started shouting at each other, claiming to be the real countries. All this argument and being in the cave was making China feel dizzy.
"Aiyaa, why don't we talk in my house?" He suggested. Everyone stayed quiet for a while before agreeing.
"Alright then. Let's go." China said, as he lead everyone out of the cave.