A/N: This took a while. I blame school. And writers block. Sue me. And thanks to everyone who reviewed.

Warnings: swearing, violence, the usual

I own nothing. Well, I own my soul, I suppose. But that's not relevant here.


An Empire founded by war, has to maintain itself by war - Charles de Montesquieu

It was a beautiful day out, the sun shining bright in the cloudless blue sky, birds chirping, and the people free to go about as they wished. It was a feeling contradicted by the thoughts that wrestled in Kiku Honda's mind. He stood stoic, gaze directed out the window to the well maintained gardens outside, as activity went on around him. The entire palace was abuzz, people getting ready for the big announcement. It had to go off without a hitch, since it was to be a historic occasion after all. But it was one he had reservations about.

He didn't look over as he was joined at the window by Prime Minister Shintaro Ishihara. "What is it that troubles you Honda"* Ishihara asked, clearly seeing through the cold exterior to the turmoil within.

"I wonder if this course is wise, Prime Minister," Kiku replied cautiously. "We walked this path once before. It did not end favorably in any sense of the term."

The Prime Minister's gaze turned to the outside view that Kiku was looking at. "This time will be different. So many things have changed, and Japan must regain her glory, as well as safeguard her interests. We have no other expansionist interests."

Kiku kept his expression cold and neutral as he mulled over those words, remembering that they had said that the last time as well, at least in the beginning. "Yao will not react well to this."

"It is because of Yao that we are doing this. Let him complain."

Kiku let out an internal sigh, already working out how he was going to respond to the angry China. He lapsed into silence until Ishihara made the next move, checking the clock in the simply laid out dressing room. "It is almost time. You should take up your spot before we begin."

Kiku gave a curt agreement, turned, and left the room, aware that the Prime Minister would leave soon after as it was. He made his way through the empty corridors at the rear of the building, a general underlay of noise rising in front of him. That noise reached a crescendo as he entered into the House of the Councilors, to see all the seats filled and the entire room nearly overloaded by spectators and reporters, here for the historic announcement. It took all the skills he possessed to make his way to an open spot in the corner from which he could watch surreptitiously.

He didn't have very long to wait, the Emperor entering the chamber to a mass of bows from everyone assembled, before he took his seat in the middle of the row where ministers sat at the head of the room. After him, Prime Minister Ishihara entered, accompanied by bows from ministers he passed. He then bowed to the Emperor in a sign of respect, before getting on the dais, handed a packet of paper that he smoothly opened. He pulled out the leaflets, straightening them and placing them on the table before him, then looked up with eyes scanning the crowd.

"Representatives, people of Japan. Japan has a long and distinguished history. And just as time flows, so too does our proud nation thrive and grow. We have emerged from the shadow of defeat, of disgrace, to take our place on the world stage once again as a nation to be held with respect and in brotherhood..

But an era has ended. The United States, once our enemy and then our ally, has collapsed in on itself, victim to the tremendous burden of responsibility they shouldered that ended up being too much for the. I will not say it was welcome, much less deserved, but that has what happened. The united States could not stand the test of time, and were brought low.

As the United States fell, Japan stayed strong. We have taken the effort to restore our economy, to rearm ourselves against the militarism of China. We have taken custody of America's Pacific holdings to safeguard our nation. We have been rejuvenated in the fires of the turmoil the world has been thrust into. And now we shall be reborn.

These are tumultuous times for the world. Chaos and anarchy spread as a result of economic troubles, environmental destruction, the usage of nuclear weapons, warfare, and corruption. There is only one solution. We need strong leadership, a guiding light to bring us through the darkness that threatens to engulf this world. We had such a light once, but it strayed from the path and brought Japan to ruin. We have matured since then, we have grown in wisdom. And we will not repeat the mistakes of the past."

Ishimara paused before continuing. "It has always been the platform of the Japanese restoration party that we must reclaim our past heritage. We have done that step by step, first in restoring our economic independence, then in removing the pacifist constitution we imposed on ourselves so we could grow. Then we reclaimed our rightful territory. And now we take the final step. As of this day, the Republic of Japan is no more. And in it's place, we welcome the Second Japanese Empire!"

At this point large banners rolled down from the ceiling, displaying the flag of the rising sun. Applause rang through the hall, representatives rising from their seats to shout 'Banzai' and salute the Emperor, who sat calmly on his throne. It was near madness as celebration erupted outside the building too, rumors of what the announcement was making themselves known and resulting in the gathering of large crowds who now celebrated the rebirth of the Empire and Japan's glory.

From his spot in the corner Kiku watched on with a passive expression, emotions all the more tumultuous beneath the surface now that the deed had been done. Empire once again. The Japanese Restoration Party put on a good speech, but he could remember the last empire, and wondered to himself whether this was truly the best course for the nation. But the people supported it for now, and he would abide by their wishes.

He pushed away from the wall, slipping easily through the crowd and out of the room. The politicians could handle what came next, he had to prepare his own speech for the world meetings. And he could already imagine how that would go. Which was why he would prepare.

And as he left, the roar of the crowd washed over him, 'Banzai! Banzai! Banzai!'


Christie surveyed the chanting crowd with a sigh. All these people, so angry. Angry at her leader. When all he'd done was work for the benefit of the people. It wasn't fair. Sure, it wasn't a large procession by any means, but it showed there was a dissatisfied minority willing to voice opposition. Thus far they had been successful in painting these people as people still loyal to the old order, which was depriving them of public support, but they would nee to be dealt with before their motivation could be spread to the others.

She glanced over at the commander standing next to her. They'd brought in the National Guard to deal with this lot. Ideally they'd go away without needing violence, but that seemed unlikely. It wouldn't stop her from trying to persuade them though. Holding out her hand, she waited for the commander to pass the megaphone off to her, before getting up on the steps of the capital and faced the small crowd.

"Alright folks, you've had your say. But you're disturbing the peace. If you don't vacate the area now, I'm going to have to have these men here remove you. And I'm sure none of us want me to have to do that, now do we?"

Christie spoke well, projecting her voice with the assistance of the megaphone, but she was drowned out by chanting, taunts, and general yelling. "Fuck you, we've got freedom of speech! You can't make us do anything," was one particularly loud refrain

Christie shook her head. "People, people, calm down. It is a free country. However, there are certain restrictions. You have been deemed as disturbing the peace. Which means you either have to stop disturbing the peace, or we will have to make you, as much as we desire to not have to exercise that option. So I'm asking you, as one citizen to another, go home before someone gets hurt."

An empty bottle flew her way, which she swiftly dodged. "No King, no kings, no kings," they chanted, and Christie shook her head sadly as she hopped off the stairs. "Clean them up," she said to the commander who nodded in acknowledgment and motioned to the National Guard contingent to move in and begin clearing them out.

As the men advanced into the area where the protest was being held, the group turned on them, peaceful at first as the troops advanced, but then it broke down, as one might expect it would. Somebody threw something, possibly the same person that threw a bottle at her, and Christie had to watch with an increasingly heavy heart as the protest turned violent. Fortunately, none of the protesters had anything bigger than a pistol, rocks and bottles still flew as the troops fired non lethal ammunition, eventually dispersing the crowd and arresting those who hadn't gotten away in time. Christie watched while hiding a pained feeling as they were led off to trucks to be carried off to detention facilities, where they would most likely end up in some sort of jail or work camp for treason. King Ferdinand's rule was harsh, but it was all for the best.

She turned her head from the remnants of the scene before her. The commander could handle what was left here. This wasn't unusual in recent days. California had always been one of the most liberal states in the Union, and after the turmoil from the collapse had ended, they were remembering that they liked their democracy. This had resulted in a spat of protests across the nation which had to be broken up by security forces. They weren't very organized, but they didn't seem to be dying down.

Christie was torn on who to support. On one hand, she was a manifestation of the people, and she should support the (presumed) majority wish for a restoration of democratic government. On the other, Ferdinand had saved the nation from chaos and anarchy. He knew what he was doing, and it should be of his own volition that he surrendered power and stepped aside for a democratic government.

Well, that was an argument for another time. Christie made her way back to her official vehicle and got in, making her way to the capitol for her meeting with the King.

King Ferdinand was a man of middle age, dark hair, a face chiseled by the conflict he had seen. Before the collapse, he'd been a banker in Fresno. When the collapse had come, he'd utilized a quick wit and some not strictly legal dealings to maneuver himself into a position of power in one of the many paramilitary organizations to emerge from the ashes. Like so many others, they'd gone to war, where he'd proved himself a competent tactician, which resulted in the Rising star Movement being the first to secure control over Sacramento. Once the states capital was under his control, it was just a matter of time before California was unified under his rule. Still, he wasn't flamboyant. His usual attire was a standard business suit which was always in perfect condition.

As Christie entered Ferdinands office, she could see that he was busy looking over maps outlining troop placements, and the current border between the Kingdom of the Rising Star and it's neighbors. He glanced over as the door swung shut. "Oh, hello Ms. Johnson. I trust the rioters didn't get too out of hand?"

Christie shook her head, keeping herself from flinching at the last name. In one of his acts when he was setting up the KRS, Ferdinand had told her that she should change her last name. Still going by Jones would insinuate a still present connection with the old USA which no longer existed. She was a bit reluctant to do so, but in the end bowed to Ferdinand's reasoning, and did it.

"Not more than the usual, sir. They'll catch up with the new order in time," she replied, managing to keep the uncertainty out of her response.

"Good." Satisfied by the answer, Ferdinand turned back to the map, his pose indicating that he was deep in thought.

"What are you thinking about sir," asked Christie.

Ferdinand handed over a piece of paper he had been holding in his hand the entire time. "We received a communique from the NAPA asking for our surrender. Apparently they sent it to all the former US states. I'm just making sure we're prepared in case they attack"

Christie took the paper and read the text on it, confirming his statement. This elicited a snort of amusement. "They can't be serious, can they? I mean, nobody would ever listen to this. What the hell is Nadia thinking?"

Ferdinand shook his head. "I don't know. But that is not my problem. Our border with them is militarized enough as it is."

"True. I'll leave you to your work sir," Christie agreed, turning around and heading for the office, not wanting to waste more of her bosses time. But she halted as Ferdinand held up a hand to stop her while he kept his gaze on the map.

"No. Stay. I may need your expertise."

She nodded and returned to the map. "I'd hardly call it expertise at this point, but I'll help where I can."

"Good. We're going to need all the help we can get."


The sound of helicopter blades was deafening, Cassie holding on deftly to one of the rungs along the roof of the Hind while Alice clung to her, the craft hovering motionless above the Alaskan wilderness. Wind whipping about and blowing past the open door in the side, buffeting the craft.

Cassie watched Kome work with casual nonchalance. She had gotten used to the Russians esoteric exercises, as well as getting up early. That had been the case here as he woke them up, forced them to get ready and then loaded them up onto this thing, flying for about an hour before they came to a stop in the middle of nowhere. She had a feeling about what this lesson was going to be, but waited for Kome to explain it first as a courtesy.

Kome looked over to them from the front of the copter, raising his voice to be heard in this windstorm. "You know why you are here, da? We will test your survival skills. Make your way to a base camp south of here. If you are not there in three days I will look for you." He left unsaid the fact that out here it would be hard to find them after three days if they hadn't shown up. At least they couldn't die, but that didn't mean they could do whatever they felt like without some safe guarding of their persons.

"Good luck. Not that you need it, da?" Kome grabbed a rope and clipped them both to it, and Cassie and Alice prepared to be lowered down to the ground. It was probably too much to ask to have the helicopter land and let them get out, so they were fine with it. One, then the other, was lowered down to the ground, landing solidly and stepping away from underneath the craft, neck craned to look at Kome as he leaned out the door, saluted, then closed it. The noise and wind faded as the Hind flew off, leaving them both alone with not much more than the clothes on their backs.

The cold was biting now, a thin layer of frost on the ground around them, and Cassie had to keep from folding her arms close and shivering. She scanned her surroundings as Alice did the same, noting the open tundra that terminated in a forest nearby, a mountain visible in the distance. Clouds marred the sky, though for the moment rain did not seem imminent.

"I guess we should get going then, before the weather turns bad." Alice nodded in silent agreement and they set out at a brisk pace. From the plain they were on, past riverbeds with cracked ice on the banks down which water had ceased to flow, and eventually into the trees they walked, silent for the most part as they focused on the task at hand.

As they walked, Alice found her mind turning towards the landscape of her home, reassuringly familiar yet having changed so much. The silence left a lot of time for internal reflection, and it was hard to stop herself from falling into that, much like Cassie was as well. She had grown so much, from a state to a fledgling country, her industry was developing to support her own economy with more than just oil, but still she was the shy one, preferring to let Cassie do the talking. She was sure she would grow out if it, but for now it was easier to avoid the danger and let others do the hard things.

She paused, stopping at some sound in the air, causing Cassie to pull up and join her. "What is it," she asked her white haired sister, eyes scanning their surroundings.

"Something is coming," Alice replied, voice a near whisper as she focused on a single direction. And that soon proved to be the case as the sound of crunching wood, shaking branches, and loud, guttural growls. Cassie frowned, stepping in front of Alice with clenched fists and ready to act as a brown mass emerged from the underbrush, the grizzly bear large and angry. It paused, sniffing at the air, before lumbering towards them, fur and muscle angrily advancing on the pair.

Cassie took a step forward to intercept the bear, but was taken aback as Alice moved in front of her in turn, looking back and giving her a smile. "Don't worry sis. I can handle this."

Willing to trust her younger sister, Cassie watched on as Alice stepped up to grizzly who, for all it's bluster, seemed unsure as to what to do about her, snarling and batting a paw at her but otherwise doing no damage. Eyes widened in slight surprise as Alice curtsied for the bear and then hugged it, wrapping her arms around its large neck and pressed against its fur, as if nuzzling it. The scene was so unbelievably cute that Cassie wished she had a camera to take a picture, even though she should have been worried that her sister was hugging a bear.

Or was she? In some way that Cassie must have missed, the hug had become a headlock, grizzly trying, and failing, to slip loose as Alice applied some of her father's strength to the task. "Now then Mr. Bear, please tell your friends to leave us alone. We can play with you later."

"Rawwr." The bears subdued growl verged on a whine as it tried to break free of Alice's grip. The effort was for naught and it soon realized that, pawing at the ground as a sign of submission.

That managed to assuaged Alice, who let go of the headlock, bringing the bears head around to bump noses, giggling in the process. She stepped back then beside the stunned Cassie, waving goodbye as the bear lumbered away back into the underbrush.

"Bye Mr Vincent," she called after it, earning a confused look from her sister.

"Since when could you talk to bears?" She knew Alice had a habit of playing with those animals, but somehow the fact that she could talk with them had never come up before. It was like how Uncle Iggy talked with those fairytale creatures, though these bears were most assuredly real.

"I always have,' Alice replied nonchalantly. "I could have sworn I told you about that."

That earned her a skeptical look, but her older sister accepted that as they began moving again, until along the way a thought occurred to her. Maybe her sister was more cunning than her appearance let on. Keeping that skill hidden would give her an extra card up her sleeve should she ever need one. Now Cassie was frustrated that she hadn't thought of that idea herself.

She turned from her musing with alacrity as her senses kicked into overdrive, hair prickling on the back of her neck. It wasn't another bear, but something was off here, and that feeling only solidified as time passed. She wasn't sure how to explain it, but she just knew, and she nudged Alice as they passed between several trees. "We're being watched."

"Do you think it's Mr. Kome?" Alice edged closer to Cassie, who had to push her back to indicate she should stay where she was. They didn't need to tip off whomever was there that they knew they were being watched.

Cassie shook her head with as slight movements as she could muster. "I don't think so. I'd like to think he trusts us enough to not have to watch us every step of the way."

Alice nodded, silently agreeing, and they went along down the chosen path, alert while feigning a casual demeanor. It was as they approached a section where bushes came close to the trail they walked on that she came up with a plan, subtly gesturing to Alice in an unspoken language they had long ago perfected.

When they were adjacent to the bushes they swung into action, Cassie diving into the one on the left with fists swinging, while Alice went for the right. Branches snapped and Cassie let out a loud battle yell as her fist collided with yielding flesh, the man she had jumped on stumbling back and dropping the clutched rifle. She didn't let up though, leaping at him yet again and laying out the uniformed soldier with a stiff blow to his abdomen and then a ringing uppercut. As he fell away, she found she had other problems, more men emerging from the cover of trees and bushes, rifles and pistols in hand, each wearing some form of forest camo uniform and, to her surprise, each had an American flag somewhere.

She wasn't daunted, and prepared to leap into action in the true style of her father, when a hard voice rang out behind her. "I wouldn't do that if I were you. Not if you value the life of your friend there." She whirled about to find Alice being held by a tall man with brown hair and cold eyes, a pistol held in his hand and aimed at Alice, who mouthed an 'I'm sorry' to her sister.

Trembling in rage yet impotent to do anything for fear of what would happen to Alice, Cassie bowed her head and let the men walk up and wrap her arms behind her back, handcuffing her, though she knew that she could break those like tin foil if she had to.

"Bastards," she growled as the two were led away by the crowd of armed men, each looking bloodied and aware of their surroundings, as well as strategy, with the two prisoners kept in the center and a gun on Alice at all times. Conversation died as they moved, eventually arriving in a small forest clearing, where they halted, Cassie and Alice forced to their knees and left to wait.

Fortunately they didn't have to wait long, someone in charge arriving behind them and speaking to the men who had captured them before moving around in front so they could see who it was. He was a moderately set man, with unkempt brown hair and a scraggy beard, face sharp cut and angular as he looked down at them with a stern frown, pistol in hand.

"My men say they caught you near here. And since the nearest town is days away, that means you could only have come in on the helicopter we saw pass by earlier. Mind telling me why a Russian chopper dropped you off in the middle of the Alaskan wilderness?"

The question was received with silence, Cassie determined not to spill anything to this gang of bandits and Alice just too intimidated. Finally it was breached as Cassie spoke up, not with an answer, but with a question. "Who are you guys?"

There was a beat, before the man responded. "What?"

"You've taken us prisoner and want us to answer your questions without even the decency of telling us who you are? That's not a very good modus operandi for a terrorist organization," Cassie elaborated.

She braced for the violent response she would get, judging off of the angered frown she received, but instead she was surprised as he laughed instead, a gruff laugh that quickly ended. "Well girl, I guess you've got a point." He paused, straightening up in some attempt to give across an air of bravado, as unnecessary as that was in turn. "We're Hinkman's Rangers, US Army, fighting to liberate Alaska from the Russian occupational government installed in Juneau and restore it to the rule of the United States." He looked over to the side. "Did I miss anything?" That question was returned with a shake of the head.

It was thus missed as Cassie and Alice's eyes widened in conjunction, and they shared surprised looks with each other. Rebels, fighting for the USA, against their own governments and the Russians. Neither of them had been told of this by Kome, much less considered the fact that there might still be loyalists out there somewhere in spite of the conflicted emotions they felt about being under Russian guidance. It seemed more than one person was hiding secrets here.

The man, whom they guessed to be Hinkan attention returned to them both, eyes narrowing as he caught the end of their shared glance.. "Now then, names, and why did the Russians drop you near us?"

"I'm Cassie Jones. She's my sister, Alice Jones. Our cousin put us in...boot camp, I guess you'd call it, and they dropped us off near here to try and make our way to the camp they set up. We had no idea you guys were here," came the effortless lie, having had time to prepare in the short interim they got

"I see," he replied, gaze moving between the two. "I don't suppose you have some way to prove that, do you?"

Cassie shook her head. 'No. But if we were spies or trying to find you, wouldn't we have radios, or GPS trackers? We've got nothing beyond what your men found, which wasn't much."

There was silence as that was mulled over, the girls hoping that they hadn't said something wrong, when at last Hinkman spoke. "Fine. I'm a nice guy, and I'm inclined to believe you." He motioned to the side, and they soon found their bonds released, allowed to stand up once again though guns were still trained on them. Despite their release it seemed they still weren't trusted, which was good strategy on the Ranger's part.

"So, what do I do with you two," Hinkman asked aloud, though they got the hint that that wasn't actually a question.

Still, Cassie spoke up regardless. "You should let us go, before the Russians come looking for us and kill you all. We won't tell anyone."

Hinkman snorted. "And why should I believe that? You're working with the Russians after all. For all we know an airstrike could hit us five minutes after we leave."

Cassie could feel the anger building up inside her as Hinkman spoke. How could this man just judge them like that? He was trusting enough to undo their bindings but not let them go? But before she could lash out, Alice stepped in once again.

"Please Mr. Hinkman, our dad is a big patriot. He fought the Eagle Republic during the war. We're just trying to get back to him, and this is the only way." She brought tears to her eyes, striking out with one of those cute faces that could bring even the most strong willed to their knees. And before that power Hinkman crumbled as well.

He looked over, gesturing to his men. "Come on, we're going." He looked back to them as the camouflaged fighters departed into the underbrush. "If you go back on what you said, we'll know. We're everywhere. Got it?"

Cassie and Alice nodded, and just as suddenly they were alone once again, both of them confused by what they had just experienced. They had a lot to talk about as they went on their way once again, ad by the time they came within sight range of the camp they had agreed to not mention it. Perhaps those rangers would succeed and bring back Alfred, though that seemed unlikely when they were witness to the military strength of the Russian Federation. And though they had grown accustomed to Kome and Ivan, neither could shake the uncomfortable feeling they brought with them.

Arriving at the camp, which was an ensemble of Russian Army tents and vehicles, they were immediately struck by something odd. For one, there was a general aura of disuse as if no one had been here, which probably tied in to the fact that there was no one in sight, like it had been abandoned days ago and no one was here now. Oddly enough, there were no weapons as well, not even knives.

"Mr. Kome," Cassie called as they walked through the camp, eyes searching yet not seeing anyone. "You don't think Hinkman's Rangers got here before we did," she asked Alice, who shook her head.

"It doesn't look like there was a fight, and we never said where we were going."

Suddenly they were struck still by a presence behind them, a malevolent aura that seemed to encompass and embrace them. And the harbinger of that aura wrapped his arms around their shoulders, pulling them close in the process. 'Oh, there you guys are! I was worried I would have to go looking for you," Ivan said with a grin.

"Um...Hi I...I mean 'Brother," Cassie said, audibly nervous and catching herself before she accidentally called him 'Ivan' to his face again. "So, where's Cousin Kome? Wasn't he supposed to be here?"

Ivan began leading them towards the edge of the camp, to a car which had somehow appeared after they had arrived without them noticing. "Brother had to return to Russia to fight cowardly Polish and Ukrainians after they attacked us. He will be back soon. Until then, I will be teaching you. Economics and politics, it will be fun, da?"

Much as he said it happily, the two girls were less willing to believe it, that the war he had so flippantly stated had started would be over soon. If he hadn't attacked first, then that meant that Poland and Ukraine thought they could win, and then it wouldn't be over soon. And now they would have to learn to deal with Ivan, who was a far cry from his brother. This would not be fun.


*Translated from Japanese for your convenience