"Hey, West! How was the meeting?" Prussia asked, a half-empty mug in his hand.
Germany tossed him a look that made the former Teutonic Knight stand from his bar stool. Things were going to get ugly. And it was going to be probably much worse than when the Pictonians invaded.
"What is it?"
"Russia's down—"
Prussia leaped into song and dance. The celebration annoyed Germany.
"—and it's General Winter."
Gilbert stopped midway and lost his footing on the bar stool. "What?" he managed getting up. His uniform was stained with beer.
"General Winter. He's back."
Silence. Just tense silence.
"Verdammt." It all came crashing down on him. Prussia should've known that fighting on a frozen lake was a bad idea. Well, he was too awesome for other ideas back then, right? Besides, that was over seven hundred years ago. He's more awesome now. "What did he say?"
"I didn't hear. He just appeared outside Russia's house."
"You went to Russia's house?" Germany took his place beside his brother.
"Ja. There was snow inside and out. Everyone living there, including Russia, were half-frozen."
Germany lifted a palm to his face and bowed as Gilbert kicked off another show. He was very irritated the way his older brother hated the tall nation. Well, he wasn't old enough to remember their conflicts, right? He wasn't even around yet until the time of Napoleon.
He raised a finger and a mug slid into his hand. Now he could think. It was during these times that he could think deeper than he usually did. Savoring the taste, he let his mind reel off. What is going on? What happened to Russia? And Belarus, Ukraine, and the Baltic Trio? Did General Winter do this? What does he want?
It was rather complicated. No matter how modern they were, it would be difficult to counter the power of Mother Nature. Ironically, their progress into modernity was what made the world worse as it environmentally was. Then it clicked.
Germany's eyes snapped open and he yanked Prussia from the stage.
"Hey! What gives? I was in the middle of a really good so—"
He cut him off discreetly. Gilbert's eyes widened and he cast a look of shock on his younger brother's face. The expression Germany gave him was not what he was hoping for.
"This is no joke, bruder."
"Damn! We should muster up then."
"Tell everyone in Central Europe and that includes Austria."
"What about the others?"
"Not yet. I still have to find some solid ground first."
Prussia grunted. They continued in whispers to avoid causing a panic among the other patrons of the bar; it was a German pub after all. Germany left immediately as Prussia opened the directory and began dialing the numbers.
America sat alone in his living room. No fast food. No sweets. Nothing but coffee and his hands clasped under his chin. This was a behavior that manifested during extremely serious moments. His boss was bothered by what he had reported. But he, himself, was more disturbed than his citizens.
"What is going on? Who is this General Winter guy?" he asked quietly. "Why am I so concerned about Russia, anyway?" Damn it, America! Why did you get so serious about this in the first place?
He was his arch-nemesis globally, mentally, politically, ideologically, militarily, and culturally. Yet he felt compelled to help him out. They were allies back then but that was only when they were fighting against the Axis. But there was always the tension. The Cold War just made things worse.
He had to admit Russia was a badass. And he qualified as a badass villain in a movie where he was the hero. So why was he so worried about him?
"Sir, you're coffee's ready."
America looked up at the agent. He nodded. "Thanks. I'll go get it myself."
"Anything else, sir?"
"No. That's alright. Everything's good. You can go back to your job now."
The agent cleared his throat. "Sir, this is my job. Technically speaking."
America sipped at his coffee, still in deep thought. "There is one thing."
"Yes, sir?"
"Could you get me a copy of the intel reps on the recent weather climates in Russia? Yeah, and the current state as well."
"Will do, sir." By the time the door closed, America readied his pen and paper.
"Every hero needs a villain to fight." It was a less-thought-of statement that left his mouth. Yeah, that's it. Every hero needs a villain to fight.
"So, are my siblings going to be okay?" Ukraine asked. Her head and various portions of her arms and legs were wrapped in gauze.
"We're doing our best. Russia and Belarus would remain comatose for quite some time. Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia, however, are recuperating rather quickly and will be out in a few hours."
"Oh, thank you, doctor!" Tears of joy welled up her eyes. She turned to the other two nations. She received several thumbs ups and uneasy smiles.
"At least Russia wouldn't be terrorizing us for a while," Britain sighed.
France took Ukraine's arms with the grace of one skilled in his craft. "So, Ukraine cherie, would you tell us what happened?"
"Oh, it was terrible! It was absolutely terrible!" She began to sob. The aura was awkward for Britain.
"Right. Any details, perhaps?"
"Oh, Britain." Britain rolled his eyes. Terrific. Now he's gone Casanova on me. "You are so direct. Why not allow her time, ma chère Britagne?"
Oh, shut up! Britain sighed. "Uh, France, why don't you extract the information."
Francis gave his accomplice his notorious smile. His charm did the rest.
"How did it go?"
"Based on the information gleaned from Mademoiselle Ukraine…" All eyes turned to France. He shrugged. "As I was saying, Mademoiselle Ukraine remembers responding to an emergency call by Russia only to find the mansion in ruins. She said she saw General Winter and some of his 'troops' strolling around the interior. It was possible that she entered into a struggle because that was where her memory permitted her."
China raised a brow. "What do you mean by troops?"
"She could not identify."
There was a deep silence in the conference room. This was followed by Germany clearing his throat and beginning his round of suspicions. Including his hypothesis. It took eight minutes.
"You can't be serious!" Britain demanded, rising from his seat.
"It is just a theory, right?" France asked.
"Ja. But it is very plausible," Germany clarified, rubbing his chin.
"Germany," Italy poked, "you got to be joking, right? Please tell me, you're joking. After all, you said that it's just a theory—"
"—that is definitely possible." All eyes turned to America. For the first time, the blabbermouth had been as silent as a lamb since seeing what happened to Russia. This made Britain worry as he had grown heavily accustomed to America's shenanigans.
"Winter is just a season," China intervened, "but I rarely thought of it as much of an enemy." Japan nodded in agreement.
"I still have to present this to my boss," Germany remarked. "He would be wondering why my research teams are looking at a different agenda."
"Hold on, now! We need a full confirmation on your part." Britain received Germany's look passively. "But still," he sighed, "I'll get MI6 on the job as well."
"Oui. I shall commission my directorates on these matters, too."
"What about you guys?"
"Mongolia is not responding so I've made some precautionary measures in advance."
"I have been made of this only now so I will be making preparations after we discuss it with my leaders."
"Combating weather is becoming quite difficult," China remarked. "Japan's right. Our leaders would be questioning why our focuses are on the upcoming winter season."
"You probably haven't encountered General Winter in full force, have you?" France began. He spoke in his rarest but sincerest tone. Even Britain felt ordered to listen. "Russia is terrifying just being himself but if General Winter is with him, it is much worse. I'm telling you: if General Winter alone was capable of defeating Russia and everyone else with him, what could? I have faced both foes under Napoleon and it was devastating. Germany, I'm sure you know what I am talking about."
The country nodded. "We won at first, but then the season changed and Russia had us by our throats."
America raised his hand. "Hold on a sec! Winter comes every year so it's pretty normal for Russia to get his ass kicked by that creepy-coated guy. What gives?"
"It means that you all overlooked our current situation," admonished Germany. "You were too busy bickering over what to do that you didn't even think to consider what the problem really was!"
"Ve~ we're having a global cool-up!"
"Of course!" Britain smacked his palm. "The sudden change in the climate is causing winter seasons to last longer. But it would be absurd for General Winter to go full-force against the one he's so accustomed to… unless…"
"Merde! General Winter is embarking on his own campaign!"
"A winter apocalypse," America echoed. "Cool!"
"A second ice-age."
Everyone's hairs went up. "Who said that!" To them, Canada had just materialized out of nowhere.
"It's me, Canada!"
"Oh," America sighed. "What do you mean, dude?"
"A second ice-age. It's where the world would freeze over like a Popsicle."
The room was in total silence.
"Well, that was bone-chilling. How about some pasta, everyone?" Italy was met with uninterested eyes. He shrunk. "Okay… maybe later."
The door burst open. Again? It was Denmark.
"Germany! There's something wrong with Finland, Sweden, and Norway."
"What do you mean?"
"They're not holding out against the winter season!"
"Scheisse!" Germany rushed out of the room with Denmark. "Winter season is too early!" Everyone was at their feet, seemingly shaken by the recent news. Italy, as usual, ran after them rather noisily.
"Is it me or does anyone feel that General Winter's attacking the Nordic states?"
America clenched his fist. "Well, if Germany's right, then we're going to have to move up and see this for ourselves. Let's go!"
It didn't take long for the G8 nations—including Canada—to arrive at the southern edge of Norway. From where they were, nothing could have proven Germany's theory all the more.