Ch 4: Cheater? Me?

By: Danny Pic

Hey there! Yeah, this is another "space race" fic. But instead of simply being a race into space, this one is a fanfic with a difference. I'll let you check it out for yourself. Keep in mind, though, that this was still the beginning of the space race. So, as a result, nobody really knows much about the other planets.

Sorry I haven't updated regularly; it's been getting extremely difficult to type up stuff now. I've had essays to do, madness to contain, projects to complete…it's utter madness. And not the fun kind, like dancing mushrooms and cookie spaceships.
Also, be warned that this is where things become a bit different than history records. I know it didn't exactly happen this way, but for this story, it just fit better this way.
Also…I'm sorry I made Russia swear… T^T

I don't own Hetalia: Axis Powers. But I do own…my very first bank account! Woohoo!
…Enjoy!

- - another 2 days later - -

"Well America?"

Russia smirked at his opponent, awaiting his response. Two days ago, Sputnik was launched, and only now had America finally launched a satellite. As far as Russia was concerned, this race was over. The goal of getting into space was completed, and Russia had won.

"It's not over yet, Russia," America replied, folding his arms.

Russia paused, registering what he had just heard. "How is it not over yet?" he asked. "I put satellite into orbit –"

"– the bet," America interrupted, "was to be the first one in space. To be in space – not to put something of yours in space."

Russia paused again, speculating for a moment. Then he nodded, and with a somewhat tense tone, replied, "So race is still on, ~da?"

"Right. I've been preparing to launch myself up into orbit, so you caught me off guard when you had that satellite up…"

"It's ok. So, uh…guess we go now?" Russia asked.
"Sure," America replied. "See ya in space!"

- later -

"Well, looks like everything went along ok!" a happy America stated, finishing a burger.
Canada sipped on a diet soda. "America, are you sure about this?"
"Now that that misunderstanding's out of the way," America continued, "we can get back to serious matters!"

"America, this is serious," Canada said, facing his brother. "Aren't you worried that Russia might take it the wrong way, and accuse you of being a sore loser?"
"Although," America said, "I did tell him this after the race began…he might take it the wrong way, and think I'm just being a sore loser."

Canada sighed in frustration.

"But I'm sure he'll understand," America resumed. "Russia may be a stuck-up, know-it-all jerk, but he's got some common sense. He'll know it was an honest mistake. We've got nothing to worry about!"
"So now, we just have to finish up our rocket! We've already got a retrieval system, and a rocket. So…what'll we do up in space?"

There was a long silence…

…which was punctuated by America's comment, "It'd be cool if we could actually go to another planet, wouldn't it?"
Canada sarcastically replied, in a voice that could only be described as "American", "Ya, dude! Wouldn't it be, like, totally awesome if we went to, like, the Moon or somethin', dude?"
Surprisingly, America turned, fists clenched in excitement, and shouted, "I know! Wouldn't that be totally awesome?"
Canada was about to reply, but stopped before any words came out. "…did you just answer me?" he asked incredulously.
Suddenly, America jumped up and shouted, "That's it! We can go to the Moon!" He began furiously drawing, totally forgetting about his brother.
Canada sighed, and thought, And now, we're back to normal…

- - Meanwhile - -

Russia slammed the door behind him, and threw his coat off – something he never did. Estonia and Lithuania looked up and noticed he was incredibly angry.
"Russia?" Estonia asked, keeping a safe distance away, "What happened?"

"THAT P*&%$!O CHEATER!" yelled the normally pleasant and calm nation. "I can't believe he'd stoop so low! I actually thought he was decent individual, but after that? UGH!"

This time, Lithuania tried to speak. "Who are you talking about, Russia?"

"America! He tells me, 'Oh, I'm sorry! I meant sending person into space, not satellite!' I can't – He basically pulled the 'best-2-out-of-3' excuse on me!"

"Are you sure it wasn't really a mistake?"

"I know America," Russia angrily replied. "Or at least, I thought I knew him. He just can't be happy unless he is winner, can he? He's like a spoiled little brat! I'm so – …"

Russia tensed up, as if he was about to explode; this made the two Baltic states back up further, and find cover behind the couch and under a table. Then, unusually, Russia unclenched his fists, and still somewhat angrily, spoke.
"That's it," he said. "I've had it. I'm not playing his childish little games any longer! It's clear to me now that America isn't serious about learning about world around us; he's only in it for fame, fun, and fortune. Well, we're not going to do that; as of this moment, we are on our own!"

"What are you saying, Russia?" asked a shy Latvia, as he saw Russia going into the planning room.

"I'm saying," Russia said more boldly, "that we of the Soviet Union are now forming our own space program! If America won't take space travel and exploration seriously, then we will. We'll go to Venus on our own, in our own way, without America!"

And with that, the Baltic States joined Russia, and the four of them began to talk about what their new space program would do first…

…

. .Trivia: The Russian Space Program had several other programs before they went to Venus. The Cosmonaut program – Russia's version of Astronauts – was the first to put humans into space. (For this story, however, we're going with the first as being America.) The Lunokhod, or "Moonwalker", program was an interesting one, in being the first program to test the idea of having robotic rovers sent to the Moon – over 30 years before American's sent their first rover to Mars! They actually landed two rovers on the Moon, but since they were launched after Apollo 11, they aren't as well-remembered as the American's achievement. And finally, the Venera program, which takes place in Chapter 5, was the first program to land machines on the surface of another planet, and one of the few programs to actually land on Venus. That, however, will come later.

…

- End of Chapter 4 -

…

A/N: The first part of this chapter never actually happened in history. In reality, the race was simply who could make the next big leap – essentially, an arms race. However, for this particular story, I felt it'd fit better. On another note, I was originally intending to have this scene be part of Chapter 3, but I couldn't figure where a good split would be.

Yeah, I'm messing with the timeline here. I'm skipping the Cosmonaut and Lunokhod programs, and bringing in Vernera. I know it's not really what happened, but it just fits better for the story this way. You'll see in the next chapter.

Anyway, so next chapter, Russia goes to Venus! Stay tuned!