A/N: FINAL CHAPTER! *le gasp* Can you believe this story is actually ending? I literally thought that there would be no end to my own story before. Is that bad?
Anyway, you know the drill. All the thank yous and stuff are at the end. Meanwhile, enjoy the chapter~
Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia
Ireland thought it would be easy.
Oh, how wrong he was.
First, Scotland had all but burst into Wales' room, acting like a little kid as he paraded round, puffing out his chest and declaring that he was '100% perfectly fine now'. Wales couldn't handle the loud noise that is his brother and it hurt his head so much that he cried. So then Ireland had to multitask between comforting Wales and scolding Scotland.
To make things worse, Australia chose that moment to start having a panic attack (Ireland guessed that it was his memory making him feel claustrophobic and causing him to freak out. In fact, he was actually screaming¸ which not only made Wales worse but made the Irishman command Scotland to look after their little brother while he sprinted to Scotland's room to calm Australia down.
Upon entering, he immediately felt like he'd gotten the wrong room, due to the fact that the Australian wasn't there. However, a loud scream told him otherwise, and a sudden crash alerted him to under the bed.
You have got to be kidding me, Ireland thought as he laid on his stomach and stared at a writhing Australia who seemed to be stuck under the bed. Wasn't he supposed to be on it?
"Hey! Australia! Can you hear me?!" He called, having to raise his voice above the wheezing gasps and screams emitting from the space under the bed.
"Z-Zea?!" He choked out, struggling to turn his head.
'Zea'? Oh, he must mean New Zealand. Why does he think I'm New Zealand? Ireland thought as he replied, "No, it's Ireland!"
"Help me!" He screamed, and Ireland didn't even know if he'd heard him or not.
"I'm trying to, but it would help if you stopped trying to hit me in the face. Just take deep breaths, okay?"
"I-I'm trapped!"
"Well, you are under a bed."
A loud pained scream was Australia's response to that. Ireland realised that he had to wriggle under the bed to help him.
Taking a deep breath, Ireland began to push the top half of his body under the bed, grimacing as he noticed just how little space there was. He wasn't exactly fond of tight spaces, but it wasn't on a level that Australia suffered from.
"G-get them off me!"
What? Ireland frowned. "Do you know where you are?"
"I'm stuck in the trench! Help!"
Ah, now it makes sense, Ireland thought with a sigh. "No, you're not. You're under a bed." Wow, I never thought I would say that.
By now, Ireland was far enough under the bed that he could see why Australia hadn't escaped yet – his shirt was caught in a little gap in the bed frame. If he freed the Oceanic nation, then he could get out of there.
"Stay still a minute; I can help if you just freeze!" He commanded, and it fortunately reached Australia, even though he was tense and still panicking, he tried to minimise his frantic jerky movements as much as he could, enabling Ireland to reach up and start fighting with the bed frame in order to free Australia's shirt.
He cursed under his breath as the shirt was ripped free, but he'd managed to get a splinter in his middle finger.
"Okay, you're free now. Follow the sound of my voice, and take deep breaths, alright?" The Irishman began wriggling backwards, clutching his finger close to his chest and using his elbows to push himself the way he came.
He sighed with relief as he saw the taller nation making an effort to escape, although he looked more like a fish out of water, aimlessly flailing about. Reaching forward, Ireland grabbed Australia's wrist and yanked it towards him.
With a startled yelp, the Australian instinctively lashed out, narrowly missing breaking Ireland's arm before he became coherent enough to understand where he was and shot out from under the bed. Except it was the opposite side to the one Ireland was on, meaning that he had to go round the bed to help him calm down.
Once he'd accomplished this, the European nation gently shook his shoulder. "Hey, can you hear me?"
"Oi, I ain't deaf mate!" Australia snapped, although his voice sounded tired and lacked the normal energy he would have.
Ireland smiled softly and then glared, punching the other man on the arm. "You gave me such a scare! Honestly, what were you even doing under there?!"
The brunette frowned at him. "What do you mean? I was in the open; basically a sitting duck. Some people are like sharks, y'know – attracted to blood. I had to get back to the trench. But then the explosion, it…" He trailed off, biting his lip and looking down.
"You mean to say that you were hallucinating?"
"What? No. Like I said, I had to get away before I was shot. Again…"
"No, you were in fact hallucinating. Probably an after-effect of the memory you had. I wasn't there, but I was told that it was awful. When you went in the 'trench' – actually under the bed – you got stuck and most likely saw the bodies on you like in the memory, causing you to freak out. Am I right?"
"I-I don't know anymore…" He sagged slightly, feeling exhausted.
Ireland smiled sympathetically. "Get some rest. You've had a tiring few days." As Australia curled up on the floor, Ireland nearly facepalmed. "No, not on the floor; on the bed."
"Sometimes I had to sleep on the floor before."
"That was then, this is now. Besides, it's comfier on a bed."
Sighing, the Oceanic nation crawled onto the bed, as if properly standing up was too much effort, before gasping as he realised something.
"You have a splinter!" He then held out his hand expectantly.
"Well, yes, but-
"No buts; you helped me, so I'll help you. Now c'mon, give me your hand."
The Irishman raised an eyebrow. "I can handle it myself, thanks-"
"Trust me, I'm an expert when it comes to taking splinters out. After all, I had plenty of practice with the amount of splinters me and New Zealand got."
Reluctantly, Ireland laid his hand on Australia's, who quickly turned it over to inspect the damage in his middle finger. "Hmm…fairly deep, but not ever so. Should be quick and mostly painless."
"Wait, 'mostly painless'? What do you- ow!" He was cut off as the younger nation ripped the tiny piece of wood out of his finger.
Ireland raised his hand and turned it, before putting all of his fingers down except for his middle one, and grinned at Australia, who reflected his movements.
"Go on. Get some sleep." The Irishman tugged the covers over Australia.
"Yeah, mum."
"I'm not your mother."
"You are now…" With a content sigh, he closed his eyes and drifted off.
Hmm…would I make a good mother? He quickly shook off the thought and decided to check on Wales and Scotland before getting some rest himself.
~At the world meeting~
England had feared the worst. He'd imagined the other nations criticizing him, insulting him, telling him that he should have stayed in a coma or died, but not…this.
No, he'd never imagined the rest of the world cheering and clapping as he opened the double doors. He'd never imagined the rest of the world asking if he was alright, telling him that they were really worried and had no idea that he thought and felt that way. He'd never imagined the rest of the world congratulating him on his recovery. He'd never imagined the rest of the world apologizing for the way they treated him before.
"Aiyah, if we'd ever known that you felt depressed, then we would never have acted that way! I'm so sorry, aru!" China cried, after forcing his way to the front of the crowd.
"Guys, c'mon, give him some space." America ordered, standing almost protectively next to England.
Everyone complied almost immediately, and shifted so they formed a sort of path (much like outside of the meeting room), leading to his chair. He walked to it slowly, and sat down, and thus the meeting began as the others followed to sit down in their respective seats.
Throughout the meeting, everyone was nice to England – but something felt off. They weren't forcing their kindness; they were generally happy to see him okay. But something wasn't quite right…
"Ooookay, time for the hero's solution to the world's problems!" America chirped as he nearly sent a couple people flying as he raced to the head to the 'head' of the table and began drawing on a large board. "So first, global warming!"
"We all know what you're going to say, Amérique. And we all disagree with you." France interrupted.
"I agree with France." Japan added, remembering to follow England's advice on dropping the honorifics.
"Have some backbone! Stop agreeing with everyone and start giving your own opinion!" Switzerland cried angrily.
A massive argument broke out between France, America and England, who decided that he just had to get involved, and then in the space of a few seconds, the entire world meeting was in chaos.
"Everyone shut up!" Germany yelled, slamming his hands on the desk and successfully catching everyone's attention. After a brief set of instructions, Italy raised his hand, and Germany allowed him to speak.
The Italian closed his eyes and held his hand out, yelling, "Pasta~!"
Ah yes. Now the meeting felt normal.
~After the world meeting~
When it ended, hardly anything was accomplished (as usual). England, after quick conversations with a few nations, had headed back to his house, but not before ringing Ireland.
It soon picked up, for which he was grateful for.
"Hello? England, is that you?" Ireland spoke first.
"Yes, it's me."
"How did the meeting go?"
England smiled. "Same as always."
"Ah, well that's good. I suppose you have a headache?"
The Brit shrugged, despite knowing that Ireland wouldn't see the movement. "Only a minor one. I actually feel…kind of happy that it was chaotic. At first, they were being really nice to me, and it just felt like something was missing. And then the arguing breaks out, and…and it just feels normal."
A faint chuckle was heard on the other end. "Yes well, as long as you're okay. Are you coming to Scotland's house now?"
"No, I'm going to my own house. Oh- speaking of, how are they?"
Ireland sighed loudly. "Scotland's back to normal; how wonderful. Australia had a panic attack after he got stuck under the bed, but he's sleeping now. And-"
"What the hell was he doing under the bed?"
"He was hallucinating due to the memory. Thought he was 'in the open' and had to get 'into the trench'. And Wales…he's slowly recovering. I think he was hit the worst of us all because of just how traumatic the memory was for him. Not to mention the confusion upon waking up the first time. But…he'll be fine."
"Ah, that's good." England glanced at his watch. "Well, I better get a move on, before I miss my plane. I'll…see you whenever, yeah?"
"Yeah. Bye~" With that, Ireland hung up, and England began walking to the airport alone.
However, once he arrived, he nearly facepalmed as he saw the mayhem outside. All of the nations formerly at Scotland's house were milling around at the entrance to the airport, bickering and being avoided by the normal civilians.
"What are you idiots doing?" England called with an exasperated sigh.
"Hello to you too, Angleterre." France said sarcastically.
"We left our stuff at Scotland's, so we're going there. Oh, and turns out we'll be on the same plane as you as well! Ha, can you believe it?" America grinned.
"Oh, you've got to be kidding me." The Brit sighed again, this time with irritation, and pinched the bridge of his nose. Yep, that headache was definitely going to get worse.
"Unfortunately not." New Zealand slung an arm over his shoulders casually, eyes twinkling with amusement, although there was something else in them.
"Come here a minute." England beckoned the Kiwi away from the crowd of nations, to which he followed with a frown. Lowering his voice, England asked, "What's wrong?"
"What do you mean?"
"You're worried about something – or someone."
New Zealand sighed and looked down. "It's just…I didn't want to leave Australia, and I don't know if he's okay or not…I'm just really worried about him."
The Brit smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry; I rang Ireland not long ago, and he says that Australia had a panic attack, but is otherwise okay."
The Kiwi looked as if he'd had a great weight taken off his chest. "Oh, thank God."
"Don't mention it." England hinted.
"Oh, right! Thanks, England."
He ruffled New Zealand's hair lovingly. "You're welcome. Now, when you and the others get back to Scotland's house, I'm sure he'll be at the door to greet you."
The Oceanic nation nodded happily, before frowning. "Wait- aren't you coming back with us?"
He shook his head. "No, I'm going back to my house. Alone."
"O-oh…okay then. We uh…better get going; wouldn't want to miss the plane."
Silently agreeing, England led the way back to the others, and as a noisy group they boarded the plane.
~In England~
Once at his house, England marched up to his room and sat on his bed, placing his hands behind him and leaning backwards, staring up at the ceiling.
He didn't pick up a knife. He didn't wish for death. Instead, he realised how light and how happy he felt. But why? He'd gone to a meeting as he normally would, and the meeting itself went as usual, so why? Why did he feel different?
Oh, I know, he thought. It's because I've finally realised that I'm not alone. With that, I don't feel like it's me against the world. I feel like it's me with the world.
Smiling, he closed his eyes, but snapped them open when someone knocked on his door. Who's that? I wasn't expecting guests.
"Uh…come in."
"Arturo!" Italy cried as he burst in, and England watched, almost in slow motion, as his worried expression turned to a wide beam. "Thank God you didn't do that! Does…does that mean you're okay now?"
"'Okay'? What, in your opinion, defines 'okay'?"
Italy's brows furrowed thoughtfully. "Well…physically and mentally healthy, probably. Why?"
"Would you say I'm physically and mentally healthy?"
"Uh…yes. Of course you are! We…we cured you of your depression, right? Y-you're okay…" Italy looked like he was on the verge of tears, so England did something he rarely did; he hugged the Italian.
"If you believe I'm okay, then I am. We ourselves can't always judge whether or not we are 'okay'. An outside opinion sometimes helps a great deal."
"Well…I'm just so glad. We…we can put all of this behind us, right?"
"'Forgive and forget' is what you want to apply here, I take it? You may forgive me for what I did, but I don't think any of us will ever forget."
"You learn from your mistakes, right? We all have something to learn from this."
England nodded, but before he could reply, his phone went off with a text.
Frowning, he glanced at his phone. It was from New Zealand.
You were right.
That was all it said, but England knew what it meant. It meant that Australia was okay. It meant that he had been at the door to greet them. It meant that the world was slowly falling back into its steady, slow rhythm. It meant that everything was once more right with the world – or as right as it could be, anyway. Lastly, it meant that England's – that their lives could go back to the way they were, and a calm peace would settle over everything, until the next time that someone cries silent tears.
Until the next time that someone begs for help as they fall…fall…fall-
-and someone's there to catch them and wipe away their tears, before lifting them back to the summit.
After all, the good thing about hitting rock bottom is that the only way from there is up.
England's story was merely a drop in the ocean of suffering; but the ending was the way it always should have been. It was the right ending of the beginning.
And instead of one person, there was the entire world there to wipe away his silent tears and lift him back to the summit.
A/N: AHHHHHH, IT'S DONE!
Omg, I'm so proud of myself for finally finishing it. Are you proud of me too, reader-chan?
Okay, here we go: thank you to all who read this, for starters. I mean, I got over 20,000 views on this!
Thank you to all who commented; comments are like my fuel. Getting no comments on something kinda disheartens me, but I got a lot more than I expected, so thanks!
Thank you to all who favourited and followed because it means that there are people out there who enjoy what I write, and that means a lot.
Lastly, I hope to see you guys in the future some time, and don't forget that I'm working on another Hetalia one!
Bye~