Stage 1:
Pälkäne Municipality, Finland
Midnight in the countryside of Finland is such a beautiful sight to behold. To see the stars of the sky reflected below in the form of the neighborhood lights… To experience the calmness that this area had… Snow was gently blanketing down to the ground, creating soft, thick blankets of white.
And, looking into the distance, we can see a trio of men running for their lives. The tallest of them, and also the one who was running the fastest, had wild blonde hair with a small red and black hat on the side. His clothes were of the same color scheme which also matched the heavy-looking axe resting on his back. Denmark (Danmark)- Matthias.
The second young man was dressed in all navy and sky blue, a blue cap covering his short blonde hair except for a lock that was being held down by a gold cross clip, and a curl of hair that seemed to float to the side. Norway (Kongeriket Norge)- Christian. He was struggling to keep up with the other two, but his attention was taken elsewhere when he looked back, noticing that a small winged being dressed in green had fallen behind. Immediately, he rushed back and took the small creature into his hands.
The third figure, white his white hair and brown and white clothing, upon seeing Norway stop, rushed back to help him keep up. He was accompanied by a Puffin bird that flew over and chastised, "Now isn't the time to be worrying about your silly imaginary friends!"
"Quiet down would you?" The white-haired male panted as he and Norway began running again. Iceland (Ísland)- Týr. Apparently, Denmark had the same thoughts because he ran towards the younger nations, grabbed both of their arms and snapped,
"Hurry it up, would ya?", before he began to literally drag them towards their destination, all the while the areas behind them turning increasingly colder by the second.
They were all panting and sweating bullets as they reached a small house in the distance. Denmark slammed his fists onto the front door, yelling out, "Open up! Damn it, open this fucking door! Open up!"
"One moment please!" A calm, gentle voice called from inside. There were a few footsteps and the barking of a small dog before the artisan-crafted wooden door opened.
"Oh," The person who opened the door had short, soft blonde hair that was partially covered with a cute white hat. His wide, mauve-shaded eyes blinked as he saw the people at the door. Finland (Suomen Tasavalta)- Tino Väinämöinen. "Matthias, Christian, Týr! What a nice surprise to see you-!"
"LET US IN!" The three screamed, Norway adding,
"By Freya's love, just let us in Tino, please!( 1 )" Finland was shocked by his brothers' frantic manners, but he moved to open the door and was stopped by a large hand. He gulped and turned to see a familiar, stern face attached to a strong, sturdy body dressed in deep, deep blue. Sweden (Konungariket Sverige)- Berwald Oxenstierna. "Oh, hello Su-san! Guess who came to visit?"
"…" For a moment Sweden was completely quiet, the sight of Denmark causing a tinge of anger to make his left eye to twitch, before he tried to slam the door. However, Denmark forced his foot into the space between the doorjamb and the door just at the right second and yelled,
"Bastard! Get your panties out of their not and let us in!"
"Why?" Sweden dead-panned, "The l'st t'me I l't ya in anywhere, ya ruin'd the pl'ce." The two oldest Nordics looked like they were just about to break into a fight before Iceland's Puffin flew over and stated,
"Sorry to interrupt your brotherly bickering time, but I do believe that there are more pressing matters to attend to." At that moment, Hana-tomago (Finland's dog) walked to the door and began growling at some unknown threat. They all looked out into the distance, Sweden even letting his grip on the door go slack, when a colossal roar shook the earth; a wave of ice rushing forth from over yonder.
"I'm not dying like this!" Norway growled, a green aura surrounding him as his canine teeth elongated. He reached towards the door and forced it open, the other two Nordics following him inside before he slammed the door shut.
"What was that?" Finland asked, picking Hana-tomago up from the ground and thanking every bit of good fortune that Sealand wasn't with them today. As Norway got himself back to normal, Iceland explained,
"It just started earlier today: I heard the roaring at my house first, so I went to Norway's. Then the roaring started there, along with this unnatural blizzard… We both went to Denmark's and, after him being an idiot, we had to leave there because the roaring and snow seemed to follow us wherever we went."
"Finny!" Denmark began as he looked around the house, turning things over and searching for something in particular. "I know that you have a means of transportation. How else do you deliver all those presents in one night?" Finland blinked before it clicked in his mind,
"Oh, do you mean the reindeer?" He hummed for a second, "It's pretty out of season, though. I don't think they'll be up for flying this early."
A cracking noise cut through their conversation, like the sound you hear when you step out onto thin ice and you know that there's nothing that you can do to avoid it, and they all looked at the door. The wood was splintering away from the cold being forced onto it from the outside.
"Tino…" Sweden warned, grabbing his cap and waiting for the fair Nordic to reply. Finland gulped as he gently rubbed Hana-tomago between her ears.
"Okay. Everyone to the basement." That statement was the match that set the powder-keg of the situation off as the front door shattered, a length of ice not unlike a serpent's tail rushing into the house.
"You heard the kid," Denmark screamed, "GO! NOW!", before everyone rushed after Finland to find which door led to the basement as the slithering length of ice rushed through the house; everything in its wake freezing over instantly.
"This is it!" Finland called out as he opened a door that led to a dark staircase, "Hurry up!" The others didn't have to be told twice as they followed him inside, Sweden and Denmark locking the many locks of the door before they followed the others down into Tino's workshop.
The space was usually so warm and busy whenever Tino went inside, but seeing as how those were usually in the winter when Norway would bring his trolls to help out, it was empty and cold. "Alright, so we've got a giant…" Denmark thought for a moment, "Thing out there and we need to get out of here fast! So, where are the reindeer Finny?"
"Right here!" Tino announced as he rummaged through a pile of toy parts and brought up a small wooden box.
"The hell?" Denmark snapped, "What kind of joke are you pulling?" Norway merely pushed him away and said,
"He has to summon them up first, idiot." Cracking noises from the door on top of the staircase caused all of them to gulp, Norway adding, "But if you could hurry up, Tino, that would be great."
"Right." Finland nodded, struggling to carry both Hana-tomago and the box before he sighed and asked,
"Sve, could you please take care of Hana-tomago? She won't stay still and I need to concentrate."
"Hm?" The way that Berwald looked at Tino sent a shiver of unease through the young Finn,
"But if you don't want to, that's fine…"
"G've 'er h're." Sweden stated, Finland letting the small dog pad over to the older nation's feet. Sweden, even in the face of danger, couldn't deny how cute the small dog was. "L't me get the sl'd re'dy."
Hetalia, ROTA!
The famous sled that would travel the skies of the world every December, painted a vibrant red that shined alongside the golden trimming. Finland had just finished placing the last of eight small reindeer dolls in the right formation in front of the sled that he and his brothers were sitting in.
The cracking and slamming against the basement door hadn't lessened in the least, in fact, it had gotten worse. "Get a move on it, Finny…" Denmark groaned, everyone sharing his sentiment as Finland stood up and called out,
"On Dasher, On Dancer, On Prancer, On Vixen..!" The first four reindeer dolls trembled where they stood just as the basement door began to give way to the freezing onslaught outside.
"Tino…" Sweden warned, Hana-tomago growing unsteady in his hands. Finland shivered before he continued,
"On Comet, On Cupid…"
Ice began to seep into the room…
"On Donner… On Blitzen!"
Time seemed to stop when Finland said those last two words: the scene stopped with all the reindeer dolls shaking and the icy tail finally breaking through the door…
Stage 2:
Finnish Airspace
Bells rang out as a reindeer-pulled sleigh rushed out from the remains of Finland's house just as it was destroyed by a combination of fierce winds and slithering extensions of ice whipping and crushing the building.
They five Nordic nations were silent as they watched the scene, how everything was slowly becoming a perma-frosted wasteland, but the silence of awe soon turned into that of horror when one of the slithering ice tails rushed towards their location in the sky. Sweden, Denmark, Norway, and Iceland screamed out, "Fly Tino, fly!", before Finland gave a quick snap of the reigns, the reindeer began to speed up their pace through the night sky to the equivalent of a gallop as Finland moved left, right, left, using all his flight experience to perform a serpentine maneuver to avoid the various hazards of the air.
"Where should we go?" Norway called out, "We can't just keep running, there has to be a place where we can avoid this!" Iceland was about to make a suggestion when another titanic roar filled the air; it shook everyone so much that it was as if it came from the bowels of the earth, the blizzard getting ten times worse.
For a moment, it seemed as though the attacks from the large masses of ice had stopped, allowing Finland to give a sigh of relief as he offered, "Maybe somewhere with a lot of sunlight? Spain or somewhere in Africa might be nice—"
Out of the frosty darkness, a tentacle of ice shot forth and slammed into the sleigh with enough force that Iceland and his Puffin were knocked off and sent falling, screaming, into the oblivion below.
"TÝR!" Norway howled out in terror, everyone else too shocked to move, before he rushed to Tino and screamed, "Go back! Tino, you have to go back for him!"
"No!" Denmark interjected, "Leave him, we don't know when whatever the hell that thing is going to come back!" Finland was quiet, his hands shaking as he tried to think of the best decision.
Just when Berwald was about to say his point, Finland pulled on the reigns, causing the reindeer to turn around as he cried out, "Týr! Can you hear us? Answer me if you can, please!"
All at once, the blizzard stopped and parted like a curtain to allow the remaining for Nordics to see a sight that had only haunted the furthest recesses of their minds since their childhoods.
Words could not even begin to explain how behemothly large this being was: a large, icy serpent covered in frigid spikes and midnight-shaded scales. Its eyes gleamed a horridly, cold blue, each twice as wide as the sleigh that the Nordics were currently in. The serpent's pupils dilated as it took in its prey, but the group in the sleigh were still in horrible awe. Denmark shook his head, whispering,
"There's no way in hell…", to which Sweden, with Hana-tomago growling in his arms, blinked and spoke,
"He who c'n consume the w'rld and st'll d'vour its own t'il…" Finland was completely trembling as he added,
"When he appears once more… The world will end…"
"Jörmungandr( 2 )…" Norway stated the beast's name, "Child of the god of mischief Loki, the serpent who sleeps coiled around the world…"
Jörmungandr roared again, almost shaking the whole world before two icy tails whipped forward towards the sleigh. Finland gave a crack of the reigns which got the reindeer moving again, enough to avoid the attack before more of the tails came forth.
It was a vicious dog-fight: Finland desperately trying to avoid any and all attacks and essences from Jörmungandr, but it seemed almost futile. Especially when the blizzard kicked back up and it became near impossible to see.
Another thundering roar was the only cue before one of Jörmungandr's tails smacked against the sleigh, this time sending Sweden, Hana-tomago and Denmark into a quick and brutal descent.
"Matthias!" Norway called out, Finland screaming,
"Berwald!", moving to force the reindeer to follow the two—
The blizzard broke again, Jörmungandr forcing his way through with his heavily fanged mouth wide open. Finland's eyes were wide as the serpent's maw surrounded them, sleigh and all…
..And shut with a quick snap that sounded more like a glacier cracking apart.
Berwald's world shattered in that instant as well, flashes of his most wretched moments flooding back to him as he bellowed out, "TINO!", while he and Denmark continued to fall.
Hetalia, ROTA!
The wind whistled around the freezing wasteland that the world below had become. This was what Sweden and Denmark embraced as they finally landed like meteors falling to earth, if the craters they made in the ice was any indication.
"Fuck…" Denmark groaned, "I think I broke my spine…" He struggled to sit up and, after a few cricks and cracks of his back, he sighed, "That's better." He looked over to his side and saw Sweden, face down, in the ice; his shoulders shaking as if he were crying. "Great…" Matthias huffed, scratching the back of his head, "Hey. Tall, dark, and gruesome… Snap out of it…"
"Why Tino..?" Berwald's accented voice groaned out, "Why m' w'fe?"
"Why ya asking me?" Denmark snapped back, "And if ya haven't noticed, Christian and Týr are gone too!" Sweden appeared not to have heard him as his sobbing continued. The usually wild blonde gave a heavy exhale, the breath fogging in the cold air, as he looked around: nothing but ice, darkness, and the ever-encroaching army of soldiers in the distance… "Huh?" Denmark blinked, looking at the ice-decorated soldiers as they marched closer…
"Hey…" He crawled over to Sweden and forced him up, a bit of blood streaming from the latter's nose from the fall, "Hey! Snap out of it!"
"Wh't is 't?"
"That is 'wh't is 't'!" Sweden looked over and saw the soldiers marching over. Before they knew it, they were surrounded. They slowly stood to their feet and looked at the uneven playing field. After a moment, Denmark could only chuckle a bit before he began, "You know, I may hate that I'm here with you of all people…" He reached behind himself and unlatched his axe; grasping onto the red and black handle before he held it in front of him, ready to fight, "But I feel like a little revenge. How about you?" Sweden didn't say anything but he did notice that Hana-tomago was at his side. He whispered,
"Förvandla(Transform)." The small dog sat on her hind legs and howled up into the sky, a swift wind surrounding her as her body shifted into that of her ancestors: a proud, white wolf standing in her place.
"You all shall pay for your trespasses in blood!" Hana-tomago barked out, baring her fangs. Sweden himself took his hat from his head and crumpled it into his hands. He then seemed to pull his hands apart revealing a long, steel staff. But he knew that that wouldn't be the best weapon for this. "Bemanna till svärd (Staff to sword)( 3 )!" He called out, the steel staff shifting into a mighty sword that he held in front of him.
The air was tense as the trio waited for the soldiers to make their move.
A single snowflake landed on the ground before the soldiers let out their inhuman calls and charged forth. Denmark smirked before he spoke up, "Just like Far (Dad) used to say…" Sweden nodded,
"Hmph. I'm surprised you remember." They all got into fighting stances before they called out,
"'If you have to die, then go forth to the battlefield! Your reward awaits you in Valhalla!'", before they charged into the fray.
Denmark jumped ahead, swinging his axe down and using the momentum to kick a few soldiers away. He picked up the axe and went on a rampage, swinging the heavy blade through whoever and whatever was in his path.
Sweden shared his brother's ferocity as he sliced through the soldiers as if they weren't even there; both of the brothers' Viking roots were most visible whenever they fought. He had just forced his sword through one of the soldier's chests when an mechanical bark sounded from behind him. Just as he turned to see the ice dog about to attack, Hana-tomago bounded over and tackled the creature to the ground; crunching her teeth into its neck as a final blow.
The trio fought gloriously, some of the crystal-soldiers even considered falling back before a silent call went through all of them. The crystal general, his armor more intricate than the others, held up and armed a crystal-crossbow. He lined it up with the more energetic of the two nations and, after making sure that he had the shot, let the arrow fly.
Sweden was taken out of his berserker-mode when the sound of shattering glass rang out through the area. He turned to see Denmark collapsing to the ground, eyes wide open and body completely still.
"Matthias!" He called out, trying to rush to the Dane's aid but was stopped in his tracks when an icy arrow rushed forth and embedded itself deep into his chest before vanishing; Sweden lost all consciousness, his eyes glazing over, as he fell to the floor.
"Herre! (Master!)" Hana-tomago howled out, trying to rush to the fallen nation's side. She was blocked by a soldier who, with a heavy blunt object, clubbed her in the back of her head; the pain causing her to revert back to her puppy form. The same soldier picked her up from the scruff of her neck as the others went to retrieve the bodies of the two unconscious nations.
As he watched the scene, Jörmungandr let out another of his roars: the fearsome sound echoing throughout the night, telling all of his victory.
A/N:
( 1 )- Freya is the Norse goddess of love and beauty.
( 2 )- Another figure from Norse mythology, Jörmungandr is 'serpent that devours his own tail'. Mischief god Loki's son who grew and grew until he surrounded the entire world.
( 3 )- * facepalms * Believe it or not, I got the idea of Sweden's move set by watching SheRa… Her sword had to ability to shift from sword to shield to rope. For Berwald, I'm thinking of keeping it to Sword, Staff, and shield.
TG- I'm not liking myself anymore. I know this game is going to be serious, but damn! So many events that make me want to cry!
Oh, and a note on the characters in this section who would be playable:
Sweden- Playable
Finland- Playable
Denmark- Playable
Norway- Playable
Iceland- Alliance only. I don't really see Iceland as a character that would really be an… interesting choice of a fighting character. * hears the boos * Okay, honestly, look at it this way: we'll already have two characters with ice-themed move sets (Russia and General Winter) do we need another one? So yeah, alliance only for Iceland.
Also, do Denmark, Norway, and Iceland have official human names yet? I just went by the names that seem to be the most popular. Sweden and Denmark don't get weapon bios yet because I have a plan for their weapon bios, don't worry...
Shout-out to SandTanukiKunoichi for the idea of Hana-tomago's transformation!
Thanks to everyone who's been keeping up and especially those who have been reviewing! Please continue to give feedback for the project!
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-Tyranno's girl.