Oh my Charlemagne, I'm utterly sorry that I'm so late today!

But here's chapter 12. I hope it's alright... :D

As usual, read and review (if you want to.. :) ) if you all have anything you'd like to say, or any criticisms, suggestions, etcetera.

Happy reading!

Chapter 12

...

I can't remember a moment in my four thousand years of living when I felt the need to run as fast as I did now. My feet were positively flying beneath me, and the muscles in my feet and both my lungs felt absolutely ravished. Every new breath hurriedly sucked in was flung out much harsher than the last. Perspiration trickled down my forehead, drenching every inch of skin on my body and causing me to fall susceptible to the frigid night air.

But I still ran on.

I had to.

It was a race against dawn; a challenge to fate. It was better or worse, all or nothing.

It was my last hope.

It was my only chance left of getting Japan back.

With a cry that echoed through the dusk, I willed myself to go faster.

"We're getting closer!" Beijing called out a few paces behind me.

It's true.

For amidst the running, the foliage had grown less denser, and I felt my feet brush more sand than soil as the seconds rushed past in time's eternal revolution. The taste of salt clung to the back of my throat, as well as stinging the wounds which had been forced back open by all the running I did that night.

Up ahead the sand-littered path became slightly brighter (as bright as night went), the dim luminescence of moonlight outlining the silhouettes of trees and rocks. I turned to the sound of ragged breathing on my right and met Beijing's gaze, radiating grimness as he strived to retain my speed.

"We're almost there gege", he panted, "remember to be strong! Be- wheeze!- strong, no matter what."

I nodded quickly.

Just as I did so, as if challenging the hasty promise I had just met, my feet landed atop wood.

Looking up, I found myself directly before the pier, and beyond that twilit water as far as the eye could see, churning and toppling amongst themselves as foamy wavelets lapped the shore a few meters from where the wooden planks gave way to pale sand.

Bobbing gently before the pier were our targets; ominous battleships that appeared to pace impatiently amongst the waters, their many funnels raised to the crescent moon above, as if already declaring war to Japan's prefectures from somewhere beyond the shadowy waves.

And on those ships, as well as scattered about the edge of the pier, were the silhouettes of uniformed men.

They were about their business, oblivious to our presence. Some were heaving cargo into the ships, the labored 'thump- thump!' their boots made against the planks echoing in the chilly night air. Others were hollering orders or pacing about the main deck clutching documents and clipboards, examining their contents every now and then and nodding.

Without a second thought and regardless of my lungs' fervent pleads for oxygen, I continued sprinting towards the men.

"Stop! Stop everything now!" I cried.

Surprisingly, that was enough. One by one each person abandoned their duties to stare at me, confusion and surprise radiating from their gazes. The turned to each other with raised eyebrows, and soon uncertain murmurs rang through the crowd.

All the while I held my ground. No way was I going to let them continue.

No way was I going to let them prepare for war.

A man with a particularly bulky binder came forward, inspecting me with unmasked amazement etched all over his dilated pupils and his half-grin-half-gape.

"A-are you- you must be our country's personification!" he gasped, "China, it is an absolute honour for us that you have come to witness our preparations for the war!- "

"I am not here to witness war preparations", I interrupted, never daring to let go of his stare. "I am here to put an end to preparations, so please tell your men to stop all activities and go home. There will be no war."

The previously jubilant expression on the man's face instantly faltered at my words. With a skeptical squint of his eyes, he flipped through a couple of pages in his binder, before shutting the book and averting his attention back to me.

"The war… The war is over? A-are you sure China?" He frowned.

"Positive", I stated as matter-of-factly as I could, "there will be no war."

At the corner of my eye, I glimpsed Beijing, absorbed in a heating argument with a group of men by a pile of crates. Shanghai, however, was nowhere to be seen.

Come to think of it- I realized I had yet to hear her voice, nor catch a single glimpse of her saffron robes, ever since the three of us made for the door and sprinted into the night.

But I quickly averted my concerns back to the man before me, who was scanning the contents of his binder once more and muttering to himself all the while. Perhaps she was still here, but I had missed her.

"There will be no war", I repeated, causing the man to jump slightly at my voice.

"But… Are you sure you are not mistaken?" He persisted, tucking the binder under one arm before rubbing his temples in exasperation, "I mean, it's not to say that I'm doubting you, but if that were the case we should have received word from your boss."

"I'm telling you, there will be no war- "

I never got the chance to finish.

For at that moment, a cry- shrill and inhuman and furious- sliced the night like a blade through flesh.

Beijing, as well as some of the men, instantly covered their ears, grimacing at the din, which was no different from that of the sound of nails against a chalkboard. The expression on the man's face before me had gone completely cold all over, and he began fingering the rifle slung on his back.

I felt the hair on the back of my neck prickle as I turned around slowly, begging the worst not to occur just yet. All I needed is just a bit more time; just a few more minutes to convince the men to call the assault off…

"No", the hushed cry escaped my lips, as my eyes instantly met the forest behind us,

What was once moonlit shadows and silhouettes of vegetation and boulders now glowed with an eerie red luminescence, like the many eyes of a bloodthirsty beast.

Lanterns, I ascertained, my stomach doing flips and tying itself into knot upon knot.

Screamed orders rand about me, as one by one each man scavenged for firearms and swords to grab. Those who had successfully done so proceeded to scoot behind crates, positioning themselves before the battleships. Any attempts made by Beijing to calm the men were of no avail, as he was pushed and shoved about, his cries drowned by the din and chaos and...

"Attaaaaaaack!"

For a second or two, all was perfectly still.

Then, without warning, men and women began to pour out of the forest in thousands, all brandishing knifes and poles, some wielding smuggled guns. They were led by two men, each taking hold of one end of a banner and waving it wildly in the air.

They were Japan's banners, I realized, for the banners were coloured white, save for a glowering red sun in the middle.

These are Japan's people.

At the same time, the sound of combusting gunpowder and angry cries of men echoed behind me. A swarm of bullets singed the air above me, making a beeline towards Japan's people, where they were hastily retaliated by a handful of blades thrown towards my people. Two men dropped to the ground before me, holes seeping blood visible on their foreheads. Behind me a man fell lifeless into the ocean below, a steel shard embedded into his chest.

It did not take long for the atmosphere to quickly escalate on that pier. As the seconds slowly, painfully ticked by, more people fell to the ground, into the water, over and with each other. Their blood, crimson and sickening, stained wood and sand and sea alike. It was getting increasingly harder to breathe, for the air had long been engulfed by plumes of smoke, as well as the stench of the fallen.

I felt dizzy- but it wasn't due to the odour, nor the gruesome sight before me.

It was because, to a realization that was far too horrifying to think about for longer than a second until I felt sick to my stomach, I know I've seen this scenario before.

It was a parallel of the past; a twisted repetition of history unfolding before my eyes.

"No… No! Nonononono!" I screamed into the pandemonium, "no, there must be a way to stop this! We haven't lost this yet! There's still a way to end this!- "

… There's still a way to end this.

I lowered my shaking hands from my face, my pupils dilating as a thought began to form in mind, like a raft amidst the churning of confusion in my head.

There's still a way to end this.

… What did I do in the past?

What can I change from the past?

What should I have done in the past?

What must I do now, to alter the future?

… Japan.

"Japan", I gasped, standing up straight once more, "… Japan. Japan! Japan! Japan!"

The answer had been Japan all along!

There's still a way to end this!

I felt a hand clasp my arm. Swiveling around, I found myself facing Beijing. Half his plait had come undone, the loose wisps of brown hanging limply about his face, which bore streaks of grime and dirt.

However, the mess did nothing to veil the steely determination radiating from his eyes.

"Gege", he began, "I've got this covered. You should go find him now."

I nodded without hesitation. Beijing gave me a weak smile, before reluctantly picking up a knife, which lay half buried in the sand beside us. With a final nod of reassurance, he sprinted back into the chaos.

Now to find Japan.

Hurriedly I glanced about me, trying to make heads or tails of Japan's whereabouts.

The Japanese were not stupid, that I was more than certain of. They'd probably already pieced together that their nation personification would be the ultimate prisoner for us. If my boss was to get his hands on him- well, that would mean it was all over for them. In addition to that, Japan would still be blind; he would be easy prey should his people let him out of their sight even for a moment.

It was only logical that Japan be kept hidden.

And in a place like this, there can only be one place safe enough for it.

But I won't be able to reach it through the pier, life spared or not, Japan's people would never let me get my hands on their him.

Not in these circumstances; not now anyways.

After making sure that no one would see me do so, I plunged off the pier and into the murky waters below. The sea was devoid of light, as well as tasting of blood form the casualties of tonight's brawl. The urge to resurface and try my luck with Japan's people was very tempting.

But I couldn't; it's too late to be prioritizing comfort now, when something- someone- far more important awaits. So with must discomfort- constantly being battled out by determination- did I urge myself to swim towards shore.

When the water became shallow and my stomach scraped more and more sand, I hastily scrambled to my hands and feet, scuttling into the shadows of the trees.

"Japan?" I whispered into the undergrowth, shakily picking myself up once I was safely hidden behind a boulder.

I was greeted by the chirrup of insects, the occasional twitter of night-birds reverberating in the stuffy jungle air. I squinted my eyes, desperateness gnawing at my insides as my eyes darted from one vegetation to another, begging for a clue, any clue, as to where japan may be hidden away from me.

I edged deeper into the jungle, parting every bush and peering behind every nook and cranny I came across. All the while I felt like I was fighting a losing battle- by this point I wasn't even sure if I knew where Japan was anymore.

With a disappointed huff, I leaned against a tree, puffing from having ran all over and in and out of the jungle in my wild goose chase.

And that's when I saw him.

Recovering from my panting fits, I looked up to find that I was directly facing the pier. The battle scenario was before me, with our people still furiously hackling and slashing at each other, and the smoke and bullets still dancing and wavering in midair.

And just a few meters before me, his back turned to me, was the person whom I had least expected to come across with so easily after my recent, fruitless trek about the jungle. He had a lantern clutched in his slender fingers, the luminescence casting a fiery red glow against his figure. The sea breeze sifted through his raven hair, rustling his dirty robes.

Without thinking, I screamed his name.

"Japan!"

He jumped slightly at my voice, before swiveling around to meet me with hazy grey eyes.

But what's this?

Something in those sightless orbs greatly unsettled me; made my heart slam furiously against my ribcage. I wanted to run, but it was as if my feet were firmly rooted to the ground.

For in those grey orbs were my worst fears ascertained. In Japan's eyes, no matter that they were now nothing but broken reminiscence, was all the pain I never wanted him to feel. In Japan's eyes was the feel of betrayal; all the trust he had built for me slowly crumbling away before my eyes.

And collecting at the corners of his eyes was regret and disappointment, fear and uncertainty. They watered his grey orbs, before becoming too heavy and beginning to slide down his cheeks.

It was all for me.

It was all because of me.

The lantern slipped out of his grasp, landing with a 'thump!' that was only too amplified by the silence that had ensued around us. Spinning to face me, Japan took an uncertain step backwards, all the while his eyes narrowing as he did so.

"China… Why?"

-Cliffhangeeeeerrrr!

Uh oh... Trouble is sure to follow, eh? What do you think? Will things get brighter up next, or deteriorate further? :)

TUNE IN TO FIND OUT! XD

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But, well, putting malicious commercial hosts aside for the time being, please feel free to tell me what you think about this chapter in the reviews section or through a PM- and what you think will happen next Thursday! :D Clue for all of you though; there are only two chapters and an interlude left to this story. Please choose your predictions well!

So what do you think? :)

-Plumeria hi, who has nothing against commercial hosts. Long live commercial hosts! :D