Chapter 9
Ludwig Beilschmidt stormed out of the mostly-deserted meeting room, silently cursing the world, God, and his idiot of a brother.
Verdammt... Even when that idiot isn't in the room, he still finds ways to interrupt our meetings...
Germany sighed and ran a hand through his hair as he stalked past the elevator towards the stairs, his eyes tightening as he remembered the loud shouting from below that had interrupted England's speech about global warming in Wales and had sent Romano into a cursing fit when a frightened Italy decided to cling to him like a wet cat. Add to that France's unexplained laughing fit, Spain's hangover, Poland's rant on pink sheep, and Russia's disappearance from the room after Belarus poked him in the stomach with a knife and... Well, there just wasn't any point to the meeting anymore, was there? Not unless he tied all of the insane nations to their chairs and gagged them...
Gott, I'd be the only nation able to speak... Germany mused, his blue eyes suddenly wistful.
The German heaved a low sigh as he left the relative silence of the stairwell, his eyebrows furrowing in frustration when he heard the unmistakeable sound of his brother's nervous laughter echoing down the hallway.
"Kesesese~ C'mon, can't you guys take a joke anymore? You're so unawesome..."
"Ich werde in töten (I'll kill him)," Ludwig growled under his breath.
"...V-ve... fratello? It's really dark in here..."
"Shut up, will you?"
"It's darrrkkkkk!"
"Do you want to get arrested? Now, shut up!"
"Smettere di urlare! (Stop yelling!)"
"Hör 'auf ein Idiot! (Stop being an idiot!)"
Ludwig slowed to a stop, his icy blue eyes zeroing in on an inconspicuous doorway in the middle of the hall. He sighed again before creeping towards the door, his fingers hovering over the pistol stowed in the jacket of his suit.
Gott, how many more idiots will I have to deal with today?
Alyson Eleanor Kirkland-Jones crouched in the middle of some random hallway, her hands braced against her bent knees as she struggled to catch her breath.
"God... Damn... Fairies..." she wheezed. "Freaking... Lousy... Navigators..."
"That's not nice, Aly," a bright green fairy whined, her delicate features turned down into a pout as she hovered in front of the girl's face.
Alyson growled and swatted half-heartedly at the creatured, her breath coming out in a low huff when the movement accidentally knocked her glasses askew. She sighed and straightened, her fingertips brushing against the wire frames in an effort to center them on the bridge of her nose. She hesitated for a moment before setting off down the hall, pointedly ignoring the small fairy that was bobbing along next to her head as she feverishly ran her hands through her ruffled hair and tried to force the golden mess back up into a ponytail.
"Geez, do all of these doors look the same?" Alyson whined.
"You could try that one!" the green fairy suggested cheerfully, her needle-thin finger pointed towards a pair of thick wooden double doors.
"After that stunt you pulled on the stairwell? Not very likely," Alyson huffed.
"I didn't do anything!" the fairy grumbled.
"You told me to jump over the railing!"
"It wasn't that far up!"
"It was fifty fucking feet above the ground! Plus we lost Achilles when you told me to go through that door a few floors back. What the hell were you thinking then?"
"Um..."
"BLOODY HELL, STOP RANTING ABOUT HAMBURGERS YOU GIT!"
Alyson skidded to a halt and stared wide-eyed at the fairy. The green creature shrugged, her eyes tightening in a wince as an obnoxious laugh echoed down the hall from one of the closed doors.
"HAHAHAHA! Dude, calm down, Iggy! It's not my fault that my cooking is better than yours~."
"You don't even cook, you wanker! You buy it from those damned fast food restaurants!"
"Hey! Don't go slamming McDonald's! I know for a fact that you have some in your cities!"
"T-That's- I don't- That doesn't mean I like the food! It's... It's occasionally convenient... And it's still better than yours!"
"Ha! You wouldn't know good food if it bit you in the ass!"
"I suppose you would know, wouldn't you?"
"Honhonhon~ Perhaps that is a little too much information, mon cher Angleterre? (My dear England)"
"I agree, aru!"
"Stay out of this, frog!"
"Aw, don't be such a prude, China!"
Alyson raised her eyebrows and slowly inched towards the noise, her brow furrowing when she noticed that it was coming from the thick double doors that the fairy had pointed out earlier. The fairy smirked smugly before disappearing in a small puff of glitter.
Let me know how you make out, Aly~
"Fairy bastards," Alyson grumbled sourly. She hesitated for a moment before slowly pushing the door open, her emerald eyes widening in alarm when a hamburger immediately flew over her head and slammed into the wall behind her with a dull squish.
Two blonde men stood on opposite ends of the room, apparently oblivious to the variety of over men and women that were half-sitting, half-hiding under a large oval-shaped table that took up most of the room's area. She bit back a gasp of recognition when she recognized one of the men as Prussia's friend from the club- was it France? Eh, it was one of those countries...- sprawled casually towards the one blonde, his hand inching dangerously close to the ass of a flushed Asian man with a ponytail at the nape of his neck.
"Will you stop throwing hamburgers, you idiot?" one of the blondes yelled, his emerald eyes flashing furiously beneath his abnormally-large eyebrows as another piece of fast food flew past his head of messy gold hair to splatter against the wall.
The other blonde, his sky-blue eyes glittering mischievously behind the wiry frames of his glasses. One lone strand of hair stuck out of the top of his wheat-colored hair, its tip bobbing up and down as the man seemed to bounce from foot to foot.
"Never!" he crowed triumphantly. "Hamburgers rock!"
"Stop throwing that, dammit!"
Alyson yelped and dodged another hamburger that had gone astray, her eyes widening in alarm when she caught sight of a mint-colored winged bunny floating behind the green-eyed blonde, the tip of its trembling black nose dangerously close to the latest hamburger that was now flying through the air...
"Hey, wait a minute!" Alyson yelled with out thinking, her legs unconsciously carrying her into the middle of the room. "You almost hit that bunny!"
The blue-eyed blonde stared at her, a new hamburger already perched in his hand. Behind her, Alyson heard a sharp gasp from the other blonde as she continued to address them, her cheeks reddening with a sudden nervousness as she realized that everyone in the room was staring at her.
"U-uh, I mean, you almost hit him and it's, like, really hard to get hamburger out of your hair and stuff," she ranted nervously, her emerald eyes flickering wildly between the two blondes as they continued to stare at her. "You know, Cielo threw food at me once, 'cept it was pizza so it wasn't as meaty, but still. The sauce was murder to get out of my hair 'cause it's so thick and stuff and it get's really tangled and messy when I don't brush it enough, which is really annoying and-"
"Honhonhon~ It seems you have your mother's hair, peu Alyson (little Alyson)," France piped up cheerfully from underneath the table. "N'aves-vous pas d'accord, l'Angleterre?"
"Dude, I told you, I don't speak French-" Alyson whined.
"...He was asking me if I agreed," the green-eyed blonde broke in hoarsely, his brilliant emerald eyes still locked intently on Alyson's. Alyson stared at him, suddenly struck by how similar their eyes were... And their hair, too, come to think of it...
"You're just missing glasses, right?" she whispered to him. "Then we'd be, like, twins..."
The man chuckled, his eyes suddenly wet with tears. "You can thank your father for the glasses, Alyson."
"Sorry," the other blonde called softly, his lips curving upwards into a watery smile. "I guess you can't help genetics."
Alyson smiled hesitantly, her fingers drumming nervously against the sides of her jeans.
"... You guys wouldn't happen to be my parents, would ya?" she asked timidly.
"Depends," the blue-eyed blonde laughed. "Is your name Alyson Eleanor Kirkland-Jones?"
"Y-yeah."
The man laughed again and bounded forward, his arms wrapping around Alyson's shoulders in a bone-crushing hug. After a moment, the other blonde came forward as well, his hand pressing gently against the tangled locks of his daughter's golden hair.
"Damn, we sure have a good-looking kid, Artie," Alfred F. Jones croaked.
Arthur Kirkland smiled and nodded in agreement, a single tear slowly making its way down his cheek.
"Of course we did," he growled happily. "She's ours."
"...I swear to God, Cisco, if you don't shut up right now."
"Ve~ Why are you always so mean, fratello?"
"I'm not mean, idiot! If someone hears us-"
"But I wouldn't we know if someone was walking nearby?"
"We won't be able to hear them if you keep talking!"
The doorknob moved.
Magnus and Francisco Vargas-Beilschmidt immediately fell silent, their identical blue eyes locked on the door as it slowly inched open and spilled blinding light into the inky darkness of the closet. The twins blinked in the sudden light, their muscles tensing at the same time when they caught sight of a large blonde man looming over them, his stern blue eyes glaring down at them. Magnus inched in front of his twin without a word, his expression just daring the stranger to make a move...
Ludwig froze, his eyes locking immediately on the two pairs of bright blue eyes that stared back at him in fear and determination. He glanced quickly towards the tops of their heads, his lips parting slightly when he caught sight of two small curls that poked out of the right sides of the boys' heads.
Magnus hesitated and shrank back, his skin prickling in unease and anticipation at the sudden softness in the stranger's eyes. For a brief moment, he saw another blonde man standing over him, heard the thick German accent whispering to him, telling him to go to bed, reading fairy tales, gently tossing him a small ball...
Francisco gasped and scrambled forward until he was beside his brother, his slim fingers tugging insistently at Magnus's sleeve.
"V-ve... He has our eyes, fratello," the Italian murmured in awe.
Without a word, the blonde man bent and pulled the twins into his arms, his stern expression crumpling into one of pain, sorrow, and inexpressible joy. Magnus trembled as those strong arms curled around him protectively, his eyes closing in an effort to hold back the tears that rose immediately into his eyes. He heard Francisco choke on a sob and felt his brother's hair brush against his shoulder as the other twin buried his head in their father's shoulder. Magnus simply wrenched his eyes open and stared at the man in front of him, trying to memorize his face just in case he disappeared again.
"Ve~ Ludwig?"
The twins pulled away from their father and glanced over his shoulder towards the new voice, their mouths falling open into identical "O"s when they caught sight of the kindly-looking brunette that was peeking into the closet, his delicate features furrowed into a confused frown.
Ludwig chuckled and drew back as well, his eyes never leaving the two teens' in front of him.
"Feliciano," he called quietly. "I'm sorry, but... They still have my eyes."
Italy stared at his German lover for a full minute, dawning comprehension and disbelief warring for dominance in his youthful features. With a loud cry, the Italian launched himself at his family, his thin arms struggling to wrap around all three of them at once as he buried a tear-stained face in Francisco's silky auburn hair. Francisco sniffled and promptly burst into tears as well, causing Magnus to stiffen and instinctively jerk away. Magnus glanced up sheepishly at his father, a timid smile tugging at the corner of his lips when he caught sight of Germany's own discomfort.
"...Ich hätte nicht gedacht, dass Siewirklich waren (I didn't think that you were real)," he croaked.
Ludwig gritted his teeth, his blue eyes softening as he bent to press a small kiss to his son's forehead.
"Ich weiß wie du dich fühlst (I know how you feel)," Germany replied quietly.
The meeting room was largely silent and organized for the first time in the history of the world as the countries took in the awed and nervous faces of the six teens that were scattered around the table with their respective parents and families. China and most of the Asians had gathered in a protective ring around Japan and Greece's sleepy son, while Turkey struggled to edge closer to the teen despite the warning glares of Greece and Egypt. France had smugly seated himself in beside a flushed Canada while Russia winced over Ukraine's endless cooing over her shy niece, who was currently clutching Kumajiro in her thin arms.
Romano had wandered over to look at his two nephews with a reluctant half-smile, his hand still clasped tightly in his son's grip. Spain and Italy were busy comparing their respective children, occasionally giggling happily over how similar their children were to their parents. Prussia- still sporting a black eye from his run in with the guards- was sprawled across one end of the meeting table, his booted feet dangling dangerously close to an annoyed-looking Austria and Switzerland. Meanwhile, America and his daughter continued their argument over which type of fast food was the most satisfying- at the moment, they seemed to be caught between french fries and milkshakes. England stood behind his child, an unusually-fond smile gracing his lips as he informed his absent siblings of the morning's latest developments.
Germany watched all of the nations through slightly-narrowed blue eyes, his lips twitching upwards into another smile when Italy pulled their sons into yet another hug, earning a surprised yelp from Magnus. He sat back in his seat for a moment, allowing himself to enjoy a rare moment where nothing chaotic was occurring-
"KATERINA!"
….And, there went the peaceful moment.
The other occupants of the room straightened in their seats at the sound of the shout, their eyes trained intently on the doors to the meeting room as the sounds of heavy footsteps drew closer. The Asians immediately drew closer to Kiku and his son, while Russia motioned for the reluctant Baltics, Belarus, and Poland to take protective stances in front of his daughter, his lead pipe already held loosely in his hand. Germany sighed and shot a wary glance at Prussia, who merely shook his head in confusion as the footsteps stopped and gave way to a furious pounding on the heavy wooden doors.
"KATERINA IVANOVA BRAGINSKI-WILLIAMS! OUVREZ CETTE PORTE SACRÉMENT EN CE MOMENT! (Open this damn door right now!)"
"Marc-kun, please try and restrain yourself-"
"KATERINA!"
Katerina winced and sent a sheepish glance towards her alarmed parents, her flushed cheeks buried in Kumajiro's brilliant white fur. Achilles slowly straightened across the room, his soft brown eyes blinking slowly beneath his mussed chocolate-brown hair.
"... Oh good, they caught up," he murmured quietly, immediately drawing the attention of the rest of his family.
"Who, aru?" China demanded warily, his wok suddenly appearing out of nowhere.
"M-Marc and S-Saichi," Katerina mumbled. "L-looks like t-they're angry..."
"Ich habe dir gesagt... (I told you)," Magnus muttered, earning himself a sharp smack from Cielo.
The hammering on the door paused for a moment, the sudden silence making several of the nations shiver.
"Like, isn't this Marc kid Russia's other kid?" Poland muttered mutinously. "I guess he, like, got the psycho genes in the family."
Lithuania whimpered and cast a hasty glance over his shoulder towards the giant Russian, who was now smiling sweetly at the oblivious Pole while Ukraine discreetly moved Katerina several inches away.
The door suddenly shattered, sending several shards of wood flying towards the faces of unsuspecting countries... who promptly dove underneath the meeting table as the slim form of a young Japanese girl appeared in the doorway, her thin hands folded tightly around the handle of a baseball bat. She blinked slowly and calmly took in the other occupants of the room, her moss-green eyes flashing with the first hints of anger when she caught sight of Achilles surrounded by a ring of strangers.
"Achilles-" she began, her quiet voice fading into the background when a second teen stormed into the room, his violet eyes practically glowing with fury beneath messy platinum-blond hair, his hands curled into fists at his sides.
The boy came to a halt several feet from the doorway, his eyes zeroing in on Katerina with an intensity that reduced Lativa into a sniffling mess and sent Poland diving for safety behind a trembling Lithuania.
"Katerina..." the boy growled, his expression lightening with relief despite the fury that remained in his eyes. "Donne-moi une seule bon raison je ne devrais pas te teur tout de suite. (Give me one good reason why I shouldn't murder you right now)"
"Брат ... Пожалуйста, успокоиться, (Brother... Please calm down)" the Russian girl sighed, her purple eyes flickering anxiously towards the dumbfounded expressions of her parents. "There was... someone that I needed to meet, and-"
"Oui!" Marc snarled. "I suppose you couldn't have, oh, I don't know, told me what you were doing? Dieu, savez-vous comment j'ai été inquiet, petite sœur? (God, do you know how worried I was, little sister?)" he groaned, his expression softening into one of fond exasperation.
Russia chuckled suddenly and clapped a firm hand on the cowering Poland's shoulder, causing the blonde country to yelp.
"He may be my son, but he is very much like Matvey, da?" the Russian murmured.
Marc stiffened and looked around, suddenly seeming to realize that there were other people in the room. He stared back and forth between Canada and Russia for a long moment, his teeth digging into the skin of his bottom lip.
"Dieu," he croaked. "Mon Dieu... Dieu... M-mon Dieu..."
The two countries simply smiled and took a few cautious steps towards their son. Marc took a few shaky steps back, his head bent as tears began to run down his cheeks.
"I-I- Je suis... désolé... Oh my God, I'm so sorry..." he gasped.
Canada's brow furrowed in confusion and concern as he stepped forward, his fingers brushing gently against the shoulders of the teen's worn jacket.
"W-why are you sorry?" he whispered.
"...We didn't come sooner," the Japanese broke in quietly, the briefest flashes of fear and realization appearing in her stoic green eyes as she took in the countries that were huddled around Achilles. "M-Marc-kun always felt guilty..."
"Saichi," Achilles called sleepily. "...Our parents are really nice."
The girl, Saichi, bowed her head and slowly inched towards her brother and their parents, her hands tightening around her bat as the ring of Asians parted to let her through. She hesitated a few feet from Japan and Greece, her suspiciously-bright green eyes flickering demurely to her feet.
"I-I must also beg forgiveness for not looking for you sooner," she whispered shakily. "大変失礼致しました (I am so sorry)... I-I d-didn't watch over my brother like you asked me to. I failed."
"Je n'ai pas réussi trop (I failed as well)," Marc whispered hoarsely.
"Wait... what are you talking about?" America broke in, his cerulean eyes narrowing dangerously behind his glasses. He shot a questioning glance towards Japan, who shook his head in confusion before slowly pulling his daughter towards him in a loose embrace.
"Saichi..." Kiku began, his voice hitching slightly as he spoke his daughter's name for the first time in years. "Please, you don't need to ask for forgiveness..."
Saichi shook her head furiously, her face still lowered in shame.
"Yes I did," she hissed.
"Ve... If Saichi and Marc failed, Magnus and I did, too," Francisco called sadly.
"...Me too," Achilles added, his expression suddenly alert.
"Yeah, ditto," Alyson sighed.
"...I-I d-didn't h-help," Katerina mumbled. "O-only m-made things w-worse..."
"No!" Magnus and Marc growled at the same time. Marc shot the German boy a look before continuing, his violet eyes fierce. "Katenka, nothing was your fault-"
"Stop," Germany interrupted curtly. "What is going on? What happened?"
The eight teens descended into a silence that permeated the room, their eyes darting downwards in near identical motions to stare stubbornly at their feet. France observed the discomfort of his niece and nephew with a sad sort of sympathy, his cornflower-blue eyes meeting Prussia's intense scarlet ones as the albino slowly straightened into a sitting position on the meeting table for the first time since he had entered the room.
The ex-nation sighed and ran a hand through his white hair before reaching out to grip Germany's shoulder, his expression grim.
"Ludwig," he said gently. "They were abused."
Whoa, dude, this is really long... Huh. Oh well, I guess that's okay, right~?
Anyways, sorry that this is a little delayed. And... yeah, nothing really to apologize for... thanks to all of the people who reviewed! You guys rock!
Please continue to tell me what you think, and please continue to pray/think for my speech coach's wife. Thank you!