By the by, Romano is not dead. I'm going by the headcannon that only the dissolving of their country and/or insanely large amounts of extremely powerful magic would be enough to actually kill a country personification. Also Singular Poisonous Ashes…do you have particular 2p in mind, or just, you know, random? Help meeee…I can't do romance without specific instructions beforehand…
March 1, 2015
Arya's POV:
Strained silence reigned around the dinner table.
Clink. Clink clink.
…still silent…
Clink clink clink clink.
…any second now…
Clink clink-
Boooing~!
Austria slammed his tea cup down so hard that it cracked.
"VERDAMNT PRUSSIA, STOP FLICKING PEAS AT ME!"
The platinum blonde beside me laughed uproariously. "Kesese~! What's wrong Austria, lose Silesia aga-"
CLONG!
Germany grew a tick mark as Prussia flew backwards onto the ground. "Hungary, vat did I say about throwing those in ze house?" he said sternly, picking up the frying pan and passing it to her as she tucked it back inside her dress.
Hungary pouted and folded her arms when he continued to scold, as I felt a tugging at my sleeve and looked down, seeing Prussia dramatically sprawled across the floor.
"Hey, Arya, I'm down, you get him!" he said excitedly, and I looked out of the corner of my eye at the only other female at the table.
"Prussia, I am not taking chances with her frying pan."
He looked comically distraught. "Vat kind of ally are you?!" he cried in despair, and I sweatdropped.
"I'm not."
Prussia let go of my sleeve with a shriek of anguish and clutched his heart, falling to the ground again as the other nations all sweatdropped, myself included.
"MEIN HEART! YOU CRUEL, CRUEL FRAULEIN!"
Prussia soon clambered back up onto his chair, and I was once more viewing the Germanic nations with the air of an awed spectator.
Something occurred to me, and I nudged Germany, as Prussia and Hungary were in a hot debate over…something.
"Hey, where is Switzerland and Lichtenstein?" I murmured, and he took a sip of what was most likely beer from his mug.
"Neutral, remember? Zey never come over for family dinners."
I raised an eyebrow. "So you guys don't normally eat like this?"
Prussia, overhearing our conversation, snorted and slammed his mug down on the table. "Kesese~! Of course not! Can you imagine this stuck-aristocrat coming out from his palace-"
Deciding that I had learned enough, and that Prussia risked a serious concussion if he kept talking, I put him in a headlock and covered his mouth. Sure, he broke free within a few seconds, but at least it shut him up for said seconds.
Suddenly, midway through another exclamation, Prussia stopped midsentence. This was so unexpected and strange that Hungary choked on her drink and Austria's glasses cracked as Germany and myself sent the former nation incredulous looks.
Prussia cocked his head to the side, his crimson eyes narrowing in concentration. "Do you hear that?" he asked suspiciously, and the atmosphere abruptly relaxed.
"If you wanted to freak us out, you could've at least been more original zan zat." Austria said witheringly, and Prussia made violent hushing motions.
"I'm serious, verdammt! Shhh!"
Hungary, Germany, and myself all put our silverware down, and listened hard.
"-aaaaaaaaaaaa-"
Germany abruptly facepalmed. "Italy." he sighed, as if the world had just fallen upon his shoulders, and I patted his back sympathetically.
Prussia held up a hand. "Hang on a second West, I think he's looking for a different nursemaid this time."
We all stared at him.
"Eh?!" I squeaked, and Austria tilted his head.
"Now zat you mention it, it does sound like too many vowels to be Germany."
They all looked at me, and I gulped as Hungary's eyes began to gleam.
"Listen you…you shipper, that is not what it sounds like-" I began, pointing at her, but suddenly we all heard the front door burst open as footsteps thundered through the house.
"AAAAAAARRRRRYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
The door burst open as I lunged out of my seat, holding my arms out in defense.
"Wait Italy, don't-"
Too late, he launched himself towards me in a tackle hug.
"ARYA ARYA ARYA 'MANO'S GONE AND ITS ALL MY FAULT I'M SO SOOOOORRRRRRRRRRYYYYYYYY!" he wailed, tears pouring down his face in distraught anime fashion, and I blinked twice.
"Wait what?!" I squeaked, and he began to shake me, crying harder.
"The door opened and the person said it was a pasta delivery, but it wasn't a pasta delivery and then they threw an icky power in my face and I went to wash it off but then there was a scary man in the mirror and then I ran outside to get big brother but then I got dizzy AND WHEN I WOKE UP BIG BROTHER WASN'T THERE ANYMOOOOOORRRREEEEE!" he sobbed, and I looked up at Germany.
"You speak idiot, please tell me what he said wasn't what I think he said."
Germany got up from the table too, tugging his jacket collar straight as if preparing for battle. "It's what he said, Aryana. Romano's gone missing, und judging from your reports about ze possession technique ze Second Players use, he's also been captured."
Prussia and I instantly got to our feet as I helped Italy stand.
"Ze have taken one of our allies! Zis means war!" Prussia snarled as he scooped up his sword, and I gave the still-sniffling Italy a handkerchief as he blew his nose noisily and continued to cry.
"You do realize war is all but declared already?" I deadpanned, and he folded his arms like a sulky child.
"Vell, now it ist most definitely and officially declared by ze awesome me." he muttered, and I sweatdropped.
Germany cupped his chin. "If zey haven't killed him, which zey almost certainly haven't, he's going to be kept hostage. Und no good opponent vould take un hostage vithout informing zeir allies…so…"
Prussia scratched his cheek as myself and Italy remained silent, allowing the two older and more war-experienced countries plot. "So West, you're saying ve'll get demands s-"
Knock knock knock knock knock.
Prussia grinned as Germany and I sweatdropped.
"Called it!" the former nation mouthed at me as Germany squared his shoulders and marched to the front door, rolling up his sleeves. I picked up a plate mirror (which were now scattered about practically every country's house, safely covered) and followed, tiptoeing along behind him.
Germany opened the door, and I gulped and ducked behind him as I saw a shock of strawberry blonde hair.
Shit shit shit shit shit shit.
"Ooh~? Hello there poppet, come on out here with me~."
I yelped as my wrist was seized in an iron grip and I was hauled out from behind Germany at the word "here", coming face to face with Oliver. He was grinning manically, and suddenly Germany's hands clamped down on my shoulders, pulling me back against his chest.
"I would like for you to keep your hands off my citizen und guest, Kirkland." he said icily, and Oliver smiled blandly.
"Oh, you're no fun."
I rubbed my wrist and glowered at the grinning underground. "You're here about Romano, aren't you?" I snapped, and he giggled, biting his lower lip in some kind of facial tic.
"Oh, him? Funny you should ask…"
Suddenly I remembered what I had in my hands, and raised the mirror angrily. "Listen you little bastard, I have a mirror, and I will fucking use it!" I snapped, and his sky blue eyes darkened slightly, magenta tinging the edges.
"Don't swear, young lady." he hissed viciously, still grinning, and I shivered all over, backing up against Germany, who squeezed my shoulder comfortingly.
Suddenly two hands landed on each of Oliver's shoulders, and he blinked, looking from side to side as Prussia grinned at him and Hungary fingered the hilt of her frying pan. Germany politely stepped in front of me.
"We have you outnumbered, Kirkland. Tell us whatever you have to tell und get out, before we destroy you." he snarled, and Oliver grinned menacingly, pulling something out from his pocket. It was a flat metal disk with some kind of inscription on the front–
I squeaked and lunged backward, and Germany pulled out his gun as Prussia unsheathed his sword and Hungary swung her frying pan back.
"Oh relax~!" Oliver chirped, making a few motions over the disk with his forefinger, which I took to be some kind of magic.
A ray of light sprung up, then flattened into a circle, kinda like a magic mirror, and an image formed in the disk of light. Romano was staring at the "screen", his mouth bloodied and his lip split, his white shirt, more meant for lazy days than any strenuous activities, torn over his shoulder, where more blood showed. There was a bruise over that same shoulder, showing through the torn gap in his shirt, and strangely enough, a dried streak of blood coming from the center of his forehead, where there was no wound.
Maybe he was like shot? I thought worriedly as he sneered at the camera or whatever was recording him, and Italy whimpered from behind me.
Oliver closed his fist around the disk, and smiled at all of us. "Be a terrible shame if anything else happened to him, no?" he purred, and Germany's teeth cracked and squeaked as he gritted them together.
"What. Do. You. Want?" he growled, and Oliver giggled like a schoolgirl, swaying to one side.
"Ooh, I don't know, maybe a certain little annoying-bratty-poppet-who-ruined-all-of-my-hard-work-and-plans?" he said rapidly, and his magenta and blue eyes gleamed at me as his dangerous grin turned feral. "That'd be you, Aryana."
Germany groped behind him and grabbed my wrist, as if to assure himself Oliver hadn't spirited me away somehow. "Nein. No. Whichever you understand, it doesn't matter."
Oliver pouted in a way that would've fit a six-year old more than a god-knows-how-old British psychopath who also probably happened to be a cannibal. "But I neeeeed her…" he whined, his lower lip trembling.
Hungary looked at him suspiciously. "For what?" she asked warily, and he beamed.
"That's a secret~! But it does involve lots of knives, ooh, and some arsenic, you can never have too much arsenic, and, um…"
I sweatdropped. "You want to kill me, isn't that it?"
Oliver clapped his hands over his mouth, his eyes sparkling. "Poppet! You can't go spoiling secrets like that!" he giggled, and Germany's grip tightened on my wrist as Italy squeaked and latched onto my waist.
"No way in hell." Germany snapped roughly, and jerked his head at Prussia. "Preußen, get him."
Oliver held up a hand, his grin turning darker. "Oh, I wouldn't. Remember, this is the body of someone else."
Prussia snatched the mirror from me. "Vell, zere's a reason for zis." he retorted, and Oliver shrugged candidly, his smile not altering at all.
"Be that as it may, you do have to consider the…larger implications."
Hungary furrowed her brow as Germany shifted uneasily, and Prussia narrowed his eyes.
"Larger implications?" he repeated warily, and Oliver smirked at me lazily.
"Consider this, poppets. Is one human worth the existence of an entire nation? Is Aryana Thompson worth the entire nation of South Italy?"
Hungary's eyes widened as Prussia sucked in a shallow breath, and the underground giggled happily once more. "If not, then meet me at England's house." he said, then blew a kiss at me. "I'll be seeing you soon poppet." he cooed, and suddenly there was a soundless blast of light and he was gone.
I stared at the blackened ground where he had been standing, and once more contemplated how fucked up my life actually was.
9.05 PM, USA Central Time