June 4, 2030

Jebel Akhdar, US Libya

The leaves crunched quietly under America's boots as he and Romano walked through the loose forest of Jebel Akhdar. The stars above them shone brightly, the gibbous moon lighting the path before them just enough so that they wouldn't fall over roots and or other protrusions in the ground. They were pretty silent as they walked, on high alert for any signs of an ambush.

Neither had opted to come on this mission unarmed, however—they weren't idiotic enough to do that. Romano had equipped himself with his Bolt-Action .338 rifle, which had a night-vision scope and enough lightweight ammo to last him a week, and several blades strapped to his hips. America himself had decided to take his Spider Gear—now upgraded, thanks to Texas, Massachusetts, and their scientific team's continued work on it. It was now attached to his back, and was modeled after an actual spider and the Marvel superhero Spiderman (Alfred may or may not have had some influence there). It had taken some getting used to the eight extra appendages on his back, but he had been training with them for months, and was getting steadily more skilled with the weapon.

They were alone, just as the message had asked them to be, but America and Romano had purposefully decided to take the risk being alone belied. What they could be receiving would be worth it.

At almost the exact same time New Abyssinia had somehow redirected Eurasia's nuke into America's satellite system (something he had still not forgiven the dirty commie for), Italy had received a message from Ezana, the nation of New Abyssinia, announcing that he wished to make a trade with them during a temporary truce in the war, as long as they came alone. Usually, the Allies would have ignored such a request(and actually, they had), but what New Abyssinia had offered was what had prompted the duo to come to the front lines against the orders of their leaders.

New Abyssinia had New Mexico and Libya in his possession. And he was willing to trade them for something he had yet to specify. America had immediately been on board with the trade, and Romano had ended up coming as well, since he had been asked to come as well (technically, both Italies had, but there was no way Veneziano was coming). No else except the high command of NATO even knew about the meeting, not even the other nations.

Hopefully, this wasn't a ruse to capture two of NATO's leaders.

Finally, America's GPS watch beeped, indicating the spot where they were set to meet New Abyssinia, and the two stopped, scanning the forest warily.

"Where is the ambassador?" Romano asked, fingering the trigger of his rifle and sweeping it around the forest, looking for a possible target. His hands trembled slightly, betraying his fear.

America bit his lower lip. "Even I have to admit that this was a bit of a risk. A risk worth taking, but we should be on guard, probably." There was a sound off to the south, and he instantly lowered his voice as a solitary pair of footsteps approached them. "I hear footsteps to the south. There he is."

As he spoke, a dark-skinned man revealed himself from the dark undergrowth and stepped into the moonlight, revealing his features. This wasn't New Abyssinia, but they hadn't expected him to come in person, so that was no surprise. Jade green eyes sparkled in the dark, revealing his identity as a super soldier. There was a shotel[1] strapped to his thigh and a pistol to the opposite hip, but other than that he was unarmed. But his relaxed posture didn't make the two nations drop their guards. This was a super soldier. His strength most likely almost matched America's, and that made him a threat, no matter how unarmed he was.

"I'm glad you came," the Abyssinian soldier announced, almost robotically, in clipped English.. "I thought my enemies would be too afraid to actually meet me face-to-face." He stopped just a couple feet away from them, still utterly at ease. "I'll make sure this trade is fair for the both of us."

"Enough chit-chat," Romano snapped, hands tightening around his weapon to hide their shaking. "We're on a schedule. Get to the point already."

"Calm down, Ato[2]," the man chuckled easily. "There is no need to raise your voice." Romano scowled and flipped him off, but it didn't faze the super soldier. "Anyways, I'm sure you've heard about your poor advanced satellite system getting destroyed and falling back to Earth. A shame, really."

America scowled.

"Of course I remember. I saw it happen," he responded curtly.

"I am not surprised," the Abyssinian shrugged. There was a whirring behind them, and the three turned to see an all-terrain van parking nearby in a medium-sized clearing. "I've brought some Italian and American prisoners from your silly little antiviral program with me. The American kid and African man are with them. I understand they are all valuable to you."

America gritted his teeth and took a step forward. Manuel! Manuel was only fifty feet away! It had been over a year since he'd gone missing. Was he alright? Was he safe? A hand grabbed his wrist and pulled him back, and America turned to see Romano just barely shaking his head, silently asking him to wait. America scowled, but stepped back and forced himself to finish listening to what the Abyssinian was saying.

"Surely, these men hold important information that you don't want us to know," the super soldier was still speaking. "And we only want one thing in return for them."

Same Time

400 Meters Away

"Are we getting closer?" China asked, frowning deeply as he pulled a stray leaf out of his hair, which he had pulled back into a small bun for their excursion. Germany nodded curtly, and he let out a short breath of relief. England followed behind silently, poised for any kind of attack. "I'm going to look like a pig when this is all over."

"I have to admit, this is one of the stupider things America has done," England murmured, looking over his shoulder to keep an eye out for attackers. "Though I didn't think Romano would be so thoughtless when going into a dangerous situation like this."

"Oh, you'd be surprised," Germany muttered. "We're just lucky I thought to ask Veneziano what was going on. He never lies to me, so we should be grateful that he told us what was happening tonight."

"不作不死, 英 [3]," China murmured as a reminder. "I can't believe I'm doing this." The trio fell silent again as they continued through the forest.

England's fingers twitched on the pistol he had strapped to his hip. Indeed, they had been lucky to find out about this meeting at all. It was only because Veneziano had been his usual airheaded self and had babbled about it to Germany yesterday that they were here. Honestly, he couldn't help but worry for his former colony. He cared for the boy (but he was not a boy anymore), but sometimes England just wanted to bash his former brother's head in with a rock with all the idiotic shenanigans he got into. There hadn't been time to talk to their leaders or throw together a squad to aid them in finding Romano and America; Germany had been forced to grab the two nations who happened to be nearby and do it on his own in order to get there in time.

Suddenly, China twitched, and then he threw himself in between Germany and England, grabbing both of them roughly by the arms. He activated a button on a metal holster he had attached to his wrist as three silent bullets whipped towards them. The Mini Barrier technology that England had invented back in 2028 sprung into being around them, a small deflector shield shining a pale blue in the night as it sprung into being around them and prevented them from experiencing a quick death. The bullets fell harmlessly to the ground.

"Blimey…" England breathed, whipping out his pistol. "That was close."

"You owe me one," China chuckled loosely, pulling out his rifle from its position on his back, the shield fading away.

A dark shape dropped down from the trees, and the three tensed, preparing for battle. The figure was dark-skinned and wore a black jumpsuit, making it nearly impossible to identify him.

"Mini Barrier Shield Technology…?" England blinked, recognizing the voice from somewhere. China slowly lowered his gun as the person did not attack. "Oh, it's only you guys. Sorry about that. You're England, Germany, and China, right? Arthur, Ludwig, and Yao?"

The man stepped into the moonlight, holding his hands up in surrender. He was on the larger side, with thick brown hair pulled into a ponytail. He sported an ugly scar on his right temple, but other than that seemed to be in good health.

"Ethiopia…" Germany gasped in realization. China and England stiffened in shock, sharing a surprised look with each other. Ethiopia?! They had all been told that he had died back in 2023, when New Abyssinia had risen to power! "You're alive?"

"Alive and well," he responded curtly. "Though I can't say the same for much of my people. New Abyssinia has really done them in."

"How did you survive?" England asked, incredulous.

"I never died, though I did come pretty damn close," Ethiopia shrugged, tapping the scar on his temple as he lowered his arms. "Well, sure, I was killed by Abyssinia, but he left me to rot on the side of a road in a shallow grave, probably thinking I was dead for good. But I revived a couple days later—most likely the worst pain I've ever experienced as well. I wandered around for a bit until I was taken in by a family sympathetic to me. It took me a couple years, but I found more and more people willing to help me fight for my right to represent the country. I've been leading a resistance group in my own land ever since."

"Well, it's good to know that not all of your people have fallen to your brother," Germany asserted. "But what exactly are you doing here, and not in New Abyssinia?"

"Good question," Ethiopia responded. He walked past them, staring off into the distance, enraptured in some kind of distant memory. "I assume you've heard about the trade that Abyssinia has offered."

"Yeah? What about the trade?" England asked, turning around to face the former nation. "What does that have to do with you?"

Ethiopia laughed humorlessly. "Heh. Didn't you all talk before deciding to find out what the trade is actually about?"

England shared a look with China and Germany. They actually hadn't talked about that much, but they knew enough. America wanted to get his son back from New Abyssinia, but taking much too large of a risk in doing so, endangering both himself and Romano.

"What are you implying?" England questioned with a deep frown, pulling out his pistol. "Is it actually a trap? We were heading to investigate to see if it was."

"New Abyssinia has been secretly using PXT 2020, your classified satellite system," Ethiopia announced, turning back to them.

Germany scowled. "So Russia's theory was right. I hate it when he is."

"And—" the former nation continued as if the German hadn't spoken, his complexion completely serious. "My brother has very nearly developed the technology to transmit the virus over great distances to control other people, using drones. Virus-bombs, if you will. When PXT crashed back to earth, they had a golden opportunity land in their hands. From what I've heard, Russia's nuke hit its wings and it fell back down partially intact thanks to some emergency procedures. Now, this piece of tech is one of the most advanced creations that humanity has ever made. Abyssinia wants to use the data and technology stored inside to use in his drones as a GPS of sorts, to land in just the right place at just the right time.

"You can guess what he wants in the trade now: the crash site's location and the remains of the satellite, so they can reverse-engineer it and create their own version of PXT, one that can guide these drones to the most remote places in the world. Of course, gathering information about what you know about the actual virus is just a cover-up. Anything those scientists may have is useless to them. And though Libya is in that truck, I know for a fact that Manuel is not. Abyssinia would never willingly give up such leverage against America."

"Heavens above…" China breathed in shock, a hand over his chest. England found himself short of breath as well.

"I was planning to stop the trade myself. But since you're here, this could work in my favor. I have to reclaim my homeland and my status as a nation once again." He clenched his fists tightly, but looked up to meet Germany in the eye. "I'm sure you know the feeling." He began walking away. "So… make sure the trade doesn't take place. Otherwise, the whole world will fall under Abyssinia's command. This technology is the true reason their soldiers are so obedient. If PXT falls into their hands, then we all will be at my brother's mercy."

Ethiopia sent one last, poignant look to the three European nations, then dashed off silently into the night, leaping up into the trees with a practiced ease and disappearing into the canopy.

A couple moments passed as the information Ethiopia had given them was processed, and then Germany swore to himself and turned around, back to where the trade was taking place.

"I suppose we have an even bigger problem on our hands now." he growled. "Come on. We have to hurry."

"This could be a scam, America," Romano whispered, folding his arms with a deep scowl. "I don't like this at all. Abyssinia may have already gained the information from the scientists. And we don't know for sure if Libya and New Mexico are in that van with them."

America frowned, torn between taking the risk and going through with the trade the Abyssinian soldier had proposed to them and walking away safely.

"More importantly," he finally murmured. "Why would Abyssinia want the location of PXT 2020? It's worthless now, barely scavengable for parts. They have to have something up their sleeves."

He wasn't going to leave. Not when his son was so close. But he had to think of Romano and his safety as well. His hands twitched, and he clenched them in anger. Dammit! How could he save his son and get out of here without risking Romano's life as well?

"America," said nation pulled himself out of his thoughts as Romano spoke. The Italian's voice was a whisper in the nighttime breeze, barely audible, even to him. "New plan. Do you think your spider gear and strength will be able to hold off one super soldier? I can free the soldiers by force."

America took a breath. Would he be able to hold off a super soldier? He had yet to actually face one in hand-to-hand combat, for whenever they were close by, he and his allies had taken to hiding. And considering it was taking the combined might of all the developed world to take on one third world nation with these soldiers, he couldn't help but worry.

No. He could do this. He was the hero! And heroes never gave up, not when everything they loved was on the line. He could take on this super soldier! Even if the Abyssinian was stronger, he could at least hold him off.

"Yeah," he muttered. "Hopefully we'll be able to get out of here without being captured."

"Did I give you two enough time to reach a decision?" The super soldier drawled from his position several feet away. He seemed to be getting bored. America swallowed, his throat suddenly dry, but he forced his nervousness not to show. He was the hero. He could do this.

"Yes," he announced, his voice coming out strong and steady. "We have had enough time to come to a conclusion."

"Alright," the Abyssinian replied, stepping forwards. "Where is the location of Project X Terra 2020?"

Protect Romano. Keep him distracted.

"No clue," America answered, clicking the holsters that held the controls for his spider gear open, pulling out the remotes[4]. "Try searching from the depths of Hell."

The Abyssinian twitched, then began laughing, throwing his head back for a moment before sobering just as quickly. "Very funny. I guess this was a waste of time after all. I'm sure I will enjoy your suffering."

"Actually, we would much prefer to eliminate you by force," America shot back, taking off his glasses and discarding them on the ground.

"You really are a stupid westerner," the Abyssinian laughed, dropping into a fighting stance and pulling out his shotel. "I'll show just why I was confident enough to come here on my own. I was by far the top of my military class even before I joined New Abyssinia. I'm all yours if you so insist."

America's eyes flickered to Romano, and he nodded, readying his rifle. Then, America rushed at the Abyssinian, his Spider Gear's arms expanding as he moved to attack. The arms shot forward at the soldier as soon as America was close enough to make a hit, but the Abyssinian only side-stepped the attack, smirking. Frowning, America clicked the switches on his gear and attacked again, but the Abyssinian flipped backwards, landing a shocking seven feet away.

"Really?" The super soldier laughed, standing up again. America risked a glance around him during the brief respite, catching sight of Romano racing towards the truck. Good. "That's it? I honestly expected your technology to be better than that!"

America gritted his teeth as the soldier wasted no time rushing at him, almost too fast for the eye to see. The western nation quickly wrapped the spider's arms around him in a protective barrier, just in time to block the super soldier's shotel, which clanged off of the Spider Gear's titanium covering harmlessly.

But the Abyssinian hardly hesitated in the attack, instantly whipping around and clashing with the gear again, subtly testing it. America let out a harsh intake of breath as his sky blue eyes met the man's jade green ones. Taking the opportunity, he extended the Spider Gear's arms abruptly, hitting the Abyssinian in the stomach and forcing him away slightly.

There was a flash of green against the darker hues of the forest, and America's eyes widened in shock. He flipped a couple gears on his controls and fired a grapple behind him, the cord luckily burying itself in a nearby tree and pulling him away as the grenade the Abyssinian had thrown at him exploded in a flash of blinding light. A particularly sharp piece of rock cut his forehead deeply as he landed on the tree, the grapple holding him a couple feet above the ground.

The Abyssinian soldier was hardly even fazed by the blast, and before America could recover, had rushed towards the tree and kicked the bottom clear in half in an astonishing feat of strength, causing America to discharge the grapple as he crashed into the ground, the air knocked out of him. America gave himself no time to recuperate this time, however, immediately rolling to the right and narrowing dodging the shotel that buried itself in the dirt several inches from his face.

He lashed out with one foot, hitting the Abyssinian square in the stomach with all the strength he could muster (which was a lot, considering how easily he lifted cars). The dark-skinned man only grunted and stumbled backwards, only stunned where a normal man would be dead. But that did buy America the time he needed to jump back to his feet and fire a grapple at another tree and whip away. Once he'd landed vertically on the tree, he let go of one of his controls to pull out the web pistol he'd used back during the trip to the Abyssinian lab, firing the electrically-charged web at the man.

But unlike the mission in New Abyssinia, this Abyssinian was more than ready, his shotel slicing through the webs with ease, their distorted fragments falling harmlessly to the ground in a spray of sparks.

America swore. This guy was good. Much better than the average super soldier, which was saying something. The only person who had ever matched his raw strength was… nobody, really. Even Russia had used mind games to even the field with him when they had fought during the Cold War. This soldier was definitely something; New Abyssinia really had sent one of his best to secure the trade.

America launched himself at the soldier, who lashed out with a kick that sent him to the ground with a grunt, but he recovered enough to draw his Spider Gear in a guard around him before he could be hit.

Then he was in the air, and America realized with a gasp that the Abyssinian had grabbed one of the legs to his gear, lifting him fully off of the ground. Before he could react, he was slammed onto the ground, his head colliding violently with one of the Spider Gear's other legs and stunning him for a moment. The soldier took advantage of his loss of guard, flinging him from side to side, up in the air and down to the ground again, several more times before stopping and throwing him on the ground. A flower of pain blossomed above his right eye, and America grunted, struggling to get back on his feet before the Abyssinian shoved him back down with a knee to the chest and a hand around his throat.

"I'm giving you 20 seconds," he hissed, green eyes blazing emerald in the moonlight. "Tell me where the crash site is before I carve out your heart, let you revive, and do it again. Twenty… nineteen… eighteen…"

America's mind raced as he blinked a sudden burst of blood away from his eye. He had never fought an opponent at his own physical level before. He was in a whole new ballgame with this guy. No doubt he was the best of the best; he had never seen such strength and speed in Abyssinia's troops so far. He yanked his neck away to try and get more air into his lungs, but the Abyssinian only grabbed at his hair, refusing to let go and keeping him onto the ground. Gasping to get at least a trickle of oxygen into his lungs, America tried to turn on his Spider Gear and attack, but was met with no response. Damn. It must've gotten damaged when the Abyssinian had thrown him to the ground somehow.

But by this time America had started to recover from the beating he'd been given. He dropped the Spider Gear's remotes (they were attached to his wrists by a short cord), letting them dangle from his forearms, and grabbed the Abyssinian's wrist to try and pry away the soldier's fingers as the Abyssinian continued to count down disconcertingly. The soldier grunted as he did so, catching onto the challenge as he dropped the hold on his hair to add his other hand to America's neck. Neither he nor the nation gave way as they began to tug on each other in a silent test of strength.

They were equal. America gritted his teeth. He was ready to fight to the bitter end. As long as Romano was able to free his son.

England's finger twitched on the trigger of his pistol as he ducked under a low-hanging branch, making sure to keep Germany's back in sight, where he was leading them to the trade sight. They had been racing there ever since their shocking encounter with Ethiopia, hoping to be able to stop Romano and America from making a mistake that would cost them the war.

Suddenly, China stopped as they heard a very soft noise off in the distance, too soft to really make out. His camouflage and pitch-black eyes and hair made him almost invisible in the dark forest, and England could just barely see his gaze flickering about, taking in their surroundings before stopping on a position to their right.

"Found them," he whispered, hands curling around his rifle. "30 meters north. 德国，英格兰, prepare for battle."

Germany nodded curtly, taking his own rifle and pointing it towards the north, where China had directed him. Though definitely not on the level of Switzerland or Finland, he was an acceptable sniper.

England's breath caught in his throat as he peered through the trees, catching sight of a dark-skinned soldier—not Abyssinia, he realized, but a human—and America caught in a deadlock against each other. The super soldier had two hands around America's neck and knee on his chest, effectively strangling and pinning him to the ground, while the latter was trying to force the man's hand off his neck. From this distance he couldn't see if the super soldier's attempt was working or not, but his heart leapt into his throat either way out of worry for his former brother and colony.

There was a deafening gunshot as Germany fired, forcing England back into the present. With the soldier so focused on America, Germany's shot had just barely missed its target, just scraping the soldier in the arm. Immediately, the soldier dropped America and dodged the next bullet Germany shot, then the second and the third. By this time the soldier had identified their position and was preparing for a counterattack, even as he dodged Germany's shots.

"Try punching through this, freak!" England cried, activating his own MBT[5] as the soldier charged them. The blue shield sprung into being just as the soldier attacked with a momentous punch. The shield wavered for a moment, but didn't break, keeping the three nations safe.

America wasn't out of the game, either. He was only a millisecond behind the Abyssinian, throwing his Spider Gear (was that a new version of it?) on the ground and shooting at him with a regular pistol, which his enemy ducked under and rushed backwards, dodging Germany's bullets.

"Hit him, dammit!" America cried, wiping some blood out from his eye. As he spoke, Germany's sixth shot hit just by chance, striking the super soldier straight through the eye. He wavered on his feet for a heart-stopping moment, then collapsed to the ground, unmoving.

China moved forwards to inspect the body after a moment of silence as England rushed to America's side. The young superpower chuckled airily, wiping more blood off from his forehead.

"Hey, Iggs," he laughed huskily as he massaged his neck, which was beginning to redden. "What're you doin' here?"

"What am I doing here?!" England cried, now letting his worry shift into anger. He slapped the back of America's head, causing the younger nation to flinch and groan. "What do mean, 'what am I doing here?' We should be asking you that question! What in the world possessed you to go out here on your own?!"

"Abyssinia said—"

"'Abyssinia said!' You never listen to the enemy, Alfred! Have I taught you anything about war?! This was a trap, and you very well knew that! I know he claimed to have New Mexico, but for heavens' sake, think things through! Look at yourself; you're injured!"

"America, where is Romano?" Germany asked, pulling out a white handkerchief and handing it to America, ignoring England. The island nation huffed, annoyed that he'd been cut off, but silenced, wanting to hear where Lovino was.

"He went after the prisoners," America rasped, wiping the blood off of his forehead to reveal two deep cuts. England couldn't help but wince to himself. That was going to need several stitches, and it'd be a miracle if it didn't scar. "He should be alright. Abyssinia was so certain one soldier would be able to handle us, he didn't bring any reinforcements with him."

"Looks like you killed the soldier, Germany," China announced, as if on cue. He had ended his inspection of the super soldier's body and stood up as he spoke. "New Abyssinia's not going to be happy about this."

"Abyssinia is going to cry out for vengeance," America nodded. For once in his life, he was somber. "But… it may end well for us. With India and East Asia on our side, we may finally have gained the upper hand."

"Oi, when did you three show up?"

The four nations turned to see Romano leading a small procession of maybe a dozen ragged men and women towards them. They were silent, and seemed to be in awe of the fact that they were finally free. America stood up, his eyes scanning over the small crowd in a mixture of hope and desperation. England frowned, looking over the small group himself. Though he had never actually met New Mexico before, he knew the child was young, and everyone here was over twenty, at least. Ethiopia had been correct. New Mexico was not here.

"Where's Manuel?" America asked, face looking like it was battling between hope and terror. England felt a pang in his chest as he shared a covert glance with China. America had been trying so hard to find his son and keep up with his war duties. Sometimes even they tended to forget how young the boy was. For nations like them, Alfred was practically a child himself.

Romano shook his head. "He's not here. Only Ahmed." He gestured to said nation, who was pale and ragged, no doubt an aftereffect of the war taking on his soil rather than mistreatment. As Romano spoke, England made a mental note to switch to their human names now, as they were in the presence of humans.

"What?" Ahmed shook his head, eyes wide in shock and fear. "Manuel? You mean he isn't with you? I sent him off during the attack on Benghazi; Ezana never found him. He tortured me for information, but I always thought that he had made it to you!"

A cold pit of fear now had settled like a stone into England's stomach. America seemed to experience the same emotion.

There was silence for a couple of moments, then America's eyes darkened, and he clenched his fists. Without a word, he stalked off into the forest, not waiting for anyone to follow him. And maybe that was a good thing, considering the bomb that had just been dropped. England's former brother had quite the temper when emotionally unbalanced in such a way.

New Mexico was not in the hands of either New Abyssinia or America. So where was he?

Wherever he was, it probably wasn't somewhere safe. And he definitely wasn't in the hands of someone who wanted to help him, or the boy would've contacted them already.

And as America stalked off, England swore he could see tears falling down his cheeks.

[1]- A traditional Ethiopian weapon, a curved short sword

[2]- An Ethiopian word used to address a man

[3]- Bù zuò bù sǐ, which literally translates to "Not do not die." It's a proverb the Chinese use (or as far as I'm told they use it) which means that "If you don't do stupid things you won't end up in tragedy." This is not Google Translate, so hopefully it makes sense to any possible Chinese readers out there.

[4]- Think of them as kind of like the sword handles for the 3DM Gear in Attack on Titan, except lacking the blades (though that would be cool. 3DM Gear in Hetalia. Hmm…).

[5]- Another abbreviation, in part because it's easier this way, and in part because MBT sounds cooler than Mini Barrier technology