Thanks for those who reviewed. Before we begin I just wanted to say how hard it was to write this chapter. I had to rewrite some parts several times because I didn't like it or I felt it wasn't right. I think I did it okay. Now, on with the show!
Egypt cried out in pain as Iran dug his foot in his chest, gritting his teeth hard as he hears some mild cracks coming from his bones, and tried to keep his glare on the man in front of him. Iran stopped and raised his foot, the Persian smirked before bringing it down to stomp on Egypt's stomach cruelly. Not enough to break his bones but enough to cause him a lot of pain. Egypt tried to fight if off, but just like the other members he had encountered so far, they're a lot stronger than they look.
He felt a pained groan barely escape his mouth before it got stuck when Iran dug his heel again. The combination of pain and the continued loss of blood from the gunshot wound made his senses a little weary, and it's hard to concentrate on anything when you're getting the air kicked out of your lungs every minute.
Saudi Arabia crouched down beside him, giving Egypt a devious smile that looked very unnerving. "How are you feeling? Are you immobilized enough?"
"I… have…" Egypt rasped out between breaths to regain air, clenching his fists. "I have been shot and now I'm having my lungs crushed all in a span of a few minutes."
"So, I take it that's a yes, then?" Saudi Arabia teased, but Egypt was not amused in the slightest, then relaxed into a kinder smile. "I'm sorry for the excess of brute force, but it's imperative that we make sure that you are unable to escape or resist."
"We know how you played a major role in you and your fellow Africans escaping." Iran said, keeping his foot strong on Egypt. "Very impressive by the way. So, you understand why we have to incapacitate you like this."
"Understandable but not excusable." Egypt said.
The two nations chuckled. "I guess so." Iran said.
Egypt glared at them, then his eyes traveled to a young island girl frozen in fear sitting against the wall, her big brown eyes anguishing over their current situation and his well-being. Seychelles was completely helpless and is unable to do anything to help him, and he knows that was surely heart-breaking for her. To be a defenseless girl relying on others for protection is not a nice position for a nation. She can only watch as Egypt struggles under Iran's foot.
That in turn broke his heart.
Seychelles met his pained green eyes and she looked dangerously close to tearing up. She opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out, she just looked at him with misery and sorrow all in one and covered her mouth presumably to block a sob. Seychelles was not just heartbroken and miserable, she was scared. Scared of Iran and Saudi Arabia, scared of what they'll do, scared for Egypt, scared by the entire situation.
Even as his world was a little blurry and dizzy from the blood loss and pain, he could see her shed a tear. Seychelles was… crying.
No… no… don't cry.
He wanted to cry out to her, a rasp, or just form the words with his mouth without saying them, to run as fast as she could from here where the island girl won't have to witness any more of this. To go to a haven where she can smile and be free from worries and fear. A safe little paradise hidden from the rest of the world and its darkness where her smile can shine brightly. And maybe, just maybe, he can join her there too.
Why does he dive into these delusions? He thought self-deprecatingly. That scenario can only exist in a dream, a fantasy, a fairy-tale. Egypt has long since learned from all the hardships he has faced through the centuries, from his mother's death to his time in the Ottoman Empire to a lot of things, that is not just not possible. Only death can truly set you free and take you to a place where you can be happy for the rest of eternity and join the ones you lost.
Egypt himself waits for the day he can rejoin his mother, to feel her comforting embrace again and leave the cruel world behind, he waits for the day he would be set free from his burden. But as much as he waits for death, he lived. He lived, fought, cried, laughed, smiled, everything. The instinct to live drives him forward. Egypt did not want to subject himself to another suffering rule, so he ran with Algeria, Tunisia, Mauritius and Seychelles. They all didn't want to be caged. And Egypt helped them, he took them all away from there.
He made a vow to stop this madness but now he's failing. Egypt was failing everyone. Even if Seychelles did run, someone was bound to catch her and drag her back. She'll cry even more and fall into the depths of despair. What can he do now?
"Egypt… Are you even listening? Egypt!" Iran repeated louder, and Egypt was painfully shaken out of his thoughts by Iran digging his foot, the man sighed. "We've been trying to get your attention while you were off staring into space. I think the bleeding is starting to take its toll on you."
Egypt blinked several times, starting to get into a daze. "What… What were you saying?"
Saudi Arabia gave Egypt a smile full of pity. "Oh, you poor, poor thing. So tired and hurt." He cooed, leaning down near Egypt's to an uncomfortable degree, he was getting too close. "We wanted you to fall off so that you can have temporary rest for when you're taken to the Africans. Just let your head hit the concrete floor and instantly get taken to a cold sleep. Would have spared you from seeing your friends' despair."
"Incapacitate you in one of the least painful ways possible, that's what we wanted." Iran agreed, smiling similarly to Saudi Arabia. "But it turns out…" The Persian looked up to grin at Seychelles, who gulped at his piercing gaze. "Your little island friend here had other plans and saved you."
Seychelles remained paralyzed in fear and hugged her knees to her chest, this seemed to amuse Saudi Arabia. "Oh, don't misunderstand little girl, what you did was truly noble and touching." Saudi Arabia waved it off, which did nothing to soothe the island's nerves. "How you resolved to save your fellow nation despite your fear and lack of combat skills. And the little scene and dialogue between you was delectably sweet."
Egypt didn't know how to explain it, but that last sentence disturbed him quite a lot, but he decided to get their attention off Seychelles. "Enough, so you were planning to make me fall to my death, so I wouldn't "suffer" or help anyone escape."
The two Middle Eastern nations turned their heads toward him, and Iran smiled slyly. "Oh, don't stress yourself further, we have no intention of hurting someone like her. Don't mistake us for the Africans. But back to the main topic…"
"So, since you're not out of commission… We have to do this the hard way." Saudi Arabia leaned his head on his hand and glanced at Seychelles. "And you have your island friend here to thank."
Seychelles flinched, and the feelings of guilt and regret began to appear on her face. "I… I…"
"Michelle, ignore them, their words are nothing but poison." Egypt attempted to console the island but bit his tongue once he realized he let slip something.
The two nations raised their eyebrow while Seychelles blinked in surprise. Saudi then gave a knowing smirk and Iran smiled playfully. "Ooh, "Michelle", getting close, are you?" Iran poked Egypt's forehead teasingly.
Egypt prayed to the great god Ra that he wasn't turning red. "What exactly are you trying to imply?" He asked, somehow not stuttering.
"Oh… nothing." Saudi Arabia covered his mouth to hide his snickers, then smirked at Iran. "It seems these sorts of things really do happen in times of crisis. You learn about yourself and your relationships with others evolve."
"…What?" Egypt asked for clarification, though he doubted he was going to get it.
"Stop being such a tease, Karim. Can't you see how lost he is?" Iran grinned and gestured towards Egypt, who still felt confused but was more surprised at the fact Iran used Saudi Arabia's human name so casually.
"Me? You were also teasing him almost a minute ago!" Saudi Arabia retorted, but kept his smile. "If anything, you should stop."
"So, you could go on and tease him by yourself?"
"Ohohoho, now you're being ridiculous, Amir."
"You're calling me ridiculous?"
"Yes, yes I am."
As the two nations cackled, Egypt's eyes went wide at Saudi Arabia's friendly use of Iran's human name, used in such a casual and familiar way. Egypt knew they had to be on good terms for them to be on the same organization and to have been pretending for a long time. But he was not expecting those two to be behaving so friendly towards each other, laughing and smiling as if they were old friends which he is sure is the case.
It looked and sounded wrong. Because not so long ago, Egypt has seen with his own eyes those two glare and sneer at each other. Iran smirking ominously with his green eyes filled with anger and madness and Saudi Arabia glaring with his cold and formal gaze. Fighting for dominance in the Middle East for years. Now, with his very own eyes, he's seeing Saudi Arabia and Iran laugh wildly together at Egypt's lack of awareness.
"It's so strange seeing you two being so friendly with each other." Egypt remarked.
The two stopped their laughing and smiled strangely at Egypt. "I guess it would be…" Iran said, smiling at Saudi Arabia. "Considering our hate act. We've never hated each other, never did, we've been friends for many, many years."
"But for the sake of the masquerade, we had to pretend." Saudi Arabia returned Iran's smile. "Two enemies aspiring to be the leader of the Islamic World at each other's necks for their different political agendas, interpretations of religion, oil, and relations with the West. Every time we come face-to-face in front of the World, we have nothing but hostility and tension but behind closed doors or with our fellow members we laugh at how we fooled you all."
Egypt wondered how the other Middle Eastern nations would react, it won't be positive, that's for sure. "I imagine that." He muttered.
"We pulled the strings, we worked behind the scenes, we manipulated events." Iran counted off his fingers, then smirked. "Religious ones included."
"Wh-What?!" Egypt exclaimed. "You can't seriously be saying that…"
"Yes, Gupta, what we say is the truth." Saudi Arabia said proudly. "Religion was a sort of cover for some of the things I have done, an excuse, a lie. Though I could have done without some of the strict and ultraconservative things, but it doesn't really matter. I funded and became involved with our neighbors to make them into the failed states they are today. Yemen, Iraq, Syria, you probably know what I mean."
"You… you did…" Egypt growled, clenching his fists in rage.
"Yes… I did." Saudi Arabia said softly.
"That's… I can't believe it…" Seychelles muttered, finally speaking. "You created religions just for… just for this?"
"Oh, trust me, it's a lot easier than it sounds." Saudi Arabia chuckled. "Humans already waged war for things sillier than this, just ask Mexico! It was pathetically easy to do all of this, including controlling my idiot kings. Very impressive, no?"
"And you want to know what the best part is?" Iran asked, then flashing a vicious smile. "We're not even religious!"
"What…?" Egypt asked, barely audible.
"We are a part of no religion, we never believed in any branch of Islam, both of us only pretended." Iran said. "I think it's for the best, no?"
"You… you abandoned Allah… for this New World Order?" Egypt asked in disbelief.
"We have forsaken religion a long time ago, Gupta." Saudi Arabia declared. "We believe in no deity, we don't pray to anyone, we kneel before no one, we worship no one, we don't care."
Egypt could not believe what he was hearing but the two of them did not look like they were joking. "You don't… care?"
"No." They both said simultaneously.
Egypt was truly at a loss for words, he didn't know what to say to these new revelations, or what to feel. Betrayal? Rage? Shock? He's going to go for shock because he's sure that's what he's feeling right now. Seychelles didn't seem to be faring any better, she was in disbelief that these people have that much influence.
The tense silence was interrupted at the sound of banging against the iron, and everyone looked up to see a grinning Haiti climbing down the structure cheerfully waving at them. Egypt felt more dread pool into his stomach at his arrival. Their already slim chances of escaping just got worse. Egypt's body was tired and unmoving, in no shape to stand up and fight on his own.
Haiti's grin widened when his eyes landed on Egypt. "So, that's where you ended up. I was wondering why I didn't hear a splat or see a body all the way down."
Egypt narrowed his eyes and Iran smiled at Haiti. "Did you climb from all the way up there?"
"Wi, the cold is getting a lot worse." Haiti shivered. Saudi Arabia and Iran looked at each other confusedly, Haiti noticed this and raised an eyebrow. "What? What is it?"
Saudi Arabia lifted his index finger and opened his mouth to say something but decided against it, leaving Iran to scratch his head and smile. "But… couldn't you have just used your magic to teleport yourself down?"
"…Huh?"
"Save yourself the trouble and risk of falling off and enduring the cold? And save a lot of time too."
Haiti didn't respond to that question, only started to smile strangely, very strangely. Haiti kept smiling forcefully and tightly that looked like it was taking a vast amount of self-restraint to explode right here and there. The Caribbean island's smile was twitching a lot and then he opened his mouth but then closed it and put his hands on his back.
"So, how did Egypt escape the fall?" Haiti asked suddenly, desperate to change the subject.
"You… completely forgot, didn't you?" Saudi Arabia asked, an unimpressed look on his face while Iran face palmed.
"So, how did Egypt escape the fall?" Haiti asked again, this time with a firmer tone.
"Let me guess, you also forgot about that when you climbed up." Iran deadpanned.
"JUST ANSWER THE DAMN QUESTION!" Haiti screamed angrily, and the two Middle Easterners winced and covered their ears at the outburst.
Saudi Arabia clapped his hands. "To answer your question Haiti as for how Egypt survived…" Saudi walked over to Seychelles and grabbed her shoulders, causing her to flinch. "This nice little girl sneaked her way up here and managed to catch Egypt just in time and get him to safety."
Haiti narrowed his eyes at Seychelles, who recoiled under his gaze, and he seemed to be looking at her with something akin to disapproval or disappointment. "Is that so…"
"Quite the clever girl, isn't she?" Iran smiled at Seychelles, who did not at all like the sudden attention.
"More like troublesome." Haiti muttered, then knelt to Seychelles' level, frowning. "Why do female nations always want to do it the hard way?" He asked quietly almost in a melancholy way, then his brows furrowed in mild anger when Seychelles remained staring at him in fear. "Look at yourself, you're like a little mouse completely surrounded by felines, scared and paralyzed in fear! It's… It's…"
Seychelles looked at him in confusion, then swallowed as she tried to put a brave face. "Oui, I'm scared, I'm very scared."
"How stupid… you're stupid. So, so, so stupid." Haiti snarled. "Why would you go through all this trouble? Don't you know how much you're going to suffer when you return? This… This escapee trip has been for nothing! The only thing you managed to accomplish is give yourself false hope. Why… Why?"
"It's normal for nations to fight for their right to be free, right?" Seychelles asked carefully, slowly scooting away.
"But you don't fight. You can't fight."
"That doesn't mean I can't try."
Haiti gritted his teeth. "Estipid ti fi."
"If you're done with this drama and the others are done watching this drama…" A new voice appeared revealing himself to be a mildly annoyed Switzerland making his way towards them. "Then we can finally leave. Everyone we need is rounded up and in no position to escape. We accomplished what we needed to do, now we just need to take them ourselves."
"Right." Iran smiled, nodding then turned his head towards Egypt, who was starting to get more tired by the minute. "Goodbye for now, Gupta. This'll only hurt just a bit."
Egypt, feeling his senses getting weaker and his eyes getting heavier from all the blood loss and exhaustion, barely managed to register what Iran said. He was tired and didn't have the energy to move. He could only stare at them groggily as he cursed at their current situation.
They... lost. Egypt and the others... they lost?
No... this can't be...
Iran towered over him, Egypt was tired, but he still used what energy he had to glare at him. It was all he could do. Iran slowly raised his foot above Egypt's head, intending to kick him into unconsciousness. As Egypt watched, he glanced at Seychelles and found her shaking, hugging her knees and refusing to watch.
Good, he'd rather that she doesn't see him like this.
Iran then brought his foot down and harshly stomped on Egypt's head. Egypt felt a jolt of pain from the impact and the back of his head hitting the hard iron floor. And Egypt's world fell into darkness.
/ / / / / /
At the same time in the same city, somewhere near where everything was happening, the third watched through his binoculars all the events that took place. He watched Algeria and the others freeze in shock and despair at how they couldn't escape. That was gold. He wasn't lying when he said where Haiti went but that didn't mean he didn't have some ulterior motive. And he smirked as he saw Egypt fall to his death only to be rescued by Seychelles. Adorable.
Jeez, he doesn't need binoculars or a hearing device to know that hearts are oozing out, and not in a literal way unfortunately.
But it's about time Egypt got himself a special friend. His little Egyptian friend needs to get laid, fast. Enjoy the happiness and warmth of love while he can before he gets sucked into a maelstrom of grief and despair. He almost feels bad for them, in the (extremely) likely event that they fell head over heels with each other, the relationship will be short-lived. But at least he'll experience love.
Speaking of love... He smirked. He wondered how his own love was doing, it's been a while since they've seen each other and he's pretty sure Bulgaria must be going cray-cray without seeing him. Then again, he already is cray-cray. Bulgaria was probably somewhere, love-sick as he thinks about him 24/7, longing for them to see each other again and do what they always do. He snorted, that's his good ol' lover for you!
But… he would be lying if he said that he didn't share the same feelings. He misses Bulgaria just as much as he misses him, probably even more. Despite the questionable aspects of their relationship, there is love. A love so, so, so strong that can easily be seen the same as obsession. If anyone tried to take Bulgaria away from him…
He started shaking as he looked at his hands then threw his head back as harsh and raucous cackles came out of his mouth. Well, if anyone with a rotting, poisoned, miniscule, retarded, dumb, malfunctioning, dying piece of brain, because that would be the only sort of person who would have the guts to try that, tried then they will have to deal with his anger. You. Don't. Want. To. See. Him. Angry.
Well, that's enough ominous inner monologues, let's see how things are heating up. He was a part of this mission too, but he requested that he play the part of hiding in the shadows and not to tell any of the runways, especially Egypt, about his involvement. As far as they know, he just gave them a tip and abruptly left. But why would you do that? One might ask. Don't you want to fight?
Yeah, but he feels that it's not his time yet to make his official debut. He wanted his reveal to be a shocking moment that will remain in the minds of the other nations forever, when he takes off the mask and showed his true nature. Call him whatever you want, but he wants his debut to be exactly the way he wanted it.
He brought his binoculars back up and tries to see what's going on right now. Huh. He raised an eyebrow. That's a twist.
/ / / / / /
Tunisia really wished he brought something he can use to fight. Anything. Because he could really use a gun or a knife or something to give him at least a slight advantage over someone like Switzerland. His frown deepened, and he folded his arms across his chest. His sister was currently pacing around the area, trying to cool off and muttering multiple curses in Arabic and Berber.
This… hostage situation he supposed… is nerve wracking.
He mused that it could be worse in some ways. Tunisia could be dealing with his brother, Morocco, he shuddered. At least Morocco wasn't here with that unnervingly warm smile that served to both mock and intimidate enemies. Morocco…
What in Allah's name is going on with his mind? Tunisia doesn't remember anything from their younger days that would have caused Morocco to have become… what he has become. Was it just the European colonialism that drove his brother to join the New World Order? Or is there something that he, Algeria, Libya, Mauritania or West Sahara don't know about? Something no one in the Maghreb except Morocco himself knows.
Something that drove his brother to become a bloodthirsty monster, forsake his own family, lie to them for Allah knows how long…
Tunisia was determined to find out why, so that at least he could maybe understand his brother, even if Algeria doesn't want to.
/ / / / / /
Seychelles hugged her knees as she looked at Egypt's unconscious form in front with a troubled face, she felt nothing but worry and dread. The other nations were saying something, probably to her or someone else, but she didn't hear them. She didn't want to hear them. She wanted them to go away and leave them alone.
Egypt still hasn't woken up.
Although, he was suffering from blood loss, multiple beatings and a concussion. So, you can't blame him.
Still, even if he woke up, he still wouldn't be feeling too well to do anything to help. Seychelles still felt bummed that she's useless in these situations, only watching from the sidelines as her friends risk their lives and get hurt. Maybe that's why she decided to sneak her way to the second floor, even though she didn't know what she could do, and she might risk running into Switzerland.
But in the end, she was glad she did it, she managed to save Egypt, and he looked happy. Seychelles couldn't help but wonder why Egypt used her human name, and much to her embarrassment, she used his human name. But he didn't seem to mind. Seychelles wondered if it was because if their situation, and they all grew closer as a result. She and Egypt barely interacted before all this started but they've talked to each more than they have in the last century.
It's a good thing, no? Seychelles was happy about it.
She felt a little ashamed of herself that she couldn't do anything as Iran stomped and dug his foot on Egypt, while he endured and endured pain she just sat there shaking like a coward. But… could she have done something? Even if she wasn't scared, would she even get them to stop hurting Egypt?
Now that she thought about it, there was no way she could have done something.
Seychelles buried her face in her knees and waited for it to be all over.
/ / / / / /
Egypt felt panic flood through his entire body. He wasn't sure why. He had no idea what was going on and he is sure that he wasn't supposed to be so aware if he's unconscious. Was he even unconscious? Was he dying? What was going on?
He didn't know how to explain it, there's probably no way he can. He wasn't awake. He couldn't see or hear anything. Whatever it was, he wanted it to stop.
His heart was deafeningly beating against his chest with a gradually increasing speed. The air burned at his throat and seemed to be incinerating his lungs. He wanted to say something, even scream, but only a few incoherent noises came out.
What is happening to him?
Egypt tossed and turned on the mysterious ground(?), in agony due to an unknown force or cause, and is unable to do anything to stop it. Something was grabbing with his mind, sinking their nails into it, and slowly tearing it apart.
Why? Why do these strange and bizarre happenings occur in his sleep or when he's falling to his death? Is it because of his magic touch? Is it someone else's work? An enemy tormenting him? An ally giving him warnings. Just what was the purpose of all this?
He felt the agony in his body get worse and he desperately tried to scream, if only for it to help a little, but no sound came.
Then, as he minds cracked, he heard voices. Voices of all kinds screaming or talking normally, of men and women, of nations he recognizes, and they're all talking all the same time and doing it so fast that Egypt cannot process it all. For a moment he thought he was going insane, but then they quieted down.
The pain decreased if only a little and Egypt heard several voices loud and clear.
I will not allow myself to be consumed by hatred and anger. He has taught me that.
This... This is amazing! I've never felt such a wonderful feeling in my entire life!
This world no longer has any right to my heart. The world that left him to rot. I have nothing but contempt for all of you.
I have had it with you all these years! Trying to make me into a perfect loyal son! Trying to erase me! Patronizing me! But now… you are going to pay for everything.
The endgame… is just beginning.
Egypt felt something in his mind snap. The voices silenced. The pain vanished. The air no longer burned his throat and lungs.
It all just… ended.
The surroundings began to vanish as a growing blinding light began to consume everything, and Egypt felt himself getting blind as it got closer. Egypt couldn't move, so there was nothing he could do, only wait for it to devour him. The light then washed over him, and he felt being carried along, like being pushed by a wave. It didn't hurt, it was oddly… warm and soothing.
Wake up!
And Egypt screamed as the world faded to nothing.
/ / / / / /
It was… awkward, that's one way to put it, very, very awkward. And a little shocking, they were all frozen in shock, Seychelles thought. None of them had no idea what to day or do in this position they were in. Because none of them have any idea what just happened.
One moment they were in Paris held hostage by the Order, Seychelles was sweating and quivering in fear as Switzerland tightly grabbed her arm, then suddenly they're no longer in Paris. Suddenly, a bright light engulfed her and she's with the others in a whole different location.
It was… It was just like last time.
Egypt was still unconscious and was lying on the floor with his face down. Seychelles was currently looking in front of her with a blanched face and widened eyes. The people in front of her basically has the same shell-shocked reaction as her.
They were in some sort of house and instead of the chilly night in Paris, it's sunny and warm outside. In front of them was a round dining table where four female nations sat. The first one had long thick hair and was currently looking at them like they were ghosts, Bahamas. The second one was a teenage girl with shoulder length curly hair gaping at them like a fish, Saint Lucia. The third had long unruly hair and was currently spilling the drink she was pouring in a cup, Honduras. And the fourth was a teenage girl with low pigtails with her mouth hanging open, Belize.
The four female nations clearly didn't expect them to suddenly appear in the room out of nowhere.
Deciding to break the ice, Seychelles laughed nervously and waved. "U-Um, hi?" She said lamely.
None of them responded, but then Bahamas seemed to slightly recover from her shock and waved hesitantly. "Hi?"
It was a bad attempt but at least it got a teeny little less awkward.
Seemingly snapping out of her shock, Belize suddenly banged the table and pointed an angry finger at them, she made a compilation of disjointed mumblings before yelling. "WHAT THE F-"
/ / / / / /
Egypt groaned as he woke up, bringing a hand up to his face and rubbing his eyelids. What…? Where…? He felt pain in his head, it was pounding, and he clutched it hoping it would go away. His head felt like someone shoved his head on concrete, the pain was mostly on his forehead, he noted. He brought his hand up to touch the painful spot and hissed when he did. A bruise.
He felt a little dizzy and he closed his eyes to stop himself from seeing everything spin. Egypt groaned some more as he tried to keep his half-asleep mind together. Calm down… Relax… Focus…
First: What happened? Egypt carefully tried to remember the events that led to him… passing out? Knocked unconscious? Wait. Something clicked in Egypt's mind.
That's right, Iran knocked him unconscious. So then... Does that mean...
"Where...?" Egypt mumbled, trying to process the world around him to little success. Although he is sure of one thing, he can tell he was on a bed, a cozy one at that. The need for answers made him open his eyes.
He was in a bedroom, one that he did not recognize. Egypt turned to the left and looked at the window, it was daytime, and the weather appeared to be rather warm. What is this place?
But what about the others?
He started to sit up only to abruptly stop when he felt something float down from his chest to his lap. It was a folded piece of paper with black writing visible. A letter. He picked up the paper, unfolded it and began to read, squinting through his sleepy eyes.
Hi, Egypt.
If you're reading this, then that means that Seychelles has fallen asleep while waiting for you to wake up. You're probably wondering where you are right now, and the confusing answer to that question is Belize, apparently.
Egypt blinked at that last part, then did a double take. He rubbed his eyes and read it again, finding that he was not imagining He... they… were in Belize? But how is that possible? He shook his head and decided to continue reading the letter before jumping to conclusions.
Don't worry about us, we're fine. Well, not really, but it'll probably be better if we explain it to you ourselves. Ubon and I will be in the living room with Belize herself as well as the other three nations with her, two of which will surprise you, it certainly surprised us.
Seychelles will be in the chair beside your bed, so wake her up when you're ready. I'm sure she won't mind.
Algeria.
Egypt turned his head towards the bedside, and just like the letter said Seychelles was there, sound asleep and breathing in and out softly. Her hair was completely down, no pigtails or bows in sight, and was curled up in a ball so she would fit in the chair.
Although the letter had told him to wake her up, he hesitated. He didn't want to disturb her, but at the same time he wanted to speak to her. His hand hovered above her shoulder and he gently shook her awake. "Seychelles."
Seychelles remained asleep but stirred a little. "Not now, Kelvin." She mumbled sleepily.
Egypt raised an eyebrow at the mention of the nation. He tried again, louder this time. "Michelle."
That seemed to do the trick. She woke up, sitting up abruptly. Seychelles rubbed her eyes before she saw him and smiled. "Egypt? You woke up!" But the grin faltered slightly. "Are you okay? Do you want me to get someone?"
"No, that won't be necessary, Seychelles. I'm fine." Egypt said, then rubbed his forehead. "I feel a bit of pain but it's nothing serious."
The smile returned, but for some reason it almost didn't reach her eyes. "If you say so. I'm really happy you're okay!"
Egypt gave her a small smile, then remembered the letter. "Seychelles, are we really in Belize?"
Seychelles glanced at the letter then nodded. "Oui, we were taken here a few hours ago. I.. really don't know how or why." She put her hand on her chin. "Believe or not, it just… happened. One moment we were in France then another moment we were in Belize's house giving her a heart attack."
Egypt had a lot of questions burning on his mind. Why were they in Belize's house? What happened to France and Monaco? Who else was in the house? But he decided to focus on the main topic. He can ask the other questions later. "But why did we go here?"
Seychelles bit her lip and shrugged. "I don't know. We all thought you did it… did you?"
"I… I think I did." Egypt said hesitantly, trying to make sense of his fuzzy memories. "But strangely, it wasn't intentional."
"Really?" Seychelles asked. "Was it by accident?"
"I'm not sure. My memories aren't very clear right now."
"O-Oh, right. You're still recovering." Seychelles said apologetically, then smiled. "But accident or no accident, you saved us again. We really owe you, Egypt."
Egypt shook his head. "No need to thank me." Then something popped in his mind. "Are the others…?"
"They're all in the living room, we're actually waiting for you. But Egypt…" Seychelles twiddled her thumbs, looking from his face to the bed with a pained expression. "There's something… you should know."
Egypt felt slightly alarmed. "What? What's wrong, Michelle?"
"I… not…" Seychelles hugged herself, her hair hiding her eyes.
"What?"
"When… not… he didn't…"
"Seychelles?" Egypt asked, feeling dread pool into his stomach.
Seychelles didn't respond, only hiding again curling up in a ball and hugging her knees, hiding her face from view. Egypt attempted to reach out a hand, but he hesitated when he saw her shake. He started to hear sniffles and sobbing from her, she was crying. Pain and confusion gripped his heart at the sounds.
Why was she crying? What happened? Did something go wrong?
Egypt didn't know what to say. He wasn't good at comforting others especially if he didn't know the reason why, but he did not want to see her like this and he need to know what happened. He had to try. "Michelle…" He began slowly and softly, resting a hand on her shoulder. "Tell me what's wrong."
She calmed down a little, but she kept crying. Taking a deep breath, he took her hand gently, and she gripped it tightly. Seychelles slowly looked up at him, eyes puffy and watery, and choked on a sob as her expression became more pained. "Michelle, if you don't want to…"
Seychelles wiped her face with her arm and looked at him hopelessly. "It's Kelvin."
"What about Mauritius?" Egypt asked, growing tense.
"He's… gone. Kelvin's not here with us."
That sentence pierced his heart like an arrow and he heard the sky shatter.
/ / / / / /
Mauritius didn't want to wake up when he did. He was having a really great dream, one where everything was normal, and he was having fun at the beach without a care in the world. Seychelles, Madagascar and even Comoros were there too. Everything was great, and they were happy, except for maybe Comoros but even she cracked a smile. The four of them were in his home exploring the forests in the mountains, he burst out laughing when Comoros had a bunch of butterflies fly up on her face, he had no idea how they managed to get that far or when they even set out.
But he didn't really care. He was with the people he cared about. That's all that mattered.
Then he woke up, and they weren't there anymore.
The realization hit him like a ton of bricks, and just like it sounded, it hurt. When cruel sick reality finally sank in, he blinked and almost expected to be blinded by light, but he wasn't. Mauritius felt a bit of pain in the center of his forehead, like something impaled it. Did he have a concussion or…
The memory returned to him and he remembered what happened. He and the others… they walked into a trap by Switzerland. Seychelles went missing and he panicked, but Switzerland nearly shot him within two seconds. As he dreaded and hoped that she was okay, a… bright light? Yeah, a big light suddenly swallowed everything and when he could see again, Algeria and Tunisia were gone. Mauritius and Monaco, as well as France, only looked on dumbfounded.
What the heck was that anyway? Where did Algeria and Tunisia go?
He kept asking himself those questions over and over then suddenly he saw something shiny fly and… plunge into his forehead. He… died? Mauritius widened his eyes in realization. Haiti killed him.
And now Mauritius has been captured?! No… no, no, no, no.
Mauritius immediately tried to move, but he felt a slight pain on his wrists and he realized he couldn't move. He was trapped, bound to a chair apparently. There were straps keeping his arms and legs bound to the chair, keeping him down no matter how much he struggled. Mauritius kept trying to break out or slip his hands out, but every attempt was met with failure or pain.
He sighed in defeat. Looked like there's no way out, at least for now. What he was really worried about was what the others are doing? Just what happened to them? Did they all disappear? Was Seychelles okay? He hopes the others will try to protect her while he's… Where is he again?
The room he was in wasn't well lighted, that's for sure. Mauritius looked to the left and saw what he thinks is a desk filled with papers, charts, and monitors. Like something a genius would have. There were also a bunch of drawers. For what? Who knows. He looked to the left and saw a board with various notes and a large bookcase with well, books obviously, but also some other miscellaneous items.
What type of room is…? Mauritius looked in front of him again, and nearly screamed and had a heart attack. There was a young man with dreadlocks that nearly reached his shoulders and insane and excited light green eyes with a grin that stretched too much. This was a nation that loved to visit Mauritius in his nightmares. Mauritius felt himself pale and swallow when the man giggled.
"Hello~" Nigeria sing-songed.
Uh-oh... Well, that's the end of this arc. I might include them a little in the next one. Next chapter will focus on the African five. I'm sorry if this and the last two chapters were kind of boring but I promise the next one will be more interesting and exciting. Here's my plan: I'm gonna do the Africans, then the nations in the Americas, then Lithuania and Bulgaria. I'm planning it out. PLEASE REVIEW! Pretty please? You have no idea how much it means to me.