Hetalia
Tri-Stars
Three ordinary girls somehow get transported into the anime world of Hetalia, where they're somehow called "Elements". More importantly, everyone around them is crazy, there's a lot of really hot/perverted guys, it's only 1942, and a meteor is coming to "end" World War II...and the world!
CHAPTER EIGHT
Strong Earth
"Okay, seriously, where are we, dudes?" America wanted to know, as he sat with his back against a palm tree. "We've been stuck here for, what...how long...?"
"Two weeks." Mayling replied, from where she was leaning over a pot of...something...with China. "And seven hours, actually."
"Plus, we have no idea where we are." America sighed.
"Oh, stop complaining, America." England told him. "That's not going to help us at all...what the Bloody Hell are you doing now?" The Brit raised a bushy eyebrow.
"Trying to find out where we are on this map, dude." America had taken out and was studying a map of...The United States? "Hmm, nope, we don't seem to be anywhere on this map!" He rolled up the map again, and gave a big grin. "So, in short, we're completely and utterly lost!"
"We already knew that, you twit!" England yelled.
France was depressed, too, but for a different reason. "Ah, Mon Dieu...to be wearing the same outfit for quinze jours is most inconvenant!"
"That is all you ever think about, da?" Russia was smiling.
"Well, non." France shook his head. "Of course, I think of the good food, and good wine of course, and of course, I think about the beau femmes..." He drifted towards Mayling, but jumped back when she brandished a ladle at him.
Mayling sighed, and turned back to whatever it was she and China were cooking.
"It seems strange that we still haven't been able to figure out where we are, aru..." China mused. "Or, how to get off of this island..."
"Hey, dudes, why doesn't Krystal just swim to the nearest island and get help?!" America wanted to know all of a sudden.
"Because she's scared of sharks." Mayling and China said in unison.
England narrowed his eyes out at the sea, where a figure was swimming back and forth, shouting gleefully every time she came up for air. "She doesn't seem to mind swimming out there...she looks like she's having fun..."
"Well, maybe you should be out there swimming with her, dude?!" America suggested, clapping England on the back.
England flinched, and then blushed.
France smirked. "So, that's how it is, then...?"
"That's how it is, da." Russia smiled.
Australia sat on the beach with Edward, watching Krystal swim about in the waves. He was happy that one of his citizens was having such fun with her newfound (magical) powers, and her friend was enjoying getting to know some of the other nations (particularly China).
However, he was also worried, and one nation in particular had picked up on this.
Canada, with Kuamjirou, came and sat down beside Australia. It took the brown-haired nation a few moments to realise that Canada was there, and that was only when Canada said something to him.
It started with Australia sighing, and saying: "I hope she's okay..."
"You mean Emma?" Canada questioned.
Australia jumped. "Oh! Canada, when did you get here, mate?"
"About a minute ago." Canada tilted his head to one side. "You say you're worried about Emma?"
Australia nodded. "Yeah, well, wouldn't you be, if it was one of your citizens?"
Canada nodded, and then decided to say: "Actually...it...it seems more than that...I mean...look at Krystal and Mayling...even though they seem happy..."
Australia glanced out at Krystal. she had stopped swimming around, and was lying on her back in the gentle waters, just staring up at the sky. When Australia glanced back at Mayling, he noticed that the Malaysian girl was stirring the contents of the pot without really seeing it, and that her eyes were downcast.
Australia nodded, and turned back to Canada. "Krystal told me that the three of them have been best friends since they were five years old...they're pretty worried about their mate..."
"And you?" Canada queried, quietly.
Australia looked away. "I'm worried about my citizen is all, mate..." He stood up and walked to the edge of the water, leaving Edward with Kumajirou.
The two bears growled at each other, then paused, and then did some kind of a secret bear paw-shake.
Canada watched Australia, wondering what was going on with the other nation.
Just then, they heard China call: "Dinner's ready, aru!"
Australia looked out at the water. "Krystal, dinner's ready, mate!"
Canada came to stand beside Australia. "Do you need help getting out of the water?" He called quietly to Krystal.
"No, thanks!" The brunette replied. "I figured it out on my own!" She closed her eyes, and concentrated, working out the power that she had discovered when they'd first arrived on the island. She felt the waves push her towards the shore, and the familiar feeling welling up inside of her as she did so. She could sense each and every push and pull of the tides, like it was her own senses that were doing so.
The waves carried Krystal to shore, where she landed on the beach in a crouching position once her tail had disappeared to be replaced by her legs and skirt.
She stood up, smiling, and noticed the shocked looks on the faces of Mayling, England, America, France and even Russia.
Krystal turned around, and saw that Australia, America, Edward and Kumajirou were soaked.
Krystal giggled sheepishly. "Oops...sorry..."
They sat around the campfire, eating whatever it was that Mayling and China had made (America had asked what it was, just once, and China had snapped at him) and making small talk, like the weather and wondering what Ranger was doing right now.
"Probably harassing that girl you left him with." Said Krystal.
"Umm, Krystal, that was a guy..." Australia sweatdropped.
The other nations did too. "Poor Poland..." Somebody muttered.
Krystal just stared at them, before finishing her meal in silence. This place is weird. She decided. She stood up. "Well, I'm gonna go for a quick swim before bed."
"You can't, ma cheri!" France wailed. "You must wait an hour before swimming after eating!"
"That's an old wives' tale." Mayling rolled her eyes, also setting down her bowl.
By this stage, everybody else had finished, too.
England said: "China, be a dear and wash the dishes for us."
China looked shocked. "Wha...?!"
"Yes, and be sure not to get a splinter, mon ami!" France added, leaning back against a rock.
China began to look furious, but Mayling beat him to it. She stood up, and glared down at France and England. "China is not your slave! He cooked dinner for you, and you didn't even say thank you to him, and he's your ally, for crying out loud!" She grabbed France by the arm and dragged the startled nation up, before doing the same thing to England. "You two haven't been doing anything all day, and you've got arms and legs, so get to the river and start washing up!" She threw the empty bowls at them.
Canada was shocked, as he watched the angry Asian lady yell, and even more surprised when France and England actually obeyed her. "Sh-she's scary when she gets angry, eh...?"
America, of course, was laughing. "Hahaha, that sure showed them!"
Mayling gave him an icy look. "You, Mr. Can't-Read-A-Map, are going to go out with Australia to look for more fire-wood." She told him, pointing towards the jungle.
America looked shocked for a second, and seemed about to protest, when Australia grabbed him by the arm and dragged him away in the direction his citizen was pointing, recognizing the cold look in said citizen's eyes.
"And you, Canada," Mayling turned to the suddenly frightened nation. Mayling's tone softened. "Could you please watch Krystal, and make sure she doesn't get eaten by a shark?"
Canada nodded, and bolted, probably afraid that she was going to start yelling again.
Mayling sighed, and sat down next to China again. He was looking at her, somewhat in awe.
"How do you do that, aru?" He asked her. "I've been trying to get them to listen to me for years..."
Mayling shrugged. "I had plenty of practice with the boys at school. One time, a boy was annoying Krystal and I, so I slammed a book down on his hand."
China's eyes sparkled. "What kind of book?"
"A dictionary."
The two Asians looked at each other for a moment, before they started laughing.
Out on the beach, Canada watched Krystal swim towards an estuary. Remembering what Mayling had said about sharks, he decided to follow the mermaid...
It started out simply enough. Australia asked America a simple question, and it led to something much, much more than that...
"Whoa, mate, how did you get so strong?" Australia asked America, impressed that the other nation was able to carry a massive stack of wood all by himself. Not that Australia couldn't do it, too, but he didn't feel the need to show off his strength the way America needed to.
America laughed. "Of course! I have to be strong! There's nobody as strong as I am!"
"I'll bet you ten bucks you're wrong."
"Deal. Nobody's stronger than the hero." America grinned.
"The hero, huh?" Australia sighed. "I see..."
"Yup, I save the day when nobody else can, and do things that they couldn't achieve in their wildest dreams!" America proclaimed.
"Is that so?" Australia stopped walking.
"Huh?" America turned around, and noticed the blue lines of gloom around his friend. "Hey, dude, what's up?"
"I was just thinking about...her..." Australia averted his gaze.
America tilted his head to one side. "Who?"
"...Emma..."
America blinked. "Well...why?"
"Because she's my citizen and she's in danger, mate!" Australia exclaimed. "If you'd seen the way she looked at me when she was being captured by that bloody Jap...with her big, yellow eyes...and the way she called out my name...she's got, like, a singer's voice or something, it was beaut...I mean, she was distressed, and it showed..." He sighed. "I just..."
"But, dude, you hardly even know her." America pointed out.
"I know that, that's what I'm saying!" Australia replied. "I want to rescue her so that I can get to know her, but I don't think I'll be able to do it..."
"No problem, dude!" America threw the logs he was carrying up into the air, and saluted. "Just leave everything to the hero! I'll do whatever it takes so that you can become friends with that one girl!" He caught all the logs again, and turned around, walking off and whistling his national anthem.
Australia stared after him for a moment, before walking after him. The word of America was a promise, but...America had missed the point entirely!
A few feet away, and hidden by a moderate layer of jungle leaves, England and France had heard the whole thing, as they knelt by the deep river and washed the dishes.
"B-bloody Hell..." England muttered, though that might've been because he'd just gotten a splinter in his finger. "They're talking about this now, in the middle of a war?!"
"And what about you, Angleterre?" France winked at him.
"What about me?!" England snapped, just as a head of golden-brown hair appeared from the river's water, followed by Krystal.
She swum up to a shocked England, and said: "Did you just get a splinter, England?" She took his hand in hers, and carefully removed the splinter with her long fingernails. "There you go!" She said.
Since England seemed to have lost the power of speech, France said: "My, my, ma cheri, you certainly seem to be helpful..." He had noticed England blushing, and thought it was classic.
"Helpful's my middle name!" Krystal replied, smiling, and then she paused. "Well, actually, it's Antoinette, after the French Queen..." She shrugged, and then flipped back into the deeper part of the river, the moonlight shimmering off her scales.
England and France stared after her as she decided to explore further upstream.
"You like her?" England muttered to France.
"Oui." France replied numbly.
"You stay away from her." England replied, and France glared at him.
But, before an all-out fight could ensue, Canada came sprinting through the trees, startling France.
"Have...you...seen...Krystal?!" Canada panted, holding onto poor Kumajirou like a life-line, he was that puffed out. Mon Dieu, that girl can swim FAST!
France nodded. "Oui, she swam past here il ya un instant..."
"Who are you talking to, frog?" England wanted to know.
"To mon cher, Canada." France replied, dragging his former charge back into visibility. "What is the matter?" He asked, noticing the look on the glasses-wearing nation's face.
"T-Tunbear..." Canada stammered, getting his pet's name wrong again. "Told...me...there's...s-something in the w-water up...up stream!"
"Like what?" England and France asked in unison, just as Krystal's scream pierced the air.
"Nǐ yǒu fēicháng hǎo de yǎnjīng..." China said to Mayling suddenly, startling the Malaysian girl completely.
She turned to look at him, feeling a blush creep up on her face. "I...I do...?" She wanted to know, wondering why she was even asking, and why she was stammering, and why she was blushing.
China nodded. "Mmhmm. They look like qiǎokèlì..."
Mayling gulped. They did? Wait, why was he saying that to her? Mayling had never considered herself to be attractive in any way, really...she was not athletic or graceful like Krystal, or cute and petite like Emma...she was just...average. But, now, here was China telling her that her eyes looked like chocolate...
How was she supposed to respond to that?
Mayling tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, and said, softly: "You know...nobody's ever said anything like that to me before...nobody has ever really liked my looks before..." She admitted.
China seemed surprised. "A? Why not? You are very piàoliang...your looks are just exotic, aru..."
Mayling's blush grew. Nobody had ever said that to her before. They'd used other words instead: words like slanty-eyes and yellow-skin.
But, to hear the one that represented the entire nation of China telling her that she was beautiful, well...a strange, new feeling welled up inside of Mayling, but she refused to let it blossom...of course she wouldn't look weird to China, and he probably said that to all the girls...Mayling didn't know, she didn't know him that well yet. She'd yelled at him today when he'd attempted to cook a fish before killing it, and barely refrained from slapping him when he said that the fish didn't have any feelings. She was glad that Krystal hadn't been there to hear that...hey, where was Krystal, anyway?
As America and Australia returned with the fire wood, and Mayling stood up slowly, brushing the sand off her skirt, they all heard a scream that they recognized instantly as Krystal's, and all of them looked horrified towards the jungle, where the scream had come from.
Mayling was mortified - she'd been sitting her flirting with China, and Krystal was out there getting attacked by a river shark!
No...not a shark, but a...
Krystal appeared at the entrance to the estuary, swimming as fast as she possibly could.
Behind her, was the largest reptile Mayling had ever seen - a Saltwater Crocodile. It was swimming after Krystal, who seemed unable to get herself out of the water at that stage, since the croc was right on her tail.
Canada, England and France bolted out of the jungle, as Australia shouted: "Check out the size of that Croc!"
"Stop gawking over it and start killing it!" Mayling yelled.
"I thought you cared about animals, aru." China gave her the classic narrowed-eyes look.
"Yeah, well, not when they want to make a meal out of my best friend." Mayling replied, and then screamed: "Krystal, LOOK OUT!"
Krystal turned, and jumped over the croc as it lunged forwards to bite her. It rolled, however, and its hind leg came up. The claws scratched into Krystal's stomach, and everyone gasped, which couldn't be heard over Krystal's yell of pain.
"Hang on, love!" England cried, running towards the waves.
"No, England, you cannot swim!" China grabbed his arm.
"I'll go!" Mayling ran forwards and onto the rocks near the water, despite the yells of protests from the nations.
"No, Mayling!"
"Don't do it, dudette!"
"You'll get eaten alive, ma cheri!"
Mayling was not about to stand by and watch her best friend get eaten by a crocodile! Something akin to anger welled up inside of her, centered in her chest, where a soft green glow suddenly burst forth from her necklace.
The glow spread across Mayling's collar-bone, onto both her shoulders and down both of her arms. She felt the rumble of the ground around her, and sensed it when some of the rocks disconnected from terra firma. She felt the power welling up in her hands, and firmly aimed them at the crocodile. They hit the beast, which thrashed and rolled, and then looked towards Mayling.
With a steely glint in its eyes, it lunged towards her, but she leapt out of the way, and caught sight of its tail. Concentrating on this feeling within her, which she now realised must have been how Krystal felt whenever she used her powers, Mayling picked up the croc by its tail, and easily swung it around her head a few times, much to the shock of the nations.
"Looks like you owe me ten bucks, mate." Australia muttered to America, who looked stunned.
France and England were helping Krystal out of the water and, for once, the independent lady did not argue. She clutched her bleeding stomach.
Mayling released the croc, which flew about three hundred meters away, and in the ocean.
"I hope a shark eats you!" Mayling shouted to it, dusting off her hands.
Jīngrén... China thought, as Mayling turned around, and the glow returned to her necklace, but stayed in her hands. It's no wonder her name means 'beautiful' and 'smart'...
Mayling hurried over to Krystal, as France and England laid her out on the sand.
"M-Mayling..." Krystal smiled up at her best friend, despite her pale face. Blood seeped through her fingers. "You...got your powers! That's so cool!"
Mayling nodded. "Mmhmm." She then focused on Krystal's wound, gently prying the brunette's trembling fingers away from her stomach, where a deep gash was revealed, much to everyone's horror.
Inspecting the wound, something told Mayling to place her hands over the wound, and so she did. At once, the green glow spread, turning the blood a strange brownish-colour, as greenish-yellow sparkles appeared around the center of the wound. It reflected off of Mayling's glasses, as the wound on Krystal's stomach closed itself up, and her face slowly returned to its normal colour.
Everyone was shocked, as the green glow disappeared, and Krystal sat up slowly. She glanced at her stomach, and then at Mayling, before throwing her arms around her best friend's neck.
"Ssh, shh, it's okay..." Mayling soothed, her heart pounding from what she had just done. I...I don't believe it! I can control Earth!
America and Australia were disappointed that they hadn't gotten a chance to wrestle with the crocodile, but England had a warning for Krystal.
"Next time, make sure you have someone spotting you." England told her firmly, although he had secretly been freaking out that Krystal was going to get eaten by that crocodile!
Krystal gave him a Look. "Canada was watching me, but then we lost each other..."
"Who?"
"CANADA!"
Out in the ocean, the crocodile was injured, and then something bumped into it - a Great White Shark.
It wasn't much of a battle. The shark bit the crocodile from underneath, and that was the end of that.
Or, was it?
Something suddenly struck the shark in the eye, before traveling straight through its skull and out the other side, killing it.
The two dead animals sunk slowly to the bottom of the sea, as the third attacker surfaced for air.
"That was fun!" Russia smiled. "I wonder what's next...?"