Oh man, it's been more than a month since I've updated this. Whoops, X'D.

This chapter skips forward a few weeks, to the world meeting. Since more characters (both canon Hetalia ones and my own) will be introduced, this one will be longer than the previous chapter.

It will also introduce some conflict to the story, dun dun DUN!

*Hetalia belongs to Hidekaz Himaruya. The OCs belong to me.*

Installment Ten

Liene, Liutas, and their mentors spent one night at Estonia's home before heading back to their own countries. After they left, Elts retreated back into her shell, though she became a little happier when Estonia reminded her that there was a world meeting in a few weeks that everyone would attend.

And those two weeks went by quicker than Elts thought. After her head started to feel a bit better, she helped the personification with his paperwork, as well as any computer-related problems that arose. She began to get into a routine, which helped her feel more at-ease in her new home.

Currently, it was the evening before the meeting, and Elts and Estonia were waiting at the airport for their flight to Berlin.

"There is something you should know," Elts began, her voice very quiet.

"What?" Estonia narrowed his eyes.

"Remember when I told you that all of the students worked together to protect ourselves?"

She waited for the blond's nod before she continued.

"Well, even though we worked together, not all of us got along, especially while we were at the school. Liutas had a rivalry with Pru Wagner, but they made up." She paused, trying to collect her jumbled thoughts. "To put it bluntly, there is one person at this world meeting that I cannot stand. Not after what he did to Liutas and Liene, and to an extent, me."

"Who are you talking about?" Estonia looked puzzled.

"Ivan Korovichenko," she muttered bitterly. "I'd call him a bully, but that doesn't cover half of how he treated us. And others, as well. He made our lives at school hell. And now he thinks that since he helped us out back at the lab, that it cancels everything else out, and we're friends. No."

Elts wanted to say more, but she found that her throat felt achy, like there was a huge lump in it. She said nothing when Estonia wrapped his arm around her shoulders in a gesture of silent comfort.

They stayed that way until they boarded their flight. As the plane took off, Elts' bad mood started to disappear. She found herself relaxing as she looked out the window.

When they made it to the conference center hotel, they quickly found their room.

Exhausted, even though the flight was only a little less than two and a half hours, Elts flopped onto one of the two beds, and promptly fell asleep.

/

After a quick breakfast, Estonia guided his protégé into the meeting room.

Elts was fascinated by the world meeting, and it hadn't even started yet. Everyone was talking, and normally, she would find that extremely overwhelming, but for some reason, she felt more at-ease. The loudest voices came from the North American corner of the table, unsurprisingly. Alfred–America's personification, according to Estonia–was discussing something animatedly with Jane Smith, who was equally enthusiastic. Paula Jacobs added in her two cents every now-and-then, though her voice and hand gestures were flippant. Candace Johnson and a young man who Elts assumed was Canada had their own conversation going on, though the former kept raising her voice in order to be heard over the trio.

"Loud, isn't it?"

Elts turned to her mentor and nodded. "It's nice, though. Feels–what's the word?–homely."

"I think you mean 'homey'. 'Homely' means to look plain." Estonia pushed his glasses further up on his nose.

"And this is why I hate speaking English," Elts grumbled, switching to their shared native tongue. "Too many stupid words…" She was about to continue her rant, but her eyes met the gaze of the one person she was hoping to avoid. He smiled at her, and the expression made her want to vomit.

"Damn it," she swore, returning to English (she liked the sound of its vulgarities). "Now that I've made eye contact, I can expect an interaction later…"

"What?" Estonia turned to where the copper-haired girl previously looked. "You know Russia?"

"No, not him." Elts shook her head, though she tilted it towards the tall young man sitting next to the large nation. "Him."

"I don't think I recognize him from any of the information I was sent. Who is he?" Estonia looked puzzled, though his expression turned into one of great thought. "Oh. Is that–" He was cut off by Elts.

"Yeah. The bastard who ruined my life. Well, ruined it more than it was already…" She tried to compose herself, but the bitterness oozed from her words naturally. "I swear, if he tries to make a scene here, I won't hold back. I am done being walked over. And I am not in the mood for his 'friendship' bullshit. Not now."

Estonia placed a hand on her shoulder, sensing her discomfort. "I'll introduce you to some friends of mine before the meeting starts. I bet Denmark would love to talk to you. You're friends with his protégé, right?"

"Yeah." Elts was only half-listening. She wondered if flipping Ivan Korovichenko the bird would be a wise idea, but she thought better of it. She didn't want Russia's personification to think the gesture was for him instead. She had nothing against him, not yet, at least, and she would be mortified if she accidentally insulted him. Instead, she threw his protégé the nastiest glare she could produce before joining Estonia at the Nordic side of the table.

Elts was on autopilot as Estonia introduced her to the five Nordic personifications. She nodded and shook their hands, though Denmark's and Finland's handshakes in particular were a lot more enthusiastic than she expected.

"Are you okay?" the boy known as Iceland inquired, narrowing his eyes. "You don't look so good."

"He's right. Do you need any medicine, Elts?" Thorbjørn, one of Elts' good friends, as well as Denmark's protégé, gently placed a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm all right," she finally said. "Just a little tired, and overwhelmed. I haven't seen all of you in a few months, and this is the first time I'm meeting the Nations, besides Lithuania and Latvia. To be honest, I'm a little intimidated." There was no mention of Ivan, even though he was the biggest reason her muscles were tensed.

Finland looked like he was about to say something, but Germany's harsh voice stopped him.

"Looks like the meeting's starting," Estonia whispered. "Let's head back to our spots."

Nodding, Elts followed the blond's lead and took a seat next to him. Some of her stomachache went away when she realized Liene sat next to her.

As soon as her back made contact with the chair, she slightly recoiled. Liene noticed this and grabbed her hand. As the meeting continued, this gesture was the only thing keeping Elts grounded.

Ivan kept staring at her, as well as at Liutas and Liene, though all three brought out different emotions in him, and it was starting to really unnerve Elts. The glares were for her, the softened eyes were for Liutas, and for Liene? It was a mixture of sadness and longing, which scared Elts the most. She tightened her grip on Liene's hand and discreetly shifted closer to her.

/

When the meeting finally came to a close, Elts realized that she had no idea what was even being discussed. Estonia spoke once or twice, but she couldn't even remember why.

Shit. I was so focused on Ivan that I completely forgot to pay attention to the meeting! She felt disgusted with herself; she was an honor student, after all. And honor students paid attention during important meetings.

"I have to ask Germany some questions, just so I can prepare for tomorrow's meeting," Estonia began, trying to make eye contact with Elts. "You remember where our room is, right? I'll meet you there. Do you have a room key?"

Relieved that she could finally leave the stifling meeting room, Elts nodded, pulling the card out of her jacket's pocket to show that she had it before quickly putting it back.

After exiting the room, Elts felt a little better. It was easier for her to breathe, and the quiet felt great against her now-throbbing head. She finally began to relax her muscles when a hand grabbed her shoulder and harshly turned her around.

"Ivan!" she spat, knowing exactly who the person was before she looked at him. "Didn't I tell you to leave me alone?"

"You were glaring at me so rudely during the meeting. I wanted to know what was wrong."

"What was wrong?" Elts raised her voice. "Don't pretend you don't know. Even here, even now, you're still finding ways to haunt us. Why can't you just leave us alone? None of us want to be your friend, especially not me. You can't just think that, because you helped us at the lab, we're somehow friends, that it negates every harmful word you said to us, every bruise you gave Liutas and Liene!"

As she stopped to take a breath, she noticed the tall Nation standing next to her old enemy. Russia. I wonder what he thinks of Ivan…

"Vanya, who is she?"

Elts was surprised; the large man's voice was softer than she expected.

Ivan shrugged as he began to walk away. "Nobody."

That was the last straw for Elts. Without thinking, she yanked off her shoe and hurled it as hard as she could at the back of Ivan's head. As soon as it hit her target, she yelled, "Could 'nobody' do that?"

Before she could even blink, Ivan whirled around, jamming his fist into Elts' stomach.

The copper-haired girl doubled over, pain filling her body. She resisted the urge to vomit and shakily stood up.

"After all I did for you, this is how you repay me?"

Elts was no match for Ivan, who grabbed her by the front of her jacket and harshly tossed her against the wall. As soon as her head hit the brick, her vision swam. She tried to get up again, but her body just wasn't responding correctly.

Her eyes widened as Ivan's foot rested on her chest. As he began to add pressure to it, she whimpered.

"Help!" she choked, her voice little more than a hoarse whisper. "Russia, please. Call him off!"

"This is not my fight, little one," was all the Nation said, though not unkindly.

"Please! He's your protégé! I screwed up; I shouldn't have reacted that way!" Tears fell from Elts' eyes as the pressure got stronger. "Please, Rus—"

A loud cracking sound interrupted her. Immediately following it was the worst pain Elts experienced in months.

Unable to hold back any longer, she screamed. Another crack made her already-battered body convulse as she tried to escape, her throat sore as another agonized cry was ripped from it.

Elts was at her limit; her head pounded, and her chest was on fire. Black spots danced at the corners of her eyes, and time seemed to slow down.

She was vaguely aware of Russia yanking the blond boy off of her, pushing him against the wall.

"What have you done?" The softness of the Nation's voice was gone, an icy tone replacing it. "What have you done?" he repeated.

Elts' world turned black before she could hear her tormentor's answer.

And this is the end to this…eventful…chapter.

Isn't Ivan (my Ivan, I mean, not Russia) a total douche? What's interesting is that he and Elts have similar backstories, as well as similar reactions to being a test subject. However, while Elts lashes out at herself, Ivan lashes out at others. (Especially those he finds 'inferior'.) In the story, he is Elts', Liene's, and Liutas' main antagonist, as he bullies them relentlessly. More information on him will be given in future chapters.

(I really shot myself in the foot with this chapter, though; I forgot that both Russia and my Russian character share the same given name, so it'll be interesting to write the rest of this chapter. …At least they look different, haha. Oh, and it's probably obvious from this excerpt, but Elts hates Ivan K. [He bullied her back when they were at school].)

Dude, Ivan, you really messed up. Russia's not the friendliest personification out there, and even he thinks you went too far. That's saying something…

See you next chapter!