Oh boy. You thought the last book was complicated? You have no idea how much of a beast this will be. "Rise of New Abyssinia" was 38 minutes long. "Tides of the Hybrid" is 2 hours and 38 minutes long.
…What am I getting myself into?
Disclaimer: This story is based on the video/movie "Tides of the Hybrid" by VoidViper Mapping Animation Production, a YouTube channel and countryball mapper. Many of the characters come from Hidekaz Himaruya's "Hetalia" anime/manga, but several are of my own creation (including but not limited to Venezuela, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia, and Djibouti), and a few references to VoidViper's characters. I only own the nuances of the storyline and my own characters. Please check out both "Hetalia" and "Tides of the Hybrid" if you haven't already, and please enjoy.
Prologue:
December 31, 3032
Walvis Bay, Namibia
Four days.
He got to stay home for four freaking days.
America grumbled as he strode on top of the deck of the USS Bougainville[1], feeling uncomfortable, stuffy, and just plain miserable. Of course he had to wear this stupid suffocating full dress uniform. Of course it had to be 78 degrees out. Of course he had to spend New Year's at war again. Of course he had to be halfway across the world in Namibia because some dumb Africans somehow still bought into the whole New Abyssinia shit!
One of the officers walking in the opposite direction gave him a full five-foot berth as he passed, their thin greeting of "sir, yes, sir," barely heard from that distance.
Yeah. To say that the United States of America was pissed was an understatement.
"Ah! Admiral Jones!"
America looked up to see the Captain of the assault ship he was currently on. He immediately recognized her as Emma Lerek, an up-and-coming name in the navy that he'd heard about on his way here.
"Captain," he nodded curtly. If Lerek noticed his demeanor—and she certainly did—she didn't show it. Saluting, she moved to the side to walk in pace with him.
"I'm glad you were able to make it today, sir," Lerek continued on, waving to some officers as they prepped the landing gear. "I'm sorry I wasn't able to meet with you when you arrived this morning; there was a small skirmish off Torra Bay that I had to see to. I trust your trip was smooth, sir?"
"As it could be," America nodded. "I trust we can claim victory?"
"Yes, sir." Lerek's lips twitched upwards. "If I may be honest, I don't expect us to sustain many losses in this war, even if Namibia and Botswana throw everything they have at us, sir."
America nodded again, letting out a long breath as he attempted to calm himself.
"Well, we'll see what their stance is in this meeting," he replied after a long pause, watching as the crew let down the landing plank. Several soldiers meant to act as bodyguards (which, now that his role as a nation was widely known, was an irritating necessity) walked down first, conversing with two Namibian men down on the shore. After a moment, they motioned for Lerek and America to come down.
As they two stepped onto the shore, several cars pulled up on the street next to the docks. Two more men in suits exited the first car, walking up to the small party and speaking to the other Namibians in low tones for a moment. After exchanging several words, one of the men turned to America and Lerek.
"Come with us," he motioned. "As we agreed, we'll meet in that building over there." He gestured to an old building perhaps a half-mile down the coastline. Hard to defend and easy for Lerek and America to be extracted from if negotiations fell apart. "You'll take the second car."
America nodded, leading Lerek and their guards to the car, an old black limousine. The group sat down inside, watching the Bougainville fade into the distance. Nothing was said during the short trip, and when the limousine slowed to a stop, America was quick to exit the vehicle and enter the building, Lerek right on his heels.
The interior of the building looked much better than the exterior did. They had entered into a small entry room, gently lit with floral decorations and a soft gray color. There was a hallway off to the right, and a door to the left.
As they entered, the door opened, two people stepping out. First was a woman with dark skin and brown hair pulled into a low bun, similarly to Lerek's. Second came a young man with curly brown hair shaved close to the scalp. Both wore identical black suits. The woman stepped forwards when they came into view, extending a hand towards America.
"United States," she nodded curtly. After a moment, the superpower shook her hand firmly.
"Namibia," he replied as the nation shook hands with Lerek. He nodded to the young man. "Botswana. This is Captain Emma Lerek. She will be assisting me in the negotiations today."
"As you wish," Namibia agreed. "I trust we will be able to speak alone?"
America glanced at Lerek, who shifted slightly to express her uneasiness at the request. America inclined his head to reassure her.
"Of course," he nodded, motioning for their guards to remain where they were. Namibia's lips flickered upwards, and she opened the door, the two Africans moving to let the two Americans into a reasonably sized conference table, with four seats set up near the head. Naturally, Namibia (being the host nation) took the head seat. Botswana took the sole chair on her left, which left America and Lerek to take the two chairs on the right.
"Thank you for agreeing to meet with us, America," Namibia began. "I trust this meeting will end with a ceasefire and an end to the war."
"The game is over," America agreed. "The fleet currently assaulting your ships is only the welcoming party. Without a surrender we will easily overrun your defenses."
"We must know where you are harboring the New Abyssinians, specifically the location of their nation and Yessuf Biruh Abebe," Lerek added. "Along with a vow to cease entertaining these totalitarian ideals of yours."
Namibia sighed, looking Alfred straight in the eye. "New Abyssinia gave birth to a new, more powerful Africa," she declared softly. "I cannot agree to those terms."
"Then what is the point of bringing us here?" America questioned, folding his arms.
"I'm sure you know the design of our flag," came the disconnected response. Despite speaking to him, Namibia did seem to be gazing at something not really there or far away. It was unsettling. "When we declared our allegiance to New Abyssinia's ideals, we changed the red stripe in our flag to a yellow one. This yellow is meant to symbolize a new era. A new opportunity. A bright future for the world as a whole."
"The whole world stands against you, Namibia. What exactly do you plan to do when you're dead?"
"We don't plan to fight," Botswana put in quickly and easily. He looked up at the ceiling, a disjointed expression on his face.
"We have no reason to fight you, America," Namibia continued in the male's place, spreading out her hands across the table. "We surrender. Our lands are yours."
"Then you will give up the Abyssinians," Lerek demanded, brown eyes meeting Namibia's identically shaded irises. The African shrugged.
"Again, a condition I cannot meet. I have no clue where they are. They left my land several days ago."
America felt like banging his head into the table. Several times. Why in the world was he even here?!
"Surely you know where they went," he pushed, trying to get at least something out of this meeting other than a huge tract of African land that he had no idea what to do with.
"We did what we thought was best," Botswana answered, looking forlorn. "The rest of the world just doesn't see it that way. But you will. One day."
This was starting to get creepy. America had only met the two African nations in passing before WWIII, but he was fairly certain that they shouldn't be acting as eerie as this. They were hiding something, but what?
"Botswana," Namibia's hands had started shaking. Abruptly, she had paled. "It's been an honor. Now it's time for a leap of faith."
America and Lerek shared an alarmed look just as Namibia brought forth a piece of paper from her folder, making as if to hand it to the former of the two. America took it, but before Namibia let go, she placed her other hand over his.
"Welcome to the end of the Modern Era," she declared quietly and very seriously. "And the beginning of the Hybrid Era. Take care of my people."
"Namibia, what are you—"
Namibia let go of the paper.
A lot of things happened at once.
Namibia and Botswana collapsed, the former falling down to the floor. America jolted backwards, feeling as if he'd been struck by lightning, almost falling out of his chair. Lerek launched to her feet, chair clattering to the ground behind her as she rushed to her nation.
As abruptly as it had begun, everything cleared. America blinked several times, trying to adjust to this new sensation tingling in his veins. Lerek was saying something he couldn't quite make out, and he ignored her for the time being. Taking several deep breaths, he shook himself, realizing that he was holding the armrest of his chair in a death grip and had crushed it into a handprint. Letting go slowly, he leaned forwards, rubbing a hand over his face as a cold wash of realization washed over him. This had happened to him many times before. He knew what the two nations had done.
"Oh, God," he murmured. "God, why, why, why…"
"Sir? America?" Lerek questioned, and now he could understand her. He looked up to see her looking at him worriedly.
"They're dead," he declared solemnly. Lerek paled, and without verbally questioning his declaration, knelt down by Namibia's body, placing two fingers on the side of her neck. After a good half a minute, she stood again, looking shocked, and repeated the process with Botswana.
With shaky fingers, America unfolded the paper. As he expected, it was a page long of declarations that basically ceded all land to his country and disbanded their governments once it passed into America's hands.
But Namibia and Botswana were dead. That wasn't supposed to happen. The people still considered themselves Namibians and Botswanans, so their nations couldn't die. Right?
"This wasn't supposed to happen," Lerek whispered. "Sir, what happened?"
America put the paper down on the table, not wanting to look at it any longer.
"I don't know." He shrugged helplessly. "I really don't know."
[1]- An actual ship under construction that is expected to be completed in 2024.
Prominent Alliances Throughout the Story:
North Atlantic Treaty Organization "NATO" (Founded 1949): Current 2020 members, Ukraine, Macedonia, New Order Venezuela
Association of Southeast Asian Nations "ASEAN" (Founded 1967): Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar (Burma), Brunei, Laos
African Elites "The Elites" (Founded 2032): Ethiopia, Somalia, Eritrea, Djibouti
Hybrid Energy Research Association "HERA" (Founded 2034): United States of America, United Kingdom, Italy, Spain (2043), Iceland (2045)
New South American Order "NSAO" (Founded 2040): New Order Venezuela, Brazil, Argentina
Cuba's New Order "Cuba's Order" (Founded 2043): Cuba, Colombia
Deep Sea Alliance "DSA" (Founded 2044): Australia, New Zealand, South Africa