Ugh. Let me just put this out there now;
it's 1:30am and I know for a fact that i can't finish everything by New Year's Day.
and once again...i have failed.
I really don't deserve readers as amazing as you.
I'm not sure when the final chapter will be posted, to be honest. All i know is that I'll be writing non-stop like i have been doing since school ended, and i'll continue doing it until school starts again. Who needs sleep?
I love and appreciate every single one of you. I hope you guys had an amazing Christmas or a happy whatever holiday you celebrate :)
I'll probably get one more chapter out before the new year, so please look forward to it :p
I know i don't deserve it, but reviews, favorites and follows are so greatly appreciated!
Enjoy!
(the very sorry and very pathetic)-luvlani88
Listen as I tell you what hell would be..
"So like, what now?" Poland asked nobody in particular.
Germany frowned. "I don't know. This can't be it. There has to be another surprise behind a corner somewhere." He replied as he rubbed his aching shoulder.
China had been brought up to the church steps by several nations, and now the exhaustion was finally wearing down on everyone. Aside from Japan who was in the process of calming down a very hysterical Taiwan, there wasn't much conversation.
Mostly because no one knew what to say about anything. Not one nation even bothered to attempt to sum up their thoughts and feelings, mainly because they all knew that there wasn't any point. It definitely wouldn't bring them any comfort. And besides, they all knew that they needed to keep their heads in the game and in the right frame of mind.
"We still don't know where Romano is." America said as he paced feverishly back and forth. "And we also have no clue where Atlantis and her goon squad went and same with Italy…"
To begin with all the cooks would be British…
"You shouldn't be walking around like that, America." Britain looked up at him from his spot on the ground. "You're still healing."
France scoffed. "Shut up, Angleterre. You're the one who fell off of a roof."
America smirked at this, but didn't sit down. "Is China healing okay?" He looked over to where the Asian nation was lying with Cuba and Hungary hovering over him, wrapping his wounds in an attempt to speed up the healing process.
"He's healing." Cuba replied without looking up. "He's unconscious right now, but his neck wounds should be fine soon." He looked up at Hungary. "Help me flip him. Let's check out his back."
The two of them gently flipped him onto his stomach so that they could inspect his back wounds.
"Will he be alright?" South Korea asked.
Cuba nodded. "I think so. His back has several torn muscles and there might be some damage to his spine, but he's already beginning to heal, so it'll be fine." Cuba responded and South Korea smiled.
The police would all be German…
"That's good. I'd bet that we're going to need him." Germany muttered.
"We have to find Romano." Greece spoke up suddenly. He had been sitting crossed legged on the large marble ledge of the 'porch' that the nations had been on for the past half hour, facing away from the group and observing the scenery around them.
"What did you say?" Estonia glanced over.
"Romano. We have to find him. It's key to our victory. " Greece explained. He looked over his shoulder at the other nations. "He has the Dormire Crocifisso. And Italy has to react to him. We have to find him."
Spain nodded. "Greece is right. We have to find him. I'll go-"
"We can't just go out looking for him, Greece." Austria cut him off.
"Why not?" Spain asked impatiently.
Austria sighed. "There could be more of those ice soldiers out there. And on top of that, it'll be easy for us to get lost here. And if we get separated, things could become…well, you get the idea."
"I can't take it anymore!" Denmark suddenly exclaimed as he threw his gun down on the ground in frustration.
"Calm down, Den." Norway chided, but Denmark ignored him.
"We're sitting ducks! How are you people okay with just sitting here, practically waiting for someone to attack us?!"
"Denmark-" Norway began again but Finland cut him off. "He's right, Norway. We're just sitting ducks." He said with defeat.
"Well it's not like we have a schedule for us to follow…!" America snapped sarcastically. "And even if we did, do you really think that Atlantis would let us do things our way?"
Spain huffed in frustration as he pulled himself up onto the ledge to sit. "We have to find Romano. First things first."
"Okay, but how?" Denmark rolled his eyes.
"If we can't go to him…" Egypt murmured. "…He could come to us."
"That's a good idea." Lithuania nodded. "If we all yell loud enough, he'll have to hear us. The entire city is pretty much silent as far as we can tell."
And with that, Spain took a deep breath, leaned over the edge of the ledge and yelled out as loud as he could. "ROMANO!"
And the engineering would fall to the French…
"No wait, stop!" France suddenly grabbed him.
"Wha-? Why? What's wrong?!" Spain stuttered.
"Atlantis is probably listening or watching us or something." France explained. "If we yell out for Romano, she might target him because she'll know that he's alone!"
Spain gasped and covered his mouth with his hand, immediately regretting what he had done.
Your lover would unfortunately be Swiss…
"Well then, what do we yell?" Switzerland asked. He was met with silence for a moment, as everyone pondered this.
"We could yell 'Veneziano'." Belarus said suddenly and everyone turned to stare at her incredulously. "What?" She shrugged. "He might hear the name, think we found him, and come running."
Nobody said anything.
"Oh come on!" She rolled her eyes. "I can't be the only one that thought of it!"
There was a long moment of silence before America sighed and raised his hand. "Alright, fine. I thought of it too, alright?" He muttered.
"…I kind of, like, considered it for a bit…" Poland added.
A few other nations murmured in agreement.
"We can't yell out 'Veneziano.'…!" France gaped.
"Why not?" Russia looked up at him.
And the bankers would be from Italy…
"Well because…" France hesitated. "Because it's wrong. So what if we do yell his name, and Romano comes running to find us without him? We'll just get his hopes up."
"And what other option do we have?" America countered. "We can't just sit here!"
Germany stood up and glared at him. "Well we can't just yell out Italy's name like that!"
"Why does it matter? He's not even here!" South Korea said. "And who knows, Romano might not even hear us!"
Britain groaned in irritation and rolled his eyes. "I can't believe we're sitting here debating what we should yell. This is pointless!"
Listen now as I tell you what heaven would be…
"I agree." Japan nodded. "We must work together if we want to prevail. There has to be something that we can do."
America started pacing again. "Well, now that those ice freaks are gone, as far as we can tell…Atlantis must be pretty pissed." He smiled to himself. "I don't think she expected us to actually defeat them."
"I don't get it." Germany grumbled to himself.
"What?" Latvia looked up at him.
"I said, I don't get it. I just don't understand why Atlantis is doing all this." He said as everyone went quiet, urging him to continue. "I mean…I understand that she wants world domination. I get that. But…Why did she have to use Italy, of all personifications..? I mean, no offense to Italy or Romano, but she could've found a more powerful nation to brainwash."
All the cooks would be the French…
"Oui. That's a good point, mon ami." France agreed. "She could've gone after America and his weaponry, or Britain and his black magic, or China and his influence over the economy…" He counted off each country's name on his fingers. There was suspended silence as the nations considered this.
The policemen would all be British obviously…
It sent a chill through Britain's spine as he imagined what would've happened if any of those scenarios became reality.
But surely it wouldn't be unlike the nightmare we're in now…? He thought.
"Here's another question, because obviously we don't have enough." Turkey said sarcastically, but then grew serious. "She wanted Italy…but why North Italy? I mean, North Italy kinda kicked the Ottoman Empire's ass, but I almost captured Romano one time and he really put up a fight."
Engineers would be German…
"Out of curiosity, Turkey," Germany said suddenly. "What kind of value would Romano and Italy have if they were, let's say, priced to be sold on the black market?"
"Both of them?"
Germany nodded.
"Well…" Turkey stroked his chin as he thought. "Romano would probably be more valuable than Italy, mainly because he has the whole doctor thing and…well…he isn't…you know…sick…" He murmured the last part carefully, and Germany cringed and swallowed down the sudden sickness he felt in his stomach.
"So Italy wouldn't be as valuable…" Iceland murmured. "Then why Italy over Romano? Wouldn't Atlantis want someone more valuable? And if she wanted to destroy both of them, taking Romano would be more effective, because she obviously knows that there's a part of Italy that depends on him to keep him from relapsing back into self-harm."
And the bankers would be from Switzerland…
"You're right. It doesn't make sense. There has to be another reason." Switzerland said as he inspected his gun.
Suddenly Britain stood up. "What if he knew something?"
"What?" France tilted his head.
Britain frowned. "Italy, I mean. What if he knew something or had some sort of information that Atlantis wanted? Something that she couldn't get herself?"
Hungary looked up at him and offered him some more water as she spoke. "It would have to be something that Romano doesn't know then, if she only wanted Italy."
Britain rejected the water but suddenly looked excited over something. "That's…That's right, Hungary. It would have to be something that Romano doesn't know. Maybe it was something he said to her, just before he was captured…!"
He started pacing, similar to America. "It's just like how you would capture a member of the enemy's team and try to get him to spill information. Italy has something that Atlantis wants, and she's desperate for it. But it's something huge, apparently, if not even Romano can know." Britain explained.
Greece nodded. "…You are correct, Britain. It has to be something important to Italy, if he is willing to put his life on the line to protect it."
Spain spoke up suddenly. "Antarctica told Romano that North Pole was the one who found Italy after he had left the Vatican and captured him, but she said that she didn't know where North Pole found him. Maybe he knew that she'd be watching him." He offered. "Maybe he…went looking for her?"
There was a moment of stunned silence as the nations processed this.
"You know, mates…" Britain stopped pacing and looked around at the tired, stunned and determined group of personifications. "…The more and more I think about this, the more and more I suspect that this isn't just a tragic story for poor Italy."
He murmured as he ran a hand threw his hair.
"What do you mean?" Germany pressed.
Britain sighed. "Well…I'm starting to suspect that Italy has a bit more of an upper hand than we originally thought."
It took Finland a moment to digest this. "You think that he…has more control over the situation than we thought?"
Britain nodded and frowned grimly. "Don't hold me to it lads, but…I suspect that this fight is really a gambling match between Atlantis and Italy." He paused. "And maybe Romano, even though he might not be aware of it yet. The reality is, this whole thing could just be like a chess match, and we're just pieces in the game."
"That's crazy!" Germany exclaimed. "You think that Italy's willingly being tortured all because of a game?!"
Britain shook his head quickly. "You misunderstand me Germany. I don't think Italy really wants to play this game at all, but it's like he has no choice. He has to win the match and declare checkmate in order to stay alive."
"Wait, wait, wait." America waved his hand in annoyance. "I don't get it. Are you saying that Italy might be aware that he's being controlled? I mean, it seems ridiculous."
Britain sighed and tried to explain his thoughts again. "Imagine this; Italy and Atlantis are sitting down across from each other, with a chess board in between them." He said. "But instead of a regular chess board, the board is actually the entire globe. And the pieces in the game are us."
He paused, but then continued. "But...the game doesn't work the way that regular chess works. Instead of picking up a piece and moving it, you have to make a plan for that individual piece and hope that it follows orders. Like Antarctica for example. Italy somehow turned one of Atlantis' pieces against her and his plan for that piece was that she delivered the message accordingly, which she did."
He paused again, thinking hard. "In fact, Nico might be another piece in the game too. The message was delivered straight to him, making him a piece too. Remember how Italy sent us that letter telling us to walk all the way to the country of Italy, without any indication of what was going on? That was probably one of his most desperate moves. He needed us to be in this country, at a specific time. But it was probably one of the biggest gambles he's ever made, because he knew that it was risky to just assume that we'd follow the plan."
Austria stood up and pushed his glasses up his nose. "Wait a moment. Remember how Italy's letter said something like,
'I hope you can trust me by now?' Or something along those lines? What if he was mostly referring to this game that Britain keeps describing? He probably means, 'I hope you can trust me to make the right moves and have the right plans to win the game'."
Britain nodded. "Exactly! And when we were attacked on our way to Italy, it was as if Atlantis had a counter-move that Italy didn't expect, because he didn't know that she knew that we'd be on our way to Italy!" He stopped pacing and looked around. "That raises a few questions now though."
America scoffed. "Yeah no kidding! I mean why'd we have to go on foot?"
"Why didn't Italy tell us about Atlantis instead of just disappearing from the World Meeting?" Germany added.
"Is being brain-washed, like, part of his plan? Poland asked.
Britain stuttered over his words for a moment as he pointed excitedly at Poland. "That's a good question, Poland. I don't think it was, but I don't think it could be avoided." He said.
"Picture this, Italy has, let's say, three or more chess pieces lined up in a row, and he's ready to attack Atlantis with them, except he didn't see the rook - that's a chess piece- that had slowly made it's way to his side of the board and has the ability to go side ways, knocking out all of his lined-up pieces. That's why he got brain-washed, because Atlantis played a sneaky move and knocked out some of his pieces." He paused. "I guess it's fair to say that Trident is the rook, seeing that he must've been the reason for Italy's brain-washing."
Britain smiled. "And so now, Italy only has a few pieces left, because he's brain-washed and all, but now all he has to do is react to Romano and then the two of them can destroy Atlantis. All he needs is…let's say, and extra chair to make it a three-way game so that Romano can join in and they can defeat Atlantis together!"
America stared at him in shock. "Britain? Have I ever told you what a genius you are?"
Britain smiled. "Nope. Not once."
America tilted his head. "Well I'm seriously considering it."
"Everyone…!" Japan exclaimed suddenly and everyone fell silent.
"What is it?!" Turkey tightened his grip on his sword.
"Can you hear it? Listen!"
"…and of course your lover would naturally be Italian~!"
"Is someone…singing?" Norway asked as everyone looked around.
"Romano!" Spain exclaimed happily as he stood up and ran to the other side of the church's porch area, and peered over the side. A few other nations followed.
It really was South Italy himself. He was walking with the Dormire Crocifisso over one shoulder and his other hand in his pocket. As soon as Spain yelled his name, he looked up at the church and gasped.
"Hey!" He yelled to the nations as he ran towards the steps of the church. As he got to the top, he continued to yell at them. "There you bastards are! I've been looking everywhere!"
Spain could barely notice his anger and was more focused on the wounds he had. "Romano…! Oh, look at you!"
Romano had a large gash on the side of his cheek that was bleeding badly, as well as a wound to the side of his head. His clothes were bloodied and slightly wet, and Spain noticed he was walking slightly with a limp.
"What did your doppelgänger do to you?! I hope you left him looking the same way you look." Spain exclaimed as he ran forwards to try and help him.
Immediately, Romano's face fell and he looked away.
"Roma…?" Spain murmured, noticing the sudden change.
Gingerly, he reached out to put a hand carefully on Romano's shoulder. "What happened?" He asked softly and Romano lowered his head.
"…My doppelgänger didn't look like me…"
"Who did he look like?" Spain tried to meet Romano's eyes but to no avail. Romano looked away again, and brushed off Spain's hand.
"Who did it look like?" Spain asked again and made a mental list of all the people that, had it looked like them, would've done the most emotional damage. "Did he look like Italy? Me? Belgium? Vatican? Nico?"
Romano bit his lip but didn't say anything.
"Just tell me, Romano, please?"
Finally, the Italian sighed and gazed down at his feet as a single tear slipped from his eye.
"It looked like Grandpa Rome, alright?"
Everyone paused and for a moment, the only sound that could be heard was the slight breeze that gently ruffled their clothes. Spain didn't know what to say, but for the sake of the Italian that he cared so much for, he tried anyway.
"Romano…I…I'm so sorry." He said carefully as he put a hand on Romano's shoulder, to which Romano simply shrugged off and brushed past him.
"Whatever. It doesn't matter. What are you all doing here, anyways?" He asked with a hint of relief.
"We decided that it wasn't smart to fight individually like that." Hungary explained. "So we met here."
Romano nodded absent-mindedly and looked around at he injured, yet still standing, group of personifications.
"What happened to him…?" He asked when he noticed China who was still laying face down on the ground with his wounded back on display.
"His doppelgänger. Did a lot of damage." Cuba muttered in response. "He should be fine. He's healing."
Romano pursed his lips and glance upwards for a split second before returning his gaze back to the group.
"That's good." He murmured. "I with my hand would hurry up and heal. It's killing me." He said as he took his hand out of his pocket and stared at it.
There was something weird about the way he said the word 'up' that made Japan's eyes narrow in suspicion.
Wordlessly, the Asian nation averted his eyes upwards for a split second, almost missing the meaning of it entirely, until his eyes landed on a spot on the roof of the church.
His pulse quickened.
"What happened to it?" Spain asked with worry.
Romano sighed in frustration. "It's broken. And the speed that I heal at is above my control."
He did the same with the word 'above' and Greece caught on. He glanced up and then frowned as he looked back at the other nations.
Canada noticed it, and looked up too. He almost gasped. Luckily, because of his invisibility, nobody would have noticed. "Guys…!" He hissed, but of course no one heard him.
He continued staring at the spot, and then made his way over to America. "America…!" He whispered, and America turned slightly towards him, hearing the urgency in his voice.
"What's up?" He whispered under his breath, catching on to the hint of secrecy.
"Look up!" Canada whispered back and America glanced up for a moment, but then almost immediately looked downwards again.
"Shit. Holy shit." He hissed under his breath. "Guys..!" He whispered loudly enough for most of the nations to hear.
"Don't look now, but we're being watched from above."
France almost laughed at the pathetic pun, until out of the corner of his eye, he realized that America was being completely serious.
North Pole hovered carefully over the edge of the roof of the church, holding onto part of the steeple as she spied on the group of nations.
"How much do you think she's heard?" Switzerland asked but nobody answered.
"Act natural." Germany hissed and everyone did just that.
"How much longer until he wakes up?" Hungary asked Cuba who was confused at first as he knew that he had answered this question earlier, but then caught on to her cover-up and understood.
"I'm not entirely sure. It's hard to say…" He responded automatically.
"Do you think there are anymore ice freaks out there?" Britain asked loudly to France who shrugged.
"I hope not. I don't think I can handle any more."
Out of the corner of his eye, Japan watched as North Pole jumped silently down from her perch and climbed across the roof, and then began to descend down the side. "She is to the left of us now." He murmured as he kept his gaze on her.
"What do we do?" Latvia whispered as Hungary and Cuba spoke louder to break the silence.
"We attack." Germany said quietly. "On my count."
The nations discreetly prepared their weapons.
Japan watched North Pole carefully. "She is behind the ledge." He was right. A moment later, Germany could see her peer over the ledge to take a glance at the group, but then duck down and hide again.
"On three. Ready?" He muttered and most of the nations nodded.
"One." He put his hand on his gun, trying to be as discreet as possible.
"Two." Romano tensed, but tried his best to act natural, even though he could feel his blood pumping in his ears.
"Three!"
The nations reacted almost instantly. America, who was the closest to the ledge, quickly jumped off of it to the ground first as most of the other nations followed suit.
North Pole's eyes widened and she immediately took of running down the wide alleyway between the church and another building.
"Stop!" France shouted at her, even though he knew it was pointless.
Switzerland slowed down for a few steps as he raised his gun and took aim. Just as he pulled the trigger though, North Pole glanced over her shoulder and waved her hand behind her, knocking the bullet straight out of the air and causing it to make a hole in the wall.
America's eyes narrowed as he noticed what she was heading for. The alley way had several other alleys branching off of it, one leading to an open area similar to the one in front of the church.
"If she get's into open area, I'll bet she'll start flying again." America said and yelled back at Britain, who was surprisingly having no trouble keeping up with the group. "Britain! Can you block her path somehow?"
The gentleman's grip tightened on his wand as he nodded. I really shouldn't be using magic. He thought. Not after what happened with my doppelgänger. I'm not sure how much I can control it…
Nevertheless, he raised his wand and a few unintelligible words slipped out of his mouth as a spark appeared at the tip of his wand and flew out past the other nations.
A force-field suddenly appeared in North Pole's path, and she crashed into it with a yelp, but quickly regained herself and got back on her feet as she dashed to the left, running down another alleyway.
"Where is she going?!" South Korea asked as the nations turned the corner.
Suddenly, Romano cursed as he scowled. "I know where she's going." He exclaimed. "There's a canal not far from here. I think she's trying to get into the water, but she doesn't know exactly where to find it."
Austria cursed too. "We can't let her get into the water…!"
"She won't make it. Trust me." Romano replied and suddenly detoured through another alley way, disappearing from view. "Where's he going?!" Belarus said.
"Let him go." Russia responded. "He knows the city much better than we do."
North Pole made another turn and the nations sped up, praying that they wouldn't lose her.
"North Pole, stop! We don't want to hurt you!" France tried again, but the strange girl didn't even look back.
Suddenly, Turkey gasped and cursed under his breath. "Guys! The canal!"
The nations were now able to see a part of the canal as they ran. North Pole began heading straight towards the bank of it, almost reaching the end of the alleyway.
"No! She's going to-" Britain began but was cut off as the nations watched in awe and something appeared from around the corner of a building and hit North Pole, throwing her back into the alley way from the force.
As the nations neared her, Japan could see a small trickle of blood coming from her mouth and a large bruise on her head. She was unconscious.
Romano stepped out from around the corner and looked down at his handiwork. "See? I told you I know this place like the back of my hand." He smirked and put the Dormire Crocifisso back over his shoulder.
"Nice shot." America high-fived him.
He smirked wider, but then frowned down at the unconscious figure that was North Pole. "What was she doing, anyways?" Norway crouched down, checking her pulse. "I think she was spying on us. Atlantis needs to know what we're up to, apparently." He stood up. "Her pulse is normal. She'll wake up soon." He said.
"Hey! Where did everyone go?" Taiwan's voice suddenly echoed through the alleyway.
"Over here!" South Korea yelled back and Taiwan and the other nations that had stayed behind emerged from behind a corner.
Including China.
"You're alright!" South Korea exclaimed as he ran forwards to give his older brother a giant hug.
"I could be better, aru. But I'll be fine." China smiled wearily. He had bandages around his torso and around his neck, but he seemed to be able to walk alright.
China looked up at Japan and gave him a smile. Japan smiled back.
"So, you caught her." Cuba peered over at the unconscious girl. "What now?"
"Let's move out of this alleyway. It's getting crowded." Romano said with irritation.
Norway was about to bend down to help to pick her up, when Britain stopped him. "Don't worry about it. I can handle it." He said simply and waved his wand over her body.
She began levitating a few feet off of the ground and Britain walked forwards as he moved her out into the street. He gently lowered her back down onto the ground in the middle of the street, about thirty feet from the bank of the canal.
"There. Now we should-" He began but was cut off by a yell.
"Romano!" A voice suddenly exclaimed and the nations looked around in surprise for the owner of the voice.
"Wait a minute, is that…?" America murmured.
His suspicions were confirmed as the nations watched Antarctica jump down from the roof of a nearby building and start running towards them.
"Antarctica!" America exclaimed as she ran to them.
When she reached him, she wordlessly wrapped her arms around him in an embrace, causing him to stagger back in surprise, but he hugged her back anyway.
"What are you doing here? I thought you'd be with Atlantis…?" America asked as they pulled apart.
"I was supposed to be but I kinda ran away last minute." Antarctica explained. "I don't think I can go back now, anyways. I'm pretty sure that Atlantis realized that I'm not as loyal as she thought." Her eyes suddenly looked down at the unconscious figure that was North Pole. "What happened to her?!" She exclaimed as she went over and crouched down to inspect her.
"We defeated the army of ice soldiers, and then we met up at a church not far from here. We were just licking our wounds when we noticed that she was spying on us." France explained. "So we used the element of surprise and chased her. She was heading into the water when Romano knocked her out with his Dormire Crocifisso."
Hearing this, Antarctica looked up at the Italian and bit her lip as she stood up. "Romano…I have something to ask you, and I'm praying that you say yes."
"No, I won't marry you." Romano said sarcastically as he rolled his eyes.
"I'm serious, Romano." Antarctica snapped and the Italian personification nodded, so Antarctica took a deep breath and shut her eyes.
"Romano…Did you bring Veneziano's half of the Dormire Crocifisso with you?"
She opened her eyes to gauge his reaction. The Italian stared blankly at her, and for a moment, Antarctica felt her hopes rise. And then finally, Romano uttered a single word that made her hopes come crashing back down to the ground.
"Nope." He muttered as he shut his eyes in frustration.
Antarctica couldn't speak.
"Why though? Why does it matter?" He said as he opened his eyes again, praying that his decision hadn't been the wrong one. Antarctica took a shaky breath and stared sightlessly at him, before shaking her head slowly and finally explaining in a murmur.
"Atlantis is going to use Veneziano's half to take over the world."
"You're kidding." Romano said automatically. "Please, please, please, tell me that you're kidding." He was practically begging now.
Antarctica exhaled a long shaky breath and shook her head.
A few choice words slipped from Romano's mouth as he ran his hand through his hair, completely forgetting about his curl. Antarctica seemed frozen for a moment, as her eyes clouded over and her breathing stopped.
And then, "Where is it? Where did you put it?!" She snapped as she suddenly came back alive.
"I-I left it at the Vatican…!" Romano responded as the colour drained from his face.
Antarctica shook her head and pressed a hand to her now throbbing head. "It's…It's not your fault." She murmured. "I've been trying to reach you. All of you. I just…You left before I could…Ugh." She ran her hands through her hair and sighed. "I just hope that Atlantis doesn't-"
"Atlantis doesn't what?" A voice suddenly interrupted and Antarctica gasped in surprise as America pushed her behind him and the other nations readied their weapons.
Sitting calmly on one of the wide cylindrical posts on the edge of the canal was Atlantis herself.
She looked amused by the current situation and even had a hint of a smirk on her face. Standing beside her was Trident, who looked anything but amused.
"Well, well, well. Look at this." She said as she tilted her head. "Antarctica with the nations? Why doesn't this surprise me?" Her smile reflected amusement, but her tone reflected anger.
All of a sudden, tendrils of water appeared out of the canal and snaked across the ground. The countries immediately tensed and stepped back, but the water went only to North Pole. It wrapped around her and half carried her and half dragged her back to Atlantis. When she was close enough, the tendrils untwined from around her limbs and laid her back down on the ground.
Wordlessly, Atlantis flicked her hand and a sphere of water floated out of the canal and fell onto North Pole. She sputtered and gasped as she regained consciousness.
"Wha-?" She began when she was able to talk but cut herself off as soon as she saw Atlantis.
"So, Antarctica…" Atlantis continued, completely unfazed by North Pole. "…does this mean that you're a nation now?" She sneered, glaring at Antarctica, who seemed to want to cower slightly behind America.
She didn't say anything. But America did. "Yes, it does." He replied stubbornly. "She's independent now."
Atlantis didn't even scowl at this. "Hm. Well it seems that I was correct."
It took Antarctica a moment to process this. "You knew that I was going independent?"
Atlantis nodded simply and rolled her eyes. "I had a suspicion for a while, but my thoughts were confirmed when the nations came directly here to Venice." She looked back at Antarctica with an obviously angry glare. "You told them that I planned to come here first."
Antarctica couldn't help but smirk. "Let's just say that I decided to even the playing field."
America smiled at this.
"No matter." Atlantis said with a bored wave of her hand. "It doesn't even things out much at all." She smiled. "In case you've forgotten, I still have one thing that you don't have."
"Oh yeah?" Poland snapped. "What's that?"
Atlantis chuckled darkly as her eyes darted over to Romano.
"I still have Veneziano."
His reaction was just what she was looking for; his eyes narrowed and he tensed, tightening his jaw.
"But I'm willing to give him back. For one small cost."
Romano growled. "You're going to give my brother back, one way or another!" He snapped as Atlantis chuckled again.
"Let's make a deal, shall we? I'll give you Veneziano back, in exchange for…" Her voice trailed off as she tilted her head at Romano.
"…the Dormire Crocifisso."
"Don't bother, Romano." Antarctica said before Romano could respond. "She's probably already sent Veneziano to look for his half of the Dormire Crocifisso."
As soon as she said it, Atlantis turned to North Pole. "I have a task for you."
North Pole looked up in surprise. "O-of course."
"Destroy Antarctica." She said simply and looked back to the group of nations.
North Pole looked shocked, but didn't say anything.
"You're not laying a hand on her." America snapped, putting his finger on the trigger of his gun.
"I don't think you should be worrying about Antarctica." Atlantis chuckled darkly again, and Latvia shivered. "You have other things to worry about." She said, and before anyone could ask what she meant, China swore.
"More ice soldiers…!" He scowled.
"Why are you doing this?!" Spain asked in frustration.
"Because," Atlantis smiled evilly, as the roar of hundreds of footsteps was heard, approaching the group. "I can."
And with that, several larger tendrils grew from the water of the canal and swallowed Atlantis as she pulled herself back into the water.
"Romano." Hong Kong said. "We'll take care of the ice soldiers and North Pole. Just use the Dormire Crocifisso to take care of Trident." Romano nodded, unable to speak.
She sent Veneziano to look for his half of the Dormire Crocifisso …? He thought. He suddenly had a dreadful feeling in the pit of his stomach, but he didn't cower. Instead, he tensed as another wave of ice soldiers came into view, running at the group of nations from all over.
"Don't worry, lads. With a bit of magic this entire problem will disappear." Britain said.
And once again, the battle commenced.
But this time, the nations had another strength to add to their list of advantages.
This time, they knew how to make these things shatter.
This time, they didn't have to worry about doppelgangers.
This time, they had a chance to get rid of North Pole and Trident.
This time it's different. Germany thought. We're not afraid of these things anymore.
*Antarctica's POV*
I fought alongside America. And I had to admit, he was pretty impressive with that super-strength.
Anyways, it felt so wrong fighting the ice soldiers. I mean, I didn't have a problem fighting them because they were basically Atlantis' army, but it was more like I felt kinda guilty.
I was the one who froze them and made them intact. They were basically my creations, and now I was destroying them.
I felt guilty for creating them in the first place.
It was easy to kill them though.
I froze a section of water from the canal and turned it into a makeshift sword. Not that I had to worry. America pressed a gun to my hand. I was terrified of using it though. I had never held one, much less pull the trigger. So I stuffed it in my back pocket instead.
And one minute, I was fighting an ice solider, and then the next, I was being slammed against the wall of a building by a huge gust of wind that came out of no where.
North Pole…!
She was standing on a roof of a building, and I suddenly realized the situation I was in. I have to talk to her. I thought. Maybe if I explain everything…She'll reconsider fighting for Atlantis…!
And with that, I broke my makeshift ice sword into two pieces and used it to help me scale the side of the building.
Any moment, I expected to be blasted back down to the ground with wind, but it didn't happen. Finally, I made it to the roof, and stood about forty feet from North Pole.
She had tears in her eyes. Was she sad because she had been ordered to destroy me?
"North," I began. "You have to listen to me."
"How could you?!" She snapped and I stopped, surprised by her sudden outburst. "You…You betrayed us!"
"North, I-"
"You wanted to be a nation this entire time, didn't you?"
"North! Just listen for a sec!" I shouted, frustrated by her continuous accusations. "I didn't betray you. I betrayed Atlantis, yes, but not you!" I said quickly. "I don't want to fight at all anymore. Before I did want to fight Atlantis, but now I just want her to leave me alone. And I want to be independent." She didn't say anything so I continued. "I want to see what it's like to actually live instead of just being a servant for someone who's pure evil. I want to see the world and all it has to offer. But I can't do any of that if I'm working for Atlantis."
She shook her head in distaste. "That's insane, South. Atlantis said that when she takes over the world, we'll be at her side ruling with her. If you didn't betray us, you could've had the whole world in your hands!"
I frowned. "You don't really believe that, do you North? I mean, come on! It's Atlantis! She doesn't share, she takes."
North Pole looked away from me, as if disgusted by my presence. It wasn't working. I needed something else. Something that would convince her…
"North." I tried again. "Do you remember that story that Veneziano told us?"
Trident rushed forwards at the Italian, who raised his weapon in defense. Trident's sword came down on the Dormire Crocifisso with an audible clang.
"I'm not going to lie," Trident hissed. "I'm going to enjoy killing you."
Romano scowled and the two jumped apart. "You're not going to get a chance to." The Italian snapped. "Now tell me were Veneziano is!"
Trident pretended to consider it for a moment, then shook his head with a smirk. "I don't think I'm going to." He said. "Besides, it won't matter once you're dead."
Romano chuckled darkly. "Please. Do you have any idea what this thing can do? One strike and you're done, bastard. You have no power compared to this."
Trident smirked at this and extended his arm, palm facing upwards. "Oh really?" He said and then Romano gasped.
It started off as a spark, but then something quickly ignited and Romano realized that Trident had a power that he hadn't considered, much less expected.
He can manipulate fire…!
He watched as the glowing orange flame danced happily across Trident's palm. "It's not just for show, you know." He said. At first, Romano didn't understand what he meant.
And then, Trident leaned over and touched the ground beside him. A flame flickered on the ground as Trident took a few steps forwards. The flame suddenly split into two, and both pieces starting travelling across the ground, as if there was an invisible line of gasoline being ignited by them. And soon, when the two flames met again and became one, Romano realized what Trident had meant.
The line left by the flames was now literally a firewall, and it extended at least twenty feet upwards into the sky where the flames danced in the air.
It's a circle…! Romano thought as he realized that he was standing in a container with Trident, with a wall of fire blocking everything else out.
"I really am the personification of The Ring of Fire."
*Antarctica's POV*
"The maid left and took back her home." I said. "In the end, she was happy. Don't you want to find a happy ending as well?" North refused to meet my eyes. "It's just a story, South, it doesn't mean anything."
I blanched at this. "It meant something to you! You wouldn't stop talking about it! Don't you want to have some sense of pride? Of…of love?"
North paused and looked at me. "You would've made a great world leader, South."
"Atlantis is using you, North! Can't you see that?! She's evil! She doesn't plan on rewarding you for your loyalty." I snapped, becoming more and more desperate.
"I'm sorry, South. I have to do this."
I shook my head in disbelief, and lowered the two ice blade I had created. "North, you're my sister. I'm not going to fight you."
She frowned and looked away. "I'm sorry. I really am. But you can't be my sister if we're not on the same side." She said.
And then something occurred to me.
Is this what Romano and Veneziano would end up doing? Fighting, just like we were about to? One of us wouldn't survive, and we both knew it. Yet, how could North be so okay with just destroying me like I was nothing? How could Veneziano be okay with destroying Romano like he was nothing? Even brain-washed…?
No. Veneziano was Romano's brother. Romano wouldn't destroy him.
And North Pole was my sister. I wouldn't destroy her.
I couldn't!
…Could I?