Thanks to AquaEclipse, Vexey-since-1999, NadiaJA627 and Eternal Nexus Warrior for reviewing. Now, on with the show!
Germany had made it an order to not discuss what happened with Prussia and Austria, since they had many more important things to do than to have a debate about… about that.
Or at least, that's the excuse he used before anyone could even spout out that could start a discussion. There a few objections… Of course there were objections, how could they not talk about what happened- what he, they said- But they died out afterwards a bit. They were like still too stunned to put up much of a fight.
Honestly? Germany didn't blame them. He's still very stunned himself.
Most of all what Prussia said at the end. Germany wondered if he should still care, but he couldn't help but feel relieved, happy, that Prussia admitted that he cared about him (if he was really being honest, but Germany decided to think that he was), that Germany wasn't just a means to an end to him after all.
But he didn't know what they were thinking in giving that whole speech to them. Were they expecting that they could evoke sympathy for their 'cause'? To demoralize them and discourage them from trying to fight back? To provoke them into bickering to give them more time to do their activities? Well, judging from every single World Meeting in history, it obviously wouldn't take that much effort to pit them against each other.
It was probably a good thing that England and France weren't present at the time, whatever they're up to, they would have no doubt helped ignite a heated argument or a fight, unintentional or not.
Speaking of whom, Germany decided that they needed to hear this. Russia had 'volunteered' to find them and 'pacify' them if needed, which no one objected to at the sight of his admittedly threatening tight smile and the murderous aura radiating from him. He clearly didn't like what Prussia and Austria said.
No one did, obviously.
But it wasn't a matter of them liking it or not, was it? It wasn't an attempt to provoke them. What they said… about the problems they all have, not the rest, was true. That what's so frustrating about it, that it's true.
…Was it bad that Germany didn't want to think about it anymore? That he wanted to forget about it and move on?
Now that they got the little incident out of the way (for the most part), they then moved on to difficult part of deciding who needed to be immediately brought in and who to pick first. Since Romania was unavailable for the time being, that left only England, Egypt and Anubis, Egypt's pet dog who could also apparently teleport according to the man, for transportation.
The problem was that England… Germany didn't even know where to start. He- That dummkopf- Gah- Well… he's gone. It turned out that England stormed away at some point during a heated argument with France before Russia arrived. America's betrayal hit him hard. Both France and Canada went out to find him, Monaco elected to accompany them too.
As expected, Russia made it abundantly clear with a tight smile on his face that he wanted to find his sisters now, so it ended up being on the first-priority. So, to avoid violence (as well Germany realizing that Belarus would be a very useful ally), Germany obliged without much complaint, and Egypt was set to take him to Ukraine and then to Belarus.
Algeria eventually decided, albeit reluctantly and even slightly begrudgingly, to set aside Western Sahara situation for the time being until she 'confirmed some things', so it alleviated some stress from Germany. He suspected that she did for Russia's sake, and for Seychelles' as well.
The Central Americans were allowed by Egypt to use Anubis to take them to Panama's house, with Belize promising that they won't take long. Germany was admittedly slightly reluctant to agree to this, since there was still Italy, but the group of neighbors, or any nation in the Americas really, didn't really care what Germany or any other European thought, and quickly said their goodbyes.
Seychelles was next, and even though Germany told her that they'll rescue Mauritius, they couldn't quite get on with it yet.
Seychelles ended up crying.
Out of panic, and maybe shame, he tried to explain to the poor girl why this decision was justified. Unlike the other nations they were going to travel to, except for maybe Panama, going to Switzerland meant going directly into enemy territory and they had no idea what to expect.
Then Hungary, thank god, intervened and helped Seychelles calm down.
"How about I call Liechtenstein and see how she's doing with finding a way into Switzerland's basement?" Hungary asked gently to the younger girl with a reassuring smile. "I'll try to help her, and we'll find out once and for all if he's really there, okay?"
Of course, then there was Germany's reaction to learning that Hungary was practically putting Liechtenstein in danger.
Italy kept bawling and sobbing about his siblings, and for once Germany didn't scold him, because unlike practically everything else Italy cried about, this was actually a legitimate concern and it meant Italy as well as innocent nations (well, as far as innocent South Italy could be). And that's why they needed Romania or England back here now. In the meantime, Italy could tell his brothers and sisters to go hide in someplace safe.
But then there's South Italy, the stubborn (and annoying) one. How were they supposed to convince him? And now that Germany thought about it, didn't South Italy tell them that he was going to go Brazil's house for revenge?
Germany face-palmed. He should've stopped the Central Americans when he had the chance.
But also, they needed to make calls. Germany's already on it, so were the others, but that didn't stop him from feeling completely stressed out. However, he promised Hungary that- And he needed to get Italy to- And he needed to inform his chancellor that-
"GERMANY!~"
"I-Italy-san, please wait a minute…!"
This was going to be a long day…
/ / / / /
Huh, would ya look at that?
Ireland gave a grateful smile and a brief 'thank you' to his fairies. As they either skipped or flew away from sight, he leaned back onto the bench he was sitting, and drank more of his precious good-ol ale. Refreshing as always. He sighed and grinned at what he just learned.
So… England ran away to wallow in self-pity and alcohol and throwing a hissy fit and nearly murdering France and lil' poor innocent Canada 'couldn't' do anything but watch. Wow, what a bloody twist. Ireland definitely didn't see that coming. What a not expected development. Ireland stuck his tongue out at the sky.
A'ight, Ireland will admit, maybe he's being too harsh on the little shit. Betrayals hit hard, Ireland understood that well. They were always really painful and they had the tendency to shatter one's view of the world as well make one a wee bit paranoid and anxious. And someone like England… poor, delusional, stubborn, prideful, England… would be utterly broken. How broken exactly?
Well, Ireland had a guess, but he just had to wait and see.
They… The enemy… They don't have an official name yet, do they? Ah, screw it. Ireland's gonna keep calling them the enemy, as lazy as that was. Ahem, well, the enemy had started making calls and going to pick up nations who could be in most danger. Hmm, Ireland had a feeling that it might not end well… for the enemy.
On the current death toll, America already informed him all about it.
Belarus's dead, brutally murdered by none other than meek little Lithuania, which will cause Russia to rage like he hasn't raged since… Well… whenever the last time was when he raged. Aye, he'll go into a bloody fit of rage. Ireland shivered. He definitely didn't want to see that.
Ireland needed to tell the others. America, Norway, hell, even Prussia and Austria, whom he technically hasn't 'met' yet, but who cares? This was important stuff and Ireland's supposed to be on a reconnaissance/spying/relaxing mission there. He needed to spread the word so the bosses could come up with some plan as to what to do next, if they haven't already.
Aye, he should definitely tell the others. Things were getting interesting, and Ireland had no doubt that he'll make it even better.
Well, no time like the present.
"Ello there, I don't think we've properly met but I assume Al already filled you in? Aye? Good, good... Anyway, I think there's some things you have a right to know about and it'd be mighty nice of you if you go telling the others about it..."
/ / / / /
Romania immediately sprinted forward in direction of Moldova's little house in front of him as soon as he left the flames with no time to lose, especially since, for all he knew, his psycho love-sick ass of a friend was already on his merry way back to that damn Turkey with a crying and bloodied Moldova in tow… All because Romania, he muttered curses at himself under his breath, didn't think of bringing along his little brother as soon as he found out about this damn mess!
The mental image of that god-forbid scenario made his blood boil. From what he's seen of the real Bulgaria, he'd definitely try and smite the poor (not to mention innocent!) kid out of spite, friendship or not.
All because of that Turk…
Bulgaria was rendered completely insane and love-sick because of Turkey, who did that for whatever reason other than wanting a fanatically-devoted slave. Bulgaria was part of this New World Order because of Turkey. Moldova was in danger because of a threat Romania made towards Turkey. Everything just seemed to be traced back to him.
"Stupid, stupid, stupid!"
God, why didn't it ever cross his mind that Bulgaria might want to go disembowel Moldova, or 'wring his neck' as he so beautifully put it, after practically going into a fit of blood-crazed rage after Romania not-so-wisely declared that he'll kill Turkey with his bare hands. Romania still couldn't believe Bulgaria actually said that. He'd hurt a child for that bastard?
How could Romania forget that Bulgaria threatened Moldova? How? How?
How? How?!
Romani hissed through his gritted teeth and forced himself to stop when he arrived at the door before he could kick the only thing separating him from taking Moldova away to safety to safety off its hinges in rage, not wanting to give Moldova a scare no matter how much he wanted to get this over with as soon as possible.
Grudgingly, after a several seconds of gritting his teeth, he took out the spare key Moldova gave him and started hastily trying to unlock the door.
Please, please, please let him still be in there…
Romania opened the door and immediately ran in and began to look around frantically for his little brother.
"Moldova!" Romania called out, snapping his head from one direction to the next as he looked for his little brother. "Luca, where are you?!"
He didn't receive any answer, and just as Romania was thinking about throwing all restraint out the window and storming upstairs, he heard footsteps. Soon enough, a door opened, and Romania was nearly tackled to the ground a small blur that turned out to be, much to his near heart-failure, Moldova himself, with his arms wrapped around him.
"L-Luca?!" Romania found himself stuttering in shock, much to his embarrassment. He never stuttered, never!
"Vlad!~ You came back!" Moldova flashed a toothy smile, and Romania was torn between fainting in relief or crushing his brother in a suffocating hug.
"I'm so happy you're here! How have you been?"
"You're…" Romania blinked and swiftly he grabbed Moldova's shoulders.
"Moldova, are you okay?!"
"Well, I've been kind of bored, but I guess I'm okay." Moldova said, shrugging, and looked up at him with curious eyes while still smiling. "Why wouldn't I be?"
So, Bulgaria and Turkey never came here after all…
Romania beat them to it.
"Vlad, what's wrong?" Moldova asked, tilting his head.
Once he finally fully got over his shock, dry laughter escaped from his mouth and he cracked a grin before he promptly scooped Moldova up in a tight hug.
"Oh, thank god! I was so worried that they… but you're not! In fact, you know what? That's it, from now on I'm gonna keep you in my field of vision until this all blows over! Gah, I'm so happy I could die! No, wait, I can't die now and leave that hag to take care of you. Forget I said that."
"…Help." Moldova rasped out weakly, and Romania stopped grinning once he realized that he was practically suffocating the poor kid. "Vlad… can't breath…"
Laughing nervously, Romania loosened his hold and gently put down the small nation currently giving him an adorably grumpy look. Oops… Heh, wouldn't want to do Bulgaria's job for him, would he? God, that was terrible.
Right. Anyway, there's no time to waste! Time to ditch this place and get back to the others, where he'll undoubtably get flack for just up and vanishing in front of him but where he also happened to be desperately needed for transportation to wherever.
"Pack your bags, Luca." Romania grinned mischievously, despite his stress, winking. "We're gonna go on a trip!"
"What? Why?" Moldova asked, now looking hopelessly lost. Romania knew the feeling. "What's going on, Vlad?"
Romania tipped his hat, grin still in place. "To the closest thing to a safe place we'll probably get. Don't worry, I'll explain everything on the way. Just a warning though, you probably won't like some of it…"
/ / / / /
Egypt didn't have anything against Russia, but by the gods, was he reluctant to take part in this.
Russia was a cold nation, while Egypt was a desert nation. Those two didn't go well together and Egypt has a low tolerance for cold temperatures as Russia has for extreme heat. So, it should be understandable that Egypt's a little concerned that he might get hypothermia.
He should be fine as long as he stayed indoors, right?
Speaking of Russia, he went to see if China wanted to come with for whatever reason, but then again the large nation always had the strange need to be near China, so Egypt was fortunately left alone to his thoughts in peace.
This might sound a little petty of him, but Egypt wasn't really in the best mood right now for more reasons than one. He felt... upset, depressed, angry? It was a little hard to pinpoint what exactly it is, but it was the result of what Austria had the gall to say to all of them.
Germany had ordered them not to speak of if. Frankly, Egypt wasn't sure if that was the best solution. Besides, it didn't stop the others from whispering amongst themselves. Algeria seething and muttering under her breath while Tunisia stared at the floor in apparent shame. The Central Americans looking pained while at the same comforting each other. Hungary giving Germany a bitter look...
It was the beauty of free will, and their awareness that Germany didn't really have any type of authority over them, despite being the de-facto leader the of the group.
But anyway, what Austria said... the Christians, or as they're also called in his home, the Copts... Egypt frowned, feeling something akin to anger well up in his heart. How dare they? They had no right to scold him about his Copts when they seemed quite hellbent on wiping about half of Europe. What goes on with those infi- his, Algeria's, Tunisia's and the other Muslim nations' Christians were none of their business.
His Christians… Egypt was aware of it. After all, it's a little hard to miss burning churches and angry mobs during a weekly stroll through the capital. They… That… Egypt winced as he rubbed his head, feeling a headache coming in. But even so, Egypt found himself hardly thinking about them. In fact, he had all but forgotten about them until Austria brought it up.
Well, they were a minority, after all. Comprising only five to fifteen percent of his population, so Egypt usually went with that explanation… whenever he bothered to wonder why he kept forgetting or even ignoring them…
"Um... Gupta?" Egypt's eyes widened and he turned around, relaxing when it was just a nervous Seychelles.
Egypt felt some of his negativity dissipate at sight of the island girl. They haven't spoken since the meeting ended, and frankly he felt worried for her even after she stopped crying.
"Ah, Seychelles, hello." Egypt somehow managed to smile despite everything, something he found was easy with Seychelles. "How are you feeling?"
"A bit better… though I'm still not really happy about…" Seychelles trailed off with pained expression, and she fidgeted her fingers. "I-I'm sorry. Can I talk to you for a few minutes?"
Egypt nodded, deciding the ignore the abrupt change in topic for the time being. "I don't see why not."
"Ah, merci." Seychelles managed a smile for a moment. "Are you really leaving, like right now?"
"When Russia returns, we will." Egypt informed her, scratching the back of his head. When her face fell slightly, he felt the need to reassure. "We won't take long, if all goes well. Belarus will be easy to convince, considering her mad love for her brother, and Ukraine shouldn't be too difficult."
That information seemed to relax her a little, but she still seemed anxious about something as she kept wringing her hands. "O-Oh, I kind of knew that already but there isn't a chance that something bad might happen, right? Like… an attack or something."
Egypt thought it over and shook his head. "They shouldn't know that we're going to Russia, so I doubt it."
"Oh, that's good to know…" Seychelles said in relief, sighing, but then she stared dejectedly at the floor. "S-Still, even if you run into trouble, you'll just… teleport everyone out like always so… I guess that was a stupid question."
There was something different in the way she spoke self-deprecatingly there, it seemed more out of nervousness than low self-esteem. Not to mention she kept trying to avoid eye-contact with him, more so than usual. She was obviously trying to hide it, but she was never very good at hiding her emotions.
"Something is bothering you." Egypt stated.
Seychelles flinched and looked up at him in shock. "H-Huh?"
"You keep fidgeting your fingers and wringing your hands, and you look a little frightened in my presence." Egypt pointed out calmly, and Seychelles looked ashamed of herself. His expression softened. "What's wrong, Michelle?"
Seychelles bit her lip, hesitant. "I'm not sure if you'll want to talk about it…"
"About what?"
"…It's about what Austria said."
Egypt eyes widened, and he immediately dreaded what she had to say about the matter, though Seychelles wasn't really one to berate someone.
"Remember what he said about the Christians and the gays?" Seychelles asked cautiously, flinching slightly when Egypt's expression darkened. "I… I remember hearing... before all this started... about the things your Coptic Christians go through. I heard that they often get attacked through the years and... I also heard that churches have been burned down during the coup back in 2013."
Egypt tried not to cringe at the memory of the series of struggles and painful incidents that led his most recent coup. Regardless if it was for 'the greater good', those few years, including the revolution back in 2011, were nothing short of agonizing for him.
"That's correct." Egypt confirmed, albeit reluctantly. "But why are you telling me this?"
"I know your country doesn't have a lot of human rights, and you've been going through a lot of trouble lately…" Seychelles wringed her hands again and seemed to gain a bit more confidence as she frowned and spoke. "But you've been so nice to me, despite what the others say about what happens to your women. I don't think you're… like them, not at all. So I just want to know…"
Seychelles swallowed, and Egypt could have sworn she was beginning to tremble.
"I'm not much of an expert on these types of things, but you haven't been encouraging them to do all of that, have you?" Seychelles asked fearfully, almost silently begging Egypt to tell her otherwise. "Or is it the other way around? Are you just following the will and feelings of your people?"
She was looking at him desperately, as if she feared what he might say but at the same time hoping that Egypt won't say anything that'll jeopardize their friendship (Could it even be called a friendship? Was it something else?).
"I am more independent in mind than you might think, Seychelles." Egypt said calmly, gaze going to a nearby wall. "If I were really truly like my people, would I really be so friendly to you, a non-Muslim?"
"I… I know that, Gupta. But that doesn't really answer my question…" Seychelles remarked with a sad frown. "Why do the Coptic Christians suffer so much in your country? Is it you or your people or… or both?"
Egypt narrowed his eyes, but the question caused some sentiments from the revolution and the coups to come back to him.
"To be honest, I'm not sure myself." Egypt admitted remorsefully. "But I'll have you know that I never once burned a church or killed a Copt with my own hands."
Seychelles gave a small relieved sigh. "Well, that's good to hear. I know you wouldn't have done such a thing, but merci."
"However, burning churches should be the least of your concerns." Egypt made the grave mistake of admitting.
Seychelles looked at him in gaping shock. "What do you- You mean that's not even the worst part?"
"Right again, but that doesn't matter right now." Egypt shook his head, unconsciously rubbing his arm right where Cameroon bit him. "This isn't the Human Rights Council, Michelle, this is the beginning of World War III. Besides, I'd rather not leave you feeling more troubled."
But it turned out Seychelles was surprisingly stubborn, and she became a little upset. "I know this isn't the Human Rights Council, Gupta. But how are we supposed to prove the New World Order wrong if we run away from our problems? They tell us that we don't recognize or own up to our mistakes and you're proving them right. Francis knows that he made a lot of mistakes and he wants to make up for it. Why can't you try doing the same thing?"
"It isn't that simple, Michelle." Egypt tried to explain as he felt the migraine coming again. "You haven't been through what I have for the past couple of millennia. And you don't understand that the laws stated in-"
"But Gupta-"
"I don't want to talk about it."
"Why? Because you're ashamed of it? Or because you're scared of what I'll think?"
Egypt froze and stared at her. Judging from the rather anxious but determined expression on her face, he was likely unintentionally giving her a frightening look.
"My people can convert to Islam with generally no difficulty, but Muslims who try to convert to… Christianity… find it very hard getting new identity papers." Egypt gritted his teeth, miraculously managed to say without much difficulty. "That is, if the state doesn't decide to act on the death penalty for apostasy, though they are normally silent on the matter, and if they don't do it, then certain Islamic groups will."
Without even waiting for a proper reaction, Egypt continued.
"The police do not normally respond to crimes against the Christians, and even once forced 'reconciliation' between the Copts and their attackers." Egypt recounted from a memory of the incident years ago, and he crossed his arms as disgust welled up within him at the next subject. "Coptic girls and women sometimes get abducted, forcefully converted to Islam and are forced to marry Muslim men."
Biting his tongue, Egypt made sure to add:
"Trafficking and sexual exploitation is immoral, no matter who it is." Egypt stated grimly, feeling his stomach turn at the mental images it conjured. "And if they are going to convert to Islam, I'd rather they do it out of their own free will."
Seychelles paled in horror at all this information. "That's… That's awful! I know that you… but still… And you say that none of that matters?!"
"There are more important things to worry about right now." Egypt pointed out calmly. "We can worry about the problems in our countries after the war is over."
He expected more protests, but instead he received a sorrowful look from her.
"Gupta," Seychelles began more gently, taking a step towards Egypt. "Please tell me the truth. Knowing all this, do you… care about your non-Muslims humans? I don't mean if you hate them or not, but if you care about them. I wouldn't blame you if you can't do anything for them because of your boss, we all know what that's like. But do you care, even a little?"
Egypt stared at her unreadably, unsure of the answer himself. "Perhaps…"
"Perhaps?" Seychelles repeated, frowning. "You're not sure? Why?"
"Because they are..." Egypt found himself trailing off before he could complete the automatic response as realization dawned on him. Infidels. A plague in society.
But somehow, in some way, Seychelles knew what he had been about to say and his feelings about the matter. Seychelles' eyes widened somewhat for a few moments before she looked at him sorrowfully. She looked hurt, sad, perhaps there's even a bit of pity. Most of all, she looked heartbroken.
Seychelles was a Catholic majority nation.
It was truly pathetic how Egypt had just realized how apathetic and cold he acted towards the whole situation. Surely, he hasn't been like this since it all began, has he? No, only when Austria brought up the subject in the first place. He's always been mostly uncaring about the Copts, the Jews, and anyone else who wasn't a Muslim in his country for as long as he could remember. But how? He hasn't experienced apathy during the whole ordeal.
Algeria and Tunisia weren't just fellow Muslim nations, they were his friends. Mauritius was a good boy and Egypt still felt guilty for his capture. Egypt comforted France, despite not being very good at it, when he expressed his remorse for his past actions. The list went on.
How did become callous without realizing it? Why? Why them but not his people?
Without saying a word, Seychelles fidgeted a little with her fingers and turned her back to Egypt.
"Have a safe trip..." Seychelles said quietly, before walking away.
Whether it was a result of his guilty conscience or not, Egypt could have sworn he heard Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Iran all laughing at him.
/ / / / /
Surely, she wasn't being a bad friend by not continuously trying to get the others to help her get the next ticket to Laayoune, was she?
Algeria kept tapping her fingers on the table, leaning her hand on head with her eyes narrowed as she tried to deal with her inner conflict. No one was here, which was good, because she didn't think she could properly focus with Italy attempting to feed her pasta. She liked having peace and quiet, even though she admittedly missed having Tunisia here with her.
She would've tried to go look for him, he apparently vanished after the meeting, but then Algeria realized that she's probably ranted in front of him and bothered him enough. It'd be callous of her to seek him out for the purpose of being witness to yet another rant from Algeria when he probably needed some time to organize his thoughts himself. She also didn't need to know where he was at all times.
Besides, she didn't want to have another argument with the only family she had right now, not counting France. One was enough, even though Algeria now had more arguments to support her position. She should Tunisia do as he wanted, unless it was something unwise.
Algeria sighed. She shouldn't even be the one bossing him around. Tunisia was the brother, but he was in no way stern or assertive as Algeria was.
But for now, she'll try to sort out her dilemma.
Now… Was Algeria being a bad friend?
She always supported Western Sahara unconditionally, with her bosses doing the same thing (though part of Algeria wondered if her determination was so strong that it caused her humans to support Western Sahara as she did).
Western Sahara was a friend, a sister, sharing the same Berber roots that everyone else in the Maghreb group did. Even though she never reached nationhood, she was always there in her home in the middle of the desert, reading or wandering about through the land.
Western Sahara never got as nearly enough international attention as other territories like Crimea did, which Algeria could understand as Morocco was one thing, but Russia was another, and not many people knew about her. Sometimes, when Algeria was in an especially foul mood, she felt that she was the only who cared about Western Sahara and truly understood the gravity of her situation…
Algeria frown's deepened and she groaned into her hands, ashamed of herself.
Which wasn't even remotely true and was more of immature thinking on her part. Of course there were other nations who cared about Western Sahara and recognized her, after all Algeria was only the third nation to do so. Tunisia recognized her self-determination, though Algeria wished he could do more she knew that it was the best he could do, and sometimes accompanied Algeria on her visits to their sister's house, he was just being held back by his boss.
But anyway, even after all this mess, Algeria didn't believe that Western Sahara could have betrayed her, not even if Morocco tried to bribe her by giving her independence.
But if she was really in trouble, wouldn't she have tried to call Algeria by now?
"Algeria?" Said nation gasped and straightened up at hearing a familiar voice, and once she looked back, she saw Tunisia looking at her in concern.
"Tunisia?" Algeria asked, surprised. When did he get here?"
"There you are…" Tunisia sighed in relief and took a seat next to Algeria. "Are you alright? I haven't seen you in a while."
"I'd say the same thing to you." Algeria remarked, and Tunisia stiffened, which she took note. "You vanished almost immediately the meeting ended without a word. I was considering going out to find you, but I decided against in the end. I thought you might have also needed some time alone."
Tunisia turned a bit red for some reason and gave a small smile. "I… I actually did, to be honest. Thank you."
Algeria managed to return that smile before she became stern again once a question popped in her mind. "So, are you feeling better now? I don't really know what exactly upset you so much about the meeting though…"
"It wasn't that I was upset…" Tunisia admitted dejectedly, looking down as if ashamed. "I mean, I am feeling better now, to answer your question. But the reason I had to leave was because… I… I…"
He trailed off, and he looked a little pale, as if sick. This was odd. Tunisia wasn't usually this nervous.
"It's about what Austria and Prussia."
Algeria narrowed her eyes. "That was the enemy trying to demoralize us. You shouldn't think about them, Malik."
"How can we not?" Tunisia exclaimed, much to Algeria's surprise. "I know we only have a few Christians in our countries, many less than Egypt has. But, Algeria, they have a point. Have you seen what Syria does to his Christians whenever he's at his worst?"
Algeria could only stare at him in bafflement.
"What?"
"Since when have you so worried for the Christians? They generally live just fine in your country." Algeria remarked skeptically, crossing her arms. "And I'll remind you that my Christians lead much better lives compared to the ones in Syria and Iraq."
"I know they do, but…" Tunisia trailed off, expression becoming pained for a moment. "Algeria, you know how fundamentalism is becoming popular in your home. Aren't you… worried about what could happen to your Christians? They're small in number but they're still your people!"
"Yes, they are, and I don't agree with the idea of killing at all. Some humans might say otherwise, but I'm perfectly content with allowing them to do as they please unless they disturb the peace, in which case decisive action will be needed."
"I… guess… But what about the others?"
"There's nothing we can do for them, I'm afraid." Algeria sighed, and she frowned at him. "Honestly, Tunisia, where is this coming from? If you're worried that, in a way, we're not so different from the New World Order, after all, then don't. This isn't about our people or our form of government, this is about war. They deliberately reminded us of our problems to try to make us think that maybe what we're doing is pointless while they happily go off committing genocide."
Tunisia remained silent for a long time, expression anxious, before he quietly spoke. "I'm sorry."
"For speaking your mind? No need to." Algeria shook her head and gently grabbed Tunisia's hand. "You were always the most caring of our little group."
Tunisia held her hand tightly. "You're worried about Western Sahara, aren't you?"
"Is it that obvious?"
"Are you sure that she might be-"
"No." Algeria said firmly. "She is not, I know it."
"How can you be so sure?" Tunisia asked.
"If she was a part of this, and even was just as demented as Rahim and the others, then don't you think she would've appeared at the African Union meeting?" Algeria pointed out grimly, clasping her hands together tightly. "She would have been there to rub it in my face with Morocco and laughed along with the others. But she never came to the meeting."
Tunisia's eyes widened. "I never thought about that…"
"I actually asked Morocco where Western Sahara is that day, at the meeting." Algeria remarked bitterly, feeling disgust in her throat as she thought about her brother. She scowled. "Do you know what he told me? That damn infidel told me that 'Who knows? Maybe she finally got tired of your vulture-like scowl and preferred to stay at home than to see it again'. Can you believe the nerve of that man?"
Algeria immediately expected to hear his response, and even agreement, to what she just told him, but she received nothing but silence for an oddly long period of time. Puzzled, she turned her head towards Tunisia, who was staring at her oddly.
"What is it, Tunisia?" Algeria asked suspiciously while trying not to pull her head scarf up her face.
"It does sort of remind me of a vulture now that I think about it…" Tunisia muttered distractedly, and by the time he realized what he said and widened his eyes, it was too late.
"MALIK!" Algeria screeched, covering her face with her hands.
"I'm sorry!" Tunisia cried out.
"I do not look like a vulture!" Algeria snapped. Or did she? Wait, no!
Dammit…
"I hate Rahim." Algeria said angrily.
"I hate him too."
"That's an obvious lie and you know it." Algeria shook her head. "You don't hate him. Don't lie to me, brother. I don't think I can take any more after this mess."
"I'm sorry." Tunisia apologized remorsefully.
Algeria never understood why Tunisia couldn't hate Morocco.
She had no doubt he felt resentment over his betrayal and lies, but Tunisia didn't hate Morocco, even after he proved to be a psychotic sadist with an unexplained but disgusting lust for Tunisia, his brother. Ugh. He wanted to understand Morocco, he said. Even after the little incident in France where Morocco had the gall to kiss Tunisia in front of her, he never expressed any anger or resentment. If this continued, then it really will be up to Algeria to stop him from getting raped, or worse.
That was the problem with Tunisia, that he wasn't very good at standing up for himself. People pushed him around, and not many people paid much attention to him, even Morocco in his 'fake' self often told Tunisia that he needed to grow more of a backbone.
It was one of the many reasons Algeria often worried a lot for him or scolded him like a mother. He wasn't doing so well, and he didn't need things to get worse.
…Or perhaps she's being too harsh on her brother, Algeria realized. Tunisia, to even her surprise, did stand up for himself, unlike most of the others, and placed his faith in Egypt and Algeria that they'll be able to escape, even keeping a rather optimistic attitude, which wasn't unusual of him, but still…
Tunisia trusted them, got hurt for them, actually got into an argument with her over Western Sahara because she was worried about Algeria. He was always there whenever she felt stressed and needed to vent out her frustrations.
Now that Algeria thought about it, she never thanked him for any of that…
"Tunisia?" Algeria said, hoping to Allah that her eyes won't water.
"Hmm?" He looked at her.
"Thank you." Algeria laugh humorlessly, and she smiled gratefully. "For going along with my brash determination to escape South Africa, for choosing freedom over safety, for choosing to support and be there for me, for putting up with me."
Tunisia looked surprised above all things, and it almost looked like he couldn't believe what he was hearing. But then he slowly smiled. "No need to. I'm here for you, remember that."
"I know."
And she'll be there for him in return.
"What say we go and try calling Safiyya?" Algeria suggested, her mouth beginning to hurt from how unused she was to smiling for more than five seconds. "I'm sure she'll also be happy to hear you're alright too."
Tunisia nodded eagerly. "Yes, let's."
/ / / / /
"Why do I have to stay here tied up?!" Bosnia practically shrieked as Hungary finished tying up his hands behind his back.
Hungary tried not to cringe and let the hurt in his voice get to her as she smiled sheepishly at him, careful not to focus too much on the despair in his eyes. Poor Bosnia. Knocked out twice by Hungary's trusty frying pan in the same day to stop his 'other self' from provoking the others, creepily stare at them for no reason, and making threats.
Now, he woke up again only to see Hungary tying him up.
It's not like she was happy with this either, Hungary wanted to remind him. None of this mystery regarding Bosnia had been fun.
"Because as we've seen more than enough times before, we can't have you running around with your little split-personality disorder." Hungary reminded him softly, still offering an awkward smile, but Bosnia still looked far from happy. She sighed. "Oh, come on, Emir. You don't want to end up hurting anyone, do you?"
"No…" Bosnia grumbled begrudgingly.
Feeling worse for him, Hungary scooted next to him and patted him on the back in comfort. "I'm not enjoying this either, you know."
"Da, I know…" Bosnia muttered, staring at the chains England made in distaste. "But really Liz, where the hell is this going? What's going on with me? We've found out about all this mess and we still don't have a clue what's wrong with me. Does that mean I'm going to have to stay here chained up forever?"
"No, of course not! Don't be ridiculous," Hungary shook her head, and managed a comforting smile. "I already made Germany promise to check on you in a few minutes. And not only that, but Egypt said he'll also try to see what's wrong when he comes back too, and I'll make sure to drag Romania here if I have to. So, don't worry, we'll finally find out what's going on with you pretty soon!
Bosnia noticeably perked up at that, and he looked at her in surprise. "Re… Really? You did that for me?"
Hungary puffed her cheeks and playfully thwacked him on the head. "Of course! We're in this together, aren't we? And we can't let this go on forever, especially at a time like this. Besides, I thought I told you before that as a friend I'm worried about you."
Bosnia rubbed the place where Hungary thwacked him, and he blushed. "Thanks…"
"And I'm sure the other Yugoslavians will be too when they hear what's going on you." Hungary said confidently, and then frowned in annoyance. "Except for maybe Serbia, he'll probably spend the day teasing you for it and calling you a DID zombie or something else crass and lame."
Bosnia's face darkened and he snorted. "Don't remind me. But don't worry about it, Liz. The second I hear him making fun of me, I'll just blow his damn balls off."
Hungary couldn't resist an amused grin. "But Bosnia, remember, you can't..."
Bosnia stared at her in confusion before his gaze went to his chains, and he groaned loudly in frustration. "Oh, come on!"
Hungary stifled a small laugh for his sake and felt glad that the mood became somewhat lighter. But she couldn't exactly stay here for long.
She needed to call a certain someone again, see how they're doing.
/ / / / /
She'll admit it, she was kind of surprised that America requested to come over to her house for a visit. Not because they weren't good friends or anything like that, but because of everything that's been happening lately. She honestly thought he'd be busy putting up with the EU and their demands for him to do something about it, only to criticize him for getting involved.
Or maybe that's just it. Politics. Could it be that he got fed and dropped everything and left everyone to clear his head? It sounded out-of-character for him but it wouldn't be the first time he's done it. In fact, he told her that he needed some time off the superpower job. But of all nations, he picked her to visit.
Then again, she supposed she shouldn't feel too surprised that he picked her over everyone else and his best friends. Georgia always made sure to be greatest host she could be.
The young woman with long dark brown loose braids who represented the nation of Georgia watched the ceiling with a pensive expression.
...But then again (again), it wasn't in her nature to turn away anyone away when they ask to come over to her house, unless it's you-know-who, so what the hell?
Georgia grinned as she made her way towards her door. Her guest… well, guests, were here! America was a fun man, and Georgia could sure use a distraction. He also mentioned that he was going to bring a 'friend' and told her not to be alarmed because it wasn't Russia.
She had no idea who this 'friend' could be or why he'd want to keep it a secret from her. Maybe it's that little alien friend of his, Tony if she remembered correct, that America kept telling her about? That would be interesting.
She opened the door, and as expected America was there waiting for her with a friendly smile.
"Howdy, Georgia." America greeted cheerfully enough, giving her a two-finger salute, but Georgia couldn't help but notice the tired look in his eyes. "Hope we didn't keep you waiting for too long."
"Oh, no, not at all! You actually arrived a little earlier than I expected." Georgia happily assured him, waving it off, and she gestured him to come in. "Please, come in, come in!"
America's smile broadened, and he almost looked embarrassed. "You're a real sweetheart, Georgia. Thanks for having me over, dude."
"Oh, no need to thank me~ It's no problem, really." Georgia grinned, flattered at the compliment, and she clapped her hands. "So, where's this friend you told me about that you were going to bring along? And who is he? Or she? Is it someone I should know?"
"Yup." America stepped into the house, and Georgia looked at the door again to receive her other guest, but when said guest appeared into view,
Georgia's jaw practically hit the ground.
What in God's name…?
North Korea of all nations, there, in her country, at her door, accompanying America, was standing there and staring at her unreadably
"Hello." North Korea greeted curtly, though it's a lot less hostile than Georgia would've expected. "I'm here too."
"Uhhh…" Georgia remained gaping. Well, what else could she say? She wasn't expecting this to happen. Needing answers, she turned to America, who laughed nervously.
"We… We kinda reached this 'agreement' and now we're spending some time together- it's… it's kind of a long story." America said uncertainly, scratching the back of his head "I'll tell you all about it in a bit. Don't worry, I made sure that he'll be harmless during the whole thing. He won't hurt a single soul here, hero's promise."
"Huh?"
Georgia had a lot of questions right now, including what kind of agreement was it that's making you two stand in the same room together without glaring each other to death and why the hell did you bring North Korea here to her house? In fact, how come they weren't glaring at each other to death right now with an aura of doom enveloping the room like always?
However, she abruptly shook her head, snapping out of it.
No, bad Georgia! This wasn't how you treat guests, even if they were sociopathic recluses with dangerous nuclear weapons.
But, sociopathic recluse or not, he was a guest, and Georgia was always determined to be a great and welcoming host no matter what. Any nation who wasn't that Russian homewrecker and those two bastards were welcome to her home, and that included the creepy nation that's North Korea.
And Georgia didn't feel that she was in any kind of danger right now, and North Korea didn't look like he wanted to destroy her.
Armenia would call her crazy, and Georgia's aware that it might look that way, but seeing skinny North Korea up close with bags under his eyes made her pity him a little. Besides, America of all people wouldn't have brought him over to her house without good reason, would he?
Still, Georgia will try to be careful with what she does around the Korean and she'll try getting America to give her more answers.
/ / / / /
Prussia was currently in Berlin, the eastern part of it to be more specific, but he was getting closer to the center. He was looking for something, something should right... here!
Prussia smiled as he crouched and traced a line on the ground, then looked at the distance.
There. The line was drawn here. No more, no less.
He needed his people for the cause, he couldn't depend on the land America gave him forever. But Prussia will make sure that he gets only what's necessary.
He wanted to give his brother a fair fight after all.
Credit goes to jennisms for the Georgia OC. Please review!
