Hello everyone ^.^ I hope you are enjoying your lives. I hope that this chapter brings you happiness and flowers :3
Shiori Shiomiya: Hurray for Au and NZ
Hurricaneclaw: we'll see my friend, we'll see :/
Enjoy!
"Don't move,"
Ralph froze, not daring to even flinch. He stared at the arrow trained at his heart.
"Put your hands somewhere where I can see them, your friend too," Ralph frowned; the voice wasn't coming from the person wielding the bow, but somewhere above.
Ralph slowly raised his hands, wincing in pain as he moved. The knife was still embedded his chest. He flicked his eyes over to Christian. The younger boy was trembling slightly.
"My colleague is going to lower his weapon, but if you make any move to harm him, I will not hesitate to shoot you," the voice told him calmly.
The man lowered his bow, but kept it drawn. Ralph looked at the man's face, and stifled a gasp when he recognised Alfred Jones.
If Alfred's here then…
Arthur dropped from the branch he had been resting on, a crossbow in his hands. Ralph flinched as the Englishman approached him. He blinked, a wave of dizziness washing over him. He caught himself before he passed out, shaking his head to clear it. He had to keep his identity secret.
"Why aren't you trying to kill us?" he asked warily. Arthur stopped his advanced and stared thoughtfully at Ralph, then Christian, he turned back to Ralph.
"Because I..." Arthur hesitated, "I don't believe that killing innocent people is right."
It was only part of the truth, besides; Ralph knew that Arthur wasn't exactly innocent himself.
Alfred laughed.
"You guys are looking so tense, lighten up," he grinned.
"You'd be tense too if some guys showed up, killed someone with a bow, then aimed said bow at you," retorted Christian. Alfred laughed again, causing Arthur to sigh.
Ralph felt another wave of dizziness wash over him, he swayed.
"R-ralph are you alright?" Christian eyed his brother uncertainly.
Ralph shook his head, and blacked out.
##################################
"Big Brother!"
England turned around and smiled at the young boy.
"Yes Australia?"
Australia pouted, his arms folded over his chest.
"America's picking on me and Kiwi because we're not really nations," Australia explained. England shook his head, reminding himself to tell off his former colony later.
"All the colonies keep fighting and they have these stupid rules," Australia paused and glanced nervously at England, "I really want to become my own country…"
England stiffened, remembering America's war of independence. Australia noticed his pause and continued hurriedly.
"I mean, we would still be mainly under your rule, and your queen would still have say in our rules and such…" Australia trailed off and looked at the ground, "never mind, it was just a little idea…"
England's green eyes regarded the young colony with pity.
"I think we may be able to talk things over with my boss," England began, Australia's head snapped up.
"You mean it!? Thank you big brother!"
"This may not be easy though, and will require a lot of effort and paperwork on your part," Australia's face fell for a second at the thought of paperwork, but he soon brightened up again.
"Don't worry! I'll make it worth it!" Australia exclaimed.
England smiled..
England winced in pain. His people were dying, the death toll rising every day. His ally Russia was in desperate need of supplies, and the only way to get them to him was by going through the Dardanelles and up through Russia. The only problem was, the Turks had joined forces with Germany, and going through the straits while it was in enemy control was suicide.
"England!" England looked up as Australia, followed by New Zealand, walked into the room. Australia was grinning with all the confidence of a new nation, while New Zealand was a little more laid back.
"I heard you needed some help with the war," England couldn't help but feel a little taken aback at the eagerness of both young nations.
"Kiwi and I have many able soldiers, we'll help you out!" Australia pressed, England knew that neither of the countries were really respected as nations, Australia's federation had only been twelve years ago after all, so he was of course, desperate to prove himself. England smiled to himself; they had both come at the right time.
"Well, it just so happens that I may have the job just for you," Australia and New Zealand nodded eagerly.
"We're having trouble sending supplies through to Russia, the best route being controlled by Turkey. We need your troops to go and break through Turkey's lines and taking the straits for us, that way, we can easily send the much needed supplies over to Russia." England explained, the two younger nations looked at each other, and then turned back to England.
"We'll do it."
New Zealand cried out in pain and fell to his knees. All around him was death, his people lay on the ground, others hid in the trenches, watching their comrades fall.
"Kiwi!" New Zealand turned to see Australia, his hair was matted, and he had blood all over his shirt. New Zealand guessed he probably didn't look much better. Australia limped towards him, holding out his hand.
"C'mon mate, we need to get back to the trenches," New Zealand shivered, the true horror of war settling into him.
"No.. no no no NO NO!" he screamed, clutching his head. The sounds of guns and the screams of dying men drowning out his cry.
"Please mate, just come back to the trench," Australia pleaded his friend. New Zealand shivered again, but took his brother's hand. Australia helped him to his feet, and they stood for a while, shaking.
The roar of a machine gun close by pulled them back into reality.
"Run!" Australia yelled taking off through no man's land, jumping over bodies, and weaving through the barbed wire. New Zealand followed him, feeling physical pain every time he saw one of his men, dead.
"Ralph, Christian!" a digger called them by their human names from the trench.
Australia leapt into the trench, New Zealand following just behind him.
There was an explosion behind them as a machine gun opened fire.
Australia shuddered as a man cried out in pain. The smell of unburied bodies made him retch. Both the Anzac's and the Turks had called for many temporary truces to bury their dead, but in the end, there were just too many bodies littering the ground.
Both New Zealand and Australia had called for a chance to retreat, but England was adamant, and the Japanese navy that had escorted them to these cursed shores were busy elsewhere.
Australia swore, as pain thundered through his body. Another group of soldiers had been killed.
"Come on, we need more ammo," yelled Australia, dragging New Zealand through the trench. It was thin and muddy, the people inside it were no better.
Australia glanced at New Zealand, and the true fear that he held in his eyes.
So this was war?
"Hurry up Kiwi, England finally let us attend a world conference, and we're going to be late!" Australia dragged New Zealand by the hand towards the conference room. It was quiet. Too quiet. New Zealand glanced at Australia nervously, but said nothing.
As they walked through the winding hallways, both New Zealand and Australia felt something was wrong.
"H-hey, maybe they're planning a surprise party or something, America's always going on about how much he loves parties," Australia stated nervously. New Zealand didn't respond, he just looked around nervously. The building was so quiet and empty.
Australia had gone quiet too, his Koala clung to his shirt, and New Zealand could tell that it was scared. Kiki was scared too. The small Kiwi was shivering in his arms, glancing up into it's masters face every one and a while.
Australia's pace slowed to a walk as the approached the room where the conference was supposed to be.
Something was very, very wrong.
Australia placed his hand on the handle and paused.
He summed up his courage and opened the door.
It was a massacre.
New Zealand shrunk behind Australia, who was staring into the room with an open mouth. There were no bodies, but blood painted the walls.
There were no obvious signs of a struggle, the nations hadn't been expecting this.
Australia gulped, and stepped into the room, New Zealand following suit.
A small piece of paper caught New Zealand's attention and he pulled at Australia's sleeve. Australia saw it too, and the two nations stepped warily towards it.
Australia picked up the paper with trembling hands. There was a single word, written in neat cursive, England's writing. The brothers blinked, and both read the word out loud.
"Panem."
################
Ralph's eyes snapped open, and he attempted to rise. A sharp pain in his chest prevented him from doing so, and he panicked for a second.
"I told you I could wake him!" cried a triumphant voice.
"Stupid git, you didn't do anything," snapped back another.
"Ralph are you okay?" it was Christian. Ralph nodded.
Ralph blinked and took in his surroundings. He was covered in a thin blanket, and laying on a bedroll, which had been propped up against a tree. Christian sat next to him, wrists loosely bound with rope.
Alfred and Arthur sat opposite, bickering over nothing.
Ralph sighed and closed his eyes, trying to get the image of the bloodied conference room out of his head.
His wound had been washed and bound, but it still stung.
Christian watched as Ralph propped himself up on one elbow.
"Do you want some water?" he asked quietly, Ralph nodded, and Christian handed over a full canteen.
Arthur and Alfred stopped arguing, and turned to Ralph and Christian. Arthur avoided making eye contact, and stared at the space in between their heads, which was a little distracting.
"I want you two to know, that we don't want to harm you," he began.
"Unless provoked," added Alfred cheerfully. Arthur shot him a glare.
Ralph frowned, remembering to act suspicious of Arthur and Alfred. But it was so hard not to trust them. Alfred still had his old, 'I'm the hero' smile, and Arthur was just, well, Arthur.
Christian looked uncomfortable too; he kept fiddling with the loose piece of rope that bound his hands together.
There was an awkward silence, no one really knowing what to say. All their gazes, except for Alfred's of course, found the ground. Ralph found the bindings around his wound abnormally interesting, Christian never thought dirt could look any better, and Arthur found that his boots were oddly eye catching today.
Alfred sat in the middle of a very long silence, not sure why everyone was avoiding each other. Determined to lighten up the mood he began to speak.
"I think we should come up with a plan for our survival," he announced, startling everyone.
"Y-yes, of course, we've already found water," said Arthur, gesturing the lake that lay a few metres away hidden by trees, "but we still face an issue with shelter…"
He was cut of by the capitol anthem.
They all stared up, knowing that two cannons had been fired since last night. They knew one had been the district one girl, but the other…
Arthur hung his head, and Alfred was shocked into silence. Christian and Ralph blinked away tears, as a face showed up in the sky.
"Poor Ivan…" was all that was said, as the face of Natalia Arlovskaya looked down upon them for the very last time.
The flowers were a lie, actually so was the happiness, but who knows? Anyway, yes this is the epic flashback chapter that everyone usually hates, but no matter.