AN: What? Two updates in a row? I'm on a roll!
Anna watched out of the window as the scenery changed from airport runway to clear blue sky, her worry and apprehension not leaving until they were at cruising altitude. Around this time, the co-pilot came back to see her.
"Miss, we're at cruising level now. There's a phone on the side of your seat if you need to call anyone."
"Really? Thanks!" she replied smiling gratefully. The co-pilot nodded once before heading back to the cockpit. Picking up the receiver, she thought first about calling Russia to let him know that she was coming over early, but then her mind went back to Italy and Romano. If they weren't there already, it may be a good idea to let Germany know they were coming. With that in mind, she dialed Germany's number.
"Hello?" Germany's gruff voice asked from the other end.
"Germany? It's Anna!"
"Miss Colins? Is everything okay? Vhat happened?" he asked.
"I'm not too sure really, but Italy, Romano, Spain and I were being tracked by some group called the Hive? I don't know…" she stopped talking when Germany cursed loudly on the other end.
"Scheiße! Are you sure? Is Italy okay?!" he asked loudly. While shocked at his reaction, her heart melted at how much Germany did really care for the smaller nation. But that was not important now.
"For the most part, they took Spain. Italy and Romano got me on a plane for Russia now, and they're on there way to your house now for safety."
"Good, though I'm curious as to how you got Italy's brother to go to my house villingly…" Anna chuckled nervously at that.
"I didn't exactly… he went a little ballistic after they took Spain, I had to knock him out and dump him in the trunk before he did anything stupid."
"Hm, either vay, at least they're both safe… I didn't realize he cared so much for his former caretaker…" Germany commented offhandedly.
"You have no idea…" Anna muttered.
"Vhat was that?"
"Nothing! Germany, what, or who is the Hive? Why are they so dangerous?" Anna asked. She heard Germany sigh deeply before answering.
"The Hive is a group of scientists, agents, and mercenaries from all around the vorld who share the common view that the lines on the map is sending the vorld into chaos. They're primarily made of disavowed or disgraced members, fueled by revenge against the countries that wronged them. Up until now they've just been rumors, minor criminal activity that ve vere able to handle before…"
"And now?"
Silence.
"I see, what are you going to do about Spain?" Anna asked.
"I don't know, vhen Italy gets here I vill call an emergency G8 meeting to discuss…"
"GERMANY!" Italy's loud shriek could be heard in the background.
"GET OFF ME! I already know vhat's going on!" Germany shouted above a loudly babbling Italy.
"I'll let you get to it, I'll let you know when I make it to Russia. See ya, and good luck." Anna said after a moment.
"Thanks, ve'll need it. Travel safe." Germany replied before she heard a click on her end. He hung up. Anna sighed with slight exhaustion before dialing the number to Russia's house. It rang a couple times before he picked up.
"Hello?" despite herself and all that's recently happened, hearing the sound of Russia… Ivan's voice, made her smile.
"Hey Ivan, it's me, Anna!" she said happily.
"Anya! Hello there, how is Italy?" he asked cheerfully. Anna's smile sank before she recounted everything that happened earlier. When she had finished speaking Ivan's end was silent for a moment.
"Ivan, are you still there?" she asked carefully.
"Da, still here! Just thinking a little." he replied quickly.
"Okay, good. Any idea what's going on?"
"нет, I do not."
"It's okay, no worries…" she said, less than cheerful.
"At least you come to my place soon, da?" he assured. Anna couldn't help but smile at that.
"Да! Вы должны показать мне все Иван, я хочу чтобы увидеть все это!*" she replied, excitement starting to replace fear. Ivan chuckled at her use of his language.
"You should speak more Russian, is very good!" Anna couldn't help but blush, and was thankful that he couldn't see her over the phone.
"You think so? I'm glad! Though, my friend Kaitlyn is the real genius when it comes to languages, half of the time I'm not sure if she wants to work for the UN or for U.N.C.L.E.!" she said laughing nervously, not sure if Ivan would get her little 60s reference.
"You are perfect, I want to hear more. Also, you have a cute blush!" he said happily, causing Anna to sputter and look around frantically. Was there a hidden camera somewhere?!
"Blushing? I'm not blushing! Who said I was blushing?" she dismissed none too convincingly, causing Ivan to laugh. He did have a really cute laugh, she thought, though she understood how it could put some people off.
"I hear in your voice, loud and clear. Can't wait to see it." he said.
"Yeah, well, you got at least four hours to wait buddy…" she grumbled, though she was really touched by the compliment, weird as it was.
"I don't want to wait so long, I miss seeing your pretty face!" he said, the pout crystal clear in his voice as she giggled (yes, giggled) at the compliment. If she was blushing before, she was beet red now.
"You honestly think I'm pretty?" she asked, slightly unbelieving but jovial nonetheless.
"Of course! Why not?" Ivan asked bluntly. Anna was stunned at his answer, I mean, she thought, I guess I'm fairly easy on the eyes… sometimes.
"Good point, thank you, thank you very much." she replied smiling sincerely. There was a little pause in their conversation before Ivan spoke up again.
"Do you want to continue game? It will help to pass the time, da?" he suggested. Anna laughed, of course he would ask that.
"I'd love to, Ivan."
"Yay! Whose turn is it now?"
"You can go ahead!"
"Okie dokie! Do you have any siblings?"
"Indeed I do, I have one brother. I know about your sisters already." Anna said laughing at the memory of when she first arrived.
"Da, that is good."
"How is Belarus? Is she out for my blood yet?" Anna asked sarcastically. She wasn't afraid of no psycho bitch!
"Not yet, but I recommend you not see her for a while." he said laughing nervously.
"Noted! My bro's pretty boring, does nothing but play video games all day." Anna remarked.
"Like America?" Ivan asked a tad icily. Anna chuckled a little and nodded, despite him not being able to see it.
"Yeah, he's the new 'American Poster Boy,' which is really sad. Okay, my turn! What is your greatest fear?" Anna asked.
"Why do you want to know?" Ivan asked a little confused. Anna laughed a little oddly before responding.
"Any question goes! That's how the game works."
"Hm, okay. I'm afraid of being alone forever." That caught Anna of guard, she really wasn't expecting him to go deep so quickly.
"Really? Why is that?" she asked, sincerely curious as to what he meant.
"Before, I had a lot of people living with me. Now, it's just me. It gets lonely sometimes." he stated simply. Anna however, felt her heart break a little at the comment. How long has he felt this way? Since the Soviet Union was dissolved? Even longer?
"Well, I can guarantee this; just because people don't live with you forever, does not mean you're alone. I mean, there's me for one, once I go back I'll Skype you often if you like! Then there's China also, and your sisters, if you can convince their bosses to let them see you…" Anna tried comforting the lone country, blushing a little when she mentioned Skyping. It was nifty yet weird that the app had better connection through dimensions than across distance.
"I guess so, though it won't be same with you gone. I like you here." he replied. Anna laughed a little at that.
"I love being here, though, I have responsibilities back home." she countered, more sad now at the prospect at having to return home than before. Ivan didn't respond to that, but instead moved on.
"Perhaps. Okay, your turn! What's your fear?" he asked, the cheerful tone in his voice back full force. Any sane person would not even dream of revealing to Russia what they feared most in this world. So it was a good (or bad, depending on your point of view) thing that Anna was far from being considered "sane."
"Oh god…. heights… and spiders…" she replied nervously. Truthfully, there was an even deeper fear she had, but after everything that happened she wasn't quite ready to talk about it yet.
"Really?" Ivan asked incredulously.
"Oh yes, both terrify me. Planes used to be the death of me, but I got used to it as long as I didn't look down. Spiders, I fell into a nest when I was little. Ever since then, the things have terrified me." she said laughing nervously at herself.
"Okay, I'll make sure my house is spider free when you arrive!"
"Aw, that's so…." she never got a chance to finish as the line went dead and a dial tone sounded. Anna looked at the phone in confusion before a hand grabbed her shoulder.
Turning around in shock, Anna came face to face with a tall man with black hair and dark eyes. He didn't look crew!
"We got you at last, Anna Louise Colins…" he said slowly with a smirk, a slight texan drawl to his voice. Anna beat of his hand and shot out of her seat.
"Who the hell are you? What's going on?" she demanded, backing away from the stranger.
"We are the people who brought you here ma'am, now we're taking you where you belong." he replied. At this the plane turned sharply causing Anna to fall against the side of the plane in an attempt to balance herself.
"You're part of the Hive, aren't you? How did you get on this plane? What do you want? Where are you taking me? What are going to do to Spain?!" she asked angrily, getting into a defensive stance on instinct. The man's chilling laugh did nothing to calm her nerves.
"That is our name, yes. It was all part of the plan that you get on this plane, though we would have prefered to get the macaroni brothers as well as the tomato loving freak. Oh well, all in due time. Just take your seat Miss Colins, all will be revealed when we land. Can't have our most precious resource get damaged now, can we?" he said grabbing Anna by the arm and forcing her to sit back in her seat. Anna seethed in rage while trying to control her fear. Resource? That did not sound good whatsoever! The man just sat there and watched her, making sure she didn't try anything funny. He confident that she couldn't do anything even if she tried.
Rule number seven; never patronize or treat her like a helpless girl. Underestimation will be your downfall.
"Who the hell said that?" the man asked looking around.
"Narrator voice, who else?" Anna replied sardonically. The man narrowed his eyes at her.
"You shut it. All this nonsense, I'll be glad to be rid of it…" he grumbled. For the next couple hours they sat there in tense silence, Anna desperately trying to figure a way out of this. All of the sudden, the pilot called for the man to come to the cockpit.
"Signore? We need to refuel in Russia, we'll crash otherwise."
"What? Like hell I'm going anywhere near that commie bastard! The moment we land he'll be on our tails in an instant!" the man shouted angrily. This argument that sprouted between the pilots and the kidnapper was just what she needed! And now that they were in Russian air space….
Silent as a snowflake, Anna got of her seat and backed up slowly until she came to the emergency exit at the very back of the plane. The men up front didn't notice, but the plane had started to descend until it was just under the cloud level. Looking down through the window, and gulping loudly while she did, Anna saw a whole blanket of pure white snow on the ground surrounded by small patches of brown which she assumed were cities and towns. The plane descended quicker towards the ground when Anna got a crazy idea.
In desperate times, take a page from Russia's book.
"I'm going to jump out of a plane… without a parachute… praying that snow cushions my fall… holy Mother Russia…" Anna mouthed to herself. Looking down, the familiar panic she associated with hieghts started to build in her chest until her heartbeat was deafening. Clutching the handle tightly, Anna counted her breaths until the plane was over a clean patch of snow near a small range of mountains. If Russia can survive this, then so can she!
"HEY!" Anna turned in horror as the tall man came over to her with a gun pulled out. Time to go!
"Russia's a federation you bastard!" she yelled before lifting the handle and opening the door, the change in air pressure pulling her out before she had a chance to psyche herself into jumping. The gripped on to the nearest seat to prevent himself from being pulled out as well, the plane's alarms blaring in his ears as they pilots brought it down for a crash landing. Vaguely, he could hear the girl scream "GEROMIMOOOOOOOO!" As she fell to her death. Crazy bitch! How was he going to explain this to his superiors?
Meanwhile, Anna's heart was beating like a steamhammer as the ground quickly got closer and closer. The cold Russian air bit her skin and she cursed herself for not bringing a jacket with her! Not that it was going to matter, she'd be a splat on the ground in a few moments. Choosing not to look, she closed and covered her eyes with her arms as she waited for death to hit her, quite literally. Of all the crazy, stupid shit that she's done, besides getting a tattoo without telling her parents, this was the most insane she's ever done, she concluded! Ain't that nice for final thoughts?
That is, until she felt a pair of arms wrap around her and gently slowed her descent. Anna dared to open her eyes to see a pair of arms wrapped in a pale grey coat holding her firmly by the waist, intricate snowflake patters being stitched all along the fabric. She turned to face her savior and was genuinely surprised when she caught sight of chiseled, aged features, grey hair and snow white eyes.
"General Winter?!" she asked in wonder. The old man turned at her slightly in acknowledgement before he set her gently upon the snow covered ground. Anna immediately collapsed heaving air into her lungs as she tried to slow her heart rate. When she turned to thank him, he had vanished. Leaving her all alone in the snow covered mountain plains of Russia.
"I'm alive…?" she asked out loud to no one, touching her body to make sure nothing was broken. She was safe!
"I"M FUCKING ALIVE! YEEEHAW!" she shouted into the air, indulging her inner American with a victorious whoop and a jump in the air. As if sensing the transgression, the cold wind picked up and reduced Anna into a trembling armadillo curled into herself for warmth.
"A-a-and…. I'm freezing…. without a c-c-c-coat…. b-b-b-b-brilliant. J-just brilliant Anna…"
Translation: *- You have to show me everything Ivan, I want to see it all!
AN: Oh no, after everything that's happened, what's going to happen to Anna? DUN DUN DUN!
