Thanks to HelloThereHowAreYou, Redbayly, vexey1999 and AquaEclipse for reviewing. Hey, I managed to update this time! It's a lot shorter compared to the last chapter and in the end I decided that a lot of the plot progression will have to be moved to the next chapter in order to wrap up more stuff and because I really wanted to update (Also because I ran into some difficulty writing a few parts and I need more time to figure out how I want to write them). But still, yay for reaching over 300 reviews! Thanks, everybody. Now, on with the show!
Well, ain't this a deadly surprise?
Wait, no it wasn't. 'Cause one again, Ireland was bloody right… again.
Aye, the goddess's entrance itself was pretty damn terrifying. But the important thing was that he's right. Ha!
Ireland knew his cute little nephew, as well as tons of info regarding mythology. He knew perfectly well that for all of England's pissy rants that America's completely ignorant of the magic, it's as far from the truth as the Royal Family's far from being relevant. There's no feckin' way that a country that rich in magical folklore and with tales of spirits and gods wouldn't have the magic touch.
And he's plenty aware of the myths surrounding the Hawaii islands, one of the most famous of them was standing right in front of Ireland in all her glory. Pele. Goddess of volcanoes, fire and all other negative consequences of it, creator of the Hawaiian islands, and known for having one of the worst tempers in history.
She's quite a fine thing for a raging volcano goddess though.
Although, that wasn't quite taking front and center of his mind nor did the fact that Ireland's a genius, because right now he's too busy gawking and feeling bloody terrified at the pissed off volcanic goddess the size of a feckin' skyscraper. Knowing's one thing, but seeing it was… ah… another completely different thing entirely here.
"Aaaaalllfffreeeedd..."
Alright, he'll be real honest here… He's trying a wee bit hard not to piss himself right now.
Gulping nervously but still keeping a damn brave face because goddamnit, Ireland started to dully wonder, you know, in the face of having a holy fucking large volcano goddess murderously glowering down at them like Scotland after learning that Ireland may have thrown out his bagpipes by mistake, if they're fecked.
But then there's how his magnificent bastard of a nephew was still smiling.
"Hey, Pele." America greeted easily with a perfectly calm smile and a happy wave of his hand. "Nice entrance, dude."
Big, scary, flaming Lass here stared at him with her glowing magma eyes, leaned forward and then against all gruesome expectations, she broke into a full grin.
"ALFRED! Finally, you have returned for me!" Pele exclaimed in delight as she beamed lovingly down at the blonde. "I am so happy to see you here."
"Me too, Pele." America chuckled. "How've you been?"
"Boring. I have been doing but sleeping here, dutifully waiting for you to finally come for me. It is has been hard holding back my need to rampage." Pele huffed, but then smiled so feral down at America that Ireland actually felt a little afraid for his nephew. "So, is truly now time for me to assist you in your cause?"
"Yup! Your time to shine's finally come." America grinned up at her.
"FINALLY!" Pele screeched in delight, which wouldn't be so bad if it didn't nearly destroy Ireland's eardrums. "When shall we crush the General?"
"Easy there, we'll be off in a few minutes." You know, you really had to admire how calm America's being right now. "But first, do you mind...?"
"Hm?" Pele blinked and stared down at herself as if she had just noticed was a literal blazing giant. She giggled. "Oh, of course, give me a moment."
Pele started shrinking and shrinking in size and started hovering over to the edge at the crater where the whole crew was until she was perfectly at human size and landed gracefully in front of them with a haughty smirk. Her 'volcanic' features completely disappeared, leaving a. A young native woman in her twenties with long black hair stood in front of them, she was barefoot and her crown of flowers and her dress were now a vibrant red along with her eyes.
Damn, now she looked even prettier. But despite the change in physical, she reeked of volcanic ash and her very presence felt searing hot to Ireland who was standing not far from her, like when you open an oven.
"There." Pele looked satisfied with herself. "Much better."
"Thanks, Pele." America smiled at her again.
"Now, if only she could make adjustments to her own personality." North Korea grumbled resentfully. Wait, what?
"Oh, why is it so hard for you to keep your mouth shut?" Norway shook his head disapprovingly.
But the damage had been done and America facepalmed not for the first time today. The flaming beauty here's smile dropped at North Korea's words. Oh dear. She then directed her attention at the mouthy Asian and the Viking eejit, her expression replaced with a disgusted scowl that reminded Ireland of what anyone's face would look like after catching a whiff of England's food.
To his credit, North Korea didn't look the tiniest bit scared of the giant volcano lady. He's full of issues, that one, but Ireland had to be impressed at his utter balls.
"I thought I sensed an annoyance in my domain." Pele sneered before turning to a clearly exasperated America for answers. "What is he doing here?"
"He insisted on coming along." America sighed as if he's already been through this a million times.
"And you didn't stop him?" Pele narrowed her eyes.
Now, why did Ireland feel that there's some drama between them and America? He sensed a little something called jealousy from the Asian and the goddess.
"No. But if it makes you feel any better, he's not the only one here." America said hastily and pulled a smiling Norway into an arm hug. "Say hi, Lukas!"
"Aloha, Lady Pele," Norway cheerfully greeted, waving his hand.
Pele's scowl vanished somewhat from her face and she seemed to manage a brief smile for the lucky bastard. "Oh, Norway. I am happy to see a more tolerable presence here."
She sent a glare at North Korea's direction, who responded in kind.
"She thinks I'm tolerable," Norway giggled as if that's something to be proud of that. That's all he had to say to that?
"A-Anyway, guess what, Pele? I got a couple of newbies with me. Remember Ireland?" America went and patted Ireland on the back. "Well, here he is. Meet Uncle Patrick."
Pele looked over at Ireland, who offered a friendly grin for the fine thing, and raised a skeptical eyebrow at him as if she couldn't really believe he's here. Aye, well, neither did Ireland but he's starting to get used to this whole Order thing. Overall, she didn't look very impressed, but she also regarded him with a little bit of suspicion. Ah, protective, are we?
"I see." Pele stared long and hard at Ireland. It was a little hard not to feel intimidated. "So, you indeed chose Alfred over your filthy younger brother, as you should?"
"Aye, l… Lady Pele." He doubted that an angry lass like her would appreciate being called a lass. "I'm part of the club now. No need to worry, I'm here for Al."
And he meant those words. Whether America needed someone to turn his frown upside down, get drunk as hell together (screw the legal drinking age), or kick ass, Ireland will be there.
Just as he thought, she looked satisfied enough with that answer. Her satisfied expression was followed it with a pleased smirk, and then immediately went on to the next nation without another word. Not even a thank you.
Aye, she totally fancied him. Ireland smirked to himself. He's still got it.
"Now, who else have you…" Pele trailed off when her eyes landed on Georgia, who up until this moment was looking on uneasily. The goddess froze into a statue, her eyes bulging out.
An all-consuming silence began to devour the area, making everyone very uncomfortable.
"ALFRED!" She suddenly bellowed, shaking the earth.
"Here we go…" America groaned exasperatedly, facepalming.
"WHO IS THIS WOMAN, ALFRED?!" Pele screamed in rage, lava and rocks spraying around all scary-like.
Poor Georgia looked absolutely too stunned and baffled to be properly terrified, but she still squeaked when the big volcano lady pointed her big-ass finger at her. Alright, not gonna lie, Ireland felt a little torn between laughing at it all and just still feel terrified of the goddess who'd probably smite him for the slightest perceived offense.
America sure had an odd taste for partners.
"Damnit-"
"WHY IS THERE A WOMAN WITH YOU, ALFRED?!"
"Uh… What?" Georgia gawked; Ireland would indeed laugh if he didn't feel so bad for her.
"Aw, is the goddess's ego so fragile that the sight of a mere female enrages her?" North Korea spitefully remarked with that scary-ass smirk of his.
Pele glared at him murderously as the lava started pooling up and producing those nasty-smelling clouds of smoke. Ireland wondered if it was bad he's almost expecting for steam, or maybe volcanic gas, to come out of her ears.
"Damn it, you're not helping, North!" America growled at him, and it was more hilarious than Ireland would ever admit to his face. He yelled up at the pissy goddess. "Pele, cal… I mean, relax! This is Georgia, the nation, I mean. She's just joined the Order and I thought I'd take her here to meet you. You know, so she'd see the power at our disposal."
The billowing smoke and the lava's alarmingly fast flow abruptly stopped, along with Pele's murderous aura of death.
"A... new member to your organization, you say? And she wanted to witness my power?" Pele sounded way too skeptical of that.
America looked relieved that she wasn't gonna erupt. That's what I said. Come on, I'm sure I told you about her…"
"Y-Yeah, I wanted to see what the person who'll destroy the General was like." Georgia piped up bravely, surprisingly not sounding or even looking too nervous. Hm, she always had a lot of guts, that one. Good on her. "I was… pretty surprised!"
Pele turned her literal volcanic gaze on her, and understandably Georgia flinched. For a moment Ireland's afraid the big lass would make that arrogant, typical 'I did not give you permission to speak, you feckin mortal' crap every god's obliged to say after a brave soul dared speak up in their terrifying presence.
"So… you are not here to fraternize with my Alfred?" Pele asked suspiciously, leaning close with scrutinizing eyes.
Ireland noticed North Korea growling like an angry dog at the volcano goddess, but America put a hand on his shoulder while maintaining a warning look.
Georgia blinked twice in bafflement, and shook her head, doing "What? N-No, I'm single and I'm not ready to mingle as the Americans say. Haha…"
Pele wasn't amused.
"Yeah, she's just a friend, Pele." America piped up with his arms crossed over his chest and an annoyed frown. Aye, he's definitely gone through this before.
The goddess wrinkled her nose and slowly looked over at America dubiously. "So you say. She is not like Mexico in any manner, is she?"
America looked particularly annoyed by the question, but he obliged, sighing. "She's a total sweetheart. You should try her wine."
Pele's red eyes narrowed, probably mulling over this, or maybe finding ways she could boil the poor lass alive, and leaned back with a grimace. "…Fine. I… apologize for jumping to conclusions. It is just that I so rarely see any females with my Alfred."
Georgia laughed nervously. "D-Don't worry about it."
"He's not your Alfred." North Korea snarled.
Pele quickly got boiling mad, you know, in case the sound of boiling lava from the crater didn't tip you off, and glared at the Asian like she wanted nothing more than to dip him in lava. North Korea, to his massive credit, wasn't the least bit scared and gladly returned the glare with an equally murderous one. Needless to say, sparks flew.
If anyone had told Ireland that one day he'll see North Korea and a Hawaiian volcano have a death glare contest with each other out of their rivalry, he'd laugh and or ask what kind of stuff they're smoking and where he could get it.
"ANYWAY, we're getting way off track here!" America laughed way too loudly, smiling tightly at the two. "So, please, cut it out you two. The sooner we finish here, the sooner we can get straight to the invasion plan."
Grudgingly, and by that he meant extremely grudgingly, the two quit their glaring contest.
"Okay, now that we got over with, let's get going." America clapped his hands then looked expectantly at Pele. "You up for travel, Pele?
"For you, I am prepared for anything." Pele said confidently with her head held high. North Korea rolled his eyes from the side.
"So… how exactly is she going to fight the General? What's the plan?" Georgia asked the same question Ireland had.
"I'll explain on the way. Right now, we need to go. We still have an invasion to prepare for"
"Yes, let us waste no more time with talk." Pele coolly agreed and locked arms with a less than pleased America. "Come, Alfred."
And so they out, with Norway's help of course, back with their swooning goddess of volcanoes in tow while Norway prevented North Korea from punching the woman. In conclusion, Ireland didn't think that he'll ever get tired of all the surprises his wee nephew had.
/ / / / /
All throughout the several hours-long flight from the prison house to the Southeast region of Vietnam, South Vietnam was itching to go out.
It was pretty late when they landed on, and both South Vietnam and the Philippines agreed that that they've both staved off sleep enough in their busy days to deserve some nice rest before the big day tomorrow. It helped that earlier there had been an announcement that most large-scale operations like invasion, bombing and such would be postponed until the next twenty-four hours or so.
South Vietnam had no problem with the order, even if he was itching to move on to next step of getting his country back and more. To be honest, he kind of envisioned himself taking his first step where he could see the countryside and the clear blue sky clearly. He wanted to see his land in its all its glory under the sun.
…Besides, they still needed to inject a few… um… drugs into Malaysia to prevent him from having a sudden fit, as well as assure him that everything's alright. Ever since, . He's been stuck between his normal self and the other, resulting in him in a confused, dazed but compliant state. And with the drugs, they could only restore him to... a semi-normal state, if you could call it that.
It's cruel. But it's all they could do for him for now.
Philippines acting like a mother hen towards Malaysia... Who would've thought he'd ever see the day? But South Vietnam could hardly blame him for feeling desperate to make it up to Malaysia despite everything, considering what…
And now it's day out, the skies were blue and it's perfect.
He stared out the window distractedly, leaning his head against his hand, and at his land. He felt something stir inside him. It was beautiful. Not really. He'd seen photos and images on the internet of what his land and cities looked like now. But this was the first time he'd seen his land, well, in person.
"Hey. Hey, Chinh."
South Vietnam blinked a few times before he fully snapped out of his distracted state, "Y-Yeah? What is it, Felipe?"
The Philippines currently had a smile on his face, an actual normal, friendly one. Not that it's unusual for the Philippines to have a more normal display of emotion with friends. But it's a nice change from all the scowling, sneering and smirking from yesterday.
"It's day out. Are you done 'meditating', yet?" Philippines asked in a bored tone that rather contrasted his genuine smile.
"No. There's still a lot of work to do."
"Oh come on, I'm sure you've made plenty of people angry with all the time you spent staring into space."
"It's still not enough." South Vietnam's face darkened, feeling a twinge of dissatisfaction in his heart. "I… I need a better connection. I-I mean– well you know what I mean. It's gotten better after we got here, but it's still not enough."
"Right. And you know where the solution to that problem is," Philippines grinned wryly and pointed to the door. "Out there."
South Vietnam's eye twitched. He could feel his stomach twisting as he got reminded of the overwhelming urge to just mindlessly run out of the cabin and jump down to this land. It's exciting, but...
Philippines didn't seem to like that answer. "What's with you, Chinh? I thought you'd be ready to jump outside at the first chance you get, especially now that it's day out. And you're still here trying to stir your people into causing trouble when you'd have an easier time actually… you know, walking on the land."
South Vietnam couldn't help glaring at him at the insinuation that he didn't want to. "I do want to– I almost couldn't sleep while I was waiting for the sun to come up."
"Then what's stopping you? Don't tell me you're nervous." Philippines snorted at the very idea.
"I-I guess I'm still a little in shock that we're – I'm actually here." South Vietnam admitted with a slight blush, sounding more stilted than he would've liked. "I just saw my land through the window for the first time in decades. It's… overwhelming."
It wasn't a lie. Even after all this time and what had happened since then, it's hard to believe that this day's finally here. He's here, home again when by all rights he shouldn't be. Yes, he's had plenty of time to get used to all this and the fact that he'll have his land again. But now that he's actually here and the connection's stronger than ever… it's brought up
The last time South Vietnam had been in his land, it was falling apart and under siege by the North. Seeing it now in person was…
To his pleasant surprise, the Philippines's face actually softened in understanding. But before he could speak again, someone else entered the conversation.
"Just go outside, you coward…" Malaysia's muffled irritated voice startled the both of them.
After a period of stunned silence, Philippines turned to him with a blank look. "You know, when a drugged, semi-unstable, and not completely aware Malaysia is telling you to get on with it, you really should."
"Felipe won't let me out until I do, that bastard..." Malaysia loudly groaned all the way from the other section of the cabin.
"Just go back to your nap, Abdul! You better not be out of your bed, you idiot!" Philippines barked at him.
South Vietnam sweat dropped at the exchange. Some things never change, especially when Malaysia's in a decent state of mind…
"Haha! Guess Malaysia has a point. I'm not gaining anything but just sitting here, am I?" South Vietnam smirked, feeling a whole new burst of anticipation and joy. "What's the point? I want to take the first step on my land since forty years."
"So, what are you waiting for?" Grinning eagerly at him, Philippines nodded towards the plug door. "Your land's waiting."
Hardly able to contain his excitement, South Vietnam grinned widely back at him and carefully but eagerly got to his feet without staggering before heading toward the door. He decided to leave his M-16 and the rest of his stuff here for the time being. He'd rather enjoy this by himself without any weapons or war-related items. The uniform was an exception, he wore it to honor those fallen. This wasn't a battle he's going to, not yet anyway, it's home.
With each step, he could feel his excitement grow until he finally stepped out the door and into the outside. His land. A hand raised the rim of his hat to better view all the scenery as he smiled in awe.
It's such a beautiful day outside…
The word he'd use to describe the countryside would be beautiful. Somehow, despite everything that happened, this part of his land didn't look so different. He saw the lush green fields where he'd play with the dirt and farm and explore when he was little. He saw the mountains in the background that he'd trek to. The familiar smell, while faint, of his countryside itself hit him and was breathtaking.
One might expect him to be so absorbed with the view of the countryside that he'd take very slow careful steps while never taking his eyes away. But South Vietnam didn't. He couldn't wait that long. He's happy. He's so ecstatic that he felt he might explode. With a grin so wide that it almost hurt to have on his face, he jumped off from the ladder and hit the ground.
Upon impact he's almost immediately hit with a shock. He couldn't really pinpoint the sensation but it felt familiar, like something just snapped into space. It wasn't unpleasant though, far from it even.
But he couldn't stop there, not now in his euphoria at how he's home, finally, finally home. Right now, only one thing had his attention. Still with the same almost unnaturally wide grin, he gleefully raced through the countryside without a care for anything else.
He didn't know what he was thinking. He didn't have anywhere in mind that he's going to. He just ran and didn't want to ever stop. He's reveling in his newly regained freedom
It turned out that this was just the beginning. As he ran around, feeling and taking in the scent of his land, he reached a new level of euphoria he didn't think possible. Every single thing here had an effect on him, rustling of the leaves, the crunching of the grass under his feet, the gentle breeze, the scenery... Everything here was so amazing. He felt like laughing like a lunatic (which he probably was) until his lungs and throat gave out. It wasn't even until a few moments later that he noticed that he had been laughing this whole time.
In over forty years, he'd never felt so alive.
Almost suffocating in his endless bout of laughter, South Vietnam finally stopped his sprinting and he fell on his back onto the field of grass, giggling and relishing the old smell of it. Home. His home. Home sweet home, finally, finally…
Eventually his laughter died down. He took easier, steady breaths to regain his composure while he lied on the grass staring peacefully at the sky and its big clouds.
Ha… That was sure something, wasn't it? He even lost it there, but strangely, he couldn't find it in himself to care too much. A weak sound . Come on, that spark back there couldn't have been his imagination. It had to mean something.
There he found it. Gasping when he did, he immediately grasped it and held on to it dearly.
He could feel it. It was faint, but he could feel it. He could feel it. The connection's there.
Even in this sham of a body, a soul chained down to a corpse, supposedly cut off from his land and people, he felt the spark. He could feel his old connection to the land he's standing on and the people – his people – who inhabit these parts. He could feel them. They're still his. Only his.
These thoughts circled his mind as they slowly sank into his mind and he felt a splitting smile slowly form on his face.
"It's still there! She couldn't destroy it! She may have taken everything from me and tried to stomp any trace of me, but she couldn't make my land and my people hers! They know who they really belong to."
South Vietnam was screaming at the sky nothing. He didn't care how this looked like. He didn't care if North couldn't hear him now. His land was still his despite what she did, and he took that as a personal victory.
"You haven't completely taken it from me, Lien! You can't make it yours. You never will! They're mine! Mine alone!"
Drunken from the joy from this revelation, South Vietnam laughed and laughed…
/ / / / /
Egypt had thought he had seen enough of shocking discoveries and bizarre occurrences after what he had been through these past days. It was foolish, considering how he just met one surprise after another, but he always kept the same opinion that nothing would surprise him anymore.
Oh, he how horribly wrong he was. Even after having seen nations act in a manner radically different from what everyone thought was their normal behavior, the odd girl back at Paris, the Haitian god who could fairly match Anubis in a fight, the man-eating birds summoned by South Africa that also gave Anubis a rough time, and Nigeria expel an extremely venomous snake from his mouth of all things, nothing could've ever prepared for this.
His mother was standing in front of him. Ancient Egypt, Kemet, who had faded right in front of all those many years ago, who by all rights was gone from this world, was now stand right in front of him. Looking no different from when she was alive and her smile just as kind and comforting–
"M-Mama…?" Egypt whimpered out hopefully, suddenly feeling like the lost child he was again. This couldn't be. His mother was here, before him?
Mother smiled at him still, even broadening slightly, but her eyes were heavy with something like sadness. It was all painfully familiar.
"Hello, my little Egypt." Mother beamed. "I have missed you so."
Egypt could barely find his voice. "M-Mother? I-Is it really…? No."
"Yes, Atum. I knew that this would have a profound effect on you," Mother, still with her beaming smile, and spread her arms. "But it is me, I swear in the name of the gods that I am."
"No… No, no, this cannot be real." Egypt muttered in disbelief as he tried to even his breathing. He pressed a hand to his forehead. "I must be dreaming. It is the only explanation."
It wouldn't be the first time he had had dreams of his long deceased mother. The contents range from the typical yearning for days long gone or… more troubling things. But it didn't matter if he dreamt of his mother holding him, seeing her smile while showing her wondrous magic or her unfair demise. Those dreams always brought him nothing but pain.
He wanted no such pain right now. Please, please, the last thing he wanted was to be tormented with a vision like this.
"You are not wholly wrong, Atum." Mother's smile was patient as it was radiant. "But you must be alive to dream. This is something else entirely. But I will explain that in a moment. I am here. We are both here."
"This can't be!" Egypt exclaimed in disbelief, subconsciously backing away as he stared wide-eyed at his 'mother'. "What sort of trick is this?"
A trick… A terrible, furious thought crossed Egypt's mind. One that absolutely made him livid.
"Who is it? Who's responsible for this illusion?" He spat, glaring venomously at this… this sham of his mother.
The woman immediately became confused, of course. "Wh-What…?"
"Who's the one who conjured this illusion? Nigeria? Norway? Or is this your doing, Turkey?" Egypt snarled up at the sky, which he didn't care to note was dark. He didn't care how that last one didn't make sense. That man still could've come up with the idea. "Did you reach into my mind and pull out an illusion of my mother just to laugh at me?"
"Atum, you misunderstand. I am not an illusion. Please-"
"SHUT UP!" Egypt screamed at her. He didn't want to hear anything more from her. "Do you like torturing me that much? I'm already temporarily dead from that damn venom, but is that not enough for you? Do you have to laugh at me while I'm dead?"
"ATUM!"
"WHAT?!"
The thing looked at him grimly, almost with pity. "There are no such forces present. Can you not sense it?"
His eyes widened at the remark and at that moment he wanted nothing more than to scream at her that she won't fool him, but he went on and attempted to find any traces of magic that would prove him right.
…Except he found nothing. He felt no familiar presence here except for his... mother. No malevolent force. He didn't even feel a slightest bit of unease like when he had first laid eyes on Haiti's diary.
Against his far better judgment, with a nervous swallow of the lump in his throat, Egypt shakily (fearfully) reached out a trembling hand towards the smiling visage of his long deceased mother in naïve hopes that this wasn't yet another dream his mind had conjured to cruelly remind him of the pain that run deep within him.
But he did not expect for the apparition itself to extend a hand towards his own, and Egypt gasped as he made contact with the woman's skin, fingers intertwining.
Her touch was warm and soft. It somehow felt more real than any other dream he had ever had.
"I am here, Atum." She said again, pleading for him to believe it.
Breath hitching in his throat, Egypt yanked his hand away as if burned and stumbled back as he stared at his mother in open-mouthed shock. He briefly stared at the hand that touched the other being's hand, honestly half-expecting to find something that indicated that he had just been had. But there was no such thing. He was fine.
It was real. She was real. And- And he sensed no malevolent force here, so could it really be…?
The part of him that believed wanted to cry and sob like he did when his mother had left this world, the part that didn't fiercely encourage him to not do so and to not be a naïve fool. This feeling of touch didn't explain anything. There was such a thing of dreams being ridiculously real that you could feel pain and touch, right?
His mind went back and forth with, and in doing so was too distracted to see his grim-faced mother approach him until she embraced him. Egypt went stock still with his mother's very real arms wrapped around him, hardly believing that this was happening.
"I am sorry." She whispered, words he never expected to hear again.
"How?" He could only ask, trying hard to keep his voice from cracking. "How is this possible?"
Mother ended their embrace, and Egypt tried to ignore the twinge of longing, and gestured at their surroundings. "Look around you, my love. What do you see?"
Egypt was briefly puzzled at the answer. He was then struck with the fact that he hadn't really realized where he was or even taken a look around him. And so he did. What he saw left him in awe, to put it very mildly.
His first impression was that this place was almost completely in darkness, it would have been if not for the countless stars above in the pitch black sky providing some illumination and a faint glow coming from the river located nearby. They were on the banks of the river, he realized. But that was hardly the strangest part. He also spotted a long line of indecipherable figures facing away from him standing on both sides of the banks and… a giant, monstrous lion standing guard, faintly seen by the dim light provided.
It oddly wasn't a lot to take in compared to seeing his mother again after thousands of years, and he had seen, but it still left him agape. When he looked around more, it was then he also just realized that he and his mother were standing right next to what he recognized to be a shrine. There was a wing of a bird inside it.
"Where are we?" Egypt asked quietly, torn with confusion and wonder.
"In the Abyss of Waters, Atum," His mother answered fondly with a smile at the river. "Where Ra travels through in the sixth hour."
Egypt's jaw dropped. "What?"
It'd certainly explain their surroundings. After a bit of thinking, he began to recognize that all of them belonged to the realm in hour six's description. But… could it be?
Mother must've quickly noticed that this was leaving more questions than answers, because her smile widened and she proceeded to elaborate. "This is part of Osiris's domain. His domain is over the dead and you are, currently, dead. So I convinced our king to assist me in pulling your suspended soul into this realm and provide us protection with the shrine's power."
"Osiris is helping you?" Egypt stared at her incredulously. Not that he was bad terms with the king, but…
"Yes, he is a lot more concerned of the happenings on Earth than you might think, Atum."
"He– You know about the Order?"
"Of course I do. I said I would watch over you, did I?" Mother reminded him with a small sad smile and Egypt did his best to ignore the pang of pain in his heart.
"I… But how does the shrine…?" Egypt halted the question and closed his mouth. Right, he remembered. He wasn't supposed to know the meaning of those shrines.
Now this was a lot to take in. He was snapped out of his tumultuous thoughts, however, when his mother unexpectedly hugged him again, catching him off-guard.
"I am glad that you are here, Atum. I have wanted to see you again for so long…" Mother whispered in relief, sounding dangerously close to sobbing. A stunned Egypt could feel her trembling. Then… why…?
"Why have you brought me here, mother? Why contact me now?" Egypt asked weakly, failing to keep the bitterness from seeping into his voice. Why now, after all these years? And after how many times I tried to find your spirit?
He felt Mother stiffen, and when she separated from him again her smile was gone and her expression hardened like in her final days. "You are here now because it is of utmost important that I speak to you."
Egypt blinked twice, staring at his mother in disbelief. "You – You wanted to speak to me, after all this time? But why have you suddenly decided to appear now?"
The words came out a lot resentful than he desired the moment they left his mouth.
"I… Atum, I left you alone because you needed to move on. You would never let me go if I had appeared to you then." Mother's voice was ragged with pain and regret. Egypt gritted his teeth, not because of what she said would happen, but because she's right. If he had found her, he'd never have let go. He still hadn't let go. "But there eventually came a time where I wanted to speak to you when I found that the Order was being successful in expanding their influence, and I was helpless do anything–"
He nearly staggered backwards in his utter shock. "Y-You knew about them all along?"
All these years, since whenever that damn group came to be and began to become dangerously powerful, and she knew about it. His mother had known about the Order. Well, yes, she already told them that she knew about them, but he assumed that that's because she saw what had been happening or perhaps one of the gods told her about it or... But the more he thought about it, the more he realized that it made sense.
If she indeed had been watching over him, then of course she must've discovered how Turkey and…
Mother bit her lip and didn't meet his eyes. "That is correct."
"Why didn't tell me before all this began?!" He was yelling now, but he was going through so many emotions right now that he couldn't help snap. "Why didn't you tell anyone?!"
Mother's frown deepened at that question, and she bowed her head with a pained look. "I am sorry, Atum."
"Why…?" He croaked out desperately.
"I could not." Mother's voice was quieter than before and she tightly kept her hands clasped together. "I wanted to, please believe me. I wanted nothing more than to warn you and keep you safe. It was not easy for me either, Atum."
Egypt felt his anger promptly evaporate, or most of it anyway, and was left with sorrow and regret, both feelings he was more than familiar with. It shouldn't have been this easy. But Mother always had that effect on him; her voice always soothed his fears and fears.
"I am sorry. I wish I could have been able to do this at a much earlier time, like the other time you died. But I have been forced to retreat." Mother's scowl was furious, but it softened somewhat and she managed another smile for him. "However, I was pleased that I was able to prevent your capture."
Egypt's eyes went impossibly wide. He felt like he'd been knocked from under his feet. "You– That voice, that flash, the dream– That was your doing?"
It was just one surprise after another.
"Yes." Mother said calmly, "That was I, attempting to reach out to you. I managed for a brief moment, and saved you in the process."
His mind was practically spinning at this point. He stared at his mother in horror. "How is that possible?!"
"Osiris and a few other were willing to help. As I said, they are a lot more concerned with the happenings in the living world than you might think."
Was it actually that bad that it warranted the gods' concern? The thought chilled him to the core. But it wasn't his main focus right now.
"But– You left Mauritius behind!" Egypt protested, remembering all too well Seychelles' tears and Mauritius's state when he saw him. "I thought I was responsible– I thought– I thought–"
Upset as he was, he disliked how Mother's face became pained with remorse. "Yes, I might have… botched the spell when I had been surprised by… enemies. It was not my intention to leave him or the other two behind."
"You keep mentioning that– that there are people trying to stop you from talking to me. Who are they and why do they want to stop you?" Egypt would really like to know if they had any more enemies they needed to worry about. And if they were targeting Mother…
"They are people who do not want me interfering. I cannot say their names, lest it might alert them."
Egypt narrowed his eyes. "Is it the Order?"
"No, but it might as well be." Mother's expression was hard to decipher, even for him. It didn't sit well with him. "We should be safe here, however. The guardian of the shrines will not let anyone hurt us."
Just as when he thought of asking, he recalled that there's also a fire-breathing snake that guarded the shrines. Having had a recent dreadful experience with a snake, Egypt decided not to try to search for it.
"Those were glimpses of a possible future. I hope they can help you, you will perhaps be seeing them once every few days." "A… friend is also assisting me with that. But we only know so much at the moment."
"But what do they mean?" Egypt could really do without the mindboggling confusion.
"I… am not so sure," He had honestly forgotten how Mother looked like when she was uncertain. Just like when he was a child, he did not like it. "Our enemies, they cloud my vision. They prevent me from fully investigating."
Egypt took note of all he was hearing and he began to wonder if he should be extremely concerned about these 'enemies' that Mother was talking about.
"Now then, I think that is enough of explaining." Mother looked at him solemnly, wringing her hands. "You cannot remain here forever, my love, so let us begin.
/ / / / /
"Ah, it's such a beautiful day out, don't you think Mongolia?" Macau sighed happily as he scanned their surroundings while fanning himself. "Cars tipped over, all manner of things on fire, corpses littered on the streets, the lingering smell of massive amounts of tear gas, the screams of the people echoing in the distance, a few spare body parts here and there..."
Mongolia merely regarded him with a blank look. "Macau, I've known you for centuries and it's still hard for me to tell if you're being sarcastic, morbid or just joking."
The scene itself wasn't that bad, compared to other areas Mongolia had been to, but it's still something that could be considered chilling to an everyday human. Outside the hospital it was desolate and abandoned, littered with wreckage and, to a lesser extent, corpses. While Mongolia wasn't at all adverse to any of this, it still didn't exactly fit his definition of a beautiful day.
…Unless said day had Beijing burning down to the ground and the people screaming with it, in which case, it'd be quite pleasant.
But he supposed that it was a nice day in another way. Today Hong Kong will finally be 'discharged' from the hospital's care. His injuries have all healed. While still left weakened, Mongolia could safely say that he's ready to go out into the field again. And to say that Hong Kong was delighted at the fact that he'd longer be cooped up would be a massive understatement.
Currently they're waiting for him to leave the hospital. Right now, the boy's off visiting the numerous patients in the hospital, his citizens that got injured fighting against the Chinese soldiers, but he insisted that they could go on without him. Mongolia respected his wishes for time alone with his people and so they gave him time. Hong Kong spent enough time wracked with worry for his humans.
"Oh, I would never do something so rude as to be sarcastic, Mongolia." Macau said in an innocent tone that betrayed the smirk on his face. "That's more of Leon's thing."
"Of course, forgive me for presuming as such," Mongolia briefly the returned the smirk with one of his own before throwing a look back at the hospital with a frown. "Speaking of whom, you will help in making sure he doesn't exert himself too much after just having healed up, right?"
Macau's answer was a nod and a pleasant smile. "You don't need to worry, Mongolia. I love risks, but I will be there to make sure Leon won't get dragged off by the PLA again."
"That's what I wanted to hear. Thank you, Macau." Mongolia said earnestly, sighing in relief. That helped alleviate his worries somewhat.
"It's alright. I'd love to head out and make some mischief, but Leon's well-being comes first and I'd still like to kill more PLA soldiers while I'm at it." Macau sounded absolutely gleeful at the idea.
Mongolia chuckled "Yes, helping the citizens out would also be kind of you, Macau."
"Yes… But I have to say, is my help really that necessary? I doubt he will be impatient with you here to guide and support him."
That sucked out all of the remaining cheer in the air. Mongolia felt his expression turn even more. "I can't stay here for long, Macau. We're going to invade Russia today, remember? I need to prepare."
As much as he hated it, he truly couldn't stay here and provide Hong Kong the personal support he undoubtedly needed. Invading Russia and destroying it was one of their most important goals, he needed to be eliminated as soon as possible. Russia was massive and while many will take part, every nation's role was equally important. Besides, Mongolia could never stay in one place for too long. It's in his nature.
Even now, he felt antsy, impatient. He yearned for blood. Made even worse by the time he had spent at Hong Kong's side in the hospital, helping him however he could and diffusing any arguments he had with Macau or what was Jackie Chan's best work.
He and Hong Kong were like that in that regard, they couldn't bear standing in one place doing nothing for long.
It wasn't as if he enjoyed this no matter how much he's looking forward to a battle. The last time he and Hong Kong parted ways, he was informed by South Vietnam that he nearly gotten killed. They're lucky Egypt nor anyone else except China knew the specifics of the killing process and that he managed to kill Hong Kong before ripping out his heart. And when Mongolia found him again in the middle of a city erupted in violence and death, he found him dead, riddled with bullets and his throat crushed, in the midst of being dragged away by the PLA!
These events only made things more difficult for him to leave him again. Hong Kong's a tough child and quite shrewd, Mongolia's proud to say. But he's brash and impatient. And he doubted the protests and chaos in the city was helping his mind either.
However, he had already made sure to make the most of his time here and properly prepare Hong Kong. And Mongolia's sure he could count on Macau.
"Oh… Oh, my, that's right. I've completely forgotten about that." Macau's eyes widened and he nodded with an apologetic look. "I'm sorry, Mongolia. I'll keep a close on Leon."
"No need to apologize, your reassurance is enough." Mongolia waved his hand then smiled at the other man. "Again, thank you, Macau."
"You're welcome. But going back on our earlier topic," Macau began with a chipper voice and a beaming smile, no doubt to lighten up the mood. "It's truly a nice day out here."
"I guess it is a nice day out, if you ignore the mess and the smell." Mongolia nonchalantly remarked, wrinkling his nose a little. Knowing him, it was less due to the smell of human carcasses and more about the scent of the gas and fires.
"Ah, but it's the smell that adds a certain… je ne sais quoi to the scenery, don't you think?" Macau suggested gleefully while grinning at all the mess around them.
"As in, emphasizing how the brutal struggle of the people of Hong Kong and how Chinese will relentlessly try to stamp out their rebellious spirit?" Mongolia guessed uncertainly. It seemed like the obvious answer. He could definitely relate to it, but his taste in art didn't quite cover rebellion and determination.
Macau brightened up at his reply, though, so he supposed that must've been it.
"Yes! Not to mention how you even can the smell the blood and the decaying flesh…" Macau's grin became nearly feral as he licked his lips.
For a moment Mongolia stared at the other personification in mild surprise before chuckling. More than a few people were unnerved by Macau's nature, but Mongolia just saw him as a passionate if not eccentric man determined not to be held back by the petty constraints of society and morality. They had quite a few of those here in the Order.
"Considering in delving into cannibalism, are you? Morocco's truly rubbing off on you." Mongolia remarked amiably, smirking.
The Order knows two have been on each other ever since they became very good friends.
"Oh, he's taught me many marvelous things, Batu, and I him." Macau sighed dreamily, a manic yet somehow adoring gleam in his eyes. "He had always talked about the taste of flesh from humans and nations. You should have seen the look on his face on when he'd describe it; it was the face of a monster."
Oh, Mongolia didn't doubt any of that at all in the slightest. After all, he too, had had the privilege of getting to know Morocco on an intimate level.
"It's made me want to try out cannibalism for myself; the smell of blood is already so… intoxicating." Macau shuddered excitedly and hid half of his face with his fan, leaving only his hungry eyes. Mongolia would bet that he's trying to hide his salivating. "It'd be the least I could do for him showing me a lot of interesting things. And imagine the things we could do together if I like it and now that we're free to indulge in whatever we please"
Mongolia could definitely imagine. He started feeling hot all of a sudden and he put those images out of his mind with his lips twitching. No, not now, you. He's already feeling incredibly bloodthirsty and antsy; he'd rather not be saddled with another desire. And more importantly…
"I like indulging in human flesh myself every now and then, but you better not be thinking of cannibalizing the civilians." Mongolia warned him, raising an unamused eyebrow. "I doubt Leon will take too kindly to you eating the remains of his citizens who died fighting for his cause."
Macau being Macau, he only chuckled at the morbid idea. "Don't be silly. I'd never desecrate Leon's dead. I'm only complimenting the smell."
Mongolia dully wondered about that. So the same wouldn't apply for any other nation? "Hm. What about the PLA? Would you take a bite out of them? It could help with the cleanup."
…You know, if any of the citizens don't eat them in case of a food shortage first. Not like it's likely, the Order makes sure to send supplies and other essentials for the populace and Mongolia hadn't been informed of any issues with that. But China was troublesome and humans tend to be easily desperate.
"Of course not. They're filthy, just like China's air." Macau scoffed in disgust, scowling, to Mongolia's mild surprise. It was so rare to see Macau actually repulsed by something. "I'm more than happy to leave them to rot."
"My, I never took you for someone with standards, Macau." Mongolia slyly smirked.
Macau gave him a playfully exasperated look. "You know I do have standards, none of them apply to basic human morality that's all."
Mongolia only laughed, and then threw a look back at the hospital entrance. "Leon's taking a while to exit the hospital. I hope he didn't get into another argument with a nurse again."
"I'm sure he's fine." Macau smiled, which soon broadened. "Ah, look. Here he comes now."
And so there he was, the doors slid open for Hong Kong, now wearing a change of clothes that they got for him since the other ones were bloodied and torn, to walk out. His expression was blank, as it normally was, but anyone could see the fire in his eyes.
"I'm back, baby."
/ / / / /
This time, Switzerland went to deliver his report to Austria not with fear, but with confidence.
The reason for this went without saying. They had their enemies completely fooled and their likely newfound confidence in light of their recent 'victory' would only help the Order further in the future. And he had to say that he did feel rather proud of himself for being the one responsible.
Yes, this was though Nigeria nearly killed him almost immediately after being told that Switzerland didn't reveal their backup plan to the other Africans. But Switzerland will try to ignore what happened despite the numerous stains on his floor and walls.
However, despite his… satisfaction, he supposed. One little thing kept eating away at him at the back of his mind. Yesterday was a victory, yes, regardless of what the outcome would've been with Mauritius. But Liechtenstein's cute little rescue was a real loss. There's no contingency for her (why bother?). Switzerland didn't want her getting taken away.
What a pain.
It embarrassed him to admit this to himself, but he honestly wasn't sure what Austria's reaction to Liechtenstein's rescue was going to be. She, the little ungrateful traitor, despite what she did, was still explicitly forbidden from being killed or even harmed in any excruciating manner. And Austria had expressed his hopes that Liechtenstein would come to understand their cause and accept them, since he was also fond of her.
Austria will be disappointed, maybe even angry, to hear that Switzerland failed to prevent their damn enemies from taking her away. Switzerland clenched his fists at this, cursing. But even so, surely he knew that it wouldn't matter in the end, right? Liechtenstein's nothing without Switzerland. She's weak, a pathetic clingy cat. It would be effortless to…
He quickly growled vehemently at himself for the thoughts running through his mind. No. No, it's stupid of him to try to excuse his failure, even if it'll have little consequence in the grand scheme of things. They may have won, but Switzerland still failed to keep Liechtenstein. Nothing could change that.
Just like the last time he contacted Austria to inform of the unfortunate fallout with Liechtenstein thanks to Switzerland's own idiocy, he' won't cower away or make any excuses for himself. Excuses were for fools. If Austria will be disappointed in his performances in that regard, then Switzerland will bear it as he deserved. Regardless, he's going to report the results.
"Rod?"
"Ah, Vash, I'm glad to hear from you again." He felt a wave of calmness at hearing his friend's kind voice greet him. "I was wondering why you haven't called me yet. What happened?"
"I apologize. Germany and his crew came as you predicted and they left quite a mess. I had to clean up the whole mess, bandage myself and deal with a few matters regarding to Africans." Switzerland failed to keep the mild annoyance from seeping into his grumbling. But at realizing what it might imply and that he's talking to Austria, he quickly added. "B-But it's nothing to worry about."
"…I see. And how are you? Are you alright?"
Switzerland couldn't help feeling a surge of pleasure at the concern showed instead first asking about the mission, but he hastily told himself to get a grip. "I'm fine, thank you for asking. I was actually among the least injured."
"That is relieving to hear, Vash. And what about the others? Is it safe to assume that there weren't any casualties on our side?"
"No. There's one temporary death, that being Nigeria, but we all came out relatively unscathed."
"Excellent. Expected, but still excellent." Austria said in approval and Switzerland could just see his relieved smile. "Now then, without further ado, I presume you've called to tell me all about your showdown with our enemies?"
Switzerland quickly straightened himself up. "Ja. I've called to give you a report."
"Good, good. I'm really curious, just what was the result of your mission?"
"We lost, but we won despite of it." Switzerland stated stoutly, a smirk tugging his lips.
He could hear Austria hum in thought. "Interesting. Explain, please."
And so, Switzerland obediently and gladly did, recounting everything from the whole schematics of plan including the... failsafe with Mauritius and the impundulu, to the events of the whole incident itself. He didn't spare or omit a single detail, even at his own expense like with his enraged behavior, adding what the Africans had reported to him from their own respective experience.
Obviously, he did have to leave out the descriptions of Morocco's ecstatic feelings of his playdate with Tunisia.
Austria, being Austria, the collected, calm person he was, took most of the information just that, with the calmness and professionalism as befitting of his position. He only interjected to ask a few questions and otherwise provided no opinions or remarks as of yet. Switzerland was fine with that of course. Opinions should be saved until after everything had been said.
And so when Switzerland finally finished, he was then permitted to hear Austria's final thoughts.
"You put a lot of thought into your plan, Vash. Although it's a shame that deceiving the Africans was necessary, I'm very impressed with your work." He could hear the smirk in Austria's voice. "I knew I could count on you. Good job."
Switzerland grinned in delight at the praise. "Thank you, Roderich."
"Now, how are the Africans? Are they all up?"
"Ja, and Nigeria had just come back. Why?"
"Would it be alright if I spoke to them? While they performed well and I'm glad they didn't take the news of your deception too hard, I have a few… choice words for them regarding a few details you mentioned."
From the years Switzerland had known Austria and worked closely with him, he could easily detect the undertone underneath that cheery, polite tone meaning and decipher it. He immediately knew exactly what Austria meant by choice words.
Switzerland smiled cruelly. "Gladly, Roderich."
/ / / / /
"Mein Gott, I knew he had it bad, but this is…"
"Personally, I blame that idiot Turkey. I'm sorry, but it's true."
Prussia had just received a long email from none other than Jamaica, who was currently stationed here in London, regarding a recent shocking event involving. To be more specific, he was referring to the assassination of several members of the British Royal family by a clearly unstable Bosnia.
Needless to say, the information took him completely by surprise. Prussia hadn't really cared for checking any recent news lately except for the information his subordinates provided through their daily reports. He usually did, honestly, because as one of the leaders it was a necessity to be up to speed on everything, but he had somewhat neglected to do so in the past ten to fifteen hours while he and Toris were on the trip to London.
He cursed. Damn! This might be worse than he thought after all. Damn him and his cold disregard for being the cause of this mess.
He slid his hand down his face as he muttered more than a few curses under his breath. "I thought Senegal was the one who had it worse, but Bosnia is really starting to worry me."
"Speaking of whom, how's he doing? If all the Africans are busy right now, then who's keeping an eye on him?" Lithuania asked curiously.
"Chris mentioned that he's having Malawi keep him in check." Prussia said offhandedly, still dealing with further evidence of his work coming back to bite him in the bass.
Lithuania stared at him as if he had just said that Turkey and Bulgaria have broken up. "He trusts someone who's not even a member to keep an eye on a potentially extremely unstable and cannibalistic Senegal?"
"He said that he's completely confident that Malawi is 'crazy' enough to know how to maneuver around Senegal and handle him," Prussia said simply, before quickly realizing that his friend might not have as a good idea of South Africa's psyche as he did. So he elaborated, "Chris seems to genuinely care for Malawi, even if that love is unsurprisingly twisted, and if he says that he has absolute faith in him..."
"I'm sorry, but that sounds absolutely ridiculous." Lithuania said with a deadpan voice and face.
Prussia resisted the urge to smile. "It's odd; he said that he had a feeling someone like you would say that."
One of Lithuania's eyes twitched, and he exasperatedly looked away. "Why do we have so many crazy people?"
"Such is the toll a nation's life has on our minds." Prussia stated simply but grimly, knowing this fully well. "Deep down, we are all insane, even you and me, Toris."
"What are we going to do about Bosnia? Are we just going to leave him there for Germany or the Balkans to drag out by force or…?"
"Or break him out of there ourselves and give him a bit of help?" Prussia finished easily, and he shook his head.
To leave Bosnia there in government custody could provide the enemy an easier way of convincing all the other nations that something very wrong was going on or have the risk of the man, in his insane state, to accidentally blurting out sensitive information.
To break Bosnia out of custody, give him enough drugs to leave him in a normal docile state for a few days and leave him back to Hungary and the rest with no memory of what had occurred would definitely make the enemy suspicious. They could start thinking they're intentionally letting Bosnia return to them so that he'd be a liability to them or start suspecting that he's actually working for them, no matter how Hungary might defend him.
Hm…
"Well, we can help break Bosnia out of government custody later." Prussia, albeit a little reluctantly, and looked up at Lithuania with a small smile. "For now, I have my promise to fulfill to you, no?"
Lithuania smiled excitedly. "Yes, let's get going."
They had a few people they needed to visit, after all.
Okay, this time I'm sure that the group meeting will be next chapter and there'll be a lot more stuff happening. Sorry if I disappointed you, but I hope you still enjoyed reading this. Please review, if you have a minute.