Switzerland was late, though Liechtenstein had been expecting that. He did say before that work was stressful with getting things ready for his new boss, Livio Alscher. Liechtenstein had yet to meet the man, however Switzerland seemed to like him well enough. That was an improvement from the last one, who he just tolerated. On that fact alone, Liechtenstein was rather excited to meet this new boss.

Liechtenstein glanced at the clock at the station, hoping that her brother would come soon. She had all the patience in the world; the train itself had none. A nearby train whistle sounded and it slowly slunk out of the station. Soon after, Liechtenstein heard running footsteps.

"I think we missed it…" this person said, a bit defeated. He definitely had the look of professionalism. His light brown hair was neatly combed back, and his business suit fit him perfectly. The only thing about him that was out of place was his face, and that was due to him being frazzled.

"Are you headed for France?" Liechtenstein asked.

"No…"

"Then you're ok. The train that left was heading for Paris."

The man sighed in relief. "Did you hear that…" He looked the way he came from, however the person he was referring to wasn't there. "Where did he go? Vash!"

"Lost your traveling companion?"

"It appears so. What about you? Are you traveling alone?"

"Oh, no, I'm waiting for my brother and his boss. When it comes to work related things, my brother tends to lose track of time."

"That's a shame." The man looked around the station again. "I'm Livio, by the way."

"Livio Alscher?"

"The same. May I ask for your name?"

"Lili. Funny enough, your friend and my brother are the same person."

Livio looked astounded. "I am so sorry we were late. Something came up at the last minute and Vash had to take care of it. I'm still not sure what happened, though. It was apparently very important and he seemed so flustered by it."

Liechtenstein pursed her lips. What could have her brother all flustered? There wasn't much that would get him riled up. It put her on edge, up until she saw Switzerland running up, holding a wrapped gift. And then, everything made sense.

"I'm sorry, Lili," Switzerland said quietly, handing the gift to Liechtenstein.

"What happened, Vash?" Liechtenstein asked. She already had an idea what was up, because there was only one time that Switzerland would be so apologetic.

Switzerland glanced over to Livio, and said, "My… friends… visited your place without asking." Of course, he didn't mean friends, but rather his soldiers.

"Again?" Liechtenstein asked, a bit of humor in her voice, "Do any of them know how to read a map?"

Switzerland sighed, and motioned the gift toward her. "Maybe I should hold a class."

"it certainly would help." Liechtenstein took the gift, if only to make her brother feel better. "Ready to leave?"

"Whenever the train gets here." Switzerland went off a bit away to look at the train schedual.

"Will you be joining us?" Livio asked, "I mean, for the party. I know we are going to the same place, but I was wondering if you were invited to this event as well."

Liechtenstein figured that Switzerland didn't say anything much about the party beforehand, just that it was a thing. "Indeed. I was one of the people who helped put it together." She leaned in a little closer to Livio. "Though, truth be told, I mostly joined so that my brother would allow it to happen."

Livio slowly turned, not exactly believing what he heard. "And why wouldn't he?"

"He doesn't trust Gilbert," Liechtenstein said with a bit of a sigh, "Gilbert was the one to bring up the idea for this party. He and Vash have a history… old habits die hard. My brother should really give Gilbert the benefit of the doubt."

"What did Gilbert do? I feel like I know Vash enough to know it must have been awful."

"It's not so much that… well, there are a few of us who don't trust each other based on past history. I think you'll understand why when you meet him yourself. He is a fun person, but can be a bit much, especially for Vash." At heart, Switzerland was an introvert.

"And what about you?"

"I can handle Gilbert." Liechtenstein smiled brightly. Despite being the young and innocent type, she can defend herself quite well. Not that it was needed very much.

Switzerland came back over. "Our train should be arriving soon," he said, "I'm glad we made it before it arrived."

"As am I," Liechtenstein agreed, "I will say, you had me worried for a bit."

"Say, on a different subject matter," Livio said, "This party is still a week off. So why are we headed to Lauterbrunnen so early?"

Switzerland pursed his lips.

"Vacation," Liechtenstein said simply, "There are many of our friends and acquaintances coming early as well so we can talk without work leering over our heads for once."

Livio nodded, not arguing with that. "It will be nice to talk without pretense."

Switzerland squinted at his sister.

"Relax," Liechtenstein said when the train finally pulled up and they headed onto it, "You're making me nervous. There's nothing to worry about."

"I'm not worried."

"Brother, I know you as well as you know yourself. You are nervous. At least admit it to yourself."

Switzerland said nothing, and boarded the train. Liechtenstein knew that once the secret was out, her brother would be able to breathe again.

88888

Wy never liked depending on Australia for anything. Since the loss of the appeal, she had become very bitter towards him, even though he didn't have much to do with it. She knew this, yet her feelings remained. This particular instance, however, Wy had to talk to Australia. Not for herself, but for her brother, Hutt River. Recently, he became reclusive, and it had only gotten worse as time wore on.

Wy knocked on the door to Australia's office. He usually had the door opened, unless he was at a meeting. Honestly, Wy hoped he was at a meeting so she could disrupt it.

"Can I help you?" asked a rather timid individual. He had long black hair, tied back low, and he wore a colorful tie.

"Where's Kyle?" Wy asked pointedly.

"…who might you be?"

"Lindsay. Where is Kyle?"

The individual looked around the hallway. "And where are your parents?"

Wy gritted her teeth in her mouth. Every time she went to the government building, they always asked the same question. It was annoying. "Why does it matter? I'm looking for Kyle, and I can't find him anywhere. Where is he? Or better yet, where is Mr. Morrison?" At least he knew who she was and could assist a bit better.

"…Mr. Morrison left for the day already. And as for Kyle, he had to leave early. He got a call, saying he had to go look after one of his kids." This person's face fell slightly; not exactly a grimace, closer to a look of concern.

Wy tensed. Did… something new happen? "Where?" She figured he had to have gone over to the hospital. That was where Hutt River was, after all.

The individual just shrugged. "He didn't tell me. I'm new here, so I don't know these things."

Wy groaned. New people were the worst. She turned to leave the building.

"Wait! Did you really come here alone? How old are you?"

'Fourteen,' Wy thought. Not that this person would believe her. "Does it matter? I have to find Kyle, and since he's probably over at the hospital where Marvin is, that is where I have to go."

"That's a long way to travel on your own. At least let me give you a ride."

Wy didn't really like the sound of that. "What's your name?"

"You can call me Mr. Walker."

"Do you not have a first?"

"…Natnael."

Natnael Walker… that sounded familiar. "Are you the new boss?"

"… in a sense, yes. I'm not the Prime Minister, but I'm certainly helping running the country."

Wy remembered. This was the person who Australia was taking with him to the party and explaining the nation situation to. Wy wondered how someone so timid got into office. "Fine. But we got to go now."

"Lucky I was going to leave early anyway."

The ride to the hospital was an awkward one. Mostly because Natnael made it awkward. He tried making conversation about normal human girl things, which Wy wasn't about to lie about. She was more worried about Hutt River. She had every reason to be.

His boss had fallen ill and got sent to hospital a few days prior. Nothing about his condition was improving. Every day, without fail, Hutt River visited the hospital, making sure his boss was ok. Alone, which isn't good for anyone's well being. There was also something else that Wy hadn't exactly told anyone yet, and that was the fact that she kept popping into Hutt River's dreams. This was something that she never did before, and it was freaking both her and Hutt River out. They both agreed to not talk about it to Australia until they knew what was going on.

"Now… um…" Natnael said, trying once again to make conversation with Wy, "I know this is going to be an odd question, but… is Marvin really Kyle's kid?"

"More or less," Wy said, "Kyle looks after us so…" Wy shrugged. She never really had to think of it before. She thought of Australia more like an older brother than a father. He acted more like a brother than a father.

"So he's your father too?"

"Yeah…" It was weird to her calling him that.

"…can I ask who your mother is?"

"I don't have one."

"Oh… did she die or did she leave?"

Wy stared at Natnael with a face that read "Are you serious?". "She doesn't exsist."

Natnael stayed quiet after that; what exactly could a person rebuttal after a statement that strong?

The hospital itself was in the next town over. It was a rather large one, but Wy knew what she was doing. She had to visit it often enough in the recent days. Natnael escorted her; he insisted. Wy thought it was silly, but let him anyway. The waiting room was nearly empty, so Wy spotted Australia immediately. It was hard to blend in when he was wearing outback safari clothes. Next to him, with his head in his hands, was Hutt River, wearing his cape as per usual. Wy ran right over to Hutt River.

"Any change?" she asked immediately.

Hutt River didn't respond.

"Everything has been at a standstill," Australia said, standing up, "The doctors keep saying different things. I wish they would just stick with one story really. Hi, Natnael."

"What's going on, Kyle?" Natnael had a concerned look on his face.

"Well…" Australia took Natnael by the shoulders and they walked a bit away so that their conversation could be more private. Or maybe that Wy's conversation with Hutt River would be more private. Either way, Wy appreciated it. She took a seat next to Hutt River.

Hutt River looked over at Wy, and she got a glimpse at his face. His eyes were bloodshot. "You didn't have to come."

"I was going to come anyway. You are here way too often. And if nothing is changing, why waste your time?"

"Human bodies are fragile…" Hutt River said quietly, "Anything could happen and I want to be here when it does."

"Are they even letting you visit him?"

"Sometimes. I go in when the family isn't here."

Wy thought it made sense. Less questions that way. "But you still can't be here all the time."

Hutt River didn't say anything at first. He looked off to the distance "You don't get it."

"No, I really don't." Wy stood up. "And you certainly aren't explaining well."

Hutt River continued looking off into space.

Wy walked over to Australia. "That's a complicated story," Australia was saying slightly sheepishly.

"I really hope you aren't leaving me with him in that state," Wy said, "He needs to be somewhere other than here. And he won't listen to me."

Australia looked over to where Hutt River was sitting. "Marvin does listen to you. He's just going through a lot right now… Look, if you told him you needed him somewhere, I'm sure he'd help." Kyle winked. "He'd do anything for his little sister."

"Don't call me little. And I've told him he can't stay here."

"Offer an alternative… I know! An art project."

"Like a card?"

"More extensive than that. You want him out of here for a while, right?"

"Why not a scrapbook?" Natnael suggested, "I think it would be a nice gift for someone in hospital, and they do take some time to do right."

Wy thought about it. Natnael was right, and it would take some time to get good pictures. "I'll try it."

Australia smiled, and motioned for Hutt River to come over. "Why don't we go somewhere and do something fun? I'm leaving tomorrow, so it will be a while before we can do something like this together again."

"The trip won't be that long," Wy pointed out, "A week or so."

"You know what I mean." Australia messed up Wy's hair a bit. Truth be told, she didn't really mind when he did that. "Do you want me to pick you up tomorrow, Natnael?"

Natnael nodded. "It seems odd that it's so soon now."

"About time. I've been looking forward to this for a while. And the town we are going to is very pretty. A good vacation spot."

"If you like the cold," Hutt River said quietly.

88888

It wasn't very often that Quebec saw Canada completely frazzled. Not in recent history anyway. However, the past month or so had been a bit hectic for that nation. And the even bigger problem was the he wouldn't say why. What baffled Quebec even more was that America even came to visit, and that was when Canada got even worse.

"You really should take a deep breath," Quebec eventually said, taking Canada's wrists into his own hands.

Canada did so shakily. "I'm sorry."

"Will you at least tell me what is going on?"

"This party is a bit more stressful than I expected."

Quebec squinted. "Non. Réessayer."

"That's a long explanation."

"I'm sure you can simplify it."

"It's… Alfred. He's been acting weird lately."

"He's always weird. He's the American. What's your point?"

Canada frowned. It wasn't something he did all that often. "He's been more stubborn than usual. And you know what he's like when he gets stubborn. This time around, this stubbornness is going to get someone hurt."

"Like himself?"

"Like someone uninvolved. He can get himself hurt, and it would probably do him some good. But… I don't like the idea of someone who has nothing to do with this getting hurt."

The PA system turned on and announced a flight leaving for Japan.

"I don't know what to do," Canada admitted, "And it seems that I'm the only one who can do something about it."

"You can always ask one of his states," Quebec suggested, "They tend to knock Alfred into some sense from the stories I get from Kitty." It was an unlikely friendship between Quebec and Maine. It started because they both knew French and could speak it to one another. And somehow, Quebec was very much charmed by Maine's stories of the random adventures she went on. He could listen to those stories all day.

"Especially Abigale…" Canada realized something, "Now there's an idea."

"So, are you ok now?"

Canada checked his phone. "Once Al tells me he actually got to the airport."

Quebec rolled his eyes. He looked back at the entrance to the airport as another announcement came on talking about how check in procedures should be done. Walking up the entrance way was Canada's new boss, Eva Reid. She wasn't exactly an uptight person, but whenever she walked or did anything, she did it with intention. Hence why she got elected. It was too early to get a reading on her, but Quebec hoped she would bring about some sort of productive change.

"Hello, Matthew," Eva said, coming right up to the two of them. She pulled back a rouge piece of auburn hair, and looked at Quebec for a moment. "And who might you be?"

"Laurent," Quebec introduced himself, "I was Matthew's ride."

Eva squinted curiously, "I've seen you before in the government office… You look familiar."

Quebec had to think whether or not he had been there recently. "Probably. That's the only place I could think of where you would have…"

Eva snapped her fingers, "Oh, I remember now. You were reading at the library to kids."

That was a thing that Quebec did on occasion. A direct way to give back to his people. "Right…"

"So you did take my suggestion." Canada half smiled.

"I did…" Though truth be told, Quebec didn't really want to give Canada that credit. He never said anything about it to anyone just for that reason. He was annoyed that cat was out of the bag.

"I think it's a great thing to do. Don't be embarrassed by it. Your French is fantastic as well."

"I should hope so. It was my first language."

Eva blinked. "You speak English so well."

"Practice," was all Quebec would say on that matter.

Canada's phone buzzed, and Quebec dearly hoped that it was America so that Canada could calm down. "Owen fell into the Niagara River."

Quebec snorted and then broke out laughing. He wasn't the type to do that, however when it came to Ontario, all rules could be broken. "At the falls?"

"No, just past them."

"Shame." And then Quebec remembered that Eva was right there.

"That would be a bit dangerous if it was at the falls," Eva noted.

"Owen would be fine," Quebec assured her, "It would take a lot more than that to kill him."

"Please don't test it out."

"I wouldn't dream of it." Quebec had thought about it, however actually going through any of those plans would be a bit much.

Eva looked uncomfortable; Quebec wondered how much she would humor the idea once she knew they were all nations. Judging from her personality, he figured not that much. He looked at the time for a moment, and figured it would be a good idea to bow out before any more questions could be raised. "I should go…" Quebec turned to Canada, "Are you sure you are alright?"

Canada nodded. "I'll see you when I get back."

"I should hope so. I'm driving. Have a good trip, both of you." Quebec headed out, not looking forward to the journey ahead of him going back home. He could pester Ontario… it would be something to look forward to on the way home.

Author's Note: Here is the list of the nation human names that aren't cannon: Australia - Kyle, Wy - Lindsay, Hutt River - Marvin, Quebec - Laurent, Ontario - Owen

Translation Note: Réessayer - Try again (directly is retry).

I hope you enjoyed the first chapter. This story, as stated in the summary, is mostly just shenanigans with a bunch of the different nations. Next week: We'll see what America is up to, and will check in with Kugelmugel. Until then.