Thank you for the reviews. Listen, I want to make some things clear. I do listen to criticism, and 73011 is right, I did listen to the reviews and wrote some parts out. I did not mean to sound rude by deleting them and I'm sorry. I have my reasons and they're not egotistical. On a lighter note, I noticed some of you said you think you know who the mystery guy is and thank you so much for not spoiling.
I decided that that several chapters will be separate storylines focusing on a different group of nations that will eventually merge to slow down the pacing and develop the characters. There will be at least 3 I think. Now, on with the show!
"Seychelles?!" Egypt shouted after he heard the screaming. He started to worry. Oh no. When South African said that he should enjoy his short-lived victory while he can, did he mean that they were going to attack now? Did those two visit him in his sleep just so they could taunt him while another one of them harm his friends? Curses, if that's so then there's no time to waste.
Egypt threw the blankets off, grabbed his staff, and burst out the door, not bothering to put on his keffiyeh. He looked left and right frantically, trying to remember which room Seychelles was in before he heard a different voice yelling angrily. Mauritius. He then heard something that sounded like a crash while more yelling and cursing in both English and French was heard in the background.
Mauritius is obviously fighting with the intruder, but he cannot do it on his own.
Where are the others? Oh, there's no time! Egypt just hopes all the racket woke them up and they'll come themselves.
He quickly followed the direction where he heard all the commotion, running while hoping he won't be too late and find a bloody mess before his eyes. Egypt couldn't believe this, just how could one of them sneak in without any of them noticing? Didn't France say that he had his agents keeping an eye out for… Egypt stopped as he realized something that did not make sense. How did the intruder sneak into France's land without the nation himself noticing? When a nation stays in another nation for a certain amount of time, the other nation will sense their presence.
But then again, he recalls one of the African five mentioning the fact that they planted bombs in the other nations without them noticing. What sort of magic could they have that has that ability?
He remembers seeing Norway's name in the contract, but that Nordic cannot be that skilled, can he? None of the magic trio have that sort of magic.
He was engrossed in his thoughts that he nearly bumped into a tired-looking Algeria with her hair all messy and bags under her eyes. Has she been sleeping well? Egypt flinched, and Algeria narrowed her eyes, not in annoyance but in concern.
"What on earth is going on here, Gupta?!" Algeria demanded, worry and anger in her tone. "I've been trying to get some sleep when I heard Seychelles screaming!"
Before he could reply, Tunisia came running to them looking out of breath and tired as well. "Wha-What's going on? Are we under attack?!"
"Did you hear Seychelles scream too, Ubon?" Algeria asked.
Tunisia nodded. "Y-Yes, I did, scared me awake. What happened?"
"I don't know." Egypt looked at the room on the far left, gripping his staff tightly. "There's only one way to find out. If it's Nigeria, Cameroon or someone else that they sent, then we better prepare. Tunisia, Algeria, are France and Monaco awake?"
"I'm not sure; I didn't see them on the way here." Tunisia said.
"I didn't either." Algeria said.
"Should… one of us go wake them? We don't know who's here."
"There's no time! Mauritius and Seychelles are there alone!"
"Curses." Egypt muttered, nearly flinching when there was another crash and the sound of Mauritius screaming was heard. "Mauritius!"
Egypt sprinted off towards Mauritius's room, Algeria and Tunisia following behind him. Egypt grabbed the doorknob and burst through the room to finally get a good look at what's going on. The scene in front of him was a guest room torn into a million pieces with furniture torn apart, fragile things like glass shattered all over the floor, a few holes on the walls no doubt from punches, and a large piano with Seychelles hiding behind, who widened her eyes upon seeing them. As for the other two, Mauritius was breathing heavily, thank the gods looking not too hurt with only a few cuts. The island was glaring at a person that Egypt did not recognize.
The intruder was dressed in what one would think as stereotypical thief clothing. The intruder looked like a male, and he was wearing black clothing. Sweater, pants, boots, gloves, everything needed to blend in the dark and strike someone by surprise. The intruder was wearing a helmet liner skull cap that covered his hair and mouth, with the only clue to his identity visible being green eyes and dark skin.
This man… did not seem to look like any of the Africans. But he was obviously a nation and one that Egypt thought that looked familiar.
Mauritius heard the door open and snapped his head towards them, smiling in relief at the sight of reinforcements. The intruder of course was the opposite of happy, and Egypt did not need to see the man's entire face to see that he was angry. The intruder growled and twirled in his fingers what seemed to be a large needle.
"Egypt! Algeria! Tunisia!" Seychelles exclaimed in joy from her hiding place, waving at them. "Dieu merci you came!"
"Are you alright, Michelle?" Egypt asked, keeping his eyes on the intruder.
Seychelles nodded. "Oui, I'm fine, but Kelvin…"
"I'm fine, this bastard bruised me a little with his needles, but I'm fine. Nothing to worry about." Mauritius chuckled while rubbing his arm, then glared at the intruder. "You're in big trouble now."
The intruder narrowed his eyes and swiftly threw his needle at Mauritius, just barely scraping his cheek and hitting the wall near the trio.
"What happened in here?" Tunisia asked, mildly startled at the needle.
"This guy…" Mauritius pointed lazily at the intruder, who rolled his eyes. "Sneaked into my room while I was peacefully having a good night's sleep, I woke up, but he had me at needlepoint at my throat, so I tried to punch him. Then, he started to mumble about something in some language that I don't understand but Michelle came in and he tried to hurt her!"
"And then you two made quite a mess." Tunisia noted with a bit of amusement.
"Well he's not going to hurt anyone else." Algeria stepped forward, a pistol in her hand. "We have him surrounded."
"Be careful!" Seychelles said worriedly, looking at the intruder in fear. "He's very fast and I think that he's-"
The intruder aggressively growled at Seychelles, and the island girl promptly covered her mouth and shrank into her hiding place. Mauritius gritted his teeth and raised his fists to attack the intruder again, who saw him and started to reach for something in his belt. But before he could find what he was looking for a bullet shot past him, and he turned around to see Algeria with her gun, having fired a warning shot. Tunisia didn't bring a weapon, but he was prepared for combat. Egypt started at the intruder with a stoic look.
"Don't even think about trying something." Algeria warned, finger on the trigger. "Or the next one goes into the rotting piece of meat you call a brain."
The intruder cursed under his breath and did not move a muscle.
"Yeah, or at least take off the mask." Mauritius suggested, raising an eyebrow. "Seriously, we know who's in your group, so why bother with the disguise?"
The intruder did not answer and remained motionless, only staring at Mauritius.
"Why aren't you saying anything?"
Again, no answer or a change in position.
"You're just going to stand there doing nothing and saying nothing all night?"
Nothing.
"Mon Dieu, say something!"
Nothing.
"Anything!"
The intruder chuckled at Mauritius's frustration, which made the island get a tick mark on his head and shrugged, surely grinning behind the mask. Suddenly looking strangely at ease despite the obvious enormous disadvantage he's in right now, which felt very suspicious to Egypt.
"Mauritius, I think he's messing with you." Seychelles said with a frown.
"I kind of noticed that." Mauritius deadpanned.
"Enough of this." Egypt said with a firm tone and raised the tip of his staff towards the intruder. "Who are you?"
Like before, the intruder remained silent. But something else happened, Egypt heard rapid footsteps and he turned around to see France running towards them with a frantic expression, his clothes looking like they've been hastily put on, and the hair he is so proud of all messy. Monaco appeared a few seconds later, still in her pajamas and standing behind France. France entered the room and looked around, probably shocked of both the crisis and the fact the room was a mess.
"Mon Dieu, what is going on here? What…" France looked wide-eyed at the scene in front of him. "Sacre bleu! Are you alright mes petites?"
"Where were you?" Algeria snarled. "We all thought you were too busy having a beauty sleep!"
"Pardon, Algerie, but do not be grumpy because Big Brother France is now here!" France smiled proudly, causing Algeria to roll her eyes and Tunisia to smile, then looked at the intruder, who was now glaring at France with something akin to anger and pure hate. "Who is this?"
"We don't know, but he managed to sneak in without raising any alarms." Algeria explained, then looked at her former colonizer. "You have any idea who he could be?"
"Non, but I don't understand how he could do that, I didn't sense anyone else in my land!" France said in confusion.
"You didn't?" Tunisia asked.
"Non, of course not! So, how…" France's eyes met with the intruder's hateful green eyes, and a sense of familiarity came over the Frenchman. "Wait…"
"What is it, Francis?" Monaco asked, looking up at him in puzzlement.
"Could it be…?" France asked in disbelief, and he shakily reached out a hand towards the intruder, but just when he opened his mouth, something happened in the span of just a few seconds. There was a dark blur and suddenly the intruder was in front of France with a several needles in his fingers, ready to impale France in several sensitive spots that would cause a lot of pain. But Egypt grabbed the intruder's arm and pulled him back. The intruder slapped Egypt's arm away and quickly took several steps back.
"I'll ask you one more time… Who are you?" Egypt asked again.
The intruder looked at Egypt, then at Algeria, then Tunisia, then Mauritius, then Seychelles, then Monaco, then at France with an angry gleam, then back at Egypt again with a cool look. The intruder scoffed then pushed Mauritius to the ground, Algeria immediately tried to shoot him, but the intruder sprinted towards the window and dived out of the house, the sound of broken class echoing through the house and more glass littered the floor.
Seychelles gasped, Mauritius groaned in frustration as he got up, Tunisia and Algeria widened their eyes, Monaco remained frozen, France looked shaken, and Egypt narrowed his eyes.
"He's getting away!" Algeria shouted, and then she heard footsteps and realized Egypt was running down the hall. "Gupta, wait!"
"Egypte, do not be so reckless! Wait for moi!" France called out to him while he chased after him, much to Algeria's chagrin.
"France, what are you…"
"Don't worry, Algerie! Egypte and Big Brother France will be back!" France cheerfully called out from the halls, and Algeria face palmed.
"Oh, for the love of…"
/ / / / / /
Monaco was not a war type of nation in any way, and she was content to stay that way. She has no navy or air force though she does have a small military force but they're mostly there to protect her Prince, she thinks she doesn't have a reason to have an army, so she relies on France for defense. In the scenario that someone decides to attack her, Big Brother France will be there to defend her and drive the attackers away.
And with the help of Monaco's intelligence too.
She remained neutral in conflicts, such as World War II. Monaco remained neutral, and she was fine until Italy invaded her. When it happened, she did not know what to do or feel. Most of her citizens supported the fascist regime, but it was still force. Even though the happy-go-lucky Italian was his usual self during the entire time, his dictator wasn't so kind. Italy forcefully gave her a fascist government, a puppet government.
So, of course, that did not make her very happy.
Then about a year later, following Mussolini's defeat, Germany took Italy's place in occupying her and that is when the trauma began. Just like every other German occupied territory, he started to deport her Jews to concentration camps, and Monaco broke a little at this. But despite her predicament, Big Brother France still tried to help her even though he was in bad shape, and Monaco used her smarts to do what she could do.
One year later, the German troops left, and Monaco could breathe again. The most frightening part of her life was over, and her Prince ruled again. Monaco was fine, shaken, but fine. But she knew that other nations had a much harder time. She was lucky she wasn't bombed or forced to watch her people die horrible deaths.
Monaco moved on, not holding a grudge against the two Axis members, even going on an entertaining date with Seborga after she defeated him in a game of poker.
The point is that Monaco is not used to war, and she always hoped something like that would never happen to anyone ever again. Monaco knows that France can only do so much for her. But still, she kept worrying over everyone, the economy, wars, everything. All while looking at the sky she worried.
She guessed a part of her knew something would happen again.
So, when Big Brother France suddenly fell to the ground in pain, she knew something was very, very wrong. Monaco noticed the seeds of distrust growing in Europe, no one exactly pointed any fingers, but you could feel the tension. She didn't know what she could do. Not even gambling could take her worries away.
Then she opened the door only to be greeted by her good friend Seychelles accompanied by four other Africans in very bad shape. Monaco felt her stress and anxiety levels rise at that as well as bile up her throat when she saw what she hoped to be not human teeth marks on Mauritius's shoulder.
Imagine her disgust and horror when she was told how he got it.
After that, they explained what happened in the African Union Meeting and she paled. Worry again. Worry for her connections in Africa (as well betrayal when she discovered some of those connections were involved in all of it), worry for Seychelles and the others, worry for what this "New World Order" could be planning, etc.
She wondered, how would this group deal with her?
France tried to assemble an emergency meeting, but another suspicious event happened, something happened with the signal or along those lines and he couldn't contact anyone. Europe, Asia, Americas, everything. But France kept reassuring them that he will try to solve it as soon as possible, but Monaco wasn't so sure. So, the plan got delayed and the Africans made themselves at home.
Monaco tried to comfort a distraught Seychelles, who was still overwhelmed by everything not that she blamed her, with the assistance of Mauritius. They both tried to cheer her up while suppressing Monaco's own worries about the situation. Monaco tried not to let her paranoia that at any second, someone will jump them, or a nuclear bomb will be dropped on Paris.
Eventually she confessed all this to France, and her older brother figure admitted that he had his own fears as well, but he kept promising everything would be okay and she won't be hurt.
Monaco smiled, but on the inside, she frowned.
One of her fears came true when she woke up at the sounds of a brawl, and before she knew it she was with France and seeing Mauritius with cuts fighting with an unidentified intruder. Monaco stood near France the whole time, watching the whole scene unfold with a rigid stance, and remained frozen in shock as the man tried to attack France with his half a dozen needles in his fingers. Monaca was sure France would have had several parts punctured if not for Egypt's quick reaction.
Merci that man, she should thank him later.
Regarding to who she thinks who the mystery man is, she wasn't very sure, but she is starting to form some theories. Despite the bad lighting, distance and the mask, Monaco could see the dark skin and the piercing green eyes when he stared at her. He looked at her with something akin to… indifference? Pity? Thoughtfulness? Again, she really couldn't tell. Anyway, with the dark skin the logical conclusion would be an African, but she doesn't remember any of the Africans mentioned having green eyes.
Of course, contacts weren't a ludicrous possibility, but one must wonder what the point of the disguise in the first place is if they all know who's in the organization. To avoid being spotted by spies or by the masses? Maybe.
Another important clue is France's sudden shock and denial, Monaco was sure that France would have said the man's name if the person in question hadn't tried to use him as a pin cushion.
But, who could fit in the description? Aside from the Africans there are also people with dark skin in the… Oh. Monaco frowned and a she felt a little ashamed for not realizing sooner.
Monaco thought about this while stroking her chin, biting her lip, and was later snapped out of her reverie when she realized she should save the theorizing for later. Egypt and France left a couple of minutes ago to chase the intruder, much to Monaco's dejection, but someone must catch him. Monaco looked around, Algeria and Tunisia are tending to Mauritius who kept trying to shrug them off, and Seychelles stood not far looking Mauritius with worry.
Oh no, Seychelles. Monaco had been too busy lost in her thoughts that she forgot to see if her friend was alright. Monaco straightened up and walked towards her island friend. "Are you alright, Michelle? Were you hurt?"
Seychelles slightly widened her eyes upon seeing her, probably having also been lost in thought, and forced a smile. "No, I'm fine."
"Emotionally?"
"…Okay, I guess."
"Don't lie to me or yourself, young lady."
Seychelles looked down at her feet. "Fine, I'm not okay, happy?"
"Why would I be happy?" Monaco crossed her arms.
"Sorry, I… I think I'm just tired and…" Seychelles hugged herself and looked close to tear up. "Scared."
"You've been woken up in the middle of the night, nearly got hurt, and saw Mauritius get injured fighting yet again while you could only watch." Monaca stated. "It's only logical that you feel this way, and in times like this too."
"Yeah… I guess." Seychelles admitted dejectedly. "But now I'm worried about Big Brother France and Egypt too."
"Oui, me too." Monaco took Seychelle's hand. "But I'm sure that they'll catch the intruder in time."
"OUCH!" Mauritius exclaimed in pain, and the two girls turned to see Mauritius rubbing his arm with Tunisia keeping him in place and Algeria with a needle in her fingers. "You should be more careful doing that!"
Algeria raised an eyebrow. "I asked you whether you liked your bandages ripped slowly or quickly, and you said quickly. In my opinion, getting it over and done with is always the better option."
"Except these aren't bandages, they're needles!" Mauritius protested.
"It's an expression, Mauritius."
"I know it's an expression- OW!"
"Sorry about that." Tunisia chuckled nervously, having taken out a needle in Mauritius's foot.
"Y-You've been impaled by the needles?" Seychelles stuttered, covering her mouth.
Mauritius turned to look at her with an uneasy smile. "Just a few, no need to worry, Michelle. I'm fine."
"No, you're not!" Seychelles shook her head and immediately walked over to fuss over Mauritius. "You got hurt again!"
"Oh, come on, this is a lot less worse than what Nigeria did!"
"That still doesn't make it better!"
"Before you two start arguing, I want to know something. What are we going to do about the intruder situation?" Tunisia suddenly asked. "Should we let Egypt and France handle it?"
Ah, that's the million-dollar question, no? While Monaco is sure that France and Egypt are good fighters, they still don't know the full extent of the intruder's abilities or if there are any other enemies sneaking in Paris waiting for the right time to strike.
"We should help them! We can't just sit here doing nothing!" Mauritius growled as he slowly got to his feet.
"Maybe, but those two are probably long gone in the vast city of Paris." Algeria sighed, crossing her arms. "Unless one of them took their phones with them, in that case we could contact them, so they could tell us their location."
"Big Brother France is stronger than he looks, I'm sure he and monsieur Egypte will find the intruder." Monaco said reassuringly, though she wondered if she was saying this to the others or herself.
"But Paris is huge, they're going to need more people to help look." Mauritius insisted. "We need to stick together."
"But you're still hurt!" Seychelles protested.
"Maybe, but I can move, that's enough."
"Doesn't France have another car?" Tunisia pointed out. "If we can find the keys, we can use that car to catch up with them. Though I hope France doesn't mind."
"There's still the figuring out where they are issue." Algeria said.
"Then we can use one of our phones to see if they have theirs."
While the others began to plan, Monaco spotted something in the corner of her eye lying in the floor littered with broken glass. She turned her head towards it and she saw something reflecting the light, and Monaco adjusted her glasses. She carefully walked over to the object and saw that it was a phone. Monaco looked up to see the broken window and then back to the phone. How odd, did that man drop this?
More importantly, on purpose?
Monaco slowly stretched out her hand to pick up the phone, wiping off the tiny bits of glass, and inspected it. She turned it on and was greeted with the screen displaying the time and date and a rather plain wallpaper. Monaco swiped it and to her surprise it unlocked without needing a password. No password… even more odd.
"Lucille?" Monaco looked back to see Seychelles looking at her curiously. "What are you doing?"
Monaco took a deep breath and looked at the others. "Everyone… you all probably want to see what I found."
"Why? What did you find?" Mauritius slightly limped towards them, Algeria and Tunisia following with the same amount of confusion and noticed the phone in Monaco's hand. "Your phone?"
"Non, not my phone. I found it on the floor near the window the intruder flew out of." Monaco said while remaining fixated on the screen, there was nothing out of the ordinary, other than there were only a small number of applications.
"You mean… he dropped his phone when he escaped?" Tunisia asked uneasily.
"Then… that means we have something we can use for information!" Mauritius grinned.
"Not quite, Maurice, there really doesn't appear to be any of the sort in here, it's like when you buy one. Completely empty except for a few applications." Monaco said.
"But… why would he have it like that?" Seychelles asked.
"More like why have something like that and bring it with him." Tunisia said, and they all became more puzzled.
"If you ask me, mon amis, is that he did it on purpose." Monaco narrowed her eyes.
"That's absurd, why would he do that?" Algeria asked disbelievingly, and as if on cue, they all flinched when the phone buzzed and a request for a phone call appeared on the screen with a number none of them recognized. One of the members of the New World Order is calling.
"Oh no, what do we do?" Seychelles asked fearfully.
"Well, answer it!" Algeria said.
Monaco reluctantly pressed the green circle and put in on speaker, holding it out for everyone to hear. As the white noise sounded through the speaker, everyone waited anxiously for the nation on the other side to speak, but only white noise was heard. Were they waiting for them to speak first? Monaco swallowed. "B-Bonjour?"
There was silence again but then they all heard a familiar chuckle. "Oh, I wasn't expecting you, gambling girl."
"YOU!" Algeria and Tunisia shouted at the same time.
"Hey, hey, my ears." The man complained. "Wait, do you have me on speaker, girlie?"
"Oui, everyone can hear you. Why are you calling us?" Monaco questioned.
"Did the guy you sent drop it on purpose? What's your plan?" Mauritius demanded, then glared when the man laughed again.
"Because, because, and because." That man said simply, angering Algeria and Mauritius, most likely grinning wherever he was. "How ya doing, tortoise boy? Is the wound healing up?"
Tortoise boy? Monaco thought to herself. If the situation weren't grave or if the nation wasn't the enemy she would have cracked a smile. But no, this nation was dangerous, and Mauritius did not look amused at the nickname.
"Stop calling me tortoise boy! The wound's almost gone, thank you very much." Mauritius grumbled, touching his shoulder in reflex.
"Good. Nigeria's got quite a bite." That man laughed, a horrible and cringing noise.
"What do you want, you bastard?" Algeria snarled.
"Salah? Hey, nice to see ya! Is Ubon there too?"
"Yes, I'm here." Tunisia muttered, not looking happy with this situation.
"&%&$#%... What in Allah's name do you want?" Algeria asked slowly and angrily.
"Is Egypt there? I wanna talk to him." That man said, and the group tensed.
Monaco would have responded if not for her intellect. "Why exactly should we tell you?"
The response seemed to delight the nation, as he laughed again. "Hahahaha! Good point! Well, girlie, if you must know… I'm going to point to where my fellow nation went."
"That's… that's preposterous!" Tunisia exclaimed. "Why would you want to give away your subordinate's location and risk him getting caught?"
"So… is that a yes or a no?"
"Oh, hang up, Monaco." Algeria spat, crossing her arms and looking away. "This man is nothing but filled with trickery!"
"Don't be like that, Salah. We left this little thing here as a present, so we can contact you whenever we want. Anyone, anywhere, anytime. But even though you don't believe, for good reason though, I'll give you the place anyway. Search for a certain tower in the Champ de Mars. Obvious where, no?"
"The Eiffel Tower." Monaco stated.
"Bingo, girlie! Now, bye-bye!"
Before any of them could object, he ended the call.
/ / / / / /
The intruder kept running through the streets, never stopping and never slowing for even a split second, for he knows that there are people on his tail. He cursed, he knew that the others would wake up at all the noise he and Mauritius were causing, but he felt ashamed of himself for losing his composure when he saw France. All in due time, not now. Thanks to that he risked getting captured, but he supposed it doesn't matter now.
It was fun toying with Mauritius, he chuckled.
Also, he wondered if the nations at the house have noticed the little gift he left for them, it will certainly be entertaining.
Well, now on to the next plan. He finally reached his car, and just as he opened the door he twitched when he heard a shout and saw a gray car speeding towards him. He squinted his eyes and saw familiar blonde hair. Oh dear, he should really hurry.
He hurriedly entered his car and started the engine, grinning excitedly as he hit the pedal, and he got away just in time. He glanced at the rear-view mirror and saw the same car on his tail.
Ah, the classic high-speed chase. Challenge accepted.
/ / / / / /
Egypt narrowed his eyes at the car not far from them that they almost lost, three times. He was on the edge of his seat, and not in a good way, as France whirled them through the city in a speed that made it surprisingly that they hadn't hit other cars or pedestrians. It did not help at all how much traffic Paris has, even at night. Oh, Anubis, the traffic. And he thought the traffic in England was chaotic, Paris is the definition of congestion.
"Is there… any other way? We are wasting valuable time." Egypt said bluntly, too tired to notice if he sounded rude.
"Pardon, Egypte, but I forgot how the unflattering traffic in my capital can be." France said miserably, looking just as miserable as Egypt. "But if we are stuck then he is stuck too."
"I suppose you have a point." Egypt tapped his fingers, and again frowned at the traffic. "How long does a trip usually take?"
"About 40 minutes to 2 hours."
"…What?" Egypt growled.
"Depending if it is weekend or weekdays."
"And you wonder why your ex-colonies seldom visit you."
"Now, now, Egypt. That angry face doesn't suit you." France smiled, and started to laugh his signature laugh. "Losing your temper won't help us. You are tired, in fact have you been sleeping alright?"
Egypt froze as he remembered the dream he has earlier, the laughter echoing in his mind. "Not today, I haven't."
"Ah, it's understandable." France sighed. "Mon petite Michelle hasn't been well these last few days, the poor girl is always up at night drowning in her fears. Lucille has recently confessed her own fears to me. This is so tragic. Mes filles are suffering."
"Yes, what happened that day in the African Union was… frightening." Egypt crossed his arms at the memory. "Those five, especially South Africa, they excel at being intimidating and I'd say they relish the fear towards them. Not to mention Seychelles had the misfortune of watching Nigeria indulge in cannibalism on Mauritius."
France's face contorted in distaste. "Oui, she mentioned how she witnessed that… act."
"Has she been getting better or worse?"
"A little better with the help of her frère France as well as Kelvin and Lucille."
"Good…" Egypt sighed in relief. "To be honest, I worry for her and Mauritius a lot. They took a great risk escaping, they were lucky to have encountered us on the way, and the African five aren't happy about the fact two island escaped from them. Those two will receive a harsh punishment if they get recaptured."
"But they won't." France stated, conviction in his voice. "I share your worries, Egypt, I truly do. I swear that I won't let anyone harm my ex-colonies."
"These nations are deadly."
"So can any nation when in a war."
"They're hell bent on recapturing us and making us pay for defying them."
"Well, I am hell bent on protecting Monaco and the others, I would gladly bleed for them if it means keeping them safe. Even…" France frowned and looked away. "Even if some of the nations with the enemy were once my colonies and a good friend of mine…"
Egypt felt bad for the Frenchman, the European took it hard when he discovered who was in the Order. "How are you feeling about that right now?"
France smiled sadly at Egypt. "I would obviously be lying if I said it did not break my heart. Morocco, Cameroon, Haiti… I was shocked when I saw their names but not long after that… I realized that it made sense. I… did not treat many of my colonies well, I tried to keep a suffocating grip on them and I harshly suppressed any resistance that appeared. I'm surprised that Congo or Niger aren't there too."
"Algeria and Tunisia have forgiven you, they get along well enough with you." Egypt pointed out.
"And I am glad they feel that way, but it doesn't change how imperial moi was. I don't blame them for how violent they became, I think I contributed much to that."
"Nigeria mentioned that they've always been that way, it was a side they had to hide for years."
"But you must admit, mon ami, that I played a role in encouraging that behavior." France narrowed his eyes. "Remember how violent Morocco became in wanting independence, his citizens attacking European residents, the rioting, how furious he was. I never told anyone this… but during that time whenever I came to visit him to try to negotiate, he became nearly feral. Always snarling and even once attacked me in a fit of rage after I exiled his sultan."
"He did?" Egypt asked.
"Oui, he was filled with anger and hate towards me, a lot more than the others."
"Morocco must have been slipping out of his façade as he was losing patience." Egypt said.
"Oui, he must have been getting sick of me then. I blamed the badly divided nationalist movement and the rising violence but now…" France laughed bitterly. "I know exactly why. Morocco started to behave calmly again, and we repaired our relationship, or at least that's what I thought."
After hearing all of that, he learned more about how things are, but one thing remained clear. "You may feel guilty but remember that it doesn't excuse their actions."
"I know… but a part of me feels that it's… what do the Asians call it? Karma. You should have at least let Haiti take his anger out on me."
"No, it…" Egypt blinked then raised an eyebrow. "That was Haiti?"
"Of course, who else has dark skin and green eyes in the list?"
"Ah, good point."
"Anyway, forget about me, how are you feeling about your amis that are a part of this?"
"I…" Egypt glanced at the front, only to realize something and open his mouth in shock. "Oh no."
"What is it, mon ami?" France asked.
"The traffic is moving, and Haiti is getting a head start and getting away!" Egypt shouted as he pointed towards Haiti's car that was driving away to a less crowded lane.
"Mon Dieu! We are losing him, but we are still stuck, I don't think we can catch him!" France exclaimed in distress as he pushed the car horn.
"Where could he be going?" Egypt asked as he leaned forward towards the window, following Haiti's car as it went toward the direction of a very tall building. "The Eiffel Tower?"
/ / / / / /
Haiti gritted his teeth as he grabbed onto another iron and hoisted himself up to grab another part of the wrought iron structure carefully lest he fall off into the cold Parisian hard ground, focusing on getting to the top of the tower. This was the plan. Lose them and then get to the very top of the Eiffel Tower to wait for further action. He took a deep breath and lifted himself again, getting closer to the top. If the gradually decreasing temperature is any indication.
Don't look down, Haiti. Don't. Look. Down.
Every member of the New World Order train themselves to fight and prepare themselves for anything as well as get out of their comfort zones. Learn every language, pilot a plane, a lot of things including… climbing. Climbing is not exactly his strong suit, but he's decent at it. The main problem is the climate.
As an Caribbean island, he is not made for the cold.
Almost there, Haiti. Do it for the group. Haiti really hopes that there isn't any human gawking at him and recording him to later post it on YouTube. Hopefully, the fact that it's past midnight which means that visiting hours are over means that there won't be anyone to see him. He grabbed a rail.
Wait, couldn't he have used his magic to poof himself to the top?
Haiti groaned as he grabbed the last rail and he threw himself at the iron floor, sighing in relief and dusting himself off. Haiti stood up and whistled as he saw leaned on the rail and saw all the Paris city lights illuminating the night. It truly is a beautiful sight from up here. He's currently on the floor above the observation deck, not accessible by normal means.
Now, to wait.
/ / / / / /
France hastily parked the car in a nearby location so that they wouldn't lose time, and he hopes that none of his police saw him go past the speed limit or he'll lose his driver's license (again). But now he was more worried about apprehending his former colony, his former colony that knows voodoo or hoodoo or whatever his people call it. Haiti is a strong nation, despite the problems in his land, ruthless even.
He's pretty sure he is more ruthless in his true personality.
Another reason he wants to catch Haiti, other than prevent him from harming anyone else, is because he has some questions he wants Haiti to answer. Questions considering his territories in the Caribbean. Haiti along with four Caribbean islands are members of this Order and strangely weren't affected by the disasters happening. That raised some questions, but he dreaded the answers.
Oh, his poor petite Martinique, Guadeloupe, Saint Barthelemy and Saint Martin. Haiti wouldn't go that far for revenge… would he?
Has he really driven him mad all those years ago? If so, then he's sure Joan would be even more ashamed of him.
"I could have sworn I saw Haiti here." France muttered as he and Egypt looked around, taking a moment to glance up at his glorious Eiffel Tower.
"I know, I did too." Egypt narrowed his eyes as he looked up at the iron tower. "Perhaps…"
France raised an eyebrow in confusion and looked at the tower, then back at Egypt. It clicked. "Are you implying that Haiti is up there? But it's past midnight, visiting hours are over."
"I really doubt Haiti cares about that detail."
"Well, mon ami, since it's a dire situation I am sure I can get us in! I am their nation after all!" France smiled proudly, then marched towards the inside, only to gasp at the sight that greeted him. It was the Eiffel Tower lift, completely crushed, torn apart and demolished beyond repair. France gaped. How did Haiti manage to do that?
Egypt stood next to him with a dismayed look. "I think he knew we would try to find him here and took precautions."
"Oui… but how did he manage to do that with his bare hands?" France asked in horror.
"I saw Cameroon create a large crack in the ground with a punch."
"But still…"
"Doesn't this place have stairs?" Egypt asked, turning around.
"Oui, but it will take a while for you to reach the next floor and they only take you to two floors, and the top floor is only reachable by elevator which Haiti destroyed." France explained, still staring at the mess.
Egypt stood still, silent, and clenched his fists. "Well, then it looks like I'll have to go with another way."
"Tres bien, what do you have in…" France trailed off as he looked behind him and saw that Egypt vanished. France blinked and looked around confusedly. "Egypt?"
/ / / / / /
Haiti leaned his cheek on his hand as he tapped his foot out of boredom. He began quietly sing in his language while he waited for the something that was supposed to happen. It was starting to get really cold up here.
As if his prayers were answered, he heard a "whoosh" sound, and he grinned. Haiti turned around to see a stoic faced Egypt standing in front of him.
"I knew you'd find a way up here eventually." Haiti tilted his head and gave him a relaxed smile.
"Enough of games, Haiti." Egypt said then conjured up his staff, pointing it towards the island. "You're coming with us."
Things might not go as you think next chapter. BTW, if some of you guys are curious about the backstories of the NWO nations, then you can know about them in the upcoming story History of the New World Order. PLEASE REVIEW!