And now the main meat of the World War II subplot…the one that a lot of you gave up AlCha for (sorry girls, I had to)…the reason why all of this is happening…THROUGH A FLASHBACK! OK, this flashback is different now that Charice is gaining power, so the setup is like this.
This is the stuff that's happening in the memory.
This is the stuff that Charice and 'friend(s)' are thinking and saying while the memory is taking place.
Thought the new layout would confuse people, so there's a little explanation :D
Saya: O RLY THEN? *goes plot bunny hunting*
/= "September" by Daughtry =/
"Hey, you! Get over here!"
"Eh? W-what?"
"Convert! Convert!"
He was running around the plains, harassing this one guy in a simple uniform, annoyingly pleading for him to convert…to what, she didn't quite catch. After a few minutes of that, she was watching him running around harassing a little boy who was, for the most part, able to harass him back. Until she realized that he was calling 'him' Hungary. Then it just got weird. Fast.
"=== + === + ==="
"Whoa…is that Gilbert?"
"Eh? Alfred?"
"Whoa! Charice, you're here too! Where's everyone else?"
"I think we've been separated from them, brought into the past."
"The past? This is Gilbert's past?"
"You're the wrong person to ask. But I would like to assume so."
"=== + === + ==="
He stretched out his fingers and arms and yawned loudly. His kingdom was expanding exponentially, growing strong, perhaps rivaling that French Empire headin' over on the side over there. Sooner or later, he's going to take over this entire globe and just win the whole world over!
"Are you seriously going to sit over there all day?"
"Eh? Oi, old man Fritz!" He jumped to his feet. "Thought you were out doin' some business and stuff!"
"It's a king's duty to see to a nation's wellbeing, of course." He answered. "But here I thought it meant that you'd be doing something to at least help me."
"I'm just stayin' out of the way, man! You're the one makin' me strong, all on your own!" He grinned. "And seriously, I'm grateful for that."
The man merely smiled as he went about his business, leaving the nation to stare at the kingdom that he had helped expanded. There were no words that needed to be exchanged through that simple conversation: Fritz knew well that Gilbert was a loyal man, and Gilbert knew that he wasn't going to stop listening to him. He seemed like a cool guy. Nonetheless, he was human, nothing like him. The time they had together was precious in a way, and soon he wouldn't have a cool guy like him around anymore.
"…hey Fritz! Where else are we invadin' today?"
"=== + === + ==="
So that man Austria's just going to come rearing up demanding a fight in exchange for land? Did this guy really know any better? Especially since his awesome scouting had allowed him to find his house without any problems? He took a few troops with him in case he needed back-up to raid a nation's house, but…seriously? There's only one woman in the house! There was no way that she would be able to fight off a few human soldiers, not to mention the great Prussian Empire himself!
"So…are we ready?"
"We're ready whenever you are, sir."
"All right then…let's go!"
And with a quick breather, he pulled out his sword and gave the signal. The small group dashed into the house and kicked the door open, ready to attack anyone who attacked back.
…
"What the hell?"
"What? What is it?"
"This is part of Gilbert's memory too, invading Roderich's house and taking something important…so we should be allowed to see it!"
"And…we're not?"
"APPARENTLY we're not!"
Alfred huffed as he dashed toward the open door, startled to see that something resembling a barrier had held him back. Charice didn't fare well either, so they were forced to try looking through the windows to see if anything was happening. Nonetheless, they only saw a fighting Elizabeta from the far reaches of the kitchen before they couldn't see anything else. There were a few muffled voices that none of them could pick up (they were German, so she couldn't understand, and Alfred couldn't hear any of it) before there were stomping feet heading down the stairs.
"All right, here we go…!"
Yes, finally! He found what he was looking for! Now there was no way that Austria was going to win…all the cards were stacked against him. With Italy fighting by his side, his 'son' in a way, he will soon give in.
"HEY! Charice, what is he holding?"
"I don't have a clue! He's running too fast! Can you see anything?"
"Nothing! Why the hell is he hiding this from us?"
"=== + === + ==="
He was growing up so fast. When he first got Ludwig, he was barely a child hitting age five. Now, in just a few years, he was already towering his older brother's height and having such a deeper voice! He had to be the most interesting nation that he had to have met. Of course, it was all because he was just that awesome on raising him and stuff…but still! The only other nation to have done something in that short a time period (barely fifty years!) was that other nation…America, was it?
"Hell, yeah, I've grown that close. That's because I was THE colony of England!"
Charice kept herself quiet, focusing instead on Ludwig. According to what Gilbert was thinking, he had grown up into the man he was now in just thirty years, heck maybe even less than that! Yeah, Alfred was like that too, but the only other person that she knew that fell into that category too was…well, for the lack of a better word without making him a Gary Sue, Rizal. He had come to her at the age of four, and was immediately sixteen starting the Spanish-Filipino War. The rally of independence was deep…
"Soooo…Lud! You having fun there sorting out all this information for no reason?"
"Bruder, you really don't understand. Your kingdom is stable enough to handle a few days of vacation." He turned back to his papers. "If I look away for just one second, civil war might descend upon the whole continent."
"Ah, don't worry about it. I've seen these men, they'll handle compromise."
"I've seen these men. They'll break out into war whenever they want too. The world isn't safe yet." He stated. "Until then, I cannot rest."
"Is that why you formed an alliance with that guy Roderich? He's just so unawesome and he's not going to help much in wars!"
She couldn't help but notice that as he began to ramble, there was just something on Ludwig's face. It didn't look like disgust…which is common since everyone is now united and acting like crazed roommates than former nations at war. It looked more like…um…dare she say it, empty?
"No, bruder."
"Then why?"
"…I don't know. My boss said that we should and…I said yes without even thinking about it."
"What? You haven't met him beforehand, so…"
"I just don't know…like I felt drawn to him."
"Dude, are you thinking what I'm thinking?"
"Not in the least, but we'll talk about this later."
As he was shifting through the papers, he finally got his hands on the news article. His face paled as he read the headline: ARCHDUKE FRANZ FERDINAND OF AUSTRIA ASSASINATED. He held his breath for a few minutes before lowering his hands.
"I have to go."
"Eh? Why?"
"I…have a meeting that I have to attend to."
"You serious man? Here I thought you were on top of all this! What's up with you forgetting dates and stuff-"
But he was already gone.
"=== + === + ==="
"…well, that's weird."
"What is it?"
"We should either be seeing another memory or going back to the others…but we're not doing anything…"
"…well THAT SUCKS!"
"Hah?"
"Gilbert, if you can hear me, you better answer me this question: why do you hate me so much? What did I do to gain this much disapproval?"
"…yeah, you better answer that question, Gil-kun! Al here seriously wants to know! We're not going to tell anyone if it just includes him! Just please, show us!"
""Friendship" by HetaOni + ==="
Rain. Endless, endless rain.
He knew what it felt like to lose a war (even though it rarely happened, DERP), but to actually see a nation that had lost a war and suffer like this…and he was close to him…was just horrible. Both of them were covered with battle scars and dry blood, but by the looks of things Ludwig had it worse. He was standing helplessly next to the Allied Forces, his eyes barely looking like they were focusing anymore.
"As you may already know, the German nations have lost this war again." France stated, trying his best not to show any sign of breaking. They were best friends, of course.
"…yeah, I know. It was that damn Austria's fault! Mein bruder should've NEVER trusted that bastard!"
He started getting violent, throwing the other nations off. It was then that Arthur began to see something: Ludwig's eyes were hazing over just a little bit. He looked over to Alfred, who was just beginning to wonder if the guy needed a pillow to sleep or something.
"Alfred…would you mind going to our leaders to see that all arrangements have been agreed with?"
"Eh? Aw, come on! All arrangements have been dealt with!"
"Not all of them. We still need conformation on what we should do about returning territory back to the others. They'll need a nation to save nations."
"But-"
"We'll be doing nothing of major importance here. You won't miss out on much."
Alfred mumbled something to himself before heading off into the ruins of the town to see the meeting leaders. Meanwhile, Ivan stepped forward with some of his Russian soldiers and took a hold of Gilbert's arms, making him flinch in shock.
"And as par a bit of our agreement, I officially own you." He grinned. "You're now one with me, da?'
"Hey, let me go! This is so unawesome!" He spat. "I'll have my revenge on you, you bastard!"
"You won't be able to…" Matthew whispered. "The Kingdom of Prussia has been dissolved."
"WHAT?"
"Your territory will be divided between the USSR and Poland. Be grateful, for this will keep you alive for a few more years." Arthur said, trying to pin himself as the bad guy. "But at this rate…you won't last to the next decade."
"Eh? Well, surely that's a little drastic." Ivan said, a little surprised. "This man had nothing to do with the German advancement, you know. Why should he have some of the blame?"
"Because we all know for a fact that he'll aid his brother in a heartbeat." Arthur said, interrupting Francis. "That is why I did this."
"Wait, WHAT?"
"Wait, what?" He began to struggle, remembering something. "What about Ludwig? What about mein bruder?"
"Germany is no longer trustable about handling himself." Arthur stated in his serious voice. "As of today, his territory will be divided up into four territories, run by me, France, America and Russia. Furthermore, his capital city Berlin will be divided into four zones as well-"
"You're doing all of this to him while he has a major recession going on and his country is in turmoil? You can't do that!" He screamed. "He won't-"
"Gilbert!" A scream echoed out. "It's all right…I accept these terms. All of them?"
"All of them…? Why? They're disgracing you, bruder! Tell me WHY!"
He was silent for a few seconds before Ludwig collapsed onto the ground, mud coating his raggedy uniform. Gilbert started struggling as he saw his brother smile and start glowing strangely, illuminating the rain around him. The glow was focusing into little orbs, sinking deep into Gilbert's body.
"Bruder…it's…all you now…"
"Lud-?"
"I…can't…hold the burden…anymore…" He smiled. "You are Germany now…risen…from the ashes of your kingdom…and mine…"
"Wait, hold up a second!"
He successfully tore through the arms of the soldiers and grabbed his brother's body, sobbing openly and not caring for basically anything around him. As much as he never ever wanted to admit it, he never wants to be alone. And with the death of the man that he had raised since childhood, it was a worst dream come to life.
"I can't just take over your land, dammit! You're not leaving me! Stop it, stop it!"
"Gilbert…stay strong…for my people…need you now…" Ludwig smiled. He actually smiled. "Cause…big brother…knows…best…"
His body completely dissipated into the rain, sinking deeper and deeper into Germany's brain.
Charice couldn't handle any more of this. As the screams of rage and heartbreak echoed throughout the rain, she could see the faces of the other nations staring at Arthur, who for the most part took most of the blame to protect the others. Many of them were nearing recession as well, Arthur included. But the fact that Gilbert had lost his brother like this…
Meanwhile, Alfred stood there shocked. Since he had only seen Germany again during Ronald Reagan's speech at the Berlin Wall, he never knew that any of this could be his fault. He looked at his hands and knew just how naïve he was. Here he thought nations were like superheroes and super villains: kill them all you want, they'll come back for more. And you're saying that I…?
When they came back to their world, Charice was too busy crying to notice the difference.
/=+=/
See why Alfred was so important to the subplot?