America points to the blackboard, which has a drawing of a large stick figure hugging what she assumes to be trees. "Okay guys, we're gonna save the rainforest by having a giant superhero guard it twenty-four seven," exclaims America. Atlantis and the other countries groan. England, in a scolding tone, says, "Can't you think of an idea not involving superheroes, America." She continues doodling sea animals on what is supposed to be notes on the meeting.
He keeps saying idiotic solutions about superheroes to almost every single problem brought up in meetings. She's sick and tired of it. Just because America is her best friend doesn't mean she's going to blindly agree to everything that sprouts out of his mouth.
Atlantis shifts in her seat. She smiles. "At least I have a seat cushion. I wish the chairs in all the meetings have these cushions. It's so comfortable."
Germany screams at America to sit down and he reluctantly does so. China stands up to give his lecture next. Atlantis stops doodling to pay attention to him. She knows he'll actually give an informative speech unlike some countries she knows.
"E-Excuse me Miss Atlantis, you're sitting on me." The room becomes silent. Everyone in the room heard the quiet voice by chance.
The countries yelp and scramble away from the table. Papers fly everywhere in the chaos. Some chairs are thrown to the floor. Atlantis tumbles out of her seat in shock.
America clings behind his chair. "T-The ghost is back!"
China screams, "Aiyah! The evil ghost is haunting us again, aru."
Atlantis, offended, harshly says, "I'm alive, China." She's still bitter about the whole ghost fiasco with China at the Ice and Snow festival. In her opinion, he never should've said he used to think she was a ghost.
China stammers and waves his sleeves, "I d-didn't mean you, Atlantis." He didn't have to say evil ghost. Just ghost would have been fine with her.
Germany slams his fists on the table. "That is enough! There is no such thing as ghosts. Let's continue this meeting so we can accomplish something today." The countries calm down in a few minutes and resume the meeting. Some of the countries are still jumpy, though. America shifts his eyes, looking to be on a look out for the ghost's return.
Atlantis drowns out China's lecture. She's lost in thought. "This ghost keeps following us to meetings." The countries reactions to the ghost interrupting the meetings become annoying after a while. She became used to hearing it speak up once in a while, but this is the first time she has heard it so close to her. The ghost doesn't do anything harmful, so she often ignores it.
Atlantis recalls a movie franchise America blabs about from time to time. "I believe it is called Ghostbusters." If she remembers correctly, it involves something about a group of people going around catching ghosts. She zones out whenever America talks about it.
That settles it; Atlantis is going to capture the ghost and coerce it to heaven. She's not taking no for an answer. It will leave the countries alone and get them to shut the hell up about the mysterious ghost. If she needs to use force, so be it.
Atlantis' attention is brought back to reality just in time to allow her to duck an incoming chair. Her eyes widen as she ducks to the floor. Her ears pick up the arguing countries screaming at each other for reasons unknown to her. (They usually start fights over ridicules reasons. She doesn't bother remembering them.)
Atlantis keeps her hands above her head to protect her crown. It was a gift from the first King of Atlantis. (1) If anyone breaks it, they won't be alive long enough to utter the words sorry.
"Hi Atlantis."
Atlantis becomes startled to see Lichtenstein sitting nervously next to her. She nearly has a heart attack. Atlantis figits with her crystal necklace. "L-Lichtenstein, I don't recommend talking to me right now with him possibly watching." Atlantis is referring to Switzerland. She doesn't want to see him fulfill his promise. She wants to walk away bullet free.
Lichtenstein tears up a little. "I miss you. I miss our adventures, even if you sometimes get us into trouble." Atlantis panics at Lichtenstein's tears. She hates making children cry. (Unless they're being brats.)
Atlantis rapidly says, "I miss you too. We can plan something together without Switzerland knowing about it." The Atlantean is sincere about it. She really does miss Lichtenstein. Her brother prevents Atlantis from even looking in Lichtenstein's direction. Hopefully, he won't catch onto their plans.
A bang sounds and a hole appears in front of Atlantis' hand. She fearfully looks up to see Switzerland glaring at her with his shotgun in hand. "I told you stay away from her, Atlantis. You have the nerve to disobey me and make Lichtenstein cry." He points the shotgun at her face. "You must pay the consequences."
Atlantis ditches her sandals and quickly gets up to run. Switzerland fires again near her feet. She yelps as she runs around the room barefoot with a gun maniac close behind her. Switzerland shouts, "This shot is for corrupting Lichtenstein!" A bullet barely misses her left foot by inches. "And this is for getting her interested in dating!" He fires another bullet at her feet.
Atlantis shouts back, "That's not my fault!" Honestly, if he's going to blame her for something, he might as well do it right. It's healthy for young girls to develop crushes on boys. Besides, Switzerland should be thanking her for cheering up Lichtenstein when he wasn't there.
Germany slams his fist on the table. "That's enough for today. We'll continue the meeting tomorrow afternoon." The commotion stops abruptly. The countries leave the room in haste.
Switzerland gives her one last glare. "Stop corrupting Lichtenstein, or else." He goes to Lichtenstein and grabs her hand. When they leave the room, Lichtenstein mouths, "Bye, talk to you later."
Atlantis nods in acknowledgement. She's the only country in the room now. Her previous decision from earlier comes back to her. The blue-haired woman says out loud to herself, "I almost forgotten about the ghost." Atlantis is going to have to do research on how to catch ghosts. She's not sure what tools are needed to catch one.
Atlantis peaks into the empty meeting room. She sighs in relief. "Thank goodness. I can't believe I made it here earlier than England." She's a little embarrassed at what she's about to do. She doesn't want the other countries to see her trying to catch the ghost.
She lurks around the room, her special ghost hunting tool behind her back. She strains her eyes to see a fading figure sitting at the table. She smirks. "I have you in my sight, ghost." She sneaks behind him quietly. She raises her giant butterfly net, ready to strike.
The ghost mumbles, "No one can see me, kunkamichi."
Atlantis quietly says, "I can see you."
The ghost turns around abruptly in shock. Atlantis hurls her butterfly net upon him. He quietly gasps as she forces him to the ground. The butterfly only covers half of his body with little room for movement.
Atlantis jabs her foot into his lower back. The ghost groans in pain. Atlantis speaks with authority in her voice, "I'll be fair and give you a warning: go to heaven now, or I'll send you to hell with my foot." Atlantis believes this is the proper way to send ghosts back to heaven. From the Ghost Adventure episodes and Ghostbusters movies she's seen, being polite never seems to send them home.
The ghost stutters, "Why are you doing thi-" Atlantis applies more pressure to his back. "Do not back talk to the mighty empire of Atlantis. Do as you're told before I resort to force."
"A-Atlantis, I'm the country Canada."
"Unlikely story."
Atlantis halts. Canada does sound familiar. She's not sure why, though. Maybe she should ask around to see if there is a country named Canada.
A furry blur lunges at her. "Get off of him. I need him to feed me." Atlantis releases her hold on her butterfly net and is slammed onto the table. The white fur ball wraps its paws and legs around her face, its stomach constricting her breathing.
Atlantis grabs the fur ball by its sides and tries to tear it from her face. She tries to say, "Get off of me, demon." but it comes out as gibberish since its stomach is blocking her mouth.
A weak voice says, "Kuma, please leave her alone. She didn't mean it."
The fur ball is ripped from her face and she sees America holding a small polar bear trying to claw at her face. Atlantis stares at it. She doesn't know how a wild animal is far from its natural habitat and in the meeting room. It's kind of strange.
America laughs, "Atlantis, what did you do to get this little guy pissed?"
Atlantis looks away embarrassed. "I-I caught the ghost haunting the meetings when the…polar bear attacked me." It's embarrassing for her to be taken down by a small polar bear. She hopes no one back home finds out. They'll never let her live it down.
The polar bear growls at her before leaving the room.
America blinks. He sets down the polar bear and comes up to Atlantis. The American pats Atlantis' back. "Trying to be the hero, huh Lanti? You should leave this kind of stuff to me." As if she's going to leave ghost hunting to America. He'll run out of the room screaming.
America screams every time he hears the ghost at the meeting. Hell, he can't even handle scary movies. She's his security blanket whenever he invites her over to see them. He squeezes her with his super strength, leaving her gasping for air. Hugs are one thing, nearly breaking her ribs is another thing.
America looks at her curiously. "Where's your gear? You said you are hunting the ghost, right?"
Atlantis bends down and picks up her giant butterfly net. She sheepishly keeps it in America's view. "I have my butterfly net."
America takes one look at it and bursts out laughing. He takes the net and waves it around. "Lanti, you watch The Fairly Odd Parents too much. Butterfly nets are for fairies." Atlantis huffs. Okay, she used a cartoon as a reference. It seemed like a good idea at the time.
"I thought it would work on ghosts too."
America tosses the giant butterfly net out a window. He looks at her, determined. "Meet me here at Midnight. I'll teach you the right way to catch ghosts."
"Why at such late an hour?"
He grins. "Ghosts like coming out more often at night."
Atlantis is unsure if she should do it. She reconsiders it. Someone needs to keep an eye on him. He'll injure himself when he runs away from the ghost, scared. "Fine, I'll come."
Atlantis realizes something important. She turns to America. "Why are you here earlier than everyone else?" It's strange to see America, of all people, early to a meeting. He usually comes late because he had to drop by McDonalds first.
America snaps his fingers. "Oh yeah. I wanted to prank Iggy before he got here." She sighs. She should've known he's up to no good.
"America, what are you doing here so early?"
Atlantis and America look to the door to see a grumpy England glaring at the American.
America gives a big smile and wraps her shoulders in a side hug. "Me and Lanti here are planning our ghost hunt." Atlantis tries to escape, but he hugs harder when she does. Personally, she wants to keep other countries in the dark about the ghost hunt tonight. No one besides America needs to know about it.
England sighs and rubs his forehead. "How many times does everyone have to tell you to stop Americanizing Atlantis?" He does not. America is teaching her many things about this modern era. Without him, she never would have discovered the glory of Twinkies and television.
America replies, "I'm just teaching her some cool stuff. Like how to play video games and understand American slang." It's true. She understands American slang better with him around. Although, she still does not understand why 'kick it' means 'let's gather at such and such place.' To her, it sounds like the person wants to kick their friend. People are so violent these days.
"Bloody git, you're teaching her useless information. She needs to be with a different country to teach her useful information." America narrows his eyes. He lets go of Atlantis and storms up to England. Face to face, America says, "She's my best friend and as the hero I'll help her learn about this era."
Atlantis thinks that that is one of the sweetest things he's said about her. However, she wishes he doesn't look like he's about to assault England. Atlantis grabs America's arm and tries to pull it. "America, let's talk about our plan. We don't want to be unprepared, correct?"
America brightens. "Yeah, you're right." America leads them to the far end of the table. They each take a seat as other countries file in, some louder than others.
America mumbles, "No one steals the hero's sidekick away."
Atlantis whispers, "Don't worry, I will not be tempted by the dark side."
America laughs as he pats her back. She coughs, for he is putting some of his super strength into it. "Iggy is the super villain with creepy dark magic." She didn't see it that way. It's humorous thinking of England as an evil wizard.
Atlantis chuckles. She thinks it's a good idea to change the subject before England overhears the conversation and yells at them.
"America, how do you capture a ghost?"
In the dark building, Atlantis nervously glances around with her flashlight. The dark hallway makes all the furniture creepy. She peeks at America, who is trying to look brave. "Are you sure this is a good idea? I don't think you can handle it."
America straightens his back and laughs. "I'm not scared! I can handle one ghost." Atlantis doubts it. He can barely stay in the same room with one.
America pulls a box out of his backpack. It's a black box with strange symbols on it. "Okay Lanti, we're gonna use a Ouija board to contact the ghost. Atlantis pales. She remembers hearing horror stories about it. Stupid teenagers getting mysterious scratches on their backs and dying is the most prevalent in her mind.
Atlantis grabs the box. "I don't think it's a good idea. I feel uncomfortable summoning demons or devils, especially at night." She tries to pull it away from his grasp, but America refuses to let go.
America grins. "Don't be scared. If I wanted to summon devils, I would've brought England along and make him sing his evil devil summoning song." America sits on the floor and sets up the Ouija board.
Atlantis gulps. She didn't know England sings those kinds of songs. That's kind of creepy. "You're n-not serious, right? He wouldn't…"
America, not sensing the atmosphere, quips, "Of course he does. He sings it sometimes." He shudders. "It's scary. It sounds like he's trying to summon the devil." Atlantis is now a little afraid of England. If what America is saying is true, than England should know how dangerous summoning the devil is.
A few of her subordinates tried it, and she has never heard of them since.
America places his fingertips on a small triangle on the board. "Put your fingers on it too. We'll call the ghost together."
Atlantis shakes her head. "I refuse. You can summon the ghost with the Ouija board. I'll do it the safer way." Atlantis walks away and carefully unclips the giant butterfly net from her back. She makes a turn and walks down another hallway, ignoring America's shouts to come back. There's no way she's playing with dangerous shit. She wants to keep her limbs intact.
Atlantis checks around herself with her butterfly net. She had to buy a new one because Belarus is using the other one to capture Russia. She's not going to ask for it back: Belarus can keep it.
The Atlantean looks to the window to hear and see a flash of lightning streak the sky. The lights flicker on before dying out.
America's screams breaks the silence. Atlantis curses in her mind as she runs to where she last saw America. "How could I leave America alone with a Ouija board?"
She stumbles into the last hallway to see the Oujia board and triangle piece lying against the wall. Atlantis' legs shake. She covers her mouth. "He's gone…."
"Atlantis…."
Atlantis jumps. She sharply turns around in the dark to see America's figure. Her face lights up. She pulls him into a tight hug. "Don't scare me like that America. I thought you summoned the devil and it kidnapped you." America's hugs are contagious. She feels more comfortable hugging people when she wants to.
He hesitantly returns her hug. "I'm not-"
Atlantis releases America from her grasp and grabs his arm. "We're leaving and that's final. We'll catch the ghost during the day." Atlantis concludes it's too dangerous to go ghost hunting during the night. The ghost appears when there's light. It'll be safer for both of them to capture it in that time frame.
Atlantis moves to pull him along with her but he doesn't budge. She drops her butterfly net and puts her other hand on his arm. "I'm serious, we're leaving." Atlantis feels she's trying to move a boulder.
"I'm not America and I'm not a ghost."
Atlantis freezes. "Who are you?" That certainly explains it. The real America would have returned her hug with enthusiasm, exclaiming how she actually hugged him first.
The man sighs. "I'm Canada." He turns on a flashlight to show his face. He strikingly looks similar to America. The long curl and wavy blond hair distinguishes him from America.
"What are you doing here….Canada?" Atlantis nearly forgets his name for a moment. She luckily saves herself in time.
Canada motions her to follow him. They start walking away from the fallen Ouija board. "I was concerned about my brother America staying in this building after dark, so I followed you guys here." Atlantis nods.
Atlantis becomes thoughtful when Canada mentioned he's America's brother. "I remember America mentioned once he has a brother who cooks amazing maple pancakes. I assume he is talking about you."
Canada blushes. "He remembers me?"
Atlantis smiles. "I know he wasn't talking about England." They both chuckle. Atlantis doesn't know why everyone is so mean to England about his cooking skills. Every time she tries to eat one of his scones, someone would slap it out of her hands. They must be exaggerating about it. His cooking can't be that bad.
Before Atlantis realizes it, they're both standing outside the door to the meeting room.
Canada frowns. His hand lingers over the door knob. "You're going to forget me like everyone else." Poor Canada, all the countries forget about him: including her. She becomes guilty. She looks at him closer to see him fading.
Her eyes widen. "He's the ghost who 'haunts' the meetings." Atlantis feels even worse. She has ignored him in every meeting. She blushes as she recalls that she sat on him yesterday. "He does make a comfortable seat cushion, though."
Atlantis places her hand on his shoulder. She's determined to make it up to him. "How about we make a bet?"
Canada looks at her, interested. "A bet?"
Atlantis grins. "There's a meeting tomorrow. If I remember your name, you make me some of your famous maple pancakes."
Canada sighs. "We'll see." He opens the door to show America huddling in a corner mumbling "Ghost" repeatedly.
Atlantis grumbles, "We're going to have to drag him out of here."
The meeting is about to start in a few minutes when Atlantis spots him. She strolls right up to him and whispers in his ear, "Hello Canada, are you ready to make me your maple pancakes."
Canada stares at her in shock. "Y-You remember me?"
Atlantis smiles. "Of course I did." Okay, she did forget his name. It's a good thing she wrote his name on her arm before they parted ways. Atlantis puts her arms behind her back, careful not to let Canada see it. He probably won't make her pancakes if he knew.
(1) According to Plato's dialogues, in the beginning of Atlantis, there was one King and seven princes ruling over several areas of Atlantis at the same time. They were the children of Poseidon and a mortal woman called Cleito. She bore five twins. (Ten sons in total.) The sons were demigods. :)
To answer Marcy Charli Zara, romance is not the main focus of this fic. There might be flirting for humor purposes, but it's not taken seriously by either person. There's no solid pairing in this fic. I'll keep the America/Atlantis pairing in mind, though.