If he had known what the spell would have truly cost him, England would have avoided ever having read those dark pages when he found it among the old parchments of his mother's library. It promised power to whomever cast it and he had eagerly performed the necessary rituals. At the time he was young and jumped at the idea of being stronger. To this day he could never figure out whether the spell had been performed correctly or if his novice abilities in magic had messed something up. Either way, that is how it happened; how the other him was formed. And although they were given power, it could not be used for themselves.
Mother had found out and reprimanded them for their carelessness, but it was far too late for even someone with her skills to correct. It had been Britannia that had sealed the demon half in the mirror and given the warnings to them both of what would happen if they were not careful.
An angel side to give wishes and a demon half to take them away. And with this in mind they had devised their plan. There would be a meeting the following day and both would attend. While England kept some of those attending busy, the other would begin to target any who left the meeting hall for breaks and trick them into giving up what they had wished for. Now it just had to work.
England awoke that morning feeling more tired than he usually did despite trying to leave himself an adequate amount of time to rest. He sat up slowly, taking an extra few minutes to sit on the edge of his bed and stare at the floor before finally rising to his feet and groggily getting ready. He recalled little of what he was doing until he was shuffling into the kitchen intent on consuming as much caffeine as he could before he needed to leave.
The demon England cheerfully gave him a bright morning greeting to nearly match his pastel attire and ignoring the glare he received in return. "Are you hungry?" he asked, bouncing alongside his angrier counterpart as he hunched his shoulders and headed for the stove. "I have made you breakfast. Look!" He grabbed his arm and dragged him away and towards an already set table. "You should sit here." He ordered, forcing him into a chair.
"I'm not hungry." England growled, attempting to stand and escape the other's clutches.
"Yes, you are." The demon nodded, being a little more forceful in getting him down. "And beans on toast does not count as a nutritious breakfast." Glowering in his seat, England watched as a plate of pastries and fruit were set in front of him and grimacing further as he noticed the smiley face that had been formed out of the food on it.
"Er, thanks…" England commented.
"You are most welcome." The other half giggled and went back to cleaning up. "What time do we need to be there today?"
The angel mumbled a time around his fork, glancing up at the clock on his wall and nearly choking. "We'll be late!"
He blinked. "You cannot leave until you've eaten your breakfast."
"We don't have time for that!" England roared, jumping up and grabbing his things. "We need to leave. Now!"
"Alright, alright. Calm down. It's not good for you to always be angry." He took his time to move around and collect his things. "Your life would be so much better if you looked at it with a positive attitude."
"I don't have time for positivity. We. Are. Late."
Demon England huffed and gathered everything as he headed for the door. "Okay, then let's go."
England didn't need another word. He bolted out the door, trying to hurry his twin along as well and get him to the bus stop before they missed the one they needed. His demon half was not over concerned, commenting on everything from the decorations in shop windows to the states of people's gardens and with each sentence England could feel his frustration grow.
At last he managed to spot the stop in the distance and glanced at his watch as he went to join those waiting for the bus's arrival. He still had a few minutes to spare and relaxed slightly seeing the first step taken care of. Everyone ahead of him paid him no attention until his twin skipped past headed for the front of the line. "I cannot wait to see everyone again!"
Feeling fairly horrified England dashed after him and grabbed his arm. "There is a queue. We queue!" he hissed furiously, dragging the man towards back with him. A couple men paused from reading their papers and a mother pulled her child close as they passed, making the Brit cringe and grumble while trying to avert his eyes.
The bus arrived a few agonizing minutes later, with his other half speaking too loudly and occasionally attempting to straighten the jacket of the person standing ahead of them. England had to hold onto his hand as they boarded to keep him from going anywhere and nearly throwing his change at the driver, who stared and handed over a ticket. The demon was placed in a seat next to the window to hopefully minimize how much more trouble he could get into. Though it still didn't stop him from gaining strange looks as the man dressed in pastels chattered about the passing scenery and the angel continued to grumble. The journey seemed unusually longer today.
The rest of it passed much the same and he cursed how uncivilized the other man was. Clearly he was not one to understand how culture was supposed to work and was relieved to see the meeting building in the distance. "Listen to me," he snarled at his wits end as he dragged the bubbly man up the steps inside, "you do remember the plan, don't you?"
Britannia Demon nodded excitedly. "Of course I do! I am just so excited!" He waved a cheerful hello to a receptionist who returned an unsure gesture.
"Just, stay out of sight." He growled, continuing to pull him towards the meeting room. He stopped outside the door and tried to straighten his clothing and catch his breath before joining the others. "Remain in the hallway for now and for the sake of my sanity, stick to the plan."
The demon nodded and smiled which England translated to him having understood and squared his shoulders before walking into the meeting room. Italy looked up, tapping his pen against his files in slight annoyance. "Nice of you to join us, England."
"Er, yes. Apologies." England bit out while awkwardly looking for free chair at the table. Germany spared him only a glance before returning to drawing notes on spares of Italy's notes and Prussia gave him a small wave. Japan laughed loudly, earning a sharp jab from America on his other side who just stared at him silently. Not his best entrance and he quickly spotted an empty space and all but ran towards it.
Romano could not be silenced. "Oh my god!" he screeched from his place beside Spain, "What are you wearing?!"
England's steps slowed. "What…?" he asked slowly, glancing to a few of the others to understand what he meant.
"Oh." China blinked, setting down his mug and glancing around. "You can see it too? I thought this was just leftover from what I had last night." He paused and and tapped his chin. "Or was it this morning….?"
"Of course we can see it." Romano huffed. "Just look at that outfit! Have you seen anything that has ever made you wish to go blind?"
Russia sighed from behind his book. "Do not wish for something unless you are willing to accept the consequences of it."
"Oh, shut up!" Canada growled at him. "Romano's right. Those clothes should be burned." The blonde Italian nodded in agreement.
"Hello everyone! It is so wonderful to see you all here today!" The demon half chose that moment to burst into the room and wave to them all.
England paled. The entire plan had somehow managed to fall apart completely within the first ten minutes of his arrival. "What are you doing?" he hissed through clenched teeth. "I told you to wait outside for me!"
The demon's pace slowed, but his innocent smile remained in place as Canada spoke up. "Who the hell are you talking to?"
England blinked several times and the demon began to circle him, stepping lightly between the table of nations and himself as they continued to speak. "Wait, I think I can see it." China narrowed his eyes and leaned forwards. "Does his friend have two heads and goat feet?"
France tilted his head. "I don't think England has any friends like that."
"Oh…" China sat back in his seat with wide eyes. "Then I'd like to warn you all that there is a monster in the room."
"Enough, everyone." Italy growled from the head of the table. "England, explain yourself. Now."
"I…?" England gaped as the demon half continued around towards the windows.
"I hoped our game would last longer than this." The demon continued, his sickly sweet grin never leaving his face. "I guess it can't be helped."
England turned, following him quietly and ignoring Italy's demanding questions from behind him. "What's happening?" he asked quietly, not hearing Italy groan and complain, "That's what I want to know!"
Britannia Demon giggled . "You haven't figured it out yet? The illusion spell should be wearing off by now." He nodded his head towards the window and England's eyes slid over to spot his reflection, nearly gagging at what he saw. He was completely sure that even in the midst of his morning haze he had still managed to pick out a normal looking suit, not something that looked this horribly gaudy. As he continued to stare and his mind really took it all in, it dawned on him it was exactly the same as what the demon half was currently wearing. Horrified, his eyes slid up to his face, spying the bright blue of his eyes and the strawberry blonde of his hair.
He felt the magic suddenly surround him and he tried to avert his gaze away from the reflection before it could overwhelm him completely. The image, however, would not let him go so easy and even as he felt the room around him dissolve into the pocket realm of the mirror he fought to get free of it. He struggled and when it finally released him he threw himself against the reflective glass. "When did you do this?"
Britannia Demon walked closer to the window and lowered his voice. "Last night. I've had a long time to plan my escape of that awful mirror. It's your turn to go a thousand years inside it."
"No!" the angel screamed at him, shouting every curse he knew. "You can't do this to me!"
No one present at the meeting that day seemed to understand what England found so funny as he laughed for a while and skipped to the table, assuring Italy that the earlier interruption wouldn't happen again. "Make sure it doesn't." Italy warned, and picked up where he had left off before England's arrival.