Thanks to Kramburg, Redbayly and NadiaJA627 for reviewing. Now, on with the show!
(Final Fantasy VII OST: Anxious Heart)
God, he was so booooored.
Allen had been so bored that yawned, not even bothering to cover his mouth, and let himself fall back on the couch. So… SO bored. Really fucking bored. Did he mention that he's bored and that it hasn't even been an hour yet since they've all arrived at the penthouse? Yeah, no, he's pretty sure he didn't mention that. Well, what'd ya expect when everyone else was off doing their own thing?
After ordering the pizza, Allen found that the others were chatting animatedly with each other, looking so damn happy or just having fun, or whatever. Gillen and the Light World Hungary, Elizaveta if he remembered right, were off having what's basically a interdimensional history lesson over there by the windows. While Alfred and Flavio were in some other room nearby… well Allen wasn't 100% percent sure what they're doing….
Except that it's probably Flavio up to no good and that he talked Alfred into helping with his damn plans again. Classic Flavio. Dammit Flavio.
So Allen's been kind of been left alone, not that it was anyone's fault really. It's not like he asked to be alone or told them to wait for him so they could start chatting about usual stuff like Hollywood's descent into madness or border troubles. He was just the kid who got awkwardly left out when the rest of the class formed pairs.
Yeah, yeah, you losers were all probably asking yourselves… 'Aw, gee. That Allen sure is a goddamn moron. If he's so damn bored, why didn't he just go talk to someone instead of just moping around like a loser?' Well, know-it-alls, the reason was because Allen didn't want to ruin the mood by just barging in on their conversation.
Normally Allen wouldn't give a damn what anybody thought when he'd barge in, but with these guys it's a different story.
No, seriously, look at Alfred and Flavio. Allen's eyes wandered to where he saw those blonde bastards go off to, and he scowled. Even though he couldn't see them, he could very well damn hear them laughing and giggling like gossipy schoolgirls. Were they even trying to hide the fact that they're in the middle of planning an evil scheme or some shit?
…Unless they really were being gossipy schoolgirls. Allen had paled and grabbed at his badass hair in panic at the thought. No. No… Flavio's not like that. He's better than that. He may like hearing about gossip and talking about the latest gossip, he's not the kind of ass who'd break the promise of never ever talking about what happened to Fifth Harmony after one of them accidentally made Argentina drop his ovenbird.
And look at Gillen and the other Hun- Elizaveta. Look at them as they had their damn history lesson, they looked so happy, not that Allen was surprised. Gillen cared lots for Erszi and she's the one the few people he'd loosened up with like he did with Allen and Flavio (when they weren't driving him crazy). So it shouldn't be weird that he warmed up to Erszi's counterpart and quickly hit it off with her.
Allen narrowed his eyes. Almost too quickly if you asked him. Yeah, he knew that he resolved to not be colossal ass to the chick, but in no way did that mean that they're friends now. This wasn't My Little Pony. And he's still not completely sold on the idea that this tomboy alternate Hungary would keep all this a secret.
Light World Eurotrash were all just a bunch of delusional, selfish backstabbers. While Alfred never told him any stories 'bout his Hungary doing something shitty, Allen knew a hell lot better than to blindly assume that that meant she was in the clear.
S-Still, she hasn't really done anything shitty since Allen met her, or anything that'd set off the alarms in his head.
Allen sighed and turned so that he wouldn't have to look at them and risk ruining the damn mood.
But, believe it or not, there's a bright side to all this. While all this left Allen with not much stuff to do, he decided that he could listen to Gillen and Elizaveta's conversation, even though he was no fan of discussions 'bout history. It'd just make him feel even more depressed and pissed off.
Curiosity's a bitch.
First of all, Allen couldn't even begin to say how fucking relieved he was that Gillen addressed the whole 'unable to see the counterpart as their own person' and whatever. It's something that Allen knew w. How, you ask? 'Cause he's seen the way Gillen smiled at Elizaveta. You know, that cute awkward little smile? It's the same one he'd give to Erszi.
If you asked him, one of the main reasons why Gillen's so open with the chick was because she's Erszi's counterpart. His childhood friend and ally. If it was someone else's doppelgänger, like Saudi Arabia or Denmark's, then Gillen wouldn't be that trusting. Hell, Allen doubted he'd be super happy if it was his own loud loser counterpart (who'd probably throw a hissy fit when he learned that his light-years better counterpart was still a nation).
And whoo boy, if it was Germany's uptight doormat of a counterpart instead, or Poland's crossdressing valley girl (what's up with that anyway?) one, or even Austria's… Holy shit, now that would've been something. Gillen wouldn't be as open and trusting of Alfred's seal of approval if that'd been the case.
Anyway, he's happy they both saw the damn glaring problem and that they're going to try to fix that and shit. Good for them, seriously.
They started talking about Gillen's history, mostly his childhood and life with the Teutonic Knights and how he became a nation during the rise of Protestantism. Allen noticed how they both looked so chill and friendly with each other, even there's still a wee bit awkwardness underneath. Must be pretty nice to have become fast friends like that…
Back in the day when Allen was a damn mud-covered, bath-hating, hand-biting, extremely short-tempered brat who swore like there's no tomorrow (seriously, his language right now was fucking clean compared to back then) and still dealing with Papa being gone, it usually took Flavio scolding him, a swear jar, and pinching his ear every time he 'rudely' or 'unfairly' snapped at anyone to finally put some effort in being nice to strangers and foreigners.
Allen's a hella lot better now though. He didn't screw up as much anymore. But why the hell does so many people stare at him like he just blurted something only someone dumb as a bag of shit as Belarus whenever he said that? Eh, guess they need to have him as preteen to believe it.
Eventually the conversation was steered in a weird direction, and into territory Allen would kinda maybe (really) rather Gillen wouldn't talk about to the chick they just met. Okay, yeah, they already spilled about that Italian douchebag and the other guys who were also colossal douchebags, but this was… a little personal. Not that they ever agreed to never speak of it again, but- Oh, you know what he means!
But… in the end, Allen decided that he wouldn't get up from the super comfy couch and just kept listening. God, he hoped that Flavio wouldn't catch him eavesdropping. Hell, Allen didn't know if he could handle another earful today, and the ear-pinching was never fun.
They talked about what happened to Gillen that day on February 25th, 1947. Allen narrowed his eyes.
Yeah, he definitely agreed, that was super weird and suspicious. There's no way it could've just been a fucking coincidence. I mean, you wake up one day feeling all depressed for no reason, you go to church to cheer yourself up even though it wasn't Sunday (yup, that's Gillen for ya), and suddenly while in the middle of praying ya feel like someone just sucked the damn life out of you, like they took something important, only for it to completely go away a moment later…
And then you later find out that that was the same day when your counterpart had lost his nationhood, and it looked like the whole life-sucking shit happened at the same time your counterpart lost everything.
Then Gillen told her about… about… 9/11, or more like what happened here to Allen on the day 9/11 happened.
Allen didn't like to admit it, but he cringed when Gillen brought that up. Yeah, yeah, nothing happened to him, but Alfred got hurt that day, and a lot of people died too. That enough was a good reason for Allen to feel all grim every September 11th. Allen was the United States of Goddamn America, and those people were Americans, so he had every right to mourn them too.
Oh, and when Allen said that nothing happened to him, he meant that he basically had the biggest freak-out in the history of freak-outs.
He… He couldn't really explain what got into him, actually… But it took Allen totally by surprise in the worst damn way possible. He didn't get how it was possible. There he was, just spending another day in the penthouse with Gillen and Flavio, when suddenly…
It's… a little hard to describe what he felt, but Allen will say this: Suddenly, he got filled with this horrible dread, like something really bad's about to happen… or was happening. It was pretty screw, and awful. He couldn't move. He couldn't even scream. He felt terrified. But of what? Who the hells knows? Allen had no damn idea what's happening on the other side! All he knew was… was…
Yeah… that's right… All he knew was that Alfred was in deep trouble. Alfred needed him. Allen had no idea why, but it was all he could think about and he knew it was true. Allen also knew that something was happening to the World Trade Center, and he heard screaming, people were dying. Guess it all caused him to lose his mind.
After that, when Gillen and Flavio finally made him calm down, Allen was still stuck with the bad feeling for days until Alfred finally showed up, looking worse for wear. He's gonna kinda embarrassed admitting this… but Allen may or may not have and crushed him in a bear hug over how happy he was to see him. Dammit, but he was worried about him! He definitely didn't cry that day. Nope. He didn't. Don't know what you're talking about.
Alfred filled them in on what happened, and of fucking course, they were all horrified. Some jackasses from the Middle East… terrorists, Muslim extremists, hijacked a few planes and crashed them into the Twin Towers and the Pentagon. Thousands were killed and many more injured, and it's all thanks to Al-Qaeda… maybe some other countries.
Allen couldn't believe his ears when he heard that this was the fucking work of terrorists of all people. Terrorists. Those terrorists, Muslim extremists or whatever, were losers here. They had all the resources of a low-budget movie crew, or at least that's the idea Allen got. No planes, no nothing. They had little to no public sympathy too, thanks to Saudi and the other's work and clever planning and stuff.
No matter how hard they tried, they remained just that. Losers. Lunatics. Jackasses with delusions of grandeur. Jokes. Pieces of shit. You know what he meant. They could try to screw or fuck things up, but they'll always be the losers in the end. Pretty pathetic, ain't it?
'Sides, they're terrified of Saudi Arabia, that's one guy you don't want to piss off. The Devil, they called him. Iblis Incarnate, among other weird-ass names. So they're also too afraid of pulling a big stunt that'll finally motivate him to stop toying with them and kill them all. Even if they all killed themselves, they still wouldn't be safe from him. No one's safe from Saudi.
Allen liked that about his fun but cruel buddy. He's a little jealous, honestly. Ohohoho, but don't you dare tell him that he said that! Allen J. Jones's wasn't jealous of anyone, ANYONE! But anyway, yeah, he liked how Saudi Arabia always managed to crush anyone who got in his way. Allen on the other hand? He couldn't try to give his enemies hell without risking a World War or something.
But he's getting super off-track here. When Allen had finally got over his shock, he felt something in his stomach. It felt like a fire, something hot and burning his insides and making his blood boil. He clenched his fists, and Allen felt like going on a bloody rampage, thrashing anything and anyone who got in his way. If you're some kind of idiot, then this was what he's trying to say: He's royally pissed off.
Those mother&%#!#%! Those goddamn sons of bitches think that they could mess with the United States of America and get away with it?! Seriously?! They thought they could hurt Alfred?! He'll kill them. Them and anyone who ever cheered at these tragedies! He'll torture them. He'll kill them all, take everything that's dear to them and watch them cry for mercy from the very being they hate! Crush their dreams and turn their home in a living hell!
Allen blinked in confusion once he realized that he had a hell of a scary train of thought, and he shook his head.
Allen wanted to go over to the other world and kill them all, but he couldn't. For some strange fucking reason, Alfred can go back and forth whenever he wanted, but Allen couldn't. Trust him, he's tried and tried… but he never managed to do it.
It didn't help that Alfred told him not to worry about him, and instead make sure that this won't happen to him too. Bullshit, Allen will worry about him! Did he even look himself in the mirror when he woke up in the morning?
But… Alfred's right. Allen did need to make sure that this won't happen to his people too, they both learned from each other after all. How did Allen do this? By going to the Middle East to help with giving the terrorists hell, what else? He asked Saudi Arabia if he could join, and his buddy welcomed him aboard.
Speaking of, Allen couldn't help but scowl a little when he heard the way Gillen described the guy. Sure, Saudi's not the best person out there, and… there's also that incident that Allen's also not proud of (you know, he had a lot of past shit he wasn't that proud of). But he's a friend.
Saudi was puzzled as to why all of a sudden he was all gung-ho on seeing the bastards getting wiped from the earth and why the sudden hostility towards Muslims, but in the end he was all happy that Allen took an interest in 'the business' even though Gillen didn't really approve. But Allen could tell that the guy was trying to figure out his motives.
That guy knew something was up, no doubt about it. But Allen didn't spill, and from the looks of it, Saudi didn't figure it out either.
Allen went through pains and convinced the Middle Easterners to make super sure that the fucking Al-Qaeda (damn them to hell), Taliban, or the other groups of Muslim loony loons stayed the losers they were and didn't secretly have or will get some good weapons, planes or hidden resources that none of them knew about.
So… after a lot of investigating, raiding and an incident that Allen's not really problem where he seriously lost it when… I-In the end, everyone turned up just dandy.
But it didn't change the fact that 9/11 happened, and a lot of shit's gonna come from it.
Gah, all that all because Allen had a breakdown and somehow knew that Alfred was in deep shit. What hell did that mean? Why and how did Allen know that there was a terrorist going on in Alfred's place? Were they so super close that Allen could feel whenever something really shitty was happening to Alfred?
Ugh, it's times like this when Allen wishes that he had some kind of exposition fairy or something…
"Hey-Hey, dude!"
(Deltarune OST: Friendship)
Allen let out a 'gah!' as he got abruptly snapped out of his thoughts when Alfred suddenly plopped down next to him, happily wrapping an arm around him. Dammit, what did he tell him about sneaking up on him? He's lucky that Allen didn't tackle him to the ground him.
Once Allen finally got it together, he smirked at his buddy. "What's up? Ya nearly made me jump outta my skin, that's what up!
"Aw, come on, Allen. You know I didn't mean to scare ya, dude," Alfred grinned that million-dollar smile of his. Man, how did he always manage to keep his teeth so spotless with all the stuff he ate?
"Scared? Who the hell said I was scared?" Allen squawked, playing tough as he always did. He couldn't help it, you really had to look tough to survive this world. "Hell, the only thing I was scared of is that I coulda pounced on you."
"But you didn't, so it's all okay!" Alfred flashed a thumbs up, still with the same smile. "So, seriously, what's up, dude? You looked pretty serious back there and like, super in thought earlier. What'chu thinking about, buddy?
"Ah, well, it's just…" Allen stopped himself when a realization hit him, and he glared at Alfred suspiciously. Something's not right here… "Hey, weren't you with Flavio back there plotting some shitty plan behind my back again? How come you're here now? What are you planning?"
Allen knew he hit the nail on the head, 'cause after he asked those question, Alfred turned pale as a ghost, and he started laughing nervously, "Wha…? A-Aw, no, don't be silly, Allen. We're not planning anything like that!
Yeah, Allen's not buying it for a minute.
"Alfred, I'm not a moron, and you have to be the worst fucking liar I've ever seen. And you're a better actor than I am!" Allen exclaimed, and he narrowed his eyes. "Come on, spill it. I'm not in the mood for his plans right now. What's Flavio up to this time? Is he gonna try to make us male models again? Is he gonna trick us into going on a wild goose chase for some shit?"
"What? No, no!" Alfred denied in alarm, and he smiled kindly. "I meant it! This is something that you'll totally like. I know you've had a rough couple of days, but that's one of the reasons why we're doing this for you, dude! You'll see. You'll be in a better mood in no time."
Allen scoffed. "I'm fine, Alfred."
"Okay, now you're the one who's lying." Alfred childishly crossed his arms and puffed his cheeks, Allen had to hold back a grin. "Come on, Allen, we're besties! We're Interdimensional dopeygangster besties! And besties don't lie to each other, right?"
Allen tried not to tense, and he had no damn choice but to give up. "Well… Dammit, fine! I'm not okay. But the last thing I need right now is one of Flavio's 'fabulous' murder mystery dinner parties. Fabulous, my ass!
"Aw, come on. Why can't you believe me that it'll be awesome?"
"Because it's a plan from Flavio."
"So? His plans are awesome!"
"Of course you'd think that…"
"Trust me, Allen. It's something great, I promise!"
"Sure, something great…" Allen muttered sarcastically, rolling his eyes. "Like the time Flavio made the entire Trinity Alliance do a High School Musical play 'to bring us closer together'. Oh, you sure lucked out with that one, Al."
"Hey, you were great as Troy!" Alfred insisted as Allen groaned into his hands. Ugh, the memories. He still couldn't watch a basketball game without hearing that damn song! "A super mean, angry, bitter, cussing, zero-percent family-friendly Troy… but the crowd loved you! I saw it in the DVD footage Flavio sent me."
"Yeah, after the parents gave shitty reviews for it." Allen grumbled and he crossed his arms, bitterly looking to the side. "Jesus, that play was a disaster."
But Alfred wasn't having any of it, unfortunately. "Don't say that, dude. You always look at the stinky side of things, try to look at the bright side for a change. Sure, the parents didn't like it, but 99% of the crowd did. You guys were called 'Best High School Musical Parody Ever'. And I loved that play, doesn't that mean anything to you?"
Allen felt his face heat up, and he was more than ready to retort, but then much to Allen's horror, Alfred started doing the puppy-dog eyes and the trembling lip. Oh God, what did Allen do to deserve this? WHY?! It shouldn't be so effective 'cause Alfred looks so damn silly with that face, but it just works! Why did it always work?
"That's actually the one consolation I have from that whole shitfest," Allen grumbled as he turned away from Alfred's damn puppy god eyes. "That you liked it, it's enough to not make me strangle Flavio for putting us all through that crap."
"Buuuut…" Alfred grinned as he came into Allen's view again. Oh god, not the buuuuts. "…you had tons of fun, right? I saw you smiling during a good chunk of the play."
Allen could just feel his face burning red and tried to turn away again. "…Maybe."
Alfred was smiling smugly now once he appeared again. "And did you and your pals grow closer as a result of that awesome play?"
Allen slid down from his spot from the couch, still crossing his arms. He had no doubt he had the grumpiest look ever. "…Maybe."
"And…" Alfred's smile suddenly became mischievous as he put his hand near his ear, and Allen gulped. "…what team?"
"WILDCATS!" Allen slapped a hand over his mouth and glared at his twin who was laughing his ass off. He smacked him on the shoulder. "Hey! Don't laugh, dammit!"
"I- HAHA… I'm sorry, it's just AHAHAHAHA!" Alfred nearly fell off the couch, and Allen would've let him if he didn't love the guy so much.
"Yeah, really hilarious…" Allen rolled his eyes again, grumbling a couple a cuss words before pulling Alfred back so that he wouldn't fall to the floor. "So, why did you come over here in the first place?
Once Alfred finally stopped snickering, he smiled warmly at him. "I told ya, you looked kinda depressed back there. I couldn't stand to see ya that way, so I came over to try to try to cheer you up! And besides, I thought you'd want to spend some time with the hero."
(Deltarune OST: Dog Check)
Allen suddenly felt self-conscious. "Was it that obvious?
"A little," Alfred shrugged, and he inched closer. "So, what's getting you down, buddy? I knew that look on your face back there, you know the one where you look kinda grumpy but at the same time kinda depressed? You looked like you were remembering something not so cool."
Man, sometimes Allen forgot how well Alfred could read him too. Aw dammit, how he could've forgotten about that? He's supposed one of the people who actually knew and appreciated Al's smarts. Guess Allen was too busy moping to remember that… But yeah, he could use a good dose of Alfred's never-ending optimism.
"You're right, I was." Allen nodded, leaning back against the couch. "It's Gillen and your buddy over there. They keep talking about stuff about the past, and not the good kind of stuff, like what happened to Gillen when his counterpart lost his nationhood and… you know, 9/11…"
Alfred's expression darkened for a split second before he frowned, eyes flitting to Gillen and Elizaveta, "Oh… that explains it…"
"Yup."
"But I'm really glad they're getting along, dude. They've really hit it off, huh?" Alfred remarked with a proud smile as he looked at the two nations chatting. "I figured Gillen would like her from the get-go, and I bet Liz is really happy that there's a Prussia that's not annoying to her."
Allen managed a small smile. Sure, he might not be sure of the Hungary chick, but he's glad Gillen's happy… "Yeah, that's one good thing, I guess."
But Alfred knew what's up, and he crossed his arms, frowning. "Okay, dude. I know that you've apologized and that you're not gonna be a jerk to her anymore, but why are you so reluctant to give Liz a chance? I mean, I think I know why, but I wanna hear it from you. I really thought that you'd like her!"
"Why?" Allen snorted. "Cause she's Erszi's counterpart?
Alfred narrowed his eyes, displeased. "No. Because I know she's just as cool as Erszi, and I was hoping you'd see it too."
Aaannnd now Allen felt like a jerk, he winced as he felt the guilt pain him. "Look, I'm sorry. You know I'm no good with strangers… Oh, fuck that. I'm not gonna use any excuse. I know that I'm being unfair, I… realize that now. But I'm not really convinced this chick won't spill the secret about this place. I mean, what is it that's so great about her that you just had to take her to this world?"
"Maybe you'd see if you just gave her chance!" Alfred retorted, and Allen tried to stand his ground in the face of his doppelganger's upset look. "If you'd try to be friendly with her, then you can see why she's such a cool gal. And I told you before, she gets me, and I wanted her to be happy!"
"And that's why you invited a chick you're not even close friends with?" Allen raised an eyebrow, still not buying this. "Because you suddenly decided that you couldn't stand the damn damsel in distress who 'gets you' be sad? Did you want to be a hero to her?
"N-No, it's not like…" Alfred facepalmed, sighing. He took a deep, calming breath before speaking again, "Okay… before you jump to conclusions, maybe now's the perfect time to tell you the full story…"
Allen was then regaled with the full tale of why Alfred took the other Hungary with him to the Dark World, and… okay, things made a little bit more sense now. Apparently, Hungary's dealing with a lot of shit 'cause of immigration too, so they bonded when she approached Alfred when he was in a bad mood over the damn meeting. One thing led to another, and Alfred decided to bring her to the Dark World, though not before talking about something about trust and shit.
"So you gotta understand, Al. Liz is like us, she's having a hard time thanks to immigration and the EU." Alfred insisted. "We bonded over that, we found out that we have a lot more in common than we realize. You can understand that, right?"
"Yeah, I guess…" Allen admitted grudgingly.
"Seriously, dude, you should give her chance. I think you two would totally get along 'cause you two have stuff in common too."
"Alfredo's right, my bambino~" An annoying cheerful voice sang as two hands grabbed Allen's shoulders, and he felt a chill down his back. Oh crap. "As a matter of fact, it's actually part of my plan!"
Dammit.
/ / / / /
(Deltarune OST: Friendship)
"…And that's the story how I found out I was a boy and how my whole life changed afterwards!" Hungary finished cheerfully, looking at Gillen expectantly.
However, the moment she did, she completely failed to bite back her laughter and burst out cackling at the priceless look on Gillen's face. Oh… Oh my goodness, that's the same face Prussia had when he figured out that she wasn't a boy! It's so priceless! I mean, she felt bad for laughing at his face, but it's just so… so…!
He looked like he just accidentally walked into a brothel or a strip club!
To lighten up the mood, Hungary had decided that it was her turn to talk about her life, and she figured that the best place to start would be explaining better how she spent so years thinking she was a boy and that she thought her penis would grow eventually. But then the chest pains began, Hungary started noticing the difference in strength between her and the male nations, and… puberty.
Oh, and she also told him all about the crotch cloth incident. That's… kind of when Gillen's shocked expression started to get worse, and Hungary had a feeling that she may or may not have made him have an even lower opinion of his counterpart. Well, sure, it was gross, but at least Prussia had the decency to be horrified afterwards.
"Mein Gott…" Prussia said, stunned, barely starting to calm down somewhat. "That is… certainly an… interesting story."
Hungary laughed some more. Interesting's one way to put it. "Oh, yes, I was really stubborn back then, wasn't I? Really, I should've known something off the moment I realize my penis was taking a long time to grow-"
"J-Ja, but it wasn't really your fault. A-Anyway, no offense, but can we please start talking about something else?" Gillen pleaded, wiping a bead of sweat from his brow. He definitely looked uncomfortable. "I'm starting to feel a little dirty after hearing this story."
It was in this moment when Hungary felt a light bulb go off inside her head, and she slyly smirked. "Oh, don't tell me you're starting to have filthy thoughts like Prussia did!"
Gillen paled in horror, and Hungary felt cruel for teasing him. "NEIN! Perish the thought, please! In all my years, I've never felt any sort of feelings or urges for women no matter how many times Flavio has tried to set me up on a date with a woman who's 'just my type'."
Hungary's eyes sparkled at this, and she grinned eagerly. "Ooh! Does this mean you're into men? If so, then tell me all the details!
Gillen's face turned beet red, his jaw was hanging open, and he looked like he was about to faint.
Hungary giggled and decided that she teased the poor thing enough. "Oh, calm down, Gillen. I'm sorry, I was just joking around. So… I would really appreciate it if you didn't faint right now… I think Allen would kill me if you did."
Gillen suddenly inhaled sharply, and the color of his face returned to normal "Oh, good, good… Please don't do that again.
Hungary smiled at him and patted him on the back in comfort. "Alright, alright, I won't. But still, crazy right? I can't believe I thought that everyone, and I do mean everyone, grew a penis eventually. And that I that my growing breasts were just my chest muscles!"
She burst out laughing again while Gillen sweat dropped. "Ja… really strange…"
"But enough about me," Hungary decided, and she turned to Gillen curiously. "Hey… You said that Erszi knew she was a girl from the start, right?"
"H-Huh? Oh, ja, she knew that she was a girl all her life," Gillen nodded, and his cheeks began to flare up again and his tone became somber. "However, since she a bit of a habit of dressing in boy's clothes, albeit with girly colors, and looked like a boy, we all believed she was a boy no matter how many times she tried to tell us that she wasn't."
"Why didn't anyone believe her?" Hungary asked.
"Well, some of us, er, thought that she was… you know, not right in the head." Gillen admitted with a grimace, tapping his forehead. "Many also thought that maybe she wanted to convince us that she was a girl so that she'd have to stay out of battles, since she almost always lost… badly too…"
Gillen's shoulders slumped as he finished that sentence, and he mumbled a few words that Hungary didn't catch.
"Huh…" Hungary said, not sure what to say to that. "I guess that does make sense. But what did you think?"
Gillen blinked and stared at her unreadably. "Oh, me? Well, I thought that similar to your case, Magyar raised Erszi to believe she was a girl when she was actually a boy. But I couldn't help but think Erszi wanted to believe she was a girl so that she wouldn't have to spend her life losing battles. Imagine my guilt when I found out she was telling the truth the whole time…"
He went off into a depressed stupor after he finished speaking, so Hungary tried to comfort him again. "Hey, don't get upset. I know she must've been not very happy at seeing that you didn't believe her, but I'm sure that if she's as sweet as you all say, then she doesn't hold a grudge against you for it."
"Ja, quite right, she doesn't hold a grudge." Gillen nodded slowly, although he still appeared to feel guilty anyways. "I still wasn't able to forgive myself but she was just happy that I helped train her for all those years, despite everything."
Hungary was surprised to hear that. "Oh, you helped train her? Magyar didn't teach her?"
"Oh, he did teach her, but Erszi, well, I think I mentioned before that she was never a fighter…" Gillen cringed, as if recalling a harsh memory. "So I tried to help her improve, not that it did much good. But I should've noticed something was off when we were training. Her strength was inferior, and her endurance was… quite pathetic, honestly. She was a bit of a crybaby back then, and… you get what I mean."
"Yeah…" Hungary sweatdropped. Oh god, her counterpart when she was a child sounded a lot like how Italy was when Germany kept trying to train him. She must've suffered a lot under Turkey and that bloodsucker Romania.
"Ja, but I tried my best to protect her anyways." Gillen assured her, and his expression softened. "On the bright side, while Erszi herself was weak, her army wasn't, and they were very loyal to their nation."
"Ah, that's good…" Hungary smiled in relief before an important question popped in her mind. "W-Wait, so how did you find out she really was a girl? How did everyone find out?"
Once again, Gillen's face was red with embarrassment. "I-I, well… Like with you, the truth came out when Erszi hit puberty. It was a day when both Poland and Turkey attacked. We had no time to lose, but then I remembered that Erszi earlier said that she was going to a lake to take a quick bath."
Hungary wasn't sure whether to gape or to groan. "I think I see where this is going. Let me guess, you arrived at the lake just as Poland and Turkey found her."
"J-Ja. I rushed there as soon as I could, but when I arrived, Poland and Turkey and their armies had just found her. But then there was one thing that distracted and prevented us from slaughtering each other."
"Erszi was there in the lake naked, wasn't she?" Hungary deadpanned.
"Erszi was there in the lake naked." Gillen confirmed, and he groaned, looking close to crying in shame. "She was surprised by all the ruckus, and she stood up, letting everyone see for themselves that Erszi was telling the truth. Everyone was so confused and freaked out that they all retreated. Word spread out, and… things got arguably worse for Erszi for afterward."
…Oh.
Hungary stood there for a long time staring at him, blinking once in a while as she had a stunned expression. Huh, well what do you know? Her counterpart's confused gender story was even weirder than hers… and somehow even more embarrassing. This place was weird.
Now she knew how Gillen felt. This was so… strange.
She needed to change the topic fast. Oh, come on, Hungary. You've got to think of something before the awkwardness becomes too much for either of you to handle! Think of something, anything that'll… Wait. That's it!
"…So, Gillen, have you ever stolen Austria's happy place- I mean, taken Silesia and fought with Austria?" Hungary asked eagerly, recalling the fun times she had helping Austria beat up Prussia in the war. "You know, since in my world there was this whole outrage with the humans which then led to a war with Prussia and that oaf ended up getting away with Silesia…"
Prussia still loved to rub that in their faces. Oh, Hungary will make him give Austria back his happy place someday! If only her boss would listen…
"Oh, you are referring to the… War of Austrian Succession, ja? I remember Alfred telling me about it." Gillen asked, and he crossed his arms as he thought about it "There was an uproar when a woman became Archduchess. My counterpart went to war over it, and somehow other nations became involved in the skirmish. Or at least I think that's basically what happened."
Hungary nodded furiously, so he did know about it. "Yes, that is what I'm referring to! There was a law that didn't allow a woman to inherit the throne, and Prussia, the jerk, used that as an excuse to attack Austria and take his happy place! Luckily, I managed to rescue him, but I couldn't get his happy place back for him!"
She felt herself trembling in rage over her failure and the image of Prussia cackling in her mind, and she shook her fist. Ohohoho, she may not be able to give Silesia back to Austria, but for that Prussia will suffer a fate worse than death and death! Prussia must die~
Gillen blinked, confused at why Hungary was laughing. "I'm sorry, happy place?"
"I meant Silesia." Hungary clarified, blushing in embarrassment after she stopped her revenge monologue.
"Oh, I see." Gillen nodded in understanding, and he stared off at the window in thought. "Roland, that's Austria's name here, and I had our many skirmishes and battles, but we never had any conflict that resembled the War of Austrian Succession. Humans do not rule here, after all. However, I did take Silesia actually, but not from Austria. I took it from Poland, and the humans in the region were more than happy to become Prussians."
Hungary's eyes widened in surprise. She wasn't expecting that answer, but that just raised some more questions. But… Silesia was part of the Holy Roman Empire, and that's how it managed to pass on to Austria. Then again it is close to Poland, but did that meant he won it from Austria or someone else at some point? Oh, this alternate history thing's really confusing.
"Poland was the one who had Silesia?" Hungary said surprised, and she smiled wryly. "I guess I should've expected something like that, given that our worlds have different histories and all. Oh, and speaking of Poland, what's he like here? And Austria too."
She got her answer when Gillen's face darkened, and she couldn't help but take a cautious step back.
(Deltarune OST: Quiet Autumn)
"They are monsters." He hissed with his tone dripping with hate and anger, a far cry from his usual calm self. "For your sake, I pray that you'll never get to meet either of them. Those two have caused me no end of grief since we were children, especially Poland."
Hungary felt guilty for asking that question. "Oh… I… I'm sorry you went through so much because of them. I shouldn't…"
Gillen's expression softened somewhat at that, but it still resembled a slight scowl. "Nein, there's no need to. You were just curious, is all, and you didn't know. Now, I don't like giving them much thought. Thinking of them fills with anger and bitterness, and it is not healthy for the soul. However, if you wish to know about them, I'm more than willing to-"
"No, no!" Hungary exclaimed in alarm, waving her hands. "I wouldn't… I don't want to make you talk about something it it'll hurt you."
It looked like Gillen wanted to insist as he opened mouth, but he promptly closed it and instead he settled to stare at her. Hungary would've felt a little uncomfortable if it weren't for the strangely melancholic look on his face.
"You… you really are like her, Erszi, I mean. Even if you're different, you still have her kindness…" Gillen trailed off and shook his head, chuckling in what sounded like a self-deprecating way. "I-I'm sorry, I went and did it again. I compared you two when…"
"Oh, no, no, it's fine." Hungary reassured him, and she smiled at him softly. "In fact, why don't you tell me more about her?"
Gillen flinched at the request, as if he wasn't ever expectanting her to ask that. "Really? You want to know more about Erszi? I mean, I'd be more than happy to tell you about her but I thought the whole point of this was to try not to-"
"You already told me the story of how you all thought Erszi was a boy," Hungary pointed out, and she nudged him on the shoulder, winking. "Besides, I want to understand why you see her in me. I want to better understand why you think we're similar, you know."
Gillen was quiet for several seconds, but he smiled gently, and he nodded in approval. "Very well then, in that case, I'll tell you what kind of person Erszi is."
As she requested, Gillen then went on to properly explain what Erszi's like. From what Hungary understood, her counterpart was someone who could be considered one of the nicest people on the planet, or ever. It sounded like she was as sickeningly sweet and nice as Liechtenstein, albeit with a tendency to be a little distracted or oblivious at times, even a little naïve, but could be pretty perceptive sometimes.
She and Erszi looked different too. Erszi apparently had long blonde hair usually kept in a messy ponytail. And wow, she really did adore the color pink. Her room was pink, many clothes, most of which were dresses, were that color. Even her eyes were pink!
She's optimistic, a little shy… Erszi's just… really nice and kind, even though she's considered a wimp by a lot of nations. Hungary could understand why he cared about her so much. The people loved her. Gillen said she's could be a motherly figure, she even helped take care of Moldova when he ran away from his brother's house. In addition to that, Slovakia lived with her for many years and they were awfully close.
Must be nice…
While Gillen said that may not be a fighter, Erszi had a habit of carrying a stave with her whenever she went into someplace not-so-safe. No guns or knives, just a pole. Apparently, it's the only weapon she's decent at. Well, Hungary carried a frying with her so she's not one to judge…
Like Hungary herself, Erszi had her quirks. Gillen said had a bit of a dreamy demeanor, and that she's afraid of going near old ruins and burial grounds. She believed in ghosts and was surprisingly superstitious. Like believing stepping on a crack will break your mother's back kind of superstitious.
No wonder Alfred spoke so fondly of her. She sounded like a great person, probably a much better person Hungary ever was and will be…
"I do hope you'll be able to meet her one of these days. She's been a little busy for the past week, but I'm sure sooner or later she'll have plenty of free time to come over."
"I think I'd like that. Do you think she'll like me?"
"I'll be damned if she didn't. I'm sure she'll love you."
/ / / / /
(Final Fantasy VII OST: Aerith's Theme)
Oh my, what a day!
A blonde-haired woman with vibrant pink colored eyes dressed in pink pajamas brushed her long hair in front of a mirror, smiling brightly at how her day turned out despite how tired she felt. She was just happy with what managed to accomplish today.
She certainly wasn't expecting to have so many customers over at the shop today! Business really was booming. She made a lot today, and she could feel that they all left happy. Good people, all of them. She's glad that she managed to put smiles on their faces.
Things were really getting tense since the last meeting, a lot more so than usual. A lot of people are saying how a war's looking really likely, but she prayed that wasn't the case. She hoped this'd be just another close call, that it was just Italy trying to provoke him.
Oh, Italy… Why do you keep doing this? Why couldn't he let go? She always kept hoping he would, but instead it seems that he grew worse with every year or decade. Just where she did go wrong in trying to help him?
Still, she hoped that one day he'll learn.
She wondered how America's doing right now. Prussia said that he and Romano were going over to his house to try to support him, right? Oh, she wished she could've come over too. Why did she had to have so much paperwork for the week when there's a friend? It just wasn't fair.
She would've decided to be a bit of a rebel and leave anyways, but Prussia kept insisting that maybe it's best if she stayed here in Budapest.
She supposed he had a point there, but it still didn't feel right staying here while knowing that there's a friend who needed help. Prussia said that she might be able to see him soon when he came over to visit, he mentioned that Allen would be really eager to do so.
Erszi hoped that she'll be able to see him again in a few days, cheer him up, maybe taste test her paprika, go visit the old church, smell the flowers, look at the stars…
She smiled fondly as she finished brushing her hair, and she put her hairbrush away before standing up and walking over to her bedroom window. Sure, it was a little late, but it couldn't hurt stay up a little while more.
She opened the windows and felt the breeze on her face as she gazed up in awe at the countless of bright and colorful stars adorning the night sky accompanied by the silver moon.
The stars sure were really pretty tonight…
Erszi's smile broadened and she leaned her head on her hand.
She wondered if Alfred's world had stars like this too. It'd be nice if one day he could come watch the stars with everyone else, even if they couldn't know about him…
Maybe it won't happen, but it's nice to dream…
Phew, I hoped you guys like this chapter. Please review if you have a minute.