A/N: Welcome.
Thank you Princess of preposterous! You are a very kind person, and I have yet to hear a response like yours for any of my stories, fanfiction or normal.
Everybody else, today the perspective will be of Norway. He is a large part of the story, although he's only been mentioned once or twice.
Well, that's all.
"Subject 28, please come to the testing room." A womans voice went over the intercom. I pushed out of the shiny metal chair and tried to stabilize myself while I walked, barefooted, across the cold white linoleum floor. My hands were bound with a zip-tie. The door opened in front of me and I staggered forward. The men in white coats didn't care that I wasn't steady on my feet. I tripped and landed on my left shoulder. The bone twisted under my weight and slipped out of it's socket. I clenched my jaw and refused to shout out in pain. A man roughly shoved me to my feet and through a small hallway. I slammed my knee against a wall once and ignored the pain it brought. He opened a door for me and pushed me in. I almost fell over again and was caught under the arms. I winced from my dislocated shoulder. I looked up to see a red haired man with square glasses holding me. I scrambled to my feet and kept my face emotionless.
"Is It intact? Did they hurt It?" I heard a woman say from the back of the room. I was angered by the fact that she called me an "It."
"Are you unhurt?" One asked. I didn't even look away from the floor.
"It can't hear. It's deaf. Nor can It talk." A second woman said. I'd never spoken in their presence and never responded to sound in a hope that they would throw me out like the others. In a hope that they would think that I was useless.
"Then what should we do? Inspect It?" A younger man asked. I determined that they were inviting students in for interns from the different voices.
"It can understand writing. And It can write." The red haired man took a notepad from his pocket. He wrote and handed me the paper and pen. I read it quickly and roughly wrote that I was indeed injured. They dislocated my left shoulder. He took the paper as I held it out.
"Yes." He read out loud. "They took my left shoulder out of it's place." There was sudden murmurs from the shadows across the room. He walked up and pushed my shoulder in. He raised his eyebrows and I nodded to say that it was better.
"This subject, Number 28, experiences next to no pain. We will be conducting our pain test on It now." He said loudly to silence the whispers. I must have looked like a poorly kept experiment with my dust and sweat filled hair and my wrinkled medical gown and my pidgin toed feet and my cracked, bruised, and scabbed skin. He walked over and grabbed my upper arm. He pulled me to a surgical table and strapped my ankles and legs into it. He clipped the zip-tie on my wrists and called another man to strap down my arms and torso. "It's one of our strongest and most violent subjects as well. That's why we need to strap It down." He grunted as I tried to pull away from the straps. The pain test was my least favorite, they would inflict different types of pain on me until I passed out.
"Will he be alright?" A girl asked from the front of the shadows. I looked over at her and found her eyes. I looked into them and I found that one was covered with a bandage.
"We never call our subjects by their gender they are all "It"s." The red haired man sighed. "Would you like to help us conduct the experiment?" He gestured to me.
"N-no thank you sir." She shook her head vigorously.
"Oh but I'd love an assistant that's as pretty as you." He was raising his eyebrows like no one ever defied him. Probably no one ever did.
"I'm afraid I may snap at you." She said in a light voice. "I don't quite like the chemical smells here and I'm extremely stressed right now." His dull blue eyes filled with anger because of his rejection in front of so many people.
"Come here!" He half shouted and grabbed her arm. She struggled to get away and twisted away. "Take her to the white room!" He said just loud enough for the nearest staff to hear. I heard it as well and panicked. She looked down at me as she passed. Her white hair and her amber eye stirred something in my mind. I recognized her and I didn't know how. I'd never been out of the building before. I knew I had to do something so I summoned all of my strength to my arms. I ripped through the leather straps and sprang from the table.
"Get It!" A doctor yelled as I kicked the woman holding the white haired girl's arm. There was a static-like noise from behind me and a huge burning sensation in my side. I crumpled and hit the floor. The girl looked at me sadly as I lost consciousness.
"NORWAY! ! ! ! ! !" I shot up in bed to see Denmark bursting through my door. "You look tired." He said as I straitened my face to expressionless.
"Go away." I said as I pulled my cover over me again. "I don't need you or your ego." I curled up and closed my eyes.
Suddenly, my comforter was ripped away, showing me, curled up in a ball and in my boxers. I threw my pillow and heard it hit him.
"Sweden says you need to get up." He tugged on my ankle to try to get me up. I kicked him away and he grabbed my other ankle. "Get up!" He grunted and pulled me out of my bed. He dragged me through the hallway, me kicking him in the gut all the while.
"Have you woken up yet?" Sweden asked cruelly. Finland was next to him with his dog in his lap.
I simply sat down, completely placid, and looked around at the four other men.
"You had something you wanted to tell us?" Iceland asked from next to me.
"Well," Denmark started. "I just happened to tell Holland that you exist. Repeatedly." He tilted his head up so he wouldn't have to see Sweden's angry face. "But England probably erased her memory. I'm sure of it." He looked back at us and I hope I conveyed my hate for him.
"Is that all?" I kept my voice calm and my face strait. "Why did you wake me up for that? I already knew." I sighed and chuckled.
"Norway, why are you in your boxers?" Finland asked. I rolled my eyes and stared at Denmark as if to say that it was his fault. "Oh, sorry. I'm tired." He said shortly and stroked his dog. She hopped off his lap and meandered away, probably trying to find some decent food.
I got up and walked back to my room.
All of us, The Nordics, simply shared a house. We didn't have a hotel we stayed in. It got infuriating sometimes, living in the same place as the others. We often got people at the door, thinking that we wanted to buy something. I don't exactly know why we all had to come to the UK, we weren't all involved in the micro-war Sweden was creating with England.
Not all of us wanted to create tension between nations then have them duke it out while we benefited from the sidelines.
I grabbed casual casual clothing from the closet and headed into the bathroom. In the closet, I saw Iceland's unmade bed. It wasn't even really a bed, just a bunch of pillows and blankets squished together to make a bed.
While I turned on the water, I heard yelling from the front of the house. There was a female voice mixed in as well. I ignored it and assumed it must have been one of Denmark's "girlfriends" he brought home so many times.
I cleaned off and thought of my tattoo, I would be getting the rest filled in today. The black and darker blue would be added.
When I was done, I dressed and stepped out of Iceland's and my room. I picked up a necklace on the way out and strung it around my neck. I had possessed it since I was born. It was a simple jade chain with a silver emblem of Odin.
"Hi Norway." I looked up to see a silver haired girl waving at me. Her hair was almost blue, it was so bright. "It's nice to see you." I questioned who she was until I saw her light gray-blue eyes.
Greenland.
Denmark's little sister.
"Oh, Greenland. I didn't recognize you." I said as politely as possible and passed by her to get breakfast.
"It's weird that you aren't wearing your blue uniform." She said. I didn't think she was talking to me so I didn't answer. In a few seconds she breathed again. "Norway, I was talking to you."
"Oh." I said dully, "I'm getting a tattoo done."
"Another one?" She asked and turned around in her chair.
"Maybe, but I'll get the one on my side done for sure." I turned back around, so I wouldn't have to keep talking, it wasn't one of my strong suits.
"Why are you so reclusive?" She asked. I rolled my eyes to the fridge.
"Talking is not my forte. There's to many languages to learn as a representative." I sighed without turning around. "I don't like to talk because I get words mixed up easily."
"You aren't mixing them up now." She was completely innocent. I froze in place and slowly closed my eyes. "It's a sign that you're getting better."
I drew in a deep breath and started to move again. I opened the fridge and grabbed out a few eggs and green onions as well as red peppers. I cracked open the eggs and whisked them so I could make an omelet.
"Denmark-" She wasn't talking to me so I tuned her out and cooked.
When I was done, I threw my food onto a plate and watched the rest of the room. Iceland stood next to me and watched as well. I finished and put my plate lightly in the sink.
When I walked back to my room, I heard Greenland talking sweetly with Denmark.
I blow dried my hair and parted it correctly. I clipped the barrette I usually wore into the part in my hair.
In a few minutes, I was out of the house and on my motorcycle.
And in fifteen minutes, I was at the tattoo parlor.
"Hey Aske!" The woman at the counter waved to me. Her name was Alyccia. "Eden isn't here for the rest of the week. You can't get your tattoo filled in with him. You could settle for another artist, but you won't get yours." I sighed and brushed my incomplete tattoo.
"Who's open?" I asked and she shook her head.
"In fifteen minutes." She sighed and I understood.
I walked past her and into the small waiting room. Few people were there. A young man with his girlfriend. A lone man in the corner. And a black haired teenage girl.
She looked to be my age, maybe older. 16 at the most. I saw she had a tattoo encircling her left eye. She was pale but she looked Greek. She glanced up from the laptop she was typing on and saw me staring at her. Her eyes were a bright silver and the shape of them proved my theory that she was Greek.
"Hello." She said quickly. "I'm Psyche Constantinou, it's nice to meet you." She smiled and stuck out her hand for me to shake it.
"Aske Odinson." I shook her hand and tried to avoid her stare. Her tattoo reminded me of Netherlands'. She was also wearing a necklace that was in the shape of a key. It brought the image of the necklace Netherlands often wore. It was in the shape of a keyhole.
"Are you here to get your first tattoo?" She asked as I sat down.
"No." I tried to avoid talking whenever possible. I can sometimes come off as rude.
"I'm sorry," She leaned forward in her chair to look at me. "Did I offend you? If I did, it was purely unintentional." I slowly closed my eyes and opened them again.
Her politeness was infectious.
"No, I'm just tired." I said so she wouldn't talk to me again.
"Alright." She smiled and sat back.
For a few minutes, no one in the room talked. Alyccia called up the couple because their person opened up.
"I'm getting a new tattoo." She sighed out of the blue. "I'm getting my crest on my shoulder. What about you?" I felt inclined to answer.
"I'm getting my tattoo filled in. And possibly another one." I tried to avoid as much speech as possible.
"Aske," Alyccia walked in. "Someone is open if you want." She looked at the girl next to me, Psyche. "Oh, sorry. Do you want to go?"
"No. I can wait. I've got nothing to do." She waved as I walked from the room.
I walked in the back room. There was a man standing by a table.
In an hour and a half I was standing in the waiting room again. I rubbed the sore area reaching up my side and licking my ribs.
I payed and walked out.
"NORWAY! ! !" My head whipped around and I saw Denmark. "Did you run away from us?" He teased.
"No, just you." I tried to insult him to the best of my abilities, only to fail. He seemed not to notice my words again and strode up to me.
"Sweden says to come back, we've got business with Holland." I rubbed my temples and he grabbed my shirt. I felt my face redden as he pulled it up so he could see the additions to my tattoo. "Det er cool."
"Don't touch me!" I pushed his hands away. He raised his eyebrows. "Takk." I said so he'd stop frowning.
"Can I ride on your motorcycle to get home? I came here on the bus." He smiled and put his hands behind his back.
"Nei." I adjusted the barrette in my hair. "You can find your own way of getting home." I hopped up and glanced back at him, stony faced.
He stood there, making a face that most people would call "puppy dog eyes". I shook my head and tried to look away when he changed. I knew what he was doing so I tried not to look. Bambi eyes are more accurate in this situation.
"Fine." I sighed and he hopped behind me and wrapped his arms around my stomach.
Damn it, I thought. Why did I let him come along?
"Thanks Norway!" He sighed and I almost elbowed him in the ribs in annoyance. I started the vehicle and pressed down on the gas. We shot off and, to my chagrin, Denmark stayed firmly behind me. "You know," He leaned forward to talk to me. "You and that Holland girl would make a cute couple."
I was shocked by his statement so much, my hands jerked on the handles and we veered for a second. My heartbeat jumped and I shook my head.
"I don't fall for people." I sighed calmly.
"But she does. She's fallen for three guys so far. Canada, America, and Japan." He counted them off on his fingers in front of my face like he was a little kid.
And you. I thought.
"Will you leave me alone?" I asked and he shut up for a while.
"She likes you, you know." He was only speaking loud enough that I could hear him over the white noise from the street.
"That's nice to know." I tried to push back that horrid thought. I turned and knew that we were getting close to the house.
He tightened his grip around my waist, and I almost yelped. His strong arms were warm like the only other time he'd done this. I recalled the time when Finland and Sweden had left him. He was crying so I tried to comfort him. He was grateful and hugged me, both times had the same stern arms and same strong man.
He rested his head on my shoulder and breathed softly into the gap above my collar bone.
"Don't you feel like what we're doing is wrong? Like we shouldn't be deceiving people?" He asked in Icelandic. He was trying at least.
"All the time." I responded in Greenlandic to show my gratitude for learning something he didn't have to. "I was the only one against it from the beginning. Did that not get through your thick skull?" I chuckled and pulled into the driveway.
We all had an actual house, it just acted as an apartment because we rented it.
We sat on the motorcycle for quite some time, his head on my shoulder. Luckily, no one came out of the house.
"Denmark?" I sighed.
"Hm?"
"Will you please get off." I was only half angered. He hopped away and I walked back into the house.
I crashed into Sweden as soon as I opened the door. He grunted and looked around for Denmark.
"We're off to see England and the girl. Iceland and Finland aren't coming." He said quickly and forced me back out the door.
The way he said "the girl" reminded me of my dream, everybody called me "It".
I stepped back and he grabbed my arm like I was a child.
"Denmark." He spoke again and nodded towards the car. "I'm driving."
In a few minutes, we were in the car and headed for England's house. He lived in a huge mansion, like all of those that belonged to their nations.
"Are we checking if she remembers you?" Denmark asked as Sweden turned the car into England's driveway. Sweden nodded, Denmark flipped open his cell phone. "We're at the gate." He paused and I faintly heard England talking in the phone. "Yes, if you have it ready."
I spun to lay down in the back seat. Denmark got out and walked around the car. When he got in he lifted my legs and laid them down on his lap.
England silently got in and closed the door.
In a few minutes he broke the silence. "Are we going to Netherlands' flat?"
"Yes." Sweden said simply.
"She's staying in America's penthouse."
"Thank you." Sweden took a sharp turn and we were down one alley that I wasn't familiar with.
We parked outside a hotel and found our way through the lobby.
After a large set of confusing hallways and elevators, we were standing in front of the door.
"Pick the lock." England ordered swiftly.
"Don't you have that new spell? The one for Sweden?" Denmark asked.
I turned my back and started to silently pick the lock. There was a rush of wind as I opened the door slowly. The rush was from the Black Magic England just cast. It made it so people couldn't remember Sweden if they weren't directly looking at him. All of their memory was wiped of him once they looked away.
Except for the people that knew the fundamentals of the spell, like the people that were on Sweden's side.
I creeped inside and heard a voice from the back hallway. I couldn't make out what it was saying and silently strode forward. I heard Sweden and England follow me.
We walked past two rooms, one with sleeping America and the other with sleeping Canada.
I stepped inside the room and saw Netherlands crawling into her bad and setting a turtle on the table.
"Goodnight, Cameo." She sighed as she laid down completely.
"It isn't night time." Sweden said and she froze.
As she spun around, she grabbed the gun from the chest of her dress. I caught sight of one amber eye and the bandage over the other and realized something.
She was the girl from my dream.