Disclaimer: Noo, I don't own APH.
Alfred.
Lying in a coma, after a disease ravaged his country.
Ivan.
Physically and mentally unstable, after an anti-Russian government group started a civil war.
Yao.
At first…it seemed like he would be the one to help them all. He was rising, quickly gaining power…and yet, corrupted government officials began wasting money, and eventually… things got out of hand. His neighbors helped, but it looked like China would not recover in time to help.
Francis.
Italy's pawn.
Feliciano.
Launched a war that consumed half of Europe before anyone knew what was going on. Soon the Italian empire was growing at an astonishing rate; and no one seemed able to stop him. South Italy had mysteriously disappeared. How the sweet little Italian could turn into a monster in a short time was anybody's guess. Some say that the monster wasn't created; it was always there, waiting for the right moment to strike.
Ludwig.
Feliciano's bodyguard.
Kiku.
Arthur wasn't sure what Japan thought about all this, whether he approved of Italy's actions or was too afraid to speak out against his friend.
Matthew.
Had taken over the Canadian and United States government, helping them along until they could support themselves. He was also going to help Arthur launch an army that would make the Romans look like cheerleaders.
Arthur strode purposefully down the hall, bright, powerful green eyes sweeping the room as though to make sure no one else was there. He was quite sure there was no one, as the meeting had been so carefully planned that not even Matthew's bodyguards knew where they were. Still, with everything going on it would not hurt to be careful.
The country stopped in front of the door and quietly fingered the knob. Oh, how he did not want to be here. How he wanted to be at his home, where the wind blew quietly and the grass grew green, sipping his tea on the back porch in his rickety old rocking chair. No, here he was, planning a meeting with Matthew on something he never though he'd have to do: Defeat Italy. Where had the boy gone wrong?
There was no time for second thoughts; Arthur knew that this wasn't the Italy they knew. This was the Italy that used his friends as shields; that used fake friends as pawns to help take over the world. Yet, Arthur could still imagine Italy's smile; the way he'd cry 'Pasta' and the way he'd run up to his friends and lovingly hug them, even Kiku. Squashing such soft thoughts as that, Arthur knocked on the door.
Matthew flung open the door, eyes slightly red as though he'd been crying, before lurching out at Arthur and catching him in a desperate hug.
"Sh, sh, Matthew, I'm here. What's the matter?"
"I don't want to do this anymore, Arthur! I can't stand it! What do you think we're doing to the children, raising them in such a violent environment? Why does it have to be like this?"
Arthur blinked, alarmed by Matthew's sudden change of heart. "If we defeat Italy, than the children will be safe! Either we defeat him, or he defeats us."
Matthew sniffled slightly, before rubbing his nose, clearly embarrassed by his sudden bout of weakness. "I-I'm sorry, Arthur. Just got a little overwhelmed…you know." Arthur nodded in understanding. In reality, Arthur had to remind himself, Matthew was technically still a boy in country standards.
"Matthew…what brought this on? Surely you didn't just think, 'this is wrong'?"
The country looked down sadly. "It's Alfred."
Arthur's mouth widened into a little O. "Oh, Matthew…did he get worse? I thought they discovered the cure! I thought he was recovering!"
"No, well—yes, I suppose…well, Arthur, he died and came back."
His mouth snapped shut. "Oh."
"Oh, Arthur, I don't want him to be raised in an environment like this! He's still a boy, but when he grows up, all he'll know is war, and pain, and suffering!"
"This is the worst possible time he could've done that…though we still need his weapons and what's left of his army to do what we need to do. Matthew, even though I hate to say it, this is the world he's growing up in. We can't shield him from what's outside his own front door."
Matthew nodded.
Arthur smiled gently. "Matthew, as soon as the war's over we can properly raise Alfred. I'd like to see him before I leave, but first we need to complete these war plans. Is Russia still sending his stuff to us?"
Matthew nodded. "We're lucky that the civil war ended a while ago."
Grinning evilly, Arthur tugged some papers out of his pocket. "Excellent. Now…"
After a few hours of hard work, going at war plans and prodding strategies, Arthur came away quite satisfied. If this didn't defeat Italy, than nothing would. Everyone was helping; both the America's, what was left of the African countries (Italy had taken over almost all the countries, so the remaining few had banded together and were barely managing to push back against Italy's control), most of the Asian countries (including Japan), and what was left of the European countries. For the sake of their kinsmen, and the kin of their kinsmen, they'd better win.
"Now…" Arthur murmured quietly. "Where's…Alfred?"
Matthew looked worriedly over at the older nation. "Are you sure you want to see him?" No point in ripping open closed wounds.
"Yes, I…think I can handle him now. Where is he?" Arthur did not like the feeling of other people thinking him weak; however he knew that Matthew was right.
"He's with Russia. He really took a shine to Alfred. I'm not sure whether it's because he likes seeing his enemy even weaker than him or because he thinks Alfred is cute."
"Was it really…wise to leave him with Russia?" Arthur asked incredulously. After the civil war ended, Russia had taken to following Matthew around while he recovered. Matthew had just let him, feeling a bit sorry for the poor, older broken nation.
"Arthur, he's not that scary. Just trying to find his way in the world. The civil war really took a toll on him." Matthew walked over to a door leading away from the room, and opened it, peering inside before gesturing to Arthur with a strange expression on his face. Arthur hurried over before looking inside as well.
Ivan was sitting in the corner, curled into a little ball around a small, almost white-haired form. He was shaking slightly, probably crying and two slightly confused blue eyes peaked up from behind the enormous country's legs. Ivan had his face buried into the child's back, and just sat there, holding onto little Alfred as though his life depended on it. If it wasn't so depressing Arthur would've found it extremely cute.
Alfred noticed Matthew and Arthur standing in the doorway and looked guarded for a moment before recognizing one of them. "Big brother!"
Ivan slowly uncurled around Alfred after hearing his voice, teary purple eyes looking up at Matthew almost hopefully. He slowly rose to his feet; Alfred still clutched in his arms, and made his way over to Matthew slowly. Finally he stopped in front in front of Matthew, and Alfred wiggled excitedly, reaching out his arms to get over to his 'Uncle'. Matthew smiled and gently took Alfred from Ivan, who looked slightly disappointed.
"Matthew, I met Mr. Russia!" At this, Ivan shivered slightly. The Baltics were a slightly sore subject for him, as they'd fallen to Italy a few years ago. "He's really nice but he's really sad and he wouldn't tell me why! I tried to cheer him up but he just started crying. Who's that?" Arthur blinked; shocked, knowing he really shouldn't have been surprised by Alfred's boundless energy.
"Oh, Alfred, this is Arthur. He's our…father." Matthew said awkwardly, a little uncomfortable with calling Arthur 'father.'
"Dad?" Alfred asked curiously, trying out the word on his tongue. "Really?"
Arthur felt a part of him melt a little at Alfred's voice. Oh, he'd really missed this Alfred! "Yes, Alfred, I am your father." He did not feel the same hesitation as Matthew did.
Alfred considered this for a moment, before smiling widely. "Okay!"
"Why don't you go play with Russia, Alfred?" Matthew cooed to his little brother, who giggled and reached his arms back out to the silent, still nation. Ivan seemed to come to life when Alfred reached for him, and smiled softly when Alfred settled into his arms. Ivan whispered something quietly to Alfred, who just cocked his head cutely. Soon, they were occupied with teaching Alfred Russian.
"The war is already affecting him." Arthur murmured grimly to Matthew. Now he could see what had set him off so badly.
"Yes…when Alfred first met Ivan, it took many reassurances to even get him close. The only reason Alfred didn't do that to you is because I came with you. I assure you that if you had gone alone he would've become very untrusting." Matthew's eyes closed sadly.
"What a horrible time for him to do something like this… that idiot!" Arthur shook his head, knowing the only reason he wasn't completely freaking out about this was because the thought that Alfred was gone hadn't quite reached his brain.
"You're taking this better than I thought…Arthur, are you sure you'll be okay?" Matthew looked worriedly over at Arthur.
"I'll be fine, don't worry about me. We'll deal with this after we defeat Italy."
Arthur walked over to Alfred, and before he knew what he was doing Arthur suddenly had his arms wrapped tightly around the young boy. Alfred stiffened slightly, before recognizing who it was. "Father?" Alfred asked, and with a slightly prodding from Ivan said, "отец?"
Arthur chuckled slightly. "I have to go now, but I'll come visit as soon as I can. Stay safe, yeah?"
Alfred looked slightly confused. "Yeah, I will dad. Er, da."
Pressing a kiss into Alfred's blond-white hair, Arthur stood up and walked quickly from the room. He didn't know how he managed to walk out the door, into the car and drive to the hotel, but as soon as he flung himself onto the bed, he let out a sob and began to cry.
Yeah, this one might be a little depressing, though I added little Alfred to cuten things up. And yes, he is learning Russian from Ivan. отец is supposed to mean father, but I got it off google translate so if it's wrong telllllll me!
So, the deal with Russia is that even though they managed to make everything good again, he literally had his mind ripped up and put back together. While he is getting better, he's kind of…brain dead.
The deal with Italy? I felt the need to make him evil for once, just to give him some depth.
So the thing is, none of the America's were touched by Italy's reign, because he was planning to take over Europe, Asia and Africa before moving overseas. Some reasons that Italy was able to get so big so quickly was that he had the element of surprise; no one expected him to launch a war and actually win. Also, he secretly shaped his army to be so powerful…
Of course, Switzerland wasn't touched.
And that's about it, I think.
IceEckos12