Song for this chapter: 'Praise the lord and pass the ammunition' by Frank Loesser
Chapter 5: A Call to Arms
Their relationship settled back into some semblance of normalcy after Denmark met Poland. Nazi Germany became distant, yet polite. But Denmark also refused to leave his house. Some days, the weight of this altered reality shattered him and he never bothered getting out of bed. Had cigarettes been available, he would've taken up smoking.
Mostly though Denmark came to look forward to the company Nazi Germany provided, as he visited Sweden no more after that first occasion.
Of his own accord, he asked Nazi Germany for work and was provided with inventory lists, which Denmark found boring. If he felt brave, Denmark would switch supply numbers around or see to it that a page or seven went missing or got diverted to an Ally base.
He could follow the tide of war based on Nazi Germany's mood. When things were going well, Nazi Germany showed up smiling and gave him treats like a bag of coffee. When things weren't, he brought Denmark to piles of former buildings post-raid and Denmark cheerfully cleared the ruins. His spirit rang those times, for there was still a beacon of hope.
With Sweden gone as a contact, he became privy to no more privileged information and relied ever heavier on the radio to keep up. Oftentimes, it bore encouraging news- England spoke of plans to attack Nazi Germany at the heart of his fortress… once they found it, that is. Also of plans to liberate Stalingrad. Usually both sides claimed to be winning. Nazi Germany somehow kept one step ahead of them all each and every time. But he listened regardless.
Praise the lord, we're on a mighty mission! It serenaded.
One of America's songs no doubt. Denmark went to fiddle with the dial, but stopped short out of morbid curiosity.
All aboard! We're not a-goin' fishin'
Praise the lord and pass the ammunition and we'll all stay free!
Each side had its own propaganda, apparently. When the song ended and America gave a speech, that's when Denmark quit listening and started hearing.
Nazi Germany sees himself as a knight who got Germany on his feet and is now taking him for ride. The only Superman I know isn't a blond haired blue eyed Aryan with German blood traceable back 15 generations or whatever- he's a reporter for the Daily Planet who lives in Metropolis and… he's got black hair. I'm not going to speculate on his religion, but I'll say he hates Nazis and follows the Talmud.
So just remember, for all you countries out there he's forcing to go marching and 'hieling' and 'hieling' and marching… me, my old man, and Russia have our Grade A pilots Canada and Iceland on the job to get the rest of ya'll liberated.
We can't stand guys like Nazi Germany who abuse their power in the name of anything.
How he wanted to meet the Allies! Even through the radio, they talked to him like a person. America sounded so confident and had the bravery to openly insult Nazi Germany with no fear of the repercussions. Maybe he could learn something.
I just need to say- living is half your battle. If you can hear me now, the hardest part is over. Ahead of you, ya'll still have a path of great suffering but don't lose hope because united we'll win.
And I mean that when I say there will be a day of liberation because, like Superman, I want to help you because it's the right thing to do. If you're going through hell, keep on going because we're coming!
Good advice from the most precocious of the Allies. Denmark wished he could be so strong, just like America or even Superman.
Later that very same week, Russia ousted Nazi Germany from his borders and optimism spread like wildfire. Surely now, they would all taste liberty. Belgium mailed chocolate to everyone that year for Christmas. Pre-WWI of course, but no one objected to free candy.
Open rebellion became commonplace even as the war stormed outside their windows. With the defeat, Nazi Germany's temper vacillated from foul to unbearable. Denmark soured as he became the target of the mood swings. The crop fell on him a number of times often for fabricated offenses, which he found more humiliating than painful and it served only to make him angry. The knowledge that the end of the war loomed so near while he remained in indefinite servitude depressed him and the rage let him feel alive.
Nazi Germany immediately noticed and the more Denmark bristled at him and disobeyed, the tighter he clamped down in what came to be a vicious and endless cycle. He never felt himself, those times. He no longer reminisced about his past because it made him bitter and thought of Norway and Sweden a few minutes less each day.
Then something unprecedented happened- a Nazi soldier found murdered on Danish soil. When the superpower first leveraged the accusation, Denmark asked him to repeat it twice for fear of mishearing. Then came the inevitable barrage of questions involving the who, what, where, when, why of the situation. In a way, Denmark found relief that in a world where death appeared everywhere it still had meaning when one person passed.
He hadn't heard of it let alone committed the act. Perhaps there was some mistake? He said as much, but Nazi Germany was adamant he alone remained guilty. Denmark fought further for his acquittal by reminding him he had no guns with which to shoot. It degenerated into a powerful shouting match where Denmark insisted on his innocence and Nazi Germany insisted just the opposite. And that was the beginning of the end.
"Do you really think I'm capable of killing!" Denmark shouted more as an allegation than a question. "If I was, don't you think I would've killed you the second you knocked on my door?"
Then he shut up.
Nazi Germany's lip twitched and he backhanded Denmark across the face. The other country shrieked out of surprise just as much as pain.
"I've been so kind and so gentle with you." He jabbed a finger at Denmark and stopped inches from his face. "But clearly the only thing you can comprehend is force!" Then he regained composure and his tone evened out. "You are to gather the other Danes and meet me here tomorrow morning. An eye for an eye, Denmark." Nazi Germany clipped his heels, performed an about-face and strode out the door.
Denmark blinked after him, cradling his bruised cheek in his palm. The space between his breaths shortened exponentially as he pondered the disaster, swift and overwhelming, which would arrive that next day.
The roundup.
At long last, the Big Bad Wolf came for the sheep. Because of one dead man, the whole of the country would be reduced to ashes. With sunset already at hand, Denmark snapped into action. Whispy clouds were turned black by the red sky, giving the appearance of smoke against blood.
A/n: A couple of things. With Iceland, I definitely pulled a case of convenient history. America and England pegged Iceland for a friendly invasion on account of Denmark rolling over to the Nazis and because Iceland offered a good airbase.
Speaking of America, count on him to blow the Superman thing out of proportion. Superman's Methodist, but his creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster are Jewish. Superman also acts as a Moses figure… you can better believe the Nazis were annoyed. So given the situation it made sense to let Denmark admire him. Special thanks to Karalora for pointing this all out to me.