Hey guys! Here's the second part of Past lives! This one is going to be pretty sad, especially Russia's. I hope you like this chapter!

Chapter 25: Past lives (part 2)

Unknown P.O.V

Riana was playing with Rani. She wondered if being a country is really that horrible. They immortals right You can practically live forever, with no fear of death. It's defying it. She wonders if being an ambassador means sharing the same fate… only being able to communicate with ambassadors and countries otherwise you will experience pain. Riana didn't mind, so long as she has her friends. She was never really well accepted by her peers.

" Ouch! Hot hot!" Riana heard Britain said along with a loud crash. Riana looked at Britain, he had dropped a tray of cups and a kettle filled with hot earl grey tea. Riana quickly went to Britain and picked up the broken cups and kettle. " Britain, you have to be careful."

" Oh sorry love, my bad." Britain said as he squat down and picked up the pieces. Love is a british slang for girl.

" Nah, it's okay. I experience this all the time. My younger brother Andrick tends to break things by accident." Riana said.

" Andrick, ah… you mean your autistic younger brother." Britain said.

" Yup, the very one." Riana said. Suddenly, her eyes grew cloudy. Rani who went next to her licked her hand. Riana started crying… she missed her family so much.

Britain noticed this and said " Riana, are you okay?"

" I-I'm fine… I just miss my family." Riana said.

" I see…" Britain said as he put the broken ceramic pieces unto the tray. " Why don't you sit down. I'll get some more tea." Riana nodded and sat down on the sofa as she dried her tears. Britain came back later with a new set of cups and a kettle. He poured tea for the both of them and some in a small bowl for Rani. Rani- strangely- has a liking for tea and doesn't seem to have any side effects on her. Britain put the bowl on the ground. Rani went to it, sniffed it, blew on it softly and drank it.

" That is one strange cat." Britain said softly " Are you fine now?"

Riana took a sip of the earl grey tea and nodded. Then Britain asked " Will a story make you feel better?" Riana nodded.

" There was once a little boy." Britain started to narrate " He was different from the rest of his peers. He lived during a time when people had settled on a island and started building villages. His parents had died at sea while trying to get to the island. The boy barely survived. But managed to land on the shore of the island. An old lady came by and took care of him, eventually adopted him."

" She took the little boy back to her village. The little boy was treated as an outcast. He didn't have any real parents like most kids and he wasn't very sociable. So the kids left him out in all their games. When he tried to talk to them, they ignore him as if he was made of air. It wasn't easy living with the lady ether. The old lady couldn't work so there was hardly anything to eat. They tried their best. The little boy tried his best everyday to find food for both him and the old lady he calls granny."

" One day, the little boy wandered into the forest. He thought he could find food there. While he was searching, he saw something moving in the bushes. He went closer, curious to know what it is. When he came near, he couldn't believe his eyes… it was a small fairy. The fairy flew away the moment he saw it. The next time he went into the forest, he saw the same fairy. This happened every time he entered the forest."

" The little boy attempted to make friends with the fairy, it took some time but eventually the fairy came to trust him. They slowly had a great friendship. The fairy introduced him to other mythical creature in the forest. The little boy was able to find some food once in awhile. He always disappeared into the forest then. The children soon go curious of his behaviour."

" Unfortunately, his Granny soon passed away of old age. The little boy weeped for his guardian. A family decided to take the boy in. They have a boy around his age, a child of their own. This boy- Jake- bullied the little boy. The little boy could only escape to the forest to meet his friends. One day, Jake demanded the little boy to bring him to the forest. The little boy had promised his friends not to reveal who they were to humans so he refused. The little boy got beaten up and escaped to the forest."

" The little boy ran as fast as he could, but Jake was running after him. When the little boy thought he lost Jake, he went to his friends. But unfortunately, the little boy heard a scream. Not all the little boy's friends were as pleasant looking as the fairy. Jake ran out of the forest screaming for his parents and that I- I mean the little boy- was the devil's servant. The little boy was told to hid in the forest while his friends prepare to attack the villagers if they wander in here. The little boy didn't want to hurt anyone but what could he do? No one was listening to him."

" But… the villagers didn't enter the forest. They decided burning it was the best. Soon, the forest was covered in red flames… that's all the boy saw in his hiding place before he perished in the fire along with his mystical friends." Britain finished. Riana was silent, it's such a sad story. Even Rani seemed to understand.

" Britain… is the little boy you?" Riana asked. Britain nodded.

" I just had a dream of it last night. I sort of lost concentration lately because of it." Britain said " Memories are cruel sometimes."

" I know how you feel, memories are cruel sometimes. But there are good ones." Riana said.

" Yeah… I guess so." Britain said. Rani meowed.

Meanwhile, Russia opened to the door of his home and shut the door. Steve was already home. He must have returned from Germany's place- he's seem to be close friends with Brandon. It's not a surprise to see Brandon come to Russia's house. Brandon put his defences up every time he sees Russia. Good thing he hasn't used his pistol yet. Brandon had gotten his pistol because he was afraid Belarus might try to knife him again.

" Hello Russia." Steve said as he closed his computer shut. " You seem tired."

" Well I had a lot of work and a lot of things are on my mind. Ukraine came to try and visit me again but ended up crying. I wish I could do something for her." Russia said.

" Why not you visit her?" Steve said.

" She said something about not being allowed to see me so I don't think that's a good idea." Russia said, He sat on the sofa, next to Steve. " We used to be so close, I wonder what happened."

" Maybe because Belarus had feelings for you and Ukraine had that civil war?" Steve suggested.

" Oh, Belarus had those feelings since small. I don't think anything has changed with her, it's Ukraine I'm talking about… I want to take care of my siblings but I ended up failing again."

" Again?" Steve asked, looking at Russia.

" That's another issue." Russia said. Steve was quiet. He remembered the conversation he had with Brandon. Brandon told Steve Germany told him his past life soon after he met Holy Rome. Steve had met Holy Rome, quite a weak fella but he seems to be strong in other terms as well. Brandon told him each country has a past life, something they probably shouldn't hold on to.

" It's your past life the issue?" Steve asked.

Russia nodded, but an evil aura surrounded him. Steve wasn't scared, but he could tell he shouldn't talk about it.

" It's okay if you don't want to tell me, it's completely your issue." Steve said.

" It's okay. I'll tell anyway, I need to let go of some steam." Russia said.

Ivan Braginsky is nothing but a poor boy. His family had travelled to this new cold blizzard like land to farm. Try to survive. Many other immigrants came to this country and had farms, so why not this family of seven?

Ivan had four other siblings. Ivan was the oldest, followed by His brother Albert, the twins Vlad and Vera and the youngest who Ivan dotes over more than his parents Diana. They were all cold and ragged when they found the land where they can actually plant something. They built a hut and started planting. All kids had to work along side their parents, no education, barely any food, no play time… nothing. Ivan had to take good care of all his sibling as his parents attempt to make more money. It wasn't easy since the twins were always causing trouble and Albert is sick nearly all the time.

Diana is the person Ivan can really depend on. Sometimes he would give some of his food to Diana if it wasn't enough- that is if the twins didn't get to it first. He also tried his best to take care of Albert. But it was no surprise that Albert died a year later. The family weeped of course, but they had to get back to work otherwise they will follow after Albert. The twins were surprised by Albert's sudden death. They realised if you are weak… you will die.

Ivan worked hard for the family, sometimes tiring himself till nearly sick. Diana tried her best to help Ivan up. She's such a hardworking girl. Vlad and Vera, who awoken since Albert's death, had been earning their own money their own way.

Ivan returned from the fields one day when he saw Diana rushed towards him. He was surprised to find her smiling… with bread in her hands. They hadn't got the mill to make bread yet, so how did she get some. She gave some to Ivan. Ivan didn't take it. He ran inside the house and looked at the twins. They were eating bread too… and in the corner was a sack filled with food from an unknown source.

" Where did you get all these food?" Ivan asked.

" From the farm nearby." Vlad said, gobbling down the food.

" The farmer gave us this food." Vera said while her mouth was full of bread.

" The farmers nearby are as starving as us. You two stole it didn't you?" Ivan said.

" So what? We're hungry." Vlad said. Vera nodded in agreement.

" That's wrong, you shouldn't steal! They are starving like us." Ivan said.

" So what? It's survival of the fittest. What can you do now? Return the food? It's not going to do any good." Vera said. " You'll be captured, sure hell we won't return it. Just eat."

Ivan was silent at first. Then he said " I will let you off this time, but next time don't even think about stealing. We're farmers, not criminals." Ivan took his bread and took a bite out of it. Diana looked up at Ivan. Ivan looked down at her and said " I don't like this… don't tell Mother or Father. They will get suspicious."

" Ivan… is it okay to steal?" Diana asked.

" Of course not. We cannot steal." Ivan said.

" Then… I thought bad things happen to people who steal." Diana said.

" It depends Diana, they just got lucky. For now, just eat." Ivan said.

Even after that event, the twins didn't stop. They just kept stealing. Ivan reprimanded them many times and even returned the food sometimes in secret. But that didn't stop them. It had become a habit. They stole not only food, but also clothes, money, valuables… the list was endless. Soon, their father died and Ivan took over the farm. Their mother died soon after. Diana did her best to help. Because Ivan was so busy and their parents were dead, the twins robbed even more.

One night, Diana was fast asleep. Ivan was just going to sleep, he did not know where the twins were. He was already a grown man and they were nearly grown up. Vera and Vlad left the home not recently, they didn't want to tolerate Ivan anymore. Cold blew into the room, like a strong gust of wind. He could hear the creak of the wooden door, heavy footsteps… and the smell of blood. Ivan quickly got up. It was Vlad. His eyes were bloodshot, he had a weary expression. His clothes were ragged and blood covered his whole body. He seems injured. One word and summarise him: murderous.

" Why are you here Vlad, I thought you and Vera said you never want to see us again." Ivan said as he sat up.

" Ivan…" Diana murmured.

" Go to sleep Diana. It's nothing." Ivan whispered to Diana.

" Who's Vera?" Vlad said. Everyone was quiet, nature seems to react to the situation. The blizzard outside got even worse, the fire was burnt out. Darkness filled the room.

" What did you do to Vera?" Ivan growled and he pushed the full awake Diana behind him.

" Vera?" Vlad said in a creepy tone " We just stole something and she wanted it all to herself. So what else was I suppose to do?"

" You… killed your own twin?" Ivan said, in anger and terror. Diana gripped Ivan's arms tightly.

" Give me your money. NOW." Vlad said as he pointed a bloody dagger at the both of them. " Anything that's valuable." Ivan knew the blood on Vlad's dagger was Vera's blood.

" B-Big brother V-Vlad?" Diana trembled. The tension was so thick it seemed nearly impossible to break. It seemed like Vlad was… terrified. He's not thinking straight, he knows this house has nothing of value. Vlad didn't wait for a reply. He launched for Ivan. Ivan quickly moved out of the way…

Ivan heard a loud squishy sound. Ivan stopped, he looked behind him, wishing it wasn't true. Diana…

Her body twitched, her eyes were wide open, staring into space. Blood steady poured out of her chest. She murmured some words that no one could possibly hear before everything stopped. Ivan's heart broke… no. How could he. How could he let his own sister die? Diana's all Ivan had left… he felt like a horrible brother, no. A horrible monster.

Vlad kept the same insane expression. He pulled out the dagger and ran to Ivan. Ivan couldn't live… not after he know what he has done.

… I think I was stabbed. I don't really remember what happened after that." Russia said. Steve was finally showing emotion. He was shocked. It sounds… sad. He made no sound. Steve couldn't say anything. Then he asked " Do you still feel guilty?"

" Until this very day." Russia said. More silence, pure silence sounded deadly right now. There was nothing to say, or do really. That was until the door slammed open. Belarus walked in. She looked at the sofa and a creepy smile creeped up her face. Then she said " Big brother! Marry me!"

" Run!" Russia exclaimed. Russia AND Steve got up and ran away. Well Russia did say run.

Meanwhile, Yuna was playing with Sandy on the sofa. Yuna smiled, Sandy's so cute! She doesn't really like cats but Sandy- and Ruby and Junior- is an exception. Then Sandy got off the sofa and sniffed around. Yuna felt too lazy to get up. Yuna had told Kristina about her new relationship with Spain and Kristina got really excited. Unfortunately Bryan heard it and told everyone. Sigh… she tried so hard to keep it a secret. She swears she will ask Kristina to kill Bryan for her.

" Hey Yuna." Spain said as he entered the room. Yuna got up and said " Hey…"

" You look tired." Spain said.

" I'm just lazy…" Yuna said as she leaned towards Spain. Sandy meowed at Yuna. They were quiet for awhile. That's strange, Spain isn't always so quiet.

" Hey Antonio… is something bothering you?" Yuna said, blushing. It's so weird calling Spain his human name. She only calls him that when they are alone of course.

" Yeah, how did you know?" Spain said.

" I just know, besides you aren't talking." Yuna said.

" It's my past life." Spain said " I had a dream about it."

" How's it like?" Yuna asked. Spain took in a deep breath, it was going to be hard to tell but it seems so easy to talk to Yuna.

Antonio Fernandez Carriedo is a bull fighter. He enjoyed the adrenaline trill, the dust that dirtied his fancy suit, the blaring cheers from the crowd, the red silk cloth flapping in the room. Antonio smirked, the large bull looked tired and enraged. It was time to end this. The bull charged towards the red cloth. Antonio stayed put. When it seemed like the bull was about to hit Antonio, Antonio ran off. The bull's horns zip though the air into the wooden wall behind Antonio. The bull's horns got stuck in the wood, the bull struggled. Antonio beamed happily. Then he waved to the crowd. The crowd cheered. Antonio smiled brightly.

Antonio made his way home through a dark alleyway that night. Antonio wondered how his younger brother is doing. Antonio actually wanted to be a musician but he needed to earn money fast to pay the overdue rents of their apartment, not to mention the taxes. Even after paying those off, there will be new bills to pay. Only if Antonio can be the best bullfighter in all of Spain… he will be able to pay off the bills and probably live better off with Mateo.

Antonio entered the small apartment where he and Mateo live in. He carried two loaves of bread and out of luck from one of the fans, some ham. Antonio entered his own apartment to see Mateo sleeping on the couch. Antonio smiled and shook his younger brother awake. Mateo was only a year younger than the 18 year old Antonio. Mateo tries to earn money by working as a kitchen boy in a first-class restaurant. It wasn't easy Antonio knew.

" Hey Mateo, wake up." Antonio said. Mateo woke up slowly. Antonio took out one of the loaves and ham. Mateo smiled and took it. He gobbled down the food.

" Wow, this is good." Mateo said. " I mean not as good as the kitchen but good enough."

" Yeah, one of the fans gave me the ham." Antonio said.

" Imagine their faces when they know we live in this dump." Mateo said.

" Well I'm not that famous. Good but unknown." Antonio said. " At least our money helps us to survive."

" Hey Hermano." Mateo said. " If you had the chance… would you be a musician?"

" In an instant. I love music." Antonio said. " How about you?"

" I don't know. Something to make me happy I guess." Mateo said.

That was their daily routine. Working during the day, talking over food at night. It was poor yes but sort of happy. But Antonio couldn't stop worrying about the tax collectors. Or how they threaten to bring the guards to drag both Antonio and Mateo aaa. He couldn't simply let go of Mateo like that. Mateo is the only family he has left.

One night, when he was walking through that sam alleyway, a tall, burly man was smoking at a dark corner of the alleyway. Antonio would have never noticed him if the burly man hadn't spoke up in a rough voice " Antonio, the poor bullfighter." Antonio stopped and looked at the man.

" You need money before you and your hermano are dragged away. You need to earn more money, but you don't know how. You know the axes won't reduce, it's a new country after all." The burly man continued to speak.

" Who are you." Antonio demanded " How do you know about me?"

" It doesn't matter. What matters is the money we offer." The man said. Then he threw a small pouch at Antonio. Antonio caught it, and the man said " Now you are our recruit."

" Hey, I didn't say anything about agreeing to what you want me to do." Antonio said.

" You caught the money right? That means you want the job. If not, we will have to kill you and your brother of yours. We can't let anyone know about us." The man said. Antonio stood in fright. He feels that same adrenaline kick in him… but it was different. It came in with an unsettling feeling.

" What's the job?" Antonio said.

The man threw him another bag at him, this one was slightly bigger. Antonio caught it and looked at the contents. It looked like a bag of black coal. But Antonio knew what they really were.

" Go to the bar and sell it to the right people. Return with the money at the same alleyway. I want it by tonight. Otherwise your brother will be in trouble." The man said.

" Wait, what people? Is this opium?" Antonio called out. No answer, the man was gone. He looked at the opium, then the bag of money. Did he have a choice? Mateo's in danger if he doesn't do this job. Antonio made a u-turn to the local pub.

This is how it went everyday. Antonio goes through that same alleyway, he gets the opium from the strange guy, he sells it, he returns with the money and he was free to go. The first few times, he was nearly caught. But his quick reflexes helped him to escape. There has been cases where he was asked to smoke. Antonio refused each time. He always returned home late. Mateo would always ask where he went, Antonio said a part time job.

Eventually, they were able to pay of their depts and taxes. Antonio was relieved. But he knew he couldn't leave his new illegal job, the bull fighting job was enough. Antonio tried to avoid the same alleyway… it was a big mistake.

The first few days was peaceful. He wasn't interrupted by that burly man. He was able to get the sleep he needed. It wasn't to last. On the fourth day, Antonio was walking away on the new path, but was pulled into an alleyway between two building by a strong force. The person who pulled him beat him down. Antonio cried for help but every time he made a sound, he was beaten down. When Antonio was weak, the man pinned his arms behind his back. Another man was there, he brought a smoking pipe to Antonio's mouth and ordered " Breath."

Antonio held his breath. They were attempting to let him sniff opium. He held his breath for as long as he can. He eventually gave in a breathed it in. When Antonio got a few sniffs, the man let him go and with his accomplice, they ran away. They left Antonio in the alleyway. Antonio went back home, Mateo looked worried for him. Antonio said it was nothing. He tried to stand the urge for opium for a few days. But it was soon unbearable. Antonio found himself in that same alleyway a few days later, the bulky man smiled.

Antonio continued to work for that man. He had no other choice. He needed the opium, he craves for it. But the more he smokes, the more he needs it. He needs money, but he had to work more. Bull fighting soon wasn't able to keep up with the price. He had to sell more opium… but he gets tempted and buys more. Antonio had to keep it up. And he got sicker everyday. Mateo finds himself taking care of Antonio for many days. Antonio feels ashamed of himself. Soon he wasn't well enough for bull fighting and quit the job. Mateo had to work twice as hard for the money. They were in dept again. But unknown to Mateo, Antonio had a larger dept. Something he couldn't pay.

Antonio was going out again, he coughed. The opium was getting into him, his addiction was getting worse. He went to that same alleyway and waited for the man. He didn't come. He needed to work, sell the opium. Maybe he can secretly take a few sniffs. But that man never came. Antonio had a suspicion. Then he had a terrible thought. No… it can't be. Antonio got up and quickly ran back to his apartment.

By the time he got to the apartment, he was panting heavily. The windows were broken, items were scattered and destroyed. Oh no… Antonio barged into the door( it was glad broke anyway) and ran into his house. He ran to the living room. Please… please let Mateo be okay… please let Mateo be okay…

Antonio didn't know how to react. The living room was trashed. Blood was split all over the place. And on the ground was Mateo. His eyes stared into nothing, his face filled with terror. His clothes stained with blood. A tear rolled down Antonio's cheek. He was sad, and guilty… angry.

… That's all I remembered. The man must have still been in the apartment and decided to end me." Spain said. Yuna was silent. She saw that Spain was crying silently. Yuna hugged him. She didn't know what else to do. " It's okay, I'm here. It's all over."

" Mateo…" Spain murmured.

…

Kristina was walking by, trying to find something she's lost when she realised Bryan was staring at her. " What are you doing?"

" Hey Romano! How in the world does Kristina look like Alexssandra?" Bryan yelled. Kristina did Romano a favour by hitting Bryan.

Everyone went back to their daily routine. Some of the ambassadors were more grateful with their lives. The countries recall their pasts and wonder why they were born again. America decided to distract himself by fixing the combination… he found one.

Aw… poor Britain, Russia and Spain. That's so sad! :( If you're confused on what Bryan's talking about, go back to 'the Axis Powers and who' in the chapter ' Stuck in Italy', it talks about Romano's past there. I'm afraid the next chapter will be scary. Preview: America thinks he's fixed the time machine, does Kristina succeed in going to her world? Let's just say she better run for her life!