Yakusoku
"Who are we missing?" Ludwig sighed and looked around the room. He ran a hand through his bleach blond hair and closed his eyes to collect his cool. "It really would have been better to have all of us here but...we might have to start without them. But still we need to know who is here and who is not."
Kiku looked around the room to take in the few empty chairs...most of which seemed to be his relatives. None of the other Asian nations were there.
"It would appear that China, Taiwan, South Korea, and Hong Kong are all missing."
"Ukraine is missing as well da." Ivan spoke up quietly.
Heracles was staring down at his hands with a worried expression on his face.
"What is it?" Kiku asked a bit concerned because, A: His friend seemed to actually be awake and paying attention which meant that he was just as worried...maybe more, as any of them, B: He seemed to have clenched hands around a long piece of violet-red cloth.
The Greek nation looked up and at his friend in confusion at first and then he sighed.
"Turkey and Egypt are missing as well but...that's not all..." He sighed again and stood up to stare at all of the other nations.
"Turkey and I lost contact with Egypt about a week ago. And about 2 days ago, Turkey told me he was going to see what was wrong with Egypt and...I lost contact with him as well...not long after he arrived there."
The other nations stared at Heracles with shock, alarm and intense worry.
"What could have happened to them?" Elizaveta asked in alarm, after all she had temporarily been raised by the Turk the same as Heracles...he was technically like a father to her.
Heracles shook his head and twisted the cloth, which Kiku believed was a turban, as he stared at the table.
"I don't know."
Alfred stood up then as well.
"Could they be being held hostage by the...for lack of a better word...zombies?"
"Eeep!" a very frightened voice squeaked and Ludwig found his jacket being clutched tightly as a certain terrified Italian buried his face into it.
"Alfred I've told you not to call them that." The German sighed in frustration trying to loosen Feli's hands before he ripped yet another of his jackets.
"Right, right, my mistake." The American laughed a bit forcefully before turning serious, "But really, it's a possibility. My intelligence has informed me that in the past week...the number of...infected has increased dramatically in Egypt and Turkey...as well as in Ukraine."
There were murmurs of alarm from all around the table and frightened whisperings broke out until another stood up and faced the crowd.
"I too have lost contact with several of my...adopted younger siblings." Arthur spoke confidently but with a tinge of fear in the back of his voice, "Australia, New Zealand, and Wy. I was planning on going to see them within the next week but..."
"NO DON"T!" a frightened voice suddenly shouted from the back of the room.
All of the nations turned in shock to find a very wild looking Wang Yao, the nation of China, being supported by his family members Im Yong and Kou. All three of them looked shaken, Kou's usually passive and unreadable face showed great sorrow and fear on it.
"Mon du Yao! What ever is de matter?" Francis shouted in alarm jumping from his seat with the rest of the nations present.
"Don't go anywhere near any of the countries missing today!" Yao cried out clutching to Kou with trembling hands.
"What's wrong Yao?" a quiet but commanding voice broke into the room and several eyes, including Yao's frightened ones turned to Ivan. The powerful Russian nation was looking with intense concern at the Chinese man and he had taken several steps towards him.
Yao shook his head but didn't take his eyes away from Ivan's.
It was Im Yong that finally spoke in a shaky voice.
"It's Mei."
Shocked eyes turned to face the Korean. For him to use the nation's proper name, something must really be wrong.
"What's wrong with Taiwan?" Rachelle asked in apprehension, the two female Island Nations shared a really strong friendship, so if something had happened to her friend, Seychelles was not about to be left to wonder.
Im Yong swallowed and tried to speak but Kou cut him off.
"Mei is dead."
An instant hush fell across the gathered counsel, only broken by gasps of shock and shouts of "no" and "how?".
Rachelle clutched at her chair in shock.
Dead? Her best friend was dead?
Kou looked around the room and sighed.
"Taiwan is dead." He repeated, "Yao killed her. He had no choice."
Yao shuddered and buried his face in his hands as sobs escaped from his lips.
"No choice?" Rachelle whispered quietly, "But...you can't possibly mean that...?"
She covered her mouth as a horrifying idea ran through her mind. She looked into his eyes with a silent plea for him to shake his head, to understand what she was thinking and deny it. But the young Asian nation simply sighed and nodded.
"Mei was infected." He spoke calmly but gazed at the floor to hide his tears from the others.
An instant hush fell over the entire room before a calm and contemplative voice spoke from the Soviet portion of the table.
"They are adapting then."
All eyes turned to Estonia sitting with his laptop poised on the edge of the table.
He looked up and scanned everyone.
"The infected ignored us in the past. It only took that one encounter with Prussia to learn that we are better left alone and could not be infected. However these new events would suggest that they have both gained confidence not to fear us and have managed to 'upgrade' their venom, if you will, to be infectious to us now as well."
Uneasy silence still hovered around the room before it was broken by a single panicked voice.
"Vee Doitsu! Doitsu! I don't want to become a zombie! I want to eat pasta not brains! Don't let them get me Doitsu!"
Ludwig looked exasperatedly at Italy as he, once again, tore a good sized hole in his jacket.
"Italia come down. You're not going to get infected."
"How can you ensure that bastard?" Lovino shouted, fear clearly etching every line of his face, "Do you have some way of keeping them away from us, or keeping the infection from affecting us."
"Actually I have been working on something to that effect." Eduard spoke up once more typing hurriedly on his keyboard, "I am currently working on a program that should be able to mass produce a drug that will counteract the effects of the toxin."
"So it would be like a vaccine to prevent contracting a dangerous disease?" Raivis asked quietly.
"Unfortunately no, it would only be effective after being infected, more like antivenom."
"So you're saying that we would still be essentially one of the infected but, not act like one?" Toris murmured thoughtfully.
"I'm still working those parts out." Estonia sighed and continued tapping, "The program is complicated and without being able to test it first, I'll have no way of knowing if it will actually work."
"Basically the next of us infected, will be a guinea pig? Part of an experiment?" Arthur exclaimed.
"How unawesome." Prussia chuckled.
Eduard sighed again and pushed his glasses up his nose.
"Or the ones currently infected." He looked over at Greece, "China told us not to go near any of the countries or principalities that are absent today, or that we have lost contact with. I therefore have a list of presumed infected. It stands as Australia, New Zealand, Wy, Egypt, Turkey, and Ukraine."
"What about Sealand?" Arthur said in sudden fear, "He's not a country so he's not here either."
"Sealand is safe in the other room." Finland replied with a tired smile, "Berwald and I brought him for just that reason. We're uneasy leaving him at home recently."
Sweden nodded.
England sighed in relief and then blanched slightly when he noticed everyone looking at him with slight amusement.
"I just...I don't want anyone getting infected all right. It's not like I'm worried about the brat ok." He turned away to mask his embarrassment.
America laughed and clapped him on the back till the others turned their attention back to Estonia, then he leaned closer and whispered.
"It's ok to show affection in public every now and then Arthur. Especially when the circumstances permit it."
Arthur looked even more embarrassed at being chastised by the younger nation and in such a gentle way too. Still he leaned away and removed America's hand from his shoulder.
"I'll keep that in mind git."
Alfred chuckled and turned his attention back to the others and Estonia. The 'computer nerd', as Alfred had coined him years ago, was madly typing on his laptop once more and blatantly ignoring everyone's stares. But a sudden everyone's eyes to quickly whip towards the nearby window.
Italy screamed and literally launched himself into Germany's lap clutching the stronger nation's neck in terror. On the other hand Germany was staring with impossible disbelief at the source of the other's fright and Japan had his mouth covered with a shaky hand. Most of the other nations had horror stricken expressions as well, except for Greece...who looked like he was going to be sick.
"Óchi...parakaló̱, óchi." Heracles murmured. (No...please no)
Staring straight through the window, with his palms pressed dangerously against the protective glass and his new blood red eyes burning with an uncontrollable hunger, was Sadique Adnan...the man that two days before had been the country of Turkey.