Since that meeting, both England and I thought that all was said and done. I tried talking to Russia to see if his mind was off that, but I noticed that he kept leaving for somewhere. I asked some of our friends, and apparently they had been visited by Russia. So when I got a letter that said to meet him at a cafe, I decided to grab England and come there. Eventually, he came.

He did not look happy. "Why have you brought him?"

"Because you're still concerned with this punishment, which sounds awfully nefarious. Not least that you're secretly meeting with people for unexplained reasons", said England.

"Is it violent?", I asked, realizing that I was getting angry.

"They wouldn't be unexplained if you just let me talk!", he said. He sat down opposite of us, his face in a shadow.

"I just didn't want to listen to you argue. Can England leave?"

"Look, I know how dreadfully annoying he can be, but sometimes he does stuff, so that." England probably shot me a glare. Russia was silent.

"You do realize that if you don't talk, that we'll trust you even less?", said England.

Russia sighed. "I guess my hands are tied. It's just that you wouldn't like-"

"Is this about that 'punishment'?"

"You're not going to convince us-

"I don't have to. Everyone decided to vote on it."

"...What?"

"When? How?"

"Turns out that I was right", he said, his face still hidden. "People resent him. If we do this, then-

"We are back-stabbing arseholes who let other back-stabbing arseholes get their violent revenge."

"I never said that we would beat him up!"

"When you go far to get a vaguely defined 'punishment' for someone you don't like, it implies violence." England sneered. "After all, this is just an excuse for you to beat a child for something that wasn't even all his fault."

"I'm trying to prevent other people from doing bad things on their own, even more strained relations that will wilt, and to temper America."

"You didn't respond to what I just said, about excuses and how you want to beat up America."

"Will this involve violence?", I asked.

"Only if we decide that it does."

"More proof that I was right, that you just want to hurt someone, isn't it", he said.

When evil strikes we expect it to be in our face. Maybe it was in our face, but we just ignored it. So I thought that Russia would say 'yes' and evil would happen, or for Russia to say 'no' and the crisis averted. Instead he said "I hust want things to change. Everything's in ruins. I have to do something, it can't get worse. It will change, and this will make it change for the better." Russia's face was no longer hidden, wearing a smile. Sadistic or not, I couldn't tell, only that it belonged to Russia, and thus was creepy. I was figuring out what to say while England said-

"We're rather influential, so they can take our word that it will only make things worse."

"Or that you're very biased for a nation you're still babying, regardless of cost."

I said, "Even if it takes a bit of time, I think we can convince them."

"The vote is today", he said, standing and leaving.

"What was the point of telling me?", I asked.

"So you wouldn't interfere. I know how loose lips are."

So that was how they decided on punishing America.

"But did they know that they-

"Were setting up what you happens. If Russia had even a sliver of thought that that would happen, I think he never would have said anything. None of us knew."

"So how did it happen?"

Francis looked ashamed, his eyes on the floor. "So you want to know where we got that idea? I'll tell you. You see-