Another hard chapter to write. This is essentially the last transition chapter until all hell breaks loose so please bear with me.


England was calling his name and trying to get the young superpower to answer him. America's vision swirled again and went to black.

When Alfred awoke he found himself in a room he did not recognize. Well actually, he could, it was just like his and Arthur's rooms in style. Four poster bed, chess table, window, fireplace, etc. The difference once again was in color scheme alone. The sheets he rested under were of the purest white with just the smallest accents of silver and the painting above the mantle was of a laurel wreath. Alfred groaned and looked up at the canopy above the bed. He was met by the image of a white warhorse. He recognized it as the one from the vision he had right before passing out. It was Victoria who rode that horse. This must be Victoria's room.

"It is." Alfred shot up out of the bed and rounded on Mordred, who was leaning against the door to the room. He did not look at all distraught by what had taken place a few hours prior.

"You bastard!" Alfred shouted, not very heroically but hey, he deserved it. "How could you do that to me! I told you I didn't want to know!" Mordred rolled his eyes and pushed himself off the door instead walking up to stand right in front of the other.

Mordred stared him down and Alfred glared right back. "You needed to know. The vision was coming I just helped it along. Besides, you're going to get it all back eventually. No point in delaying it further. Didn't you say you wanted to get out of here?" Alfred growled at his reflection and shoved past him to pace the room.

"That battle. You lost." Mordred gave one short nod. "But then, what I saw at the end, how could that have happened? You didn't even injure Arthur during the fight." America shook his head and ran a hand through his hair in confusion. This was starting to get frustrating. "And whose voice was that at the end?"

Mordred frowned, "I think you're dwelling on the wrong thing. The point isn't to understand the memory. It is to figure out who Eris is."

"Screw figuring out who Eris is! Screw this whole damn riddle! All these secrets and mysteries are driving me insane! I feel like my brain is about to explode." Alfred threw himself flat onto the bed so that his face landed in a pile of pillows. "Why can't there just be one bad guy and somebody just point and say 'see him? He's the bad guy, get him'?" the American mumbled into the pillow, his voice coming out garbled but still understandable.

Mordred walked over and sat on the bed about a foot from where Alfred was sprawled. "Well it looks like Victoria's getting tired of this too." Alfred looked up from the pillow, glasses crooked, and a confused expression on his face.

"How do you figure?"

Mordred smirked. "She did leave you in her room didn't she? This is her sanctuary, where she keeps her most personal effects. Surely even you could find a few clues as to her identity here." Alfred considered the pros and cons of beating Mordred to a pulp but then figured that it wouldn't do him much good so he just threw a pillow, which sailed right through him. 'Right, not real.' "That's right."

"I really hate you." Alfred rolled off the bed and started looking around the room. His eye was immediately drawn to the corner of a room where he found a familiar weapon. Propped up on a stand was a white bow. The same one he had seen the woman carry in his memories. For a moment, the urge to touch the weapon overcame him and America reached forward only to have his wrist caught by Mordred who looked at him seriously.

"Don't. She actually will kill you if you dare touch that. She doesn't even let Arthur touch it." America immediately retracted his hand.

"Okay... not touching the bow. Got it." Alfred backed away after casting one last admiring glance at the fine weapon. He then walked over to the small bookshelf beside the window and started reading over the titles there. Some he was not surprised to see The Art of War was one of them. Others included the Metamorphoses by Ovid, War and Peace by Tolstoy, A Treatise of Human Nature by Hume, and all volumes of The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Bunyan. Alfred whistled in awe as he read over the titles. It was impressive. "These are some of the most influential books in human history" Alfred stated. Mordred hummed in agreement.

"Don't forget this one" a pale finger brushed the spine of a worn, leather bound tome. Alfred saw no title so he fingered the spine and pulled the book loose. There was no obvious title inscribed on it so America began to flip through the pages. The second he saw the text the book's identity became obvious.

"The Bible." Mordred nodded. Flipping back to the cover Alfred noticed something he had not seen before. There, crafted into the leather of the cover were four symbols. Crests perhaps, would have been the word Alfred would use. The four were arranged in a diamond pattern on the cover. The topmost featuring a phoenix centered within the same symbol for chaos Eris had inked into her back. 'Interesting.' The crest to the left held an upturned Celtic knot that pointed downwards. To the right, a locust whose face was a skull. And the bottom-most crest was that of the Greek symbol for Hades. A crescent moon overlapped with a cross. America ran his fingers over the crests, transfixed by them. He knew the top one was specific to Eris. And by the look of it, perhaps the one on the left was supposed to be Arthur. The Celts were part of his people right? But then... "Are one of these supposed to mean me?" he asked of his counterpart.

"Now you're starting to get it" Mordred said with a smile. A knock was heard on the door.

"If you don't mind I would like to speak with you America" it was Eris. And that was a surprisingly civil way of announcing her entrance. When no objection was posed, she stepped into the room and came to stand before America, not noticing how Mordred was studying her expression carefully. Eris studied the Bible held in America's hand with a smile. "You're figuring it out aren't you." It wasn't a question. A sudden urge to explain what had happened when he passed out overcame him.

"I... I had a vision. It was a memory of-of what happened before." Her eyes widened slightly.

"So that's what happened. You put Arthur into an awful fright you know. He was panicking about something possibly having happened to your country. But this has nothing to do with America does it?" She had a sly smile that reminded Alfred that this was still Eris, the woman who put this situation on him. He had almost forgotten after having seen her with Arthur so much. With him, she was like a different person. She was Victoria. "What did you see?"

Alfred swallowed and put the Bible down on the mantle. "War."

"You'll have to be more specific than that my dear. War is in many things."

Alfred met the request with a grimace. "I saw myself, fighting a war against you and Arthur. I lost. And then, something happened. Something terrible and wrong and... it was because of me." America glanced towards Mordred and Eris followed his gaze. Understanding washed over her.

"He's here isn't he?" Alfred looked confused. "Mordred" she clarified.

Jerking in surprise America nodded and Mordred suddenly looked a lot less comfortable. "How did you-?"

"I'm no fool. I need you to regain all of your memories but I figured you wouldn't be able to take it all in at once. Mordred is the manifestation of your suppressed self I think." Alfred and Mordred both blinked in surprise at how quickly she had caught on. "And if you were able to take in memories of that battle it is only a matter of time before it all comes back. I can't wait until then." She turned on her heel and started to make her way back towards the door.

"Hold it!"

She froze and turned back. "Hmm?"

Blood.

Judgement.

Two black wings with feathers rimmed in embers were thrown down before him. Blood seeped onto the floor from where the two appendages were ripped from their host. Mordred screamed and thrashed against his bonds. Arthur was laying before him, unseeing eyes directed towards his horrified face. The stumps of bone and ripped flesh stuck up from two places on his back. He did not move even as Mordred called out his name. The pool of blood beneath the redhead's body simply continued to grow. "This is what you wanted isn't it?" came a voice Alfred did not recognize.

Alfred shook his head to rid himself of the last images the vision had shown him. "You were involved in what happened in the aftermath. You have to be. What the hell happened to Arthur? I saw... wings ripped from his back. You act like you care about him, but you had to have been there. Why didn't you do anything?" During this whole exchange Eris' expression had been blank. But as America had reached the end of his rant her hands had curled dangerously into fists which now shook.

"Don't. You. Dare." she warned. "Don't you dare put that on me. Yes I was present as judgement was passed on you for your sins. But I had no say in what occurred. I hold the bow. Not the scales. When I learned what was intended do you think I did not try to prevent what happened?" She reached out quickly and before Alfred could even take step back her palm landed flat over his heart. A vision appeared.

"What are you doing!?" Eris thrashed as an invisible wall separated her from what was happening. A hooded figure stood over where Arthur lay almost unmoving. Only the lightest shaking of the redhead's frame indicated he was still conscious. A few paces past them Mordred was trying desperately to pull away from the chains that fastened him to the floor. Two golden-eyed guards stepped forward.

Arthur was struggling to pull himself away, dragging desperately across the ground. But the two guards reached him and hauled the other up by his arms so that the hooded man could stand directly behind him. "Forgive me brother" he said before reaching out and taking grip of Arthur's black wings at their base.

"Stop! He's done nothing!" Eris' cries matched Mordred's as both tried to approach. But still Eris could move no further. The Scales of Judgement would not bend to her. The hooded man placed a foot between Arthur's wings and in one swift motion ripped the two from his back, causing the man to release an awful scream of pain.

Alfred gasped as the vision receded. Mordred looked ill and Eris beyond upset. After a few tense moments of silence she spoke. "Never doubt this America. What happened that day was your fault. You betrayed us, and he was dragged down with you."

Alfred shook his head in denial. "No. I remember. I tried to do something. You were the one who said you never lose. It still happened though didn't it? You were the one who lost him." It was immature, it was desperate. But America had nothing else he could say.

But, in the scale of stupid things America could have said. This was at the top. "What" was her frighteningly deadpanned response.

"Dude. Back out. Now" Mordred warned with a surprising amount of concern. But America wasn't always much for caution. When he charged into something. He didn't turn back.

"I think you're just full of yourself. Prideful and arrogant. I think I could beat you." At the challenge Eris stepped forward until she was so close to the other America could feel her breath against his lips. She tilted her head and stared deep into his eyes.

"You think you could beat me? You're such a child. I thought you were catching on but apparently not. Fine. I tried to be nice like Arthur wanted but that is clearly not possible. We'll settle this once and for all. You want to fight?" she glared up at him.

"Yeah."

"Fine then. Meet me an hour from now at the armory. Mordred can show you the way." She turned on her heel and left. Slamming the door as she exited.

"America" Mordred began and Alfred turned towards his reflection.

"What?"

"You are so screwed."


"So, someone mind telling me how we got to this situation?" Arthur seemed oddly calm about this whole situation. An hour after their little spat Alfred found himself in another new room of the mansion. It was a large square area that was lined with all sorts of medieval weaponry. There were racks of swords of various lengths, battle axes, bows, and other, more exotic weapons. But nowhere could there be found a gun or any other modern weapon. Then, in the center, was a large mat which Alfred supposed was meant for sparring. The odd thing though, was that to the left of the mat was a small table with two chairs where Arthur was currently seated with a cup of tea in one hand and an awaiting pot placed on the table. He sat back in a relaxed fashion, quietly sipping his drink while Alfred and Eris continued to glare at each other. Alfred didn't miss how the elder was now wearing a red t-shirt with a black rose embroidered over the right shoulder in place of his now ruined uniform.

Mordred sighed and took the opposite seat to the Brit resting his head on one hand in a bored manner. "No good reason bro. No good reason" the dark-haired American answered Arthur's otherwise ignored question. For another minute or so the other two beings present simply continued to glare. The tension in the air was so palpable it almost seemed like bolts of electricity were shooting between the two pairs of eyes.

"So we each pick a weapon and go at it?" Alfred asked.

"That's right. We are allowed to cut and otherwise injure, but no maiming or attempted killing" Eris further clarified. "We fight until someone surrenders or Arthur declares one of us unable to continue" Arthur nearly did a spit take at that.

"Whoa whoa, who suddenly made me a referee?" he asked incredulously. "This whole thing is childish and a waste of time. Honestly Victoria I-"

"My love, please refrain from trying to stop this. I would rather not argue with you" Eris cut the other off and turned to give him a slightly deranged smile from over the shoulder. Arthur swallowed slightly, glaring right back, and Mordred started glancing between the two like a child frightened of his parents fighting.

"Eris, control yourself. This whole thing is stupid and honestly beneath you. Both of you." The woman frowned at Arthur's use of her other name but said nothing to it.

"Mordred challenged me" she defended.

"Alfred doesn't know any better."

"He's right man. You're going to lose." Alfred shook his head to drown out the different voices all trying to speak at once.

Eventually he had enough and shouted, "alright everyone shut up! Let's just do this thing." Huffing in slight embarrassment over his outburst Alfred quickly glanced over the weapons in the room and decided on a two-handed sword that he like the weight of. It would move slowly, but it would also strike with incredible strength, and that suited Alfred just fine. He gave the blade a few test swings.

"How inelegant" Eris commented. Alfred frowned. "No offense Arthur" she added with a small smile but Arthur just shrugged and waved her off to continue with what they were doing.

"Well, let's see what you've got." Two simultaneous facepalms from the peanut gallery although Alfred was the only one to pick up on the second. Eris smirked and strutted over to where a smooth bow was resting on a stand and took it up in her hand Arthur looked unsurprised, sipping his tea calmly but Alfred couldn't help but admit his confusion when she refrained from reaching for the quiver of arrows.

"Not gonna load that?" Arthur sniggered a little and shared a knowing look with Eris.

"Its nock dear boy. You don't load an arrow. You nock it. And no. This is a close quarters fight, arrows would be too easy to dodge from this distance. In a display of skill Eris began to twirl the bow in her hand, moving it almost like someone would a baton. She finished in a fighting stance and raised her hand in a beckoning manner. "Your move boy." And just like that it began.

Alfred rushed the woman with his sword and Eris danced out of the way with a quick duck and a twirl. Coming out behind him, she swung her arm back and let the point of her bow strike America in back of the head, earning her a grunt from the other. "You're not using your head Alfred" Arthur commented offhandedly.

"Don't need your help" he growled in annoyance. Alfred turned and swung his sword again, this time in a side swoop. Eris laughed lightheartedly and danced away again.

"Yes you do" Mordred corrected. He looked very comfortable sitting opposite Arthur, watching this all play out. 'Shut up you' Alfred hissed in his mind. A few more times the two danced around one another. neither making contact until Eris ended up not three feet from the other. Too close to avoid Alfred's blow.

He swung, and much to America's surprise Eris simply caught the blade between the drawstring and lower limb before twisting the bow and simultaneously wrenching the blade from the nation's hand. The steel went clattering to the ground and Eris kicked it away where Arthur stopped its' slide with a foot. "Give up?" she asked. Alfred growled and shook his head. He charged and swung his fist. She dodged, but this time he was ready. Alfred dropped to the ground and swung his leg just as Eris landed and swept her feet out from under her so that she landed on her back.

"Getting a little overconfident love?" Arthur inquired of the fallen woman.

"Not on your life." Alfred lunged to pin Eris to the ground but was shocked to find her quickly raising her feet and, almost moving too fast to really see, locked her ankles around the back of Alfred's neck and started to squeeze. Alfred went down and started to see stars as the legs around his windpipe tightened. "Yield" she demanded. Alfred tried to use his immense strength to remove the constriction but all that earned him was an even tighter grip. Alfred felt he was about to pass out.

"Told you so."

"Alright enough. Victoria wins. Let him go." As soon as the words were spoken the pressure on his neck was gone and Alfred rolled over and began coughing Eris jumped nimbly to her feet and placed the bow back on its stand. She said nothing as Alfred struggled back to his feet.

"Remember this Mordred. I always win" she walked over to where Arthur was still sitting and leaned down to pick up the discarded sword. She tossed the weapon to Alfred. "That does not suit you. You need a different weapon should you need to fight again." Alfred scowled and replaced the sword in its place.

"I had a gun but that seems to have been misplaced somewhere." Eris made a face.

"A crude weapon."

"I seem to recall you using one on me" Arthur interjected and Eris pouted a bit childishly.

"A reminder, I was in a bad mood."

"Hmph" still a smile made its way onto Arthur's face. "And, what spoils does the victor claim?"

Now Victoria was full on gleeful. She bent over and took the tea from his hand and placed it back on the table and then took his hand. "True enough. In every war the spoils belong to the victor. Shall I take you with me to dine then?" Arthur smiled and rose to his feet.

"It shall be my honor to escort you" he gave slight tilt of the head then took the lead. With hands intertwined they exited the room, leaving America stunned and watching.

"Close your mouth before a bird flies in" Mordred muttered in slight amusement. He strode past and waited at the door. "Well, are you coming? I suppose you don't have to eat if you don't want to." Alfred shook his head and scurried off after Mordred, still rubbing his sore neck from the abuse it had taken. But he knew the bruise to his pride would linger far longer. "You shouldn't feel too bad you know" Mordred offered as they walked through the mansion.

"I picked a fight with a girl and lost. What's not to feel bad about?"

"Like I said" Mordred gestured to a set of double doors. Two golden-eyed guards bowed and pulled them back to reveal a large dining hall. At its center was a long table wherein Eris sat at its head. And to her right was Arthur. A seat was left open to her left for Alfred. "She is no common woman. She does not lose. To have fought and survived is honor enough." Eris and Arthur stood as Alfred entered the room, and the silver woman gestured for him to take the empty seat. He did so.

For a while they sat and ate in silence. Especially Alfred when he realized that it had been several days since he last ate. He shoveled food in like it would be his last meal while the others present consumed their meals at a much more calm pace. There was silence for a while longer until eventually Mordred couldn't take it any longer. "My God someone say something!" which really could only be effectively directed at Alfred since neither of the other two could hear him.

"So" Alfred began. "How much longer until I remember everything?" It was the only thing he could think of to say. Eris was the one who answered him.

"It depends on you. The extent of your idiocy will decide when this ends." Alfred felt his eyebrow twitch.

"Victoria lay off him" Arthur warned, recognizing America's anger starting to boil over.

Alfred slammed his fist on the table and in his rage missed the sly smile growing on Mordred's lips. "What is your problem! Are you just so completely insane that you can't pick a personality! You're a total bitch one moment then normal the next. When we first met you had Arthur shot for God's sake then the next day I find the two of you in bed together!" Arthur now had a healthy blush but was still sending furtive glances to an oddly silent Victoria. "Sometimes I wonder if it really is that you're insane or maybe just evil."

"Mordred stop it!" Arthur suddenly shouted. Alfred froze in his ranting and gaped at what left his mouth. It wasn't like him to suddenly get so angry. He glanced over to Eris who had a pained look on her face as she stared adamantly ahead, but not meeting anyone's gaze. A dark chuckle sounded from behind him and Alfred turned to see Mordred holding a hand over his mouth to stifle his laughing.

"Why? Is she sensitive about that? About how people consider her more as a tool of the Devil than anything even remotely good?" America didn't know where the words were coming from, only that he couldn't keep from saying them. Not to mention the fact that in that moment he spoke as if he knew exactly who she was.

"SHUT UP!" Eris finally screamed. She was now standing and glaring angrily at America. "Don't ever even suggest such a thing."

"It looks like we really are becoming one" Alfred felt a sudden chill as Mordred said the words with a cruel satisfaction. He now noticed that Mordred was no longer sitting quietly, rather he was standing and had been up until now whispering the words Alfred had spoken into his ear.

"I-I'm sorry" he stuttered out, still shocked and horrified by what had just occurred. Eris had a look of anger, but in her violet eyes America could see hurt flashing powerfully. "I don't know what came over me" he admitted.

Eris sighed and nodded, taking her seat as well. "Mordred?" she offered as a way of explanation and Alfred nodded.

Arthur was still just watching the two carefully when a cough slipped past his lips. He must have swallowed something down the wrong pipe. He continued to cough and both arguing figures turned to him in concern. "You okay Iggy?" Eris shot a strange look to America then turned and started rubbing circles in England's back.

"Who in God's name is Iggy?" she asked. Even through his hacking England managed to roll his eyes.

"He's Iggy" America admitted pointing to Arthur.

"That's a terrible nickname." Arthur coughed one more time before his eyes suddenly shot wide. All at once everything went to hell.

A guard with golden eyes ran in and started reporting on how the intruders on the grounds had retreated.

And then England started coughing up blood. Red fluid shot from his mouth and as he tried to stand the Brit collapsed onto the ground, his whole body shaking. "Arthur!" Victoria shot down to his side, looking frightened and confused for the first time America could see. "What's going on!"

Arthur rolled to his side and started gripping at his chest with a pained face and shot a pleading expression to America. A metaphorical lightbulb went off in the young nation's head. This was eerily familiar to him. And memories of dark nights filled with nothing but England's screams and the sound of low-flying planes. He rushed over and knelt beside him. "What happened England?" he asked even as he was sure he knew. Call it a nation's intuition. Arthur opened his mouth to answer but instead more blood came out. He spit out the red fluid and then answered in a quiet and shaking voice,

"L-London... B-Bomb."


Ugh this is such a bad chapter. But it's over. And there we go, stuff is starting to go down and from here on out is should be mostly nonstop until the end. Please tell me what you think. It will help me update faster!