When the next day came, Romano and America could see how their surroundings changed. Now the various shades of yellow had returned, to all the objects that normally had them. Everything looking like either yellow, or no color, was still fairly bland… but Romano was relieved all the same. One color was better than none at this point.
The air felt different, too. Now it was just warm, and pleasant, like a nice afternoon by the Mediterranean coast. Looking to the map, the pair of them were heading for a coast, actually…
"Hey Romano! Look at these!" America pulled the Italian from his thoughts, holding up some flowers and leaves. The flowers were yellow and bright, and… they were all braided together.
"What the fuck, America? You made a flower crown? Seriously?"
"Yup! I used to do this kinda shit all the time as a kid. I can do it without even looking!" He tossed the crown onto Romano's head (that son of a bitch) and plucked up some more of the pretty flowers. He then continued walking on, and as if to prove his point, he started weaving it all together without looking down at his hands.
Romano snorted and reflexively stuffed the crown into his bag. "That's nice. And lame."
"What? I thought you were into arts and crafts and all that."
"Bastard, that's my brother you're thinking about."
"Huh. You don't do it yourself? Even a little bit?"
Yes, but Romano wasn't about to let anyone, much less this dolt, in on that little fact. The last thing he needed was to have other people looking at his shitty art and… ugh… pretend to like it. "Nope. It's stupid, and so are you."
America just shrugged it off and they continued on, towards a town on the coast called Pensa.
They weren't very far from the town at that point, and it took them less than a week to reach it. The sun was very warm and pleasant in this town, and there were no roads; only soft sand covered the ground.
"Nice! This place is a beach!" America's face lit up, and within moments he had his shoes and socks off. Soon enough, he was handing those off to Romano, passing his jacket, gloves, and tie along as well; the Italian begrudgingly put them away in his bag. "Man, I'm loving this place already! Finding the next Crystal should be—oh!" America cut himself off with a gasp, staring off to… something, in the distance. "Look! I bet that place serves food!"
"...Okay? That's nice." It all tasted the same, and they still had plenty to eat on them...
"Come on, we should get some! The Golden Crystal is back now, something's gotta be different, right?"
"Dumbass, you only think with your stomach! The change is going to be so small, it's not worth going out of our way for it! And besides, we don't have any money. So let's just find a priestess and that Crystal and get the fuck out of here."
"Damn, dude, what crawled into your ass and died? It'll only be a few minutes—they might give away samples or something!"
"Tch, then you go on ahead, asshole."
"Just what I was thinking! Should I grab anything for you?"
Romano's instinct was to say no, but then he realized… he fucking missed flavors. Sure, he was usually picky about what he ate, but if he had the chance now to just taste something after all this time... "Fine, get something for me too, bastard. I'll catch up in a little bit."
"Roger!" America eagerly rolled up his pant legs and sleeves, and then darted off to some building further out.
Romano, in the meantime, looked for a local to speak with. Thankfully, there were people actually milling around out here this time… so things were starting to look a little more normal, at least. He stuffed away his shoes, belt, jacket—everything but his pants and thin shirt—into his bag; then he rolled his pant legs high up and opened his shirt. Time to ask around, dammit.
The first person he saw was sitting on the ground, and that looked fairly typical for a beach… until Romano walked around to face the man, and fucking saw him eating sand. What the fuck?
The man had an expression of childish glee on his face, and once he saw Romano, he smiled ever wider and then started talking. Or at least, he tried; his mouth was so stuffed with sand that his words were muffled, and—disgusting! He was spitting up sand on Romano!
Romano hopped back, and with a short, "fuck no!", he stalked off to find someone more… normal.
Next he tried speaking with a woman, but when she turned around, Romano got even more freaked out—she had fresh blood, dripping down the side of her face. "Isn't it wonderful!?" she said, and she grabbed Romano's shoulders, wearing a huge creepy smile on her face. "Look, I can bleed! And I can feel pain! It's a sign that I'm truly living—it's so great to be alive!"
"Shit!" Romano shrieked and wriggled out of her grasp, and then he fucking ran for it. When he felt that he gained enough distance, he turned back towards the woman, and saw her hit her head repeatedly against the wall.
Okay, seriously, fuck these Crystals. The people were way the fuck more normal when they were just apathetic all the time!
Once he calmed his nerves, Romano sighed and reluctantly gave his search another try. It took some few minutes, but finally, he found a man who didn't seem unbearably hyperactive, or injured. Or both, for that matter.
"Hey!" Romano called out to the man, "can you tell me where the Azure Crystal is? And do you have, um, any priestesses around here?"
"Hey there! Wow, you're forward, I like that! Hahaha."
"...Okay." Romano crossed his arms and huffed. Come on, please let this person be halfway normal!
"And so expressive! Wow, I haven't seen anyone like you for a while! You're amazing!"
"...um. Thanks...?"
"Yeah, yeah, you're welcome!" The man gave Romano a hearty pat on the shoulder, and just as the Italian opened his mouth to ask his questions again, the man finally answered. "Yeah, the Azure Crystal! It's at the bottom of the sea, didn't you know? Haha!"
"...No, I didn't know. Asshole." Romano glanced over to the calm waters that he could see from here. "Quit joking around, this is important! Seriously, where is the damn Crystal?"
"Ha! Don't believe me? It's the truth!" Romano's only response was to deepen his frown, so the man continued, "in fact, since you're looking for the priestess, why don't you ask her? She lives in a little house, on that cliff overlooking the sea. Can't miss it! Oh, it's got such a great view…"
Romano could see the cliff from where he was, so at least that was something he could investigate. "...Thanks. I guess." He gave the man a curt nod and headed for the building he saw America run to. Better to regroup before that dumbass wandered out too far, or got lost.
The building had some smoke coming from the top, and based on what Romano could see, it did look like a place to eat. Leave it to the gluttonous moron to zero in on a restaurant the moment they arrived. Well, if the large number of people flocking to the restaurant was any indication, at least this place would be decent. Maybe.
Damn. There really were a lot of people. Too goddamn many. Romano had a hard time shoving past them to get inside. Once he finally made it in, the place was so damn full that he wondered if he'd be able to find America.
Luckily, it wasn't as hard for Romano as he thought it'd be: it turned out that all the people inside were congregating around one area. One person, more like. And of course… that person was America. Motherfucker!
After gratuitous amounts of shoving and elbowing, Romano finally made it to the front of the crowd. And there was America, holding on to a cup and addressing one of the members of the crowd. Currently, he was laughing and running his free hand through his hair, in a way that Romano could immediately tell was showing off. "Actually," America finally said, "I'm a lot older than I look!" Cheers, laughter, and squeals erupted from the people around him, and Romano couldn't help but jump.
"Son of a bitch! America! What the fuck do you think you're doing!?" Romano shouted.
"...Huh? Oh, hey, Romano! Come on up here—I've got some chocolate for you!" America waved the other nation on. "The Golden Crystal brought back the flavor of sweetness, isn't that awesome?"
Reluctantly, Romano joined America; he did not like being surrounded by such a large crowd. He took the drink America offered him and was about to take a sip, when he suddenly remembered all of the rage he felt in the first place. "Wait a damn second! America! Just what the hell is going on here!?"
"Well, all these people got really excited to meet me! I didn't think the whole town would come in here just for me, though, haha!" Stupid fucking braggart. "But I can understand why they're happy to see me—I'm the hero!"
Various cheers and agreements on that swelled from the crowd, and Romano clutched at his cup tighter, feeling an instinctive sort of annoyance. Was this jealousy? Okay, it was probably jealousy. "Hey, everyone, what about me? I'm also one of the Crystal Heroes!" His eyes scanned across the crowd and his frown tightened.
The surrounding people murmured a general sort of agreement—well, yes, there was nothing saying that there weren't two heroes out there trying to help, and Romano was clearly in full color… but then all eyes were back on America.
"America is the perfect example of what a hero should be!"
"He's going to save our world!"
"Oh, America is like a dream come true!"
Romano let out a low growl and felt the instinctive annoyance spike into a fiery rage that exploded in his chest and shot all the way out to his hands and feet. He grabbed onto America's sleeve, and yanked, taking some satisfaction in the surprised look the other gave him. "Come on, bastard. We need to get going."
America answered, "But I was thinking—"
"Now."
America's mouth snapped shut, and maybe… just maybe, he looked a little sheepish. Good. America turned back to face the circle of people around them and waved amicably. "Hey, I'm so glad you all came out to see me! But me and my sidekick here have to go now." The crowd let out a collective sound of disappointment, and America's stupid smile grew wider and more accommodating. "Hero business, you know! Gotta take some time for the important stuff! But don't worry—I'm sure you'll all see me around sometime soon!"
Romano had to consciously keep his trembling fists in check, so he wouldn't fucking punch something. Preferably America's face. Did Romano think the bastard ever looked sheepish? Fuck no! Just a mistake in judgment, dammit.
After Romano had to drag the idiot out of the restaurant by one arm—while America used his other arm to wave at his fans and say nice things to them—they were finally outside and heading towards the priestess's house. It was a little bit of a walk to get there, as her house was built rather far from the rest of the town, but fuck—Romano could appreciate the scarce population at this point.
The pleasant weather and warm sand did little to ease Romano's nerves, especially because the lumbering moron next to him was fucking beaming and occasionally humming something stupid under his breath. Dammit, Romano thought, I should have just left this idiot behind and gone alone. Just because they were both summoned at first, it didn't mean that they both needed to do all this bullshit together all the time, right?
Not even the chocolate drink that America handed him could make him feel better. It was sweet, sure, but that's all it was; it didn't have the full flavor of chocolate. Well, at least it wasn't Hershey's, thank god.
Finally, the pair of them reached the top of the small cliff that overlooked the sea. It really was a nice view from up there. And just as the man said to Romano earlier, there was a house up here—just one, something rather simple and cozy looking. After a few minutes of looking around and knocking on the door, they finally went around to the back and saw a woman relaxing on a long cushioned chair outside.
The woman had long hair, dressed lightly, and seemed blissfully unaware of the other people present. Romano didn't want to bother a pretty lady like her, but oh hey look—America was going to do that for him. How lovely.
"Hey there, lady! Are you the priestess?" the blond asked, walking up to her and waving.
The woman was hardly startled; instead she slowly shifted her weight and cracked her eyes open. Was she sleeping just now? "Yes, that's me. Hmmm, I'm Lady Espra. And who are you?" She finally tilted her head towards the nations, but her eyes still looked unfocused. Yeah, she was definitely asleep just now.
"I'm America, and I'm the he—"
Romano shoved America and said, "And I'm Romano. Nice to meet you." Holy shit Romano was sick of hearing about America's stupid hero bullshit.
"Oh, nice to meet you too! But hold on," Espra's senses were finally picking up again, somewhat, and she sat up. "You're both in all color. Are you here to restore the Crystals?"
"Yup! Because… We're the heroes!" America declared, and Romano sent him a glare that could melt steel.
"It makes me happy to hear that. Since you're… wait." Espra seemed suddenly taken by something, and she eased herself onto her feet, stepping up to America. He must not have been expecting anything weird to happen, which sort of sucked for him, because Espra then proceeded to slip off his glasses and gently pull his face towards hers. She jerked her head up, and shit was she going to kiss him—wait, no, she stopped just short of that, and seriously what the fuck was going on!? At least America had the decency to redden and look a little embarrassed.
"Your eyes," she finally said, "they're beautiful. It's been so long since I've seen such gorgeous eyes… truly, you are the one to restore our Crystal."
"Uh, um… thanks…" America's breath hitched. He stood stock still and the blush only spread. That fucking bastard.
"Hee, you're so shy. You must have had a hard time moving through town with eyes like those."
"Uh."
"Blue eyes are considered a very attractive trait in Pensa, you see. And yours in particular… they look just like the Azure Crystal…" Espra's smile grew, and she just kept staring into America's eyes, looking as happy as though she just connected with her soulmate or something.
Wait, wait, hold up! The fuck was going on?! And did they just forget about Romano or what?! Seriously, what the fuck!
Before Romano could think of a way to interrupt this awkward fucking moment, America finally spoke up again. "U-uh… can I have m-my Tesses back? Texas? G, glasses? Please?"
Espra giggled, and after one final wistful look, she finally backed down and handed America his glasses. "I forget how shy you little humans can be sometimes. Hee hee."
"Uh, right—hey! I'm not shy!" America said this a little too loudly to be convincing, and he was doing a horrible job of fighting down his blush.
Romano rolled his eyes and jabbed America with an elbow before the idiot could say anything else stupid. "Just a second. You're not a human? You wouldn't be a demon, would you?" Romano seriously did not want to interact with any more of those.
"I'm not a demon! I'm a mermaid!" The nations both shot her an incredulous look, and dammit, she just laughed as though they told her a funny fucking joke. "I'm one of the rare kinds who can switch between having legs or a tail! Oh, you wouldn't believe how nice it is, to be able to lay on the land and sunbathe all day… you humans are so lucky to all be born on this side of the surface. Honestly, I just don't know how anyone in this town can get things done, when they can just soak up the sun instead..." Espra stretched lazily and finally sat back down on her chair.
Then there was silence, and she sprawled back out over the chair, and hey! Was she going back to sleep!? "Oi, Lady. Priestess. Espra. We had some questions for you… if you please," Romano said.
She perked back up and faced the others again. "Haha, of course! Go ahead, I'm listening."
"...Right. Okay, so first, where is the Azure Crystal?"
"Hm, it should still be in its shrine… and that would be located on the bottom of the sea."
"You've got to be fuck—you've got to be kidding me." Shit, Romano didn't like cursing in front of nice ladies like her. "How are we supposed to get there?"
"Actually," America added, "can't you just turn into a mermaid and grab the Crystal for us?"
"Oh, usually it would be no problem! But the magic I use to transform and to open the water for human visitors, it's all linked to that Azure Crystal. Sorry boys, you're out of luck there." Espra shrugged a shoulder, looking as insincere as possible.
"Well… can we swim?" America asked.
"Hee hee, that'd be funny to watch. It's far too deep, you humans would run out of breath in no time." The nations both let out a frustrated sigh, and after a moment, Espra's eyes widened slightly, as though she came to a realization. "Oh, but the Golden Crystal is back! So, if you visit a magic craftsperson, they'll be able to help you. The Golden Crystal is the source for our shielding magic, so you should be able to use that underwater. You know what I mean?"
America nodded and Romano said, "Yes, we get it. And, while I'm thinking about the Golden Crystal… tell me, how is it that we reactivate these? We only got that first one by chance."
"Haha, that's lucky! The Crystals will reactivate when they're exposed to the emotion they govern. It has to be pretty strong, too."
"So, basically… it's like a jump, right?" America asked.
Espra gave him an odd look and laughed again. "Haha, I don't know what a jump is! But maybe you get the jist of it. The Golden Crystal is the source of happiness, so it could have only come back when at least one of you experienced a moment full of pure happiness. See what I mean?" The nations both nodded and then she continued, "The Azure Crystal is the source of our ability to think deeply, be curious. Pensa has always been known for its scholars, and if we get that Crystal back up, then our people here will once again be able to have thoughtful debates, and long nights of developing philosophies and inventions. Oh... if I could see that again, it would make me so happy!"
"So, once we get the Azure Crystal, we have to think really hard or something to restore it," Romano mused. Then he turned to America and added, "guess it's going to be up to me for that one."
America shrugged off the comment and turned back to the priestess. "So tell me, what flavor comes back when we do this one?"
"The flavor of saltiness—just like the sea! I'd love to have that again, too…" Espra replied, and she let out a blissful sigh.
"Oh man, that'd be awesome!" America exclaimed, and then he turned to Romano. "Well, I think I learned everything I needed. You good to go too?" Romano simply nodded, and with that, they both thanked Espra and gave her their goodbyes. As they left, they could see her lounge back over her chair again. Did she just enjoy the sun all day now, and nothing else? Romano supposed it was better to do that than to be holed up at home doing nothing, though.
As they returned to town, looking for some kind of magic craftsperson, Romano caught sight of the restaurant they were in earlier. Their chocolate was appropriately sweet, but it was still missing something: chocolate is supposed to be a little bitter, too. Romano frowned. If they had to be truly happy to bring sweetness back, then what would they have to do to restore the bitterness?
Author's Notes:
Pensa, a sunny town full of people who admire Alfred/America... sounds like my kind of place! Aw yeah.
I really like this chapter, and look, I don't even have to write up a lot of notes! For those curious, "Pensa" is based on the Spanish word "pensar", which means "to think". Felicity, Pensa... no questions on what these places are dedicated to, huh? Also, chapter title is the name of a jazz-classical piece by George Gershwin, which I am quite fond of~
Thanks again so much for reading, and I'll see you all around next time~!
EDIT: Oh my freaking fuck, it was only after I posted this that I realized I didn't finish fixing the formatting! Go me. XD I think this site sends an alert for edited chapters too, and if so, I just want to say that the edit is really not a big deal. I just... I forgot to change the - dashes to — dashes. Oopsie. Everything else is exactly the same, though!