Clambering out of the tomato crate that seemed to stain parts of his jacket like blood, he picked up one of the Italians and both superpowers tossed them unceremoniously into the crate. America eased the lid back on where it closed with the echo of a closing coffin.
Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia or any of its characters.
Chapter 3
Slowly stirring, Prussia shuddered in fear once he remembered Russia…being chased…and his return to being under Russia's regime…then everything went black.
He glanced down and realized that the Russian bastard changed his clothes as he was now wearing a simple shirt and pants made of the flimsy hospital material; even his boxers had been replaced with cotton grey boxers. Standing up wobbly against the nearby wall as an aide, the albino began to examine his surroundings.
Looking around at his new living conditions, his prison cell really, Prussia surmised that it could've (and had) been worse. A simple square room lined in new cement on the three walls, floor, and ceiling, damp patches in some areas. The fourth wall was made entirely of thick glasslike material; a one-way mirror, and probably the door to his cell. There was probably hidden cameras and microphones all throughout his cell but the giant wall with its glaring obviousness was Russia's way of reminding Prussia of how trapped he was, how hopeless and inescapable his situation was.
In one corner was his new bed, a steel bed frame bolted into the floor with a thick mattress on top. Looking at the quality, he was surprised to find that the mattress, bedsheets, and single pillow were all very nice, fluffy, and clean material meant to keep him warm in the winter and cool in the summer. In the other corner was his shower, complete with a drain, shower spout protruding down from the ceiling, and a little shelf that was part of the wall and held a bar of soap.
"Prisoner 0002, stand in the middle of the room with feet apart, your arms crossed over your head, palms open."
Grudgingly, Prussia stood and faced the mirror in said position, watching his reflection fade to show the outside of the cell where a smiling Russia stood patiently outside. He pressed a panel on the wall and the entire wall slid smoothly down into the ground.
"Hello comrade, have you slept well? Are the accommodations to your liking?"
Not having the courage to lash out in rage, Prussia directed his glare towards the ground.
"Yes Master Russia, the room couldn't possibly be better."
He couldn't help himself. Being back under Russia's thumb after all that time recovering felt like one of Prussia's worst nightmares brought to reality; and unlike last time, there were no warning signs at all. So really, it wasn't the albino's fault that he sounded sarcastic. But it seemed Russia thought it was as a powerful strike backhanded Prussia into the wall, causing him to slump to the ground with a heavy grunt.
"Really comrade, it is rather rude to speak so impolitely to me. I am in charge here and can make life either pleasant or hell for you. Am I understood?"
Gently touching his aching nose and broken lip, Prussia nodded in understanding, making no movement when he was roughly petted like a dog.
"Good. Now, since you've had the pleasure of my company before and the expectations demanded, you will be the example that others will emulate. Your loyal participation will be rewarded comrade. As agreed upon by my partner and myself, your living conditions and status within the new regime will improve…or decrease according to your actions."
Prussia had been dazedly listening with glazed eyes to the bigger nation until he snapped wide alert, pale pink eyes abruptly focusing on the silver haired giant before him.
"Partner?"
Russia smirked down at the former nation."Of course. It's better to have someone to trust and rule with as a figure of power, da? We will be the masters that usher in a new era of true world peace, where everyone can be friends without the constraints of our bosses. We will once more be revered as gods like we'd been centuries past, no longer shall we hide in the shadows, afraid. My partner sees this and that is why we shall stand as equals when we arise from the ashes of this corrupt society."
"I-I see." muttered Prussia.
Russia studied him with an unreadable expression, violet eyes burrowing right down to his soul and his very existence; and in that moment, Prussia had never felt so vulnerable. Then the moment was gone and Russia's smiling mask was affixed once more.
"Nyet. You don't see at all. But you will."
The Russian smiled as he walked out of the cell and paused right before his hand touched the panel.
"Sometime soon you will meet my partner. Then we will assign you a new role in society. Somewhere that you'll be wanted and needed; where you'll be respected once more."
And with that, the glass wall smoothly slid into place as Prussia was left to stare at his reflection once more.
"Sooo Iggy, what's this meeting for? Switzerland never calls a meeting."
"I don't know what the meeting's about, all I know is that it's an emergency meeting. And don't call me Iggy!"
As the two nations argued back and forth (read: America joked around while England nagged) they joined the flow of nations entering for the conference room. Many seemed rather confused as they hadn't heard anything in the news and the fact that it was Switzerland was calling an emergency meeting meant it was probably urgent.
Switzerland was pacing by the head of the table as his eyes scanned the room wildly, his peacemaker grasped tightly in a white knuckled grip. He looked ready to lash out at nearest provocation, thereby creating a healthy berth of space as everyone hurried to their seats.
Once everyone had settled down and began eyeing Switzerland with varying levels of curiosity, Germany stood.
"Alright, I don't know what this meeting is about, so Switzerland shall take the floor. But has anyone seen my brother? My house was trashed again by Prussia a week ago when I came back from my jog, and that's the last I've seen of him. France, Spain, is he at your house?"
France frowned lightly, "Prussia hasn't come to visit in quite some time, I haven't seen him. Antonio?"
Bemusedly shaking his head, Spain added, "I haven't seen mis amigo for a while; and my little tomato is gone too. He'd never leave, especially when he knows I'm bringing my prized tomatoes."
"Now that I think about it, Italy hasn't come by to bug me recently, and he doesn't seem to be here now. So we're now missing three people." muttered a pensive Germany.
"Four."
All heads turned towards Switzerland at the head of the conference table where the man held his Peacemaker in a threatening manner.
"Two weeks ago, my sister went down to the marketplace and never returned. She is a familiar face there, but no one saw anything irregular, no disturbances other than a rowdy tourist. And this."
Spread across the table was a scrap of black fabric barely larger than a handkerchief of cheap cotton. It was primarily black, though at its center there was what looked to be a white stylized bird emblazoned in front of a detailed sun of red and yellow colors.
"I've had it analyzed for the past week while my people have been searching for my sister using all of my connections. There's no sign of strange rumors, ransom notes, anything! I think it's the work of terrorists that know about our existence."
"Impossible! We've been here for centuries, both when humans knew about us and when they forgot, aru! I think us older nations would've seen the signs and warned everyone if the humans really did find proof of our existence." declared China as he angrily stood from his chair and glared at Switzerland.
Glaring right back at the older nation, Switzerland countered him angrily. "Then how else do you explain the disappearance of four nations within two weeks? Gone without a trace, and without telling anyone?" he said skeptically. "That's not how Liechtenstein behaves, and I'm pretty sure the Italian twins don't act like that either."
"He's right, my Romano always tells me where he's going in case I have to protect him from France. No offense amigo."
France smirked unapologetically.
"Ja, Italy always calls every five minutes about pasta or being kidnapped again. The silence is a bit…unsettling." stated Germany with a slight blush at all the knowing glances sent his way. Coughing a bit to stifle his embarrassment, he continued. "And if Prussia is gone, I'd usually get a call from pubs telling me he passed out or finally became too obnoxious for them to keep; there's nowhere else he would go."
"Ok, so we have four nations missing, guys this totally sounds like one of my awesome detective movies; let's create search teams! I'll be in the Hero Squad of course and totally save everyone with my awesomeness!"
"America, shut up! You're not helping!" yelled the blond Englishman. Clearing his throat as he neatened his tie, England addressed the rest of the nations in a much calmer voice.
"Now, we know this disappearance isn't normal for any of these nations so we need to inform their governments as well as keep tabs of the economy to gauge how well the physical nation is doing. Then-"
"Excuse me England, but won't that be a bit difficult?" interrupted Japan.
"Pardon?"
"Well, Prussia has his affairs taken care of by Germany because he isn't an official country anymore. And Italy is split between the Italian brothers, so if one is injured, we wouldn't notice until it's too late. Liechtenstein is a country, but she heavily relies on Switzerland to take care of her government problems, thus her country doesn't strongly affect her actual well being. Plus, it took two weeks for us to notice their absences."
A stifled silence filled the conference room as a thought flowed through everyone's mind.
'That sounds like a planned kidnapping.'
"Now do you believe me about possible terrorists?" demanded Switzerland.
"We'll leave that possibility open," began Germany cautiously. "For now, we should be discrete and keep an eye out for suspicious activity or the missing nations, ja?"
Everyone excluding an frustrated Switzerland muttered their assent as they started leaving in whispering groups of twos and threes.
"So your plan is to do nothing? My sister could be in danger right now, along with your boyfriend and brother, and you're going to do nothing?" exclaimed Switzerland as he stormed towards Germany.
"We're searching for them Switzerland, but right now, even their governments haven't said anything about their absence and we don't have enough evidence other than a scrap of paper you found. Just keep searching for now and if no one shows in two weeks, we'll have another meeting. Don't forget that even though she is your sister, she is a country first and can't share everything with you. Besides, she's tougher than you think."
And with that, Germany left a fuming Swiss in the conference room.
I'm sorry for the massive delay, I meant to have this out for Christmas or at least New Year's. Luckily, chapter 4 and half of chapter 5 are already written, so all I have to do is type and proofread them with the help of my amazing beta RavenIris.
