Chapter Five

The plane hit the ground, sliding. Luckily, it was still in one piece…at least, for now…

The awkward American and the Awesome Prussian firmly gripped the wheels and held their feet down on the brakes. Their faces had worried looks on them and they gritted their teeth in determination.

"We gotta live through this, Gilbert!" Alfred cried to his co-pilot. "If we do, I'll take you out for dinner! My treat!"

The German looked at him, surprised that he remembered his awesome name. Of course he would remember his awesome name! And did he just ask him out? O.o…He grinned. "Ja," he agreed. "Ve vill! I still have many ozer countries to conquer, Americon!"

"Whatever, Dude! Me, too!" Alfred agreed, somewhat.

They turned back to the situation. And realized the plane was slowing down! They started to grin and laugh in triumph.

"HAHAHA!" Alfred laughed. "Suck it, Loser Jet!"

Gilbert glared at him. He stole his line! "Vhatever…Dude.."

"AAAHHAAA!" Alfred laughed again.

Then their grins faded as the plane tilted to the side! They had hit something and they lost the right landing gear!

"AAHHHH!" Alfred's laugh turned into sobs and screams.

"Don't relax, just yet, Americon…" he forgot his name, though. "Ve're not over zis just yet!"

"Right on, Dude! Time to be a Hero!" Alfred agreed.

Gilbert rolled his eyes. He changed his mind too much. "Ve've lost ze right landing gear…"

"MOMMY!" Alfred screamed as he gripped the steering wheel tighter. "How can you be so confident and calm?!"

"I'm not," Gilbert admitted. "It's ze beer…"

"OH MY Effin-"

"SILENCE!" Gilbert shouted. "Focus!"

"OH, YOU ARE SO RIGHT!" Alfred shouted back.

After a few intense moments of shock and fear, the plane finally came to a stop. It had caused a drench behind it. The passengers slowly climbed out of their seats and some had to be pried out like Feliciano.

"We…survived?" asked May-Ling in disbelief.

"Si," said Antonio. "Ai yai yai…"

"Get off of me!" shouted Arthur as he pushed Francis off of him.

The Frenchman was still crying, but now it was tears of joy. "Call ze ambulance! I broke a nail!"

"Did you see that?!" shouted Alfred. "WHOO HOO! I JUST LANDED AN EFFIN JET PLANE! TIME TO BRAG!"

Gilbert took a deep breath and sighed. He started to smile.

"Don't celebrate just yet," Ludwig opened the door to the cockpit. "I need to talk to you, Gilbert…" He gestured his index finger in a 'come here' way.

"Well, while you two are catching up," Alfred took off his seat belt, and got out of his seat. "I have a date with a certain brunette…" He walked out to retrieve the flight attendant's digits.

"Vhat do you zink you are doingk?" asked the younger German brother.

Gilbert smiled. "Just being awesome…"

"You realize now ve are both disqualified…" Ludwig started.

"Nein," Gilbert smirked. "You are representing vest, Vest. I am representing ze awesome East."

Ludwig blinked a moment. "I did not know zhat vas alloved…"

"Vell, it is, so suck it, Loser!" Gilbert started to laugh.

"ZHAT DOESN'T EXCUSE YOU, DUMMKOFT! Poor Muder cried her eyes out when she found out!"

Gilbert stared at him in sorrow. "…"

"Zhat's right," Ludwig continued. "Und Vater…vould be disappointed…"

"Oh, is that all?" asked Gilbert, unemotional.

Ludwig narrowed his eyes at him. "You need help, you know zhat?"

"Check the pilots," Gilbert said, calmly, as he got out his seat.

Ludwig bent down to check the co-pilot's pulse. It was gone…"He's dead…I don't know vhy…"

"Typical…" said Gilbert, after looking at the Captain. "Zis one hit his head und had a concussion…"

"Vell, I don't how he died so suddenly," Ludwig stated, as he still knelt next to the co-pilot. "I guess ve'll never know…"

A paramedic came in and asked if they were ok. "Thanks for saving all these people," he though both of them had landed the jet.

"Vell, I-" Ludwig started, but Gilbert interrupted him.

"Just being awesome…" Gilbert smiled.

"We're just lucky you guys were on the plane," the paramedic smiled back.

"Hey!" Alfred shouted. "I helped!"

"Sure, Buddy…" the paramedic helped Gilbert out.

"Vhat are you-?" asked Gilbert.

"We need to check you for anything wrong," the paramedic stated.

"Nozing is vrong viz me! I am awsum!"

Ludwig sighed and followed.

"But…I'm the Hero…" Alfred mumbled in disappointment.

"Oh, I think I have wet my pants…" Kiku mumbled as he was pried out of his seat.

"I thinking we are lucky duckies…" Ivan smiled.

May-Ling sighed, with her eyes closed. "Thank the ancestors…"


The scene was a sight. Ambulances, fire trucks, police cars, and the news vans were all around. The AWC representatives were all being checked on. "I'm fine," they all said.

"…A plane has crash-landed just outside Monte Carlo… " the woman reporter told the camera. "Two fatalities have been reported, 7 wounded. The cause of the crash is not yet confirmed, but two brave passengers are believed to be the ones who saved the lives of over a dozen people…"

Gilbert liked the attention of the photographers and news crew as they surrounded him and asked him about the flying and landing. "Sure, I've done it a hundred times," he just quoted the late Captain. "I knev somezingk vas vrong after we hit ze air pockets. I just have my grandvazer to zank."

"No comment.." Ludwig waved them off.

"Is it true you two are brothers?" asked a woman from the crowd.

Gilbert put his arm around Ludwig's shoulders and smirked, "Ja! He's my bro-ha!"

More flashes went off and they gathered closer. They all started to talk.

"Stupid paparazzi.." Alfred mumbled, as he walked past. "At least I have a date!"

"What's your name again?" asked the flight attendant he had saved earlier.

"James Dean," he lied.

"I really thought I wasa gonna die!" Feliciano told another reporter.

"I know 'im," Francis smiled and gestured towards the crowed Prussian and Western German.

"I'm just glad to be alive. Mi Amigo saved my life!" Antonio told the camera.

"I was praying to ancestors and they sent the crazy American!" May-Ling cried.

"…So there you have it, Folks. A crazy crash-landing in Monte Carlo…" the reporter smiled. "You heard it here on AWC first, back to you, Kurt."

A Representative from the AWC approached the Representatives of the countries.

"Thank goodness you are all in one piece!" he breathed in relief. "I thought we wouldn't have a Challenge this year!"

"You can stuff it down your throat!" Ludwig spat.

"I'm guessing you didn't actually read the letter?" he asked. "It said all through the Challenges, your life would be in constant danger…"

Ludwig pulled the man's collar and shouted, "ze 'Challenges' haven't started!"

"Have they?" the man asked. He smirked.

"Vhat?" Ludwig blinked.

"The Challenges started the moment you accepted the letter…" he explained. "No one said anything about an opening ceremony or how to do these things…" he grinned.

"Go to Hell," Ludwig pushed him away, and continued on.

"You might want to know your next Challenge…" he stated, without turning around.

Ludwig stopped.

"There are no rules, and everyone's out for themselves…so I understand. You want to do this on your own…""

"Vhat is it?" Ludwig had no choice but to listen. He turned around.

"The Representatives usually like to go at it alone, but I hear they form teams to kill off the competition.."

"Zis is Ludacris…" the German replied. "I didn't sign up for anozer var!"

"It's life," the man replied. He turned to face the German. "The name's Kurt. I'm…a representative of the AWC."

Ludwig shouted, "ve're not here to entertain you sick people!"

"I'm afraid it's not just that…we have people to pay, as well.."

"Bastard…" Ludwig's grip tightened in his hand.

"This year, we just happen to have the old teams from WWII!" Kurt smiled. "You know, the Axis Powers!"

Ludwig looked up at the man. Grandvazer told me all about ze Axis Powers…Italy, Germany, and…Japan…come to zink of it..I saw zem all on ze plane… he sighed. Looks like I vill have to keep an eye on that Dummkopf Italian, after all…"

"Fine…" he agreed. "I vill do it…"

"Splendid! Just sign here," Kurt held out a paper and pen. "By the way…" he said as the German signed. "The co-pilot died from a heart attack…what a cowinky dink, huh?"

Ludwig thought that was too crazy to be true…He couldn't help but think that they were somehow expendable to the AWC…like it was set up…and the co-pilot seemed too young to have a heart attack…nothing he could do about it…even if it were true…he had no proof…

The Representatives all signed and formed teams. For the first time since WWII, the Axis Powers, the Allied Forces, and the Austrian Succession Team would be fighting once again.

Their destination: Mount Everest, the Himalayas.

"I'm not getting back on planes…" Antonio mumbled.

"I cannot believe I have to fight wif you…" May-Ling mumbled to Alfred.