Chapter 10: Mend The Bond

England ran through the woods, hearing the shouts of the countries behind him. He suddenly tumbled down the hill that led to the clearing. The fall had delayed his escape, and he was quickly pinned to the ground by ropes that a couple of the countries had thrown. As they held him down, Germany approached him. He held out his gun, ready to take a shot.

"STOP!"

All the countries turned their heads to see America behind him.

"Don't hurt him! That's England!"

"America! Have you lost your mind?!" exclaimed France.

"I swear I'm telling the truth!"

He then proceeded to tell everyone everything from the witch to the spell to the spellbreaker. Everyone listened with confusion and disbelief.

"Look at him," America told him. "Really look at him. I swear to you that's England."

France walked up to the lion and looked at its face. That's when he recognized a familiar trademark. "Eyes like emeralds," he said. "It is England!"

The countries laid down their weapons and loosened the ropes on the lion.

America sighed with relief that no harm was done. But as he looked up, he gasped as he saw pink and orange colors of the morning sky and the sun's first rays peeking out from the horizon.

"The second sunrise!"

He quickly dragged the tapestry over to the lion and threw it over its shoulders. Then he kneeled down in front of him, expecting some sort of magical transformation to happen immediately.

Nothing.

The sun rose higher. Everyone stood frozen, waiting for a change.

But still nothing.

England looked at America with an expression of sadness and defeat. And as America looked into the lion's eyes, he saw emerald green change to yellow one final time.

"No….I don't understand….I…." But there was nothing to understand. He had failed. England wasn't there, just a lion who looked at him with an empty gaze. England was gone.

America felt a gaping hole in his chest and he couldn't control the tears welling up in his eyes. "England, I'm so sorry," he said, even though it may have seemed pointless to talk to England since this lion wasn't him. "This is all my fault. I did this to you, to us."

The lion gently sniffed his face as America put his arms around its shoulders. America kept crying as memories appeared in his mind. Memories of a man whom he met in a grassy field when he was little and whom he had chosen over France. Memories of a man who held him and sang to him, who comforted him every thunderstorm, who cooked for him, who gave him the toy soldiers. The man who became his big brother.

"You've always been there for me," he cried. "You never gave up on me. I just want you back, England. Please come back…."

The rest of the countries shed a few tears themselves, watching the heartbreaking scene in front of them as the sun rose the rest of the way into the sky. The only sounds were the birds chirping and America crying.

America had his eyes shut and his arms wrapped around England, never wanted to let go. But then, he felt a hand gently touching his back. Not a paw, but a human hand. He opened his eyes and looked up….

….to see England's face in front of him. His pale skin, messy, blonde hair, huge eyebrows, emerald green eyes glistening and a true smile.

America's heart almost burst with happiness. "England! You're back!" He pulled the older country into an enormous hug which England joyfully returned. When they broke away, America looked at him, amazed. "You've changed."

"We both have," England said softly.

All of the countries smiled, happy to see their fellow country back. France rushed out of the group and gave England a big hug, and despite the history of rivalry between them, England returned it.

America suddenly realized something. "Uh, dude?" He pointed to England's bare chest.

England quickly realized he was naked and wrapped the tapestry around him to cover himself. His face turned beet red when he saw everybody looking. "Oi! Show some respect for God's sake! I'm not decent!"

The countries snickered as they looked away; it looked like England was back to his old self.

Most of the countries stayed the same after that day. The Axis Powers went back to their own countries to settle their merger agreements. The biggest change was in America and England. America put more thought into the plans he made for his country instead of making up ludicrous ideas on the spot. On some occasions, he would sometimes ask for advice from the rest of the Allies. England had learned to guard his tongue more carefully and not lash out too often at the Allie's (mostly America's) actions. He gave them a chance to explain their ideas instead of immediately shooting them down and even agreed to help support their ideas, no matter how tsundere he felt about it. Overall, even though they were still countries and they still had their disputes and differences, some strains were at ease and some bonds were stronger than ever.

There can be three lessons to be learned from this story. One would be that you have to be careful with some of choices you make, because they can affect you and the people around you. Another lesson would be that sometimes it's more courageous to swallow your pride and mend the bonds that have been broken. The last lesson would be that fate isn't particularly beyond your command. It lives within you and the choices you make. You only have to be brave enough to see it.

Epilouge

One day, while America was away, Canada was hanging out at his brother's house when the doorbell rang. When he opened the door, he didn't see anyone there. In front of the house, he saw a car attached to a wagon with CDs, cassettes, records, and gadgets in a large pile.

"Hello?"

"Down here!" said a British accented voice.

Canada looked down, and his eyes grew wide at the sight of an asparagus wearing a red bowtie and a monocle standing on the doorstep. He was (somehow) holding a delivery form.

"Would you sign here, please?"

Canada just stood there, staring in awe at the talking vegetable.

"Come on now! We don't have all day!"

End