"Sir, we can locate Liechtenstein again!"
"What? ... Where is she?"
"She's in Liechtenstein sir!"
"Dispatch a group of scouts immediately. Bring her back and search area for other missing countries."
"Yes sir!"
"What do we do Mattie-san? Demand to know where Arthur-san is?"
"I... I guess."
The odd trio had been standing in front of the front door for what felt like an eternity, feeling apprehensive on what to do. On one hand, if Arthur was there, he'd want to know how they found him, on the other hand, if Arthur wasn't there, what do they say?
"Oh sorry, we thought our friend-that's-gone-missing was at your place and suspected that you might even be a kidnapper or something?" No. That just wouldn't cut it.
"Ve~ I'll knock!" Feliciano announced happily, obviously having not shared the same fear as Matthew and Kiku.
"Wait!" Both burst out, having just decided that this whole plan was a bad, bad idea. But it was too late. Feliciano had already rung the doorbell and was now (persistantly) knocking on the door.
Both of them silenced, Mattie fiddling with his cane, Kiku biting his lip nervously, as Feliciano (with oblivious happiness) continuously knocked on the door. They heard footsteps, multiple.
If they heard correctly, they'd say that four, maybe five people were making their way over to the door.
The handle clicked, as someone behind the door pressed it down and slowly opened it.
"Ve! Where's Arthur, you Kirkland-napping Person!" Feliciano demanded, with a very odd seriousness in his voice.
Kiku and Mattie both mentally smacked their foreheads and groaned quietly.
To their surprise, they were greeted by silence. Kiku and Mattie heard footsteps. One person hadn't seen them yet. The person pushed forwards, a loud tapping sound accompaniyng the man (they were assuming it's a he).
"What the hell are you doing here?" Arthur demanded. Sadly, none of them could reply, because the four people who'd opened the doors had quickly taken the three into their arms, three names, or better said country names, sounding out all at once: Canada, Italy (Veneziano) and Japan.
Feliciano found himself being hugged by two people, that looked familiar to him... Especially the South Italian one. Wait, he didn't know if this guy was South Italian! Why'd he assume that?
"... America, don't tell me they're nations too? Is every bloody person I know a country?" America didn't respond immediately, hugging Canada tightly.
"Dunno, maybe I outta give you a list with the countries human names on 'em!" America responded, still too happy at seeing his long lost twin brother again.
Matthew frowned. 'Canada', as in the country? Why was the guy hugging him and calling him that? And why was Arthur addressing him as 'America'?
Japan had unknowingly widened his eyes, having had his private space invaded by two people, he couldn't tell who. One of which was called 'America'. What an odd name... But the voice fitted it nicely... And another one, with a German accent...
Strange, he could swear he'd heard those voices before...
Suddenly, all three (Canada, Japan and Italy) were overcome with the feeling of having a brainfreeze, and they quickly lost their balance, collapsing into the arms that had been hugging them.
"Sir, we can faintly detect North Italy, Japan and Canada!"
"Where are they?"
"... Oh shit."
"Sir, we do not tolerate such language in this-"
"Sir, they're with America, Germany, Spain and South Italy in the USA, a couple miles away from Canadian borders."
"Shit."
Liechtenstein woke up, her fingers lingering over her chest, right on top of her heart, as she fearfully looked around herself. Her first thoughts were Get away from here.
Of course she was relieved she could remember, after all, now all she had to do was find the other nations and tell them where the other countries were to rescue them, then the endless pains would finally be over...
The only problem is, is that, as said before, she could remember. The ability to remember was (as tests previously showed) usually accompanied by the reactivation of their connection to their country.
Which means that she really was Liechtenstein again, not just a personification unconnected to it's landmass and people.
It also made her detectable again.
Which meant that they were after her again... When they escaped, they had been working on a way for them to use nation-hopping (They referred to it as simple teleporting though) as well... It's been a year since then, which means they may have succeeded by now.
She slowly got to her feet. Ok Liechti, you've got to stay calm. Now, do you remember the names of the countries that weren't with us? ... Come on, you've got to remember them, otherwise you've got nowhere to go and no one to warn! She thought, as she tugged at the school-uniform skirt she was wearing.
That's it, I remember Germany and... South Italy and Spain and... I've got to go to one of their-
A hand suddenly grabbed her wrist, just as she was about to nation-hop to Germany's home, which was nearer to her than any other.
"And where do you think you're going little miss?" Her eyes (if possible) widened, the fear escalating to levels no nation should reach as she saw several men, clad in a specific uniform, surround her, one of which, as said before, holding her wrist. He had a feral grin on his face.
Hop already! She screamed in her mind, as she tried to tug her arm out of the man's iron grip.
Finally, she had enough control over herself to hop, but a wave of electric shocks suddenly shot through her body as she tried to hop, forcing her to her knees.
"Nice try little miss. Not only do we know how you can hop, we also know how to stop it." The man sneered, tightening his grip. It didn't really hurt, since countries naturally had better physical capabilities than humans, but she still whimpered.
I can't be caught. Not again, not ever!
Immediately, Liechtenstein reached for a memory that had been hidden in the back of her mind, labelled "Switzerland's Training". She gave the man a short and sharp glare, not long enough for him to figure out what she was about to do.
Her leg shot up and kicked him between the legs, immediately making him curl up into a feeble position on the ground. Gunsshots were immediately followed by this action, but for reasons beyond her, every single bullet missed her.
She quickly got to her feet again and ran in a zigzag line, trying to dodge the bullets. Did she dare to nation-hop? She wasn't sure, since she didn't know what kind of device it was that had stopped her nation-hopping.
Was it a gadget with a radius of ten metres? Was it a chemical that she breathed in and wouldn't wear off for another two hours?
She bit her lip when a bullet embeded itself in her shoulder, stopping herself from screaming allowed. I'll risk it. She thought, preparing to nation-hop again.
This was her only ticket of escaping them.
The only possibility.
The only way.
It didn't work.
In the city of Vaduz (Liechtenstein's capital city), everyone straightened up, hearing a girl scream at the top of her lungs.
And everyone stopped walking for just that one short moment.
China was currently waiting impatiently for the aeroplane to land.
He hadn't been able to think straight ever since America called. He was very worried about the younger nation's mental stability.
And no, he wasn't overworrying out of fear of losing another nation. He was not having any exaggerated worst-case scenarios playing in his head over and over again.
He was just checking up on one of the young nations. That's all.
He tapped his fingers on the seat impatiently, as he looked out the window.
"This is your captain speaking!" A voice suddenly said over the mike. "Because of turbulance..." The captain continued, China tuning him out frustrated.
"I hate planes..." China muttered darkly, sinking into his seat. Why were public transports always unreliable in times of needs?
"Ve~ I'm so relieved to see you Germany!" Italy said happily, then looked at the two people steadying him.
"And you guys too~ I haven't seen you in decades!"
"Wait, you already know?" England asked surprised, not having expected Italy to remember anything, like him. But apparently, one glance at a few countries let him remember everything he needed to.
"Ve~ No, I only just remembered. Well, I did know, but only subconciously..." Italy explained, finding that he had had the knowledge all this time, but, as he had said, it was subconcious.
"Shut up you damn idiot." Romano muttered, clinging to his brother, afraid that he'd suddenly disappear again.
"A-America... Let me down..." Canada managed to say, looking around himself for the first time in decades. He couldn't help but smile.
America loosened his grip, feeling a little shocked that the trio (Japan hadn't said anything yet, but was bound to soon) had remembered everything just like that.
Both England and America had been expecting the same dilemma they had with Arthur finding out he was England but... Apparently, they remembered without any problems...
Unlike England...
That didn't make sense.
Japan looked around nervously, as if he was expecting to be pounced on or something. While letting his eyes dart around wildly, the usually timid and calm nation asked "I suggest we go inside, I am sure you have many questions to ask."
"We can now detect them completely sir. They have reconnected with their landmass and people."
"Start the evacuation and send the spies to spy them."
"Sir, wouldn't it be wiser to simply capture them?"
"No. It would not. Now do as commanded."
"Yes sir!"
"Sir!"
"Yes?
"The scout group has successfully captured Liechtenstein and discovered Sealand, Latvia and South Korea there. They are awaiting further orders."
"Tell them to take Liechtenstein to AB2 and to observe the three nations they've found. As soon as they show signs to remembering, take them to AB2 as well. If any countries that have remained uncaptured* are seen in Liechtenstein (the country), take them to AB2 immediately."
"Yes sir!"
England was busy trying not to nibble at his fingernails nervously.
How come Japan, Canada and Italy (after they reintroduced themselves to him... That was awkward...) remembered the moment they heard/saw them? How come he wasn't able to do that? Everytime he tried to remember, he felt like he ran into a brick wall, impossible to get through.
Both the three nations that had recovered their memories at astonishingly fast speeds were staring around the place, as if expecting something bad arriving at some point. They also hung around the other nations, going so far as to it being called 'clingy'.
Although, the countries that hadn't gone missing were equally clingy. Italy seemed to be stuck to both Romano and Germany, Japan made sure he always had both America and Germany in sight and Canada clung mostly to America, but also checked for the other nations present.
He let out a barely audible sigh, as he took a sip of coffee America had hurriedly made.
There was a long awkward pause surrounding them. No one knew how to break the silence, since no one really knew what to do.
They were too busy spending time with missed ones to really break the silence.
England took another sip. Where was Liechtenstein? They still didn't know. They sat there, a grandfather clock America must have gotten at some point ticked loudly in the unsually quiet house.
Finally, America, being the 'hero', broke the silence.
"... So... What happened to you guys? Since you remember who you are, I assume you'd also remember what happened?"
The odd trio all gave out a tired sigh, which was actually quite surprising for Italy, since he was usually an all-round-cheerful guy.
Japan fiddled a bit with the cane he had needed to use only moments ago. "Our stories are all a little different, but are the same still... It would be my honour to tell the tale of the horrors we went through for my fellow nations."
Both Canada and Italy looked at the Japanese man gratefully and quietly leaned into the other countries embraces, as if they were trying to hide or afraid to be taken away again.
Japan cleared his throat nervously. England looked up, also wanting to know what happened. He was a bit annoyed that he couldn't remember, but maybe listening to the tale would enlighten his memory.
"Well, I guess I should begin with the day I went missing..." Japan started nervously.
I don't really remember what happened, by that, I mean I don't know how I got kidnapped.
I remember vaguely that I was just enjoying the scenery that my house provides, but that's it.
I was very, very surprised when I woke up. Several countries were lying in front of me and the walls, ceilings and floors were white, a UV light shining above us. I wanted to get a better look at where I was, but I found that I was unable to move.
I was only able to breathe and blink. I couldn't even look around.
So I tried to look at the things I could see indirectly. In front of me was England, surrounding both of us were other countries, Italy, Hungary, South Korea, Seychelles, among others, from practically everywhere on the earth.
England was awake, unlike the rest of the nations and staring into space. I was unsure on what to do, so I strained my ears to see if I could here anything. And I did, but it was very quiet and very faint and I only heard very little clearly.
The conversation went something like this:
"When I said as many countries as you can, I didn't mean all of them!"
"It isn't all. We failed to capture seventeen of them. Or was it eighteen?"
"That is besides the point! We haven't got any room for them and we haven't got enough drugs!"
"But I did my job and I did it well." The other voice sighed.
"I guess you're right. We will keep our side of the bargain up."
"That is all I ask."
Other than that, I couldn't hear anything. I then noticed that England was blinking his eyes rapidly at presumably me. It didn't take long to realise he was morse coding me.
"U. O. K." Three letters... Two words. "You Okay?" is what he had asked.
"N.*" I morsed back, straining to remember how to morse code. After all, it had been a while since I needed it.**
"N here 2." England replied. We started communicating with each other as best we could, although it was a little difficult. We figured out that both of us were incapable of any movement other than blinking and breathing, that we both didn't know where we were and that we both had a sinking feeling in the pits of our stomaches.
We spent a long time unable to do anything other than try to stay calm, in which we both admittably failed. I then blacked out, for reasons I do not know.
When I woke up again, I was alone, but able to move freely again. It troubled me that I was alone.
I sat up, simply relieved to know that I wasn't completely alone in this situation. Only alone in the room. I looked around. In one corner there was a toilet and sink, in another a thin matress. There was a large, metallic door, with no lock, but a hatch. Everything was white and the UV light gave it a cold feeling, colder than it already was.
I soon also realised that I was no longer wearing my usual clothing. It had been replaced with what equalled hospital patient clothing.*
I thought it was a bit disturbing that someone had changed my clothes, but then again, the situation was quite distressing.
I got up and examined everything closely, but there was nothing there, apart from what was already mentioned. I couldn't find any obvious ways of escape, neither did anything give me any information on what was going on or where I was.
At some point, the hatch in the door opened and food and water slid in. I hadn't expected that and went to the hatch, but it closed before I could glimpse out of it.
I, at first, pushed the food away, it being the only thing I could do. Whoever brought me here wanted me alive. By not eating or drinking, I was showing that I refused to give in. Sadly, after a few nights, food and water continously being pushed in, I gave in, not able to stare at the pile of food.
I ate as little as I could, doing it as slowly as possible. There wasn't anything to do in here, so I usually tried to figure things out, things that were impossible to figure out without needed information...
Weeks past and nothing happened. The hatch opened, food and water came in, it closed. The trays were never taken out, I didn't know what to do with them. I thought about using them to try and open the door, but after examining the door closely, decided that this was no possibility.
Soon six months had passed and I was just hoping that other nations would let me out, and I thought a lot of things over. Then I heard a tapping sound. It tapped irregularly and again, I realised it had been morse code. During the months that had gone by, I had practiced several things I usually wouldn't have had time for, Morse Code was one of them.
It turned out to be Liechtenstein. She told me that in her other neighbouring cell was Switzerland, who neighboured Cuba, who neighboured France, who neighboured England, who neighboured Russia, who neighboured Latvia, etc.
She asked me to see if anyone was on the opposite side of the wall in my cell. I checked. It was Greece.
We started exchanging information, which followed that no one else knew what was happening. A lot of cursing apparently came from the other cells.
Then, twenty years after being in the cells, Mexico announced that someone had taken Romania out of his cell.
We all immediately got worried and a whole lot of tapping sounded off the walls.
Romania was gone for a couple days. When he came back and was asked what had happened he replied that he knew what was going on.
"They are scientific Humans. They study countries. They have nearly all of us, I don't know which or how many. They are... Experimenting on us."
This news shocked us (but it also added up to what I heard).
We wanted to know more, but Romania was too exhausted to even lift a finger. Halfway through tapping Experimenting on us, his taps had started becoming barely audible. By the time he tapped s, his cell neighbours heard a thud and realised he had collapsed.
But there was no need to want to find out more. As time went on, we found out by ourselves, all of us being taken in and out of the empty cells.
We still didn't know where we were, but we knew what was going on. After thirty years of being experimented upon in many different ways, we realised that no one was coming for us.
We were lost and the remaining nations would never be able to find us, since even we didn't know where we were.
So we started planning an escape, a majority of it requiring a lot of patience. The plan started with three volunteers...
*Such as America or Germany.
*In the old computer games, were you made simple decisions, such as yes or no, for yes you had Y and no you had N. So it went something like this: Defend self from Killer? Y/N I really like those computer games, but they don't make them any more. TT^TT I think you can download some off the internet, but my mental image of downloading is downloading =
**Actually I'm not sure. Do countries still morse code? ... Shrugs dismissively.
*I suck at comparisons. As many probably said before me: Fail Description is Fail Description. I'm basically talking about those dress thingies that get tied together at the back, that hospital patients wear... Yeah, Fail Description is fail Description.
On other notes, I apologise for not updating sooner. I was suffering from writers block, and my usual life wasn't helping either. I just knew what I needed to write but not how to, so yeah... Plus, the next few chapters are going to be very, very important (obviously), so bare with, bare with.
And on a random note, I'm also hooked on HetaOni. Which sucks, cause I don't really have the time to watch it and I usually do things in one go (a bad habit, I know).
Anyway, all announcements are now said, please bare with for the next update.
Review?