A/N: I seem to jinx myself when I say I will update more. Terribly sorry for the wait; life got unexpectedly busy.

To clarify, some bits of dialogue have been cut out because Belarus' mind is also cutting them out. There might be more typos than usual in this one due to rushing it, but I will be correcting those later.

Thank you for your patience :)

Remember, we are all heroes to our own tales.

Belarus glanced up at the oven timer. Another fifteen minutes. She took in a deep breath. Those tart crusts smelled wonderful. She looked over to the cheery-faced turtle waiting at the stove, then at any reflective material in the room. Still nothing.

That ginger-haired man should be back soon, she thought, as she stretched her arms forward. She had already finished with her chores earlier this morning. She rested her chin on the kitchen table and stared ahead. One of her hands from underneath her, reached out and petted her own turtle. Foggy delight clouded up her mind and she began to absentmindedly hum the notes of some lost melody.

The building was relatively empty today, as Spain and the other nations had stately work to handle. Not that she understood what the words "state" or "empire" meant anymore. All she knew was that her family was here, and she was supposed to take care of them.

She hoped Brother would return soon. Boredom was starting to get the better of her.

"What are you singing?"

She looked around and saw the strong eye-browed man had returned. His image was reflected on the countertop. Their turtle had moved over to the stove top and, as if there was an invisible person standing there, the silver pans were pulled out. The pastries were set down carefully, but the man's eyes remained on her. For a moment she was lost in their mesmerizing color. It was almost as if the pupils themselves were swirling. The other gave a flourish of her hand to signal her to speak and she broke from the trance.

"I...I do not really know..."

She placed her hands to her throat and hummed the off key notes again. It sounded calming and sweet...but from whom did she hear it from? Her mind began to throb again and she reached out for her turtle, allowing it to strengthen the soothing haze from earlier.

"That's too bad. It was really pretty sounding, like a lullaby."

"I suppose so." She shrugged, "Is my Brother back?"

"No, our w-_-_-_-_ m-_-_-_-_-_-_ isn't over yet. Actually, I should be going back. Let these cool and don't let anyone touch them." He waved his index finger a bit, "Not. A. Soul. Do you hear me?"

She nodded and the other man, satisfied with her answer, was instantly gone. Her mind wandered towards what else there was for her to do. Cleaned the house, check. Watered the plants in the garden on the seventeenth floor, check. Cleaned the mirrors in the holding room, check.

What else was she responsible for? Belarus breathed in deeply and thought further, she was supposed to be out there...fighting...fighting because this wasn't her real-

Click, click, click, click! She snapped her gaze to the floor. Her eyes narrowed, searching. She could've sworn she heard- Click, click,click,click. She caught a flash of metal gleam as something scurried around the corner. Instinctively, she followed it.

In the hallway she caught a glimpse of the figure's shadow, but it quickly ran to hide in the first room on the left side. To her surprise, the door was left slightly ajar. During her time here, she had never been allowed to enter that room. Spain had told her it was just a junk storage closet and the pain in her head would increase if she tried to press further. But now, without anybody to stop her, her hand eagerly reached out to the knob.

Ignoring the slight throb in her brain, she went inside. Instead of the closet she was expecting, it was a large spacious room. Most of the place was dark, with low lit computer screens bathing her from the sides. Many turtles, in various states of completion, covered every surface of the room. Each of them had a printed label taped to their bottom. But, as she was about to get close enough to read one, someone yelled for her from the kitchen.

Jolted from her curious excitement, she ran out. Closing the door behind her without a second thought. She didn't belong in there anyways.

"I told you to watch them," the man stated, glaring at her with crossed arms. Two of the tart pans had been overturned, spilling and crumbling its contents. She bit her lip as she tried to come up with some reasonable explanation, but she couldn't fine one. Sheepishly, she scratched the back of her head.

"Uh..."

"No tarts for you!"

She let out a sigh and dragged herself out of the room before pans started flying. Belarus tried to re-enter that room of screens, but it was locked again. Another sigh. After a little wandering down the halls and floors, she decided to take a nap until her brother returned. There was nothing else better to do. As she slept quietly in her room, she dreamt of the soft shuffling of cards and the wails of an ocean gone into turmoil.

By the time she awoke, her brother had finally returned and his voice was already calling from the mirror room.

"BELARUS!"

She jolted up and ran to the stacked bottles of alcohol in the kitchen, knowing instinctively that this is why he was calling her. However, as she dashed down the hall in half-sleepy panic, something tripped her. The bottle rolled across the floor but as she was getting up, something large had placed a pillowcase over her head and dragged her away. They locked her arms behind her in a firm grip. The other hand kept the covering over her tight so her screams were muffled away by the linen.

"Don't suffocate her!" Some robotic voice beeped out.

"Sorry," a gruff voice replied. Their hold on her linen covering loosened.

"Okay...only a little further and..."

Suddenly, the weightlessness of free-falling took over her. She found herself clutching to her captors in fear, but soon enough they reached the sturdy ground with a large thud. Whoever was carrying her had very strong arms as they kept relatively level. When they finally stopped running, she was set into a chair. A rope began tying her hand behind her. She squirmed around but more hands kept her steady.

"...Be careful with her..." another familiar voice began to say. Where had she heard that? She couldn't remember...

"This was your idea, miss."

There was a tsk and the voice grew even more uncertain, "I...I think that is enough. She does not have her blades anymore and she's forgotten her c-_-_-_-_-_-_ sk-_-_-_-_. How much time do we have?"

Again, the robotic voice beeped, "Enough for the awesome me."

"We cannot risk Spain interrupting. Do you have her turtle?"

"Here." The gruff voice said and from the sound of shifting, she guessed that her turtle was handed over.

"WHO ARE YOU?" She demanded.

Instead of responding, they pulled at the casing over her head. For a moment, she was blinded by the sudden light. Then, she widened her eyes at the sight of the three that stood in front of her.

It...it...didn't make any sense. The mirror reflected a figure of herself but it wasn't her. Their bangs were brushed differently. The face looked more exhausted, as if the other had not spent a second to sleep. Belarus was certain that she hadn't looked like that this morning.

Beside the mirror, was a stitched up creature with an strange metal spider on their shoulder. Both of them had features that she was certain she had seen before, but her mind was blurrier everyday when it came to her memory. Where...where...She searched her internal photobook and squinted hard through the fuzziness. Red eyes glowed from the robot and the other had dark amber hair. Both of them had presence that gave the air of a lot of experience, yet a youthful appearance. These...they were called something...

"Nations..." She whispered aloud, and blinked rapidly. Belarus gave a little twitch at her own words.

"She is already breaking through!" her mirror self cheered.

"Not quite..."The metal spider stated and pointed a steel leg at the turtle in the stitched figure's hands. "We have to get rid of this thing's power immediately."

Afraid for her little trinket, Belarus squirmed again with more effort this time. The chair she sat on creaked and threatened to topple over. Again she repeated her demand, "Who are you?"

Her reflection grimaced, "I have told you already. I am you, from an alternate universe."

"Bullshi-" She took a sharp intake of breath as pain sparked in her brain. "Ah! Stop! Stop... My head hurts."

"But you must break free of this, Belarus!"

Her breath quickened, nearly on the verge of hyperventilating. The ropes felt like they were getting tighter and tighter. The robot jumped off their spot and landed over into her lap. She grimaced down at the mechanical robot but the pain was enough to keep her still. Those red lights looked up at her.

"You look terrible." They piped. "Hold on...this might hurt a little bit. Think happy thoughts."

"What are you-GAAAAA!"

She screeched as a piercing sound took over of the room. It stung her brain, as if someone had taken a scalpel to the grey matter inside. Her eyes glared at the machine, though she struggled to keep her head steady due to the pain. Her body squirmed desperately again.

Putting all her effort into the push, she toppled herself over. It broke the chair. But the noise did not stop. Tears welled up in her eyes while the sounds in her throat faded, yet still they wouldn't stop.

Please, enough!

And then, as if she had heard the voice in her mind, her reflection shouted, "STOP!"

Instantly, the noise was silenced. Her brain still throbbed and ached, but that too was fading away. Her conscious thoughts were returning again. Loosened because of the broken chair, the ropes had let one arm free. She took this moment to throw the robot far away. It spun in the air, yet somehow found a way to land safely. Shakily, she untied the rest of her binding and pushed herself up on her knees. Belarus took in a few careful steady deep breaths and looked up at her reflection, the one who showed mercy.

"Belarus," the reflection whispered. "You have to wake up from this dream. I cannot stand by and let you do this to yourself any longer. This is not me. This is not you."

"You...me..." An explosion of orange, dusty yellow and dark crimson flashed before her eyes. "The wasteland," she breathed out. "...but that was just a nightmare..."

"That's what you told yourself."

"...it...it...has to be. Sister had sacrificed herself to save me from being captured. Brother died in the combat. My lands...my people...all scorched to ashes. NO!" She shook her head and covered her ears, "NO! NO! It cannot be. I do not want to go out there where there is nothing but death and despair. Nothing can ever done about it. Do not make me-"

"There is hope!" The robot beeped, from sort of recording. She found a hand raising slowly to her lips.

Her mouth began to form and echo each word. "I am...a nation...still willing..."

"That is who you are." Her reflection urged. "You are stronger than I ever will be. You are everything that I am not. I know that you can break free from this. I was about to give up on you but...I heard your words here on this recording..."

"-that cannot be-"

"It is."

The robot crawled towards her again and she flinched back. "Thanks to the awesome me, you should be able to remember now without it hurting."

Without uttering another word, she thought back to everything she was trying to forget. The ache within her chest that had been sleeping dormantly bloomed and erupted. It tore at her as each face came back into her mind. She placed both hands on her heart and closed her eyes.

Why did she need to be here? What did she need to know?

Despite her surrounding, she could smell the faint whiff of dried sunflowers, like the ones that scattered her old shelter. It took thirteen steps to pace from her bed to her desk. It took twenty-one and a half to unlock the door and crawl out. She never gave up on her dreams, of family, of better days. She was simply through with waiting for it to come to her. Instead, she decided it was time for her to make it happen.

There was no returning to the past. That was impossible. Yet, you do not forget the past...you build from it. She curled her hands into tight fists and took another deep breath, as the memories slowly came back in focus. She held herself in stillness for a few moments.

"Bel...arus..." A gruff voice mouthed. "Voices...in head...say they want to help. Help...cause..."

The young woman looked up and smiled at Pezzi. "I will take you up on that offer." She stood up and stretched. Her stepped and crushed her felt turtle underneath. "I am done playing house. Let us get out of here."

Finding a way out of the building was a little more complicated than she expected. Nations from the other world could pop up anywhere, and they wouldn't be keen in letting go of their extra maid. The other Belarus and 975514, the robot, scanned their path as they descended each floor.

Her other self explained, as they ran, that after 'The Disaster' their own world had changes of their own. For them, they never got any urge to help out their people and their governments. Unlike their own, they never experienced the unbearable pain of denying that duty. Until, of course, 'The Disaster'. Where her hell was the wasteland, their hell were the world meetings that they were now forced to attend. Their task was to keep Canada's influence to minimum with his own government. This was not easy when they didn't have a credible history of their own.

"We're used to fighting each other," the other Belarus continued. "But not with underhanded policies."

"Would you prefer bombs?" Belarus whispered as they dashed another corner. Her other self was grim and serious. She was no longer that sweet face she had initially seen.

Her other self blinked with an unamused expression, "Yes." In that moment, Belarus realized how much that indifference towards humans affected the other nations.

"BELARUS!" A voice roared.

Belarus shook her head. How had she found pleasure in serving such a terrible copy of her brother? She ignored the shout and directed her attention back to the hall.

"Why do you all gather around Spain anyways?" She whispered to her reflection. Meanwhile, her eyes watched the robot scanned the floor and urged them to dash forward to the stairs again.

"Well, your world is only way we can escape our work without suffering...and the rest of the wasteland isn't very pretty. Here, we can laze around, like a resort-someone's coming."

Belarus immediately pushed Pezzi into the open room across them. She locked and closed the door. She held her breath as the three of them stood awkwardly inside. She counted the seconds as the other Belarus stood by outside to greet the other nation.

"There you are sweetie!" The other Ukraine gushed, "Have you seen your other self around here? You know your brother is getting really angry up there."

Her other self replied happily, "Tell him he should get his own damn bottle himself-ow. shtop that sishter" Belarus rubbed at her own cheek, almost feeling the pinching herself.

"That was rude. You wouldn't be trying to free her would you?" The older lady asked sweetly, but the threat in her voice was poorly masked.

"No." She spoke calmly. "That would not be like me at all, right? Ruining all your fun."

"She wants to be here, dear. She would have ran before Spain gave her that turtle."

Pezzi began to shake and gripped at their nose. Belarus widened her eyes in fear. The mock nation was going to sneeze! She ran to the bed in the room and gave them a pillow.

"And you would know that because?"

The other laughed, "You're so naive. Alright, I'll let you be but if you do see her-"

"ACHOO!"

"I knew it!" The older nation laughed and suddenly her reflection was in the room with them, right on the lamp on the side-table. Her face was distorted by the shape of the lamp. Belarus locked eyes with her and she smiled. "Come on dear, let-"

To everyone's shock, the young woman smashed the lamp to the ground.

"Don't dear me."

More pressed to get out of there, all of them ran down the halls with less care. It wouldn't take long before the other Ukraine snitched them out. Belarus kept the rear, constantly pushing Pezzi to run faster in spite of their bulky size.

"Where are we headed?" She asked as she had never been this far down the building before.

"The basement storage room." The robot beeped. "Your car is being kept there."

"Pezzi..." she looked at the mock-nation with churning guilt gnawing at her stomach. "I left you out there..."

"It's...okay..." The mock-nation panted, clearly pushing at their limits. "Arms brought car in. Did not see me. Ate your supplies. Survive."

She let out a sigh of relief and glanced at the robot, "My weapons?"

"I moved them a few days ago after you tossed them into the trash."

She face-palmed herself. Belarus couldn't believe she had acted so stupidly these past few days...these...past...few...days. She gripped her fists together, pushing herself forward even more. The Liberators...she had promised she would be back within a week.

They continued pushing their way down, as the only elevator in the building was a sure way to get caught. Once they got to the second floor, they reached a dead-end. Yet none of her companions were worried. Pezzi hunched over as they caught their breath. Then, they jumped to where the robot directed them. The groaning of the metal was evident and soon the mock-nation had broken through.

Belarus had little time to look around to where they crashed. She scanned for the car then directed their group to its direction. Her other self appeared in the dashboard, and flickered between the mirrors, like she was worried about someone appearing. The robot handed her the keys and told her to drive straight into the darkness.

"Kesesese," The machine snickered. "The Awesome made sure to clear the path before!"

She shifted it into drive and slammed on the pedal.

"BELARUS!" again the other Russia roared after her. The walls trembled under the force of the shout.

She furrowed her eyebrows as they raced forward. Why didn't he come down? Why did he only ever stay on that top floor? But soon enough, there was light ahead of them, so her mind didn't bother paying any further thought to the question. Her blood coursed with adrenaline and she grinned as the car hit the ground with a heavy thud.

This was more like it.

She gripped at the wheel and took a sharp turn. Streets cleared as she raced down the streets of Empire District #11. The robot opened the gates to the bewilderment of the blank-eyed gatekeepers. Good riddance, she thought, watching the skyscrapers sink back into the ground. Balls of light tried to chase after them but they were quickly out of range.

Hours later, after calming down from her excited high, she switched the wheel with Pezzi again. There were some matters that she needed to caught up with. The presence of 975514 made her fear the worst.

"Tell me. Why are you here?"

The robot no longer snickered or spouted its cocky attitude. Its voice was full of grief. However, it did not mince its words or give pause, "Dome #35 is gone."

She sat up straight and asked, "How?"

Those domes were supposed to be indestructible to nuclear weapons. That's why they had stood for so long.

"Remember when we had a few bomb explosions when you came by?"

Belarus nodded slowly.

"We had to let that smoke out somehow. We tried our best to let it out slowly but still the Empire found us out. They visited and tried to get us to join them. Lili, that brave girl, stood in their way. We aren't fighters...and we were trapped within the dome. Upon seeing our stubbornness, they put on their gas masks and carried out their secondary plans."

"...No..." She lowered her head.

The robot beeped and crawled closer to her feet, "...that's not all. My last order from my brother was to go to the liberators and warn them. I arrived there Belarus and it was destroyed."

She found it hard to breath and her heart felt like it was trying to break free from her rib cage. Regardless, that robotic voice went on, knowing that it had to follow through with the last of its orders. Like his brother, like the man that now powers the robot, 975514 did not quiver at telling the hard truth.

"It didn't take them long to find your recording and it led them to your Liberator camp."

"But they wouldn't dare disturb the balance of the wasteland!" She cried out and slammed her fist against the floor. They couldn't...

"No..." the robot agreed and she snapped her head to the those red glowing eyes again. "However, that didn't stop them from attacking your group to take away the E.M.P devices and send you further away. Luckily, most of them escaped to other Liberator camps. Or so I've been told."

Belarus lit up, "You...were asked to search for me...someone is still there. Oh..." she twitched a smile.

"What was that?"

She ignored its further questions. Her frown tightened, still saddened by the loss of the dome while she looked around the vehicle for her bag. Inside, her hands rummaged through the trash and other pointless supplies. Pulling out the glasses out, she took a deep breath as she turned it on. Her body froze at the date. A little over two weeks had passed since she was lost in that dreamy haze. All the news that had been told to her slowly gripped her. Her hand lowered the device and her eyes stared out at the wall ahead of her.

Those catastrophes had not occurred in sudden unpreventable bursts.

She could almost see that cute little face shouting at the unfeeling empire goons. She probably tried convincing them that they were powerless there, that they weren't a threat. If they were capable of free thought, those goons might have listened. That poor...poor nation. She lowered her head.

For a moment, she was back at the wheel, watching the camp disappear into a tiny dot. Belarus closed her eyes while her hands began to rub at her forehead. It was all her fault for leaving. She had truly been selfish.

Then, a thought came to her. She opened her eyes again and searched inside her bag. A piece of fabric, soft and worn down from the years, brushed against her fingers. She pulled it out. Her eyes blinked at it. Her sister, her real one, had given this to her and Belarus had removed it because it was 'tacky.' The young woman exchanged a glance at her other self, reflected through the visor. The other self gave her a smile.

She placed it back onto her head and adjusted it. She had promised them something that she swore to never forget. Her icy eyes glanced outside the window and at the broken scenery, partially casted in shadow from the thick clouds. She was back in the wasteland and she was no longer going to run away from saving it. After re-strapping them to her leg, Belarus pulled out one of her knives and twirled it, reacquainting herself with its weight. Everyone gave her a glance, even her reflection.

A few tosses in the air got her mind in full focus. The Liberators needed a counterattack. She smirked. She wasn't reckless, she was dangerous. Her eyes took in her group of companions. With this long drive, there was no more prefect time.

Another day and a half passed, Belarus spent that time brainstorming with her companions. To her surprise 975514 was equipped with a miniature version of the E.M.P. Her other self, because Belarus was often on the inside during raids, could transport herself to various Empire locations undetected instantly. Pezzi, the mock-nation, was a super-soldier all on their own. Her trip proved to bring not answers, but the greatest help for the Liberators yet.

They drove up the camp. A single tent was left standing. Everything else was either destroyed by the echoes of hard battle, or dismantled for moving. Someone was sitting on an old crate, looking up at the sky. A visor sat beside them. Belarus told the others to wait inside until her okay, while she got out of the car. They needed this moment alone.

"I'm here." She shouted at him, walking closer but at a very slow pace.

Shakily, as if he had forgotten how to stand, the brunet stood up. His face turned to her. Had it been any other time, she would have laughed at his growing stubble. Instead, she stared at him straight in the eye. Without any hesitation, he aimed his gun at Belarus.

"Give me one good reason not to shoot."

A/N: Awesome. Cliffhanger. I'm going to be more strict with myself in updating.

I hope I made it clear on why it's important that 2P!Russia cannot leave the top floor. *hint hint* Hopefully, it made sense. Belarus can't quite figure it out yet but the readers can, so it was kinda hard writing that.

Also, just to let anyone know. I don't ship Australia/Belarus super seriously (I know it's crack) but... there will be a very cheesy moment coming up. I also should stop putting Australia in a side-character role...his motives are actually supposed to be equally important to the plot.