America quickly grabbed his bomber jacket and all but ran out of where his boss was staying, taking his phone out of one of the pockets. He hurriedly accessed the internet, bringing up a map of Russia. "Izmaylovsky Park...Izmaylovsky Park...Where is it?" he muttered under his breath, not watching where he was going. America let out a surprised grunt as he knocked into someone, jarring the phone from his hands.
"Ah! I'm sorry...Oh, America! I appologize for running into you," Toris said in a slightly surprised tone, bending over to pick up America's dropped phone.
"Whoa, sorry, Lithuania! I guess I wasn't paying attention to where I was goin'," Alfred chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck with a sheepish expression on his face.
Lithuania smiled, glancing down at the screen of the phone. "Izmaylovsky Park...That's in Russia, why are you looking at it?" he asked, confusion clear on his face. "Especially with what's just happened, I don't know why you'd be interested in it," Toris murmured, handing the electronic back to the western country.
"Well...," Alfred trailed off, not sure if he should include Lithuania in this. He has known Ivan for a long time, much longer than me, that's for sure...Maybe he'll know something about this that I don't..., he thought, deciding to take a chance. He knew Lithuania woudn't do anything wrong with the information, he was a good, trustworthy person. "I might need your help with something, Lithuania...If you're willing, that is," the sandy blond said, returning the phone to his jacket pocket.
"Of course, America...What do you need?" Toris asked, still a bit confused by the way America was acting.
The bespectacled nation let out a pent up breath, shifting from foot to foot. "Before Russia left, he told me to go to Izmaylovsky Park. He said that there would be something there to help in the war, but he didn't tell me what it was or where exactly to find it. Hell, he didn't even tell me where this park was! So, if you possibly know your way around there, I'd be really grateful for your help, Toris," Alfred explained, a hopeful look in his blue eyes.
Lithuania was silent for a moment, digesting the information. "Yes, I know where the park is. It's in the same area as Moscow, but still a ways away from the city. Why would he send you there?" the brunet wondered out loud, his eyes narrowing in thought.
"I don't know, man, but if whatever I find there can end this war quickly and get Ivan back to normal, then it doesn't matter to me. So, are you coming with me, Toris?" Alfred asked, pulling on a pair of black gloves.
"If it will aid in this upcoming war...and if it will help Russia return to himself, than I'll go with you. I don't want to see him go through this again...Communism nearly broke him the first time, I don't want to see the end result this time around," Toris replied softly, tucking some of his chestnut brown hair behind his ear. "Everyone thinks he was a complete monster back then, but they weren't there, they didn't see how Russia suffered..."
America remained silent, not wanting to intrude on the other country's memories. He had been one of the many countries that thought that of Russia, he had even spread many of those horrible rumors himself. But, when Lithuania came to work at his house, he had gotten a much different perspective from the European country; one that didn't quite match up to the stories.
Lithuania cleared his throat, blinking away the old memories. "We'll need to be very careful going into Russia...Being so close to Moscow, there are bound to be quite a number of guarded check-points," he pointed out, drawing his coat closer around himself.
"Yeah, that could get tricky, but we need to find whatever it is that's out there before the new Soviet Russia does," Alfred stated grimly, his mouth held in a thin line.
"D-Damn, s-shoulda brought more to w-wear. Geez, I'm freezing my freakin' berries off out here!" Alfred complained, burrowing as far into his bomber jacket as he could.
"I told you to wear something warmer, America! It's winter, so it's going to be very cold and snowing here," Toris sighed in exasperation, glancing around the snowy forest.
The two had caught a last minute flight into Moscow, the last plane going there because of the violence in the city. They didn't get very far before seeing the damage; tanks and soldiers in the streets, blood and bodies in the snow, buildings burning or falling apart from tank and rocket fire. They had barely snuck past the few check-points that had been hastily constructed, trying to not draw any attention to themselves as they entered the park.
It made America sick to his stomach to see all of it. Moscow was Russia's heart, like all capital cities were to the countries, and it was being destroyed.
"Y-Yeah...I guess I s-sort of didn't think about i-it," Alfred stammered, stopping at the base of one of the many snow covered trees. Sighing, he removed his glasses to rub at his eyes wearily.
They had been searching the large, forest dense park for nearly two hours now, and they still hadn't found anything. The two countries couldn't stay here for long, they may be detected and captured. But they felt that they couldn't leave without whatever it was that they had come to find.
"America...," Toris uttered in a low voice, his expression showing concern for the sandy blond.
"No, not yet! Just...not yet," Alfred said, moving to put his glasses back on. Just as they touched the bridge of his nose, he heard a twig snap from somewhere behind him. America whirled around, while Lithuania jumped slightly, but neither could see whatever made the noise. "Did you hear that?" Alfred whispered, his hands paused near his face with his glasses suspended over his nose.
Lithuania nodded, silently praying that it wasn't any of the soldiers from the city. They hadn't brought any weapons with them, so if it came to a fight they wouldn't be able to defend themselves.
Something blurred across America's vision, behind Lithuania, but he couldn't see clearly without his glasses in place. "Whoa, hey! What was that?" he blurted out, quickly throwing his glasses on as he ran after whatever had crossed his line of sight. He followed small prints in the snow, but he couldn't discern what exactly it was that he was chasing.
"A-America! Wait!" Toris called after the blond, slipping in the snow as he tried to follow after the American.
America slowed down as he saw the prints in the snow circle around to a tree, but they didn't continue away from the large plant in any way. He snuck over as quietly as he could to the tree's wide trunk, pressing up against it. He slowly crept around the cold, rough tree trunk, hoping to catch whatever was hiding behind it in surprise. "Gotcha!" Alfred boomed loudly, making a leap to grab the thing. He blinked in surprise when there was nothing on the other side, freezing mid-leap when a load of wet snow fell onto him, inching down his back. "What the-"
Childish laughter filled America's ears as he brushed snow off of himself, hissing from the cold. He craned his neck to try and see into the tree's thick branches, but he couldn't see past the thick barrier of greenery.
There's someone up there, damn it, and I'm going to find out who! Alfred resolved, starting to climb up the snow laden tree without a second thought. He could here Lithuania finally catch up to him, but he didn't stop to look down. As he reached the second branch, though, America was rewarded with a snowball pelting him right in the face. America, now blinded by whiteness, lost his balance and grip, falling off of the tree while his hands flailed around for some sort of purchase. He landed with a muffled thump in the cold snow, the outline of his body etched into the white that coated the earth.
More laughter greeted America as he leaned up on his elbows, wiping wet snow from his face. He quickly readjusted his glasses, locating the source of the laughter.
It was a boy.
He couldn't of been more than five or six; with short, messy beige hair, and deep purple eyes. He had on a white, long-sleeved shirt that was just a bit too big for him, and dark brown pants that came about to his mid-calf; a faded scarf wrapped securely around his neck, trailing down his back because of its absurd length. The boy was now sitting on the lowest branch of the tree, kicking his bare feet back and forth as he braced himself with his hands so he didn't lose balance and fall. A familiar smile was on his chubby face as he watched America stand up.
Lithuania came up next to the blond westerner, a dumbfounded look on his cold-bleached face. "It's...not possible...I-Ivan?" he breathed, stopping dead in his tracks.
"No way...," Alfred murmured under his breath, his eyes widening as he looked the boy over.
The boy turned his dark purple eyes onto Lithuania, cocking his head to the side questioningly. "How'd you know my name?" he asked, awe in his curious voice.
As the two countries struggled to come up with a good answer, not to mention the fact that they were still trying to figure this whole situation out themselves, the boy was going to ask another question, but something distracted him.
That something happened to be a fluffy, grey-furred squirrel that had hopped onto the same branch as him. The animal sniffed around the branch for a while before finding the space a little too crowded for its tastes, and it scurried down the tree and scampered across the snow. The boy, instantly fascinated, decided to follow the fuzzy little creature. He shifted around on the branch, trying to figure out the best way to get down. Eventually, he just lowered himself down by his hands, the rest of his body dangling above the snowy earth as he hung there.
"How's this possible? Are you sure this isn't some weird, hypothermia induced dream and we're not actually laying unconscious somewhere in the snow?" Alfred asked, trying to rationalize this situation in his head somehow.
"No, I'm pretty sure this is real...somehow...It does make some sense," Toris murmured, turning to fully face America. "Every country has a special place that they will come back to if they die, or go through some serious changes that cause a brief rearrangement in the country, such as a new government or civil war. It's sort of like a regeneration point. This park resides in the area that made up the Kievan Rus principitality which Russia first represented, before he became his own official country. If Russia has suddenly been forced back into communism, then there will likely be people in the country who oppose it: rebels," he continued, realization dawning on his face.
The boy started to swing back and forth on the branch, the rough bark breaking off in little bits from the friction caused by his hands. While America and Lithuania were distracted by their thoughts, the young boy swung off the branch and landed with a soft thump in the snow. He followed after the squirrel's small pawprints in the snow, leaving a trail of his own as he tracked the animal down, eager to continue the mission: Catch the Fluffy Squirrel. He forgot all about the other two countries as he toddled off into the forest.
"And that could lead to a split in personifications...," Alfred breathed in amazement, slapping a gloved hand to his cheek. "Well, that would certainly explain little Rus...Hey...where'd he go?" he blurted out, noticing a lack of the small Russian in the vicinity.
The two countries glanced around, but they didn't see the little boy anywhere.
"Uwaaaaaa! We lost little Rus! What do we do, what do we do?" Alfed proceeded to freak out, running around the area in a frantic search.
The squirrel was perched on a snow covered rock, nonchalantly nibbling at a stone cold seed that it had happened upon on in the snow. Little did the small creature know, it was being hunted.
The hunter steathily closed in on its prey, hardly making a sound as it came up behind the rodent, readying itself to attack.
The squirrel paused in its nibbling, its fluffy tail twitching as it carefully listened to the surrounding woods. Finding nothing out of place, it continued to gnaw at the seed in blissful ignorance.
The predator saw its chance of opportunity, and crouched down into a low position before pouncing on the animal.
"Caught you, da*?" Ivan giggled, capturing the grey rodent in his hands as he landed on his stomach in the snow.
The squirrel chattered in annoyance as it was gathered up into small, cold hands. It chittered more into Ivan's face, anger making its previous cuteness dim a little. Ivan giggled again, ignoring the squirrel's irritation as he traced a finger down its back, enjoying the feel of its warm fur. The boy looked up from the small animal in his hands at the absurd noise that came crashing through the forest.
America and Lithuania stumbled past a few trees, nearly tripping each other up and almost running into the boy. The two countries let out a simultaneous sigh of relief.
"There you are, Ivan! Geez, tell a guy before you go running off after...uh...squirrels," Alfred said, glancing at the large rodent.
"Ah, don't lay in the snow! You'll get sick from the cold," Toris chided, trudging quickly through the snow to pick the boy up out of it.
"Hey, how do you know my name?" Ivan repeated, suddenly remembering his previous question. He squirmed around a bit as Lithuania picked him up, tucking his legs in and bringing the squirrel closer to himself as he was lifted off the snowy ground.
"Well, you told us, of cour-" Alfred started to say, but cut himself off when Lithuania motioned subtlely for him to stop. He shrugged his shoulders, silently asking "What?".
Lithuania shook his head, his brown hair following the movement fluidly. He cleared his throat, bringing his attention back to the little boy as he settled the child on his hip. "Ivan...you don't remember us?" he asked in a soft tone, tightening his hold on the Russian when the boy started to squirm again.
Ivan seemed to think for a moment, burying his face into his scarf. "Nyet...," he replied slowly, his chubby face scrunched up in thought. "I'm sorry, da?" he offered an apology, looking slightly regretful.
"No, no...That's okay if you can't remember us. All you need to know about us is that we're your friends, alright?" Toris murmured, shifting Ivan slightly to a more comfortable position. He brought his hand down to the boy's left foot, gasping as he felt how cold it was. "You're freezing! How long have you been out here? And barefoot, too!" he exclaimed, somewhat thankful that he didn't have his gloves with him. If he'd had his gloves on, he wouldn't have noticed how cold the little boy was.
Ivan's expression shifted to one similar to that of a befuddled puppy, his head tilting to the side in confusion. "I don't know...I just woke up here. It was really cold before, but I stopped feeling cold a while ago," he replied, giggling when the squirrel nudged at his hand.
Lithuania now noticed that, while he could see both his own breath as well as America's, Ivan's wasn't visible in the cold night air. His body temperature must be dangerously low! We need to get him warm! he thought, concern flooding his mind, making his stomach knot. "Alfred, could you please take him for a moment?" Toris asked, gnawing on his bottom lip.
America blinked, pushing his glasses further up on his nose. "Yeah, sure thing, bro," he answered, somewhat awkwardly taking the boy from the European country. It was such a weird thing for America, holding Russia. It certainly wasn't a situation America ever thought he would be in since, even with his super human strength, Russia was the largest country on Earth, and was a pretty heavy guy when he was...well, an adult. As a child, though, it wasn't too much of a problem, even if he was a bit heavier than America first thought he would be. He glanced up from studying the little boy when he heard the sound of a zipper being undone, gapping in confusion as Lithuania unzipped his heavy winter jacket. "What're you doing?" he blurted out, bouncing Ivan a bit in his arms.
"Alfred, he's freezing...We need to get his body temperature back up before he gets seriously sick," Toris replied in a serious tone, motioning for the blond to hand Ivan back over.
"So you strip down in the snow?" Alfred asked, still not understanding what Lithuania was doing.
"No...I'm just trying to get him warmer by sharing body heat, America...," Toris stated, holding Ivan as close to his body as he could and then zipping the jacket up around them both. "This won't do much, though, especially if we stay out here, so we should get moving."
America nodded, realization finally hitting him, and started to backtrack their way out of the forest. "Alright, let's get goin'. All we need to do is sneak back into the city and find someone who's willing to fly us out of here and back into Warsaw...," he muttered, a grim look on his face.
Lithuania followed behind America, withdrawing his arms into the torso of his winter jacket, groping around for Ivan's hands. Once he found them, he encircled them with his own, larger than the other's this time around, and furiously tried to rub warmth back into the Russian's icy hands.
Ivan had started to doze off, the cold finally having its effect on him. He could feel Lithuania's heart beating, as his ear was pressed up against the brunet's chest, and it was such a soothing rhythm that he lost his fight to stay awake. He didn't even notice the large grey squirrel cuddle into the folds of his scarf, settling comfortably in the space between his neck and shoulder. He yawned, smiling a bit in his sleep as warmth slowly started to make its way back into his body.
Da: Yes in Russian