"OHMIGOSH I'M A CARTOON!" Zara screamed.
"Ugh," I groaned, sore all over. My eyes were closed, but I could feel grass under me. "Zara," I said, rubbing my eyes before opening them, "What are you talking abou-AAH!" I screamed. What I saw in front of me was a life-sized, living anime girl! She had screamed at the same moment I had and we both launched ourselves backwards. The anime girl had green eyes and long, curly brown hair clipped to one side. She looked to be about two or three inches taller than me. We stared at each other for a while, then I finally broke the silence. "… Marina?"
The anime girl blinked at me. "Adaliz?"
"Yes!" I exclaimed and got to my feet. I offered my hand to Mari and she took it.
"What's going on?" she asked as I helped her up.
"Guys?" I heard Alex say. Mari and I turned to see an anime Alexandra helping up an anime Safira.
Just then, a blur of black and purple flew by. "I'M A CARTOON!" an anime Zara screamed as she ran around in circles.
"Zara! Come!" Safi called, holding out her arms.
Zara turned on a dime and ran into Safi's arms and the rest of us crowded around them.
"What is going on guys?" Safi asked, her voice raised to a frantic octave that reflected all of our fear.
"I don't know," I said, trying to keep calm and keep my voice from rising also.
"Perhaps we could be of assistance," said a voice from behind us.
We all screamed and whirled around, and since we'd been standing so close together, we got tangled up in each other and we fell into a pile.
"Ow," I moaned, rubbing my head and looking up. What I saw made me gasp.
There were eight young anime men staring at us.
My friends saw them too, and we huddled together in a frightened, confused lump. Zara was gripping onto Safi, still saying "Omigosh! Omigosh!" Safi was somewhat behind Alex, peeking out over her shoulder. Alex was looking at the men in confusion, arms linked with Mari, who had landed next to me. I was at the front of the pile, closest to the men. We stared at the men in fright and confusion, and they just stared out of confusion.
One of the young anime men stepped forward, towards us.
I snatched a nearby stick off the ground and pointed it at the men like a weapon. "S-Stay back!" I commanded, trying to appear threatening, but my voice was shaking and so was the stick, which meant that I was shaking. "What anime are we in?" I asked them. "Avatar? Inuasha? Ranma 1/2? School Rumble?" I rattled off any anime name that came to mind. Then I realized how stupid of a question that was. "Er, never mind," I shook my head. One of those wasn't even Japanese, and it's not as if anime characters knew that they were in stories. I revised my question "Where are we? Who are you?"
The man who had stepped forward spoke. He was only about two inches taller that Mari and looked to be in his early twenties. He had short, messy blond hair, lime-green eyes, and very, very thick, dark eyebrows. He wore a brown coat over a simple white dress shirt with a red tie. "It's alright," he had a British accent and used a comforting tone. "We aren't going to hurt you."
"We saw you farr from the sky," said a thin young man with a calm, soft Japanese accent. He was the shortest of the group, maybe only an inch taller than me, and he had black hair and dark brown eyes. He wore a white suit. "We wanted to see if you were arright."
"Safi, why can't that guy say his L's right?" I heard Zara say softly, hopefully softly enough for the Japanese man not to hear.
"Ayia!" said a young man with a Chinese accent. "That was some fall!" He was only an inch or two taller than the Japanese man, and he had dark hair pulled back in a ponytail and amber-brown eyes. He wore white mandarin-collar jacket and dark green pants. "We didn't think that anyone could survive a fall from that great of a height."
"You are alright, da?" said a man with a Russian accent. He had to be six feet tall, the tallest of the group. He had a round, childish face and a more prominent nose for an anime character. He had very light beige hair and his eyes were a vivid violet. He wore a white hooded jacket over a brown sweater vest, white dress shirt, red tie, a pinkish-tan scarf, and dark pants. "You do not seem to have any eenjuries."
I lowered my stick slightly. Maybe these guys weren't a threat. "Yeah," I said. "Everybody alright?" I turned around to look at my friends and assess any possible injuries.
"Just cuts and bruises," Mari answered.
"Zat is impossible!" a man with a German accent exclaimed. He was tall, only about an inch shorter than the Russian, and quite muscular. His blond hair was slicked back and he had sky blue eyes. His face was very stern, yet quite handsome. We wore a deep brown suit with a matching tie and a white dress shirt. He looked to be about twenty, but his aura of seriousness made it hard to judge. "How could you have possibly lived after falling from zat high?"
"No flippin' clue," Alex said. "How high were we?"
"You had to have fallen from at least a mile high," the British man answered with an expression on his face that was a mix of shocked, disturbed, and concerned.
Silence dominated the air as my friends and I turned to look at each other in chock. A mile high? Surviving that should have been impossible...
"We don't know," I answered as I turned back around to the men. "A miracle." I stated, seeing how there was no other explanation. "But you still haven't answered my question," I said, raising my stick again. "Who are you?"
The British man was about to answer, but he was interrupted.
" 'Sup dudettes!" exclaimed an enthusiastic man that didn't have an accent, but he had a very loud, obnoxious voice. He was just barely taller than the Brit, and he wore glasses. He had short, dusty blond hair with a small hair sticking up near his scalp and blue eyes. He wore a simple white dress shirt, a mahogany tie, tan blazer and tan pants. He looked to be maybe not quite twenty. Then he said something very strange. "I'm America! Your very own country!"
"You bloody idiot!" the Brit broke his calm demeanor and I watched his anime face contort with expression. His eyes went all white and his mouth got bigger when he yelled, "You're not supposed to tell them that!"
My friends and I looked at each other, each one of us astonished by the extreme expressions that were common to anime but didn't exist in our world.
"Ciao pretty ladies!" said a man with an Italian accent who had been hiding behind the German man. He was only a tiny bit taller that Mari. He had short auburn hair with a random curl sticking out the left side of his head. His expression of happiness was so extreme that his eyes were squeezed so tightly that I couldn't tell what color eyes he had. He wore a striped dress shirt with a green tie and white pants. He looked to be about twenty, although he acted much younger. "My-a name's Italy!"
"Dummkopf!" the German man got angry extremely fast, and his angry face, under different circumstances, would've been quite funny. "Zat's supposed to be a secret!"
"Aah! I'm-a so sorry Germany!" 'Italy' cried, his expression changed from extreme happiness to extreme fear and he trembled violently, even though somehow I thought that 'Germany' wouldn't hurt him. I still couldn't see his eyes.
"Bonjour, ma cherries," said the last man with a French accent. He was the same height as the Brit, although he looked to be in his mid-twenties. He had shoulder-length, wavy blond hair, stubble on his chin, blue eyes and a suave smile. "I am France, le pays de amour," he said with a wink.
"The what-da-wha?" Zara asked, confused.
"The country of love," Mari translated.
"Ohonhonhon, you speak ma language?" 'France' asked.
"Oh no you don't, you frog!" the Brit exclaimed as he smacked 'France' in the face.
" 'Ey! I was just 'aving a conversation, England!" 'France' retorted.
"Shut up!" yelled the Chinese man. "You are giving away our secrets!"
"Countries...?" I asked, glancing at my friends, who were as confused as I.
"I guess it's possible," Safi said quietly. "This is an anime after all. Not much isn't possible."
'England' facepalmed and sighed. "Yes," he said. "We are all the personifications of our countries, and it's supposed to be a secret," he said pointedly at 'America', who only smiled in response. So that guy really was our country? Oh gosh... "You've already met this idiot America, France and Italy. I am England," he introduced himself.
"Ni hao!" said the Chinese man. "I am China!"
"Konichiwa," said the Japanese man with a small bow. "I am Japan. I am very preased to meet you."
"I am Russia, da," said the Russian man with a smile.
"Und I am Germany," said the German.
"So wait," Alex said. "In this world, each country is a person?"
The countries nodded.
Alex let this sink in for a minute, then she yelled, "TAKE ME TO AUSTRALIA!"
I slapped a hand over her mouth and looked back at the countries, who were surprised at the sudden outburst. My face began to heat up and I laughed nervously, "Heh heh-AAH!" I yelled as I snatched my hand away. 'Alex!" I said in a harsh whisper. "Don't. Lick. My hand."
Alex just smiled at me.
I turned back to the countries, who all had weirded-out expressions on their faces.
"Uh, er, uh," I said intelligently, trying to think of something to say. Then, I saw that Zara had materialized next to Italy. She stood there staring at him, and him at her nervously. Suddenly, she hugged him and started shaking him back and forth violently.
"YOU MADE PASTA!" she screamed.
Poor Italy's head was flinging back and forth wildly, and I was sure that Zara was going to give him whiplash. "Aah! Germany save-a me! The bella is attacking me!" He screamed.
"Guys help me!" I yelled as I grabbed Zara before Germany could I and tried to pry her off. When I got response, I looked over at my friends. Alex had a giddy look on her face, still thinking about Australia no doubt. Safi was sitting stock still; the only part of her body moving was her eyes, which were going back and forth between England, Alex and China. One Direction, Australians and pandas, but I hoped that her shyness would keep her at bay. Mari was also staring at England.
"Mari!" I yelled to her, still trying to pry Zara away from Italy. "Stay with me!"
"But Harry Potter," Mari moaned like a zombie, looking as if she might attack England in a hug. I tried to think of something I could do to snap her out of it. The only thing I could think of would be a horrid lie, and I might cry, but I had to do it. "Jason is better than Percy!" I yelled at her.
That snapped her out of it immediately, but then she glared death at me. "How could you?!" she demanded. "Traitor!"
"I lied! I had to do it! I'm so sorry! Now help me get Zara off this guy!"
Mari then returned to her normal self, got up and helped me pry Zara off.
"Watch her teeth," I warned Mari as she held down Zara.
Mari nodded and then bent and whispered something in Zara's ear, which at first made Zara very angry, but then she relaxed and Mari let go of her.
I then walked over to Safi who hadn't moved, but she looked like she was about to crack. I sat down next to her. "Safi," I said. "I'm sorry I have to do this, but," I whispered into her ear, "Death to all mangoes."
Safi whirled around at me and I just nearly dodged a slap in the face. Anger dominated her face briefly, which was extremely terrifying, but then she returned to normal once she realized why I'd said what I did.
"Now go help Alex," I told her. "You know what you have to say."
Safi's eyes widened at me. "I-I can't!" she said. "Please don't make me say it!"
I sighed and then walked over to a still giddy Alex. I didn't sit down next to her, that would be too dangerous. Instead, I said as quickly as I could. "Australiansaren'thot!"
"No!" she screamed and tried to attack me, but I had already jumped out of reach. "I've even converted you into a J- Crewie!"
"Shut up Alex!" I yelled, not willing to admit that I had become a fan of any boy band, especially when I wasn't. "Snap out of it!"
Alex looked at me, puzzled for a moment, then her face registered realization. "Oh you were just-"
"Yes!" I said. A sighed and sat down, tired out quickly from the many threats of disembowelment. The imitate threat had been extinguished. It's not like I didn't have my own reasons for screaming and glomping the countries also, but I was trying to keep them at bay. And I'll even admit that it was hard.
I forced myself to look at the countries.
Most of them were sweat dropping, with their eyes had gone white, and they're faces had changed from scared to terrified.
My faces got extremely hot. I don't know if I blush or not, but it sure felt like I was now. "Uh," I said trying to think of what I could possibly say. "I'm so sorry about that. We're not usually like this," I lied. "We've all had a long, confusing night, and I think we're all a little bit hysterical."
The countries stared at us for a moment. Then Russia, the only country who hadn't looked terrified of us, smiled. "You girls are so cute." he said.
Now my friends, the other countries, and I all turned to stare at him.
"I'm not cute." I heard Safi mutter quietly.
Then the countries turned back to us and we stared at each other in silence.
"Okay, let's just take a step back here for a moment." England said, trying to calm down. "First questions first: Where did you come from?"
Before any of my friends could answer, I let my defensiveness take over. "What does it matter?" I said a bit harshly. Realizing that what I'd said sounded suspicious, I bit my tongue and said quickly, "I mean, we don't know how to get back, or if we even can." I glanced at my friend's confused faces. Don't say anything, I attempted telepathic communication.
The countries pondered this for a bit in silence. "Vell," said Germany slowly, turning to his fellow countries. "Zese girls have obviously been zrough a lot. Maybe it vould be best for zem if ve found a place for zem to stay ze night."
"Yeah bro!" America exclaimed as he fist-pumped. "They should totally stay at my house because they're my citizens and I'm the hero!"
"I do not think that wourd be any good for their hearth," Japan mumbled quietly.
"They could always stay with me," France said as he winked at us again.
"NO!" the countries all yelled at him.
"It is getting dark," Russia observed. "Why not just let them stay at my house, da?"
The countries all looked at him, even more terrified of him then they had been of us. It was weird, he seemed innocent enough, but something about him made me...perturbed.
"They can't stay with any one of us," England said. "It wouldn't be right for young women to stay at a man's house."
"But Russian dude's right about one thing," America said. "It is getting dark."
We all looked around. Sure enough the evening was turning into twilight, which was funny because when we left our world it had been late at night.
"I know!" China said after a pause. "We'll let them stay at the World Conference Hall-aru, at least until we can figure out what to do with them."
"Excuse me," Mari spoke up. "What to do with us?"
The countries turned back to us. "Yes," England said. "We don't know how long you'll be here, so we must make accommodations for you."
"But why not just hand us over to the authorities?" Mari asked. "Wouldn't that be easier than doing it yourselves?"
The countries looked at each other a bit nervously, as if they had been hoping that Mari wouldn't ask that question. The Japan spoke up. "You know our secret, therefore we are responcabre for you. It is the porite thing to do. Besides, I do not think that your...situation, would be suitabre for the authorities to handre."
"We have to make sure zat you keep our secret," Germany added, crossing his arms. "Ve need you to come viz us so zat ve can keep an eye on you."
"So, you're kidnapping us." Alex summed it up.
"Are any of you minors?" England asked.
My friends and I shook our heads.
"Then it is only abduction if you do not come with us willingly," said England with a small smile.
My friends and I looked at each other, and Alex motioned us into a huddle.
"Uh, we'll be just a moment," I said to the countries before joining the huddle.
"I think that we should go with them," Alex said.
"What?" I asked her. I'd been thinking about making a break for it. "Are you crazy?"
"Yes," Alex answered. "but that aside, we need their help. And anyway, who wouldn't want to be kidnapped by eight hot guys?"
"I wouldn't," I said. "We don't even know if these guys are who they say they are. I mean, countries? They could be escapees from the funny farm!"
"They're dressed pretty nicely for that," Mari countered.
"That's just what they want you to think!" I said pointing a finger at her. "We are in an anime after all; they could be dangerous."
"I don't know," Zara said. "They seem alright to me," Now Zara may be crazy, but she's not dumb, and she also happens to be a great judge of character.
"Yeah," Mari agreed. "Besides, I think that if these guys are who they say they are, they're are best shot at getting home."
I thought for a moment, then I said, "Safi, what do you think."
We all turned to look at Safi, who was looking at the ground, silent in thought. Then, she said, "Guys, we're all alone in an anime world where countries are people. We need help, that's putting it mildly, and I have a feeling that these guys are going to be the best help we can get. No one who didn't see us fall is going to believe our story."
After a moment of thinking, I asked, "Anybody got any better ideas?"
No one replied.
"We're in agreement then? We're going to go with these strange anime guys who claim to be their own countries?"
Everyone nodded.
I sighed, but I decided to trust my friends' judgment. "Alright," I said. "Let's do this thing."
My friends smiled and we turned back to the countries, who had been waiting patiently. They now looked at us expectantly.
I took a deep breath, then said, "We have decided to come with you, willingly."
"Yay! We're going with the countries! We're going with the countries!" Zara sang as she skipped around. She stopped in front of Italy, who cringed as if waiting for impact. "Hey," she said, poking him in the arm and he looked at her. "Sorry for glomping you," she said. "I just really like pasta. We all do!" she motioned to the rest of us.
Italy's face lit up. "Me too!" he exclaimed. "Pasta's the best! Besides, when I'm not being shaken, I like hugs!" and to prove this, he gave Zara a hug, and she hugged back, beaming happily.
"By the way," England said, smiling slightly, "I don't believe that we've had the pleasure of learning your names."
"I'm Marina," Mari said with a grin.
"I be the amazing Alexandra!" Alex proclaimed, lifting her chin high.
"I'm Safira," Safi said shyly, but she was smiling.
"My name is Zara!" Zara exclaimed happily.
"And I'm Adaliz," I said, a friendly smile spreading across my face. Hey, maybe this wouldn't be so bad. At least we were all still together.
The countries smiled, well except for Germany, but he didn't look unhappy. I got the feeling that he didn't smile much.
"We should probably get going," China said. "It is getting cold and these girls are in their night clothes."
I looked down and sure enough, China was right. I crossed my legs apprehensively, a little embarrassed that I'd been seen by a bunch of guys in my fuzzy cow pajama pants.
"Alrighty then!" America exclaimed. "To the World conference Hall! Everyone follow the hero!" He yelled as he pushed himself to the front of the group and then began marching in a way that I guess he thought heroic. If this was our country...no wonder everybody hates us!
Alex laughed and ran to join him, marching 'heroically' at America's side, who beamed at her.
Some of the other countries shook their heads at our country as we all followed.
"Um," I heard Mari say in front of me, and I saw her walking beside England. "I just wanted to say, it's your country that Harry Potter came from, so thanks."
England grinned at her. "You're very welcome," he said. "Those are some of my favorite books. The magic simply fascinates me."
Mari smiled. "Me too!" she said, and then they struck up a conversation about spells and stuff I wouldn't know about because I don't read Harry Potter.
Safi walked next to me, trying not to draw attention to herself, but China came up to her and smiled. "Ni hao," he said pleasantly. "You remind me of a little panda-aru."
Now, this I found random, but apparently Safi liked it because she smiled, blushing madly. "I love pandas," she told him softly.
"I love pandas too!" China exclaimed "They are so cute!" He then went on to talk about pandas. Safi listened in genuine interest, smiling and nodding and even putting her own two cents in every once in a while as she became more relaxed.
I could also hear Zara and Italy having a lively conversation about pasta from behind us. Well, at least it started out about pasta, then it switched to pizza, and then to many other things. Italy seemed to be as random as Zara, and that was saying something.
I walked along in silence. All my friends were talking to someone, and I was too shy to start up a conversation myself. As we walked, I started shivering after a while. I looked down at my feet, which were bare. Dang, it hadn't seemed like a big deal when Hailey ate my socks, but now I was walking around at night without anything on my feet, and it was a chilly night. Well, there was nothing I could do about it, so I kept walking and didn't complain.
"Hey," someone said, and I turned to see Germany walking to my right. "You look cold," he said. It was then that I realized that there were small shiver-lines around my body, especially near my feet. Germany had noticed this already, so I couldn't lie and say that I wasn't cold.
"It's alright," I said. "I'm hot blooded anyway. I'll be fine."
Germany looked at my feet for a moment, not saying anything. Then he stopped and took off his shoes. "Here," he said, holding them out to me. "Take zese."
"No you don't have to-" I tried to protest but when I saw Germany's unwavering expression, his blue eyes like stone, I stopped and took the shoes. "Thank you," I said, putting them on. They were much too big for me, but they were warm and I sighed with relief, a small smile on my face.
"Vhere are your socks?" Germany asked me as we continued walking.
"Oh, um," I said, looking back to my feet. "Safi's crazy dog ate them."
Germany nodded in understanding. "Dogs can be like zat," he said. "I have zree at home."
"Three?" I asked, looking back up at him. "That must be a handful. What are their names?"
"Blackie is a German Shepard, Berlitz is a Doberman, und Aster is a golden retriever."
I smiled. "Cool," I said. "I love dogs, even if they eat my socks."
"Do you have any?"
"I had a couple when I was a kid, but they weren't very good dogs. The last time I had one was when I was...thirteen I think. I can't afford more than an ankle-bitter dog right now, and I can't stand those."
"I hate zose!" Germany said. "Zey are always barking, and zeir eyes bug out of their heads."
I giggled slightly. "I'd never do this myself," I said. "But I heard somewhere that it's possible to squeeze them so hard that their eyes pop out,"
"No vay! Zat's disgusting!"
"Isn't it?" I laughed. "You'd think it'd happen more often the way people squeeze them and carry them around all the time."
"I've never understood zat. Vhy can't zey let zeir dogs valk on ze ground like normal dogs?"
"I know, right? If you want something to carry around all the time, get a cat."
I saw what might have been the start of a smile on Germany's face, but interrupted by "Ve Germany! I want pasta!"
Both of us turned around, and Zara said, "Yeah Leesy, let's get some pasta!"
"Zara," I said with a sigh. "We just ate three large pizzas and a box of breadsticks! Aren't you full?"
"Never!" Zara giggled.
Sighing, I turned back around to continue on our way, but I tripped on one of Germany's big shoes and faceplanted into the ground.
Zara laughed, Italy cried out in surprise, China said "Ayia!" and Safi gasped. I pressed my face into the ground, thinking...more or less, Fuuuuuuuuuudge. My clumsiness had struck again, in front of people we had just met.
"Mein go-! Are you alright?" I heard Germany exclaim as he and Safi helped me up.
My face was burning with embarrassment. I couldn't think of anything to say, but luckily Zara piped up from behind me and said, "Don't worry! We're all clumsy like that!" and Safi nodded in agreement while she tried not to smile.
"Five more Italys," Germany sighed, and I turned my head to see him put his face in his hand. Somehow I got the feeling that wasn't a good thing. "Vell," he said. "Please try not to hurt yourselves."
"Oh, we never try to," Zara said. "It just happens."
I giggled softly, trying to laugh off my embarrassment. "Once," I said, rubbing the back of my head. "I slipped down the same set of stairs twice in the same trip down."
Germany stared at me, as if he wondered how on earth I'd lived this long. "How did you manage zat?" he asked.
"Well, um," I said, my face heating up again. "They were thin, steep stairs made of smooth metal, and there wasn't much light in the room."
"... I guess zat is a little more understandable."
"We've gotten better though," Safi pointed out. "That happened when we were freshmen in high school."
"True," I said, smiling a bit as I made a conscious effort to walk slower in Germany's shoes. "Very true."
~~Skippideedoodahday~~
Soon, we were at the World Conference Hall. When we got inside, the countries found some blankets and pillows from some storerooms in the basement.
"Well," Mari said through a yawn as we took the blankets. "In the world we came from, it was almost midnight, so I think that we should get some shuteye."
England nodded. "We'll let you get some sleep then" he said, motioning to the other countries to leave.
As they began to leave, I suddenly remembered that I still had on Germany's shoes. "Germany! Wait!" I called and ran up to him. I handed his shoes back to him "Thanks for letting me use these," I said.
Germany nodded. "You're velcome. Guten noct," he said, turning to leave.
"Auf wiedersehen."
Germany turned back to me for a second, as if surprised that I'd spoke his language. Then he turned and left.
The rest of the countries said goodbye in their own native language as they filed out the door. England was the last to leave. "We'll come to check on you again in the morning," he said with a small smile. "Now sleep well," He closed the door.
"Goodnight," We called after him, then we got ready for bed. We arranged the many blankets that the countries had given us so that the biggest ones were on the bottom like a mattress. The rest were piled on top of us as we crawled in for the night without a word. We huddled close together, more for comfort than for warmth. We lied there silently for a long time.
"Guys?" Zara finally broke the silence. "What's going to happen now?" No one spoke for a while; no one really had an answer.
"Yeah," Alex said. "Are we going to get back home?"
"Or will we be stuck here?" Mari asked.
"Forever." Safi added ominously.
After another silence, I finally said, "Well, right now we're going to sleep. We'll be able to think better in the morning."
My friends nodded slowly in agreement, and then they settled in for sleep.
Being on the edge of the group, I turned to my open side, my back against Mari's, and said a silent prayer. When I was finished, I lied there thinking to myself. What's going to happen now? I repeated Zara's question and I sighed. I don't know guys... I just don't know.
